My Favorite Mistake

From Amazon: Two secrets. One bet. Who will break first? 

Taylor Caldwell can't decide if she wants to kiss her new college roommate or punch him. 

On the one hand, Hunter Zaccadelli is a handsome blue-eyed bundle of charm. On the other, he's a tattooed, guitar-playing bad boy. Maybe that's why Taylor's afraid of falling in love with him, or anyone else. She doesn't want to get burned, so she needs him gone before it's too late. 

Hunter himself has been burned before, but Taylor's sexy laugh and refusal to let him get away with anything make her irresistible. Determined not to be kicked out of her life without a fight, Hunter proposes a bet: if she can convince him she either truly loves or hates him, he'll leave the apartment—and leave her alone. 

But when the man behind Taylor's fear of giving up her heart resurfaces, she has to decide: trust Hunter with her greatest secret, or do everything in her power to win that bet and drive him away forever.

What I Thought: This book has a lot of what is typical New Adult lately, but I found myself liking it a lot more that most of the other ones I've read. I would rank this one up with Beautiful Disaster and Easy - those are probably my favorite 2 in the genre so if you're a fan of either, you'll probably really love this one too.

Taylor gets a big surprise when she moves in to her on campus apartment and finds one of her new room mates is a guy. Not just a guy but exactly the type of guy she's avoided her whole life. 

Hot, tattooed and badass Hunter takes one look at Taylor and thinks he's won the lottery. 

All Taylor wants is Hunter out of the apartment. All Hunter wants is Taylor. Period.

Each of them of course has a secret tortured soul, ( I think I should start a collection of them at this point) and a cast of supporting characters that I found to be pretty likable. 

What makes this book stand out from the rest:
Taylor, the heroine is a total badass. She's also really mean which I really kind of liked about her. Within the first 20 minutes or so of meeting Hunter she punches him in the face and knees him in the ..well you know.. She knows she has anger issues and she owns them. I love that she's so tough and that she doesn't take any crap. Her secret is believable as it unfolds, and I like that for once an author took this approach to someone who suffered through the incident that she did. It made her character more believable to me.

Hunter, the hero-ok of course he's going to have tattoos, and deep secrets and be all "assery" (one of my favorite words from this book) on the outside but actually a total good guy in the end. He is much more than just that though and I succumbed to his charm just like Taylor.
One of the things I like most about this book? It actually has an ending. There is a resolution instead of some horribly tortuous cliffhanger. So many of the books in this genre don't do this. My thanks to the author!

I absolutely loved this book in a up all night, didn't put it down till I finished kind of way.

My Rating: 

Knight

From Amazon: Anya Gage has learned that to get anything good in life, you have to work for it. She has no expectations, no dreams.

Then she finds herself at a party where she doesn’t want to be and she meets Knight.
Knight Sebring knows who he is, what he wants and what he likes. And he gets it. But he never expected something as sweet as Anya Gage to wander into his bedroom during a party he did not expect to be having to borrow his phone.
Knight tries to leave Anya to the life she deserves of white picket fences and a man who watches football on Sundays – good, normal and clean. But when Anya comes to his nightclub and finds herself in a situation, he knows someone has to look after her, he can’t fight it anymore and he decides that man will be him.
Knight teaches Anya that, just as with the bad, in life you should also expect the good. And he teaches her this by giving it to her.
But Knight has a dark past and just as he desires Anya for exactly who she is, he fears when she finds out exactly the man he has become and always intends to be, she’ll leave him for good, normal and clean. 
WARNING: This book is an ADULT EROTIC romance featuring an anti-hero. This novel contains explicit sex scenes and language. The hero in this novel lives a life by his own code with no apologies. He is not your "normal" hero. If you do not enjoy the above, this novel may not be for you.

What I Thought: Friends have been recommending Kristen Ashley to me forever-I guess it's probably due to my addiction to bad ass alpha males. This is the first book I have read by this author and I loved it. I will definitely read the rest.

Anya is used to providing for herself, and getting by on her own terms- with however little that may be. She meets Knight by accidently wandering in his bedroom trying to find her coat and his brother's party.

He sees her home safely, and is soon doing small things for her to make her life easier. Not used to anyone doing things for her, ever-she tries to return things to him which pisses him off but also makes him begin to admire her. 

