Reckless by Priscilla West

This was my introduction to Priscilla West and what an introduction it was! One of my favorite parts of the book (I have a few…) was when They finally make it to Las Vegas. Riley wondered what the rock star lifestyle was like. Jax decided, time to show her. When it was time for the encore, he handed Riley a drumstick and a cowbell… who doesn’t love the cowbell?! Hesitant at first, she tapped the cowbell. She’s on stage in front of hundreds of thousands of people. When would she ever get to do this again? She threw her shyness to the side and became the rock god she always wanted to be and banged the hell out that cowbell… quickly becoming the “badass Riley” Jax knew she could be.

We begin with Riley and Jen, charged up for some change in their life, take on an adventure where the outcome lasts longer than your average set. For Riley, that adventure didn’t end with that night. The next morning she finds that the adventure will continue…

Riley works for an accountant firm and not as straight laced as she seems. Jax is the brooding bad boy that every girl wants. Their chemistry was undeniable. I loved their interactions. But what’s a romance without some conflict?!

Riley goes on tour with Jax and his band, trying to find ways to reduce their budget. In the process, she gets to know Chewie, Sky, and Kev… and Jax. Jax has a troubled past that he would much rather leave where it is… in the past. Riley has troubled past… but only with relationships. Her ex did a number on her… Needless to say, with each others pasts, they’ve made some mistakes where the other is concerned. The book ended with me wondering… Can Riley really burn away the past? If so, at what cost?

The book was well written, and kept me turning the page to find out what happened next. The main characters were great. Riley wasn’t the strongest female character you’ve ever read, but she was strong when she needed to be. Jax was everything you look for in a bad boy. I loved everything about him. The supporting characters were awesome as well. The combination really helped moved the story along. It does end in a cliff hanger, which I’m not really a fan of… but the ending works.

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Caversham Bride

I really wanted to love this book… It’s a historical romance, what’s not to love?! The book starts off following 19-year old Lia as she’s on her way to the pharmacy on an errand for her aunt. She’s sure it’s for naught, but she goes anyway. Along the way she realizes she’s being follow and later captured by two goons that have been hired (by her aunt) to kill her. Instead they sell her to man in Morocco to work in a harem.

While visiting a friend, Ren sees Lia fleeing from a man with fear in her eyes. So naturally, he buys her. They both have quite the predicament… Her aunt’s trying to kill Lia and her brother. Ren has a cousin, Thomas, trying to kill him… both for the inheritance money. Ren needs an heir, Lia needs to save her brother. So a child for a child.

The way Ren handled her aunt I’d say was pretty straight forward. He removed them both from Lia’s aunt’s home and made her return every bit of the inheritance money she’s already used. However, the way the story was written, there was no real conflict when it came to Thomas. You think Thomas dies, but no… just someone who looks like Thomas. You’re thinking there’s about 25% left in the book, this could be exciting! NOPE! One chapter later the conflict is over… it’s all about Lia’s survival now. Everything in this book just felt like it was rushed. That kept me from loving the book. It’s a good story… not a great one. This would be something I’d recommend when you need to pass the time…

The Addictive Blog Award

 

I was nominated by Emalie. This was so awesome and I thank you! Here’s her post by the way

Here are the rules:
1. Thank the person awarding you.
2. Share a little about why you blog and how the journey started.
3. Paste the blog award on your page.
4. Nominate 10 other bloggers you feel deserve the award.

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I created my blog because I have a love and a passion for reading and feeding the imagination. I was nervous about starting my blog because I always thought, “Who really wants to know what you think?!” That thought alone is what took me so long to create this blog. I don’t regret starting this blog. I have “met” some very interesting people through this and we all share the same love for books and reading. I hope that never stops! I think it’s really cool and fun to have someone to share your opinions with on books of different genres. I used to have at least one friend I could meet up with and tell them about this really awesome book, but now we’re in different states. Why stop giving reviews on books to one person when I can give them to a plethora of people from all over?!

I would like to nominate:

Emalie (I don’t know if she can nominated again… but what the hell!?)

Estefany Swan

Nicole Hernandez

Book Geeking

Written Word Worlds

Gel

Yvo

Book Review ~ Seven Years by Dannika Dark

What got me to read this book were the high ratings it received and I was reading it along with Emalie. I figured, “This book has an average rating of 4 stars, the cover looks awesome, the synopsis is interesting and it’s only $0.99… can’t be that bad. Why not?!”

Here’s why not… the book starts off pretty slow. After about 50 pages, I was kind of bored and thinking WTF?! After about 100 pages I thought, “Welp, saw that coming…” Some of the characters were likable which helped me continue reading the story. One of the problems for me was that the character that should have been likable… wasn’t. Lexi made some dreadful choices and some of the narrative that’s given through her perspective made her seem materialistic.  She just seemed very confused about what she wanted and that caused her to lead Austin on; which was not fair to him.

Here’s a breakdown of characters:

April – a very sweet young woman that works in the candy shop with Lexi. She’s shy and reserved, but loyal to Lexi. There’s obviously something more to her story, but this isn’t the book you’ll find out about her.

Austin – Wes’s best friend and Lexi’s crush. He’s a shape shifter in the form of a wolf… alpha male. His entire family is shape shifters. Extremely loyal and protective of Lexi as he has been her entire life. Comes back to town unexpectedly, but came to stay.

Beckett – grade A asshole. Self-professed meathead. Works as a bouncer at a night club where his boss hates him. He’s Lexi’s ex-boyfriend. He had an affair with a woman in the backseat of Lexi’s car. He’s also crazy and possessive. At one point, he actually tried to kill Lexi. Austin arrived in time to save her life.

Denver – one of Austin’s older brothers. Fun-loving and free spirited. Forms a protective bond and friendship with Maizy. Quite possibly the best character in this book… and he’s not a main character.

Lexi – the “heroine” of the story. I think my issue with her is she always needs saving. Her choices sometimes gets her into trouble because she doesn’t like to listen to advice. However, she is the glue that holds the family together after Wes’s tragic death seven years ago. She has a close bond with her sister, Maizy. At the age of 27, her life is taken for a whirl when she finds out (from Austin) she’s a shape shifter as well. This plot twist we saw coming. A better plot twist would have been Lexi being in love with Austin all of her life and finding out he’s gay…

Lorenzo – another alpha male shape shifter of a different pack. He’s hella creepy. He shows up unexpectedly ALL. THE. TIME. He’s attracted to Lexi, but only because he thinks she’s beautiful and another female that could warm his bed at night. He is protective of her, but everything about him is wrong. He lives a very lavish lifestyle and he uses that to try to lure Lexi to be with him. He and Austin are enemies.

Lynn – the mother of Wes, Lexi, and Maizy. She’s held it together for the most part, but she hasn’t really been the same since Wes died. On the anniversary of his death, she holds a dinner in memory of him. Half way through the story, Nelson, her ex-husband, kidnaps her… but she is eventually found.

Naya – Lexi’s neighbor and friend. She is also a shifter… works at as a dancer at a club. She’s very likable and always keeps an eye on Maizy when needed. Unfortunately, her being a shape shifter added nothing to the story.

Nelson – Wes’s dad and Lynn’s ex-husband. Was thought to be Lexi’s and Maizy’s father as well, however Nelson isn’t all he seems. Nelson is a hit man for the “Shape Shifting mob” and has seemed to fall off the map. He manages to piss the mob off by stealing from them…

Maizy – Lexi’s 6-year old sister that believes in the princess fairy tales… that one day her prince will come and rescue her and will live happily ever after. Why shouldn’t she believe in that?! She’s 6… she forms a close bond with Denver after she was kidnapped with Lynn by Nelson. Nelson dropped her off on the side of the freeway because she wasn’t his kid. She was found by an alpha shape shifter from a local pack and safely returned to Austin.

Wes – Lexi’s older brother and Austin’s best friend. He found out Austin was a shape shifter and wanted in on the lifestyle. Nelson brought him in on his lifestyle as a hit man. The problem… Wes didn’t want to be paid with cash. He wanted immortality. His first assignment was to take out a young alpha shape shifter. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. He tragically paid the price with his life instead.

The writing wasn’t bad, but the decisions that the female lead made were just plain frustrating. … it seems like the author started with the main idea about shifters and decided that wasn’t enough. Let’s add every idea I’ve ever had and throw them in too. Let’s create a love triangle… where there isn’t one. (If you’re looking for Lexi and Austin to finally get together… you have to get to about 77% of the book)…  Let’s add a plot twist to Maizy… but we’re not going to explore it. If this review seems all over the place… welcome to my world… This is what it was like reading it. This was my first introduction to this author. I have to say even though it didn’t end in a cliff hanger, it didn’t make me interested to read the next books that follow… except Denver’s story… if he even gets one.

Welcome to Temptation

Love story, check!
Murder mystery, check!
Hilarious, heck yea!
Happy ending, of course!

Sophie and her sister, Amy, travel to the city of Temptation to shoot a video of Clea, the city’s “biggest” star, returning to her roots. Only, Clea has other ideas of what she wants to shoot.

Phin, the town’s mayor, wants a quiet life… and not to be mayor. Who can blame him when everyone in town argues over everything… no, seriously… EVERYTHING! Word gets out that Clea is back in town and wants to shoot a video. Well, her videos aren’t for children. We’ll leave it at that… So naturally, Phin and the good sheriff of Temptation and Phin’s best friend, Wes, must go over to Clea’s farm and investigate to make sure everything is on the up and up. Especially since the city council just passed an anti-porn ordinance.

Sparks fly when Phin and Sophie meet each other. Attraction is instant. They tell themselves that they need to stay away from each other, but Phin keeps finding reasons to go out to the farm; Sophie finds a way to be available. Just when everyone is falling into a routine, enters Leo, the porn king, and his assistant, Davy, Sophie’s brother. Following behind them, Clea’s soon to be ex-husband, Zane. He’s an investigative reporter and the town loves him. He’s also a Grade A jackass who embezzled all of Clea’s money, which he’s willing to give back… all she has to do is come home.

Soon Temptation becomes involved in the town’s Whodunit when Zane turns up dead. And what a whodunit! Everyone has a reason for him to disappear. Phin, his nosy neighbor, Stephen, Wes… all suspects. The killer, wasn’t who I expected it to be.

Sophie gets the family she always wanted… even if it’s not the mother-in-law she envisioned. She reminded me a bit of Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith’s character)… quick witted and protective of her family.

This was my introduction to Jennifer Crusie and what an intro it was! Every character was witty and very well developed. I look forward to the day I read this again!

Recommendations?

So I was wondering if anyone out there in the lovely cyber universe could recommend a great book/series? I love reading and I’m open to all suggestions! The horror genre was one that I tended to stay away from, but I would like to try and venture into it. I’d like to try something new and different. Any suggestions?

Destined For Doon

****SPOILER ALERT****

If you have not read Doon, proceed with caution… Please and thank you!

So… Doon ended with MacKenna making the decision to not return to the magical, mystical kingdom, leaving Prince Duncan behind. She realizes too late that she too, had visions… of Duncan since she was a child. We start off with MacKenna in Chicago after she made her decision… and it’s one that she has regretted ever since. Her dream is coming true and she is finishing up her acting internship at a Chicago theatre filling in for the lead actress that became sick. She returns to her dressing room to find Prince Duncan waiting for her. Veronica, Prince Jamie, and Prince Duncan need her to return to Doon to fight an evil that no one can see. Veronica is in desperate need of her help and there is no one she trusts more than MacKenna. Here you see Prince Duncan go from the fun-loving prince that you met in Doon to a civilian giving MacKenna the cold shoulder.

As they make their way back to Doon, MacKenna is coming to terms with the outcome of her decision while Duncan has been living the reality of it. But his purpose is clear… the kingdom needs saving and if MacKenna can help save the kingdom, he’d do what he can to help her. No more, no less. The people of Doon have not accepted Veronica as one of their own and it’s causing tension in the kingdom… made worse by the sudden arrival of MacKenna. The bigger issue… the witch is at it again! This time, the girls have to save the kingdom… without the help of the princes. Together, MacKenna and Veronica set about stopping the witch once again and returning everything to normal. Just when you think you’re getting the ending you wanted… PLOT TWIST!

In this series, the books are written in the perspectives of Veronica and MacKenna. In Doon, it was mostly from Veronica’s point of view. In Destined for Doon, it’s mostly from MacKenna’s point of view. I liked that you get more of MacKenna perspective. It was interesting to see the world through her eyes. There were times when I didn’t care for Veronica, but we all have that one friend that knows what’s best for you… but not what’s best for themselves (FYI… if you disagree, you are that friend… ) The authors are just plain evil and I loved it! I am EAGERLY waiting for the third installment.