Review: Sticks & Stones by Abigail Roux and Madeleine Urban

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Sticks & Stones
Series: Cut & Run #2
Author(s): Abigail Roux, Madeleine Urban

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Six months after nearly losing their lives to a serial killer in New York City, FBI Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett are suffering through something almost as frightening: the monotony of desk duty. 

When they’re ordered to take a vacation for the good of everyone’s sanity, Ty bites the bullet and takes Zane home with him to West Virginia, hoping the peace and quiet of the mountains will give them the chance to explore the explosive attraction they’ve so far been unable to reconcile with their professional partnership. 

Ty and Zane, along with Ty’s father and brother, head up into the Appalachian mountains for a nice, relaxing hike deep into the woods… where no one will hear them scream. 

They find themselves facing danger from all directions: unpredictable weather, the unrelenting mountains, wild animals, fellow hikers with nothing to lose, and the most terrifying challenge of all. 

Each other.

MY THOUGHTS

Sticks & Stones is the second book in the Cut & Run series by authors Abigail Roux and Madeleine Urban.

You hear that? That thump-thump-thump like Bambi’s heartbeat when running from the hunter? That would be my heart after finishing this book.

Is it from the suspense? Yes.
Is it from the sexy times? Yes.
Is it from the ending that wreaked havoc on my emotions? Yes.

Instead of going through the details of book — especially since it has been out and reviewed like crazy already — I am just going to touch base on the characters and small parts of the story.

Ty — My heart aches for this man.  At the beginning of this series, I was unsure about him.  I thought he was going to be this big jackass that would never show any type of emotion except smart ass and douche. Boy was I wrong.  The first book had me pining for him but this second book had my heart breaking for this man.  At the end of the mountain journey, I almost cried at the moment he realized he loved Zane.  Then when he tried to tell him, the tears kept on coming.  Emotions like this is why I am totally Team Ty!

Zane — For some reason, I wasn’t feeling much good about Zane in this one.  He was sexy and brought his A-game with the witty banter, but I couldn’t make the connection with him.  I think it is because of his wavering decisions and at times his misplaced anger.  Zane has problems and inner demons, but Ty’s brother summed it up perfectly.

“See, some people, they’re sticky like Velcro. You’re sticky. Your problems stick to you like fuzzballs from the laundry; you take them everywhere with you and people can see them plain as day. Ty, he’s like spandex. Nothing sticks to him, and he’s shiny on the outside” 

Deacon, AKA Deuce — *wags finger* You naughty boy.  I loved Deuce probably so much because he is so much like his brother Ty.  While he can give as good as he gets, he also has a great relationship with his brother.  Then the ending scene where he is on the phone with a pivotal player in the series left me with my jaw open and wanting to slap him for it.  I am curious to see how that is going to go down if it ever comes to be known by Ty and Zane.

Mara, Chester and Earl — Ty’s mother, grandfather and father were great.  Mara was the tender but feisty mama bear that watched out for her family.  Chester was a laugh-out-loud a minute.  I don’t think I laughed that hard in a long time when he chopped up the water hose because he thought it was a snake.  He was grouchy and I wished he would have been in more scenes.  Earl was a great character and I am curious to see his reaction in the future when his son Ty shares his feelings about Zane.

Overall, I am anxious to read book three in this series.  I can’t wait to devour it and get deeper into the story of Ty and Zane.  I just need to hope that my heart can take it!

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!

Review: Against the Wall by Julie Prestsater

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Against the Wall
Series: Against the Wall #1
Author: Julie Prestsater

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Shelly Gelson had it all…a job teaching English at Carver High, her best friend, Mel, working by her side and engaged to her high school sweetheart, Chase Marino. That is until Chase breaks her heart and leaves her for another teacher at the school. Now Shel is left broken hearted and trying to figure out what she wants while watching Chase and the home wrecker make moon eyes at each other. 

