Monday, September 28, 2015

Devil and the Deep by Megan Tayte

Devil and the Deep by Megan Tayte
The Ceruleans, Book 4
Publisher: Megan Tayte (September 2015)
314 pages, eBook (provided by Author for review)
Book Rating: 5 Stars
Sensuality: White Heart

Scarlett has chosen to turn her back on the ways of  the Ceruleans, and has returned to make a life with Luke, though she finds it not quite as fulfilling as she would have hoped.  Meanwhile, questions regarding her lineage surface and begin to haunt her. Scarlett is faced with progressively hard questions in this story, none of which have easy answers. I wish she wouldn’t try to shelter Luke quite so much—when she allows it, she has such a large group of supporters/helpers looking to assist her when things become too much, and I really liked that about this story (the strange coalition of human/Cerulean people she has around her). This book closes with a massive cliffhanger! I can’t wait to read the last installment in this series (Darkly, Deeply, Beautifully) and see how it all turns out!

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Ride Steady by Kristen Ashley

Ride Steady by Kristen Ashley
Chaos Series, Book 3
Publisher: Forever (June 2015)
628 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $3.99)
Book Rating: 5 Stars
Sensuality: Red Heart

Separated by a difference in social position in high school, but crushing on each other from afar, Carissa and Joker never expected to meet up years later on the side of the road because of a flat tire—but Carissa didn’t recognize Joker, and what could have been their second chance was delayed. I absolutely loved this book. Joker started out really frustrating, but once he got on track he was so steady it was beautiful. I loved that Carissa went straight to Joker each time she messed up and confessed immediately so they could work through it together, instead of letting things fester into something much worse.  Great story of a man from an abusive background looking to build a better life than the one he had as a child and a single mother with an evil rich ex.This story included appearances by the full Dream Man crew, Lee & Hank Nightingale (Rock Chick) and Knight Sebring (Unfinished Heroes).  I look forward to reading High’s story in Walk Through Fire (due out in October) and hope to see Snapper’s story out soon!

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Deacon by Kristen Ashley

Deacon by Kristen Ashley
The Unfinished Heroes Series, Book 4
Publisher: Kristen Ashley (September 2014)
216 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $3.99)
Book Rating: 4 Stars
Sensuality: Red Heart

A previous relationship that turned very ugly had left Deacon dead inside—that is until he wandered into a rundown Colorado resort and got a look at the woman that was running it. He fought the revival she inspired in him for years before he finally gave into it—and despite having every reason not to, Cassidy took a chance on him. I loved this story—it was the best of the series—until it got to the big blowout and the resolution to that blowout seemed really rushed and over simplified, and I just couldn’t believe Cassidy could get over what had happened so easily. That aside, I really liked Deacon and Cassidy—both really great characters and they had awesome chemistry together. This story included appearances from all the previous couples in this series and Marcus & Daisy Sloan (Rock Chick Series), with mention of Wood, Max and Nina (Colorado Mountain Series). Looking forward to the series wrapping up with Nick’s story, and hope to see it out soon!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Raid by Kristen Ashley

Raid by Kristen Ashley
The Unfinished Heroes Series, Book 3
Publisher: Kristen Ashley (February 2013)
282 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $3.99)
Book Rating: 5 Stars
Sensuality: Red Heart

Hanna’s had her eye on Raid, the hometown golden boy, from the time she was six, but she had finally come to terms with the fact that it was a fantasy that was never going to come true and she needed to start living her life—then out of blue she had Raid’s attention and found she wasn’t sure what to do with it. Hanna is a shy, homebody type of sweet girl that looks after her grandma and makes a living making fancy afghans. I loved Hanna—I don’t know how you couldn’t. Raid had his moments where he was difficult to like, but for the most part, he was the easiest to swallow of the heroes in this series so far. Raid’s got unresolved issues from his military service which causes him to lash out unexpectedly at times, but he always crawls back to Hanna and apologizes once he’s cooled off, and I liked that about him. This story included appearances from Knight, Anya, Creed, Sylvie and Marcus Sloan (Rock Chick Series). Best of the series so far! Looking forward to Deacon’s story, though I suspect it will a good deal darker than this one was.

