Release Day Review: Feel the Burn by G.A. Aiken

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Feel the Burn by G.A. Aiken
Series: Dragon Kin #8 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 24th 2015
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

War makes strange bedfellows.

I, Gaius Domitus, one-eyed rebel dragon king of the Provinces, know that better than most, since I have to fight off half my ungrateful family on a regular basis to keep law and order here in my lands. But I never expected to have to consort with a barbarian human woman.

Kachka is beautiful, if you like them fierce—and of course I do. But she keeps complaining about how spoiled and decadent I am, and how a feared Daughter of the Steppes has no time for foolish dragons. I think she likes my eye patch, though. It is quite dashing. With death always at our tails, we take our passion like we take our allies. As they say, love the barbarian you’re with…

I absolutely LOVED the first book in the Dragon Kin series, which is the only book in the series I’d read prior to Feel the Burn. When I went into Dragon Actually, I had no idea that it would be one of the funniest books I’d ever read. Who knew dragons could be so funny!? So when I started Feel the Burn, I was expecting an awesome mix of quirky humor, sexy dragons, badass heroines, and some fun action. G.A. Aiken certainly delivers, and I had the best time reading this latest Dragon Kin book.

Gaius Domitus is the one-eyed Rebel King, and he’s out for vengeance against the cousin who tortured his twin sister. He needs to team up with Anwyl the Bloody, but somehow manages to find himself teamed up with the Daughters of the Steppes. They’re fierce barbarian women who, amusingly, look down upon men, so when Gaius finds himself saved and intrigued by one, she doesn’t give him the time of day.

“Kachka Shestakova . . . I owe you much.”
“Yes,” she replied. “You do.”
“How can I ever repay you?”
She faced him, her blade and arms covered in blood. “Give me your kingdom!”
Gaius smiled. “You’re adorable.”
“See? The royals. They say all this and they say all that . . . but they do nothing but lie.”
“We don’t lie all the time.”

I wish there had been more romance in this book! I absolutely loved Kachka and Gaius together, but they weren’t together enough. The book focused a lot more on the action and adventure part than the budding romance between the main characters, and even though it was entertaining to read, I wanted more of Kachka and Gaius together. Kachka’s a no-nonsense woman who’s blunt and has no filter, and Gaius humors and adores her.

“Why have you never chosen a husband, Kachka Shestakova?”
She smirked at him. “In love with me already, Rebel King?”
“We both know you’d be lucky if I were. I am a king and,” he teased, “pretty damn benevolent.”

The secondary characters were my favorite part of this book, besides Gaius and Kachka. The other Daughters of the Steppes and so. freaking. hilarious! Zoya totally stole the spotlight a couple of times – she’s a character you NEED to read, because she cracked me up so many times. I also loved seeing the Southland characters that I’d read in Dragon Actually, especially Anwyl. All of the characters in this series are just so fantastic to read about.

I don’t read a lot of PNR these days, though I wish I did more, but the Dragon Kin series is a unique one full of hilarity and adventure. I’ve never read anything like this series, and I’m certainly going to need to catch up on the rest of the books. If you love humor in your PNRs, you definitely need to pick up Feel the Burn.

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

Reading Order: Dragon Kin series

#1 ~ Dragon Actually: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ About a Dragon: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ What a Dragon Should Know: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Last Dragon Standing: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#5 ~ The Dragon Who Loved Me: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#6 ~ How to Drive a Dragon Crazy: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#7 ~ Light My Fire: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#8 ~ Feel the Burn: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

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24Nov2015

Release Day Review: The Truth About Him by M. O’Keefe

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

The Truth About Him by M. O’Keefe
Series: Everything I Left Unsaid #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 24th 2015
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

For fans of Christina Lauren and Jodi Ellen Malpas comes the next novel in M. O’Keefe’s breathtakingly sexy series about a woman called into a journey of the heart, body, and soul.

We played our roles, told each other lies.

But now Dylan is no longer just a mysterious deep voice on the other end of the line. We’re face-to-face and our relationship is very, very real.

We still have secrets—but so much is crystal clear:

The thrilling danger.

The raw, naked desire.

The need to keep feeling the way he makes me feel. Forever.Dylan is putting up walls, trying to keep me safe, but he can’t shut me out. He has seen my darkness and rescued me. Now it’s my turn, if only he will let me.

I’d been looking forward to reading The Truth About Him ever since reading that cliffhanger in Everything I Left Unsaid, and M. O’Keefe did not disappoint with Annie and Dylan’s second and final novel. It picks up right where the first book left off and continues with even more heart-pounding suspense and raw sensuality. I enjoyed this sequel every bit as much as the first – if you were a fan of Everything I Left Unsaid, you definitely need to pick up The Truth About Him.

I was not the right man for her, but I wanted to be.
And I was humbled by her choice.

While Everything I Left Unsaid is more Annie’s book, The Truth About Him is definitely more Dylan’s book. I thought it was interesting that the author wrote the first book in Annie’s 1st person POV and Dylan’s 3rd person POV, then this sequel in Dylan’s 1st person POV and Annie’s 3rd person POV. M. O’Keefe’s writing is exquisite, and definitely my favorite part about this series. It’s gorgeous, lush, and sensual, which meshes perfectly well with Annie and Dylan’s story. If there’s one thing you need to experience, it’s the writing in this series.

If you’ve read Everything I Left Unsaid, then you know Annie is in trouble. Thankfully, this trouble is wrapped up quickly, though there is so much more for Annie and Dylan to deal with. Not only is their relationship a little rocky, but there is Ben’s sickness to deal with, the dangerous MC gang who’s targeting Annie, and Dylan’s brother Max is in trouble. I honestly had no idea where the author would be taking the story, but I just went along for the ride and wasn’t disappointed. I was hooked onto the story – the suspense never slows down, and neither does the romance.

She owned me. Despondent and wrecked, smiling and bright—it didn’t matter. I was hers.

Dylan has moved into trailer park to protect Annie, and he’s struggling with his feelings for her. He knows he’ll do anything for her, go to the ends of the world for her, but he’s still not sure if he’s capable of love. Dylan is endlessly fascinating and I loved that we delved so much deeper into his character in this book. We get to know more about his past, his family, and his coworker Blake. As for Annie, I adored her character. She’s a lot more confident by now, since she knows how much she means to Dylan, but she’s still trying to prove to him that he’s capable and worthy of love. And the two of them are hotter than ever in this book – anytime Dylan and Annie are together, the chemistry between them is on fire. I loved how raw and sensual their need for the other was.

“You. You are what is different. You have changed everything.” It was the unvarnished truth. As close to love as I was capable of getting.

The word that best describes this series is fascinating. M. O’Keefe has written a series that you just can’t put down, because you NEED to know what happens next. The suspense is well-done, not too heavy, and the romance is sexy, yet sweet and tender. I absolutely enjoyed this conclusion to Dylan and Annie’s story, and highly recommend giving their books a try if you love romance and suspense. I’m really hoping there might be more books about the secondary characters, because I love the author’s writing and I’m so intrigued by the characters!

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

Reading Order: Everything I Left Unsaid series

#1 ~ Everything I Left Unsaid: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ The Truth About Him: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Burn Down the Night: Ebook • Goodreads (Aug. 2, 2016)

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23Nov2015

Audiobook Review: Consolation by Corinne Michaels

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Consolation by Corinne Michaels
Series: The Consolation Duet #1 (full reading order below)
Audiobook Publication Date: November 10th 2015
Length: 7 hours and 20 minutes
Narrated by: Andi Arndt & Sebastian York
Links: Audible • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an audiobook in exchange for an honest review

Liam wasn’t supposed to be my happily ever after.
He wasn’t even on my radar.
He was my husband’s best friend—forbidden.

But my husband is dead and I’m alone. I ache for him and I reach for Liam.

One night with Liam changed everything. Now I have to decide if I truly love him or if he’s just the consolation prize.

I’d had my eye on Corinne Michaels’ Consolation ever since it came out, and I’m so glad that I listened to the audiobook instead of reading it! I ADORE Sebastian York (I feel like everyone does, and rightfully so), so I was stoked to listen to his narration. While Andi Arndt’s narration wasn’t quite as good as Sebastian’s, their two voices definitely worked well for Natalie and Liam’s story. Consolation is the first in a two-part series, and it’s a heart-breaking yet romantic story I highly enjoyed listening to.

Natalie is living the perfect life – she has Aaron, a loving Navy SEAL husband, and a baby on the way, but a knock on the door changes everything and leaves her widowed, pregnant, and devastated. She’s left alone to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart, but she finds the strength to do so in order to take care of her baby, Aarabelle.

Liam Dempsey, also a SEAL, was Aaron’s best friend, and he knows that Aaron would have wanted Liam to help take care of Natalie in the case of his death. The last thing Liam expects is to actually fall for Natalie – the two of them spend so much time together that feelings start to grow from their friendship into something more, and that bond that forms in unlike any other, even different from the bond between Natalie and Aaron. The two of them struggle with their feelings, but the longing and love between them is sweet and pure, and as the two of them fall in love, they also help each other move on from their grief. Liam is also wonderful with both Natalie and Aarabelle, so he’s definitely a hero worth swooning for.

I really enjoyed listening to Consolation. Sebastian York’s voice is perfect as always, so I really wish there had been more chapters in Liam’s POV. The audiobook is largely narrated by Andi Arndt, whose voice, though a little monotonous, is easy to listen to. The book’s writing wasn’t anything special, so I didn’t connect with the characters or emotional scenes very much – it was the story and drama that interested me the most. And there is a LOT of drama, especially at the end. Consolation ends in a cliffhanger AND a plot twist (one that’s slightly predictable), but thankfully the second and final book is already out. If you’re thinking of getting the Consolation audiobook, I’d highly recommend it!

Reading Order: The Consolation Duet series

#1 ~ Consolation: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Conviction: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

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23Nov2015

Blog Tour + Early Review & Giveaway: Steal Me by Lauren Layne

Posted in 4 hearts, Blog Tours, Giveaways, Reviews by Lacey

Click the banner to follow the tour.

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Steal Me by Lauren Layne!
Check out my review for this fantastic book below, as well as a giveaway!

Steal Me by Lauren Layne
Series: New York’s Finest #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 24th 2015
Publisher: Forever

IN HOT PURSUIT

Being a cop might be in Anthony Moretti’s blood, but protecting and serving the city of New York has always been more than just the family business. If that means his love life stays locked up, well then that’s just another sacrifice made in the line of duty. That is, until he sets eyes on the gorgeous new waitress at The Darby Diner and suddenly Anthony’s morning coffee is leaving him a whole lot more hot and bothered than usual.

Though waitressing at The Darby isn’t exactly Maggie Walker’s dream job, it pays the bills and gives her time to work on her novel. Now if only she could stop fantasizing about gorgeous Anthony Moretti every time he sits down at her table, she’d really be in great shape. But when he needs her help identifying a criminal threatening The Darby—and Maggie recognizes her ex-husband—she fears her fresh start might be a pipe dream. Faster than a New York minute, Maggie and Anthony find themselves in one perilous pursuit that only gets hotter with each and every rule-breaking kiss.

Buy Links:
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • iTunes • Kobo • Google Play

Is there any book Lauren Layne writes that I can’t love!? I honestly don’t think it’s possible. Every time I pick up a Lauren Layne book, I know I’m going to be entertained and satisfied. Her books are always so sweet and hilarious – and her New York’s Finest series is her funniest yet. I had high expectations after adoring the first book, Frisk Me, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Steal Me. And of course I ended up loving Steal Me just as much as, if not more than, Frisk Me. Steal Me had me laughing and swooning – if you love men in uniform (who doesn’t), this series is a must read.

He could be a cop…
…or a boyfriend.
Or was the operative word.
He couldn’t be both.

Captain Anthony Moretti’s job as a cop is his life. His family and the NYPD are his top priorities. He has no time for women, least of all Maggie Walker, a waitress who can’t do her job and annoys Anthony to no end. Anthony is usually an in-control kind of man – he’s quiet, authoritative, and a little moody… but around Maggie, he can’t stop himself from being a total jerk. He’s flustered and completely out of control around her, and he doesn’t like the way she makes him feel. The gorgeous waitress throws him off like no other.

Maggie Walker is an aspiring writer, and she’s made a fresh start in NY. She’s never truly known love in her abusive past, so she’s charmed by the Moretti family, who comes by every week to the diner she works at. Well, she’s charmed by all but Anthony, whose good looks fire her up and make her clumsy around him. But when she identifies a criminal as her ex-husband on a case Anthony is working on, the two of them are thrown together and the sparks between them fire up until eventually their chemistry can’t be ignored.

I had so much fun reading Maggie and Anthony’s story. It’s a little slow in the beginning, with Anthony reluctant to start anything with Maggie, but he can’t resist her. The two of them are so sweet together – she cracks his stubborn, uptight shell, and he supports her and her career like no one has before. Maggie shows Anthony that he’s capable of love and that he can have love in his life, but he just has to be willing to fight for it.

“You’re…”
She looked at him through hazy eyes. “Hmm.”
“Everything,” he said quietly.

Another thing I loved about Steal Me is the Moretti family. Everyone in this family is so freaking hilarious! The grandmother is probably my favorite of them all. She’s so inappropriate and blunt, I loved her. And it was great to see Ava and Luc again! The secondary characters add so much light-heartedness and giggles to the story.

Lauren Layne writes such wonderful contemporary romances. They are truly a joy to read – whenever I finish a book of hers, I’m left with a smile on my face. Each of the books in the New York’s Finest series is well-developed and you love the characters right from the start, no matter how much of a jerk they are (*cough* Anthony). If you liked the first book, you definitely need to read the second! I, for one, can’t WAIT to get my hands on Vincent and Jill’s story.

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

Reading Order: New York’s Finest series

#1 ~ Frisk Me: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Steal Me: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Cuff Me: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

Lauren Layne is the USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance.

Prior to becoming an author, Lauren worked in e-commerce and web-marketing. In 2011, she and her husband moved from Seattle to New York City, where Lauren decided to pursue a full-time writing career. It took six months to get her first book deal (despite ardent assurances to her husband that it would only take three). Since then, Lauren’s gone on to publish ten books, including the bestselling Stiletto series, with several more on the way in 2015.

Lauren currently lives in Chicago with her husband and spoiled Pomeranian. When not writing, you’ll find her at happy hour, running at a doggedly slow pace, or trying to straighten her naturally curly hair.

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads

Print Set of FRISK ME & STEAL ME
$5.00 Starbucks Gift Card and a Writers Gift Set

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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23Nov2015

Review: Corrupt by Penelope Douglas

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Corrupt by Penelope Douglas
Series: Devil’s Night #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: November 17th 2015
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

Erika

I was told that dreams were our heart’s desires. My nightmares, however, became my obsession.

His name is Michael Crist.

My boyfriend’s older brother is like that scary movie that you peek through your hand to watch. He is handsome, strong, and completely terrifying. The star of his college’s basketball team and now gone pro, he’s more concerned with the dirt on his shoe than me.

But I noticed him.

I saw him. I heard him. The things that he did, and the deeds that he hid…For years, I bit my nails, unable to look away.

Now, I’ve graduated high school and moved on to college, but I haven’t stopped watching Michael. He’s bad, and the dirt I’ve seen isn’t content to stay in my head anymore.

Because he’s finally noticed me.

Michael

Her name is Erika Fane, but everyone calls her Rika.

My brother’s girlfriend grew up hanging around my house and is always at our dinner table. She looks down when I enter a room and stills when I am close. I can always feel the fear rolling off of her, and while I haven’t had her body, I know that I have her mind. That’s all I really want anyway.

Until my brother leaves for the military, and I find Rika alone at college.

In my city.

Unprotected.

The opportunity is too good to be true as well as the timing. Because you see, three years ago she put a few of my high school friends in prison, and now they’re out.

We’ve waited. We’ve been patient. And now every last one of her nightmares will come true.

This book. This. Freaking. Book. Corrupt fucked me up, no joke. This is Penelope Douglas, one of my all-time favorite authors, so I had ridiculously high expectations for this book – and she met every one of them and then some. Corrupt is seriously a mindfuck of a book – it’s dark, twisted, perverse… and I loved it. I seriously loved this book! The second I finished this book, I couldn’t stop saying WOW. My mind was blown.

“Own who you are,” he commanded. “And don’t apologize. Do you understand? Own it or it will own you.”

This is the kind of read that is best to go in completely blind. The twists and turns the author has in store for you in this book will leave you breathless – and aching for more. But if you need to know anything… know that PD has created a new cast of perverse characters that you can’t help but love: the Four Horsemen, otherwise known as Michael Crist, Kai Mori, Damon Torrance, and Will Grayson III. These four glorious, dark, vengeful men have it out for Rika Fane, and they’ll stop at nothing to take her down.

“I’m hungry, Rika,” he said, pressing his hard body into my back, his lips hovering over mine. ”I want everything they tell me I can’t have, and I see that hunger in you, too.”

The romance between Michael and Rika is… corrupt, to say the least. A normal boy-meets-girl-and-they-fall-in-love story they do not have. What they do have is intense, emotional, raw, and passionate. You can feel how much these two are meant to be together, and every time they are, they set the stage on fire. They have heaps of chemistry that leaps off the pages, and I honestly never wanted their story to end.

Corrupt is a fascinating beginning to the Devil’s Night series. It’s an insane, wild roller coaster of a ride that you never want to get off of. Lucky for us, this won’t be the end to this group of characters.

Reading Order: Devil’s Night series

#1 ~ Corrupt: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Hideaway: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Killswitch: Goodreads (Feb. 11, 2019)
#4 ~ Nightfall: Goodreads (release date TBA)

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