NetGalley - "Three Stages of Love: Attraction" by T.C. Anthony

Acquired through NetGalley

Author: T.C. Anthony

http://www.tcanthonybooks.com/

Published March 1st 2013 by CreateSpace

I started out reading this trilogy through NetGalley and got hold of the second book. I haven't read the first book but gave a try anyway.
From page one I didn't put it down until I was finished.

This relationship isn't all about passion, sex, lust or love. It's much more than that, it touch's other aspects of the human behavior while it's confronted with grief and loss, betrayal and the overwhelming feelings of loneliness.

Evangeline is a woman filled with grief, a dark pain that surrounds her soul and the only way she can fight the feeling of emptiness is through pain. Shocking to the core, the author had the ability of writing the scenes through perfection and really the fact that people might try this to forget their pain is beyond me, I really felt for this woman, good job M. Anthony.

As the pieces are picked up along the way and Alexander try's to move forward with Evangeline I realized this books were much different from the other erotica series that I've been reading. The story evolves with aspects that we are faced in real life, shallow people, betrayal, selfishness, love, understanding and forgiveness. They are all too many words for a book that speaks it's own mind and is unique in this genre.

Alexander is also a character that I grew fond of. Not being an expert in all the Dominant/Submissive lifestyle, he tries to understand he's partner's needs, the heart as well as the mind, in bed, in their own house and in between the relationships that come along the social life outside each other.

What marks this couple is the great love that they feel for each other and the will to be together after all.

To those that want to start reading this trilogy I recommend that they start with the first book. I've already got it and read it, loved it and the review will be coming shortly.

Another great mind to join the others that I've already met through NetGalley and I'm hoping the author will give me a chance to read the final book. I can't wait...

Today free on Amazon

Today on Amazon US there are opportunities for those of us that love to read, indulge this Summer in a good book.

Patchwork Press - Giving a chance to hear the Young Adult Genre

As a NetGalley reviewer I have the privilege of getting to know great publishers that deliver what I most like to read and reviewing titles that I couldn't get hold of before they are released.

This journey with NetGalley has been a great one to me.

Today I'm highlighting a publisher that gives voice to some of the newest Young Adult author's and bring into the book universe stories that are original in it's own right and gives infinite pleasure to those that are reading addicts like me.

I'll be leaving here some covers for you to check out and just follow the links to get through this great stories.
Happy reading :-) !

Book 0.5 in The Hitchhiker Strain series by Kellie Sheridan.

Published: January 5, 2013

It’s month after the dead first began to walk. The miracle vaccine that was supposed to save us all has failed.

Now, four teens fight to stay alive as a stronger, smarter breed of zombie begins to appear, threatening to end humanity for good.

http://www.patchwork-press.com/books/the-hitchhiker-strain-series/end-dayz/

Book 1 in The Hitchhiker Strain series by Kellie Sheridan.

Published: March 19, 2013

After surviving a deadly plague outbreak, sixteen-year-old Savannah thought she had lived through the very worst of human history. There was no way to know that the miracle vaccine would put everyone at risk for a fate worse than un-death.

Now, two very different kinds of infected walk the Earth, intent on nothing but feeding and destroying what little remains of civilization. When the inoculated are bitten, infection means watching on in silent horror as self-control disappears and the idea of feasting on loved ones becomes increasingly hard to ignore.

Starving and forced to live inside of the abandoned high school, all Savannah wants is the chance to fight back. When a strange boy arrives with a plan to set everything right, she gets her chance. Meeting Cole changes everything. Mere survival will never be enough.

http://www.patchwork-press.com/books/the-hitchhiker-strain-series/mortality/

Book 1 in the Ignite series by Erica Crouch.

Published: June 11, 2013

Evil exists in everyone, even angels. At least that’s what sixteen-year-old fallen angel Penemuel (Pen) believes. Her veins froze with the ice of Hell long ago, but there are still days when she questions her decision to follow her twin brother, Azael, to Hell. He’s been perfectly comfortable since he’s fallen, so why hasn’t Pen been able to completely let go of the light?

It becomes even harder for Pen to ignore how out of place she feels amongst the demons when she and Azael come across the resurrected archangel Michael. Michael’s return means trouble, and not only for Pen. His presence tips the balance of the worlds and the future begins to disappear. Fates erase and are left unwritten as Hell prepares for war on Heaven.

Pen separates from her brother so she can keep an eye on the former archangel as Azael works to spread a demonic virus. On her own, she finds herself growing closer to Michael and questioning her complacency in Hell. For the first time in her life, she is not controlled by fate and is unwilling to fulfill her destiny as a demon. Challenging Hell will pit her against her brother, who grows darker and more powerful each passing day. Azael will not let Pen defect so easily, but she is determined to write her own fate, no matter the cost.

http://www.patchwork-press.com/books/ignite-series/ignite/

Book 1 in the Beautiful Madness series by Kellie Sheridan.

Published: May 21, 2013

For centuries, Wonderland thrived as the domain of beautiful bedlam and unapologetic madness. It was a place like no other. All it took was one girl slipping in through the cracks of the universe to start chaos spiraling toward order. In the 150 years since Alice’s visit, the realm has become tainted—almost normal. Rabbits in waistcoats and playing card minions are little more than creatures of myth, and Wonderland is literally falling to pieces.

For Gwen, Rose, and Lucky, Wonderland is home, and yet they know little of its former glory. When the Alice prophecy resurfaces, they’ll have one chance to use Wonderland’s own legends to bring a little mayhem back into their reality. For she who controls Alice controls the fate of Wonderland.

http://www.patchwork-press.com/books/beautiful-madness-series/follow-the-white-rabbit/

The Page Sage: Book Review: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini ...

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

Start out the day with a great book to read, just follow the link for a great review.

The Page Sage: Book Review: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini ...: *If you have not read Daughter of Smoke and Bone , this review may contain mild spoilers. You have been warned.* Genre: Fantasy Publish...

A True Romance - "Thunderstruck" by Kendall Grace

ThunderStruck by Kendall Grace
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you're looking for a true romance with some heatedly desire, a native american really hot and a woman risking a second chance at love, this is the book for you.

