Release Day Review: Beautiful Beloved by Christina Lauren

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Beautiful Beloved by Christina Lauren
Series: Beautiful Bastard #3.6 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: February 2nd 2015
Links: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The seventh work in the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling series that started with the Beautiful Bastard, Beautiful Stranger, and Beautiful Player novels. Featuring all the Beautiful characters…plus one tiny new addition to the group.

In Beautiful Stranger, finance whiz Sara Dillon met the irresistibly sexy Brit, Max Stella, at a New York City club. Through the series we’ve watched them learn to balance commitment with their less than private brand of playfulness. In Beautiful Beloved, Max and Sara take it to the next step. But the question is: Will they be able to find a balance between the wild sexcapades they aren’t ready to retire, and the demands of parenthood that come along with their new Beautiful bundle of joy? Parenthood: it’s not for the weak of heart.

I freaking adore Max and Sara. I fell so hard for them in Beautiful Stranger, so I was highly anticipating Beautiful Beloved. And what do you know, I fell even more in love with with these two beloved (hehe) characters! I loved reconnecting with Max and Sara and seeing them in a new part of their lives.

Sara and Max now have a beautiful baby girl named Annabel. Parenthood is exhausting but could not be more perfectly suited for them. Honestly, Sara and Max as parents is just adorable! I love how much they dote on their daughter – and Max as a father? Priceless. My heart melts at how much he loves and cherishes his two girls.

Sara is getting back on her feet and ready to balance work and motherhood. And she’s also looking forward to going back to the club she and Max loved to frequent. But Max is a bit hesitant about going back. He sees her as the mother of his child, as someone to take care of, but Sara is determined to make him see her again as his wife and lover. And oh my… I’d nearly forgotten how hot Max and Sara are! If you were a fan of their sexcapades in Beautiful Stranger, you are going to LOVE them in Beautiful Beloved! Being parents definitely doesn’t diminish the intensity and sensuality of their sex lives.

Of course, we get to see the rest of the gang from the Beautiful Bastard series! Chloe and Bennett, Hanna and Will are all there (Will taking care of Annabel is the most hilarious thing ever). But really… one of the best parts about Beautiful Beloved is meeting Niall Stella, Max’s brother!! Niall is going to be starring in his own book soon and I loved that we get a preview of his character. He’s an accomplished engineer from England, but he visits Max and Sara to see Annabel. He’s a funny, intriguing, and sexy man, and the excerpt from his book at the end of Beautiful Beloved makes me so desperate to get to know his story!

For fans of the Beautiful Bastard series, this latest installment should not be missed! It’s a sweet, sexy continuation of Max and Sara’s story that I wished would never end. I honestly could read about these two characters forever, and this glimpse into their lives as parents was perfect.

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

Reading Order: Beautiful Bastard series

#1 ~ Beautiful Bastard: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Beautiful Bitch: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Beautiful Stranger: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2.5 ~ Beautiful Bombshell: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Beautiful Player: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3.5 ~ Beautiful Beginning: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3.6 ~ Beautiful Beloved: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Beautiful Secret: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4.5 ~ Beautiful Boss: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#5 ~ Beautiful: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads (Oct. 4, 2016)

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27Jan2015

Release Day Review: Bound by Flames by Jeaniene Frost

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Bound by Flames by Jeaniene Frost
Series: Night Prince #3 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: January 27th 2015
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I won a copy from the author

Play with fire, pay the price.

Leila’s years on the carnie circuit were certainly an education. What she didn’t learn: how to be a vampire, or how to be married to the most famous vampire of them all. Adjusting to both has Leila teetering on a knife edge between passion and peril, and now the real danger is about to begin…

Vlad must battle with a centuries-old enemy whose reach stretches across continents and whose strength equals his own. It isn’t like Vlad to feel fear, but he does…for Leila, because his enemy knows she is Vlad’s greatest weakness. As friend and foe alike align against him—and his overprotectiveness drives Leila away—Vlad’s love for his new bride could be the very thing that dooms them both…

Vlad and Leila are back and better than ever!

I freaking love this couple… Maybe even a little more than Cat and Bones. *Gasp* Yeah, I know, but while Cat and Bones fell a little flat by the end of their series, Leila and Vlad honestly get better and better with each book. I don’t know how many times I’ve reread the previous two books in the Night Prince series, and every time, I fall more in love with them. And hello there’s Vlad, who is my absolute favorite character in the entire Night Huntress world — he’s powerful, sensual, and his love for Leila is the deepest, most beautiful thing. So of course I’d been eagerly anticipating this third book, and it highly exceeded my expectations! I absolutely loved it!

