Tag Archives: Different Worlds

Blog Tour: Pulled Within by Marni Mann

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Pulled Within Cover

Title: Pulled Within (Bar Harbor Series #2)
Author: Marni Mann
Genre: New Adult
Publisher: Booktrope
Release Date: September 12, 2014

Synopsis:
Storms can’t last forever…can they?

For five long years, Rae Ryan has lived in a storm over which she has no control. Little by little, everything has been taken away from her—her job, her relationship, her best friend and her home. Plagued by nightmares and a terrible family secret, she carries her scars as much on the inside as she does on the outside.

Hart Booker, another disappointment from her past, returns to Bar Harbor and shelters her from the rain. He reminds Rae that forgiveness is possible, happiness can be found on the other side of darkness, and beauty rests beneath her scars. But a sinister figure lingering in the background seems determined to pull Rae back into a past she’s been trying to outrun. Can she survive the storm and become part of the light she so desperately desires? Or is she destined to remain Pulled Within?

Recommended for mature audiences due to explicit language, sexual abuse, disturbing situations, and drug use.

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About Marni Mann:
A New Englander at heart, Marni Mann, now a Floridian, is inspired by the sandy beaches and hot pink sunsets of Sarasota. She taps a mainstream appeal and shakes worldwide taboos, taking her readers on a dark and breathtaking journey. When she’s not nose deep in her laptop, she’s scouring for chocolate, traveling, reading, or walking her four-legged children.

Connect with Marni Mann:
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There will be 4 lucky winners in the Pulled Beneath Blog Tour Giveaway!
Grand Prize – Signed Pulled Beneath and Pulled Within paperbacks, $40 Amazon e-giftcard
1st Runner Up: Signed Pulled Within paperback, $20 Amazon e-giftcard
2nd Runner Up: Signed Pulled Within paperback
3rd Runner Up: Pulled Within e-book

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Review: Make It Right by Megan Erickson

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Make it Right (Bowler University, #2)Make it Right by Megan Erickson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

After a year when I’ve declared so many romance tropes and subgenres off my reading list, only to be shown how good they can actually be, it should have been no surprise that I would find a book so wonderful that it redeems the one subgenre I’d sworn off for good: New Adult. But make no mistake, MAKE IT RIGHT by Megan Erickson is the one New Adult romance that I truly believe even those weary of that subgenre could enjoy reading.

Although MAKE IT RIGHT is the second in Megan Erickson’s Bowler University series, it works quite well as a stand-alone story. Starting the series with this second book might even provide an advantage to the new reader, since the story revolves around the redemption of a much reviled character from the first book, MAKE IT COUNT.

Max Payton is infamous among his college friends for the rotten way he treated his last girlfriend, Kat, and how before that, he’d slept with the high school girlfriend of his best friend Alec. Now that Alec and Kat are a couple, Max must content himself with the occasional nightly pickup of whatever women are still willing to throw themselves at him. But when Lea Travers shows up one night at the local convenience store where Max is slightly drunk and feeling down about his life, he realizes that this girl is someone he’d really like to be the true version of himself with, just for once.

Lea doesn’t have the long history with Max from high school like her friends do, but what she’s heard about him is all bad. Still, she sees something genuine behind the jerk facade he puts on for everyone, and as events on campus conspire to bring them together, it’s obvious that the attraction is mutual. What both she and Max eventually discover is a deeper connection that could heal the invisible wounds they both carry inside. But can it survive the mistakes they’ve both made and their unshakable assumptions about loving and being loved?

So many New Adult books make the mistake of fetishizing tragedies in their relatively young characters’ pasts, but in MAKE IT RIGHT, this is never a problem. The perfect tone is set from the start, and what makes us sympathize with the characters is constantly balanced with moments of humor that are never out of place. Max is much more than what he shows to the world, and we see his troubled home life from his point of view, even as its effect on his behavior is made all too obvious as the story unfolds. Lea, too, has endured both physical and psychological blows that would be daunting for a person twice her age. But the histories each brings to this new relationship are presented matter-of-factly, with no superimposed drama to forcibly wring the last bit of sentiment out of readers. This careful balance between lightheartedness and deep emotion is what I find missing in so many New Adult romances, and its presence here is one of the big reasons I loved Max and Lea’s story so much.