The author is a wonderful writer, touching our emotions with depth and true love, family and showing us what really counts to be happy in life.
The book flows with grace, word after word, and one thing is certain, there should be more Silent Hawks out there.

Silent Hawk is a man trust worthy and loyal to his family, loyal to his feelings and when he truly loves there's nothing he won't do to get what he wants. I'm not telling but you'll see that he's a good listener too, accepting that he is not alone anymore and changes have to be made, forgiveness is the word.

Jo is a woman scarred by her ass ex-husband, believe me he is awful, but she will risk everything to be happy again, overcoming her fears and trusting her heart. I really dig her, truly.

Even though "ThunderStruck" is classified as western erotica, I find myself thinking this is truly a western romance and not so much erotica.

If given a chance to read or buy this book, don't think twice about it, a true romance is flowing from this pages.  


View all my reviews

ARC acquired through NetGalley

Published May 29th 2013 by Smith Publicity -- Ellora's Cave Publishing Inc

Author's page: http://authorkendallgrace.com/

Review - The Owners #4 "Owned by the Dom" Part. 2 by Sam Crescent

Since I've read the first book from this series I've been crazy following the adventures of the owners, devouring the books, one by one, as they come out.

When it came James turn I anticipated a great story and Sam Crescent delivered a great and conflicted relationship. I couldn't have asked for a better thing.

Prue has been taken from him. James will stop at nothing until he gets her back. The odds are stacked against him but he refuses to give up. Prue is his woman and he’ll hurt anyone or anything that gets in his way.
When James saves her, Prue can’t give herself to him. Something has happened during her captivity, and she’s not the same. She demands time. But time isn’t what she needs. Since she’s been gone, James has changed. After talking with a therapist, Prue realizes what she needs and it isn’t the placid man James has become.
Can James be the man she needs or has their affair run its course? James is a possessive man, an owner. There is no chance of him letting Prue go, but can they both survive the fire that their passions create?

In the following of the cliff hanger we finally get James and Prue following their relationship but not everything is right. Prue changes while she's been held in captivity and James back's down from the man he is to become what he thinks Prue needs.

Here, Sam Crescent plays with our anxiety and if you were expecting all the dominating character of James and the submissiveness of Prue, well you are wrong.
What we find is a troubled Prue and a loving James, sacrificing everything he is and all his heart until the woman he loves can find her way into his arms.
The elements and other characters that were introduced in the story made a great love story, not so charged with sex and domination, but more real to me, a couple does go through troubles in their relationship and this couple is no different.

The story of our villains does go on along with the main characters and M. Crescent doesn't let us forget about it.
Now I'm biting my nails for the next installment and again I'm left wondering who will come next and what will our fabulous mastermind come up with to keep us sliding from page to page...

A Point of View on "The Whore and The Virgin" by Ceet The Author

 by Ceet The Author

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After having read the first two chapters, I got a feeling that this book comes with a story that all young teens should read, especially if they are feeling that they want to live it out free as a bird. Freedom comes with a price, with it comes responsibility.

This is what the author transpires, the real life on the streets, the everyday drama that is united by dreams of succeeding big time without any effort, only the intelligent ones make it through the sea of "no ones" that roam the streets.

I think this is a smart approach to real life experiences, and to the coming of age of adulthood, with the drama of relationships, sex and finding your way through life.    

View all my reviews

If your interested in reading the sample chapters just follow the link:

http://thewhoreandthevirginpart1.blogspot.pt/2012/01/chapterone-t-he-oxycontin-had-finally.html

Visit the author's web site:

http://www.brpent.com/B_R_P_Entertainment/BRP_Entertainment.html

Author's page on Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3198187.Ceet_The_Author

Being trapped in a bedroom with a woman is a grand thing. Being trapped in hundreds of bedrooms over two thousand years isn't. And being cursed into a book as a love-slave for eternity can ruin even a Spartan warrior's day. 

As a love-slave, I know everything about women. How to touch them, how to savor them, and most of all, how to pleasure them. But when I was summoned to fulfill Grace Alexander's sexual fantasies, I found the first woman in history who saw me as a man with a tormented past. She alone bothered to take me out of the bedroom and onto the world. She taught me to love again. 

But I was not born to love. I was cursed to walk eternity alone. As a general, I had long ago accepted my sentence. Yet now I have found Grace--the one thing my wounded heart cannot survive without. Sure, love can heal all wounds, but can it break a two-thousand-year-old curse? 

Julian of Macedon

Just so you understand my point of view on this one, when I first read Fantasy Lover, I was looking for an exciting paranormal romance that would cure my addiction to Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood and nothing would really do. So I went to the library and tried this one out.

It was a wonderful surprise and I read it through a single day.

We have Julian of Macedonia, a man that was never loved as a child, a great warrior of it's time, cursed into a book with the sole purpose of being a sex slave.

And then we meet Grace Alexander, a sex therapist, a woman that never knew how it was to be loved by a man, hurting from a big deception from the past.

How would it be to have a birthday gift that would change your hole life and the conception of reality has you know it ?

To meet a man that could make you feel what you been missing in your life ... Have the chance to be truly fulfilled and happy with someone, especially with a man like Julian.

All this considerations come to mind when reading this book.

It has a little of everything and is actually a good start to the dark hunter series.

It didn't kill my love for the Black Dagger Brotherhood, I have to say that they are my perfect little world and my addiction, but this series is really a breath of fresh air.

NetGalley - Review eXclave - a BDSM erotic romance bundle by Emily Ryan Davis

(from Goodreads) :

CLAIMING LAUREN

One night should have been enough...

Twenty-seven-year-old Lauren Brant is the perfect society wife. She hosts dinners for her husband’s colleagues. She attends charity functions. She’s entirely appropriate…except for her clawing need to submit to a man she knows only as Master.
Unable to deny her cravings, she arranges to meet Master. No names, no faces, nothing but submission and sensation. Except it isn’t enough. Even before the night ends, Lauren needs more.

