Sinful (Bitter Creek #13)

After a tragic accident takes Delta sergeant Connor Flynn's wife, he faces the toughest fight of his life-battling his in-laws for custody of his two young children. He needs a make-believe wife to take care of the kids while he runs his Wyoming ranch. Who better than a woman he already knows and likes-his late wife's best friend? Forced to live under the same roof, Eve must hide a love that has never died, while Connor fights his growing need for a woman who was forbidden fruit during his marriage. Can two lonely people set adrift by fate and haunted by guilt find redemption in the healing embrace of love?

Review:  I was given a copy of Sinful from NetGallery for an honest review and this is the review.
I really enjoyed Connor and Eve's story. I believe this is the first Joan Johnston book I have read in a very long time and I can honestly say I have missed her books. I enjoy her writing because it is so enjoyable and the characters all interact so well together. In this book it was a sweet romance story about star crossed lovers who could not be together at first because of a family feud and then Connor ended up with Eve's best friend and this book is about how they finally have their chance even though they have obstacles they need to overcome. I loved the story. I also loved how Johnston has set up the characters for the next books in the series.
Overall this was a good feeling romance book that was worth five out five stars. I can't wait to read more in the series.

Force of Attraction (K-9 Rescue #2) by D.D. Ayres

The only thing more powerful than fear is desire… 
A seasoned K-9 officer with the police in Maryland, Cole Jamison has left her old life behind her. With a new home and a new partner—a protective canine named Hugo—Cole is ready for fresh challenges. A crucial position on an important drug task force is exactly what she wants…until she discovers her gorgeous, infuriating ex-husband will be the DEA agent in charge.  
FORCE OF ATTRACTION
 Agent Scott Lucca may be a pro when it comes to undercover assignments, but this job is daunting even for him. Posing as a happy couple on the dog competition circuit means he and Cole need to get a lot closer than they’ve been in years. Playing a live-in couple should seem like a walk in the park compared to tracking a brutal criminal, but suddenly nothing could be more dangerous than the passionate fire they’ve rekindled…

Review:  I was given a ARC of this book from NetGallery for an honest review. This is my review. 
Wow this book was HOT. I must say the romance and sex in this book was hot enough to set my Kindle on fire. The chemistry between Scott and Cole was electrifying. Oh and the the suspense in the book wasn't that bad either. I mean a ticked off biker gang member who wants to kill you and hurt your family that you are trying to avoid while trying to find some sicko who is using puppies as drug mules while working undercover with you ex-wife you betrayed and lost two year earlier is in interesting twist for a book. This book is the whole package and gets five out of five stars.

No One Like You by Kate Angell

No One Expects a Curveball

For Rylan Cates, the gloriously sunny beachside town of Barefoot William may be home, but the pro baseball player needs to focus on spring training. Hiring a personal assistant to keep him and his four dogs organized for the next eight weeks is the first step--and Beth Avery is the perfect pinch hitter. Beth is still looking for her place in the world, and a couple months caring for Rylan's two dachshunds, his golden retriever, and a Great Dane named Atlas should shore up her finances before she moves on. Except it's Atlas who won't budge, pushing her toward tanned, scruffy, sexy Rylan every chance he gets. One more strike and she's calling the dog out--unless she and Rylan admit that the attraction they're feeling is a game-winning grand slam. . .  

Review: I was given an ARC of this book  by NetGallery for an honest review. Here is the review.\

 I absolutely loved this funny quirky book. I was so glad I was reading it alone because there were so many times I found myself laughing out loud over the dogs antics or Rylan's teammates outrageous behavior I would have looked crazy in public.
I loved the Beth and Rylan characters and how well the author grew them and their relationship throughout the book. It was almost like you knew them and they were friends of yours. I also loved the supporting characters in this book and can't wait until the two main baseball players get their own books because those guys were great characters and I can see them as awesome leading men
This book had it all. Great humor. Hot romance. Well developed characters. I can't wait for the next one in this series. And because No One Like You was such a great book it gets five out of five stars.

Second Helpings at the Serve You Right Café by Tilia Klebenov Jacobs

What if the world didn’t want you to go straight? Out on parole after almost ten years in prison, Emet First is repairing his shattered life. He has friends, a job, and his first date in a decade. The young woman, Mercedes Finch, is lovely but wounded. When her deranged brother learns about Emet’s past, he will stop at nothing to destroy him—and suddenly Emet has everything to lose.

Review: I was given a copy of Second Helpings at the Serve You Right Cafe from NetGalley for an honest review. I enjoyed this book overall and found it a very fast read for me. I found the story between Mercey and Emet interesting. I especially liked it that Emet was afraid he would not be good enough for Mercey because was an ex-con when the one with the problems was Mercey who had her doctrate but a messed up family and a brother, Clay, who was set on messing up her life and getting Emet in trouble. I found myself laughing at the lengths Clay was willing to go to get his way. I won't go into detail due to spoilers but that junkie had an imagination.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I wish it was a bit longer and Emet and Mercey's relationship would have been explored deeper and that is why I am giving the book four out of five stars. I would have liked a bit more.

Skeletal by Katherine Hayton

Three months before she died Daina Harrow faced a bully at school.
Six weeks before she died Daina Harrow suffered an assault in the park.
One week before she died Daina Harrow stole a secret people had killed to hide.
That was ten years ago. Ten long years.
Now, her bones have been found on a building site. A coroner's inquest has been reopened. A parade of witnesses is about to start.
And Daina's here. Watching every day as her mother cries in the courtroom. Watching every day as her friends, and her enemies, and her killers lie about her on the stand.
Watching, and making sure that no matter what the coroner hears, you know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
So help you God.

Review: I was given a copy of the book for an honest review so here is the review.
I was given this book to review and I am sad to say under normal circumstances this would not be a book I would have picked up on my own and boy would I have missed out on one of the best books I have read in a long time.
This book grabs the reader from the start and you have no choice but to get enthralled with the main character's story. No young woman should go through what she went through in her short life and the fact that you are both hearing her story as she remembers it as a ghost and how people are testifying about it in the New Zealand's form of looking into and determining the cause of one's death makes this book all that more powerful.
There were places were I was trying to guess where the author was going to take the story and then something would happen and what would happen would totally disrail my thoughts and I would have to go back to square one and that is what I look for in a true suspense book.
Skeletal is an excellent book that I would highly recommend. I would even suggest it to someone who was not so sure about the book or the subject because as I said at the beginning normally this would not be my type of book but it was one of the best and more then worth the chance I took.

Take Another Look by Rosalind Noonan

When Jane Ryan discovers she's pregnant with twin girls, she faces a heart wrenching decision. On her own and unable to afford to care for both babies, she sees no choice but to keep one and give up the other for adoption. But fourteen years later, Jane's decision comes full circle. 
"Family is everything." It's one of the first things Isabel, the twin Jane gave up, says when they unexpectedly meet. Without warning, she and her adoptive mother have moved to the town where Jane and her daughter, Harper, live. But are they really family? In the throes of a willful adolescence, Harper is as sullen as Isabel is eager to please. Still, the sisters appear to bond quickly--until unsettling things begin to happen. Disturbing pranks, questionable accidents, strange ailments. Are the girls allies, or enemies? Is Harper acting out, or is Isabel not all she seems? Soon, Jane is convinced there is something darker at work than sibling rivalry. But who is to blame, and is this only the beginning? 
In a novel that is both suspenseful and deeply emotional, Rosalind Noonan explores the complex challenges of motherhood, and of truly knowing what lies in another's heart--even those we love best.

Review:  I was given an ARC from NetGallery for an honest review. This is the review.
This was an interesting book that could make one wonder is it nature or nurture that really gives children their personalities? I am not one for spoilers but going with the theme of this book, a mother, Jane has twins and decides to keep one and give one up. She finds out the father and his family are a bunch of crazies. So of course on of the kids is going to be a normal child and the other a psycho. Now how Jane decides to keep her baby is she picks the one that won't stop crying and gives up the good baby. Well I am not going to share with you what child ends up being the killer but needless to say they end up meeting and get reunited and all kinds of crazy takes places. Now overall, this topic really makes one think. If you have bad genes are you more likely to turn out bad like one of these twins even if both were raised right with no violence? Kind of makes you think like a lot of Noonan's books do. Then then epilogue just made my mouth drop and ask will there be another book? Great read by a great author. Four out of five stars.

MS Madneess by Yvonne deSousa

Yvonne deSousa's diagnosis of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis came with an insightful declaration from a new doctor ("MS sucks") and a brother's helpful advice ("You could totally get one of those handicapped parking plates now"). What followed was a year of MS-adventures: "accidentally" kicking an officious male doctor in the crotch, becoming an undercover agent to pay for medication made from Chinese hamster ovary cells, discovering the amazing effects of legal speed, and battling her arch-nemesis, the dreaded food group: vegetables. Throughout her MS journey, Yvonne learned how to use humor to find acceptance in her diagnosis, and how to smile in the face of a debilitating chronic illness. MS Madness will make you laugh while learning the real story of what MS, a disease that affects 400,000 Americans daily, can do to a perfectly normal person. Life with multiple sclerosis can be daunting, but Yvonne shares her giggles at the bizarre world she has unwittingly entered and the new perspectives it has given her on life. MS Madness makes us realize that with a sense of humor, we can survive anything.


  

Review: I loved this book. As a fellow MSer I related to this book so much it was like looking in the mirror when Yvonne was talking about things like how she hated K-Mart because of how the lighting bothered her and her meltdown at the cell phone store I could totally relate to what she was saying. Been there done that. The book was also so refreshing with the humor that was in it. I am not sure if I will ever be able to look at those shots the same again without thinking about Chinese hamster ovaries but luckily for me I am on an oral medication and will not break out laughing every time I take my medication.
As an MS patient I can honestly say that we need books like this on the market so people can read about what someone else is going through and see how they are able to look at the positive side of MS and laugh in it's face. So many of us who are newly diagnosed are so scared we get too depressed too look at the other side of MS that it is not that bad unless you let it beat you and that is the message I got out of this book and that is a message I wish I would have had 10 years ago when I was first told I had MS. I think I would have avoided some bad years if I had book like this or a positive person like Yvonne telling me to try to laugh along with my tears. This is a great book for the MS community to give them hope and to remind them laughter is the best medicine. I thank you for this book. 

Needless to say this is a five star rating from me.

 

The Sound Of Glass by Karen White

The New York Times bestselling author of A Long Time Gone now explores a Southern family’s buried history, which will change the life of the woman who unearths it, secret by shattering secret.  
It has been two years since the death of Merritt Heyward’s husband, Cal, when she receives unexpected news—Cal’s family home in Beaufort, South Carolina, bequeathed by Cal’s reclusive grandmother, now belongs to Merritt.
Charting the course of an uncertain life—and feeling guilt from her husband’s tragic death—Merritt travels from her home in Maine to Beaufort, where the secrets of Cal’s unspoken-of past reside among the pluff mud and jasmine of the ancestral Heyward home on the Bluff. This unknown legacy, now Merritt’s, will change and define her as she navigates her new life—a new life complicated by the arrival of her too young stepmother and ten-year-old half-brother.
Soon, in this house of strangers, Merritt is forced into unraveling the Heyward family past as she faces her own fears and finds the healing she needs in the salt air of the Low Country. 

Review:	I was given an ARC copy of The Sound of Glass from NetGallery for an honest review so this is my review: The Sound of Glass is an emotionally packed book that has two strong women in the main roles each fighting their own battles that takes the reader on a memorable journey. Merritt the main focus of the book walks away from her life after her husband is killed and she inherits his family's home. As we learn more about her we find out her mother had died when she was a young girl and her father remarried and she never forgave him for that and died before they could reconcile. Then she married a man who she thought was her Prince but he abused her and then was killed while fighting a fire. Needless to say she has abandonment issues. So when her step mother and young step brother show up at her new home looking for a place to live Merritt does not want to let them into her life or her heart because everyone she loves leaves her. For Merritt' s part of the story White writes how she overcomes her fears with the help of her stepmother and stepbrother and her ex husband's brother Gibbes to become the strong woman that she can be. The way White writes about abused women in this book she shows that there is always another choice to be made. Now for Loralee I will not share what she is facing because it is not revealed right away but she decides to sell everything and move her 10 year old son across the country to meet his half sister Merritt because she wants them to get to know each other. Loralee was a great character with her Book of Truths that had little bits of wisdom that she shared with the reader and other characters. I must say that some of them made me pause from reading and just think about what was being said they were so profound. She was my favorite character in the book and I would love to discuss her more but I feel it would be a spoiler so let's just say my heart went out to Loralee and I don't think she was meant to be but I felt she was the strongest character in this book and for me she is the heart of this book. The Sound of Glass gets five out of five stars from me.

The Dying Room: A Faces of Evil Novel By Debra Webb

As Birmingham's Medical Examiner, Dr. Sylvia Baron spends her time unraveling the secrets the dead keep. But Sylvia has a secret of her own that has haunted her for twenty years. Recent events have forced her to see how very precious life really is and she is determined to stop taking a single moment of hers for granted. She goes to private investigator Buddy Corlew for help. Trouble is, Corlew has a reputation for unraveling the ladies as well as the cases he accepts.Before Sylvia gets charmed out of more than her deepest secret by the enigmatic PI, she's summoned to a bizarre murder scene that will shake the city, as well as the Birmingham PD, to its very core. Working with Deputy Chief Jess Harris and her major crimes team, Sylvia is drawn into the most challenging case of her career.
The Dying Room is the first in the stand alone novels featuring the Faces of Evil characters!

Review:  Another excellent addition to the Faces of Evil family. The only problem I had with the book was it ended too soon for me and left a few loose ends that I would have liked to have answered. Like what was the big secret that the killer was killing those men over and how everyone else reacted when they found out about Sylvia's secret. Knowing Debra it will all be be answered in the next book but I like my answers now.
Overall this was an excellent and a very quick read. It tied up some loose ends, added some more things that can be built on in the series and was just a great book. The Dying Room definitely gets five out of five stars.

This Heart of Mine (Whiskey Creek #8) By Brenda Novak

As the daughter of a hoarder, Phoenix Fuller had a tough childhood. So when the handsome, popular Riley Stinson became her boyfriend in high school, she finally felt as though she had something to be proud of. Phoenix was desperate not to lose him—especially once she found out she was pregnant. Yes, she might have acted a bit obsessive when he broke up with her. But she did not run down the girl he started dating next! 
Unfortunately, there was no way to prove her innocence. Now, after serving her time in prison, Phoenix has been released. All she wants to do is return to Whiskey Creek and get to know her son. But Jacob's father isn't exactly welcoming. 
Riley doesn't trust Phoenix, doesn't want her in Jacob's life. He is, however, ready to find someone to love. And he wants a good mother for his son. He has no idea that he's about to find both—if they can forgive the mistakes in their past…

 

Review:  This was my favorite Whiskey Creek book in a long time. From the first chapter I felt a connection with Phoenix and was cheering for her and Riley throughout the entire story. For me Phoenix was one of the strongest female characters I have had the pleasure to read about in awhile and throughout the book I found myself respecting her for her strength as a woman and for everything that she endured and that overcame and how she held onto her pride and dignity. That is the kind of female characters books need. I also loved how hers and Riley's romance was told in this book. It was also great to have all of the past characters from past Whiskey Creek books appear and play a role in this story as well. I am not going to give spoilers but I highly suggest that you take some time to meet Phoenix because she is one heck of a lady that will leave an impression. Definitely five stars.
 

The Wedding Audition (Runaway Brides #1) By Catherine Mann and JoAnn Rock Review

The tabloids call her the Hit and Run Bride after reality show star Annamae Jessup walked out on Atlanta’s favorite baseball player on cable television. Eager to escape her notoriety, Annamae takes a road trip to find the grandmother she’s never met and winds up discovering a whole lot more than a band of back woods relatives. There’s no escape from reality TV, even in Beulah, Alabama, population 3000.

The last thing Wynn Rafferty needs in his new life is a spoiled television princess who can’t even know his real name. He’s in temporary witness protection as an apple farmer after his undercover work put his life in danger. He needs to lay low until the heat dies down from his last case— even if he sucks at growing apples as badly as he sucks at relationships. But Annamae turns his new town into a media circus, unwittingly threatening the lives of him, her and most of Beulah. Wynn is an expert at keeping the world at arm’s length, but when it comes to Annamae, the only way he can keep her safe is to keep her very, very close.

Review: I enjoyed The Wedding Audition. It was a fairly face paced romance book with a bit of drama thrown in to add a bit of action to the book. The chemistry between Annamae and Heath/Wynn was well written and seemed fairly believed throughout the book. I also found myself laughing out loud in some spots so the humor in the book was a plus. Overall, this book was well written and very relatable with the reality TV craze that is taking place now so what Annamae had to deal with was so realistic this book was very easy to get into and enjoy. I would recommend this book and give it four out of five stars.

Never Smile at Strangers (Grand Trespass #1) By Jennifer Jaynes Review

When nineteen-year-old Tiffany Perron vanishes without a trace, the residents of rural Grand Trespass, Louisiana, launch a desperate search to find her. But few clues are unearthed, and before long another young woman disappears.
As locals continue to vanish, residents begin to discover that they might not know those closest to them as well as they had thought. Lies and insecurities quickly surface, leading everyone to question one another…and their involvement in the disappearances.
Meanwhile, an unstable, twisted killer is hiding quietly in their midst. Ever since his mother’s murder four years earlier, he’s been forced to raise his disturbed teenage sister. He’s terrified of her—and of women in general—and his world revolves around his fear of and obsession over them.

Review: This book was twisted on so many levels I am not sure where to go with this review. I was really bothered with some of the subject matter not knowing exactly who the target age group is. The incense I was not liking even though the author did handle it with class. I was also turned off with all the smoking in the book. If is personal thing for me and I find it not cool in movies and also a turn off in books as well. I did like the plot idea however. I loved those twist and turns and I had fun trying to figure out who the killer was and at the end I was like oh I so did not see that. So Jaynes gets a lot of points for that but as I said this is one book that is twisted on many levels and some people may not like that.