Knight begins to see Anya as somoeone he could share his life with, if she can accept his lifestyle and needs.

Anya has never known a man like Knight, or the all consuming desire that she feels in his presence. 

Knight is a dark character, and at first I wasn't sure if I was going to like him. KA is honest is the beginning in her description of the book that he is an AntiHero. This is true, but he's written so well that the aspects of it that should bother me-didn't. I also really liked that unlike a lot of other Dom/Sub kind of stories, Knight mostly keeps these needs to the bedroom, and he also gives Anya love making too. It's not just her giving into his needs, it goes both ways. 

My Rating: 

The Shadow of Mudflap

This is such a special day!!

Today we are celebrating the release of 

The Shadow of Mudflap

by Christi Snow and M.F. Smith

From Amazon: To us, first responders are heroes. But for them, risking their lives is a normal, everyday thing.

Mudflap:
Born the baby of the family, Mudflap has always had something to prove to emerge out of the shadows of his older siblings. He spent eight years as a Special Ops elite sniper and is now a firefighter. But at his heart, he’s just a normal West Texas good old boy who loves his beer, women and football, until the Department of Defense calls him up to say they need his skills again.

Shanae:
Shanae is a first responder of a different sort. She’s a trauma nurse who works on a medical evacuation helicopter team. But while she lives a life full of adrenaline every day, it’s just a cover for her real life, where she hides in the shadows and is secret agent, Shadowfox for the Lubbock Foxtrot Team (LiFT). She’s living the kind of life that most people think exists only in movies and books.

Working for two different branches of the government, Mudflap and Shanae are in a race against time and the terrorists who threaten the very heart of West Texas life, football. They’re working toward the same goal, but find themselves in a confrontation against each other and the lies they’ve each had to hide behind. Can love win out in the end or will the cost be each other and their very lives?

First responders are heroes every day, but this story tells the tale of when they become even more and find love along the way. The key is for them to stay alive so that they can complete their mission and just maybe live happily ever after.

On an ordinary day, they save lives. On an extraordinary day, they save the country.

Christi Snow

Mudflap Smith

What I Thought: First of all, it's impossible to not LOVE this book- and I don't even live in Texas. Well, I did once, we were stationed there in San Antonio. What did I learn during that time? Texans LOVE their football, their country and their Texas (not incidentally my oldest plans to go to UT Austin next year-Mudflap and Shanae would probably not appreciate that)

ANYWAY- This book has SO much going on. 

A terrorist organization is threatening the way of life for the college town of Lubbock, Texas, and their football. The string of attacks has gained the attention of more than one federal agency, all of which seem to be under each other's radar.

First there's Shanae, a super spy whose cover is a first responder , except wait she really IS a first responder. Of course she's hot, strong, independent and don't worry she's totally got this whole terrorist thing covered. I love a kick ass heroine-have I mentioned that before? No doubt I have, but it's worth saying again.

Where was I? Oh yeah...Mudflap-yeah, that's really this guys name. Funny how after reading how hot he is, and getting into the story you don't even notice that it's strange anymore. He's hot, he's funny, he's a little alpha and a bit of cowboy thrown in too. Yum. 

Forget it, I'm not going to tell you how he got the name, you're going to have to read the book!

Mudflap is a firefighter, but he's got a bit more up his sleeve. He spent 8 years as a sniper and the government figures they can use his skills to help catch the organization behind the attacks.

Much adventure, hijinx, sizzle, and suspense ensues-I'm not giving it up I tell you!! This I can promise- you will have a blast along the way. This book is written in alternating points of view and I swear I could hear them talking in my head! The text messaging, the football scores, and even the chapter titles are so original and fun. It also sets us up for a series as this writing team plans to write more in the series over the next few years.

My Rating:

Lastly, (All the proceeds from this novel will go to the Lubbock Red Cross.)

Nope, not kidding

Here's where you can get your copy:

Amazon (print and e-book)

Barnes & Noble (print and e-book)

ARE (e-book)

Kobo (e-book)

Smashwords (e-book)

iTunes (e-book)

Wraith

From Amazon: Freak. Weird. Crazy. These are the names tossed around seventeen-year old Jane Watts by her fellow classmates. But things aren’t always as they seem. Sometimes there’s a reason for talking to yourself in the hallway at school. 

