Bingeworthy Books

Author: BWB1

Review: Her Halloween Treat by Tiffany Reisz

Are you in the mood for something REALLY sexy, REALLY funny and an all around fun read? Then by all means, please buy this book. If you’re like me and you’ve shied away from Reisz’s previous work due to it being too edgy for you, then this is an excellent introduction to her writing style.

Reisz writes so cleanly, with snappy snark and humor and did I mention the sexy? Holy crap.

Joey and her best friend, Kira are absolutely hilarious:

“What if he’s not murdering you, but you’re screaming because it’s such good sex? Do I still call the cops?”

“I’m not a screamer.”

“If he’s the right guy, you will be.”

See? Funny.

You want sexy?

“God, Chris. It feels so good,” Joey said into his ear.

“You want it?”

“I want it. All the time.”

“You can have it all the time. Whenever you want. Just ask and it’s yours.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Every day for the rest of your life,” he said thrusting deep again.

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Joey and Chris were very close in high school, he was a little older than her and had a crush on her. She didn’t think of him that way. Coming to Oregon for her brother’s wedding and to get away from her dumbass ex- boyfriend offers her the opportunity to get to know Chris now that he has grown up and has fully grown into his Oregon lumberjack potential. (YES.)

The attraction between these two is immediate and they have a shared history to fall back on, which really fleshed out the potential for a relationship between them beyond this visit.

I really loved this book AND this is book one in a series. Yes, you read that right, there is even MORE hilarious sextastic holiday books to come and I’m going to read them, I hope you will too.

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September 26, 2016
Review and Author Spotlight: Skin Deep by Kimberly Kincaid

Are you in the mood for a sexy firefighter? Well, Kellan Walker is your man and Kimberly Kincaid is the author who gives him to you. This is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Kincaid and I feel sure I’ll be digging into her backlist and looking forward to new releases from her.

Skin Deep on the surface may look like a firefighter romance but it’s really much more than that. Isabella, the female MC is a complete badass, scared of nothing and determined to do whatever she needs to do get her job done as a police detective. She and Kellan know each other after dealing with each other in Deep Trouble, a prequel of sorts for the Station Seventeen series. Things did not go smooth between them and Kellan does not think very highly of Isabella. In spite of his initials feelings towards her, he finds himself very attracted to Isabella. As you can guess, they find a way to move past what happened (I know I’m being all cryptic, but you need to read to find out more) because they end up working on a case together thanks to suspicious evidence at a fire.

Kellan is just…ok, I’ll say it, he’s swoon worthy and sexy as hell.

He took a step back, his up-and-down stare as palpable as a touch raking over her naked skin. “You are the hottest fucking woman I have ever seen. C’mere.”

See what I mean? There’s more where that came from and like I said, Isabella is no shrinking violet and they balance each other out well.

This book is well balanced. I noticed as I was reading that Kincaid deftly balances the love story with the suspense storyline really well. There’s no ridiculous angst or plotline thrown in to drive them apart. Isabella isn’t huge on relationships because she’s very dedicated to her job and then Kellan comes along and blows a lot of her preconceived notions about being in a relationship out of the water. I appreciated the way their relationship played out.

Another thing that Kincaid does well in Skin Deep, is the bad guy and the human trafficking world. The big bad is truly a super freak and the reader is in his head as well and it isn’t a pretty place to be. Nonetheless, I appreciate when an author gives the reader a well written bad guy and a tight suspense plot that isn’t completely unbelievable.

So, yeah, you need to give Ms. Kincaid a read. The suspense is tight and the sexytimes are incendiary… did see what I did there? INCENDIARY, firefighters… HOT LIKE FIYAH 🔥

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Can you start by introducing yourself to the readers that may not be familiar with you?

Hi, everybody! I write contemporary romance with rugged heroes and feisty heroines, as well as sexy romantic suspense featuring firefighters who are hot under pressure and even hotter between the sheets.

Can you tell us a little about your journey to becoming an author?

I’m definitely still on the journey—I learn something new every time I sit in the chair, for sure! I’ve always been an avid reader, and six years ago I decided to try my hand at putting one of the stories in my head on the page. It took a lot of trying—and failing!—to get things right, but I’m currently writing my 19^th book and will finish number 20 before the year is over. I wouldn’t change a thing!

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

I’m ambidextrous. It comes in handy when I’m multi-tasking, which is pretty much any time I’m not asleep. 😉

Do you have any rituals when you write?

I need total quiet and no wifi if I’m going to be productive. LuLaRoe leggings and big old T-shirts help too!

Favorite snack?

I am addicted to those freeze-dried pea pod snacks right now. They sound awful, and I made so much fun of my sister when she offered them to me. And then I tried them and ate the whole bag. I can’t stop!

Favorite drink?

I’m actually a water girl, although coffee is right up there too. And when I’m done with a book, I’ll crack open a really good chardonnay.

Favorite song right now:

Adrenaline, by Matt Nathanson. There would be no sex scenes in my current book without it, haha!

Last book you read: The Beast, by JR Ward. So. So. Good.

Favorite movie of all time: This is like a fifty-way tie for me…but I think I have to go with Shakespeare in Love. I am such a sucker for Old Bill… #shakespearegeek

Last Netflix/series you binge watched: Last season of Law and Order SVU.

Who are some of your favorite authors and books? Another fifty-way tie. JR Ward, Meredith Duran, Katee Robert, Cristin Harber, Pamela Clare, Kate Meader, Rebecca Zanetti, Scarlett Cole…I could go on and on!

What is the best piece of advice you have received in your writing career so far?

There’s a great Ann Lamott quote that says “Very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it.” And every time I hear that, I think, “Oh, thank GOD.” It’s okay to not know what you’re doing. And that gets me through a lot of days.

What’s coming up next for you?

I have the first full book in the Station Seventeen series, SKIN DEEP, out this week (*confetti toss*!). Then I’ve got the first book in the Cross Creek series, CROSSING HEARTS, out in February of 2017, DEEP CHECK (a Station Seventeen novella) out in March 2017, DEEP BURN (a Station Seventeen book) out in June 2017, CROSSING THE LINE (Cross Creek #2) out in August 2017, and another Station Seventeen book (currently titled “That Book I Haven’t Named”, haha) out in November 2017. Whew!

September 22, 2016
Review: Everything Unexpected by Caroline Nolan

Earlier this year, I fell in love with Caroline Nolan and her debut novel, This is Love and immediately wanted more from her. Let me just say that I LOVED This is Love, so the bar was set very high for this book and let’s face it, having those high expectations for a new author is rather dangerous.

Everything Unexpected is a friends to lovers romance with an extra helping of angst. Leah and Shane met in college and have been best friends since then. Shane was immediately attracted to Leah when they met but ended up shelving his attraction in favor of their friendship and the fact that Leah had a boyfriend. Fast forward to post-college, Leah is a lawyer, working on a huge case and Shane is a successful photographer. Add together Shane’s birthday, a party, alcohol, and Leah and they sleep together. I enjoyed the chemistry that Leah and Shane shared in the beginning, they had a deep friendship to spring from and a low simmering mutual attraction. Unfortunately, after they sleep together, Leah freaks out and were off and running. Literally.

This is where the angst kicks in and, to be honest, I could’ve done without it. Leah and Shane’s relationship changes enough without all of the angst that was injected into the story. Don’t even get me started on the lack of communication between these two. (Sometimes I think that my impatience with character angst and communication is a product of my age and my inability to tolerate it in general, lol.) I think I’d like to have seen them fall back on the solid foundation of their years of friendship to get through the challenges and changes in their relationship as opposed to the mistrust and angst. To be fair, some big stuff happens to these two and it takes quite an amount of adjustment for them. I’d like to say more and elaborate but then I’d be spoiling a pretty big plot point, so Imma keep my mouth shut.

All of that being said, this was a solid second book from Ms. Nolan and I’m looking forward to more from her. I really do think that Ms. Nolan is immensely talented and even with the angst that was not my style, I still enjoyed this book.

“In the cab, I wondered what color your panties were,” I tell her, looking back up to her face. If my words shocked her, she’s hiding it well. “Are they black to match? White? A color I’d be surprised by?”

With every question, I take a step closer and closer. I’m excited when she doesn’t back away, thrilled when I see a hint of pink blush on her chest and turned on I’ve managed to get that reaction from her again so quickly. “Are you going to show me, Comb?”

It takes everything she has to stay standing the way she is, unyielding. I’m sure of it. Her eyes glare, her posture straightening. She takes one small step before her arms move back behind her back. I hear the sound of a zipper coming down. I exhale, not wanting her to see just how much that little sound affected me. Confidently and without hesitation, her hands move to the waistline of her skirt and she slowly pulls it down, letting it fall around her heeled feet. She stands in front of me now, clad only in that black lace bra and a pair of silk panties.

“Pink,” is all I can think to say.

“Pink,” she repeats.

One foot in front of the other, I come at her, one arm sneaking around her waist, the other to the side of her face. This time when I kiss her, I use all the pent up attraction I’ve had for her for the last five years. I kiss her for all the years I didn’t. I kiss her so she knows that for the last five years, I’ve yearned for this, even if I didn’t realize it. I kiss her for five years of neglected lust and ignored attraction.

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September 20, 2016
Review: Roman Crazy by Alice Clayton and Nina Bocci

Pack your bag and find your passport, Alice Clayton and Nina Bocci are going to whisk you away to Rome for quite the romantic adventure.

I get nervous when books are referred to as rom-coms because they can descend into OTT (over the top) silliness. This is not that book, thank the baby Jesus. I came into this book after reading a few rather intense books and this one was PERFECT. It’s sweet, hilarious and totally sexy. FYI, This book is NOT erotic, it’s still extremely sexy…thanks to one very sexy Italian man. I truly enjoyed the friendship between Avery and Daisy, it was pitch perfect. Clayton and Bocci tempered the intensity of the reconnection of Avery and Marcello with humor and I ate it up!

As the synopsis tells you, Avery finds her husband in flagrante with his secretary and decides she is done with him. Now, seeing her husband banging his secretary with her own eyes pushes her to make a decision to get the hell out of dodge. She, as you know, hightails it to Rome. Avery comes to realize that finding her husband with his secretary is only one small piece of so many wrong things about her marriage. Catching him in the act really pulls the blinders off of her eyes and forces her to see how she contorted herself to fit into the life that he wanted them to have.

Enter Rome and the true love of her life, Marcello. I don’t know about you but I can’t even say that name in my head without the Italian accent. Marcello is absolutely fantastic, he’s just a really well-written character and while he is hurt by Avery he wears his heart on his sleeve.

This book could’ve been an angst fest but it wasn’t. The connection between Avery and Marcello is too deep to deny and Clayton and Bocci allow it to play out without throwing a bunch of unneeded obstacles. Now, Avery is still married and she has to deal with that. There were times where I felt like she kind of buried her head in the sand a bit where that was concerned. Emotionally, she made her decision regarding her marriage and upon reflection understood the mistakes and choices that were made. But the actual physical dealing with the end of the marriage took a little longer. Again, this was not a huge issue for me but it was in the back of my mind nonetheless. During all of this, Avery reflects upon the beginning of her relationship and marriage with her husband and in doing so, explains to Marcello what happened all those years ago when she met him (Marello) in Spain. Avery discovered her art passion very early in life and pushed that passion aside, somewhat unintentionally when she married Ben. Marcello, fosters her passion in many things…including art. 😉

Anyhoo, the setting of Rome was incredible and Avery’s profession of art restoration was absolutely fascinating. I loved reading about her job and the history of the architecture and art in Rome. It is my hope that we get to see more of Avery and Marcello and the beautiful setting of Rome in subsequent Broads Abroad books. But, I suspect no matter where Clayton and Bocci’s books are set they will be laugh out loud, completely entertaining and swoon-worthy in every way.

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Giveaway

Want to win some books?

You can win 3 books from Gallery!! The last book in the Beautiful series, simply titled BEAUTIFUL (Gallery 10/4), the first book in Anna Todd’s spinoff series, NOTHING MORE (Gallery 9/20) and Nina Bocci & Alice Clayton’s co-authoring debut novel ROMAN CRAZY (Gallery 9/13)

*US entrants only*

Head on over to our Facebook page to enter!

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September 16, 2016
Review: Just Married by Jenna Bayley-Burke

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Miranda and Callum have a long time friends with benefits relationship and Callum wants to take it a step further but not because of love. I know, it sounds a bit odd and that may be difficult for some readers to wrap their head around. The first few chapters may cause a few “WTF?s” to fly. But for me, this book worked. See, Miranda truly loved and cared for Callum and she understood the nature of their relationship. They live on opposite coasts, are completely dedicated and focused on their professions and are not in a place to have a relationship. Add a wedding and an accidental pregnancy and it totally turns the dynamic between them on its head. Callum had some pretty deep seated issues about being a parent from his own childhood and it really takes some time for him to navigate his way through all of that to the love that he does indeed feel for Miranda and their children.

Miranda never thought she could have Callum or children and she is determined to create a family for herself with or without Callum. But the reality of Callum not wanting kids hits them both square in the face and requires that they both examine their feelings for each other and about being parents.

I stayed up late to finish this one, COULD NOT put it down. I truly enjoyed this book and this new to me, author and I’m looking forward to reading more from her and this series. While it was sexy as all get it out, it was complex and didn’t shy away from serious emotions between Callum and Miranda.

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A bolt of nausea pealed through her like church bells in a quiet town. “You’re still planning to get married?”

“Of course.” He lifted her chin with two fingers. “To you.”

Miranda gasped, her hazel eyes sparking with emotion. Her gaze narrowed on him and she shook her head, dislodging his fingers. Her furious expression sobered his smile. He’d never seen Mira angry, not at him at least.

“Listen, doll.” He reached for her and she batted his arm away with one hand, and her other landed squarely on his cheek with a loud slap. The sharp sting was chased away by heat spreading up his face. He pressed his palm against the pain, his mind numb from shock.

“No, you listen you spoiled son of a bitch. I could strangle you right now.” Her finger jabbed at his chest so hard he looked down to see if it left a mark. “You don’t get to call me and say you’re getting married in a day, make me show up and try to talk you out of it, and then say it’s some kind of joke. If you want to vacation with your friends, you invite them. And don’t talk to me about marriage. I am not a game you play. I deserve more respect than that.”

She shoved him aside with more strength than he’d thought possible and pushed her way out of the shower. She snagged the robe from a hook and wrapped her hair in a towel at mach speed.

Fear squeezed his chest. Of all the ways he thought this might go, he’d never imagined her outraged. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist as he chased after her.

“It’s white.” She stood in front of the closet, clutching the bridesmaid gown. She tossed it onto the huge bed and pointed at the flowers on the bedside table. “And those are bouquets. That’s why they are tied and set in the water, not fanned out.” She smacked her hand against her forehead. “And this is the honeymoon suite. I thought the hotel had made a mistake, but this is all you. All some cruel game you dreamed up to bring everyone together.”

“Listen. I can explain.” He stepped to the foot of the bed, but didn’t get too close to her. He’d never seen this side of Miranda, and it unnerved him. He’d thought he knew her so well.

She tipped her head back and gave the saddest laugh he’d ever heard. “Of course you can. You’ll have to make your excuses while I get ready, because I am so out of here.” She brushed past him to the vanity.

“Miranda, please hear me out.” His stomach knotted as he turned to catch her gaze in the mirror. He had until she made it from hairbrush to perfume. Less than that really, because she was sure to drown him out with the blow dryer.

“What did you expect?” She tugged the brush through her hair and then tossed it onto the marble countertop. She picked up a tube and squeezed a white cream on her hand and scrubbed it into her flushed face. “Was I supposed to throw my arms around you and confess my undying love and follow you back to New York tomorrow? Drop everything the way I did when your father died? I have a life, Cal.”

