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Book Reviews

Trust Me? Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Trust Me?

Author:  K.E. Osborn

Published:  2013 by Smashwords

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Click here to buy Trust Me? from Amazon

 

Jenifer works in an administrative position at an auto repair shop.  She is already having a not-so-perfect morning when she gets into a car accident.  Jeni lashes out at the man who rear ends her, gives him her information and then takes off to get to work.  Little does she know that the man she was in the accident with, Aiden, will bring his very expensive car to the auto shop she works at to get it fixed.  Aiden is fixated on getting a date with Jeni and doesn’t let up until she says yes.  Turns out he’s incredibly rich, and he and Jeni fall for one another.  But then Jeni learns that Aiden is being investigated for possible embezzlement, and her trust issues flare up.

This book just didn’t do it for me; amongst other things, it didn’t feel authentic.  I felt as if the story was told instead of shown.  And lots of things just didn’t even feel realistic including the characters.  It was just too forced.

We know that Jenifer has trust issues with guys, but I felt like it barely came up, and when it did she basically talked about it with her roommate; I didn’t feel it from her if that makes sense.

Aiden doesn’t have a great relationship with his father, but again it just seemed too fake, if you will.  So did the grandmother’s conversation with Jeni that happens after Aiden’s father is rude to her.  Nana says,

Darling, you look wonderful tonight.  I am sorry about my ignorant son.  He has become arrogant and downright mean over the years.  Unfortunately, Alistair has become like his own father.  Insults and intimidation seem to be his only way of communication.  It’s not how I would’ve liked him to turn out, but he is his father’s son.  Please take anything he says with a grain of salt, okay, dear?  (Location 2354 of 5657 on kindle)

I don’t know.  If someone said this to me I would think they were reading from a script rather than talking from their heart.

And Aiden’s personal assistant is fired at a family party (I won’t say why, I don’t want to give everything away) and Jeni is nominated to take the position, and does!  His PA is fired, and she decides she’ll take the job, in a total of four pages.  Again, not realistic.

And then, when conflict strikes, Jeni loses it.  I get it, it happens.  It just seemed way too dramatic to me that she would fall into a depression because of what happened instead of getting up and doing something about it.  (Can’t say more; again don’t want to give away the story).

And there were so many I love you love you love you, ahhhh!  I get it!  Show me, don’t tell me.

Although I have a lot of complaints, it was an okay book.  This story was a good idea, just not executed well. Overall I would not recommend.

 

 

My Rating:  2 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from the author, in exchange for an honest review.*****     

Escaping Reality Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Escaping Reality

Author:  Lisa Renee Jones

Published:  2013 by Julie Patra Publishing

Genre:  Romance, Suspense, Erotica

Click here to purchase Escaping Reality from Amazon

 

Amy is at a work function when she is in the restroom.  She leaves the stall to find an envelope taped to the mirror.  She’s in danger and has to run, again.  She heads for a new life, with a new identity, and not for the first time.  Not that she’s happy about it, but she has no choice.  On the plane to her next destination, Amy meets Liam, a billionaire architect.  He takes a deep interest in her and the interest is reciprocated.  But anyone in Amy’s life is in danger and Liam will be too if she decides to pursue the relationship.

This book is such a ride and I didn’t want to get off.  I pulled out my kindle to look for any highlights for this review, but I must have been too involved in the story because I didn’t add any!

The book starts out as I previously stated, with Amy running.  From what, I still don’t know!  And the people behind the note telling her that she is in danger and has to run; still don’t know who they are!  Whoever they are, they set up Amy’s new life and identity for her.  Amy is wary of this, the fact that she doesn’t know them at all, but they’ve kept her safe in the past, so she follows their instructions.  She does get more bothered by the fact that she must be being watched after she runs this time though.

This book was seriously a great read.  However I wasn’t expecting it to be an erotica book, which is almost felt like it bordered on.   I actually could have done with less sex scenes, not that they were written bad, cause they weren’t, but the suspense part of the book was fantastic.

I’ve already put the next book in the series, Infinite Possibilities, on my to-be-read list.  And you will too if you read Escaping Reality because it’s a cliffhanger ending.

 

 

 

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.*****     

‘Twas the Night Before Mischief Review

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Image from Goodreads

Title:  ‘Twas the Night Before Mischief

Author:  Nina Rowan

Published:  December 2013 by Forever Yours

Genre:  Novella, Historical Romance, Holiday

Click here to purchase ‘Twas the Night Before Mischief (A Daring Hearts Novella) from Amazon

 

I’m not usually into novellas unless it’s part of a series I follow.  But I picked up ‘Twas the Night Before Mischief after reading Reading With Analysis’s thoughts on it.  (Awesome site, check it out!)  Plus I hadn’t already read a Christmas book this year and I was feeling like I wanted to.

Penelope Darlington falls for the wrong guy, a rake with a bad reputation.  She runs off with him, only to be abandoned when his mother won’t let him marry her.  Staying at an inn with hardly any money left, Penelope isn’t sure what is going to happen next.  In walks Darius Hall, the earl’s son and also her childhood family friend.  Darius is to bring Penelope back home, per her father, but love will be found between the two along the way.

Darius was a bit too serious for me.  He was incredibly smart and a bit odd in his way of thinking.  He was awkward and couldn’t always project his thoughts the right way, causing friction between himself and Penelope.

Penelope was decent, nothing about her bothered me.  But then again, nothing about her really stood out to me either.

I did enjoy the story, but it just didn’t stick with me.  So if you’re looking for a quick read, it is a good book, just not great.

 

 

 

My Rating:  3 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.*****   

Close to You Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Close to You

Author:  Stacia Kane

Published:  October 2013 by St. Martin’s Press

Genre:  Novella, Urban Fantasy

Click here to buy Close to You from Amazon

 

 

I’m not usually a fan of novellas, or short stories, unless they are part of a series that I follow.  This one is.  It’s actually part 5.5 of Stacia Kane’s Downside Ghosts series.  So I really don’t think that this one is a stand-alone book.  I think the reason I enjoyed it so much was because I already knew the characters well before going into it.

So Chess and Terrible are at a junkyard trying to get some free car parts when they are approached by a creepy old woman who wants money for the parts.  Although she was never there before, they assume she’s a new inhabitant and decide to follow her to pay for the parts.  Big mistake.  It was a ploy and the woman wants to use them to resurrect her dead husband.

Stacia Kane cracks me up.  I love her style of writing, and her characters personalities.  Chess is a drug addict, but I’m always routing for her and like her none-the-less.  Here’s a little excerpt that I enjoyed.

Just as Chess figured, Vincent’s body – well, it wasn’t much of a body at that point, just a skeleton covered in scraps of fabric and scraps of things Chess didn’t want to think about – lay at Mrs. Hudson’s feet.  A pillow supported its skull.  Around it several items were arranged like afterlife tokens at a Viking funeral:  a wallet, a pair of worn tennis shoes, what looked like baseball cards, a pair of socks and some underwear.  Very personal, so very powerful.  One of the items was a hammer, which was awesome because what they really needed was for Vincent’s ghost to have a deadly bludgeoning tool within easy reach. (Location 395 of 555 on Kindle)

Awesome right?  So if you’re already a Stacia Kane fan, definitely pick it up.  And if you haven’t read anything by her yet, try the first book in the series, Unholy Ghosts.

 

My Rating:  4 ½ out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.*****       

Clean Sweep Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Clean Sweep

Author:  Ilona Andrews

Published:  2013 by Ilona Andrews, Inc.

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Purchase Clean Sweep from Amazon
 

Dina’s not sure whether to intervene or not when her neighbors’ dogs are being killed by what seems to be some sort of paranormal creature.  Being an innkeeper, she is just supposed to take care of the inn and her guests and stay out of other paranormal affairs.  Plus the new werewolf in town, Sean, should be the one taking care of this sort of problem.  After all, werewolves are very territorial.  But when approached, Sean doesn’t seem intent to take care of it.  In fact, he acts like a jerk.  Decision made, Dina decides to find out what is killing these dogs, and it’s more then she expected.  Will werewolf Sean decide to help Dina or just get in her way?

Urban fantasy is a pretty cool genre.  Its fantasy that’s set in the modern day world we all know.  And if the author is good it’s believable because its setting is what we’re used to day in and day out.  And Ilona Andrews is a great author.  Who knows, maybe I have a werewolf and innkeeper as neighbors?

Anyways, Dina is a great protagonist.  She is a bit alone in the world though.  Her parents and their inn were lost (we don’t know what happened).  Dina does still have her siblings but they don’t live nearby and aren’t really in the story.  Although she’s alone she is confident and knows her job as an innkeeper.  She decides she’s had enough of her neighbors’ dogs being murdered and decides to do something about it.  In real life, I’d like to be Dina’s friend.   She’s a take charge kind of girl.

In the mist of finding this horrible creature and solving her neighborhood’s problems, she also gets to know Sean a little more.  And a vampire also makes an appearance.  Sounds like Twilight the way I’m describing it, but it’s not similar at all.  However, the vampire and werewolf are definitely attracted to Dina…

I’m pretty sure Ilona Andrews doesn’t know how to write a bad story.  So if you like urban fantasy, or if it’s something that you’re thinking about, pick up a copy of Clean Sweep.  Plus, I’m pretty sure it will keep you entertained, as would her other books as well.

Happy reading!

 

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****