Publisher: Forever Yours

Guest Review: Wicked Dark Dragon by Lolita Lopez

Posted October 1, 2018 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Wicked Dark Dragon by Lolita LopezReviewer: Tracy
Wicked Dark Dragon (Dragon Heat #3) by Lolita Lopez
Series: Dragon Heat #3
Publisher: Forever Yours
Publication Date: March 3, 2015
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 128
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two-stars
Series Rating: two-stars

Adopted a few weeks after birth, Ivy Morales suspects that she might not be totally human. Fully aware that one whisper of such insanity would land her in a mental institution, she keeps the outlandish thought to herself. But there's no ignoring the increasingly vivid and stunningly powerful dreams of an ancient blood feud that plague her nightly—or the darkly erotic turn those dreams have recently taken.

Drawn to Mexico for Spring Break, Ivy unwittingly stumbles right into the path of the same evil presence from her mysterious dreams. Kidnapped and held hostage, she has only one chance to survive. She reaches out to the wickedly sexy man from her dreams and prays he'll answer her call for help.

Welsh dragon shifter Ian Madoc struggles to understand the strange dream connection he shares with this unknown woman. In all his centuries of life, he's never experienced anything like it—and it unsettles him. When the dreams turn to pleas for help, Mad rushes off in the middle of the night, hell-bent on saving the young woman he fears may be his mate.

But rescuing Ivy from the clutches of the Knights is only the beginning of Mad's problems. When Ivy's true identity is revealed, old secrets and a close friend's betrayal put him at odds with the rest of the Brotherhood. Protecting the dragon species is no longer his top priority. He'll do anything to keep Ivy safe, even if it means walking away from the only life he's ever known.

Ivy is in Mexico with a friend when she’s kidnapped.  While she always thought she was a little different from other kids, she had no idea until getting kidnapped that she was half human and half dragon. The people who took her are the Knights who are the enemies of the dragons.  They’ve taken Ivy to try to get info from her mind and also to try and get her mate, or who they think is her mate, to come rescue her.

Her mate is Ian Madoc and he’s a dragon.  He does come to Ivy but gets caught.  In that time Ivy is tortured and the Knights try anything to try and get Ivy and Mad to mate.  Ivy and Mad can only speculate as to why they want them to become mates. Once they’re rescued can Ivy and Mad have a relationship when everyone around them is trying to use them?

I really love dragon shifter romance novels, so I had high hopes when I picked this one up.  Sadly, it was not to be.

First off, I really liked Ivy.  She seemed like she had a good head on her shoulders and was willing to protect those she believed were worthy.  She had endured almost 3 weeks of torture before Mad showed up and then more after he arrived.  She tried to do what was right and I liked that about her. She was the child of a Knight/dragon mating so she had ancestors on either side of the fight and wasn’t sure where she belonged.  Since her aunt was the one who was torturing her she decided to be on the side of the dragons.

Mad showed up where there were holding Ivy and he was in his dragon form.  Why he couldn’t defeat the puny humans while a dragon was never explained but he was then captured.  I kept thinking it was on purpose, but was it?  He had left word for his friends but then they didn’t show up for 12 days and it was never explained what the delay was – it was strange.  The pair

Mad and Ivy finally mate after they’re rescued but then it was because they were betrayed by other dragons.  These people are his friends but they betray him?  IDK, it just didn’t ring true to me.  There were always so many ideas flying through the book about why everyone wanted them to mate, and Ivy had a vision about it, but we’re not told until the very end of the book what the exact reason was.  By that time I truly didn’t care what it was, I just wanted the book to end because it was slow and boring (even the sex scene was bad, imho).  Maybe if I had felt a deeper spark of connection between Mad and Ivy I would have overlooked some stuff, but their relationship felt dull and not something I would think of as an HEA.

Another thing that made me crazy was that these dragons kept shifting in the house and moving around rooms!  What?  How? These must be the smallest dragons ever.  At one point Mad shifts inside a bedroom and can still move around to try to get away from Ivy’s seduction!  No wonder he couldn’t beat the puny humans – he’s apparently the size of a toy chihuahua!

Needless to say, the dragons didn’t work for me.  I didn’t care for the H/h and the other dragons were kind of assholes, so I really didn’t like them either. I won’t be picking up any other books in this series.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Dragon Heat

two-stars


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Guest Review: Once Upon a Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt

Posted November 22, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 2 Comments

Guest Review: Once Upon a Maiden Lane by Elizabeth HoytReviewer: Tracy
Once Upon a Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt
Series: Maiden Lane #12.5
Also in this series: Wicked Intentions, Wicked Intentions, Lord of Darkness, Darling Beast, Dearest Rogue, Sweetest Scoundrel, Duke of Sin, Once Upon a Moonlit Night (Maiden Lane #10.5), Duke of Pleasure, Duke of Desire, Once Upon a Christmas Eve (Maiden Lane #12.6), Duke of Sin (Maiden Lane, #10)
Publisher: Forever Yours
Publication Date: November 14th 2017
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 100
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Miss Mary Whitsun is far too intelligent to fall for the rakish charms of a handsome aristocrat. But when the gentleman in question approaches her in a bookshop, mistaking her for his fiancée, Lady Johanna Albright, the flirtatious encounter only raises more questions. Could Mary, a servant raised in a St Giles orphanage, actually be Lady Joanna's long-lost twin sister? If so, Mary has been betrothed since birth—to the rakishly handsome artistocrat himself.

Henry Collins, Viscount Blackwell, is far too intrigued by Mary to let her go so easily. He's drawn to her sharp mind, indomitable spirit, and the fiery way in which she dismisses him—ladies simply don't dismiss Lord Blackwell. But as Mary makes her first hesitant steps into society, she can't help but wonder if she truly has a place in Henry's world—or in his heart.

Mary Whitsun is a nursemaid to Lord and Lady Caire’s children (Wicked Intentions, Maiden Lane #1).  She was raised at the Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children and when old enough had moved on to employment.  She was happy where she was and on the day that our  book begins she just wants to spend her day off browsing the bookstore.  She is rudely interrupted when a man mistakes her for a woman by the name of Lady Joanna who might possibly be playing dress-up.

Henry Collins, Viscount Blackwell, was engaged at birth to the oldest of the Albright girls, Cecilia.  As infants Cecilia and her twin sister, Joanna, were abducted.  The older twin, Cecilia was never found but Joanna had been returned to her family.  Because Cecilia was believed dead, Joanna then became Henry’s betrothed.  Henry wanted to do the honorable thing and keep the engagement that his father arranged.  That said, he really didn’t want to marry Joanna.  He had grown up with her and truly thought of her more a sister than a fiancé. When Henry sees Mary he’s positive that she is the lost Albright twin and alerts the Albright family to her existence.

Mary is thrust into a life of money and privilege and she’s not sure she likes it.  She does seem to like Henry, however, and while he annoyed her upon their first meeting she soon finds that she’s falling in love with him.  Can a girl who was once an orphan be able to live and thrive in a new family as well as in society?

This was a short but sweet novella.  I loved Mary Whitsun.  She had strength and backbone and wasn’t afraid to tell off an aristocrat when it was called for.  I loved her!  I also admired her for not immediately falling into society and her family and all that money, but holding back to see what happened. It showed her intelligence, that’s for sure.

Henry was a bit of a charmer but underneath it all he was a good man and was trying to do the right thing by honoring his father’s contract with his friend who was an Earl.  He truly didn’t want to marry Joanna, however, so when he found the girl he believed to be Cecilia he was thrilled.  He was even happier when he realized that she wasn’t a woman who quietly did what everyone wanted.  She had spunk and personality and that drew her to him.  When all was revealed I was happy to see he stood up for himself to his father – it was a great moment.

Hoyt knows how to pull me into a story and keep me there.  I loved that this novella was about a child from the orphanage that we’d seen in several books in the Maiden Lane series as I thought it added even more interest to the series.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Review: Made for You by Lauren Layne

Posted October 24, 2017 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Made for You by Lauren LayneReviewer: Rowena
Made for You (The Best Mistake, #2) by Lauren Layne
Series: The Best Mistake #2
Also in this series: Only with You (The Best Mistake, #1)
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, Forever Yours
Publication Date: October 28th 2014
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 320
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Series Rating: four-stars

When the Wrong Guy is Oh-So-Right

Will Thatcher is exactly the type of sexy playboy good girls like Brynn have always avoided. And yet there was still something about him she just couldn't resist. When Will moved across the country three years ago, Brynn vowed it was time to put him behind her. She never thought Will might have other plans . . .

Back in town, Will intends to get what he's always wanted-gorgeous, unforgettable Brynn. For years, he tormented the untouchable ice princess in a desperate bid for her attention. Now he has a new plan, and he'll do anything to rewrite their stormy past. This time, he's out to show Brynn that the imperfect man might be the best mistake of her life . . .

Made for You is the second book in Lauren Layne’s The Best Mistake series and it’s another winner. This book follows Sophie’s perfect sister Brynn as she falls in love with Sophie’s best friend, Will.

Brynn and Will have hated each other since high school and yet because Brynn’s parents have adopted Will into their family because he’s best friends with Brynn’s sister, Brynn has never been free of him. They bicker with each other every chance they get and Brynn’s hostility is coming from a place of embarrassment. Will is the guy that hung her bra up on the flagpole because he got his feelings hurt when she turned him down for a date. Brynn was bullied in middle school and used the opportunity of a new school to reinvent herself so that she can escape the Dumpy Dalton nickname.

But Will transferred and didn’t know Brynn’s history with bullies. He first sees her and she’s hot. He’s very interested in her and when she kicks him in the nuts, they circle each other while bickering about everything under the sun. He’s everything she has no interest in (a guy who can’t commit to one woman) and she’s the ice queen that rubs him the wrong way.

Everyone that knows them, know that they do not get along but all of that goes to the curb when Brynn shows up on Will’s porch with a proposition that Will can’t deny. After their night of passion, Brynn wants to go back to the way things were and she tells Will that they made a mistake and because Will has been secretly in love with Brynn all these years…he takes off. It must be nice to just up and sell your house and move clear across the country without any kind of plan. That’s something only rich guys like Will can pull but holy cow, he must have been big-time hurt to be rejected and then do something as drastic as a move to Boston (from Seattle).

But when he comes back and is determined to win Brynn over, my heart went into overdrive for him. The romance between Will and Brynn wasn’t easy to get through because they frustrated me at every turn. I wanted Will to be more forthcoming about his feelings and I wanted to smack Brynn upside her head and tell her to wake up and smell what’s right in front of you. She overthought every single thing and it was frustrated at times because goodness, get it together already but alls well that ends well because when they finally get everything out in the open and their truths are revealed, I cheered out loud because what a scene that was.

I wanted Will for myself and I just adored the hell out of him. He won me over in Sophie’s book with how fiercely loyal he was to her but it was in this book that I fell in love with him. Lauren Layne sure knows how to write the big reveal scene because when Will smacks Brynn in the face with his declaration, he squeezed my heart right out of my chest. It was so good.

I totally see why Will is Lauren Layne’s favorite hero. He was all that and a big bag of chips. And a coke, too. The way that he harbored all of those feelings for all of that time just completely melted me and I could not wait for Brynn to figure it out and make an honest man out of Will. All of her casual fling business with Will needed to go and when she finally wakes up and starts living her life without plans and without her lists, I was glad.

These two made a great couple and the chemistry between them was hot and it was strong. This is a book that I definitely recommend.

Grade: 4.25 out of 5


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Review: Only with You by Lauren Layne

Posted October 19, 2017 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Only with You by Lauren LayneReviewer: Rowena
Only with You (The Best Mistake, #1) by Lauren Layne
Series: The Best Mistake #1
Also in this series: Made for You (The Best Mistake, #2)
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, Forever Yours
Publication Date: July 29th 2014
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 369
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Love is the Biggest Gamble of All . . .

Cocktail waitress Sophie Dalton doesn't exactly have a life plan. She's perfectly happy being everyone's favorite party girl. But when a Las Vegas bachelorette party goes awry and an uptight businessman mistakes Sophie for a prostitute . . . well, Sophie wonders if it's time to reevaluate her priorities. Swearing off her thigh-high boots for good, Sophie slinks back home with damaged pride-and a jackpot of a hangover.

Yet what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay there. On a trip to Seattle to open a new office, Grayson Wyatt meets his latest employee-who turns out to be the same woman he recently called a hooker. Wealthy and gorgeous, Gray is a man used to getting what he wants. And it doesn't take long to figure out that smart, sassy, sexy Sophie is everything he's been looking for. As their late nights at the office turn into hot morning-afters, they realize their Vegas misunderstanding may lead to the real thing . . .

I picked this series up because in one of her Lauren Layne’s newsletter, she mentions the hero in the second book of this series is her favorite hero (that she wrote) so of course I had to pick both books up so that I can meet this William Thatcher and boy am I glad that I did. This series was great!

Sophie Dalton is a waitress who known in her family as the flighty one. She’s never really settled into a career path and compared to her perfect sister, she needs to get her life together. That fact is smacked into her face when she in Vegas for her cousin’s bachelorette party and gets stuck in an elevator with a guy who mistakes her as a prostitute. The guy is perfectly put together and he’s a rude jerk who acts like he’s too good to make small talk with her so when they get out of the elevator, she’s glad to never see him again.

Grayson Wyatt spends his days saving hotels from ruin and making money. He works and works and works and goes home and works some more. He’s a loner by nature and he’s never really felt comfortable around others so he’s awkward and that fact is driven home when he gets stuck in an elevator with a gorgeous woman who is dressed like a prostitute and he behaves like an ass. Since he’s not all that interested in making things better, he walks away from the experience figuring he’ll never see her again. Only when he moves to Seattle and the first person he makes friends with is his elevator companions sister, things get really interesting.

The last person Sophie expected to see at Sunday dinner was the jerk from the elevator and she’s not at all happy that the hot elevator guy is dating her sister. She may not have wanted him for herself but she didn’t him for her sister. She’s not happy that he’s back in her world and if the glare he’s shooting her way is any indication, he’s not happy either. But one family dinner can’t be all that hard to get through, can it?

Well, that family dinner got Sophie a job working with Gray every day of the work week and they went from not wanting to see each other again to seeing each other every single day. The sparks fly every time they’re within spitting distance of each other and it was such fun getting to know these two.

Gray was a bit hard to like in the beginning because his attitude was so off-putting but I’m glad that I stuck around because boy does he change from beginning to end. He doesn’t have everything together and he’s so damn lonely and he doesn’t know why he keeps saying the wrong things and seeing him finally get his shit together and tell Sophie that she’s his was freaking fantastic. I just adored him to pieces and I completely bought his feelings for Sophie and her feelings for him.

Sophie was such a fun heroine. She was a good person who didn’t have her life together but she wanted to figure things out for herself. She didn’t have the highest self-esteem, something that her family contributed in but she was smart and she was strong and I really liked seeing her come into her own.

Lauren Layne writes sexual tension really well and it showed in this book. The romance between Gray and Sophie was at times frustrating but no less fun because these characters were funny and they were normal and real. I know plenty of Gray’s and Sophie’s and even Brynn’s and Will’s in my real life so I really connected with their characters here.

All in all, this was a fun story that I zipped right through and it’s another winner for me from Lauren Layne. She writes the good stuff, what can I say? I definitely recommend.

Grade: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Guest Review: Can’t Walk Away by Sandy James

Posted October 10, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 2 Comments

Guest Review: Can’t Walk Away by Sandy JamesReviewer: Tracy
Can't Walk Away by Sandy James
Series: Nashville Dreams #1
Publisher: Forever Yours
Publication Date: October 10th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 368
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

In Nashville the stars shine a little brighter, songs sound a little sweeter, and love lasts a lifetime.

Young, rich, and better looking than a man has a right to be, successful songwriter Brad "Hitman" Maxwell was once Nashville's biggest celebrity. Then a heartbreaking loss and a shocking betrayal caused his light to go out. Now, instead of pouring his soul into song, he pours beers at Words & Music. His bar is the perfect escape--a place to forget his past--until the night she takes the stage...

Savannah Wolf used to dream of becoming Nashville's hottest star. Now, as a young single mom, she dreams of a steady income and being home to tuck her daughter into bed. So when Brad Maxwell offers her the gig of a lifetime--playing as the headliner at Words & Music--Savannah discovers the best of both worlds. And she refuses to ruin this opportunity by falling for her sexy boss. Except that Brad suddenly starts writing music again... music inspired by her.

Brad Maxwell owns and runs a bar/restaurant with his friends.  He used to be one of Nashville’s greatest songwriters but after the death of his wife he gave that all up.  The music stopped showing up in his head and he was fine with that.

On Indie night at his place, Words & Music, he hears the most beautiful music from a woman named Savannah Wolf.  She’s actually a waitress at Words & Music but they’d never had much interaction.  Immediately a song starts flowing in his head and he knows it’s for Savannah.  Brad knows that Savannah is a star and starts to push her toward that stardom.  Unfortunately that’s not what Savannah wants at all and it causes issues.

Brad falls for Savannah at first sight but it takes longer for Savannah to get to the “love” part of their relationship.  She’s a single mother who had been burned by her previous agent – who was also her daughter’s father.  She’s slow to trust and Brad moves a little too quickly.  When things start getting out of hand with the whole business Savannah takes matters into her own hands and that decision makes her want to walk away from everything.

This was a cute book.  I really liked James’s writing and her books always put a smile on my face.  In this book Savannah was amazing.  She was smart and level-headed and knew exactly what she wanted and what she didn’t want.  She put her family and her daughter first and wasn’t willing to budge on that.  I had to admire the woman for standing up for herself on many different occasions in the book.

Brad was a little bit of a different story.  He fell in love with Savannah at first sight and was all in.  He moved way too fast for my liking and I actually found it a bit creepy.  Sure there was an age difference between them, but that wasn’t it.  I think it was just because he moved so fast without knowing this girl from Adam – just because she was beautiful and had a gorgeous voice.  I found that weird. Because of my feelings toward Brad and his over abundance of immediate feelings for Savannah I had a hard time with the romance portion of the book.  It was nice, but I couldn’t get fully invested.  The musical part of the book and the portion of the story where Savannah’s past came back to haunt her were very good and that’s what raised the rating on this book.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

three-half-stars


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