The other great feature of MAKE IT RIGHT for me was how the author always kept me guessing as to how events would play out, while always ensuring the necessary groundwork had already been laid for what would happen next. Even when I was able to predict the nature of the inevitable Big Misunderstanding, I was still surprised by the series of events it triggered, leading all the way up to Max and Lea’s happy ending, blowing away every assumption I’d had up until then. Ultimately, neither Max nor Lea should have ever trusted each other to be the person they needed, but when they took that leap of faith, I took it with them, and was rewarded with one of the best romances I’ve read this year.

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Blog Tour: Hard to Hold On To by Laura Kaye

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We’re pleased to be a part of the blog tour for Laura Kaye’s HARD TO HOLD ON TO, a Contemporary Romance filled with suspense and a novella in the Hard Ink Series, published by Avon Impulse (an imprint of HarperCollins).

Hard To Hold On To

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About Hard To Hold On To:

Edward “Easy” Cantrell knows better than most the pain of not being able to save those he loves—which is why he is not going to let Jenna Dean out of his sight. He may have just met her, but Jenna’s the first person to make him feel alive since that devastating day in the desert more than a year ago.

Jenna has never met anyone like Easy. She can’t describe how he makes her feel–and not just because he saved her life. No, the stirrings inside her reach far beyond gratitude.

As the pair are thrust together while chaos reigns around them, they both know one thing: the things in life most worth having are the hardest to hold on to.

Hard to Hold On To on Goodreads

EXCERPT:

Easy tugged down the covers and gestured for Jenna to get in. She chose the side that would allow her to lie on the uninjured side of her face.

“After what you’ve been through, I don’t want to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable,” Easy said.

Propping herself on an elbow, Jenna shook her head. “You won’t. You’re the—” She blanched as if she hadn’t meant to say whatever she’d nearly said.

Which made Easy need to know. He crawled on the bed as if lured by the words. “Finish. That. Sentence.”

She eased back onto the pillow, red hair sprawling around her shoulders like silk, and stared up at him. And it took everything Easy had not to settle himself on top of her and tease the words out with his hands and tongue.

“The only one who makes me feel safe,” she whispered.

Satisfaction humming through him, Easy turned and stretched out on his back. Because if he kept looking at her while she was looking at him like that, he might not be able to restrain himself from having what he wanted. A taste. A chance.

None of which she was in any shape for. And given the shitstorm in his head, probably neither was he.

“Good. That’s good,” he murmured, blowing out a long breath. Damn, he was tired. Not just because he hadn’t slept much the night before. But because of the size of the load he’d been shouldering for the past twelve-plus months. If he could only figure out how to put it down. He scrubbed his hands over his face, wishing he could shake himself out of this fucking slump.

If Rimes were here, he’d kick Easy’s ass for being such a morose motherfucker.

But he wasn’t here. Which was the damn problem in a nutshell.

He dropped his arms to the bed and peered over at Jenna.

She lay on her side facing him, hand tucked under her chin, not looking the least bit settled or relaxed.

“Whatchu need?”

“You.” She spoke the word without any hesitation, any doubt, any seeming self-consciousness.

“Have me, Jenna. Whatever you want,” he said, his cock stirring no matter how hard he reined himself in.

Holding his gaze, she moved closer until her head rested on his shoulder and her body trapped his arm between them. And, suddenly, she wasn’t fucking close enough.

“Here,” he whispered, lifting his arm and inviting her closer. And damn if his heart didn’t soar when she fitted herself the rest of the way against him, her face against his throat, her breasts against his ribs, her leg curling up onto his thigh.

He wasn’t sure whose sigh was louder. All Easy knew was that this was the first time in more than a year he didn’t feel alone. Wrapping his arm around her, he couldn’t resist squeezing her in just a little closer.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her breath ticklish against his neck.

He laced his fingers between hers where they rested on his chest. “I gotchu. You just close your eyes and know I’m here.”

Did you have a favorite line? Thanks for reading!

