Monday, November 21, 2016

CONSOLATION PRIZE BY LINDA KAGE


What do you think? Should I give him a try?


CONSOLATION PRIZE
Forbidden Men #9
Linda Kage
Released Nov 17th, 2016


Don't you just hate it when someone destroys all your carefully made plans?

I mean, I had goals: college to graduate in one semester, a future I was working hard to reach, and an image of myself I wanted the world to see. My life was stacked into these precisely placed blocks. But then Colton Gamble came along and knocked them all askew.

I hated how he messed everything up, how he could hog all my attention whenever he was around, how he made my pulse quicken--but only because he ticked me off...not because I was attracted to him. Oh! And I hated how he knew how attractive he was too, the shallow, full of himself, doesn't take no for an answer, too-flirty, too cocky, extremely irritating jerk.

The boy had all the qualities that turned me off. Or so I thought.

One night he wasn't quite the brainless, over-confident jerk I usually took him for.

One night, he took care of me when I was at my lowest. He opened up to me and made me open up to him.

Now I'm learning maybe he's not what I first thought he was. And maybe I'M not what I first thought I was. Maybe it’s okay to rearrange a couple of my perfectly set blocks. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll stop worrying about what I’m afraid everyone else will think and finally reach for something I really want. It’s possible some of my plans need to be destroyed, and Colton Gamble is exactly the kind of mess I need in my life.

What do you think? Should I give him a try?

Desperately seeking your advice,
Julianna Radcliffe




MY REVIEW

Consolation Prize by Linda Kage was another great Forbidden Men book. It can be read as a standalone, but there is quite a bit of overlap from the other books. You won't feel lost, but it does give you context if you're caught up on the series. Plus, they're great books so I would definitely recommend reading them! The newest one is about the youngest Gamble, Colton. He's been after Julianna Radcliffe from the very beginning, but she's sworn him off because of his age.

This was an interesting romance that combined several romance. You had an older woman (but only by 4 years), an interracial couple (she's black and he's white), and all the NA drama that comes with trying to navigate college and relationships. This was one that I thoroughly enjoyed, and Ms. Kage constructed an engaging story about how two people can attempt to make it all work. There's a little bit of suspense thrown in for good measure, and enough angst to keep you turning the page. Overall, great book!



Linda Kage grew up on a dairy farm in the Midwest as the youngest of eight children. Now she lives in Kansas with her husband, daughter, and nine cuckoo clocks. Her life's been blessed with lots of people to learn from and love. Writing's always been a major part of her world, and she is so happy to finally share some of her stories with other romance lovers.



Wednesday, November 16, 2016

TRU BLUE BY MELISSA FOSTER


He wore the skin of a killer, and bore the heart of a lover...


TRU BLUE
A Sexy Standalone Romance
Melissa Foster
Releasing Nov 9th, 2016


He wore the skin of a killer, and bore the heart of a lover...

There's nothing Truman Gritt won't do to protect his family--Including spending years in jail for a crime he didn't commit. When he's finally released, the life he knew is turned upside down by his mother's overdose, and Truman steps in to raise the children she's left behind. Truman's hard, he's secretive, and he's trying to save a brother who's even more broken than he is. He's never needed help in his life, and when beautiful Gemma Wright tries to step in, he's less than accepting. But Gemma has a way of slithering into people's lives and eventually she pierces through his ironclad heart. When Truman's dark past collides with his future, his loyalties will be tested, and he'll be faced with his toughest decision yet.



EXCERPT

Excerpt

Chapter One

TRUMAN GRITT LOCKED the door to Whiskey Automotive and stepped into the stormy

September night. Sheets of rain blurred his vision, instantly drenching his jeans and T-shirt. A

slow smile crept across his face as he tipped his chin up, soaking in the shower of freedom. He

made his way around the dark building and climbed the wooden stairs to the deck outside his

apartment. He could have used the interior door, but after being behind bars for six long years,

Truman took advantage of the small pleasures he’d missed out on, like determining his own

schedule, deciding when to eat and drink, and standing in the fucking rain if he wanted to. He

leaned on the rough wooden railing, ignoring the splinters of wood piercing his tattooed

forearms, squinted against the wetness, and scanned the cars in the junkyard they used for

parts—and he used to rid himself of frustrations. He rested his leather boot on the metal box

where he kept his painting supplies. Truman didn’t have much—his old extended-cab truck,

which his friend Bear Whiskey had held on to for him while he was in prison, this apartment, and

a solid job, both of which were compliments of the Whiskey family. The only family he had

anymore.

