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!!