Creed by Kristen Ashley

Creed by Kristen Ashley
The Unfinished Heroes Series, Book 2
Publisher: Kristen Ashley (September 2012)
360 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $3.99)
Book Rating: 4 Stars
Sensuality: Red Heart

After Sylvie’s childhood love abandoned her to a personal hell she developed a tough shell, never letting anyone get too close, but then Creed shows up all of the sudden, and the past she’s tried so hard to bury starts bubbling up.This story reminded me a lot of For You (Book 1 of the ‘Burg Series). Both stories are about childhood sweethearts tragically ripped apart to drift in emotional hell for years, only to be reunited many years later. This story was just as raw and emotionally taxing as For You, and I had to take a break partway through before I could keep going.  Creed was great, as are all of this author’s badass male leads, but I really liked Sylvie (who was much less girly than this author’s typical heroines)-though I wished she had taken her a bit further toward tomboy (what real tough girl cares about getting her nails done or wears makeup?). This story alternates between past and present and you don’t really get Creed and Sylvie’s full past until the end of the book. I liked that we got a bit of the story from Creed’s point-of-view (I wished part of Knight’s story had been that way, but oh well). There was a mention of Lee Nightingale (Rock Chick Series, Book 1) and brief appearance of Hawk Delgado (Mystery Man-Dream Man Series, Book 1) in this story.  Moving on to Raid!

Friday, September 4, 2015

Knight by Kristen Ashley

Knight by Kristen Ashley
The Unfinished Heroes Series, Book 1
Publisher: Kristen Ashley (April 2012)
285 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $3.99)
Book Rating: 4 Stars
Sensuality: Red Heart

When her cell phone dies at a party she is more than ready to leave, Anya is thrown into the path of Knight, an intense man who is less than happy about the party his brother is throwing in their apartment. Knight drives her home, hoping it will calm him, but seeing Anya’s ramshackle apartment building sends him into protective mode and repeated encounters solidify his need to see she’s taken care of. I had taken an extended break from this author (despite her being one of my favorites) needing to recover from reading For You (Book 1 of the ‘Burg Series—so raw and intense it still haunts me). I have been reluctant to start this book ever since I learned that the Hero was a pimp with a stable full of girls (what Kristen Ashley terms an anti-hero), but I decided to take the plunge and was surprised to find that once everything was explained and laid out before me, it wasn’t as off-putting as I’d thought it’d be. Knight was intense, EXTREMELY controlling and not all that forthcoming (especially at first), but he was great paired with Anya and I loved her quiet, almost shy personality. My one problem with this book is Anya calling Knight “Daddy”. It became especially off-putting during the sex scenes and paired with him calling her “Baby”—“Daddy’s Baby,” etc.—it just wasn’t for me. That aside, I loved this story! Knight was ultra protective and I loved that about him. Great story and I look forward to reading Creed!

Thursday, September 3, 2015

The Huntsmen by Honor James

The Huntsmen by Honor James
Mischievous Fairytales Series, Book 4
Publisher: Siren Publishing (September 2014)
154 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $3.44)
Book Rating: 3 Stars
Sensuality: Red Heart

Snow has been locked away in a tower for many years, held captive by her evil stepmother, but she finds an opportunity to escape and hopes to make her way to her uncle’s castle—along the way she comes across three huntsmen who have decided to protect Snow instead of taking her back to the Queen as they were ordered to do. This story reminded me very much of the recent movie Snow White and the Huntsman, only much more erotic and with the twist of there being a ménage scenario with multiple huntsmen. Fairytale retellings is one of my favorite genres, so I was excited to find this, but sadly I found it was just okay. The dialogue was a bit cheesy and repetitious, there were a lot of plot inconsistencies, and despite this being a story set a long time ago the dialogue was decidedly modern. If you are looking for an erotic read and not intending to take the story too seriously, this is a quick light read and is enjoyable enough to fit the bill. I will probably read the other books in the series just because I’m curious, but I wish a little more time had been spent checking for story continuity.