Author Archives: Kristin

Review: Bound by Flames by Jeaniene Frost

17 June, 2019 12:22 am , 3 Comments ,

Bound by Flames
(Night Prince #3)
by Jeaniene Frost
Publisher: Avon
Publication date: Jan. 17, 2015
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating:

Play with fire, pay the price.

Leila’s years on the carnie circuit were certainly an education. What she didn’t learn: how to be a vampire, or how to be married to the most famous vampire of them all. Adjusting to both has Leila teetering on a knife edge between passion and peril, and now the real danger is about to begin…

Vlad must battle with a centuries-old enemy whose reach stretches across continents and whose strength equals his own. It isn’t like Vlad to feel fear, but he does…for Leila, because his enemy knows she is Vlad’s greatest weakness. As friend and foe alike align against him—and his overprotectiveness drives Leila away—Vlad’s love for his new bride could be the very thing that dooms them both…

 

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Posted in: Paranormal Romance , Tagged: ,

Review: Sweet Wild of Mine by Laurel Kerr

14 June, 2019 12:57 am , 3 Comments ,

Sweet Wild of Mine
(Where the Wild Hearts Are #2)
by Laurel Kerr
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication date: May 28, 2019
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Love runs wild at the Sagebrush Flats Zoo…

In a bid to revitalize his career, bestselling author Magnus Gray has come to Sagebrush Flats to write about the local zoo’s latest rescue―an orphaned baby polar bear. But Magnus dreads the drama of small towns and is bullishly determined to keep to himself.

June Winters is a people person, and delights in welcoming Magnus to Sagebrush Flats, though it seems unlikely she can get the handsome stranger to crack a smile. Then a mishap with an open gate forces Magnus and June to deal with a stampeding flock of fainting goats, an adorable but clingy polar bear cub, a cranky pregnant camel, and two star-crossed honey badgers. Never mind small town drama―the lively animals may just convince these two that opposites really do attract…

 

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Sneak Peek Wednesday: Rules We’re Meant to Break by Natalie Williamson (Giveaway)

12 June, 2019 12:06 am , 3 Comments ,

Rules We’re Meant to Break
by Natalie Williamson
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Publication date: June 11, 2019
Genre: Young Adult Romance

Rule #1: Don’t get attached.

Amber lives by strict rules to survive her mother’s love life: Always keep your eyes on the horizon and never get close to anyone connected to Mom’s boyfriends.

But after they move in with Kevin, the latest of her mom’s “soul mates,” the rules become increasingly difficult to follow. Kevin’s daughter, Cammie, keeps acting like Amber’s friend, even though she’s definitely not. And Jordan—star basketball player, hottest boy in school, and Cammie’s best friend—keeps showing up at the most inconvenient moments.

Amber has reasons for every one of her rules, and following them is the only way to protect her heart when her mom inevitably moves on. But as she spends more time with Kevin, his daughter, and especially Jordan, she starts to wonder if the rules might be worth breaking this time.

 

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Posted in: Excerpt, YA Romance , Tagged: ,

Review: The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

7 June, 2019 6:58 am , 4 Comments ,

The Bride Test
by Helen Hoang
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: May 7, 2019
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.

As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.

With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.

 

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Sneak Peek Wednesday: The Light: Houston, Texas by Joe M. Solomon (Giveaway)

5 June, 2019 7:56 am , 4 Comments ,

The Light: Houston, Texas
by Joe M. Solomon
Publisher: NES Publishing
Publication date: June 11, 2019
Genre: Dystopian

March Madness has begun and college basketball playoffs are heating up, not that Robert Walker—a graduate student from Texas—particularly cares. He has decided to skip classes for the day, sleep in, and get some rest. Unfortunately, a brief spat on the phone with his fiancée makes that impossible. Hoping to take his mind off of it, he scans through TV channels in search of entertainment and instead finds one news report after another that warns of violence erupting in the streets.

People are randomly and savagely attacking one another all along the East Coast from Maine to Florida. Some speculate it may be related to strange lights that have appeared in the sky above the outbreaks. Before any solid conclusions can be drawn, however, the brutality spreads, sweeping across the country until it hits Houston, then proceeds on to the West Coast. Robert, a handful of classmates, and a few others manage to survive the first wave and find themselves in the midst of civilization’s blackest hour, surrounded by pandemonium, bloodshed, and masses of people who have been stripped of their humanity. Hours later, as those strange lights continue to dominate the sky, the vicious horde undergoes a new transformation.

There is no escaping the horror. Unable to reach his fiancée by phone, Robert sets out to find her, joined by a small ensemble of fellow survivors. The thirty-five miles they must cover are fraught with danger, and their terror grows with each step they take as they witness the genesis of a new Earth. Can they find a way to stop it? Will they even survive it?

 

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Posted in: Excerpt

Review: Puppy Love by Lucy Gilmore

3 June, 2019 7:47 am , 5 Comments ,

Puppy Love
(Service Puppies #1)
by Lucy Gilmore
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication date: May 28, 2019
Genre: Romance
Rating:

A brand new series from debut author Lucy Gilmore, featuring service puppies who might just be matchmakers in the making…

Sophie Vasquez runs Puppy Promise, a service puppy training organization. Sophie’s always been treated as the frail baby of the family—a thing she hates but doesn’t know how to change. Until, that is, she meets her newest client.

Harrison Parks is a wildfire firefighter who isn’t allowed back in the field unless he finds a service dog. Reluctantly, he agrees, never expecting to be assigned a skittish Pomeranian and the equally skittish woman who’s supposed to wrangle them both into order. As it turns out, they all have something to prove…and more than enough room in their hearts for a little puppy love.

 

 

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Sneak Peek Wednesday: The Missing Season by Gillian French (Giveaway)

29 May, 2019 8:46 am , 5 Comments ,

The Missing Season
by Gillian French
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publishing date: May 21, 2019
Genre: Young Adult Mystery Thriller

Whenever another kid goes missing in October, the kids in the old factory town of Pender know what is really behind it: a monster out in the marshes that they call the Mumbler.

That’s what Clara’s new crew tells her when she moves to town. Bree and Sage, who take her under their wing. Spirited Trace, who has taken the lead on this year’s Halloween prank war. And magnetic Kincaid, whose devil-may-care attitude and air of mystery are impossible for Clara to resist.

Clara doesn’t actually believe in the Mumbler–not like Kinkaid does. But as Halloween gets closer and tensions build in the town, it’s hard to shake the feeling that there really is something dark and dangerous in Pender. Lurking in the shadows. Waiting to bring the stories to life.

 

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Posted in: Excerpt, YA Suspense

Sneak Peek Wednesday: Two Like Me and You by Chad Alan Gibbs

22 May, 2019 12:05 am , 5 Comments ,

Two Like Me and You
by Chad Alan Gibbs
Publisher: Borne Back Books
Publication date: May 20, 2019
Genre: Young Adult

Edwin Green’s ex-girlfriend is famous. We’re talking cover-of-every-tabloid-in-the-grocery-store-line famous. She dumped Edwin one year ago on what he refers to as Black Saturday, and in hopes of winning her back, he’s spent the last twelve months trying to become famous himself. It hasn’t gone well.

But when a history class assignment pairs Edwin with Parker Haddaway, the mysterious new girl at school, she introduces him to Garland Lenox, a nursing-home-bound World War II veteran who will change Edwin’s life forever.

The three escape to France, in search of the old man’s long-lost love, and as word of their adventure spreads, they become media darlings. But when things fall apart, they also become the focus of French authorities. In a race against time, who will find love, and who will only find more heartache?

 

 

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Posted in: Excerpt, YA Contemporary , Tagged:

Review: The Cowboy and His Baby by Jessica Clare

20 May, 2019 12:25 am , 6 Comments ,

The Cowboy and His Baby
by Jessica Clare
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: May 7, 2019
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Dustin is a ranch hand with a reputation around town as a ladies’ man. He loves flirting and the thrill of the chase. When he tilts his cowboy hat just so, no one can resist his charms. It’s all fun and games for Dustin until he meets a woman who sparks real feelings in him, and he’s blindsided by love.

Annie is an animal trainer working on set for a film. Other than her furry, canine coworkers, she hasn’t connected with the rest of the crew working on the movie. It’s only when a certain cowboy catches her eye that Wyoming becomes interesting. She intends for their romance to be a fling, but by the time filming wraps up, she’s unexpectedly pregnant.

While Annie is prepared to walk away and raise her baby by herself, Dustin isn’t so ready to say goodbye. He has to prove to Annie that she has a future in Wyoming and capture her heart before it’s too late.

 

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Review: Real Deal by Piper Rayne

17 May, 2019 12:55 am , 5 Comments ,

Real Deal
(Single Dads Club #1)
by Piper Rayne
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: May 15, 2017
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Red Flags…

Too loud.
Too clingy.
Too much make-up.

I could go on and on. The other guys in the Single Dad’s Club would say I’m obsessed with finding them. But none of their kid’s mothers call a maximum-security prison home either, so their opinions mean shit.

Caterina Santora has her own list of red flags…

She’s too young.
She’s my client’s daughter.
She’s my five-year old’s camp counselor.

Even after repeating this mantra to myself every morning on the way to Lily’s summer camp, guess what happens the moment I see Cat? Yeah, that mantra turns into ride me, doggie style and reverse cowgirl.

Every. Damn. Time.

The fact that she doesn’t remember me from six years before grates on me until I don’t have it in me to leave her alone any longer. I have to have her. But our lives are opposites in every way. In no way compatible.

When we’re together all the complications fade away and I have to keep reminding myself, even if I can have her— I can’t keep her.

 

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