Certified Bed Reader...
...willing to go all night!
Rush Me
Talk about two characters giving the worst first impressions! Rachel first meets Ryan while a fan is...*ah-hem*...kneeling before him. Later on, she comes off like a stuck-up biotch. Wait, that's not only a first impression, her attitude lasts for most of the book. Ryan's not a bad guy. He's pretty mellow, except that Rachel drives him nuts. They bring out the worst in each other a LOT! There's a nice build of sexual chemistry. I wish there was a bit more hot action. Still...I found myself hooked from the first chapter. There's some great humor, I love the supporting characters (especially Abe), and Allison Parr is a smart writer. Seriously, she knows her stuff. I feel like I learned some interesting things while reading. Best of all, I'm looking forward to the second book in this series,[b:Running Back|18141373|Running Back (New York Leopards, #2)|Allison Parr|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1378877821s/18141373.jpg|25487123].
· 3½ Stars
Contemporary New Adult
Do you see the hot guy on the cover? Scrumptious, right? Well, he's the best part of this book! I didn't really like the writer's voice; the humor, dialogue, and situations never really pulled together enough for me to fully enjoy it. It's unfortunate because I really love a shit-hot, filthy rich, alpha bad ass. He's no dominate, though, and the BDSM aspects are yawn-worthy. Makayla/Mac is a cookie-cutter heroine. She's another Anastasia Steele in a sea of clones. I hate this. Why, oh why, can't we have a heroine with some kind of clue as to who she is? I'm all for an innocent, naive, heroine, but I want to see a smidgen of backbone! Mac just ruined the whole book with her hot/cold, confusing, reactions. She has a tortured (surprise, right?) background that haunts her. I'm always sensitive to characters with traumatic past and careful to dissect their behavior. In the end, she just came up lacking for me.
So, why the 2½ rating? Because despite all the negative, I found myself intrigued enough to keep right on reading til the end. I wanted to know what happened with Max and Makayla. I have a feeling Sarah Castille will continue to develop her writer's voice and her books will get better each time!
· 2½ Stars
Contemporary Romance
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review.
All of You
Bennett deserved better than Avery! I wanted to throw this book across the room. Avery's a player that didn't reform after meeting her hero. · 1 Star
Contemporary New Adult
Bound To You
Re-Read 09.2013 I forgot how much I loved this book! Sometimes, revisiting an old favorite just make me a happy girl. :)Original Review 06.2012
Taking a direction off the beaten path was a bad idea for Jennifer Turner. When a man yells for her to stop, her initial reaction is to run from the rifle-toting stranger. And run she does...right over a sinkhole. She goes down, and soon the stranger tumbles in, too. Much to her relief, John Corcoran was carrying a cane--not a rifle--and doesn't appear to be a psycho. His take-charge attitude is a relief to Jennifer, who is nearing a panic attack at the speed of a runaway train. The Academy Award-winning actress has a debilitating fear of the dark. John has lived his entire life in the dark. Luckily he knows who Jennifer is, and recalls the incident that's made her so fearful. She needs a distraction...and he's more than willing to give it to her.
Have mercy, John will make all your naughty bits tingle! His blindness ratchets up the sensuality of the story. With the exclusion of sight, he focuses completely on touch, taste, sound, and scent. Now, think of those senses in relation to sex and tell me you aren't intrigued! He's inventive, too, and has more than one use for his cane. Mmmmm!
Jennifer is such a strong heroine. She may not feel that way at the bottom of a 20-ft sinkhole, with darkness closing in around her, but she is. I kept wondering what would cause her to be so afraid, and I had my ideas, but didn't even come close to the reality! Wow, I give Ms. Kane a standing ovation for making Jennifer not your stereotypical traumatized heroine! Then, to make Jennifer seem so down-to-earth and real was just icing on the cake.
