Review: Redemption by Fire by Andrew Grey

Redemption by Fire

by Andrew Grey

(By Fire # 1)

This was totally an impulse buy.  I saw a review for the last book in this series on a blog that I love and follow and being the stickler I am for reading in order, I rushed and bought book one.  Loved that it was a short story because I was feeling some m/m withdrawals in between all my "required" review reading so this hit the spot.

However, writing a short story I think has to be hard and as a reader it's difficult to connect on all levels with the story.  I think that's what lessened my enjoyment of this story.  This is the first I read by this author and it was very well written and I did enjoy what was presented.  However, I felt that something was missing.

In a nutshell, Dirk is a firefighter who almost dies in a fire while rescuing a baby.  He's always been an asshole and really none of his co-workers like him.  While he's recovering at the hospital, the new "kid" at the station is the only one that goes to visit him.  And the first thing he does is he throws in his face that he thinks he's gay and because he has to live in the closet, that's why he's such an ass.

Of course, Dirk is and he feels an immediate attraction to Lee.  And while Dirk is recovering things heat up between them.  And then Dirk has to deal with the repercussions of going back to work and whether or not he will come out to his friends and family in order to keep Lee, who is happily out.

I think there was a lot of growth for the characters that happened "off the pages" and that's what I didn't like because I felt that people just changed who they were so quickly and with no real reason as to why.  But time had passed so I'm sure things and feelings prompted those changes.  That's just something you lose when reading a short story and I think this one was affected by that.

However, that being said, I did enjoy Dirk and Lee together, as well as Dirk's turnaround with this co-workers and friends.  I'm not sure if the next story will still be about the same couple since the issue of coming out to his father wasn't really addressed at the end of this book.  But I will definitely continue reading the series either way.  Quick, hot and entertaining read!

Purchase Links: Amazon

ARC Review: Nauti Temptress by Lora Leigh

Nauti Temptress

by Lora Leigh

(Nauti Girls # 1)

First in a new series by Lora Leigh involving in some ways my favorite Nauti boys?  I'm in!  The Nauti series was one of the first romantic suspense stories I ever read so it really holds a special place in my heart.  They are all alpha males with lots of attitude, dominance, confidence and guns on occasion.  I was very excited about this series because I thought we would be reading about their daughters.  Which is not the case.  Don't ask me why I thought that, maybe I read it somewhere.

The good thing about not reading about the daughter of my favorite Nauti boys is that they are still young, still around and still kicking ass.  My favorite part of this book was the fact that they are all present in this story, especially Dawg.  See, it turns out that Dawg's father had a whole other family going and now Dawg is responsible for his half sisters and their mother.

Eve being the oldest works as a bartender and also helps their mother run the B&B that Dawg got for her.  And in both places all she sees is Brogan Campbell.  He's a bad boy, has been around for some time but rumor has it he's a thief and a traitor.  Dawg doesn't want his sister anywhere near him but Brogan has other plans.  He needs Eve so that he can get the help of the Mackay boys to solve the case he's been working on.

Overall not bad as far as a storyline goes, there was some action and some mystery.  But there were a lot of loopholes for me.  For example, at the beginning Eve seems like she doesn't know anything about Brogan they've barely talked before etc.  Towards the end of the book and without that much time passing, she knows everything about him from their prior interactions.  So either I'm missing something or this connection they had happened while I wasn't looking. 

But one thing is for sure... Lora Leigh knows how to turn up the heat.  Even if the story and characters are not 100% what I wanted, I have no complaints in that department.  Brogan is almost primal, a great dirty talker and knows exactly what to do for Eve.  I just wish for once the heroine wouldn't have been a virgin.  Maybe it'll happen one day.

*ARC provided by publisher

Purchase Links: Amazon

ARC Review: Forbidden by Jacquelyn Frank

Forbidden
by Jacquelyn Frank
The World of the Nightwalkers #1

When Docia Waverley wakes up alive from her plummet from certain death she begins to realize that life will never be the same again. She is now apart of the Nightwalkers world; a Bodywalker who now contains the soul of an ancient Egyptian queen. Ram is bound by loyalty to seek out his newly reincarnated queen and his best friend and Pharaohs soulmate, but he didn't expect to feel the heat and longing when he sees Docia. In all his long years he has never felt this comsuming desire for his queen and he is torn between his loyalty to his friend and King and his love for Docia.

