Contemporary Romance

Book Review – For You (The Burg #1) by Kristen Ashley

August 23, 2012 by Aestas · 3 Comments

“Since I was three, there’s never been a day when I wasn’t in love with you.”

Buy FOR YOU on KINDLE (Amazon)

Woah! What a roller-coaster of a book!! It went from creepy to intense to hot ‘n’ steamy to sweet to sad to beautiful… it had twists and turns and a story built in layers forward as well as dug in layers backwards…. quite the ride!! And I loved it!

So the back story that you go into this book knowing from the blurb is that Alexander Colton and Febuary Owens were always meant to be together – they were together growing up, together in high school, everyone knew they were destined for each other… but something happened and Feb left Colt. No one knows why, but now, 20 years later, the story begins.

Right from the start, the tone of this book is grittier, more intense, and more serious than some of KA’s other series (especially considering it starts off at a chilling, grisly murder crime scene at Feb’s bar that Colt, now a cop, comes to investigate), but its still pure, brilliant KA writing that sucks you right into the world. I love that her writing style is just so familiar to me, its like coming home to start one of her books – such a wonderful feeling. LOVE!!

At the scene of the gruesome murder, the reader is introduced to Feb and Colt and their shared and, at the time, unknown history. As the reader, we know that whatever happened to them years ago was heart breaking and sad, but we don’t know exactly what it is.

Its clear that, throughout all the years of separation, neither Feb nor Cold have let go of their feelings for each other, but at the same time, aren’t able to give into them, leaving you wracking your brain trying to figure out what could possibly have ever come between a couple so clearly meant for each other.

Naturally, of course, there is a way found for Feb to end up moving in with Colt (completely platonically, of course, *nods seriously*.. for protection. *continues nodding* mmhmm.. we all know where this is gonna lead now don’t we? *grin*) and one thing leads to another and soon they are on their way to an adorably swoony reunion <3

I loved how this story highlights that if the love is pure and real, no amount of years of separation will ever really dull it. Totally beautiful concept.

“There’s no words to explain how big it was, what Colt and I had, or how much it hurts when something that big in your life is swept away, or how empty that place is that he once filled, or how impossible it is to find something to fill it…“

The more Colt and Feb came together, the more I began to squee and sigh over them, but remember that throughout it all there is the under current of mystery with not knowing who the killer is, and with waiting to figure out what happened in their past.

But once things start to build for them, oooooooohhh boy does the HOTNESS begin!! Nothing like a build up of 20 years to make the sex fan-yourself intense!! And once Alpha Colt has claim to his girl, his pulls out all the swoony, bossy, possessive stops while at the same time making my heart melt and go awwwww 🙂 I just loved seeing the two of them come back together again *dreamy sigh*

“Your mother doesnt fuck around,” Colt remarked.
“I hope you didn’t have anything in there that was precious.”
Colt looked at her and said, “The only things precious in my life breathe.”

*swoon* freaking LOVE that line!!

The psycho murderer in this is “without a moral compass” and just totally way-the-freaking-hell creepy in a deeeeeeply chilling way – making me alternately shudder and go ewwwwwww. This one is actually smart, disturbed, who has thought out what they were doing. Have I mentioned creepy and chilling yet?? The murders are very interconnected, personal and now the cover of the book makes sense to me *shudder*

The story is told in alternating POVs, but it was Colt’s POV that was the most interesting to me because he was not only trying to solve the murder, but was also trying to piece together the puzzle of his and Feb’s past and trying to understand how, somehow, the murder and those events might be tied together.

Of course, I won’t tell you what it is, but I will say that my heart was POUNDING when the explanation comes out! Its told from Colt’s POV and you experience the shock and realization as everything clicks into place for him. Its huge!! I just love moments like that in books!