Men of Hard Ink

Other Books in the Hard Ink Series:

Hard As It Gets

Hard As You Can

Hard to Come By (11/25/14)

Hard to Be Good (3/10/15)

Untitled (7/28/15)

Praise for the Hard Ink Series:

For Hard As You Can:

“TOP PICK! There is a sinister and desperate edge to this tale that will keep readers glued to their seats. Kaye has dark romantic suspense nailed!” ~ RT Book Reviews Magazine

“Hard As You Can is another five star read. The characters Ms. Kaye has created are wonderfully broken and the drama is gritty, but the burgeoning romance and the tight-knitted relationship of the team leaves you with a sense of redemption. A must read series!” ~San Francisco Book Review

For Hard As It Gets:

“Edgy, sexy and full of suspense! A great read from a great new author!” ~ #1 NYT Bestselling Author J.R. Ward

“Sizzling romance… The intriguing tattoo parlor and military background will appeal to fans of Suzanne Brockmann and Lindsay McKenna.” ~Publishers Weekly Review

“Kaye’s depiction of sexual tension and her sex scenes are masterful and this will appeal to fans of Maya Banks’ KGI and Julia Ann Walker’s Black Knight’s series.” ~Booklist

Author PhotoAbout Laura Kaye:

Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

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Review: Hard To Hold On To by Laura Kaye

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Hard to Hold on To (Hard Ink, #2.5)Hard to Hold on To by Laura Kaye

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at The Romance Evangelist.

HARD TO HOLD ON TO continues the story of a group of men once proud to be a part of their country’s Special Forces who were forced out under a cloud of suspicion thanks to betrayal by their own company commander. Now they are trying to clear their names while under siege by a powerful street gang determined to stop their efforts and silence them for good. Each installment in this HARD INK series advances the overall story arc while providing a romance and HEA for each member of the group. And although this particular story is much shorter than those which have preceded it, Easy and Jenna’s romance still packs an emotional punch as they discover both love and solace within each other’s arms.

Easy may have been Edward Cantrell’s nickname, but his life so far had been anything but that. The Army helped him escape the mean streets of his childhood, but when that was taken away from him the hard way, all he had left was the Ravens motorcycle club and survivor’s guilt bordering on suicidal. When he helped rescue Sara’s sister Jenna from where the Church gang had held her prisoner, he never expected it to mean more to him than helping out the woman of his good friend, Shane. But now that Jenna needs him, Easy might finally have a reason to live again, and find the love he never thought he’d deserve.

Jenna had grown up mostly ignorant of all the terrible sacrifices her sister Sara had made to keep her healthy and safe. But after being held in the same awful place where her sister had been tortured after their father’s death, Jenna isn’t taking anything for granted, especially where it concerns the man she credits for her rescue. Maybe she and Easy aren’t the most likely couple to succeed, but after her near-death experience, Jenna realizes that life’s too short not to take a chance on love.

HARD TO HOLD ON TO upholds the great precedent of the HARD INK series with another well-written romance under pressure, made believable in spite of the otherwise implausible time constraints and reliance on an insta-lust trope. In HARD AS YOU CAN, we saw Jenna learn just how awful her sister’s life had been while she herself had only had to worry about finishing college and keeping her epilepsy under control. So when Jenna turns to Easy for support in the aftermath of her rescue, it makes a strange sort of sense in that Jenna feels like she’s already been too much of a burden for Sara. What nobody counted on, however, was the spectacular sexual chemistry between Jenna and Easy, least of all themselves. And while insta-lust may not be the best reason to pull back from the cliff of self-destruction, Laura Kaye made it work for me, with some scenes so heart-wrenching that I would have allowed the characters anything they wanted just to see them happy again.

As much as I always want more of something good, HARD TO HOLD ON TO works well at novella length, whetting my appetite even more for the next full-length HARD INK story to come. It’s a must-read in the series, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

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Review: Committed by Sidney Bristol

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Committed: Drug of DesireCommitted: Drug of Desire by Sidney Bristol

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at The Romance Evangelist.

COMMITTED is the first book in Sidney Bristol’s new Loveswept romance series featuring couples who find love at a private BDSM retreat known as House Surrender. This first book pairs up an obsessed DEA agent looking to bring down a dangerous drug kingpin and a high school librarian still learning to be a fully independent adult after being raised in a closely guarded commune where her immediate family still lives without her.

When Damien Moana first spots Poppy Mercer musing over a romance novel while sprawled invitingly across a sofa in the House Surrender library, it’s all he can do not to immediately make her his, even after she informs him she’s a switch, not a submissive. After they engage in a BDSM scene more intense that either has ever experienced, Damien receives a message about a new chance to capture an elusive drug lord, and chooses his quest over Poppy, leaving her angry and vowing to forget him and that night. But Damien can’t forget Poppy, tracking her down only a few weeks later and eventually convincing her to continue exploring their mutual attraction in a Dominant/submissive relationship. What follows in COMMITTED is a passionate romance between two people who must prevail over the external forces conspiring to keep them apart, not the least of which is a sociopathic criminal bent on revenge against the man he blames for the death of his wife.

Damien and Poppy were what I loved the most about COMMITTED, and every moment they were together, both in and out of the bedroom, was when I was completely happy with the story. Their sexual chemistry is both compelling and convincing, and it never wavered for me even when Poppy was finally able to turn the tables and exercise her switch option on Damien in public. I would have been blissfully happy if the book focused entirely on their romance without the added distraction of the menacing drug lord and Poppy’s severely misguided hippie mother, but that’s not what was meant to be.

For COMMITTED is a romantic suspense story with a significant amount of the plot devoted to the object of Damien’s relentless pursuit lurking around every corner, and every scene foreshadowing his inevitable attempt to get to Damien through Poppy kept drawing my attention away from the romance. I understand the need to show exactly why Damien had been so intent on getting the evil drug lord off the streets for good. I also acknowledge that being resentful of anything not related to the actual romance is a problem I have with romantic suspense not necessarily shared by other readers. But the constant focus on the evil drug lord affected my enjoyment of COMMITTED to the point that I began skimming through any scenes not directly related to the romance. Then when the peril did find Poppy as predicted, what happened next seemed so drawn out to me that I wondered when we’d ever get to their happy ending. As a fan of epilogues, I was pleased to have one here, although it was somewhat jarring to have Poppy’s months of recovery only referred to in passing when we’d previously had to see her suffer in such exacting detail. But after all they’d both been through, it was gratifying to see Poppy and Damien come out whole on the other side, and it was their romantic journey that made COMMITTED work for me.

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Review: The Bookseller’s Daughter by Pam Rosenthal

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The Bookseller's DaughterThe Bookseller’s Daughter by Pam Rosenthal

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Night Owl Reviews.

Review Excerpt:

From the very start, Marie-Laure displays her unyielding spirit and indomitable will, and we see that despite her lowly status, it is clearly she who is too good for Joseph. But as THE BOOKSELLER’S DAUGHTER progresses, Joseph is forced to come to terms with his useless existence, and by the end, he has grown emotionally into a fully adult man worthy of her heart. Even though I had an idea of how and where they would ultimately end up together, the journey there kept me riveted the entire time, and made the seemingly inevitable ending even more enjoyable for me. It’s a wonderful historical romance well worth reading. (Copyright Night Owl Reviews)

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Review: The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

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The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy, #3)The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at The Romance Evangelist.

The final book in Deborah Harkness’s fantastic All Souls trilogy is finally here, and it seems like it’s been forever since we last saw Diana and Matthew. THE BOOK OF LIFE picks up where SHADOW OF NIGHT left off, with our favorite witch and vampire returning to their current timeline and dealing with the aftermath of their actions back in Elizabethan England. To say more is to spoil, and I won’t do that. But be assured, all their past interactions are accounted for here in the present, even as time appears to start circling back on itself while the story hurtles toward its final confrontation between good and evil.

After Diana and Matthew began their improbable quest in A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, and then stepped back in time for SHADOW OF NIGHT, no less than the safety of everyone on Earth was at stake in THE BOOK OF LIFE. Its landscape spans across time and space, and nearly every question posed in the first two books is answered in full. But what made the All Souls trilogy work so well for me was the romance between Diana and Matthew. Their love was forbidden, impossible, and irresistible. It should never have happened, should never have lasted, and yet by the end of this final book, we see how perfectly they fit, and how their romance wasn’t just fated, it was required in order to save the world and everyone in it. To take their love story out of THE BOOK OF LIFE would be like removing the first three pages of the Book of Life in the story itself; all the words would run together in search of the missing portion that made them all make sense. And to call THE BOOK OF LIFE one of the best romances I’ve read this year is no insult – it is the highest compliment I can pay. If you enjoyed the first two books in Deborah Harkness’s All Souls trilogy, this final book is the payoff you’ve been waiting for. If you haven’t read the other books, then you need to start now with A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES. I envy you the ability to read all three books in a row for the very first time.