Enter Matt Fuller, Shel’s friend for the past 5 years and the perfect rebound. He’s gorgeous, smart, funny and fits into Shel’s idea of the right guy. Only problem is there may be more there then just a simple rebound. Is it a way to fill a void left by Chase, or is there more smoldering between these two friends? 

Find out what happens when the bell rings and the teenage drama ends and the adult drama begins. Who says being a teacher is boring? They obviously haven’t met the teachers at Carver High.

MY THOUGHTS

Against the Wall by Julie Prestsater is the first book in the Against the Wall series.

This was offered as a Kindle freebie and I had high hopes for it.  Most of the reviews I have read were fairly good ratings for this book.  The first half of this book had me laughing so hard my sides hurt.  I think I shared and highlighted so many passages in this book before the fifty percent mark that my Kindle is probably overloaded from hitting the share button.  Unfortunately, I am the small number of people to say that the humor was the only thing going for this read.

Shelly has broken up with her fiance after he dumps her for another teacher at Carver High.  They are both teachers at the school, so they will still see each other on a daily basis.  Summer, the girl Chase dumps Shelly for, is also a teacher at Carver High.  When her best friend Melissa — or aka Mel — pushes her to start dating again, she finally starts falling for fellow teacher Matt Fuller.

This book had a great potential with the plot.  It could have been wonderful due to the witty dialogue and quick wit that the author writes.  When it came to Shelly, she wasn’t too bad of a character.  She was funny, acted like she could be a person the reader could sympathize with, but she had no spark.  She was kind of dull at times and needed to move on already.  She explains that she had a on-again-off-again relationship with Chase until they became engaged.  They didn’t act like an actual couple though through Shelly’s memories.  We don’t even get to read much about their previous relationship – just bits and pieces.

Matt was a confusing character.  One minute I like him, the next I was wondering what the heck is this man thinking. All of a sudden we are suppose to believe that he is in love with Shelly but he also sets her up on dates with other men and says that it doesn’t bother him.  This is just one example of his confusing behavior.

When it came to Mel, she was a riot.  I really enjoyed her little side story and drama with her relationship and best friend support.  The only thing I didn’t like was how she kept reminding us she was married, then would go out to the bar with Shelly and then complain about her husband never being home. Oh, and be prepared to get an education on beer in this book.  That was another downfall. I think I know more about the different types of beer now than ever.

While there were plenty of humorous moments in this book, the pacing and characters were dull and flat at times.  I am curious though to read the next book in the series though just to see more of the side characters of this book.

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

Review: The Gamble by Kristen Ashley

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The Gamble
Series: Colorado Mountain #1
Author: Kristen Ashley

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Nina Sheridan’s on a timeout adventure in the Colorado Mountains. She needs distance from her clueless fiancé, distance to decide whether she wants to spend the rest of her life with a man who doesn’t care enough to learn how she takes her coffee.

Arriving in a blinding snowstorm at the A-Frame she rented, she comes face to face with the most amazing man she’s ever seen. Minutes later, when he kicks her out of his house, she goes head to head with him.

Beyond angry because she’s flown half a world away to start her timeout adventure, not to mention her sinuses hurt, she heads back down the mountain and ends up in a ditch. Unable to extricate herself, she gives up, hopes for rescue and falls asleep in the backseat.

The next morning she wakes up in the amazing man’s bed and she’s sick as a dog.

Holden Maxwell spends days nursing her back to health and then he spends the next two weeks trying to convince her to take her Colorado adventure further, in other words, make it permanent and take a gamble on him.

Nina has a tough time fighting her attraction to Max, especially when it seems all Max’s friends, her mother and stepdad and the whole town want them together and both she and Max get embroiled in the murder of Max’s ex-friend and the town of Gnaw Bone’s most detested resident – a man everyone has motive to kill, especially Max.

MY THOUGHTS

The Gamble is the first book in the Colorado Mountain series by Kristen Ashley.

First of all, if you have never read anything by author Kristen Ashley, you won’t understand the addiction of her books.  For those of you who have, I am sure you know what I mean when I say that her books are like crack for book addicts.  Sometimes you are rolling your eyes and shaking your head at the story, but you just can’t put the book down.  The Gamble was an addictive indulgence that helped ease my Kristen Ashley addiction.

Max is not a happy camper when he realizes that Nina is suppose to be renting his cabin for a few weeks.  When he is out of town for months on a construction job, he usually rents his cabin out for extra income.  When Nina refuses Max’s offer of a refund and a gruff apology, she is mad and according to Max — cute.  What follows is both of them sharing his cabin, many disagreements, sexy times that were hot, a murder in town, a fast relationship, mystery, and tons of characters. (Wow look at the length of that sentence! I must have KA fever!)

As you can see by the above sentence, Kristen Ashley books always have certain characteristics that set them apart from other books.  With run-on sentences, weird dialect (usually with the male characters), repeated ‘Yeah’s’ on almost every page, and hot male leads with the female leads giving as good as they get, you can’t help but keep reading and needing to know what is going to happen. I think my only real complaint is the length of the book.  I think it could have been cut in half — with the murderer revealed sooner — and it still would have been just as great.

The Gamble was a great way to get my fix for her writing and I can’t wait to continue in the Colorado Mountain series!

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!

REVIEW: A Man For The Summer by Ruby Laska

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A Man For The Summer
Author: Ruby Laska

SUMMARY
(From Godreads)

Dentist Junior Atkinson left her tiny home town to see if she would fit in better in the big city.

She definitely didn’t.

Now she’s back, living in the house she grew up in, friendly with every citizen of the two-stoplight town. Things couldn’t be more wonderful. Well, maybe if her patients paid her regularly.

If there was an eligible man in a fifty-mile radius.

If she hadn’t just been told that a medical condition meant she had only a few more fertile months despite her tender age of twenty-eight.

Junior barely has time to digest this news when she finds hunky travel writer Griff Ross in her chair with a hell of a toothache.

MY THOUGHTS

A Man For The Summer was offered as a free read on Amazon and I am a sucker for free reads.  Sometimes the free reads are like little gems and sometimes they can be not so pretty.

The first two or so chapters had real potential.  We have Griff Ross who ends up in Junior Atkinson’s office for a toothache.  The banter between the main and side characters was amusing, engaging and flickered with sparks.  After those few chapters though, the book fizzled and never took off.  I was bored and shaking my head at Junior’s behavior.  Not only that, but Griff comes across as gruff and stand offish at first then does a complete turnaround the next day.

The pace of the story was also an issue for me.  It would move fast – like how they meet one day and sleep together the next – then it would drag out and make my finger twitch wanting to hit the button for the next page.

While this book wasn’t a complete loss — even if it was a free read — it wasn’t one I would consider memorable or wanting to read more of.  One to take it as is being a book to pass some time without having high expectations.

MY RATING

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

Review: Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost

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Twice Tempted
Series: Night Prince #2
Author: Jeaniene Frost
*Review based on ARC copy*

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Dating the Prince of Darkness has its challenges…

Leila’s psychic abilities have been failing her, and now she isn’t sure what the future holds. If that weren’t enough, her lover, Vlad, has been acting distant. Though Leila is a mere mortal, she’s also a modern woman who refuses to accept the cold shoulder treatment forever–especially from the darkly handsome vampire who still won’t admit that he loves her.

Like choosing between eternal love and a loveless eternity…

Soon circumstances send Leila back to the carnival circuit, where tragedy strikes. And when she finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer who may be closer than she realizes, Leila must decide who to trust– the fiery vampire who arouses her passions like no other or the tortured knight who longs to be more than a friend? With danger stalking her every step of the way, all it takes is one wrong move to damn her for eternity.

MY THOUGHTS

Twice Tempted in the second book in the Night Prince series by Jeaniene Frost.

When this ARC copy arrived in my mailbox I screamed like a little girl.  My neighbors looked at me funny.  My dogs took cover thinking I was finally losing it.  My family even wondered if I had finally lost it.  Vlad, oh-sweet-lord-above-Vlad, how you love to mess with my heart.

Leila has finally had it with Vlad when we pick up shortly after the last book ended.  She decides that if Vlad can’t admit his feelings for her and express them with three little words, then obviously she isn’t worth enough to keep.  When he can’t give them to her, he lets her walk away from him. There is actually quite a bit that happens between the beginning and when she leaves, but I am not going to reveal too much so that it won’t spoil the book for you.  I will say that someone close to Vlad — and a previous character in the series — does stick around her and tries to keep her safe.  This person also tries to make her see that Vlad is not the one she should love.

When Leila returns home to the carnival, she doesn’t get to resume her previous life though.  Someone is hunting her and keeping one step ahead in the plot to kill her.  When the carnival is rigged with a bomb, Vlad is led to believe that Leila is dead at first.  A grieving Vlad is not a Vlad to mess with.  Although as scary as Vlad can be, Leila has a backbone that is just as strong. When she falls asleep, she is somehow connecting with Vlad.  At first she thinks it is a dream, but later on we find out it was real.  So thinking Vlad is just a dream, she lets her backbone stand at full attention with him.

His brows drew together like thunderclouds.  “Enough of this.  Tell me where you are.”
I almost said, “South Bend, Indiana” because what was the harm in telling Dream Vlad?  Then I paused. Why would I gratify Dream Vlad, either?
“I’m at the corner of None of Your Business and Screw You.”
–Leila with Vlad, page 95 in ARC copy

Needless to say, Vlad does finally catch up to Leila and he is not a happy camper folks.  He is ‘fuming’ — pun intended.  Even with Vlad angry though, Leila insists on pushing the subject of him not returning her love.
Vlad tries in his own words to explain his hesitation though.

“You see, you don’t want me to love you.  You want the version you’ve made up.  The knight, even though I’m the dragon and I always will be.”
–Vlad to Leila, page 169 in ARC copy

With Vlad walking away from her, Leila is determined to know everything about him so she can prove to love the real Vlad just as much.  Using her powers, she enters the Weapon’s Room that holds pieces of his past on display.  With each touch, she sees horrors of Vlad’s past.  With her powers being on the fritz though, she overloads her body and Vlad finds her just as she collapse’s. Before she passes out and goes into full arrest, she tells Vlad that she loves the real Vlad.

After she recovers, we are treated with Chapter 29.  Now let me point out that something MAJOR happens between Vlad and Leila, between her power surge collapse and this chapter.  After that major event, author Jeaniene Frost gives the readers something that is so gloriously good, that it will be rated up there with Chapter 32 in her Night Huntress series.  Loyal fans will know what I am referencing when I say Chapter 32.  While it may not out rank Chapter 32, Vlad and Leila’s Chapter 29 will tie pretty close with it.  All I can say is be prepared for scorching, sexy, and combustible!  Whew!

Again, after this hot chapter, many things happen.  The author doesn’t hold out when she comes out swinging with surprises and plot twists.  Some readers will cheer for some things, other things the readers will be shocked about.  All I can say is that Vlad will always be Vlad even in tender and quiet moments.  Just remember that he is feared for a reason, and the author makes sure to give very detailed imagery for you.  This book has a darker and bloody side, so be prepared.  While some things are resolved at the end of this book, there are still loose ends that will need to be addressed in the next book.  All I can say is bring it on Ms. Frost!

MY FAVORITE QUOTE

“This place stinks.”
“Did the guards forget to spray Febreze?”  Vlad asked in mock indignation.  Then he gave me a jaded look.  “It’s a dungeon, Leila.  They’re supposed to smell.”
Mission accomplished.  The stench might have actually killed my new appetite.  If Hell could fart, it would smell like this.
–Leila and Vlad, page 287 in ARC copy

MY RATING

Outstanding book that will stay on my bookshelf for rereading!