Review of Rusty Nailed

Rusty Nailed
by Alice Clayton


Oh how I love Alice Clayton!!.. and Just FYI if you haven't read anything by her before do it now, like today!!.. the Redhead series and of course the beloved Wallbanger are the best!!!. Rusty Nailed is the sequel to Wallbanger. Although I was a little annoyed at how long it took for this one to release it was well worth it. Who doesn't love Simon? Per norm for Alice Clayton's books this was filled with laugh out loud moments (although not as many as Wallbanger) and tons of sexy Simon. Win Win!! 4 Big Stars for this one.


Rusty Nailed picks up where Wallbanger left off. Simon and Caroline are settling into their routine of coupledom and things are going great. With her boss getting married Caroline is thrown to the wolves at work when her boss drops the bomb that she's taking an undetermined amount of time for her honeymoon and leaving her business in Caroline's nervous hands. With so much responsibility Caroline is having a hard time juggling her relationship and her work. The other problem is Simon's norm of being out of town is slowly get less and less. So adding in a needy boyfriend makes for a hot mess for our independent Caroline. I have to say though at times I was a little annoyed at her annoyance with him because he was just so sweet. Mix in the friend drama when both of their best friends have a not so happy breakup. Loved it. Can not wait to see where the Cocktail series takes us next.


~Shannon

Review of Fallen Crest High

Fallen Crest High
by Tijan


I was a little turned off the fact that this is about high school aged kids, but I have to say I still really enjoyed this. I would give it 3.5 Stars. I really love when the school outcast gets to shove it in all the "mean girls" faces. 


So this story begins with a normal teenaged girl named Sam. From the looks of it she's pretty popular and has lots of friends and a steady boyfriend for a couple years. Ending her sophomore year of high school Sam finds out her boyfriend had been cheating on her for  quite some time with none other than her best friend. This was not the only shocker she started her summer out with. Coming home to find her mother drunk and crying, she tells Sam that she's in love with someone else and they are leaving her father. Sam is floored when she finds out her mothers new boyfriend is the father of Mason and Logan Kade. The infamous Kade brothers are football stars at rival public school Fallen Crest Public. As her popularity slowly dissipates from her snotty friends and cheater boy friend Sam finds herself in an unlikely alliance / friendship with her new soon to be step brothers. The problem is having caught the eye of these two untouchable guys makes Sam a target for a world of drama. Throw in her irrational, crazy, drunk mother hang on for this crazy drama filled tale. 


~Shannon 

Review of Better When He's Bad

Better When He's Bad
by Jay Crownover


Jay you have done it yet again!!!  4 Star read that is a polar opposite from what we normally see from Jay and her FABULOUS Marked Men Series. Better When He's Bad was a dark romance and I have to say it was a WINNER!! I absolutely loved Bax and can not wait to see where this series goes when we get Race's story. Keep these amazing series coming.


Shane "Bax" Baxter is BAD, and I don't mean he's kind of bad, he's really BAD. From the time he was little Bax stole, fought, cheated and did every other imaginable thing to survive in the ghetto of "The Point". Getting mixed up with gangsters was just life and Bax was good at it. After a car heist gone bad Bax finds himself in jail. Five years later he's out and he wants answers from Race, his best friend who put him there. There's a problem though, Race is missing and all clues lead to a young redhead to find the answers he's looking for.


Dovie Pryce had a hard life. Her drug addict mother and a father who never wanted her. Dovie finds out she has a half-brother. Race has swooped in and saved her from the group home and she finally has the family she's wanted. When Race uproots her and heads back to "The Point" ,after years of being away, Dovie knows there is something more going on. Race is nervous and there is trouble just around the corner. When Race decides it's not safe for Dovie the only thing he can do is disappear. Knowing Bax is set to be released from jail Race puts his faith that his best friend will understand the reasons he did what he did and protect his sister.


Bax and Dovie begin their search for Race and answers around what he was hiding. Bax is determined to get revenge for the 5 years he's lost and when you go looking to uncover secrets you may not always like what you find out.

Review of Logan Lost

Logan Lost

by Emma L. Smith

I honestly am so torn with this book. I am on the fence if I totally loved it or totally hated it. This book is not for a faint of heart and involves some pretty intense and taboo relationships. It was like watching a train wreck and I couldn't look away. Being that I'm on the fence I'll say it's a 3 Star read but I'd probably almost lean more towards a 2.5. At times I was almost sickened by the story but it was enthralling and kept me reading and reading. I am also not sure if I liked the way this was written. This story alternates between past and present jumping back 15 years, 10 years, 3 years., months back and not in any particular order. The author is giving you glimpses of what has happened to make these characters behave the way they do. I am still not totally sure I understand how these characters are the way they are. You feel lost and confused. There are so many lies, secrets and sickening behaviors. I don't even know that I can give a run down of the events because things are so jumbled. Bottom line if you want to try this one out be warned it's graphic and nauseating at times, but for some reason I couldn't put it down.

~Shannon

Review of Untamed (Untamed #1), Out of Control (Untamed #2) , Escaped Artist (Untamed #3)

Untamed (Untamed #1),    Out of Control (Untamed #2) , Escaped Artist (Untamed #3)  

Victoria Green & Jinsey Reese

I am normally not this lazy but since I read all three of these consecutively it would be easier to group them as one review. Starting off this is a 5 part serial and had I know that I probably would have waited until the last two were out before beginning but since I didn't here goes the review on books 1-3. 5 HUGE Stars for this series. I absolutely loved it and can not wait for the last two additions. Great character development and plot lines. This author duo is doing something right with this series because I am on pins and needles.

Reagan McKinley is a troubled girl from a rich political family. Reagan has always been the trouble maker of the family and has never quite fit in. Acting out with drugs, drinking and random men is the "norm" for Reagan. One night she spots a handsome man at the club setting her sights on her next one night stand Reagan is quickly rebuffed by this man. Spotting right away that Reagan is a rich girl looking for a walk on the wild side with the blue collar guy Dare is quick to put a stop, but Reagans persistence leads to a night that will change them both. Per norm Reagan makes her hasty exit the next morning but for the first time she feels conflicted about leaving.

Reagan's family is picture perfect to the outsider. A perfect mother to hang on the arm of her political father, but the picture perfect image is a façade. With her pill popping mother, controlling father and snobby sisters Reagan wants a life that is her own. Reagan struggles with an addiction to prescription pills from all her family issues. After a stressful dinner with her family Reagan is driving erratic and runs into another car. When Reagan gets out to check on the person she's hit, she is shocked to see the familiar star of none other than Dare. Feeling as though fate has brought them back together Reagan and Dare start a relationship that they both need.  When Reagan is with Dare she doesn't feel the pain she struggles with in her normal fake life. She doesn't feel the need to drowned out the pain with pills and finds herself truly happy for the first time. There is one problem though, Reagan knows her family will never allow her to be with someone that would not fit their family image and her happiness is not their priority.  This wild ride brings you through book 1. Books 2 and 3 follow this relationship and the struggles they face to be together and finally find happiness.

I will warn you these all end on cliffy's so if you are one that doesn't like to wait I'd suggest waiting until August to grab all 5 books in the box set. If you're like me and once you start you will grab these up as they are spoon fed little by little then jump on board with me in waiting for book 4. I know after book 3's cliffy I will be downloading the day it's available. Enjoy!

~Shannon

Review of "The Thirteen"

"The Thirteen" - Susie Moloney

3 Stars – Technically, I really gave this book 2.5 stars but, since there are no such thing as half stars, I had to give it three. First, let me start out by saying that there is absolu...tely nothing original about this book.

“The Thirteen” is about a witch coven in a seemingly perfect neighborhood. The women in the coven have given themselves over to the devil (shocker) for their powers but, in order to keep their powers and not be punished by the devil, they need to keep 13 women in the coven. Thirteen because, of course, that’s an evil number and always has to be in a story about witches… the number 12 isn’t nearly as terrifying as the number 13. I regress. One of the witches decided to commit suicide, which totally messes up their numbers, so they are in a big rush to find #13 when sweet Paula comes into town. Her mother is also a witch, but a good witch, and never wanted Paula involved in the coven. Paula doesn’t know this though so she keeps getting tricked left and right by the evil witches… then she falls in love. Ugh, the evil witches cannot believe their luck! They have to get Paula away from the evil man so they cast a spell over the whole town to make everyone fall asleep so they can go cavorting around without the cops getting called on them. Now this, this exact part in the book, is where I almost stopped reading. If they could cause an ENTIRE TOWN to fall asleep with a snap of the finger then why doesn’t the boyfriend fall asleep?!?!!?! He stays awake through the whole thing which causes them even more trouble. I have no words for this huge plot hole.
I know it sounds like I absolutely hate this book but I really didn’t… I just thought it was extremely predictable. Perhaps if you don’t normally read horror books this would be a good one to pick up but, for a veteran like myself (haha), it was pretty boring. Moloney does have excellent writing skills though, otherwise I would have just stopped reading, but she needs to come up with some more unique stories.

P.S. - I forgot to mention the cats. The witches all have cats… in fact the whole town is overrun by cats (who would have thought… another total cliché). It’s, like, a totally evil town with the 13 witches and cats and the devil and sleeping spells
~Laura

Review of Bite & Release

Bite & Release

by Cory Cyr

Wow! I am so glad I stumbled upon this book! I will definitely be looking for more amazing books to come from this author. I give this one 4.5 Stars. Such a great story with so many twists and turns that leave you shell shocked. My jaw dropped several times and I could not put this one down.

Ryan Chase left Fairbanks, Alaska and headed for New York looking to make it big as an actress. When she moved on with big dreams she didn't know that she left an 8 year old boy crushed and heartbroken. Andrew "Shea" Michaels has loved Ryan for as long as he can remember. The one person who showed him love that he never knew from his abusive father and mental ill mother was his babysitter Ryan.

13 years later Ryan is back in Fairbanks to bury her estranged father. Leaving Alaska for her dreams left her relationship with her father broken, and after years of disappointment with her failing acting career Ryan could not bear the shame to return to an "I told you so". There is something else the draws Ryan back to her home town, an abusive husband who she is trying to escape from. When Ryan's best friend Trina (AKA Shea's sister) picks her up to take her to the funeral Ryan notices a handsome stranger that seems vaguely familiar to her. What she doesn't realize is its the boy she left behind. Thirteen years have passed and the boy she remembers is now a gorgeous 21 year old man and she's struggling with feelings she can't explain.

There are surprises at every turn and shocks that could change everything for these two. Hold on for this roller coaster of emotion. Loved this stand alone book. Grab it up and enjoy. Watch for great things to come from this author, I know I will be.

~Shannon

Review of Crush (Crush #1)

Crush (Crush #1)

by Lacey Weatherford

I recently posted the link to this book to my Facebook blog page as a freebie. I made a comment about hearing that this was a really good series, but I hadn't read it because the cover model really creeped me out. I can't put my finger on it, but there is just something about him that's disturbing. So I had shied away from starting this series for that reason alone. The saying don't judge a book by it's cover holds true in this case. I loved it! Such a great read and I give it a solid 4 Stars. That being said,  this brings up a good point of discussion on cover models and cover design. I don't get this cover at all and really feel like it would hold a lot of readers, like myself, from starting this series. It looks really juvenile and I understand the whole post-it now that I've read the book, but I still think there could have been a better representation. The model almost looks (Cover Your Eyes Mom) in mid orgasm or something, and looking at the covers of the next two books in the series they don't look much better.

As far as the story it was very well written and very enjoyable. The characters are likeable and the plot twists, although at times a little predictable, are very good. I would totally recommend checking this book out. I'm going to start book 2 in the series and FYI Book 3 is out now too. So you can start with Crush and read the series too completion.

~Shannon

Review of Gorgeous Chaos (Beautiful Mess #3)

Gorgeous Chaos (Beautiful Mess #3)

by T.K. Leigh

Well.... Where to begin? So to say I'm disappointed is an understatement. I had rated A Beautiful Mess (Book 1) as a 3 Star and then A Tragic Wreck (Book 2) was a massive improvement at a 4 Star. So I was anxiously awaiting a mind blowing conclusion from Book 3 and it did not happen. I'm generously giving Book 3 a 2 Star rating.


It was painful and that upsets me because I really liked these characters so I'm on the fence on how I want to go about this review. So to start off I'll give a positive and say the plot line of this series was great there were a lot of twists, surprises and Alex.. that's the positive. I think some changes in the conclusion could have really bumped it WAY up on the Star meter for me, which leads me to the negative. My main issue was the I LOVE YOUs. At one point I was so distracted by how many times Alex and Olivia said "I Love You" or "Love" to each other in one chapter's dialogue I had to stop and count them. Ready?? 14 times!! that's right in a matter of a few sentences they said "I Love You" or "Love" 14 times. I wanted to throw my Nook against the wall. I'm all for the I love you, but enough is enough saying it back and forth and back and forth doesn't make it more true. Honestly it just makes it mean nothing. Olivia was so wishy washy in this one and there were 3 separate occasions that she promised she'd never run again and boom next chapter there she goes. It was almost comical. I don't remember her being that annoying in the prior two books but may be my memory of it is clouded. I know she had problems but she was bi-polar / psychotic in this one. I also really felt this one was way too long and drawn out. I could have done without a good 5 chapters. Probably remove a couple hundred I love you's and that would drop the word count by about half. The Epilogue was by far the most disappointing of it all. You wait and wait and wait through this long drawn out hot mess thinking it has get good. Right? It just has to. The Epilogue has to tie it all off in a pretty bow and make this whole series worth while. AND!!!!... No!! It did NOT. I would love another perspective on this one. So if you chose to read it please let me know what you think.


~Shannon

Review of Relatively Famous (Famous #1)

Relatively Famous (Famous #1)

by Heather Leigh

Sidney Tannen/Allen is the daughter of Hollywood's favorite couple. Her mother was America's sweetheart and her dad was the Hollywood Bad Boy. At age 13 Sidney get's the shock of her life when her parents marriage goes belly up with scandal all around it. Sidney's mother makes the decision to leave the Hollywood life and hide Sidney from the spot light and the inevitable media storm that will quickly ruin her life. 10 years later Sidney has stayed hidden and started a new life in New York. After all she went through as a child in Hollywood, Sidney cuts all ties to anything that has to do with that crazy world. Sidney's also been very standoffish with any new relationships and only her best friend Leah knows who she is and who her parents are. With her promising design career ahead of her there is still something missing and she wonders if she really knew the whole story behind the scandal surrounded breakup.

When Sidney meets Drew Forrester she struggles to move forward and trust him with her past. Drew knows that Sidney has no knowledge of anything about Hollywood and doesn't know why. Secrets are a scary thing in a new relationship and you find that Sidney isn't the only one hiding something. These secrets could ruin the first relationship either of them have ever really wanted before it's even begun.

I only had one thing holding me back from rating this a 5 star. I couldn't wrap my head around not having any knowledge of any TV, movies or music. It's hard to imagine a teenager cutting off all pop culture. Inadvertently there would have to be some information you would see or hear even if you don't own a TV, go to movies or listen to new music.

~Reviewed by Shannon 

Review of Natural Harmony (Confession Records)

Natural Harmony (Confession Records)

by Kate Roth

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I didn't have very high expectations from reading the description, but this one delivered an easy 3 Star read for me. Another ...big plus this one is still free on Amazon and B&N, so grab it up!

This starts off present day for the heroine Sabrina. Sabrina is a former pop star who rose to fame during the height of the "pop princess" explosion. You find that Sabrina's fame was very short lived and is classified as a "one hit wonder".  Beau was Sabrina's manager and you see this unhealthy relationship is still very much a big part of her life years later. Sabrina's uncle is a record label CEO and introduced Sabrina to the life of the music industry. When her uncle get's sick he gives Sabrina a shock by naming her as the acting president of the label. Taking on this new endeavor Sabrina has to prove she is no longer "Sabra" the one hit wonder. Sabrina has to move passed her insecurities from her failed music career to prove she is a powerful executive capable of turning the music industry upside down. There is one problem though, what do you do when you have so much to prove and have the temptation of Wade as an assistant?

