Review: Uncovered by Emily Snow

Uncovered by Emily Snow

Uncovered by Emily Snow
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: August 8th 2014
Purchase: Ebook

My name is Lizzie Connelly, and I have it all. The gorgeous apartment. The new job most women would rip out their own souls for—working for Margaret Emerson at Emerson & Taylor. I have one of those lives you’ve always dreamt about, the kind you only see on HBO. But, the thing is, that life is a lie. A façade.

It all started with one call. “Everything you know about your story—your father’s story—is a lie. It’s up to you to uncover everything.” One call, and I turned my world upside down to dig my way into Margaret’s life—the woman who I’d never laid eyes on until recently. My stepmother who took everything after my father died fourteen years ago.

The plan was simple—figure out what role she played in my father’s death and expose her to the world.

But here’s another thing: simplicity doesn’t exist, and my plans are flawed from the beginning because I never anticipated Oliver. Sexy, too smart for his own goddamn good, and infuriating, he’s the one person who could blow my plans to uncover Margaret. She’s his mother, and in another life, that would have made him my stepbrother.

I want to pretend that none of that matters, that I can simply finish what I came to do without sparing him a second glance and another thought.

Like I said, though, there’s no such thing as simplicity.

My real name is Gemma Emerson.

And this is my story.

I was in the perfect mood for Uncovered. I wanted a book I could get hooked onto that had some some hot tension and some excitement and thrills, and Emily Snow gave me all that and more! I was pleasantly surprised by Uncovered, actually. I was intrigued by the synopsis–it sounded sooo good, and I was crossing my fingers that the inside would be just as good. And it definitely was! I thoroughly enjoyed reading Uncovered–it was the perfect combination of sexy and suspenseful.

“Everything you’ve been told about your story, your father’s story, is a lie. It’s up to you to uncover the truth.”

Gemma Emerson receives a mysterious phone call one day that changes her life. She’s told that her father’s death years ago wasn’t as simple as a heart attack killing him. There was more involved in his death, and more to the fact that Gemma was left nothing in her father’s will. Gemma was left to struggle with money, especially after her mother died shortly after her father. She reached out to her stepmother, her father’s second wife, but was shot down, told that her father didn’t leave any money for her–and instead, all of her father’s possessions were instead handed over to Gemma’s stepmother. Even devastated by the loss of her parents, and by the hurt that she didn’t mean anything to her father, Gemma was able to move on and carve a life for herself. She wanted nothing to do with her stepmother ever again, but that one phone call collides her past and present.

Gemma becomes Lizzie Connelly, a fake identity she uses to uncover the truth surrounding her father’s death and will. Lizzie works at Emerson & Taylor for Margaret Emerson, the stepmother that Gemma’s father left everything to. Lizzie’s job is to infiltrate Margaret’s life and expose the truth, but Lizzie never factored in Oliver Manning, Margaret’s son–and Gemma’s stepbrother.

Oliver Manning is sex-on-a-stick. He’s charming, he oozes sexuality, and he very much wants Lizzie. He doesn’t recognize her as Gemma, to her relief, but Gemma’s attraction to him is something she loves and hates. He fires her up like no other, but their chemistry is never something she factored in on her plan to uncover the truth.

I totally adored Oliver. I didn’t LOVE him with all my heart, but he definitely made me swoon a couple times throughout the book. He and Gemma easily heat up the pages, and I loved the slightly taboo aspect of their relationship–of Gemma falling for her sexy stepbrother.

“I didn’t plan on bringing you up here. But when I saw you–” Pausing, he let out a laugh that was just a touch remorseful. “–nobody else in that room existed.”

Sexy and full of twists and turns, Uncovered had me hooked from start to finish. As I read, I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next–some things shocked me, some things were predictable, but overall, Emily Snow wrote an addicting story in Uncovered. 4 hearts!

4-hearts

lacey

Blog Tour + ARC Review & Giveaway: Debt Inheritance by Pepper Winters

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Welcome to today’s stop on the DEBT INHERITANCE tour! DEBT INHERITANCE is the first book in the INDEBTED series, and for Pepper Winters fans, it shouldn’t be missed!

Debt Inheritance by Pepper Winters

Debt Inheritance by Pepper Winters
Series: Indebted #1
Release date: August 18th 2014
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“I own you. I have the piece of paper to prove it. It’s undeniable and unbreakable. You belong to me until you’ve paid off your debts.”

