Showing posts with label Best of 2018. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Best of 2018. Show all posts

Review: Permission by T.M. Frazier

December 11, 2018

Permission is the conclusion of Grim and Emma Jean's story.

He was my first.
But since then I’ve been programmed to enjoy torture.
Being watched.
Being taken two at a time.
I feel nothing now. I’m empty. Hollow. Lost.
He knows it. He knows I need more.
So, he gives it to me.
My body has never felt such pleasure.
My heart has never endured such pain.

ARC Review: Mister Bodyguard by Lauren Rowe

November 28, 2018

Mister Bodyguard by Lauren Rowe
A bodyguard, a beauty, and a bet.

“I’m hiring you to do more than guard her, Zander,” my new boss explained. “You’re gonna be her rock. Her human Valium. Her trusted friend. And she’s gonna be your mission from God.”
“So I’m her babysitter?”
“Her babysitter, her bodyguard, her f*cking service doggie. Whatever she needs or wants, that’s what you’ll be. Anything except her booty call.” The vein in my new boss’s neck bulged. “Touch her and I’ll do more than fire your ass, Zander. I’ll rip off your balls.”

My buddies laughed when I told them about my ridiculous new job. They said, “Three months on a tour with a world famous beauty, glued to her hip, catering to her every whim? A hundred bucks says you’re gonna break down and bang her within the first month.”
But I said nope. No way. Never. “I’m a professional,” I said. “Plus, she’s not even my type. And I’m just getting over a broken heart. It’s never gonna happen.”
So I put my money where my mouth was, figuring I’d laugh all the way to the bank. I never thought I’d actually fall in love with the girl. Or that she’d become my reason for breathing.

The job, the bet, the girl. It was nothing but fun and games . . . until it became dead serious.

MISTER BODYGUARD is a standalone, friends to lovers contemporary romance in the MORGAN BROTHERS SERIES from USA Today Bestselling Author Lauren Rowe. The story of Zander Shaw—Keane Morgan's devoted best friend who is an honorary Morgan Brother—and the pop star who brings him to his knees.

ARC Review: Fatal Invasion by Marie Force

November 26, 2018

Fatal Invasion by Marie Force
First the fire, then the heat…

A brutal home invasion. Two small traumatized survivors who may have witnessed the horror. Lieutenant Sam Holland has never worked a case quite like this one, in which her eyewitnesses are five-year-old twins. But when Sam steps up in a big way for them, she risks her heart as much as her career.

While Sam and her husband, Vice President Nick Cappuano, go to battle in more ways than one for her tiny witnesses, her colleague Sergeant Tommy “Gonzo” Gonzales battles his own demons. Months of unbearable grief and despair come to a head in an unimaginable way that threatens Gonzo’s status with the department and his relationship with his fiancée, Christina.

With trouble both at the precinct and on the case, Sam struggles to keep her priorities straight at home and at work while trying not to lose her heart to her latest crime victims.

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Review

★★★★★


A brutal home invasion, a double homicide, and an arson. The only potential witnesses are two five year old twins who have been traumatized beyond imagination. Lieutenant Sam Holland has vowed to not only solve the case and find justice for the victims, but to ensure the safety of her young charges. With her very unique brand of police work and her bevy of equally entertaining support characters, this story turned out to be a thrilling whodunit!

I met so many wonderful people in this book and I'm more than a little annoyed that I haven't read any of the other books in this series. Nick and Samantha have the sort of marriage that every marriage should aspire to be. They're best friends, lovers and partners. Their love is felt in each and every scene, whether they share it or are apart. After getting to know them in this book, I can't wait to see how they fell in love.

I'm going to start this series from the very beginning. However, that isn't necessary in order to understand and follow along with this particular leg of their journey. It's one case and a glimpse into the lives of the people who help bring it to a close. This particular book will definitely tug at your heart strings and it will be so worth it!

ARC Review: Fuse by Angel Payne

November 25, 2018

Fuse by Angel Payne

The storm is here. Will it rip apart their fated fusion?
Now that Reece Richards and Emmalina Crist have exposed the Consortium to the globe, they’re bracing for the organization’s full reprisal, undoubtedly led by Faline Garand. The woman, infamously obsessed with Reece, can’t be happy about the lovers’ worldwide announcement.
But an engagement doesn’t mean instant plans of white lace and roses for Bolt and his lady, especially when a key member of Team Bolt goes rogue and destroys half of downtown LA. Taking down his former friend is a harrowing nightmare for Reece, worsened by a shocking discovery that takes its toll in sickening ripples…
Including Reece’s own psyche.
With her man lost in a fathomless darkness, Emma can no longer stand on the sidelines. Pushing past her fears, she takes the fight straight to Faline’s turf—but the risk is huge, and so are the consequences.
There’s no turning back. The storm has broken, and the landscape of Reece and Emma’s relationship will be forever transformed. Can they fuse once more, coming together in love to survive the blast?

ARC Review: VOW by Bethany-Kris

November 04, 2018

Vow by Bethany-Kris
They say it’s always the one you least expect …

Andino Marcello made his choices—the right ones for duty and famiglia. But even the right choices have consequences. He’s never been more aware of that fact than he is now. The thing is, Andino isn’t the same man he once was. The mafia wants what it wants. He’ll push until they all break. Even her.

They say love shouldn’t hurt …

Haven Murphy needs to move on—from her pain and the man who caused it. But the faster she tries to run, the more things stay the same. She never thought it would end like this for them. The thing is, Haven isn’t the same woman she once was. The heart wants what it wants. She’ll fight until it all lets go. Even him.

How far will he go for love?
All the way to the very bitter end.
That’s his vow.

ARC Review: SYSTEMATIC SIEGE by N. Isabelle Blanco

October 31, 2018

Systematic Siege by N. Isabelle Blanco
Life separated us.
Destiny tied me to her.
Obsession drove me mad.
I knew they all hurt her. What I didn’t understand is how deep . . .

Seven years ago, they ripped her from me—my father. The friends I made at school. Jealousy drove all of those bastards into conspiring against us.

And they won.

I almost killed myself after losing her.

Now I live for only three things:

I will destroy everyone who hurt her.
I will find her.
I’ll become the biggest monster ever known to accomplish those things.

I’m at the head of my father’s empire now. A corporate king. I’m ready to finally put in place the plan I’ve been working on for years.

I’m ready to find my Lexi.

What I didn’t realize is that she had already found me.

Warning: this series is not for everyone. As the story progresses, dark themes are explored that might be a trigger for some. Please read at your own discretion. Definitely 18+.

ARC Review: TAKEN by Natasha Knight

October 24, 2018

Taken by Natasha Knight
I’m one of four Willow daughters.
He’s the first-born son of the Scafoni family. And we have history.

For generations, the Scafoni family have demanded a sacrifice of us. A virgin daughter to atone for sins so old, we don’t even remember what they are anymore.

But when you have as much money as they do, you don’t play by the rules. You make them.

And Sebastian Scafoni makes all the rules.

The moment I saw him, I knew he would choose me. Even though the mark on my sheath declared me unclean. Even though my beautiful sisters stood beside me, offered to him, he still chose me.

He made me his.
And then he set out to break me.

Note: Taken is book one of the Dark Legacy Duet.

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ARC Review: LISTEN, PITCH by Lani Lynn Vale

October 16, 2018

Rhys Rivera is the star short-stop for the Longview Lumberjacks. Many know him, even more love him. He has a pretty face, a quick smile, and an air of danger about him that everyone seems to adore.

He’s not known as the bad boy of baseball for nothing.

It all started with his father, who decided to be a criminal mob boss, then die.

Fortunately for his uncle, Rhys wants absolutely nothing to do with the family business and runs before anyone can figure out which way is up.

By the time his uncle, the successor to his father’s criminal empire, thinks to look for him, Rhys has made too big of a name for himself to be taken out quietly, and he wants to keep it that way.