Jane struggles with adjusting to her new home and school after an abrupt move. She wants one thing in life—to be like everyone else at school, but that’s hard to do when you’re the new kid. But she does manage to make one friend, Evan—he’s sixteen, charming, and protective. Everything a girl could want in a best friend…with one minor caveat. 

He's dead.

Caught somewhere between life and death, Evan is tied to Jane and the living world unable to complete the journey to the other side. She thinks he’s here to be her friend, to take care of her, and that’s why no one can see or hear him.

That is until a new boy shows up at school after a rumored stretch in Juvie. Connor can see Evan and he’s not convinced the ghost is being completely honest. From his own experience ghosts tend to need something from the humans they connect to and Evan, despite his arguments isn’t any different.

Jane is resentful of Connor’s intrusion but realizes soon enough he’s right. Evan has secrets about his past and not only did his life end tragically but members of his family are still in danger. Jane must face her fears and battle Evan’s human demons to free both of them.

What I Thought: I love it when Amazon send me those recommendation links with books I may never have discovered otherwise. This is such an original story in the YA genre and I really loved it.

After being uprooted in the middle of her high school career, Jane tries to fit in at her new school, which gets pretty difficult when a ghost named Evan attaches himself to her. Jane believes that the reason she's the only one who can see and hear Evan, that he is there to help her through a difficult time in her life, he's no ordinary ghost though. Evan can manipulate objects, and even touch Jane.

Then Connor shows up, after what everyone says was time in juvie. Connor can see Evan too, which draws him to Jane. Jane doesn't believe him at first, but soon realizes the things Connor is telling her are true and that Evan's been hiding secrets all this time.

I really loved this book, and will definitely be reading the rest of the series. The triangle that develops between Jane, Connor and Evan (even though he's dead) is written really well and I really liked the characters. It's a quick read, fun if you're in the mood for a little bit of creepy on a rainy afternoon.

My Rating: 

Claimed

From Amazon: Presley Flynn is ripe to experience her secret fantasies . . . and Dmitri Pratt wants nothing more than to fulfill them. Once inside the elite Club Sin in Las Vegas, Presley is nervous but excited—and determined to surrender to her every desire. Dmitri is her Master, and his touch is like fire. With each careful, calculated caress, he unleashes her wildest inhibitions, giving her unimagined pleasure.
 
Presley is different than the other submissives Dmitri has mastered. The BDSM lifestyle is new to her, and so are the games they play at Club Sin. From the start, Presley stirs emotions in Dmitri far beyond the raw purity between a dom and the perfect sub. For the ecstasy they share goes beyond the dungeon, igniting a passion that claims the very depths of the heart.

What I Thought: Presley is just coming out of an 8 year relationship with a guy she followed across the country. Heartbroken and shattered she's now living with a good friend Cora . After watching Presley devour BDSM books Cora senses a curiosity in Presley and invites her to join her as a submissive at Club Sin.

As soon as Presley steps foot in his office, Dimitri knows he's found what he's been searching for. He senses a submissive in Presley and a need to please even she isn't aware of. Presley, is at equal turns fascinated and terrified of what she sees her first night in The Dungeon when she realizes that it is only with Dimitri that she is comfortable with letting her inhibitions free.

As readers we are able to watch as Presley accepts the submissive within herself and under the teaching of Dimitri, the most masterful of Dom's and Club Sins owner also finds love. The love story between these two is so sweet.The sex is incredibly HOT and I would rate it as a little lighter on the BDSM side with spanking scenes, and public nudity but no menage action.

The supporting characters are intriguing, and I'm really looking forward to the next two books in this series, which I'm sure will likely focus on Cora and Aiden, and also it will be fun to watch Kyler when he finds the right woman as well.

I've been a fan of Stacey Kennedy for some time, and this is a stray from her usual paranormal path for me. Although she has published the One Night Stand series, which, after reading this I will definitely check out.

An amazing start to what promises to be an excellent series!!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating: 

A Table For Three

From Amazon: Riley Ramirez knew that moving to New York would change her life. She just didn’t expect it to start on her very first night in town. Her attraction to nightclub owner Kincade Marshall is instant, mind-blowing—and mutual. When she finds he is a Dom who requires her complete surrender, even when it comes to submitting to his best friend, Trevor Wellington, she finds herself willing and eager to embrace the sexual adventure.

From their earliest days, Cade and Trevor have shared everything, including women. Yet it only takes one night with Riley to know she is their forever lady. Convincing her that this is more than a temporary fling, though, will take every tool in their sensual arsenal.

As Cade and Trevor set their sights on Riley, however, they’re unaware—until it’s almost too late—that someone is targeting their fragile relationship. Someone who’s taking deadly aim at Riley. Suddenly their struggle to keep their forever woman is a fight to keep her alive…

Warning: This book contains m/f/m ménage, bdsm play, lots of steamy p.d.a, and a fine dining experience that will leave you salivating for more

What I Thought: This book is hot-like climb on your husband and lock the bedroom door till morning hot.

Riley moves to New York to start a new life from a small town in Washington where she worked a job at a bank. Determined to experience the Big Apple, she stumbles unknowingly into a club where things aren't quite what she's expecting.

 Right away Cade, the owner notices her and is determined to make her his and his best friend Trevor's. Cade and Trevor have always shared their women, and finding the right one, with the right chemistry for the three of them isn't something they take lightly. As the three develop a relationship, the suspense story line builds with someone trying to threaten Riley's life.

This book does pretty much roll from one seriously hot sex scene to the next, but somehow the author manages to weave in great character development in her writing that lets you get to know these three and see how much they care about each other. 

My Rating:

Friday Night Alibi

From Amazon: In the wealthy town of Sundale, Kelli Pinkins has hatched the perfect plan to capitalize on her sweet reputation. For a generous fee, she will be every trust-fund baby’s dream: a Friday-night alibi, the “girlfriend” or “BFF” that parents dream about. With college approaching in the fall, Kelli’s services are in demand more than ever, which means that her social life is nonexistent. But Kelli is A-okay with that. She’s raking in cash for school. Besides, relationships are tricky, and sometimes very messy. She’d rather be at home on Xbox LIVE, anyway. Then the unexpected happens: She meets college stud Chase Maroney.

 
Chase isn’t like the preppy, privileged guys Kelli usually meets in Sundale. For starters, he’s twentysomething, always wears black, and he shoots back one-liners as fast as she can dish them out. But Kelli’s attempts to drive Chase away falter when she realizes that he treats her like he really knows her, like he cares about knowing her. When Kelli finally gives in to the delicious kiss she’s been fighting for so long, she faces a tough decision: make Chase a real-life boyfriend and risk her heart . . . or keep her clients and lose her first true love.



What I Thought: WOW. Wow. WOW! This is the sweetest story I have read in a long time. It made me laugh out loud, cry and will seriously tug at your heart. I read it in one sitting- Couldn't put it down.

Kelli Pickins is the girl who has it all, or at least it looks like she does from the outside anyway. In the super rich town of Sundale, Kelli is the girl you say you were with when you were really out with the girl-or guy-that your trust fund hostage holding parents find undesirable. For a price, Kelli has carved a living out of being a weekend alibi for the super rich while she actually spends Friday nights playing XBox live with her favorite gaming partner.

Chase isn't the type of guy Kelli is used to, in fact he takes her so off guard that she doesn't know what to do with him. He's slightly older and challenges her at every turn. He is so dreamy-he had me from his first smart ass remark.

I loved watching these two fall in love. Even when they are playing these huge jokes on each other the romantic tension is just so fun and entertaining. They are kissing one minute and throwing hilarious verbal jabs at each other the next, which makes amps up the steam and the adorable factor. This is labeled New Adult, but I think is safe for Young Adults (14+). Make out scenes only (mostly kissing)- but they are totally sigh-licious! 

I can't wait to see what else comes from this author in the future!