Nila Weaver’s family is indebted. Being the first born daughter, her life is forfeit to the first born son of the Hawks to pay for sins of ancestors past. The dark ages might have come and gone, but debts never leave. She has no choice in the matter.

She is no longer free.

Jethro Hawk receives Nila as an inheritance present on his twenty-ninth birthday. Her life is his until she’s paid off a debt that’s centuries old. He can do what he likes with her—nothing is out of bounds—she has to obey.

There are no rules. Only payments.

A modern day Dark Erotic Romance

Buy Links:
Amazon US • Amazon UK • Kobo • iTunes

review

Holy shit!! I honestly have no idea what I just read, but it was dark, delicious, and I was utterly addicted to it. Debt Inheritance completely lives up to Pepper Winters standards, so fans definitely should not miss this.

My twenty-ninth birthday gave me a pet. A toy.
A responsibility I didn’t want.
Debts I had to extract from unwilling flesh.
A job to uphold our family honour.
Nila Weaver.

So that right there says it all. The Weaver family owes a debt to the Hawk family, and every generation, the first-born Weaver daughter is given to the first-born Hawk son to fulfill that debt. For the past few centuries, this debt has been paid, and Nila Weaver is the next payment.

Nila is a fashion designer living her dream. She’s showcasing her designs in Milan, her beloved family is there with her to celebrate, when her world turns upside-down.

Turned out, I was never an individual; I was a possession to trade.
I was never unique; someone had lived my life many times before, never free, never whole.
My life was never mine.
My destiny was already written.
My story began the night he came for me.

Nila has been sheltered by her father all her life; she has little experience with men, so when a mysterious, handsome man named Jethro Hawk approaches her at her fashion show, she jumps at the chance to go out with him. But though Jethro may come off as a gentleman, elegant and charming, underneath it all is a lethal, dangerous force. And he unleashes that force onto Nila and takes her away from everything she’s ever known.

Told in alternating POVs, this first installment of the Indebted series is fast-paced, dark, and gritty. We have Nila’s POV, an innocent girl thrust into her very own nightmare. She’s become someone’s possession, but there’s still a fire within her, a fire that intrigues her ‘owner.’ And we have Jethro’s POV, in which we discover what kind of man he is, how he came to be this powerful, sensual, harsh man, and whether he is worth redeeming.

This series holds so much potential–I can’t wait to see where Pepper Winters will take this story and these characters.

4 hearts
lacey

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

about the author

Pepper Winters

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex… her books have sex.

She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.

Her Dark Erotica books include:
Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1)
Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)

Her Grey Romance books include:
Destroyed

Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Pinterest

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Signed Swag Pack (2 Winners)
ebook of Debt Inheritance (5 Winners)

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Early Review: The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost

The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost

The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost
Series: Broken Destiny #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: August 26th 2014
Purchase: EbookPaperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher (Harlequin) in exchange for an honest review

In a world of shadows, anything is possible. Except escaping your fate.

Ever since she was a child, Ivy has been gripped by visions of strange realms just beyond her own. But when her sister goes missing, Ivy discovers the truth is far worse—her hallucinations are real, and her sister is trapped in a parallel realm. And the one person who believes her is the dangerously attractive guy who’s bound by an ancient legacy to betray her.

Adrian might have turned his back on those who raised him, but that doesn’t mean he can change his fate…no matter how strong a pull he feels toward Ivy. Together they search for the powerful relic that can save her sister, but Adrian knows what Ivy doesn’t: that every step brings Ivy closer to the truth about her own destiny, and a war that could doom the world. Sooner or later, it will be Ivy on one side and Adrian on the other. And nothing but ashes in between…

I’m a HUGE fan of Jeaniene Frost–she does paranormal like no other. And when I found out she was writing a new paranormal series that was also NEW ADULT? I totally jumped for joy! I loved her Night Huntress series, so of course I had to read this new series. Plus, there aren’t that many new adult books that dab in the paranormal genre, but what better way to be introduced to this genre than with Jeaniene Frost?

I really, really liked The Beautiful Ashes. It wasn’t perfect, but I enjoyed myself the whole time reading this. We have our heroine, Ivy, who sees visions of different realms. She doesn’t know if what she sees is real, or why she sees them, or even how, but she mainly ignores it to keep her insanity intact. But when her sister gets kidnapped, her whole world is turned upside down, because those visions? They’re real.