Fast forward eight years, and Rhys is living life one breath at a time, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. That shoe coming in the form of a nosy neighbor who has no idea just how hot she is in her mail carrier uniform.

Her sweet little body and positive outlook on life make him want to laugh at how naïve she is when it comes to the way of the world.

The harder he tries to stay away, the weaker he seems to get, until one day he decides to put his morals on hold long enough to satisfy his cravings.

One time is all he needs—or so he tells himself.

But then two pink lines change everything, and suddenly, he doesn’t have just himself to worry about anymore.

Goodreads | Amazon


ARC Review: THE GATHERING by L.A. Fiore

October 12, 2018

The Gathering by LA Fiore
Words like unnatural and impure started the whispers.

From the very beginning, Ivy Blackwood was different. She was only a child when she was accused of setting the fire, one she passively watched engulf the small house she had called home. Her fingertips burned and her hair singed. Some who watched her crossed themselves, convinced she was soulless for she showed no emotion at all. Calm and dispassionate, even when the screaming started that quickly turned to bellows of agony before dying into nothing but the roaring of the fire.

She was locked away where she couldn’t bring harm to herself or others. To all involved, they had protected the world from a monster, but sometimes things are not what they seem.

Goodreads | Amazon


ARC Review: DUTY by Bethany-Kris

October 07, 2018

Duty by Bethany-Kris
They say heavy is the head that wears the crown …

Andino Marcello’s world is turned upside down when he becomes the next heir apparent to the Marcello empire. He was comfortable in his place as a Capo, but comfort is for the weak in the world of mafioso. The boss’s seat is waiting. It takes meeting a tattooed beauty who has no idea who Andino is or the criminal legacy he now carries beneath his three-piece suits, and charming smile for him to finally bend the rules set out for him. That doesn’t mean he can keep her.

They say things that never challenge you won’t change you …

Haven Murphy is doing her own thing, and she does it well. The owner of a successful Brooklyn strip club, she makes it her only goal to never fail. She’s just trying to live her life when a morning jog puts her face to face with a man that will change the direction of her life with a single conversation. She knows there’s a dark side to him beyond his good looks, and three-piece suits, but it’s hard for her to care when she wants him. That doesn’t mean he can be hers.

He’s going to break her heart; she’s going to keep his.

Because duty waits on no one.

Goodreads | Amazon


ARC Review: HIDDEN by Rebecca Zanetti

September 25, 2018

Hidden by Rebecca Zanetti
Hide. That’s all Pippa can do to escape the terror chasing her. But now that she’s off the grid in a safe house, she finds plenty of interesting things to watch through the window. Like her new neighbor, with his startling green eyes, killer smile, and sexy bad-boy tattoo . . .

Run. Malcolm West is fleeing the hell he unleashed in his last assignment as an undercover cop. A backwoods bungalow sounds like the perfect place to start over. Until he discovers he’s been set up . . .

Fight. Someone’s gone to a lot of trouble to bring them together. No matter how much he resents that, and his own driving needs, Malcolm will have to dig deep and let loose the banished killer inside himself, or Pippa’s fears could come true faster than the flip of a bolt in a lock . . .


ARC Review: PERVERSION by T.M. Frazier

September 20, 2018

Perversion by TM Frazier
USA Today bestselling author of the King Series, T.M. Frazier, brings you an all-new trilogy with a sexy anti-hero you're going to love to hate, and a ballsy heroine with more up her sleeve than just tricks.

Love is supposed to be a fairy tale.
Ours is a death wish.

I'm the executioner for the Bedlam Brotherhood.
She's a con artist working for my greatest enemy.

I use her.
She manipulates me.

We find ourselves on opposite sides of a bloody war.

My heart and head tell me I have to stay away.
My lust for her doesn't give a sh*t.

Nothings fair in love and gang war.

Goodreads | Amazon


ARC Review: LOVE LIKE OURS by Melissa Foster

September 11, 2018

Love Like Ours by Melissa Foster
One wrong move, and she meets a guy with all the right ones…

Talia Dalton lives her life on cruise control. Despite her successful career as a professor, she prefers protecting her broken heart to taking chances. She’s calm, cool, collected, and steady. Until the morning she takes her eyes off that familiar road and almost runs over the sexiest man she’s ever seen. It may not be the best way to start the day, but it might be the type of shake-up she needs.

Male dancer Derek Grant has goals, and nothing is going to get in the way of achieving them. As a graduate student and the sole caretaker of his ailing father, he hasn’t much time for relationships. Then Talia crashes into his life. Sweet, pretty—and so buttoned-up that he can’t wait to help her cut loose.

For Derek, falling in love was a beautiful accident waiting to happen. And it might be exactly what Talia needs—if she’s willing to let go of the past and embrace every surprise Derek has to offer.

Goodreads | Amazon

ARC Review: BLOOD DRENCHED CONQUEST by N. Isabelle Blanco

Blood Drenched Conquest by N. Isabelle Blanco
Soleria

When a human male breaks your heart, it can feel like your life is ending.
When an immortal god does it . . . well, I learned the hard way that can lead to actual death.
The last few years I’ve been isolated except for my two best friends Ismini and Evesse.
Until they both went missing.
Until I started searching for them and connected with the last thing I expected.
A pair of white eyes.
He ruined me. All because I was stupid enough to give in.
Too weak to fight him.
His scent.
His taste.
Everything about that god possessed me. I knew he’d be the end of me. I knew it.
I couldn’t stay away regardless . . .
And he drove me to suicide.
Now I’m back.
I’m different.
A monster I cannot recognize.
A monster thirsting for blood . . .

ARC Review: MESS ME UP by Lani Lynn Vale

September 06, 2018

Mess Me Up by Lani Lynn Vale
When Rome Pierce moved to Bear Bottom, Texas, it was his intention to lay low. To not be seen. To find a way to heal his body and soul—as well as his son’s.

Nobody would know by looking at him that he used to play professional football. Not with the Bear Bottom MC cut covering his back, and definitely not with his friendly smile completely obliterated.

No longer is there charm in each smooth word that comes out of his mouth. What’s left is an angry, bitter, scared man that’s terrified one day he’s going to wake up and his entire world is going to be gone.

Nobody knows what drove him to leave the game he loved—nobody but her.

She’s the one person that has helped him make it through the dark days and even darker nights. She’s the bright and shining star in his pitch-black sky.

And he doesn’t even know her name.

He should be afraid that she knows things that not anyone—not even his best friend—knows.

Yet, with each encounter, he gives what little bit of his soul remains, and before he knows it only two people on this earth—one dying, and one too afraid to live—make his life worth living.

Until one day he has to choose—the love of his life, or the life he brought into this world.

Two impossible situations. One decision that would change him forever.

Goodreads | Amazon

ARC Review: PULSE by Angel Payne

September 01, 2018


While Reece Richards and Emmalina Crist play out their romance in the global public eye as superhero Bolt and his beautiful ladylove, they keep their biggest secret to themselves. Even if the lunatics of the Consortium have gone underground along with their leader, the cold-blooded Faline, Reece and Emma know the criminals could resurface at any time and threaten everything about the new life they’re building together.

But secrets take on new meanings when a night of glamour and celebration exposes old wounds—and new dangers. When Reece uncovers evidence that there may be a connection between his family and the Consortium’s insane experiments, his quest for answers leads him, Emma, and the rest of Team Bolt to Paris.

In the City of Light, truths are exposed and a trap is set, leading to a clash in the city’s caverns that permanently alters everything for Reece and Emma—and reveals that no superpower on earth is more potent than the pulse of their true love.

Goodreads | Amazon


ARC Review: RIDING THE EDGE by Janine Infante Bosco

August 23, 2018

Riding the Edge by Janine Infante Bosco
Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, something extraordinary comes along that knocks you on your ass...

“Wolf”
I’m a simple man with simple values. You either love me or you hate me, but the ones who need me, always got me. I’m the self-proclaimed Wolf of the Satan’s Knights MC, the beast who will fight his way out of any dark alley to defend your honor. The brother you call upon when you’ve lost your faith in humanity.
However, secrets and lies are the cancer of a man’s soul. Exposed, they will eat away all that is good and leave nothing but destruction in their wake. They’ll prove the best intentions sometimes fail and leave you questioning your life’s choices.
Now, searching for a purpose, I find myself facing the ride of my existence with a woman just as jaded as me. As she fights the biggest battle of her life, I want to be the man who stands by her side. The man who ain’t afraid to ride the edge of misery because he knows there is something beautiful on the other side…

“Maria”
I’ve prevailed against the mob, a deadbeat ex-husband and the woes of being a single mother. While someone else may have wished for a different life, I believe I’m stronger for everything I’ve endured. I’m someone who speaks her mind and fights for what is right. A woman who will smack you upside the head with a frying pan and ask questions later.
Terrified of love, I’m an otherwise fearless woman.
Until a doctor solemnly diagnoses me and my strength falters.
Now as fear engulfs me, an unexpected man dressed in leather, holds out his hand.
As a woman who never needed anyone, I suddenly need him.
His assurance.
His strength.
His love

***NOTE: Contains explicit sexual situations, violence, offensive language, and mature topics. Not recommended for people under the age of 18***

ARC Review: OVER THE EDGE by CD Reiss

August 17, 2018

Over the Edge by CD Reiss
What kind of man would die to save his wife?

The only thing that ever stood between me and madness was my wife.

And now, she's in trouble. She's falling into the hole that almost ended me. The only thing standing between her and the fate I escaped is me.

But I have no expertise in this. No knowledge but what she taught me. I'm flying blind here....and every moment that passes brings me closer to losing her.

She says I'm crossing the line, but she can draw a million lines around her and I'll cross every single one to get to her, even if it destroys me.

Goodreads | Amazon


ARC Review: DARKEST HEART by Juliette Cross

August 14, 2018

Wrong side of heaven...right side of redemption.

Anya—a stoic, blue-winged angelic warrior— was bitten by a demon prince in battle, and now she has precious little time to find a cure for his deadly venom. But the only archangel with the power to stop the dark poison from corrupting her body and soul is missing. She’ll have to trust her guide, the outcast high demon Dommiel, who is as handsome as he is dangerous if she has any hope.

An outcast of his own kind, high demon Dommiel stays under cover while the war between angels and demons rages on. But when the only person who ever showed him kindness asks for his help, he has no choice but to try to save the angel. Venturing back into the dens he has avoided for so long, Anya makes him want and feel things he never thought possible.

But Dommiel knows there is no way an angel can ever love a demon…

Goodreads | Amazon

ARC Review: DISHONORED by Bethany-Kris

August 10, 2018

Dishonored by Bethany-Kris
Sex is his weapon.
Power is her drug.

Caesar Accardo is gasoline. Mostly harmless while stable, but Aria holds the match to set the dishonored Cosa Nostra prince on fire in more ways than one. And if he burns down everything in his path because of it—so be it.

The problem is … she just wasn’t prepared for all of him.

Aria De Rose is a hurricane. Amazing from afar, but destructive up close. Caesar keeps getting pulled into the Camorra queen’s plans in her effort to gain power, but he’s a better player than she knows.

The thing is … women like her are the reason why rules are meant to be broken.

Philadelphia isn’t ready for game these two are playing—the sacrifices they make might not be worth it in the end, and someone will always lose in a war.

They’re broken, so very vicious, and they are not the good guys. But for every villain in the world, there’s a monster at his back who made him that way.

And monsters like those hide in plain sight.

Note: This is a standalone romance with content that some might find triggering. Be warned, and read with caution.

Goodreads | Amazon