Emotions he didn’t want to deal with burned in his gut, causing his chest to constrict. He

turned to go inside, hoping to outrun thoughts of his own fucked-up family, whom he’d

tried—and failed—to save. His cell phone rang with his brother’s ringtone, “A Beautiful Lie” by

30 Seconds to Mars.

“Fuck,” he muttered, debating letting the call go to voicemail, but six months of silence

from his brother was a long time. Rain pelleted his back as he pressed his palm to the door to

steady himself. The ringing stopped, and he blew out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d trapped

inside. The phone rang again, and he froze.

He’d just freed himself from the dredges of hell that he’d been thrown into in an effort to

save his brother. He didn’t need to get wrapped up in whatever mess the drug-addicted fool had

gotten himself into. The call went to voicemail, and Truman eyed the metal box containing his

painting supplies. Breathing like he’d been in a fight, he wished he could paint the frustration out

of his head. When the phone rang for the third time in as many minutes, the third time since he

was released from prison six months ago, he reluctantly answered.

“Quincy.” He hated the way his brother’s name came out sounding like the enemy.

Quincy had been just a kid when Truman went to prison. Heavy breathing filled the airwaves.

The hairs on Truman’s forearms and neck stood on end. He knew fear when he heard it. He

could practically taste it as he ground his teeth together.

“I need you,” his brother’s tortured voice implored.

Need me? Truman had hunted down his brother after he was released from prison, and

when he’d finally found him, Quincy was so high on crack he was nearly incoherent—but it

didn’t take much for fuck off to come through loud and clear. What Quincy needed was rehab,

but Truman knew from his tone that wasn’t the point of the call.

Before he could respond, his brother croaked out, “It’s Mom. She’s really bad.”

Fuck. He hadn’t had a mother since she turned her back on him more than six years

ago, and he wasn’t about to throw away the stability he’d finally found for the woman who’d sent

him to prison and never looked back.

He scrubbed a hand down his rain-soaked face. “Take her to the hospital.”

“No cops. No hospitals. Please, man.”

A painful, high-pitched wail sounded through the phone.

“What have you done?” Truman growled, the pit of his stomach plummeting as

memories of another dark night years earlier came rushing in. He paced the deck as thunder

rumbled overhead like a warning. “Where are you?”

Quincy rattled off the address of a seedy area about thirty minutes outside of Peaceful

Harbor, and then the line went dead.

Truman’s thumb hovered over the cell phone screen. Three little numbers—9-1- 1—

would extricate him from whatever mess Quincy and their mother had gotten into. Images of his

mother spewing lies that would send him away and of Quincy, a frightened boy of thirteen,

looking devastated and childlike despite his near six-foot stature, assailed him.

Push the buttons.

Push the fucking buttons.

He remembered Quincy’s wide blue eyes screaming silent apologies as Truman’s

sentence was revealed. It was those pleading eyes he saw now, fucked up or not, that had him

trudging through the rain to his truck and driving over the bridge, leaving Peaceful Harbor and

his safe, stable world behind.


MY REVIEW

This was a book I would gladly read over and over again. Truman Gritt has been through a rough couple of years, and he's all the more determined to continue to prove he's there for everyone. His dedication is admirable, and watching the way he interacted with his family made me fall in love with him. But alas, this isn't my story, and he truly meets his match with Gemma Wright, who seems to be exactly what he needs when he needs her. These two worked well together, and I wanted to root for them to overcome what was thrown at them. I felt the connection immediately, and the love story really sat front and center. This book also included several secondary characters that I cannot wait to read about. Overall this was a great story and I loved the world Melissa Foster created!


Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance, new adult romance, and women's fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Melissa's emotional journeys are lovingly erotic, perfect beach reads, and always family oriented. 



Monday, November 14, 2016

DIRTY MOTHER REVIEW!

