BOOK REVIEW - GOLDEN TRAIL by KRISTEN ASHLEY - THE 'BURG # 3 - CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

By: Kristen Ashley

Published By: Kristen Ashley

Released: Available Now

Details: Kindle purchase, 664 Pages

RATING: 4.25 LAYNE STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Tanner Layne and Raquel Merrick fell in love young, hard and fast and both of them knew a beautiful life they thought would be forever.

Until Rocky left Layne, no explanation, no going back.

Layne escapes The ‘Burg only to come back years later because his ex-wife has hooked herself to the town jerk and Layne needs to make sure his sons get raised right. Layne manages to avoid Rocky but when Layne gets three bullets drilled into him while investigating a dirty cop, he can’t do that because Rocky stops avoiding Layne. They make a deal to work together to expose the dirty cop but they have no idea the strength of their enduring attraction or the sheer evil at work in The ‘Burg.

As Tanner Layne and Raquel Merrick play their game and dance around the pull that draws them together, Layne has to discover the dark secrets buried so deep in Rocky’s heart she doesn’t even know they’re there at the same time untangle a sinister web of crime so abhorrent it has to be stopped... at all costs.

And to do it, Layne has to enlist everyone, including his ex-CIA mentor, Rocky’s detective brother, the town’s unpredictable informant and Layne’s two teenage sons all the while stopping Rocky from doing something crazy and keeping their game secret so Layne won't get himself dead.



BOOK REVIEW:

“Wounds to the flesh hurt but they heal fast. Wounds to the soul never go away. It’s how we cope with a pain that never dies that makes us the people we are. Daily, people demonstrate acts of courage just so they can get through the night.”



So without rehashing the story, in true KA style we have the alpha male lead, Tanner Layne—but he hates the name Tanner—and we have Rocky who left him eighteen years earlier, and they reunite.

Let the sexiness, alpha-erm-ness and more sexiness begin.

Layne has two sons: Jasper and Tripp. He has a relationship with them to rebuild and I really liked watching this happen. Jasper was a bit harder to break through to, but he came around.

Jasper and Tripp will truly be something when they get older. I feel a bit cougarish and a bit wrong thinking about them at their age now. Let these lads mature like a fine KA alpha.

Rocky is a great female lead. She is a really cool teacher, but she has some cobwebs in her closet that forced her to leave her true love—Layne.

There is of course the villain and a creepy sidekick. Throw in Ryker who sounds kinda scary, but he loves his woman and her daughter, so he goes all out to insert himself into Layne’s life and assist with the shit that is going down at the local church youth group.

Another great KA installment, although sometimes I feel these books could be many pages shorter due to a little repetitive dialogue.

Ty, Luke and Tack still have my heart, but I am still looking to add to this line-up of my #faveKAmen .

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BOOK REVIEW - BREAKING THE STORM by SEDONA VENEZ - CREDENCE CURSE # 1 - PARANORMAL ROMANCE

By: Sedona Venez
Published By: One Wish Publishing
Released: Available Now
Details: Kindle purchase currently FREE , 254 Pages

RATING: 3.75 KNOX & RYKER STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

A fae witch, a rock star, and a passionate paranormal affair…

Stormy is cursed. If the fae witch ever finds true love, the man is sure to die a terrible death. Five years ago, she left her sexy rock star of a boyfriend Knox to save his life.

When her escort service for paranormals puts her face to face with Knox again, her passion grows like never before. Can she possibly keep it together when Knox insists that she be his escort? Will her curse make it all fall apart?

Breaking the Storm is the first book in the Credence Curse Saga, a series of adventure-packed shifter romance tales. If you like dark magic, powerful women, steamy love scenes, heart-pounding romance, and piles of sexy shifter secrets, then you'll love the latest romp from author Sedona Venez.



BOOK REVIEW:

This book caught my eye when I was randomly scrolling about on Amazon a few days ago. I picked it up for #free and it still is free.

I really liked the prologue and I was fascinated to know more, but that is where that ends and the first chapter rolls forward to ‘Centuries Later’. We do get a teeny bit more near end of book.

Now I thought I had this whole Credence Curse worked out in my head…but then maybe not.



In our defense, we’d had no choice. Humans were our last resort for the continuance of the Credence bloodline. The magic in our fae blood bound us to expose ourselves as Others to any human we loved, or we’d be risking our death. It was a double-edged sword that gave us a chance to love and be loved. A chance at happiness, but it would be ruthlessly stripped away by death of any man we’d loved.



Okay so I thought I got that under my belt when I was reading the prologue, but then by the end of the book—I don’t think I got it, because of Knox. Rock star Knox.

You see, Stormy aka Storm leaves him as she believes he is human, for fear of his death, but later…even though she still thinks he’s human… (scratches head a little) I may have totally missed something. I was concentrating hard.

I really liked the whole world building of this book. It was interesting. What let me down was how dumb Storm was over one thing and only one thing. 

This is the most frustrating thing about this story. OMG! Storm is a very intelligent woman, runs a business and comes across very smart…except for this one thing.

She knows Ryker is head of the Other Council and he is a wolf shifter. He knows Storm and Light are fae-witch. Ryker’s bodyguard dudes know what each other is—but…

GAHHHH! The frustration of continuing to read while this dumbness went on, was hard and eye roll worthy. It was selective dumbness. I was banging my head on a table (inside my head) when continually reading this. She could pick out every other Other, but not Knox.

@(#*@)(#*@)(#*)!!!

I know it was easier for the author to write it this way to fit in with her story…but it was not for the reader. So many freakin’ hints are dropped for the reader and Storm, but Storm is totally oblivious.

SMH

Then there is the BDSM part of the story. I read BDSM and this was hot sex. Research needed to be done on what is BDSM. Telling Storm what to wear and being a little bossy is not BDSM.

Being an alpha male character does not make you a dom.

I did enjoy this story, and for those that have no idea about BDSM, then cool, you will be happy reading these sex scenes. 

What I really wanted from this story was to know Knox more. He really is a great character. There is like a five year gap between the last time they saw each other and then all of a sudden it is this BDSM and I am dom and you are sub stuff. I needed a bit of fleshing out. It felt very random to insert this without a build-up of some kind.

There was the curse and another side story going on. There was a death and a nosy reporter. I needed those parts given more time, too.

This was a good start to this series, but I felt there where plot jumps that needed care and also fleshing out of characters.

Lightening aka Light was a great character. I really like her and I do like Storm, Knox and Ryker, but I wanted more than maybe the emphasis being on the so called BDSM parts. Give me the sex, but give me the fleshed out story too.

Some readers will be more than happy the way it is written from cover to cover, but I needed more. I did really like the overall world building and the kinda zany mother and aunt.

Harper is a really great character too, written very well. There were so many things to like about Breaking The Storm. I kinda want to shove it back into an editing process and context proofreading process. I have looked at many of the reviews on Goodreads to see if I was the only one…and I’m not. I feel my review is very fair.

I am looking forward to Ryker and Light's story, because those two were great in this book.

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BOOK REVIEW - FINGER LICKIN' FIFTEEN by JANET EVANOVICH - STEPHANIE PLUM # 15 - HEADLINE - CONTEMPORARY CRIME

By: Janet Evanovich

Published By: Headline

Released : Available Now

Details: Paperback find from local OP shop, 312 Pages

RATING: 4 RANGER & JOE STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Unbuckle your belt and pull up a chair. It's the spiciest, sauciest, most rib-sticking Plum yet.

Recipe for disaster: Celebrity chef Stanley Chipotle comes to Trenton in a barbecue cookoff and loses his head - literally.

Throw in some spice: Bail bonds office worker Lula is witness to the crime, and the only one she'll talk to is Trenton cop Joe Morelli.

Pump up the heat: Chipotle's sponsor is offering a million-dollar reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the capture of the killers.

Stir the pot: Lula recruits bounty hunter Stephanie Plum to help find he killer and collect the moolah.

Add a secret ingredient: Stephanie Plum's Grandma Mazur. Enough said.

Bring to a boil: Stephanie Plum is working overtime tracking felons for the bonds office at night and snooping for security expert Carlos Manoso, aka Ranger, during the day. Can Stephanie hunt down two killers, a traitor, and five skips, keep her grandmother out of the sauce, and solve Ranger's problems and not jump his bones?

Warning: Habenero hot. So good you'll want seconds.

BOOK REVIEW:

I have made it this far.

15! Steph Plum books under my belt.

I am #addicted.

I can’t seem to stop, even though they can be frustrating to read, I simply gotta keep reading.

Same shit goes on: Lula is up to her antics, this time with some madcap barbecue scheme. Steph is back working with Ranger on something he could do himself. But she is in his bed in a purely platonic way, and that is something. #teamranger

No new growth. Joe is Joe. Ranger is Ranger… Babe. Grandma Mazur…is the same. The villain is pretty much predictable.

BUT I CAN’T STOP READING THIS SERIES.

I do laugh, even though some of them are boiling down to fart jokes. I fart. I admit it, but eh, it felt like scraping the bucket to get a laugh. But I laughed. Lula is simply a character we have grown to know is the butt of Janet’s jokes. (pun intended)

I do want some growly manly stuff to be upping the stakes a little, but we get a lot of ‘Babe’ from Ranger and a lot of racing to the scene from Joe after he hears about another situation Steph is in.

Cars get blown up. I find I am looking forward to the moment. Is that bad?

Very much poolside reads for me, but I do want more growth. I am beginning to crave it.

I don’t mind the love triangle stretching out, but I want there to be more oomph in it rather than this predictable surface writing we are getting.

I have my last OP shop find in #16 and have already lined #17 up at the library. The Kindle prices are a bit rich for me at $9.37US. I got 9 paperbacks from OP shop for $12 buckeroos AUD. Trust me I will pay big bucks for paperbacks and ebooks, but I find that these are very predictable reads, so I will library the rest. I think maybe the publisher got a bit ahead of themselves charging those prices.

Anyhoo…onto the next!

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BOOK REVIEW - WHISKEY BEACH by NORA ROBERTS - CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE - PIATKUS

By: Nora Roberts

Published By: Piatkus

Released: Available Now

Details: Paperback from library, 484 Pages

RATING: 3.75 - 4 STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

For more than three hundred years, Bluff House has sat above Whiskey Beach, guarding its shore - and its secrets.

To summer tourists, it's the crown jewel of the town's stunning scenery. To the residents of Whiskey Beach, it's landmark and legend. To Eli Landon, it's home...

A Boston lawyer, Eli has weathered an intense year of public scrutiny and police investigation after being accused of murdering his soon-to-be ex-wife. And though there was never enough evidence to have him arrested, his reputation is in tatters as well as his soul. He need sanctuary. He needs Bluff House.

While Eli's beloved grandmother is in Boston, recuperating from a nasty fall, Abra Walsh has cared for Bluff House, among her other jobs as yoga instructor, jewelry maker, and massage therapist. She is a woman with an open heart and a wide embrace, and no one is safe from her special, some would say over-bearing, brand of nurturing - including Eli.

He begins to count on Abra for far more than her cooking, cleaning, and massage skills, and starts to feel less like a victim - and more like the kind of man who can finally solve the murder of his wife and clear his name. But Bluff House's many mysteries are a siren song to someone intent on destroying Eli and reaping the rewards. He and Abra will become entangled in a centuries-old net of rumors and half-truths that could pull them under the thunderous waters of Whiskey Beach...

Passion and obsession, humor and heart flow together in a novel about two people opening themselves up to the truth - and to each other.

BOOK REVIEW:

I have just finished this whopping huge book. My very FIRST read by Nora Roberts, although I do read her as J.D. Robb. ( In Death series)

I have read 4 books to-date in the In Death series and adore J.D. Robb’s writing aka Nora Roberts. So I decided to pick me up a random read of Nora’s, which happened to be Whiskey Beach.

I gotta say—and I know Nora is like the queen of writing—but this book didn’t do her queen status justice…for me. This is just my personal reading experience.

I found the book far toooooooo long. I love a long read, but in this case I became a little bit bored and that is not good. It took me a lot longer to read this book than a JR Ward whopping thick read. I devour the In Death books in a day, but this book took me a week.

I originally liked Abra Walsh’s character, but the more I read her, the more she made me feel like the woman was a total superstar at everything she put her hand to. She was the perfect woman—even though her past wasn’t. She kinda grated on my reader nerves. She’s the first character I have read like this and it was a bit hard to read her, sometimes. I understand what Nora was doing, and she wanted to show us a self assured, strong woman who took the reins…but it came off differently for me. I loved she was a yoga instructor and I actually want to take yoga back up because of Abra, but then she was good at every darn thing and then more and other things.