The wonderful thing is that once the muck and turmoil of the past was finally figured out, it left Colt and Feb open to go for what they both really wanted all along – each other 🙂

“Romeo and Juliet, say they didn’t die but Juliet got pissed and took off. Everyone would know it was Romeo and Juliet, would always be Romeo and Juliet, even if later Romeo hooked up with Nancy. No one ever heard of Nancy, doesn’t even sound right, Romeo and Nancy. Everyone knows Romeo’s meant to be with Juliet. Even if Romeo loved Nancy, Nancy would always know she was never Juliet.“

I actually really loved that neither Colt nor Feb were perfect characters. Yes, in a perfect world, if they made perfect decisions, then the decisions they made in their past would have been different. But they both fucked up. They both paid the price. They both knew it, admitted it. And they were both ready to move on and not dwell in the past, but to live in the present. I really admired that about both of them and I love that they had a second chance at their love.

“Then in my ear, he said, “I remember everything about you and I remember all the reasons why I loved you. Never could forget even when I tried… Who knows, baby? We had all that time together, I coulda got used to it, learned to take it for granted.” His arms gave me a squeeze. “Now, that’ll never happen.”

And I just can’t say enough how much I JUST FREAKING LOVE Kristen Ashley’s writing style!! I think she could make a scene about paint drying riveting (not that I’m at all comparing this book to that, just saying that she works magic into her words). Her writing style totally connects you to the story, and the characters, no matter what is going on in the scene.

The book didn’t make me cry ever although I did get a little chocked up twice near the end, which, as usual, left me smiling, awww-ing and grinning… there wasn’t an epilogue in this book but KA writes the best endings and this was was no exception.

An amazing start to this series… I cannot WAIT to get to book 2 since everyone is RAVING about it!! *squee*

**oh and can I just throw a shout-out out to the character of Graham Reece who was only in a few scenes of this book but TOTALLY made me SWOON!!! I am SO looking forward to his book (which is the next book in the Colorado Mountain series). YAY!

Rating: 4.5+ stars!!

Buy FOR YOU (Kindle)

** SERIES READING ORDER **

#1 FOR YOU (Colt & Feb) — Buy for Kindle | My Review

#2 AT PEACE (Joe & Vi) — Buy for Kindle | My Review

#3 GOLDEN TRAIL (Layne & Rocky) — Buy for Kindle | My Review

#4 GAMES OF THE HEART (Miky & Dusty) — Buy for Kindle | My Review

#5 THE PROMISE (Benny & Frankie — Buy for Kindle | My Review

Book review – Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

August 16, 2012 by Aestas · 20 Comments

**Little note to those of you who are visiting this site for the first time: I feel like I should mention that this is so NOT my typical read. In fact its almost the antithesis of the kind of book I like and it took me many months to work up the emotional courage to read it… I pretty much ONLY read HEA (happily-ever-after) books and usually VERY swoony ones at that. Thats my rule. I need them in my life…. But for whatever reason, the synopisis of this book and other people’s reviews kind of grabbed at my heart and I’ve had this book in the back of my mind for a while now and finally worked up the courage to try it. So it’ll be the only one of its kind you’ll find on this blog…. the rest are all HEA romances.

~~~~~~~

5 stars *sob sob sob*

“How could something so wrong feel so right?”

This book reduced me to a inconsolable, uncontrollably sobbing, shaking, and wailing WRECK!! My heart is utterly SHATTERED !!!!!! Why? Why?? WHY????

I have no idea how to write anything that describes the depths to which my heart ACHES! Its like a physical pain. The ending of this book was “heart-shattering”. Pure, gut-wrenching, PAIN.

It takes the concept of a “forbidden love” to a whole new level. It does not have a HEA and the ending is guaranteed rip your heart to shreds.

The story is raw, emotional to an extreme, powerful, achingly painful, beautiful and devastatingly tragic.

I was beyond apprehensive about this story because, yes, this is a love story between a brother and sister (*cringe/gulp*, right?). It is only for the most open minded and non-judgmental readers. But I absolutely PROMISE you, after reading their story, you will be wishing they could have a happy ending.

With a self-centered, uncaring, and alcohlic mother and a father who abandoned their family years ago, siblings Lochan (17) and Maya (16) have always felt more like friends than siblings – being the defacto parents to their 3 younger siblings – 13-year-old Kit who is unhappy, self-destructive, and rebelling against life, mischevious little brother Tiffin, and sweet adorable baby sister Willa who is too young to understand the desperation all around her. Lochan and Maya work themselves into the ground trying desperately to hold together the broken pieces of their family for fear that social services will separate them if they learn of the absentee parents. The stress of their lives brings them closer and closer together to the point where they fall in love. They know its not right, they know its impossible, but they cannot deny that the feeling they have are so strong and feel so right.

The romance is slow building and comes as almost (dare I say it) a very subtle, natural, beautiful progression. Its about two people drawn together by their circumstances, who are as close as two people can be, who rely on each other, support each other, have been through hell together… The pain, lonliness, and desolation of their life pushes them together. Everything in their life is so overwhelming, but with each other they feel safe.

“… how to get across to the outside world that Lochan and I are siblings only through biological mishap? That we were never brother and sister in the real sense, but always partners, having to being up a real family as we grew up ourselves? How to explain that Lochan has never felt like a brother but like something far, far closer than that – a soul mate, a best friend, part of the very fiber of my being?”

The book is told in alternating POVs between Lochan and Maya. Their thoughts and perspectives made me question everything I was naturally feeling and forced me to think with my heart instead of with how I was naturally inclined to automatically feel about a sibling romance. It filled me with so many conflicting emotions. My natural reaction was to cringe at the storyline and scream ‘NO!”, but when you read and understand the emotion behind it, you can’t help but want to root for them as a couple.

The writing style is absolutely stunning. It conveys the stifling desolation and desperation of their life so vividly, you can feel with all your heart. It clouds the book, clings to the story and by extension, you as the reader are utterly wrapped up in their world.

This is a story that is going to stay with me for a long time. It’ll make you question right and wrong and think twice about preconceived prejudices.

In so many ways, their relationship didn’t feel weird or wrong. All the realtionship lines in this story were blurred anyways – friend and sibling, parents and child, authority figure and equal… When the situation isn’t a normal one, where are the lines drawn? As a reader, your natural, biological instincts are screaming at you to think of it as cringe-worthy, sick and both Lochan and Maya were realists about their feelings for each other. They knew how taboo it was and struggled long and hard with coming to terms with being able to accept the things they were feeling. Their torn anguish at dealing with what they were feeling but at the same time being true to themselves and not being able to deny the strength and reality of their feelings and passion for each other was heart-wrenching.

“I scrape the fingernails of one hand against the wall, violent sobs running in shock waves through my body, tears soaking my sleeve. “Help,” I find myself gasping, “I don’t understand what’s wrong with me!”

And like I said, they were realists about their situation. They knew they could never have kids and that wasn’t a problem – they just wanted to be together. And in another world, one where they were just Lochan and Maya and not also raising three younger siblings, they could very well have made it work. But the responsibilities of their family kept them from being able to put themselves first and ultimately was what led to the tragic ending.

With all your heart, you feel their desperation as they fight to hide something the whole world will judge them for.

“But its the whole world,” he says in an anguished whisper. “How – how can we make it against the whole world?”

There was just no way to doubt the heart-breaking depths of their love for each other.

“I think I’m going to die from happiness. I think I’m going to die from pain… At the end of the day, it’s about how much can you bear, how much can you endure.“

Their desperation just seeps into your soul as they fight against the cruelty of fate and the odds of the world. *sob*

Lochan was such a gorgeous character, inside and out. To have been able to hold it together for so long and to make the ultimate sacrifice for the people he loved… I can’t even write about this without tears coming to my eyes.

Everywhere they turned, there was another closed door. The ending just ripped me to emotional shreds. I’ll repeat, NOT a HEA. My heart won’t heal. The ending was un-fixable, irreversible, and horribly tragic.

The tragic ending didn’t come out of the blue. You could feel it building from the start. I even knew about the twist at the start before I began the book and thought I was fully prepared mentally for it, but it didn’t help one tiny bit and did nothing to shield my heart from the sheer, unbridled PAIN of the ending… around the 80% mark events started unfolding and my heart just sank. It felt like it stopped. I just read with my hand over my mouth, rocking back and forth going ‘please no, please no, please please &$%# no NO NO!!!” . It didn’t help that I was prepared, even writing this now and thinking about it, I’m starting to cry again.

It brought to light a lot of questions. Why is our society/world so obsessed with who loves who?? I can understand certain misgivings from a biological perspective. Yes, siblings should never be allowed to have biological children. THAT is wrong, from a scientific standpoint, not a judgmental one. Its damaging to the gene pool. But if two people love each other and just want to be together… who are we to judge? In a world where technology can make their relationship safe (i.e. vasectomy, tube tying..), why not let them be together? Who are we to judge who can and can’t be together. So long as they are not having kids, why shouldn’t they be allowed to have a relationship?

Their story shattered my heart. It was haunting, beautiful, agonizing and tragic. If you are ever feeling brave enough to try it out, I’d highly recommend it. But you have to be in the right mood…. *sniff* This isn’t a story that I’ll ever forget.

Book Review – Seduction and Snacks (Chocolate Lovers #1) by Tara Sivec

August 14, 2012 by Aestas · 14 Comments

Buy SEDUCTION AND SNACKS for Kindle (Amazon)

5 stars!

Okay guys, this is, hands down, the most HILARIOUS romance I have ever read!!!! 😀

No book has EVER made me laugh this hard. I giggled, squeed, snorted, and cried with laughter to the point where I’d have to stop reading in order to catch my breath!! PURE FUN!

But the best part was that it wasn’t just a funny story – it had everything! It was oh-so-swoony with some seriously omg-fan-yourself H.O.T and steamy bedroom scenes and an absolutely heart-meltingly sweet and beautiful story about a family finding each other and coming together… just all-round WIN!! Easily one of my favorite reads of the year!

Claire doesn’t want kids. Ever. However, one drunken college party one-night-stand with a gorgeous swoony guy whose name she doesn’t even know later, she finds herself pregnant.

“I took eleventy-billion home pregnancy tests, after drinking a gallon of milk so I would have enough pee for all of them… [then] I Googled “milk and pregnancy tests” to make sure I didn’t just spend 37 minutes of my life staring in horror at positive pregnancy tests… because pasteurization messed with the hormones and created a false positive.
It doesn’t, just in case you were wondering.”

She searches everywhere trying to find the guy she slept with but with no luck. At the same time, we get the alternate POV from Carter (the gorgeous swoony guy she slept with) who also has been searching everywhere trying to find her. Fast forward 5 years later to present day, Claire is a single mom whose passion is baking but who now sells sex toys with her best friend so she can make money to care for her 4-year-old son, Gavin. Then one day, randomly, out of the blue, Carter shows up in her town and she then finds out that he too has been trying to find her since that night in college. Granted, he’s in a bit of shock to find out that he has a son, but soon takes it all in stride and wants nothing more than to be the best father he can be and finally get a shot to be with the girl he’s been dreaming about for the past 5 years.

Beware, I don’t think I’ve ever read the word ‘vagina’ (or ‘penis’) quite so many times. There is nothing subtle or delicate about this book, but it totally works in the context of how the story unfolds.

The characters were amazing, endearing and hysterical, the plot was fun and engaging, there was no bad guy, very little drama, no stupidity, the writing is witty, the sex is HOT (no ‘closed doors’ in this book!), and the story will undoubtedly warm your heart and leave you with a delightfully happy feeling 🙂

C’mon, doesn’t this make you laugh?!

I decided… I was going to be a labor and delivery consultant. I was going to stand next to every single woman in labor and every time.. the woman’s husband said something stupid like, “Just breathe through the pain,” it would be my job to squeeze the living fuck out of their reproductive organs until they were curled up in the fetal position… and I’d say “Just breathe through the pain, asshole!”

I absolutely LOVED it! It has a very happy ending, but its clear that there is more to the story. When I got to the end, I stupidly sat there trying to flip the last page of my kindle over and over again cuz I couldn’t believe it had ended. Book 2 “Futures and Frosting” though is already out if you want more!!

Seriously, everyone HAS to read it!! Highly recommended if you love to laugh!!!!

Buy SEDUCTION AND SNACKS for Kindle (Amazon)

CASTING:

Carter –> Click here
and the Carter runner-up (wrong eye color though) –> Click here
Claire –> Click here

Book Review – Breathe (Colorado Mountain #4) by Kristen Ashley

August 11, 2012 by Aestas · 7 Comments

“It was wild. Abandoned. Rough. Wet. Intense. Fiery. Thorough. Exquisite. Heart-pounding. Blood-singing. Soul-rocking. Life-altering.
Lucious.”

Buy BREATHE on KINDLE (Amazon)

WOW! Holy. frak! That was an incredibly BEAUTIFUL book!! Love Love LOVED it!!!!! I have been reduced to a hyperventilating, tear-streaked, deliriously happy puddle of goo. It was just one swoon/drool/squee-worthy scene after another. An absolute GEM. Its going on the top-fav pile!

I read a large portion of this book with a huge mega-grin plastered on my face, my heart fluttering uncontrollably and barely able to contain my squees! BRILLIANT!!!

It was KA at her absolute best. This book was heart-meltingly awesome, off-the-charts HOT, beautifully emotional and totally PERFECT!!!!!! I wouldn’t change one single thing about it. It left me breathless and in happy tears!

This book starts out grittier than the others in this series with the hero on the trail of his ex-wife’s murderer/rapist. Regardless of the fact that theirs was a loveless marriage that he was forced into, the thought of what was done to her still makes him sick. And that is his general feeling towards life at this point. Everyone in it has screwed him over and dumped necessary cruelty on both him and the people around him. Then, he crosses paths with Faye, the town’s virgin librarian who has had a crush on him since he first came to town when she was 16. She loves her books, her stories and their worlds and is holding out for a hero of her own. Over the years, she has seen all the pain and heart-ache that Chase has gone through and wants to help him move on.

Faye is totally one of us. She is not afraid to be herself. She loves to read and isn’t afraid of showing that. She is shy and yet incredibly strong, talks back, is quick, witty and has a huge heart. She chats on forums with friends she is very close to but as never met (sound familiar anyone?? lol), she reads swoony books, loves her TV shows and movies (seriously, her first word is “Frak”.. how can you not love her?!), and is an utter romantic to the core of her being. Definitely one of my top favorite heroines EVER!

I UTTERLY L.O.V.E.D Chase!!! What a gorgeous character! He was absolutely, heart-stoppingly incredible. Open, tortured, honest, forward, totally Alpha and swoony as all hell with a tender, gentle that that just melted my heart. But at the same time with a lot of demons, a lot of anger underneath a hugely strong sense of duty, protectiveness and caring.

“ … He bent his head towards hers and whispered, “Breathe, Faye.”

At first, he was a bit of an ass, but he doesn’t want to be and apologizes very quickly. He’s totally enamored with her but also feels like his life was too screwed up and that he lost his shot at true happiness. And at the same time, he can’t help himself being drawn to her and how quickly she is stealing his heart.

“What’s happening?” Her question was quiet.
“Honey, cast your mind back,” he urged gently. “Two minutes ago I was kissin’ you, three days ago I was dancin’ with you. You know whats happening.”

And he calls her honey, darlin’, baby… seriously, its impossible for it not to melt your heart.

I just loved that the book starts out from his POV. This is a first from any of the 17 KA books I’ve read. Getting into the hero’s head right from the start and being able to understand him and see Faye the way he saw her was incredible.

And its clear very early on that they are perfect for each other and they don’t really waste time with their relationship. They fight it a little at first, but its pretty evident its a battle they are both gonna lose. Watching them come together, work together, be together, deal with stuff together, balance each other out was so funtional, beautiful, swoony and HOT!! … I mean really hot. Their sex is off-the-freaking-charts hot! Everything is very ‘new’ and extra uber passionate. Faye was inexperienced in physical love, and Chase was inexperienced in emotional love and watching them help each other learn and never give up on each other left me breathless.

“Do you love me?”
“Yes,” I breathed…
“Always?”…
“Always.”

And seeing such a refreshingly functional couple who may have been dealing with some very serious, painful things but one way or another never let anything come between them just warmed my heart to its core. BEAUTIFUL!!

He is so careful with her. He knows she’s never been with anyone, never been in a relationship before, and he does everything in his power to make her feel safe, comfortable and loved.

“Faye, darlin’, I want you to hear this and get it, what you just gave me was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever been given in…my…life…With me, anytime, anywhere, you’re safe. But of the anytime and anyplace you’re with me, the place you’re safest is right here, in my bed…You can react how you want. You can be who you are. If I’m doin’ something you don’t like, you can stop me. Nothin’ will ever happen in this bed that you’ll be uncomfortable with. I swear to you, baby. You’re safe here and you always will be.”

And there is an amazing twist at the end. I don’t want to say anything but HOLYYYYY!!! When I read it, it gave me chills, had me hyperventilating, crying, shaking, grinning, squeeing… I was a mess! And I LOVED it!!

Not to mention that this book was chock full of cameos! Seeing characters from the previous books all coming together and working, living, helping each other out has me in swoon and squee overload! Definitely be sure to start your reading with the first book of this series The Gamble.

Chase and Faye’s journey was beautiful. One of the best I’ve read. I don’t have the words to express properly express how much I loved this book.

“I’ll let you in on a secret, honey. The knight who has serious chinks in his armor but never falls is the true hero. That means he’s won battles and doesn’t waste time polishing his armor so he can good while he rides in parades that are tributes to his glory. He just drags himself back on his steed and keeps right on battling…. The best heroes inspire loyalty. The best heroes keep fighting the good fight, tirelessly, quietly. The best heroes always have scars. If they didn’t, the heroine would have nothing to do. It’s her job to help the hero let all that stuff go in order that her man can be strong enough to fight on but when he’s with her he’s free to just ‘breathe’.”

And what an epilogue!! Utterly beautiful and long. I love how at the end of these books, you feel 100% completely satisfied. The perfect HEA. A perfect book. Love. Love. LOVE!! 🙂

Rating: 6 HUGE STARS!!!!

Buy BREATHE on KINDLE (Amazon)

** COLORADO MOUNTAIN SERIES **

Note that the series is in the process of being traditionally published so the covers are still switching over.

Book #1 — THE GAMBLE (Max & Nina)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #2 — SWEET DREAMS (Tate & Laurie)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #3 — LADY LUCK (Ty & Lexie)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #4 — BREATHE (Chase & Faye)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #5 — JAGGED (Ham & Zara)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback

Book #6 — KALEIDOSCOPE (Deck & Emme)
Buy for Kindle

Book Review – The Redhead series (Books 1 & 2) by Alice Clayton

August 3, 2012 by Aestas · 2 Comments

THE UNIDENTIFIED REDHEAD (REDHEAD #1) BY ALICE CLAYTON

Buy THE UNIDENTIFIED REDHEAD (Kindle)
Buy THE UNIDENTIFIED REDHEAD (Paperback)

5 fun stars!

What a fun book!! The perfect blend of funny (hilarious actually!), sassy, sexy, goofy and swoony! Definitely a great lighthearted read for after a very emotional book 🙂

The book had me laughing out loud more times than I could count. Its a fun, romantic story about Grace Sheridan, a 33 year old actress giving Hollywood a second shot, and Jack Hamilton, the 24 year old next hotshot bigtime Hollywood star actor. They meet by chance at a party and have this really flirty, fun connection. She’s never even heard of his big movie and to him, seems like the most ‘real’ girl he’s met in a long time. And after a few weeks of (brilliant and hilarious) banter, its clear they are both very into each other and want to explore things further. Banter turns to serious flirting, which turns to romantic beach strolls, which turns an adorable relationship.

I really loved that the relationship really “built” itself. It didn’t just – poof! – happen. The progression was realistic and so much fun to read.

“He pushed me back up against the door, slamming me against the doorbell. I heard it ring out.
