Month: December 2015

4 stars for “Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan”

coverBefore I started this book I had a feeling I could use one to make my cry big, fat, ugly tears … What I remembered from reviews on this one, this would be the one but … I guess I’m weird because I didn’t cry! Well that’s a lie … when Norm told Bree in his own way while eating pie that he loved her I had 1 tear rolling on my cheek. And when I thought Archer (spoiler) was dead 2 more until I realized soon he wasn’t. That was it …

BUT I did really enjoy this one. It is a well written story how fate brought two broken people together!! I’m not going to write down what happens. There are already so many amazing reviews on this book …

I loved Archer… Sweet, broken, silent, gentle, thoughtful, shy Archer broke and stole my heart. I really how the author shaped his character and how he grew.

4 stars for “The Wicked Horse – 01 – Wicked Fall by Sawyer Bennett”

coverA few weeks ago I read the second book ‘Wicked Lust’ in this series and loved it. I hadn’t read many books from this author yet and when lovely Astrid suggested to do a Buddy Read we picked this book ‘Wicked Fall’. It was my first BR and I enjoyed it! Thanks, hon! XO

I always thought that Beauty & The Beast was my favorite story but after this one I think I prefer the big bad ‘Wolf’ 😉 Woolf owns many businesses but the one he enjoys most is the one with his best friend Bridger. They own a nightclub ‘The Wicked Horse’ with an exclusive sex club ‘The Silo’ in another building. Woolf has always enjoyed this lifestyle but when beautiful Callie comes into his life again he feels like she has no place in his! But it won’t take long before she has his twisted up in knots… After finding her fiancée gagged in their bed with another woman she decides it’s time to get rid of her ‘innocent’ image … But being a governor’s daughter she has to watch out… how long will that work? Do they have a chance?

Dark, handsome, possessive, kinky Woolf and sweet, innocent Callie were both wonderful characters and I could feel their chemistry!

The person I loved most was Woolf’s friend Bridger! Damn he’s hot, loyal, smart, … I look forward to his book! There was 1 scene is this book where they include Bridger and it was extremely hot… I loved it!

“Dude… my money is on Callie. I think her sunshine is going to banish your thunderstorm in like a nanosecond.”

The writing style of this book was again amazing. I’m sure I’ll be reading more from this author…

What I missed a little, and I had that with the second book too, is an epilogue. The epilogue in this book is the start of the second book …

4.5 stars for “Behind Her Smile by Olivia Luck”

*** ARC kindly provided by Book Enthusiast Promotions, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. ***

Behind her smile by Olivia LuckOMG I really loved this one! This is a well written, captivating, heart breaking story of domestic abuse, lies and … hope! I give it 4.5 stars…

5 years ago Karolina thought she met the man of her dreams, her savior! The one who will give her what she craves … a family, the feeling of belonging! Everything seems to go fine even though David starts controlling Karolina’s life more and more! She gives up her dreams and ambitions and tries to be the perfect, supporting wife. To the outside they appear to be the perfect couple but nobody knows how Karolina suffers behind closed doors! A story of humiliation, pain, broken dreams, lies, lost friends, manipulation, buried dreams, aggression, … but also hope, a gentle lover, new dreams, … and most important ‘feeling like coming home’

This story broke my heart several times and got me emotional over and over again. I’m so grateful the author didn’t rush Karo’s HEA because I really needed that!

There are time jumps in this book to the useful parts in the last 5 years which help to understand how their relationship evolved.

This wonderful book can be pre-ordered on Amazon US at a low price and will be published January 6, 2016. Link : http://amzn.com/B01923Y8EY

4.5 stars for “Cartel – 02 – Kingpin by Lili St. Germain”

*** ARC kindly provided by the publisher HarperCollins, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review. ***

Kingpin by Lili St GermainDamn you Dornan! You made me like you a little bit after book 1. I know what happened in the ‘Gypsy Brothers’ series but putting that into the very back of my mind, I did see your better side but now I hate you again …

Poor Mariana, what more do you have to go through before you finally get ‘rest’! I admire her strength! This author really knows how to create strong female characters!!

In this second book ‘Kingpin’ we are 9 years ahead and Mariana is still is a privileged captive who still loves Dornan even though he’s still living with his wife. Some things happen which make her see/feel the evil man he is, more often. Her lover slowly turns into the monster hidden deep inside him. She feels more and more attracted to compassionate, kind, thoughtful John, prez of the Gypsy Brothers and Dornan’s friend. John is married and even though his wife isn’t worth the title wife and mother he remained loyal to her all those years. But now he’s having difficulties fighting his attraction towards Mariana. Can he keep fighting his attraction? Which man will she choose? Can they have a future?

Again a wonderful, well written, captivating, emotional, twisted story. Even though I’m dreading what is going to happen I’m really looking forward to the conclusion in this series … ‘EMPIRE’, the irresistible conclusion to the Cartel trilogy will be published on June 1, 2016 according to GoodReads… OMG I don’t know if I can wait that long!

Available for pre-order on Amazon US : http://amzn.com/B00KHHF02E

4 stars for “Cartel – 01 – Cartel by Lili St. Germain”

Cartel by Lili St GermainI loved the “Gypsy Brothers” series so much but I still have to read the conclusion “Zero Hour”. When I read that there would be a series on Dornan and Mariana I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. As probably most of you, I couldn’t see why I would ever want to read Dornan’s story… But I remained intrigued and when I saw the opportunity to request “Kingpin” for review I just went for it!

This is the story of Mariana! She’s constantly trying to solve the financial mess her father gets her family in. At 19 all her efforts seem futile when her boyfriend gets killed and she finds her family on their knees with guns pointed at them … And again it’s Mariana who saves them. She offers herself up in exchange for the lives of her family. Ruthless Cartel boss Emilio accepts this and wants to auction her off as a sex slave to compensate some money they lost because of Mariana’s father. When she meets Emilio’s only son and VP of the Gypsy Brothers she immediately feels safe with him but he is a dangerous, terrifying man! Not as ruthless as his father… Dornan can’t stay away from Mariana and finds a way to keep her. Will she be safe now? Can she trust Dornan? What about her family? All those questions are answered in this amazing book.

As I already said I loved the Gypsy Brothers series and never thought I would even like Dornan a little bit but I think I do… does that make me sick?? When I think back to what happens to Juliette in Gypsy Brothers I start hating him again but in this book he shows another side of him. He can be good, caring, have mercy, …

I really loved Mariana and admired how sassy and sarcastic she remained during her captivity and my heart broke several times for her.

I loved the writing style of this dark, twisted, captivating read of forbidden love and will dive right into the second book “Kingpin”. The story will be concluded in January 2017 with the last book “Empire”.

3.5 stars for “Homewrecker Incorporated by S. Simone Chavous”

*** ARC kindly provided by Book Enthusiast Promotions, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. ***

Homewrecker Inc by S Simone ChavousWhen seeing this title on NetGalley all kinds of different scenario’s went through my head. After reading the blurb my curiosity was peaked…

This is the story of 4 friends, all co-owners of Homewrecker Inc., conquering the world one cheating asshole at a time. They help women with suspicions on their partners lack of fidelity and go extremely far doing so. Their newest mark is Gregory Michaels and when Claudia gets assigned to this, she never expected to feel immediate chemistry with his gorgeous, charming, cocky, irresistible twin brother Greyston but Grey is off-limits! Can she now proceed with her plan to find out if Gregory is a cheater? Can you build a future on something started on a lie?

This story had great potential but, for me personally, it focused too much on the 4 friends and the job and too little on the interactions between Claudia and Greyston. I’m also not very fond of insta-love. But besides that this was a well written story with great characters and gets 3.5 stars.

This book is available for pre-order for a reduced price and will be launched January 5th 2016 : http://amzn.com/B019J3CXKS

4 stars for “The Monster Trilogy – 01 – Defaced by Marissa Farrar”

*** ARC kindly provided by Patchwork Press – Cooperative, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. ***

Defaced by Marissa FarrarWhen I saw this book on NetGalley I loved the description and cover! I hadn’t heard yet from this author so I checked her other books on GoodReads and noticed she mainly writes Paranormal/Fantasy which is a genre I rarely read. So I double-checked this book and since it isn’t that genre I requested it.

This well written dark romance feels like a modern version of Beauty & The Beast which is one of my favourite fairy tales! I won’t reveal to much about the story but it’s about a damaged young woman. She loves her job to make people beautiful on the outside and happy on the inside. Because of what happened in her past she distances herself from people to protect herself so except for her patients she has no one. Monster has been sheltered his whole life by his ruthless, hard father. As the name says he feels like a monster and doesn’t show himself to anyone because his issue might be seen as a weakness. He needs Lily’s skills and orders her abduction. This is a wonderful story of two people overcoming their own issues and growing closer while they do.

“Don’t make me punish you, Flower. Things happen to me when I have to punish a woman. The monster you see on my face is nothing compared to the monster that lies within.”

There were several back flashes in this story which were very helpful to understand Monster. Monster is an intense, mysterious man who is never tought how to respectfully behave with a woman. He has some issues but with how he was raised those are understandable.

I love dark reads but often it is about women abducted to become a sex slave. This one is different and I liked it. I also loved how sassy Lily remained during her captivity. You can also feel their attraction right from the beginning.

This book ends on a HFN but I’m still looking forward to the next book in this series which will be released spring 2016.

3.5 stars for “Eighteen (18) by JA Huss”

18 by JA HussI have already read several books by this amazing author and loved most of them! My favourite is “321”.

Then a few month ago I was glad when my pre-order of “Sexy” arrived and that one really didn’t work for me. It was a DNF but maybe I’ll give it a try again someday.

I wasn’t sure about ordering “Eighteen” but I liked it! I love taboo stories and add in a hot, dirty talking teacher and I’m sold! I could connect less with Shannon. I found her irritating and immature at moments but hey, she’s only 18! The end felt a little bit rushed. I would have loved a larger epilogue…

This entertaining story gets 3.5 stars.