Tuesday, October 27, 2015

DARKEST BEFORE DAWN by MAYA BANKS #RELEASEDAY #BOOKREVIEW

Title:  Darkest Before Dawn
Series:  KGI #10
Author: Maya Banks
Release Date:  October 27, 2015

THE ALL-NEW KGI NOVEL from the “incredibly awesome" (Jaci Burton) #1 New York Times bestselling author of When Day Breaks.

The Kelly Group International (KGI):
 A super-elite, top secret, family-run business.
Qualifications: High intelligence, rock-hard body, military background.
Mission: Hostage/kidnap victim recovery. Intelligence gathering. Handling jobs the U.S. government can’t...

The enigmatic Hancock has been both opponent and ally to the KGI teams for as long as they've known him. Always working a deep game, Hancock's true allegiance has never been apparent, but one thing is for certain—he never lets anything get in the way of duty.

But now, his absolute belief in the primacy of his ultimate goal is challenged by a captive he's been ordered to guard, no matter how much she suffers in her prison. She's the only woman who's ever managed to penetrate the rigid walls surrounding his icy heart, but will he allow his perplexing feelings for the beautiful victim to destroy a mission he's spent years working to complete or will he be forced to sacrifice her for “the greater good.”
 

 I've read the KGI books, but I think that if you haven't "Darkest Before Dawn" could probably be read as a standalone.  KGI is in the book, but not until later.  

"Darkest Before Dawn" is the story of Hancock, a former Titan member.  For those who haven't read the books Titan is a mercenary, ex military group.  Hancock is military through and through.  He's strong, controlled, and capable.  He lives by his own code.  He also lives by the code of Titan, "for the greater good."   He has been called upon to make brutal decisions all to save the majority.  He has had to make sacrifices "for the greater good."  He seems like nothing can touch him.

This book is also the story of Honor.  Honor is just what her name says.  She's honorable; she's innocent, pure, and good.  Honor is a humanitarian aide.  She is in the Middle East trying to help those that everyone else has forsaken.  She wants to help.  She wants to save the world.  

For years Hancock has been trying to take down a brutal, Russian terrorist group.  He has had the opportunity twice in the past, but he put others ahead of his mission (KGI members and their women).  Now he won't let anything stand in his way.  In order to do so, he has to capture and then turn over, innocent Honor.  

Honor is extremely understanding of her situation.  She knows that she must be sacrificed and she's so good and pure that she forgives.  She is the undoing of Hancock.  

Hancock and Honor end up falling for each other.  It is a doomed relationship and in the end Hancock must decide whether to do the greater good or to do for himself.

At first I really wasn't a fan of Hancock.  I had read about him in other books and didn't like him then.  But the more I read, the more I grew to respect him.  He's brutal, but he does have his code.  Everyone thinks he is heartless, but he does have a heart.  He can feel, he can love.  He's very controlling and dominant, but part of his dominance stems from his need to have control in his life.  By the end of the book I really liked Hancock.  

Honor is so sweet that she's impossible to not like.  From the beginning I loved her and felt for her.  She deserved so much more than her fate.

As with all Maya Banks books that I read, I cried and smiled.  This is a long book, but it's so good that I couldn't put it down.  I give Darkest Before Dawn FIVE STARS!




Maya Banks is the #1 New York Times, #1 USA Today and international bestselling author of over 50 novels. A wife and mother of three, she lives in Texas.







Thursday, October 22, 2015

MINE by STACEY KENNEDY - #BLOGTOUR #BOOKREVIEW #GIVEAWAY


Title: Mine
Series: Club Sin #7
Author: Stacey Kennedy
Release Date: Oct 27, 2015
Publisher: Loveswept


Dmitri and Presley—the scorching-hot couple who started it all in Claimed—return to save Club Sin in the exhilarating new short novel from USA Today bestselling author Stacey Kennedy.

Dmitri Pratt is living out his dream. Not only does he own the ultimate playground for the BDSM lifestyle, he’s found a special connection with his deliciously sexy sub, Presley Flynn, the woman who complements him in ways that go far beyond the bedroom. But when an anonymous blackmailer threatens to expose the elite, high-profile members of Club Sin in a notorious tabloid, Dmitri’s perfect world spirals out of control.

Before she met Dmitri, Presley never imagined she would find a Master who could deliver on all her hottest fantasies. Dmitri’s love and his sensual artistry surprise her every day, until he suddenly turns distant and cold. For the first time, Presley wonders where Dmitri’s heart truly lies: with her, or with Club Sin. As the life they’ve built together begins to crumble, Presley can only trust that Dmitri has what it takes—to defend what’s his, and win back the woman he cannot live without.


