Review: Breakaway by Bianca Sommerland

Breakaway

by Bianca Sommerland

(Dartmouth Cobras # 3)

If there is one thing that I can tell you about this series is that there's a lot of kinky f*ckery and it's hot as hell!!!  I was actually very excited about the two male characters in this book, both sexy and kinky hockey players.  I can't say the same about the heroine.

We first met Jami as Richter's daughter in the previous book.  Very troubled, not accepting of his father's life and choices, and to put it simply...a rebel.  Although for most of this book I thought she was doing a lot better, incredibly so, I find that her HEA would've benefited from being written later in the series.  Why?  Because I still found her a bit immature and whiny at times and I think that's because of her age and that she just came out of what happened to her in the previous book.

That being said, I would've gladly taken her place!  She has great chemistry with both Luke and Sebastian individually.  I always love when authors take their time to develop the individual relationships in a permanent menage relationship.  And Ms. Sommerland always delivers on that!  And just how they each have a relationship with Jami, which is the reason they all come together, there is also a beautiful and deep relationship between Luke and Sebastian.  I was left wondering if Sebastian's connection to Luke wasn't too strong and overpowering of his love for Jami.  But I guess the balance was there most of the time.

Sebastian is all tall, dark and Dom.  This is THE man that will leave you biting your lip and panting for more.  His presence is commanding but he's also very caring of those he loves and others that have gone through what he has.

Luke was the lost soul in this story, which made me sad because I never thought that's where his character would fall to.  I've always seen him as the happy and good humored one of the bunch.  I have to admit when he first did his scene with Chicklet I almost wanted to see them explore that relationship because it was pretty hot.  Luke is a Dom but he also needs to give up control.  Sebastian fit into that perfectly and it was very real to see them, especially Luke, struggle with what his mind and body where saying.

Then there's the rest of the crew!  Silver is pregnant and even gives birth in this book and that was just great to see.  Sloan is also going through stuff in his personal life and even his relationship, so some of their issues come back to be dealt with.  I love to see the new and old always woven in the story because we want to know what's going on in their lives.

Overall, this BDSM book is not for the faint of heart.  It'll make you tingle in ways you didn't think were possible!  I can't wait for the next installment about the kinkiest hockey team EVER!

*ARC provided by author

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Review: The Ties That Bind by Jaci Burton

The Ties That Bind 

by Jaci Burton

I love stories about second chance at love.  This was a different take on it.  I didn't read this as part of the original anthology, although I had that on my TBR for a while. 

This story was different because Lisa and Rick were high school sweethearts and then Rick got Lisa pregnant when she was 16 and things changed.  They got married but quickly things didn't work out so they got divorced.  However, they raised their daughter together and were always in each others lives.  Now their daughter is 18 and going to college.  And she's making her mom, Lisa, kick start her new life with going away on a tropical vacation.  Except that was all a setup so Rick and Lisa can get back together.

The premise is really sweet and just makes you happy that their love was able to persevere.  I also thought the whole coming together idea was great, compliments to the daughter.  The only thing I didn't like or understand was how much she fought them getting back together.  I just didn't get the why, I thought that was unnecessary conflict when there could've been something else.

I really did enjoy the story though and I think the author did an amazing job at conveying these characters back story and feelings in such a short time.  And oh... did I mention it was frecking hot?!?!

Purchase Links: Amazon

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: The Fangover by Erin McCarthy and Kathy Love

The Fangover

by Erin McCarthy and Kathy Love

Better start off being honest.  I knew about this book, mainly because Erin McCarthy is part of the duo writing it and I happen to love her work.  Was I terribly interested in reading it, though?  Well, it was probably one of those "Oh yeah I gotta get to that someday".  Of course, I also thought this had two separate novellas.  Then I happen to win an ARC of this at RAW and my grabby hands had to read it right away.  Well, I was so pleasantly surprised!

Call me whatever you want but I didn't co-relate the fact that the book is called "The Fangover" with the movie "The Hangover".  Yeah, that joke went right over my head (see what happens when you're not paying attention?).  And that is exactly how I can possibly describe this book.

Vampire rocker kills himself (meets the sun) and his friends are throwing him a funeral "party".  They get a little tipsy and somehow they all wake up the next day without recollection of how that night ended or what happened.  All they know is that a human was turned and got married to one of the band members (vampire), the dead vamps sister is stuck in bat form, another band member is missing a fang and oh yeah, there's a passed out human priest in the bath tub.  And let's not forget about the parrot!  Now they just have to backtrack and try to figure out what went down.

So, there are actually two main couples throughout this story.  One is Stella and Wyatt.  Stella is Johnny's sister (dead vamp).  Wyatt has been a member of the band for a while and has had a crush on Stella for just about that long.  This was just the perfect opportunity for him to show her that he would be there for her and that they can be good together.  I liked the fact that their romance started before the drunken behavior night and that we are given glimpses into their past.  Even though Stella got on my nerves a bit at times, Wyatt made up for being extra sweet and caring while still being hot.

Then there's Cort and Katie.  I actually enjoyed them a bit more.  Katie used to be human and was part of the day band.  Cort has had a crush on her for a while but humans have always been off limits so he stayed away.  Now, not only did he turn her but he married her.  I thought their romance was cuter even though I also wanted to pull my hair at their lack of communication and misunderstandings.

In the end, this book was a fun parody, not meant to showcase deep emotions but to make you laugh and it definitely achieved that in my opinion.  A little bit of comic relief while throwing in some sexy vamps who are just not all there.

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: Hell Hath No Fury by Jamie Brenner

Hell Hath No Fury

by Jamie Brenner

(The Gin Lovers # 6)

The moment has finally come!  The last installment in the Gin Lovers serial.  If you haven't been reading this along, like me, then I think you're missing out.  The world Ms. Brenner created is addictive and alluring.  After the past few episodes, I was very excited to read this last one.

The events leading up to this book, and then everything that happens in this last episode, had me biting my nails and pulling my hair.  This series is full of intrigue.  I admit there were times reading this episode that I didn't know which way the author was going to go with the ending and our main love interest.  But rest assured there is a HEA.

Basically Jake is going to jail and the only one that can do something to save him is Charlotte.  She has the big fish the cops need to drop the charges against Jake.  And yes, that would be her husband.  Incredible how much Charlotte has changed throughout this serial and has come out of her shell and sharpened her claws.  She is feisty but smart, knows when to push and when to let things go.

We get a resolution with all the characters in the series and I was happy with everything.  Obviously the one I was most anxious about was Jake and Charlotte.  But this was actually my reason for giving this 4 stars instead of 5.  Rafferty, who has been Charlotte's silent ally in the house, was showing feelings for her in this one.  To bring this up this far into the story I thought was unnecessary.  It had me scared that out of nowhere Charlotte would end up with someone that she didn't have feelings for.  And on that same token, how could Rafferty stir anything in Charlotte when she's in love with Jake and doing everything she can to help him?  OK rant over.

That one minor thing aside, I think this serial is a must read.  If you are not into serial books, then make sure you pick up a copy of the full length book which will include all the episodes, which comes out in February.

I was so excited to know how it ended but now I know I'm going to miss reading it!

*ARC provided by publisher

Purchase Links: Amazon