But “more” isn’t part of the arrangement and she returns to her polished life only to discover her estranged husband has come home. After five years of being invisible to Jacob Brant, Lauren doesn’t know what to do with him. He, however, knows exactly what to do with her…

DOMINATING AMY

Till-death-do-us-part should have been enough…

Mac Corcoran spent a long time running from the specter of his parents’ abusive marriage. He’s worked hard to suppress his dark urges and channeled his energy into building his own relationship upon a bedrock of respect and equality. 

It takes two people to make a marriage work, however, and when Amy Corcoran’s submissive needs hit a breaking point, her only options are to walk away from the man she loves or force him to acknowledge her as the woman she is now. Even if that woman isn’t the same one he married ten years earlier.

With no more time for running, can Mac overcome his fear and be the Dominant man Amy needs him to be or will fear of repeating the past cost him the only woman he’s ever loved?

So, I'll be living here the link for the review from a while back on "Claiming Lauren", http://bookloverandotherjourneys.blogspot.pt/2013/05/netgalley-claiming-lauren-by-emily-ryan.html,I simply loved this short story and then I said that I was left wanting more, well I'm glad M. Davis heard me and sent me more, not of the same but another perspective of a troubled relationship.

Mac and Amy are a couple but with a crisis brewing in the background, a loss of communication and issues from the past clouding their judgement. Even though they can't live without each other, they can't seem to find the courage to face one another and just talk, put it all out in the open.

For me, this was their major problem and it almost cost them their marriage. Now I ask myself, how many couples go through the same problem and just give up because they don't have the courage to face the problem, sexually or otherwise, it doesn't matter ...

This author is great in creating a fiction work that we as reader's can relate to issues and troubles of the real life.

I know that this kind of books fall into erotica and BDSM life style, which I see no problem but I also know that it's not for everyone, but they have so much "juice" when they are well written that if you're willing to enlighten the strong ideas that come out of it, you can relate to the characters and  maybe avoid errors in your real life book of stories.

As a hole, this bundle is worth purchasing and either if you feel getting naughty or just reading for curiosity of the life style, or even to spend some time off, this stories don't leave you empty they make you realize that there is so much out there to explore.

Review - Midnight Breed #1 "Kiss of Midnight" by Lara Adrian

Talking about being in the wrong place at the wrong time or maybe not ... After all, from one disaster comes what is meant to be.
When Gabrielle witnesses the brutal attack on a human she never would have guessed that it would be a life changing moment and the needles would set track for a trip into a dark world full of dangers, decisions and an undeniable passion that would mark her forever.
Lucan, on the other hand, never thought that after his long life, he would have to wrestle his feelings and put all at stake to keep a woman by his side and turning his world around to be with the one that is his only reason to exist.

Vampires are my favorite supernatural creatures that I choose first when I read paranormal and after having become addicted to J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series I've read and visited various worlds where vampires live. I've gone and fell in love with the beautiful creature that author's words describe and their macho, alpha, passionate loving and their fierce combative skills that win all the evil villains they face.

When I read "Edge of Dawn" for NetGalley, I realized that I was missing out on an ancient world that had come before and after I've finished it I got my sights on starting the series from book one and enjoying another ride in one of the most acclaimed author around.

I've found that with time this genre is beautiful and unique because of all it's world building factors, usually dark and dangerous, they arouse our senses and get us running, page after page with the fabulous characters we find along the way.
M. Adrian kicks off this series with what I call "a gold mine", something rich that can bring you all the riches in a book and keep you coming back for more. She created with her rich imagination a world I enjoyed and experienced through her most able writing, action at every corner and twists along the way, and a most sexy hero, vampire, and a strong kick ass heroine.

Lucan and Gabrielle couldn't make a better couple. He runs from blood lust, trying to be what his kind needs and protect his people, so here there's character and spirit of sacrifice.
Gabrielle is a woman out of her skin, not quite belonging to the human world but trying to fit in a life that she created for herself.
Their passion bursts out like fire and again M. Adrian did the best in writing their love story, giving us what we crave, a sexy and intense physical relationship and making our imagination run free.

The little details that are part of the plot and follows the action through out the book spikes our interest and this is one book you will not be able to put down.
When it's over, you'll be ready to jump on the next book and get yourself together for another hard ride. You'll always come back for more.

NetGalley - The Callens Series #9 "Diamonds and Spurs" by Melody Snow Monroe

In between books I find this rare jewels that make me loosen up and just go along for the fun of it.

This series usually have a small town, sometimes rural setting, and the most wanted alpha men dressed up as a loving cowboy. What's more sexy than a cowboy, or in this case two, wanting to get over hurt and sorrow,  and embracing a future with a woman that needs protection ?

(from Goodreads) :

Denver socialite Mandy Duncan is on the run from her ex-husband. She knows about his Ponzi scheme, and only she stands between him and jail. He’s determined to stop her from ever talking.
Mandy escapes to Samantha Callen’s ranch in Intrigue, Wyoming, and hires on as a wilderness guide. Distrustful of men, Mandy doesn’t want to be attracted to Samantha’s cousin, financial guru Vince Callen, or to his sophisticated lawyer roommate, Cameron Longworth, but she is.
Then Cameron and Vince’s ex-fiancée decides she wants them back. When Cameron tells her he’s found someone new, she decides Mandy needs to go.
When Mandy is shot, Cameron and Vince won’t let her out of their sight, and their passion explodes. Then she’s kidnapped. Frantic, Cameron and Vince risk it all to save her. How can they convince her to trust her heart again and want a loving ménage relationship?

So NetGalley made me the very happy reader, on behalf of Season Publishing, of this wonderful romance that I simply devoured and couldn't put down until I got to the last page.
"Diamonds and Spurs"reached my expectations in this type of plot, with two very hot heroes, twists along the way, and a very able and confident heroine.
The author also made a point that the book was not only about their relationship and the menage liaison, but also about the story that runs along with the characters. This factors make me a very happy reader and also the knowledge that I found an author that I want to read more of.

Mandy is the perfect heroine, a woman that as it all but through her honesty throws everything away gaining her integrity back when she decides to divorce her high profile husband.
She's also a woman open to love again and with the ability to not deny what she doesn't know and make ahead opinions of the unusual relationships that are common in Intrigue.

Now, Vince and Cameron couldn't be more perfect, as partners and as lovers.
They "work" in partnership, love Mandy as equals and are not overly authoritative in relation to their woman. They are modern men, living in today's world but enjoying the wilderness and peace that this back country gives them.

Even though this book is pure romance, erotica, falling in the sub category Menage, this book is so well written, it flows without any gaps between the actions and is proportionally perfect for someone that wants to read a romantic suspense book.
M. Monroe writing style is one that I want to catch up on and wait for the next books to come out.

An Introduction - Joelle Charbonneau "The Testing Guide"

A brand new world is arriving and I can't wait to clime aboard this trip ...

To step into this ride just follow the link and download today the free ePrequel to "The Testing" :

http://www.hmhbooks.com/thetestingtrilogy/prequel.html

So, from NetGalley I've received to read "The Testing" and before I get into it I made my research to know what it was all about.

I must say that I was impressed with great presentation on the author's page and that was half way to rise my curiosity. I first downloaded the prequel and really got sucked into the story, she writes beautifully expressing the characters feelings like a true master.

This short prequel introduces us to the main character and comes with the first three chapters of the book. I haven't read them because I'll read it as a whole and then understand in a global point of view the plot and it's twists.

The author has given us an amazing new world that without a doubt will put our fantasize minds to the test, a test of it's own.

So you already know what to do, read the prequel, buy the book and keep on asking for more, and in the end you will also get to know it on film. Yes, the rights were acquired by Paramount Pictures.

One thing I'll tell you, this prequel is interesting and addicting, the feel of this new world around it's main characters is well weaved and the author deserves to see her writing blow up in success because she does it like a pro.

There are many hours of enjoyment for me coming and I can't wait to dive into this trilogy.

Follow the links bellow for more info:

http://joellecharbonneau.com/

http://www.hmhbooks.com/thetestingtrilogy/prequel.html

Publisher: http://www.hmhco.com/popular-reading  

Review - "Because You Are Mine" by Beth Kerry

(from GR)

Francesca Arno has been commissioned to create a grand centerpiece painting for the lobby of Ian Noble’s new skyscraper. It’s at a cocktail party in her honor that she first meets him—and the attraction is immediate for Francesca. It’s also bewildering. She’s not used to such a wholesale sexual response to a stranger. Enigmatic, darkly intense, with a commanding presence, Ian completely unnerves her. And she likes it.

For Ian, she’s the kind of woman he can’t resist—one that comes all too rarely: a true innocent. But he can sense in her a desire to open up, to experiment, to give herself to the fantasies of a man in control. The first kiss, the first caress, the first challenge for a woman who craves what she’s never had—a man who gets what he wants.

I've been reading erotica for a while because it doesn't drive me for the sex but it does appeal to me because of the choices that are made and the barriers that are broken, freeing the mind and rewarding the body.

In "Because you Tempt Me" you get what I love in a story, the wakening of the senses, a craving that takes over the mind and a man that gets what he wants, and all the way challenging his own beliefs and life style. This is why I read Beth Kery, to see if she delivered what I look for in an erotica title, she did.

As far as the characters go, they perfectly fit the story and their relationship comes with pages and pages of a storm just waiting to happen. New experiences drive to feelings neither of them are used to and then they crash into each other's will's, Ian the need to control and Francesca the need to submit, throw into the equation love and all walls start to fall.

Ian is a man I could fall in love with, usually alone in his life path, mysterious in his ways, demanding in his sexual drive, he is almost irresistible to me. So well created, so well written, alluring me into his world and the big why's he's so wired up.

Francesca on the other hand, an almost innocent with a vision of beauty towards the world outside but so alone in her own way. The fact that her paintings are made of lonely and introspective people, alone with their own thoughts, searching for something that they really can't find, tells me that she is also searching for some meaning in her own life.

The passion that flares on first sight and burns through out the pages, the erotic interactions and the fight of wills that they put on play takes us to a hole new level of Dominant/Submissive relationships and the vision that I finish the book with is that love and pain walk hand in hand and thread in a very thin line.

This was the first book by author Beth Kerri that I read but I'll tell you, I'm moving on to the next just waiting for it to be as good as this one, and only better as a hole plot so that I can have a reading experience that walks the border of complicated but sated relationship, challenging, erotic and ultimately freeing.

NetGalley - Nemesis Unlimited #1 "Sweet Revenge" by Zoe Archer

Author: Zoe Archer
From St. Martin's Paperbacks
Published: June 4th., 2013

ARC ACQUIRED THROUGH NETGALLEY

After the years of imprisonment Jack Dalton is nothing but an automated man without any humanity and all he thinks about is getting revenge from the evil that took his sister's life.
When he get's news that his most hated enemy is in town he arranges a way to escape and finally get his revenge.
But things aren't always what they seem and when he finds out that there is hope beyond revenge, will he take a leap of faith and save himself or will he only see deception or revenge ?

Zoe Archer is what I think a perfect creator of characters, tortured heroes and  scenarios that come out of ancient times that have marked history, in this case England in her most dark beauty and shadows.
Who doesn't love a good robin hood story combined with the methods of the greatest detective that lived: Sherlock Holmes ...

This book started out being a refreshing surprise to me, a story theme that I've never had read before, with surprising scenarios and twists that leave you panting for more, a beautiful city, dark in all it's glory, with no main border between the poor and the rich, your fate decided at birth.

Between Jack and Eva confidence, or the lack of it, is probably the main and first link between them. The lack of confidence that Jack feels and the belief that Eva has in Jack turn their feelings into something more than just a mere professional relationship.
The growing of confidence that Jack feels influence a physical attraction to turning into a deep long lasting relationship.
They are two characters that accompany us through out the book and are both the trigger for the plot that we follow closely.

I can't leave out Simon, a character with an amount of mystery that grows through out the story and keeps us waiting for the second book.
I personally can't wait for it and hope that light will be shed on the reasons of why and how he came into Nemesis.

If you're looking for adventure, a bit of passionate romance and retribution for the villain, this is the book for you.
It's an historical romance out of the ordinary, away from the glamour of the rich and influential, away from the flashing balls and beautiful dresses, and into the dark of the streets, the poor, the homeless, and like saviors, human compassion is here at it's best.

NetGalley - "The Amish Canning Cookbook" by Georgia Varozza

In the world we live today everything runs by us at the speed of light, some may say that is good, progress and the future are at our reach, but others still hold on to the feeling that we don't have time for what's really important in our lives, call it nostalgia ...

When we walk in the kitchen on a Saturday or a sunny Sunday and think about what sweets we can come up with for the coming week, we think of those early breakfast's before work or school, jam on a hot delicious bread, and if we keep digging in the various courses of the day, we can still think about a million recipes we can come up with.

When the love for cooking grows within us, books like "The Amish Canning Cook" are long life friends that makes us company on those hours that we spend in the kitchen.

From the author Georgia Varozza comes a friend, a companion and a work tool that is indispensable in the kitchen and to those that like to have home made goodies in the fridge.

This book is a complete guide to canning sweets, preserves and other types of food like butters, vegetables, and meats. From a brief history of canning, the author helps you get started with the utensils, the different methods that canning involves, how to adapt your taste and recipes to this very art of simple and cheap living. It surely will help with the house budget.
All the directions are very detailed, one point in favor for me because sometimes the first is not so perfect as it should be.
If you're a starter with canning and had the idea that it was for professionals, loose it and use this book to outrun your fears and get into something that in the end will pleasure your taste and the love for achieving something that you thought was so out of reach.
In the end you will be the loved queen of your household.

This book is a way of going back to the simple life of having time for what really counts and is a must on your favorite cookbooks shelf.
Can you imagine when you open your pantry and see the fabulous goodies in it ... I know you'll be proud and wanting more !

ARC ACQUIRED THROUGH NETGALLEY

Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Release Date: July 1st., 2013

Review - The Blackstone Affair #3 "Eyes Wide Open"

Eyes Wide Open by Raine Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So, as a recent Raine Miller fan, discovering the fabulous Ethan, I did what every reader did on the day this book got out, I got it, I read it, and I loved it.
There's something compelling in this books that leave you in a cliffhanger and that because they are appealing to a romance reader, keep you coming back for more. You get drowned in a story that you run to know more and are always compelled to read and read ...

This is the final clash between Ethan and Brynne and the most important one in their lives.
After having walked so far together, can they make it and stay together ?

Interesting question when all that is hazardous and bad happens to them.
Can we readers see a light at the end of the tunnel or will we be in the dark, "crying" over a so fabulous story that went sour ?
No, my friends, this author does not let us down. There's a roller-coaster of emotions that flow through words of underlined reassurances that above all, Brynne and Ethan do work out their differences and learn to open up their feelings to each other, even in the eye of madness and chaos surrounding them.

I find it interesting that I began the first book seeing Ethan as a controlling and alpha man and now I get that he is only a passionate, protecting and human man that the only thing he wants is Brynne.
He as evolved and matured as a character, from someone that has a kink and only wants the superficial connection to his one night stands to someone that likes to control in bed but learns to respect and recognize the other half's space and needs.

Brynne, on the other hand, started out being an american girl in love with the "big bad wolf" to a brave, grown up woman, accepting responsibility for the feelings that her heart speak and moving forward from grief and pain to love and trust. I think her biggest issue was trust and Ethan did a magnificent job at breaking her barriers.

This is also the proof that a romance novel can be action packed, it keeps you focused always waiting for another twist in the story.
The main threat continues until it is annihilated and ended and the author made a great job continuing the story line through the third book.

Now I'm hungry for more, more character's story from this book, and I would love to read more about Ethan and Brynne's friends and universe, what do you say Ms. Miller, can you give us more ?

If you haven't picked up this trilogy, please do, if you didn't read the third book in the Blackstone Affair, what are you waiting for ?  


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Review - "Reno's Chance: A Navy Seals Story" by Lora Leigh Tempting SEALs, #1

Reno's Chance: A Navy Seals Story by Lora Leigh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm a big fan of Lora Leigh and I've read time and time some of her books.
She always manages to capture my attention and hook me in with a romance or a plot that twists up my imagination.
Her male characters are always alpha and big, brooding, delicious, and I could be here all night writing adjectives and not get tired of it.
On the other hand, her female characters are sexy, strong, and always driving the male species out of their mind.
What I most like about her romance is the intense feelings that they nurture for each other, the sex is hot, hot, and so sexy.
Sometimes I do find gaps and little things in her writing that doesn't add up but everybody has to agree, her books are delicious and I'm always waiting for more.

In "Reno's Chance" we have a short story, a way to kick off this great series that book by book grew into a best seller and sometimes I go back to read.

Here we meet Reno and Raven, long time sweet hearts but never venturing more than a few kisses.
Reno knows that the woman of his life is Raven and that she runs because fear of loosing him is big when you are a Navy Seal.
But he will stop at nothing to make her see that it's all worth it in the name of love because one thing is certain, she belongs to him.

I loved this two and their game of cat and mouse. No matter how much Raven ran, Reno was right behind her every step of the way.
Raven is unsure, with a bad example in her past, she doesn't want to hurt and be like her mother, and especially loose the man she loves.
Reno does convince her nicely, with pleasure and sex, cherishing her and loving her.

I tend to return to this series time and time again to read it, I love it.
If you like a hot navy seal and a big, big love between long time sweethearts, this is the book for you.  


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"Leather Bound" by Shanna Germain

Leather Bound by Shanna Germain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I believe that a smart and especially nowadays 21st. century woman can distance herself from love, guarding her soul from heartbreak, and recognize lust as a way of feeling in the gaps of loveless love life.
One can interact with lust, choosing the freedom of enjoying our pleasures without having to risk your heart in the process.

Janine has the perfect life.
Her bookstore, "Leather Bound", is coming along, she enjoys her days with her best friend, Lilly, working together, and her nights with Kyle, enjoying lust without the compromise of a relationship.
But when Kyle takes a step forward and asks her to marry him she panics. Off balance, Janine meets Davian and lust kick's inn fullforce, dragging her into pleasures, dark pleasures, that she never knew could move her so deeply.
Will she accomplish a loveless life giving in to lust or will she risk everything to become bound to her heart ...

