Review: Rhythm and Bluegrass by Molly Harper

Rhythm and Bluegrass: Bonnie Turkle and Will McBride

(Bluegrass #2)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

Bonnie Turkle, multimedia historian for the Kentucky Commission of Tourism, is dispatched to Mud Creek, a tiny eastern Kentucky town, with few prospects but many oddballs, to rescue important artifacts from McBride’s Music Hall. Now fallen beyond disrepair, McBride’s was once a jewel of the early American music scene, an intersection of the country-western and rhythm and blues circuits. The former owner’s grandson, Will McBride, who also happens to be Mud Creek’s esteemed mayor, would like nothing more than to see the place bull-dozed in favor of a factory that will provide much-needed jobs to his citizens. But Bonnie finds evidence of a legendary musical event at the music hall and her plans to turn it into a museum put Mud Creek’s economic future at risk – not to mention the growing flirtation between the two of them. If Will and Bonnie can’t find common ground, the town’s past and future will be lost.

Review:

I adore Molly Harper she writes such fun characters. Bonnie is a wide eyed, optimistic the glass is always full sort of girl. She is cheerful and always thinks that a situation can be fixed. When she arrived in Mud Creek she didn’t expect to find a dying town and an irresistible new mayor with a real problem on how to save his town and a real grudge against the music hall. For Bonnie this town is one disaster after another but for some reason the town, the music hall and especially the mayor start to get under her skin. Will is the new town mayor, he’s lived his whole life in this city and if he doesn’t do something and fast there might not be much left of his town. To Will the music hall represents an absentee father and a money pit. He has no issues if the music hall was to disappear.

This is a funny, quirky story that I thoroughly enjoyed. Bonnie and Will had a sizzling chemistry but differing outlooks on the town. Bonnie wants to save the music hall and Will doesn’t. The antics that ensue are highly entertaining as Will and Bonnie circle each other. They each take stabs at each other as they try to save the town. The people of the town are also quite entertaining and add to the overall story. I love when the author creates quirky towns and towns member it breathes life into the story and adds a rich backdrop for the main characters to play in. In true Molly Harper fashion we are left with a fun story that is sure to have you laugh. I know I was not disappointed and look forward to the next story she has to tell.

*This book was provided to me through Edelweiss for an honest review, no other compensation was provided.

Review: Rome by Jay Crownover

Rome: Rome Archer and Cora Lewis

(Marked Men #3)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

Sometimes the wrong choice can be just right . . .

Fun and fearless, Cora Lewis knows how to keep her tattooed "bad boy" friends at the Marked in line. But beneath all that flash and sass is a broken heart. Cora won't let herself get burned again. She's waiting to fall in love with the perfect man—a baggage-free, drama-free guy ready for commitment. Then she meets Rome Archer.

Rome Archer is as far from perfect as a man can be. He's stubborn, rigid, and bossy. And he's returned from his final tour of duty more than a little broken. Rome's used to filling many roles: big brother, doting son, supersoldier—but none of those fit anymore. Now he's just a man trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life while keeping the dark demons of war and loss at bay. He would have been glad to suffer through it alone, until Cora comes sweeping into his life and becomes a blinding flash of color in a sea of gray.Perfect may not be in the cards, but perfectly imperfect could just last forever . . .

Review:

Rome by Jay Crownover is the third book in the Marked Men series. Rome is the eldest Archer brother who has been in the Army for pretty much his entire adult life, he’s now out of the Army and having troubles adjusting to civilian life. He’s moody, angry and flies off the handle at anyone in his path and Cora is sick of it and is not afraid to let him know. Rome as a character actually grows a lot through the book, another Vet kind of takes him under his wing and helps to set him straight. Rome has his moments where he lapses but through the book he goes from angry on the brink of a drinking problem to fairly adjusted. I did like Rome as a character, he would be pretty tough to dislike, he’s the protective older brother who has always done right by everyone else but has fallen on hard times. He’s flawed just enough to keep him human and likeable. Cora, while I also liked her, she doesn’t really grow all that much as a character she is pretty much the same through the whole book, which isn’t bad as she is a likeable, sassy character. She’s a bit of a firecracker, she is also fiercely protective of her loved ones much like Rome. She had a super bad break up years ago and since then she has been uber protective of her heart, which causes some strife between her and Rome. She demands that he let her in, but she isn’t as willing to reciprocate but Rome is pretty patient with her in this regard. The story is also fairly entertaining, it kept moving along but it follows the same formula as the first two books in the series. The story is different but the theme remains the same which if Crownover isn’t careful with this it may become too repetitive in any future books.

I didn’t really have that big of an issue with the characters or really the story itself all that much but where I did have issues is with the details in this book and for me the details may make or break a book. I had a field day with my Goodreads status updates as I moved through this book, the details just got so bad or outrageous in parts on top of that the editing like with Rule, was just bad. Now to be fair this was an ARC copy so I hope some of the editing issues got taken care of, but usually an ARC while has some issues it tends to be pretty close to the finished product. I swear Crownover is queen of the run on sentence and awkward sentence structure. I think there was even a random colon in the middle of a sentence for no reason at all. She’s a fairly good storyteller but as a writer it definitely wouldn’t hurt to tighten up and clean up her actual writing. Now on to some of the ridiculous: So in the beginning of the book Cora is talking about how she is excellent in business and that she is a few credits short of her MBA but in the next few sentences she goes on to tell how after her break up her senior year she fell off the school wagon and barely graduated. How is barely graduating undergrad, a few credits short of an MBA? Does Crownover realize that they are separate programs? Then there were the constant references to Rome’s size and how hot he is, I think if I was to do a search for hot and big in this book, it may take an hour for my Kindle just to gather all of the references. LOL. One of my biggest contemporary pet peeves is front and center in this book, unprotected sex. Cora and Rome have sex twice unprotected before they even talk about possible pregnancy and disease is never mentioned. I just find it irresponsible; the convo should have at least been after the first oops. If you want to get a character preggers on purpose make the condom break at least then there is an attempt at being responsible. This always just skeeves me out a little, at least Rome and Cora know each other, kind of, so it’s not quite as bad. I think one of my favorite ridiculousness’s in the book was when Rome’s eyes got described as he was about to climax. He has blue eyes but when he climaxes silver streaks through his eyes. Am I reading a paranormal romance? There is not a single other reference to Rome having silver in his eyes, but somehow when he’s about to come silver comes out of nowhere and streaks through his eyes. Come on, this happens a lot in paranormal where a characters eyes will change color with strong emotion but contemporary, please, it’s not happening. There were so many moments in this book where I was groaning or laughing from the incorrect information or the just plain outrageous. I think this is part of what kept me reading, just to see what would go wrong next, because I almost did DNF it a couple of times. Even though there were so many issues, I have to admit even with everything that went wrong with this book and even knowing that the next book will probably be just as bad I am still going to read Nash. I must be a masochist but damn it, Nash is kind of my favorite of all the “bad boys”.

*ARC provided through Edelweiss for an honest review no other compensation was provided.

Review: Hard as It Gets by Laura Kaye

Hard as It Gets: Nicholas Rixey and Becca Merritt

(Hard Ink #1)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

Tall, dark, and lethal...

Trouble just walked into Nicholas Rixey's tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm, sexy, wholesome — pure temptation to a very jaded Nick. He's left his military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is his ex-commander's daughter. Loyalty won't let him turn her away. Lust has plenty to do with it too.

With her brother presumed kidnapped, Becca needs Nick. She just wasn't expecting to want him so much. As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized crime ring, only Nick can protect her. And only Becca can heal the scars no one else sees.

Desire is the easy part. Love is as hard as it gets. Good thing Nick is always up for a challenge...

Summary:

I was really excited to receive a copy of Hard as it Gets by Laura Kaye. Laura Kaye is the author of one of my favorite books ever Hearts in Darkness, so I had high expectations for this book going in, I mean really?! Laura Kaye, tattoo artists and military men, sounds like a recipe for all sorts of hotness and I was not wrong in this assumption.

This book wasn’t quite what I was expecting, I was expecting more on the tattoo artist front which ended up being a fairly small part of the plot line, even though I was expecting more tattoo, I got more military which is just as good. Nick is former military whose career and those of his men was ended in a reign of betrayal and gunfire, only six survived that day and all of their careers ended in shame. Nick’s shame is due to one man, Merritt, Becca’s father, when she walks into his shop asking for his help, he refuses, but his sense honor makes watch over her. Soon he realizes that she is in bigger trouble then either one of them realized.

Nick and Becca’s attraction is intense from the beginning. Nick may not want to like this brave female that is the offspring of the man that took everything from him, but her courage in the face of everything that has happened to her quickly turns him. Nick is our very sexy alpha male that takes protection very seriously and right now Becca is under his protection and damned if he is going to let anyone harm her. HE exudes confidence and is all broody maleness, as a protector he is impossible not like. Nick has been floating through life since the “accident”, meeting Becca has given him a purpose that he has been lacking in life. The deeper they get into her brothers mess the more he realizes that what happened to him, may be connected to what had happened to him and his men. In the middle of a shit storm Becca has found the one person that makes her feel safe. Becca is a fierce little thing that stays cool under threat and pressure. She refuses to give up and is determined to find her brother. Becca has a warm inviting personality and it is no wonder her light sucks in Nick like a moth to a flame.

The story itself was very interesting but not so action packed. It was a lot of running down leads and research; however, I never found myself bored. All the characters were interesting in their own right and added to the story. Becca and Nick has plenty of passion between them to keep the pages scorching hot. They had an intense connection between them, one that cut through all of the bad until they found their own place of goodness. Becca helps Nick through the darkness that has been lingering for so long. She is the daughter of his enemy but it is because of her that he has found a new life. Becca has been so lonely, even before her father’s death she has felt alone. In Nick’s arms she has found the meaning of family again and love. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, this story and am looking forward to what is to come. I am definitely going to be looking forward to the next book in this series to see if these men find their redemption.

*This book was provided to me through Edelweiss for an honest review no other compensation was provided.

ARC Review: Silent Warrior by Lindsey Piper (Re-Post)

Silent Warrior: Hark and Silence

Dragon Kings Series Book 1:





Publication Date: April 22nd, 2013
Purchase on Amazon: Lindsey Piper - Silent Warrior

Summary:
From Goodreads.com
A silent woman ashamed of her criminal background becomes a Cage warrior to seek redemption. An unrepentant fortune hunter chooses combat over death to appease a mafia family. Although rivals in battle, they find common ground when seeking their clan's stolen idol, but for vastly different reasons. Neither one suspects that love will begin when he becomes the first man in five years to hear her speak.

Review:
So I read an except for the first book in this series a while ago that was included in the back of a Jeaniene Frost book and ever since that book has had me intrigued. When I saw that there was a prequel and available for review, I was on it. I am so glad I requested this title, it was quite the read. This short read packs a lot in, in very few pages. There is lots of action, a surprising number of good laughs, and Hark and Silence steam up the pages with their passion.

Hark was actually really funny, he had me cracking up from the beginning and kept it up throughout this story. He has jokes for days and keeps you guessing about what is going to come out of his mouth next. His verbal skills almost match those of his bedroom and fighting skills and those are quite impressive. I enjoyed Hark from the beginning and that love continued to grow throughout the book. He is rough, funny as hell, sexy and just raw. He is wanted by quite a few mafia families, which is why he is fighting. He needs the cash to keep the mafias off his back; his life is definitely in peril.

Silence, is our strong yet silent type with an undercover sense of humor. She hasn't talked to another person in five years. Many think she is mute, but in reality she chooses to not speak, that is until Hark. Somehow, maybe from his own verbal diarrhea he manages to bring out her voice and other things… She is a strong opponent and an even better partner. Her childhood was not an easy one, and she has been striving to make up for it ever since. She has volunteered to be a cage warrior for a cartel which gives her a measure of freedom and resources that she wouldn’t have otherwise. She has been searching for something for years and she needs those resources. In this series it is looking like the females are going to be just as violent and capable of the males. There is going to be no holds barred male on female fighting and it is violent. So if that makes you squeamish this series may not be for you.

The chemistry between Silence and Hark is off the chain. These two burn bright and burn fast. Initially these two are opponents in battle but they quickly become partners due to necessity and danger. As partners they establish a trust that neither has ever experienced before. They have a common ancestry that helps in their bonding, but really it is their mutual attraction that kicks everything off.

This series is looking to have a lot of potential. The world is very interesting and pretty unique. It’s called the Dragon Kings, but they aren’t actually dragons, so that’s kind of a letdown. I was looking forward to dragons; dragons always make it better. LOL! Even without the dragons it’s still interesting, each dragon king faction has its own set of powers. I do have to say the world building is not as strong as I would like. I am still a little confused on some of the details. Like the time period it feels modern, yet sometimes I get a historical vibe. In the “About the Author” she does write historicals so, I guess it makes sense that some historical elements bleeds in. Also, I’m still not all that sure about the Cage Warriors and the point to it or why Silence was fighting for money. There are just some questions and vague details, but this is a novella and a prequel, so it is to be expected to some extent. Despite that, I am in! I am very intrigued with this series and want to see where it is going to go. I am definitely looking forward to the first book in this new series.

This title was provided through Edelweiss for an honest review, no other compensation was provided.

ARC Review: Caged Warrior by Lindsey Piper (Re-Post)

Caged Warrior: Leto Garnis and Audrey MacLaren

The Dragon Kings Series Book 1:
 

 
(How hot is this cover!?!)

Expected publication: June 25th 2013
Purchase on Amazon: Lindsey Piper - Caged Warrior: Dragon Kings Book One (The Dragon Kings)
 
Summary:
From Goodreads.com
The first installment in this fierce and sensual new paranormal romance series features demonic gladiators, ruthless mafia villains, and a proud race on the brink of extinction.
 
Ten years ago, Audrey MacLaren chose to marry her human lover, making her an exile from the Dragon Kings, an ancient race of demons once worshiped as earthly gods. Audrey and her husband managed to conceive, and their son is the first natural-born Dragon King in a generation—which makes him irresistible to the sadistic scientist whose mafia-funded technology allows demon procreation. In the year since her husband was murdered, Audrey and her little boy have endured hideous experiments.
 
Shackled with a collar and bound for life, Leto Garnis is a Cage warrior. Only through combat can Dragon Kings earn the privilege of conceiving children. Leto uses his superhuman speed and reflexes to secure the right for his two sisters to start families. After torture reveals Audrey’s astonishing pyrokenesis, she is sent to fight in the Cages. If she survives a year, she will be reunited with her son. Leto is charged with her training. Initially, he has no sympathy for her plight. But if natural conception is possible, what has he been fighting for? As enemies, sparring partners, lovers, and eventual allies, Leto and Audrey learn that in a violent underground world, love is the only prize worth winning.
 
Review:
*****WARNING I feel compelled to tell you all that this book does NOT actually contain dragon shifters. I know the name of the series is misleading. There are no actual dragons. THE dragon is their deity and what legends say created the dragon kings. I know this will disappoint some, but they still have cool powers. *****
 
This is a great new start to a new series. It is not for the faint of heart and is in no way fluffy, it is pretty dark but I like that. As far as the darkness goes, I think it would be comparable to Larissa Ione’s Demonica Series. There is a LOT of violence and mentions of other not so bueno things. Women are treated as men when it comes to violence and when there is violence are not excluded from some pretty brutal fights. They are warriors and just as tuff as the men. No quarter is given; this may not be for everyone but I think that those who don’t mind the dark will really enjoy this series.
 
The world building is decent, it is not the best that I have read but you get a pretty decent sense of this new world and there are some unanswered questions or maybe to be explained later questions?? Basically there is a race of beings that have extra powers, each clan has its own. The race is dying out and there have been no natural births since Audrey. Audrey and her son are kidnapped and held for testing by a brutal human mafia like syndicate. Audrey is forced to fight in the cages in order to free her son. Her “trainer” is Leto. Leto is in the cages by choice, he fights for his family.
 
Audrey is heartbreaking, she has had to endure so much. First with her clan rejecting her, then her husband brutally murdered with her subsequent capture with her son. Now she is thrown into the cages to fight, she has to learn to survive in fights in record time. Audrey is definitely no wilting flower, she does what she has to do to survive and she keeps on going. Her main thought to fight, to survive, and to rescue her son. Leto is the key to her survival, the king of the cages she needs him to teach her. What she never expected is to be so brutally attracted to someone she should loathe as their training intensifies so does their attraction.
 
Leto is brutal; it is the only way he knows how to be. There is no softness in him, until Audrey. Her inner strength calls to him and he finds himself wanting to protect her which is a foreign feeling. In the beginning I really thought I would HATE Leto, but somehow he won me over. Maybe it was his protective instincts or that he was willing to take Audrey’s hate to not only protect her body but her mind as well. He does his best to make sure Audrey survives so that she can get back to her son. Little by little he wins you over. Well at least he won me over.
 
Overall, I was intrigued and thoroughly engaged in this book from beginning to end. It is action packed and quite interesting. It’s is wonderfully different and sticks out from a crowd. I read this book maybe two months ago and I still remember it which for me and my lacking short term memory, says a lot. I read the first novella in this series and I do recommend that you read it as well before starting this one. It’s not required but the couple in the first series does have a pivotal roll in this book. I would recommend this new series to paranormal readers especially those who like a darker book.

ARC Review: Molly Harper - A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curses

Half Moon Hollow Series:
 
Book 3:
 
A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curses: Nola Leary and Jed Trudeau
 

 
Expected publication: May 28th 2013
Purchase on Amazon: Molly Harper - A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curses
 
Summary:
 
From goodreads.com
 
Nola Leary would have been content to stay in Kilcairy, Ireland, healing villagers at her family’s clinic with a mix of magic and modern medicine. But a series of ill-timed omens and a deathbed promise to her grandmother have sent her on a quest to Half-Moon Hollow, Kentucky, to secure her family’s magical potency for the next generation. Her supernatural task? To unearth four artifacts hidden by her grandfather before a rival magical family beats her to it.
 
Complication One: Her grandfather was Mr. Wainwright and the artifacts are lost somewhere in what is now Jane Jameson's book shop.
 
Complication Two: her new neighbor, Jed Trudeau, who keeps turning up half naked at the strangest times, a distraction Nola doesn't need. And teaming up with a real-life Adonis is as dangerous as it sounds, especially when he’s got the face of an angel and the abs of a washboard—can Nola complete her mission before falling completely under his spell?
 
Review:
 
I freak’n adore Molly Harper! She is on my auto-buy list for a reason. I count on Molly Harper to make me laugh every time I pick up one of her books not a fail. This is the reason I read Molly Harper! With this book I got exactly what I expected, a fun, light humorous book that I didn’t want to put down.
 
The Half Moon Hollow crew is back in this book in their supporting roles. You can count on Jane and crew to make you laugh, in this book we have newcomer to the crew Nola. She is on a task to find her families artifacts, if she fails, her entire family may lose their magic. Nola, has never been a big practitioner of her own magic but that doesn’t mean that she wants her family to lose their magic, their entire village in Ireland counts on it. Back in Ireland Nola is the most practical of her family; I like that in this book she loses a bit of that out of necessity. Her task in general is a bit crazy so she has to go outside her comfort zone quite a bit to reach her goal. Back home, she has a straight laced boring boyfriend. In Half Moon Hollow she has a gorgeous neighbor that tempts her more then he ought to, especially since she has a perfectly lovely boyfriend back home, or is he? While in Half Moon Hollow, things start falling apart between her and her man. And honestly you can’t even dredge up and remorse for that, not with Jed next door! Jed, is muscled, sexy and good with power tools! Plus he is a savior of small marsupials. I mean really how can you turn that down, for boring? Lola starts asking herself that question on a regular basis.
 
The romance in the story is a bit slow to start, for a while I was wondering if it was going to happen at all. However, that didn’t really detract from the story for me. I don’t necessarily pick up Molly Harper for the romance, although it is a nice benefit. I pick up Molly Harper because I want to laugh uproariously and that mission was accomplished with this book. I consider that a win! While this book is light on the romance it in heavy on the laughs. So if you want to laugh, pick this one up!
 
*This book was provided to me through Edelweiss for an honest review. No other compensation was provided.
 
Rating: