Tag Archives: 3 stars

Review: Ivy by Dahlia Donovan

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Widowed photographer Ivy Langdon avoids people in general after her husband’s death. She ventures out days before Christmas for last minute gifts and stumbles into the middle of a terrorist attack in London.  Will her luck ever change?

Steven Samuels and his partner Gareth Richardson are called in with their company, Blackbird Security Firm, to rescue the hostages.  They never expected to find their perfect mate while saving the world.  The more the two wolves learn about Ivy, the more that they want to make her theirs.

Love is never simple or straight-forward and life is often stranger than fiction.

Ivy finds herself drawn into a strange world of shifters and human traffickers.

Can love’s true bite find her before trouble does?

(Blurb from author’s site)

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***This review contains spoilers.***

Donovan has the great ability to pull you into the story immediately.  I just wasn’t expecting Ivy to be the girlfriend of two wolves.  I had always pictured that one wolf, the alpha, would be territorial, you know what I mean?  So the fact that Ivy ends up with both Steven and Gareth turned me off a bit; just because it isn’t my thing.

The other thing that bothered me a bit was that Ivy just went along with the fact that the men she was interested in were wolves.  I feel like the book was good, but could have benefited from more.  More character development.  More time to form the relationship between them all.  And especially more time for Ivy to accept the fact that they were werewolves.

I really don’t mean this to be a negative review; I’m just writing what stood out to me.

That being said, Ivy was a fun, quick read that held my interest.

My Rating: 3 stars

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

 

 

The Species Within Review

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Title:  The Species Within

Author:  Kimberley Clark

Genre:  Paranormal Romance, Erotic Urban Fantasy

Buy:  Amazon

This book is intended for ages 18 plus.

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Blurb

Kira, a huntress plagued by dreams of fire and pain has worked
 tirelessly to rid her city of the scourge that has nearly destroyed
 it…nostvores, mythlend creatures with dark and vast appetites for
 blood and sex. She does this not only because they had killed so many
 people in her life, but also because she has an edge that no other
 human had…she has their abilities. The problem was, these abilities
 were killing her and she feared time was no longer on her side.
 
 So the moment she found out that Darius, a nostvore leader was
 threatening to awaken an indestructible species to help him enslave
all humans and mythlends, and that she may be the key to his plan, she
 knew her only choice was to risk her life with the little time that
she had left and join her enemy to find out why, and to make sure his
plan failed.

If that wasn’t dangerous enough, the more time she spends with the
Vanatre nostvore Emmerich, and the mooran Kuron, who she brings with
her for protection, the less she wants to kill them. Instead, she
feels an unexplainable attraction towards them both, and she fears
surrendering to such desire with either is a deadly game to play, for
she would not only be risking her life, but quite possibly her heart.

 (Blurb from the author.)

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Ms.  Clark approached me many months ago for a review, and life got busy, so I apologize for taking so long getting to it.

This book started off fantastic.  In fact, it reminded me of Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series (which I love!)  As you saw from the blurb, Kira is a huntress, who kills the nostvores (aka vampires).  This isn’t so hard for her because she shares a lot of the same abilities.

Kira’s a hard ass, she is a supreme fighter, and at one point she was tortured.  Most people would cave; she didn’t.  Like I said, this girl is tough stuff!

I really loved loved loved the beginning of this book, but then it went from awesome to good.  Kira has an attraction to a certain vampire, but she has a real tough time accepting it.  It’s just so back and forth (for her) that it just drove me nuts.

Another thing, that I kind of got bored with, was there was a point of view from the ‘bad guy’ Darius.  I don’t know, I think it would have been more suspenseful if his point of view was left out all together.  I’m kind of impartial to singular point of views in stories though, so that’s my personal opinion.

All in all, Ms. Clark is a very talented writer.  And if you like paranormal romance I would give hers a try.

My Rating:  3 stars

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

 

 

Nightcrawler Review

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Title:  Nightcrawler

Author:  John Reinhard Dizon

Published:  January 2014 by Black Rose Writing

Genre:  Action, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Purchase: Amazon

 

 

 

 

Nightcrawler is about the exploits of Sabrina Brooks, the heiress to the Brooks Chemical Company. Bree is trying to pick up the pieces after her father’s death, and is now in a position to live up to a personal commitment to use her resources to benefit the oppressed. She is intrigued by the notion of conducting a guerrilla campaign against drug gangs in New York City, and accesses top-secret archives detailing Government contracts for developmental research of chemical weapons. She uses her wizardry in chemistry to concoct weapons for her own use as a vigilante known as the Nightcrawler. NYPD undercover officer Hoyt Wexford becomes friends with Bree, and begins to suspect she knows the identity of the Nightcrawler. Her sudden interest in a series of terrorist attacks in the New York area makes him believe she may be investigating a group called the Octagon. He tries to follow her but is too late to prevent a showdown between the Nightcrawler and the mysterious Reaper. Hoyt rescues Bree and learns her secret identity, and together they plan to stop the Octagon once and for all in preventing a chemical attack in NYC on the Fourth of July. This is a pulse-pounding thriller straight out of world headlines, with an unforgettable heroine fighting impossible odds against fiendish arch-criminals. For suspense fans looking for some chick lit with international intrigue, Nightcrawler is one not to be forgotten.  (Blurb from Goodreads)

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I liked the idea of this book; a kick ass female super hero.  Sabrina is rich and her father recently passed away, leaving her to decide if she should run his chemical company or walk away from it.  She always liked the idea of law enforcement and she decides to use what she has available in the company to take down the bad guys, even if it is illegal.  She throws on a suit as a disguise and calls herself the Nightcrawler.  Throw in a little romance with a police officer trying to find out who the Nightcrawler is, and you have yourself a good story.

Nightcrawler was a pretty good read.  I had a few problems with it though.  The flow of the book felt a little choppy.  Although I can’t quite put my finger on why, that’s just how it felt to me.  Also, former terrorist attacks on the US were mentioned; 9/11 and the Boston Massacre.  Now, it took me a few mentioning’s of the Boston Massacre to realize that the author was actually talking about the marathon bombings that happened last year.  At first I thought he was talking about the actual Boston Massacre that happened in 1770, and didn’t quite understand the relevance.  I can understand his confusion though, because after the marathon bombings the news called it that (Boston Massacre) a few times (I know, I’m from Boston.)

Overall though, it was a good story.  Maybe if someone could do a re-edit and fix the wording (change massacre to marathon bombing) and help the story flow a little smoother, then it wouldn’t be good; it would be awesome.

 

My Rating:  3 out of 5 stars

 03

~Pam

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

Billionaire Bad Boys of Romance Box Set Review

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Title:  Billionaire Bad Boys of Romance Box Set

Authors:  Ava Lore, Terry Towers, Anna Antonia, Amy Aday, Selena Kitt, Nelle L’Amour, Tawny Taylor, Dez Burke, and Marian Tee

Published:  October 2013 by Excessica

Genre:  Erotica

Purchase the Billionaire Bad Boys of Romance Boxed Set from Amazon

 

***This box set contains mature themes, as does this review, and is intended for audiences ages 18 and over.***

 

This is my first review about a box set!  When I started out reading this I was pleasantly surprised.  I guess I thought because it was advertised so cheap on amazon for ten books, that the writing would be bad or the books wouldn’t be good, but that wasn’t the case at all.  I was also surprised to find out that I was reading a BDSM erotica bundle.  Lol.  Guess I should read the synopsis sometimes before I take on a request.  But honestly, I thought it was a romance box set.  It’s okay though, I’m not anti-erotica.  I liked 50 Shades.  Anyways, I only read some of the books, so I’ll just do some quick reviews on the ones that I read.

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The Billionaire’s Muse by Ava Lore

This was a great start to the set.  I was like, wow, if this is what all the books are going to be like, it’s going to be great!

Sadie accidentally breaks a very valuable vase at an auction.  This vase belongs to billionaire Malcolm Ward.  Sadie agrees to be his muse to pay him back for the vase.  Trouble is, Malcolm isn’t really sure what kind of artist he is, so he has to spend a lot of time with Sadie to find out.

This one started out great, Sadie is sarcastic and awesome.  During the beginning of the auction this thought goes through her head, “Me, I was just hoping for a fist fight to break out.” (location 95/14072 on kindle).  Hey, she made me laugh a lot. However, some of the sex scenes were a little weird for me.  Paint brushes shouldn’t go certain places.  Just saying.  And then I felt like the story stretched out a little too long and got a little off course as well.

Overall though, it was a good book.

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The CEO and the Girl from the Coffee Shop by Terry Towers

The billionaire, Gabriel, wants barista, Beth, to come be his housekeeper and chef.  I couldn’t get into this one; I got bored, didn’t finish it and went on to the next.

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Yes, Mr. Collins by Anna Antonia

Mr. Collins is so demanding that he doesn’t keep a personal assistant for long, because no one meets his expectations.  That is until Natasha works for him.  Natasha starts the job so nervous because she knows what Mr. Collins is like.  But then, after she is getting physically sick from stress, she decides that she’s going to change her way of thinking and not be nervous anymore, but live up to the challenge.

This story was quick and decent.  It seemed to be shorter than the others.

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Heidi and the Kaiser by Selena Kitt

Heidi is working in the fashion world, but not as she would like, which would be as a designer.  On the job setting up a photo shoot, she spills coffee on billionaire Warren Kaiser’s pants.  He spanks her and she likes it.  Heidi ends up working for him, and the punishments continue.

Yeah, I’m conflicted on this one.  It felt like borderline abuse.  Heidi liked it but, well, I didn’t!  Kaiser seemed so harsh to me, even at the end.  What kind of relationship is that, you know?

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Gloria’s Secret by Nelle L’Amour

This is another one I just couldn’t finish.  I was bored, I couldn’t get into it.  Gloria is the owner of a lingerie company, (you get it right?  I hope so!)  Anyways here’s a little excerpt that caught my eye.

My right eye was blue; my left one brown.  I had a rare genetic condition known as heterochromia.  In press releases and on the Internet, both eyes appeared to be brown thanks to Photoshop.  But because I suffered from dry eye syndrome, I was unable to use contacts to conceal my idiosyncrasy the rest of the time. (location 7058/14072)

This is pure silliness!  Jane Seymour has different colored eyes, as does Kate Bosworth.  They don’t try to hide it and they’re actors not an owner of a lingerie shop!  Not only that, but I have one brown eye and one green eye myself so obviously I picked up on this.  Gloria must have some real issues for having her eyes photoshopped to be the same color.  I don’t know though cause like I said, I didn’t finish the book.

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There are a few more stories that I didn’t list here; I didn’t read all of them.  So overall I would say that this is a good box set.  Not ‘avoid at all cost.’ Not ‘you need to read this now!’  But good, especially for the cheap prices that amazon tends to list it for.

 

 

My Rating for the whole set: 

3 out of 5 stars

 03

~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from one of the authors, Marian Tee, in exchange for an honest review.*****

Labor Day Review

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Title:  Labor Day

Author:  Joyce Maynard

Published:  2009 by William Morrow

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Purchase Labor Day from Amazon

 

 

It was the end of summer and Henry was just happy to be out of the house.  His mother, Adele, doesn’t like to leave the comforts of home, and going out has become a rarity.  They are at the store because Henry has grown and needs new clothes.  Henry is minding his own business reading a magazine when an injured man asks him for help.   He noticed that Henry came in the store with his mother, and he wants them to take him to their house.  Adele agrees.  Turns out, this man, Frank, is a fugitive and on the run, but Adele just takes the news in stride as does Henry.  A relationship ensues between Adele and Frank, but is it for real, or just another part of the fugitive’s plan to escape the law?

Adele is going to be brought up in a lot of book clubs.  Is she a bad mother?  Let’s see, she talks to Henry about things that are definitely inappropriate.  Adele is in dire need for a friend.  And since she only has one kind-of friend/acquaintance, Henry gets to listen to all of Adele’s thoughts some which he shouldn’t be privy too.

What about Henry’s dad?  Should he be the one raising Henry?  Well, Henry’s dad is remarried with a stepson and a new baby.  Henry did try living there, but poor kid just didn’t feel like he belonged in the ‘new’ family.

Back to Adele, what was she thinking bring a bleeding stranger home with her and her son?!?!  Again, she definitely has issues, and you do find out what they are.  She definitely needs companionship in her life.

And what about Frank the fugitive?  I wasn’t sure about him for a while.  Is he the bad guy?  Is he just faking his feelings for Adele?  For Henry?  Well, I guess you’re going to have to read it to find out.

One thing that just wasn’t for me was the style of writing.  The author didn’t use quotation marks at all during conversations between characters.  It was different, but not for me.

As some of you know, this book is now a major motion picture; and I haven’t had the chance to see it yet.   It was definitely a good book, just not life changing or great.  That’s why I gave it three stars.

 

My Rating:  3 out of 5 stars

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~Pam

*****I purchased this book for myself.*****