Review of Breaking by Claire Kent

Erotic Read

Breaking is the continuation of Lori and Ander's erotic romance.

I received this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I have had some serious issues with electronics for about six months including losing all my ARC's to my Kindle, that went to the electronic place in the sky and for that I apologize to NetGalley and the author.  I had a list and was able to finally access my ARC's via computer so reviews will be coming although quite late. 

Breaking as told in Ander's POV, is a series of flashbacks of how Lori and his romance developed and how the couple is managing Ander's past employment as a gigolo. The writing is captivating and the development of Lori and Ander's issues are interesting however it just seemed like this story was a recycled version of Escorted only told in Ander's POV. The steamy sex scenes and banter between the protagonists are again swoon-worthy but again it just seems like a recycled version of the first book. I absolutely love the male POV, I just wish the author would have elaborated a little more. There are definite sex scenes as mentioned above and some cussing. The cover is hot.

Review of Elect(Eagle Elite#2) by Rachel VanDyken

Confusing Continuation 

Elect is the continuation of Trace and Nixon's Mafia romance.

I received this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I have had some serious issues with electronics for about six months including losing all my ARC's to my Kindle, that went to the electronic place in the sky and for that I apologize to NetGalley and the author.  I had a list and was able to finally access my ARC's via computer so reviews will be coming although quite late. 

Wow. What can I say? I am even more frustrated than I was before. This story had SO much potential and I know that as a Beta Reader we are there to help give feedback or even sometimes catch things however the direction that the author took this story in, I just don't understand. I don't pretend to know a lot about Mafia behavior but I do know from watching all kinds of Mafia, mobster, gangster,etc. movies that "sharing" or at at least pretending to share your love interest is a NO-NO. Men have been killed just for looking at the " Boss' " woman the wrong way let alone letting one make out with her constantly. There were so many different issues but just to keep it simple the story simply didn't gel with me. I applaud the author's effort because this kind of story simply had not been done before but I just can't get past the story line and how confusing the parentage is with the characters. I re-read the chapters several times and I was just as confused if not more. I even went as far as writing notes and just finally gave up. There are very sensual love scenes and one questionable sex scene, drinking, and cussing through out the book. The cover is a little confusing because Trace is supposed to have dark hair right? 

Sorry, I take things so literal.  

Review of Façade by Nyrae Dawn

Heart Wrenching Read

Façade is the second book to the Games series; a spin off to the characters in Charade. 

I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book; I received this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I have had some serious issues with electronics for about six months including losing all my ARC's to my Kindle, that went to the electronic place in the sky and for that I apologize to NetGalley and the author. I had a list and was able to finally access my ARC's via computer so reviews will be coming although quite late. 

I had the opportunity to read the first book in this series some time ago and I found Ms. Dawn's writing to be honest and captivating. I have to say that Ms. Dawn definitely wrote a winner with this heart wrenching story that had me smiling and crying through out. Told in dual POV, the lead characters, Adrian and Delaney definitely have chemistry. I really connected with the lead characters; they were flawed and although Adrian's brooding cryptic behavior was depressing I found myself rooting for him. I don't want to give anything away because the previewed synopsis to the book sums it up; I will say that the title definitely fits the bill. I look forward to reading the next installment in this series and reading the rest of Ms. Dawn's books. There are some very sensual love scenes and several sex scenes, mention of drugs and drinking throughout, and cussing. The cover shown is the original one I received with the ARC however the new cover is better.     :)

New Cover

Happy New Year!

I am back! Temporarily but I am back. I am posting as many reviews of ARC's that I have managed to read after months of electronic hell. Computer crashing, Kindle dying, and phone freezing issues however I managed to somehow keep my wits and notes together. Thank you for your patience with me and hopefully this will be a better year!

 Apologies to NetGalley and those authors that sent me their books, reviews are on their way! 

Leave of Absence

I apologize to my faithful followers and to NetGalley for taking an unexpected leave of absence. I had a car accident and then I had another one. In the midst of dealing with the insurance company and getting injured my Kindle completely went out with all my books including books for reviews that I had, our PC at home crashed and my son dropped my phone and since then it won't charge properly and freezes every time I try to load a page off the internet. Suffice to say I am electronically without at this time and am borrowing a laptop to write this apology.  I will try and download my books again and try to catch up with my reviews soon! 

Thanks for your time and patience.

Review That Time I Joined a Circus by J. J. Howard

An Different Kind of Read

That Time I Joined the Circus is the story of a teen girl's journey of self-discovery when she is met with tragedy and has to travel to look for her mother in a circus.

I received this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

O.k. this book really through me for a loop, overall I liked it. I really appreciated the story line, the writer's descriptions of the circus life, and the characters however I just felt like I was playing catch up through out the whole book.  The story is written in the present and past simultaneously by alternating chapters in the protagonist, "Lexi", "Xandra", or "X's" voice leading up to her tragedy. I kept having to go back and forth to read things and although the concept is brilliant, I just think the execution was off.  I identified with the characters to a certain extent but I just couldn't seem to keep that connection through out. There is an insinuated sex scene but no details and some sweet love scenes. I love the cover. Overall an interesting although different kind of read.

3 Stars out of 5 Stars

Review of Our Song by Jordanna Fraiberg

A Decent Read

Our Song is a YA contemporary romance novel about a girl who hears a mysterious melody in her head after being revived in a near fatal car accident.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley. 

The story told in Olive's POV, was intriguing up until three-quarters of the way into the book. After much awaited and drawn out suspense regarding why Olive was hearing the mysterious melody and who this mysterious boy Nick was, it became a little muddled. I felt like the author lost her train of thought for a moment then suddenly re-focused once again on what she was trying to convey. And although I really enjoyed Olive's personal growth through her life affirming experiences with Nick, there were certain scenes in the book where it was a little confusing like certain things were omitted or maybe time just transcended when Olive and Nick were together? I do have to say that in the end the story did pleasantly surprise me by not turning out the way I expected it to. 

The characters were well developed although some behavior was a bit tiresome; knowing someone personally who went through this, I found myself empathizing with the characters. The writing was a little rushed at times and at others a little confusing but I think it was the author's way of giving us a glimpse of Olive's state of mind as she goes through her NDE(Near Death Experience). It was a ARC so some formatting issues were present but not enough to make a difference in the reading experience. There is mention of sex with one sex scene described in a technical way and drinking. The cover is fitting. All in all a decent read.

3 Stars out of 5 Stars