Sizzle (adult title)

Sizzle       

by Darcy Lundeen is an ADULT title.

(FYI, this particular tale has a few sensual encounters but nothing particularly overt or kinky)


Before you go any further, please be advised that I was an editor for this story and one would naturally think this would cause me to have some personal bias.  Hopefully, those who read my reviews or who have dealt with me personally know that I don't let a personal relationship prevent me from telling someone that I was not too enamored of their story if they ask for my opinion.  (And yes, that has cost me relationships with authors occasionally)  I may decline to review it if I don't think I can speak highly of the work, but I don't praise a work if I don't really think it deserves it. That being said, I really enjoyed this tale from the first (of multiple times, lol) time that I read it!  I was even more vindicated when my supervisor told me that the proofreader asked if she could write a review as well and that was the first one she had offered to do that for.  I think it is difficult to give higher praise than this because we are assigned titles, not allowed to choose them for ourselves, and for us to voluntarily to spend even more time to want to get the word out means that we truly enjoyed something. 

I think this author has a wonderfully fresh style, a discerning sense of humor and an ability to make a tale something that the reader can relate to.  Yes, the heroine is a little too forgiving and pretty naive but that gives her that larger-than-life quality and allows us to feel a little superior about 'how I would have done that' but I still adore the feel-good feeling that the HEA gives me when I read romances and this one did a great job of it for me.  I hope you like it as well and I welcome comments if you did or didn't...just tell me why you have your particular opinion.



This is a fun contemporary romance featuring a quirky heroine who has traditionally settled for whatever affection she can eke out from her romantic partners.  Convinced that she doesn’t have enough ‘sizzle’, she enlists the aid of the hunky lawyer who is rooming with her gay best friend and he enthusiastically agrees to ‘tutor’ her in discovering her sensual side.  Issues with her nosy neighbor, a miniature graffiti artist and her own lack of self-confidence make her quite a challenge to deal with, but Matt Pollard has rarely had such a delightful assignment, the only problem is that his own goals soon become much more challenging.


This entertaining and spicy tale of one woman’s quest to win back the man who dumped her in the middle of a crowded street is a wonderfully lighthearted romance filled with mistaken assumptions and humorous situations.  Several potential cliches are tweaked as the insecure woman slowly blossoms under the tutelage of a man who appreciates her for the wonderfully sexy person she is and she relaxes under the misapprehension that he poses no threat to her heart.  The secondary challenges that are faced and the creative solutions that the heroine comes up with add to the warmth of the tale plus the sensual journey that she embarks upon makes this a fun and delicious read.

(and yes, I have asked to submit this review to Night Owl!)

Fatal exposure (book blast and giveaway)

Fatal Exposure     
by Gail Barrett




BLURB:

Cold-case detective Parker McCall has spent fifteen years trying to solve his brother’s murder.  Now a chance photo of the killer in the newspaper sets him hard on the woman’s trail.  A former teenaged runaway, reclusive, award-winning photojournalist B.K. Elliot chronicles the harsh reality of life on the streets -- until a photo in the paper reveals her identity, blowing the lid off her secret past.  With a powerful murderer now dogging her heels, and her police officer step-father determined to silence her permanently, the last person she can afford to trust is a cop.  So why does sexy police detective Parker McCall tempt her to break her silence and resurrect ideals she’d lost years ago?  As danger closes in, and with more than her own life at stake, Brynn must decide if the duty-bound cop will betray her...or heal her battered heart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT:

Cold case detective Parker McCall tightened his grip on the newspaper, his gaze riveted on the photo of the woman splashed across the Baltimore Sun’s front page. She could have been any affluent shopper strolling out of the pricey art gallery—her long, glossy hair tumbling over her shoulders, the collar of her woolen coat turned up against the brisk November wind.

Except for her wary eyes.

The eyes of his brother’s murderer.

The eyes that had eluded him for fifteen years.

He lowered the newspaper to his cluttered desk, the laughter and banter of the detectives beyond his cubicle receding to a distant buzz. Then, hardly breathing, he tugged his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans. Working as carefully as a scientist handling nuclear material, he extracted a worn, faded photo and placed it alongside the page.

For several excruciating seconds his gaze lingered on the image of his younger brother, his heart making its usual lurch of guilt and remorse. Sixteen years old, his cheeks badly hollowed, his body wasted by his addictions, Tommy leaned against a graffiti-sprayed wall near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, one emaciated arm slung over the waiflike girl at his side.

The girl Parker had failed to find.

Until now.

He shifted his scrutiny to the girl, taking in her sparrow-thin legs, the baggy sweatshirt dwarfing her scrawny frame, her unruly mop of auburn curls. Then he homed in on her eyes—bleak, world-weary eyes aged far beyond her years.

He sliced his gaze back to the woman in the newspaper. She was still petite, still thin and older than the adolescent slouching against the wall beside his brother, but he’d stake his life they were the same.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~AUTHOR Bio and Links:







A former RITA® and Daphne finalist, Gail Barrett has received the Book Buyer’s Best Award, the Holt Medallion, the Booksellers Best, The National Readers’ Choice Award, and numerous other awards.  She lives with her husband in Western Maryland.  Readers can contact her through her website: www.gailbarrett.com.

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Links to buy the book:
Amazon Paperback
Kindle
Barnes and Noble paperback and Nook



It is my understanding that the author will be awarding a $25 Amazon / BN (or other bookstore of the winner's choice) GC to one randomly drawn commenter so please leave a comment with your e-mail address and let me know what you like most about romantic suspense novels.  Hopefully, the links below will take you to other blogs that are participating in the book blast (although you may have to look through the posts because I don't have the specific day's link attached)

1.  Andi's Book Reviews
2.  Words of Wisdom from The Scarf Princess
3.  My Odd Little World
4.  Whit's Book World
5.  Sandra's Blog
6.  United By Books
7.  Author Rose Wynters
8.  Novel Moments
9.  Deal Sharing Aunt
10.  Bunny's Review
11.  Farm Girl Books
12.  Sugarbeat's Books
13.  Musings and Ramblings
14.  Sexy Adventures, Passionate Tales
15.  Reviews by Crystal
16.  The Reading Addict
17.  A Writer's Life
18.  Reading In Twilight
19.  Book Reviews and Peeks
20.  Sarah Ballance
21.  Just Trying to Let it Be
22.  Book 'Em North Carolina
23.  The Write to Read

Miscellaneous notes...special pricing and giveaways

There are several contests still going on, please see my post at this link.

Michael Sullivan has a giveaway for his upcoming book in the The Crown Tower at this link

                                                 



Cute summer contest at Aunt Maggie Rocks at this link


Those who have had pets who needed to wear an Elizabethan collar (also known as the "Cone of Shame" might appreciate the video at this link




The ADULT titles in the Kinky Christmas Carol series are available for $0.99 each for a limited time:

My reviews:

Getting Scrooged by Eden Bradley is at this link
Marley in Chains by R.G. Alexander is at this link
Not So Tiny Tim by Robin Rotham is at this link


                                                       

A rant about Amazon (so don't read if you're in a good mood!)

So, it wasn't a stretch to figure out what to name my blog, the only issue was that someone else had the title already so I had to add ELF to my version.  Confusing to some people, but I figured it wouldn't matter since I never imagined people would really be looking for me in particular, just for reviews of various books.  I have always been a big reader, probably because I was a very introverted and lonely child who delighted in getting lost in a book.  Well, if you focus on one thing, you tend to improve at it, so I gradually increased my reading speed over the years and can usually read a decent-sized hardback book in 2 or 3 hours.  I am not saying this to brag but as a fact.  Those who know me stopped buying me books (to my dismay) because they didn't feel their gift lasted long enough (no matter how much I tried to convince them that I read books I like over and over again) but fortunately I discovered libraries at an early age and schemed many hours to convince my folks to take me there.  Most libraries that I dealt with waived their limits despite my young age because I devour books and the number they would allow me to check out would usually only last me less than a week.

Ok...you're bored...I am getting to the point...I read a LOT of books.  I don't always get them all reviewed, especially if I don't have anything good to say about them OR there are tons of reviews already written for that particular title (which I have subsequently learned, does not necessarily mean the author doesn't want one).  If I write a review, it means that I have actually read the book.  I don't get paid (although I would love to find out how to go about earning money for that) but now that I have been fortunate enough to be associated with Night Owl Reviews, I usually get a copy of the book that I am reviewing.  Sometimes they are in e-book form and sometimes in print although not always the final format (so sometimes they are riddled with errors and I no longer request the Lora Leigh books because the last one I got with her story had multiple pages OUT OF ORDER so it was a pill to read).  I tend to shy away from the Netgalley books because the e-copy usually expires after a few months (although there are occasionally exceptions) and it frustrates me to spend my time reading and writing a review and not having a book at the end of those 3 or 4 hours.

