Category Archives: 3.5 hearts

Audiobook Review: Ruin – The Complete Series by Deborah Bladon

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Ruin – The Complete Series by Deborah Bladon
Series: Ruin Parts 1-3
Audiobook Publication Date: March 22nd 2016
Length: 7 hours and 19 minutes
Narrated by: Angela Starling
Links: Audible • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an audiobook in exchange for an honest review

RUIN – Part One

Sitting next to a stranger on a flight from Boston to New York City alters the entire course of Kayla Monroe’s life. In her quest to escape the pain of rejection, she jumps into the bed of an irresistible man who offers her a night that she’ll never forget. Their connection is fierce and undeniable. When their paths cross again, a twist of fate brings her to the realization that the man she’s using to mend her broken heart is Dr. Ben Foster, a compassionate and respected physician. Warnings about his past threaten Kayla’s future. She knows she should believe the rumors, but the moments she spends in his arms – and in his bed – wash away any doubt in her mind. She sees a future with Ben, but those closest to her won’t let her forget that the man she’s falling for has left a path of ruin in his wake that may impact her in a way she never saw coming.

RUIN – Part Two

Kayla Monroe had fallen hard and fast for Dr. Ben Foster. He was everything she needed and wanted after being dumped by the man she thought she loved. What started as a one-night stand quickly turned into a blossoming relationship. Then the complications of his youth halted everything in its tracks. The voices around her are telling Kayla that Ben isn’t the man she thinks he is, but her heart is telling her something completely different. She’s drawn to him like a moth to a flame, and as she listens as he explains his past, she sees the promise of a future with him that she desperately wants. She’s the thread that will weave a path for Ben back into the family he has lost. She senses it, and as she takes on the task of releasing him from his burdens, she discovers that the man she has been sharing her bed with is more complicated than she ever imagined. Just as Kayla is about to step into her future with Ben, she ends up in a place where she’s forced to accept a truth that she never knew existed.

RUIN – Part Three

Kayla Monroe felt safe in the arms of Dr. Ben Foster. He was helping her move past a broken heart, and she was guiding him toward a reclaimed relationship with the brother he’d lost years ago. Their bond was unique, strong, and bordering on a love that would change them both forever. Then Kayla found herself thrust into the middle of a triangle she wanted no part of. She heard things that altered her reality completely. There’s no one for her to rely on but herself, and she has to decide whether a familiar voice from the past holds more weight than the promise of a future she can’t quite grasp yet. Trusting her heart has never been easy for Kayla. Trusting others has never been easy for Ben. Together they have to determine whether the sins of the past are too much to bear or whether a connection that is undeniable is worth the risk.

Holy plot twists!!! Going into Ruin, I really had no idea what to expect. I’ve never read Deborah Bladon’s books or listened to Angela Starling’s narrations, but what I got in this audiobook, I really enjoyed. I couldn’t stop listening to this! It’s sexy, fast-paced, and full of twists and turns you never see coming. There’s pretty much never a dull moment in Ruin. I’m so glad the series was bundled up in this audiobook because I know I wouldn’t be able to stand the cliffhangers and waiting for the next part. If you’re looking for a steamy romance audiobook that will have you biting your nails and on the edge of your seat, I’d recommend this one!

On her way back to New York after being dumped out of nowhere by her love and long-time boyfriend, Kayla Monroe rebounds with a one night stand with the gorgeous, sexy man she met on the plane. She never expects to see Ben again, except it turns out that he is Dr. Ben Foster, estranged twin brother of Kayla’s best friend’s fiancé. Their paths inevitably collide again, and the passion and chemistry they had when they first met comes roaring back as if they never went their separate ways. And then feelings get involved, but how could they not when Ben is kind, compassionate, sensual, and all-around an amazing man? But there are secrets surrounding his past and the mysterious reasons why his brother Noah hates him. When Kayla finds out what those dark secrets are, will she have the strength to stand by the man she’s beginning to fall for?

In the midst of building a relationship with Ben, Kayla is caught in the middle between one twin trying to gain forgiveness and acceptance, and the other twin trying to get answers. She’s endlessly surprised by all the twists and turns of Ben and Noah’s past, and the poor girl never catches a break. Thankfully, anytime she and Ben are together, everything is sweet and wonderful between them. Their romance would definitely be my favorite thing about Ruin. One big thing that got on my nerves though, were Noah and Alexa’s characters. I really couldn’t stand them and their judging ways. And since they take up such a big part of the story, that affected the way I enjoyed listening to the audiobook.

Luckily, Angela Starling did a wonderful job of narrating Kayla’s POV, so I have no complaints about that aspect of the audiobook. I would definitely listen to another of her narrations! Overall, I’d say Ruin is great audiobook – it’s not perfect and I didn’t fully love it, but it had me seriously hooked onto the story.

3.5 hearts
lacey

Here’s an audio excerpt from Ruin – The Complete Series!

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Release Day Review: Hardball by C.D. Reiss

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Hardball by C.D. Reiss
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: March 29th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

Perfect ass.
Perfect arms.
Perfect swagger.
They call Dash Wallace the Diamond King.
He’s the hottest commodity in baseball and in the bedroom.
When he runs the bases, every woman’s eyes are glued to his stunning body and a smile that puts the night lights to shame.
I’m no queen. I’m a regular girl with a regular job. I just watch him on TV and from the bleachers, season after season.
Girls like me grab a guy like that one in a million times.
My number just came up, and he is as spectacular in bed as he is on the field.
But there’s not a woman in the world who can distract Dash Wallace from the game. Not for a moment. Not even me.
Until the night I do. And everything changes.

—–

Hardball is a SMOKING HOT, SEXY romance with a touch of angst and a ton of heart from CD Reiss. It’s a fun, witty, full-length standalone meant for the over-eighteen crowd.

I adore sports romances, but I have to admit, Hardball was a little different than what I expected. Going in, I thought it’d be something light-hearted and fun, like a ton of other sports romances I’ve read, but I should’ve known C.D. Reiss would turn up the heat in Hardball and give it an intensity I wasn’t used to in typical sports romances. It’s fast-paced, sexy as hell, and a very enjoyable read. I didn’t LOVE it – there was something missing in the book that prevented me from fully loving the characters, but I would still recommend Hardball for those who love sports and sexytimes.

Vivian is a school librarian and a huge baseball fan. During a school trip, she meets Dash Wallace, a famous player both on and off the baseball field. Vivian feels that Dash is completely out of her league, but circumstances bring them together and the chemistry and tension between them explodes before they know it. Hardball is seriously HAWT. Dash gets down and dirty with the woman he can’t stop thinking about, and these two are seriously smokin’ in bed. What starts off as a sex-only relationship leads to so much more as they get to know each other, but how can a relationship work out when Dash is the kind of person who doesn’t like change?

“You,” he said. “You threw it all in the fire. Things started collapsing right before you, and when you came, everything went to hell. It’s you. I denied it, because if I let you in, I had to start over. I tried to bend it around to not want you. But I can’t deny it anymore. There’s no center without you.”

Vivian is a sweetheart of a heroine, very down-to-earth and relatable. Being with one of the most famous baseball players ever is like a dream come true for her, but falling for one is so much more daunting. Thankfully, she’s the kind of woman who follows her heart. Dash, on the other hand, is a bit frustrating with his push-and-pull attitude with Vivian. You can see how much he wants her and grows to care for her, but it takes a while for him to fully commit to the idea of a long-lasting relationship. He has vulnerabilities that I didn’t expect, and even though I wasn’t too into him during the first half, I was sold on his character by the end of the book.

“I’m telling myself it’s okay to doubt the purpose of my life. … I thought I’d built something stable, but I didn’t. It was shit, because what we have is forever. It can’t be shut down. I can doubt everything, but I don’t doubt that I love you.”

Fast-paced and sexy would be the perfect words to describe Hardball. There’s seriously never a dull moment in the story, and almost every scene is filled with tension. C.D. Reiss wrote the perfect balance of reality and fairytale in Hardball, and I really did enjoy it. It wasn’t perfect, but it’s an entertaining read, and if you love dirty books, I’d recommend this one!

3.5 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

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Release Day Review: Felony Ever After (a Domino novel)

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Felony Ever After by Helena Hunting, Debra Anastasia, Nina Bocci, Vi Keeland, Penelope Ward, Leisa Rayven, Liv Morris, Tijan, J.M. Darhower, Belle Aurora, K.A. Robinson, S.M. Lumetta, Katherine Stevens
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: March 22nd 2016
Links: Ebook • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the authors in exchange for an honest review

***13 Authors put their brains together to write ONE story***

Verity Michaels is new to New York City, but even she knows riding in a stolen a cab is not a normal way to meet someone. Damn it if that tattoo-covered would-be felon isn’t everywhere now, and lighting everything on fire under her skirt.

His name is Hudson Fenn, and he’s frustratingly impossible to pin down. He works as a bike messenger, but has the manners of a prince—along with a strange tendency toward breaking and entering. As much as Verity knows he’s not her type, and likely to land her in jail, she can’t help but find her truest self when they’re together.

Can she be brave enough to give Hudson a real chance? Will he be bold enough to reveal the man beneath the ink, or will his secrecy doom their connection? Also, WTF is the deal with Verity’s boss? No less than thirteen of your favorite romance writers have teamed up to tell this sexy, wacky, snort-inducing tale. With them you’ll visit the world’s most irritating office, a VIP room of questionable cleanliness, and the fanciest apartment a bike messenger has ever inhabited, but you’ll still never see this ending coming.

I absolutely LOVED the idea of Felony Ever After! Thirteen authors collaborating on ONE story – I was really excited to see how it would all work out. While I found the story fun but way over the top, the actual execution of it by all the authors more than impressed me. Despite the slightly different writing styles, I nearly couldn’t tell that each chapter was written by someone else, the story moved so smoothly. I would definitely read another book like this!

Verity Michaels gave up her failed dream job as a photographer and moved to NYC to work an office job with a perverted boss. On her way home one day, a gorgeous tattooed man jumps into a cab with her, offering to split the ride, but soon enough ends up hijacking the taxi and bringing Verity home. Is he a felon or a white knight?

“You’re a total criminal, aren’t you?” she asked, but to her surprise, she was grinning ear to ear.
He shook his head. “Have I stolen your heart yet?”
That stopped her cold. She blinked several times. “What?”
“Don’t answer,” he whispered. “I won’t take it until you give it freely.”

Hudson Fenn is more than just his tattoos and his job as a bike messenger, and he’s determined to show Verity that he’s perfect for her. Hudson is sweet, sexy, and hilarious – but he’s still keeping secrets that Verity is dying to know. He’s a bike messenger by day, but what does he get up to at night?

Felony Ever After is over-the-top hilarity. I laughed so much during this book – it truly is a fun read, even if I didn’t completely love it. The story kind of glosses over things, never really delving into the plot, but it’s a quick, entertaining read. Each author writes one or two chapters at a time, and you really can’t tell that much whenever it switches authors. If you’re a fan of any of the authors of this unique anthology, I recommend you give this book a try, if only to experience this kind of collaboration!

3.5 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

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Release Day Review: Elastic Hearts by Claire Contreras

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Elastic Hearts by Claire Contreras
Series: Hearts #3 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: March 20th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

Victor Reuben.
Most sought out divorce attorney in LA.

Nicole Alessi.
Soon to be ex-wife of Hollywood’s biggest star, Victor’s latest client and his boss’s daughter.

In such a high profile divorce, they can’t afford any extra drama. Luckily, neither one of them has anything to hide.
Unless you count the mind blowing sex they had…
Once…
Twice…
Three times all those years ago.

As long as they leave the past where it belongs, they’ll be fine. But with her wearing those tight dresses and him giving her those heated glances, keeping their hands to themselves is proving to be more difficult than either one of them realized.

It won’t be long before the paparazzi start to smell smoke, and where there’s smoke…

I’m a big fan of Claire Contreras’ Hearts series, so I was so excited when I heard Victor would be a getting his own book! If you’ve enjoyed the previous Hearts books, you should know that Elastic Hearts is a bit different than Kaleidoscope Hearts and Paper Hearts. It’s not quite a second chance romance, so there isn’t as much angst in this book, but it is more of a forbidden love story. While I liked Victor and Nicole’s book, I didn’t really love it as much as KH or PH. I just didn’t feel engaged as much as I wish I did, so that ended up affecting how I enjoyed the story. Still, it’s a well-written contemporary romance, and if you love the Hearts series, you just might love Elastic Hearts too.

“I’ve worked so fucking hard and this case is going to blow it all to shit,” he said, inching his face closer to mine. I stopped breathing. “All because I need this more than I’ve needed anything else in my fucking life.”

We first met Victor Reuben in Kaleidoscope Hearts as Estelle’s older brother. It didn’t seem like he was that much into relationships then, so I was excited to see him falling in love. Victor is one of the most popular and successful divorce attorneys in L.A. and he’s got one more case to handle before he can make partner at the firm he works at. But it turns out that the divorce case he’s handed just so happens to be the daughter of his boss… and the woman he used to hook up with all those years ago.

Nicole Alessi, a costume designer for celebrities, is ready to finish through with her divorce and move on with her life and away from her soon-to-be ex-husband, a famous actor in Hollywood. She doesn’t expect Victor to be handling her divorce, or for the sizzling chemistry and attraction that combusted years ago to still exist today. Nicole always thought of Victor as the one who got away, but he was too anti-relationship back then to truly make something out of a relationship with him. Now, Nicole tries to tempt him into their crazy-hot hookups again, but Victor is very hands-off with clients. But there’s only so much temptation Victor can handle before he once again falls for Nicole’s allure.

Elastic Hearts moved very, very slow. That was my main problem with the book – I really wanted the pace of the romance to move faster. Plus, Victor was too frustrating and hot-and-cold with his feelings for Nicole. I kind of felt bad for her every time he would pull her in, only to push her away. It also took a bit too long for my taste for Victor to realize that he’s not so anti-relationship or anti-love as he thought.

“I don’t stretch. I don’t mold. I don’t conform, and despite what people say about my career, I’m not a liar. So when I tell you I’m in love with you, Nicole, it’s because I’m in fucking love with you.”

I liked this book for the most part, but I wouldn’t say it was anything special or unique. I had to skip forward a bit at some slow parts, but overall, I did have fun reading this book. It’s hot, sweet, and totally sexy – I just wish I could’ve connected better with Nicole and Victor and really FELT for their characters. Nonetheless, even though I didn’t fully love this book, I would still recommend it for Claire Contreras fans and the Hearts series fans. Especially since you’ll get to see a lot of Estelle, Oliver, Mia, and Jensen!

3.5 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

Reading Order: Hearts series

Kaleidoscope Hearts by Claire Contreras Paper Hearts by Claire Contreras 

#1 ~ Kaleidoscope Hearts: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Paper Hearts: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Elastic Hearts: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

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ARC Review: Porn Star by Laurelin Paige & Sierra Simone

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Porn Star by Laurelin Paige & Sierra Simone
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: March 8th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the authors in exchange for an honest review

You know me.

Come on, you know you do.

Maybe you pretend you don’t. Maybe you clear your browser history religiously. Maybe you pretend to be aghast whenever someone even mentions the word porn in your presence.

But the truth is that you do know me.

Everybody knows Logan O’Toole, world famous porn star.

Except then Devi Dare pops into my world, and pretty soon I’m doing things that aren’t like me–like texting her with flirty banter and creating an entire web porn series just so I can get to star in her bed. Again. And again.

With Devi, my entire universe shifts, and the more time I spend with her, the more I realize that Logan O’Toole isn’t the guy I thought he was.

So maybe I’m not the guy you thought I was either.

When I heard Laurelin Paige and Sierra Simone were collaborating on a work together, I knew it was going to be a HOT read. And then when I heard it was going to be about a porn star? Well, I had to see for myself what this book would be like. Porn Star actually surprised me – the authors’ take on the porn industry was interesting, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought this book would be sexy and fun and light-hearted, but it turned out to be more than that. This won’t be a read for everyone, especially if you don’t like your characters being with other people, but otherwise, Porn Star was a well-written, unique, fascinating take on the life of a person in the porn industry.

The fantasy of being in love.
Jesus.
I scrub my face with my hands, feeling liberated and also feeling pathetic. Who in this selfish, indulgent, spray-tanned city would ever guess that Logan O’Toole has a chewy caramel center? That under his I’ll-fuck-anything-that-moves veneer, there is a guy who just wants to love someone?

Logan O’Toole isn’t your typical hero. He isn’t even your typical guy. He’s a famous porn star who’s been burned by love (a woman who also works in the porn industry) and he’s quite the sensitive soul. He may be be all sexual and alpha in bed and while filming, but outside of that, he’s a normal guy who genuinely wants to find love. And he actually takes his job, not only as a porn star but also as a director, writer, and editor, very seriously. We get a lot of depth and information about this industry, and while I feel like the book focused too much on that, I did appreciate how it made the book feel more real and authentic.

Devi Dare went into the porn industry because she needed the money, but she only does girl-on-girl porn. The one time she was with a man was with Logan an his ex in a threesome a few years ago, and since then she’s never really been able to forget him. Lucky for her, Logan feels the same way about Devi, and the two agree to film a porn series about a couple falling in love. So what happens when real feelings get involved along the way? Can a relationship in the porn industry actually work… and last?

My theater teacher in high school liked to talk about the unities, where time and place and action all converged into one point. Well, Devi is my unity right now. Drawing my body and my mind and my heart into a single, crystalline point, fusing all the disparate Logans into one bewitched, infatuated man.
I’ve fallen for her.

My heart actually hurt a bit for Devi and Logan as they were navigating this new relationship balancing sex, porn, and love. When both people in a relationship aren’t on the same page, one of them is bound to get hurt. The problem here is that Logan doesn’t see anything wrong with doing porn with other women while having a relationship with Devi, but Devi eventually realizes she does. Even though I personally don’t agree with the way Logan views sex and love, I did understand him, but I really wanted him to open his eyes about love and Devi a lot sooner than he did. Again, if you don’t like your main characters being with other people, this book won’t be easy to read.

The highlight of this book is definitely the writing, with the steamy scenes coming in second. I adored Devi and felt for her and her struggles, and while I liked Logan, I wanted to shake him sometimes. This story really felt like an honest take on the porn industry, which was fascinating, buuut I didn’t really like all the time Logan spent with other women. If you’re looking for something well-written and different from your typical read, I would definitely recommend Porn Star.

3.5 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.

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