Eli Landon…I couldn’t connect as well as I hoped with him as a character. I wanted to. He felt quite flat to me. 

The pacing was quite slow and I think that could have been remedied by tightening up the story by culling at least a hundred pages. Other readers might be perfectly happy the way it is, but for me, I found this a difficult book to finish.

This experience won’t stop me reading more Nora Roberts, I have The Obsession in my hands to read next. Another random pick from the library.

But I might just take a weee break first before cracking it open.

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BOOK REVIEW - PLAYING DIRTY by TIFFANY SNOW - RISKY BUSINESS # 2 - PIATKUS - CONTEMPORARY CRIME ROMANCE

By: Tiffany Snow

Published By: Piatkus

Released: Available Now

Details: Paperback from library, 313 Pages

RATING: 3.75 STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

DOWN AND DIRTY
Faced with a choice between bad-boy detective Dean Ryker and sexy power player Parker Anderson, Sage Reece fought the law--and the law won. But while Ryker's sizzling touch may rule her nights, Sage's days belong to Parker's cool, calculating intensity. . . .

Both Ryker and Parker are determined to protect Sage from a brutal enemy who'd use her to pay for their mistakes. Yet when the usually on-point Ryker is distracted by ghosts from his past, Parker seizes his opportunity to get Sage's attention--and keep it in ways beyond her wildest dreams.

Now, caught between a mobster out for revenge and two men who were once best friends, Sage must play to win—even if it means getting dirty. . . .

BOOK REVIEW:

I am a huge Tiffany Snow fan and I did LOVE the first book in this series, but…

Let me explain my own personal thoughts.

I don’t have a great love for love triangles, but I do think Tiffany Snow does them really well.

But in saying that, I found this installment made me roll my eyes quite a lot. I mean I had eye roll overload.

Sage just got on my nerves the way she was written. It is probably a case of: it’s not you but me. In my eyes she became quite dumbed down and silly.

The first book I LOVED…this one… 

I am definitely reading Play To Win, next, and have it in my hands to read from my local library.

I haven’t yet finished the Kathleen Turner series as I am buying them as I read and dang it—did I get a beauty of a spoiler in this installment. I am giving myself memory loss on that one. Teach me to not finish off the KT series first.

Although this installment made me groan and eye roll too much, I am still glad I read it. Parker and Ryker are both great guys and I think Sage simply let me down.

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BOOK REVIEW - RAPTURE IN DEATH by J.D. ROBB - IN DEATH # 4 - PIATKUS - CONTEMPORARY CRIME

By: J.D. Robb
Published By: Piatkus
Released: Available Now
Details: Paperback from library, 380 Pages

RATING: 5 EVE & ROARKE HOT-LAWN-SEX STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

The complex world of virtual reality takes on a whole new meaning as Lieutenant Eve Dallas weaves through the underbelly of New York's crime world of the future.

He killed himself, Lieutenant. He was hanging there, just hanging there from the ceiling light in the living room. And his face . . . Oh God.

Death follows New York City cop Eve Dallas everywhere—even on her honeymoon with Irish lover Roarke. When one of Roarke's employees is found dead, the post-mortem confirms suicide. An isolated case, or so Eve thinks.

But more suicides follow—strangers with nothing in common. The pathologist's report states each victim has an unexplained mark on their brain. Is this a genetic abnormality or a high-tech method of murder? With the body count rising, Eve must delve into the world of virtual reality to hunt down a twisted killer. A killer who preys on the minds of the innocent.


BOOK REVIEW:

Another awesome installment in the In Death series which is definitely formula driven and so far a little too easy to solve the case before Eve does—but I’m addicted.

People are self-terminating themselves and that’s not what you want to be called into when you are on your honeymoon…but that is exactly what happens.

And let the mystery begin.

Peabody and Eve are brilliant together. Peabody is the perfect sidekick who is enjoying some of the spoils of being partnered up with Eve.


Peabody sipped her coffee. “God. Oh God. It’s real.” Blinking in shock, she cupped both hands reverently around the mug. “This coffee is real.”


Roarke… if you know the series…then you know.