“Well, Ivy. I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is, you’re not crazy. The bad news is, everything you’ve seen is real, and now, it’ll be coming for you.”

In the midst of finding out about all this craziness–demons, angels, and parallel realms are totally real and they totally exist–the one thing Ivy can focus on is saving her sister. And the one person who can help Ivy is Adrian, a man that sparks something in her she’s never felt before, a man who is destined to become her enemy.

I have to say, even though I didn’t fall for Adrian as much as I wanted to, I can see myself wholeheartedly loving him in the upcoming books in the series. I’m not even sure why I didn’t LOVE Adrian from the start–he’s a total badass, he’s mysterious, he protects Ivy with everything he’s got, and there’s a delicious tension between him and Ivy I lapped up. Adrian and Ivy are destined to be enemies, which makes their attraction to each other all the better.

“You’re the light I can never have… and I’m the darkness you’ll never succumb to.”

Ivy herself is a good heroine–I could connect with her, but up to a point. Still, I liked her well enough, but Ivy and Adrian together is what made the story for me. As Ivy and Adrian search for a relic to save her sister, they grow closer together. I really enjoyed watching their relationship slowly develop–the scenes I loved reading were always the ones with the two of them together.

There’s excitement, action, and intrigue, as well as a little humor here and there that is typical from Jeaniene Frost. The Beautiful Ashes met my expectations, but… it didn’t surpass it. I wanted to love it, but my only problem was that the world building fell a bit flat for me. It felt like I, along with Ivy, was thrust into this world too quickly without knowing anything. It gave me a ton of information without letting me have the time to process it. I like being given bits and pieces of a world so I can map it out myself, but it was difficult to do with this book.

The main thing about The Beautiful Ashes is that it holds potential. I honestly can’t wait to see what Jeaniene Frost has in store for us with the rest of the series. Now that we’ve got the world-building over and done with, I’m so excited to see this potential grow into so much more.

4 hearts
lacey

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

Reading Order: Broken Destiny series

The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost The Sweetest Burn by Jeaniene Frost

#1 ~ The Beautiful Ashes: EbookPaperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ The Sweetest Burn: EbookAudible • Goodreads

Blog Tour + ARC Review, Excerpt & Giveaway: Six of Hearts by L.H. Cosway

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Welcome to today’s stop on the SIX OF HEARTS tour!! SIX OF HEARTS is definitely a book you don’t want to miss.

Six of Hearts by L.H. Cosway

Six of Hearts by L.H. Cosway
Series: Hearts #1 (full reading order below)
Release Date: July 28th 2014
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Step right up and meet Jay Fields: Illusionist. Mentalist. Trickster.

I think in triangles. You think in straight lines.

I show you a table and make you believe it’s a chair.

Smoke and mirrors, sleight of hand, misdirection. I trick and deceive.

But most of all, I put on a good show.

The world thinks I killed a man, but I didn’t. Bear with me. It’s all a part of the plan.

Revenge is what I want. I want it for me and I want it for her.
I want it for all six of us.

She doesn’t remember me, but she’s the reason for everything. She’ll be my prize at the end of all this – if I can hold onto my willpower, that is. Maybe I’ll slip up a little, have a taste, just a small one.

So go ahead and pick a card. Come inside and see the show. Look at my hands, look so closely that you can’t see what’s happening while you’re so focused on looking. I’ll be destroying your world from right here in the spotlight.

You’ll never see me coming until it’s too late.

I’ve only got one heart, and after I’ve pulled off my grand deception I’ll hand it right to her.

So, sit back, relax, and let my girl tell you our story. You’re in for one hell of a ride.

Buy Links:
Amazon US • Amazon UK • B&N • Kobo • iTunes

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First off, that blurb right there. It sucked me in and had me dying to have my hands on this book. I’d never read anything by L.H. Cosway before, but that blurb had me hook, line and sinker. And the second I got a copy of Six of Hearts, I devoured it! It was like nothing I’ve ever read before, and I’m so glad I read it. Six of Hearts was intriguing, unique, and so much fun to read. It’s about a man’s quest for revenge–and how he falls in love along the way.

Jay is an illusionist, and after being slandered by the media, he wants to take legal action. This is where the heroine Matilda comes in–her father is a lawyer, and she works in his office. I won’t go into anything more specific, because it’s best to experience this book not knowing much (besides the blurb). This book had plenty of twists and turns, and L.H. Cosway does an excellent job of creating suspense that had me on the edge of my seat.

The heroine, Matilda, is the kind of girl who’s relatable and likable. She has a subtle kind of humor I liked, and she’s very sassy towards Jay. She’s sweet and innocent, whereas Jay is charming and charismatic. I loved that Matilda and Jay form a friendship first–especially because the chemistry between them causes so much tension. Their forming friendship was so much fun to read–Jay and Matilda have so much great banter, and Jay becomes very protective of Matilda.

Matilda has a hard time resisting Jay–he’s the kind of guy you can’t help falling for. He’s sexy and charming, and definitely cocky at times. He had me grinning so much at times, but what I loved most was how he’s so incredibly sweet to Matilda.

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever felt.”

It actually took me a while to warm up to Jay, but he was just too intriguing not to want to know more about. He’s very secretive, but throughout the story, you can see how his quest for revenge unravels. All the while, his and Matilda’s heartfelt romance blooms.

I was sucked in to Jay and Matilda’s story from start to finish. They have a romance that unfolds at the perfect pace–it’s got the perfect amount of sweet and sexy. Jay’s quest had me intrigued, but the only–main–downside to the book was the predictability. I wanted something more mysterious, but from the get-go, we know the basics. Still, I’d highly recommend giving Six of Hearts a try. It’s definitely a book that you won’t forget anytime soon. 4 hearts!

My favorite quote:

“The maybes could go on forever, Watson, but we both know that mystery is better than the truth. So why not live with the magic? Be a kid again and believe in the fantastical. Life is more fun with a little smoke and mirrors.”

4 hearts
lacey

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

Now here’s an excerpt from Six of Hearts! ❤

excerpt button

Jay tugs on my hand and leads me out to the back garden, where the sun is shining down warmly. “I created a magic trick just for you. I think I have it perfected.”

“For me? Seriously?” I ask in delight. He hands me what looks like a small beige chicken’s egg, placing it in my upturned palm.

“It’s an egg,” I say, stating the obvious.

Jay nods. “Just keep watching.” He passes his hand over it once, and it starts to crack, like maybe there’s a tiny chick inside. Then he passes his hand over the top of it again, and it cracks completely open. I gasp with surprise as five gorgeous red and black butterflies with white spots practically explode from the shell, their wings flapping through the air. They flutter all around me, and my heart lifts when one of them comes to sit on my shoulder.

“Oh, wow,” I whisper, smiling like crazy and trying my hardest not to move. Another comes and sits on my hand, tickling me and making me giggle.

When I look at Jay, his eyes are shining bright under the sun as he soaks up my reaction, his mouth curving ever so slightly at the edges. I’m not even going to ask him how he did it. I’m locked in his spell, and I don’t want to break it.

“That was amazing,” I say to him when the butterflies have all finally flown away.

Stepping closer, he takes my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Look at those eyes, so full of wonder. I love your reactions. They make me feel like I can reclaim the childhood I never had.”

His heartfelt words make my throat tighten with empathy. I feel like hugging him, but I can’t. It would be…too much

Reading Order: Hearts series

Six of Hearts by L.H. Cosway Hearts of Fire by L.H. Cosway King of Hearts by L.H. Cosway Hearts of Blue by L.H. Cosway

#1 ~ Six of Hearts: EbookPaperback • AudibleGoodreads
#2 ~ Hearts of Fire: My Review • EbookPaperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ King of Hearts: My Review • EbookPaperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Hearts of Blue: My Review • EbookPaperback • Goodreads
#5 ~ Thief of Hearts: Goodreads (2016)
#6 ~ Hearts on Air: Goodreads (2016)

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L.H. CoswayL.H. Cosway has a BA in English Literature and Greek and Roman Civilisation, and an MA in Postcolonial Literature. She lives in Dublin city. Her inspiration to write comes from music. Her favourite things in life include writing stories, vintage clothing, dark cabaret music, food, musical comedy, and of course, books.

