4 Smooches!

Synopsis

Just one more can’t hurt…right?

Re-belle-ious, free-spirited Lauren Renwick has decided it’s time to trade her wings for roots. That means no more bad boys, no more foolish choices. Yet when she’s stood up on New Year’s Eve, her resolution to stick to her Mama’s Rules for Dating weakens. Especially when she spots sex-in-leather-and-tattoos, Jackson Sullivan.

One look at Lauren, and Jackson is hell-bent on getting her on the back of his Harley and riding straight for his bed. Their night together is an erotic rush that has a new word popping up on his horizon—forever.

Lauren tries to convince herself he’s just one last fling to get bad boys out of her system, yet she finds herself falling hard and fast for a man with a stalker ex and a meddling Irish family. Plus, he has zero chance of passing her uptight parents’ inspection.

Jackson has Lauren’s back, but if she wants all of his heart, she’ll have to meet him halfway—by ditching rules that hold her prisoner, and learning to stand up for what she really wants. 

Review

I honestly don’t know any female reader out there that doesn’t appreciate the delectability of a tattooed, motorcycle riding bar-owner with a massive ego and a deliciously filthy talking mouth and I am no exception (don’t tell my mum that). In Rule Breaker that is exactly who Southern debutante Lauren ends up with unexpectedly one New Year’s evening, Jackson ‘I wanna taste you’ Sullivan.

This is a quick, easy read that will leave you fairly breathless and your head spinning. Everything happens very quickly, it’s an insta-lust book that progresses rapidly to love with a few obstacles threw in for good measure and some very sweet moments between our two leads and also some very feverish, explicit naughty moments too and let’s face it that’s exactly why us ladies love these quick erotic reads so much.

‘“Mr. and Mrs. Renwick, don’t you want better for Lauren, than to play by rules that only end up burying the stuff about her that’s most alive?”

If there was any doubt of hesitation before, in that moment it was vanquished. I was head over heels in love with Jackson Sullivan.”

The reason I deducted one star was due to grammar, “Does’t matter my name,” in particular stood out like a sore thumb at the beginning. The dialogue did get a little schmaltzy and cliched at times but not so much that it detracted from the thrill of the ride, so to speak. Overall it was a good rapidly paced book that took very little time to read but was enjoyable enough to overlook small mistakes and the condensed timeline of events.

~Nicole

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4 Smooches!

Synopsis

One man diving into the past.

One woman emerging from the depths. 

At the age of seventeen, Amelia Baide won silver at the Olympic Games and was the second-fastest woman in the pool. Then one tragic night she crashed into a lake and was dragged out without a pulse. Now twenty-four, she is still haunted by it and hasn’t swum again. Until this year’s anniversary of the accident. It is a day unlike any other and a strange turn of events finds Amelia back at a swimming pool.

Harry Jamieson had eyes for one girl while women and the media had eyes for him. As a trainer of Olympic athletes, he was an in-demand man. Until one boozy morning after … But from bad luck to pure chance he runs into his old flame, Amelia, at a swimming pool no less. She doesn’t remember a thing from the night of the crash. 

And Harry knows every single secret.

The pair joins forces—a comeback for Amelia and Harry’s ultimate coaching opportunity. But dodging waves is hard to do, and even the strongest swimmer may sink.

Where We Belong is a second-chance love story for young and old, for swimming enthusiasts and romantics at heart.

Review

Amelia Baide was on the cusp of greatness at the tender age of 17. She was a talented swimmer of nearly historical proportions poised for the best that was undoubtedly yet to come from her. She harbored a crush on another swimmer on her squad, Harry Jamieson. Unbeknownst to her, Harry reciprocated those feelings, but in their youthful immaturity, neither spoke up and a friend of Harry’s, Kristopher Siddall, made a move instead. Harry, the golden boy of the team, was relegated to friend. That is, until the night of the accident.

At a party, events unfolded causing Amelia to leave distraught and angry. She sped away, with Harry and Kristopher hot on her heels. Amelia’s car flipped over an embankment and submerged into a lake. Long minutes passed until Harry dragged her lifeless body to surface. They didn’t speak again for 6 long years, Amelia trapped in her memories of that night, and Harry, caught up in his love for Amelia, is overcome with guilt and drowning himself in booze and women.

Six years to the day after that night, Amelia and Harry run into each other in the most unlikely of places. The connection between them is still there, but can they overcome their history to make a new future – one they both so desperately want and need?

Amelia and Harry have much to overcome. She remembers nothing of that night; Harry knows everything. Neither one of them has swum since that night, but Harry is now a renowned swimming coach. Harry, seeing his chance to redeem himself in her eyes, convinces her to train with him, and Amelia, wanting a chance to overcome her past, agrees.