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Review: Stranded with a Billionaire by Jessica Clare

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Stranded with a Billionaire (Billionaire Boys Club, #1)Stranded with a Billionaire by Jessica Clare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

I’d read STRANDED WITH A BILLIONAIRE when it was first released back in April 2013, but was eager to revisit it for this new re-release, and happy to see that my original reaction to it had not changed. This first book in the Billionaire Boys Club series not only sets up its premise well for the books yet to come, but also provides us with a hero and heroine who are more than a match for each other despite significant differences that would keep a less determined couple apart.

After the death of his uncaring father and an ugly split with a gold-digging fiancée, billionaire Logan Hawkings was bitter about nearly everything except the deep ties he shared with his five best friends and fellow billionaires. At their most recent gathering, his friend Hunter shared news of an opportunity to invest in an island resort in the Bahamas, so Logan decided to visit the property himself to see if it was worth acquiring. He didn’t expect to be trapped in an elevator with a waitress from Kansas City just as a massive hurricane about to hit the island. And he certainly didn’t expect that woman to turn his outlook on life and love around completely once the storm that brought them together had passed.

Bronte Dawson was on the worst vacation ever, thanks to her so-called friend who dragged her to this crappy resort, only to abandon her when the storm was about to hit. Now all Bronte had standing between her and impending death was a bossy sort of fellow she assumed could only be the resort manager. Once the initial danger had passed, Bronte couldn’t help but notice how attractive this Logan guy could be when he wasn’t being rude. So why not take advantage of the situation to enjoy some hot sex with a good looking guy while they’re stuck here together? But when Logan’s friend Jonathan arrived to rescue them, inadvertently revealing Logan’s true identity, it was Bronte who wanted no part of a billionaire’s life, forcing Logan to earn her trust in him and his love for good.

STRANDED WITH A BILLIONAIRE is still one of my favorite books in the Billionaire Boys Club series, and the main reason is how light-hearted it manages to be even at the darkest moments in Logan and Bronte’s unlikely romance. When the tables are so quickly turned on Logan after Bronte discovers his lie of omission, it’s played for laughs as well as drama, and while Logan continues to do precisely the wrong things to get Bronte back in his life, it’s genuinely fun to see him get the attitude adjustment which he so richly deserves. After all, Bronte may just be a waitress at a Missouri sock hop diner, but she has a degree in Philosophy and a strong sense of self-worth that can’t and won’t be bought off by whatever obscene amounts of cash Logan is willing to throw around. Even when they face their darkest moment thanks to Logan’s misguided decision to test Bronte’s self-professed love, what follows isn’t entirely bleak, and the end result is a fully chastened and self-aware Logan who is truly worthy of Bronte and the happy ending they have earned together. In STRANDED WITH A BILLIONAIRE we also get to see more of the other 5 billionaires, including an intriguing setup for the next potential romance in the series. It’s a great start to the Billionaire Boys Club and one I wholeheartedly recommend.

Ratings:

Overall: 4
Sensuality level: 3

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Review: Vipers Run by Stephanie Tyler

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Vipers Run: A Skulls Creek NovelVipers Run: A Skulls Creek Novel by Stephanie Tyler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

Thanks to the success of television shows like Sons of Anarchy, one of the big new trends in romance is the Motorcycle Club romantic suspense novel. In these books, the MC provides the structure and context for whatever sort of havoc may occur as the hero (usually a member of the club) and heroine (who may or may not be an innocent civilian) find true love. I’ve only read a few of these books so far, but unfortunately VIPERS RUN was only a so-so read for reasons almost entirely unrelated to this particular trope.

The book begins with an introduction to Calla, who has always felt split between two worlds without being a full member of either one. Her father is an extremely rich and powerful man, but her mother forced him to stay away, preferring the company of low-lifes who only brought pain. It was only after Calla had suffered her own victimization by a man she should not have trusted that her father entered her life, but now eight years later, Calla is still barely scraping by as receptionist to a slightly shady but kindly private investigator. When her boss leaves behind his cell phone one fateful morning, the call that comes in is one she’ll never forget. And when that call forces Calla’s journey to the doorstep of a man she’s never met, what happens next will change her life forever.