Roarke was a dark angel in what he would have seen as casual attire. The black silk shirt open at the collar, the perfectly draped black trousers cinched with a belt gleaming silver at the buckle suited him perfectly, made him look exactly as he was: rich, gorgeous, dangerous.


Then there was that humdinger hot-lawn-sex scene where Eve was very out of her Lieutenant character, because she simply had to get home!

His body simply peaked like an engine on maximum power, battered into hers, then erupted.


We delve deeper into Eve’s past and get more of a looksee into Roarke’s.


“We are what we’re born?” Eve thought of a filthy room , a blinking red light, and a young girl curled into a corner with a bloody knife.


Many more books for me to binge on in this series and to learn more about those two. But the more I read, and the more Roarke’s exes pop up in each book—appearing everything Eve isn’t—you know how lucky he was to find her.

Nothing about Eve is fake or enhanced. She’s the real deal.

I am looking forward to Ceremony In Death, next.

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BOOK REVIEW - WHISKEY SOUR by J.A. KONRATH - JACK DANIELS MYSTERY - CONTEMPORARY CRIME

By: J.A. Konrath

Published By: J.A. Konrath

Released: Available Now

Details: Kindle Purchase, 217 Pages

RATING: 5 JACK STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Lieutenant Jacqueline 'Jack' Daniels is having a bad week. Her live-in boyfriend has left her for his personal trainer, chronic insomnia has caused her to max out her credit cards with late-night home shopping purchases, and a frightening killer who calls himself 'The Gingerbread Man' is dumping mutilated bodies in her district. Between avoiding the FBI and its moronic profiling computer, joining a dating service, mixing it up with street thugs, and parrying the advances of an uncouth PI, Jack and her binge-eating partner, Herb, must catch the maniac before he kills again....and Jack is next on his murder list. Whiskey Sour is full of laugh-out-loud humor and edge-of-your-seat suspense, and it introduces a fun, fully drawn heroine in the grand tradition of Kinsey Millhone, Stephanie Plum, and Kay Scarpetta.

BOOK REVIEW:

OOOooOOh I did love this book.

“You’re the total of all the choices you’ve made in your life, Jack. 

This is what you have because this is what you chose.” 

It took me a little bit in my head to remember Jack Daniels is a female, but once I squared that off, I was buzzing along and so enjoying this book.

I love Stephanie Plum series and have cracked off 14 books, but she is a kinda silly character, which I do enjoy, but Jacqueline aka Jack Daniels (very clever) is a smart Lieutenant. This is very refreshing.

She is forty-six. Her partner, Herb, loves to eat and he is fun.

I loved the whole set up of this first book and the introductions.

J.A. Konrath writes dark and very detailed and it can be gross, but at the same time…I likey! I do love dark reads—but there is also humor and wit.

A great blend. 

Now the villain—The Gingerbread Man—is an extremely dark and violent soul. He is chilling in his plotting and execution. He is what nightmares are made of. I really felt like I was in his very psychotic head. A murderer you wouldn't want targeting you.

Some of the violence is pretty...erm...violent and ewwww, but it does serve the purpose of the reality of this farked up individual.

Now let me get to Harry.

I am not sure what to make of this lad at the moment, but I looked forward to his scenes. It is early days. He is self-centered, a total piggy in his home…OMG!! GAHHH! GROSS!!! EEEPPP!! He really does think of himself…yet… I find myself strangely attracted to him in an unusual way.

Bahahaha.

I don’t think I want to.

If you are a lover of contemporary crime, the likes of Stephanie Plum, Eve Dallas and so many more, the list is long, and you haven’t cracked onto this series…then crack away.

I’m a little intrigued about Harry.

But I don’t know if I want to be.

He needs to clean his home up!

But then there is also Phineas Troutt and I feel he will make me cry one day, so I don’t want to get too attached to him, yet he has the alpha in him—or at least the ability to step up to the plate.




At the other table was a bald guy in jeans and a white T-shirt. He was a few years my junior and looked vaguely familiar.

I picked up a cue from a nearby rack and walked over.

He was hunched over the table, his stick gliding on the solid bridge of his thumb and forefinger, eyeing the cue ball with intense concentration.

“This may sound like a come-on, but haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”



I do highly recommend.

I’ll be reading more in the series as soon as I can.

Go forth and read Whiskey Sour… I feel confident you will like.

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