My Rating: 

5Chicks

The Reason Is You

From Amazon: In the small town of Bethany, Texas, Dani never fit in. Being different pushed her to the fringes of society, and even leaving town for two decades didn’t stop the talk. Now she’s back, trying to settle in with her daughter and have a normal life. But the men in her life might not make it that simple. First, there’s her old friend Alex. He’s mischievous, sexy, and still hot enough to melt her shoes. And he’s a ghost—a real one, who’s always been there for her when she most needed him. Of course, there are actual men in Bethany, too. Like Jason with his hard body. Dani seems to have a habit of running into him—literally. Now she must decide between a man who long ago touched her heart and a man she can actually touch… 

What I Thought:  Words can't describe how much I loved this book-but I'm going to try anyway. 
Dani is 40 and down on her luck. She's moving back home with her teenage daughter to Bethany, Texas to get herself back on her feet. Walking around talking to people who weren't there to anyone else made it impossible for her to fit in growing up, and the town still hasn't forgotten it's favorite pariah. She's been in love with Alex since she went to a party in High School where the popular boys got her drunk and tried to take advantage of her. He disappeared when she left for college and with her return to Bethany, Alex also returns to her life. The only problem with that is, Alex is a ghost.

Forced to take the only job available in the small town, she starts working for a fishing charter and bait store where she meets the very hot, and very frustrating Jason who is very much alive, and despite the fact that he seems interested is recently divorced and more than a little gun shy.

This book is all about second chances. It is such an original premise and the characters are written so well. It's an emotional roller coaster ride that you never want to get off of.  I fell in love with Dani, Alex and Jason. I cried my eyes out, and comiserated with also being the parent of a teenager and the angst that goes with that. 

You definitely don't want to miss this book!!

My Rating: 

Escaping Reality

From Amazon: At the young age of eighteen, tragedy and a dark secret force Lara to flee all she has known and loved to start a new life. Now years later, with a new identity as Amy, she's finally dared to believe she is forgotten-even if she cannot forget. But just when she lets her guard down, the ghosts of her past are quick to punish her, forcing her back on the run. 

On a plane, struggling to face the devastation of losing everything again and starting over, Amy meets Liam Stone, a darkly entrancing recluse billionaire, who is also a brilliant, and famous, prodigy architect. A man who knows what he wants and goes after it. And what he wants is Amy. Refusing to take "no" as an answer, he sweeps her into a passionate affair, pushing her to her erotic limits. He wants to possess her. He makes her want to be possessed. Liam demands everything from her, accepting nothing less. But what if she is too devastated by tragedy to know when he wants more than she should give? And what if there is more to Liam than meets the eyes?

What I Thought: This book has everything you've come to expect from Lisa Renee Jones- Mystery, Suspense, Hot Alpha Male, and yes, Hot sex.

Amy (who was previously Lara) was forced to flee her life and her identity several years ago. We meet her in the middle of leaving yet another place and identity. She's not used to noticing men, or them taking notice of her, but when her eyes meet Liam Stone's in the airport terminal everything about her takes notice. In a coincidence that only happens in in books (which is why we love them) they end up seated together and Amy soon learns that this is a man who will posses her heart and soul.

This book is written in first person, all from Amy's POV, which was a little difficult for me to get used to, but I got over it. I wanted to know more about where Liam was coming from, which we will likely get in the next book. This is a great story, suspenseful and sexy- but you should expect to be left in the dark. This book is basically just setting you up for a series. We never really find out what Amy is running from, why people are trying to kill her, or what in Liam's past that is hinted at causes him to be so possessive and domineering.

If you are a fan of Lisa Renee Jones, you'll definitely want to pick this one up!

My Rating: 

Anything But Sweet

From Amazon: Welcome to Candis Terry’s Sweet, Texas, a sexy new contemporary series where the wild Wilder brothers find love in a town that, despite its name, is anything but sweet...
 
War and the deaths of loved ones have changed Ex-marine Reno Wilder’s attitude. Now this military man is ready to settle down into a calmer life. So when Sweet is chosen as a destination for a makeover TV show, he’s less than pleased about the potential disruption to his routine.
 
Headstrong show host and designer Charlotte Brooks arrives in Sweet ready to change everything, including Reno. Locked in a face-off neither saw coming, will they be able to find common ground and realize that a life together could be sexy…and also very sweet?
What I Thought:This fun book has all the elements I love about a contemporary. A small southern town, a fun sassy heroine, hot ex military men and a great cast of supporting characters. The dialogue is fun and snappy, and the sex is hot.

