Tag: June Gray

Guest Review: Disarm: The Complete Novel by June Gray

Posted March 21, 2014 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Disarm: The Complete Novel by June GrayReviewer: Tracy
Disarm: The Complete Novel by June Gray
Publisher: Berkley, Penguin
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Format: eARC
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars

 

When the secrets of the past begin to surface, the truth can be disarming…

Twenty-six-year-old Elsie Sherman has had a crush on her brother’s best friend, Henry Logan, since she was twelve years old. Unfortunately, Henry—now an Air Force officer—has only ever treated her like a younger sister, stepping into her brother’s shoes after he was killed in action.

That is, until the night when one dance ignites a sensual fire between the two, leaving Elsie aroused and confused. Is she allowed to lust after her surrogate big brother, who also happens to be her roommate? As the passion between them crosses the line into a territory that teases with the forbidden, Elsie decides to give herself to the man she has always desired. But Elsie is not prepared for where the relationship will take her.

Henry has been harboring two secrets. One can bring them closer together. The other will tear them apart. Now, with each startling new revelation, Elsie realizes that only she can decide if the past can ever be forgiven—and if a future with Henry is worth fighting for.

Elsie Sherman has been in love with her brothers best friend since she was 12 years old. Despite the more intimate feelings she had when she got older, Elsie and Henry have become really great friends. In fact when Elsie’s brother heads to Afghanistan, Elsie takes over as Henry’s roommate.

One night at a nightclub Henry and Elsie have a “moment” and that changes everything. A few days later they sleep together and Henry tells Elsie that he loves her and has loved her for years. Right after that, however, Elsie finds out that Henry’s getting sent to Afghanistan – which is where her brother was when he was killed. Obviously Elsie is scared to let go but they get through their goodbyes.

Elsie survives the 6 months that Henry’s gone but when he returns he’s not the same. Their love goes from a relationship with a future to no relationship at all as Henry feels that he needs to be away from Elsie in order to find out who he is. When he finds out he’s back to claim her but Elsie’s been so broken-hearted that she may not take him back.

This novel started out as a 6 part serial. I have to say that I’m darned glad that I read it all at once because I’m not a patient person when it comes to finding out what happens next! 🙂 l Having all of the stories at my fingertips felt more like reading one long novel rather than separate stories and I really enjoyed that.

The story itself is such an emotional roller coaster. I wanted to hug Henry at one point and then hit him at another – then I was back to hugging…then hitting. You get the idea. He really was a great guy but with all he’d been through in his life he was a bit messed up. I understood his desire to find himself I just think he went about it in a way that was extremely hurtful to both him and Elsie and felt it could have been accomplished another way. I’m glad he went back for her, but the hurt he’d caused was almost insurmountable.

Elsie was, imho, a typical girl. She lived and loved and was a bright, friendly woman. I loved the banter that occurred between Elsie and Henry as it showed me the depth of their friendship. My heart ached for Elsie when Henry made his decision to break up with her, especially as the night before he’d been talking about being with her forever. When Henry comes back into her life I was happy to see that though she still loved him she didn’t take him back right away. How could she trust that he’d not up and leave again?

The ending was quite satisfying and I loved the last scene of the book – it was sweet and touching and I thought it was really done well. In the end I really liked the overall story and the writing.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Now, that being said…I read the bonus short story that was included that was about Henry and Elsie on their honeymoon. While at the end of the book I was definitely feeling the HEA this story made me doubt things and think that maybe it was just a HFN – pooh! In the short Elsie is once again doubting her trust in Henry. If she doubted him then why did she marry him! Ug. I admit I was a bit frustrated. Though the story is fun and cute it I kind of wish I hadn’t read it. sigh lol

four-stars

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Review: Disarm: The Complete Novel by June Gray

Posted March 6, 2014 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

When the secrets of the past begin to surface, the truth can be disarming…

Twenty-six-year-old Elsie Sherman has had a crush on her brother’s best friend, Henry Logan, since she was twelve years old. Unfortunately, Henry—now an Air Force officer—has only ever treated her like a younger sister, stepping into her brother’s shoes after he was killed in action.

That is, until the night when one dance ignites a sensual fire between the two, leaving Elsie aroused and confused. Is she allowed to lust after her surrogate big brother, who also happens to be her roommate? As the passion between them crosses the line into a territory that teases with the forbidden, Elsie decides to give herself to the man she has always desired. But Elsie is not prepared for where the relationship will take her.

Henry has been harboring two secrets. One can bring them closer together. The other will tear them apart. Now, with each startling new revelation, Elsie realizes that only she can decide if the past can ever be forgiven—and if a future with Henry is worth fighting for.

Elsie Sherman has been in love with her brothers best friend since she was 12 years old. Despite the more intimate feelings she had when she got older, Elsie and Henry have become really great friends. In fact when Elsie’s brother heads to Afghanistan, Elsie takes over as Henry’s roommate.

One night at a nightclub Henry and Elsie have a “moment” and that changes everything. A few days later they sleep together and Henry tells Elsie that he loves her and has loved her for years. Right after that, however, Elsie finds out that Henry’s getting sent to Afghanistan – which is where her brother was when he was killed. Obviously Elsie is scared to let go but they get through their goodbyes.

Elsie survives the 6 months that Henry’s gone but when he returns he’s not the same. Their love goes from a relationship with a future to no relationship at all as Henry feels that he needs to be away from Elsie in order to find out who he is. When he finds out he’s back to claim her but Elsie’s been so broken-hearted that she may not take him back.

This novel started out as a 6 part serial. I have to say that I’m darned glad that I read it all at once because I’m not a patient person when it comes to finding out what happens next! 🙂 l Having all of the stories at my fingertips felt more like reading one long novel rather than separate stories and I really enjoyed that.

The story itself is such an emotional roller coaster. I wanted to hug Henry at one point and then hit him at another – then I was back to hugging…then hitting. You get the idea. He really was a great guy but with all he’d been through in his life he was a bit messed up. I understood his desire to find himself I just think he went about it in a way that was extremely hurtful to both him and Elsie and felt it could have been accomplished another way. I’m glad he went back for her, but the hurt he’d caused was almost insurmountable.

Elsie was, imho, a typical girl. She lived and loved and was a bright, friendly woman. I loved the banter that occurred between Elsie and Henry as it showed me the depth of their friendship. My heart ached for Elsie when Henry made his decision to break up with her, especially as the night before he’d been talking about being with her forever. When Henry comes back into her life I was happy to see that though she still loved him she didn’t take him back right away. How could she trust that he’d not up and leave again?

The ending was quite satisfying and I loved the last scene of the book – it was sweet and touching and I thought it was really done well. In the end I really liked the overall story and the writing.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Now, that being said…I read the bonus short story that was included that was about Henry and Elsie on their honeymoon. While at the end of the book I was definitely feeling the HEA this story made me doubt things and think that maybe it was just a HFN – pooh! In the short Elsie is once again doubting her trust in Henry. If she doubted him then why did she marry him! Ug. I admit I was a bit frustrated. Though the story is fun and cute it I kind of wish I hadn’t read it. sigh lol  

 June Gray

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What I Read Last Week

Posted March 3, 2014 by Tracy in Features | 1 Comment

Greetings!

How ya’ll doin’? Did you have a great weekend? I hope so.

My week last week was pretty quiet, if I remember correctly. My life has been pretty boring lately – I have to say I enjoy that sometimes. lol

My girls played in their bell choir this past Sunday – 2 pieces. Here are the videos if you’re interested. I think they’re both doing a wonderful job and they love playing, which I love. 

(My girls are..second from the left and 5th from the left.) 

 

(My girls are on the left table 1st and second from the right.)

 

Ok, on to what I read this past week:

I started off the week with A Lady by Any Other Name by Jennifer Kitchens. This story is about a young woman running from her evil brother when he promises her in marriage to an old disgusting man. On his deathbed her father had told her that he wasn’t her real father and gave her clues as to who the real father was. Nicole figures it out and goes to talk to her real fathers family hoping that they’ll take her in. What she finds is unexpected but then she’s sent to London to wait for proof of her parents marriage. She then falls in love with the man she’s staying with. The story was good if not a bit too busy – too many story lines floating about. The romance happened quickly with the hero and heroine going from what looked like 2 people who might have an attraction for each other to “I love you.” I just didn’t think they were at that point yet. Anyway the story still worked which was good. 3.25 out of 5

The Blind Wolf boxed set by Aubrey Rose is 4 stories following the romance and lives of Julia and Damien. Damien is a wolf shifter and finds out that Julia is his mate – but she’s full human which never happens. The story unfolds from there. Though not romance heavy it could get very emotional at times. I’ll post my review of this one this week. 3.5 out of 5

Disarm: The Complete Novel by June Gray was originally a serial. This is actually all 6 stories in the serial wrapped up in one and I’m so glad I read it this way. The story is a friends to lovers story involving Elsie and Henry. They finally get together after many years of friendship but then have to face Henry’s deployment to Afghanistan and Henry’s personality change when he returns. There’s a whole lot more that goes on and it was definitely worth reading. I’ll post my review of this one this week. 4 out of 5

Next was The Devil Wears Kilts by Suzanne Enoch. This is the first in a new series called Scandalous Highlanders. Ranulf is a highlander and proud to be one. He ends up chasing his 18 year old runaway sister to London when he refuses to let her have a Season. The family she stays with has an older daughter, Charlotte, who Ranulf is highly attracted to. Unfortunately Ranulf’s mother was English and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Ranulf has prejudices against the English but Charlotte puts him in his place. The story is about the pair working out their differences as Charlotte abhors violence and Ranulf lives with it daily and thinks it’s ok. Ranulf decides to change his thinking but he’s not sure if it’s enough to capture Charlotte’s heart. It was a great story and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. 4 out of 5

Bite Me by Shelly Laurenston is the story of Livy Kowalski, a Honey Badger shifter, and Vic Barinov, a hybrid shifter that is half bear and half tiger. Livy’s father is found dead and had obviously been murdered. Livy and her family decide that the person behind it all needs to pay. While this is happening Livy and Vic, who were friends before, start sleeping together which ends up turning to love. There’s a whole lot that goes on and it all wrapped up into a great story. I’ll post my review for this one later this month. 4 out of 5 

Last for the week was A Night With the Bride by Kate McKinley. This is the 3rd book in the By Invitation Only series. The story involves Nicholas, a duke who has basically been in seclusion and is thought to be mad, and Gabriella. Gabriella takes on a dare with her friends that she can get the duke to kiss her. It turns into so much more. I’ll post my review of this novella later this week. 4 out of 5

 

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Everybody’s Got A Story by Heather Wardell  

Happy Reading!

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