So...I am REALLY frustrated with the meanies on Amazon.  At first I was trying to get a low enough rating to become part of the Vine program but I had to admit defeat once I started receiving negative votes on my reviews.  I usually try to write a fair and polite review that has no spoilers and I really would like to know why people give me negative votes but they can hide behind their anonymity and I can't ask what the problem is.  I finally realized that Amazon has a policy that prevents the reviewer from getting credit for 'yes this was helpful' votes from the same person for more than 1 or 2 reviews (i.e., the votes don't count) yet I don't think that same policy is applied for the negative votes.  Yesterday I submitted a review for You Cannoli Die Once (which I also posted here on the blog) and I went back to add the copyright since it was accepted at Night Owl Reviews today and discovered that someone (in less than 24 hours) has given me a 'not helpful' vote!  I don't understand why and the only thing I can think of is perhaps they don't think I actually read the book.  I read it again, and I don't see that I revealed any spoilers and I think I got most of the typos (although one gets a little blind to them sometimes) so I'd be curious what others thought.  I just don't think it is fair that one doesn't have to leave a comment when voting against a review to at least say why it isn't helpful.

Ok...I will jump down from my soapbox...I actually have several more reviews to write...and some which I am trying to decide whether to write a review for since they are library books.  I actually have procrastinated so long on my most recent online class that I had to cram all of the remaining lessons into the past two days so my brain is a little full right now, lol, but these are some of the titles that I haven't written up yet:  (be advised that most are ADULT titles)





Shiloh Walker's The Protected
Shiloh Walker's The Unwanted
Cynthia Gail's Spring's Surprise
Bobbi Romans' Under the Full Moon
Patricia Briggs' Frost Burned
J.R. Ward's Lover at Last
Elle James' Voodoo for Two
Lynne Connolly's Nice 'N' Easy

                                 


                               

You Cannoli Die Once (and reminders about contests and giveaways)

You Cannoli Die Once           
by Shelley Costa is a fun cozy mystery that starts a series that features a colorful Italian family which owns a restaurant named Miracolo that has mementos from the great Caruso adorning its walls. Eve Angelotta has had to shelve her dreams of becoming a famous dancer after an unfortunate accident but she has poured her energy into being the head chef for the restaurant which is firmly under her grandmother's rule. She is prepared to deal with everything in her kitchen except the dead body who gets more mysterious by the day, especially when it turns out that his ties to her grandmother threaten to force her nonna to spend the rest of her life in prison. Of course the only benefit would be that Eve would finally be able to serve cannoli in the restaurant, but that, of course, would be too high a price to pay for the privilege.

This laugh out loud tale combines a murder mystery with an entertaining picture of an Italian restaurant and its larger-than-life staff. The gradual unfolding of clues combined with the delicious glimpses of the flamboyant characters who season this story make this a great read with plenty of quirky situations that provide a enjoyable introduction to the series. There are lots of fun developments that will keep one's attention, a hint of romance and delightful demonstrations of the author's ability to pen a tongue-in-cheek
story that should garner her lots of new fans, of which I am one. I look forward to plenty of additional tales from this talented writer (even if I am too much of a coward to try the recipe for preparing the featured cannoli).

A copy of this delightful title was provided to me in exchange for an honest review and I hope to read many more by this fun author!


******

Don't forget I have a e-book giveaway at this link and several contests are ongoing PLUS the Summer Fun Scavenger Hunt has started at Night Owl Reviews at this link (maybe I'll FINALLY win something at this one but I haven't broken my losing streak yet, lol)

The Romance Reviews still has its Sizzling Summer Reads at this link.

Romance Books 4 Us has its June Wedding Contest at this link

There are several book giveaways at Reviews By Crystal's blog at this link (make sure you look around, there are several giveaways there)


There are plenty more out there but I have had several edits (yummy reads due out soon from some of my favorite erotica authors!) so haven't had as much time to wander as usual.  If you come across one that is particularly interesting, leave a note in the comments and I will share

Carrie Ann Ryan sale announcement

To celebrate the release of Carrie Ann Ryan’s Shattered Emotions she is lowering the price on her digital copies of three of the Redwood Pack volumes.

For ONE WEEK only June 16- June 22 you can get each of Carrie Ann Ryan’s Redwood Pack Volumes for $0.99 each.  That is 6 stories for less than $3 !!!  How amazing is that? 

Here is a look at what you will be getting in each volume.



Redwood Pack Volume 1

 
 
contains the first 2 books in the Redwood Pack Series
Available Digitally:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble |ARe | kobo

An Alpha’s Path
Redwood Pack Book 1
 

Melanie is a twenty-five year old chemist who has spent the whole of her adult life slaving at school. Now she is finally done and about to start her dream job, however before she does that she needs to let her hair down. A blind date set up through her friends seems like the perfect solution. Melanie can now take one night off and let her inner vixen out. She can go crazy with a perfect stranger. But what happens when the man she is set up with is more than what he seems and Melanie finds herself wanting more that she thinks she is ready for?
Kade, a slightly older than twenty-something werewolf (by about one hundred years) who needs a night away from the Pack. Too many responsibilities and one near miss with a potential mate have caused Kade to search for some peace. One night with a human woman who is as sexy as she is smart could heal any doubts or troubles Kade has. But what happens when he finds this little woman could be his mate and for the first time Kade finds himself at a loss for words?

