Review: Heat of the Moment by Elle Kennedy

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Heat of the Moment
Series: Out of Uniform #1
Author: Elle Kennedy

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

In this heat wave, anything and everything goes. A Red-Hot Summer story. Shelby Harper has lusted over Navy SEAL John Garrett for over a year, but no matter how many sexy signals she sends out, the man shows a complete lack of interest in getting naked. Then she overhears Garrett talking to his SEAL teammate–a discussion in which they conclude she’s vanilla. Stung, Shelby sets out to show them exactly how un-vanilla she is. 

Garrett can’t believe it when sweet, sexy Shelby suggests a wild and sweaty menage. He’s been trying to figure out how to ask her out without coming off as a guy who only wants to get in her pants–her friendship is too valuable to him to risk it. But if a crazy, heat-wave three-way is what Shelby wants, then he’s ready and willing to give it to her. 

Once she gets it out of her system, however…well, then he’ll let her know he wants her all to himself.

MY THOUGHTS

Heat of the Moment is the first book in the Out of Uniform series by author Elle Kennedy.

If you are looking for a full length novel, look elsewhere.  This novella is just that — a short story.  It comes in  at 78 pages according to Amazon and I want to mention that it is even shorter than that since the last 10 percent maybe of the book is previews for other stories.

This is a sexy and short M/F/M menage read.  The main couple is John Garrett and Shelby Harper with the third person involved is Carson Scott. After pining for each other for a year, Shelby finally invites John and Carson up to her place after closing time.  She had the cafe open during a heat wave for the service men and she over hears Carson and John talking about how vanilla Shelby probably is.  Shelby is convinced to show them how un-vanilla she is by acting out her fantasy of two men at one time.

I really enjoyed this short story and the writer made it believable.  While Carson was more of a third wheel in the story, he was a pivotal player in getting these two together.  Even though it does feature instant love after one night together with a small glitch of insecurities, I could actually see these two people together for the long haul.

While it was in no means a book that will be above others, I will say that this short story was a great start to being introduced to this author for the first time.  If this had been a full length novel, I am sure it would have rated higher in my opinion. New readers of this author will get a quick thrill with John and Shelby and will be wanting to follow it up with the next novella in the series.

MY RATING
Okay book, but it left me wanting more!

Review: Raid by Kristen Ashley

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Raid
Series: Unfinished Heroes #3
Author: Kristen Ashley

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Hanna Boudreaux has lived in the small town of Willow, Colorado all her life. The great-granddaughter of the town matriarch, she’s sweet, cute and quiet.

Too quiet.

Hanna has a moment of epiphany when she realizes her crush for forever, Raiden Ulysses Miller, is not ever going to be hers. She sees her life as narrow and decides to do something about it.

Raiden Miller is the town of Willow’s local hero. An ex-marine with the medal to prove his hero status, he comes home, shrouded in mystery. It takes a while but, eventually, Hanna catches his eye.

But after all these years of Raid and Hanna living in the same town, the question is, why? Is Raid interested in Hanna because she’s sweet and cute? Or does Raid have something else going on?

MY THOUGHTS

Raid is the third book in the Unfinished Heroes series by author Kristen Ashley.  The two main characters in this book are Hanna Boudreaux and Raiden Miller.

This first book in this series titled Knight was a disappointment to me.
The second book in this series titled Creed was better, but it wasn’t perfect.
After waiting not-so-patiently for the third book titled Raid, I was hoping it would climb to the peak and be the one in that saved the day. Unfortunately, this book was not as great as I was hoping.

First things first though.  Let’s talk about the characters and the chemistry.  Raid, in my opinion, was my least favorite of all the Unfinished Heroes.  Knight was creepy because of his “Daddy” slang and Creed was just okay but sexy.  Raid was a jerk and hovered on that line of asshole and alpha man.  There were times where he could be swoon worthy and sexy, but then he would step over that line into jerks-are-us territory.  Seriously, if he had called me a name and treated me the way he treated Hanna, there would have to be serious groveling including jewelry, begging on knees and a florist shop in my living room.  This particular scene was one of the main reasons I didn’t like him.  Yes he us dealing with PTSD, but that is no excuse.  I was willing to overlook the “dream” incidents, but that bordered on verbal abuse to me.  When Hanna brings it up with her best friend, she basically tells Hanna that this is alpha-man material. Not in my book.

Moving on.  I am also disappointed in the lack of action and suspense with this installment.  There is a scene near the end where it just starts to get good.  The bad guys seem like they are going to come out of the woodwork, but when it finishes we don’t even get to see Raid really do the action part of it. I wanted to see some serious bad guy beating and see Raid get into the bad-ass role he was suppose to have. I felt cheated when this doesn’t go down.

I will also mention that this book was shorter than the other books.  With Kristen Ashley you expect some long books with stuff that could be cut out.  Well, it seems she did that and cut out major parts of the story though.  I wanted more. I couldn’t believe it when my Kindle told me that the book was complete.

While others have raved about this story and have even liked it above the others, I have to say that it wasn’t one of my favorites by this author.  I will continue to read the series for the simple fact that Kristen Ashley is like crack for book addicts, but I won’t be getting my hopes up as high as I did this time.

MY RATING

If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it!

Review: Creed by Kristen Ashley

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Creed
Series: Unfinished Heroes #2
Author: Kristen Ashley

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Way too young, eleven year old Tucker Creed and his six year old neighbor, Sylvie Bissenette, find they have something awful in common. Creed then decides he’s going to do everything in his limited power to shield his Sylvie from her ordeal. So he does and Creed and Sylvie form a bond that grows and blossoms with their ages.

They plot to leave their lives behind, the town they live in that will hold them down and the histories they share that, unless they break free, will bury them. Sylvie goes to their special place, Creed never shows and she doesn’t see him again until it’s too late.

With Creed gone, Sylvie is forced to endure a nightmare and do the unspeakable to end it. To deal, she develops a hard shell with sharp edges that very few can break through. So when Creed again finds his Sylvie, he discovers the girl he loved is locked away and he has to find his way back into her heart without getting shredded in the process.

MY THOUGHTS

Creed is the second book in the Unfinished Heroes series by author Kristen Ashley.

This book was by far much better than Knight.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the first book in this series titled Knight, but since Kristen Ashley is an addiction that you can’t quit, I had to read it anyway.  The writing in this one was so much better and I didn’t have to reread what was being said over and over again. In Knight it seemed like he had a language all of his own, but with Creed it was sexy and dare I say, normal. Not only that, but the word ‘Daddy’ didn’t come out of Creed’s mouth once so that was a major plus in this story.

Creed was sexy and bad ass.  I loved his character and whenever we were treated with a chapter from his POV, I wanted to read it several times just to imagine his sexy voice in my head.  Creed is not only the title of this book, but he is also the star who stole the show.  I couldn’t get enough of him.

Sylvie wasn’t really a character I enjoyed.  Don’t get me wrong — I love kick ass heroine’s.  It just seemed like the author tried to hard to make the reader believe she was kick ass, but I just wasn’t feeling it for some reason.

Yes, the same holds true with Creed as it does with every Kristen Ashley book.  There are run on sentences, editing flaws and over the top characters, but this is the authors signature in my opinion.  It makes it apart of the whole reason her books are so addictive. While this series still isn’t one of my favorites,  I can tell the author has grown in her story telling and character development. I can’t wait to dive into the third book that recently released featuring a character named Raid.  My family will miss me while I read it for hours, but I will continue to get my fix of Kristen Ashley.

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!

Review: Rush by Maya Banks

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Rush
Series: Breathless #1
Author: Maya Banks

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Gabe, Jace, and Ash: three of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the country. They’re accustomed to getting anything they want. Anything at all. For Gabe, it’s making one particular fantasy come true with a woman who was forbidden fruit. Now she’s ripe for the picking…

When Gabe Hamilton saw Mia Crestwell walk into the ballroom for his hotel’s grand opening, he knew he was going to hell for what he had planned. After all, Mia is his best friend’s little sister. Except she’s not so little anymore. And Gabe has waited a long time to act on his desires.

Gabe has starred in Mia’s fantasies more than once, ever since she was a teenager with a huge crush on her brother’s best friend. So what if Gabe’s fourteen years older? Mia knows he’s way out of her league, but her attraction has only grown stronger with time. She’s an adult now, and there’s no reason not to act on her most secret desires.

As Gabe pulls her into his provocative world, she realizes there’s a lot she doesn’t know about him or how exacting his demands can be. Their relationship is intense and obsessive, but as they cross the line from secret sexual odyssey to something deeper, their affair runs the risk of being exposed—and vulnerable to a betrayal far more intimate than either expected.

MY THOUGHTS

Rush by Maya Banks is the first book the Breathless series.  The main characters in this book are Gabe Hamilton and Mia Crestwell.

As I sit here contemplating with how to put my feelings of this book into words, I also have the urge to build a fence around myself because of all the mixed reactions that are being said about it.  I just know people with torches are going to come light a fire and throw me to the flames.  On the other hand, there might be enough supporters out there that would put the fire out and rescue me like a damsel in distress.  Either way, I am going to share my thoughts and maybe I can make my escape before you grab the matches.

I will say that Gabe is one cold man for the first half of this book. He is demanding, emotionally closed off, and has the power to bring his enemies to the floor groveling with just one look.  We do get little insights and the ‘why’ of his personality and the reasons behind the famous contract’s he uses.  I can understand his intense need to protect not only himself, but others that could be involved, even if it does seem a bit extreme.

Gabe is also a billionaire who is in business with two of his best friends.  Ash has to be my favorite so far of the three even though this book focused on Gabe.  Ash is the charmer and the man that explores the threesome’s with Jace.  Jace is the smooth talker and the one that will close a deal while having a little fun on the side with Ash.

Enter Mia Crestwell.  She is Jace’s little sister that he has spoiled and taken care of since the death of their parents years ago.  He provides everything for her including an apartment, money and even paying for her college.  While she appreciates everything Jace has done for her, she still doesn’t know what to do with her degrees from college and is working in a bakery to try and stand on her own feet.

While there were plenty of naughty and intense scenes in this book, I loved the tender moments between Mia and Gabe the most.  When Gabe would open up to Mia and share things that he hadn’t shared with many others, you could feel his emotions and the struggle this Alpha-man was going through.  While he is clearly a Dominant man in the all aspects of his life, you could tell that Mia was his soft spot and was going to be the one who would bring him to his knees.  I especially loved her backbone when it came to the climax of her brother finding out.  Of course, I was also appalled at the way her brother finds out — and the scene was the only reason I lowered the rating from a 5 to a 4 rating. Only because of the abrupt way it happens when we are finally getting an emotional sexy scene from Gabe and Mia.

Now many people have mentioned a scene that happens around the 70% mark in this book.  It is something that many didn’t agree with and wanted to stop with the journey when they read it.  While I won’t spoil this scene in sharing the details of it, I will say that I am glad the author turned it around bringing Gabe back to his senses.  If he wouldn’t have changed halfway through that scene, I probably would have stopped as well.

While the ending had enough sappiness that I was looking for maple trees around me, I still enjoyed it. It was sweet and over the top, but it wasn’t so bad that it made me want to dance around in a field of flowers.  Personally, this a series I am already in love with and can’t wait for the next book in the series.

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!

Review: Vacant by Evelyn R. Baldwin

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Vacant
(Adult Version reviewed)
Author: Evelyn R. Baldwin

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)


Ethan Parker gets up every day, surviving the only way he knows how—alone. Orphaned as a child and forced into the child welfare system, he knows better than to depend on anyone but himself. He’s learned trust is a word used all too often, but rarely earned. Ethan believes that his best chance for maintaining a simple and solitary existence is to live by a simple mantra: Don’t get involved. Keep things simple. Take care of yourself! 

When a young woman moves in next door, Ethan is forced to reevaluate his beliefs. He tries to keep his distance, but his new neighbor’s infectious smile and outlook on life leave him struggling with the decision of living the life he knows, or taking a chance on the unexpected. As Ethan develops a relationship with his new neighbor, Emily, he realizes nothing is simple and learns that life is about more than just surviving… it’s about living.

**This version contains sexual content only suitable for adult audiences.

MY THOUGHTS

I am reviewing the Adult Version of this book but there is also a clean version for the young adult crowd.  Vacant by author Evelyn R. Baldwin was a book I heard about on another blog and it sounded interesting to me.  When I purchased it at $3.99, I forgot to check out the page numbers like I usually do when purchasing e-books.  I am a firm believer that if your book is a short story/novella that is coming in under 100 pages, then the price should be no more than $1.99.  This is a personal decision, but I was a little bit disappointed in myself for not realizing that I paid $3.99 for a book that only came in at 85 pages according to Amazon.

**personal rant over…on with the review**

I have to say that I really enjoyed this short story.  I loved how Ethan came from a hard life but still had the compassion and love in his heart still to take in Emily when she was needing it.  I liked the slow build-up of their romance and the way the pace was in it.  Even though it was short, and the characters grow from months to years even, I think if the author had made this longer it would have been just words to fill the pages to make a word count.  The only part that felt rushed was the last two or so chapters.  I know that short stories need to wrap up fairly quickly, but the rushed ending was like a sprint for the finish line to make the reader happy after all the good we just read earlier.  Again, this was the adult version with their being adult like scenes of sex.  I am assuming that in the clean version, the author might have reworked those scenes or possibly cut them out.  I am not sure which so be prepared when you purchase to get the one that you prefer.

Even though the ending wasn’t what I would have wanted lengthwise, I still thought this book was written wonderfully.  The author has a great voice, one that kept me interested and wanting more.  I am currently eyeing a few of her previous works for future reads, but I am hoping they will be longer so I can enjoy it for a longer amount of reading time.

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!