Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Review: IT STARTED WITH A SCANDAL by Julie Anne Long

Where to buy IT STARTED WITH A SCANDAL


Publisher's Blurb:

Lord Philippe Lavay once took to the high seas armed with charm as lethal as his sword and a stone-cold conviction: he’ll restore his family’s fortune and honor, no matter the cost. Victory is at last within reach—when a brutal attack snatches it from his grasp and lands him in Pennyroyal Green.

An afternoon of bliss brings a cascade of consequences for Elise Fountain. Shunned by her family and ousted from a job she loves, survival means a plummet down the social ladder to a position no woman has yet been able to keep: housekeeper to a frighteningly formidable prince.

The bold and gentle Elise sees past his battered body into Philippe’s barricaded heart . . . and her innate sensuality ignites his blood. Now a man who thought he could never love and a woman who thought she would never again trust must fight an incendiary passion that could be the ruin of them both.

About JULIE ANNE LONG

USA Today bestselling author JULIE ANNE LONG originally set out to be a rock star when she grew up (and she has the guitars and fringed clothing stuffed in the back of her closet to prove it), but writing was always her first love. Since hanging up her guitar for the computer keyboard, her books frequently top reader and critic polls and have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Rita, Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice, and The Quills, and reviewers have been known to use words like “dazzling,” “brilliant,” and “impossible to put down” when describing them. Julie lives in Northern California.


Visit Julie at

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Monday, March 23, 2015

Spotlight: MISERY'S WAY: A Colbana World story by J. C. Daniels


Releasing 6/222


Her name is Frankie. At least, that’s what she calls herself.
 She looks human, but she’s no more human than she is a faith-healer.  That doesn’t stop her from using her…more unique abilities to take care of certain needs.  It’s those abilities that lead to a chance encounter with an unusual woman in Florida.
 It’s a chance encounter with fate that will set these two down a collision course with destiny.

***This short story is loosely connected to the Kit Colbana series, though it may be read as a stand-alone. 

Click here for a snippet. :)

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Review: DARKER THAN DESIRE book #3 Secrets and Shadows series by Shiloh Walker

***NOTE: Please know that this is a series you NEED to read in order or you will be hopelessly lost with the events that finally culminate in this book. There are so many players, clues, incidences, and circumstances that shape and create the main characters and that intertwine with the plot.  If you haven't read the previous books, be warned that this review has major spoilers for the series, but not for THIS book...there is still a lot left for you to discover.

 Click here for the list of books and the order they need to be read.
 
As a child, David Sutter's soul was shattered, but his spirit wasn't broken. The Cronus Club did it's best to reign him in, but to no avail. While he was able to escape the physical monsters that plagued him, he had a long way to go toward recovery. After 20 years, when he thought it was all done, evil begins to resurface, and he knows that it is time to come out of hiding. He faces the devils of his past, but it could drag him down further, as people he cares about are being murdered, along with members of the diabolical cult. One woman has the power to keep him from falling into the depths of his darkness...

 Sybil Chalmers has loved David for many years, but he keeps pushing her away. She will fight for him, but if he can't accept her love she knows that she will have to let him go.  With David's past coming back to haunt him and the entire town of Madison, IN in upheaval, can she make him see that he already holds the tools to destroy his darkness and rebuild his life...
***

This is a dark series that showcases characters rising above their demons and addictions, making it easier to find peace and happiness in their future. I was so excited when I discovered that Sybil and David/Cain got their HEA in Darker Than Desire. I adored Sybil, who refuses to take crap from anyone, making her a perfect heroine for David.  Cain is a character that intrigued me from the start and I wasn't surprised to learn that he was actually David Sutter, hiding in plain sight.  I knew there was more to the cold, standoffish, Amish fellow than met the eye and was curious to discover how intimate his connection was with Sybil.

David and Sybil have dynamic chemistry. Their passion sizzled, as their erotic interludes burned up the pages. Neither of them would back down when they had a point to get across to the other. Sometimes it worked for them, and other times they would just butt heads. David's stubbornness got in the way of their relationship more than once, but Sybil was just as determined to make him see that together they could conquer the demons.

I loved that Noah, Adam, Lana, Jensen, etc...were all still a big part of the story, as these are characters that I really got hooked on. I liked that it was shown how David was drawn to be part of a family with Sybil and her nephew, Drew, but he refused to acknowledge that it was what he really wanted.


I was shocked when I finally pieced together who the murder was. I knew early on who was killing the members of the Cronus Club, but the other murderer threw me.  I thought that the differences of insanity vs. evil was well described and played out through this series, and it was a great twist to this dark, emotional story.