“I don’t expect anything in your life to change. Mine either.”

She spun around so fast he stood up straighter, sure another slap was on her agenda. “You want to get married but you don’t want anything to change. Now you’re not only disrespecting me, you’re disrespecting marriage. A union I happen to believe in.”

He held up his hands in surrender. He had to stop digging this hole he’d tossed himself into. “I’m going to start at the beginning.”

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August 30, 2016
Review: Dirty Work: An Anthology by Amanda Heger, Harper St. George, Tara Wyatt

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Let’s face it, the anthology thing has gotten a bit out of control. I mean, who the heck is going to read twenty-five different books in one whack ? (That’s my personal issue with large anthologies talking, I know I’ve read several anthologies I’ve enjoyed. ) Well, I’m here to tell you that Tara Wyatt, Harper St. George and Amanda Heger are definitely doing to anthology right. In fact, I might be tempted to call this the anti-anthology. What we have here is three lovely little books for your reading enjoyment and this is a GREAT way to sample a writer’s style and determine if you’d like to read more. All three of these are second chance love stories and I truly enjoyed EVERY SINGLE ONE! I made the wise decision to read these on my vacation and they were just the right length and they weren’t too heavy emotionally. While I was familiar with Tara Wyatt and she is a favorite author of mine, after reading Heger and St. George’s contributions, I’ll definitely be reading more by them as well!

“Uprooted” by Amanda Heger

When an inheritance forces Natalie Green back to her hometown, she finds herself knee-deep in family heirlooms and unwanted memories. And some of those memories involve landscaper Chris Hennessy—the guy whose virginity she took all those years ago. As the two begin rekindling an old flame, Natalie realizes her entire life is about to be UPROOTED.

“Revved” by Harper St. George

When lawyer Rachel Cambridge’s life falls apart, she should be heartbroken. So why can’t she drag her thoughts from the bad boy she walked away from years earlier? Sexy mechanic Sage Hennessy isn’t interested in forgiveness, but he won’t say no to a night in his bed. Will it be enough, or will Rachel get back the one man who’s ever REVVED her engine?

“Nailed” by Tara Wyatt

Cynical sports journalist Charlie Grant isn’t looking for love, especially not with smartass carpenter Adam Hennessy. But when Charlie hires Adam to rebuild her deck, she can’t seem to keep her hands to herself. When smoking hot sex turns into something more, she’s worried she might get NAILED.

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August 16, 2016
Review: Just What I Needed by Lorelei James

OMG. This book totally snuck up on me! I’m not sure why I’ve missed this one, I’m a HUGE LJ fan and I’ve enjoyed everything she’s ever written. For some reason, this series was not front and center on my radar…and now it is.

I have not read the first book in this series. Since finishing this book, I have purchased book one, What You Need and I cannot wait to read it! With that said, I didn’t feel like I needed to have read the first book to truly “get” this one.

What did I love so much about this book? Ummmm how about the characters? On the sexual hotness scale of LJ’s books, this one is on the lower end where her books are concerned. But good lord, it was still “hot like fyah” mainly because of one Walker Lund. You want to read this book if for no other reason than to add him to your book boyfriend list. Ms. James possesses an innate ability to write a male character that is equal parts alpha and loving. Walker Lund is so high on the swoon o meter, it’s BANANAZZZZZ. (Yes, the “swoon o meter” is officially a thing.)

“I ain’t gonna lie- that was one hot ‘Hello. baby, I wanna eat you alive’ kind of kiss. It’s especially sexy when you’ve got wide-eyed innocence. Yet that mouth of yours…” His gaze dropped to my lips. “It’s the stuff fantasies are made of. Plus, you’ve got great hair and a fantastic ass.”

Walker is not afraid to tell Trinity how he feels about her and I loved that he did not hold back. As for Trinity, she is such an interesting character. She is an artist and I enjoyed listening to her creative process and is also a bit of a spaz but that completely endeared her to me. I loved the back and forth between them and how they totally get each other.

