Wounded Hearts (Men In Blue, #5) by Jayne Rylon

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Reviewed by Tabatha

 

I loved the Men in Blue series when I read it a few years ago, and I was delighted to see that Jayne was going to continue on with the series by giving us a new book. I've wanted to know what happened with Lucas, so I was pretty excited to get my hands on Wounded Hearts. Now if you are new to this series, you really need to read it prior to reading Wounded Hearts or you might be a tad bit confused. There are a lot of crossover characters and issues from the previous books. I think this confusion could have been cleared up had there been a prologue to lead into the story. It would have also helped those of us who haven't read the books in awhile given how long it has been between releases, but that's just my opinion. So my thoughts on Wounded Hearts overall. Well I did enjoy reading this story, but...I just didn't love it as much as I had anticipated.

Instantly I could tell that Jayne was channeling her cover model, Alex Minsky, with her character for Lucas even down to his Don't Laugh tattoo. I do love Alex and his positive outlook on life, so I was happy to have a good visual for Lucas. He was definitely a character you could admire, and although I liked that we get a deeper glimpse into the life of an amputee, I also think some of the focus on that detracted away from the bigger emotional issues he was dealing with that were more important to me.

He and Ellie both are fighting their own personal battles they need to overcome, and I loved it when they realized they were better off fighting together. I do think things progressed a bit too quickly given their full year apart, but life is very far from perfect for them and they handled it well with effective communication that I found quite funny most of the time. They also had an undeniable amount of sexual chemistry going on that was incredibly hot.

Now I would have liked to see more in the way of suspense given that the bad guy was pretty easy to figure out, but it was still good. I think the biggest issue that brought the book down for me had to do with Ellie. I loved that she was a fighter, so don't get me wrong here because she survived something I couldn't even imagine. It was the repercussions of it that I found to be just a bit far fetched. Mostly it was the fact that his spunk seemed to settle her down because it was from someone she "loved." That made me roll my eyes, and it's never a good sign.

So even though I didn't love this book, you can see that I did enjoy quite a bit of it. But knowing that Lucas was framed after Alex just made this story all the better in my opinion. *winks* We get a pretty good glimpse as to where the next book is going to go, so I'm excited that we might have another mmf menage to read in the future from this group with Ellie's brother, Ben, and Shari. I just hope that it doesn't have the same rushed together feeling that this book had.

*I received a review copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

For more information about this series or Jayne's other books, please check out her website.

http://jaynerylon.com/

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Back in Play (Power Play #2) by Lynda Aicher

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Reviewed by Tabatha

 

I had high hopes for this book, because Scott is the captain of the Glaciers and he was a great character in the previous book. Unfortunately, Back in Play is going to be hard for me to review because while I loved Scott, I really did not like Rachel.

These two start off in such a cute way meeting at a wedding. Rachel is in town visiting her brother, and I liked that she was upfront with Scott about how long she was going to be there. While Scott has every reason not to communicate with Rachel given his issues, it is actually Rachel who isn't honest and upfront with him and I'm not going to lie when I say that it bothered me. She was very supportive of him at first, but when push came to shove she took the cowards way out and instead said something so hurtful to Scott that I almost didn't finish the book. I seriously was shocked, and not in a good way at all. I know that we all make mistakes in what we say in the heat of the moment, but it absolutely gutted me on Scott's behalf. Bad form Rachel. And Scott, you were far too quick to forgive her in my honest opinion.

Anyway, so that stuff aside I liked the way the story progressed and how Scott handled himself. He had a huge struggle with something he never realized was a problem, and I think he was admirable in the way he stepped up. I think this is a little ventured topic with sports romance books, so I love that Aicher gave someone as strong as Scott this struggle. I'm eager to continue on reading about the other Glaciers team members, so I'm going to dive right into the next book as soon as I can.

*I received a review copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

For more information about this series or Lynda's books, please check out her website.

http://lyndaaicher.com

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Lone Wolf (Bluewater Bay #4) by Aleksandr Voinov & LA Witt

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Reviewed by Tabatha

 

I've only previously read LA Witt on her own, but I definitely enjoyed the addition of Aleksandr Voinov for this next installment of the Bluewater Bay series. I loved the premise of online buddies meeting in person for the first time and all of the awkwardness that ensues. Once these two remember that they are still the same person they've been talking to forever, things definitely start to get pretty steamy.

