Crow by A. Zavarelli
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Good Lord. I didn’t anticipate enjoying this story as much as I did. I’d classify this book as grade A, sink-your-teeth-into, delicious mobster lobster awesomeness! Deception, gunfights, strippers, tequila shots and hot Irishmen. What more could you ask for? Also- kuddos to the author for having the best music references that enhanced certain scenes. The “Burning Desire” song by Lana Del Ray was a brilliant music choice by Mackenzie.
Sway by Adriana Locke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well shucks. This book had all the ingredients to a fantastic book but the execution was off.
The ingredients-
*Sexy, successful politician with a heart of gold.
*Cute, honest single mom down on her luck.
*Adorable 10-year-old boy.
*Great supporting cast including some handsome brothers of the politician that could carry the series forward.
Unfortunately all the ingredients just didn’t come together in the right way.
Example- Barrett is the town mayor and is the eldest son of a very prominent family. The first turn off was his public promiscuity. I think the author wanted to emphasize how desirable Barrett was by mentioning his prolific former conquests. For me it didn’t jive with his character. People in the public eye usually have to be discreet with their dalliances. Especially since several of them run in the same social circles and he sees them at different business meetings. He also showed weakness and was naive when it came to who allowed in his inner circle. Barrett also buckled to his parents’ (mostly his father’s) business suggestions. Ummmm, he supposed to be a very successful and intelligent man. Why is he so subservient to his father’s demands?!? No bueno!
Spoiler alert-
I don’t want to ruin it for those of you who still intend to read the book so READ NO FURTHER because I have a spoiler coming up! There is a certain sex scene between Barrett and Alison that involves grapes. Let me be very clear that experimenting in different positions and with different toys can be fun (super duper fun in fact!) BUT I think it’s something that should be discussed amongst the consenting adults prior to them being used. I found it rather odd that Barrett just started popping the grapes in Alison’s vagina without a second thought. That scene just didn’t do it for me. In my OCD mind I was thinking ‘God I hope he counted those grapes to make sure all of them came out afterwards’. Otherwise being a poor single parent will be the least of her problems! She’ll start leaking some sort of weird vagina wine in a few weeks.
Mister Moneybags by Vi Keeland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
If you would have asked me 50% of the way through this book I would have said “meh”. Bianca’s character was over-the-top judgy and unfair. “I do sometimes carry some preconceived notions about people of power, though.” BIGGEST UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR. Bianca opened her mouth and let ‘er rip! Spewing her horrible stereotypes about wealthy men wherever and to whomever she wished. Yuck.
The second half of the book however was FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC! Wow! Loved the direction the author took with the story. I don’t want to spoil the story for anyone so I’m afraid to go into more detail. Rest assured Dex is definitely book boyfriend material.
Burn by Suzanne Wright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was hard for me to rate. While I’m a huge paranormal romance fan in general I usually stay away from demon and/or angel books. What convinced me to give this book a chance was its overwhelming amount of positive reviews and high rating.
What does this book have going for it? Tons of mystery and intrigue. First you’re trying to figure out what type of demon Knox is. You’re also eyeballing all the evil doers trying to pin down whenever is hell bent on hurting Harper. There’s also smaller mysteries like why Harper doesn’t have wings and what really happened when she was a baby. All interesting stuff building in the story and characters. Plus- one of the characters has the ability to please a woman with “psychic fingers”. Trust me, it sounds weird but in the book it’s HOT. Ooh la la… definitely a “pro” for this story!
What I didn’t like was the sheer volume of demon species and their skills. It was difficult to follow along- especially when it seemed like even the same type of demons had different traits. Perhaps this was more of a personal frustration since the demon genre of paranormal books isn’t something I typically dip into. Still- be warned you have to be a very active reader while enjoying this story. No glass of wine for you!
The Finn Factor by Rachel Bailey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Cute story. I’d file this under “nerdy chic”. Similar brainy yet hunky vibe that I got from “Flat Out Love”. (Awesome book! Check it out if you haven’t already read it!)
Distraction by Emily Snow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Fun, flirty story. Nothing earth shattering or overly life altering. Solid summer book.
Play It Safe by Kristen Ashley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Color me surprised. I expected this to be another solid 5 star Kristin Ashley book but for me it just didn’t have the usual sparkle. The biggest complaint I had was the double standard for Gray and Ivey’s 7 year separation and sexual history. Even prior to their first meeting Gray was quite the “Tom cat”. (I threw in that phrase because my grandpa used it and I think it’s very fitting to describe Gray’s character.) When he and Ivey started dating Cecily (evil reincarnated) threw his history in Ivey’s face. At that point I think Gray should have addressed his past especially since they lived in a small town and I’m sure atheist would run into his former lovers on a frequent basis. Instead Gray allows Ivey to get in a verbal tussle with Cecily and they never have that talk. Secondly and most egregiously is Gray’s reaction to Ivey’s celibacy during they 7 year separation. He’s delighted by it and cherishes that he’s her only lover. Not once does he share his sexual history which IMO was sexist and unsafe… especially considering condoms and protection aren’t mentioned at all in the book. He doesn’t have to glorify his past or share all the details but he should have given basic info to Ivey. Instead Cecily is able to throw that info in her face when they run into each other in a very public place. Lastly, Gray seemed offended that Ivey assumed that he had moved on with a new relationship when she sees him hugging his cousin … yet we learn his did move on to quite a few different partners on Ivey’s absence. Why the reaction Gray???
Once and Always by Judith McNaught
FACT- This is not a book I would normal read however during a recent Q&A with my favorite author Kristin Ashley she mentioned her favorite romance couple of all time was from this series. (Almost Heaven, Sequels #3 to be exact). That’s mighty high praise in my book! Therefore I decided to check out this series starting with this one.
Now fellas, please understand that I really, truly tried to immerse myself in this story. I kept saying to myself “If Kristin Ashley recommends it…it’s gotta be awesome.” Unfortunately I never connected with the characters or setting.
Therefore I’m forced to file this one away in the DNF pile.
Drink of Me by Jacquelyn Frank
CAUTION- WARNING-
It appears that I’m once again on a DNF kick. This book started our intriguing. I was committed to the characters and discovering more about their society and the politics surrounding them.
Reule is the Prime leader of his Sange race. He came into power young when his parents were murdered. Reule has a Pack of brothers who serve with him to protect their people. During a mission to rescue one of their packmates Reule discovers Mystique. Truth be told- the young woman doesn’t remember her name so Reule picked the name Mystique for her. She’s tiny and gorgeous with unique deep red hair and diamond colored eyes.
When she’s discovered, Mystique is suffering from memory loss and isn’t able to remember who she is, where she came from or how to get home. Thus, Reule takes her to his keep and allows her to recover. During her recovery both she and Reule discover their strong attraction for each other. This leaves both the Pack and his Sange people forced to adjust with having a non-Sange as their Prima.
This story and set up has sooooo much potential! Especially considering Mystique bumps into Reule’s former conquests in court. Sadly, as the story progressed it was just too obvious what was going to transpire and I found myself setting down the book and cleaning. Yes, I repeat- I actually chose cleaning the house over reading this book several times.
Alas, I’m 86% complete and can’t find the energy to finish the book.
Cross the Line by Julie Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am thoroughly enjoying this series! At this point I’m convinced Lila is my spirit animals. Here’s few quotes that I’m half convinced came straight from my brain.
“I’ve had hundreds of boyfriends. So what if they’re fictional? Don’t you dare judge our love.”
“Enough with the sex positions. Why can’t magazines publish an article about reading positions that don’t get uncomfortable after five minutes?”
“There’s a time and a place for stiletto heels. Always and on my feet.”
Nathaniel Knox was a character that really intrigued me in the previous book. I couldn’t be more delighted to spend more time exploring his character in this installment.
My only complaint is that some of the comments made by the characters were unrealistic… considering they were being said by billionaires. I’m not near billionaire status but I do live quite comfortably and even I raised my eyebrows at some of the dialog. For example- in one scene (I tried looking for it and can’t find the exact passage. Sorry!) Basically someone was describing Lila’s future mentioning her husband taking out the garbage once and bragging about it for years even though Lila will be the one to maintain the house on a regular basis. That’s crazy talk. NEITHER of them will be cleaning their house. They’ll have staff for that.
Here’s another example-
“Sunshine, have you been working out?” Chase’s voice is amused. “Last I checked, you couldn’t even break open the paint cans to redecorate the living room.”
REALITY- Billionaires have interior decorators and would NOT be painting the penthouse of their high rise building themselves. I don’t care how “down to earth” the characters are. That just ain’t happening. Especially considering the penthouse ceilings are probably sky high and not accessible without scaffolding and other materials.