Title: Dirty Mother
Series: Uncertain Saint's MC #5 Author: Lani Lynn Vale Genre: MC Romance Release Date: November 3, 2016 Photographer: Furious Cover Model: Robert Simmons
The thing about hitting rock bottom…
Ridley doesn’t think he has anything left to lose, not after the life he’s lived. Then he meets her, Freya Capone, the nurse who saves his life when the last thing he wants is to be saved.
One look at her, and he’s transfixed.
He doesn’t know what drives him to run by her house that night. Intuition. Sixth sense. Whatever it is, his gut screams at him to go, so he goes.
And thank God he does.
There isn’t any farther you can fall…
Freya hits bottom after her brother’s death. Her rock. Her best friend. Her everything. Gone.
She always knew it was a possibility that he might get hurt while on shift, but she never entertains the thought of him dying. Not until it’s too late.
She literally has nothing else to lose. Until she meets him. Ridley Walker. A biker with The Uncertain Saints MC and a local sheriff’s deputy.
The man responsible for taking away her best friend.
But at least you have a solid foundation to build upon…
The last thing Freya wants is to fall in love with the man responsible for her brother’s death. She doesn’t want to care that he is nearly killed. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with him.


I listened, wondering where everyone was, when I came to the final hallway that led to the gym.
I came to an abrupt halt when I saw three women crowded around a door, all of them looking in on what was going on on the other side.
“Uhhh,” I said. “What are y’all doing?”
None of them turned, but Lenore, Griffin’s wife, waved me over.
“Come here and see,” she said, holding out her hand for me.
I came, taking her hand, and peered over her shoulder.
My mouth dropped open as I got my first good look at the men in the gym.
No, the fact that nearly all of them were shirtless wasn’t the reason for the flabbergasted look on my face.
Nor was the fact that they all had so much weight on their bars or in their hands
No, it was the fact that nearly all of them were dancing.
To Sexy Back.
Griffin squatted to the beat of the music while Mig did some sort of shimmy with his hips as he did pushups on the ground.
The only one not dancing, out of the whole bunch, was Core, who was busy taping the entire thing from the corner of the room, unbeknownst to everyone else.
Had they known, they probably would’ve been kicking his ass.
But they didn’t know.
They just continued on with what they were doing, oblivious to their audience.
Then Pony came on, and I groaned right along with the rest of the ladies.
It was like Magic Mike, but better.
Much, much better.
Ridley took center stage then, jumping up on the blocks that the men used to do vertical jumps up onto, where he then proceeded to do some raunchy move with his hips that had me all hot and bothered in a matter of seconds.
A big, bad, tattooed biker that had the power to undo me.
“Oh, boy,” Tasha said. “Would you look at that?”
I tore my eyes away from my man to follow where she was pointing, and I started to laugh.
Casten was dipping down low, twisting and bouncing as he curled huge weights that were at least the size of half my body.
That went on like that for four long minutes, and by the time they were finished and laughing, I was fanning myself.
“I think we’re going to be a little late,” I mentioned to the ladies. “I’m needing some…attention.”
Annie, Mig’s woman, tossed me a look over her shoulder that clearly said I wasn’t the only one.
Taking that as my cue, I pushed through the doors.
“I need some time!” I announced to the group as a whole.
All eyes turned to me, but it was my man who was still bouncing on the balls of his feet, all hot and sweaty, his hair and beard slightly damp with his sweat, that had my full attention.
I started to fan myself almost reflexively, and he read me and my needs almost immediately.
He hopped down, walking towards me with a purposeful spring in his step.
He didn’t even bother to speak to me, only bent down slightly once he’d reached me, captured me just under the ass, and carried me out of the room.



    

Dirty Mother by Lani Lynn Vale is the latest in the Uncertain Saints series, and boy is it a great one! It can be read as a standalone although I would definitely recommend reading the rest of the series for context. Ridley is one of the members of the club, his sister being the heroine of the previous book, and where we left off he was entering a prison to help out the federal government. Freya Capone has gone through a traumatic couple of years, and working at a job where she’s treated with no respect has not helped her at all. Through a series of coincidences they begin texting back and forth, and their relationship takes off from there.

This series has been great, with a lot of romantic suspense, and this book has been no different. Ridley has tried to make sure he protects Freya in additional fulfilling his responsibilities. His dedication to what’s right and wrong are admirable, and he does do the best he can with what he is given. Freya is a woman at the end of her rope, and the way she digs deep to overcome what’s going on is great to watch. There’s such growth, and I loved it. This book is another great addition to the series and would highly recommend it!


 
 

I’m a married mother of three. My kids are all under 5, so I can assure you that they are a handful. I’ve been with my paramedic husband now for ten years, and we’ve produced three offspring that are nothing like us. I live in the greatest state in the world, Texas.

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