LovLivLife Reviews

Guarding the Coast by Samantha Gail

2012-05-27T18:30:00.000-10:00

Guarding the Coast by Samantha Gail
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You can't help but love any story that has a guest appearance with THE Vin Diesel show up personally! Seriously - how cool is that!!!

Captain Frankie Moriarty is an ace rescue pilot -- a hundred pounds of redheaded dynamite answering mayday calls along the northern Pacific coast with her elite Coast Guard helicopter crew. As the commanding officer, she has a reputation to uphold and it’s one that doesn’t include getting involved with her coworkers. Gage Adams is not your typical pretty boy. The team’s co-pilot and former pararescueman has seen battle and lived to lose sleep over it. For four years he has worked alongside Frankie, treating her with respect, viewing her as a sister... Tonight, everything between them will change forever…

Jen's Review

I've never read a book about the Coast Guards before, Navy SEAL, yes, Combat, yes, fire fighters, police, yes, yes
But Coast Guards have a GREAT job! I loved this book!

First we start off as Monday Margarita night is in full swing. Once a month, Frankie gets together with the girls - they drink all the tequila in the bar, make a LOT of noise, and share everyone's deepest secrets, and Lots and Lots of sex talk :)

That's where we learn about "the bet" Demon is Frankie's medic in her crew. He has got to be the horniest guy alive! He makes a bet with Frankie that he can get all the unmarried girls in her "sisterhood" group to sleep with him.
That's why at this Margarita night, she learned that she is missing out - Damon made Kristin see "Spots"...

It took years for Frankie to get the respect of her 3 co-workers/ crew. Their number one rule was no getting involved with any of them.. they respected it, and they all became good friends.

Damon is the medic on board, and Quinton was the one to help him lure the victim into the Helicopter. Frankie was the captain and pilot of the crew, with Gage as her co-pilot.

Out on a run, they pick up a couple of people. 2 of them died.
The guys knew how hard it hit Frankie, bringing back memories of her sister's death, so they left her alone. Gage close by in case she wants to talk.
After some time in her room, she needed to get out. She decided to go swimming. She motioned to Gage that she was going out.

About 2 hours later, Gage finished reading his book, he didn't realize that Frankie hadn't come back yet.. he started to panic. Everyone went out on the beach to find her.
WHen they did find her, she was on the edge of hypothermia.

Bringing her back inside, they did everything they could to get her warm. Almost an hour later, she was still shaking and unconscious. That's when Gage started to take off his clothes, and ordered Damon to do so as well. They snuggled up to her inside the sleeping bag,
LOL - Gage to her back, and poor poor poor Damon to her front. Let's just say, even unconscious, Frankie didn't like Damon snuggling up to her :)

The next morning, Gage felt Frankie snuggled down into him.. it was a .. painful night for him being this close to Frankie, and she really wasn't helping things. just as he was about to sneak out, he heard her mumble in her sleep "I want to see spots"

When Frankie woke up, she felt horrible. She knew better then to swim without her watch. When she asked who was in the sleeping bag with her, They all laughed, well, everyone except Damon :)

Work was slow, Damon suggested that they play a game of Naked Truth Poker - The winner asked any question to anyone, and if they didn't answer, they took something off.

ROFLOL - Some of those questions! HA!!

From Gage to Frankie " Have you ever had an Orgasm?"
Frankie kept a blank face, but the rapid pulse at her throat was a dead giveaway to everyone at the table. She reached down and pulled off her other sock.
"Never?" Damon blurted with undignified horror - she shot him a scathing look.

Mortified, but they still played on. A few easy questions to get back into the game, that is, until Gage won

What did you mean when you said you wanted to see spots?"
Everything happened at once, Demon spewed his coffee, the cat took off running, and Quinton grunted with surprise. Frankie lost her composure"

Not even knowing when she had said that, she stammered her way around trying not to answer it, but not having enough clothes on to skip around it.
But luckily for her, Damon was more than Happy to tell them all about his encounter with Kristin...

After that night, Frankie's sex life became Damon's main topic - and Gage was getting furious. No one would show Frankie "spots' except HIM!

This story was WAY cute. I totally loved how Frankie was the Captain of her Unit, in charge of all the guys, but in the bedroom she was able to let Gage take control.
There were some fun perks, crazy rescues and tense happenings all around in this book -

The only thing I didn't like was it eneed at 75% - I would have loved to have read more :)

A Modern Love Story

2012-05-26T17:30:00.000-10:00

A Modern Love Story by Jolyn Palliata
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WOW! This cover is a bit much - the book isn't focused on this :)
But this book is just Awesome!
It was another book I have a love/hate relationship with.

After the death of her parents, Robbie Byrne is put in foster care where she meets her exact opposite, Luc Cintrone. Abandoned as a small child, Luc is a foul-mouthed rebel who takes it upon himself to be her defender, whether she likes it or not. As they grow up, they fumble through their different roles in each other's lives—family, confidants and then, ultimately, lovers.

Just as the couple is settling into their newfound relationship, they encounter a beautiful lawyer, Payten, who is immediately taken by Luc's rough edges. But he denies her, making him absolutely irresistible in her eyes. Payten is a woman who has grown accustomed in her privileged life in obtaining whatever she wants, no matter the cost or sacrifice. And she is fairly confident Luc will eventually see things her way…one way or another.

Jen's Review

I loved it. I really did - I even stayed up until 1:30 in the morning so I could finish it - it dragged me in, stirred up my emotions, and I wasn't going to stop until I was finished :)

We start the book off as Robbie as a 12 year old.. at 1% into the book, she's happy and having a great time driving through the country with her parents, at 2%, the accident happens, her mom dies and her dad is barely hanging on, she's 12, and and she's scared and I'm crying already - I knew this was going to be an emotional book :)

After a few months, Robbie is placed in a foster home with the L's - Leah and Lawson, and their 12 year old foster son, Luc-Robbie is scared little girl. but when she meets Luc, he is there to make sure she is going to be ok. The instant bond between the two is great. Even though Luc puts up a front and acts like he doesn't care, you can see just from their trip to the lake that he does care.

Luc is a tough guy, he grew up in foster homes, some good, some not so good. He knows how to take care of himself, and has learned that caring for people only leads to being left alone. But Robbie was his constant. She was there from the day she arrived, When they were 16 Lawson was in accident, and they had to move away, but Robbie and Luc were still in the same town so they could go to the same school.
Things were difficult for Robbie at her new foster home, so she spent as much time with Luc at his foster families home as she could. They were family, best friends.

Counting down to Robbie's 18th birthday, then she moved in with Luc who had moved out when he turned 18.
For her 18th birthday, Luc brought home a bottle of champagne and a pizza. After downing half the bottle of champagne, she finally had enough courage to tell Luc how she felt, but Luc thought it was the alcohol talking.

A couple months later, she's off to collage, living in a dorm with Lizabeth.

Present day, they're 22 years old. Luc is now the owner of Hooligan's bar - and Robbie is still struggling to find a job in her field
Luc drops off the paperwork at his lawyers, and now Conrad is part owner of Hooligans with Luc - As he drops off the paper work, his lawyer introduces him to Payton, a lusty lawyer who looks everything her money says she does. And she falls for Luc from the first time she meets him. But when Luc looks at her, all he can see is the big fat lawsuit she's going to file against him if he takes her to bed and leaves her the next morning. So he keeps his distance.

Except keeping a distance isn't as easy as he thought it would be. She comes into the bar every day to see him. He's rude to her, REALLY rude, but she doesn't care.
When she finds out about the relationship between Luc and Robbie, she sees it as a challenge.

It's Conrad that points out why Luc gets into his fowl moods every time Robbie has a date with someone else. And he points out WHY Luc gets this way. It takes a few mins, but finally Luc gets it.. He understands his feelings for Robbie are more than he ever imagined.

Then he goes to her apartment and lets her know....

That was a bit choppy for a review - sorry :) But I didn't want to give too much away. Their story is really cute. I loved watching them grow up together. Luc's bad boy image is there, and he covers up the way he feels all the time. He always has an excuse for everything.

Things get complicated towards the end, and I really REALLY wanted to throw this book out the window (but I would never do that to my kindle!)

But like I said, I was up until 1:30 am reading because I couldn't stop myself :)

WAY cute book - one I will defiantly be re-reading and recommending to my friends :)
THanks Jul's for the recommend :)

View all my reviews

The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher

2012-05-25T13:00:00.000-10:00

The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm not sure how to rate this book - I had a love/hate relationship with this.

Olivia Kaspen has just discovered that her ex-boyfriend, Caleb Drake, has lost his memory. With an already lousy reputation for taking advantage of situations, Olivia must decide how far she is willing to go to get Caleb back. Wrestling to keep her true identity and their sordid past under wraps, Olivia’s greatest obstacle is Caleb’s wicked, new girlfriend; Leah Smith. It is a race to the finish as these two vipers engage in a vicious tug of war to possess a man who no longer remembers them. But, soon enough Olivia must face the consequences of her lies, and in the process discover that sometimes love falls short of redemption

Jen's Review

Half the time I'm sitting there thinking "Did you REALLY Do that???" While the other half I"m thinking "Love can Conquer All, right?"
But then I get to the ending and .. it's just so many different thoughts running through my head! AHH! lol

Ok for those that haven't read this yet - it was pretty good. it was a hook and reel from the beginning - I loved the way it was told.. Present, the story as it's taking place now - then the past. a few stories that tell about their relationship in the past - both of them work really well together -

Let me explain that better -
We start off with Olivia at the music store. She is ducking out of the rain, but that's when she saw him.. it's been 3 years - 3 years of trying to get over Caleb, 3 years of trying to get him out of her head, out of her heart, and here he was in her side of town.. She realizes after 3 years, she still loves him like she did back then..

Standing there in the doorway trying to decide if she wants to make a run for her car, and leave Caleb behind, or go in and see him. of course she couldn't just let it go.
She walked in and casually strolled up next to him. he didn't take his eyes off the CD he was holding. She scooted closer, and he finally looked up at her. Taking in her appearance, He's looking at her as if it's the first time he's ever seen her..

Are they any good?" He asks about the CD she is holding onto.
"err, they're okay, They're not really your style."
He looked confused.
"They're not my style?"
I nod.
"What exactly do you think my style is?"
I'm looking for a clue to the game he is playing. He has always been good at facial expressions.
"Umm, you're a classic rock kind of guy... but I could be wrong." people change.
"Classic rock? He repeats. "I'm sorry, this is awkward, but I...uhh.. don't know what my style is. I have no memory of it."
Was this some kind of sick joke?

And there it is, Caleb had lost his memory in an accident a few months ago, he can't remember anything before then.
Olivia is shocked! BEYOND shocked... She has another chance with him. They could start over and he'd never know how badly she screwed things up between them in the past.
But of course Caleb only had Temporary Amnesia. He was going to remember again... but maybe she could soak in as much as she could now, and deal with it then...

Oh Olivia.... things can only get complicated from there.

We get flashback from the past. The day that Olivia was standing under a tree trying to get out of the rain, and Caleb noticed her. He was a jock, and there was no way he was seriously flirting with her. So she brushed it off.
When she got to her dorm room, her best friend and roommate pounced on her about blowing Caleb off! She couldn't believe she could do that to him..

Back to the present, Caleb asks Olivia to coffee. She tells him it's not a good idea for them to hang out, but Caleb has a way with getting his own way, rather she wants to or not. So she goes. They talk, and he tells her about how he lost his memory, and is feeling like he's living someone else's life, with another woman he isn't happy with. BUt he found an engagement ring in the drawer, and he couldn't figure out why he bought her a ring..

He wanted a friend right now, and Olivia knew this was wrong, but she couldn't tell him no. she didn't WANT to tell him no.

Ok so we go on with a blast from the past... cute story about how he asked her out..

Then back to the present, She is cooking him dinner, when Leah, his ex-girlfriend showed up at Olivia's apartment. She followed him there. She wasn't taking the breakup well, and being the good guy Caleb was, he took her home and left Olivia at home. The next day he calls her, and she tries to tell him it's not a good idea to see each other, but of course, he doesn't take no very lightly.

Ok more past stories -

It goes on like this for a while, divided up between the past and the present.
Things start to get a little complicated, and she starts to feel guilty. but she just can't help herself... OF COURSE NOT!

See that's the part that bugs me :) She acts like she has no conscience at all - she's always doing "Bad things" But they're all in the name of love... does that really justify things???

hum..... Things towards the end twist and turn a little...

All and all, I'd say I liked the book. I read it in a day, because I was drawn in. I enjoyed the story. I didn't agree with her choices, but I think that's the whole point :)

The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

2012-05-23T17:21:00.001-10:00

The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

This was a really REALLY Cute story! I'm not happy I have to wait 2 more weeks until I can read the 2nd story , but then I'm happy I only have 2 more weeks to wait :)

Being the good girl isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Ashton Gray has grown weary of playing the part to please her parents, and to be worthy of the town’s prince charming, Sawyer Vincent. Maybe That’s why she’s found herself spending time with Sawyer’s cousin, Beau, while he’s away for the summer camping with his family. Beau is nothing like her perfect boyfriend. He’s the sexiest guy she’s ever seen, dangerous in ways she’s only day dreamed about, and the one guy she should stay away from.

Beau never envied Sawyer his loving parents, his big nice home, or his position as quarterback. He loves him like a brother. Which is why he's tried everything in his power to keep his distance from Sawyer’s girlfriend. Even if he has loved her since the age of five, Ashton is Sawyer’s girl, so therefore she’s off limits. But when Sawyer leaves for the summer, Ashton, the one girl Beau would move Heaven and Earth for, decides she wants to get into trouble. Stabbing the one person who’s always accepted him and stood by him in the back, is the cost of finally holding Ashton Gray in his arms. Is she worth losing his cousin over?.... Hell Yeah.

Jen's Review

The story starts off with Ashton and her best friends Sawyer and Beau - 10 years before the story starts - the kids have known eachother since they were 5 - Sawyer and Beau were cousins, and Ash was the tom boy that always got in trouble with Beau -
When they were about 13, Sawyer's mom told him they were going to start noticing things about Ash - Beau had already started to notice.

10 years later, Ash is now 17, She and Sawyer have been together for 3 years, in those 3 years, Ash had changed. She was no longer the girl who snuck out at night to toilet paper houses, or throw waterballoons at passing cars. She was now Sawyer's girlfriend. The good preacher's daughter that everyone thought she should be. Everyone except Beau, that is.

When the story starts, Beau is drunk, and so is his on again, off again girlfriend Nicole. Nicole hates Ash, and the feeling is mutual. With Sawyer away visiting family over the summer, Ash is bored, but she knew that Sawyer would want her to watch over his cousin, because they were best friends, and that's what he did.. always bailed Beau out of trouble.
So Ash demaned to the keys to Beau's truck to drive him and his girlfriend home. At first he told her no way, but he was too drunk to argue, so she did. They kind of dumped Nicole into the back of the truck where she passed out :)

Once they started to drive, they had time to talk.. this talk was coming for a long time. See once Sawyer kissed Ash on the football field back when they were 14, Beau turned into "Sawyer's cousin" instead of best friend. he usually had a girl tied up around him somewhere, and when he spoke to her, it was always some wise crack. So she avoided him.

But now it was time to clear the air. Beau was being a jerk because he didn't like the change. He didn't like seeing Ash take everyone's crap with a smile. He tried to get a glimpse of the spark from the old Ash that use to have fun, never took crap from anyone.. and while at school, a couple of times he did see it.. So he tried ticking her off every time he got the chance. Tried to get the old Ash to come out and play... but she held it in.. all because she had to keep her image intact for Sawyer, for her father... and she hated it.

With Beau, she was able to come alive. He didn't judge her, he didn't look down at her, he saw her as the girl she use to be. and she loved that. She loved to be able to be herself and not hide behind the perfect face.

The next day she got a text from Beau asking to meet her at the water hole (lake) where they use to go as kids.
Feeling adventurous, she grabbed her red bikini that she knew Sawyer wouldn't approve of, and headed to their special spot.
When she got there though, she was nervous. One look at Beau, she didn't know why she came, she shouldn't be here, but she was..
After a little swimming, she climbed up on the docks and watched him.
She was feeling happy, and carefree.

She thought she could be his friend again. She missed him, missed how she felt when he was around. So when her parents left for the night for their anniversary, she called Beau over to watch a movie with her.
As soon as she saw him though, she felt the mistake. She cared too much about Beau to keep it friendly..
When they sat down to watch the movie, she felt Beau's arm around her, and she got lost in her own day dreaming. When Beau took his hands off of her and asked her what was going on, she found her self snuggled up to him a little more then she should have been.

When she woke up a couple days later, her mother came into the room, giving her some really bad news.

Sawyer was gone, she needed to get away, so she ran to Beau's house. His mother saw the look on her face and told her he was out back.
When he saw her tear streaked face, he climbed off the tractor and held her. They sat down under the tree and he held her while she cried and cried on him. He didn't ask what was wrong, but it was tearing him up not knowing.
When she finally told him, his heart broke for her.
She noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt and she had cried all over his chest. Starting to wipe it off, things started to heat up....

THis was a cute story, I love a good love triangle, especially when you get more than one POV going on. THis story we got to see Beau and Ash's POV - I wish we were able to see more of Sawyer's feeling in this story, but now that I know there is another story, I'm happier with the way this one went.

Firefly Beach by Meira Pentermann - Giveaway

2012-05-21T00:00:00.000-10:00

Meira Pentermann
Author Bio

On slow, snowy days in her Colorado home, Meira Pentermann enjoys cozying up on the couch with a novel. Naturally, snow is not a requirement; neither is the couch. In fact, she sees no reason not to indulge in reading three-hundred-and-sixty-five days a year. Apocalyptic science fiction, mysteries, and young adult titles top her Kindle list, but legal thrillers and chik-lit make an appearance now and then.

When not absorbed in writing or reading, Meira enjoys life’s little moments with her family – the love and devotion of her black lab, the quiet wisdom of her artistic twenty-one-year-old, the trials and triumphs of her petite sixth grader, and the unlimited encouragement offered by her Dutch husband.

Meira strives to write stories that deliver the unexpected. She prefers down-to-earth characters that look and behave like regular folks. The prom queen and Adonis take a backseat to reclusive, soul-searching heroines and quirky, introverted gentlemen.

Visit Meira's Website

Link to Buy: Amazon

"When Beth LaMonte rents a cottage on the coast of Maine, she wishes only to withdraw and paint. A mysterious ball of light disturbs her peace and leads her to a secret beach where she finds the diary of a girl who disappeared in 1975. Now Beth is on a mission, not only to bury her own past, but to put to rest the spirit of Firefly Beach. "

Here's a little something out of the book :)

Mary took a sip of water and leaned toward Beth almost whispering, even though
she knew perfectly well that Lou could hear her. “We have to mail him Lou’s invoices.
Heaven forbid we drop by in person. He won’t even answer the door. I know when he’s
there, the old coot. He just won’t answer the bell.” Mary enjoyed a bite of potato and
a big gulp of water before resuming her character analysis. “It’s like he has no need to
interact with other human beings.”
Beth looked down at her chicken and cut off a small bite. She took a brief inventory
of the last ten years of her life and wondered if her acquaintances and co-workers would
say the same things about her.
Mary prattled on, oblivious to Beth’s internal dialogue. “If it weren’t for people’s
boats breaking down—” She interrupted herself, turned to Beth, and explained, “He
fixes boats at the marina, but he spends most of his time on his own boat, tinkering
and sailing. The Bottomless Blue, he calls it. . . the boat that is. A rather sad name if
you ask me.” Mary took a sip of water and continued. “Anyway, if it weren’t for people’s
boats breaking down, I don’t think he would talk to anyone, period. I don’t know what
happened in his life to make him so cross. He’s got a few gears loose in his head if you
ask me.”
“He’s just a lost soul,” Lou said.
Mary glared with little compassion. “You mean he’s lost his soul.” She took a bite of
chicken and allowed a rare moment of silence. “My mother will tell you otherwise, dear,”
she said to Beth. “Mother says he used to be quite a gentleman and a decent neighbor.
I rather have my doubts. I vaguely remember him. I grew up here before I became a
military wife and moved all over kingdom come.” She flashed an impish grin in Lou’s
direction. “I believe he had a daughter in elementary school when Lou and I were in
high school. Obviously she hightailed it out of here as soon as she could, the poor dear.”
Mary sighed. “The man has no one, but it’s his own damn fault. He drives people away.”
Lou cleared his throat.
Mary ignored him. “It’s just as well he’s a hermit. I’d rather not have a conversation
with him, anyway. He gives me the willies, sucks all the good energy out of the room
when he walks into it.”

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DISCLOSURE –
*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*

No Good Deed - Giveaway and Review

2012-05-20T00:00:00.001-10:00

After a couple of days promoting this series and the author, I was curious. I had to find out what this book was about - so I read No Good Deeds - the first of the Kelly and Umber Series - and I have to say - this is every Soccer mom's dream come true :)

Kelly McGinnis has spent her adult life trying to do the right thing, but as a newly down-sized mother of twins and the wife of a man living with Multiple Sclerosis, she also knows that trying isn't always enough.

While interrupting a scene of police brutality, Kelly unwittingly releases a real, live demon. After she manages to kill the creature through gut instinct and blind luck, she is approached to join a secret group of demon hunters who reveal an underworld of monsters and magic.

Against her better judgment, Kelly accepts the lucrative, if bizarre, offer; but when she meets Umber, a compelling incubus with an unexpectedly human story, she learns that the truth is far stranger and more terrifying than she imagined

Jen's Review

What can I say? Kelly is awesome!! She is so me!! I think we can all relate to Kelly in one way or another.. she's an over weight, middle aged soccer mom of twin 8 year olds..I have one 8 year old and he's enough (plus my other kids?? HA!) And her husband is sick with MS - that's one scary disease. and I' know from watching a friend that it takes a lot to control the pain. Her husband is awesome.

But when Kelly loses her job because the company isn't doing well, she was expecting it.. it sucks, but she knew it was coming.

WHen the book starts off, she's at the park talking to her sister Jen, her biggest supporter and she knows Kelly is hurting. but Kelly is strong willed in so many ways. She just has to go out and find a new job... even though jobs are scarce right now, and finding a job with benefits to pay for her husbands medical, not to mention the twins? Always needing something, getting hurt or sick... yeah, it sucks... but there has to be a way.. right??

Well when they left the park Kelly headed back to pick up her daughter's hat that she left. On her way, she decided to cut through the alley in order to save time.. but when she got to the Alley, she had noticed a big biker guy, pushing a shot gun to the head of a small older man.. there was no way she could walk away from that.

When she approached the men, the biker guy flashed something out of his wallet and told her it was police business, and to move along. But the older man was yelling for help. saying he wasn't a cop... who does she believe?

When the biker guy drags the old man over to her to get to to go away, she sprays him with pepper spray. and the guy drops his hold on the old man, but instead of running, the old man charges after the biker, and... eats his hand off?? No way.... as Kelly starts to back up, the old guy changes .. all of a sudden, she's not looking at the head of an old man anymore... as he advances on her, she freaks out and empties the pepper spray on him, and he freaks out.....

Now Kelly is trying to figure out what she really saw.. it didn't really happen, nothing like that exists.. right?? When she goes back the next day, she sees nothing out of the ordinary, Which convinces her that it really didn't happen... right? But what about her dreams? Her imagination wasn't that good!

So when she gets home, she gets a visitor... Now we meet Denis - the head of the Demon Hunters.. and he is there to talk to Kelly about what she saw.. She got Ivan killed.. the biker guy. and they needed to replace him. So since Kelly survived the attack of the demon, he wants her. there is something about her..

Noticing she's over weight, out of shape and not even sure she believes in this, but between her curiosity , and the $10,000 he offered her for killing the demon, but she refused to take, gets the better of her.. Kelly needs some time, but that only presents a few more problems.. her son breaks his arm, with no insurance, $4,600 for x-rays and a cast, her husband has a dr appointment coming up that he needs to go to, bills need to be paid, and all she could think about was the money she turned down.

Pretending she's working at an Antique shop, with full benefits, and commission, Could she lie to her husband and kids and go off and risk her life by killing these demons?

And lets not forget the other Demon Hunters... Marianne - she's fun and a really happy person, then Paul, Mario and Rachelle, and Gerard are all pretty nice. But then there is Suni and Sophia that live and breathe to make sure Kelly knew they didn't approve of her there...

I have to say Bill Blais has an Awesome imagination! I can't believe the details and depth he went into with these demons - it was like you were right there. He painted the picture so well, I was excited to see what came next.

I defiantly can't wait to get started on Hell Hath No Furry, the second book to Kelly and Umber Series :)

Now who wants to win a copy of this e-book?

The giveaway is for No Good Deed. The book comes in ebook format so the winner will have a choice between Epub, .Mobi, Kindle or PDF. The ebook will come signed by the author. As for the timeframe of the giveaway, I would like it run until the 31st to give people enough time to enter

And HOW can you win this book, you ask???

Leave a comment and let us know the following :)

FOR THE GIVEAWAY:

**Has to be 18 or older

**Open to U.S. and International Fans

Click on a Rafflecopter giveaway to gain more points :)

Leave a comment to let us know what you think :)
Make sure you have a working email address for us

Good luck!!

Guest Post with Bill Blais - Kelly & Umber series

2012-05-19T00:30:00.001-10:00

In keeping with Bill Blais's new cover reveal from Hell hath no Furry, we were able to get him to open up and give us a little more of an idea of who he is and where he gets his ideas from.

Why I hate coming up with ideas.

Because I'm a thief.

Well, okay, that’s probably a bit overly dramatic. I don't steal clothes or cars or packs of chewing gum (okay, that one I did, but I was 9 and I did it pretty much directly in front of my father who walked me back to the store counter and made me apologize, in tears, to the cashier, so that was the end of that career) .

Instead, I'm a thief of the intangible, which, when said like that, sounds pretty lame. On the other hand, I would argue that the most important things in life are intangible. Can we put 'fear' in a frame and hang it on the wall to laugh at during the idle hours? How about a handful of 'love' to carry in my pocket when I'm feeling lost and alone? Is there a bottle of 'courage' (the non-alcoholic kind, mind you) kicking around somewhere?

These, of course, are the BIG intangibles, and I don't presume to mess with those (not yet, anyway).

No, the intangibles I steal are story ideas. In my experience, ideas tend not to come to me of themselves, but from ideas others have had. After reading a local newspaper article on the end of state funding for post-rehabilitation support of individuals with mental difficulties, I wrote a story about a man's struggle to fit into society when society refused to help. In writing class, I was told to write a story with the color yellow, the character of a child, and the emotion of loss, which led to a boy who goes blind trying to prove that the sun is yellow. For the Kelly & Umber series, I've been even more blatant, piggy-backing off the themes and efforts of an entire genre.

As a younger writer, I had very different intentions: I was committed to writing only things no-one else had written, stories that had never been told until I had put them down. I wasn't going to just rehash other stories, a practice I looked down upon as derivative and trite (obnoxiously elitist, I know; I'm [a little?] better now).

The problem with that, though, was that if I sit in front of a blank piece of paper and try to come up with something new, something genuinely original, I generally end up with several empty cups of tea, a plateful of biscuit crumbs and . . . a blank piece of paper.

Is this bad? Not really. When I ‘steal’ the ideas, I'm not plagiarizing, because each of my stories is the product of my own approach to the source idea. It's been said that there's nothing new under the sun, and I generally agree. The story of star-crossed lovers is the story of star-crossed lovers, whether it's Juliet & Romeo, Buttercup & Wesley, or Bella & Edward.

What makes these 're-hashed' stories interesting, then, is in the manner of their dress, so to speak, whether it's Renaissance Italy, the almost-real country of Florin, or the vampire- and werewolf-infested Pacific Northwest.

And that, in the end, is what I attempt to do.

Which is why, when I’m given the ‘opportunity’ to write a guest post on any topic I want, I tend to completely dry up, like one of those scenes of the sun-baked, cracked-ground desert. I have no source from which to spring, no setting to re-imagine, no characters to re-dress, as it were.

I have nothing to steal.

- But if that’s true, I hear you ask smugly, where did the last 600 words come from?

Didn’t anyone tell you? Thieves are usually liars, too.

Thanks so much to Chas and Jen (seriously!) for having me here and giving me ‘nothing to steal.’ I had fun with this and I hope you did, too.

And Thank you Bill Blais for this great interview. I have enjoyed reading the first book to Kelly & Umber's series, No good deeds, watch out for my review on that posting tomorrow :)

Cover Reveal Hell hath No Furry by Bill Blais

2012-05-17T02:46:00.000-10:00

Hell Hath No Fury (Kelly and Umber Series #2)

Author:Bill Blais

Synopsis: After the horrific events under the streets of NewYork City, Kelly McGinnis quit the team of demon hunters who had recruited herand did everything she could to put the experience behind her. Six monthslater, life is nearly normal, complete with bills, school for her children andhospital visits for her husband.

Dreams of Umber --the handsome and intriguing incubus she saved--continue totease Kelly’s sleep, but it is only when far darker dreams--and worse--begin toinfect her children, that Kelly discovers what happens if you stop hunting
demons.

They start hunting you.

Bio of the Author: Bill Blais is a writer, web developer and perennialpart-time college instructor. His novels include Witness (winner of the NextGeneration Indie Book Award for Fantasy) and the Kelly & Umber urbanfantasy series. Bill graduated from Skidmore College before earning an MA inMedieval Studies from University College London. He lives in Maine with hiswife and daughter.

Author Website and Blog: http://www.billblais.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bill-Blais/182283748560756

Twitter: @onemoredraft

Where to Buy the Kelly and Umber Series books:

No Good Deed (Kelly and Umber #1): http://www.amazon.com/Good-Kelly-Umber-Novel-ebook/dp/B007IXY6UC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335582057&sr=1-1

Hell Hath No Fury (Kelly and Umber #2): http://www.amazon.com/Hell-Kelly-Umber-Novel-ebook/dp/B007IXY7RE/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335921706&sr=1-7

Read Sample Chapters of both books:

No GoodDeed: http://www.billblais.com/books/no-good-deed/no-good-deed-excerpt/

HellHath No Fury: http://www.billblais.com/books/hell-hath-no-fury/hell-hath-no-fury-excerpt/

Blog tour set up by IlluminatedTours (http://illuminatedtours.weebly.com/)

Fifty Shades Freed by E.L.James

2012-05-12T03:50:00.000-10:00

Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Great ending to a Great series!
Love this series!

When unworldly student Ana Steele first encountered the driven, damaged young entrepreneur Christian Grey it sparked a sensual affair that changed both their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and ultimately repelled by Christian’s singular sexual tastes, Ana demanded a deeper commitment; determined to keep her, Christian agreed.

Now, together, they have more – love, passion, intimacy, and a world of infinite possibilities. But Ana always knew that loving her Fifty Shades would not be easy, and being together poses challenges neither of them ever anticipated. Ana must somehow learn to share Christian’s opulent lifestyle without sacrificing her own integrity, identity or independence; Christian must somehow overcome his compulsion to control, and lay to rest the horrors that blighted his past and haunt his present.

Just when it seems that together their love can conquer any obstacle, misfortune, malice and fate combine to make Ana’s worst nightmares come true. Alone and desperate, she must face down the poisoned legacy of Christian’s past.

Seductive, shocking, sad and funny, Fifty Shades Freed is the compelling final volume in the Fifty Shades trilogy.

Jen's Review

WARNING ** This review has spoilers for the first and second book - I strongly recommend reading those before you read this review :)

There really isn't a favorite part of this series -I just really enjoyed reading it - the first book was by far the best - getting to know Ana and Christian, the second book was fun with their engagement and still getting to know each other - a little messed up history to throw in some action - and then the third book -
It seemed to go by a little quickly - there were some places in there that they seemed to have skipped over - not that anything was left out, but they just seemed to have hurried a few spots in e-mails. Which was a pretty good way to show that days passing by.

I liked the flash backs to the wedding, that way we didn't have to go through the whole planning and whatnots, but we were able to still see how everything went. It was great.

It was a little predictable with Jack and the baby, but it worked in there pretty good. I was a little thrown off by how Ana dealt with the Jack issue - she didn't seem like the type of person to do something like that. I guess that's how we knew she was growing up as a person...

This series is going to stick with me for while :)
Glad I had the chance to read it :)

Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

2012-05-12T03:47:00.000-10:00

Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WOW~ Lol That's all :)
There was like 20 different places E.L. James could have ended this book - she could have ended the series here too! But she didn't - she knows there would be millions of women in tears without more Christian Grey :) We all need our Fifty Shades!

Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.

But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.

While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life

Jen's Review

Warning - this review has spoilers for the first book, do not read it - trust me the surprises are with it :)

This book picks up a few days after the last one left off - I had to read this part in a hurry :) I was NOT happy with the way the last book left me feeling!

BUT This book picks up where everyone is miserable and really feeling crappy - there is no point in moving ahead, no point in dwelling on the past, over is over, is over .... at least until Christian Grey says it's not over anymore :)

Good thing Christian remembered Jose's art gallery coming up, because Ana needed a ride to Portland - and since she gave back the Audi and sold her beetle - she was secretly glad when Christian called her up and offered to share a ride.

She didn't want to think or talk about it, she just wanted it to be over. She felt horrible! Beyond Horrible! Without Christian in her life felt 100 times worse than what happened back in the playroom -

would she ever be able to forgive him??

Well yeah, she did pretty easily too :) She didn't have the heart to tell him know - they renegotiated the contract - ok they pretty much said NO contract anymore - he just wanted her in his life and couldn't any other way to survive it - so he decided he'd give up his darker side of his life...
But would that be enough for him to fully love Ana?? All these questions! All these fears -

This book was nonstop of all emotions!

The ending - the FINALLY ending (not the many endings in-between) really started picking up the tension - Now I'm really anxious to start the next book tonight - so I'm cutting this review a little short :)

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

2012-05-12T03:43:00.000-10:00

So Sorry it's been too long since we've posted anything - I'm trying to get my garden ready for planting this weekend , and it's taking up a LOT of time :)

I've been re-reading the Fifty Shades series though. A friend of mine just got an IPhone and I put the Kindle on it for her. He husband bought her the Fifty Shades series because it's the #1 romance book on Amazon :)
So we decided to read it together :)
I LOVE this series!

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-read this book May 3 - May 5 -
I'm not sure why but re-reading this was like reading it for the first time. As it was happening, I was remembering what was going on, but I had forgotten just about everything in this book -
My review is still how I feel about it though :)

When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind - until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time.

The unworldly, innocent Ana is shocked to realize she wants this man, and when he warns her to keep her distance it only makes her more desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her - but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey's singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success – his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving adoptive family – Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a passionate, physical and daring affair, Ana learns more about her own dark desires, as well as the Christian Grey hidden away from public scrutiny.

Can their relationship transcend physical passion? Will Ana find it in herself to submit to the self-indulgent Master? And if she does, will she still love what she finds?

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

Jen's' review

That ending is just too raw in my mind - it's hard to go back to the beginning for the review -

OK so this book is not how I thought it would be at all - I've heard nothing but GREAT things about this book - and I have to agree, everything about it was right up there! TOP Notch!

The whole thing starts off with Anastasia (Ana) Steele goes for an interview with none other than the fabulous Christian Grey. The most Sexiest eligible Batcher in Seattle.

Ana didn't want to do the interview - she's doesn't even work at the College Magazine that is promised to have the article featuring Mr. Grey's article.. That would be Kate Kavanagh - Ana's BFF and roommate while at College for the last 4 years. Kate has come down with the Flu and after 6 months of trying to get this interview with Christian Grey. Finally he has agreed and she gets sick. Sending Ana in her place because this is her last article she writes before she graduates, and she wants it bad.

When Ana gets to the Office building, she starts off as her klutzy self and trips over her own feet and right into the blazing grey eyes of the georgous Christian Grey.

As she sets in and asks the questions Kate had written down for her, she secretly wishes Kate had included a biography of this man - he is nothing what she expected.

After the madness of the interview, Ana went back to school and her life and sighed she would never again see Christian Grey - well except in her dreams.

A week later, as she was working at the Claytons' hardwood store, she was at the desk checking over some inventory, when something grabbed her attention and she looked up, just to see Mr. Grey's eyes smoldering in hers.
After helping him find the items he was looking for, he asked her how the article was coming along. She said Kate was very satisfied with the articles, but had wished she had a few pictures of him. So he gave her his card and told her to set it up.

That totally made Kate's day, and secretly made Ana's day as well :)

After finals were over, Kate, Ana and a couple of their friends went to a bar to let loose and celebrate. Ana, having more than she could handle in tequila - while waiting for the restroom, she got daring and called Christian - when he realized she was drunk, he demanded to know where she was.

Great story - Loving this series and really looking forward to the next book - I wont be able to fall asleep until something changes in the next book :)

I am really in love with Christian - even his darker side :) I can see how Ana feels about the whole Dom/Sub thing - she's worried - I share her fears, but Curiosity always wins in the end :)

The BDSM play is pretty mild - but really HOT :)

May's New Book Releases!

2012-05-01T17:33:00.002-10:00

Welcome to a new month of Releases! Today is May 1st and there are many books that I'm sure many of you have been eager to get your hands on. For me, I am reading The Assassin and the Underworld (Throne of Glass 0.3) by Sarah J. Maas. I am thoroughly enjoying the tale of Celaena. Below is a slideshow of May's releases that I've collect over the past year. Enjoy and as always... Happy Reading!

Lovin' Covers, 5.1.12 Part1

2012-05-01T16:02:00.001-10:00

I am super excited to read Throme of Glass. I am currently reading the third novella.

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas

August 7th 2012 by Bloomsbury USA Children's

Forbidden (The World of the Nightwalkers #1) by Jacquelyn Frank

October 30th 2012 by Ballantine Books

Rogue Rider (Lords of Deliverance #4) by Larissa Ione

November 20th 2012 by Grand Central Publishing

Outpost (Razorland #2) by Ann Aguirre

September 4th 2012 by Feiwel & Friends

The Kingmakers (Vampire Empire #3) by Clay Griffith, Susan Griffith

September 2012 by Prometheus

Wildcat (Cat Star Chronicles, #9) by Cheryl Brooks
February 1st 2013 Sourcebooks Casablanca

Deliver Me From Temptation (Paladin Warriors, #2) by Tes Hilaire
December 1st 2012 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Magic Gone Wild (Bottled Magic #3) by Judi Fennell
August 1st 2012 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

Prince of Power (Chronicles of Yavn #2) by Elisabeth Staab
January 1st 2013 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Spellfire (Nightkeepers #8) by Jessica Andersen
November 6th 2012 by Signet

Mark of the Witch by Maggie Shayne
September 18th 2012 by Mira
Poison (Legacy #2) by Molly Cochran
December 4th 2012 by Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books

A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis (The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard #2) by Jillian Stone
August 28th 2012 by Pocket

Private Duel with Agent Gunn (The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard #3) by Jillian Stone

November 27th 2012 by Pocket

Lovin' Covers, 5.1.12 Part 2

2012-05-01T16:02:00.000-10:00

Fury's Kiss (Dorina Basarab #3) by Karen Chance

October 2nd 2012 by Penguin

Devil's Gate (Elder Races #4.55) by Thea Harrison
June 5th 2012 by Samhain

Werewolves: Book One: Bitten, Stolen and Beginnings

(Werewolves #1) by Kelley Armstrong

July 31st 2012 by Random House of Canada

The Iron Legends: Winter's Passage\Summer's Crossing\

Iron's Prophecy (The Iron Fey #1.5, 3.5, 4.5) by Julie Kagawa

August 28th 2012 by Harlequin

Something Witchy This Way Comes (Jolie Wilkins #5) by H.P. Mallory

September 25th 2012 by Random House Publishing Group

Burn Mark by Laura Powell

June 7th 2012 by Bloomsbury

Dragon's Curse by Denise Lynn

June 19th 2012 by Harlequin

Vacation with a Vampire: Stay\Vivi and the Vampire\Island Vacation

by Michele Hauf, Kendra Leigh Castle, Lisa Childs

June 19th 2012 by Harlequin

Waterborne (Seaborne #3) by Katherine Irons

July 1st 2012 by Brava

Silver by Rhiannon Held

June 5th 2012 by Tom Doherty Associates

Master of Darkness (Mageverse #9) by Angela Knight

August 7th 2012 by Berkley

For the Love of a Goblin Warrior (Shadowlands #3) by Shona Husk

January 1st 2013

Author Spotlight: Sarah J. Maas

2012-04-29T08:25:00.000-10:00

So yesterday I paired one of my favorite outings (the beach) with one of my most favorite pass times (reading)..... the result is two awesome novellas read and a nice sun tan! Oh, not to forget that I found a new series and a new author to rave over. Sarah J. Maas's The Throne of Glass series. I read the first two novellas yesterday and fell in love with the world setting and the undeniable charisma of the female lead, Celaena. Celaena has just turned 17 years and she is already a renowned assassin. Was is it with me and assassins with a conscience? Maybe I'm drawn to the physical aspect or the use of many lethal weapons..... either way, I love reading books that have high physical action.

I found myself savoring Celaena's adventures as much as I was savoring the sun and sand! Of course, I'm not as envious of Celaena seeing as how she spends the second novella in a desert and I'm far from that. *Wicked Grin* I like when reality reigns supreme.... most times it's few and far between.

Anywho, I am really digging how Sarah J. Maas is releasing her books. There will be 4 novellas before the first full length novel release this August. I've already pre-ordered the third novella from Amazon. I;m praying to the book gods that the book will arrive Eastern time on my kindle so I can read it 6 hours earlier than Hawaii time.

My Review:

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord

(Throne of Glass 0.1)

January 13th 2012 by Bloomsbury Children’s
Rating: 5/5 stars

Amazon

On a remote island in a tropical sea, Celaena Sardothien, feared assassin, has come for retribution. She’s been sent by the Assassin’s Guild to collect on a debt they are owed by the Lord of the Pirates. But when Celaena learns that the agreed payment is not in money, but in slaves, her mission suddenly changes—and she will risk everything to right the wrong she’s been sent to bring about.

16 year old Celaena has quite the reputation but she has an attitude to match. I'm liking her borderline cockiness and stubbornness. The former will guarantee character growth in coming works and the latter will guarantee loyalty to herself and those who entrust her.

Assassins, Sam and Celaena, have been sent on a task by their master. They are to meet with a Pirate Lord and conduct their master's interests. When Celaena learns of those interests she is far from pleased and refuses to do the bidding. An open tab at a tavern, a hole at the bottom of a mug, and a brawl later Celaena's plan to free two hundred slaves is in full swing.

I absolutely love Maas's writing style. Her characters have a unique flare. Even the Pirate Lord holds appeal so I'm hopping we'll see him again. And since I am a romance fiend, there is just enough subtle action to hint that there is love on the horizon or at least affection....whether it'll be revealed and or reciprocal is yet to be known.

The Assassin and the Desert

(Throne of Glass 0.2)

March 30th 2012 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Rating: 5/5 stars

Amazon

The Silent Assassins of the Red Desert aren’t much for conversation, and Celaena Sardothien wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s not there to chatter, she’s there to hone her craft as the world’s most feared killer for hire. When the quiet is shattered by forces who want to destroy the Silent Assassins, Celaena must find a way to stop them, or she’ll be lucky to leave the desert alive.

After falling love with Celaena's character, I read this novella right after I finished the Pirate Lord. In this installment, Celaena's spends her 17th birthday on a journey through the desert. After costing her master ample funds from freeing two hundreds slaves she is given a beating and then sent off to train in the Red Desert.

Not knowing what to expect and only taking guesses on how best to gain the Red Desert master's attention, Celaena has her work cut out for her. Luckily, she meets Ansel. They become quick friends and so easily embark on adventures of their own. However, personal gain and desires come into play and with that many lives are lost come the end of the novella.

In The Assassin and the Desert, new characters spring about and like I stated previously Maas has a great way of bringing forth her characters. I am willing to bet the spidersilk merchant will make an appearance in latter books and I'm hoping to see a few of the other characters as well. Seeing as how both novellas are shorter compared to full lengths it did not take long for me to grasp the character and feel invested in their journeys. Suffice to say, I want more.

For more information, visit:

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

See my Flickr set for Srah J. Maas:

I've already pre-ordered the third novella... Amazon

If any readers of LovLivLife Reviews happens to read and even review these titles please do leave a link in the comments. I'd love to read your thoughts.

xoxo,

The Wreck by Marie Force

2012-04-26T07:01:00.000-10:00

The Wreck by Marie Force

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WOW! Defiantly wasn't what I was expecting.
I was caught from the beginning.

Carly Holbrook and Brian Westbury are weeks away from their high school graduation. The young couple plans to marry before they head to college, and their future seems bright with promise. Everything changes one spring night when their six closest friends, including Brian's younger brother, are killed in a fiery car accident that Carly and Brian witness. The trauma leaves Carly unable to speak, and Brian is forced to make unimaginable decisions about a future that once seemed so certain. With Carly incapable of going forward with their plans, Brian leaves home—and Carly—for good. Fifteen years later, disturbing new clues indicate the accident that wrecked so many lives wasn't an accident at all, bringing Brian home to face a past—and a love—he's never forgotten

Jen's Review

We start off in May 1995 - a great year for me :)

A group of Teenagers hanging out with their friends and girlfriends.

We have Sam, Toby, Pete and Brian - Brian and Sam are brothers, Toby and Pete have been their best friends since they were babies..

Then the girls moved in.. Michele, Jenny, Sarah and Carly.

They were all best friends, when they were 13, They all grouped together, and no one else seemed to matter anymore. They had other friends, but these guys were so close, it didn't matter if they never had anyone else in their lives. They were happy. and they were in love.

We hear a lot of the story told in Brian's POV - which I love. His love for Carly was sweet - he just couldn't imagine life without her. It wasn't even an option.

When the group of friends got the call from Toby's sister saying his parents were on their way home, the kids knew they had to leave. Scattering out into the car, Brian took Carly's hand and told their friends they were going to walk to their house. They wanted some alone time.

Carly loved her friends, but she loved Brian, and she was happy to be with him.

As the kids drove off to get a pizza then head over to Sam's and Brian's house to hang out, Carly and Brian headed to their favorite spot - Under the Willow Tree. They were excluded from the world. And there the two of them could share their intimate relationship with each other.

While they were there. They started discussing their future. They were both planning to go to Michigan for collage. They pulled together their money and bought an apartment just outside of campus so they could live together. Carly was afraid her parents would find out, but Brian assured her that everything would be ok. In fact, if it bothered her so much, he decided maybe it was time they got married. Since they were planning on being together anyways, why not sooner then they had planned?

Carly was excited and couldn't wait to tell her friends. But she enjoyed staying in Brian's arms for as long as she could.

After a while, they finally got up and headed towards the house.

On the way, they heard a loud noise. Metal being crushed - they ran around the bend and saw the fire. Brian pulled Carly to his chest and begged her not to look. They could smell the burning flesh of his brother and 5 best friends from across the street.

Carly couldn't take it anymore and had to look. She started screaming, and screaming, and screaming..

Brian's dad is the chief of police but wasn't there when they called him. All Brian could think about was his brother, how his parents were going to take this .. his friends... Carly.. She was with the ambulance people. They had to medicate her because she was hysterical. They took her to the hospital.

Brian went home to break the news to his parents. It was the most heartbreaking thing I've read in a LONG time! no parent should have to deal with that! WOW!

Anyways - Sam's funeral was the last of the 6 kids who died that night. Brian was going through so much, he really needed Carly to talk to him. Since the accident, she kind of shelled out. She wouldn't talk to anyone. She refused to eat, wouldn't get out of bed. She was in bad shape. When Brian went back to her house, he just cuddled up beside her and cried.

Day after day he went back to her house. BEGGING her to talk to him, write him a note, something - ANYTHING - he NEEDED her - but she couldn't do it.. She wanted to talk, but every time she tried, she couldn't. She just ... couldn't.

Brian got really frustrated with her, and told her he needed a break.

Her father had put it all out there for her. Tough Love is what i call it :) He told her she had to get out of bed, she had to help around the house, she had to get her act together... talking or not, she couldn't lay in bed anymore. So she did.. for her father. She got up and went through the motions of life.

After two long excruciating weeks, he finally showed up again at her parent's 4th of July party. She was Ecstatic to see him again. and he could tell by the way she kissed him that she was trying to make her way back to the land of living. She wrote him notes to talk to him, and he talked to her. They were finally happy to be together again. Especially after everyone had gone to see the fireworks, leaving the two of them home alone together *wink*

As time got closer for Brian to leave for Michigan, Carly started getting worried. She knew she wasn't going to make it this year. She couldn't leave the house. It scared her to no end - the thought of driving in a car terrified her. So once again, Brian set down his foot.

If she didn't want to go to school, fine, but they had an apartment together. She just had to come with him...

Bug she couldn't... He said there was too many memories here, he couldn't deal with the death of his brother, friends, and her in this town. So he vowed he'd never set foot back in their little town in Road Island.

SO SAD!!!!!

SO Brian went off to college and made himself a name in Law - he became a great lawyer.

Now we're in April 2010 - 15 years later.

Michael, Brian's dad who is the chief of police in the small Road Island town was working hard to solve the mystery of the serial rapest. Someone was targeting the cheerleaders, and things were beyond scary. The FBI was called in when the rapes started spreading out more. and he was grateful for the help.

Carly was coming out of her shell. A year after Brian left, Her dad, again with the Tough Love, told her to get up, get a job or go to school, or he was kicking her to the curb. She didn't really think he would do it, but she put on her big girl panties and went to work at the local diner. And after 15 years of not talking, and not forgetting, she was as happy as could be expected. She longed for Brian, but knew he was better off making his name known to the world.

Brian had just won a big case and his boss told him it was time to go on vacation. He wasn't going to give Brian a choice. Since Brian had vowed never to go back to his Home Town, he decided to visit his mother in their Florida home. He was concerned that his dad hadn't taken the time off work to visit like he usually did. But figured he was still working too hard.

Time moves on, and Brian starts thinking about Carly. He doesn't know why, after 15 years she kept sneaking into his mind. But he wouldn't go back to Road Island. He figured it would pass, just like it always did.

When Brian was in the middle of a new case, he got a phone call, His father had collapsed at work and was in the hospital. Promise or not, he went back home..... and nothing would ever be the same for Brian again.

*Sigh* Yes that was a good ending to my review :)

I loved this story. It really had a lot of emotional settings to it. And the surprises that were thrown in there to throw you off the trail was awesome! I totally loved the mystery of "WHO was responcilbe for everything going wrong in this town" I was shocked beyond words when I read the ending of this :)

How to Kill a Rock Star by Tiffanie DeBartolo

2012-04-24T18:48:00.000-10:00

How to Kill a Rock Star by Tiffanie DeBartolo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have to say this book was really fun to read - I actually had to stop myself from continuing for a bit because I got a little too emotional about it -

Written in her wonderfully honest, edgy, passionate and often hilarious voice, Tiffanie DeBartolo tells the story of Eliza Caelum, a young music journalist, and Paul Hudson, a talented songwriter and lead singer of the band Bananafish. Eliza's reverence for rock is equaled only by Paul's, and the two fall wildly in love.

When Bananafish is signed by a big corporate label, and Paul is on his way to becoming a major rock star, Eliza must make a heartbreaking decision that leads to Paul's sudden disappearance and a surprise knock-your-socks-off ending.

Jen's Review

This book is told as the story of Eliza and Paul - Eliza found herself face to face with the one and only Legendary Doug Blackman - Eliza has known of Doug Blackman's famous songs since she was born. There is something about the way Doug writes and sings his songs that just grab you by the gut and pull you in. She was a huge fan.

But that was many years ago. Doug is still a star - kind of like the king of rock and roll, but he doesn't tour anymore - and he doesn't give off interviews either..

When Eliza stepped onto the elevator with her idle, she couldn't think, she couldn't talk. She didn't want to come off as one of those crazy fans, so she kept her eyes in front of her and her mouth shut. That's when Doug pulled out a pack of cards and told her to write her name on it.. His card trick helped her relax a little, but she still didn't know what to say to the man. In a way, he was like a father figure to her.
So when he blurted out "wanna f***" she couldn't believe it! She burst out in tears and started sobbing her whole sob story to him.

After she finished, she looked up at him with her eyes and he says "How the hell am I suppose to say no to those eyes, huh?"

So Eliza got her interview. Not only did Doug tell her about his life of music, but he told her personal things about his family. She got the story of a lifetime, and no one else could.

She showed the article to an editor in New York where her brother lived. She got the job right away.

Her brother Michael and her best friend Vera - She was friends with Vera before they got together. But they're married now. Michael got 3 years of playing in a band. and if after those 3 years he didn't make it big, it was Vera's turn to go to college and Michael quits the band and gets a job. It's only fair right?

Once they got married they moved out of their tiny apartment . Leaving their lead singer Paul alone and in need of a roommate.
Of course Michael talked to Paul before letting Eliza know - It was a good opportunity, and they didn't want to blow it.

When Eliza finally made it to New York, she met up with Vera who brought her into the tiny apartment she would now be living in. She met Paul.

Paul is a typical stereo type of a rock star. He's the song writer and lead singer of the band (Bananafish) he takes his women and his smoking and drinking seriously.

When Eliza wakes up and goes for her run, hoping that Paul's "friend" wouldn't be there when she got back, but she did see her brother. And she was happy to see him.
Their parents died in a plane crash when they were kids. Scaring Eliza for life about flying in a plane. But she loved her brother. And he was happy to have her close by.

Telling Paul to hurry up, they had a meeting to get to, and Eliza needed to get ready for her new job.

She hated her job. Well no, she didn't she hated her boss, Lucy. Terry the guy who hired her was a great guy, and he loved her work. but LUcy was the one who was in charge of giving Eliza her assignments in the musical magazine they wrote for. And Lucy didn't like anyone who didn't start off at the bottom like she did.

When Paul got to his meeting with the guys, Mr. Winkles asked Paul to talk to him in private. It seems they want to sign Paul for a major record.. but not the rest of the band..
That's where Paul introduces us to the Michaels.. all 3 Michaels :) They're friends, like family to him, so there was no way he was going to take the deal and leave his friends behind.
But when the guys asked Paul what they talked about. Paul just blew them off and said it wasn't a big deal, they didn't get it and didn't want to say anything more.

When he got back to the apartment, he wasn't sure Eliza was home. All the lights were off, but when he peeked into her room and saw her laying on her bed in nothing but a pink set of panties and a matching bra, he couldn’t' help but tease her.

When she saw him, she scurried under the sheet, but that just made Paul more playful. He walked over to the bed and took off his shoes and climbed over her to laydown beside her. She kept telling him to get out. they hardly knew each other. But Paul had a different story. See they were roommates, that made them friends in his book, and he needed a friend to talk to.
After making her swear that whatever they talked about never left those walls, he confided in her. Told her about the meeting and how lousy he felt.

They talked and all of a sudden they're friends.. But for Paul, it seemed deeper. Just from that one conversation his whole world seemed to have changed. The way he looked at things, the way he thought.. he wanted to make himself better because of her..

He took her out to the club to see where they played once a week. She had talked to the bartender before so they were familiar with each other. They talked more and got to know each other more. On the way up to the apartment, He kissed her. And that's when he knew that he was never going to find happiness anywhere else.

This story was really fun to read. It was told in both Paul's and Eliza's POV - and then it threw in a couple of other POV's towards the middle that helped explain things a little more.

When Paul finally started getting ready to make it big, things started getting tense. He started getting scared he was going to lose her. And she wanted nothing more then for him and her brother to chase their dreams...

Defiantly a great read :)

She Wolf by Teresa D'Amario

2012-04-22T11:12:00.000-10:00

She Wolf by Teresa D'Amario

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fun book - I love a good PNR - those Alpha males are just so ... hot :)

A small town veterinarian has a big time problem. She's not human. Plagued as a child with an extra-sensitive sense of smell, strength, and eyesight, Anna Callaway always thought she was special. But she didn't understand how special until she met Kieran Hunter. He insists they are True Mates, but he's not human either. He's wolven. Kieran is a protector of his race. No longer the Alpha of his pack, he spends his time searching out and punishing any who may reveal their race to humans. While patrolling, he finds two wolven about to kidnap Anna. He battles to protect her, but is surprised to find himself drawn to her in a way he never expected. The couple must learn to deal with their differences before they can address their similarities. But when three men kidnap Anna, she must decide if she is to embrace the wolven way of life, or return to her quiet existence. And whether to abandon the man who claims her as his True Mate

Jen's Review

Anna is a veterinary, she loves her job, and her friends. so when one of her assistants just turned 21, and wanted to go to a bar to watch the male show, she had to go..
Growing up Anna had always had a sharp sense of smell. She could distinguish different smells everywhere. And in a closed up bar with all that smoke and sweaty people. ugh! She had to get out of there.

She finally made it outside. gulping in air, she was distracted enough not to notice the scent of the stranger coming towards her. When she did notice him, she backed up.. right into the arms of another stranger. He tightened his grip on her and covered her mouth.

The guy in front, Joshua told the guy in back, Rayland that Anna would make the perfect mate. Fear streamed through Anna as she heard the two talking. "Let me go" But the guys just laughed at her. There was nothing she could do.

The men taunted her a little longer before showing their true identity. When Rayland shifted halfway into a werewolf, she did everything she could think of to convince herself it was a special effects, or she was drugged.
She'll make a great mother. Perfect for the pack."
"No, no I don't think I will .. I un... I can't have kids... so you don't want me. Go try another bar."

They didn't believe her, but she knew the cold hard truth. Even her doctor couldn't figure out why she didn't ovalate. She was not able to have children.

Just as she started to panic, she heard the voice

Rayland’s arms tightened around her waist. Joshua and Kieran fought. Anna fainted, and Joshua died. When Kieran turned to Rayland and told him to let her go. He let it be known that he was not going to forget this. Anna would be his.

Kieran took Anna home in her car. Since he didn't know where she lived, he took her to His home.
Laying her in his bed where she belonged. He scented her as his true mate. He couldn't believe it.

Their species were close to dyeing out. Their females were only fertile once a year, and there were few She Wolves around

When Anna woke, she remembered the night before. She realized she was in Kieran's home. He saved her from those two guys.
When she found him sleeping on the couch, she couldn't understand the reaction her body was giving off.. she had never felt this way before.

When he awoke, they talked about what she remembered last night. She told him that they wanted her to bare their children, but she wasn't able to have children. Kieran disagreed with her. In fact, he scented her so strongly, he knew she was going into Heat

She went home and back to work. For 3 days Kieran left her alone, and her body was going crazy. She had started thinking about what they had talked about, and was ready to try to except what was happening.

A Lot of time passed :) and Anna was getting ready to head out to Kieran's compound to meet his family/Pack - she was nervous. But when they got there. 2 wolves ran past her, and then they heard shouting. Both her and Kieran ran to see what was going on. 2 werewolves and a regular wolf was shot. Being a Veterinary, she put her skills to work and helped get the silver bullets out of the wolves.

SOMEONE was hunting the wolves!

This was a great romance story - the chemestry between Kieran and Anna is great.

Cute Quick read :)

Lovin' Covers 4.20.12

2012-04-20T07:04:00.000-10:00

Geekomancy by Michael R. Underwood

July 3rd 2012 by Pocket Star

Dark Light of Day (Noon Onyx, #1) by Jill Archer

September 25th 2012 by Ace

Dark Water (Siren #3) by Tricia Rayburn

July 10th 2012 by EgmontUSA

Warrior Reborn (Warrior #2) by Melissa Mayhue

October 30th 2012 by Pocket Star

A Howl for the Highlander (Heart of the Wolf, #10) by Terry Spear

February 1st 2013 by Sourcebooks

Creating Fate (Unspun, #1) by Rachel Firasek

July 2012

Magic Without Mercy by Devon Monk

2012-04-19T07:10:00.000-10:00

Magic Without Mercy (book 8) by Devon Monk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Can't WAIT for November for the final installment of this series to come out! That battle is going to be AWESOME!

Allison Beckstrom’s talent for tracking spells has put her up against some of the darkest elements in the world of magic, but she’s never faced anything like this.

Magic itself has been poisoned, and Allie’s undead father may have left the only cure in the hands of a madman. Hunted by the Authority–the secret council that enforces magic’s laws–wanted by the police, and unable to use magic, she’s got to find the cure before the sickness spreads beyond any power to stop it.

But when a Death magic user seeks to destroy the only antidote, Allie and her fellow renegades must stand and fight to defend the innocent and save all magic…

Jen's Review

(I made myself a new signature - Needed a change :) Now keep your eye out for me with my new Dragon :)

This book was great! Starts off 3 days after the last book left off. They're still recovering and trying to figure out what to do. Allie's being hunted down by both the police and the Authority, She can't use magic, it makes her sick, and the veiled are biting and possessing innocent people and killing them... what's a girl to do??

Luckily she has her group of friends that will stick by her side.
Zayvion, Shame, Terric, Maeve, Hayden, and Victor, together they break up in separate groups and head to the Magic wells to sneak in and check out how much it's contaminated.

They each get a sample of the magic, and meet up at the warehouse that Collins is looking after Davey. Since Davey had been bitten by Anthony, just before he died (as a veiled) Davey was very sick. But Collin's found a way to keep him a live... well mostly alive.

With the help of Allie's dad who's in here head, they figure out a possible way to work the magic, but when his experiment causes an alarm for the Authority, they have jump fast into the gate Zay makes.. Zay had been using magic left and right and it was really wearing him down.

It's hard to write this review. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the whole book is written in just one day. They're on a deadline to save magic - so they're acting as fast as they can. Recovery time from the dismemberment spells is very little, so you see each one of them carrying their pain through the next spell - over and over.

This series just keeps getting better and better. I am anxious to read the last book :)

( I started this series a long time ago, so I don't have reviews for the previous books - I do have reviews for the last 3 books on goodreads though )

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1375697.Devon_Monk

My favorite NEW COVER reveal!

2012-04-18T06:19:00.001-10:00

I am a BIG fan of Jennifer Estep's Elemental series. I love everything about the books so I wanted to make a separate post just for the next book coming out August 21st 2012 by Pocket. For more info, head over the Jennifer's blog by clicking HERE.

Outer cover image Inner cover image

J. Estep's says that this book will look a little different in paperback. I;m sure many of us have seen these kinds of covers already like with Jeanine Frost books but it's called a step-back cover. She below for the other image.

Amazing!!! The cover for this series has only been top notch. I'm wicked excited!!!!

See my flickr set for Jennifer Estep:

Lovin' Covers 4.17.12

2012-04-17T20:14:00.002-10:00

Undead to the World (The Bloodhound Files #6) by D.D. Barant

November 27th 2012 by St. Martin's Press

Drive Me Wild by Christine Warren

November 27th 2012 by St. Martin's Press

Midnight's Warrior by Donna Grant

November 27th 2012 by St. Martin's Press

Moonshifted (Edie Spence #2) by Cassie Alexander

November 27th 2012 by St. Martin's Press

After Dark (The 19th Year #1) by Emi Gayle

October 31st 2012 by J. Taylor Publishing

Vortex (Cutter Cay #3) by Cherry Adair
May 22nd 2012 by St. Martin's Press

The Ripple Effect (Rhiannon's Law #3) by J.A. Saare
2012 by Mundania Press

Trust in Advertising by Victoria Michaels

2012-04-16T15:43:00.000-10:00

Trust in Advertising by Victoria Michaels

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WAY cute story! I loved this one! (sorry it's so long)

Lexi White finds herself at a crossroads. After putting everything on hold to care for her ailing father, it’s finally time for her to start living her life again. An exciting new job holds the promise of a fresh start, until she comes face to face with someone from her past who has always stopped her dead in her tracks, and who evidently still has the power to make her forget her own name. This time around, Lexi’s a grown woman who refuses to back away from her dreams, even if it requires working with her old high school crush. Side by side. Every day. Will he end up being her downfall or exactly what she needs?

Vincent doesn’t even remember Lexi from high school, but he begins to take notice when the fiery young woman is hired as his new assistant. Quickly, Lexi turns his world upside down and becomes an invaluable addition not only to his team, but to his life. Having learned a few hard lessons about trust in the past, Vincent is reluctant to let down his guard, especially when it appears that someone is out to sabotage his family’s advertising agency. Professionally, they are dynamite together, but when sparks fly between them personally, will Vincent let lies and jealousy ruin everything between them, or will he finally learn not only how to love, but ultimately trust…in advertising?

Victoria Michaels once again delivers a can’t-put-it-down novel loaded with engaging characters, cheeky dialogue, and powerful emotions. Trust in Advertising is a cleverly woven tale about two people getting to know each other and ultimately themselves

Jen's Review

Lexi just moved into a new city - She graduated from High school top of her class, but her shy and timid personality had her blending into the background. But that was ok with her.
She had a crush on Vincent Drake - the star of the football team, the top of the class in popularity and all around "most likely to succeed" - but he didn't even know who she was. Sure he copied off her tests in History, He leaned against her locker while waiting for his girlfriend, but still, he didn't even know her name.

About a year and a half after she graduated from high school, she had to drop out of college to take care of her dad. Since her mom passed away when she was younger, she was all he had left. He was getting worse and worse with his Alzheimer's .
After 8 years of taking care of him, he passed away, she moved to the city to start over. It was too painful for her to stay in her home town.

Just after she moved in, her new best friend moved in across the hall from her. Her and Hope were great together. Hope owned her own mechanic shop and Lexi helped her out with her advertisement. Even though she didn't go back to college, she still wondered "What if" So helping out a friend was a good way to start.

Working as a waitress or in a record store. She was happy, but she was 28 years old, and she needed to do something with her life.

She and Hope spent the day in her apartment going over the want ads trying to find something she could do, but even without her collage degree, she knew she'd have to start at the bottom of the food chain.

Together they found 3 jobs for her to call on. And she went on interviews to all three of them..

“So, tell me about your day.”
Lexie sighed. “My feet hurt, I have a headache, and one of the partners tried to hit on me. I met the biggest bitch alive, and,” she said with an embarrassed grin,”I’m really hoping you saved those help wanted ads for exotic dancers, because I think that’s my best bet for getting a job now.”

Out of the 3 jobs, only the one at Hunter’s seemed even a little tempting. It was for a large advertising company, but the job was down in human resources, technically, a gofer for 15 people who want lunch in 10 different places, and that was her job to do every day. But she knew that starting out on the bottom was her way to work her way up. She just needed to get her toe in the door and hope that she’d get a chance.

By luck, her crappy boss had her working inventory of the office supplies, and needed it done ASAP – so she stayed late that Friday night. While she was taking a small break, she heard a noise in the copy room. She went to help out the poor defenseless machine that was being abused by a woman who clearly had no idea what she was doing.
When she offered to help. The lady, Mrs. Dee, thanked her profoundly. She was running late for meeting and needed copies. So as Lexi started on the copies, Mrs. Dee went back upstairs to finish laying out her presentation. That’s when Lexi noticed all the mistakes. She knew the lady was in a hurry, so she ran over to the computer and started fixing errors as she called her on the phone. Mrs. Dee was extremely greatful to her for catching those mistakes, as well as rearranging things to make it look better. Mrs. Dee was indebted to her as she ran off to her meeting.

The following Monday at work, her boss told her she was promoted and now had a job on the 23rd floor. She was shocked- but excited.

She found out that her new boss was out for the week, but she was his new assistant. He was a moody guy and had been through 5 assistants in as many months. He yelled, he tested and wasn’t very nice about it. Everyone was afraid to be around him, because no one wanted his attitude. Lexi thought if she could just get to know him before he showed up next week, she’d be able to handle him.
That is until she found out that her new boss was none other than Vincent Drake – The very Vincent Drake that she had a crush on in high school for 2 years. But she didn’t think he would even remember her. And that might actually be a good thing anyways.

She was hooked up with her new blackberry, laptop and other gizmos that she’d need in order to serve her new boss’s needs. He would be calling her all the time and asking for information. Starting that day. When she got his text asking in a smug way “what’s my middle name” without hesitation, she text him back the correct answer in her own smug way.
He congratulated her for learning how to Google :) Next he asked her for something a little harder…

She had found out that before he left on his trip, he searched his office high and low trying to find a file but with no luck. So he asked her to find it for him.. His office was a MESS! There was no finding anything in there.. after searching and searching, she finally found it and text him back.. That’s when she met Sean – one of the other employees, and also best friend to Vincent. But as much as he didn’t like Vincent’s attitude, he loved to goat him any chance he could.
Sean took an instant liking to lexi, because that’s just the type of person she is.

Over the next few days, Vincent texted her with a few more “tests” to see if she could locate things for him. She passed every test he threw at her, and in the process cleaned up his office and started looking through his files on what he’s currently working on, so she could help him faster.

On Friday, as she was approaching her desk, Vincent showed up. She wasn’t expecting him until Monday, but he didn’t care. When she saw Sean running down the hallway just as Vincent was approaching the door, she cringed. Sean wanted front row seats to how Vincent delt with his “new clean office” And it wasn’t pretty.

As Vincent yelled and threw his chair around the room she slowly started packing her things and started heading towards the elevators. Lieh stopped her at the elevators and told her that Vincent wanted to see her right away. So she turned around and headed back.

After she explained the way she organized and filed all his files, he told her to get back to her desk. Shocked that he was giving her another shot, she happily obligated.

Over the next week, she had learned what Vincent wanted and as long as she stayed one step ahead of him, he was happy. Everything was going so well, until Jade, Vincent’s girlfriend showed up. This high strung, selfish supermodel of a woman, and she hated Lexi from the first time she saw her. And the feeling was mutual.

Ok this was a great story. I loved the way these two connected. Vincent was a jerk, he didn’t get along with anyone – but Lexi saw a softer side to him that only came out when he was happy. People were always testing him and putting him down. But he was good at his job. His ideas for advertisements were over the top, and getting the work done was his number one priority.

Lots of fun things in his book – I took some advertising/graphic design classes in collage, and it was fun recognizing some of the facts about getting the advertisements done, kind of behind the scenes.
The people in this book were great! I loved Anna and her daughter Madison – Madison is the love of Vincent’s life. His niece is the cutest thing!

Everyone they meet along the way seems to have a big part in their story.
I really enjoyed reading this one :)

Lovin' Covers 4.14.12

2012-04-14T16:23:00.004-10:00

I hope everyone's weekend is well. Happy Reading and enjoy the Cover Love below!!!!!

Endgame (Sirantha Jax #6) by Ann Aguirre
August 28th 2012 by Ace

Death's Rival (Jane Yellowrock #5) by Faith Hunter

October 2nd 2012 by Penguin Publishing

Outpost (Razorland #2) by Ann Aguirre

September 4th 2012 by Feiwel & Friends

Alchemystic (A Spellmason Chronicle) (Spellmason #1) by Anton Strout

September 25th 2012

The Moonstone and Miss Jones (Paranormal Investigator #2) by Jillian Stone

September 25th 2012 by Brava

Falling Away (Falling #2) by Devon Ashley

2013

Dust by Devon Ashley

2013

Sacrifice the Wicked by Karina Cooper

September 25th 2012 by Avon

Wake of the Bloody Angel (Eddie LaCrosse #4) by Alex Bledsoe

July 3rd 2012 by Tom Doherty Associats

The Bewitching Tale of Stormy Gale (Stormy Gale #2) by Christine Bell (aka Chloe Cole)
May 28th 2012 by Carina Press
House of Shadows by Rachel Neumeier
July 10th 2012 by Orbit

The Janus Affair (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences #2) by Pip Ballantine, Tee Morris
May 29th 2012 by Harper Voyager

xoxo, Chas

Effortless by S.C.Stephens

2012-04-12T05:18:00.000-10:00

Effortless by S.C. Stephens

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I didn't think a second book would be a good idea - I thought the first one ended in a good spot - i thought anything after that would have been an overkill - Boy was I wrong!!!

A continuation of the novel, Thoughtless...

A lot can happen in a year. You grow, you change, you learn from your mistakes. And Kiera had made a lot of mistakes to learn from. But she had learned, and she was determined to never cause a man pain again, especially the amazing man who currently held her heart. But life offers new challenges for every relationship, and when Kiera’s love is put to the ultimate test, will it come out the other side unscathed?

Love is easy…trust is hard

Jen's Review

If you haven't read Thoughtless - I don't recommend this one first - the books flow together and don't repeat a lot of the history, so if you don't know what happens in the first book, this one wouldn't make any sense at all. Sorry :)

This book wasn't quiet as emotional as the other one - sure it had a lot of ups and downs, but Kellan, the sweetheart that he is, made their separation so much easier on her.

Here's what it's about -

Kellan and Kiera are finally together. They're taking things slow - REALLY Slow! after 3 dates, they finally kissed . They knew the spark was there. but they needed the emotional connection in order to make their relationship work. it wasn't until after 3 months of dating that they actually "got together" and she still refused to move in with him. She wanted to make sure she could be happy on her own without depending on him to make her happy..

Kiera had grown up a LOT since Denny left. She learned a lot from her mistakes. but her life was happy. She was happy..

Matt was working hard getting the band new gigs and getting them out there.. He actually scored them a spot at Bumbershoot! The very music festival that their "friendship" had started growing from the last book.

This was HUGE! The guys were so excited, and the girls, Jenny and Rachel, both Matt's and Even's now girlfriends were as thrilled at Kiera was!

And the Three of them were there to cheer them on.

And of course, after the show, the girls, the fans - it bugged Kiera, but she was dealing with it. She saw the look in Kellan's eyes when they locked with hers, and she knew those fans didn't stand a chance :)

She was happy. Life was good...

Then out of nowhere, Matt, Even, and Griffin walk in the bar and announce to Kellan that they were picked! Out of all the bands at Bumbershoot, they were picked to go on the band tour! They were so excited - well, everyone but Kellan. He told them no way.. he couldn't do it.. 6 months leaving Kiera, it wasn't going to happen... but when Kiera looked over at him from the bar, she could see he was struggling with something.

They went out into the parking lot. But her reaction wasn't what he thought it would be.. He remembered when Denny told her he was leaving for Arizona. He remembered holding her while she cried...
"I remember Kiera. I remember when Denny left you.. what it did to you. I remember how we got together."
He thought if he left, I'd cheat..

but now after telling her that they picked his band and they would be gone 6 months... She was ... Happy for him...

"Do you think I loved Denny more, because it bothered me so much when he first told me he was leaving?"
Shrugging, his smile turned sad. "Can you blame me for thinking that?"
"I love you more. I love you enough to let you go and live your dream... Don't you see??

So with that said, they had one month to be together before the band left. And they lived it up. The month went so fast, that she didn't even know where it went.

The Friday before he left, they woke up together... he even went to her classes with her and told off Candy for being a jerk to Kiera :) He cherished her and made it the perfect day for her.

Saturday night was the bands last show at Pete's. People congratulating the 4 guys, and buying them drinks left and right. Kiera was happy she finally got to drive Kellan's car :)

After she closed up, they went to Matt's house for their final farewell party. And what a party it was!! Jenny, Rachel and her sister Anna was there for all their guys, along with their friends and fans. The party went on. When Griffin offered a drink to Kiera, she shook her head. Wanting to enjoy the last night sober, since Kellan wasn't - but Kellan talked her into having a few drinks. He said he didn't want her to think about him leaving tomorrow, and crying as the hours passed by. She agreed. Somehow she got suckered into a drinking game and then things really took off :) (You'll love this party, I promise :)

The next morning, she was pretty humiliated by her behavior at the party, but Kellan couldn't have been happier. She had a good time, and it will be a night she'll never forget.

Taking the guys to the bus station where they would be leaving soon, the tearful goodbye for everyone

Just as the bus pulled out, Jenny, Rachel, Anna and Kiera waved at their men. After a few mins, they turned to Kiera and told her that they promised Kellan that they wouldn't let her mope around.

"He talked to all of you?? I can't believe my boyfriend assigned my friends to be my keepers... like I'd be popping Prozac and walking along bridge rails once he lft." Smiling she laughed a little "That jackass."
Then her cell phone rang and it was Kellan. He was happy to hear that his "troups" were keeping her occupied so she didn't mope.

Good, then part one of my plan has been successful." I blinked, tilting my head. "Part one? Wait... what plan? Chuckling a little, he murmured, "Just a little something to keep you occupied while I'm gone."

Let me tell you, his "Plan" was BRILLIANT! It was sweet, it was ... *sigh* Really a great thing for their relationship..

Not to say everything was peachy keen after that :) 6 months is a long time to be apart - it's a strain on any relationship, especially one where both people are keeping secrets???

Yeah - it happens - GREAT Story! I was told there will be another book to this series coming out someday - Like I thought with this one, I hope it doesn't over kill this couple - but after reading this one.. I just don't want to give up on these guys yet!! I can't wait to find out when it comes out :)

The author has a video for this book (The first one had one too, but it was a little too much "skin" showing for this blog :)
WARNING on this video, it's probably a strong PG - since this is a romance book, I'm sure you can figure out why :)