“Coming!” I heard Holly say as she clicked across the floor to the front door.
“Not quite, but she’s close.” He chuckled, removing his hand and leaving me breathless and rosy cheeked.”

Jack is totally swoony – he’s smart, funny, charming, totally into her, down-to-earth… all round awesome guy!

“He had known exactly what I needed and when I needed it. It was as if he was put on this earth for the sole purpose of giving me pleasure. Who am I to argue with intelligent design?”

Grace was a totally non-annoying heroine – very tongue-and-cheek, very real, with a wonderful POV.

“The guy looks young enough to be your kid, Grace.
Yes, but only if I’d really slutted it up in junior high…”

I loved how committed they were to each other – especially once they started getting serious and admitting their commitments. It was so refreshing having a story that didn’t create drama from jealous ex’s, stupidity on the part of the characters, etc. I mean, sure there’s a bit of worry (he IS an uber-famous hot guy who every female on the planet is lusting after… so that’s bound to create some insecurities, also there’s media scrutiny, their age difference, etc ) but he’s so quick to reassure her and never does anything to make her feel or think that he’s anything other than committed to her. Its very sweet… and at the same time, utterly hilarious. Seriously at times, it was like they were young teens teasing each other over the silliest things that literally made my cheeks hurt from laughing.

And there was SO much sex – not too much, but enough that it was a pretty hot read. Car sex. Wall sex. Bed sex. Closet sex (yes, closet sex). Shower sex. Bathtub sex. Hotel sex…. I’m sure I’m missing some here, but you get the picture lol.

“That night went down (pun intended and acknowledged) in history, forever known as, Hamilton:5/Sheridan:Lost Track After 17. It was probably the best night I ever spent in a bed with a man.
And on the floor with a man.
And up against the door with a man.
And, God, watch over and protect us, on the floor of the closet with a man.”

The book ended on a bit of a cliffhanger… she got a big job in NYC and leaves at the end of the book while he stays in LA but I’ve been assured that the ending of book 2 is a HEA so I’m looking forward to starting it tomorrow and seeing Grace and Jack handle their long-distance relationship. I predict oodles of phone sex 😛

I wavered back and forth a bit on the rating… at first I wasn’t sure if I should give 5 stars to a book that didn’t make me clutch at my heart or have have super emotional tears, but then I realized that was totally unfair. Why should only the emotional books be given 5 stars. To me, this was a perfect 5 star FUN read 🙂

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

THE REDHEAD REVEALED (REDHEAD #2) BY ALICE CLAYTON

Buy THE REDHEAD REVEALED (Kindle)
Buy THE REDHEAD REVEALED (Paperback)

4 stars

“He was everything I’d ever wanted, and everything I hadn’t even known I needed.”

With both their careers growing at opposite ends of the country, Jack’s huge Hollywood movie premiering in LA and Grace’s Broadway show in NYC, they have to deal with making a long-distance relationship work, with learning to trust each other, with only seeing each other every couple weeks/months, with Jack’s growing fame and intense media scrutiny, with nosy and lying tabloids, with with the general insecurities that come with a fast growing whirlwind relationship.

“I just miss you. I miss being in your bed,” he said quietly, and I could hear the desperation in his voice. I felt it too. It was not just the physical love he gave me, but the simple touches we took for granted when we saw each other all the time. I missed him washing my hair almost as much as the intense orgasms he had granted me daily.”

I did want to throttle Grace a fair bit in this one, but her insecurities were understandable. But still, she made some pretty stupid decisions. Thankfully, despite being the younger one, Jack was so heart-warmingly mature and loyal and fought so strongly for the relationship and to convince Grace of his love for her.

“Those fangirls think he’s all sexy scientist man, and really, he’s just a British goober who adores his girlfriend.”

Overall it was a fun read, it was romantic, more drama-packed packed than the first one, but Grace and Jack were still their crazy, fun selves ensuring some hilarious, cute, swoony scenes, great banter, a whole lot of sex, and a happy-for-now ending (there is going to be another book in the series).

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Book Review – Lady Luck (Colorado Mountain #3) by Kristen Ashley

July 30, 2012 by Aestas · 3 Comments

“We’d weathered one hell of a storm. But we didn’t come out with nicks and dents. We came out tougher, stronger, closer.”

*GRIN* Squee!! Another winner from Kristen Ashley 😀

I seriously cannot get enough of her books!! I’m totally, utterly, blissfully ADDICTED!!!!

