Day: March 30, 2015

Guest Review: Cold Cold Heart by Tami Hoag

Posted March 30, 2015 by Tina R in Reviews | 0 Comments

Cold Cold Heart by Tami HoagTina’s review of Cold Cold Heart by Tami Hoag

Dana Nolan was a promising young TV reporter until a notorious serial killer tried to add her to his list of victims.  Nearly a year has passed since surviving her ordeal, but the physical, emotional, and psychological scars run deep.  Struggling with the torment of post-traumatic stress syndrome, plagued by flashbacks and nightmares as dark as the heart of a killer, Dana returns to her hometown in an attempt to begin to put her life back together.  But home doesn’t provide the comfort she expects.

Dana’s harrowing story and her return to small town life have rekindled police and media interest in the unsolved case of her childhood best friend, Casey Grant, who disappeared without a trace the summer after their graduation from high school.  Terrified of truths long-buried, Dana reluctantly begins to look back at her past.  Viewed through the dark filter of PTSD, old friends and loved ones become suspects and enemies.  Questioning everything she knows, refusing to be defined by the traumas of her past and struggling against excruciating odds, Dana seeks out a truth that may prove too terrible to be believed…

Cold Cold Heart by Tami Hoag tells us the story of a young journalist by the name of Dana Nolan who is abducted one day by a sadistic serial killer known as Doc Holiday. She is also his only know survivor, having killed him to make her escape. It is the story of how Dana struggles to piece together her shattered life while dealing with a traumatic brain injury and PTSD, after being both physically and mentally scarred from her ordeal.

I have to say that I did struggle through the first half of the book. There seemed to be a lot of time spent on explaining Dana’s scrambled memories and her battle with the PTSD and the TBI. Although I totally understand the need to understand what the character was going through, at times I found it all a little overwhelming. I found the book to be more of a dramatic mystery more than the psychological thriller I was expecting. This isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy the book because I did, I just find that I tend to go for those “edge-of- your-seat” type thrillers where the twists and turns have your brain working overtime. And although I thought this was a decent story, it just wasn’t one of my favorites.

I received this book through NetGalley for my review.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

 

This title is available from Dutton. You can buy it here or here in e-format.  This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


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Guest Review: Just a Little Flirt by Renita Pizzitola

Posted March 30, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Just a Little Flirt by Renita PizzitolaTracy’s review of Just a Little Flirt (Crush #2) by Renita Pizzitola

Between all the parties and random hook-ups, Fallon Carr is this close to flunking out of college. But her internship working with pediatric patients means the world to her—especially since, at the end of the summer, one lucky intern will be offered a paid position. Determined to leave her bad reputation behind, Fallon even takes a bet that she won’t sleep with anyone from work. But there’s one little catch. . . .

Not only is Cade Ryan the hottest guy Fallon has ever laid eyes on, he’s a therapy dog handler who volunteers his time to visit kids at the hospital. So when he starts pursuing her, Fallon can’t believe her bad timing. The thing is, Cade is different. He’s not like the college guys who see her as a one-night stand, or the high-school boyfriend who took a part of her she can never get back. Cade genuinely wants to spend time with her—and not just between the sheets.

Fallon won’t let her growing feelings for Cade get in the way of her dreams. Besides, no guy can break down the walls she put up long ago. So what’s the harm in a little flirting? It’s not like she’s falling in love. But she may have seriously underestimated how complicated things can get when the perfect guy falls for her first.

Fallon has finished her freshman year at college and now she’s managed to score herself an internship at the local hospital in the Child Life center. She is excited about the internship – especially when she finds out that there will be a part-time paid position available for one of the interns at the end of the summer. Fallon wants that position badly but she wants to get it on her own merit. She’s afraid, however, that if anyone from work finds out about her extra-curricular activities (partying and hooking up with guys) that she had during the school year that they won’t consider her. She’s determined to make a good impression and decides to not really drink (ok, not get drunk) during the summer so she doesn’t have to worry about hangovers. The hooking up with guys part is a little harder after she meets dog therapist Cade but she may be able to manage it. She can flirt – but she can’t touch!

Cade sees Fallon and is smitten. They hit it off as friends and he makes no bones about the fact that he wants to date her. He and his dog, Scout, start to get under Fallon’s skin and Cade decides that he wants more with Fallon than just a date or two.

There’s a whole lot more to Fallon than meets the eye. She has a past that she’s trying to escape and in doing that she shot herself into the other end of the spectrum when it comes to guys. The truth is, she really doesn’t like sex so when she gets closer with Cade she can’t figure out how she can like him but then stay out of his bed. She just knows that if she goes to bed with him it will ruin the relationship for them completely. Cade, however, has a whole bunch of tricks up his sleeve and he’s not afraid to try them out on Fallon.

I have to start off by saying that I’m enjoying this series immensely. It had been a few months since I’d read book one in this series, Just a Little Crush, so I re-read it before I picked up book two and it was just as a good the second time around. It also reminded me about Fallon and what she was like in book one. She was completely different in this book but her internship was the reason for that. Because she was stepping back from drinking and guys it put her into a different mindset once she met Cade and that was a good thing. Her personality didn’t change – thank heavens! – and she was still as snappy with the comebacks as she was before. I loved that about her. Despite all the turmoil she was feeling she still had a great sense of humor.

I loved Fallon and Cade together and I loved the addition of Scout in their talks. The dog was a therapy dog and therefore helped soothe Fallon when she was talking to Cade about things that upset her. It was a nice way to for the author to get Fallon to relax and I thought it was a wonderful way of adding the dog and showing exactly what therapy dogs do.

Cade was a great guy. I really didn’t see anything about him that I would put in the “minus” column when adding up his qualities. He was kind, patient, giving, fun, funny, sexy, thoughtful and generous of his time. He was kind of the perfect book boyfriend. lol

So far I’ve enjoyed both books in Ms. Pizzitola’s series and hopefully future books in the series will be just as good. I definitely would recommend this New Adult series to anyone looking for some good books to read.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This title is available from Flirt/Random House. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


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