Wednesday, June 25, 2014
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
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
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
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.
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.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Review of Logan Lost
Logan Lost
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)
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
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
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