Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Review Stop on the Tasty Virtual Book Tour for FINAL EXIT by Lena Diaz with #Excerpt + #Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the Tasty Virtual Book Tour for FINAL EXIT by Lena Diaz. The Exit Inc. series by Lena Diaz has been an amazing thrill ride filled with action, intrigue, and steamy tension between characters, which have more than love to worry about - they’re usually running for their lives too. FINAL EXIT, Lena’s newest installment, and the last of the three book spin-off series, is no disappointment even though I’m very sad to see this series end.

***eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for FINAL EXIT:

Lena Diaz concludes her sexy, suspenseful EXIT Inc. series as an FBI agent teams up with a beautiful assassin to uncover a deadly government conspiracy...

After a tragic mistake nearly destroyed his life, Special Agent Kade Quinn will do whatever it takes to save his career. His latest mission? Track and capture the remaining EXIT operatives to determine if they’re still a threat. But his next target—a stunning female assassin—is both elusive and dangerously appealing.

Bailey Stark has outsmarted the FBI so far, but she’s tired of running. Tired of watching her friends ambushed by government agents in tactical gear and never seen again. She suspects they aren’t being evaluated—they’re being exterminated—and she’s determined to convince Agent Quinn his mission is a lie before it’s too late. Bailey doesn’t want to rely on him. She definitely shouldn’t desire him. But she knows teaming up with the skilled, sexy agent may be her only hope.

Kade doesn’t want to believe Bailey’s claims, but he promises to keep her safe. Trusting one another is difficult. Fighting their attraction is harder. And as they uncover the disturbing truth behind his mission . . . staying alive will be nearly impossible.

Available now from Avon Romance


MY REVIEW:

    Bailey Stark is on the run. She’s worried about her fellow Enforcers and she trusts no one. She knows the man they refer to as the Ghost is tracking her and he almost got her once, so now it’s time for her to take action and get to him before he captures and kills her. The last thing she expects is to discover that Kade Quinn is an honorable FBI agent who truly believes in what he’s doing. Only, what he thinks is happening is all a lie. Her attraction to him causes her for the first time in her life as an assassin to want to protect someone other than herself.
    Kade Quinn knows he has the skill to catch Bailey but she continuously eludes him even while she fascinates him. Determined to prove himself capable of succeeding in his mission to round up the remaining Enforcers so they might be retrained to run normal lives, discovering that what he’s been told is happening might not be true is enough to make him question everything - including his attraction to Bailey.
    Together, Bailey and Kade try to discover what the truth is, who is behind it, and when the Equalizers pull them into their fold, know they now have more to worry about than just themselves. Time is running out even as secrets begin to unfold and the danger level increases.
    FINAL EXIT by Lena Diaz is everything I expected from a book in this series. Action-packed, filled with intrigue, deception, and steamy sexual tension. With every turn of the page, FINAL EXIT treats us to so much more going on than just Enforcers and Equalizers versus the FBI and those behind EXIT Inc. and its secrets. Lena has woven a story where you’re always wondering exactly who the bad guys are and how Bailey, Kade, and the Equalizers will manage to survive it all.
    If you have read the series from the beginning, you will recognize most of the characters and enjoy their interactions with Bailey and Kade. If you haven’t read this series, I seriously recommend starting at the beginning and experiencing each amazing story which culminates wonderfully in FINAL EXIT. Whereas each story can be read as a standalone, they truly work best read in order and allow the action and backstory to pull you through to the climactic end. I am very much going to miss these characters and the intrigue.
    I highly recommend FINAL EXIT, book three of the Exit, Inc. series by Lena Diaz to everyone who loves a good action-filled, intrigue-driven romantic suspense thriller with great characters and tons of creative energy.

Happy Reading Everyone!

EXCERPT from FINAL EXIT:

Friday, 11:55 p.m.
   It was a perfect night to catch a killer. A warm breeze blew out of the south at about six miles per hour. Rain-heavy clouds covered the half-moon, plunging the cliff where Special Agent Kade Quinn stood into darkness. He was betting on the old cliché, third time’s a charm. And also betting on the numbers—that his six, shiny new special agents could take down one highly skilled, remarkably cunning, experienced assassin.
   Not the kind of odds to go to Vegas over. But he had to work with what he had. If things went as planned, Bailey Stark would soon be in custody like the dozens of other EXIT Inc. Enforcers that his team had managed to capture. The now-defunct company could never again fool the public into believing that all it did was offer vacation packages, so-called “EXtreme International Tours.” The clandestine organization’s true legacy as a corrupt front for government-sanctioned murder would end with the capture of the last few Enforcers. By the time his mission was over, every last one functioning members of society.
   And innocents like Abby would never again become the victims of killers like Bailey.
   Between the nightmare of his wife’s death and the near-constant ache in his ruined left leg, Kade had his own, very personal, debt with EXIT. And he planned on collecting. He scanned the tree line. Past the red oak and Ponderosa pines, the Colorado Rockies squatted like dark sentinels watching over tonight’s operation. Below him, in the middle of a wide, nearly treeless valley, was ground zero, the two-story cottage that Bailey believed would be her sanctuary. Instead, it would become her last stand. A quarter-mile-long driveway connected a two-lane highway to this remote property. At close to midnight and an hour’s drive from Boulder, the road was essentially deserted. Kade couldn’t have asked for a better place to launch an ambush. And if his intel was correct, Bailey should arrive within the next half hour.
   Only a few minutes later the two-way radio on his belt crackled to life. “Big Bear to Lone Wolf. Come in.”
   Kade rolled his eyes and pressed the transmit button. “Kade here. What’s the situation report, Nichols?”
   “You’re ruining my fun, boss.” He shook his head but played along. He had to pick his battles. “Lone Wolf to Big Bear. What’s the sitrep?”
   “Much better.” A chuckle sounded through the radio. “A beat-up, dark blue Camaro just turned off the highway. One occupant. Looks to be our target. She’s heading toward the cottage.”
   “Use the SUV to block the road behind her. If she gets spooked, I don’t want her doing a one-eighty and making it to the highway.”
   “Affirmative. Big Bear out.”
   Kade clicked off the mic and belatedly wished he’d downed a handful of antacids before driving out here. Being assigned these eager, raw newbies had to be his penance for his breakdown after the accident. They were also the reason he was here in person rather than monitoring the mission remotely per the usual protocol. Tonight’s target had already tricked his team and gotten away—twice. Kade was here to make sure that didn’t happen again.
   “Cord,” he said through the two-way. “Sitrep.”
   “You mean you aren’t going to call me Little Bear?”
   “Do you want me to?” He was half-afraid of the answer.
   “Hell no. I’m not in junior high.”
   “You guys know I can hear you, right?” Nichols chimed in.
   “Sitrep,” Kade growled.
   “She just passed my ten o’clock,” Cord announced. “Dom should have her in his sights in a few seconds.”
   “Already do,” Dominic confirmed. “The car is pulling up to the house. We’re all set.”
   “Radio silence in three, two, one.” Kade clicked off the transmitter.
   They couldn’t risk the sound of static or a mistimed transmission alerting their target. Or at least, that was the official reason for breaking communications. Unofficially, he needed a few moments of silence to get his impatience under control. What had happened to the bureau’s standards? Big Bear, Little Bear? Hell, two of his agents—Dom and Jack—had tattoos. Since when had the FBI allowed tats? Quantico was going soft.
   He looked through the binoculars. Instead of driving into the attached garage as expected, Bailey did a three-point turn and parked the Camaro pointing down the driveway. Was she suspicious? Had she purposely positioned her vehicle for a quick getaway? His hands tightened around the binoculars. The driver’s door opened. A petite woman in dark-colored shorts and a white T-shirt emerged. A pistol was holstered at her waist and her shoulder-length, curly red hair reflected like flames in the soft glow of the porch light. Even at this distance she had the kinds of curves that made men pay attention—including Kade, much to his chagrin.
   He had more reason than most to despise Enforcers, and yet his breath caught every time he looked at one of her photographs in the case file. He couldn’t imagine the effect she’d have on him if he ever got within a few feet of her in person. It was bad enough that his pulse quickened whenever those deep green eyes gazed back at him from her pictures. But what he hated the most was the odd feeling of kinship he felt toward her, a tug of empathy when he saw the shadows in her eyes, the same shadows he saw every time he looked in a mirror. He couldn’t help wondering what had happened to harden her and make her look so lost, so sad, so incredibly . . . alone.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Originally, from Kentucky, romantic suspense author Lena Diaz also lived in California and Louisiana before settling in Northeast Florida with her husband, two children, and a Shetland Sheepdog named Sparky. A Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® finalist, she's won the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense and has been a finalist for the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award. She loves to watch action movies, garden, and hike in the beautiful Tennessee Smoky Mountains.





TOUR WIDE GIVEAWAY



Monday, January 30, 2017

Avon Tour for BREATHLESS by Beverly Jenkins featuring a Behind the Book Note from the author + #Giveaway


BREATHLESS
book two in the Rhine Trilogy
By Beverly Jenkins

Releasing on January 31, 2017 from Avon Romance

As manager of one of the finest hotels in Arizona Territory, Portia Carmichael has respect and stability-qualities sorely missing from her harsh childhood. She refuses to jeopardize that by hitching herself to the wrong man. Suitors are plentiful, but none of them has ever looked quite as tempting as the family friend who just rode into town…and none have looked at her with such intensity and heat.

Duchess. That’s the nickname Kent Randolph gave Portia when she was a young girl. Now she’s a stunning, intelligent woman-and Kent has learned his share of hard lessons. After drifting through the West, he’s learned the value of a place to settle down, and in Portia’s arms he’s found that and more. But convincing her to trust him with her heart, not just her passion, will be the greatest challenge he’s known-and one he intends to win…




A NOTE FROM
Beverly Jenkins



Dear Readers,

This is the second book in the Rhine Trilogy and I do hope you enjoy it. With all the issues and heartache Portia carried inside, I knew it would be difficult for her to give her heart to someone, but Kent Randolph proved to be the man for the job, even if I didn’t know he would be her hero when the story began. Hope you’ll enjoy seeing Rhine and Eddy from Forbidden and, yes, they are still very much in love.

The Fontaine Hotel is loosely based on the Mountain View Hotel founded in Oracle, Arizona, in 1895 by Annie Box Neal and her husband William “Curly” Neal, who were both of African- American and Native-American descent. The Mountain View was a combination hotel and spa and catered not only to European royalty but to wealthy visitors from places like Russia, Australia, and China, too. Look them up.

The great Apache chief Geronimo surrendered on September 4, 1886, and was promptly declared a prisoner of war. He and his people eventually wound up in Florida along with the Apache scouts the army employed to hunt him down. He died at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1909. The Apache warrior Lozen, also captured in 1886, was sent to the barracks at Mount Vernon, Alabama, where she died of tuberculosis in 1887. Although her name has faded from America’s memory, her bravery and fearlessness remains legendary with her people.

I only touched briefly on African-American women and the fight for suffrage but hope to get back to it in depth sometime in the future. Until then, if you’d like to do some research on your own, here are two excellent sources:

African American Women and the Vote: 1837–1965 by Cynthia Neverdon-Morton, et al.
African American Women in the Struggle for the Vote: 1850–1920 by Rosalyn Terborg-Penn

Having the opportunity to create characters and stories that reflect my heritage as a woman of color is priceless. Representation matters.  Thanks again for the support and love. Thanks also for spreading the word about my books to everyone you know. It’s much appreciated.

Until next time, happy reading.
B.


EXCERPT from BREATHLESS:

Portia saw the curiosity on the faces of some of the other people seated nearby and wondered if sitting with Kent would cause gossip, but she went ahead and told him about Eddy and the other ladies leaving her to help in the kitchen.
“You didn’t want to help?”
She smiled ruefully. “Let’s just say I’m better with numbers than I am with pots.”
“Can’t cook, huh?”
“No.”
“Then you’ll need a man who can.”
“Are you volunteering?”
He shrugged. “If it’ll keep you from starving to death, I suppose I can make myself available, if called upon.”
She wondered if he had this effect on all women.
“How’s the managing of that passion going?” he asked.
Her heart thumped. “Fine.” His eyes were so piercing, she trembled in response.
“You’re fibbing of course, but that’s okay.”
“I am not.”
“Uh-huh.”
She leaned closer so they wouldn’t be overheard. “I am not. One kiss was all I needed and now I’m fine, just as I said I would be.”
“Duchess, your uppity mouth’s been wanting another taste all day.”
Heat sent her senses galloping. “It has not, and stop calling it that.”
“Okay. Your sweet mouth has been wanting another taste all day.”
She almost keeled over. “I do like those high-collared blouses you wear.”
She looked down at herself.
“Makes me want to undo all the little buttons and see how you manage with my kisses against your bare throat. Curious about what scent you place there, too.”
Her eyes widened.
He smiled. “No?”
“No.”
“Okay. Just something for you to think about later. Do you want the legs or the wings?”
Her mind was stuck like it had stepped in tar. How in the world was she going to remain unmoved by his teasing ways without wanting to box his ears or wonder how his kisses would feel against bare throat?
“I’ll take the wings.”
“We have only one set of flatware. Shall I feed you or do you want to feed me?”
Scandalized by the suggestion, she forced herself not to glance around to see how closely they were being observed. “Neither,” she said. “I’ll have the wing. You can eat the rest.”
“Thought I’d ask.”


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
BEVERLY JENKINS has received numerous awards, including five Waldenbooks/Borders Group Best Sellers Awards, two Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times Magazine, and a Golden Pen Award from the Black Writer’s Guild. Ms Jenkins was named one of the Top Fifty Favorite African-American writers of the 20th Century by AABLC, the nation’s largest on-line African-American book club. She was recently nominated for the NAACP Image Award in Literature. To read more about Beverly, please visit her website at www.beverlyjenkins.net.

TOUR WIDE GIVEAWAY


Monday, January 23, 2017

Unwrapping a Review of ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE, a Heartbreaker Bay novel by Jill Shalvis

Yes, I’m back with a review of another Heartbreaker Bay novel by Jill Shalvis. I can’t get enough of these fabulous characters in this series. ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE is every bit as wonderful as the rest of the series with perhaps a bit more sizzle since the heat’s been brewing between Elle and Archer for quite some time. Everyone knows it…except perhaps them.

***eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest and unscripted novel

Blurb for ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE:

There’s no such thing as a little in love…

Elle Wheaten’s priorities: friends, career, and kick-ass shoes. Then there’s the muscular wall of stubbornness that’s security expert Archer Hunt—who comes before everything else. No point in telling Mr. “Feels-Free Zone” that, though. Elle will just see other men until she gets over Archer…which should only take a lifetime…

There’s no such thing as a little in lust…

Archer’s wanted the best for Elle ever since he sacrificed his law-enforcement career to save her. But now that she’s earned happiness and success, Archer just wants Elle 24/7. Their chemistry could start the next San Francisco Earthquake, and Archer doesn’t want to be responsible for the damage. The alternative? Watch her go out with guys who aren’t him…

There is such a thing as…

As far as Archer’s concerned, nobody is good enough for Elle. But when he sets out to prove it by sabotaging her dates, she gets mad—and things get hot as hell. Now Archer has a new mission: prove to Elle that her perfect man has been here all along…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We first met Elle Wheaten and Archer Hunt in SWEET LITTLE LIES. They are very much a part of the gang that either works or lives in the Pacific Park Building and hangs out at O’Riley’s Pub on the first floor. We’ve also noticed that there is a certain level of unrequited sexual tension that simmers beneath the surface in both of them and now Elle and Archer are about to butt heads over a few issues, including her ‘dates’ and her sister, Morgan. Everyone has the same thought when it comes to these two hot numbers…the fashionable Elle in her power suits and heels and the sexy and exotic looking Archer with his ‘nice package’…if they don't do something about the steam building between them, San Francisco might be blown off the map. Both stubborn about expressing their feelings while incredibly attracted to each other and with Elle determined not to kiss him again, or anything else with him, and Archer stubbornly determined to win her over, ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE is a page turning delight and keeps us constantly wondering just when they’re going to do it already. When they do…well, I’m not going to tell you. You’ll have to read this one and find out.

I’ve always loved the characters Jill Shalvis creates, the banter between them, and the tension she can build without being overtly sexual but with each Heartbreaker novel, she manages to make me love the next as much and sometimes even more than the one that came before it. I have to admit to having been very excited about Elle and Archer’s story, and feared I might be disappointed but I wasn’t at all. There were times I wanted to knock Elle upside the head and tell her to stop being such a ninny about Archer and other times, I wanted just to scream, ‘Step aside…if you don’t want him, I’ll take him!’

I also had a lot of problem with major errors, including wrong names in the galley and I hope, truly hope that they’ve been caught, and corrected. I’m always being told that they will be but when I purchase the book, some are still there. Not cool.

All the same…I highly, highly recommend ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE, book three in the Heartbreaker Bay series by Jill Shalvis because it’s just so much fun, features such amazing characters, and Elle and Archer, so perfect for each other, are just itching to set the pages on fire.

Happy Reading Everyone!

ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE, a Heartbreaker Bay novel by Jill Shalvis, Avon Romance, scheduled release date: January 24, 2017, available in print, audio, and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Unwrapping a Review of ONE SNOWY NIGHT, a Heartbreaker Bay novella by Jill Shalvis

I absolutely love, love, love the Heartbreaker Bay series by Jill Shalvis, so when she put out a novella between THE TROUBLE WITH MISTLETOE and her upcoming new release, ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE, I knew I had to read it. Well, actually I inhaled it. ONE SNOWY NIGHT was definitely a holiday treat and perfect for a cold winter’s night.

***purchased for my own personal reading but sharing my honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for ONE SNOWY NIGHT:

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis returns to Heartbreaker Bay with a fun and festive holiday novella!

It’s Christmas Eve and Rory Andrews is desperate to get home to the family she hasn’t seen in years. Problem is, her only ride to Lake Tahoe comes in the form of the annoyingly handsome Max Stranton, and his big, goofy, lovable dog Carl.

Hours stuck in a truck with the dead sexy Max sounds like a fate worse than death (not), but Rory’s out of options. She’s had a crush on Max since high school and she knows he’s attracted to her, too. But they have history… and Max is the only one who knows why it went south.

They’ve done a good job of ignoring their chemistry so far, but a long road trip in a massive blizzard might be just what they need to face their past… and one steamy, snowy night is all it takes to bring Max and Rory together at last.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rory Andrews is a wayward runaway that Willa Davis, owner of South Bark Mutt Shop and heroine of THE TROUBLE WITH MISTLETOE, has taken in under her wing. Is she playing matchmaker by asking Max Stranton to give Rory a ride home to Lake Tahoe on Christmas Eve? Yes. Does she have reason to believe there is a match worth making? Probably. Isn't it obvious?

After being convinced by her friend to go home for Christmas after too long an absence, Rory decides to do just that but needs a ride. When her only ride possibility is Max, the boy she’s crushed on since high school, she wonders if she’s gone mad at even considering the trip at all. After a couple of hours on the road in increasingly bad weather, Rory is convinced she’s made a grave mistake but soon discovers that Max’s cold demeanor isn’t just about their past. There’s heat in that truck and it’s not just from the heater or Carl, his dog, panting over her shoulder. There’s real sexual tension, and it’s about to get hotter.

I love how Jill Shalvis conjures such endearing characters but the best part is how like family they become. More than friends, they have each other’s backs in a way that only family should but don’t always. Max and Rory knew each other once upon a time. You could even say they have a past resulting in a slight animosity on the part of Max, but he’s attracted to her. Only he can’t quite get past what she did in high school either. Rory doesn’t know the effect of her actions in the past on Max’s future so when he tells her, she immediately accepts the blame and pushes him away. Their ride together on a stormy road to Lake Tahoe reveals secrets, regrets, and attraction that neither is able to deny, but also takes some time to accept.

I’m not kidding when I said I inhaled this story. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop, even though there were a couple of major errors that tried to stop me. I ignored them and kept reading, I had to know what came next. Jill writes her tales in such a way that we aren’t just reading it; we are experiencing it along with the characters. I highly recommend reading ONE SNOWY NIGHT by Jill Shalvis. Truly, one of the most delightful novellas I’ve read in a long while and it’s perfect for a cold winter day/night read. So grab hold of it, curl up by a fire or under your favorite blanket and escape into a long drive home on a Christmas Eve with Rory, Max, and Carl…you’ll love it.

Happy Reading Everyone!

ONE SNOWY NIGHT, a Heartbreaker Bay novella by Jill Shalvis, Avon Impulse, available in print, audio, and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

Monday, January 16, 2017

Spotlight Promo for FIT FOR A KING by Susan Fisher-Davis


FIT FOR A KING
is now available at


Wade King believes he’s worth nothing, especially in the eyes of the man who gave him a chance to be somebody. When Win’s beautiful teenage daughter kissed him on her eighteenth birthday, he refused her even though it was the last thing he wanted to do. He knew he was not the kind of man her father would want for her. Now she was back.

Hannah Winston has always loved Wade King, even while she was married to another man. No man could live up to the man who had claimed her heart as a teen. Now she’s returned to Win’s Circle ranch to claim her inheritance only to discover her father had other plans and it involves the one man she tries so hard to hate, but can’t forget—Wade King.

With no other choice but to work together, Wade and Hannah try to ignore the pull each has on the other, only to fall victim to their desires. Now Hannah wants more but Wade still refuses her. What must a woman in love do to make a hardheaded cowboy understand that he might think of her as duchess, but she’s only truly fit for a King? 


My thoughts—Wade is a real SOB but I suspect you’ll love him as much as I did while editing. Hope you’ll read FIT FOR A KING by Susan Fisher-Davis.

About the Author:

   Susan Fisher-Davis writes steamy, hot, sexy books that women love to read. Her stories always have a happily ever after and isn’t that what romance is about? After starting out with Secret Cravings Publishing, she decided to go indie when SCP closed their doors in August 2015. Now she writes and publishes with Blue Whiskey Publishing.
   Susan was born and raised in a small town in the western part of Maryland surrounded by the Appalachian Mountains. She moved to Tennessee in 1996 with her husband and two children where she enjoys walks in the woods, fishing, and dreaming about hot men to share with us.
   She currently has two series out, The Men of Clifton, Montana and The Bad Boys of Dry River. Cowboys and bad boys...what more could any woman want? Her newest series, The Callahans, a series about four cousins, begins with A COWBOY FOR CHRISTMAS, a novella, which is now available but the following books in the series will be full-length.



Happy Reading Everyone!

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Unwrapping a Review of SCORPIUS RISING, a Scorpius Syndrome novella by Rebecca Zanetti

Already a huge fan of the Scorpius Syndrome series by Rebecca Zanetti, I knew I had to read the novella that started it all—SCORPIUS RISING. I’m glad I did because it answers a lot of questions hanging at the edges of my imagination. I hope you’re going to give this series a chance, if you haven’t already but either way, I hope you read this one. My only real wish is that it was longer. And how about that cover? Makes me want to lick the screen.

***purchased for my own personal reading but sharing my honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for SCORPIUS RISING:

With a deadly disease spreading like wildfire across the country, microbiologist Nora Medina needs to focus all her energy on stopping the pandemic. Playing with dynamite—in the form of her way-too-hot ex—is the last thing she should be doing. But forced to work with Deacan McDougall against unexpected enemies with the seconds ticking by, she knows the explosion is coming...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Once upon a time, Nora Medina was married to a sexy, stubborn Scot named Deacan McDougall. The last thing she expects when she is dragged away from a vacation in the sun is to find herself near him again. He hadn’t changed a bit; in fact, he might be even more sexy, and stubborn. He says he’s changed but she’d have to see proof of that herself. Aside from her need to ignore the man who she’s never stopped loving, she has something more pressing to worry about, such as trying to find a cure to stop an alien bug that is killing everyone infected or turning them into raging and dangerous lunatics. Her best friend, Lynn Harmony, is already working hard on the solution to the most devastating attack on the human species the world has ever encountered. When her own assistant becomes infected, she discovers just how dangerous the Scorpius bacterium is and just how dangerous her Scot can be when an obsessed maniac puts her in the crosshairs.

Rebecca Zanetti manages to pack more action, more thrills, more angst, and more sexual tension into her pages than I could ever imagine, and I love every minute of it. Since this is a novella, there was a lot more time spent on the relationship between Nora and Deacon but that didn’t mean we don’t get to experience the slow downward spiral as the Scorpius Syndrome begins to destroy human society, as we know it. Having read the first two books in the series, MERCURY STRIKING and SHADOW FALLING, I was intrigued to know what led up to the amazing post-apocalyptic world that Rebecca has created. SCORPIUS RISING is that missing part of the story. It’s engrossing, exciting, terrifying, and fulfilling. My only true wish is that it was a full-length novel because I’d like to know more…more about how Lynne Harmony ended up searching for her mercenary, Jax Mercury, and what happened to Nora and Deacan. My hope is that somewhere down the line, we will meet up with Nora and Deacan again....and get the rest of that story.

In the meantime, I highly recommend SCORPIUS RISING by Rebecca Zanetti to everyone. Even if you’re not normally a fan of apocalyptic story lines, try this one out…it might just surprise you and addict you the way it has me. I can’t wait for the release of JUSTICE ASCENDING, due out January 31st. I’ll be grabbing my copy as soon as it’s available.

Happy Reading Everyone!

SCORPIUS RISING, a Scorpius Syndrome novella by Rebecca Zanetti, Zebra/Kensington, available now in ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

Monday, January 2, 2017

Unwrapping a Review of ON THE PROWL, a Bad Things novel by Cynthia Eden

I know I’ve been away for a while but I’m reading again, and thoroughly enjoying every word. I started ON THE PROWL, book two in the Bad Things series by Cynthia Eden back in October and had to set it aside while I dealt with family obligations. I had only just started reading it but once I returned to it, I flew through it. I can’t wait for the next one. These are standalone reads but it’s best to read the series from the beginning.

***purchased for my own personal reading but sharing my honest and unscripted review.





Blurb for ON THE PROWL:

Time to embrace your inner evil.

Rose Kinley never intended to be one of the most feared creatures to walk the earth. Once upon a time, she was a human—one who fell in love with a mysterious stranger. But when she got caught in a paranormal war, she lost her humanity and died…only to wake later as a vampire.

Now Rose has a choice. She can continue to try and be the good girl she once was or she can let her darkness out to play. Maybe it’s finally time for her to step into the dark.

He’s the reason she’s undead.

Panther shifter Julian Craig has a mission—protect Rose at all costs. It’s his fault that she lost her human life, and he literally made a deal with the devil so that she would have a second chance as a vampire. And as part of that deal, he’s supposed to keep his hands off Rose. An impossible task considering the dangerous lust he feels for her.

When Rose is targeted by a paranormal collector, Julian knows that he will have to let his own beast out if he is to protect the only woman who ever touched his battered soul. Rose may be afraid of the darkness she carries, but Julian is more than ready to show the world just what kind of a monster he truly is. Julian isn’t afraid of the dark…but the monsters that wait in the shadows? They will bow to him.

He’ll show her just how good it can feel…to be bad.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Julian Craig is a killer. He works for the Devil himself, Luke Thorne, as a guard and assassin. He’s also a shifter—a panther shifter. Dangerous and sexy, a monster that kills monsters, he does have a soft spot—a vampire named Rose. Rose wasn’t always a vampire. Originally, she was Julian’s girl, a human girl who got in the way when someone tried to kill him. She died and Julian did what any man in love would do, he tried to save her. In doing so, he made a deal with Luke to bring her back. He hadn’t planned on her coming back as a vampire and she wasn’t happy about it at all.

Rose is on the run from a collector of paranormal beings and the only one who can keep her safe is the one man she’s tried to stay as far away from as possible—Julian. Now she must depend on him, even as she begins to learn more and more about the man who has claimed her heart from the beginning no matter how much she tries to deny that fact. When Luke’s twin brother, Leo, becomes involved, all hell breaks loose. Now Rose has to worry about Julian’s safety as well as her own.

I love a good paranormal story and Cynthia Eden knows just how to make us fall in love with all of her characters, not just the main ones. We met Julian and Rose in the first book, THE DEVIL IN DISGUISE, when Luke gives his devilish heart up to the beautiful Mina along with the devilishly endearing werewolf, and can’t wait for his story, Rayce Lovel. As always, Cynthia conjures the best characters and fleshes them out in such a thorough way that we easily connect with them…even Leo who isn’t turning out to be such a good guy, even if he is the Lord of Light to Luke’s Lord of Darkness.

Action-packed, character driven, and mysterious all at the same time, ON THE PROWL is clever, exciting, and makes the reader want more. Julian is a man, driven by the killer instinct of his animal, only one who tries to be as gentle as a kitten when it comes to loving Rose. Only she’s discovering her own dark side and might just prefer the roaring panther to a mewing kitten after all.

Whether you are a fan of paranormal romance or not, I highly recommend ON THE PROWL by Cynthia Eden as well as THE DEVIL IN DISGUISE, book one in the Bad Things series. The characters alone are worth the reading adventure and who knows…you might discover you like paranormal after all. I can’t wait to read Rayce and Lila’s story in BROKEN ANGEL. It’s already waiting for me on my reader. Then again, I say that anything Cynthia Eden writes is well-worth reading. She’s one of the best.

Happy Reading Everyone!

ON THE PROWL, a Bad Things novel by Cynthia Eden, indie published, available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

Friday, December 30, 2016

New Year's Eve Traditions...

This year wasn’t a very good one for me. I’ve had family situations to deal with and then in November, I lost my dad, which meant the holidays weren’t very jolly for me. As a result of all of this stress as well as trying to stay on track with work, my reading has suffered. However, I am already back reading and have finished one and am reading another. Reviews will return with the New Year. In thinking about the New Year and hoping it will bring better times, happier events, and I’m hoping less stress, I wondered about some of the traditions we associate with it. I’ll bet you wonder about them too.

December 31st is the last day of the year and as we know it, New Year’s Eve. It’s a night of celebration for some eager to see the old year go, sadness for others because it might be saying goodbye to memories of better times, or it might just be a continuation of the holiday happiness that December brings. I always try to think of it with optimism, that the New Year will bring more good times, good health, prosperity, and new adventures. I generally don’t celebrate it in any particular fashion but do see it as a new beginning.

For many, it’s a night to throw a party, attend a gathering, toast with champagne, and exchange good wishes for a Happy New Year. I’m all for that but never seem to do more than just watch the clock and say, “and so it goes.” How about you? How do you celebrate?

In England, when the clock strikes midnight (actually the New Year doesn’t officially begin until one second later and this year, we have an additional second added onto 2016 to correct for the rotation of the earth so it will actually be two seconds after the clock strikes midnight). Well, when it’s official, all across the UK folks cross their arms over their chests, link hands with all those nearby, and sing “Auld Lang Syne.” I’ll bet you sing it every year but never knew what that song was about…did you?

“Auld Lang Syne” is an old Scottish song first written down in 1780 by Robert Burns. Although, it was in existence many decades before that, his transcription got the most attention so it’s most commonly associated with him. “Auld Lang Syne” is from an old Scottish dialect and translated it means “Times Gone By.” This poem/song is about love and friendship in times gone by. When we sing about “We’ll take a cup of kindness yet”, we’re referring to sharing a drink symbolizing friendship.         

In Scotland, this song is sung but the Scots celebrate the New Year with much more revelry and drinking, and usually for longer than one night. They celebrate Hogamany, which traditionally lasts for a day or more into the New Year. Sounds good to me…a bigger party. Since Christmas had been banned in Scotland for a very long time and they worked on through the days following the Winter Solstice, the Scots’ only time to truly celebrate was when the New Year rang in. So they would ensure their debts were paid, the house cleaned, and when the clock struck midnight, they’d sing Auld Lang Syne, and celebrate with drink and merriment…it was and still is one of the rowdiest New Year’s Eve celebrations in the world. I mean they get really rowdy. 

The Scots also practiced the tradition of the first footing. 
First Footing or the first foot in the house after midnight is still quite common across Scotland. To ensure good luck for the house and the family inhabiting it for the New Year, the first foot should be a dark male. He should bring with him symbolic pieces of coal to ensure the house be warm, salt and shortbread to ensure the family never go hungry, and a wee dram of whiskey…well, they are Scots. It’s possible the preference for a dark male harkens back to the times of the Vikings. After all, a big blonde stranger arriving at your door with a big axe meant huge trouble and probably not a very happy New Year.

The celebrations usually continue through the 2nd of January, which is an official holiday in Scotland. There are fireworks galore, more drinking, and merriment to ensure the New Year starts off right. I guess the Scots know how to do it up right! Happy Hogamany!

Here in the US, we usually watch the ball descend in Times Square…no matter where we are or what partying is happening, everyone seems to stop and watch. But where did that tradition come from? Well, it seems it might have been more about promoting newspapers than anything else.

Come Saturday night, millions will watch the most famous New Year's Eve celebration in the world—the ball drop in Times Square. Well, it seems it was all the idea of a man named Adolph Ochs, the son of Bavarian Jewish immigrants. After the European revolutions of the 1840’s, his parents, Julius and Bertha Levy Ochs, immigrated to the US and lived in Knoxville, Tennessee before the Civil War. As war approached, they moved to Cincinnati, where Adolph was born, and a few years later they moved back to Knoxville. At first, all was well, Adolph’s father prospered as a merchant. They lived in a large house, and Julius Ochs was a prominent citizen, a justice of the peace, and a leader of the Radical Republican Party. In fact, he helped found Knoxville's first synagogue, Temple Beth-El. Then came the economic collapse of 1867, and the Ochses had to move into a cheaper and much smaller home. The sons had to go to work. Adolph, being the oldest, got a job with the local Republican newspaper, the Knoxville Chronicle, which was then located on Market Square. He began as a paperboy, but eventually worked his way up to apprentice printer.

By the time Adolph was 19, he had done some writing as well as printing, and was now rather sure he could run a paper himself. At the time, Knoxville was overloaded with newspapermen but Adolph had heard about a struggling newspaper in Chattanooga called the Chattanooga Times. With the help of some investors, he bought it and hired several members of his own family to come help him run it, including his father. Adolph turned it into a very successful newspaper.

In 1896, Adolph got wind of another failing newspaper called the New York Times, and it was for sale so he bought that one too. Using his experience in Knoxville and Chattanooga, Adolph made it into a very successful newspaper and added features like the book review and the weekly magazine. He changed the newspaper, and he changed the map of Manhattan as well. He moved the Times to the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenues, which was a very busy place but not yet famous. He persuaded the city to give it its own subway stop, and in 1904, Adolph renamed it Times Square after his newspaper. (Before that, it was locally known as Longacre Square.)

Now Adolph Ochs liked the idea of celebrating a holiday in a big public way. He also liked to promote the Times, and New York so he decided he wanted to celebrate a holiday that was a holiday for everybody. He picked New Year’s Eve, and originally celebrated the arrival of midnight with fireworks only that drew complaints. So he came up with a quieter and more legal way since fireworks were also banned in New York. In 1907, based on a method of signaling ships in the harbor, they lowered a giant electrically lit ball along a rooftop mast on top of One Times Square. In an era when electric lights were still new to the public, seeing them move was a remarkable sight. Moreover, in the right mood and on a particular night in December, it still is…

Happy New Year Everyone!