Amelia is engaged to Kristopher, but that relationship has been all but over for her for a while. Kristopher is harboring his own secrets from that night, and her renewed friendship with Harry threatens them. He does not want Amelia to swim again, and he certainly doesn’t want her to spend time with Harry.

Amelia had so much to overcome, so much to get through, both in the pool and out of it. She handled each wave, and used them to feed her determination to face the next one. Such a strong and focused woman, she was perhaps the most driven heroine I have ever read. Harry was anchored to his guilt. He recognized his chance at redemption in Amelia and he took it. But that wasn’t all. Harry loved Amelia, and his soul cried out for her. He only ever saw the greatness in her, and he wanted, more than anything, to return her to her former glory.

While they worked hard in the pool, they also worked through their issues and their past. Connell doled out their tragic history to her readers in bits and pieces. This, actually, was my only issue with the book. I wished that the revelations of their past and what happened that night were given to us in larger chunks. By the time I had the entire story of what happened that night, I had difficulty recalling all of the details.

Overall, this was a phenomenal book, and I enjoyed it immensely. Clearly Ms. Connell did a tremendous amount of research into competitive swimming as the attention to detail on this aspect of the story was incredible. I found myself on the edge of my seat, tapping my Kindle furiously to turn pages, during Amelia’s meets, such was the excitement that Connell created around them. She made my heart ache for all the pain this young couple had to endure before they got the glory of their happy ending. Beautifully written, equally devastating and inspirational, Connell has given her readers a very poignant story about the strength of the human spirit, perseverance and true love in her debut novel.

A solid 4 smooches from me!

~ Danielle Palumbo

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4 Smooches!

Synopsis

Hattie C. Cooper presents the first novel in the thrilling new trilogy of Sawmill Cove, Idaho. 

A musician touring the world, Jay Jeffries left Sawmill Cove long ago to escape painful shadows from his past. But when his brother and sister-in-law are mysteriously murdered, Jay must return home to become the guardian of the only witness: Jay’s four-year-old niece, Penny, who has not spoken a word since the eve of the murder. Though the murder remains unsolved, and mysterious events continue to occur throughout the town, Jay’s primary focus remains protecting Penny. 
Ultimately it may take Ryan Hart, a Forensic Artist who is as strong as she is beautiful, to help Jay and Penny come together. Ryan travels the country helping young witnesses like Penny Jeffries heal, but this case is different. For one, her new guardian Jay doesn’t want Ryan anywhere near Penny. And second, the case mirrors her own childhood in an eerily similar manner. 
Now, Jay, Ryan, and Penny must all face the dark memories of their past while also accepting their unforeseen futures. Like the lake sitting still and silent amidst Sawmill Cove, the stories at its heart contain incalculable depths. 

Review

Silent Memories begins with musician Jay Jeffries returning home to take care of his young niece after a senseless tragedy leaves her orphaned and unable to speak. It’s back in Sawmill cove where he meets composite sketch artist Ryan Hart who is assigned to help crack their case.

This was a difficult one for me to rate. On the surface it had every element you could wish for in a tragic romance, a great cast of characters, a horrible double murder, a tragic little girl caught in the crossfire of it all and a fragile love story teeming with hope and sweetness but once you get past all of that there was just something missing and I think it stems from the very little use of dialogue. We’re told everything but never really shown it. In saying that it was still a very enjoyable read with a writing style very reminiscent of Mia Sheridan or L.B Dunbar, it flows like poetry with Hattie’s descriptive writing bringing the scent of pine needles or the last rays of a sunset to life and in the next line being able to demonstrate the emotional upheaval that Jay, Penny and Ryan are struggling through.

‘Jay swung around, his face ready for a fight. she noted the immediate wave of surprise when he saw her, but the expression was quickly replaced by fury. He straightened and stared her down like a grizzly ready to attack. “You’re Ryan Hart?”

“Yes, I am,” she said as she walked forward and held out her hand. “And I guessing you are Mr. Jay Jeffries?” Jay didn’t take his eyes off hers and proceeded to ignore her hand. “You stay away from Penny.” He took a step forward and Ryan noted the stormy gray tone of his eyes. He pointed a finger in her face. “I’m warning you.”

The predictability factor of who the murderer was and all the events leading up to the finale of the story didn’t detract from the enjoyment of actually getting there. I loved trying to decipher the small clues and trying to piece all the past incidents in my head to get a whole picture but again the only thing I feel that let the book down was the lack of characterisation and interaction between Jay and Ryan. One moment they’re enemies and the next they’re falling for each other with very little to bridge the two together apart from an aesthetic attraction. I need my characters to show me how deep or damaged they are, I want them to demonstrate how much they need each other, how they got to that point and to do that they need to hash things out and talk. A lot. What I don’t like is to be told by the author.

The plot for Silent Memories was clearly well thought out and I can detect an awful lot of potential for Hattie, she’s poetic when describing scenery or scents and sounds going on in the peripheral of the story but I do feel like she needs to let her characters talk more and not smother what is a tremendous tale with too much descriptive talk. It was a beautiful emotional story with great connecting events but maybe too many loose ends left hanging in the wind for me after a rather abrupt ending. I do like my epilogues and I feel that it would have been very beneficial here unless the next Sawmill cove book centers around Jay and Ryan again.

~Nicole

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5 Smooches

Synopsis

Peyton Callaghan is a fighter, a survivor, a warrior. When it was kill or be killed, she didn’t hesitate. Now, she’s the only one left standing, haunted by the ghost of a dead man and plagued with the guilt of having taken another person’s life. The upheaval of her life to start over in Rock Falls has been rocky at best, her worst nightmares and wildest desires colliding with each other. Terror tortures her nightly, breeding fear inside her dreams, and in every waking moment, she fights against the lust that threatens to drown her.

Jayden King harbors secrets beneath his outward playboy demeanor. The women who warm his bed lay claim to nothing—you can’t lay claim to someone who doesn’t have a heart. His wit and charm are exquisite means of deflection and distraction from the turmoil roaring inside him. He’s hidden in plain sight, a mask of humor keeping the sadness at bay. The only real reflections of his soul are in the artwork he creates, pieces of him muraled on the skin of others. If tattoo artists could have a calling card, the etch of pain and suffering in each design would be his. Because when the lights go out and the women he’s satisfied have gone home, he’s alone with every fear he refuses to face.

After suffering from a brutal attack at the hands of her roommate’s stalker, Peyton is forced to live with the object of her affection. Without intention, she breathes love into his starved heart, and although the mere thought of that terrifies him, Jayden would burn the city down to keep her safe, causalities be damned.

Some people you have. Some people you hold.

She can have him. She can hold him. But can she keep King? Or is it impossible for Callaghan to keep something that was never really hers to begin with?

Can be read as a standalone or as part of the Rock Falls series.

Review

“And you can quote me on this: When I find my dream, I’m keeping it.”

The Rock Falls Series by Anne Jolin is a recent find of mine. After reading the first book one night (it had been sitting on my kindle for a while) I devoured the other two in the series within days. So when I saw this new one was coming out I jumped at the chance for an early copy. I have to say with each book Anne puts out both the writing and stories get better and better. Keeping King was an extraordinary story that I am already planning to re-read!

“She gives him her smiles. The smiles I crave. The ones she keeps from me. The ones she so freely gives Detective Brick Shithouse.”

Peyton, Oh Peyton! We have known for quite awhile that something is going on with Peyton. For several books we have been told that she has awful nightmares that have her waking up screaming but we have no clue what it is that is haunting this poor girl. While close to the girls in the other books, Peyton is more of a loner and keeps quietly to herself. She has had a crush on Jayden for awhile but would never act on it. Jayden has always noticed Payton but demons from his past make him determined to stay away. He never wants to be in a ‘relationship’ again and Peyton is definitely the ‘relationship’ kind of a girl. So instead of ever giving into the pull he feels towards her he ignores her and carries on with his man-whore ways.

“Why does it seem like he’s always walking away from me?”

Something in Jayden changes when he walks into his tattoo parlor, The King’s Mistress, one night to see an artist touching her. His inner alpha leaps out and he cannot have that. But still, while not allowing another to touch her, he does not make any move for her and lets her go home . . . alone. This is where we see overlap from the previous book, Breaking Bennett. Peyton gets hurt and Jayden blames himself. Soon he is forcing her to live with him and Jamison “to keep her safe” and everything gets complicated.

“I am deeply ‘in like’ with my roommate and I haven’t a fucking clue what to do about it.”

Both Peyton and Jayden and wonderfully complex with past that haunt them everyday of their lives. The decisions from their past are dictating their future and unless these two find some way to make peace with this they can not move forward. I loved both of these characters so incredibly much. They ached for each other and yet did not just give in. Jayden was possessive and protective and yet while in denial he could be mean and a bit cruel to Peyton. The miscommunication these two have makes for a difficult start.

“You did not just laugh at seeing my cock for the first time,”

I am just going to say it, Jayden King a fucking sexy alpha of a man. There I said it and I can’t take it back. Muscular and tattooed with a chip on his shoulder he is just what I look for in a book boyfriend. Just like all the other books in this series Keeping King is unquestionably sexy and suspenseful. he book is not long and I read it in one sitting desperate to find out what will happen. Told from dual point of view we get insight into the minds of both characters and an understanding of why each makes some of the decisions that affect the entire plot.

“I want to feel you in the morning, Jayden. Make me sore.”

Anne Jolin is quickly becoming one of those authors I recommend to anyone who will listen. If you love a sexy story with an alpha male that has a plot that will keep you on your toes this is for you. While Keeping King can very easily be read as a standalone trust me you won’t want to cheat yourself out of the chance to read the other remarkable stories in this series!

“Every King needs a Queen,”

~miranda

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5 Smooches!

Synopsis

Kensington Worth had a vision for her senior year. It involved her best friends, her posh private school in downtown Chicago and time alone with her piano until her audition was perfected, a guaranteed ticket into the best music programs in the world.

Instead, a nightmare took over. 

It didn’t happen all at once, but her life unraveled quickly—a tiny thread that evil somehow kept pulling until everything precious was taken from her. She was suddenly living miles away from her old life, trapped in an existence she didn’t choose—one determined to destroy her from the inside, leaving only hate and anger behind. It didn’t help that her neighbor, the one whose eyes held danger, was enjoying every second of her fall.

Owen Harper was trouble, his heart wild and his past the kind that’s spoken about in whispers. And somehow, his path was always intertwined with Kensington’s, every interaction crushing her, ruining her hope for any future better than hernow. Sometimes, though, what everyone warns is trouble, is exactly what the heart needs. Owen Harper was consumed with darkness, and it held onto his soul for years. When Kensington looked at him, she saw a boy who’d gotten good at taking others down when they threatened his carefully balanced life. But the more she looked, the more she saw other things too—good things…things to admire.

Things…to love. Things that made her want to be reckless.

And those things…they were the scariest of all.

Review

After having stayed up until 2am reading Wild Reckless, I now fear a book hangover is on the horizon. I’ve never had a book shred my emotions to smithereens so easily before, twist my insides in turmoil, hurt my cheeks from smiling and have my eyes watering like I sliced a dozen onions open. It may be aimed at the YA crowd but as a twenty-nine year old mum of two I can completely appreciate this book for the epic emotional journey it was. I was just blown away by it. It centres around Chicago transplant Kensi who is forced to move to a new town where her next door neighbour happens to be the town hoodlum Owen Harper, a boy with a deeply troubled and tragic past. It’s very much Owen’s anger and confusion that gets him noticed by the spirited and charming young girl living in the house next to his, her ability to see beneath the attitude and detect that there is something more to the infamous middle Harper boy that ultimately begins a stunning transition from enemies to friends.

These two characters are the reason this book comes to life, grabs you by your beating heart and pulverises it with hurt, bitterness, hope and love and every other type of emotion you can think of. It’s like being a teenager again and going through that wide spectrum of feelings and mixed up thoughts. Although Owen and Kensi are only high school kids, the burdens and issues they’re dealing with on a constant basis are unfathomable even for the likes of you or me and somehow that makes their young age incomprehensible whilst elevating their maturity levels. The weight of the world is on them and the world is also so quick to judge them. Ginger Scott has unleashed the full weight of her writing talent into this novel. The characterisation is perfection in every way imaginable, from the way she allows Owen and Kensi to grow and conquer and fight and love and make mistakes but balancing it all out by adding this great sense of realism in all that happens around them, even in the midst of chaos they can be compassionate and loving and funny and studious.

‘And I’m afraid I’m losing myself to danger- the worst kind, the kind that rules your heart.

I’m falling for Owen Harper, and I’m afraid he’s going to die”

The storyline is fairly heart-breaking and the prologue involving Owen had me in tears before the first chapter even began but with a truly remarkable heroine in Kensi, a girl who perseveres when the chips are down and it looks like all is lost, who can stand her ground when she’s fighting for what she believes is right and with Owen and his courageous will to battle on through the hard times and learn to trust the one person who might actually be his salvation this story literally stayed with me hours after reading it. I kept thinking about it in work, when making dinner, when I was doing laundry, just snippets of it reappeared in my brain or something one of the characters did or said.

It’s been awhile since a book has affected me this much, so for that I am eternally grateful to Ginger Scott and her incredibly well plotted story and ingenious characterisation talents. If I could, I would give Wild Reckless a whole sky full of stars rather than five paltry ones.

~Nicole

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