Review: Special Occasion

Reviewed by Shelly

I don’t even know why I bought this book. I think I was…I don’t know, but I wasn’t thinking.

Regina Marshall is a devoted wife to her husband. They live in an affluent neighborhood, I don’t know the source of their wealth but they’re well off by the description of the lavish gifts, cars and home. It’s Regina’s birthday and her husband Clayton wants to make her secret sexual fantasy come true. So he hunts down a friend who happens to be a pimp, he runs an escort service but that’s just a dressed up name for what he calls his ‘whores’. Believe it when I tell you that’s not even the part that set off my warning bells.

Stay with me here, Regina and Clayton are both African American and the fantasy that Clayton is fulfilling for his wife is for her to have sex with a white man. Not an attractive man who happens to be white but a blond, blue eyed, pale white man. You’ve got to be shitting me, right. The plethora of references to Regina’s dark hand against his pale white skin is absolutely staggering and I literally couldn’t believe how many times Clayton referred to this grown man as ‘white boy’. There’re very few times when I can stay that I felt furious after reading a story but yep, this one definitely made me shake my head in anger. Special occasion my petunia.

Happy reading folks!

Rating: F

Click to purchase: Amazon

Special Occasion

by Thirteen

Original Release Date: May 28, 2011

Publisher: Beautiful Trouble Publishing

Review: The Bucket List

Reviewed by Shelly

This is a new to me author, so as with anything new, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I’ve read other full length stories through this publisher that I’ve really liked, but for me this story was bleh.

28 year old Grace is an accountant by trade and one of her clients is pro-wrestler Brett ‘The Wolf’ McAllister. Over the last three years, Grace and Brett have developed a friendship, during which Brett developed a pretty heavy crush on Grace. Grace has always liked Brett but he’s a bit of a player and her past two relationships have made her cautious of Brett’s type. In a moment of spontaneity, Grace makes a bucket list and at the top of the list is Mardi Gras. As her best friend Tia isn’t able to make the trip, Brett volunteers to take Grace and maybe check a few of those things off the list.

I really thought the premise of this story was good. I’m a big sucker for pro-wrestling and who better than show-man Brett to drive the shyness out of conservative Grace. Sadly, I could not get into either of these characters – they weren’t bad or not nice people. I just found myself not invested in them or their happiness. Grace’s personality was flat and immature. The amount of times I read about how her breasts are big was way too much. But what really put it over the top for me…when my interest gradually deteriorated - there’s a scene that happens pretty early in the story (no spoiler here) when Brett and Grace have stopped for gas while on their road trip. Grace sees an attractive woman hitting on Brett, when Brett comes back to the car Grace gives him an attitude and he tells her this priceless statement ‘…stop hating on white women with asses.’ Oh, that’s the game we’re going to play? That’s when I gave up.

Everything after that went downhill but I was determined to read the entire novella.

Happy reading folks!

Rating: D+/C-

Click to purchase: Amazon

The Bucket List

by Gynger Fyer

Release Date: October 19, 2012

Publisher: Beautiful Trouble Publishing

Review: The Things I Do For You

Reviewed by Shelly

When I started reading this I was having trouble with the characters because I felt like I should already know who they were – I didn’t see a warning that this story would be more enjoyable after reading the first two books (0.5 and 1) in the series. Suffice it to say, I didn’t read those two.

25 year-old model Raina Winters wants a baby and she wants one right now, as she’s already been advised by her doctor that she’s running out of time. (This seems to be related to an earlier diagnosis of endometriosis.) Nicholas Alexander is Raina’s soon to be brother-in-law who’s been in love with Raina since first sight. Raina wants a baby, Nicholas wants Raina so he’ll give her a baby in exchange for what he wants – Raina. And if marriage is what it takes, then that’s what’s going to have to happen. It’s a familiar premise that I thought was handled well.

I got the feeling that these two had a tumultuous relationship in the prior stories (I’m not sure of that) but in this story there’s more angst and stubbornness than anything else. Nicholas is a wonderful guy. Yes, he’s known as a playboy, but he’s not interested in chasing skirts unless it’s Raina’s, of course, especially after getting his palate wet after their one night stand. His love and respect for his family was one of my favorite things about him. It’s hard to not like people who love and appreciate those around them. There’s a very touching moment when he’s visiting his parents’ home and he realizes that they’re not going to be around forever – the way he handled that was very sweet.

I’m not sure of Raina’s history and her obstinate disbelief in love. It actually took away from her character for me because there has to be a time in your life where you choose – either let others control your decisions or move past that and start living a life worth living. I thought Raina was stuck on the first. There’s a sub-story with her father that, if explored, could have done wonders for not just the story, but could have made me like Raina more than I did. Outside of Nicholas and Raina’s bedroom high jinx, there was a nice blend of them growing as a couple and (when Raina wasn’t stuck on stupid) the dialogue was well done.

Nicholas’s other brothers were well presented - Trent and Jackson have already been featured in their stories. Overall the story was a fun, short read.

Happy reading folks!

Rating: B-

*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley

Click to purchase: Amazon

The Things I Do For You

by M. Malone

Release Date: March 12, 2013

Publisher: Crushstar Romance

Review: Toxic

Reviewed by Shelly
 

I’ve read McBride’s ‘Imperative Series’ and I very much liked the first two stories in the series. I didn’t really understand the motivation of one of the main characters in the third and last story, but I’m sticking with the theory that two out of three isn’t bad. So when I saw this new series coming out I was intrigued enough to read. Small disclaimer before going on - there’s a message on the book blurb with a couple of things: 1) This is a revision of a short story "Sex and Chocolate: Toxic" (publisher not mentioned). 2) This series follows Educating Evangeline (Doms of Dark Haven 1) and precedes Hunting Holly (Doms of Dark Haven: Western Night). I’ve not read any of those so I can’t tell you how these characters are related.

Briony Theale is the town veterinarian. Her unusual connection and empathy with animals has led to both her profession and the Wildlife Rescue center. Other than the animals, Briony has a thing for chocolate and Wildlife Rescue ranger Rico. Rico has his own thing for chocolate and it includes Briony with her sweet chocolate scent. After a very casual dinner, Rico and Briony share a kiss. They then realize and admit that they share mutual feelings of attraction. After returning to her clinic, Briony reassess her chocolate addiction and its contribution to the extra pounds on her hips (and everywhere else) and decides that going cold turkey is the way to go. She decides to throw away everything including that secret stash.

I had a very hard time writing this review. I have what I consider a very simple theory – make it make sense to me. I don’t care the genre, contents, location, anything – just make sense. Maybe what’s missing for me was I didn’t read any of the other stories and maybe those would have explained more about this story. For me, this book started out with promise --especially about the person who ends up raising Briony -- so exciting! It had me going to the point that I was pretty sure Briony would take on some of those skills, but that didn’t happened. To be honest, I wasn’t disappointed in that at all because I liked where the story went... until the end where I think I was supposed to have had a lobotomy; more on that later. I thought that Briony held her own just fine. She’s smart, funny with a kind heart. Her attraction for Rico came off as real and sincere and I wanted her to get her man and I wanted him to get his woman.

The problems that Rico has with eating the chocolate is the same problem that dogs have with theobromine, but even though he hated being compared to dogs, like a dog he’ll eat things that are bad for him. I didn’t have a problem with that either, because it was good drama. What I wasn’t so sure about was Rico who said that he had control – why wasn’t he able to control his wolf?  I didn’t realize that chocolate could make the Rico’s wolf harm himself.

There’s a lot of mystery around an organization name Abraxas – maybe that’s something that’s mentioned in the Doms of Dark Haven series, not sure there. But this organization has the ability to manipulate something in people to produce a certain behavior. I had a lot of questions as to how, what, when and where but maybe that’ll be explained in future installments of the series or maybe it already touched in DoDH. But my butt really got chapped in the ending on this book. I would have definitely liked it more if the ending was more about Briony and Rico, but to me it wasn’t. And somewhere along the line I must have missed the basic biology/science topic - how can a transgender male to female be an alpha female? Did the surgery change XY to XX? That just didn’t make sense to me and totally took me out of the story’s enjoyed. I’d already suspended my belief as far as it would go.

Happy Reading folks!

Rating: C+

*Book provided by Loose Id via NetGalley

Click to purchase: Amazon

Toxic

by Belinda McBride

Release Date: April 23, 2013

Publisher: Loose ID

Review: Bear's Gold

Reviewed by Shelly
 

After leaving her putz of an ex-boyfriend, Riley Gold is going back home. She's had it with loser men and the only comfort she can handle right now is with her family. On the way home she has some car trouble (running into a tree doesn't help) and has to seek the help of strangers. She meets stranger and bear shifter Theo Kodiak after knocking on his door. Theo is raising his four year old twin boys in Den County. His wife had been dead for three years and the First Moon Festival is fast approaching where he hopes to claim a new mate; will he be able to keep Riley considering she's only human?

I've read a few of Hines stories in the past and while they've been okay, this one really sucked me in. This is a take on the Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Hines does a fine job with her storytelling. A preschool teacher, Riley has a quirky yet likable character. I found myself sympathizing with her and rooting for her to find where she belongs. She's a wanderer who can't seem to find a place where she's comfortable, can settle down and call home. After the immediate and mutual attraction that she feels with Theo, Riley thinks she's found that place, but then secrets are revealed and things start falling apart.

What a bear of a man Theo turns out to be! He's a good father and productive member of Den County. He also happens to drawn to Riley like a bear to honey, but he knows that despite their explosive chemistry she's leaving as soon as her car is drivable.

I'm not going to burst a bubble here, but there's no great adventure in this - no high emotions (other than love and happiness), anger or guns ablazing --and the bad guy isn't a bad guy at all, just a dude who's made some really bad decisions. Instead of action adventure, we're on a journey with Riley as she has to do what we all do - finding your happiness where you can.

There's a pretty hot and heavy sex scene that really burned up the pages and made me a tad bit jealous of Riley - oh, to have that kind of focus put on you, such bliss. And yes, in case you're wondering the twins steal every scene they're in, rambunctious yet adorable.

Happy Reading Folks!

Rating: B

Click to purchase: Amazon

Bear's Gold

by Yvette Hines

Release Date: November 30, 2012

Publisher: Romance Management, Inc

Review: Harley on the Rocks

Reviewed by Shelly
 

I was going through my TBR list and decided to give this one a go. It turns out that I should have read this one way sooner that I did, because it was good. After meeting her new neighbors (Davis and Koijirou), Harley’s develops a growing friendship with them. Davis and Koi are two fellas in love and happily committed to each other. There are no car chases or run away bad guys, just a very sweet story about friends with benefits.

The way that Harley meets Koi had me cracking up – what falls out of her bag is almost as embarrassing as female products falling out. What a great ground-breaker it was! After finding out that Davis and Koi are married and technically ‘safe’, Harley finds a comfort in their friendship that rivals any friendship she could have with a girl. After some time passes in their relationship, the guys jokingly suggest that they could be friends with benefits and Harley enthusiastically decides that’s a great idea. She forgot the rule about being careful what you wish for because then she has to decide which is more important – the friendship or the sex. Oh yeah, the angst begins.

I liked all three of these characters, but my favorite was Koi. Not that he was the glue, because I think that Harley did a fine job with that. He just seemed to pop off the page a bit more to me. He works at a dojo as an instructor (not sure which martial art form he specialized in) but the contrast between structure and poise and the boyish enthusiasm that he exhibits around Harley was infectious and sweet.

Davis is the muscle of the two; he’s a redhead with the temper to match and very much a joy to get to know. Although he’s bigger than Koi he still can’t beat him in a fight and the exchanges about that are some of the funniest moments in the story. What I liked a lot about this story was that the focus was primarily on Harley and the issues and hurdles she needed to get over to make all three of them a family. The guys were already ‘out’ per se so Harley was the wild card. One of those hurdles was her family, especially her mother – oh what a waste of human flesh she was. Her grandmother was completely adorable and provided the driving force for Harley’s upbringing and, in turn, her morals and sense of being comfortable in her own skin. Well done there.

The chemistry and sex between these three was definitely present. Actually there wasn’t a lot of action between the two guys -- it was largely between the three. The only complaint I had was that the end seemed a bit rushed, but thank goodness that didn’t take away from the overall enjoyment I had reading this.

Happy Reading Folks!

Rating: B-

Click to purchase: Amazon

Harley on the Rocks

by Zenobia Renquist

Release Date: February 3, 2011

Publisher: Changeling Press

Review: Wolf's Desire

Reviewed by Shelly
 

This is the first time I’ve read anything by Ambrielle Kirk and I’m kinda bummed that I’ve not read her work before now. I must admit my expectations were low because the multicultural/IR PNR stories that I’ve read in the last year have left me disillusioned about whether the genre is getting quality stories.

The fourth in the Caedmon Wolves series, this story is about widow Keira Ellis and bodyguard Aiden Price. I’ve not read any of the other stories in the series, so I’m not sure of either the timeline of this one in relation to those or the appearance of these characters in any of the other stories. In desperate need for protection, Keira’s attorney hires Aiden to protect her after a series of home break-ins and oral threats. Aiden is a wolf in the Caedmon pack and as a bodyguard he’s never failed in his duties. Once these two meet, things (in and out of the bedroom) heat up quickly and stay that way.

There’s not a lot of back story, so other than titles, the other characters were just fillers. I think this series would be best if the stories are read in order because I would have like to know more about Keira and Aiden and the other characters.

This is a pretty quick read, the page count is 151 in ePub format. That kept my attention. The intrigue and mystery surrounding Keira made me wonder if she’s all human or if she’s got a little ‘Other’ in her. And Aiden – he seems to be a stand up kind of guy who just got hit in the face with meeting this mate. That was a very cute scene. The sex was good but my interest in the characters wasn’t as much as I wanted. This was an okay read for me.

Happy Reading Folks!

Rating: C

*ARC provided by author for review

Click to purchase: Amazon

Wolf's Desire

by Ambrielle Kirk

Release Date: March 31, 2013

Review: Beast - A Twisted Fairytale

Reviewed by Shelly
 

I appreciate a good retelling of an old tale. Beast tells the story of Ashleigh Dalton, the plus-size person in her group of friends. She’s mid-thirties, successful in her career as an analyst for the government; looking from the outside in you would think she’s got it all together - except she’s just found out that her boyfriend of three years just married his ‘other’ girlfriend of six months. Lt. Christopher Jameson, 6’7” – 302lbs, Special Ops Marine, works in the same building as Ashleigh. After meeting in the company gym, the sparks fly between these two.

I’ve read some of Pace’s other work and I think that there’s a lot of story telling talent there, so it was with a pleasant surprise that I saw this recent publication and I literally couldn’t wait to sit back and relax with Ashleigh and Christopher.

Ashleigh is one of the most immature characters I’ve read in a long time, and I didn’t see a substantial change by the end. I should have suspected when she introduced herself to Christopher she not only gave him her name, she also gave him the spelled version ‘with a gh’. Really, you’re over 12 – that should have already fallen out of your introductory vocabulary. But I digress. After finding out about her very good looking boyfriend’s betrayal, Ashleigh decides that she’ll start losing weight because she’s realized that good looking men don’t want size 22 women (umm…gentlemen - is that true?). There’s a whole backstory about the Ashleigh’s behavior with her ex-boyfriend that I found very disturbing. After going to the gym a few mornings, the guy with the nice butt and great legs wearing a hoodie begins leaving his workout music for Ashleigh to enjoy setting the foundation for her and Christopher’s growing friendship.

Christopher is a country boy through and through. He’s got the drawl and the homegrown manners that make his Mom proud. His friends, who are all Special Ops, call him Beast --not because of his misshaped facial aesthetics due to bilateral cleft palate-- but because he’s a beast on the field of combat. I really, really liked Christopher and I thought he could do so much better than Ashleigh. (*spoiler*) One of Ashley’s many problems is not that she’s a foodie, but that she’s bulimic, and I’m not convinced that’s a topic handled well in this romance novel even more so complicated by pregnancy. There are so many issues surrounding that and none of them were addressed with the gravity that they deserved.

There were quite a few other things that I struggled with Ashleigh and Christopher’s behavior. The first time that they have sex, she tells him that she’s on the pill (remember she’s been ‘on the pill’ ONLY with a cheating ex-boyfriend) and Christopher says okay. You know what – you deserve what you get! I got past that. Because of her disease, Ashley’s a liar when it comes to her food binges especially after finding out that she’s been diagnosed with a life threatening illness. The list goes on and on of all the things I just couldn’t connect with and didn’t understand how a relatively mature businesswoman would feel and act the way Ashleigh did.

Her best friends, Kendra and Lance, offered some interesting side commentary but in the end, I didn’t care. Kendra could have been a good friend but she wasn’t given the chance. Her single-dimension role was to be the pretty perfect friend who didn’t have anything else too offer. Lance got on my nerves with his excitable ‘screaming’, he was too over-the-top effeminate for my taste. Christopher’s family was the typical hillbilly folks who just couldn’t understand the government that Christopher served and Ashleigh worked for, but they were smart enough to just want Christopher happy (insert a plethora of sarcasm).

I really wanted to enjoy this story but I just couldn’t, I found this story to be more twisted than fairytale.

Happy Reading Folks!

Rating: D

Click to purchase: Amazon

Beast

by Pepper Pace

Release Date: September 22, 2012

Review: The Matchmaker

Reviewed by Shelly
 

I’ve ready Thayer King’s work in the past and I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t too keen on her writing. I’m just not a fan of the over-sexed male. This story was a pleasant surprise and a good read.

Bliss Barnes is the quintessential friend who can’t keep a man and is also the ‘big’ girl of the group. She’s known as the matchmaker in her circle of girlfriends because whoever she’s dating will end up married to one of her girlfriends. (Can you really call those people friends?).

During Bliss’s last disaster of a date, one of her so-called friends rudely interrupts and even worse – flirts with the guy and accepts a ride home from him. (Arghh, you know the word I wanna call her friend.) Bliss decides she’s just done with the whole dating thing. I couldn’t agree with her more, but I was more on the side of losing some of those ‘friends’.

After agreeing to --and being set up on-- a blind date by one of her friends, Bliss meets Aric Ericson who she thinks is gay after seeing him in an intimate scene at a restaurant during her last ill-fated date. I think this misunderstanding allows Bliss and Aric to really get to know each other. They’re both interested, but won’t make a move for their own personal reasons. There’s no quick wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am here, and that allows an actual development of a friendship. Although Bliss thinks he’s gay, Aric thinks she’s sexy and he’s doing everything in his power to get her to agree to something more than friendship. After agreeing to accompany Bliss on an out of town trip to attend a wedding (remember Bliss’s last bad date and the rudus interruptus friend – yep, their wedding) Aric decides that this will be the place for his big seduction. Aric is very cute if you like ‘em big, blonde, icy blues and handsome – umm, did I already say big, yeah he’s that too.

I really enjoyed the emotional growth of Bliss, she needed to grow up especially with those piranhas for friends she’s got; and she does finally show maturity and common sense when she has something of her own that’s worth fighting for. I loved the confrontation between her and Shantelle. I’m not a big fan of unnecessary violence in story, but, Shantelle, you know you had that coming.

I thought the ending was a bit too quick and convenient, but that didn’t take away from the story for me at all. In fact, this was a really good read and I’ll definitely read more from this author if the quality of the story is as good as this one. And just because – I left this part for last, Aric is packing some serious heat in the bedroom for which Bliss will tell you she’s eternally grateful.

Happy reading folks!

Rating: B

Click to purchase: Amazon

The Matchmaker

by Thayer King

Release Date: August 15, 2012

Publisher: Sugar and Spice Press

Review: Someone to Love

Reviewed by Shelly
 

This is a really short read (about 44 pages) and it’s a bit of a punch in the gut in how its characters are so anti-hero/heroine.

Because of her scarred face Raina has retreated into herself. Working for the same company, she and Bill the Junkie embark on what has the potential to change both of their lives.

Now folks because this is a short read, the review will follow suit. What I really liked about this story was the potential for something great but I didn't read that at all and I was sorely disappointed. What I read was the day in the life of a junkie who wanted to stay a junkie and a physically scarred girl who I had absolutely NO sympathy for once I found out how she got her scars. The penance she’s paying I thought was very fitting and well deserved. Before you think I’m being harsh, you have to read the reason why Raina’s face is scarred; she’s not an innocent at all.

Did I think that these two should be together? I wouldn't say that they should but then again I guess it’s hard to create solid characters in 44 pages. The end was a very rushed and way too easy, all I could do was shake my head and call BS on that.

I’ll say this – it’s great to have good writers who have a knack for writing imperfect but redeemable characters but there’s got to be something that I/we the readers can empathize with and invest our emotions (and dollars) into. I’ve had good luck with Pace’s novels in the past and I’m sure I will again because with every good writer there will be hits and misses.

Happy Reading Folks!

Rating: C

Click to purchase: Amazon

Someone to Love

by Pepper Pace

Release Date: August 4, 2012

Review: They Say Love is Blind

Reviewed by Shelly
 

This is my second Pepper Pace novel and Pace has a new fan. When I read the blurb for this book I wasn’t sure what to expect. The concept sounded interesting, but an interesting concept does not always make a good book. This is a good book.

Overweight, but pretty, Tory is socially ostracized because of her weight. She’s been told the line every woman hates to hear “you have such a pretty face, if only you would lose some weight.”  Unfortunately, yes, people still say that. Making her isolation that much more, she’s an only-child living in another state from her parents with whom she has a very good relationship. Even more discouraging, Tory has not one iota of a social life and no friends -  zero, zilch, nada-one. All this would make you think that this poor girl is a loser, but she’s far from that.

Every morning she’s late catching her bus to get to work and every morning she has to run to catch it only to have the bus driver make that sudden lurch once the doors close. If you’ve ever ridden public transportation, you’ll know the lurch I mean (arghh). Anyhoo, one day that sudden lurch is the answer to all of Tory’s dreams - finding a man who will love all of her, not just her pretty face. On that glorious day, Tory accidentally falls into the lap of Lee Torres, fellow commuter. Then, through a series of events, Tory finds out Lee’s not-so-secret secret.

Once her relationship with Lee begins, Tory has to make some confessions that are hard, but necessary, if they’re to have a future. Tory is a girl who has been through some troubles in her life. If the mention of rape upsets or makes you uncomfortable, well then prepare to be upset or uncomfortable.

There’s really good character development in this story. Lee, who seems to have it all worked out, and Mr. I Can Take Care of Myself has his own battles to bear, both internally and with his family and even with Tory. And Tory just made me plain ole proud, when she started standing up for herself and not just to Lee’s big and boisterous family, but to the love of her life as well. It was so refreshing to see that she was not a push-over when it came to him because when Lee does some crap that rightfully pisses off Tory, she didn’t let him off easy. Oh no, although she still loved him, she made him see what he did to hurt her. Go Tory!

There are a lot of other small story lines that really complement the main one very well. Lee’s parents and many siblings were a hoot to read about. And while the antagonist is a close-knit friend there’s nothing that’s forced or unrealistic about that part of the story. And just in case you’re wondering, yeah the sex between Lee and Tory is pretty darn good.

I really enjoyed this story that emphasizes love really is blind and I’ll definitely read more from this author.

Happy reading folks!

Rating: B

Click to purchase: Amazon

They Say Love is Blind

by Pepper Pace

Release Date: July 21, 2012