Tag: Cassie Mae

Guest Review: Crazy About Love by Cassie Mae

Posted June 15, 2016 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Crazy About Love by Cassie MaeReviewer: Tracy
Crazy About Love by Cassie Mae
Series: All About Love #3
Publisher: Loveswept
Publication Date: June 14th 2016
Genres: New Adult
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three-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

Single again on Valentine’s Day, struggling actor Alec Tucker agrees to help out his longtime friend—and unrequited love—Theresa Jones by filling in as one of the bachelors for her company’s charity auction. Alec figures it couldn’t hurt to meet someone new. Still, working with Theresa reminds him of all the reasons he never got over her. So it feels a little bittersweet when, out of nowhere, a beautiful young street artist buys a date with him for a whopping four grand.

Little does he know, Theresa’s had a major change of heart. She’s crushed when someone else wins a date with Alec—but she isn’t going down without a fight. After a pep talk from her best friend, Theresa makes a desperate move that goes against her better judgment . . . and things only get crazier from there. But with Alec ready to move on and Theresa afraid she’s pushed him away for good, maybe a little crazy is exactly what they need—before they both miss their shot.

Alec Tucker has been in love with his best friend, Theresa, as long as he can remember.  Their best friends got together and that’s how they met.  Eighteen months ago Alec professed his love to Theresa and she said…nothing.  He was devastated and has been working hard to forget her but it’s hard when you know, they sleep together.  His mind is all over the place cuz he loves her but their one night in bed is something that he knows that Theresa regrets.  When Theresa asks him to be a last minute entry in a Valentine Day auction for charity he agrees.  He gets “purchased” by a local author and ends spending an evening with Rian.  He tries his best to move on but he has a hell of a time.

Theresa dated the same guy, Eli, all through high school and he was “it” for her.  She had no plans to date anyone else ever again.  Except Eli decides that maybe they should experiment – isn’t that what college is about? He states that they’ll play with others but at the end of the four years they’ll get back together knowing it’s right. Despite her misgivings Theresa agrees but isn’t happy with it. She realizes after a while that her feelings for Eli aren’t what they should be and that she has feelings for Alec.  Of course she said she’d wait for Eli so she does.  When Alec tells her he loves her she’s shocked and wants to explore it all but she’s made her strange commitment to Eli. Only…Eli doesn’t come through in the end. Theresa plans the whole charity auction with Alec in mind and plans to bid on him with all of her money but she gets outbid.  She’s not giving up, however, is determined that she’ll be the one that he ends up with.

This was a wacky story.  On one hand it Alec was very sweet and he truly loved Theresa despite her craziness.  They got along great together but the whole profession of love put a strain on their relationship.  They do end up in bed together for one night but they each have different thoughts about it that are NOT what the other thinks.  When Theresa plans the charity event and then gets outbid the night takes a turn at the bizarre.

The first part of the book was Alec’s and was from his POV.  It’s also told from the present in one chapter and then flashbacks to previous times with Theresa in another which was a bit frustrating. I liked Alec and my heart went out to him and all that he was dealing with.  He truly wanted to move on but he just wasn’t ready.  I appreciated that his date understood and didn’t really push him.

Theresa had the second part of the book and was her POV (flashbacks included – obviously from her standpoint).  This is where things went downhill for me.  She was crazy.  I don’t mean acted a little weird I’m talking following Alec around and making his date a nightmare.  How she got away with it all is beyond me. I really disliked everything she did.  I wasn’t sure if the author intended for it to be funny or not, but it wasn’t to me.  She finally got her head together at the end but by then I just wanted Alec to be with someone else and put Theresa in a 72 hour lock down.

My rating for this book really reflects the first part of the book. The author can clearly write some heavy emotions and also some fun, funny dialogue.  Her female character in this instance, however, ruined the book for me in a big way.  I would have given the story a much higher rating had Theresa actually been sane.

Rating: 3 out of 5

three-stars

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What I Read Last Week

Posted July 29, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 3 Comments

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was going to physical therapy for a rotator cuff issue. Well, the therapist discharged me back to my doc – not because I’m better but because I wasn’t getting any better. Ug. So he injected my shoulder with cortisone and told me not to move my arm for a week and to stop taking my naproxen. A) Not move my arm for a week? Really? Damn near impossible! B) I lasted 4 days without the naproxen and was in such pain I finally broke down and took one. sigh I just want it better! Oh and I’m bringing this edition of WIRLW to you one-handed (as my other arm is in a sling to try to keep it immobile) – so if there are a lot of typos, so sorry.

I have a request this week – if you’re the praying sort then please send up a prayer for David. David is my youngest daughter’s best friend’s father (make sense?) and a friend of the family. He was playing with his daughter and they were walking/running backwards, he fell and cracked his skull big time. He has bleeding on the brain and is in ICU. At last report he was improving slightly, which is good, it’s just slow going.

Ok so you’re here to hear about books, right? Then let me get on with it… 

First for the week was a story called Bedding the Wrong Brother by Virna DePaul. The story is about a woman who has been told that she’s bad in bed. She wants her best friend, Max, to teach her how to please a man but he plays a fast one and replaces himself with his twin, Rhys. Rhys and Melina have had the hots for each other for years but never did anything about it. Obviously they’re upset at the switch but it all works out and it was a sweet romance. 4 out of 5 

Next was Friday Night Alibi by Cassie Mae – the story of Kelli who runs an alibi service for wealthy kids in her town. You can read more in my review by clicking here. 4 out of 5 

Lover at Last by JR Ward is Blay and Qhuinn’s story…finally. I was satisfied with that relationship in the book but felt that she definitely could have spent more time on it. Ward always has a ton of other things going on in her books and this one was no different which was a bit frustrating. I must say that I think this is my fabor BDB cover – just uber-yummy. lol 3.75 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

Next up was The Trouble With Being a Duke by Sophie Barnes. Anthony meets the woman he wants to marry at his mother’s masked ball but doesn’t know who she is. He finds her but even though he’s a Duke – especially because he’s a Duke – Isabella’s parents refuse to let her marry him. He doesn’t give up though and I loved that about him. Flavored with a bit of Cinderella at first it was a great story (releases 8/27/13) 4 out of 5 

Smokin’ Hot Firemen: Erotic Romance Stories For Women is an anthology edited by Delilah Devlin filled with lots and lots of – you guessed it – smokin’ hot firemen. The anthology on the whole was really good with only a few stories I could have done without. Definitely erotic but could be sweet as well. I liked it. 4 out of 5 (read for Book Binge) 

A friend of mine recommended a series called The Rocker by Terri Anne Browning to me. I read book 1, then immediately picked up 2 and then 3. The stories are full of editing and spelling errors which could have easily been fixed and there’s an inordinate amount of crying. That being said, I couldn’t put them down! lol 

The Rocker That Holds Me is book 1 and shows us 4 rockers, Nik, Jesse, Shane and Drake who make up the band Demon’s Wings. From the time they were all living in a trailer park they took care of Emmie (Ember) who was abused and starved by her druggie mother. The boys grew up and became famous and when Emmie was 15 she came to live with them and helps them in tons of different ways. They all love her deeply but Emmie has always loved Nik in a “not a friend” way as well. The book gives us great yet heart breaking background on Emmie, her journey to adulthood as well as how hard it is to see the man you love sleeping with groupies constantly. This is Emmie and Nik’s story but we get a boatload of everyone else as well. 4 out of 5 

The Rocker That Savors Me is book 2 and is Jesse’s story. The group has bought a home in Malibu and Emmie hires Layla as a housekeeper. From the moment that Jesse sees her he knows she’s the one. It takes Layla a little longer but eventually she falls as well. Layla has custody of her two sisters as well – 6 year old Lucy and 17 (at first) year old Lana. Problems with Layla and her father (and her father and Jesse) come up as well as a misunderstanding. This one was much lighter than book one with far less drama. Don’t get me wrong, there was definitely drama, but not as much as book 1, not still really good. 4 out of 5 

The Rocker That Needs Me is book 3 and this one is Drake and Lana’s story. Lana is 18 now and though Drake and Lana tried to be friends they just couldn’t keep it that way. After Lana gets her heart hurt when Drake sleeps with a groupie while drunk (he’s ALWAYS drunk) she decides that a local college is out and she decides to go to NYU to get away from the daily sight of Drake. This lasts until Drake takes a gig as a judge for a rocker program (kind of like the X Factor or America’s got talent but with rockers) and ends up in NY. The story was good but both the hero and heroine drove me nuts at time. Neither was all that mature – even though Drake was 32 he’d spent most if not all of his adult life in a bottle and didn’t know how to handle some things. I understood this but it was still annoying. lol We get to see all the characters from every book in all the books and I love that. It’s not like they cease to exist just because it’s not their HEA. They’re a family and they are close knit and stay that way. I’m looking forward to Shane’s book. 3.5 out of 5 

Not Planning on You by Sydney Landon was next and this story is about Gray who has had a thing for his soon to be co-worker, Suzy, for almost a year. She’s refused to go out with him but she finally caves. After an accident where she is then laid up and he takes care of her quite sweetly she falls in love with him. Unfortunately he’s got a woman from his past who’s stalking him and then says that the baby she’s carrying is his. Gray then turns into an ass and treats Suzy horribly, imho, and there’s nowhere near enough groveling at the end of the book. This was a decent read but Gray pissed me off. lol 3 out of 5 (read for Book Binge) 

Last for the week was Defiant in the Viking’s Bed by Joanna Fulford. This story was about an Earl’s niece, Astrid, who is promised in marriage to a horrible man, just like her uncle. She plans to run away with another Earl, Leif, to be his mistress as even that is preferable to her fiancé. Leif is captured and the uncle makes him believe that Astrid set the whole thing up. When Leif escapes he takes Astrid as his captive to pay her back for her scheme. This story was even better than I thought it would be. Leif has issues with marriage and family because of his first wife and of course believes that Astrid betrayed him, which she didn’t. He eventually sees the truth but won’t commit to her which causes strife. Definitely put this one on your to-be-bought list if you like a good Viking story. (releases 9/17/13) 4 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Awakening by Serena Grey
Anybody But Him by Claire Baxter
The Care and Feeding of an Alpha Male by Jessica Clare

Happy Reading! 
 

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Review: Friday Night Alibi by Cassie Mae

Posted July 27, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 3 Comments

In the wealthy town of Sundale, Kelli Pinkins has hatched the perfect plan to capitalize on her sweet reputation. For a generous fee, she will be every trust-fund baby’s dream: a Friday-night alibi, the “girlfriend” or “BFF” that parents dream about. With college approaching in the fall, Kelli’s services are in demand more than ever, which means that her social life is nonexistent. But Kelli is A-okay with that. She’s raking in cash for school. Besides, relationships are tricky, and sometimes very messy. She’d rather be at home on Xbox LIVE, anyway. Then the unexpected happens: She meets college stud Chase Maroney.

Chase isn’t like the preppy, privileged guys Kelli usually meets in Sundale. For starters, he’s twentysomething, always wears black., and he shoots back one-liners as fast as she can dish them out. But Kelli’s attempts to drive Chase away falter when she realizes that he treats her like he really knows her, like he cares about knowing her. When Kelli finally gives in to the delicious kiss she’s been fighting for so long, she faces a tough decision: make Chase a real-life boyfriend and risk her heart . . . or keep her clients and lose her first true love.

Sundale is an upstanding community where the children are expected to only associate with those who are of their station and certainly not do things like, party, go to bars, date someone who is considered inappropriate, etc. If this happens these children lose their trust funds. It seems a rather harsh thing to hold over someone’s head but apparently they can’t have their young adults thinking for themselves.

Kelli is a resident of Sundale and understands how important it is to kids her age (18) to be able to stay on the straight and narrow – well, at least have it APPEAR that they’ve done that. Kelli offers a service – she’s a Friday Night Alibi.
 

So…You need an alibi?

All packets are “Sundale approved,.” and with me, Kelli Pinkins, as your partner in crime, there will be NO WORRIES about losing that trust fund. All you have to do is pick a packet, memorize, and if the parentals give you the Q&A, you’ll have your alibi all set for your Friday night.

Drive-In Packet – $100.00
Need a few hours? Well, the drive-in is the perfect place, with double features on Friday Nights!

Things you’ll need to memorize:

Movie plotlines and actors.

What refreshments we ate.

Dinner and Dancing Packet – $100.00
All dance and restaurant selections are Sundale approved! Ballroom and Salsa. No clubs!

Things you’ll need to memorize:

What both of us ordered, and if we liked it.

What dances we learned.

Slumber Party Packet – $200.00
Need an all-nighter? Well, party at Kelli’s place! (Ladies only. Sorry, gents, but saying you’re spending the night with me wouldn’t help much.)

Things you’ll need to memorize:

What movies we watched.

What color we painted our nails.

What games we played. (Ouija boards are not approved!)

Each packet also requires you to memorize four topics we discussed. (Nothing general either. In depth stuff, I’m talking here. This will all be in your own personalized packet once purchased. All short notice packets are double.)

These are just a few samples of what I offer. There are many, many more, including museum dates, movie nights, shopping sprees, etc. Whatever you need, I got! You know how to reach me if you need. I look forward to helping you.

Kelli is a bit of an entrepreneur but this means that she’s doing nothing on Friday nights except sitting in her room and playing her XBOX Live. She really has no problem with this at all…or so she says. Kelli is the only daughter of parents who are never around. Her father was a stay at home dad until Kelli was 7 but then he bought a business and from that point on Kelli pretty much raised herself – with the help of the part time housekeeper. She’s used to being on her own with no one paying attention to her so staying home a Friday night by herself is kind of old hat. She figures that’s what she’d be doing anyway.

On one of those Friday nights Kelli’s best friend Sadie talks Kelli into heading to a bar/bowling alley/pool hall. Before Kelli has even had a beverage she sees someone she knows and ducks behind the air hockey table – she can’t be seen out and about or her client will be in jeopardy. Crawling on the disgusting floor she happens to meet a guy named Chase. Chase throws out a line to Kel and she can’t help but roll her eyes. She immediately thinks that he’s a perv and can’t wait to get away from him. The next day when she heads to the Club to play tennis, Chase is there front and center – invited by Sadie. Sadie tries to tell Kel that Chase is her epic romance but as Kel doesn’t even like Chase she highly doubts that.

As time goes on Kel and Chase keep seeing each other here and there. They decide to call a truce and Chase even goes so far as to visit her when she’s sick and take care of her – awwww. Chase is obviously falling for Kel but she refuses to believe that he’s anything more than a make-out pal. Kel is in denial but she may lose Chase before she figures out why.

This was such a good little book. I’m not sure what I expected with this New Adult story but it just charmed me. The characters were engaging and the story well told.

Kelli – OMG I felt for this girl so very much. She was so very alone and frankly, quite lonely. She spent dinners with her parents not talking. They planned weekends away and vacations without even thinking that she might like to go – they just gave her money to make up for it. I wanted to crawl into the book and hug her to pieces. Because of the life she led she was afraid to open herself up to anyone and it ended up causing a huge problem with Chase.

Chase was a good man. At 21 he had lived a life that was hard – not financially but emotionally. He hadn’t let anyone into his life in a while and Kel had been the only one. When you scratched under the surface of his smirk and his ridiculous lines you found a really good guy who wasn’t anything like you originally believed him to be.

The story is about love, friendship and trust as well as learning how to deal with your own emotions. It was a great book that had me smiling a great deal while I read. Oh, and while there’s a lot of kissing a slight slide into second base this book is rated PG. 🙂

Rating: 4 out of 5

Cassie Mae

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