Tag: Contemporary Romance (Page 55 of 94)

BOOK REVIEW: Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James

December 2, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Behind closed doors, they're laying down the law.

When it comes to the laws of attraction...

Payton Kendall and J.D. Jameson are lawyers who know the meaning of objection. A feminist to the bone, Payton has fought hard to succeed in a profession dominated by men. Born wealthy, privileged, and cocky, J.D. has fought hard to ignore her. Face-to-face, they're perfectly civil. They have to be. For eight years they have kept a safe distance and tolerated each other as coworkers for one reason: to make partner at the firm.

There are no rules...

But all bets are off when they're asked to join forces on a major case. Though apprehensive at first, they begin to appreciate each other's dedication to the law—and the sparks between them quickly turn into attraction. But the increasingly hot connection does not last long when they discover that only one of them will be named partner. Now it's an all-out war. And the battle between the sexes is bound to make these lawyers hot under the collar.

“What I wanted to tell you,” he began deliberately, “was that you were wrong.”
Now there was a friggin’ surprise. Payton glared.
J.D. continued, more calm now, his voice steadier. “I mean, about what you told Tyler.”
His eyes met hers and held them.
“I would’ve done it for you in a heartbeat.”

Ahhhh sooooooo I LOOOVEEEDDDD THISSSSSSSS. I know I can say this for almost every book I read-shut up-but, when your iPad glows like a nightlight, you know your highlighting has reached an insane level. And it’s true-not one page-not one page-went by without me highlighting it and smiling as big as the Cheshire cat. It’s not by any stretch of the imagination that I thought I’d hate this-on the contrary, I figured I’d like it. But, in no way did I imagine I’d fall head over heels for this book and these two characters. In fact, I’d even go so far as to say they have taken a permanent residence in my heart.

Payton’s eyes quickly scanned her front room and kitchen, making sure they were presentable. Not that it mattered, because (a) it was The Shithead and (b) he wasn’t staying. Her apartment was her sanctuary, which meant 100 percent J.D.-free.

It’s no secret this is, on top of the summer months when work is in full swing, the busiest time of the year for me. The office is hurrying to finish the closing out of the year, holidays are among us, and, to top it all off, this year we are moving to an interim location while our new building is being built. Oh, and did I mention that happens in two days? Yeah, so, this review, I’m sure, is going to be cut short because I’m supposed to be packing. Whoops. But, the fact of the matter is, this book was way too perfect to let slide between my fingers. I REFUSE to not write a review for this one. Whether this is the second to last paragraph or not, I will finish this and post some of the AMAZING quotes I fell for in this one.

“Mr. Jameson. Whatever this is, I don’t have time for it. If you have questions about Payton’s attire this morning, I suggest you take a stroll on over to the courthouse and check it out for yourself. She’s in Judge Gendelman’s courtroom.”
J.D. nodded. Yes, yes fine, thank you. Nice attitude, by the way. Like boss, like secretary.

The source of most of the said quotes is none other than the impressive J.D.. Cocky, arrogant, gorgeous, infuriating, prestigious…..kind? J.D. and Payton have been at each other’s throats for eight years….eight years. They don’t even remember how it all started. Vying for a partnership at the firm where they are lawyers, both of them have put in countless hours to show their worth. Being the main two for this year’s Partnership choices, they believe they both have it in the bag-I mean, it’s the smallest pool they have to choose from to date, and they have both earned it.

J.D. heard the beep, signaling the end of the message, and he hung up the phone. He thought about what Payton had said-not so much her apology, which was questionably mediocre at best-but something else.
She thought about him while lying in bed.
Interesting.

Getting put together for the Gibson case, they are a little weary and a lot unhappy…but they are professionals and excellent at their job-they aren’t going to let something as small as working together hold them back from being professional and doing the job they’ve been asked to do. Besides, they only have a few weeks before the announcement for partners and things are beginning to look up….until their boss drops the bomb that this year things will be different. This year, they need older partners to balance everything out…meaning it’s Payton or J.D.. And there’s no longer the certainty for both of them anymore. Oh boy.

If anything, it was a good thing Payton was giving him the silent treatment. Ha-if that’s all it took, he should’ve been a rude bastard years ago. Maybe now he’d finally have some peace at work. No more pissed-off hair flips, no more covert you’re-such-a-wanker-J.D. glares, no more secret arguments in back hallways over feminist and right-wing agendas.
These were the things J.D. certainly would not miss.
Not at all.

What ensues is nothing less than they’ve dealt with for years-forget the sweet things he said about her at their pitch dinner with the clients. Forget the sincere tone of her voice when she boasted how J.D. was an amazing lawyer. Forget ALL of it. This is war…and only one person can come out the victor.

Having finished her assessment, Payton supposed that, if pressed, in that upper-crusty, Ralph Lauren-y, sweater-thrown-over the shoulders, have-you-met-my-polo-pony kind of way, J.D. was pretty damn good-looking.

I will admit that I was shocked at the level of love I had for this book. It was everything I didn’t expect and everything I could ever ask for. I fell hard for these two and their hateful (yet, let’s admit it, heated) banter and scorching looks. I fell for their rivalry, for their tentative friendship, the realization that one or both of them have used hate as a cover for how they have always felt for one another. And, most importantly, I fell for the unfairness of it all, the way they got screwed and how after all their hard work, it well and truly became a war between them because of the position they are put in.

J.D. glanced down at her hand, then up to meet her gaze. “What is it you really want to know, Payton?”
She asked him the question she had been asking herself for the past few days. “Why are you being so nice to me now?”
J.D. leaned forward in his chair. He gazed directly into her eyes, and Payton suddenly found herself wondering why it had taken him eight years to look at her that way.
“Because you’re letting me,” he said softly.

But when they begin to fall for one another (or, again, realize that they’ve always had fire for each other), the story took a turn where I could hardly breathe. The butterflies were a hazard to my health and the giddiness of it all almost choked me. It was a deadly combination and I am not likely to forget this one soon. I think the best books are the ones that are unexpected, and if someone had told me that this author was the mirror image of Lauren Layne, I’d have jumped on board long ago (shut up, Anna, I know). So, with this new discovery, I am smiling and so excited for the possibilities that have opened up by finding this author. Thank God for all my lovely friends….I applaud you for making this perilista very happy in the busiest season of the year. Thank you 🙂 .

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REVIEW + EXCERPT + GIVEAWAY-Steal Me (New York’s Finest #2) by Lauren Layne

December 1, 2015 / Chelsea / 4 Comments

I am always so happy to spread the Lauren Layne joy, no matter which characters I am focusing on. Below you can take a look at my 5 star review and check out an excerpt, a teaser, and enter to win some goodies in a Rafflecopter Giveaway! I hope you'll enjoy reading Anthony and Maggie's story-it's not one to miss! 🙂

REVIEW + EXCERPT + GIVEAWAY-Steal Me (New York’s Finest #2) by Lauren Layne

Steal Me (New York's Finest #2)
by Lauren Layne
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
IN HOT PURSUIT

Being a cop might be in Anthony Moretti's blood, but protecting and serving the city of New York has always been more than just the family business. If that means his love life stays locked up, well then that's just another sacrifice made in the line of duty. That is, until he sets eyes on the gorgeous new waitress at The Darby Diner and suddenly Anthony's morning coffee is leaving him a whole lot more hot and bothered than usual.

Though waitressing at The Darby isn't exactly Maggie Walker's dream job, it pays the bills and gives her time to work on her novel. Now if only she could stop fantasizing about gorgeous Anthony Moretti every time he sits down at her table, she'd really be in great shape. But when he needs her help identifying a criminal threatening The Darby—and Maggie recognizes her ex-husband—she fears her fresh start might be a pipe dream. Faster than a New York minute, Maggie and Anthony find themselves in one perilous pursuit that only gets hotter with each and every rule-breaking kiss.

Review:

“Maggie,” he whispered, just as her eyes started to close.
“Hmm?”
He was silent for a long moment. Then, “Nothing. Go to sleep.”
So she did. But in her dreams, he finished that sentence with something else entirely.

I am so so SO happy to announce that Mizz Lane has outdone herself…AGAIN. I can’t make this stuff up, folks. It’s not possible. Contemporary is hardly worth reading most of the time, in my opinion, so it’s not even like I feel as if I should be forcing a smile and a good rating because I’m trying to stay true to myself. No, I simply read Lauren Layne…and it makes me the happiest person in the world-No matter how terrible I’m feeling. Which, frankly, has been a frequent state of mind lately-Helplessness. So, suffice to say, anything that makes me smile and laugh and swoon is a stellar piece of work-REALLY.

“You did something. I know you did something.”
Anthony gritted his teeth and let out a small grunt as he pushed through another bench press. Eight.
“You either showed her your wang, or didn’t show her your wang. And whichever choice you made was obviously the wrong one.”
He blocked out the voice of his grandmother and pushed through another. Nine.

I always hesitate to pick up my Layne ARCs….because, ya know, like my fellow blog-mate said-It’s as if we keep waiting for that first LL 3 star and we dread the day it comes. Will that day ever come? I’m starting to think it never will…Though, it’s a terrifying thing to think about. But then we always pick them up and have the best time reading them. No matter where we are or, as stated above, what mood we’re in, her works seem to lift us to another place. Or, at least, that’s how I feel. I can be the most depressed person in the world, and then I’ll pick up my favorite author’s latest and greatest hit, and all of a sudden I’m just so happy out of nowhere. It’s such a wonderful feeling. Cut the crap. Drop the gushing. These are just facts: It takes someone truly spectacular to control your mood like that. It’s the purest form of mind manipulation, but you don’t feel that way at all. It’s the best kind of mind control, and after you come out of the trance, you can’t help but feel as if you didn’t get enough. It’s crazy-it’s almost like you feel as if you’ve lost a big group of friends after putting her books down. It’s an ache that can’t be filled. Well, at least until I get my hands on another book of hers.

“Big biceps won’t help you with that girl. Do they have exercises for personality? You should do those.”
“Bench presses aren’t for biceps, Nonna. They’re shoulders. Pecs.” This from Luca, who was sprawled on the couch with a beer.
“Pecs, huh?” Maybe I should give the weights a shot. Then again my push-up bras do the trick just fine.”
Ten. Anth scooted down on the bench, grabbing a towel from the ground as he glared at his grandmother. “We talked about this. No reference to your lingerie. Ever.”
“He’s right,” Luc added, glancing over at them. “We did talk about it.”

In case you’ve felt foreign feelings while reading an LL novel, I’ve compiled a list of symptoms that contribute to the Lauren Layne fever. They are as follows:

-Loss of breath
-Excessive lip biting
-Lack of drive to do literally anything else besides read her current novel
-Contentedness
-Grouchiness when bothered
-EXPLOSIVE butterflies
-So many feels they hurt

Have you encountered any of these symptoms? Tsk. *Shakes head and sighs* You’ve got it bad, bro. But believe me-You are not alone!! Don’t feel the need to seek help-we here at Star-Crossed Book Blog are all too familiar with these symptoms (and phantom pains when one of her books isn’t available yet) and we are here to help you!! There, there. It will be okay-come gush with us, we can’t get enough of it. 😛

Captain Moretti transferred his annoyed gaze back to Maggie, but she held up a weary hand. “Save it. Or add it to my list of sins. I don’t really care. I’m going home. If either or both of you want to walk me to the subway station out of some macho display of chivalry, go for it, but under no circumstance do I want to chat. Got it?”
She walked away then, ignoring the rain, ignoring the hurt, and definitely ignoring the men behind her.
But she couldn’t help but glance over her shoulder, just once before heading down the stairs to the train platform, and somehow she wasn’t at all surprised to see that Captain Anthony Moretti had followed her, hands shoved in his coat pockets as he watched her from several feet away.
And despite her bad mood, Maggie might have smiled. Just a little bit.

Now, I won’t lie, I didn’t really care to venture off from Luc and his story-no worries, he was a constant even though he wasn’t a main character-Or so I thought. What a fool I was. What a sad and deranged fool. Because Anthony?? Yeah. Wow. I did NOT see this asshole comin’. He literally-I swear-eeked his way into my heart. I picked this book up and I was all ‘Alright, let’s get this started so I can see me some more Luc’. Yeah-Luc, who? I’m just kidding…but really. I loved and adored Luc, he was absolutely perfect-really-but what Layne does best is make you care about who the story is centered around in spite of the fact that you really were thinking you were going to stick to your guns and only love your first guy. No, no. When she writes a story, she comes to play-You can love your other guy all you want, but at this time, in this story, Anthony is the man, and you will not want for anyone else, because this mofo is all you can handle. Seriously. I think your feels would implode if you tried to squeeze another guy in.

“You’re just going to lay here and let me read silently?” he asked. “You’ll be bored.”
Maggie tilted her head up and met his eyes. “It’s been years since someone’s held me. Trust me, I won’t be bored.”
His gaze softened before turning to the computer screen, where he began to read.

But here’s the thing! When the other characters intervene? You aren’t annoyed. You don’t sigh because it’s taking time from Anthony and Maggie. In fact, when Luc and Ava are there, it purely adds to the story-fully enhances it. So not only do you have a wonderfully well-rounded romance NOT bathed in sex scenes and cheesy dialogue, but a romance that embraces sexual tension and quirky humor between friends and family that never gets old. And the dialogue?? It makes you bust out laughing at the simplest roll of the eyes or the smallest deflection of Nonna-their outspoken grandmother who loves to push their buttons (and, ironically, push innuendos about sex towards her grandsons lol). There’s such a strong substance to her works, and I always annoy people with my gushing, I’m sure, but I’m sorry-it’s so rare to find an author who not only values a good romance, but the idea that a story doesn’t need to center around sex to make you feel fulfilled by the end of it. Oh, and to be clear? There’s sex. Oh yes. Don’t mistake that-it’s just not shoved down our throats every other chapter. Hmm. *taps chin* So refreshing. I swear she’s my author soul-mate.

“You’re…”
She looked at him through hazy eyes.”Hmm.”
“Everything,” he said quietly.

And a quick word about my dear Anthony-Sweet, gruff, authoritative, quiet but in control, and kind as a person can get, he will surprise you. He has his demons, which, you know, would make him a tortured male lead (*holds hands up* hey, I totally didn’t list that as a quality because I know I’ve SO overplayed it lately so shhh) and even more enticing than I even thought possible. But he has a lot of shit to work through, and it may aggravate you at times (I guess…I didn’t care in the least *shrugs*), but he is nothing but loyal and protective and fierce. He’d do anything to protect this sweet, yet feisty, aspiring author (love that!). Oh, and did I mention he gets totally jelly? Yeah…he totally does. :DDDDD

“Hey,” he said, touching a fingertip to her face. “Don’t do that. Those cops outside are there for your protection.”
“They’re there to catch Eddie as much as they are to protect me,” she pointed out.
“Yeah,” he said, looking troubled as his hand found the doorknob of her front door. “The problem is, I care a hell of a lot more about the second one than I should.”
Maggie opened her mouth, wanting to say…something.
But he was already gone.

Giggles. Hearty laughs. Smiles so large and so frequent they hurt my face. My stomach is STILL churning. Anthony, Luc, and their family are back at it again, bickering and meddling in each other’s lives for the most sincere help they think they can offer. It was all so sweet it gave me a toothache…but no one makes my teeth ache better than Layne. It’s the best kind of annoyance…and now I’ve got the fever AGAIN. I swear that pesky bug won’t go away.

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #) *Each book can be read as a standalone, but best enjoyed in order.*
Frisk Me #1 Reviews: Chelsea Jen	Steal Me #2 Reviews: Chelsea	Cuff Me #3 Reviews: Chelsea

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406498a1-4f65-4bbd-8d2f-7a046bac85f6 (1)

About Lauren Layne:

Lauren Layne is a USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. Prior to becoming an author, Lauren worked in e-commerce and web-marketing. In 2011, she and her husband moved from Seattle to New York City, where Lauren decided to pursue a full-time writing career. It took six months to get her first book deal (despite ardent assurances to her husband that it would only take three). Since then, Lauren’s gone on to publish ten books, including the bestselling Stiletto series, with several more on the way in 2015. Lauren currently lives in Chicago with her husband and spoiled Pomeranian. When not writing, you’ll find her at happy hour, running at a doggedly slow pace, or trying to straighten her naturally curly hair.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Excerpt:

[scroll-box]Maggie Walker had become their default waitress at the diner back when their old waitress Helen had retired a couple months ago. And while Anthony missed Helen and her too-strong floral perfume, he had to admit that Maggie was the better to look at.

She had a wholesome, girl-next-door look that appealed to him mightily. Brown hair that was always on the verge of slipping out of its ponytail, wide, compelling green eyes that made you want to unload all your darkest secrets.

Curvy. Hips that were exactly right;, breasts that were even better.

And then there was that smile. It managed to be both shy and friendly, which was handy because he was betting it was very hard for even the most impatient customers to get annoyed at her.

But Anth didn’t buy the doing-my-best routine, and seeing as she was dealing with an entire table of observant cops, he was betting the rest of his family wouldn’t buy it either.

Then Luc leaned forward and gave Maggie an easy grin. “Don’t even worry about it, Mags. Didn’t even notice I was running low!”

Luc’s girlfriend, Ava, smoothly reached up one hand and swatted him on the back of the head, the gesture so graceful, so practiced, that she never once sloshed her coffee. Anthony nearly smiled.

To say that Ava Sims was good for his little brother would be an understatement. The big brother in Anthony would be forever grateful that the gorgeous reporter had helped Luc vanquish his demons. But the big brother in Anth was also grateful that Ava helped keep his younger brother in line. Or at least tried to.

He rolled his eyes as Luc shot a guilty smile at his girlfriend, but even as he slid his mug towards the edge of the table so Maggie wouldn’t have to reach as far.

Then Anth watched in utter dismay as Vincent did the same.

Vincent. The guy who’d practically devoted his life to being perverse, was trying to make life easier for their inept waitress.

Un-fucking-believable.

Anthony was so busy trying to figure out what about the frazzled waitress turned his brothers into a bunch of softies that he didn’t think to move his own mug to be more convenient, and Maggie had to lean all the way in to top off his cup.

It was a feat that their old waitress could have handled readily, but Helen had retired months ago and for reasons that Luc didn’t understand, the rest of the Moretti family had embraced Maggie as Helen’s replacement.

Anthony didn’t realize that his mug had overflowed until scalding coffee dripped onto his thigh.

“Son of a—”

He caught himself before he could finish the expletive, grabbing a large handful of napkins from the silver dispenser and trying to soak up the puddle of coffee on his jeans before it burned his skin.

“Nice, Anth,” Elena said, tossing another bunch of napkins at him. Like this was his fault.

“Oh my God,” Maggie said, her voice horrified. “I’m so sorry, Officer…”

“It’s Captain,” he snapped, his eyes flicking up and meeting hers.

Silence descended over the table until Vincent muttered douchebag around a coughing fit.

But Anthony refused to feel chagrined. The woman had waited on the family every Sunday for weeks; one would think she could get his title right. To say nothing of mastering the art of pouring coffee.[/scroll-box]

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BOOK REVIEW: A Perfect Ten (Forbidden Men #5) by Linda Kage

November 30, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

A Perfect Ten (Forbidden Men #5)
by Linda Kage
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Let your hair down, Caroline, they said. It'll be fun, they said.

I know I've closed myself off in a major way over the past year, ever since “the incident” where I messed up my life completely. It's past time I try to live again or just give up altogether. But this is quite possibly the craziest thing I've ever done. In a last ditch effort to invigorate myself, I'm standing outside Oren Tenning's bedroom, I just peeled off the sexiest pair of underwear I own, and my hand is already raised to knock. My brother would disown me for doing anything with his best friend, and he'd probably kill Oren. But if I play my cards right, no one will ever know about this. Not even Ten.

Maybe after tonight, I’ll finally get over this stupid, irrational crush I hate having on the biggest jerk I’ve ever met. Or maybe I’ll just end up falling for him even harder. Maybe I’ll discover there’s so much more to my crude, carefree hunk than meets the eye.

That’s the curious thing about temptation. It festers and grows. You feed that bitch soon enough and she morphs into craving, and then craving turns into obsession. Pretty soon, nothing in your life is as important as that one thing you want but can’t have.

Well, it’s becoming increasingly clear that I am addicted to these boys in this wonderfully ‘forbidden ‘ series. Linda Kage may have never been on my radar before, but it is clear that she is now. Despite the cheesy dialogue (though, I’ll admit I’m seeing it less and less the farther into the series I go), the somewhat unrealistic situations, the certainty that everything is always going to blow up in everyone’s faces in the end….Linda Kage’s men make me do this:

Every. Single. Time.

It’s my own damn fault, really. I could’ve and should’ve turned her off of me for good by now. It’s just that every time I think I’ve finally done something that will make her hate me forever-something she’ll never forgive me for-the panic sets in. I can’t bear the thought of her hating me and never forgiving me. So then I have to go and do something to ensure her forgiveness.

It’s true that I wouldn’t normally touch these books with a ten-foot pole. But it’s clear that they are what I crave and what I am enjoying right now. And if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So, here I am reading book 5 without a single guilty bone in my body-even if this is my ultimate guilty pleasure, it seems.

I know what you’re thinking. Why didn’t I just cut ties with her then if I was so worried about Gamble? Well, why don’t you ask a smoker why they don’t just stop smoking, an alcoholic why they don’t just stop drinking, a book lover why they don’t just stop reading? And fuck you for thinking an addiction was even remotely easy to quit. I was addicted to this girl. I wasn’t anywhere near ready to give her up.
And thus started the true turmoil.

As it turns out, this was yet another favorite in the series, right up there along with Mason and Noel’s stories. But, unlike with those stories, it’s not a matter of lack of time to write a review so much as I’m too tired to write a decent one. And it’s not fair. Ten’s story was out of this world amazing. It can even be said it might be the best story of this series to date-it had tons of movie quotes and references (a fact I could not ignore, seeing as I adore movies almost as much as books) because Caroline is a film major, and Ten has been progressively maturing and showing how utterly loyal and charming he can be with each new book, especially his own. So yeah, this story was absolutely fantastic-I just am so tired and can’t see myself writing too much more….and that makes me sad.

As soon as she passed, I shifted out my arm that had been hanging down at my side and flexed the backs of my fingers so that they brushed across hers. I kept my attention on Gamble, making sure he saw none of this. Caroline responded by weaving her fingers through mine so they interlaced for the fraction of a moment before she pulled them away and was gone.
I stared after her, pulverized. She’d been right fucking there, and the only thing I’d gotten to do was barely brush my hand against hers?

One of the biggest appeals of this one was the couple in the spotlight: We’ve been watching Oren and Caroline flirt for a couple books now, so the build-up was one that didn’t let us down. And, even more than that, we have known all of these characters since book one and two-it’s to the point where every time a character from a past book jumps in, I squeal and squirm around in my seat in delight, welcoming the familiar banter and unavoidable butterflies that erupt once Noel or Mason enter the scene-

She looked up at Lowe as if she might start crying, or commit murder. I wasn’t sure which. “Sometimes he just…irritates the hell out of me.”
“I know, baby. I know.” Lowe [Mason] fed her another piece of chocolate and kissed her cheek. “He irritates the hell out of me, too.”

Yeah, I never said I wasn’t hopeless.

Oh, and did I mention the main love interests were very close to Noel? As in, Ten is Noel’s BEST friend….and Caroline is Noel’s SISTER? Yeah…

Good luck with that, guys, really. If you’ve read the previous books, you know that Noel is a tad…hmmm…
protective. And NO ONE will EVER be good enough for his little sister, especially his manwhoring best friend.

Something’s gotta give soon or I’ll explode…most likely inside her.
I just hope it doesn’t end up with me dead at the hands of my best friend.

But what happens when he is the one person that cares most and is best for her? Will Noel ever be able to see past everything Ten has done in the past? And will he realize that Caroline is so far in love with him that it doesn’t even matter?

Oren wouldn’t just out-of-the-blue decide to become monogamous to some stranger in the dark who refused to show him her face or tell him her name.
“I can’t text him, saying, ‘Your dick is now mine. Get it near any other woman, and I’ll physically remove it from you and keep it in a jar by my bedside.’ That would sound a bit creepy.”
“Actually, I was thinking it sounded a lot creepy.”

Caroline and Ten were special to me as a couple. We have had so much time to see them as friends and star-crossed wannabe lovers that now we are already invested in them as a couple-

Watching tears fill Caroline’s eyes right before she rushed from the kitchen and not being able to chase after her had to be one of the hardest things I’d ever fucking done-or not done, in this case. Or maybe restraining myself from knocking Noel’s teeth down his throat was the hardest. I couldn’t quite decide. But I’ll tell you one thing; standing there like a dumbass and doing nothing slaughtered me.

-and as such, we know they are meant to be together despite how hard it will be for them to be together. Ten is a loud-mouthed womanizing manwhore. But he is also the sweetest, most loyal friend ever-and if he could have the girl he wants, he would never look in another woman’s direction. And Caroline is everything Oren could ever want-snarky, conniving, dirty-minded, smart, and a beautiful blonde bombshell.

That still didn’t excuse her in my book. She’d traumatized my Oren. The bitch must die….in my head anyway. I pictured myself pushing her off the side of a bridge and listening to her scream all the way down until…oops, she wasn’t screaming anymore.

She evens out his hard edges and challenges him at every turn. She is the reason they get a chance, sneaking into his room pretending to be someone else. They drive each other crazy-but no two people belong together more than them.

Gamble’s woman opened the door.
“Ten,” she said in surprise. “Uh…Noel’s not here this evening. He’s working-“
“I know.” Rolling my eyes, I muttered, “I’m here for the kid. The littlest one.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Colton?”
“Yep. That one. He wants to play… ” I sighed heavily, “catch.”

So, you know, this one made me extremely happy. All of Kage’s books in this series always have a totally over-the-top climactic ending, but none were quite as amazing andperilous as this one. I will admit it’s wholly unbelievable and the resolution was as easy as they always tend to be…yet, who cares? It was everything I crave on top of a totally fun and sexy story with a man that I couldn’t help to fall for as the main lead, and I got to see a pissy Noel and a vulnerable, but bull-headed, Ten finally square off on the one of the most important girls in their lives. I must admit some of my favorite moments involved the strife between a livid and stubborn Noel and a-force-to-be-reckoned-with Ten…

Gamble contorted his face into an expression of supreme confusion. Then he glanced at his wife. “He didn’t hit on you, did he?”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Noel. Really?”
“Yeah, Noel,” I echoed. “Really? I was a perfectly respectable gentleman.” Then I winked at Shakespeare [Noel’s wife, Aspen]. “After we put our clothes back on.”
Gam’s face turned dark red. “You motherfucker!”

…but that’s just me. I love my Noel and I was ecstatic he was in this one so much. But, hey, I’ll never get enough of these guys. I just wish I could have Mason and Noel and Oren Tenning all to myself. Sigh. A girl can dream, can’t she?

*Ps, can you tell I totally shoved in every quote I could?? That’s not even all of them. Sigh.

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BOOK REVIEW – Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier

November 30, 2015 / Anna

Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Whistling Tor is a place of secrets and mystery. Surrounded by a wooded hill, and unknown presences, the crumbling fortress is owned by a chieftain whose name is spoken throughout the district in tones of revulsion and bitterness. A curse lies over Anluan's family and his people; those woods hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom.

For young scribe Caitrin it is a safe haven. This place where nobody else is prepared to go seems exactly what she needs, for Caitrin is fleeing her own demons. As Caitrin comes to know Anluan and his home in more depth she realizes that it is only through her love and determination that the curse can be broken and Anluan and his people set free.

Trust me, I wanted to love this book so, so much. But if Heart’s Blood casted a spell on me, captivating me, I encountered the same problems I had with Shadowfell, making it hard to entirely connect with the story, especially in the second half.

✔ Fascinating settings : Think about an ominous forest, a mysterious castle, whose inhabitants have been suffering from a curse for years. What not to love?

If I wasn’t completely won by the writing (I’ll come back to that), I can’t deny that the descriptions were beautifully crafted and so vivid, it felt as if I was there.

✔ An intriguing plot : Beauty and the Beast is (shockingly, lol) one of my favorite fairytales of all times, yet its retellings rarely manage to capture the magical enthrallment I felt the first time I read Beaumont’s tale, and I’ve grown to resent and avoid them, to be honest. The fact is, either they’re too close to the original (but boring) or they’re so twisted that I can’t recognize anything. None of this here. If the story turns let me bewildered (in a good way), Juliet Marillier included several aspects as winks to the fairytale reader and I loved that.

From the underlying darkness threatening every turn, to the longing oozing from every page, I flew through the first half, enchanted.

✔ A well-developed and complex cast of characters :

► Caitrin is a wonderful and relatable heroine : after having been abused by her family after her father’s death, she finds the courage to flee and is constantly testing her strength. She’s by no means our kickass/soul eating warrior, yet she is strong, in her not so flashy way.

► Anluan is a crippled, cursed man whose anger issues would have infuriated me if his character wasn’t so multi-layered, so complex. Please don’t judge him too fast : he can be maddening, but he’s not violent and so, so loyal. The despair of this awkward, self-loathing man who hides behind his grumpiness moved me. So burdened and tortured, unable to see that life can be more.

► As for the other inhabitants of Whistling Tor, what can I say except that I loved them all? From Magnus the kind soldier to Eirith the crazy monk, they all add something magical to the story and I couldn’t help but draw parallels with the Beast hilarious and endearing companions.

✔ The romance is believable, light and straights-on wonderful. They made me squeal. I know! GAH. They gradually learn to trust each others’, to overlook the appearances and their fears.

Unfortunately there was a counter spell. Sigh.

✘ Trust me, I don’t mind a little predictability… Until I reach the point when it influences (in a bad way) what I think about a MC. Sadly, it was the case here. It took Caitrin so much time before solving the mystery (IN SPITE OF ALL THESE EVIDENCES EVERYWHERE), it drove me nuts. See, I understand that she’s willing to trust, but come on. This is too-much. From the moment I figured it all (way too fast) I grew restless, then annoyed, even if I didn’t want to be. I was constantly making excuses for her lack of judgment, until the moment I COULDN’T.

✘ While I realize that it’s a prevalent trope in fairytales, in my opinion the hope talk grew old pretty fast. Hope will prevail. Because Hope is the key. Don’t you believe that? Have you understood how important hope is? Do you? Do you? Are you sure? Because I’m going to repeat it over and over again. Oh. My. GOSH.

✘ As I said earlier, if I appreciated how beautiful the descriptions were, it remains that the writing was often too wordy for me. I’m by no means an action lover, but it was so frustrating sometimes that I had a hard time not to skim. Indeed some parts…. dragged….so much…that I couldn’t help but be bored, unfortunately, and yes, I wanted the author to go to the freaking point.

► That’s why it sort of lost its magic by the end. Way too long in my opinion, and yet I’ll still keep a fond memory of Whistling Tor and its unusual inhabitants.

BOOK REVIEW: With Every Heartbeat (Forbidden Men #4) by Linda Kage

November 27, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

With Every Heartbeat (Forbidden Men #4)
by Linda Kage
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
I used to think everything was black and white, truth or lie, easy or hard, that if I could just escape my strict, overbearing, abusive father, my life would be perfect. But since I’ve found a reason to risk his wrath and leave, to help a friend in need, I’ve come to realize everything I thought I knew is wrong.

Friends have their own agenda, honesty comes with a dosage of lie, easy doesn’t even exist, keeping secrets sucks, and love...love is the most painful thing of all.

Maybe if Quinn Hamilton hadn’t asked me to skip classes for the day and help him pick out an engagement ring for my best friend, I wouldn’t have fallen for him so completely on that sunny Tuesday afternoon and I wouldn’t feel so conflicted. But I did, and I can’t take it back, no matter how hard I try. So I have to deal with the fact that even I’m not as good, or honest, or caring as I’d always thought I was, and no matter what I do next, someone’s going to get hurt. Probably me.

-Zoey Blakeland

Sooo..I’m just going to say it: FAIL. Just…major fail. And, seriously, how can such a pretty cover contain such utter bullshit on the inside??? I was so sure that this was going to be another win in the series and that someday I could cherish it on my bookshelf but…how could anyone display this piece of shit-there, I said it-and not feel like a total betrayer to all of your morals and everything you believe in? You can’t. I’m sorry-you just fucking can’t.

With a sigh, he slumped his shoulders. “Okay, fine. You’re quiet. You’re introverted. You’re too nice to be rude to anyone. You open yourself up and are willing to trust more than just about anyone I know. Being as sensitive as you are means you have a bigger heart. And if I ever see you try to change and harden that heart of yours, I’m going to throat punch you. Don’t be ashamed of being a big, soft teddy bear, Ham. The world needs more people like you, otherwise it’d just go to shit.”

–Aww Ten is so sweet this whole book

And besides the major letdown after cherishing every other book in this series and having such a pretty cover, which was, in fact, the worst part about this story (the letdown after such build-up), there was the total shit for brains story that left our beautiful, amazing, selfless hero in a story that was better left in Linda Kage’s wet dreams.

Sigh…sorry. Just very disappointed. I mean….how in the fuck did Kage think that, after Mason and Noel and their lovely counterparts’ stories, this was a good way to go????? A virgin heroine

who, again, sorry, is a total putz who didn’t get a backbone until about 60% into the story, has never even been kissed (okay, that could have been hot, but wasn’t so) and was a total innocent little lamb, moves in with her stupid whore of a cousin who is a total bitch that uses her every other day?? I didn’t know how long I could stand to be in this timid girl’s head.

Not to mention throwing in an amazing male lead who would do anything for said whore even after being treated like a piece of meat and being lied to 24/7?? I just, I can’t even…UGH

Oh, and Quinn?? He is Zoey’s soulmate (oh, and totally had to look up her name-I DIDN’T EVEN REMEMBER IT) in the form of Satan’s lover. Yeah, he’s the one dating the tool she lives with. But when they see each other, sparks fly.

They are kindred spirits, broken souls who were innocent and naive and were beaten within an inch of their lives as children… they see each other in themselves and they know they are meant to be together, but they try to fight the attraction.

Hamilton grabbed her arm to steady her. “I know,” he slurred and glanced my way. “This shit is potent. I feel…” He nodded slowly. “Yeah.”
I lifted my eyebrows, wondering if he was drunk or high.
Blondie giggled again and pointed at him. “I’ve never heard you cuss before.”
“I don’t,” Hamilton said blankly before Blondie charged, “But you just said shit.”
He laughed and pointed back at her. “So did you.”
As they giggled together, I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. Oh, dear God. Someone shoot me now.

-Ten talking about Quinn and Zoey

They are the watchers, the quiet ones, the sensitive and kind ones-there’s no doubt they belong together. But that stupid Cora bitch just won’t go away. BACK THE FUCK UP BITCH-YOU ARE A MANIPULATIVE WHORE

(and a total plot device-her character merely existed to cause problems in this and other books, I mean really Kage-you can do better than that).

She murmured, “Thank you,” and stared at him with a pair of longing green eyes that made me want to reach across the table and thump Hamilton on the back of the head. Hard.
Prime opportunity to kiss her, I wanted to tell him.
Kiss her already.
Why wasn’t he kissing her?
God, what a pansy.
Instead of kissing, they just kept staring until Ham blinked and then grinned. “Staring contest?” he offered.
Dear fuck. Really?

-Ten, again lol

So ends the perfect Forbidden Men series run-and I hate it-I hate that Quinn got such a pathetic, fucked up story. Every little issue I had with the other two books was magnified ten fold, like all the shit that bothered me existed only to create this book, and that pisses me off. The cheesiness, the horrid villain in the form of a best friend/psychotic girlfriend, the lack of a reason for this fucking story, I just HATE it, because even Zoey, in the end, became more likable.

“You won’t die,” I growled. “Roaches always find a way to survive.”

But it was just So. Damn. Unrealistic. The only saving grace, the only damn thing I was giggling and swooning and laughing and smiling about (Well Quinn but that’s beside the point)????

“Hey.” Ten wormed his way between us, scowling. “Where’s my golden invitation to eat pizza with you?”
Noel sniffed and sent him a short frown, throwing Ten’s arm off his shoulder.
“I didn’t see you bringing anyone around to befriend my sister.”
“Well…I could befriend her,” Ten started, putting on an offended front as he pressed his hand to his chest.
Noel threw back his head and laughed.
“What?” Ten muttered, folding his arms over his chest and glaring. “I make a fucking awesome friend.”
Noel’s chuckle settled before he seemed to realize Ten was serious. His smile dropped flat. Pointing at Ten’s nose, he growled. “Stay the fuck away from my sister.”

Mason, Noel, Ten, Reese, Aspen, Caroline-their stories were alive and expanding in this one. My heart swelled when one of my beautiful men entered the story and we got to see them with their respective sweethearts, fiances, friends. It was just…UGH. It made all the bullshit worth it. Really. I would have smacked myself if I knew I missed proposals and banter and friendships and just the utter adoration these men have for their girls had I skipped/DNF this one. It made this piece of shit one star worth the extra star just to know I got to see them every other page.

“Motherfucker,” he groaned. “No Gamble, and I’m stuck in a class with not one, or even two, but three untouchables. This is going to suck…ass.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Reese lifted a curious eyebrow. “Do I even want to ask what an untouchable is?”
“You know…” He twirled his finger to encompass Reese, Caroline and me. “You’re Lowe’s woman. Can’t flirt with you. You’re Noel’s little sister.” He scowled at Caroline. “Can’t fucking go there. And you…” He flicked his attention to me, “…belong to Hamilton.” Then he made a sweeping gesture over all three of us. “Ergo I can’t touch any of you. Untouchables. And to make it worse, you all will probably be watching me with your judgey little eyes so I’ll have to behave and can’t hit on any other woman in this class either.”

My final parting words: No. This story was not for me and it sucked. This story has been done before by authors who handled it wonderfully and made me choke on my angst while swallowing butterflies. I expected the same, I’ll admit it, but did not get it one bit. Quinn and Zoey’s story is worth reading, it really is, but all the bullshit surrounding it (ie Cora, Cora, Cora and their relationship) was unnecessary and, frankly, totally unbelievable-notice I didn’t say unrealistic, because I know these GD stories are cheesy as shit, so that point is null and void. I said unbelievable because even I have a limit. I may have known how stupid the other two books were, but I fell hard and believed in them-or I made myself do so. So, yeah. This lacked passion. It lacked drive. And, most importantly, it lacked the heart I’m used to seeing from this author. So, disappointed and a little scared of what comes next, I tuck my tail between my legs and remain optimistic that Quinn and Zoey’s story will flourish as all the other people’s did in the next books. They deserve their love story untarnished by that cunt. Oh, and Cora, just because I feel like it: