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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Stick to the Script by Lane Hayes (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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REVIEW: Is It Over Yet? by L.A. Witt
Is It Over Yet? – L.A. Witt
Rhys Powell and Derek Scott are divorcing. Mistakes have been made, lines have been crossed, and there’s no going back. Both men are exhausted and ready to move on.
But their daughter is getting married soon. In the name of not putting a damper on her wedding, Derek and Rhys agree to keep the divorce on the down-low and show up as the happy couple everyone still believes they are.
And between a roller coaster of a road trip and the love and joy surrounding the wedding… Derek and Rhys just might remember why they fell for each other in the first place.
Are they only kidding themselves? Or can a rekindled spark really light the way to forgiveness?
Most romance novels I’ve read go out of their way to avoid cheating. I automatically DNF a book when there’s cheating involving the main couple. So a story that revolved around the issue of cheating and divorce? I don’t think so.
But this is L.A. Witt we’re talking about here and she specializes in making her MCs go through rings of fire before giving them their HEAs. This is as tough a hurdle as it can get. Despite myself, I was really intrigued. How is she going to convincingly pull off a happy ending for a premise like this?
Is It Over yet? is about two married men about to split up but hesitated to tell their daughter because they don’t want to ruin her upcoming wedding. The cheating part is off-page and happened months before the story started. I appreciated that the author spared us the details. We only know that this happened when Rhys was at a low point and their marriage was on a rocky patch at that time.
My knee-jerk reaction to this was to hate the cheater. I was even prepared to do so. But I couldn’t hate Rhys. He didn’t justify his actions. Derek didn’t catch him or even suspected. He confessed voluntarily. Since then, he was beating himself up for his mistake. It was very significantly pointed out that he was sorry for what he did, not because he was caught. I knew his heartfelt apologies were sincere.
Derek was hurt and angry as to be expected but it was pretty obvious that they still love each other. The ‘romance’ here is certainly different. The USTs have a different vibe from what I’m used to. Not exactly love/hate because I didn’t feel they hated each other. So how do you describe that thing where you want nothing more than to separate from your cheating husband because if not you will end up killing each other but you still find him attractive as fuck?
The story is a journey to forgiveness. Witt takes us on this very bumpy, highly emotional road trip complete with a playlist and drunken motel sex. I liked both MCs and I was rooting hard for them. They didn’t make it easy for themselves though. They tried truces after truces but always end up at each other’s throats.
How they finally reach their destination, that of forgiveness and a new beginning, was satisfying and more importantly, convincingly done. I liked that the epilogue was a realistic portrayal of lessons learned and making it work.
Cheating is still a hard line for me but Is It Over Yet? did a great job making me not only read a book about a broken relationship but also making me enjoy the story. It made me sympathized with the characters. I felt each heightened emotion. I was cheering when they finally danced at the wedding. I have no doubts Rhys and Derek will eventually have their HEA.
I wouldn’t say I recommend this because this might not be everyone’s cup of tea but do give it a try if you are looking for a second chance romance where the head wants to go but the heart wants to stay.
P.S.
L.A. Witt books here
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Everything Else Has Gone Wrong
Artist: Bombay Bicycle Club
Album: Everything Else Has Gone Wrong -
NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Wounded Martyr by Courtney Maguire (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Rialto by Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliott (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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RELEASE BLITZ: The Layover by Roe Horvat (Giveaway)
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Wild Bells by Elna Holst (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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REVIEW: Sadistic Sherlock by Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliott
Ward Security: Sadistic Sherlock – Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliott
Ten years ago, Dominic Walsh faked his own death. With no true identity, it wasn’t hard. But if he’d stayed, he would have been drawn further into a life he’d never chosen. He has friends and family at Ward Security now and has managed to escape his dark past. There is only one thing he truly wants.
Abraham Stephens.
When Dom was first tasked with watching over his friend’s father, he didn’t expect to fall so hard for the gorgeous silver fox. But Abe is interested in friendship only. He’s at a point in his life where he wants something permanent, not a romp with the sexy redhead who happens to be the same age as his son.
But Abe finds himself drawn deeper into Dom’s life when cryptic messages start appearing—ones that frighten the skilled security specialist. The more Dom tries to hide what’s happening, the more Abe wants to help him.
And maybe, just maybe, he’ll find a way to trust the strength of the bond Dom understood from the start.
Ward Security is the spin-off series of Unbreakable Bonds. This features Ward Security employees from the bodyguards like Dom to the tech specialists like Quinn. Ward Security is like a family to many of them
I think Ward Security rule #1 should be: At the first sign of trouble, tell Rowe.
Yet another Ward Security employee is neck-deep in trouble and failed to tell the boss. Dom, whose cheeky personality reminded me of Rowe, saved an A-list movie star from a stalker. His heroic act was caught on cam and became a viral video. This led people he ran away from and who thought he was dead to track his whereabouts. And then, these people threatened him and Abe via ciphers.
At first he tried to handle it himself. But he was caught and had to be rescued. Stupid, stupid move, Dom.
I enjoyed the unveiling of Dom’s mysterious past. Because of his goofy personality, you would think he had it easy but his childhood was spent thieving and conning. I especially liked the meeting with the last of his family. His brother was a ruthless psycho, though I’m kind of interested in him and his boyfriend. Too bad he was almost 100% evil so it’s a no go on more appearances.
Abe and Dom’s slow-burn romance began in book one. Abe was the mysterious person the bodyguard was so hang up on. And Dom, who was normally a playboy, had been pursuing him for a year.
I pictured Abe as a Henry Rollins lookalike because the punker is THE silver fox. Abe had known he was bi since his younger days but had never really acted on his attraction to men. Until Dom.
Truth be told, this is the book I’m least looking forward to read. The romance had the age-gap, silver fox trope. It’s not really something I go for. I find it kind of awkward that Dom is same age as Abe’s son, Shane. I’m ok with mature MCs. I just prefer them with love interests close to their age.
Still, I rate this a notch higher than the previous book, Deadly Dorian. Even if the romance was not my cup of tea, I liked Dom and Abe individually. Also, the troubled past had been done in the series before with Royce’s story, but, Sadistic Sherlock was able to offer a different take while still having the usual elements we love, like the missions, the humor and the OTT action scenes. This was also a more fun story with more involvement from the other guys.
This series has been hits and misses so far, but I’m pretty much committed to it. The characters feel like old friends and I love catching up with each of them every time there’s a new story. Here’s hoping the next one would be better.
P.S.
Ward Security is best read in order. WS books here
Unbreakable Bonds hereRating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked itSoundtrack: Bury It
Artist: CHVRCHES
Album: Every Open Eye -
NEW RELEASE BLITZ: This Christmas by J.R. Hart (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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REVIEW: Captivated by Brittany Cournoyer
Out of Darkness: Captivated – Brittany Cournoyer
Ethan Fletcher’s a rising star in the modeling industry, and after landing an ad on a billboard, things were looking up for him. From the outside looking in, he was living his best possible life. No one knows the struggles Ethan faced, or that every night he removed the carefully constructed mask he had to slip on just to face the outside world. However, the camera wasn’t the only thing in love with Ethan’s face.
When the gifts started to arrive, they seemed innocent enough. But, the attention from the fan who called himself The Suitor had Ethan on edge, and when someone important in Ethan’s life goes missing, he knows it’s no coincidence. Receiving no help from the local police, Ethan seeks comfort from a very unlikely source. Together, they find themselves in a race against time to catch The Suitor before Ethan becomes his next victim.
Captivated is book 1 in the Out of Darkness series. It talks about stalking, kidnapping, murder, and mental illness. Captivated ends with a happy for now and is a continuing series. This book is an extremely slow burn with a romance that progresses throughout the series.
Captivated is a story of an all-consuming obsession that tortured, maimed and killed.
Ethan Fletcher is a model who is so beautiful he mesmerized the enigmatic and very disturbed individual simply known as The Suitor. Very little is known of the man apart from the fact that he owns a cyber security company, is devoted to his cat and loves to woo men with expensive gifts.
He tried the same method with Ethan. However, Ethan was not the type to be wowed by expensive shoes. Because The Suitor was not the type to take rejection easily, he started taking drastic measures with tragic results.
At first, I thought, hey, maybe this Suitor guy had some redeeming qualities and he will end up with Ethan like one of those Criminal Delights stories.
I couldn’t be more wrong.
The man was pure evil. Nobody could forgive what he did to poor B, just because B did Ethan a favor.
Ethan is a model attempting to break into acting. He doesn’t do well with crowds and has social anxiety. Ethan loves working on his puzzles to calm his nerves. The model is a lonely man whose only friend was his agent, Beatrice a.k.a. B. Later on, Ethan discovered he had a friend in X, another model B handles and who he did not get along with at first.
My heart went out to Ethan. Bad enough he had to deal with anxieties, now he has a crazy man out to get him. On top of that, the police was not be taking the model seriously. The only person who actually seemed to care was X.
X had some surprises of his own, starting with the mystery of why he prefers to be called X. He liked helping Ethan with his puzzles and introduced him to his own version of grilled cheese sandwich. He was a solid guy who used his considerable pull to make the police move their damn asses and start doing something about Ethan’s case.
There is no romance in the story. I’m kind of hoping the author would make Ethan aro and/or ace, but as per blurb, the romance in the series is extremely slow-paced. And from here on out, I’m rooting for an Ethan+X merger.
The writing felt simultaneously slow and fast. The character progression and developments came slowly but the tension was tight and had me on full on suspense mode which made things go quickly. The book presented both Ethan’s and The Suitor’s POVs which made it even more creepy.
The ending resolved enough threads to give a satisfying conclusion. The Suitor was named. Ethan had the help he needed. He and X had an appointment with grilled cheese sandwiches. It also left teasers hinting The Suitor has more gifts to send. I cannot wait for the next one. I’m also dreading it.
This is my first Brittany Cournoyer and certainly won’t be the last. She did a great job creating a gripping thriller that constantly kept me on the edge of my seat. It’s a chilling portrait of what stalkers will do to get the object of their desire. Recommended if you like dark, depraved bastards with offers one cannot refuse and bright, beautiful men who dared to say no.
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Gonna Get Close to You
Artist: Dalbello
Album: whomanfoursays -
AUDIO REVIEW: Today by R.J. Scott
Single Dads: Today – R.J. Scott
When the world labels a man and judges them blindly, is it possible to ever find love?
Firefighter Eric is on the front line, battling the threat of nature’s destruction in the California grasslands alongside his CalFire team. Focused and calm, even in the direst of situations, he has a strong affection for his fire truck, loves his career, and has best friends he can rely on. All he needs now is love, but that seems to be impossible to find. At his friend’s wedding. Eric falls in lust at first sight with the shy, slim and sexy Brady, even if Brady isn’t the type of guy he usually goes for. What Eric longs for is an equal in his bed, not a smaller guy who might want Eric to role-play big strong firefighter every time they have sex. He wants to find someone he can be vulnerable with, someone who will love him for his soft heart and quiet ways.
Brady’s life plans grind to a halt when his niece and nephew lose their parents in a tragic accident, and he becomes a dad overnight. His Developmental Coordination Disorder rules his life, but he fights both DCD and the fears that chase him every day, to give Maddie and Lucas a home. Agreeing to go to a friend’s wedding is a decision he regrets long before he even gets there. But, he refuses to give in to his fear, even if he might do something that makes him a target for people’s comments and laughter. Meeting Eric, a huge man with a gentle voice and a flair for chivalry, he falls hard. Now, if only he can let himself get past his panic that Eric would never want someone like him, then maybe he could fall in love for real.
Today started with a wedding and ended with a proposal. In between were kiddie tantrums, forest fires and daytime shenanigans.
Eric is a first responder. He is an only child from a prominent family. He has a calm, steady presence which is a huge advantage in his line of work (a.k.a. he’s a teddy bear). Brady is an artist who adopted his niece and nephew after his late sister passed away. He has Developmental Coordination Disorder and social anxiety which made him come across as awkward and standoffish at first glance. Which is what happened when he first met Eric. He was kinda rude to the firefighter. Then, he threw himself at him and kissed him hard. Eric, far from being offended, was immediately smitten.
Even if both men fell hard and fast, everything clicked into place almost naturally. Contrary to what people expected of him being this huge, hulking firefighter, Eric loved it when somebody took charge and Brady was a take-charge kind guy. Theirs was a sweet, low-angst romance. I loved how they took time to talk things through and made it work.
I am normally not that enthused with books about parenting but Today was able to showcase the kids without them taking too much of the story. It did a good job portraying Brady’s struggles and triumphs as a single dad. It was also able to talk about DCD in a way that made it easier to understand and empathize with Brady.
There were some backstories provided but I felt like they could have been developed more. I wouldn’t mind if the book had a couple more chapters to give more depth to the characters and their relationships.
This is the second book of the Single Dads series. I have not read the first book but it was nice getting to know Ash and Sean, as well as Eric’s other friend, Leo and Leo’s potential LI who was introduced later on.
Sean Crisden did an awesome job with his voice acting. He was able to create varied and convincing voices for the characters. Like with his other audiobook that I reviewed before, Home for Christmas, also by R.J. Scott, I still find his pacing a little too fast but it’s not really something that significantly affected my experience of the book.
Overall, Today is a highly enjoyable, feel-good romance with characters you can root for. If you are looking for something light and easy, where people fall in an instant and stay forever, you might want to check this out.
P.S.
Thank you to Signal Boost Promotions and Audible for providing a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
R.J. Scott books here
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and loveSoundtrack: Forever Came Today
Artist: The Supremes
Album: Reflections