Ty Walker just got released from prison. Lexie owes a guy so she agreed to pick him up and get him to wherever he needed to go, thinking it would be a quick and easy task. But Ty has enemies, and she’s with Ty, she needs his protection, he needs someone at his back, and he works out a deal with her to marry him until he does what he needs to do and once its done, they’ll go their separate ways. But what she thought would be a simple pick up, turned out to be a crazy roller-coaster filled with corrupt police departments, road trips, over-achieving pimps, racist dirty cops, vengence, betrayals, undercover agents, and in the middle of all this maddness, finding crazy, intense, passionate love that sweeps them both off their feet.

I literally loved Ty right from the beginning. He was a gorgeous character and very different from a lot of KA’s other male characters in the he was fairly non-verbal. He didn’t say a lot but when he spoke, his words had weight.

He knows what he wants, and he was willing to work as hard as was necessary to get it. And right off the bat, he wanted Lexie. Like now.

But I just loved how smart and nearly always in control of himself he was. He was also driven, and not one to be tempted away from his goals by stupidity.

Lexie was an amazing heroine. Maybe even one of my fav KA ones so far. She was very much like a female Brock (from Dream Man #2). She was sassy, but very deeply understanding. She was fun-loving, but very open, honest, caring, and fair. She was straight to the point and didn’t bullshit her way through anything. And, lol, she was a bit of a goof 😛

I loved Ty and Lexie’s “give and take” way of getting to know each other. Just like their relationship, it was fair, open and funtional… as well as being a great way to learn about each other.

We got a really cool deviation from the KA norm in this book in that the whole story was told in alternating POV’s between Ty and Lexie. This was amazing for so many reasons. Firstly, we got to see (long term) inside the head of a KA man – got to experience him seeing Lexie “throwing sass” and thinking it was cute, got to be on the other side of the banter… which was freaking hilarious especially on the road trip!

“He looked to her and saw her shove an entire Ding Dong in her mouth.
Ding Dongs.
Christ.
Total goof.
They hit the highway, she jacked the music up and he experienced the unusual desire to beg someone to drive ice picks into his ears so he wouldn’t have to listen to it.”

And secondly, his POV was great because, since he wasn’t a very verbal guy, it was really great to be able to understand where he was coming from, why he did the things he did, what he experienced during fights, and even several smokin’ HOT love scenes from his POV.

There were times when the story made my head spin with the complexity of the plot line (for which I knocked off the .5 star) but that was mostly my only complaint… and it doesn’t overpower the story. In fact, we actually get to see a LOT of Ty and Lexie as a couple in this book.

“Never had a light in my life, never, not once. I lived wild but I didn’t burn bright until you shined your light on me.”

There is a huge focus on their actual relationship in Lady Luck and I love that we got to see them as a fully functional couple for a good chunk of the story. They have nearly instant attraction for each other and start their connection quite early on. Sure, there are a few bumps in the road (one in particular that put my heart right in my throat!) but they get over them fast and learn from their mistakes and only end up closer as a result of them.

“This is it, Team Walker, you and me. We want somethin’, we find a way to get it. We hit a rough patch, we find a way to get over it. We face a challenge, we find a way to beat it. It’s good, we savor it. What I’m sayin’ is, this team is a winner. We never forget to celebrate the victories and we get a lotta those because we never admit defeat.“

I also really loved that even though the story (what with uncovering the truth behind Ty’s wrongful conviction) had a whole lot of drama, within their relationship, they were pretty solid. And even when they did screw up, the reason behind the screw up was always completely understandable – never stupid or out-of-the-blue. And they both knew how to apologize, and apologize well… lol, you’ll all know that this made me a very happy reader 😛

And boy were their sexy times H.O.T.!!! I meanreally HOT! I fanned my way through many a bedroom scene.

Another thing that fans of Sweet Dreams (book #2) will love is how much of Tate we get to see in this book!! He’s one of Ty’s two best friends and we see a lot of him (and Laurie). Definitely made for some squee-worthy moments! (Although, we didn’t really see much more than a fleeting glimpse of Max unfortunately. I’m looking forward to the next book because I hear he’s more heavily featured in it… YAY! I miss him!)

“He had good friends. The kind of friends you didn’t just get. The kind of friends you earned.”

And I also thought it was so cool that we were introduced to Chase, the hero of the next book, about half way though this one. He’s not a feature character, but he’s there a lot and I really liked getting to know him a little and see a bit of his back story from afar before reading his book.

The epilogue was fantastic and it was LONG! What a treat! KA’s epilogues always leave me grinning and with the best feelings… there is something so comforting about seeing the characters you have come to know and love get their HEAs in detail. So heart warming!! <3

Rating: 4.5+ stars