In such a short novella, characterization is crucial to its success. I grew to love John and Jennifer quickly. Both had disabilities that could be construed as weaknesses, but instead, I felt made them stronger and more capable. That's a hard thing to do in a full-length novel; to accomplish it in so few pages really shows the talent Ms. Kane has. I'm anxious to look over Bethany Kane/Beth Kery's backlist and see what other gems I can find!
BTW: The ending may seem abrupt, even unfinished, but I really liked it. I thought it was nice to have a H/h get a HEA without confessing their undying love to each other after only a few weeks. There's no doubt in my mind John & Jennifer will have a long, happy life together.
• 5 stars!
Contemporary Erotic Romance
Addicted to You (One Night of Passion, #1)
Okay, I've wanted to read this book for ages! I'm disappointed to say Rill peeved me off so much that my reading enjoyment dropped significantly. Dude, you were a huge douche to Katie! She didn't deserve that. And, something about Katie rubbed me wrong, too.The sex, now that's one area where I have no complaints. Hot doesn't even begin to cover the double-Dutch door scene. *fans self*
· 3½ Stars
Contemporary Erotic Romance
Rock Chick Reckoning (Rock Chick, #6)
Stella Gunn is the only Rock Chick who is actually deserving of the title! She eats, breathes, sleeps, rock 'n roll but she's nothing like I expected her to be! Stella's probably the most surprising of all the Rock Chicks (thus far) and I think probably my favorite. She's secretive, dark, and yet she hides nothing on stage. The songs she chooses to sing...epic! Do yourself a favor and listen to the songs as she's singing them.
Stella loved Mace. He broke up with her a year ago. The reason this happened is cleared up fairly early-on. Mace realizes where Stella's head was at and then he takes action to correct the mistakes he made with her. She doesn't make it easy on him... what self-respecting Rock Chick would? But something changes for Stella when she gets a glimpse at Mace's dark past, it all clicks in place and then it's Stella making amends and fixing what's broken.
Gotta say, I loved Rock Chick Reckoning! The Hot Bunch are all faced with keeping their women safe while fighting a Big Bad hell-bent on revenge. We learn about Mace's horrifying secrets and Stella's black childhood. It's deep and emotional and pulled at my heartstrings.
The Ending. Holy crap! Not sure why Kristen wrapped the story up that way, but I'm not going to fuss too much. When Stella takes the stage, I was a blubbering mess. That final song was perfection and the KISS was beautiful!
Rock Chick Reckoning Playlist
There's many songs mentioned in the book and I think all are worth a listen, but these are the ones you need to hear! ;)
• I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Cowboy Junkies
• Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' - Journey
• And So It Goes - Billy Joel
• Black - Pearl Jam
• La Grange - ZZ Top
• All the Small Things - Blink 182
Rock Chick Revenge (Rock Chick, #5)
Re-Read 08.26.13: So much for doing a quick skim of this book (which I just realized I read exactly one year ago, lol) - Luke and Ava sucked me right into their story. I couldn't put it down! In fact, I think I enjoyed it even more this go-around because I've read all the previous books in this series now and I get why Luke said and did certain things. These books definitely pack a more powerful punch when they're read in order! Now, onto Rock Chick Reckoning!Original Review 08.26.12
"The best way to guard your heart is to trust a good man to take care of it for you."
What a great book! Ava was a fun heroine; sassy and just crazy enough to be a Rock Chick. Like all the Rock Chicks before her, Ava has a problem and she seeks out a member of the Hot Bunch, Luke Stark, for help. She and Luke have quite the history together and she's been in love with him for the majority of that history. It's really too bad she swore off men!
Luke takes one look at her, completely transformed since the last time he saw her, and decides she's the one. The Hot Bunch don't play around -- gawd, they're ridiculously hot!
Top Moments
1. All the betting on when Luke would move Ava in, when he'd "give her the business", and then which member of the Rock Chicks/Hot Bunch & friends would be the next to fall. So funny!
