Pre-Release ARC REVIEW: Vice By Rosanna Leo

Expected publication: September 22nd 2015 by Samhain Publishing

Genre:

Contemporary Romance

Buy The Book:

AMAZON 

Connect With The Author:

Goodreads / Website /Twitter

Synopsis On Goodreads:

As a Vegas singer and volunteer counselor, Kate Callender has experienced life on both sides of Sin City’s bright lights. The thrill of performing, and gambling’s devastating effect on the addicts’ families.

Liam Doyle is just the kind of man she despises—a handsome, enigmatic businessman with a knack for seducing customers into his casino hotels. Determined to put a lid on his growing influence, she prepares to picket the opening of his newest casino, Vice.

When Liam spots the lone protestor hassling his customers, annoyance wars with instant attraction. And he quickly discovers the leggy redhead not only can’t be bought, she tempts him the way the sound of a roulette wheel lures a gambler. 

They are natural enemies, but when a vile attack sparks Liam’s protective instincts, they begin a sexual odyssey that dances on the edge of addiction. Dangerously close to losing control...and losing themselves.

RATING: 2.5/5 stars

*** REVIEW ***

As you all know- I'm always up for a good enemies-to-lovers romance whether from f/m or m/m genre and that was the main reason I picked this book up. Unfortunately, this ended up not being the right type of a read for me.

Why it didn't work out for me:

~ Insta-love romances and some cheesy content rarely work for me, especially the more books I read. The story must be either pnr romance or really good for me not to be annoyed by it, but this  wasn't the case. It took about a week or two for the main couple to develop such strong feelings for each other and do some *pretty unbelievable things* all "in the name of love." Some might find this highly romantic, but for me this is where the story lost its credibility.

~The enemies-to-lovers plot-line felt anticlimatic in my opinion. I wanted sparks, slow-building intensity, passion, a lot of sexy banter, but everything felt so rushed that those things ended up lost somewhere in the story, at least for me.

~ We are all humans and make mistakes every day, but I couldn't not think of Kate's behavior when it comes to her patients and rushed relationship with Liam a bit hypocritical considering her profession. 

~ The 2nd half of the book seemed to revolve only around "sex solves everything until it doesn't" plot followed by a fair share of unnecessary drama.

The best plot-line of the story for me were the parts focused on the side-effects of compulsive gambling. Those parts were really touching, emotional and thought-provoking. Kate's dad is a compulsive gambler whose addiction costed her a lot of bad things in her life and made her become volunteer counselor for the near  family of gambling addicts later on. My heart was breaking for her while reading about her father's addiction and all the things she went through because of him. Other than that the story and its characters failed to touch me on some deeper level. In the end I just couldn't connect to it and that's why 2.5 stars.

Read it & decide for yourself!

xoxo,

Purple

REVIEW: Superhero by Eli Easton

Genre:
MM Contemporary Romance

Buy The Book:
Amazon/ Dreanspinnerpress / B & N / Kobo

Connect With The Author:
Goodreads / Website / Twitter

Synopsis On Goodreads:

It’s not easy for a young gay artist like Jordan Carson to grow up in Jefferson, Wisconsin, where all anyone seems to care about in middle school and high school are the sports teams. But Jordan was lucky. He met Owen Nelson in the second grade, and they’ve been BFFs ever since. Owen is a big, beautiful blond and their school’s champion wrestler. No one messes with Owen, or with anyone close to him, and he bucks popular opinion by keeping Jordan as his wingman even after Jordan comes out at school.

Their friendship survives, but Jordan’s worst enemy may be himself: he can’t seem to help the fact that he is head-over-heels in love with a hopeless case—his straight friend, Owen. Owen won’t let anything take Jordan’s friendship away, but he never counted on Jordan running off to find a life of his own. Owen will have to face the nature of their relationship if he’s to win Jordan back.

RATING: 4/5 stars

***REVIEW***

Who said I can't read a super-cute, fun, romantic and butterfly-inducing story and enjoy it? I admit, I prefer a bit darker, raw and emotional stories, but basically if the story and the writing style is good I can read anything. I've always wanted to read smth by E. Easton and considering my mm friends-to-lovers/GFY plot-line addiction Superhero seemed as the perfect choice. And it was.

"Without a doubt, the luckiest thing that ever happened to me was that I became best friends with Owen Nelson."

I fell in love with Jordan's and Owen's story right in the first chapter. They became inseparable best friends in the second grade of elementary school, their love for comics and action figures being the thing that brought them together. The main voice of this story was Jordan a.k.a Jordy who re-tells us their story from the very first day they met, but later on we get Owen's pov too. The sweet, brave, selfless, fun and charming geek Jordy as the MC was so easy to love. It was crush at first sight for him when he met Owen and with every next day that love and longing only became stronger and stronger. Too bad Owen was straight and didn't want Jordy that way or is he really?

Owen, the untypical jock, was also a likable character. I loved how protective, supportive and accepting he was of Jordan. His insecurities over his sexual identity and his relationship with Emily tended to be a bit frustrating for a hardcore mm lover like myself, but overall the story was simply beautiful, touching and swoon-worthy. Other than mm romance, this book also deals with themes such as coming out and bullying.

Btw. Excuse me for my bluntness, but I still don't get why did people on GR marked this as YA fiction just because there was no penetration. Well, they did everything else, so I definitely wouldn't say this is your typical YA read, more of a coming of age/new adult story, but hey, that's just me. 

“Say yes, Jordan,” he said, shifting closer.

“No,” I said.

Owen smiled. “Close enough.” And then he kissed me.”

Highly recommend this novella (around 90 pages) to every mm reader with a "fetish" for friends-to-lover romances and anyone who is interested in this genre and doesn't know where to start. This was another winner!

xoxo, 

Purple

Buddy-read REVIEWs: THE BLACK WOLF (In the Company of Killers, #5) By J. A. Redmerski

Genre:

Thriller/ Romantic Suspense

Buy The Book:

AMAZON 

Connect With The Author:

Website / Twitter / Goodreads

Synopsis On Goodreads:

Since devastating secrets were uncovered by Nora Kessler, Niklas Fleischer and Victor Faust have been divided as business partners and brothers. But ultimately Niklas is persuaded to lead a mission to Italy, and he sees it as an opportunity to set in motion forgiveness—or retribution—for his brother’s betrayal. 

The mission: play the role of a wealthy German investor and kidnap a beautiful, notorious madam named Francesca Moretti. No stranger to these types of roles, Niklas is the best man for the job, but this time the risks will be much greater as he will not be doing it alone. Izabel Seyfried, still fresh out of a life of imprisonment and sex slavery, could be negatively affected by the things she will see in Moretti’s mansion, and Niklas must keep her in line so she does not blow their cover and get them killed.

But Niklas isn’t the only one who must play a role—Nora takes on the humiliating task of playing Niklas’s slave, and Izabel must play the role of his lover.

On one hand, Niklas couldn’t be enjoying himself more. On the other hand, the emotions that continue to rage inside of him may be too much for him to control, and it may be Niklas—not Izabel—who needs to be kept in line. He cannot forget what Victor has done, and this mission may just be the beginning of his downward spiral.

Can the blood bond that Niklas and Victor share as brothers be stronger than resentment? Or will vengeance dig the blade so deep that their bond be eternally severed?

PURPLE'S RATING: 5/5 STARS

BEATRIX' RATING: 5/5 STARS 

*** REVIEW ***

Purple:

After the brilliant previous installment- Seeds of Iniquity (ItCoK, #4) I was positive that there was no way I could love this book as much as I did that one, BUT I was wrong. Niklas was not among my favorite characters. As the matter of fact I was quite annoyed with him until the previous two books because of the *thing* he did in the 1st one and his rather superior/macho attitude, but now we all know the cold front he puts up is only an act and that he can be quite charming when he wants it and add to that very, very sexy. Together with Fredrik and Nora he is now without a doubt one of my fav characters in the series.

"Niklas wanted freedom; he has always wanted to be his own person, play by his own rules, live by his own standards, and not in the shoes or the shadows or beneath the gavel or the whip of anyone else."

The story was dark, gripping, action-packed, suspenseful and twisted with some unexpected and jaw-dropping twists as always. J. R. Redmerski keeps mindfucking us messing with our heads and in the best possible way. Our dearest rogue agents are at it again- on another undercover case in Italy trying to solve one of their most dangerous cases so far.  The undercover trio was so bad-ass and the villian and her devious plans so fucked-up. I won't say anything else about the plot, except that it was spectacular.

And the ending? Oh. My...I'm still trying to process what had happened. I don't know what to think, what to feel and I definitely don't know what to expect from the next installment. I have billions theories of the possible outcomes, some of which I fear greatly and truely hope the author doesn't take the story in that direction. J. A. Redmerski, I trust your judgement, just DO NOT turn this into one of those melodramatic love triangles, I beg you!

All in all- I'm in love with this series! This is my 2nd favorite installment and my third 5 stars rating so far this year and damn well-deserved. I'll be crossing days until the next one.

“To be human means to always go with your heart. The moment you betray your heart is the moment you lose everything.”

Highly recommended to every fan of dark, romantic and suspenseful thrillers  and fans of TV shows  like Nikita. This series is a must-read!


Beatrix:

I can honestly say that with each new book In The Company of Killers series gets better and better. This series is dark, suspenseful, characters and relationships between them are so complex.

I wanted a book about Niklas since forever (okay, since book #1 – I was always curious about him and I thought there’s more to him than what he showed to the world). And now we finally got it and it was everything I wanted and more. If you’re already a fan of this series, and you approved of the direction things took in Seeds of Iniquity, you’re gonna love this! 

Anyhow, this time around, the main story revolves around Niklas, Izabel and Nora, on a mission in Italy. I don’t want to spoil anything about that, I’ll just say it was exciting, gripping, bloody and just overall, amazing. After five books, I don’t doubt J. A. Redmerski; wherever she decided to go with the plot, I’m on board. This has become one of my favorite series, precisely because it’s unpredictable and unconventional.

This particular installment picks up where things left off in the last book – Niklas is hurt over Viktor’s betrayal and nowhere to be found; and Nora is the new addition to their Order. Since her introduction in the last book, I loved Nora. She’s so badass and great, and I only wish she had a bigger role in this book. (There’s a lot we don’t know about her yet, but I’m hoping it’ll be remedied in the next book.)

Furthermore, these characters are what do it for me in this series. Now, in the book #5 we feel like we know them (I’ve personally grown so attached to them), but in fact every one of them is hiding something and we’re on our toes to know everything about them. 

Finally, the reason why this book was so bloody awesome is that ending! Whoa! What happens next is the big question. I was buddy-reading this with my dear Purple and we have SO many theories. Also, while she’s very against a love triangle, I can honestly say I wouldn’t mind it. But, I guess we shall see. 

***

My favorite Killer in this part: Niklas, obviously.

My least favorite Killer in this part: I love them all.

I particularly liked: Niklas – Izabel dynamics.

I didn’t like the fact that there was so little of Nora. With Fredrik and Niklas, she’s my favorite character and I wish she had a bigger role.

I hope that the next book features more Fredrik. (I miss him!!)

Book #6 I want more than any other book right now! I’m both anxious and eager. Hurry up please, JA we’re dying here!

xoxo,

Purple & Beatrix

Mini REVIEW: Helping Hand By Jay Northcote

Genre:

MM Contemporary Romance

Buy The Book:

AMAZON / AllRomance / SMASHWORDS

Connect With The Author:

Goodreads / Website / Twitter

Synopsis On Goodreads:

Wanking with a mate isn’t gay—as long as you keep your hands to yourself.

Jez Fielding and James MacKenzie—Big Mac to his mates—are in their second year at uni. After partying too hard last year, they make a pact to rein themselves in. While their housemates are out drinking every weekend, Jez and Mac stay in to save cash and focus on their studies.

When Jez suggests watching some porn together, he isn’t expecting Mac to agree to it. One thing leads to another, and soon their arrangement becomes hands-on rather than hands-off. But falling for your straight friend can only end badly, unless there’s a chance he might feel the same.

length: 33,000 words approx

PURPLE'S RATING: 4/5 stars

GLASS' RATING: 5/5 stars

*** REVIEW ***

Collage boys, roommates, friends-to-lovers romance, GFY romance, first timers...The Resistance. Was. Futile. And I'm really glad I couldn't resist this short novella (around 90 pages), because, let's be honest- it made my dirty mind really happy, lol. As my friend Danija said- I won't call it a guilty pleasure because I don't feel guilty at all.

Jez & James are roommates and best friends in their 2nd year at uni. They partied so hard last year that one of them is now stuck with financial problems and the other will fail his studies if he doesn't get back on track. What to do??? Well, why not make a pact to avoid parties and stay at home this time for a change and hey, during breaks we can watch porn together and whatever else happens behind closed bedroom doors stays there? *Purple approves*

Fun, fast-paced, emotional and steamy. The only "flaw", as usual when it comes to short novellas, was its shortness.  Other than that I liked it a lot. The mm reading world can never have enough of these "straight" collage boys stories. Don't you agree? ;)

xoxo,

Purple

Mini REVIEW: Bare-Knuckle Love (Rabid Mongrels MC, #1) by K.A. Merikan

Genre: 

MM Contemporary Romance/ Adult

Buy The Book: 

Free On MMRomanceGroup !!!

Connect With The Author:

Goodreads / Twitter / Website

Synopsis On Goodreads:

--- Fight to the death. Love to the bone. ---

Jason is back in his home town and trying to make money the only way he knows - in an illegal MMA fight. Bare knuckles. Hardly any rules. All he needs to do is... lose. 

The Rabid Mongrels Motorcycle Club bet against him, and they are set to make a killing, but when Jason spots his high school crush in the audience, he can’t bear to lose. All he wants is to have Hyde notice him. He gets more than he bargained for when Hyde turns out to be the president of the MC, now out for his blood. 

To survive, Jason will have to make a deal with the blond devil. No matter how manipulative and vicious Hyde can be, he is a dark wet dream come to life, and Jason can’t keep his hands to himself. Soon enough, the self-destructive lust he has for Hyde becomes a dangerous obsession that takes Jason to the most forgotten corners of his soul. 

POSSIBLE SPOILERS:

Themes: Outlaw motorcycle club, criminal activity, abuse, sexual orientation issues, second chances, enemies to lovers, first time, coming home, alternative family, blackmail

Genre: M/M dark erotic romance, suspense, drama

Length: ~34,000 words

WARNING: Adult content. Explicit gay sex, strong language, violence, mentions of past animal abuse, mentions of past child abuse. Reader discretion advised.

RATING: 3.75/ 5 stars

*** REVIEW ***

I rarely rate short novellas/stories more than 3 stars, because they always seem lacking in comparison to full length novels, but I was so tempted when it comes to Bare-Knuckle Love by K. A. Merikan. 

Dark, raw, thrilling, emotional & deliciously dirty.

Bare-Knuckle Love is not for those faint of heart, because despite the story's shortness (around 90 pages) it dealt with some heavy subjects, such as: cage fighting, other scenes of violence and a bit of humiliation kink, so if these things are out of your comfort zone I think that it's better for you to stay away from this freebie.

I didn't rate it with full 4 stars because:

~ it ended just when it became so good.

~ I wanted to see more of Hyde's emotional side and more emotional scenes between him and Jason.

You should definitely give it a try:

~ if you're a fan of dark & kinky mm romances

~ if you're a fan of biker ft. mm fighter romance

~ if you're a fan of enemies-to-lovers romances

My dirty mind says: Bring on the next one! ;)

xoxo,

Purple

Release Day: THE BLACK WOLF (In the Company of Killers, #5) By J. A. Redmerski

Hurray!!! WTHB is so excited because The Black Wolf (In the Company of Killers, #5) by J. A. Redmerski- one of my and Beatrix' most expected books of 2015 got released today. *fangirling* Highly recommend this series to every fan of dark, steamy, gripping and action-packed crime/ mysteries/ romances. This is a must read!

Genre: Adult Crime/Suspense/Mystery

Release Day: July 1, 2015

Buy The Book: Amazon


Synopsis:

Since devastating secrets were uncovered by Nora Kessler, Niklas Fleischer and Victor Faust have been divided as business partners and brothers. But ultimately Niklas is persuaded to lead a mission to Italy, and he sees it as an opportunity to set in motion forgiveness—or retribution—for his brother’s betrayal.

The mission: play the role of a wealthy German investor and kidnap a beautiful, notorious madam named Francesca Moretti. No stranger to these types of roles, Niklas is the best man for the job, but this time the risks will be much greater as he will not be doing it alone. Izabel Seyfried, still fresh out of a life of imprisonment and sex slavery, could be negatively affected by the things she will see in Moretti’s mansion, and Niklas must keep her in line so she does not blow their cover and get them killed.

But Niklas isn’t the only one who must play a role—Nora takes on the humiliating task of playing Niklas’s slave, and Izabel must play the role of his lover.

On one hand, Niklas couldn’t be enjoying himself more. On the other hand, the emotions that continue to rage inside of him may be too much for him to control, and it may be Niklas—not Izabel—who needs to be kept in line. He cannot forget what Victor has done, and this mission may just be the beginning of his downward spiral.

Can the blood bond that Niklas and Victor share as brothers be stronger than resentment? Or will vengeance dig the blade so deep that their bond be eternally severed?

~ Previous titles in the The Company of Killers:

KILLING SARAI (Book #1)

REVIVING IZABEL (Book #2)

THE SWAN AND THE JACKAL (Book #3)

SEEDS OF INIQUITY (Book #4)

About the Author:

J.A. Redmerski, New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author lives in North Little Rock, Arkansas with her three children, two cats and a Maltese. She is a lover of television and books that push boundaries and is a huge fan of AMC’s The Walking Dead.

Connect With The Author On:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Release Day Blitz: “Shades of Treason” By Sandy Williams

Shades of Treason

(An Anomaly Novel, #1)

By Sandy Williams

Blurb: 

Ash would have given her life to save her teammates.

Instead, they gave their lives to save hers.

Lieutenant Ramie Ashdyn is an anomaly, a person whose genetic makeup makes her stronger and smarter than the average human. She’s pledged her life to protect the Coalition, an alliance of thirteen planetary systems, but when a top secret operation turns bloody, she’s charged with treason and the brutal executions of her teammates.

The Coalition needs the information Ash’s team stole on their last mission, so they send in Commander Rhys “Rest in Peace” Rykus to get it. He’s the man who’s responsible for turning Ash into an elite soldier... and he’s a man who isn’t, never was, and never will be in love with the woman he trained. Or so he tells himself.

Ash wants nothing more than to clear her name and be the woman her former instructor wants her to be, but the enemy who killed her teammates did more than frame her for treason and murder: they telepathically silenced her mind, preventing her from saying anything that might point to the truth about what happened.

Now Ash is trapped and set to be executed, the truth dying with her. Unless she can prove her innocence. But taking that path could destroy the Coalition she’s sworn to preserve and protect...

Available for purchase at 

Excerpt

Rykus’s boots stopped inches from her face. He stood there looming like a behemoth-class warship bearing down on a two-seater small-craft. He’d always had a talent for making his anomalies feel insignificant. Ash half expected him to shove her head into the dirt again. Instead, his gaze and the weight of his last command pressed her down as effectively as a sub-atmo fighter in a steep climb.

“Why didn’t you escape when you had the chance?” His hands closed around her wrists, maneuvering them together over her head.

“Mind being a bit more gentle, Rip?”

He looped and twisted the cord around her swollen and bruised skin, probably in a Caruthian lock-knot, which would be damn hard to break out of. The more she pulled against it, the tighter it would become.

He yanked her into a sitting position. The forest spun. She stared at Rykus’s chest until the world settled.

“Answer my question, Ashdyn.”

“Ashdyn?” She laughed. “Don’t get all formal on me, Rip.”

Her gaze rose from his chest to his eyes, and she cut off her laugh. His expression was as dark and cold as space, but there was a hint of heat in his gaze, of galaxies that couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. Rykus had a gravitational pull as strong as any sun, and she couldn’t resist being pulled in by his flames.

“I should have escaped,” she said. “I made a mistake.” A huge mistake.

“Wrong answer.” He jerked her to her feet.

“What do you want me to say? Sir.”

“The truth.”

“That is the truth.”

Rykus still had himself under control but she didn’t. She was tired, frustrated, and pissed off at herself, at Rykus, at the whole Coalition. She’d bled for them all. She’d given up her free will to become a Caruth-trained anomaly, all so she could protect it. And they believed she was working against it now. Working with the Sariceans.

“Why did you stay?” Rykus demanded again.

She pulled her arm free from his grasp. “I fucking stayed because of you. Sir. Because of the goddamn loyalty training.”

Invading her space, he forced her to take a step back. “That training didn’t keep you from turning against the Coalition. It didn’t keep you from shooting your teammates and the Obsidian’s crew.”

Anger creased his face now. It creased Ash’s entire universe.

“Tell me how many people I killed,” she demanded. “Tell me!”

He opened his mouth to fling a number in her face, but caught himself. The skin around his eyes tightened then relaxed. In a voice much quieter than she’d just used, he said, “Brookins. My XO. You shot him on your way off the Obsidian.”

It took her a moment to figure out who he was talking about. She’d shot a total of four people during her escape. Only one of them was likely a fatal wound—the anomaly who’d very nearly prevented her escape.

“Well,” Ash said, feeling some of her independence, some of her brazenness return. “If your XO is dead, he wasn’t a very good anomaly.”

Her fail-safe stared, unmoving, as the wind picked up, carrying the scent of smoke and burning vegetation through the air. Her mental clock clicked to five, six seconds before the rage melted from Rykus’s shoulders. Slowly, he shook his head.

“Sometimes, Ash… Sometimes I wish I’d never met you.”

Ash let a smile spread across her face. “That implies you’re sometimes happy you met me.”

About The Author

Sandy Williams has lived and breathed books all her life. When she was a teen, she was always the first to finish her class assignments so that she could read as much as possible before the bell rang. Her grades didn't suffer (much), and she was able to enroll in Texas A&M University. She didn't sneak in novels there, but her college lecture notes are filled with snippets of stories. After she graduated, she decided to turn those snippets into novels.

Sandy writes books with high-octane action adventure infused with a strong romantic element. She is best known for The Shadow Reader novels, an urban fantasy romance series about a human who can both see and track the fae. When she’s not reading or corralling her twin boys, she enjoys playing EuroGames like Dominion, 7 Wonders, and Agricola.

You can find Sandy at 

         

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