I am never to sure when I open a Jacquelyn Frank book whether I am going to really like it or I am going to have to resist the urge to throw it across the room. With Forbidden I didn't really have either reaction. I liked some aspects of this book, where as others I found a little tiresome.

What I consistently like about Ms Frank's book is the Nighterwalker world, it has a whole host of interesting paranormal races that you don't see anywhere else. The Bodywalkers who were introduced in this book were no exception, they are two souls in one body that blend together. Although I was left with a few questions regarding the process of the two souls Blending, it was still a fascinating idea.

However, as interesting as the introduction to the Bodywalkers was, I thought the book was very slow, it never seemed to get started, even the romance was a bit lacklustre. I didn't feel the connection between Ram and Docia, they told us, right at the end that they were loved up but I never feel it was shown very well through out the book, maybe this was because so much of the book was devoted to world building.

I do have good feelings about the next book in the series, Forever, featuring Docia's brother Jackson. Ms Frank has set it up really well in Forbidden, so much so that I was more excited about Jackson and Marissa then I was about Ram and Docia.

The world has been set up nicely, and I can't wait to see more romance blossoming in the next installment.   

Purchase Links: Amazon

ARC Review: Hot and Haunted by Megan Hart, Lauren Hawkeye and Saranna DeWylde

Hot and Haunted

by Megan Hart, Lauren Hawkeye and Saranna DeWylde 

Nothing Else Matters by Megan Hart - 3.5 Stars

This story was not so different from what I would've expected to see in a post-apocalyptic paranormal erotic story from Megan Hart.  Even in a short story, the romance is never simple.  I don't want to spoil things and tell you what happens :) just that I found this story was sexy but gruesome at the same time.  Megan's zombies are pretty disgusting as they spread the "virus" by having spots on their faces explode.  If you breath those spores in then you turn into a zombie.  It's almost a believable scenario.  Our heroine Lira is kick ass, she goes out looking for, hunting and killing zombies.  But she is also jaded.  I think through this story she does grow a little and starts "feeling" but there's more ahead of her.  I am giving this a 3.5 because I was not as connected in all the "hunting for zombies" scenes and maybe wanted those to be shorter or less descriptive or maybe they should've included more people and interaction.  Overall I did enjoy the story.  It was dark and sexy.

"She spent her days with death; fucking made her feel alive."

Pick Me Up by Lauren Hawkeye - 3 stars

Honestly this story was the spookiest of them all.  From beginning to end you don't know if you are watching a train wreck of a girl with maybe mental problems who is a tad unstable and crazy but maybe finds love in the most unexpected of place, or if she's just a crazy lunatic serial killer.  And I'm going to leave the story at that.  I really had no connection with the characters of this story, but I think the author did her job in pulling my emotions in all different directions and giving me goosepumps at the end.  This one was also the most erotic one of them all in my opinion.

Little Red's Big Bad by Saranna DeWylde - 4 stars

Now this was my favorite story.  I liked the heroine from the get-go.  US Marshal Miranda Garrick has been working on the case of a serial killer who was supposed to be behind bars.  But he's escaped and he's made it known that he's got it bad for her.  Rumor has it he's a werewolf, and she's his little red riding hood.  I loved the play on the fairytale!  Miranda was kick ass but vulnerable.  When she has to work with hunky FBI agent, Aden, sparks fly in a major way.  But he's got more than one secret.  For a short story, this was incredibly engaging, intriguing and sensual.  There's a bad guy, a great story, some mystery, some action, and plenty of *waggles eyebrows* hot stuff happening.  I will be checking out the rest of Ms. DeWylde's work.  I've been meaning to from before and this just convinced me I HAVE TO.

Excerpts included from The Forbidden Lady by Kerrelyn Sparks and Turn to Darkness by Jaime Rush

*ARC provided by publisher

Purchase Links: Amazon

Review: Cutaway by Liz Borino

Cutaway

by Liz Borino

(Ben's Life # 2)

 

I really like Liz Borino's writing style and the way she weaves her stories.  She is actually one of the few m/m BDSM stories I've ever read and enjoyed.  However I have to say I thought the first book in this series was better.  Maybe because throughout the book there was more emotion in book one.

This book somehow fell into the "we are in a comfortable relationship" monotony.  Towards the end we saw a little bit more of the story IMO and I really liked how the love they have for each other showed through.  In both Steve giving Zack his place and not demeaning him, but also pushing his limits and exploring things Zack wanted t explore.  And then there's Zack caring for Steve.  Which just about broke my heart.  This was my favorite part of the book.

The plot with the TV show changes and all that I thought maybe could've been shorter and I would've like to have seen more of the relationship and the lifestyle Zack wanted to explore.

*ARC provided by author

Purchase Links: Amazon

ARC Review: Lean on Me by HelenKay Dimon

Lean On Me

by HelenKay Dimon

(Holloways # 2)

I first read this author in the HOLIDAY KISSES anthology last year.  That was the first Holloways story as well.  I thought then that there was something missing on a story that otherwise had good potential.  And that is exactly how I feel about this book as well.

The general idea of the small town girl, Cassidy, that went away and became successful professional climber, then during a media "oops" said some hurtful things about her town.  She is now down on her luck and comes back to town where her stepfather still lives.  Then she reconnects with the then high school football star, Mitch.  He had also gone on to pursue his career and due to injury and just life he is back home.  They never had a relationship then but he always had a crush on her so he goes for it now.  See, general idea I liked it!

And this is where it sort of fell apart for me because I just didn't connect with Cassidy.  Some of the things she did, and how she did them, the positions she put herself in...I just couldn't get it.  Mitch kept having to approach her like he would a scared and cornered animal, almost literally.

Mitch on the other hand was hot and sexy and totally delicious.  He's the reason I kept reading and that I enjoyed what I enjoyed of the story.  He's that perfect guy you want to me.  He's good looking, the town's most eligible bachelor, he has a good head on his shoulders.  But he's also caring and supportive.  I just thought there could've been more to the story and it did fall a bit short of my expectations.  Okay read but not memorable.

*ARC provided by author

Purchase Links: Amazon

Review: Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard

Gabriel's Inferno

by Sylvain Reynard

(Gabriel's Inferno # 1)

I really had a hard time rating this book.  I was torn between liking it and NOT liking it.  I literally had to take notes of the pros and cons.  Unfortunately, there were more on the “did not like” list and I’d like to share it with you.  Please note that what I say is solely IMO and no offense is ever intended.

Let me start with the things that I liked and enjoyed about this book:
~ I liked the plot of the college student falling for the ever sexy professor. I was a college student once upon a time and I looked at my professor with longing.   So I get it, the idea is pretty damn hot.

~ Gabriel’s character. He was very sexy, smart, cultured, rich and has a good amount of alpha in him. He is most definitely a swoon worthy hero.

~ There was a great deal of conflict and I thought it was fitting to their present status, past and family dynamics. They both have fucked up pasts they have to deal with and it was great to see them work though it.

And for the things, I didn’t like:

~ Gabriel's Inferno is not quiet adult, definitely not young adult but more like "New Adult". The sexual tension was sometimes there but nothing steamy really happens until the end of the book.  Goodreads has this book under adult/erotica genre and its just not.
~ Gabriel had an issue with giving himself sexually to Julia due to a tragic past. He kept saying he did something terrible that would make Julia run the other way. Well, throughout the book, he made it seem like it was mass murder or that he was a pedophile or something extreme. When he finally revealed this “sin”, I found myself rolling my eyes. Like, that’s it? Really? It wasn’t even in his control. 
~ There was quite a bit of repetition of words/topics and some scenes dragged. I think this would’ve been prevented with a good slice and dice editing.  For example, the use of “prodigal son”, “the almost two lovers”, “breath taking”, and shocking just a few words that I read a lot of.  There is a scene where Gabriel was trying to seduce Julia and said “I can hear your breathing speed” and on the same page he says “you’re breathing accelerate”. Ummm, okay. I get it. I know this book will republish under Penguin/Berkley Publishing and I hope they cut it in half.  Just IMO.
~ Last, I think this was a big reason for my dislikes of some of the things mentioned above. The narrator has a very sexy and cool voice. However, there were times when he dragged out his words. The way he groaned was sometimes over done. When he read the narration was a bit dramatic and he made his voice deeper.  Sometimes it felt like the narrator for the twilight zone. 

I feel that I may have liked this book even more if I would’ve just read the print. So, if you decide to read this, I suggest avoiding the audio book, which I will most definitely do when I take on Gabriel’s Rapture.

Purchase Links: Amazon