Shadows of the Forest by Emma Michaels
Shadows of the Forest by Emma Michaels
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
When Lily awakens in a strange hospital with some injuries the only thing on her mind is her twin brother Cole and finding out if he is safe. The staff at the hospital give Lily a strange set of rules before allowing to see her brother who was unfortunately seriously injured.
The rules Lily must follow seem simple enough, 1. Do not enter the West Wing 2. Do not go outside after darkness falls and 3. There is only one exit, the gate she came in. But with her brother in a coma and Lily determined to save him she finds herself questioning what would happen if the rules were broken?
Shadows of the Forest is a fairly short fantasy novella read but unfortunately for me it really seemed longer than it was just due to losing interest fairly quickly in the story. The one point the author got across rather well was Lily’s concern for her brother, this was repeated over and over again. However as with some novellas I felt other aspects were tossed in without many details and could have used more explanation.
The book felt as if it were trying to be a really complex fantasy read but on a fast pace due to it being short. This to me completely seemed to make the story a bit confusing and felt I lacked the chance to get attached to the story or characters. Unfortunately this story just wasn’t for me in the end.
I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
Almost Missed You by Jessica Strawser
Almost Missed You by Jessica Strawser
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Violet and Finn were one of those couples that everyone though were meant to be. Crossing paths several times in their lives the two finally came together and had gotten married. Now on vacation with their young son the unthinkable happens to Violet. Finn had taken their son for a nap while Violet stayed on the beach to relax. When Violet returned to the hotel room all trace of her husband and son was completely gone.
In the days following Violet is living her worst nightmare when police find no trace of her husband and son. Violet now begins to question did she ever know the man she was married to? Little does Violet know one person in her life knows where Finn is. Caitlin had been friends with Finn long before his marriage to Violet and is now using her secrets against her to help him along.
Almost Missed You to me was somewhat of a dramatic thriller type of read. With Finn’s disappearance right at the start of the story it certainly pulls a reader into it to find out what exactly could have happened to what was thought to be this perfectly happy couple. As the story unfolds it turns in more of a family drama with secrets galore being held by everyone involved.
For the most part of this book I was completely hooked on the drama unfolding and couldn’t wait to see how this one would end. However, I’m not too sure I was completely impressed with the overall ending to this one, it just felt a little off when getting there after being engrossed up to that point so that brought my rating down a tad bit but otherwise I’d recommend this to anyone who loves a twisty journey unraveling family secrets and dramatic suspense.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
Blindsided by Ava Ashley blitz with giveaway
Blindsided
Ava Ashley
Publication date: March 6th 2017
Genres: Adult, Romance, Sports
Sex and spice and cold as ice.
Those are the facts I uncover about football star Lennox Hardy after a long night of tequila and bad choices. Hardly the stuff of tabloid headlines. Everyone knows the NFL’s star quarterback is a womanizing bad boy whose voicemail is practically set to “no comment.”
What they might not know is that the sex? Kind of disappointing.
Of course, that didn’t stop me from getting knocked up.
But it’s when I confront Lennox and discover that I’d actually slept with his identical twin brother Logan, a rising politician, that my life goes from page twelve news to a gossip columnist’s wet dream.
Lennox is used to cleaning up his brother’s messes, and he barely blinks before he asks me to move in with him and pretend the baby is his, at least until his brother’s election is over. Giving me full access to his elusive, private life and the story that will make my career.
What’s a reporter to do?
But sharing an apartment with a brooding, private man who’s sexy as sin and my raging hormones may not have been the best idea. And when the only investigating I do happens with our clothes off, I know my plan has gone seriously awry…
—
EXCERPT:
“Please?” she begs.
“For you? Anything.” I smile. The simple statement has a ring of truth. I take the foil packet from her long fingers.
The raging tide of rushing blood and pulse urges me to move quickly as it threatens to crush us both. Sloane clutches to me for life.
I suddenly pull back. I look into her eyes and smile a memory.
“You have freckles on your nose,” I whisper. She reaches up to cover them. I grasp her hand in mine.
“No. Don’t. They’re cute. Sloane.” Her name melts like chocolate on my tongue. She stands, gathering her things like she’s ready to bolt.
“Lennox,” she gasps, struggling to catch her breath. “Wait. Are we sure? What is this?”
I stand. My words are husky and close as I lean my forehead against hers. “A total rush.”
With that, I back her up against the wall and kiss her. Hard. There’s no gentle brush this time. It’s an instinct-driven crush of survival. I grip her lower lip in my teeth and suck it deeply into my own warm mouth, holding it there just long enough for the circulation to slow, then let it go. I can feel her blood pulse back in. Hard. Fast. Strong. Setting the beat for our little dance. I reach a hand to her top button. It strains it against the fabric. Tighter. Tighter. Until it pops. I trace down the valley between her breasts, her beautiful rounded breasts, with a single finger. My other hand drifts, reaching deftly to unhook the button of her jeans. In one swift move, I have them down around her ankles.
Author Bio:
Amazon bestselling author Ava Ashley may look like the girl next door, but her steamy romances reveal a very naughty side. Raised in small town Ohio and now living in Homer, Alaska it’s amazing that she hasn’t increased the average temperature in her area of the state with her steamy writing. And she loves reading new adult romance novels as much as she enjoys writing them.
Ava likes spending time outdoors and does a lot of hiking and cycling with her husband and four children. When she can get away on her own, she’ll often take pen and paper along, find a secluded spot and let the environment inspire her. Of course, that inspiration frequently results in characters tearing each other’s clothes off, but you would expect nothing less from a romance writer.
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Falling for Boston by Leslie Kate blitz with giveaway
Falling for Boston
Leslie Kate
Publication date: October 13th 2016
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Romance
As the youngest of four, Dylan has always been the baby. But don’t let that fool you; she’s not your average baby sister. Growing up with three older brothers left Dylan with a lack of femininity and in its place, a real guy’s girl personality. Sports, beer, burping, you name it; but don’t even think about going near her feet with a pair of heels.
When Dylan meets Tyler Vaughn, the famous and devastatingly attractive football superstar at work one morning, she’s thrilled by his good stats, not his good looks. But the wide receiver—and sweet romantic—throws her for a loop when he pursues her despite what she knows is missing, her feminine charm.
Now Dylan must reconcile the fact that this guy may actually like her, and even scarier, she may like him back. Dylan speaks sports and sarcasm fluently but romance, now that’s something completely foreign to her. What’s an emotionally-allergic guy’s girl supposed to do with a hopeless romantic?
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble
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EXCERPT:
“What?” I asked, concerned.
But he didn’t answer. Actually, he did, but not with words. He gently rubbed his hand over my bump before he slid it down brushing my cheek with his thumb and slid his hand back around my neck.
I didn’t know what to expect, I was so surprised by the intimacy of his touch and the wild beating of my heart in my chest at his closeness. Whereas this would be the part
where I’d crack a joke to break the tension, I couldn’t even think. My brain was blank, barely registering the way his hands felt on my skin or the sight of him so close to my face. Formulating words were beyond me.
He slowly closed the distance between us. His other hand rose up and slipped it into my hair same as the first before he gently leaned down, stealing the lightest whisper-soft kiss.
He didn’t linger, it felt like the kiss was over in the blink of an eye. But even despite the brevity, I still felt like I had been given a swift kick in the chest. My heart was beating a frantic rhythm, and I was winded like I had just run an all-out sprint.
He pulled back enough so I could look up into those blue eyes of his that were so light that you could still make them out in the dark. His hands were still holding me, and my own hands were gripping his shirt tightly, clinging to him for balance.
What the hell just happened?
“What,” I stuttered, unable to speak because he’d annihilated my senses.
“I wanted to wait, to give you time. But tonight, watching you, and hearing you laugh, I just couldn’t stop myself. I had to kiss you,” Vaughn said, his words feathering over my skin.
“Oh,” I said, still stunned. I was still missing something. I continued to look at him, my brain misfiring. I couldn’t get it to work, I just stood there mindlessly.
Vaughn leaned down again, my stomach clenching in nervous anticipation. But this time, he only pressed a kiss to my forehead.
He finally stepped away from me, but he was smiling again. The seriousness that had been on his face earlier was wiped clean just like a Magna Doodle. “I better go.”
“Okay,” I answered breathlessly. My heart had yet to slow down. Vaughn chuckled quietly. “Goodnight, Dylan.” “Goodnight, Vaughn,” I whispered, unmoving.
“This is the part where you go inside,” he said, his smile widening. “Uh-huh,” I nodded stupidly.
Vaughn laughed before taking my keys out of my hand. He unlocked the door for me and gently pushed me through.
I looked back at him again, trying to riffle through the scores of information that had entered my brain in the last ten minutes but had yet to be processed.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” he said smiling. He gave me a quick wave before he walked away.
I numbly walked up the stairs. It wasn’t until I was inside my apartment, sitting on my bed that my brain finally started working again.
I touched my fingers to my lips, the phantom feel of Vaughn’s moving against them still lingering.
He kissed me.
This whole time I had been convinced that I’d get over my crush eventually. I’d been sure that this was just a friendship, nothing more. But I was wrong.
Slippy? Slappy? Swanson? Samsonite, I had been way off. I smiled. He kissed me.
Well, that changed everything.
Author Bio:
Leslie Kate, despite growing up in Upstate New York, is crazy about everything Boston. She attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she studied sports broadcasting. There, her lifelong Boston sports addiction blossomed into the fanatic she is today.
Having dabbled with the idea of writing a book since high school, she finally put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and wrote her first book, “Falling for Boston,” where she combined her passion for the written word with her passion for sports and the City of Champions.
Aside from being a sports nut, Leslie Kate love reading (much to the chagrin of her boyfriend), movies, music, and being active (she’s a spinning instructor at her gym.)
She also loves cooking, but not cleaning; dogs, but not cats; and shoes, but not purses or jewelry. She owns one pair of Christian Louboutins that she sometimes just wears around the house because she likes to look at them.
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Cover Reveal: Rogue in Love: Thea and Lex by Inger Iversen
Rogue in Love: Thea and Lex
Inger Iversen
Publication date: March 28th 2017
Genres: Adult, Romance, Sports
Missing Teal and Trent from Inevitable: Love & War? Check out Rogue in Love, the beginning of a series of standalones featuring Trent Reed’s new employees!
Ten years ago, Lex made the difficult choice to skip town, abandoning the young girl who’d offered him her innocence and a place in her heart. However, when Lex is called back to Blackwater to say goodbye to his dying confidant, he is confronted by the broken-hearted woman he left behind and given the task of helping her mend the gaping hole his absence created.
When Thea and Lex reunite, sparks fly and secrets are unveiled.
Author Bio:
Inger Iversen was born in 1982 to Anne and Kaii Iversen. She lives in Virginia Beach with her overweight lap cat, Max and her tree hugging boyfriend Joshua. She spends 90 percent of her time in Barnes and Noble and the other ten pretending not to want to be in Barnes and Noble.
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