“You have a bizarre sense of humor.”

“So I’ve heard. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I like it.”

“Really, Most people don’t get it. Most people don’t get me.”

“Their loss. Because I get you.”

The way LJ fleshes out the characters in this series completely reeled me in. I have always enjoyed the families that she creates and the Lund family is no exception. I LOVED the rest of his complicated but loving family and I WANT more of the LUND family. For me, there were so many interesting stories lying in wait to tell where Walker’s siblings are concerned. I am not aware of any other books in this series but good Lord, I hope there are!

While I have waxed on about how wonderful Walker is, his relationship with his family was quite complex. To be honest, I still don’t have all of the dynamics figured out where that is concerned. But again, that family dynamic and characterization kept me completely glued to this book. THIS IS WHY WE NEED MORE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES. So I can figure out the family dynamics…and what I want is what matters!! *stomps foot*

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August 5, 2016
The Royals will ruin you… for sure! Broken Prince by Erin Watt

I’ve gotten to the point where I’m a bit…jaded when it comes to books. What I mean by that is, when a book goes nuclear and everyone raves about it, I’m still skeptical. So, for me to give in (especially on NA) and take the chance and read it, is a big deal for me. ( A couple of my favorite authors are writing this series, so I guess I should have faith in that.)

A month or so before Broken Prince came out, I remembered I had Paper Princess on my Kindle. So, I dove in. I couldn’t put it down! Even with all of it’s NA drama and angst, I read it and TOTALLY enjoyed it. While reading Paper Princess, I acquired a review copy of Broken Prince… I like having all of my ducks in a row like that. 😉 Ella’s kiss my ass attitude towards the whole Royal clan endeared me to her completely. This easily could’ve been a case of a girl getting bullied at school etc and taking it without fighting back but throughout both books, Ella keeps throwing attitude and I loved that. Good grief, the school those kids go to is atrocious and the crap they give each other is mind boggling. The Royal boys try to keep the ecosystem somewhat balanced but they can only do so much considering how screwed up those boys are to begin with.

I finished up Paper Princess and was ready to jump into Broken Prince because, yeah there is one hell of a cliffhanger! To be honest, I would’ve read Paper Princess whether or not I had Broken Prince to read right after it, so I was cool with the cliffhanger. Broken Prince didn’t really let me down. I say…didn’t really because there was some mind numbing NA angst that had me skimming a bit. But the pace picked back up and the story headed in a direction that I wondered if it would head in. Yes, I’m being cryptic, because I don’t want to be spoilery but I was VERY happy to see a certain thing come to fruition. Gee, that made a whole lot of sense, didn’t it? (insert sarcasm, here.) 😉

This is an extremely entertaining series. While the drama and angst level is way high, the characters are very extremely compelling and I’m REALLY looking forward to how this series is wrapped up in the next book, Twisted Palace. Ella needs her HEA with her man, Reed and those Royal boys in general, need some serious help… therapy or something.

Ratings wise, I’d give Paper Princess 4.5 stars and Broken Prince 4 stars.

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July 29, 2016
Review: White-Hot Hack by Tracey Garvis-Graves

I have a few friends that read this and were underwhelmed so I was nervous going in. However, I’m honest enough to admit that this hit all my nerd girl buttons. The novel started off with a completely different vibe than the first right from the get go. Kate and Ian are now a married couple. They have relocated and changed their names to hopefully get away from anyone who may still be looking for Ian from the hacking community.

Ian is used to this type of transient life where he’s moving around and settling in remote areas with few friends and little but his work. After everything they’ve been through he would love nothing more than for Kate to be satisfied as a homemaker. He promised her father that he would keep her safe when they married and he means to keep his promise. Kate is used to having a support network of friends and fulfilling work where she touches people’s lives. So it’s natural that as time goes on she really struggles with her identity. Ian is trying to build a new company from the ground up since he gave up the task force for Kate after events in the last novel. He also is struggling because he’s in rebuild mode and he doesn’t get the same excitement as he did with the task force. In his own way, he was making a difference with his work there but understandably doesn’t want Kate to think she’s the only one giving things up to be together.

All of this builds to create some really honest moments. They are both so happy to be together and happy to married that they both feel almost selfish for still wanting more. And even though they both try to hide it, each can tell the other isn’t 100% happy but it isn’t until Kate starts taking some serious risks with her safety during her downtime that Ian realizes that something has to give. He reluctantly agrees to have Kate work with him in his business. Kate finds that she’s really great at the human interaction part of hacking and Ian uses Kate’s talents to expand his business in that area. I’m such a geek that I really loved all the details and minutia as Kate gets more involved in Ian’s work. It was fascinating how it all works! Plus the moments between Kate and Ian while they work together are by turns hilarious and sexy.

This book delivered great banter, hotter than hot sexy times and of course Ian’s boundary-demolishing hacker tendencies. 🙂 It also really showed the give and take of marriage. Sometimes compromise is a necessary evil. There was also a little suspense – will the hacking community really believe Ian is still dead? Can Ian keep Kate happy and safe? And what’s really important: an exciting career or being happy together and building a life with work being secondary? Check out White Hot Hack and find out!

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July 14, 2016
Review: Steadfast by Sarina Bowen

I can say without a doubt that I truly loved this book and I could not put it down. I’m going to put this book firmly in the “responsibility shirker” category. I had work to do, places to go, meals to make, laundry to do, and I didn’t want to do any of it. And to be completely honest, I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book because I loved the first book, Bittersweet so much. I wanted more time at the Shipley farm with Griffin and the Shipley family. I knew that Jude was heading home after spending a few months at the Shipley farm. It was a “safe” place for him and going back to his hometown was walking straight back into the belly of the beast for him.

As with so many things in our adult lives, we have to face things we don’t want to, things that will hopefully, make us stronger. That was my hope for Jude. Addiction is a beast that don’t have personal experience with but through Bowen’s evocative writing, I felt Jude’s raw desperation. I wanted him to go back to the Shipley from where he was safe and I wanted to hug him. Jude needed to stand on his own two feet but he also deserved tenderness and care. He didn’t get a whole lot of that growing up and I think that Sophie also provided that for him when they were together. There was no doubt in my mind that they were meant to be together despite the circumstances that separated them at the beginning of the book.

I have to say that this book required me to have faith in an author and the direction she takes a character. Weeks after graduation from high school, a guy I grew up with, dated and was friends with was killed in a drunk driving accident. He was the passenger. I’ll admit that my ability to forgive the driver could use some work. So, my first thought was, how do I read this book? I made a decision to separate myself from my personal experience and see where Bowen took Jude. I knew that I enjoyed an “unredeemable” character and I figured that Jude would be “redeemed” in some way. But what made me uncomfortable was, if I could forgive Jude, the character, how could I not at least work on forgiving the guy who killed my friend? A book that makes you examine your own deep dark issues or truths is a book to be reckoned with.

Sophie was an incredible character. As I mentioned before, she gave Jude the tenderness, love and compassion that he got no where else. And to her credit, she believed in him, flaws and all. She followed her feelings and gut instincts when it came to him and I feel sure that both of them are glad she did. In this same category is the Shipley family. Certain parts of Jude’s addiction battle merited him taking on things on his own. But, there were others that having friends and family to fall back on, was imperative. The Shipley family were a constant hand on his back, they only wanted to support him and he needed that.

Oh and it’s a ridiculously hot book on top of everything else. Holy crap.

I kept thinking that this book is completely (to steal a foodie term) “organic”. The struggles are real, Jude isn’t a millionaire and there are no quick fixes. There are no manufactured bits of drama to be thrown at him. He was struggling with an addiction and living in a town with the woman he truly loved but couldn’t have. Or could he? Some things are just meant to be…

See? I’m still completely spun by this book. You know a book is remarkable when you don’t want to do anything else… but read it.

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Book 1 Bittersweet:

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July 13, 2016