Tag: mini review

Short Story Mini-Review: Snowbound with the CEO by Shannon Stacey

Posted November 3, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Adrian Blackstone built a million-dollar business with hard work and determination—and by remaining professional at all times. Denying his longtime attraction to his beautiful executive assistant hasn’t been easy but it’s necessary. She’s indispensable, and he can’t stand the thought of losing her if things didn’t work out.

For more than a year, Rachel Carter has been quietly dreaming of all the ways she’ll never seduce her sexy, buttoned-up boss. She’s worked too hard to get where she is to cross that line, no matter how badly she’d like to act on her fantasies. But then a wicked snowstorm leaves them stranded in a romantic winter wonderland…

What begins as a single kiss and a few bad Santa jokes turns into a weekend full of breathless passion and hopes for something more. But with Monday comes a return to their complicated reality—and Adrian must prove that promises made are promises kept, especially at Christmastime.

Adrian has wanted his secretary, Rachel, in his bed for the past 16 months. He knows that that is the worst idea he’s ever had so he stays on a professional level with her and has never given her any hint that he has these thoughts.

Rachel has had the hots for her boss, Adrian for months. She knows that it’s a bad idea so even when they’re traveling together she never gets to comfortable with the man for fear that she’ll let things slide.

On one such travel trip the pair gets snowed in. One thing leads to another and the next thing you know Rachel and Adrian are hot and heavy in their hotel room. Even when the roads open the pair decide to stay the weekend and keep the fling going. When Monday comes along though neither is prepared for seeing each other at the office and what might have been a great romance for both of them gets squashed down with work and feelings of uncertainty.

This was a short story that was cute, fun and sexy. The story had all of the wonderful Shannon Stacey writing wrapped up in a Christmastime romance. There was a tiny bit of angst and misunderstanding but it wasn’t enough to bog the story down with sadness. If you want a fun Christmas read that has bad jokes and mistletoe this is definitely one you shouldn’t miss.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Shannon Stacey 

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Mini Review: Dragon Mine by Jaime Rush

Posted June 2, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Genres: Anthologies (multiple authors)

Kirin is summoned home to Miami when his father goes missing–the man who ruined his life, and his relationship with Elle, by being a suspect in her mother’s disappearance. When he runs into Elle, sparks fly, especially when he discovers her father is missing, too. Suspecting that their disappearances are linked, they must combine his Dragon power and her magick to find the truth in the darkest shadows. But as their desires flare again, can their burning passion overcome their past—or the danger that the future holds?

Kirin is called back to Miami when his father goes missing. As he’s driving home he passes the factory that he used to work at which brings back memories of his first and only love, Elle, as she worked there as well. He pulls in to the abandoned building to let his dragon out and while he’s there runs into Elle as well as a dark presence.

Kirin and Elle, whose father is also missing, try to decipher the clues that they have as to where their fathers are. They find more about Elle’s past, her mother, and the possibility that one of their fathers hurt the other. During this time they find the love they though was stagnate getting life breathed into it again.

This novella is the first in a series about Elementals – witches, shapeshifting dragons and magick users. The premise of the story is a good one and one that definitely caught my attention. Once I started the book I was a bit confused with the world building. The way it was written made me stop and look up if there were previous books as it seemed like I should already know what certain things were.

Despite that I got into the story about the intertwining of Kirin’s father and Elle’s mother and father. The fight scenes and magick used was very different and I definitely enjoyed reading them. The story was leading us farther and farther into the characters lives and I was really getting into it and…it stopped. Maybe the author thought that that was a good place to end but as a reader I felt really unsatisfied (and a bit cheated) at the way the end of the book just dropped off. Maybe if I knew a full length novel was coming out in a month or so I wouldn’t feel that way but when I looked to see when the next story was out it showed December! Yikes. In the end I liked the story but had an issue with the end. As a reader I need to have some sort of conclusion – even if it’s very, very tiny.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Jaime Rush

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Mini-Review: Wicked Lies by Karina Cooper

Posted March 3, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 2 Comments

Jonas Stone has been given his first independent operation: rescue the insurrection leader’s imprisoned grandson from the Mission. Getting the job done means more than getting Danny Granger out–it means staying with him while he heals. Staying too close, for way too long. 


Danny is everything Jonas isn’t: confident, optimistic, honest–a man to be reckoned with. If only it didn’t mean going against everything Jonas has planned. He’s kept his secrets for years, hid behind a mask no one could see through…until now. Danny isn’t the kind of man Jonas deserves. But he might be exactly the man he needs…
Jonas is the guy behind the monitor. He helps behind the scenes to get Danny Granger out of his cell and to a safe house but while they’re on a com together they each feel a connection. Jonas is determined to get Danny out but he feels protective and emotional with this man he’s never met before. Danny loves the smooth as silk voice in his ear and wants more of the man behind the voice.
Once Danny is safe and the two men meet it’s everything they can do to stay away from each other. They each have their own reasons but that doesn’t last for long. Unfortunately Jonas’s fears get the better of him and he leaves. Can the two work it out?
This is a very sweet story. At first hard to read because we see one of the heroes getting beaten, but it certainly gets better after that. 
The story is a in between romance as this is story 4.5 in the Dark Missions series. I have to say that I was a bit confused as I hadn’t read any of the other books but that didn’t make me any less emotional about the relationship between the men. It was intense and a bit heartbreaking even though as (pretty much) an outsider I didn’t have the scoop on the stories behind the men. 
The story was a good one and makes me want to get to know more about this world that Ms. Cooper has created.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Mini-Review: Anything for You by Jessica Scott

Posted February 15, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 3 Comments

Sergeant First Class Shane Garrison has spent a year recovering from his combat injuries. A year spent in the arms of the woman of his dreams. But loving Jen comes with a price: every time he touches her, he faces the uncertain fear that loving her might mean losing her forever.

Jen is a breast cancer survivor and with Shane, she’s found a man who loves her despite her scars. But her scars may be too much for their love to survive.

As their love grows, so does the risk to Jen’s life. And Shane must make the toughest decision any man can make to save the woman he loves.

Shane loves Jen and he’s concerned for her. I get that, I really do, but when he makes an appointment to get a vasectomy without even telling her – for her own good – that’s just an asshat move in my book. I get that he doesn’t want her cancer to come back, and he certainly doesn’t want to have her choose between her own life and the baby’s life if the breast cancer comes back while she’s pregnant, but doing something that HUGE without consulting it effects directly doesn’t sit well with me.

Shane can’t lose Jen, he just can’t but like any man he’s too afraid to just sit down wither and tell her how he feels about them having kids together. Jen is an intelligent woman and though she may not like it she would have gladly sat and talked to Shane about his concerns. Instead he goes behind her back and when Jen finds the paperwork before the surgery is done she’s royally pissed – and hurt – that he never said anything.

The story is a good one. I didn’t care for Shane as much in this book as I did in Because of You because of his actions. To me his actions screamed that he felt Jen wasn’t emotionally strong enough to handle the conversation with him and that was just so wrong. It certainly made me doubt, for a time, whether these two people should be together at all. That being said things worked out in the end. Jen saw Shane’s point of view (we can adopt as many kids as you want, Jen, that way you’ll be safe) and they worked it out. I still have my reservations about the couple but the story was good and it was nice to see a kind of “day in the life” of a couple we had already gotten to know.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Jessica Scott

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Mini Review: Lord Stillwell’s Excellent Engagements by Victoria Alexander

Posted December 21, 2012 by Tracy in Reviews | 2 Comments

Genres: Anthologies (multiple authors)

ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN…

Some say I do not take my engagements seriously. Nonsense. What man with no interest in marriage would find himself proposing not once, but three times? And each time, I’ve felt certain that this, at last, is the absolutely, positively, perfect woman.

Miss Felicia Whitingdon, for instance, has youth, beauty, style, grace—and a handsome fortune. Lady Lucille Eustice is a widow of impeccable social standing, and a balm to my soul. Then there is Miss Caroline Hibbit, sweet and charming in every way. Any one of these intoxicating treasures could make a man happy. Any one of them could be an ideal wife. But which—if any of them—will it be? 

Lord Stillwell is excited to be engaged. His parents thank that he might be too young at 25 but he’s certain that Felicia is the one….only she’s not. 
A few years later Win is excited once again because he’s chosen a fiance this time who is utterly sensible and beautiful as well. Unfortunately, he once again finds that Lucille isn’t the one for him either. 
Caroline is the one. Yes, he’s now 30 years old and has a good head on his shoulders. He’s found a great girl and he’s anxious for the wedding. *sigh* Yeah, that one isn’t going to happen either. 
All of these women were great and at the time of the engagements Win is certain that this one is the one…kind of. In this novella we read about a nice, honorable man who wants to get married and is consistently thwarted. I liked how we got to see Win grow through the years and what he looked for in a wife change as well. I felt for him each time the engagements didn’t work out but we could see, as readers, that it just wasn’t meant to be. 
I can’t wait to read the novel that has Win finally finding his HEA (comes out in February). I think it will be a great read – just as this was a novella not to be missed. 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 

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