Hunter and Kevin are first and foremost great online friends. They decide to finally meet in person after Hunter discovers that he wants to use Kevin's novel for the next book in his popular series, Wolf's Landing. I was intrigued by the whole process of Hunter bringing Kevin's story into the fold, and poor Kevin gets a dose of fame far too early for his comfort. I think the one thing that bothered me the most in this book was that there really wasn't much in the way of conflict for these two. It just felt really long for not much happening. Now as far as the romance aspects went, these two had great chemistry. I wished they would have followed through with some of their slash coming to real life, but the moments between them were still pretty hot.

Overall, I had a fun time reading Lone Wolf, and I can't wait to continue reading the Bluewater Bay series because it's been great so far!

*I received a review copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*
 

If you'd like to check out more about this series or other books by Aleksandr and LA, please head over to their respective websites.

 http://www.aleksandrvoinov.com

http://www.gallagherwitt.com/ 

 

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Foreign Affairs Boxed Set by Mari Carr & Lexxie Couper

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Reviewed by Tabatha

 

The Foreign Affairs series is exactly that...characters falling in love despite the great distances that could keep them apart. It's a fun concept for romance, but don't worry because you will get your HFN endings with each book. I think this collaborative effort between Lexxie and Mari was fantastic, and I also think you will all enjoy it too.

Princess

Everything about the story appealed to me. The two characters couldn't be more adorable if they tried, and I think they were perfectly matched despite the circumstances of their acquaintance. Annie might have felt like she was down on her luck, but I think fate had her best interest at heart. Hunter was such a sweet guy and trying to do the right thing, but chemistry and passion couldn't be denied. I was so glad that things worked out for this couple in the end, and I can't wait to read the next story in this series that features Dylan and Monet to hopefully see what happens when he found himself in New York.

Cowboy

Talk about sexual tension! These two characters had so much intense chemistry you could feel the heat coming off the pages. Unfortunately something, or rather someone, is standing in the way of them being together. And the more time they spend together, the harder and harder it is getting for these two to resist the undeniable and powerful connection between them. When they are finally able to come together, I swear my ereader was going to go up in flames. Now I thought that the first book in this series was sizzling hot, but Mari and Lexxie both kicked it up a notch with this second installment and I can't wait to get started on the next book!

Master

I gotta say I am really loving this series so far, and I can't seem to get enough! Mari and Lexxie even kicked the heat up a notch further with this one. At first, I was a bit concerned given how fast these two fall into bed with one another, but then again I think it was very fitting of their personalities as well. There was some slight confusion in the beginning for Amy and Andrew, but they were definitely evenly matched and you could feel the progression from lust to love . This was one sizzling hot, guys! It touched on all my favorite buttons making it an absolute pleasure to read.

Hands

This one was good, but not nearly the same caliber in the romance department as the previous three books in the series. I think I just was expecting to see more of the romance that connects these three, but those moments together are glossed over. Now aside from that, the rest of the book was just as awesome as all the others in this series. The sexual tension and chemistry between them all was explosive. Keith, Marc, and Harper were great together as a trio, but I think what stuck out to me the most was the connection between Keith and Marc. These two guys were connected in such a way that you almost got a hint of them not being nearly as hetero as they claimed. Now that would have made this book even more hot. *winks*


So suffice to say, overall I loved this series and I think this collaborative effort between Mari and Lexxie was a huge hit! I'd love to see more from them both together as well as apart, but they definitely have something special with this box set of books.

If you'd like to check out more about this series or other books by Lexxie and Mari, please head over to their websites.

 

http://maricarr.com/ 

http://www.lexxiecouper.com 

 

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Insider (Exodus End #1) by Olivia Cunning

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Reviewed by Tabatha

 

Insider is the start of the much anticipated Exodus End series, and I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was to read this book. From the very start you can tell this is going to be one heck of a fun ride! We all know I'm a bit of a sucker for rock star romances, but Olivia's books have always been my favorites. She really embraces that whole rocker lifestyle and gives her characters so much depth. I just love them all so much!

Toni is sent on assignment to follow the band Exodus End to do a digital biography of them. Despite her editor believing she isn't the right woman for the job, she sets out to join the band on tour.  She is kind of a mouse in a den of wolves, but I liked that she also wasn't a shrinking violet either. The sexy as sin bass player, Logan Schmidt, is drawn to her from the moment he sees her. The sparks fly and the chemistry between these two is quite explosive. Toni and Logan embark on a sexual education of sorts for Toni, but I really adored just how sweet Logan was as well.

