Selling Scarlett by Ella James

Selling Scarlett by Ella James
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

When starting this book it feels like you are being dropped off in the middle of something, and have to spend the rest of the time trying to catch up. If a little more time had been giving to developing the characters and their story I would have enjoyed the book more.
As it is you are introduced to three characters that are in the middle of some internal crises, of which you have no clue why it should matter to you.  The main lady Elizabeth has so many nicknames, it took me a while to figure out they were all talking about the same person.
It felt like reading a bad porn movie.  I was once again waiting for some guy to walk through asking if someone ordered a pizza, and drop his pants.


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Code Red Blog Tour Excerpt

To read the first part of this clip, check out laurasreviewbookshelf.com.

“Thanks. And you are?” he asked, still holding my hand. Or was I holding
his? Oh, no, was he trying to get away from me and I was holding onto him
like a little kid with an ice cream cone? Then again, I did want to lick him.
“Nicole Magette,” I said, after a few tries. My tongue didn't want to
work. At least not to form words.
To read more, visit http://melissa-justoneopinion.blogspot.com/ on April 29th.

Protecting What's HIs

Protecting What's His by Tessa Bailey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As with most books by this publishing house (the same one that did Seducing Cinderella)I devoured this in one night.  The story line was fantastic, and there was enough tension and angst to keep you reading all night.
Hot cop + Southern Belle = a good time. The lifesize Dolly Parton doll is just a bonus.


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Promise me Darkness by Paige Weaver

4.5 star read.  Review to come.

 

Tour Schedule

Hunted by Ednah Walters Bran and Lil may have escaped an attempt to lure Lil to the dark side, and recovered the contracts damned people signed with Bran when he was a soul collector, but someone forgot to tell them that no one switches sides or cancels contracts without consequences. Hunted by an unknown but powerful enemy, Lil, Bran and the Guardians must seek help from unlikely sources to avert total annihilation of the Guardians. When they finally face their enemy, one of them may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.  

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Praise All in all, Hunted is a very enjoyable read, especially for those who enjoy angel/demon books. This one has everything you want in an angel book while still maintaining its own distinct feel. ~TeresaMaryRose This series is addictive. ~Author Kate Kaynak AMAZING! There is not enough words to describe how much I loved Hunted. Ednah Walters has outdid herself if that is even possible. ~Megan McDade  

Author Ednah Walters

I grew up reading Nancy Drew and Hardy boys mysteries, hence Stratemeyer influence, before I graduated to Mills & Boons (starting with Janet Daily's Shutter the Sky) and the rest is history. I enjoy good love stories, tingly mysteries and wondrous adventures. When I finished my college and decided to be a stay-at-home mother, I devoured books like they were going out of production, until reading just wasn't enough. So I started to write. I've written picture books, contemporary and romantic suspense, biracial/multicultural books, and finally YA fantasy. Awakened is the first book in The Guardian Legacy series. I'm working on book 2, tentatively named Betrayed. When I'm not writing, I do things with my family, five children or my darling husband of 18 years. I live in a picturesque valley in Utah, the setting for my series.

Excerpt:

“Come on, Lil,” a female voice urged.  

“I think she’s coming around,” a male voice said. I lifted my eyelids.

 At least I thought I did. There was nothing but blinding whiteness. I strained until the blue sky and faces inked in. Unfamiliar faces. Two women and one man. Their eyes were filled with concern as they stared down at me. Beside them were familiar faces—Bran, Grampa and Aunt Janelle, Kim, Izzy, Remy, Sykes and Kylie, but they began to fade.
“No, don’t leave me,” I cried out and reached out for them.
 “Not so fast,” one of the unfamiliar women warned and pressed my shoulder down
 “You had a nasty fall.” I struggled against her hand and sat up. Black dots appeared in my eyes and a sharp pain radiated from the back of my head. I closed my eyes until the dizziness passed, then raised a trembling hand to my head. There was a huge bump the size of an egg, and my skull felt like someone was hammering it with a blunt object. Squinting, my gaze moved from her to the other woman, then the man. They all wore black pants and matching shirts, a uniform of some kind, and had daggers in sheaths strapped around their waist and their thighs. I’d never seen them before in my life, yet they watched me with such concern. I inched away from them and noticed I wasn’t dressed like them. I wore a bikini and was lying down on a towel. Frowning, I took in our surroundings. We were on a grassy patch by a pond in the middle of a forest. The trees were so tall and curved in such a way that was unnatural. It was like they deliberately curved to block the skyline or hide the pond. Why couldn’t I remember where I was or how I got here? What was my name? My gaze moved back to the woman squatting beside me. I wondered whether to ask her these questions, but survival instinct stopped me even though I didn’t feel any negative vibes from her. I scooted backward and realized my grip was around a dagger. Intrigued, I studied it. It had a clear, wavy blade and green stones on its gilded hilt. Seeing the dagger switched on something inside my pounding head. Memories of places and people rushed back—I saw myself entering a booth in an arena, where a familiar man with red hair called me his daughter; attempting to escape a dark-haired woman who claimed to be my half-sister; a huge black man with soft brown eyes helping me, and another with short-cropped blond hair swearing allegiance to me… If my head wasn’t pounding, I would have laughed with triumph. My name was Lil Falcon. I was a Psi Cardinal Guardian within the Northeast Sector, and I hunted demons.
 

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Blog Tour Giveaway $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 4/28/13 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://www.iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Real by Katy Evans

A fallen boxer.
A woman with a broken dream.
A competition…

He even makes me forget my name. One night was all it took, and I forgot everything and anything except the sexy fighter in the ring who sets my mind ablaze and my body on fire with wanting…

Remington Tate is the strongest, most confusing man I've ever met in my life.

2 stars

I am not sure where this one went wrong for me.  It had all the right ingredients....hot MMA fighter, intense love, major flaws for the main characters, it just didn't do it for me. The story was told in a choppy format that made me feel more disconnected from the plot.  I am pretty sure the main characters spoke all of 10 sentences to each other.  Most of the book was spent stuck in the Brooke's head.  
I also felt a little offended by the flaw given to Remy, and how it was portrayed. 
 Spoiler alert.......He finally tells Brooke he is Bipolar.  The book treats it like it is a Jekyll and Hyde type of thing where he doesn't remember anything he does while "black" or manic.  He is also given a pass for anything he does during this time.  I just thought it was ridiculous.  I have known lots of bipolar people, and none of them act like this.  It was just weird.  He doesn't want to take medicine because he doesn't like how it makes him feel....but it is fine to medicate with alcohol, prostitutes, and beating people up.  

All in all, I finished the book, but I wouldn't read a sequel, or recommend it to anyone else.

One Week Girlfriend by Monica Murphy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a little gem I discovered through friend recommendations. It is kind of short, but it packs a punch. The storyline is unique, and definitely doesn't follow the NA formula of late. If you are looking for a good short read, pick this one up. It was only .99, and I am already jonesing for the next one.

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Own the Wind by Kristen Ashley

2 stars

Ohhhh Kristen.  Let me first say I loved Motorcycle man, and almost every other KA book I have read.  This was not the case for poor Shy and Tab.  This is almost a mourning process for me.  I wanted to love this book so much, and I really didn't even end up liking it.
I never really connected with the characters.  I think it was the way the first 10 chapters were written.  You get a glimpse of Shy, then it is 10 months later.....3 days later....1 year later......6 months later.  Instead of getting a story, you just got pieces of reaction to things that were happening.  Tab seemed boring, and Shy could have been exchanged for Tack.  They spoke the same, and had the same attitude.
The action was pretty lame, and it felt contrived.  The only reason there was any action was to have cameo appearances by Hawk, and almost everyone else ever in a KA book.  I found myself skimming a lot and doing some eye rolls.  To say I was bored is an understatement.

I think I will go read Sweet Dreams again to restore my faith in KA.

Taking Shots by Toni Aleo

4 stars of Perfection!!!

Amazon description:

Elli Fisher has never thought she was good enough. Let it be her job, her weight, her love life; nothing. She has walked through life for the past six years in a daze, never thinking that life could be good again after the abuse she endured from her ex-boyfriend. She is lonely, sad, and depressed, that is until she meets Shea Adler. After doing a promotional shoot for the NHL team, the Nashville Assassins, she meets the hunky hockey player who shoots a puck, shattering her world.

Shea Adler is tired of the life he was living outside of the rink. The girls, the money blowing, the drinking, everything had to stop and it all did when he met Eleanor Fisher. He had never met anyone like her. She is feisty, witty, shy, and simply gorgeous. When he laid eyes on her, it was as if he was taking the hardest hit of his life into the boards, and he had to have her. Elli is a little skeptical of Shea, but he knows that they are meant to be together, and he needs her in his life. 

But Elli just doesn't understand what Shea could see in her. She is overweight, loud, and not even that pretty, so why would someone so gorgeous and so amazing want to be with her? It seems that no matter how hard she tries to shake Shea off, he isn't going anywhere, and for the first time, Elli doesn't feel alone. But can Elli throw her insecurities out the window and love Shea with everything inside of her? Or will she let a past relationship, and her family ruin any chance of her being happy?

Would Elli miss her shot at love?

I loved the first book in the Assassin's series.  It had all the things I love in a good romance, hunky athlete, real girl, angesty love affair, chemistry, bat-shit crazy family members.  This book is full of all of that. 

Elli is a size 10 knockout with body image problems.  (She has legit reasons, so it isn't annoying like when the size 2 6'5" swimsuit model complains about love handles.) She has a major Hockey jones, and loves one player more than the rest. She has a really good back story, and is the owner of the batshit crazy family.  We all have one or two, hers take the cake.

I had more than on occasion where I wanted to reach through the book and shake her, but that's what makes a great book!

Shea.....swoon.  This man is perfection in written word.  He says all the right stuff, plans all the right dates, plays sports, and loves kids.  

 I cried, laughed, and stayed up all night to finish it making me a book zombie for the rest of the day....but it was soo worth it.  If you are in the mood for a good book that has just enough emotion to keep you interested, but not so much to drain you, this is the one.  I can't wait for the next ones in the series.