Charli works for an Extreme Makeover style reality show, where instead of making over a home, the team goes from town to town and makes over the businesses to help boost tourism and breathe some new life into them. Having been on the move her whole life with a father in the marines Charli longs to put down roots somewhere and have something and someone to call hers.

Reno's past couple years have been filled with tragedy and heartache. In the span of two years he's lost his fiance, his father and his brother to war. Since he returned from the Marine's and Afghanistan, he's been working the family's ranch and running his father's hardware store. The last thing he wants is change.

What I like about this story is that even though Reno is a hot strong hero, Charli is the aggressor in their relationship. Reno wants her, but he doesn't want the strings he knows is sure to come with her. The only thing that didn't really work for me was the climax of the story where they are supposed to have had a fight-only it didn't really read as a fight- but then suddenly they aren't talking to each other. Maybe I missed something.

The story sets us up for stories that will involve the rest of Reno's brothers, also all ex military and I will definitely be checking those out as well.

It's a really fun contemporary though, and if you are a fan of Rachel Gibson or Susan Mallery-you should definitely give this author a try!

My Rating: 

5th Grave Past The Light

FROM AMAZON: Charley Davidson isn’t your everyday, run-of-the-mill grim reaper.  She’s more of a paranormal private eye/grim reaper extraordinaire.  However, she gets sidetracked when the sexy, sultry son of Satan, Reyes Farrow, moves in next door. To further complicate matters, Reyes is her main suspect in an arson case.  Charley has vowed to stay away from him until she can find out the truth…but then dead women start appearing in her apartment, one after another, each lost, confused, and terrified beyond reason.  When it becomes apparent that her own sister, Gemma, is the serial killer’s next target Charley has no choice but to ask for Reyes’ help.  Arsonist or not, he’s the one man alive who could protect Gemma no matter who or what came at her. But he wants something in return. Charley. All of her, body and soul. And to keep her sister safe, it is a price she is willing to pay.

Charley Davidson is at it again in Fifth Grave Past the Light, the sexy, suspenseful, and laugh-out-loud funny fifth installment of the New York Times bestselling series by Darynda Jones.

WHAT I THOUGHT: If you haven't been reading this series and you are a fan of UF or PR then you should definitely add it to your list, but you'll want to start at the beginning as each book kind of picks up where the last one ended and dropping in the middle might leave you confused.

If you have been, then like me, you've probably been waiting for 5th grave since last year!

This is a big turning point in the series, so get ready Charley fans! In this installment Charley picks up the arson case that was left unsolved at the end of the 4th, unsure whether or not Reyes was responsible for burning down every horrible place he had to endure living in as a kid with his sister Kim in an attempt to erase his and her past. Charley also has several ghostly inhabitants take up residence in her apartment, all women, all blonde from the ages of 7-35 and the main suspense line of this story is the case of trying to figure out what happened to them.

Of course, there is always the Charley/Reyes story going on, and in this book we FINALLY get more of this story then before in all the other books combined. I can't know for sure because I haven't seen anything posted about her plans for where the series will go from here or how many books she plans before the series is finished. All I can say is it feels like this is the middle-there were some resolutions but a lot more new storyline possibilities opened up which leaves more unanswered questions. 

There is a cliff hanger of course--but you are going to LOVE IT!!

My Rating: 

Frost

From Amazon: Dagney Night, a sought-after succubus, is no stranger to blazing hot sex. But as Valentine’s Day approaches, she longs for something more. When oddly erotic paintings arrive for display at her art gallery, arousing everyone who views them, she wonders about the mysterious artist who created the works.

Maxwell Raines, a fire-sex demon, lives a life of solitude and seclusion behind the walls of his compound at Sleepy Hollow, channeling his lustful impulses into his art—until his muse deserts him and his temperature rises past the danger point-He needs sex. Now.

When Madame Evangeline arranges a torrid Valentine’s 1Night Stand for them, will the flames of their encounter be too hot to handle?

What I Thought: I so LOVE this author and her hot little 1Night Stand Novellas! This is perfect when you are looking for  something a little short and a lot spicy! We met Dagney's sister, Lily in Lightening (which was equally hot) and now we get to know Dagney a little better. 

