Review: Tangled by Emma Chase

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Tangled
Series: Tangled #1
Author: Emma Chase
Release Date: 8/2/2013

SUMMARY
From Goodreads

Drew Evans is a winner. Handsome and arrogant, he makes multimillion dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women with just a smile. He has loyal friends and an indulgent family. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed?

He’ll tell you he has the flu.

But we all know that’s not really true.

Katherine Brooks is brilliant, beautiful and ambitious. She refuses to let anything – or anyone – derail her path to success. When Kate is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating.

Then, just when Drew is on the cusp of having everything he wants, his overblown confidence threatens to ruin it all. Will he be able untangle his feelings of lust and tenderness, frustration and fulfillment? Will he rise to the most important challenge of his life?

Can Drew Evans win at love?

Tangled is not your mother’s romance novel. It is an outrageous, passionate, witty narrative about a man who knows a lot about women…just not as much as he thinks he knows. As he tells his story, Drew learns the one thing he never wanted in life, is the only thing he can’t live without.

MY THOUGHTS

Tangled is the first book in the Tangled series by Emma Chase.  The main characters are Drew Evans and Katherine Brooks.

Tangled was freaking hilarious!  As a reader, I loved hearing the story unfold from Drew’s point of view.  Yes,  a mans point of view was needed for this book.  Drew was obnoxious, conceited, and full of himself, yet it worked and I fell in love with his character.  Personally, I wasn’t a big fan of Kate in this book, but she started to grow on me with the last half of the story.

While I can say that I laughed out loud too many times to count with this story,  It did feel a little too long and drawn out.  Also, at times it came across as trying too hard to bring the funny and comical dialogue.  This is not to say I didn’t enjoy it, but at times it was “enough is enough”.

If you are looking for a romance from a male point of view — without it being sugar coated and mushy at all times — then give this hilarious read a chance to grace your reading list.  With laugh out loud moments aplenty, you won’t feel so bad about calling it a guilty pleasure buy!

MY RATING
[sc:rate4 ]

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Review: Castle Hill by Samantha Young

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Castle Hill
Series: On Dublin Street #2.5
Author: Samantha Young
Release Date: 12/3/2013

SUMMARY
From Goodreads

A Joss and Braden Novella

Braden Carmichael never imagined he’d fall as hard and as fast as he did for Jocelyn Butler. He also could not have anticipated how difficult it would be to convince her to give in to love. But now that he has her, he’s never letting go. He’s got it all planned—the passionate proposal, the dream wedding, the sexy Hawaiian honeymoon—even the perfect family they’ll start.

After trying to flee from her painful past, Joss is finally allowing herself to embrace the future. But when things start moving faster than she anticipated, she finds herself panicking over something Braden can’t understand. After everything they’ve been through, Joss is sure that their love can survive even her worst fears. But, this time, she may push Braden too far—and risk losing everything all over again…

MY THOUGHTS

Castle Hill is classified as a novella coming in at 97 pages according to Amazon.  It is a short story featuring Joss and Braden from the On Dublin Streets Series.

In Castle Hill, we are taken on a quick paced journey from dating to engaged, to engaged to married, and from married to honeymoon with  juicy story all around.  I loved revisiting Joss and Braden. We get to read how Braden proposes to Joss and the planning of the wedding.  Then we flash to the wedding itself that was beautiful but not overdone in details.  Following the wedding we flash forward just a bit to the honeymoon.  After that wonderful and romantic set of scenes, we flash forward to the juicy part of the story that provides a surprise for the happy couple.  What should be exciting news ends up being the conflict of the story based on a communication misunderstanding.  Unlike before though, it is a misunderstanding  from Braden and he ends up shutting Joss out this time.

If you are looking for a sweet and quick Braden and Joss fix, then this novella is perfect for that.  We even get to see side characters as well from the series to round it all out for the reader.

MY RATING
[sc:rate5 ]

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Review: Wulfe Untamed by Pamela Palmer

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Wulfe Untamed
Author: Pamela Palmer
Series: Feral Warriors #8
Publisher: AVON
Expected Release Date:  1/28/2014

SUMMARY
From Goodreads

They are called Feral Warriors—an elite band of immortals who can change shape at will. Sworn to rid the world of evil, consumed by sorcery and seduction, their wild natures are primed for release…

The most enigmatic and tortured of the Feral Warriors, Wulfe is haunted by the quiet beauty of a human woman who no longer remembers him. Once a captive of both the Mage and the Ferals, Natalie stole a piece of his heart before he took her memories and sent her safely back to her fiancé. But now the Mage are threatening her again, and Wulfe will risk anything to protect her.

Natalie Cash is stunned when she’s saved by a wolf who shifts suddenly into a splendidly built, if badly scarred, man, a man with the kindest eyes. Swept into a world of intrigue and danger beyond her comprehension, she turns to the powerful Wulfe, finding a passion she’d only dreamed of. But when time runs out, they must trust one another and surrender to a wild, untamed love.

MY THOUGHTS

First of all, can we just take a moment to mourn the fact that this is the last book in the Feral Warriors series? Seriously Ms. Palmer? How could you do this to us?!

Now that we have that over with, let us continue on.  Wulfe Untamed is book #8 in the Feral Warriors series by author Pamela Palmer.  The main characters are Wulfe and Natalie Cash.  Characters from previous books are featured as well.

I was anxiously waiting for this book to arrive in my inbox.  I love, love , LOVE this series and the writing.  Ms. Palmer is an amazing author and has created a rich fantasy world featuring these Alpha animal shifters.  While this book could be read as a stand alone if the reader is just dying to start with book eight, I wouldn’t recommend it.  To get the full effect of the world the author created — and the plot itself — starting with book one in the series is best to avoid confusion.

In this book, the Ferals are starting to feel the full effect of the evil created by Satanan and Inir. One by one, the Ferals are losing their animal spirits and are no closer to figuring out how to stop the evil two.  As each warrior loses the animal spirit, Inir is one step closer to releasing Satanan into the human world for mass destruction.  Natalie is involved in this as well now that Wulfe healed her wound in the previous book. She is now a key — or conduit for better understanding — for the Inir and Satanan to use.

While this book was good and one I was looking forward to, I will say that it was quite confusing at times even for someone who has followed this series since book one.  Also, the ending was sort of rushed and not too exciting.  We have this big build up in story for seven books and when we reach the conclusion in book eight, it is resolved too easily and too quickly.

The epilogue was touching and beautiful.  I am sad though that we don’t get to get stories for the other Ferals who had developing stories of their own throughout these books. I need to know what happens to the rest of them! <—- Pay attention Ms. Palmer!!!

Overall the series as a whole was great, amazing and action packed! The book as it is was just okay though with repetitive story, confusion and too quick — if not easy — ending.

MY RATING
[sc:rate4 ]

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Review: Tango Love by Nicole Flockton

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tangolove

 

Tango Love
Author: Nicole Flockton
Publisher: Escape Publishing
Expected Release Date: January 1, 2014

SUMMARY
From Goodreads

A sexy short story about being in love with your best friend — and discovering it takes two to tango.

Melinda Jones has been in love with her housemate, James Brady, since he moved in…but she has no intention of ever telling him. Except it seems James has his own plans…and they include asking her to share a sexy tango — then a little dirty dancing in his bed.

For Melinda, it’s the best night of her life…until she wakes up alone the next morning. Is she destined to spend her life dancing by herself, or will James step up to be the partner of her dreams?

MY THOUGHTS

Ah…the classic trope of friends to lovers.  This happens to be a favorite of mine in the romance genre.  Coming in at 45 pages, Tango Love is a quick and steamy read featuring housemates Melinda Jones and James Brady.

Even though this is a short story — something I don’t usually like — the author did a wonderful job in telling the love story for Melinda and James.  Is it long enough to satisfy the reader? Maybe not, but at least the story was believable in the short story theme.   I think this book would have rated higher for me if it were a full length novel.  If we could have seen more back story and interaction before the big Tango Dance between the two, this story could have been even better.

Hopefully author Nicole Flockton will consider writing a full length novel featuring these two characters for us soon!

MY RATING
[sc:rate4 ]

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Review: Cost of Repairs by A.M. Arthur

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Cost of Repairs
Author: A.M. Arthur
Series: Cost of Repairs #1

SUMMARY
From Goodreads

Fixing the home can heal the heart — if you can find all the pieces.

Police officer Samuel Briggs is getting to know the people on his new, third-shift beat, but he’d prefer they not know too much about him—or the painful past that drove him away from New Mexico to start fresh in small-town Stratton, PA.

All he wants is peace, a manageable routine, and time to fix up his project home. There’s no room in his broken heart for a new relationship. It’s crowded with too many memories. But there’s something about the Dixie’s Cup short-order cook, who’s flirty one minute, distracted the next, that piques Sam’s interest.

Part-time cook, part-time hardware salesman and full-time handyman Rey King lives to work—but not because he loves it. Relationships? No time. Until one glance at Sam’s haunted eyes sends a plumb line straight to his wary heart.

One afternoon of impulsive, no-strings sex begins to grow into a cautious friendship. But when Rey is seriously injured protecting a friend, the cracks in their already shaky foundation begin to show. Falling in love wasn’t in either man’s recovery plan…and this time, the risk could be too great.

Warning: Contains one emotionally wrecked cop, one angsty short-order cook, a few too many secrets, some meddling small-town folk, and plenty of hot man-on-man action.

MY THOUGHTS

Cost of Repairs is the first book in the Cost of Repairs series by author A.M. Arthur.  It is a M/M Romance with the main characters being Sam Briggs and Rey King. As the warning above mentions, there is angst and hot man-on-man action aplenty in this book.

Sam Briggs has just moved to Stratton, PA. He left New Mexico after a tragedy had him needing to get away from the painful memories. Rey King has also had some hard times and is barely making it day by day.  When they both meet, the sparks fly and they both find something they weren’t looking for.  What starts out as a fling, ends up being just what they both needed in the love department.

If you are thinking this is just a book about falling in love between the two, you are wrong. This book is full of angst and the happy times are few. With that being said, the angst made this book actually work.  I found I was curious about the dark pasts of both characters.  I wanted to learn their dirty little secrets.  I wanted them both to be able to work past those things and just be good together.  While the book did slow down in parts and get a little repetitive, I found myself not really minding too much because the characters carried the story for me.  I was already curious about the two men that I didn’t mind reading about the unimportant things that were thrown in.

Overall, I am pleased that I heard about this book.  I now have a new author in the M/M world to follow and to enjoy.

MY RATING

[sc:rate4 ]

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