A Taste for a Mate
Redwood Pack Book 2



Jasper Jamenson’s only responsibility to being the Beta of the Redwood Pack, second son of the Alpha, is to protect the Pack from themselves and the human world. After a century of selfless service, his brother’s new found mating forced him into taking a good look into his life. He isn’t sure he wants a mate, but fate may have other ideas.
Willow Delton is a skinny, bakery owner – the type most woman love to hate. Being without family, she finds herself alone to the Greek god with green eyes who saunters into her bakery every morning. Her desire to follow him, to be with him, overrides every rational sense she possessed.
Jasper and Willow are drawn together, despite every nuisance that works against them. But evil beyond even Jasper’s supernatural compensation will make war against him, by going after the only thing in his eternal life he desires – Willow. Is Willow’s heart enough to overcome Jasper’s soul to save her life? A fight he cannot win, but to save her life – he must.


Redwood Pack Volume 2
contains the third book in the Redwood Pack series, plus a novella.



Amazon | Barnes and Noble| ARe| kobo

Trinity Bound
Redwood Pack Book 3




Hannah Lewis, a rare earth witch, is taken from the only life she’s ever known. Held at her will by a sadistic wolf, she almost gives up hope that she’d ever see her real life again. But as her fellow captive, a werewolf named Reed, tries to calm her fears, she begins to feel a spark of something she never thought she’d feel – love. But is Reed, alone, enough to get her out of this dark basement so she can move on with her life?
Reed Jamenson, the artist of a werewolf Pack of Alpha males, knows instinctually that Hannah is his mate. Thus, despite their imprisonment, he will do all to protect her and then worry about their hearts. But is he strong enough to find a way for both of them to escape? And why does he feel as though something else is missing?
Josh Kolb, an ex-military human, stumbles upon Reed and Hannah and finds he must trust this new world of supernatural beings to survive. But that desire will lead the three to a triangle of attraction that will test the boundaries they all possess and its consequences in defeating the enemy. Can they all trust one another to save themselves and life as they know it? Even at the cost of their own hearts?

A Night Away
Redwood Pack Book 3.5




Kade Jamenson has been mated to Melanie for almost two years. They’ve been through mating circles, battles, loss, misunderstandings, and finally, the birth of their son, Finn. The world is in turmoil around them as the Redwoods engage in war with the Centrals. But for Kade and Melanie, the turmoil is also happening at home. The responsibility of a restless baby and their Pack has taken a toll and they need a break.
Not from each other. But from their Pack. Just for a night.
Kade takes Mel away for a romantic getaway and leaves Uncle Maddox alone with baby Finn. The Omega of the Redwood Pack may be adept at emotions but the idea of a baby may be beyond his immense capabilities.
Author’s Note: This is a novella set between books 3 and 4 to give you a taste of Mel and Kade. It is best that you have already immersed yourselves in the Redwood Pack world, however even new readers will enjoy a glimpse of one of the Redwood’s favorite couples.


Redwood Pack Volume 3 contains the fourth book in the Redwood Pack series, plus a novella.

Available Digitally:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble |ARe |kobo

Enforcer’s Redemption
Redwood Pack Book 4


Adam Jamenson has suffered through the worst loss known to man. The only reason he lives day-to-day is to ensure the safety of his Pack. As the Enforcer of the Redwood Pack, it is his job to protect all in his path, though he was unable to protect the ones he held dear. The war with the Centrals is heating up and Adam must try and grit through it in order to survive. Though the broken man inside of him may not want to…
Bay Milton is a werewolf with a past. And a secret. She’s met the Redwood’s Enforcer only once, but it left a lasting effect. Now she needs to find him or everything he had thought he lost, may be lost again.
Together, they must struggle and find a way to fight their pasts and present in order to protect their future. But the Centrals have a plan that might make their path one of loss and destruction.

Blurred Expectations
Redwood Pack Book 4.5



Hannah Jamenson has babies on the brain. It seems that her sisters-in-law are expanding their family in the blink of an eye, but Hannah feels left behind. Every time that little test reads negative a little part of her dies and she feels like her Healing powers are failing her. Her mates, Josh and Reed, are doing everything they can to help her deal with their trials and losses, but they too feel like there is nothing they can do.
Just when the lines of what they mean to each other go out of focus, an enemy from Josh’s past is back to prove the things that go bump in the night are real and everything they had held dear is now in jeopardy. In order to fight back and find their way, they’ll need to put everything on the line before they lose it all.

Author’s Note: This is a novella set between books 4 and 5 to give you a taste of Reed, Josh, and Hannah. It is best that you have already immersed yourselves in the Redwood Pack world, however even new readers will enjoy a glimpse of the Redwood’s favorite triad.