Cage is the voice on the phone and the man who will soon claim Calla as his own. He went rogue on the Vipers six months back and now that impulsive act has left him dying on the floor of a parking garage. But it’s Calla who keeps him talking on the phone when all he wants to do is curl up and die, and it’s Calla who will eventually redirect him away from suicidal revenge against the evil Heathens MC trying to destroy Skulls Creek. But can Calla and Cage really live happily ever after in the face of all that threatens them?

As you can see from what I’ve written here so far, there is a whole lot going on in VIPERS RUN even without the additional need to set up the world for this new series. What made reading this book difficult for me, in spite of a hero and heroine that I genuinely liked, were all the machinations required to get from the nearly implausible start to the somewhat improbable finish, not the least of which was how the romance part of the story begins. I tend to take a charitable view of “insta-lust” and “insta-love” in romances, but I simply could not wrap my head around the notion of two people falling in love from a single telephone call, albeit one as emotionally charged as theirs was. Another plot maneuver involved characters who had previously remained off-screen suddenly appearing in ways that were clearly meant to serve the predetermined outcome, if not its actual credibility. Then when the final two major conflicts played out within the last few pages of the story, each was resolved far too easily with actions that were told, rather than shown.

There were a few other continuing issues I had with VIPERS RUN as I struggled to get to its end. Although Calla and Cage move quickly to a sexual relationship, there is never any reference, not even in passing, to their use of any protection against unintended pregnancy or STDs. This notable absence grated on me even more when Cage made a point of sneering at the other evil MC for heedlessly “breeding” their women. There was also an excessive amount of switching between Calla’s first person POV, Cage’s third person POV, and a late addition of yet another character’s third person POV. All that head-hopping, including an occasional slip from third to first person in mid-paragraph, often made it difficult to keep track of who was telling the story and where.

So if I had all these problems with VIPERS RUN, then why am I giving it 3 stars? Because as I mentioned before, the hero and heroine were a couple I really did like, in spite of how they’d found each other. Calla never veered into Too Stupid To Live territory, and Cage was able to balance his need to claim her with the reality of how his chosen life would impact hers. And what I got to see of the Vipers’ world, I found interesting and convincing. But in the end, VIPERS RUN was simply not the right book for me, and I’ll likely pass on the rest of the Skulls Creek series.

Ratings:

Overall: 3
Sensuality level: 3.5

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Review: Over Exposed by Stephanie Julian

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Over Exposed (Salon Games, #3)Over Exposed by Stephanie Julian

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

OVER EXPOSED is the third book in Stephanie Julian’s excellent Salon Games series, with a hero and heroine who were both supporting characters in the previous book, NO RESERVATIONS. Greg Hicks is the best friend of Tyler Golden, co-owner of Haven, and the man chosen to join him and his beloved Kate in that hotel’s infamous Salon for their own private sexual games. Sabrina Rodriquez is both friend and employee of Tyler and Kate, using her brains and will to succeed, vowing never to blindly trust any man in the same way her mother always had . When our hero and heroine first met each other in NO RESERVATIONS, the sexual chemistry was instant and obvious to all. But it wasn’t until Greg retreated to Haven for some quiet time to finish his latest screenplay that Tyler and Kate were able to put Sabrina back in his path, with the not-so-subtle expectation that something more would come of it. Yet even as Greg and Sabrina succumb to their shared desire, neither one is certain that what they have found can survive once the storm that’s trapped them together has ended.

What I love about Stephanie Julian’s books is how she can keep me on the edge of my seat without resorting to easy ploys like evil ex-girlfriends or a madman on the loose. Greg and Sabrina already have enough obstacles to overcome after they finally act upon their sexual attraction that any additional fabrications for the sake of drama would be annoying. As the two of them move closer toward their HEA, there are multiple conflicts, both large and small, that they need to confront, not the least of which is Greg’s inevitable departure back to Hollywood and his all-consuming career there. But with each instance, they learn to trust each other more, so that by the time Sabrina and Greg enjoy their own Salon encounter, their romantic journey has reached its natural completion. Their realistic give and take as they become more adept at each other’s wants and desires are the best part of OVER EXPOSED and why it’s yet another solid entry in the Salon Games series.

Ratings:

Overall: 4
Sensuality level: 4

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