Vlad and Leila are getting into the role of husband and wife, but it’s not that easy. Vlad is overprotective and domineering, and Leila is stubborn as hell and somehow always getting into danger. But even though their marital roles need time getting used to, there’s no doubt that they both love each other fiercely. Vlad is as sexy and passionate as ever, and as Leila’s husband, he’s even more alpha-male, which I was totally a fan of. And I love that as hot and fierce as their love is for each other, they still joke around with each other. I just adore Vlad and Leila together!

Vlad and Leila have been searching for their enemy, Szilagyi, but he’s powerful and always seems a step ahead. Vlad will do anything to protect Leila, and that’s tested when Leila is put into serious danger. Bound by Flames takes a turn for a much darker direction than I ever anticipated, but Jeaniene Frost flawlessly executes the thrill and suspense in this book. From beginning to end, it was riveting and unputdownable — I wholeheartedly loved Bound by Flames. It’s now probably my favorite of the series so far!

And I have to say, I’m so, SO glad that Vlad and Leila’s story doesn’t end with Bound by Flames! We have one more book before we have to say goodbye to them (which I really don’t want to do). I’m eagerly awaiting their next and final book, even though I know it’ll be bittersweet.

Reading Order: Night Prince series

#1 ~ Once Burned: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Twice Tempted: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Bound by Flames: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Untitled: Goodreads (release date TBA)

25Jan2015

Release Day Review: Kyland by Mia Sheridan

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Kyland by Mia Sheridan
Series: A Sign of Love #7 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: January 25th 2015
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

Dirt poor. Hillbilly. Backwoods hick. Mountain folk.

Tenleigh Falyn struggles each day to survive in a small, poverty-stricken, coal mining town where she lives with her sister and mentally ill mother. Her dream of winning the college scholarship given to one student by the local coal company and escaping the harshness of her life, keeps her going.

Kyland Barrett lives in the hills, too, and has worked tirelessly—through near starvation, through deep loneliness, against all odds—to win the Tyton Coal Scholarship and leave the town that is full of so much pain.

They’re both determined not to form any attachments, but one moment changes everything. What happens when only one person gets to win? When only one person gets to leave? And what happens to the one left behind?

Kyland is a story of desperation and hope, loss and sacrifice, pain and forgiveness, but ultimately, a story of deep and unending love.

“I do go to hell. Every day. For you.”

I absolutely adore Mia Sheridan’s writing! With each book in the A Sign of Love series, she’s proven again and again how phenomenal she is at storytelling. Her writing is lyrical, bringing her characters and settings to life. With her latest book, Kyland, Mia Sheridan conveys a powerful story of true, enduring love that can overcome anything. As much desperation and pain there is in this story, what you take away from it is a brilliant, warm-hearted book full love and never-ending hope. I absolutely loved it!

In the middle of rolling green hills, breathtaking mountain views, waterfalls, and quaint covered bridges, lies Dennville, Kentucky, a part of the Appalachian Mountains that would put any urban slum to shame, where hopelessness is as commonplace as the white oak trees, and unemployment is the rule more than the exception.

That writing – simply stunning!

Each of Mia Sheridan’s settings is unique and written in a spell-binding way, and Dennville, Kentucky is no different. It’s a poor town with even poorer inhabitants who work day and night to barely make ends meet. You might feel sorry for the people of Dennville, but there’s a beauty in the way they tirelessly endure and take care of one another and survive. This is the way Tenleigh and Kyland live – they are two teenagers who don’t let their poverty-stricken situations bring them down. Both of them are working towards the same goal – to win a scholarship that will pay for college so that they’ll have a chance at building a better life, and most importantly, winning that scholarship will take them out of Dennville.

There’s only one person who can win the scholarship, but when Kyland and Tenleigh should have been adversaries, they became friends instead. There’s a loneliness in both of them – Kyland’s father and brother died in a mining accident a few years back, Tenleigh’s father abandoned her family and Tenleigh spends all her time working to afford medicine for her mother’s mental illness – but when Kyland and Tenleigh meet, a deep bond forms between them. They help each other in their times of loneliness, and ultimately, they save each other.

My heart felt so full as I read they way Tenleigh and Kyland fell in love with each other. It’s slow and beautiful and heart-wrenching the way they want, need, and finally, love each other. And my heart was aching so badly, because only one of them will end up winning the scholarship. It’s a bad idea to start anything between the two of them, because it’ll only end in heartbreak, but Kyland and Tenleigh can’t resist each other.

