Thursday, April 28, 2016

Review of Magnificent Bastard by Lili Valente

Magnificent BastardMagnificent Bastard by Lili Valente
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I review this book as an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Magnificent Bastard by Lili Valente
5 stars (I'd give it more if it were possible)

Brilliantly written! Masterfully executed story! I'd love to have Bash as my best friend!

The chemistry between Penny and Bash is off the charts, why? It's because they are best friends and truly do know each other but are both uncertain when it comes to love.

I'm not going to spill the beans as we all know how it will end, it's how the couple gets to the ending that makes this a sometimes sad and other times off the charts hilarious and sexy read!

This is a book to share with your girlfriends and your book club!

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Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Review of Darkest Days by Catherine Vale

Darkest Days by Catherine Vale
Book 1
4 stars

I received a copy of this book as an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. 

As a reader/reviewer/ book blogger, I do take what I do seriously. I always go into reading a new book with expectations of enjoying myself and to my delight I did find this book to be interesting and entertaining. I really am opening myself up to trying new genres. Romance in a post alien invasion world - why not!

That being said let me to you about this book. It's not my usual genre but I decided to give it a try. I'll be honest, I was a little skeptical at first.  We are talking post alien invasion world after all. 

The writing was rich in details of not only the surroundings, but of the situations and even the people. Sure there were a few misspellings, just about every book out there has them and it's nothing to be overly concerned about.
I found myself being truly interested in the characters in this story and the out come of situations that arise in the book. The two main characters have been written in a manner that shows that there's chemistry and when they truly let their guard down, it's going to be burning down the house HOT! 

In essence, woman with a gun who knows how to use it, man in charge of this military/civvie outfit and alien insects gets a 4 star review! Read it and have fun! 

Review of Her Secret Wish by J.M. Madden

Her Secret WishHer Secret Wish by J.M. Madden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Her Secret Wish by J.M. Madden
5 stars

I received "Her Secret Wish" as an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

I've read several of author J.M. Madden's books and the level of attention to subject and the degree of research into said subject matter is amazing. She makes you feel invested in the characters in her stories. To me, they feel as if they could be real people that you'd have as friends or neighbors.

This story is about a young woman named Rachel Searls, of whom we met in the book "Embattled Home", when she was a last minute "new hire" assigned to a protection detail. This book is her story and we learn that she, like the rest of the people at the Lost and Found Investigative Service (minus Shannon the office manager) are veterans that are wounded warriors or as I like to say "Combat Modified".

We also meet Dean West, a police officer with the Denver police department. He's perfect in every way we could imagine a hero and love interest should be for this particular LNF team member. He's accepting and loving and only wants the best for her. What a perfect world it would be if we all had our very own version of Dean West in our lives.

The astute attention to details that Ms. Madden is known for giving us readers in her Lost and Found series is reflected in Rachel's backstory. It's proof that she does indeed do extensive research on injuries sustained in various war related scenarios and that she in no way tries to sugar coat or glamorize war. They are raw in their honesty which makes you feel a connection to the characters and it gives you a sense of empathy in how they are feeling. The places, situations and attention to detail in the surroundings make it such that you can picture them in your mind.

Don't read this book without a box of tissues nearby. This will certainly tug at your heart strings!

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Sunday, April 24, 2016

Being Honest in your Reviews

I broke some of my self imposed rules in writing my last review and I'm here to tell you why.

Honesty is the Best Policy and I feel that I need to give you my 100% Honest Opinion of this or any book. Readers need to be informed of both good and bad as in poorly written books subject matter aside, (subject matter is a personal thing and only you can decide what you like to read). Authors need to know that their book needs help in certain areas or if it's lacking in telling vital details that make a story seem more plausible.

If a book is running over with misspellings, wrong words used or devoid of entire conversations that make the book an editors nightmare, then I feel a responsibility to let the readers know. 

If there's a questionable or controversial scene that arises in said book, I feel a responsibility to let the reader know.

If there's any question that a book appears to rushed and characters not fleshed out, I feel a responsibility to let the readers know.

In no way did I attack or abuse this author. I never will do that, this is about the book and not the person who wrote it. My review is 100% honest and devoid of personal attacks, the way a review should be.

I want to like a book, I set out to read them with the soul purpose of enjoying them. But sometimes that is just not the way of it. Sometimes books are written poorly and lack vital editing. 

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Review of Go Long by Joanna Blake

a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29862756-go-long" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px">Go LongGo Long by Joanna Blake
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Go Long by Joanna Blake
2 stars

I was given an ARC of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

I am a book blogger and this is MY honest review

The book ends at 35%

The story line was promising as was the blurb promoting the book. Sadly that was not the case. The story seemed rushed and not fleshed out. The frequent misspellings, wrong words and missing dialogue added to the degree of difficulty in reading this book. This author could have benefited greatly from hiring an editor.

I found our H and h lacking in the kind of chemistry that would put it in contention with other romance books that I've read. The H was infatuated at best, and the h was made out to be some bookish bi-polar doormat with the way she kept letting the H change her mind. Even the side characters were poorly cast.

There were parts of the book that made no sense whatsoever and I found myself going back to see what conversation or conversations that I missed. Sadly I didn't miss any, the writer simply lacked putting i/writing a vital conversation that would have cleared up the entire goings on in one of the chapters. There was one sex scene that had me seeing red and totally turned me off.

***Spoiler alert***
No woman (who by the way was a virgin when she met this guy) is going to agree to have anal sex for the first time and then let this guy who had this huge penis (it's mentioned frequently throughout this book how long (10 inches) and thick he is) who had the hardest time ever fitting into her vagina every time (that was mentioned too) pound into her anus like a freight train. Not to mention that he was doing this to punish her- unbelievable! No Way! No How!

