Tag: A VVivacious Highly Rated Story

A VVivacious Review: Delayed Gratification (Daniel and Ryan #1) by Tamryn Eradani

Rating – 5 Stars out of 5
 
delayed-gratificationDaniel Brown is being tempted every day with a glazed donut on his desk. When he realises that the new Director of Marketing, the one with the two first names, Ryan Cole is the guy putting the donuts on his desk, he realises what the donuts actually stand for. The only question remaining is if, Daniel is ready to take Ryan up on his not so innocent offer?
 
Daniel Brown is a man of routine. Indeed. Daniel is incredibly prim and proper, his body is in shape; he eats super healthy and denies himself all temptations all week long only to reward himself at the end of the week. He is quirky, borderline-OCD but Oh My God! He was just so prim and proper, I wanted to mess him up! But some of his quirks had me empathizing so much, like the fact that he only went around the left side of his secretary’s desk because that way it was two seconds faster and the way he liked being the first one in his office so that he could soak up the quiet. I mean I was in the story the moment we got to meet Daniel.
 
This book is very well written, like amazingly so. I loved the precise sentences that just cut away all the frills and get to the point. This book is all from Daniel’s point of view but I loved how the author despite being limited by Daniel’s worldview still manages to give us a such a holistic view of Ryan because Oh My God! Ryan.
 
I was amazed my Ryan he is like so relaxed and calm and not exactly laid-back but kind of like at peace with himself and personally I was wondering how that would translate to his Dominant side but my! Oh My! I was not at all disappointed. It was the most amazing transformation because it wasn’t one means I was finding it hard to reconcile these two aspects of Ryan’s character but the author had it spot on. He was not only a relaxed, calm, at peace with himself kind of guy he was also a Dom, it was just that simple.
 
The actual scene actually took my breath away because it was so simple and in a way it was all in Daniel’s head. But somehow that entire scene just put everything into perspective.
 
I honest to God screamed when this book ended because it is really short, like a short-story short but despite being so short it has this wealth of words that impart so much meaning and I am going to ignore the fact that this got over so soon because I know there is a sequel and I just can’t wait to get my greedy hands on it.
 
Cover Art by Natasha Snow. It is an amazing cover! I loved the dark colours and their dark overtones, it looks amazing and perfectly fits the story.
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Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 43 pages
Expected publication: January 16th 2017 by NineStar Press
ASINB01MS1XD9D
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesDaniel and Ryan #1

A VVivacious Review The House Guest by Asta Idonea

Rating: 4 Stars out of 5
 
the-house-guestWhen Zach shifted into his new apartment he bought an antique cupboard. On closer inspection that cupboard seemed to have a lock on one of its drawers. The lock sets Zach’s imagination loose with all the things that the lock could be hiding but the empty drawer that greets him was not one of his choices. But looks like that drawer was not so empty after all, as Zach’s apartment seems to magically cleaned every night and on top of that Zach’s house seems to be haunted with the sounds of someone laughing and singing at night.
 
This is a short story featuring Zach and a house spirit or domovoi named Bogdan. The premise of this book is good enough to have set the stage for a full length novel but the author manages to hit all the high points even in this much shorter format but I would have loved to know more.
 
What I loved about this book would have to include the fact that Zach’s house was not haunted by a ghost, I love the fact that the author’s imagination could fuel the existence of a domovoi which seems to be quite a helpful spirit and not a ghost at all. Also I loved the concept of the domovoi and especially Bogdan, he seemed to be so happy-go-lucky and the kind of person who takes everything in his stride.
 
This story is extremely enjoyable and I loved the pairing of Zach and Bogdan and how they had set up a rhythm of sorts with regards to each other.
 
Somethings I would have loved to have more information on would be the subject of domovoi especially in regards to their creation. Also I wanted to know if Zach and Bogdan had a future together, because things are kind of up in the air in those regards.
 
Overall this is a very enjoyable read. Asta Idonea is an amazing author and this story is very well written. Also this story is very well rounded off anything that has been raised as an issue in the story is dealt with. Also this short story is bound to leave an impact because the story is just so damn good that I am pretty sure anybody who reads it will be left wondering.
 
Cover Art by Winterheart Design. I loved the cover featuring Zach and the Bogdan.
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Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 37 pages
Published October 26th 2016 by MLR Press
ASINB01MCZ5J4D
Edition LanguageEnglish

A VVivacious Review: Ownage by Dale Chase

Rating: 5 Stars out of 5
 
ownage-by-dale-chaseWayne Kerley and Tommy Knox have been together for twelve years but nobody knows it. As players on opposite baseball teams not only do they have to keep their relationship on the down low but they also stay apart for much of the season.
 
As Wayne faces the end of his contract and starts thinking of retiring, things start to slump for Tommy out on the field forcing them to talk about the one thing they have avoided talking about for most of their relationship –the future.
 
I loved this story, it is more novella than novel but as they say good things come in small packages.
 
I love established couple romances and this book epitomizes everything I love about that particular trope that is about seeing couples face their life together with their love a quiet awareness that smolders all around.
 
Wayne is a pitcher nearing the end of his contract and we see him trying to ignore the elephant in the room while still powering-through on the field. This story is told from Wayne’s perspective and I will agree that the fact that we spend so much time with Wayne means that I can’t describe Tommy as well, but it didn’t matter because Wayne and Tommy were an amazing couple.
 
When I first came across this book I was skeptical about their relationship seeing as their relationship is something that can be classified as a long distance relationship and romance (at least romantic books) generally don’t look kindly on long distance relationships, they are always the ones fraught with problems. But what made this book so splendid was the fact that while reading this book that skepticism didn’t enter my mind. Much of this book speaks about Tommy and Wayne and how they keep in touch without it ever feeling like that is what they are doing. They communicate on the same level as people who have been together for years (as they have) do, they have their own routines and couple-y things that make them comfortable and so in-sync with each other.
 
Also what I liked was that Wayne acknowledges all the aspect of their relationships good or bad. The fact that they stay apart much of the time and it is very easy to be shut out of the other person’s life, the lack of mutual friends and how time together is always bittersweet with the tinge of the looming parting and also the fact that coming back to each other is the best feeling ever, like coming home after a long day.
 
The ending of this story is something that can come as a bit of a surprise, like a ‘that’s it!’ when you come across the “THE END” but somehow for me I liked even that and I am a big one for endings. I loathe bad endings, like the good ones and I love the bittersweet ones and somehow I felt that this ending was perfect for this book. In a way I felt that the book ended at the right time because it was going to be like an end of an era for Tommy and Wayne, something new was headed their way, new challenges and maybe even unexplored territory as they live together, and this story contained as it was in a different part of their lives couldn’t possibly have done justice to this new period in their life, having said that I would definitely welcome more on these two.
 
For as short as this book was it really captured by imagination as even though I have talked so much about the story, I have somehow managed to avoid talking about the baseball in this book. I have a rudimentary knowledge of baseball like just the basics and I may be missing a few of those too. So I can say confidently that not knowing baseball that well didn’t affect my enjoyment of this book but I can equally not say if as a baseball fan I might have liked this more (because I would have probably understood more of the nuances of this book) or less (because I would have been more critical of said nuances).
 
Having said it all, I would like to say for me this book kind of added up, with all the nooks and crannies I didn’t understand to the love story I did, to be an amazing read.
 
Cover Art by Written Ink Designs. I liked the cover what with the packed stadium and the bright sun and the pitcher getting ready to pitch the ball.
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Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 68 pages
Published October 15th 2016 by JMS Books LLC
ASINB01LZOFK6X
Edition LanguageEnglish

A VVivacious Review: Gryffon Hall by Alexis Duran

Rating: 5 Stars out of 5
 
gryffon-hallWryler Glimmerveen is forced into an unsuspecting alliance with Lord Aeric Rouchet who is well feared for being a monster.
 
Aeric Rouchet is the Lord of Gryffon Hall, a sprawling castle at the edge of the Black Forest, a forest well known for the monsters it spawns.
 
As Wryler makes his journey to the Black Forest he can’t be anything but anxious about the things that await him at
Gryffon Castle but he has no clue as to the mysteries waiting to unfold.
 
This was an utterly delicious read. It was an amazing retelling of “The Beauty and the Beast” and I loved the author’s perspective on this particular fairy tale.
 
Wryler Glimmerveen was the perfect Beauty with a little bit of fae in him. What I loved about Wryler was that neither was he the stalwart hero nor the damsel of distress of fairy tales. He was just perfect, anxious to the point of no return but ready to stand his ground even against his beast of a husband.
 
Aeric Rouchet was an amazing Beast and proud of it. He was like a yummy hero just out of a historical romance and my God was he hot or what?
 
I loved Aeric and Wryler they had the perfect dynamic from the beginning and their chemistry was sizzling hot. They really had that going for them.
 
Personally I loved how this book spins the tale of ‘The Beauty and the Beast’. Here’s a Beauty ready to forge his own path and a Beast proud of his beastly ways, so wait… where is the wrench in the works well as you will know if you have read and seen a lot of faith tales, where there is a fairy tale there is a certain deal maker waiting to profit.
 
I loved how this book is written. It is well paced and all the elements are well established and play out really well as a whole. Overall this book was awesome, amazing and brilliant!
 
Cover Art by April Martinez. I didn’t like the cover as much as I loved the story. Personally the men on the cover in no way fit the Wryler and Aeric in my head.
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Book Details:
ebook, 150 pages
Published August 30th 2016 by Loose ID
ISBN139781682521885

A VVivacious Review: Immortal Watch (Godsbane Prince #2) by Olivia Helling

 
Rating: 4 Stars out of 5
 
immortal-watchIlyas and Jem arrive in Nuriya to secure a trade deal on behalf of Lumi. But what Ilyas thought would be surprisingly easy turns out to be a whole lot tougher. Especially after he receives the news that he has a child.
 
As Ilyas is distracted by his child, Jem falls into a whole new trouble with people who call themselves the Immortal Watch. But what they both don’t know is that they are just cogs in the scheme of a much more elaborate plan…
 
This book is all about its story. It is a story that has everything and would be near impossible to describe in a single word but if I had to that word would have to be ambitious. This story has gods, aliens, a supernatural war, interdimensional travel, bloody politics, a scramble for power, new hopes, crushing defeats, death and a search for a trade deal that started it all. And if I could get another word it would be interesting. This story is a high speed roller-coaster ride that just leaves you flipping the pages one after the other till the very end. I read this book in a single sitting, which definitely proves that I for one was hooked to this story.
 
My issues with this book are more morally inclined, I don’t like books with indiscriminate killing and there is a lot of that in this book, also the pig-headed MCs of this book didn’t help matters.
 
Olivia Helling has a gift she can make you hate and absolve a character in the span of one book. In the last book I faced this with Ilyas; this time around it’s Jem. What I came to realise is that while Jem’s behaviour and actions fit well against the background of the events taking place in Lumi, the same actions in Nuriya make him look unhinged.
 
The main focus of this story is on a war that took place between the gods and the members of the Immortal Watch ages ago and how that war has shaped the events that happen in this book. I won’t go into further detail as that would be a major spoiler but that aspect of this story is the best part of this book and is a thriller that twists and turns and leaves you all wringed out. But there is a subplot concerning Ilyas and Jem and their budding relationship and the strain that Ilyas’ discovery of being a father puts on it.
 
Personally Ilyas and Jem’s relationship seems woefully underdeveloped but as that underdevelopment was essential to the plot of the book, I let it go but it was still there in the back of my mind that there circumstances were unique in the extreme.
 
I liked Ilyas and I loved him throughout the book, especially as he finally gets Jem to see the fallacy of his actions. But their resolution seems a bit too hurried; I think they really need to work out certain things between them that were left unsaid at the end of this book. If there is going to be another book in this series I hope it focuses on their relationship.
 
Overall this is one hell of a book with an amazing plot that never lets up.
 
Cover Art by Lou Harper. I liked the cover but it doesn’t exactly match the image I had in my head, especially concerning the city of Nuriya which looks desert-like for a place with such fertile grounds. Also, the singular colour of the buildings didn’t fit with the colour loving Nuriyites.
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Book Details:
ebook
Published September 23rd 2016 by Olivia Helling
ISBN139780993918094
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series: Godsbane Prince

A VVivacious Review: Darkside (Mate of the Tyger Prince #2) by Shannon West

Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5
 
Dark Side“The course of true love never did run smooth.”  – William Shakespeare
General Haggoz finds himself in the impossible situation of having to imprison his own nobyo. As he struggles to come to terms with the wrong doings of Kevin, he also realizes that he will never stop loving Kevin. Kevin finds himself imprisoned in a cell in Haggoz’s house where the only thing that breaks the pall of his existence is Haggoz and the few times he deems to visits him. But while Kevin may have reasons for his deeds, he has given up hope on ever having Haggoz forgive him.
 
On the other hand, Mikos and Ryan are trying to get through everyday life. They bicker like an old married couple but are just as much in love as they were before.
 
But when Mikos and Haggoz disappear it is up to Kevin and Ryan to find them and bring them home.
 
This book is a good companion to its predecessor.
 
The story of this book follows two couples – Mikos and Ryan; and Haggoz and Kevin. The best part about following two couples was that since both these couples where in different places in their respective relationships, it made for an interesting story as we kind of got all the phases that a relationship goes through in one go.
 
Mikos and Ryan love each other more than ever but they also argue more than ever. Their story is basically about how navigating married life has been for them so far.
 
This time around we get more of the royal family. We get lots of interactions with Blake, who I have come to adore. His will is second to none. Also we get to see a whole lot more of Vannos, Anarr, Larz and Nicarr but I guess the best thing was that we got to see Blake interact with his children which is so sweet. I mean I loved the parental vibes he gives off and how well he knows all his kids and how much he loves them. Also we see more of Davos. I can probably read an entire book about Blake and Davos. But there was also a very inconspicuous absence of Blake and Davos’ fourth child Darrek, I mean this time around when we got introduced to all his other siblings, I would have thought we would get to see him too, but no there is nothing about him in this book, absolutely no mention whatsoever. Also more Mikol!
 
This time around we get a bit more on the shifting aspects of Tygerians. Well we actually get to see Haggoz in his tiger form and personally I loved the scene. But I wish we could get more of tiger Mikos, now that I would love to see.
 
Kevin and Haggoz’s story line was something extremely beautiful. I mean here are two people who love each other a lot but find themselves on opposite sides of the law. Haggoz had a horrible childhood and Kevin is his one and only shot at happiness because Kevin is his happiness. But Haggoz also has a duty to his king to keep his nobyo, Kevin as a prisoner but try as he might to hate Kevin for his actions he realises that his love for Kevin is boundless. In fact during the entire story I was positive that any hurt Haggoz had ever inflicted on Kevin actually hurt him more and hurting Kevin was actually his way of hurting himself.
 
Kevin might have reasons for his wrong doings but he doesn’t think that Haggoz will understand. But loving Haggoz is something that has become synonymous with living life for Kevin.
 
These two tortured souls who want nothing but to be together must walk a difficult and treacherous path to be together. But since their hearts are already one it won’t take long for their minds to realize how foolish their forced separation is.
 
I loved the story and how it is written the POVs alternating between the two couples, on one side there was the playfulness of Ryan and Mikos and on the other was the heartache of Kevin and Haggoz and they balanced each other perfectly. The plot was the best because seeing the Ryan and Kevin work together to get back their mates was really well done. Also it was nice to see the humans work together to rescue their more powerful Tygerian mates.
 
My only irritation with the book was that the meeting scene between Haggoz and Kevin was repeated i.e. we got that same scene from Haggoz’s as well as Kevin’s perspective but reading it again was kind of a dredge. Also the party at the end of which Mikos gets shot in the previous book was rehashed this time from Ryan’s POV, these repetitions got kind of boring. Actually as such it wasn’t the repetition of the scene that was so boring it was the fact that I was anticipating that I would have to read the events that I already knew about again that was trying.
 
Otherwise this book was a great follow up to its predecessor and I loved the epilogue, finally Mikos learns how to deal with his husband. I hope we can get more Mikos and Ryan.
 
Cover Art by E Connors. The cover is a little weird what with that huge scarf but it is actually a depiction of Kevin from a scene in the book but it makes no sense whatsoever if you haven’t read the book.
Sales Links:  Amazon  | ARe
Book Details:
ebook
Published April 5th 2016 by Dark Hollows Press LLC
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series Mate of the Tyger Prince