Review: My Everything by Julia Rachel Barrett

Description:
Security consultant Ben McCall is alone. His wife and unborn child are dead, victims of an assassination attempt meant for someone else. Grieving, he disappears. When his best friend is in danger Ben resurfaces, only to find his friend isn’t the target of a murderer, he is.

Grace Adams is one of the walking wounded. Her husband died two years ago. One night she is incapacitated. A man comes to her aid. He’s the man she fell in love with years before, Ben McCall. As the passion between them reignites, Grace too becomes a target of the madman who stalks Ben.

Review: 
I received this book as a review copy from the author and after reading the blurb I was like "Okay we will see.". And I have to say this blurb doesn't do the book any justice.

The book is fast paced and written in such a lovely way, I just couldn't put it down. We switch from different POVs through the whole story but it made the story more 3 dimensional and not at all confusing. I loved how Ms. Barrett chose an unique voice for each of her characters. It made them so much more real in my eyes.

Our heroine Grace had a few grave moments in her life. She lost her husband to leukemia after only 2 years of marriage and she suffers from really hard migraine attacks from time to time.But she doesn't give up and tries to handle this all on her own. She is a specialist for pain management and it would look really unprofessional to have problems on exactly the same topic. While she has one of her attacks she meets Ben, her big teenage crush. He helps her and is more understanding and helpful than many other people in her life.

Ben is broken inside. He lost his wife and his unborn child in a terror assasination he should have prevented. He works in the security sector and it was his purpose and task to prevent things like that but he failed and got punished for his mistake. Or that is what he thinks. We all know that there are certain things in life we just can't stop from happening. We shouldn't stop trying to but sometimes it's just the way it is. And especially in this situation it's not at all his fault. As you can see I really felt for him. Poor man. He's a strongly caring person and although he vanished from the surface of his normal life for a year to hide and work through his grief, he still cares for his family and friends. When he hears that his best friend is in grave danger he doesn't hestitate and immediately starts his journey home. The moment he meets Grace again after ten years his first thought is that she is a distraction. But why? He quickly finds out how unlogical this assumption is and discovers his own attraction and perhaps a bit more for her. Surely he feels guilty for that and even more he knows that this is possibly the worst moment ever to get close and personal to someone he really cares about.

The situation gets even more dramatic when Ben finds out that not only his bestfriend is in danger but his sister got kidnapped to draw him out of hiding. The plot is really suspenseful and I was sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time. The story is a great mix of relationship building and actual story plot. It always gave me what I wanted and it was a real satisfying read for such a short novel.

One thing at the end was a bit "Yeah, sure!" and I don't mean the supernatural aspect. I won't tell you more because that would be one gigantic spoiler but if I can forgive something like that other readers probably can,too.

All in all this book was a great read with scorching hot, emotional intense and thrilling action in a perfect mix. I can recommend this book to all the lovers of a nice steamy romance with the right amount of suspense!



To learn more about Julia Rachel Barrett please visit her website here and her blog here.
And please come back on Friday(FEB 26th) for a guestpost and a giveaway with Julia.

Read other reviews @goodreads
Buy this ebook @Cobblestone Press

Update: I'm also over at Book Lovers INC today talking about The Greatness that could be Blio.

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Review: Scarlet Woman by Shelley Munro

Description:
Emily Scarlet's husband left her for his secretary and died in a car accident—all on the same day. Now, six months later, Emily has emerged from her chrysalis of painful memories. And to prove she has what it takes to attract a man, she's determined to experience one perfect night of passion.

An ad in the newspaper catches her eye. The Middlemarch ball presents the ideal opportunity to find a man. Emily catches the "love train" to Middlemarch and heads for one night of uncomplicated sex to wipe away her husband's vicious taunts.

Feline shape-shifter Saber Mitchell has a problem with his four boisterous younger brothers. They're out of control. It's too late for him, but he hopes to get his brothers mated and settled, and the ball is the perfect place to introduce them to marriageable women.

Unbridled sex is the last thing Saber's expecting, but one glimpse at Emily Scarlet changes his mind. Sex with her is a necessity. They dance. They make love. One thing is clear—a single night isn't enough. Saber must have her for his mate, but Emily isn't so easy to convince…or trust.


Review:
I received this book as a review copy from the author and found the name intriguing from the start.
I read the blurb an the first thought was: That's some serious emotional baggage they have to fight in this book. And I have to say that I was rather disappointed in the way it was handled. Emily meets Saber on the Middlemarch ball and like a few pages later she lives with him. That was way too fast for me, especially remembering that she had a cheating asshole husband and serious commitment issues. Which girl would do that even with a sexy as hell kitty shifter? But okay, I can forgive that. The rest of the story had a nice pace and I enjoyed reading it.

I loved the banter between our couple and the chemistry was really hot.  I like that Ms. Munro chose an alpha male as an hero but also made him understanding. He wants to push Emily harder but he realizes that this wouldn't help anyone. He wants her but he doesn't want to force her into something. He needs her to make her own decision so he holds back and doesn't take the possibility he has to make her want him. With only one little bite he could drive her crazy with lust and she would lose any compulsion to leave him ever again. But he sees that this is like cheating and he wants nothing more than to win her heart the hard way.

The side characters, mostly Saber's brothers are hilarious. I loved that they really felt like kitties which wanna "play". *wink* They are a wild bunch of crazy horny boys and I just could feel sorry, or not ;) for the women on their radar.
The plot about the reporter investigating the sightings of large dark cats in the area was really thin and really only a side story after all. Th ebook is focused on the relationship and I didn't minded that at all. 
The next book will be more focused on the reporter and I think perhaps she may find her own little kitty.

All in all this book was a fun read for a cold winter day and I really look forward to read book 2 in the Middlemarch Mates Series, Peeping Tom.


To learn more about Shelley Munro and her books please visit her website here

The Middlemarch Mates Series:
1. Scarlet Woman: reviews @goodreads, buy @Ellora's Cave
2. Peeping Tom: reviews @goodreads, buy @Ellora's Cave

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Review: Flirting With Fate by Lexy Ryan

Description:
Heat. Passion. Sex. Precog Stiletto Girl Josie Bovard sees little else when she touches the charming and handsome Tanner Wiley. But she needs his assistance in her investigation, not in her bed. After discovering that her dead mother’s journal contains encrypted messages involving DNA manipulation, geneticists, and threats to non-Specials, Josie is determined to carry out her mother’s plan, but to be successful, she needs Tanner's help.

Special Intelligence Agency operative Tanner Wiley knows Josie is withholding information about her latest investigation. He agrees to help her, intent on filling in the blanks himself. What he discovers is a decades-old Ascendant scheme for control, and Josie’s outrageous plan of self-sacrifice. But what will they do when the answers they seek threaten to destroy life as they know it?

Review:
This is the second book in the Stiletto Girl's series and I received this book as a review copy from the author.
Book 2 starts a few months after Stiletto's INC. We stumble right into a very uncomfortable situation of Jodie asking Tanner for his sperm. Hilarious situation I tell ya. As the first novel this one is quite funny and has some quite embarrassing moments for us to enjoy.

Josie had a hard childhood and suffered too many losses. Her ability of seeing the future sounds like fun but in my eyes it's a real curse. How can you stand to see bad things happening and not know what to do to prevent it? I can hardly imagine how that must feel but Ms. Ryan described it nicely and I really felt for Josie. Her attraction for Tanner is really obvious but for her there are a few things to ponder. Is she just attracted to him cuz she sees a hot and naughty future of them both getting close and personal? Does she want the things she sees? Is she attracted to him cuz she sees herself in his arms and can feel the attraction of her future self?

As you can see this is a highly complicated life she has there.

Tanner has one of the coolest abilities ever. He can make himself invisible and OMG think of the possibilities. So many things you could do. I already have a list of things in my mind I would do first...LOL

But back to Tanner. He had a really bad youth and still has commitment issues cuz of that. His family sucked and in my opinion he can be happy to be rid of them. He's also a rather alpha male type. That seems to be a pattern in Ms. Ryan's books. His character has quite some matching attributes to Darian, our hero of the first book, but he's also a bit different so I didn't really mind that.

The relationship between this two developed rather slow in comparison to book 1. I missed Paige's empath ability a bit cuz it made book way more steamier than this one. But we get this one scene on the beach when Tanner uses his gift and OMG that was hawt.

Again in this book the side characters are wonderfully developed and I have a few candidates for future books I would love to read. Paige's little sister was a bit annoying from time to time but after all she is a teen and that's exactly what those are for: getting on your nerves.

The main plot was gripping and the suspense was good too. I wanted to know how all this will work out so bad. I couldn't put this book down and now I so want to know how the story will go on. I'm officially hooked.


To learn more about Lexi Ryan and her books please visit her website here.

The Stilettos Girls Series:
1. Stilettos, INC.: my review, reviews @goodreads, buy the ebook @amazon
2. Flirting with Fate: review @goodreads, buythe ebook @amazon

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Review: Stilettos, INC. by Lexi Ryan

Description:
Brains. Attitude. Beauty that brings men to their knees-if their Jujitsu moves don't do it first. The women of the private investigation firm Stilettos, Inc. are not your average PIs. Each armed with a special power, there's no case the Stiletto Girls can't crack-until Specials start vanishing in growing numbers.

Darian Lorring is an agent for the Specials Intelligence Agency, a secret government organization of humans with special powers. His unit's latest mission is to track the Stiletto Girls and determine their role in the assassination attempts on the president. But it's hard to keep secrets from a Stiletto Girl. His best defense? Keep sex on the brain. And Darian will eat and breathe sex to protect his country...having Paige in his bed again is just an added bonus.

Empath Paige Sykes hopes solving the missing Specials case will answer unresolved questions of her mother's disappearance ten years ago. But one sexy, chauvinistic SIA agent continues to get in her way-and in her bed. How can she trust what she feels around Darian when his ability allows him to project emotions and physical sensations? How can she trust any man when her ex, Collin Raines, appears to be tied to attempts on the president's life?
If you liked "Charlie's Angels," you'll really love this sexy, fast-paced paranormal!

Review:
I received this book as a review copy from the author and really knew nothing before I started reading. I expected a chic-lit novel because of the rather sassy name and cover but what I got was so much more.

This book is an entertaining paranormal romance with quite a bunch of erotica elements. The plot is thrilling but a bit predictable. One big drawback for me was that the story is told out of multible POVs. I have nothing against this in general but it totally confused me in this book. I think it only got that confusing because the story also jumped back and forth in time and my orientation was totally screwed.

The characters in this book are really likable. The girls are real fun and made me laugh more than ones.
Paige, our heroine is a strong woman and also an empath . She stands her man and knows how to get the big bad boys without male assistance. Her company is successfull and independent and that's also the way she wants it to stay. She doesn't appreciate SIA agents putting there nose in her business at all. She believes SIA deems them uncapable to handle the dangerous assignments and that is something she can't accept at all. She had a really hard past and still struggles with getting rid of her affection for her ex. He saved her more than ones and also broke her heart, more than any other man could, as he left her.

Darian works for SIA and has really big soft spot for Paige. He knows that this is counterproductive to his assignment but he just can't help himself. His mission is not what Paige suspects but the real one is probably worse. Luckily his gift is to project emotions and feelings to others and this is a great way to block an empath. He's aware of the fact that the Stiletto girls are capable and totally know what they are doing but he just can't stop worrying about Paige and her friends.

The question "Who is the bad guy?" is rather complicated in this book. We try to figure that out through the whole story. There are a few potentials, some more and some less evil, and a nice build up with typical accusing one or the other to be the bad boy. The revelation at the end was not that surprising to me but the story was good enough to keep me reading.

I really enjoyed reading this novel. Okay it was nothing totally new or outstanding but it kept my attention the whole time, made me laugh and entertained me. I recommend Stiletttos, INC. to all of you who loves paranormal romance and enjoys a quick and sexy read.

To learn more about Lexi Ryan and her books please visit her website here.

The Stilettos Girls Series:
1. Stilettos, INC.:  reviews @goodreads, buy the ebook @amazon
2. Flirting with Fate: review @goodreads, buythe ebook @amazon

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Review: Switch by Megan Hart

Description:

Don't think.
Don't question.
Just do.
The anonymous note wasn't for me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not in the habit of reading other people's mail, but it was just a piece of paper with a few lines scrawled on it, clearly meant for the apartment upstairs. It looked so innocent, but decidedly— deliciously—it was not.

Before replacing the note—and the ones that followed— in its rightful slot, I devoured its contents: suggestions, instructions, commands. Each was more daring, more intricate and more arousing than the last… and I followed them all to the letter.

Before the notes, if a man had told me what to do, I'd have told him where to go. But submission is an art, and there's something oddly freeing about doing someone's bidding…especially when it feels so very, very good. But I find that the more I surrender, the more powerful I feel—so it's time to switch up roles.
We play by my rules now.

Review:

I received this book as a review copy from netgalley and then...uh...kind of bought the book out of my OCD to have the really good books as a print copy.

At first I really loved this cover. It represents the book really well and it is just nice to look at. Then I remembered the discussion about "Is he sniffing his armpit?" (BF thought that too by the way) and now I always have to smile when I look at it.

Just to warn you in advance: I'm such a sucker for Ms. Hart's writing and I can hardly leave out all the adoration and awe I feel while thinking about her books.

Like always while reading a book by this author I was highly surprised to get something different from what I expected. After reading the blurb I thought about a highly erotic game in a D/s relationship. But again this book is so much more.

Paige is a very complex character although her life is nothing exceptional- she is the illegitimate daughter of a businessman and his secretary. She is in her twenties now and already divorced once. She has a strange love for paper and ink and quite quirky boss but otherwise her life is completely ordinary. Until she finds the first note in her mailbox. The note is not for her but who would put a unsealed note down before reading it (not me- I would be reading it ASAP too). And OMG what a message this note is:

Shall we begin?
This is your first list.
You will follow each instruction perfectly. There is no margin for error. The penalty for failure is dismissal.
Your reward will be my attention and command.
You will write a list of ten. Five flaws. Five strength. Deliver them promptly to the address below.

So huh? Now you all feel nosy? I so did. The journey Paige goes with these notes is eye-opening not only for her but for the reader too. Or so it was for me. I really adored the way Ms. Hart developed Paige's view of relationships, men and sexuality through these little notes. I won't tell which direction this takes but it was a surprising one.

On the other hand we have Austin. He is Paige's high school love and ex-husband. Austin has his good and bad sides. I couldn't decide at the start if I liked him or not. But with time he really grew on me and sometimes I was more on his side and would have loved to tell Paige what I think of her decisions.

We also have her sexy neighbor Eric. He's a real eye catcher and a very nice person but was way too nice for me. I was praying the whole time that he would make a move on Paige but you have to read that for yourself. *wicked grin*

This book, as all books by Megan Hart, was a wild ride for me. It's not a great tearjerker as the former books I read but perhaps I got glassy eyes ones or twice. *wink* I always love that her books are so full of emotion and they have such an intense and real feeling that I can only say: you all should read one of her books. Her novels are always so much more for me than just an erotica. Don't get me wrong, I like my erotica smutty and all but hers are always so emotional intense and thought inspiring. It could be that this is only my impression but I just can't stop buying her books (only 2 this week *guilty face*). Megan Hart's writing is a new addiction of mine and I can't wait to get new fix!

To learn more about Megan Hart and her books please visit her website here.

You can read other reviews @goodreads and buy the book @amazon.

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