She thinks that imperfect people are the most interesting kind. They tell the best stories.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Amazon Page

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Signed copies of all four L.H. Cosway contemporary romances

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Review: Play by Kylie Scott

Play by Kylie Scott

Play by Kylie Scott
Series: Stage Dive #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: March 25th 2014
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

Kylie Scott returns with the highly anticipated follow-up to international bestseller Lick.

Mal Ericson, drummer for the world famous rock band Stage Dive, needs to clean up his image fast—at least for a little while. Having a good girl on his arm should do the job just fine. Mal doesn’t plan on this temporary fix becoming permanent, but he didn’t count on finding the one right girl.

Anne Rollins never thought she’d ever meet the rock god who plastered her teenage bedroom walls—especially not under these circumstances. Anne has money problems. Big ones. But being paid to play the pretend girlfriend to a wild life-of-the-party drummer couldn’t end well. No matter how hot he is. Or could it?

“Life’s a song, Anne. Let’s play.”

Oh. My. GOOOOSH!!! MAL!!!!!

Oh my good lord, I honestly cannot believe how much I freaking love Mal Ericson. This drummer from Stage Dive is absolute perfection–it’s always the funny ones that get to me. And Mal is in a whole league of his own. He is such a unique character–you would expect a rockstar to be all broody and angsty, like the other three boys in the band are, but Mal is definitely not! And I adored him for it! He says the most ridiculous things and they had me laughing my butt off, with tears coming out of my eyes. God I love this man.

“I like you,” he said simply.
“You barely know me.”
“You’re a friend of Ev’s and Lauren’s. We talked. I tackled you. We rolled around on the floor together. It was a real bonding experience.”
I blinked.

So Mal is the perfect hero, but did I mention how freaking awesome the heroine is too? Anne is the most perfect match for Mal–she can handle all of his shit and more. But how do they get together in the first place? Well, Anne is in need of a roommate to help pay the rent, and Mal is in need of a pretend girlfriend… so everything works out, right?

“You’re moving in with me?” …
“Yes, pumpkin,” said Mal, his face deadly serious. “I am moving in with you.”
I cringed at the horrid nickname but chose to focus on the real concern for now. “When did we talk about this exactly?”
“Actually, you might have left by then. But it doesn’t change the facts.”

So basically Mal takes Anne by surprise by storming into her life–and her life is honestly never the same after.

I love how resigned Anne is to Mal taking over her life–she pretty much reacts to everything he does with a “What the hell?” She’s had a crush on the famous drummer since forever, but it doesn’t change the fact that Mal is honestly the weirdest guy ever. He’s cracking jokes 24/7, but Anne is able to handle all of him and dish out some of her own. I couldn’t imagine a more suitable person to go up against Mal’s wild personality. But still, there are times when Mal leaves Anne speechless.

“You taste so fucking good.”
“Like what?” I asked breathlessly, thigh muscles tightening. The man was lucky I didn’t just attack him with my vagina. “What do I taste like?”
“Well, like honey and cream and… I  dunno, bread?”
I scrunched up my nose. “Bread?”
“Yes. Sexy bread that I could eat all the time because you are so delicious and full of wholegrain goodness.”

Or my absolute FAVORITE part that had me in stitches:

“Hello, Anne’s clitoris. It’s me, Malcolm, your lord and master.”
“Oh, god, no.” I covered my face with my hands. “Please don’t.”

Jesus, I sometimes don’t even know what to make of Mal myself. But I still love him.

And then there are tender moments between Anne and Mal that had me falling in love with their story even more.

“Don’t have sad eyes, Anne. I can’t fucking stand it when you’re sad.”
“You make it better.”

I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect story for Mal and Anne. It’s the ‘pretending to be boyfriend/girlfriend’ trope, but Kylie Scott gives it such a unique twist. I couldn’t put the book down once I started reading. It’s a crazy, wild ride from start to finish, all because of the force that is Mal Ericson.

But… I almost could give this book 5 hearts, except the last 20% or so of the book threw me off a bit. Everything seemed rushed here and not well fleshed out enough. I wish there was just more here. Nonetheless, everything else about the book was so much fun to read! Play is another fantastic installment in the Stage Dive series, which is quickly becoming one of my top favorite rocker series!

4 hearts!

4-hearts

lacey

Series Order: Stage Dive series

Lick by Kylie Scott Play by Kylie Scott Lead by Kylie Scott Deep by Kylie Scott

#1 ~ Lick: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Play: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Lead: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Deep: My Review Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads