Duchess Loves Books

One of my kids favorite books. The moral to the story is how Molly Lou Melon is different from everyone else, but that it's okay. Wise words from Grandma encourage Molly to stand up for herself, be true to herself, smile and be happy, and never give up. This is a book that I'll keep to read to my Grand babies one day in the very far future...no Goodwill for this one! Huge five stars. Ages 4 to 94...

"You need to reach down deep and find that wild, courageous girl you used to be before Rick the Dick put an arrow through your heart. And your Vagina."In accordance with everyone else that read this book, I laughed until I cried...Alli's inner dialogue (and sometimes outer dialogue) is fah-reaking hilarious!!!! Allison is a fairly newly divorced mother of one really kick butt teenage girl. Her husband, "Rick the Dick", apparently was a cheating fool. He shows up a couple of times during the story and proves how Dicky he can be. "Rick can go to fucking hell.I sigh proudly. Sara would b proud of me. I might not have said the F word, but I definitely thought it without flinching.That's fucking progress."So Allison is going through a bit of an identity crisis. She's thirty five years old, beginning to sag in funny places, but she's also in her sexual prime. She has little to no experience outside of her marriage bed...and that's including fun toys. So her best friend (and naughty enabler) gives her a mighty shove in the right direction. She drags Alli's ass to a gigolo for a night of sexual freedom, trying to stimulate her bestie into getting back on the horse...the dating horse, that is. Instead, she looses the wild woman in Alli, who quickly becomes addicted to what Slade, her gigolo, gives her. But Slade is awfully young, and Alli is both turned on and guilt ridden by her new found sexuality.Meanwhile, Alli's professional life is changing as well. Her new boss Alex is...ahem, well, lets just lay it out there...absolute perfection. He's around her age, he's settled, he's got a great sense of humor, and he turns her on like NONE OTHER. "He laughs and, no lie, a shiver rolls down my spine. I may want to take a bath in his laugh. Then shove it up against the wall and have violent sex with it. And I should probably not drink this much wine ever again."So on the weekends, Alli is learning to get her groove back. During the week, she's dealing with her crisis of conscience, and trying out the numerous things her best friend comes up with to make her feel and look sexy and fun...Brazilian waxes and Botox, naked hot tubbing and gigolos. Girl goes a little bit cray-cray, and it was a lot of fun to watch!There is a bit of a deeper message, if you look reeeeally hard and stop laughing long enough to pay attention. Alli is a great heroine. She's easy to relate to. Her daughter loves her, and they have a wonderful relationship. Her best friend is really just a freaking loony bin, and her husband Rick the Dick...he truly lives up to his name. On the other hand, the men in her life are somewhat opposites, and fulfill different needs. What kept me from going the full five stars is how the story wrapped up. There is a bit of a twist that is fairly easy to catch, but one that is also somewhat taboo. Although the steam level is not erotic, the subject matter itself may seem that way to some. I did like the resolution, but it was almost too quick. Wrapped up with a pretty bow, which was really a great bow...but it was too fast and too easy. I wasn't sure if I ethically agreed with the way that Alli handled the situation. However, it was really pretty easy to take this read for the lighthearted, fun read that it was meant to be. If you're wanting something totally different, if you need to laugh your A$$ off...READ THIS! If Seduction and Snacks type humor is a bit over the top for you but you still like the potty humor like me, then this is perfect for you!"During the day, I'm Allison. I'm responsible and hard-working and ambitious.But at night, when I'm not at work, I'm Alli Cat. I'm fierce and daring and fun. And I have a freaking bald vagina."

"You need to reach down deep and find that wild, courageous girl you used to be before Rick the Dick put an arrow through your heart. And your Vagina."

 

In accordance with everyone else that read this book, I laughed until I cried...Alli's inner dialogue (and sometimes outer dialogue) is fah-reaking hilarious!!!! Allison is a fairly newly divorced mother of one really kick butt teenage girl. Her husband, "Rick the Dick", apparently was a cheating fool. He shows up a couple of times during the story and proves how Dicky he can be.

 

"Rick can go to fucking hell.I sigh proudly. Sara would be proud of me. I might not have said the F word, but I definitely thought it without flinching.That's fucking progress."

 

So Allison is going through a bit of an identity crisis. She's thirty five years old, beginning to sag in funny places, but she's also in her sexual prime. She has little to no experience outside of her marriage bed...and that's including fun toys. So her best friend (and naughty enabler) gives her a mighty shove in the right direction. She drags Alli's ass to a gigolo for a night of sexual freedom, trying to stimulate her bestie into getting back on the horse...the dating horse, that is. Instead, she looses the wild woman in Alli, who quickly becomes addicted to what Slade, her gigolo, gives her. But Slade is awfully young, and Alli is both turned on and guilt ridden by her new found sexuality.Meanwhile, Alli's professional life is changing as well. Her new boss Alex is...ahem, well, lets just lay it out there...absolute perfection. He's around her age, he's settled, he's got a great sense of humor, and he turns her on like NONE OTHER.

 

"He laughs and, no lie, a shiver rolls down my spine. I may want to take a bath in his laugh. Then shove it up against the wall and have violent sex with it. And I should probably not drink this much wine ever again."

 

So on the weekends, Alli is learning to get her groove back. During the week, she's dealing with her crisis of conscience, and trying out the numerous things her best friend comes up with to make her feel and look sexy and fun...Brazilian waxes and Botox, naked hot tubbing and gigolos. Girl goes a little bit cray-cray, and it was a lot of fun to watch!

 

There is a bit of a deeper message, if you look reeeeally hard and stop laughing long enough to pay attention. Alli is a great heroine. She's easy to relate to. Her daughter loves her, and they have a wonderful relationship. Her best friend is really just a freaking loony bin, and her husband Rick the Dick...he truly lives up to his name. On the other hand, the men in her life are somewhat opposites, and fulfill different needs.

 

What kept me from going the full five stars is how the story wrapped up. There is a bit of a twist that is fairly easy to catch, but one that is also somewhat taboo. Although the steam level is not erotic, the subject matter itself may seem that way to some. I did like the resolution, but it was almost too quick. Wrapped up with a pretty bow, which was really a great bow...but it was too fast and too easy. I wasn't sure if I ethically agreed with the way that Alli handled the situation. However, it was really pretty easy to take this read for the lighthearted, fun read that it was meant to be. If you're wanting something totally different, if you need to laugh your A$$ off...READ THIS! If Seduction and Snacks type humor is a bit over the top for you but you still like the potty humor like me, then this is perfect for you!

 

"During the day, I'm Allison. I'm responsible and hard-working and ambitious.But at night, when I'm not at work, I'm Alli Cat. I'm fierce and daring and fun. And I have a freaking bald vagina."

Well, heck. I really liked the first of the book...the first twenty pages were great. The first meeting after ten years apart, when Trace is drilling holes through Skye with his eyes, drinking her up like ice tea in Texas on a hot summer day...yeah, that was sexy. So, Skye is a dancer...a prima ballerina, to be exact... But she can't dance any more, because a madman ran her off the road, causing an accident that ripped her dreams from her, leaving her broken and alone. Whereas Trace used to be her rock, he let her go so that she could pursue her dream, and so now she's left with neither her dancing or her truest friend and lover.Now, she is forced to seek Trace out. She senses that she is being followed again. The police can't or won't help, and Trace is the owner of one of the most successful security companies in Chicago. And so, the broken ballerina returns, asking for help. I enjoyed the premise, but I felt like this was way too short to cram so much into a hundred page book. This story would normally take around three hundred pages to tell. Cutting short the sexual tension and build up, the character development that I've come to expect from Eden, and the explosive sex was shortened to one page, mediocre and forgettable quickies.The beginning was great. But boy, I expected more...of everything.

Sarai, a woman whose been a captive since the age of fourteen...Victor (The American), a cold blooded, ruthless man on a mission. A mission that does NOT include rescuing some woman...When Sarai shocks and amuses The American by stowing away in his car, only two things are for certain: He is a badass, and he's only keeping her as a bartering tool.Sarai's bravery, compassion, and humanity start to wear down Victor's defenses. He's a man not used to trusting anyone. Never, under any circumstances. Not even family. So the bulk of this book does NOT focus on the romance between this couple. No, it's focus is the building of trust and awareness. Each of them had no childhood to speak of, no gently parental guidance. Their lives have been about survival and staying ahead. To put it bluntly, they've each lived one big lie. Both from those around them, and themselves. Now they learn not only to trust, but to be trustworthy.Full review to come.Huge thanks to Lala Land Romance for the chance to win a copy of this book!!http://lalalandromancereviews.blogspot.com/?zx=203c77a373dfb708

"Land o'Goshen!"Yep, that pretty much sums up this book quite nicely. Well said, Stunt! :D:D:D:D:D 3.5 StarsGroup buddy read 9-13 with Steph, Em, Giorgia, and Vilda...Yaaay!!!!!!!MY SYNOPSIS:Stunt is a federal employee...working for the parks services, not the law. But he's also a lifetime resident of the backwoods Tennessee Appalachian mountains, so when he looks up to find a guh pointed in his face one afternoon, he's not too scared. At first, he just thinks it's an old moonshiner protecting his stills, keeping people off his property. After all, the old mountainers do it differently than "those city folk." But Stunt soon realizes after he's tied up and led down the mountain that this isn't some ordinary geezer. This is a desperate man."Hands patted stunt down, pulling his pockets out and running up and down Stunt's thighs. Normally, Stunt's dick wouldhave embarrassed itself by now, but luckily, it was too busy tring to clib back up and become an internal organ to care..."Cross your ankles and do not move.""Does shaking coount?"His captor ends up being Alex, a man bent on killing the big time drug lord that had his brother murdered. This drug lord apparently moved onto the mountain, and since Stunt knows that mountain fold don't like anyone drawing attention to their parts, he convinces Alex to seek help from the locals. Elijah...one of the more memorable characters I've come across...Somewhere amid the slapstick comedy feeling that this book literally drips with, these two boys come to realize that they have stumbled upon their own personal sexual perfections in each other. Alex, a Dom, and Stunt one of the area's most sought after Subs. This leads to some awkward but endearing situations..."...but he hated feeling helpless which was a mite strange because he loved being dominated...""Stunt's body wasn't quite sure how to handle this particular ritual from a man who was on the unsafe and insane side of the consensual fance."But once things get worked out and the plot unfolds, the romance kicks in, and we're in gay hillbilly heaven!MY THOUGHTS:While this was not at all what I expected from this book, I can definitely say that I was entertained quite nicely. A few parts dragged...namely between about 30-50%. I had enough of the back and forth between the two protagonists...it stagnated the story a bit. But after that, it was all gravy.The beginning was simply hilarious...Stunt's brain to mouth filter was most definitely OFF...which leads the reader to truly believe that this little subbie really and truly needs that gag.The BDSM is pretty light...mostly slap and tickle with lots of bondage. I loved how the author describes Stunt's need to be tied. He feels awkward with his hands free...a submissive to the core, he needs not only the direction but the lack of choices to lead to his own lack of inhibition...slipping into what he calls his "gray zone", living for nothing but the feels. Alex really knew what he wanted, and that attention to detail turned this from a weird, quirky, funny little oddity of a M/M romance into something a a little more real."But as much as those Doms had made Stunt feel good, they'd always been using his body for their pleasure...""However, when Alex looked in his eyes, Stunt could hardly breathe as he saw how much Alex wanted him to be happy. His pleasure was all about making Stunt happy, and that was a dynamic Stunt weren't real familiar with."Honestly, the plot felt a bit scattered, the point lost somewhere within the comedy and myriad descriptions of odd people and scenery. But it was fun, and completely different from my normal reads."Mountain logic has more logic than people might think."

A somewhat disappointing ending to such a great series. For the most part, I just felt like the story itself and the characters were very blah. Nothing really exciting about them, nothing much exciting happened, other than a nice little gathering of all of the characters from the previous three books. I did have a few minor points to make about Reynaud and Beatrice.I felt like Reynaud was on the attack for the entirety of the story. He never lets up. He lets his captivity define him, and comes back to England with nothing but resentment and a heart full of anger. He tries to boot out the distant family member that took his place in the house of Lords, calling him a usurper, just for simply doing his duty. After this man has run Reynaud's household for five years, given up his own life entirely, and rooted himself in his position, and Reynaud can't cut him any slack? I mean, the guy literally seethes with anger, and never shows any compassion.Beatrice initially cut a romantic figure, gazing at Reynaud's beautiful face in his portrait. But she was quite the doormat once he came home and their relationship started to build. There wasn't really any spark there for them. I felt no chemistry, no love, no anything. I'm sad to do this because this is the lowest I've ever rated a book by this author. Hoyt remains one of my favorite Historical Romance authors. This one just didn't do it for me. What should have been a dramatic homecoming surprise was overshadowed by very bland characters. :(:(

"His voice sent chills down my spin, the man had a fucking awesome voice, all dark and rumbling. It was like sex, covered in chocolate, decadent and so very bad for you, but so good you couldn't deny yourself any of it, just like the rest of him."I loved this book! I love me a strong heroine, and that's just what I got with Scar. She's one tough girl but still girl enough to relate to. Scarlett (Scar) works in and owns Needle's Kiss, the tattoo parlor that she set up with the money her father left her in his will. The shop is her baby, her pride and joy."Not to toot my own horn, but toot, motherfucking toot, I'd even won a few awards for my work and boasted the title of the only female artist in town."Since the death of her father (her mother isn't a big part of her life, a detail that I felt was really glossed over...mentioned and forgotten.) the friends that she made at the shop...Teeny, Trip, and Remy...are her family. Until one day when Trip's brother Mace walks in. Scar is instantly turned on, and the mirrored attraction she sees in his eyes brings her to the conclusion that Mace would be the perfect guy to have some fun with. She's not looking for anything permanent...just a one or two night stand, someone to take the edge off. She then proceeds to tease the ever loving hell out of Mace, letting him know without a doubt what she wants."Babe, if you don't quit it, you're going to find yourself bent over this counter with that sexy-ass skirt around your waist, and I won't give a shit who walks in..."Mace, however, isn't after something fast and easy. He wants more. "I wasn't good enough for a woman like Scarlett, but she made me want to be the person she deserved."I loved how easy their relationship felt. It was very natural, and it didn't take long before Mace won her over. Not to mention the sex...holy hotness, this author created one hell of a beast in Mace! The man knows what he wants...that's for sure. "You have a dirty mouth, Babe. Need me to fill it again?"There is a LOT of sexy times going on up in here, but it never felt like too much. It didn't detract from the romance for me. It added to it. Somehow, the perpetual horniness that Mace showed was a total turn on...he is literally helpless against Scarlett. He wants her all the time...that's sexy to me. The drama comes from when someone from Mace's tragic (epically tragic – I cried.) past comes back and creates chaos in their lives. One thing that I didn't like was how a lot of things felt rushed. This was a fairly short book...somewhere between full length and novella, and you could really tell when it came to the details about the story. Scar's parents, Mace's army life and why he came back, his new tattoo, the inevitable split between them (that happened MUCH to quickly), and the psycho that caused problems...all of this was glossed over. This could have EASILY been a five star must read for me had the author added some details, stretched it out, maybe given us some down time.That being said, I really liked how the author skipped over weeks at a time. She gives the reader a sense of time passing without adding another element to the story. I also loved the overall TONE of the book. Not only was it SEXY AS HELL, it was also FUNNY AS HELL. The way that Mace was so turned on whenever Scar got angry..."She'd just get in a snit and make me wanna screw her seven ways from Sunday again...", he wants her when she's sleepy, or sad...when she gets dressed or undressed...to be quite blunt, MACE IS A HORNDOG! And the way he goes about it was hilarious. There's nothing sexier than a man who just flat out wants his woman all of the time, no matter the time of day, what she looks like, or what kind of mood he's in. It's a turn on, and Scarlet met him hump for hump. Overall, I winner for me! I'm going to end with a couple of favorite quotes:** "Being with Scar had healed me. She took what I had and made it better."** "I'm gonna annoy her into taking me back"and my fave:** "Every saint has a past. Every sinner has a future."

More like 2.5 stars...Okay, I'm going to start off by prevaricating....hehe...so's you guys (and the author) don't hate me. The most vast majority of my friends, and indeed, all of Goodreads, five starred this book. Not only that, but there was a nice mix of my friends who have extremely varying tastes who really loved this book. So I was ever so hopeful, and quite possibly set the bar too high before I ever even started. I'm just jotting down my thoughts now, and take this opinion for what it's worth - ONE lone opinion amid hundreds.The most promising part of the book was the premise...a nineteen year old senior in high school who lives in the richie-rich City in the middle of Dallas...Highland Park, Texas, has been the epitome of perfection her entire life. And I'm not saying that lightly. This chick has been a robot. Dressed, talked, walked, eaten, and basically lived exactly as her dearest (bitch) mother told her to. It's BAD. She's not really even sure who she is, exactly. Not to mention, one VERY BAD THING that happened in her past...and let me tell you folks, it's a doozie. Now, I'm a Fort Worth, Texas resident...we're the redneck cousin of Dallas...everyone around here knows it. We're cowboys and steak, while Dallas is upper class business and sushi. But we all know how those upper class rich people are, and Nora's parents are the worst.Okay, so what didn't work for me:#1 - Hero slutting it upLeo is banging someone else throughout the ENTIRETY of this book. Literally up until the very end. Um...NO. Huge no-no for me. I don't care that he says she "understands his stance" and doesn't expect anything more from him than sex. It's apparent that she does, and even if that weren't the case, the fact remains...this hero fucks another girl for this whole book.#2 - Lack of self respectNora, in my mind, has no pride when it comes to Leo. She chases him, offers herself up to him over and over again, strips naked for him, and no matter how many times he rejects her, she comes back for more, insisting that he loves her, that they are meant to be. I can't stand when a woman begs after a man. Sexist? Yes. My apologies. I want the man to do the begging and the chasing."Are you saying we're soul mates? That you're in love with me?" Yes, Leo...she says it over and over again.#3 - Insta LoveInsta love that is never backed up with REAL love. Both Nora and Leo have a bad case of insta love. Thing is, I totally like insta love...I think it's romantic. I knew within days that my husband was the love of my life....so yeah, I truly believe in love at first sight. But only when the ensuing story solidifies that attraction with real meaning, real purpose, real feelings. Nora's CONSTANT waxing on about soul mates made me want to laugh...it was just cheesy, because I didn't understand why she and Leo were so googly eyed over each other. Nearly every scene that they are in together is nothing but heated looks, longing eyes, sexual innuendo, or actual sexual acts. But not much talking about anything of importance. I never actually got to the point that I liked either of them...I didn't know them well enough...the entire plot consists of Nora's terrible childhood and her new obsession with Leo. That's it.#4 - The DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA DRAMANora's initial breakdown was pretty over the top. Who suddenly decides to just go crazy...tattoos, piercings, becoming a drunk, vandalizing cars, destroying expensive household things, doing drugs, etc....not to mention that she plans it all out. It was just so...high school, and I never got the feeling that Nora dealt with her issues. It was all about this obsession with Leo, nothing focused on how she really needed to heal and deal with her truly messed up life. I lost count of how many times Leo and Nora lip locked, got hot and heavy, then pushed away from each other, had words, and stormed away...either in anger or tears. Soooo many times. It was a wash, rinse, repeat in a different setting. Also, When Nora's brother is in the alley with her, instead of running away, Nora DRAMATICALLY sinks down to her knees, giving him plenty of time to pull the rope out of his pocket and walk over to her, verbally threatening her the entire time.The GOOD part - Drew!!!!!!!!!!! I loved Drew!!! And I really loved Sebastian!! I'd love to see them get their own HEAs...these two boys were the levity in this book. They added some much needed lightheartedness and gave Nora true friendship when she needed it most. I wish that her aunt had been more of a part of the story, because I really think she needed some stability in the form of an adult. I think possibly this is what kept me from connecting with Nora more. To me, she was just a lost little girl making bad decisions.But read it for yourself and see what you think!!!!

DNF at 20%...no ratingI think the premise is promising, and that's what initially grabbed me about the book. It's a futuristic sci fi story about humans living on another planet. The government forces a percentage of it's women (Hunger Games style) to be entered in the Grab...in which the large and in charge human like alien men come and chase them down, collar the woman of their choice, and carry them off to their ship, never to bee heard from again. It is said that unspeakable sexual things are done to these women, and the Grab is considered barbaric and lunacy by the general public, but the women cannot escape it.Sounds intense, right? But the execution was really very different. As soon as this heroine, Naya, is grabbed, our seven foot tall hero, Menace, begins to basically pat her on the head and reassure her that he is not a brute, not going to hurt her. WHich is fine, I guess. But then he throws her over his shoulder, cave man style....and I think "Now THIS is more what I was wanting!" Alas, that only lasts until they are on the ship. Menace once again reverts to this hulking placating conversationalist who spends the next pages...and pages...comforting his new wife. He also manages to chastise her...gently, that...for cursing too much. All the while, they are standing in his BDSM playroom and Naya plays the complete innocent yet strong willed heroine. More than one orgasm? Gasp!Add in some obvious political agenda, which is a pet peeve of mine, and I was done. I don't want a lecture on religious freedom or corporal punishment in my smutty romance book about alien BDSM. What I wanted, expected, and failed to get, was a huge, tough alpha alien human dude who comes down to the human planet to forcefully take a wife...willing or no. Then he steals back to his ship where he then proceeds to seduce the ever living crap out of her and occasionally gives her some punishment when she makes up excuses to try to escape. It's possible, I think,that this sort of thing could have taken place later on in the book, but I was losing interest very quickly. I think this could possibly work for women who like the more beta side of a hero...not the cave man variety that does it for me.ARC received from publisher via Net Galley

”It was an absurd situation to find myself in, as usual, but I shouldn't have been surprised to find myself in it. Pirates only belonged in fairly tales anyways.”Is there something in the water over in M/M territory? How is it that every M/M book I read is golden? Or are my book loving friends just THAT awesome? Whatever the case, I have to say that this is probably my favorite of the subgenre that I've read to date. Which is crazy, because it's not about the bulky alpha boys I love to lust for. No, it's about a cranky, reclusive bipolar Brit and a fun loving, dopey glitter pirate from Essex. It's about people with flaws...in fact, every character in this book reveals some major flaws...not the least the main character and narrator, Ash. (I think Ash dresses a bit more stodgy, but this guy is hot)This is a book built on pretentious prose, but I kind of think that's the point. Ash is a pretentious guy, and he comes by it honestly. He's also quite the dick at times...and that's okay. He was meant to be written that way. ”Such a fragile thing, wanting to please someone else. Such endless scope for disappointment and failure. How much easier just to take.”He uses his academic and literary knowledge to hide his biggest flaws, such as his manic episodes, his panic attacks, and his burgeoning agoraphobia. He went from living on top of the world back in his college days, being a moderately successful author, to this blurry make it through today kind of person. Life? What is life to someone like Ash? Common courtesies disappeared along with his will to live.”I had never wanted death, merely cessation.”Yes, it's like that.So, you see, there is a darker undertone than the title "Glitterland" suggests. Anyone with firsthand knowledge of mental illnesses...be it anxiety, depression, or more psychotic and/or episodic diseases knows just how debilitating they can be. It's impossible for a few short words to accurately convey the hopelessness that can consume someone living with them. And Alexis Hall does a marvelous job at setting the reader inside the mind of an individual on the brink of giving up on normal life. Sounds depressing, right? But that's actually not the impression that I took away from this book. Not at all. And that reason is Darian. ”Do you fink just cos 'e's 'appy 'e ain't nevva 'ad summin bad 'appen to him?.”Darian is one of the most loveable characters I've ever come across. Not only is he charmingly goofy, but he's so endearing in that he sees himself as superficial and somewhat dumb...and that couldn't be further from the truth. No, he doesn't have the Oxford education or any major credentials. But he's stuffed full of heart, compassion, and a zest for life that is utterly refreshing. While at a stag party one night, Ash spots a flashy, happy, epaulet-wearing dancer in the crowd and is momentarily mesmerized. Eye contact leads to chit chat leads to a one night stand leads to Ash having a freak out at 3am and running out the door, leaving behind his peacock patterned boxers. And Darian tracks his author ass down at his next signing...what ensues is this odd mix of natural relationship and awkward, forced togetherness. All the awkward comes from Ash...all the amazing comes from Darian.Can you tell I love Darian? Could I just tell you a bit more about him? Okay, thanks...”A glottal stopping glitter pirate who still lives with his grandmother in Essex.” (I don't know anything about Essex, so I'm not why this is such a huge part of Ash's judging...)So take a look at the cover. Funny, how it sort of made me tilt my head to the side at first...I'm sure I looked a bit confused...and then indifferent when I saw the reviews rolling in. Can't judge a book by it's cover, right? Wrong! That cover is Darian! The glitter, the bouffant, the eyeliner, the somewhat hollow-cheeked model smirk on his adorable little face. I simply loved everything about him! His funny accent, his utterly sweetheart nature, and his heart of gold. He's a model who loves clothes and has a load of besties, not meant for the likes of someone with prestige and class, or so he thinks. But he sure does nerdgasm over his new man Ash. And pitter pat went my little heart.I did like Ash...gotta give the guy a break. He goes from having no will to do anything to having a spark of life somewhere inside his heart for a guy who really, truly, should do nothing at all for him. I actually ended up loving Niall, another flawed asshead of a character that had me fuming a couple of times. Point is, this book was so very...human. We're all flawed. We've all been mean, we've all done things we're not proud of and lived life in ways that we don't like to remember. “Judge not, lest ye be judged”...good if you believe or not!”My breath hitched and my thoughts scattered, and I did not mourn them.”I've got to stop somewhere. I feel like I could go on and on. But I'll end with this: Don't judge the book by it's cover. Just as you shouldn't judge Darius by his looks or Ash by his douchebagginess. There's an evocative, lovely romance hidden in these pages and I feel like a lucky girl to get to read it.ARC provided by Riptide Publishing via NetGalley.Quotes used with permission

Evie Baker recently returned to her hometown of Rochambeau...depressed, broken, and the newest hair washer at her Mom's salon. From her ambitions and the realization of her dream of owning a restaurant, free to create culinary masterpieces...to this. To add insult to injury, her childhood best friend and the man who horribly betrayed her young heart is back in town.Captain Matt Gerard is also coming back to Rochambeau a defeated man. Soon up for a hearing that will decide whether the death of two of his Special Forces teammates is his fault, Matt is heartbroken as well as a little lost feeling. Especially when he walks into the small town's salon and comes face to face with one of his biggest regrets.Matt and Evie had been best friends since they were little. Their friendship not only survived a myriad of childhood hardships...not the least being the death of Matt's mother....but seemed stronger for them. It began to dwindle when Matt started seeing other girls in a whole new light...and yet Evie still only had eyes for him. The breaking point was the night that Evie gave Matt her most precious gift, and he made a mockery of her for it...and left town to join the Army.Matt immediately wants to make up for his young and dumb actions, but Evie still needs to guard her heart. After all, it was her lover who stole her blind and ruined her restaurant. But Matt is persistent, and when Evie's past comes back to haunt her...and her mom and little sister, she is forced to lean on Matt for help. His experiences in intense tactical situations makes him the perfect guy to have along for the ride that she's getting ready to take. And she quickly comes to realize that one night of inconsideration doesn't make up the entirety of the man who used to be her best friend in all the world. I enjoyed this book. I expected to have a bit more action and intrigue than what was included, I think. I felt like the emotions and regrets of both Matt and Evie were sort of recycled and used again throughout the entire book, and it really dragged the story out. What action was included was fairly riveting. The love scenes were well done, definitely for a mainstream romance market, but still sexy. My favorite part was when Matt starts speaking his French bayou yumminess! Chere', indeed!! Especially toward the last half of the book, Matt's team gets some face time and we are introduced to the guys who likely get the next few books in the series.Overall, a nice Romantic Suspense...not too heavy, a bit stagnating in the middle, but ended on an exciting note with lots of room for series growth.Big thanks to Victory Editing and Net Galley for the arc in exchange for a review!

This was my first novel by Jessica Sorensen, and I can say without a doubt that she knows how to use words to evoke some very strong emotions. In the case of Breaking Nova, it was mostly sadness, depression, anger, and helplessness. Watching two essentially good people slowly destroy themselves is never any fun. Nova Reed hasn't always been this blank shell that she is today. Less than a year ago, she was a somewhat quiet girl, on the outskirts of popular but still content teenage girl. Her father's death years earlier scareed her emotionally but she's still living and learning. Her lifelong friend turned into her lifelong love...or so she thought. When yet another tragedy changes everything, Nova immediately loses the will to keep going. She's living but barely, breathing without thinking, lacking passion and direction.Her summer back from college and her new friend lead her to meeting Quinton...a guy whose eyes mirror her own. Though Quinton's regrets are different than Nova's, they are no less tragic. Once the big man on campus, a guy with the world laid out before him, he is now just as hopeless and careless as Nova. He's so weighed down with the guilt from his past than he simply doesn't care to move past it; doesn't actually feel as if he deserves to.While I was rooting for both Nova and Quinton, I felt like this road to healing that Nova was on was just a little off. She begins to hang with the wrong crowd, partying too much, trying to lose herself in the oblivion of substances to take her mind off of life. Now, I'm not advocating drinking and drugs. But to make having a few beers out to be some terrible stepping stone to a worse you was going a bit far. Even smoking some pot...was this a push for some political agenda? Gateway drug? That's the feeling I got her, and I didn't really want the very obvious lecture. Stay away from junkies...okay, I can see that. Don't smoke pot or you'll end up a junkie yourself? Not so much.In case you haven't heard, this ends in a cliffhanger. I hate cliffies, but this kind really gets my goat. Because this one ends in such way that I was more depressed after I put this down than I was when I realized why Nova and Quinton were such sad, lonely characters.My verdict...The writing was fabulous, sometimes insightful, sometimes romantic (?), sometimes break down and cry sad. The story itself is one big book of emo depression. The epiphany was waaay too sudden for my taste. It goes from rock bottom to explosion of thoughtfulness within pages, and I felt that there was too little focus on the actual healing and too much focus on the rock bottom. Still, I can't see giving this less than four stars because I was glued to the pages for the entire book. I will definitely be reading Sorenson's other series now.ARC provided by Forever via NetGalley

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"Did you get a good look at her, then?" he added in a rush.Alec nodded."You'll be taking her with you, won't you?" The Kincaid stared at the old man a long minute before answering."Aye, Beak. I'll be taking her with me." An absolute must read for any Garwood fans! Quite simply a treasure of a historical romance. If you can get ahold of the audio, this is one of the better narrators I've heard as well. If not, the story stands on it's own, a masterpiece set in the Scottish Highlands.This is the very best of this author...and she has written many keepers. The Bride seems to have every wonderful aspect that Garwood is known for. Jamie is innocent...a typical heroine for the times, and an trait that gets her into some amusing trouble. Despiter her naivete, however, she is truly one of the most kind and tenderhearted of women, placing everyone's needs over her own. Those she loves, she gives her all. There is nothing self serving or proud about her. She goes from being a practical slave to her father and sisters to trying to find her place amid the Highlanders and their land, a way of life that is completely foreign to her. "She'll settle in...At times, my heart just broke for her, as Alec takes a long time to see what his wife truly needs from him is a place to belong. He sees right off that he wants her...king's decree or not, he definitely wants her. And yet he's so very much a Laird...immovable, stubborn, overbearing, and pompous. Good thing he's also fair and compassionate (to a point). He's determined to get this marriage thing over with, and move on with his life. But this gentle, silly English woman with her strange English ideals and her stubbornness arrive at his home and completely uproots him.Alec's life is even more uprooted than Jamie's is...and she's the one who moved to a new country :D:D:D My favorite thing about this book is it's unpredictability. Most romance books are so formulaic...meet, dislike each other, form an attachment, have sex, HUGE CONFLICT, resolution, make up, the end. I didn't get that same feeling here. There were constant new developments, and each one was absolute perfection. Sure, there are some tropes, but this is the kind of book that created the trope, or at the very least defines it. This was a fun, sexy look into the life of two stubborn yet charming character's lives after the reluctant vows are said. They are resigned to their marriage and just working at falling in love. Jamie's goofy and sassy, shoving her way into Alec's heart. Alec is grudging, powerful, but still somewhat of a pushover with her. "By what name is she called, Kincaid?""Mine.”

"Tonight, baby, this is home."This is a perfect example of why I think sex is so important in a novel. If ever a couple connected on a soul deep level while during the act, surely it was Jax and Lexi.MY SYNOPSIS4.5 StarsLexi LaCroix's dream job as a haute couture wedding dress designer means that she is a woman who rubs elbows with Tinseltown's most rich, famous, pampered, and above all... private people. They are more than willing to drop tens of thousands of dollars on a wedding dress, but they expect the name of their prestigious designer to be unblemished and above reproach. People this rich pay for the name just as much as the product. So Lexi strives to give them just that...she is publicly a rising star in the design world. Seeing as how her past has a lot of shadows, Lexi works very hard to stay on the top...she only shows her perfect side, not the dirt poor girl she used to be. She's worked her fingers bloody to get to where she is, and her job is her life. When a famous designer in NYC invites Lexi to be a part of her team, Lexi is overjoyed...and intimidated.While arriving at the airport to fly to the biggest meeting of her life, Lexi sees Jax Chamberlin for the first time. Jax is an ex actor turned stuntman with his own career driven goals. He knows what it's like in Hollywood, with image being everything. Since leaving acting, his famous family has shunned him and his rebellious ways, his tattoos and wild lifestyle an affront to their snobby society ways. Long story short, Lexi stumbles upon Jax again inside the airport, and with the help of her tech-smart friend, snag his phone number. She decides to play a little game with the hottie while waiting for her plane. And the fun begins! "You're going to come...so hard."MY THOUGHTS:Now, I thought that the sexting and flirting was fun....oh, boy! Was I wrong! When these two get to New York, Jax still has no idea what Lexi looks like. But she's turned up the heat so high now that he can't seem to stop until he gets to touch this woman who has set his blood to boil with a few words."I'm a big boy, Lex. Let me worry about me. If you want me, take me. I'm offering." "Had she misread him? Was she misreading herself? If this was passion, it was more intense than anything she'd ever felt. Overwhelming. Obsessive. Dark."I loved, loved, LOVED JAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Can I touch you?" he asked, his voice softer than a whisperbut so much deeper..."He sees this woman, only in shadows for nearly half of the book. He doesn't even know what she looks like...but he's getting to know her innermost thoughts, and they line up with his. He even knows and understands her hesitation in starting a relationship while trying to build her business in Hollywood. Poor Jax...he's a rebel, he's a bad boy...but he's also a really wonderful person, with SUCH a good heart. He never pressures Lexi, and in turn, I could really relate and empathize with both Lexi and Jax. "An emotion Jax couldn't identify flodded him. It started at the middle of his chest and washed outward until he ached with it. Desire flowed in it's wake. Deep and hot and strong. But different from anything he'd ever felt before. Far more intense."Jax is a closet romantic. It only took Lexi to bring forth those undeniable, intense feelings. And he's not afraid of them. This was love at it's deepest. This is selfless and compassionate, sympathetic and giving.Why not quite five stars? I felt like the return to real life made the story fall a little flat. I wanted more details about both Jax and Lexie. The reader gets to know both of their pasts very little. We only know that Lexie grew up very poor and that Jax grew up very rich. Although I did feel a connection with them...the author made sure of that...I still didn't feel as if I knew them as well as I should have, and I wanted more details after the sexy fun was over and they returned to normal life and responsibilities. I felt like that was the perfect time to add some levity, but it never came.The door was left wide open for the rest of the Renegades stuntmen to get their own stories...although we really didn't get much info on them or how they met Jax. Hopefully we get more background on all of the characters as the series moves forward! "If you come, come as you are..."