~Reviewed by Shannon

Review of Spin (Spin Saga #1)

Spin (Spin Saga #1)

by Robert Charles Wilson 

 5 Stars – “Whoa.” That was the word that went through my head when I finished reading this book. It was absolutely phenomenal. Not only was the story exciting but the writing was jus...t as impressive. Wilson even ended the novel well. The ending was just enough to leave you wanting more but without leaving you on a cliff-hanger- pissed off that you have to wait till the next book to find the answer to some mystery.

“Spin” was the 2005 Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel. It follows the life of Tyler Dupree, a young 10 year old boy star gazing one night with his friends, Jason and Diane, when a terrifying event happened; all the stars disappeared from the sky. As the rest of the world scrambles to understand this disturbing phenomenon the three children grow into adults, each one, both knowingly and unknowingly, structuring their lives in regards to how “The Great Blackout” affected them. Can the world ever unravel the secret of the stars? Who or what caused it and what is the meaning behind it? Most importantly, what are the deeper implications to this incident and can the human race survive?

One of the greatest accomplishments of this novel, in my opinion, is the diversity of characters Wilson has created. Far too often when reading a book the characters (though they come from different backgrounds and they are of a different race, sex, age, etc) still seem like the SAME person. They may look different in description, and one may be labeled as the protagonist and the other the antagonist, but their dialogue is spoken in the same tone. It can make a unique story bland and boring. Wilson, though, has the gift of making a story appear as though there were 10 other people writing the book with him; all with the sole duty of creating a character how they imagine them. With the disappearance of the stars as the backdrop, the variety of characters and a terrific story to boot this is a MUST READ! Even more exciting is that the story doesn’t end with this book; this is only the first novel in the Spin trilogy. I look forward to reading the next two books, “Axis” and “Vortex” and sharing my reviews of them with you.

Reviewed by:

~Laura

Review of BEWARE

BEWARE

by Shanora Williams

I have been counting down for this one to release and I was not disappointed. 4 BIG Stars!! I started this last night thinking I'd read just a couple chapters. That did not happen. Thank you Shanora for another night of no sleep! This was a roller coaster of emotions, crazy twists and turns. I think I went through every emotion during this read. I laughed, cringed, cried and had to pick my jaw off the floor a few times. Before I go too far into detail I want to give this warning. Don't read the spoiler reviews posted by others on this book. Read the book and you will not be disappointed. Murder, deceit, betrayal and all things Ace add up to shocking outcomes. BEWARE!!!

London "Lonnie" Stallone's parents died when she was young and her only family is her brother Jonah. When London spots her brother at her college graduation she notices he's not alone. Jonah brought his "co-worker" Donovan "Ace" Crow. London knows there is something not right with Jonah. He's keeping secrets and his late night meeting the night of her graduation starts a chain reaction that will alter her life forever. With tragedy all around her and no one to trust London's world turns upside down. London has to put together the pieces of this puzzle to find out who Ace is and if she can really trust him.

~Shannon

Review of All Access (Brothers of Rock #1)

All Access (Brothers of Rock #1)

by Karolyn James

I had really high hopes for this one, but all I could give this one was 2 Stars. I had to really force myself to move forward and keep reading. This is fiction so I know that in the fantasy / literary world things don't have to be realistic, but I cannot jump on board the "Insta-Love" band wagon. I've seen this quite a bit lately and it drives me crazy. You don't meet someone once, go away for the weekend with them and fall instantly in love. I want relatable fiction. In real life anyone that says the L word to someone within 3 days can pretty much kiss that guy/girl good bye and expect that they will tell all of their friends "that chick / dude is crazy". 

This story begins with Jess in a writer’s slump. She's just published her first book and is desperately trying to find inspiration for book two. At the local coffee shop she runs into Johnnie (lead singer of Chasing Cross). (Side note: Johnnie??? couldn't we think of a cooler name for this character?? This doesn't really scream rock god) Jess has no idea who Johnnie is and this intrigues him. They talk and sparks fly. YADA YADA YADA. Jess' friend just happens to have tickets for the Chasing Cross concert that night. Jess tags along, low and behold who does Jess spot on stage? Who does Johnnie spot in the crowd? Oh yes, you guessed it INSTA LOVE!!! After this point it just gets stranger.

If you decide to read this one let me know your opinion. I'd love another perspective because I was just not feeling it!

~Shannon