Tag Archives: Tattoos

Hearts In Darkness (Hearts In Darkness Duet # 1)

By Laura Kaye

Synopsis

Two strangers…

Makenna James thinks her day can’t get any worse, until she finds herself stranded in a pitch-black elevator with a complete stranger. Distracted by a phone call, the pin-striped accountant catches only a glimpse of a dragon tattoo on his hand before the lights go out.

Four hours…

Caden Grayson is amused when a harried redhead dashes into his elevator fumbling her bags and cell phone. His amusement turns to panic when the power fails. Despite his piercings, tats, and vicious scar, he’s terrified of the dark and confined spaces. Now, he’s trapped in his own worst nightmare.

One pitch-black elevator…

To fight fear, they must reach out and open up. With no preconceived notions based on looks to hold them back, they discover just how much they have in common. In the warming darkness, attraction grows and sparks fly, but will they feel the same when the lights come back on?

Review

This is not the first time I’ve read HEARTS IN DARKNESS, but it is the first time I’ve reviewed it. I originally read it back in 2012 and remember liking it quite a bit, which is why I was happy to read it again. However, four years later I find I’m more critical than what I used to be and I did have one issue with this story. It’s told in dual POVs and in my honest opinion, it was not handled very well at all. The POV would change between Caden and Makenna without any notice at all, not even so much as a gap between paragraphs. The story would continue on and it would take a few seconds to realise that the POV had changed. In all fairness though, my e-book is from 2012, so perhaps that issue has since been rectified.

I still enjoyed the story and I liked both Caden and Makenna very much. It is a novella, so it’s an insta-love and there’s not much time to really delve into things. I think it’s smart that Laura Kaye had the characters trapped in an elevator, because it allowed her to focus on them rather than anything else. You learn a lot more about Caden than you do about Makenna, and you can’t help but fall in love with him when you hear his story because he has not had the easiest life. LOVE IN THE LIGHT is book two in the series and follows up with Caden and Makenna as he’s introduced to her family.

Hearts In Darkness (Hearts In Darkness Duet # 1)

My Rating:

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Hearts In Darkness Series

Claiming Addison (69 Bottles # 1)

By Zoey Derrick

Synopsis

For Addison Beltrand, PR rep for Bold International, Inc. climbing the corporate ladder is all that matters in life. Her hard work is finally rewarded with the promotion she’s worked her ass off to earn—but the gig comes at a price. She leaves in two days for a twelve-week tour with America’s hottest alternative rock band, 69 Bottles.

Talon Carver, lead singer of 69 Bottles, has no problem with women–as long as they’re gone by morning. When Addison shakes up his world, it’s a huge problem—compounded by the fact that Addison’s not the only one he wants.

Kyle Black, manager of 69 Bottles, has a secret. He and Addison are closer than she thinks, but telling her could keep her away. When Talon sets his sights on Addison, Kyle uses his secret to push her into Talon’s arms, only to discover she isn’t the only one he needs.

Two men. One dilemma.

Talon is wild, reckless and loves control.

Kyle is calm, collected and loves passion.

The perfect balance…or Addison’s ultimate undoing?

Talon and Kyle push their boundaries and Addison’s, but can they throw their reservations to the wind and claim her together?

Two men. One woman. A rock band. A tour bus. One Wild Ride…

Review

I saw the amazing ratings CLAIMING ADDISON had on Amazon and Goodreads and thought I’d grab a copy. Rockstars and threesomes with some M/M action thrown in? Sounds like it could be a good read. And it was good, up to a point.

My main issue with this story is Addison. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a perfectly fine character. However, this is a woman who, for the past several years, has been successfully working her way up the corporate ladder. Her current assignment with 69 Bottles is an amazing opportunity, and if she can pull it off, it’ll be great for her career. But in under 24 hours of her arrival, she’s allowing every member of the band to kiss and grope her before they go out on stage??? And then by day three or four she’s sleeping with two of them??? I find it hard to believe that a woman who was the ultimate professional would suddenly throw her professionalism out the window. I also thought it was odd that her bosses know she’s sleeping with two members of the band, and they don’t care.

CLAIMING ADDISON is part of a series and is told in Addison’s, Talon’s and Kyle’s POVs. The sex was hot and I liked the story well enough, even though I felt it moved a bit slowly. While the book doesn’t really end on a cliffhanger, it does just end, because apparently this threesome’s story will be told over three books. I assumed that each book would be a standalone, and I’m regretting that I didn’t research this series a little more before I started. I just don’t think I have it in me to read about the same threesome over three books, not when I didn’t love the first book.

Claiming Addison (69 Bottles # 1)

My Rating:

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Into The Fire (Gorgeous Entourage # 1)

By E.L. Todd

Synopsis

Ash

Despite everything I’ve done for my parents, I’ll never be good enough for them. Instead of seeing a man to be proud of, they just see an embarrassment. I served four tours in Afghanistan but that doesn’t mean anything to them. They only see the ink, the party life, and my short stint in jail.
And nothing else.
When they were in trouble, I handed over my life savings. I didn’t think twice about it because they’re my family, my blood. They raised me to be my own man and gave me everything I needed. It didn’t matter that it was every penny I had. It didn’t matter that the money was set aside for my future. My dreams.
Because they needed me.
But now they refuse to pay me back until I become the man they think I should be.

Alessandra

I have an unusual professional.
I escort men, acting as their date to family functions or work parties. It’s my job to act deeply in love with my client. And I always nail it.
But it’s not what you think.
I’m not a prostitute.
I’m not a call girl.
I’m an actress.
Get it right.
There are strict rules when it comes to my profession. There is no touching, kissing, or anything but hand-holding. Those who choose not to comply will get a swift kick in the nuts.
But all this goes to hell when Ash walks into my life.

Review

I’ll be blunt, I didn’t like Ash very much at all. I found him childish, rude, insulting and sometimes just downright cruel. He claims he hates judgemental people, but judges Alessandra very harshly towards the end of the book because of her job. I did feel bad for him because of how his parents treated him, but not enough to like him. I did like Alessandra though. I thought she was a kind and confident woman, but I didn’t like that she changed her life to please Ash under the guise that it was entirely her decision.

I thought INTO THE FIRE wasn’t a bad read, but it wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be. I had moments of confusion when things were said that contradicted previous statements or actions, and I also had trouble keeping up with the timeline. I thought the sex scenes were pretty hot, though I was very disappointed in one scene where Alessandra is cuffed to the bed, says no, but Ash goes ahead anyway, which is obviously rape, but not treated as such in the book. INTO THE FIRE is told in dual POVs and is the start of a series. I’m assuming it’ll be a stand-alone in the series and that the other books will focus on other couples, given that this one ended with a nice HEA for Ash and Alessandra.

Into The Fire (Gorgeous Entourage # 1)

My Rating:

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Hallowed Ground (Flight & Glory # 4)

By Rebecca Yarros

Synopsis

There are some debts you can’t repay…

Josh Walker is loyal, reckless, and every girl’s dream. But he only has eyes for December Howard, the girl he has yearned for since his high school hockey days. Together they have survived grief, the military, distance, and time as they’ve fought for stolen weekends between his post at Ft. Rucker and her schooling at Vanderbilt. Now that Josh is a medevac pilot and Ember is headed toward graduation, they’re moving on—and in—together.

Ember never wanted the Army life, but loving Josh means accepting whatever the army dictates—even when that means saying goodbye as Josh heads to Afghanistan, a country that nearly killed him once before and that took her father. But filling their last days together with love, passion, and plans for their future doesn’t temper Ember’s fear, and if there’s one thing she’s learned from her father’s death, it’s that there are some obstacles even love can’t conquer.

Flight school is over.
This is war.

Review

HALLOWED GROUND is the continuation of Josh and December’s story⎯who we met in FULL MEASURES⎯and as with the series’ debut novel, this story will grip your heart right from the beginning. After surviving a long-distance relationship for the past two years, Josh and December are both very excited to be moving in together, but as soon as they move in, Josh finds out he’s being deployed in a month and will be gone for nine months. With the death of her father still fresh in her mind, December is terrified about Josh returning to the place that has already tried to kill him once before.

Josh and December’s relationship is tested to the limit and you’re left wondering how it can possibly survive. December knows what she signed up for when she started a relationship with Josh, but that doesn’t mean she likes it. She gets put through the emotional wringer and again, her strength is admirable. But sometimes the situation is so bad that she can’t help but break, and my heart broke for her. Don’t get me wrong, I think Josh is a great book boyfriend, but I swear there were so many times I wanted to reach into my Kindle and slap him for his stupidity. Josh also gets put through the wringer, but unfortunately he doesn’t handle it very well. He tries to shield December from everything he’s going through, but it’s his withdrawal that causes their now fragile relationship to suffer even more.

HALLOWED GROUND is not a romance filled with rainbows and puppies. This. Book. Will. Break. Your. Heart. My Kindle told me it would take about six hours to finish, but I recommend you add at least another hour to this timeframe because you’ll be stopping repeatedly to wipe your tears and bracing yourself for what’s about to happen next. And when you think you’ve endured the worst, that surely the story can only get better from here, that surely the author is going to take pity on your heart…BAM!!! Out of friggin’ nowhere the next challenge begins. I believe this is the final book in the Flight & Glory series and it’s a series I’m very sad to see go. Every book in this series has been emotional, heartbreaking, beautiful and real, and I’ve loved each and every one of them.

Hallowed Ground (Flight & Glory # 4)

My Rating:

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Flight & Glory Series

Blood of Cupids (The Blood of Cupids MC#1)

by Sophia Kenzie

Synopsis

Hatred bound in lies…betrayal deeper than blood…a love destined for misery…

Grace Brennan wasn’t supposed to witness her mother’s gruesome death. No matter how hard she tries she can’t repress the memory…the screams, the moans, the blood.

A college girl with a broken past, just trying to live a normal life, desperate to change her fate and escape the club life she was born into.

Ryan Cassidy—born and bred bad boy, the outlaw life is all he’s ever known…The Blood of Cupids Motorcycle Club is his life. The love for his Harley is second only to his club.

Women come free and easy, he never does relationships, he never does love.

And then he lays eyes on Grace and his world crumbles. Kissing her is the biggest mistake of his life and the best thing he’s ever done…

…Until Grace realizes who he is—the Vice President of The Blood of Cupids MC, the club who killed her mother.

My Review

Grace and Ryan are like Romeo and Juliet only this is so much more violent with long held lies and betrayal by family members of both sides in rival MC gangs. They are trapped in their separate worlds but give each other strength and love despite the obstacles.

This flowed fast, kept me guessing as I knew there had to be a major twist and i did not pick it until revealed so I was surprised at the outcome. The ending is brutal and violent and is not HEA, it does leave you wanting to see where their journey is going to take them.

One character I particularly enjoyed was Grace’s special Aunty who provided some relief with tender emotional moments and gave Grace support against her domineering father.

This story is no way completed and there is obviously more secrets and violence to come in Books #2 & #3 which are available so you can immediately download.

This is definitely a MC romance with death, violence but also passionate connections between two young characters who are older than their years.

My Rating:

Blood of Cupids (The Blood of Cupids MC#1)

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The Aftermath (The Hurricane # 2)

By R.J. Prescott

Synopsis

Cormac “The Hurricane” O’Connell’s star is on the rise. Billed as the most promising young boxer of his generation, his new career is taking him to places he never dreamed. But O’Connell only needs one thing in life: his wife. In her final year of college, Em cannot follow him around the world but together they make it work. Just when everything they ever wanted is on the horizon, the past resurfaces to haunt them, and O’Connell realizes that justice might not be a part of his happy ever after. He couldn’t protect Em once before, but in the aftermath of the hurricane, he will make sure that never happens again.

Review

THE AFTERMATH is another great read from R.J. Prescott and continues on with Con and Emily’s story from THE HURRICANE. Em’s abuser is awaiting trial, but that doesn’t stop him from taunting her from jail. And with the trial coming up, she’s being forced to recount everything that was done to her and it really takes its toll. But she’s not dealing with it alone anymore; she now has Con by her side and he will do anything to protect her.

It’s rare to find a book where both the male and female leads win me over in equal measure. This is one of those rare books because both Con and Em are amazing. Despite all that she’s endured, Em has the strength to place her trust in not just one person, but several people. She gives Con a real purpose in life and makes him a better man⎯a man he never thought he could be. And Con? He makes her feel safe, protected and cherished, something she hasn’t had for a very long time. She is his heart and he is her safe haven, and they compliment each other perfectly.

Con: “Happy birthday, baby.”
Em: “Best birthday ever.”
Con: “How do you know? You’ve only just woken up.”
Em: “Because it’s the first birthday I’ve ever woken up with you.”

THE AFTERMATH is told in Con’s POV, with the epilogue being told in Em’s. Now that Con and Em have their HEA, the series has been left open for Con’s friends to get their own stories. His friends, Tommy, Kieran and Liam, are great and their camaraderie and wicked banter really help lighten up what could have been a very dark story. The paintball scene? Hilarious. I didn’t want to put this book down and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

The Aftermath (The Hurricane # 2)

My Rating:

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The Hurricane Series

Talon (Ashes & Embers # 4)

By Carian Cole

Synopsis

DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL PARTNER:
Caring. Hard-working. A devoted family man, loves kids.
Clean cut, funny, smart, quiet, but a good communicator.
~ Asia Jenson

DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL PARTNER:
Independent. Tall, blonde, sexy. Outgoing. Intelligent,
neat. Unslutty. Confident. Loves to travel. Committed.
~ Talon Valentine

A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT.
The concept was scary but exciting…
Marry a total stranger.
Live together for six months.
Journal everything. (Feelings. Fights. All of it.)
After six months, we each get $50K in trade for our journals, whether we stay married or not. But the goal is to commit to the experience and see if the relationship experts could put together the perfect matches.
I have never been lucky in love. This was my chance to find my soulmate.
I couldn’t wait to meet the man the experts felt was perfect for me.
My hopes were immediately dashed when I saw him at the altar.
Shit. I married my worst nightmare.
Right?!

Review

Can two strangers, evaluated by a relationship “expert”, get married at first sight and stay married? After months of interviews and questionnaires, can this expert really find the one person you’re meant to spend the rest of your life with? That’s what Asia and Talon hope to find out when they sign up to participate in a marriage experiment, where they must get married and live together for six months, at which point they’ll either stay married or get divorced. They both have their dream partners in mind, but when the big day finally arrives, things get off to a rocky start because Asia and Talon were not what the other was expecting.

Asia is a young woman who has had no luck with dating – her most recent date dismissed her as girlfriend material after just a quick glance – and every rejection cuts a little deeper than the last. She also had a rough childhood that left her with trust and abandonment issues but despite that, she grew into a very kind, giving and loyal woman who craves love and stability. Talon also wants to be loved and is sick of women who are only interested in him for what he can give them in bed. I didn’t like Talon too much in the beginning as I thought he was extremely shallow and was very hurtful to Asia simply because she didn’t look like what he wanted. But as he got to know her, his feelings and affection for her grew and thankfully he stopped being a dick. Talon wasn’t exactly what Asia was expecting either, but at least she was more diplomatic with her concerns, at least out loud anyway.

Asia: This is not my dream man. This is like rock star hippie Tarzan.

Yes. Yes. YES!!! TALON is a perfect addition to the Ashes & Embers series and what I’ve been waiting for since reading STORM. There are no twisty surprises, hidden deceit or withheld truths in the epilogue like the previous two books. It was a beautiful story about two people needing to stop being so focused on what’s on the outside and see the real beauty that can only come from the inside. Did I think that Asia forgave Talon too quickly and that the ending was a little rushed? Yes, I do, but the ending was still beautiful and sweet. TALON is told in dual POVs, comes with a HEA and while it is part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone.

Talon (Ashes & Embers # 4)

My Rating:

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Ashes & Embers Series

Lukas (Ashes & Embers # 3)

By Carian Cole

Synopsis

Storm’s younger cousin.
Vandal’s little brother.
You’ve met him in the background.

The sweet one.
The nice one.
The one they can all rely on.

The good one.
He’s a tattoo artist. He plays metal and classical music – on the violin.
He’s got a body built for sin.

He’s 24.

In comes Ivy. She’s a 36 year old single mom who hasn’t dated in 18 years.
All she wanted was a tattoo.

She got a helluva lot more 🙂

Being good has never been so bad.

Review

I wasn’t sure what to expect with LUKAS because I loved STORM but I didn’t love VANDAL, so I was a little wary. I was hopeful that LUKAS would be an enjoyable read and boy was it ever. I think Lukas has just beaten Storm for best book boyfriend in this series.

Ivy was a great woman, very sensible and reasonable. Her confidence is shattered by her husband’s affair with a much younger woman, so she has trouble believing that she has anything of value to offer a man, especially one as young as Lukas. At the same time, she’s a strong and fiery woman who has no problem standing up to her husband every time he tries to knock her down. Lukas was a really great guy, very mature for his age with a great head on his shoulders. He’s very respectful with Ivy and treats her right. I liked how his childhood didn’t turn him into a bitter bastard like his half-brother, Vandal. He craves love and affection, but doesn’t give his trust to just anyone; that has to be earned.

Lukas: “Some things in life, you just can’t do over. They’re meant to be permanent, whether they’re what we expected or not. Doesn’t mean they’re a mistake.”

LUKAS is book 3 in the Ashes & Embers series, but takes place before and after VANDAL, with some of it taking place in STORM. This was a really hard book to put down and at the end of every chapter I was left craving the next. But as I got closer to the end, I started to worry because the conclusion didn’t seem to be near, but the pages were quickly running out. And sadly, it’s the end of the book that was the only disappointment. Firstly, the story just ends. We see some huge conflict between Ivy, her teen-aged daughter and Lukas, but suddenly we’re at the epilogue and all has been forgiven. That was a huge letdown. Secondly, like VANDAL, the ending is filled with deceit and hidden truths that will surely bite Lukas and Ivy on the arse down the road. They’re keeping a massive secret from a family member and that’s just not right. But up until the end, I thought the story was a perfect mix of hot and sweet, just like Lukas.

Lukas (Ashes & Embers # 3)

My Rating:

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Ashes & Embers Series

Dirty English

by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Synopsis

A scarred fighter.
A girl with rules.
One night of unbridled passion.

There are three things you need to know about Elizabeth Bennett: she’s smart as a whip, always in control, and lives by a set of carefully crafted rules. She’s learned the hard way that people you love the most always hurt you in the end.

But then she meets Declan Blay, the new neighbor at her apartment complex.

A tattooed British street fighter, he’s the campus bad boy she’s supposed to avoid, but when he saves her from a frat party gone bad, all her rules about sex and love fly out the window.

She gives him one night of unbridled passion, but he longs for more.

With only a cardboard-thin wall separating their bedrooms, he dreams of possessing the vulnerable girl next door forever.

One night. Two damaged hearts. The passion of a lifetime.

*a modern love story inspired by Pride and Prejudice*

My Review

Elizabeth Bennett was such a simply intriguing character, to have a name from such a well known romance story and then to come from such a sad and lonely upbringing which was woven in a way that simply had me trapped. The first chapter will have your heart broken and you will want to continue to see Elizabeth overcome this horrific encounter and watch her rise and beat her crippling anxiety and demons.

Declan and Elizabeth can see beyond each others facades, they see beyond the emotional armour and to the real inner person and I really devoured this and their ability to push each others boundaries and to break into their souls. We all make mistakes and wrong decisions as young adults, we trust people and take chances, Elizabeth made one mistake with the wrong person and paid a terrible price.

The sensitive scenes in this story were really well written and compassionate to the characters and I only hated one character, Elizabeth’s mother I simply wanted to throttle her. The story flowed well and I loved how other characters such as Declan’s dad stepped up to the plate at the end of this book to support his son.

Can I say the ending in this story was brilliant and I was fist pumping as I admit I was so scared for I knew we would have to endure some more trauma before a resolution would be given to Elizabeth. She was just such a strong and emotionally layered character as was Declan and their sexual chemistry was off the charts, there are some really hot and heavy moments with sexual frustrations and great sex scenes but with those tender moments we all love too.

Dirty English

My Rating:

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Vandal (Ashes & Embers # 2)

By Carian Cole

Synopsis

She takes my breath away; she is so beautifully damaged. Yes, I had broken her, ravished her life and destroyed her happiness. I brought her to the ultimate despair.

I was responsible for all the pain and suffering that now brought her to her knees in front of me.

Broken.
Hopeless.
Reckless in her agony.

She is a mirror of my own tortured soul.

But what I took away I can give back, in ways she cannot even begin to imagine .

She is everything right in all my wrongs.

She loves me. She needs me.

She has no idea I’m the one who wrecked her life.

Review

Vandal was involved in an accident where three people died and one of them was Tabitha’s husband. When he sees her grieving at the cemetery, he sees something he wants but doesn’t think he deserves: someone who will love him as much as Tabi loved her husband. Watching her mourn is too much for him to bear; he wants to see her smile, to show her that her life didn’t end when her husband died. So he takes a chance and offers her an escape, which she accepts.

We knew from STORM that Vandal was a dark and mysterious man, but I had no idea just how dark he really was. I found him unlikeable most of the time, unless he was grieving. Only then did he come across as human. There were just so many traits and actions that I didn’t like, a couple even came off as creepy. He wants to feel loved yet he pushes his family away because he’s bitter. Thankfully, his relationship with Tabi changed him for the better and I kind of liked him by the time we got to the end.

On the other hand, I liked Tabi throughout the entire book. Her grief brought tears to my eyes. Despite submitting to Vandal and opening herself up to a new type of relationship, when her heart was on the line she stood up for herself and I really liked that. Unfortunately, my positive feelings for her were ruined in the final chapter. While the twist at the end was shocking and unexpected, I didn’t like it and it quickly changed my opinion of her.

Sometimes when I’m not sure how I feel about a book, I take a few days before writing my review. If after a few days I remember more good than bad, it’ll get 4 or 5 hearts. But if all I can focus on is what I didn’t like about it, it usually ends up with 3 hearts or less, which is sadly what happened with VANDAL. The D/s part of story was fine, but I don’t see how it could possibly work between them when both are guilty of not honouring what is probably the most important part of a D/s relationship…trust. Both are guilty of deceit, which I guess makes them perfect for each other. But the story kept me engaged and I thought Carian did a great job in writing the grief scenes. I’m going to continue on with the series, but I for one am hoping they’re a little bit lighter, like the first book was.

Vandal (Ashes & Embers # 2)

My Rating:

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