So in essence, this was not the book for me. Maybe others will like it, you know what you like and I know what I like. I'm giving this book 2 stars for effort.

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Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Review of Lena's Fall / Colt's Magic by A.C. Wilson

Lena's Fall & Colt's Magic (Black Hills, #6)Lena's Fall & Colt's Magic by A.C. Wilson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ms Wilson writes with such passion and emotion that you can't help but to feel a connection to the characters in her stories. The Black Hills series continues with its secondary characters, giving us a fresh new perspective of them. I don't want to give anything away, I want you as the reader to discover their stories on your own. There's heartache involved to be sure and secrets, ones that Ms Wilson is quite good at writing and revealing to us in the pages of her books. Bring tissues, this one will tug at your heartstrings!

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Review of After All These Years by Mary J. Williams

After All These Years (One Pass Away, #2)After All These Years by Mary J. Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 stars
After All These Years by Mary J.Williams
Story told by our h-Riley and H- Sean.

This is my first time reading a book by author Mary J. Williams and I can honestly say that I was delighted! It's not that this was a gushy romance story, because it most certainly is not. I'm saying that I'm delighted because her book which is not in my normal genre of reading material hit every single marker in my personal list of reading criteria. I'm the kind of girl that Hides Out upstairs in the bathtub reading a book whenever a football game comes on TV. My family is (for a lack of a better word) a bunch a hooting and hollering idiots when their favorite team is on TV. So for me to give a Football Themed romance a 5 star rating, it's got to be good, really good! This story held my interest from the first page and I sat and read this story in a few hours. I even became irritated when I had to put down my kindle to make dinner, LOL!

The backstory on our two main characters is told to us in a manner that has us immediately understanding who they are and why they are the way they are. We're given a group of secondary characters that are also well fleshed out and add much depth to the story.

As in the description of the story- it is about First Love and Second

Chances. Ms. Williams gives us Riley, she's a young woman who in the beginning of the book has this huge crush on a football player. She does a lot of growing up in this book. She realizes that she needs to separate herself from situations and people that aren't good for her. Riley is a strong female lead character and Ms Williams has her becoming her own person away from the public eye so to speak.

Then there's Sean... Heaven help us all! He's the quintessential Manwhore whose good looks, charm and money have women falling into bed with him right and left. Being a always in the news, or so it seems. It's not so much of a story about Sean "growing up" as it is about his "maturing" and realizing that there's more to life than sleeping around.

There's danger and intrigue in this book, it was a true whodunnit and well, read the book to find out more. The game of Football is mor than just a sport, it truly IS a Serious Business and you will get that understanding from reading this book. It seems that many people have an agenda and it's surprising to see how far some will go.

Read this book! You'll love it!
Buy It! Read It! Review It! Share it with your Friends!
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The Do's and Don'ts of Writing a Review

I wrote about the importance of leaving a review. Now I want to talk about the Do's and Don'ts on how to write one. 

🔸Don't give away the plot!

I can't tell you how many times I come across this! It's not a book report, you're not explaining the entire book! 

You are telling people how it made you feel, about the characters (were they well developed). What's the genre? Where does the story take place? Are the descriptions accurate? What did you rate it? Why did you rate it that way? 

Don't giveaway the plot, it's not fair to the author or future readers. 

🔸Don't pick on the author!


Never, ever is it okay to make a review a personal attack on an author! So you didn't like the book, fine that happens. But it's never fine or okay to let your frustrations out on said author. What is okay is to write out reasons why you didn't enjoy the book; poor formatting, over use of a particular word, phrase or action. Maybe it's poor character development. But never is it okay to be demeaning to an author. Remember, what you say is a reflection on yourself. 

🔸Do be honest!

Did the book have all of the elements that make it a good book "For You"? As each of us is unique and different, it's the same when it comes to our reading criteria requirements, those things  that makes a book good for Us. 

🔸Try something New!

I look at book genres like lemons and people's reactions to them- to some, they smell sweet, to others they smell tart and then there are the people that won't go near them because they say that they don't like lemons, even though they've never smelled one.  Lemons are like books, there's so many different types. Open your mind! By the way, it's Meyer Lemons that smell the sweetest. 

I hope that I've been able to clear a few things up for you. Go out and write a review that you can be proud of. It doesn't need to be 3 pages long (I avoid those like the plague). It can be short, sweet and go the point in as little as 2 sentences.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Review of Chasing Dreams by Alison Mello

Chasing DreamsChasing Dreams by Alison Mello
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first time I've read anything written by Ms Mello and I found the story to be well written and the characters well fleshed out. The story line is amazing and the cast of additional characters adds to the complexity of the story. There's lots of little details that add to the dimension of the story and makes our characters and the places they visit easy to visualize. The suspense is top notch and will leave your heart pounding waiting for the conclusion.

There's a good mixture of mystery, drama and suspense that and heart pounding moments that will scare the daylights out of you if the events were happening to you! The love making scenes are steamy, sensual and down right HOT! Get yourself a cold glass of water because you are going to need it! Their ups and downs and path together is a story of love.

Logan and Skylar just click! They are a modern day couple with real issues and are people that could easily be your friends or neighbors. You're going to want to recommend this book to your friends!


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Chasing Fire

CHASING FIRE, An I-Team/Colorado High Country Crossover Novel is out! When a raging wildfire threatens to burn Scarlet Springs to the gro...