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: