Tag: Kelsie Leverich

Review: Feel the Rush by Kelsie Leverich

Posted July 23, 2014 by Holly in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Feel the Rush by Kelsie LeverichReviewer: Holly
Feel the Rush by Kelsie Leverich
Series: Hard Feelings #2
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: August 20th 2013
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 416
Add It: Goodreads
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three-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

The New York Times bestselling author of The Valentine’s Arrangement continues her sizzling series with a new novel of a plan that goes awry—in the arms of a soldier....
Picking the wrong men is a talent Meagan Mitchell has perfected. She’s sweet, confident, beautiful— and single. With her thirtieth birthday sneaking up on her, she needs a new plan. No more Mr. Wrongs or Mr. Bads. It’s time to find Mr. Safe....
Army captain Reed Porter lives for the thrill—an Airborne Jumpmaster with a rush addiction. He’s sexy and playful, and he quickly tempts Meagan with his rich Southern drawl and sinful looks. But slowing down and settling down are not on his agenda, making him exactly the type of man Meagan wants to avoid.…
As their undeniable attraction heats up, Meagan has to decide if she’s willing to risk everything on a chance at love with a reckless charmer. Is she brave enough to bet her future—and her heart—on Mr. Thrill?
Or will Reed finally learn that the feeling of a safe landing is just as addicting as the rush of the fall?

Maegan is feeling the push to settle down and get married, but she hasn’t been able to find Mr. Right. She’s found plenty of Mr. Right Nows, but not the Mr. Right of her dreams. When her friend suggests Maegan move with her to a new town, she agrees, thinking a fresh start is just what she needs. Until she runs into Reed Porter, her new neighbor.

She and Reed spent a night together some years ago, which he doesn’t even remember. He makes it clear he’s interested in her, but she learned her lesson. Except she can’t deny they have chemistry. Plus, it turns out Reed has hidden depths. So maybe a casual fling with him will work until the real Mr. Right comes along…until Reed decides he wants more than casual. Maegan isn’t willing to risk her heart on a bad bet, which she’s convinced Reed is. Since he can’t exactly deny he isn’t in the market for long-term, there isn’t much to talk about. Except he’s always there when she needs him. And she sees through his tough-guy exterior to the man underneath.

The premise was good, but I didn’t really connect with the author’s voice. Her writing style didn’t engage me. I thought both Maegan and Reed blew hot and cold, which was frustrating. It lasted well past the point both characters should have either committed or moved on.  Both of them had reasons for holding back, which made the story more bearable, but still.

The story wasn’t really a bad one, but since I didn’t connect with the characters I wasn’t really invested in them one way or another.

3 out of 5

 

This book is available from InterMix. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

three-stars

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Review: The Valentine’s Arrangement by Kelsie Leverich

Posted December 29, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Tattoo artist Ronnie Clark is counting the days until Valentine’s Day is over. Ronnie doesn’t do romance. She doesn’t do flowers or dates, and she sure as hell doesn’t do love–not anymore. After her fiancé cheated on her while deployed, she has vowed never to fall in love again, especially with a soldier.

Sergeant First Class Kale Emerson is home on his mid-tour leave from Iraq, but he can’t wait to return to finish leading his soldiers on their mission. He’s got no time for a relationship…but casual sex, that’s a different story. And when he meets Ronnie, a snarky, gorgeous, take-no-prisoners kind of woman, a fast fling is all he can think about. But when Kale realizes he’s met his match with a bombshell woman who is hell bent against love, will just sex be enough? And will winning her over both body and soul be the toughest battle he ever fought?

Ronnie Clark hates Valentine’s Day. She’s working along and hoping that the hearts and flowers time of years just gets over with. She thinks that men and women alike should show their love 365 days a year rather than just 1. She’s a bit cynical since she found out that her fiancé was sleeping with someone while deployed. Now it’s been 3 months and she’s ready to just get her house sold (the one she bought with her ex) and move on.

Then Kale Emerson walks into the tattoo parlor where she works and sparks fly all over her body. Despite her best efforts she finds herself with Kale and he’s making an arrangement – on Valentine’s Day. He proposes no-strings attached sex (the only kind either of them like) for the 5 days he has remaining on his R & R and then they’ll part happy and satisfied. The problem ends up being that both of them find themselves having deeper feelings for the other and the small shit-storm that occurs after that.

This was a cute book. I really liked Kale a lot and Ronnie as well – her take no crap from anyone attitude was great. The problem I think I had with the book was that almost insta-love. They fell in love within about 3 or 4 days and it was just too fast for me.

Now Kale was a great guy and tried to get Ronnie to admit her feelings, even after he left again. Ronnie was a stubborn ass though and just couldn’t give in to her feelings which made me hurt for her because she had closed herself off.

The end was a bit sappy and frankly a bit odd (they had sex when Kale was completely wounded) but in the end an enjoyable story.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Kelsie Leverich

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What I Read Last Week

Posted December 17, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 0 Comments

Happy Tuesday!

Yes, this post is going up on Tuesday because I’m seriously hella behind. Things are falling by the wayside as work is wiping me out completely every day. It’s obviously one of the busy seasons here at the church so I’m just trying to keep afloat. I actually only worked half a day yesterday to try and catch up with laundry, housework and completing my holiday decorating. I thought this post was gonna get done at that time but apparently there was just too much to do! lol Crazy.

Anyway, things here are gearing up for Christmas. The kids are so excited about Christmas. We’ll go to my in-laws this Sunday to celebrate as that’s the only time we can all get together. It will be weird on Christmas to just be at home with the hubby and kids. As ALL of my family is all out of state now it’s just us four. I’m sad I won’t see them in person but Skype will be busy that day. 🙂

So….what I read last week:

I started off the week with Christmas Kitsch by Amy Lane. A wonderful book about 2 boys who are so very different but find what they need in the other. It was great and I highly recommend it. You can read my review here. 5 out of 5

Love this chicks hair!

Next was Jealous and Freakn’ by Eve Langlais. The story was about a woman who has known her mate was since she was 10 but he thinks he sees her as a sister and refuses to acknowledge her as his mate. Along comes another shifter and lo and behold, he’s her mate as well. Once he gets jealous he finally decides to admit that he’s wanted her for years but thought it was wrong. This was a fun and funny story that I really enjoyed reading. 4 out of 5

Elite by Rachel Van Dyken was a re-read. I wanted to read Elect which is book 2 in the Eagle Elite series but it’s a complete continuation from book 1…which I hadn’t read for a while. I wanted to be completely in the know so…it was re-read time. You can read my review here. 4 out of 5

Elect by Rachel Van Dyken is the continuing story of Trace & Nixon but also adds Chase, Nixon’s cousin into the mix to make a nice little love triangle. I’m not a fan of love triangles but this one was very readable and didn’t drive me batty – yay! 🙂 You can read my full review of the book here. 4 out of 5 

The Scandal in Kissing an Heir by Sophie Barnes is the story of Rebecca who was orphaned and taken in by her aunt and uncle who are horrid. She would do anything to avoid marrying the ancient suitors they have courting her – even fake madness for two years. Now she’s looking for a younger husband and she’s got her eye on Daniel. Daniel HAS to get married according to his uncle or he’ll be cut off. Turns out marriage is the best thing that ever happened to him. Great story. Liked both Rebecca and Daniel a lot. 4 out of 5

Forgiveness: Alek & Rose by Amanda N. Richardson was the story of, you guessed it, Alek and Rose who grew up together and were close friends who were each afraid to stated their true feelings. Then Rose disappears for a year and then comes back to finally tell Alek what’s up, why she left and how she feels about it. The characters were immature at best and Alek had serious anger issues. Rose seemed strong on one hand and then weak at others and I couldn’t get a true handle on her. This one was ok but really not my cuppa. 2 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

The Valentine’s Arrangement by Kelsie Leverich was about tattoo artist Ronnie who lusts after her soldier client Kale. They start a no strings sexual relationship which quickly turns to love. The love happened rather quickly even though they were parted for months. I guess I thought that because Ronnie didn’t talk to Kale the entire time he was deployed. This was a good one but I did have some issues with it. 3 out of 5

His Teddy Bear by Eve Langlais was about a short chubby bear shifter named Teddy who finds out her mate is big, bad, beautiful wolf shifter, Reece. Reece dates tall, leggy blondes so when he first realizes that Teddy is his mate he’s not thrilled. He then gets to know her, despite Teddy’s best efforts to constantly run away, and finally realizes that its what’s inside that counts. Yes, Reece was an ass but I really liked him by the end of the book. 3 out of 5

 

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Taming a Wild Scot by Rowan Keats

Happy Reading!

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Review: Pretending She’s His by Kelsie Leverich

Posted November 15, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Genres: Anthologies (multiple authors)

Eva Riley is the maid of honor at her best friend’s wedding and it just so happens that her ex is the best man. Eva’s a straight shooter and definitely not the damsel-in-distress type. But with her pride on the line and her ex’s heart on his sleeve, there might not be enough champagne in the world to get her through this weekend…

Trevor Owens may be one hell of a good friend to Eva, but he’s always wanted to get the fiery redhead between the sheets. So he swoops in and offers a solution to her ex problem: they can pretend to be together—just for the weekend. But when their little game of make-believe is over, will they be able to tell what’s real and what’s only pretend?

Eva is at her friend Meagan’s cabin for the weekend. She’s there for Megan’s wedding and is so excited for her. Unfortunately her ex-boyfriend Luke is also there as he’s Meagan’s fiance’s best friend. Almost a year ago Luke and Eva were a happy couple but when Luke told Eva he loved her and Eva didn’t say it back Luke got a little bent out of shape (to say the least). Things didn’t end well and Luke ended up storming out and ending the relationship. She’d never had a guy break up with her before and it was an odd feeling. She is not the type of woman that stays with a man for long. She gets bored or realizes that the man is feeling more for her than she for him and she breaks it off before it goes too far. Luke breaking it off made her feel things that she’d never felt before. When she sees him at the wedding and he tells her he wants to try again she feels horrible but she really has no feelings for the guy. She likes him a lot but she knows that it would never go farther than that. 

Trevor is Meagan’s best friend and also a good friend to Eva. They are snarky to each other and aren’t afraid to tell the other one to fuck off. They’re close and are even sharing a bed (but not “sleeping together”) at the cabin as there were no other beds. When Trevor realizes that Luke is there and things are incredibly awkward for Eva he offers to act like her boyfriend to get Luke away from her. She just laughs at him until Luke makes his speech about getting back together. She’s feeling guilty about the way she treated Luke and ends up blurting out that she’s with Trevor.

Trevor is damned happy to act the attentive boyfriend as he’s always wanted Eva. She doesn’t see him as boyfriend material as he a bit of a man-whore but the longer they put on the act the more she feels she wants it to be real – especially after they end up sleeping together. When the weekend ends neither plans on extending their pretend relationship but they both realize that they don’t want it to end.

This was a sweet and sexy novella. I loved Trevor and Eva together as they were almost two peas in a pod. They were so alike in their temperaments and they way they looked at life. They each finally realized that the pretending was something they wanted to make reality but this was foreign ground for both of them. 

Trevor was a kick. I loved his personality and the way he treated his friends. He was kind, devoted and protective. There was also a part of the book that had to do with Trevor’s family and that made me love him even more. His love for them and the way he treated them was an insight as to how he would treat someone he loved. Yes, he had wanted Eva sexually since he had met her so in their pretend relationship he wasn’t really pretending. He knew almost immediately that she meant more to him than just a sex partner.

Eva was completely confused about her feelings for Trevor. She knew that she loved him as a friend but when he first kissed her she felt more than just friendship. I was actually extremely happy for her because it seemed that she had completely closed herself off from feeling more than “like” with any man so when she fell hard and fast for Trevor I loved it. 

The story was fast moving and it seemed like Trevor and Eva found insta-love but after knowing each other for 4 years I believe that the feelings were there all along they just needed water to make them grow. The novella was a bit heart-wrenching as well as fun and funny. It was also pretty darned hot in the sex department and had a great ending. This was my first read by this author but I’ll definitely be reading more soon.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Kelsie Leverich

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What I Read Last Week

Posted November 11, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 3 Comments

Happy Veteran’s Day! I thank all the men and women who have fought for the country that I love. 

So last week I didn’t have time to post anything (I’ve since updated that post) and two of the things that didn’t get posted were my kids’ Halloween pictures. My youngest was a little football players sans pads, etc. and my oldest was a boxer (of sorts). They were cute! At least imho. 🙂

Alright, on to what I read last week:

I started off the week with Sweet Dreams by Kristen Ashley. I actually started this on Friday and it took me like 4 freaking days to finish it it was so damned long. Lol The story is about Lauren who divorced her husband after she found out he’d been cheating on her for 2 years and then drove around for 4 months trying to find a place that felt like home. She finds that place when she drives into Carnal, Colorado. She applies for and gets a job as a cocktail waitress in a bar where she meets Tate, one of the owners. Tate says some damn mean things about Lauren which she overhears and this creates a ton of tension. They eventually become lovers and while they have their issues all is good in the end. Add in Tate’s crazy ex, Lauren’s stuffy ex, Tate’s 10 year old son, a murderer on the loose and Tate as a bounty hunter and you have a lot of things going on. There were parts of this book that drove me nuts – like Tate cutting Lauren off while she’s trying to talk (and he did this often) and some other things. But other than those issues I really enjoyed the book. 4 out of 5

Next up was The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas. I just love Thomas’s books! This one was no different. The story had to do with a man who was thought to be The Ideal Gentleman and a woman who had come out and was pretending to be what every man wanted so that she could marry and save her family from poverty. Their story was wonderful and I loved reading about their romance. 4 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

Wolf’s Haven by Ambrielle Kirk was a free read recently on All Romance eBooks. The story is about Tamara who escapes from her abusive boyfriend and is saved by a werewolf. They soon become lovers but she’s not exactly welcomed into the pack that he takes over. They have to deal with that as well as the guy that Devin has to fight to take over the pack. This was a decent read. I liked the first part of the book better than the second but it was still good. 3 out of 5

Wolf’s Promise by Ambrielle Kirk is the second book in the Caedmon Wolves series. This book has Tamara’s counselor, Selene driving to Tamara to check on her as Tamara kind of fell off the map. Selene’s worried about her but Selene ends up captured by the bad wolf from book 1, Darius. He wants to rape her and have her birth his pups as his mate is infertile. She manages to stop him and gets thrown in a cell with Nick who has also been captured. He escapes with Selene and while he tries to send her home for her safety she can’t seem to go. They fall in love but Nick is cut off from love as he was betrayed before. This book wasn’t as good as book 1. There were serious, serious editing issues that made me a bit batty. That brought down the quality of the book and the story wasn’t great enough to let that slide. 2 out of 5

The Perfect Match by Kristan Higgins is the story of Honor who thinks herself in love with her best friend. When she’s told she better start thinking about kids as she’s 35 and her eggs start to shrivel she proposes to him. Unfortunately he refuses – and not necessarily in a nice way. This makes her start online dating and even accepts a blind date with a man who ends up being an ass. Tom is a Brit about to be deported as his work can’t renew his work visa. Honor ends up engaged to Tom and falls in love but Tom’s feelings are cut off and when things go wrong in his life he gives up on everything. You can read my thoughts on the book here. 4 out of 5

Frat Boy and Toppy by Anne Tenino was a re-read for me. The story is about Brad who is finally admitting to himself that he’s gay and his desire to date his history teacher’s TA, Sebastian. This is a great story and I loved it as much the second time around as I did the first. You can read my review from 2012 here. 4 out of 5

Good Boy by Anne Tenino is the 4th book in the Theta Alpha Gamma series and is a novella about Brad and Sebastian. It covers a situation that happens 9 months after they’ve been together. I’ll be posting my review of this book on Wednesday so check back in. I will say it was a good one. 4 out of 5

Pretending She’s His by Kelsie Leverich was a novella about a woman who wants nothing to do with love. Eva is the love em and leave em type but when her ex boyfriend, the only man who ever broke up with her (rather than vice versa) is at her best friends wedding she pretends that her friend Trevor is her new boyfriend. What starts out as pretend soon turns into reality for both. I’ll post my review for this one on Friday. Great novella and definitely worth reading. 4 out 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted:
*crickets*

Happy Reading!

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