Tenleigh.
Half agony, half hope.
Half pain, half ecstacy.
Half grief, half joy.
Half my downfall, half my savior.

It was so achingly heart-wrenching how Tenleigh and Kyland had found their soulmates in one another, but couldn’t keep each other. One of them would end up leaving Dennville, and the two of them would their separate ways. They experience loss and suffering, but there’s no doubt that Kyland and Tenleigh are two souls who are meant to be together, and that they will always find a way to be together.

“I’m going to make all your dreams come true. All my life.”

Once again, Mia Sheridan delivers another stunning, deeply emotional read that I devoured. Kyland is a book that took my breath away. I fell in love with Tenleigh and Kyland and the strength in their hearts. They are two beautiful characters, inside and out, and they captured my heart. I couldn’t stop reading their story, and I honestly wished it never ended. And of course the ending would have to be perfect too! I adored the ending – it left me feeling so warm and happy (all of Mia’s books leave me feeling like this, actually). I truly loved everything about this book!

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

Reading Order: A Sign of Love series

Note: Each of the books in the A Sign of Love series can be read as complete standalones that have no connection with each other, with the exception of Leo’s Chance, which is the hero’s POV of Leo, and Becoming Calder and Finding Eden, a two-book story featuring the same cast of characters. None of the characters in the different Sign of Love books are connected.

#1 ~ Leo: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Leo’s Chance: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Stinger: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Archer’s Voice: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#5 ~ Becoming Calder: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#6 ~ Finding Eden: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#7 ~ Kyland: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#8 ~ Grayson’s Vow: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#9 ~ Midnight Lily: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

Here’s a clip from the Kyland audiobook!

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23Jan2015

Early Review: Hero by Samantha Young

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Hero by Samantha Young
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: February 3rd 2015
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The emotional and unforgettable new romance from the New York Times bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series.

Alexa Holland’s father was her hero—until her shocking discovery that she and her mother weren’t his only family. Ever since, Alexa has worked to turn her life in a different direction and forge her own identity outside of his terrible secrets,. But when she meets a man who’s as damaged by her father’s mistakes as she is, Alexa must help him.

Caine Carraway wants nothing to do with Alexa’s efforts at redemption, but it’s not so easy to push her away. Determined to make her hate him, he brings her to the edge of her patience and waits for her to walk away. But his actions only draw them together and, despite the odds, they begin an intense and explosive affair.

Only Caine knows he can never be the white knight that Alexa has always longed for. And when they’re on the precipice of danger, he finds he’ll do anything to protect either one of them from being hurt again…

I. Loved. Hero!!! Loved, loved, loved it! I simply adored this new (upcoming) release from Samantha Young. I was already a fan after the On Dublin Street series, but now I’m even more in love with her writing and storytelling. Hero had me hooked from start to finish, and I never wanted Caine and Alexa’s story to end! So if you’re a fan of Samantha Young, be excited for Hero because it’ll make you fall in love and sweep you away!

This book was pretty much the perfect read for me – it had a sassy heroine I genuinely liked and admired, and a hot-as-hell, alpha, rude, domineering hero in a suit. And the two of them together clash. Alexa Holland is an assistant to a photographer, and it’s at a photo shoot where she meets Caine Carraway. It’s lust at first sight, but when Alexa’s past comes to light and Caine finds out that it was Alexa’s father who ruined Caine’s family, he wants nothing to do with her, despite their attraction to one another. When Alexa loses her job, Caine offers one as his assistant, but only so that he can make life hell-on-earth for her.

“Oh, and, Alexa?”
I froze but my pulse sped up. He’d never said my name before.
It sounded nice on his lips. Very, very nice.
“Yeah?” I whispered.
“From now on you will refer to me as Mr. Carraway and only Mr. Carraway.”
Ouch.

Caine is definitely an ass to Alexa, but Alexa’s not the type of woman to let him run all over her. She gives as good as she gets, and she’s determined to prove to Caine that she doesn’t bear the sins of her father. My heart actually ached for her and life she’s had. She’s always been put second in the lives of those she loves, but she’s all the more stronger for it. She doesn’t let people, least of all Caine, bring her down.

Hero had me grinning so, so much. The flames between Caine and Alexa only get hotter as they spend more time together. I loved that Caine tries to make Alexa hate him and her job, all while lusting after her. He wants to hate her, but as he gets to know more of her, he can’t. All he wants is her.