2. Good Ava/Bad Ava - Ava's inner-dialogue had me rollin'!
3. Luke telling Ava's mother and evil sisters off.
4. Ava snatching a gun out of a bad man's hand and givin' him a lot of sass. Yes, it was stupid, but trust me when I say she'd had a really long/bad day and was at the end of her rope. Plus, she had plenty of backup had her move gone bad. lol
5. When Ava finally tells Luke she loves him. It was so awesome.
PS. What in the hell is up with Ally & Ren!? Ren was hot for Ava, but there was this weird vibe between he and Ally. Of course, I know from reading [b:Breathe|15742039|Breathe (Colorado Mountain, #4)|Kristen Ashley|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1341841655s/15742039.jpg|21429192] that there's something going on between them. Did I miss it in Rock Chick books 3 or 4? LOL
Scorecard
Heroine: 4½ stars
Hero: 5 stars
Plot: 4½ stars
Originality: 4 stars
Steam Level (Scale 1/Low to 5/High): 5 stars
Overall Score: 4.6 stars!
**Warning** This book does contain scenes that can be triggering to those who have been sexually assaulted.
Rock Chick Renegade (Rock Chick, #4)
Lets get down to it. Vance is hands-down more intense, more "dark", and slightly more aggressive than his Hot Bunch predecessors. In Rock Chick Redemption, I had lots of questions about him after he saved Roxie. All those questions were answered in this one! Every single answer gave me clarity and planted the seed of love in the pit of my stomach for Vance. With every real moment he gave to Jules, the Vance love flower grew and spread until I pretty much was a weeping mess of love for the big guy!
Jules is a social worker. She sees some rough, gut-wrenching, stuff out on the street. Seeing it, seeing what it does to two of her "boys", Jules decides to make it her mission to rid the streets of drug dealers. Or, at the very least, to be a Texas-sized thorn in their operation. Very likable things in a heroine except for one thing: she annoyed the hell out of me. The constant "I'm breaking up with you," and "I'm a head crackin' mamma jamma," and her inner Rottweiler irritated me. But, I kept reading and the more I learned about Jules, the more I realized she has some deep wounds that she does stupid shit to keep them from busting wide open again. And once she got it, her character growth rocketed forward and I knew, without a doubt, she's a Rock Chick worth likin'!
There's a lot of fun to be had, as with all the Rock Chick books. Tons of outrageous moments that'll make you laugh, groan, smile, and plenty of sexiness from Vance to illicit a cold shower or five! At its heart, Rock Chick Renegade is about family...the kind you create, the people you'll die for, the ones who are your home.
• 4½ Happy-Reader Stars!
My bags are packed.I'm moving to fuckin' Denver, infiltrating Lee's operation, and snagging a member of the Hot Bunch.
Don't try to stop me.
I didn't think it was possible for a man to move faster than Lee or Eddie! Hank wins, hands-down. He saw Roxie and never turned back.
Best moments:
- Roxie and Hank's first date (more to the point, the end of their first date! mmm)
- The haunted house, lol.
- "She's the One" by Bruce Springsteen
- The Buttermilk Pancake/Donut argument Roxie's parents have.
- Hank getting Mom-bombed!
- Hank "Letting Go"
- Roxie's "My Life Began" Speech
- The whole final chapter.
There's a lot to like about this one. :) In the words of Roxie's friend, Annette, "Yo, bitches! Read it!"
Maddox gets his HEA! Yay. I loved him in Facade; he was such a wonderful brother to Laney. I can't wait to see what's in store for him in Masquerade!
Enemy Mine (Alpha and Omega Series, #2)
If you love a good shifter romance and haven't started this series, what are you waiting for? Great plot, sexiness, and world-building. Will write a complete review soon.Frontline
"A passionate exchange in the examination room," is only #5 on my Ultimate Fantasies List! Me thinks this book is a must-read SOON!
Big Girls Don't Cry (BBW First Time Erotic Romance)
I wasted an hour of my life on THIS?!
This book is the definition of why free isn't synonymous with quality.