This book has given me the chance to discover an author that can really write well erotica and sink us in a warm place inside our heads.
The story narrated to us by Janine is overwhelming and pulled my mind to endless questions that I often ask myself. It's dark and sensuous, the characters are fabulously invented, adult and sexy, they are nothing as shallow and empty, they are rich and demand an interested and intelligent reader.

I have to point this out because considering the book as whole we have to praise ...
The Cover is beautiful, sexy, simple and it's half way to want to read the story.
Leather Bound, the fact that it's a bookstore and the elaborated description of it's appearance and feel of old, leather books, the smell of paper, ink and again leather, feels like an element that only enriches the story and just a fix won't do, you'll want to read more about it.
Dark Pleasures, the fact that from trying to find a book that doesn't exist, would come an extreme attraction and a physical relationship that starts out from the head of our characters, turning the sex element as something beautiful, rich and devastating.

Janine was a character that gave us so much of herself, her fears, her victories, her sensuality and all of this was able because of M. Shanna Germain.
The boys were consistent and really just a point to achieve what this book to me was, lust or love, a hard question to answer.

If you think that this is all about sex, you're wrong.
The author will keep you running, turning, and on your toes as the story unfolds. Janine will lead you, page by page, towards discoveries, questions, and uncertainties, the revelation of the body, mind and soul as well as a book that tells you the story of a very intelligent lady, at a time, she can be called Nancy Drew ...

I really liked this book and planning to read more on this author, I do recommend this book, a keeper.


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ARC acquired through NetGalley

NetGalley - "Talking Dirty with the CEO" by Jackie Ashender

ARC acquired through NetGalley

Publisher: Entangled Publishing LLC
                Indulgence
Author: Jackie Ashenden
http://jackieashenden.com/

Published May, 13 2013

(from Goodreads):

Gadget journalist Christie St. John is more geek than chic. But when research for an article she has to write on online dating leads to the bed of the hottest guy she’s ever met, she knows that if the geek is to keep the hottie CEO, she’s going to have to come out of her digital shell. Tech mogul Joseph Ashton never expected an Internet blind date to end in the best sex of his life. Yet as the chemistry between him and Christie burns out of control, he can't help but think this woman is out for his money like all the rest. She claims she wants his heart instead – but that’s the one thing he can never give.

Such a refreshing story this was, funny, geeky, passionate and rewarding.
I really didn't know what to expect, I've read the story line and liked the sound of it, but never in my wildest dreams I would have thought that it was with an online chat room that this romance would start.

This book grabbed me from the start and the more I read it, the more I wanted to read. It was full of up's and down's, the more Christie ran the more I wanted her to stop and as close as Joseph got to the true attraction in his heart, the true feeling that he never admitted till a point he had to step down and surrender, the more I cheered for both of them.

Christie was a character that I understood well. Her loneliness, her fear of loving and not being loved, the rejection of those close to her and her indecision in seeing herself in hole new light, were all symptoms of someone that really needed help to rise above her lonely life and move forward with confidence.
She was a great partner to Joseph and I loved every moment that she kept me company while I was reading the book.

Now Joseph was a present that I unwrapped page by page, a billionaire with a lack of personal life, a lifestyle based on a no commitment basis, it should be hard to live alone your whole life and never really connecting with anybody.
His health condition turned me moody and the fact that his past was tragic broke my heart.
But when he meets Christie another man comes out of the box, and boy what a man that is.

Christie's and Joseph's love is hot, a passion burning in the night and the sex was so delicious, hot hot, their connection had a lightning effect, a light that made me smile all the way to the end.
Even when the road had a down turn between them I never took it against Joseph and knew that he couldn't make it without her.

So, for wraps, in a few words read this book.
It's a wonderful romance and a great author, you won't regret it.

What's coming up in June ...

Good Morning everyone, today is a beautiful hot and sunny day here in Lisbon and Summer is coming closer and closer.

Summer in my country is the same as talking about hot weather, beach picnics and just laying in the sun getting toasted. It's about kids playing in the park, water games and endless sunny days.

For those of you that never visited Portugal, if want a good and restful vacation, this is the place to come.

Now, after the kids vacation starts and the days grow longer, I find the time for more reading, for enjoying my imagination, fall in love with my most wanted characters and in the process, find new writing that appeal to my mind's eye.

So, I'm making, finally, a TBR list for June, on the assumption that I'll read two full novels during a 5 week day, leaving the weekends for finishing up late reads that haven't been finished during the week.
In between I'll be probably reading other small novellas that catch my eye and other books that I'll probably put ahead of others, or because I can't help myself or because the author asked me to review it, ARC by author.

As towards NetGalley, I will be in full sail, they have such great opportunities for the reader's that I can't help myself to check it everyday. If you haven't check it out yet do it.
https://www.netgalley.com/

To find out what my books will be for June roam over to my account in Goodreads, (http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3807597-patricia?shelf=currently-reading) or Booklikes, (http://patmelo.booklikes.com/), and friend me, follow me, or just read me. You can come in to Lost in a moment, there's always something to read, a review, and I hope that now I'll be having more time to spend here ...

So, musings apart, have a good weekend and remember ...

Now is the time for Dallas - Beyond #2 "Beyond Control" by Kit Rocha

(From Goodreads):

She refuses to be owned.

Alexa Parrino escaped a life of servitude and survived danger on the streets to become one of the most trusted, influential people in Sector Four, where the O’Kanes rule with a hedonistic but iron fist. Lex has been at the top for years, and there’s almost nothing she wouldn’t do for the gang…and for its leader. Lie, steal, kill—but she bows to no one, not even Dallas O’Kane.

He’ll settle for nothing less.

Dallas fought long and hard to carve a slice of order out of the chaos of the sectors. Dangers both large and small threaten his people, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. His liquor business is flourishing, and new opportunities fuel his ambition. Lex could help him expand his empire, something he wants almost as much as he wants her. And no one says no to the king of Sector Four.

Falling into bed is easy, but their sexual games are anything but casual. Attraction quickly turns to obsession, and their careful dance of heady dominance and sweet submission uncovers a need so deep, so strong, it could crush them both.

I've read "Beyond Control" for a while now but to write a review and resume all that entails Sector 4, Dallas and Lex, is a task, which I found out every time I tried to write the review and gave up, very hard.

This book is a magnificent book, I loved "Beyond Shame" but now the stakes are higher and to write Dallas and Lex's story and all the changes around such a dark apocalyptic world, I imagine it shouldn't be easy. They are two complicated characters, with an infinite depth and past, always trying to outrun each others will, trying to find a way to love each other, such a rocky road full of cliffs, and showing strength as an united front.

As a whole, the book is fluid, with a proper speech from each character, and even when we should be shocked, the author finds a way to make us want more and out shock us from the harsh sexual words that fill the pages. There is no gap, no faults, nothing, everything is perfect and between the dark surroundings, the air charged with violence, the O'Kane sex feasts, and the larger than life passion that Dallas and Lex share, a rare jewel I'll tell you.

Dallas is an alpha of the future, dark, dangerous, and irresistible. A leader that never back's down, fights for his people and showing signs kindness hidden in the depths of his soul.

The love that he feels for Lex is enormous, the possessive links that they share are tightly weaved within the story, the fact that he will take it to the limit only with Lex shows the reader what kind of man he is.

Lex, such a brave woman, a lonely soul that achieved to re-invent herself out of the ashes and turned herself into a leader to fly up to higher grounds. She is brave enough to face Dallas and fight for his love and his possession, his heart and all the troubles that come with it.

Will she be able to be a partner and a leader in the remaining sectors and will she tame an untenable spirit ?

 

Overall, this is a book to not be missed, a passion larger than life, a dark world to walk upon your imagination and a great author that only get's better and better. 

NetGalley - Review - "Come and Get It" by Keira Cole

ARC acquired through NetGalley


Author: Keira Cole
http://keiracole.blogspot.pt/

Publisher: Beyond the Page Publishing
Pub Date: May 22 2013


Sexy Dixie Rose Bonifay has sunk her roots deep in the Texas hill country she calls home. Having dedicated her life to the one thing she loves most—cooking—she’s built her own successful mobile food business catering to the construction workers in the area, and she’s stirring up the appetite of every man around, in more ways than one.

When smug California architect Quin Halladay comes to town, he sets his sights on Dixie’s ranchland—and on Dixie herself. Confident and charming, he can’t wait to bed the alluring Dixie and add yet another notch to his bedpost. What Quin doesn’t realize is that Dixie can match wits with him every step of the way, and before Quin knows it the Texas beauty has turned the tables on him and he can’t get her out of his head.

As the two get down to business in a romantic Texas two-step, it’s a battle of wills and wits between small-town smarts and big-city arrogance. And with all the local men circling their wagons to protect the woman they’ve come to love and respect, Quin will have to prove himself and choose between the city life he knows and the Texas rose he’s come to love.

I love a good small town romance and when the location is the sweet south everything is sweeter. I haven't read a small town romance in a while and this novella hit my soft spot.

If you're looking for a romance where opposites attract, a meddling family in your personal life and good friends that only want what's best for you than this is your book.

Keira Cole brings us Dixie Rose Bonifay, a beautiful, heart warming lady, courageous and bold, very free spirit and unafraid of taking risks to get what she desires.

This character is the example that we all should face our problems and struggles in real life head on, yes I know, in the fictional world is easier than in the real world, but we should get some ideas when they are presented to us in our favorite past times and adapt ourselves to change.

Now, Quin was the city boy, charming and really smug, he knew what he wanted and he got what he needed, or should I say, more then he could shew.

I liked this city boy soon to be a real man of the South. I think he was mature enough to follow up on his mistakes, take bravely the consequences of his actions and fight for our girl.

The one quality that I most liked in him was that he could separate shallow people and an empty life from a full loving and purpose full existence, the ability to adapt to a new reality and to risk his heart at a true love.

By now you're thinking that I'm in love with this two, I am, and that's the sign that the author made a good job writing down this story.

As a hole, the book is consistent with a novella but in the end we are not rushed or deceived by it's ending. We want more and it will come, but the words flow naturally to the last page, there are no gaps and our desire is to read more of the Bonifay family, knowing it will probably be better and fun.

I can't go away without mentioning the relationship between Rose and Quin.

I loved that sleeping with someone that you barely knew wasn't awkward, it was the will of two people that were attracted to each other to be together, in the end it turned out to be love, but even if they had gone their own way, the story would have pleased me. I prefer a happy ending though ...

The bedroom was on fire and when this two got together a volcano erupted, so be warned outside or inside, the rule is to burn.

I love it when I end a review where everything that I value in a romance book is there and I, again, recommend to all romance lovers this short but sweet story.

Review - The Fire of the Soul Series #1 "The Fire Within" by Racquel Kechagias

(from Goodreads):

Anna has always known that she is different, whether it was the way that her parents treated her, or the way she simply didn't seem to blend in with the people around her, she simply knew!

However on the night of her seventeenth birthday, two men enter into her world, and completely change her life. Unbeknownst to Anna, a countdown has started on her life, and the lives of her friends. Will she have enough time to save them all, or will they all fall into chaos?

In 'The Fire Within' Anna will be challenged, and she will have to face her demons. With the threat of war hovering above her head, and a curse that burns through her veins, will she live to be able to tell the tale?

I always enjoyed the imagination of the Paranormal/Fantasy writer in building worlds beyond the reader's imagination. When the stories come with characters that are weaved in time and space and slowly crawl under our skin, even better.
In "The Fire Within" I found a set of characters that did just that.
Some in the good sense, some I surely wouldn't want to have nothing with, but all served a purpose ... the purpose to make this book a walk on the wild side.

This book sends you into a turmoil, an enchanted world where mystical creatures live hand in hand by a dark, broken war between the vampires and the skin walkers.
I liked the world building aspect since the first page, the story recounted the surroundings of each character, from where they've been to where they were going.
By the middle of the book I got a little lost, my focus dispersed a little. I found myself thinking that perhaps there was so much going on that maybe it was a little too much. I'll explain, I think that the author might have deepen the reader's connection into some worlds in particular and some thread lines between character's instead of populating the book with major events in each of the character's POV.
It made me feel that I only slightly touched some facts that I would have liked to read more about.

Anna and Victor :

They were the two main characters of this story and the starting point for the other characters to grow.
I loved Anna, she was a determined heroine, a sensuous girl raised from deceit and ignorance, her parents were abhorrent, a true loving soul and a brave warrior. I enjoyed her to the max.

Now Victor is another story ...
I'm a girl that simply can't resist a vampire, my love for them is enormous and I never pass down a good fictional vamp but here I found a vampire that was a little soft, too much in my opinion.
I would have liked to see a battle warrior, an alpha king, a true lover, but he didn't make it to that point. Even though he was a warrior worth of his people, defending peace, he felt too much pain from the past and never seemed, in my reader's eye, to move forward and break from his shell. I sympathized with his pain but there was something missing there.

The bad guy, Christian:

Yes, this one I loved, not in a good way, but when the character makes you feel hate, pain and you wish someone would come and put him in his place, than right there you know the author aced it and got what she wanted. He never fails to show more hatred and diabolical plans to get what he wants, victory over the vampires and Anna, he's true love, because in the end he only wants to be loved by her, have a family, and truly feel the emotions that a happy human feels so he's life could have meaning.

Christian, my favorite:

Christian was to me my favorite character out of all of them. He was a friend, a lover, and here I'm certain that the author achieved to show us who he really was. She did a terrific job with this character and I would love to read more about him in another book, I believe he deserves one.

Now here we don't get to see a love scene from Victor and Anna, only sensuous glimpses that leaves us wanting more. So I'm entitled to ask, will there be more ? I hope so.

Overall, the story-line is great and this is a book to be read. I loved it and hope I get a chance to follow up on this series. I'm asking already for the second one, I wonder where this will go ...

From my Kindle comes "Marked for Submission" by Sheri Savill

Marked for Submission by Sheri Savill
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(From Goodreads):

Janna Sommers is a brave woman who knows just what she wants: a tattoo -- a full sleeve black and grey tattoo, to be specific. It’s an ambitious goal for anyone's first ink, but when she meets handsome and gifted tattoo artist Mark Temple, she finds herself yearning for something more than one of his original designs.

As she willingly places herself in Mark’s experienced -- if sometimes cruel -- hands, she finds herself submitting to a strong and uniquely creative dominant, one who arouses intense physical sensations in her -- both pleasure and pain.

Bound to his tattoo table, will she also allow herself to be used as a living canvas for Mark's ... darker desires? Will she allow herself to be marked, indelibly and forever, as his?

So my thoughts on this novella are a bit divided. I think that a tattoo is a very personal decision and when it comes together with an attraction for the tattoo artist, even better.

Janna Sommers was a brave girl, first for the fact of having a full sleeve tattoo and then for not running away from Mark Temple.
Her choice was applauded by me, she's braver from the most girls I know, all talk no action.
I think this character was consensual to the meaning of true submissive behavior and from what I got from the idea of the author's writting, a true fictional submissive.
Janna goes all the way when she trusts Mark to do whatever he wants with her body in return of pleasure and a little more time with him.
I liked Janna, she was after all a strong character, a brave one and it payed off in the end to be a good girl and doing what she was told.

Now Mark Temple is our boy ... a very delicious character wouldn't you say ? Would you pass the chance to belong to this man, I wouldn't.
He is also a very well balanced character, true to his nature and also brave enough to try again in the love department, I liked him ...

Now, one thing I won't forget: the cover.
What a beautiful cover, simple and straight to the point of this story.
I don't know who the artist was but congratulations.

This book is hot and in one word, different. Different from the other BDSM books that I've read, the idea of a plot line from a tattoo parlor, the tattoo artist and the client engaging in a relationship, the sexual tension overcoming the story and engaging the reader into the book, marvelous.

The one thing that I regret is that it ends too suddenly, I wanted more, I wanted to know what happens at home, I would like to know more and if this story continued I would shurely reed it.





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Cindy McDonald Unbridled Series #3 "Dangerous Deception"

Dangerous Deception by Cindy McDonald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Vic Deveaux’s glory days as a winning jockey have ended, but he refuses to accept that pile of horse hockey!
When the West family asks Vic to take an easier position at their Thoroughbred farm, Westwood, he becomes enraged and teams up with two greedy stable hands in a scheme to kidnap the youngest son, Shane.
Things turn ugly when Vic discovers that his new-found friends have murder on their minds. Suddenly Vic finds himself between a rock and a hard place. He has betrayed his good friend, Eric West, but will he participate in his son’s murder as well?
Not content to sit at home and wait for her men to bring her brother home, Kate West convinces homicide detective, Carl Lugowski, to check out a hunch at an old abandoned mansion. Soon they’re trapped in a hornet’s nest of a notorious biker gang.
Oh yeah, Vic’s deception has placed the West family in more danger than they know what to do with!

This is the first book that I read from Cindy McDonald and a change of genre from what I usually read, but as I started out reading in my younger years mysteries and thrillers and moved on to suspense and romance, it's good to be reacquainted with something that was always with me, the love for a good story and a good fictional ride.

"Dangerous Deception" is a very good story with elements that are bought together to fulfill a plot line that doesn't fail the reader.
We have family, friendship and betrayal, a little romance in the mix, a dangerous criminal and a biker gang. What's not to like ?

With it's engaging character's, the West family, and the town character's, the Sheriff, Vic Deveaux, Luzertta Valentine, Jack Haliday and so on, you get sucked into a town where trouble comes along in some days and all together get to the end of the day with the feeling that what really counts is family, love and friendship.

I would have liked to see a little more romance, especially in Kate West's case with the sheriff but I guess that I'll have to wait till the next books.

I haven't read the first two books but I'll be coming around to them between June and July and I'll be expecting the next Unbriedled Series book with anticipation.

If you love a good action packed, explosive story, a small town country intrigue and a loving town we would all love to live in, this is the book for you.

ARC ACQUIRED THOUGH NETGALLEY.
PUBLISHER: ACORN BOOK SERVICES
AUTHOR: CINDY MCDONALD



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