“I fantasize about fucking you in this office a hundred times a day.”

And Alexa is just the most genuine, funny heroine ever! She knew exactly what Caine was trying to do, but she sees through his tough exterior to the warm heart he has. And he really does have a heart of gold underneath his harsh exterior, even though Caine himself believes otherwise.

“I’m not your white knight. I’m just the guy who wanted to fuck you.”

When Caine and Alexa give in to their need for each other, it’s explosive. The two of them have an intense, raw passion for each other, but while Alexa knows there’s more between them, Caine keeps her at a distance. He doesn’t believe he’s capable of love, and Alexa sets on to prove him otherwise.

It should have been frustrating that Caine was so hot and cold about his feelings – he’s protective and possessive of Alexa one moment, then cold and detached the next – but it just… wasn’t. There was an honest, genuine feel to Alexa and Caine’s growing romance. I was rooting for Caine to realize how perfect he and Alexa are together. They have some of the sweetest moments together that warmed my heart.

“For the longest time my company is what got me up in the morning. It was what motivated me every second of every day. Since the moment you started working for me, you are what has gotten me up in the morning. You are what motivates me every second of every day. And still I want more from you.”

*Dreamy sigh* Oh, Caine, how I love you ❤

The romance in Hero was simply brilliant. It’s an office romance but with a unique, fresh take. I adored everything about this book – the story, the characters, the writing. I fell in love with Alexa and Caine and I felt for them. If you haven’t preordered Hero, go do it now! I highly recommend this heartfelt, sexy, romantic read!

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

22Jan2015

Review: Dirty Ties by Pam Godwin

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Dirty Ties by Pam Godwin
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: January 12th 2015
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

Revenge.
I race to finance it.
I evade to protect it.
I kill to attain it.
I planned everything.

Except her.
The alluring, curvaceous blonde at the finish line.
With sapphire eyes that cheat and lie.
Whose powerful family murdered mine.

I hate her.
I want her.

I know she’s hiding something.
But so am I.

SQUEEEE!!! My first 5-heart rating of the year!! And oh my gosh, how I loved this one. Dirty Ties is the first book I’ve read from Pam Godwin but it won’t be my last! I simply adored this thrilling, hot, wild ride of a novel. It was nothing I expected, since the blurb doesn’t give much away, but I loved that this book surprised me. Dirty Ties is a fast-paced page turner that had me at the edge of my seat from start to finish. I loved the characters and the writing – I can’t recommend this book enough!

I don’t want to explain too much about the plot, because I feel it’s best to go into Dirty Ties blind. The driving force of this book is revenge – except what happens to that revenge when love gets in the way? Ohh, the dilemma!! Pam Godwin did an excellent job hooking me into the story. It’s dark, twisted, and deliciously angsty. And it’s got a smokin’ hot biker. It really was the perfect read for me!

“A man like that fucks like he rides. With intimidation, recklessness, and unharnessed energy. He’s powered by adrenaline and takes what he wants without care.”

God, that description… Isn’t it the HOTTEST thing ever!? It was ridiculous how much Pam Godwin made me ~~lust~~ love Logan – I nearly wanted Logan to ride me instead of his motorcycle, that’s how hot he was. Logan is a dominant, sexy, powerful man who is fueled by revenge. He’s spent years planning, going underground and doing illegal things, and nothing will stand in the way of getting his revenge.

The heroine, Kaci, is a strong, intelligent, independent woman and I just connected with her from the start. I loved her. I loved her badass attitude, but I also loved her vulnerabilities. She’s a powerful woman with money and prestige, but her heart is lonely. Kaci wants a man to share her life with, a man who’ll challenge her and love her.

For years, I’d stood alone, toe-to-toe against powerful men. How I wished to have an invincible man on my side.

When Kaci and Logan meet, they’re masked, complete strangers to each other. But even though they’re strangers, they feel an insatiable need towards each other. Kaci and Logan’s connection is fierce, passionate, raw, and intense – they truly are the perfect match for each other. But when the masks fall away, leaving only revenge, people get hurt. It’s a dangerous, dark, corrupted game Logan is playing in his revenge, but when he finds himself falling deeper for Kaci, he has to decide whether his revenge is worth losing the woman he loves.

Her longing was beautiful and poignant, one I felt in every painful beat of my heart, filling me with a possessive need to be the man who gave her that kind of happiness.

I highly, highly recommend Dirty Ties. I honestly couldn’t put this book down! It’s a dark, romantic read that will have your heart pounding and leave you breathless.

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