Dagney is a succubus who is a little tired of the endless empty sex filling her life. When she starts receiving erotic paintings to display at her art gallery and see the effects they have on her customers she realizes she must meet the artist who created them.

Maxwell is a demon who is a bit of a recluse, walling himself behind his erotic paintings until his hunger becomes too much to bear. 

It's Valentine's Day and Madame Evageline is putting her matchmaking skills to work again. 

These are such great stories, and the characters are so well developed for how short they are. You definitely want to check this one out!!

My Rating: 

The Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs

    

From the Author's Website: Mercedes is Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. Her native american heritage has gifted her with the ability to take the form of a coyote at will. She's surrounded by far more powerful supernatural beings, including werewolves, vampires and an assortment of fey. http://www.patriciabriggs.com/books/

What I Thought: I listened to the entire series on Audiobook 

over the course of about 6 weeks. This was my first experience with an audiobook, and Oh holy crap how I loved my daily commute during that time! I've been hooked since!!

 I am reviewing the entire  8 book series at once here, that's not the end it's just where we are in the series.

If you like Urban Fantasy, and you haven't read or listened to these yet-you should drop everything and get going. Let me warn you though-you'll be busy because you won't be able to stop.

The world Brigg's has created with Mercy, her pack of werewolves (she's not one though, she's a coyote shifter), her VW bus driving vampire friend, and her fey landlord is so real, you can almost see yourself there.

Mercy is tough as nails, and has a knack for getting herself in trouble. Part of what I love so much about this series is yes there is romance, but it develops slowly over the course of several books. It kind of takes a backseat to the Urban Fantasy side of the story, but this is one of very few cases where that didn't leave me finding the story lacking anything. The Narrator, Loralei King does an AMAZING job telling the story.

If you've never tried audio and you're a fan of genre, I would definitely give this series a try!

My Rating: 

Inked Magic

FROM AMAZON: With the touch of her palms to the skin of a crime victim, San Francisco tattoo artist Etaín can see the faces of the guilty and draw them. Changeling elf but unaware of it, at odds with her police captain father and FBI agent brother, magic and gift have put her in the path of two compelling men.

Cathal Dunne, the son of an Irish mob boss, needs Etaín's help finding the rapists who left his cousin for dead. Eamon, a powerful elf lord, is determined to make her his consort-wife.

Her gift once made permanence impossible when it came to a lover. Now, as she approaches the transition to fully Elven, her survival depends on keeping two. One of the men is willing to share her. The other isn't-until the search for a sexual predator turns deadly, and only by paying magic's price will there be any future at all.

WHAT I THOUGHT: First let me say, while I had some issues following the story- I really LOVED it. It's a totally original premise and I'm totally stoked to see where the author takes it in the future. 

I hadn't heard of this author before, and happened to see Book 2 in this series Inked Destiny while perusing the isles at B&N. When I realized it was book two- I decided to start at the beginning. Good thing I did, this book has a LOT of characters to keep track of and a lot of story to follow. I haven't read the second book yet, but I definitely will.

I love ink, and stories that incorporate that in some way- so this one was a no brainer for me to begin with. Etain is a heroine I totally got on board with. Tough and sexy, she owns her decisions and doesn't take crap from anyone. She's always had this unexplainable gift (or curse) to be able to capture someone's memories or emotions by touching them. She's helped the police (which happen to include her estranged father and brother) on several cases, and this story revolves around two in particular- which are unrelated rape cases one of the places things got a little confusing for me. One of the rape cases gains her the attention of Cathal an Irish Mob Boss's son- which in turn brings her the attention of Eamon an Elf Lord. See, a lot to keep track of here.

 She's about to learn that she is something more than human and what these gifts mean.

This story has TWO very hot Alpha hero's in Cathal  and Eamon ( I kept picturing Legolas here in the way he's described). Both of them wish to claim Etain, and she wants to have them both. This part of the story is done very well-and VERY HOT. Watching Cathal and Eamon come to terms with the fact that if they want her bad enough they're going to have to be ok with sharing her. 

This book has so much going on and going for it-between the action in the suspense storyline, and then the relationship building between Etain, Cathal and Eamon. I will definitely follow the rest of the series!