Mine is intended for mature audiences.

I've read all of the Club Sin books and several other Stacey Kennedy books.  Stacey Kennedy was one of the first authors I discovered back when I started reading this genre.  I've never yet been disappointed.  Mine is a little bit different from some of the other Club Sin books.  In book one,  Claimed, we met Dmitri and Presley.  We met the other masters, but Claimed was their story.  

Dmitri and Presley have been in each subsequent book.  They are a strong couple and it seems like nothing can ever happen to break them apart.  

Mine is the final book in the Club Sin series.  It wraps up the series, but it also goes back to Dmiti and Presley.  Something does happen to hurt Dmitri and Presley's relationship.  Club Sin is threatened.  Dmitri's whole life had been the club before Presley, and now he wants to save and protect.

Unfortunately Dmitri's way of protecting is very close mouthed and Presley gets very hurt by him.  

I feel like I already knew Dmitri and Presley, but Mine adds a whole new dimension to Dmitri.  Presley's character was already fairly developed.  She's become stronger and more confident over the years and books, but Dmitri was the one who really made this book.  He is a strong, very dominant, man.  He likes to be in charge.  He likes to protect.  In Mine we see him change.  He's no less dominant, but he learns priorities.  He becomes even more lovable and real.  He's not perfect and he accepts his mistakes and apologizes for them.  I absolutely loved Dmitri in Mine.

I'm sad to see this series end, but Stacey Kennedy is going to have a spin off series.  So I'll be anxiously awaiting it.  I give Mine FOUR STARS!








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Stacey Kennedy is the USA Today bestselling author of the Club Sin series. She writes deeply emotional romances about powerful men and the wild women who tame them. When she’s not plugging away at a new story, she’s either hiking, canoeing, relaxing around a campfire, or obsessing over Penny Dreadful, Game of Thrones, andOutlander. Stacey lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband (who puts any of the heroes in her books to shame), their two young children, and her other babies: a mini labradoodle named Jax and a chocolate labrador named Murphy.






Tuesday, October 20, 2015

PRETTY WHEN YOU CRY by SKYE WARREN - #RELEASEBLITZ #BOOKREVIEW

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Title: PRETTY WHEN YOU CRY 
Series: Stripped #3
Author: Skye Warren
Release Date: October 16, 2015
Genre: Dark Erotic Romance
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A new dark romance novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderlust and Prisoner…

I came from a place of dirt floors and holy scriptures. They told me the world outside was full of sin, and the first night I escape, I find out it’s true. Ivan saves me, but he does more than that. He takes me. He makes me his own girl.

My conditioning runs too deep. Ivan sees what I am.

That’s the thing about showing a mouse to a cat. He wants to play. And it’s terrifying, even for me. Because the only thing darker than my past is his.

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Author's Note: Pretty When You Cry is a STANDALONE dark romance novel. It's set in the sexy Stripped series world but can be read alone. Not intended for those uncomfortable with the subject matter or under eighteen.



I've read every one of Skye Warren's books and always go back for more.  I love how she blends the dark and erotic in a kind of love story.  Pretty When You Cry is definitely all of these.  It is the third book in the Stripped series, but I think it could definitely be read as a standalone.  I've read all the other books and I definitely recommend reading them too.  

Candace was raised in a very strict, somewhat crazy, religious commune.  There was definite abuse going on there.  When Candace was 16, the head of the commune started showing more interest in her than he should so her mother sent her away.  Her mother gave her what money she had, but it wasn't much.  

Candace ends up in the city of Tanglewood.  She is immediately taken in by Ivan.  He takes her in, takes care of Candace and doesn't let anyone touch her.  He lets her strip in his club, but he makes sure she is protected.  Of course, part of the reason he won't let anyone touch her is that he considers her his own.  He protects Candace but he owns her too.  When she is of age he takes what he wants.

Neither Candace nor Ivan are traditional "good" people.  Ivan is a criminal and Candace is a stripper.  But I liked them both.  Candace is young, but not all that innocent.  She works in a strip club and sees all.  She's also done drugs, alcohol.  The only thing that remains innocent about her is her virginity.  Ivan is all about control.  He is extremely dominant.  He takes what he wants and doesn't ask for forgiveness.   His dominance is very sexy.  

The one thing I didn't like about the book was the "Daddy" aspect.  Ivan demands that Candace refer to him as "Daddy."  I'm not all the into age play and I didn't think it was necessary.  The punishments were sexy, but the "Daddy" word was not.  If you can get past that though, this book is all Skye Warren.  It's a great story in a great series.  

I give Pretty When You Cry FOUR STARS!




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Stripped Series
Stripped Series
 
Tough Love: A Stripped Prequel
Love the Way You Lie: A Stripped Novel, #1
Better When It Hurts: A Stripped Novel, #2
Even Better: A Stripped Novella #2.5
 

Skye Warren is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of dark romance.



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Monday, October 19, 2015

NEVER SAY NEVER by EMILY GOODWIN - #BLOGTOUR #BOOKREVIEW

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Title: Never Say Never
Author: Emily Goodwin
Genre: Full length, stand-alone contemporary romance
Release Date: September 28, 2015
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My life was full of nevers. 

It was never supposed to go this way. I was never supposed to lose Mom so soon. I was never supposed to worry about making ends meet, to worry about losing the farm. I never thought I’d be working a job I hate, with a boss who was more interested in what was under my shirt than in my head. Saving neglected and abused horses had been my whole life. It was my reprieve, my sanity, my last saving grace in a cruel world. I never thought I’d grow to resent it, but I guess there is a first for everything. 

Then I met him. 

The Hollywood playboy. The entitled, cocky asshole that I can’t get out of my head. I never thought there could be more to him than sex appeal and an infamous reputation of loving and leaving. I never thought I’d fall for him, put my heart on the line, and risk letting him completely destroy me. 

But you know what they tell you…never say never. 


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Bloody hell, I want her. Without taking my mouth off of hers, I reach down and pull up her shirt, exposing her breasts. I trail kisses down her neck and bury my head between her tits. 
Her legs wrap around me and she arches her back. She wants this too, and I know it’s more than just physical lust. She needs to feel the connection, to be touched, just as badly as I do. My hands run over the smooth skin of her stomach. I unbutton her jeans and move back up, putting my lips to hers once more. 
I slide my hands down, intending on taking off her trousers. I feel the scar tissue beneath my fingers and she flinches.
“Sorry,” I pant. “Does it hurt?” 
She turns her head away and closes her eyes. “Yes.” 
“I’ll be careful,” I tell her.
“I know.” She doesn’t look at me. “I’m just…”
“Haley?” I grind my erection against her. It’s straining against my trousers so hard it’s starting to hurt. I need to be inside her.
“It’s ugly and gross, and I’m sorry.” I sit up to look, but she pulls me back down, shaking her head. “You don’t want to see it, trust me.” 
I press a kiss to her forehead. “Haley,” I pant. “Nothing about you is ugly or gross.” Our eyes lock, faces just inches from each other. “I have scars too.” 
“I know,” she whispers, gently running her finger over the jagged line above my eye. “I like your scars.” 
“Let me like yours.” 
Still looking into my eyes, she moves her head up and down. I rock back and gently move her shirt up. Rough, raised skin stretches tightly along her side. It’s pink and rippled, mapping a web of pain from the curve of her hip up to the side of her breast. A knot forms in my stomach, but it’s not from the sight of her. It’s from knowing that her flesh has been melted, that she has felt so much pain and was left with this as a reminder she has to live with every day. 
“It’s hideous, isn’t it?” she asks, unable to look at me. “Like Freddy Kruger.” 
“No, not at all like him.” I move down and gently press my lips to her scar. “You’re beautiful, Haley.” 
She trembles under me, and I kiss her scar one more time. “I’m glad you think so,” she says, tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry.” 
I wipe the tears away. “Don’t be sorry.” She closes her eyes and nods, pushing her shirt down and covering the scar on her side. I tip my head and push up her sleeve. The scar on her shoulder isn’t as bad. The skin is flat and shiny, and not as pink. I sweep my finger over it and then press my lips against that scar too.
“I wish you could see you the way I do. You’d see that you are beautiful.”
“Aiden,” she says as tears roll down her face. Then she’s pulling me on her again, and we kiss in a fury of passion. The same tightness plagues me, and I have to turn away to cough again. I bury my face in her breasts, trying to catch my breath. “Are you feeling okay?” she asks.
No, I’m not. But I’m so turned on, so wrapped up in her, it doesn’t matter. “I’m good enough.” She smiles and everything is right in the world again. “I want you,” I confess. 
“I want you too,” she says. 
I grin and put my lips to her neck, softly sucking on her skin. She lets out a moan. I hold myself up on my elbows and take her hands in mine, pushing them above her head. She squirms underneath me, rubbing herself against my erection. 
I trail kisses down her neck, over her soft breasts and onto her stomach. She lifts her hips, and I slip her jeans over her arse and pull them down to her knees. She kicks them off and wraps her legs around me, bringing me in. 
Her phone rings. “Ignore it,” she pants, and she lifts her head up to kiss me. She doesn’t have to tell me twice. Her fingers run through my hair again, and I can hardly take it. The phone stops ringing and she reaches for me, fingers hovering over my belt. 
Then her phone rings again. “It’s probably Lori,” she tells me as she undoes the buckle. Her hands are so close to my cock. She’s moving slow on purpose, teasing me, and I love and hate her for it at the same time. “She’ll leave a message if it’s important.” 
“Okay,” I rush out, holding my hips up. She pulls the belt through the loops and lets it drop to the floor. She takes hold of my zipper and runs her hand over me through the outside of my trousers. Fuck, I need her. 
Tantalizing, she moves her hands back up, fingernails running over the skin on my sides. I’m about ready to take off my own fucking trousers. Her hands sweep back down and unbutton my jeans. The zipper comes down on its own, unable to hold back my erection. I yank them off. She sticks her hand inside my boxers, fingers curling around my cock, and I melt at her touch. 
Then her phone rings again. Three calls in a row—that’s never a good sign. She freezes, my cock in her hand. My lips are against hers, my tongue in her mouth, and I think about how good it would feel if my dick went in there. 
She shakes her head and starts pumping her hand. I want inside of her. I want to connect as one, feeling physically how she makes me feel inside. I don’t want to just fuck her. I want to make love to her. 
I’ve never, ever wanted that before. 
She tugs my boxers down, and I’m overcome with want. I take my mouth off hers and remove her shirt, staring at her large breasts for a few seconds before moving back down. Both of her hands are on my arse, and she’s pulling me down, pressing me into her, the thin material of her nickers keeping us apart. She’s so warm, and I know she wants me as badly as I want her. 
“Do you want to go upstairs?” she pants, sliding her hand around my thighs. 
I don’t care where we go, as long as I’m with her. “This is fine,” I say, only because letting her go isn’t something I can do right now. We’re cramped together on the couch and a bed would be better, especially for our first time. Though the passion between us is unlike anything I’ve felt before, and I know no matter where we are, making love to Haley is going to be transcendent.
Her heart is racing against mine. She nods and widens her legs. I slip my hands behind her and unclasp her bra, slowly rolling each strap down until her breasts come free. 
“You are so fucking beautiful,” I whisper before I press my mouth to her, flicking my tongue against her erect nipple. She moans again and takes hold of the hem of my shirt. I hold my arms up and she pulls it off, dropping it on the floor next to us. Her eyes sweep over me.

“So are you,” she says, and her eyes land on my cock. It turns me on to see her staring at it with hunger and lust in her eyes. I dive back down, moving to the side just enough to run my hand over her stomach and inside her nickers. My breath catches when I feel her wetness, and my want intensifies. I put my lips on the soft skin inside her neck, kissing her as I stroke my fingers over her core. 


At the beginning of Never Say Never there is a horrible accident.  Haley is hurt and her mother dies.  Haley is now trying to get her life back together.  She's strapped financially and still recovering emotionally.  She's working a low paying job for the local newspaper.  

Aiden is a famous A-list actor.  He's seen it all and done it all.  But when Haley interviews him for the local paper he's smitten.  The two are attracted to each other right away.  Aiden won't take no for an answer and he gets Haley to go out with him.  

Aiden and Haley are complete opposites, but Emily Goodwin shows us that opposites do attract.  They both help each other work through issues and problems and are really good for each other.  Aiden's jaded, but he sees the real world with Haley.  Haley is hurt and scared, but Aiden sees her through it.

I really liked Never Say Never and look forward to reading more by Emily Goodwin.  It was a nice, sweet romance.  I give Never Say Never FOUR AND A HALF STARS! 


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Emily Goodwin is the author of the twice banned dark romance, STAY, as well as over a dozen other titles. Emily writes all types of romance, from love stories set in the zombie apocalypse to contemporary romances taking place on a western horse ranch. Emily lives in Indiana with her husband, children, and many pets, including a German Shepherd named Vader. When she isn't writing, Emily can be found riding her horses, designing and making costumes, and sitting outside with a good book.


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