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Friday 20 September 2013

Styxx (Dark-Hunter #23) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

18386252Just when you thought doomsday was over...

Centuries ago Acheron saved the human race by imprisoning an ancient evil bent on absolute destruction. Now that evil has been unleashed and it is out for revenge.

As the twin to Acheron, Styxx hasn’t always been on his brother’s side. They’ve spent more centuries going at each other’s throats than protecting their backs. Now Styxx has a chance to prove his loyalty to his brother, but only if he’s willing to trade his life and future for Acheron’s.

The Atlantean goddess of Wrath and Misery, Bethany was born to right wrongs. But it was never a task she relished. Until now. She owes Acheron a debt that she vows to repay, no matter what it takes. He will join their fellow gods in hell and nothing is going to stop her.

But things are never what they seem, and Acheron is no longer the last of his line. Styxx and Acheron must put aside their past and learn to trust each other or more will suffer.

Yet it’s hard to risk your own life for someone who once tried to take yours, even when it's your own twin, and when loyalties are skewed and no one can be trusted, not even yourself, how do you find a way back from the darkness that wants to consume the entire world? One that wants to start by devouring your very soul?



Sam's Review
Photobucket

The basis of the story is the comparison of what happen in Acherons story. We get to see what happened to Styxx and the real truth behind what everyone else saw as a spoiled, rich prince. Basically everything you read in Acherons book is thrown to the wind. Now don’t get me wrong this was one the most amazing books I have ever read but at the same time the most horrific book I have ever read. There is more rape in this book than I could have ever imagined, so I must forewarn all future readers that this book is not for the faint hearted. It gutted me reading the pain and suffering Styxx went through to get his HEA. Sadly Styxx suffered more pain and torture through the book and only had a very small handful of happy. 
Styxx was one the most admirable hero’s I have read in a long time. His bravery succeeded anyone I have ever read about. And although he was a brave warrior, he was the most gently soul and timid man. He gave his heart utterly and truly to those he loved and asked of nothing in return. 

Beth was awesome. This woman won me over simply by being able to overlook all of Styxx scars, wounds and insecurities and loving him for the man he was regardless of what she found out about him. Sadly Beth and Styxx only get a small handful of moments together but SK has made them so very precious to the reader. 

There is so much depth in this story that it’s almost impossible to talk about portions of the story without revealing the story, and that is something that I want the readers to experience for themselves. But know that this is the other side of the story, the side where we find out that the grass is most certainly not greener on the other side. Its the story of a love that literally goes beyond the ages to finally find its self. 

In comparison to Acherons book, this was a lot more horrific and not so much happy. I can’t get past the amount of rape and torture Styxx went through. And when you finally think he has had enough, he gets gang raped again. Acheron was painted to be an arrogant dick in this book, but if you have read his story then it all plateaus its self out in understanding, so I do recommend reading both books.
Not sure what is next for Kenyon, but I still love this series and won’t stop reading it. Put aside the sadness from this book and everything else readers are getting the knickers in a knot for and you can truly appreciate the beauty in the writing. No faults what’s so ever.
Five out five for its brilliance, for Styxx and for Beth






Sunday 8 September 2013

Wethering The Storm BY Samantha Towle (BK#2)

Wethering the Storm (The Storm, #2)Music journalist Tru Bennett has done the impossible: capture the heart of rock-star bad boy Jake Wethers. Now they’re busy planning a wedding and navigating their new life together in the US. Of course Tru misses London and her best friend, Simone, but living happily ever after with Jake in LA is going to be great…right?

Wrong. Even the bright California sun can’t whitewash the dark side of celebrity coupledom. Greedy music execs, merciless paparazzi, and Jake’s wild past are lurking around every corner. Making matters worse, Jake announces he doesn’t want kids, which just may be a deal breaker. 

Tru loves Jake more than anything. But when a devastating crisis threatens to destroy everything they’ve fought for, the couple must face the hard truth: What if, this time, love is not enough?

Holly's Review:

I think because it's been so long I sort of forgot how much I FREAKING LOVE JAKE WETHERS!!!

Once upon a long time ago, in Manchester, a girl moved in next door to a boy... 

This book pics up right where the first one left off with Jake and Tru on their island spending some well deserved time alone together. Which is all well and good but now they need to head back to reality and work at making a life together. Which is not as easy as it sounds what with Jake being a smoking hot, former man-whoring rock star! Real life and the past are bound to intrude and make the road a little bumpy.

But if any couple can do it it's Jake and Tru!! There love is amazing! 

"My love for you is limitless, it knows no bounds. You're in my veins. I bleed you. I belong to you...I always have and always will." He takes a deep breath. "You will always be my June, Tru." 

See what I mean...AWESOME LOVE!!

What I love most is that it is a lifetime love, Jake and Tru were the best of friends growing up and circumstances separated them and it took them 12 years to reconnect. Now that they have, the road is rocky but their love for each other is off the charts. So you just know they will find their HEA! 

I really don't want to talk about the struggles they face in this book simply because I don't want to give anything away, you really need to experience it for yourself. I will promise you though after all the intense emotions you go through with these characters they do find their HEA and we get a wonderfully beautiful epilogue!! So please, if you haven't yet experience the phenomenon that is Jake Wethers and The Mighty Storm you need to do so immediately!! You won't regret it, I Promise!!

Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning. 




Friday 6 September 2013

The Christmas He Loved Her By Juliana Stone (Bk#2)

The Christmas He Loved Her (Bad Boys of Crystal Lake, #2)

All he wants this Christmas is her.

In the small town of Crystal Lake, Christmas is a time for sledding, hot chocolate, and cozying up to the fire with those you love. For Jake Edwards, it’s also time to come home and face his past. He thought there would never be anything harder than losing his brother. Turns out there is: falling in love with his brother’s widow, Raine.

Ever since they were little, Jesse was the Edwards brother who was always there for her, and Jake was the one who knew just how to push her buttons. Raine can’t imagine a life without them, which is why it was doubly decimating when Jake left town after his brother’s sudden death. Now he’s back and she doesn’t know whether to be mad or thrilled. Maybe both. Maybe it will be the perfect chance for both of them to finally find happiness again.


Holly's Review:

4.5 Stars!!

The Bad Boys of Crystal Lake series has been a wonderfully pleasant surprise for me! I received the first book in this series last year from Netgalley and I loved it! First, they take place in northern Michigan, and since Michigan is my home I love authors that write stories based in my beautiful home state! I don't know why they have a special place in my heart, they just do!

This is the second book in that series and it was just as wonderful as the first. In this book we dive into the explosively tense relationship between Jake and Raine. Jake is the definition of a tortured hero, so of course I LOVE him!! The death of Jake's twin brother Jesse is what brought all of the Bad Boys back home in the first book. He was killed in Afghanistan and Jake was with him and of course he shoulders the unwarranted guilt for not bringing his brother home.

Oh, did I mention that Jesse was Raine's husband?? Yeah, and Jake is in love with her and has been since they were kids! See....issues!

Anyway, Raine grew up tight with the Bad Boys and even if she didn't know it she has always had massive chemistry with Jake. Of the brothers Jesse was the calm even tempered brother and Rained loved him for as long as she could remember. They married and had a great, if albeit, short life together. As for Jake and Raine, they argue and spark off of one another like nobody's business!!! See....Passion! 

With Jesse gone both Jake and Raine go off the rails, Jake runs away and has been staying away for over a year, mainly because he doesn't trust himself with Raine, the only woman he has ever loved. But now that he has returned and he can see that Raine is wasting away and withdrawing from everyone he has to do something! I promise even with all of the emotion in this book there is a HEA!

Watching Raine and Jake bury their demons and find love was a beautiful journey and I was really happy to be along for the ride!!

There is one more Bad Boy and I can't wait for Mac's story - it is bound to be just as wonderfully tortured and emotional!! Keep them coming!

**This book was provided to me by Netgalley***





Wednesday 4 September 2013

Gone Wild By Ever McCormick

Gone Wild

Just before college graduation, Ina--star of her senior class--made a mistake that went viral. Then, when life seemed like it couldn’t get any worse, she walked in on her boyfriend cheating with her roommate. To get away, Ina ventures to a cabin on a remote mountain, intent on some solitary time.

She doesn’t count on Adam -- the man who watches over the cabins -- being so distractingly sexy. Adam came to the mountain to get distance from anything that could cause him pain, and Ina stirs feelings in him he thought he’d left behind.

As Adam and Ina open up about their pasts, the mountain seems like the perfect setting for a second chance at love.


Until they realize they’re not alone.


Holly's Review:

This was actually a really good quick read! There could be so much more story here but I am happy with what we had!!

Ina heads off to a secluded mountain retreat after catching her boyfriend in bed with her roommate. She is devastated and betrayed and needs time alone to sort herself out. Pretty sure she didn't count on sexy mountain man landlord Adam!! Yum... can you picture him??? Oh, I can!! 

Anyway, sorry I digress :) What I loved most about this book is that you have this guy and girl up on the mountain who could just have a steamy affair and that be it, no this book was about so much more. It was about learning who you really are and what you are capable of. Adam taught Ina about herself and she did the same for him. Of course, while they fell in love along the way. 

This book had a little of everything - love, loss, betrayal, courage, suspense and a bit of sex thrown in there of course. This was a great way to spend an evening! 

***This book was provided to me by Netgalley***





Monday 2 September 2013

Getting Rowdy By Lori Foster (BK#3)

Getting Rowdy (Love Undercover, #3)  An alpha hero's attraction to the one woman he can't have could draw him into a killer's snare in the sizzling new novel from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster. 

Charismatic bar owner Rowdy Yates isn't the kind of man women say no to. So when he approaches waitress Avery Mullins, he fully expects to get her number. However, the elusive beauty has her reasons for keeping her distance-including a past that might come back to haunt them both. 

Avery spends her nights working for tips...and trying to forget the secret Rowdy is determined to unearth. But when history threatens to repeat itself, Avery grows to rely on Rowdy's protective presence. As the sparks between them ignite, she will be forced to choose between the security she's finally found...and the passion she's always wanted.

Holly's Review:

Lori Foster has been one of my favorite authors since I began reading romance oh so long ago. Her books are deliciously sexy and super fun! Her Alphas are incredible and her heroine's are smart and strong!! I say all that to say that Getting Rowdy was the fun, sexy ride I fully expected it to be!! 

Ever since I began this series - Love Undercover - I have been anxious to learn more about Rowdy. We get a little more of him as each book goes along and in the book prior to this he starts to show his interest in Avery Mullins, a cute little waitress at a bar he happened into. At the end of the last book Rowdy actually buys the bar and promotes Avery to head bartender. He plans to clean the little hell hole up and make it a nice reputable bar. 

Avery is obviously attracted to Rowdy, who wouldn't be, he is friggin' gorgeous but she guards her heart by denying him at every turn because she knows he only wants sex and she wants so much more from him. Of course we all know, from romance novel experience, that Rowdy wants more than his typical one night stand from her even if he doesn't know it yet. 

It takes the presence of a creepy ex with the intentions of returning Avery to the wealthy family fold to kick Rowdy's protective instincts into high gear and make the hard headed male realize that he is actually head over heels in love with Avery and has been for quite some time. 

LF's books have everything you could want in romance novels - fun, humor, love, kindness and delicious sex scenes!

I know there is one more book scheduled in this series and Yay! because I really want to see what happens with Dash and the hard as lieutenant - but we were introduced to Cannon in this installment and HOLY CRAP - that hottie, as Avery called him, NEEDS his story told!!




Sunday 1 September 2013

Cover reveal: Debra Anastasia's Return to Poughkeepsie!


For those of us that have been waiting so patiently impatiently for Beckett and Eve's story, the wait is almost over!  I am so excited for this book,  in fact it's on my most wanted list for 2013 EVER!  Only a coveted few share that list and the wait has been 2 years!!  I wasn't sure what to expect when I first picked up  Puoghkeepsie but what I got was an amazing story of unexpected love in many places. This story contains an incredible cast of characters that are impossible not to love.  I loved every moment of Poughkeepsie, but Beckett Taylor stole the show, and my heart too!  If you haven't had the pleasure of reading Poughkeepsie, then add it to your list because soon it will be time to 
Return to Poughkeepsie!

Book Summary
Return to Poughkeepsie Summary

Beckett Taylor is a murderer. Destruction and intimidation are his calling, his craft— whether he wants it that way now or not.
He left Poughkeepsie to keep his brothers safe, to keep Eve safe. Set up with happy lives to live, they’re better off without him, right?
But all his willpower crumbles when he hears his brother Blake’s frantic voice on the
phone. Mob forces have moved in on his old territory, and Livia’s been taken. In an
instant, Beckett knows it will take an attack only he and Eve can execute to bring her
back safely. All his self-imposed embargoes are torn to shreds, along with the new man
he’s struggled to become.
“Brother, call Eve. I’ll be there soon.”
In this emotional and action-packed sequel to Poughkeepsie, Debra Anastasia conjures
a tale of love at its most raw and ragged. With Beckett and Eve, how could we expect
anything less? But even when it’s messy, not magical, true love perseveres. Real love
finds a way—for better or worse until death does part


Later tonight the book trailer for Return to Poughkeepsie will be unleashed .
In the meantime enjoy this trailer for Poughkeepsie, It's what sold me on reading the book.





Cover Reveal: Aleatha Romig’s CONVICTED!



CONVICTED DETAILS:
Convicted
Consequences 3
Aleatha Romig
Self-published
October 8, 2013
Psychological Thriller/Contemporary Dark Romance



BLURB:
There were still lessons to learn and consequences for the truth!
When Claire Nichols met Anthony Rawlings, she didn’t know they had a past, or that he had plans for her future. Over time, the role of teacher changed—games became reality—and domination turned to desire. Despite an insurmountable history, Claire and Tony found their way back to one another.
Just when they seemed to have it all—love, respect, and the promise of a family—the game master exposed the truth. Claire’s world once again spunout of control. Unwilling to allow her child to suffer the consequences of an old vendetta, Claire fled...
At one time, Claire was held captive in an opulent mansion—then herincarceration was a cell inside a state penitentiary. Was her new prison—atropical island—truly less lonely? Perhaps that was the game master’s plan, all along?
Who will save Claire from her oldest nightmare and her newest reality? Willit be Tony? Can he forgive her for leaving him—again? Harry? Will heutilize previously unknown connections to save the woman who infiltrateshis thoughts? Maybe Phil? Will his devotion in keeping Claire and her childsafe be rewarded?
As the cards are played—sins of the past, innocent victims, and truths are revealed. With compartmentalization no longer an option, is the reality too much? Could there be an even worse isolation?
With the game master dealing from a stacked deck, can this new high-stakes game possibly be won?
When it’s all over and their cards are on the table—SOME will discover their bets were too high—they have nothing left to lose—ALL will learn thecrucial lesson—the most important rule—there are CONSEQUENCES for theTRUTH!
Aleatha Romig’s CONVICTED!



Book links:
Buy links: To follow

Series Links:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Aleatha Romig is a bestselling author, who has been voted #1 "New Author to Read" on Goodreads July 2012 - Present! She was also #9 most followed author on Goodreads - July / August 3013.

Aleatha has lived most of her life in Indiana growing-up in Mishawaka, graduating from Indiana University, and currently living south of Indianapolis. Together with her high-school sweetheart and husband of twenty six years, they've raised three children. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she’s not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns, she likes to spend her time with her family and friends. Her pastimes include exercising, reading and creating heros/ anti-heros who haunt your dreams!

Aleatha enjoys traveling, especially when there is a beach involved. In 2011 she had the opportunity to visit Sydney, Australia to visit her daughter studying at the University of Wollongong. Her dream is to travel to places in her novels and around the world.

CONSEQUENCES, her first novel, was released August 2011 by Xlibris Publishing. October 2012 Ms. Romig rereleased CONSEQUENCES as an Indie author. TRUTH, the sequel, was released October 30, 2012 and CONVICTED, the final installment of the Consequences Series, is scheduled for release in October of 2013!

Aleatha is a “Published Author’s Network” member of the Romance Writers of America and represented by Danielle Egan-Miller of Brown and Miller Literary Associates.

AUTHOR LINKS:
Twitter @AleathaRomig: http://www.twitter.com/AleathaRomig


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