My Rating: 

A Novel Seduction

From Amazon:From the old steel mills of Pittsburgh to the picturesque hills of Scotland, romance novels save the day in RITA Award–winning author Gwyn Cready’s fun and sensuous take on literature and modern-day love.

When snobbish book critic Ellery Sharpe screws up at Vanity Place magazine, her boss assigns her the ultimate punishment: write an ode to romance novels, a genre she considers the literary equivalent of word search puzzles. To make matters worse, he hires her sexy former party boy ex, Axel Mackenzie, to shoot the photos. Axel really wants the project to succeed. For one, the magazine will double his fee if he convinces strong-willed Ellery to write a story no woman can resist. Besides, getting Ellery to fall for romance novels might be just the push she needs to believe people can change . . . even him. At his sister’s advice, Axel gives Ellery a copy of Kiltlander, a much-adored romance whose warrior hero is utterly irresistible. To her dismay, Ellery finds herself secretly falling in love with the story—and with Axel, who’s drawing his own lessons from the book’s compelling hero. With her carefully crafted image of herself crumbling and her dream job on the line, will Ellery risk it all to make the leap from tight-lipped literati to happily-ever-after heroine?

What I Thought: Reading this is SO much fun!!
Ellery Sharpe screws up at work by writing a story blasting romance novels and one of it's hottest new writers (cue a Twilight-esque story here) who happens to be sleeping with her boss. Her punishment? Write an article that pays homage to the genre. She gets paired up with her ex Axel, who while out to prove that yes, people can change- is also seeing the fun in proving to Ellery that romance can be fun and well..so can she.
In order to get there, she starts with one of the most loved romance novels of all time Kiltlander (which is Outlander).
I go back to this book again and again just because some of the quotes and scenes make me laugh so hard.

Ellery, Axel and the rest of the cast of characters in this book are people I want to hang out with and I LOVE that about them!

This book takes all the cliche's of every romance novel you've ever read, mixes them up and serves them back to you in a great big sundae with extra chocolate sauce.
I have recommended it so many times to people, if nothing else to just say-
"THIS IS WHY!!! DO YOU GET IT YET??"

If you're in the mood for a fun contemporary that is sexy and laugh out loud funny you'll definitely want to check this one out!!

My Rating:

What Once Was Perfect

From Amazon: Heading home always stirs up mixed emotions for Laney Calhoun. Twelve years ago she left for graduate school, broken-hearted. She’s found professional success, but positive personal relationships have proved elusive. Running into her ex-boyfriend fans flames she thought long extinguished, and causes a renewed interest in love. Not with Kyle, of course. Never again. But as sparks fly and items of clothing disappear, she scrambles to keep her emotions in check.

Kyle Nixon let Laney slip away once. Their chemistry together is undeniable, but steamy sex is not enough to convince her to let him back into her heart. Even if she did trust him again, her medical career is five hundred kilometers away from the hometown that he loves, and the life that he once chose over her.
What Once Was Perfect is a short and sexy contemporary romance novel set in Wardham, Ontario, a fictitious small farming community on the shores of Lake Erie.

What I Thought: This is a sweet contemporary romance perfect for curling up on the couch on a rainy day. I say that because the time frame is Christmas, and being that it's so hot here on the East Coast lately I feel like I live on the surface of the sun-it was a great escape.

Laney left home 12 years ago for med school and never looked back. She has a successful career and a few friends with benefits relationships since having her heart broken by the only man who ever really had access to it. Not wanting to take the risk of having her heart broken again, Laney has spent the past 12 years holding herself back from any real relationships. When she goes home for the holidays, she runs into Kyle, the boy who is now a man and sparks long gone fire up again in his presence, along with unwanted and unresolved feelings.

Kyle hasn't stopped kicking himself for letting Laney get away so many years ago, and he hasn't ever really gotten over losing her. 

The characters are fun, and well developed. I really liked that they lived in a small town and everyone was giving their opinions which was cute and funny. This is the first in a series and I will look forward to reading the next one as, I really enjoyed the character of Evie, Laney's sister.

This is a stand alone book however without a cliffhanger, which I appreciated- and a great HEA!

My Rating:
4 Chicks!

This book can be purchased at the link below- The Kindle version is only .99!!