The one thing that did nag at me a bit was the ending. It did seem rather predictable and rushed given the huge build-up. I don't play to spoil anything by making any further comments, but it did bother me enough to drop a half star to make this a 4.5 for me.

Overall, this was definitely everything that I expected it to be. Olivia did a great job. I know the fall-out of Toni's mistakes are going to play out in the rest of this series, so I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book. I'm going to blame that mostly on Trey from Sinners though, because I'm beyond excited to revisit his relationship with Regan and Ethan!

*I received a review copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

For more information on this series and Olivia's other books, please check out her website.

http://www.oliviacunning.com

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Unraveled by Alyssa Breck

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Reviewed by Kim

 

This is the first book I've read by this author, but it will not be the last! 

I loved this book from start to finish. It had hot guys, music, shy women and intrigue. What more could you ask! I found this book to be in the same vein as Lexxie Couper's Heart of Flame series. You have the whole rock and roll background, but it's more about who the characters are and not that they are just Rock Gods, which is what really drew me into the story. 

The characters are well drawn out and exciting. Not a single time did I find myself thinking...would they really do that? They all remained completely in character throughout the book. I loved that they had to spend time apart, and that it didn't get all droopy while they weren't together. These are two intelligent people that are responsible and had lives before. Evie didn't give up her life to follow her rock star and that is just fantastic! The intrigue of the crazy fan was just perfect, but we got to see even before that circumstance threw them together that there was a spark, a chemistry that they were both on the verge of recognizing. This event just pushed them farther along in their journey to each other. I do hope that this is only the beginning of a series, but if it's not, that's okay too. We weren't left hanging wondering what was going to happen.  It really was a perfectly blended, full story book!

*An ARC was provided for honest review from the author.*

If you'd like to check out more about this book or other books by Alyssa, please head over to her website.

http://www.AlyssaBreck.com 

 

Amazon

 

Ridin' For A Fall (A&G Original Brand #1) by Kirsten Lynn

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Reviewed by Tabatha

 

Well, I didn't see any indication that this was going to be a historical cowboy book from reading the synopsis, but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with this revelation. I seriously don't think I read near enough historical western set books in my opinion. So let me start my review with telling you guys that I thought Ridin' For A Fall was a great read with really fantastic characters you are just going to adore.

Lena and Kyle are part of a traveling Wild West Show, but they find themselves thrown in an unexpected situation while in London when faced with the repercussions of Kyle's philandering ways when they were there last year. With no other options, these two are forced to marry and return home when they are fired from the traveling show. As they start the new chapter of their lives, they not only discover how deep their passion is, but they also find out that they are always better when facing things together.

For all Kyle's faults, he really is a stand-up guy. He gets scared and reacts a bit too hasty, what guy doesn't, but deep inside the guy is such a marshmallow. In the tender moments between him and Lena, you can feel not only the passion between them, but a deep solid friendship that has stood the test of time. As Kyle kept saying to Lena, they were inevitable. As for Lena, I think she is such an admirable character. I just simply loved her. She is so very strong while taking everything that came her way in stride. Although she is loath to hear it, sweet really was the best adjective to describe her no matter if she liked it or not. When they are together, you really get the sense that these two can face anything that comes their way, because their relationship is strong enough to survive anything. I was really excited to see these two be a tad bit kinky in the bedroom, because it really fit in well with their personalities. The passion and chemistry between these two is undeniable.

I loved so many things about this story. Following them on their journey home, the emotional struggles they endured along the way, and even more so once they arrived home to face Kyle's demons. The only thing I would have liked to see play out differently was towards the end. I honestly think that these two had enough conflict without adding the evil brother/sister combo. I just didn't think their roles in the story were necessary, and their motives are still quite unclear to me or how they would have managed to accomplish their mission.

Overall, this book was everything that I look for in a historical romance. I found myself loving the characters, faults and all, and I really wanted them to make things work. They may not have gotten the exact happy ending I would have liked to see play out, but I think that it worked out well anyway. As Kristen is a new to me author, I'm definitely looking forward to checking out more of what she has written and also what she has in store for us with the next book featuring the A&G gang.

*A review copy was provided from the author in exchange for honest review.*

 If you'd like to check out more about this series or other books by Kirsten, please head over to her website.

http://www.kirstenlynnwildwest.com 

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