Book Review: Never Love a Scoundrel (Secrets & Scandals #5) by Darcy Burke

I have been in a contemporary romance zone these past few months and it has been way too long since I read an historical romance novel. After I read Fifty Shades more than a year ago, I somehow went from there right to Regency Era historical romance novels and fell in love. I'm not sure what it is about ladies in their fancy ball gowns and handsome men wearing way too many layers of clothes that sucks me, but it always does. Darcy Burke was one of the first historical romance writers I discovered and I immediately became addicted to her Secrets & Scandals series.

Never Love A Scoundrel is the fifth book in this series. While characters from previous books do make brief appearances, these all can be read as stand alone novels as well. Although I personally prefer reading every series in order. Lord Jason Lockwood was shunned by Society many years ago and in response began hosting vice parties in his home and formed his own society of people he fit in with. Now that his estranged half brother, Ethan Locke, has decided to enter Society, Jason must renter himself to find out what the criminal is up to. But is Ethan still a criminal or is he trying to change his ways? Jason isn't sure what to believe or who to trust.

Lady Lydia Prewitt is known as a young gossip, but she is tired of people thinking that of her. She hates hurting people for the sake of a good story and hopes that by helping Jason Lockwood reenter Society that it will help her reputation as well as his. But can she handle her attraction to the handsome, scarred man who is known for his debauchery?

$5 Amazon Gift Card #Giveaway

I know that all of you book lovers out there have a long list of To Be Read (TBR) books. I want to help you put a small dent in that list with a $5 Amazon gift card giveaway. That way one lucky reader can go ahead and get that book they have been waiting for, and of course tell me all about it when they are done reading. Good luck!

The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

This is not a full review since I read The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen way back in December 2012 and it is not completely fresh in my mind. However since book 2, The Redemption of Callie & Kayden is being released today, I felt it necessary to tell you that if you haven't read this book yet, then you must. Like, right now. No really. NOW. Whatever is next on your list, bump it down and put this at the very top. And if you have already read it then:

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee The Redemption of Callie & Kayden is available today!

I feel like I have been waiting for forever for this book. Forever is more like 7 months, but damn that is a long time too.

So Callie and Kayden grew up in the same town, went to the same schools but never really interacted. Except for one night. The night of "The Coincidence". Now they are at the same college and are exploring a new friendship and maybe even more. But these two teenagers are completely and utterly broken inside. Their disastrous childhoods have shaped who they are and made it hard for them to even just feel. Can they push past the years of pain and find friendship, love and happiness with each other?

This story is so deeply emotional and it rocked me to my core. This is one of those books where you better clear your calendar for the next 24 hours because you will not be able to put it down until it is done. It is well worth the book hangover you will have, trust me. And be aware that there is the mother of all cliffhangers at the end which will probably leave you screaming. But not to fear, you can move right on to the next book. OK, so you better clear 48 hours then.

Book Review: Wicked Beat (Sinners on Tour #4) by Olivia Cunning

If you are looking for some juicy rock star books to dive into, the Sinners on Tour series by Olivia Cunning is the way to go! Wicked Beat is the fourth book in this series and focuses on Sinners drummer Eric Sticks and their new soundboard engineer Rebekah. In previous books, Eric is pretty much the voyeur to all of his band mates sexual escapades. He is always there watching, but rarely participates.

Rebekah Blake is filling in for her brother Dave who was injured when the band's tour bus crashed. She set out to seduce guitarist Trey Mills and never expected to hit it off so well with goofball Eric instead. No one gets his corny humor like she does and they have an instant connection. They realize rather quickly that they may be able to help each other with their bedroom issues. Rebekah's issue makes her feel the opposite of sexy and Eric's is what has kept him on the sidelines all of these year in the band. Will there sexual experimentation with each other eventually turn into more?

If you are not familiar with Olivia Cunning's books, you should know that these are not hearts and flowers and rainbows kind of stories. Don't get me wrong, there is a sweetness to them, especially Eric who really is a big sweetie, but this is down and dirty rock star sex. And it is awesome. I think Eric was my favorite Sinner even before this book because of his sense of humor. This just solidified his standing with me. Normally I will share a swoon worthy quote from a book, but I felt it more appropriate to share some of Eric's jokes.

Friday Freebies 7/26

Getting this up a little late today, but better late than never! Grab these while they are still free!
*Please note that the below eBooks are free on Amazon at the time of publication for this post. Prices can change at any time so be sure to double check before you click to buy.

Title: Rock Me: Crazy
Author: Arabella Quinn
Series: Rock Me #3
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Book Description: Tommy doesn’t do relationships. Livvy doesn’t do one-night-stands. By the time she finds out that he’s a rock star with serious commitment issues, it’s too late, she’s fallen for him. But, how can an average girl snare a sexy rock star? By pretending she not so average… Tommy, drummer for the band Cold Fusion, is used to partying hard. Every night there’s a new woman in his bed, and that’s the way he likes it. From the moment they first meet, Livvy intrigues him; she’s so different from all the other girls. Despite his reluctance for ‘repeat sex’, he is drawn in by her crazy antics. Livvy knows she has to step up her game to keep the hunky playboy interested. When she turns the tables on him, Tommy can’t seem to get enough. But can she keep up the crazy charade or will she find herself in way over her head?
Rock Me: Crazy is part of the Rock Me series. It can be read as a stand-alone novel or in any order with the series. The publishing order of the series is as follows:
Rock Me: Wicked
Rock Me: Naughty
Rock Me: Crazy
Rock Me: Sexy (coming soon)

Book Review: Emerge (Evolve) by S.E. Hall

The New Adult Romance genre is continuing to explode and expand, bringing with it great new books and new authors. Emerge, the first book in the Evolve series by S.E. Hall is one of those books. I'm not sure what I expected when I started reading this, but I certainly wasn't expecting it to captivate me so quickly. I literally started reading it and did not stop until I finished, with the the occasional eye lift to flip some chicken and stir some pasta. It was that good.

Laney and Evan have been best friends since they were 10 years old. They are inseparable and have done everything together. As there senior year comes to an end, they discover that their feeling run much deeper than friendship. Unfortunately, fate has them going to colleges hours apart from each other, so Laney decides they should break it off so neither has an expectations. Will distance make to heart grow fonder or will it break apart their newly budding love? When she meets Dane, there is instant attraction and chemistry between them. She will have to decided if she wants to explore those feelings with Dane or stick to what she has always known.

I'm always a little hesitant when it comes to reading stories of love triangles. I don't like cheating or people getting hurt. This as close to a spoiler as I will ever post on here, but I feel it necessary to point out there is no cheating in this story. I know how that can deter some people from reading a novel so I wanted to put that out there. Unfortunately, though, in a love triangle, someone always gets hurt.

Teaser: My Beautiful (Lifeless #2) by J.M. La Rocca

Who is ready for a teaser for the book My Beautiful (Lifeless #2) due out December 2013? If you have read my 5-Star review of Lifeless, you know how much I enjoyed this book. You will also know that there is a pretty big cliffhanger at the end. Author J.M. La Rocca posted the below teaser for the second book on Facebook earlier this week.

As if I wasn't already desperate enough for this book to come out, she goes ahead and teases me with this. I won't giveaway any spoilers for book one, but let me just say that this kind of floored me a little bit. Now I really, REALLY need to read the next book!

Book Review: The Marriage Merger by Jennifer Probst

The Marriage Merger is the fourth book in the Marriage to a Billionaire series by Jennifer Probst. This may be read as a stand alone novel, but why do that when you can read all four awesome stories? In each of the three previous books, things start off with the heroine performing a love spell to help her find the man of her dreams. Julietta Conte has just received the spell book from her sister and is hesitant to do something so ridiculous. But in order to get her sister to leave her alone, she quickly gets it over with and puts it out of her mind. Love is not on her agenda, just growing her family's bakery business is.

Billionaire Sawyer Wells, who we briefly met in book 3, is opening a chain of luxury hotels starting with one in Julietta's home of Milan, Italy. And Sawyer wants her company to be the exclusive bakery for all of his locations. This is the type of offer that Julietta has been dreaming of and she can't say no. But can she say no to his offer of one night of passion?

"I want to discover every hidden secret of your body and a thousand ways to make you scream my name."

Sawyer had an awful childhood in New York City's foster care system and he carries with him some pretty messed up demons. This has given him a hard, dominating edge that Julietta hadn't realized she needed. Until now. While Sawyer doesn't believe in love, he can promise Julietta more pleasure than she ever imagined.

"You've done proper already, and it hasn't worked. It's time you do dirty."

Cover Reveal: Songs of Submission #6: Resist by C.D. Reiss

I'm not hiding the fact that I am 100% completely and utterly in love with the Songs of Submission series by C.D. Reiss. Imagine my surprise when I was up way too late last night (this morning really) and saw an update pop up on Facebook from her with the new cover for book six. I am fairly certain that I squeeeeeeeeed out loud a little bit.

Resist, book 6 in the Songs of Submission series, will be available to purchase on August 9, 2013 and I. Cannot. Wait! And to make this even more awesome, C.D. Reiss posted on Goodreads that this book is much longer than the previous in the series:

"And FYI it's just about a full length novel. A short novel, but we're out of novella territory."

Squeeeeeeeeeee! Yes, I totally just did it again. You better believe that when August 9 rolls around, I will stop everything I am doing to read this book.

Follow C.D. Reiss on Goodreads at www.goodreads.com/author/show/6896405.C_D_Reiss

Bookisms #1

I love reading the hilariousness of someecards, especially ones that are book and reading related. Or any other funny reading image or saying that might be floating out on the Internet somewhere. I've dedided that I am going to call these "Bookisms" and I'll post some on here whenever I find one I really like. So without further ado, here is the first one.

I love you more than I love my books... now go away I'm reading.

I would love to have a t-shirt with this on it so my family (read: husband) knows when to not interrupt my reading. Which is always really, but certain times are more important than others.

Book Review: Complete Me (The Stark Trilogy) by J. Kenner

I've been reading a lot of final books in trilogies lately and while I love getting closure on how those stories end, I really miss some of the characters when it is all over. In Complete Me by J. Kenner we get the final chapter of the intense passion that is Damien Stark and Nikki Fairchild. And while it was a great ending, I'm definitely going to miss them both. I fell for both Damien and Nikki way back in book one. They sucked me in quickly and held on tight which led me to read the first two books within 24 hours. I've been anxiously awaiting their conclusion and I couldn't be happier with this final book.

When we last left them, Damien and Nikki were in Germany preparing for the murder trial. We know that he is not guilty, but the circumstantial evidence doesn't make him look good and its hard to tell which way the trial will go. The truth about his abuse as a child could ultimately help him win, but will he give into to Nikki's demands to tell the world those truths? Doing that means losing control and we know that is not something Damien ever likes to do.

On top of the stress from the trial, Nikki starts receiving threats, which adds another layer of drama. This of course makes the already possessive Damien even more so. But Damien and Nikki do what they do best and lose themselves in each other in fiery hot passion. Damien is still deliciously dominant and he needs that control, while Nikki is more than happy to submit to him and remain in their little bubble away from reality. But will their love and passion be strong enough see them through all of these tests?

Friday Freebies 7/19

Who's ready for some free eBooks?! It doesn't matter that I have over 300 unread books on my Kindle, when I see a free book, I must download. Here are a few for you to download for the weekend. I've got several different genres represented here so hopefully there is something for everyone. And yes, I've already downloaded all of them. 

Title: Saving Grace
Author: Norah Wilson
Series: Serve and Protect #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Book Description: After wrecking her car and waking in hospital with amnesia, fledgling reporter Grace Morgan has no idea why she’d been in the process of leaving the husband she loves so dearly. Her husband, Police Detective Ray (Razor) Morgan tells her she was leaving him for another man, but that just can’t be so. Can it? She’s determined to remember, even if it kills her. And it just might. When bullets start to fly, Ray is forced to take the wife he believes faithless on the lam until they can figure out who is trying to kill them.

Deal: Complete Chocolate Lovers Series by Tara Sivec for Just $6

This is an awesome deal on a complete series of books all rolled into one. The Chocolate Lovers Series by Tara Sivec is hilariously funny as well as smutty. I mean, bent over at the waste, gasping to breathe funny. After reading reviews of this series on Goodreads, I decided to give it a try a few months ago and I sure am glad that I did. These books are definitely on my favorites list. This special Kindle edition eBook, Chocolate Lovers: Sweet Stories About Love, Friendship, and Inappropriate Behavior, contains all three full length novels plus a shorty story in one book for just $6. If you were to buy all 4 items separately for your Kindle, it would cost you $11. So if you haven't read this series yet, take advantage of this price and download it now. I gave book one 5 stars and books two and three 4 stars so i highly recommend them.

Book Giveaway Roundup 7/18

As a blogger and reading addict, I love entering giveaways for eBooks or Amazon gift cards.  Right now I really, REALLY want to win the giveaway from C.D. Reiss which includes signed paperback copies of all 5 books from her Songs of Submission series.

Here is a collection of giveaways that I have found this week, some are related to books I've recently discussed here. Have fun entering and good luck!

• Signed Paperback copies of Beg, Tease, Submit, Control & Burn by CD Reiss plus eBooks from several other authors.
  
  
• $250 Visa Gift Card courtesy of Gail McHugh, author of Collide and Pulse
  
  
• Signed Paperback of Lifeless by J.M. La Rocca plus eBooks from other authors
  
  
• Signed Paperback of The Marriage Merger (Marriage to a Billionaire #4) by Jennifer Probst
  
  
• Signed Set of Crossfire books by Sylvia Day
  
  
• $10 Amazon Gift Card

Book Review: Escaping Reality (The Secret Life of Amy Bensen) by Lisa Renee Jones

Oh, Ms. Jones; how you torment me so with your cliffhangers. Sigh. Being that I have read Lisa Renee Jones' Tall, Dark & Deadly series and the Inside Out series, I'm a big fan and familiar with her writing style. So yes, I totally expected there to be a cliffhanger at the end of Escaping Reality. But damn if I'm still not all flustered by it.

No one knows who Amy Bensen really is, least of all Amy herself. Something happened when she was 18 that completely threw her life off course; causing her to run across the country with a new identity. And although she knows what happened, she can't remember all of the details of how it happened. Or why exactly she is in hiding or who she is hiding from. Now, her past has caught up with her, sending her on the run once again. On her plane ride out of town, fate lands her in the seat next to sexy billionaire Liam Stone.  They are immediately drawn to each other but Amy holds back knowing that getting close to someone puts both herself and them in danger. But Liam is relentless and refuses to let her walk out of his life.

Must Read Series: Songs of Submission by C.D. Reiss

I found the Songs of Submission series (C.D. Reiss) by accident about a month or so ago. I'm not even sure how I found it but I think it popped up on my Goodreads somewhere. This is a series of shorter novellas that make up one large story. I'm not normally a fan of a bunch of smaller books as I'd prefer to read it all in one or two full length books. But after book one I really didn't care. I just needed to read more! I immediately downloaded the rest of the available books onto my Kindle and was up all night long so I could read them all in one shot. When something is that good, I refuse to stop until I'm done. And believe me, these are that good.

Book Review: Lifeless (Lifeless #1) by J.M. La Rocca

One of the things I love about reading, besides escaping into a great story, is discovering new authors. I recently had the chance to read the debut novel from J.M. La Rocca, Lifeless. Now, I love a sexy, alpha male in a book I'm reading, but give me a sexy, tattooed, bad boy, alpha male and I'm a goner. Lifeless is the story of Scarlett and Kade. Scarlett hasn't had the easiest life: her father left when she was 7, her mother is an alcoholic drug addict and she just found out her boyfriend is actually married. To someone else. Looking to start fresh, she moves to Atlanta. This is when bad boy rock star Kade erupts into her world and the chemistry between them is instantly hot.

Friday Freebies 7/12

For me, there is nothing better than a free romance book to read. So here are a few freebies for you this Friday. I will only list the formats where they are available for free. Happy reading!

Title: Shattered Promises
Author: Jessica Sorensen
Series: Shattered Promises #1
Genre: New Adult, Paranormal Romance
Book Description: For twenty-one year-old Gemma, life has never been normal. She knows nothing about her past and has been haunted by the same monsters in her nightmares for the last few months. Unemotional and numb to life, she feels disconnected from everyone. Until the very first day she cries. After that, nothing in her life is the same. Her emotions slowly surface and she starts experiencing love, happiness, and anger, feelings she never knew existed. But they leave her confused and she doesn’t know whether to embrace them or run away from them. Her life only gets more complicated when she meets Alex. Sexy, arrogant, and secretive, Alex can get under Gemma’s skin like no one can. Yet she’s drawn to him by an invisible connection she has no control over. She’s also seen him before. In her nightmares. Every part of Gemma’s mind is screaming at her to stay away from Alex, but every other part of her is begging to get close to him. But the closer she gets, the more she realizes Alex knows more about her than he originally let on. As secrets about her past unravel, Gemma’s life becomes threatened. She needs to figure out what’s going on, before she winds up dead. But the only person she can turn to for answers is the one person she isn’t sure she can trust.

Marianna Says: I haven't read this, but I have read Jessica's non-paranormal books and they are fantastic.

Book Review: Pulse by Gail McHugh

I told you I would have a review up for Pulse by Gail McHugh this week, though you probably didn't expect it to be the very next day. I was up to the wee hours of the morning intent on finishing this up in one fell swoop. Sure I may be paying for it today with one of the worst book hangovers I've ever had, but it was definitely worth it. We are first introduced to Emily and Gavin in Collide, book one of this 2-book series. Pulse picks up right where Collide left off, in the aftermath of Emily's and Dillon's disastrous engagement party. Finally realizing that she is in an emotionally abusive relationship, Emily ends things with Dillon. Can she get Gavin back or are they broken forever?

Once again, Gail McHugh delivers an outstanding book. I literally felt every emotion possible while reading about Emily and Gavin finding their way back to each other. Sadness, anger, downright fear; you name it, I felt it. Fate keeps giving them a boat load of crap to deal with and I was scared as hell about the outcome of their relationship. After watching her mother bounce from one abusive relationship to another, and ending up in one herself, Emily feels she is broken. Gavin is determined to show her that she is worthy of his love.

Early Release: Pulse by Gail McHugh!

I woke up this morning and discovered it was Christmas in July! I have been anxiously waiting for Pulse (Collide #2) by Gail McHugh for months. It wasn't due to release until August and when I logged on to Facebook this morning I found out it was released a full month early. This is literally a "drop everything else and start reading it now" book for me. So all other books on my to-read list just got bumped. You can probably expect to see a review here in a few days.

Pulse is available right now on the following platforms for $3.99.

7/9 Freebie: Deceived: Part 1 New York by Eve Carter

For a limited time, Eve Carter's eBook Deceived: Part 1 New York is FREE for Kindle, Nook, iBooks and Kobo. This is book one in the three book Deceived Series. I actually read all three books last week. This is a quick and enjoyable read with a nice amount of steamy.

Book Description
When Chloe Swanson, an innocent mid-western college graduate, lands her dream job in New York City, she doesn't realize what kind of a ride she's in for. It doesn't take long before her boss, the charming and sharp businessman Patrick Collins, deceives her into being part of his plan to land the biggest account of his life. However, he never expected that he would fall for her. Suddenly, he finds himself trapped between a ruthless billionaire client, who has her own eyes set on Patrick, and his deep affection for the beautiful Chloe. What follows is a sensual and passionate journey of self-discovery, as Chloe faces the harsh reality of jealousy, love and money in the big city.

Wallbanger by Alice Clayton

So the first book I want to recommend is for one that I read nine months ago and fell in love with. In all of my reading, I am of course used to steamy. But I wasn't used to steamy and hilarious, which is what Wallbanger is. I was only a few chapters in when I started recommending it to friends and family because it was that good. Caroline has just moved into her new apartment, only to discover that she shares a bedroom wall with her neighbor. A neighbor who has different women coming over every night... and well, you get the idea of what wallbanging means. The scenes with Caroline and her cat as they are listening to the wallbanging sexcapades of their neighbor Simon were priceless. And Simon completely won my heart as they went from strangers to friends and finally lovers. Their interactions are filled with the perfect mix of witty banter and hotness. Wallbanger is a fun, lighthearted read and something I think any romance fan will enjoy. It as a 5-star book for me and one of my all time favorites.