Teaser Tuesday 30/03/2015 'A Pound of Flesh'

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
  Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.

"No way."
"Way." The Playfulness ebbed from his face as he held her close.  His words were low and serious in her ear.  "I want you to know something."  He took a deep breath.  "I won't ever be that way with you.  I promise.  You deserve more than that.  I'm far from perfect, but I swear I'll do my best."
Kat relaxed into his chest.  "Do you know what a good person you are, Carter."
Carter let his nose touch the tip of hers.  "I'm not a good person, Kat-"
"Bullshit."  She turned in his arms.  Before he could argue, Kat pressed on.  "You saved my life."  She traced his lips with the tips of her fingers.  "Don't ever tell me you're not good."

The Gentleman Mentor by Kendall Ryan

Format: Kindle Edition

• Print Length: 364 pages
• Publisher: Kendall Ryan Books (5 May 2015)
• ASIN: B00WLC728I

She’s a client. That’s all. 

Or it should be. 

But with every lesson, she’s becoming more. 

The secrets I’m hiding behind the image of the Gentleman Mentor make telling her the truth—and having anything real—impossible. 

I’m training her for another man, and that fact guts me every time I think of it. 

I know she’s not mine … but part of me won’t accept that. 

Am I willing to risk it all to keep her? 

He calls himself the Gentleman Mentor. 

Just reading his ad makes me feel more alive than I have in years. 

He promises to teach me the art of seduction … and show me the most sinfully erotic pleasures. He’s going to help me become the kind of confident, sexy woman men can’t ignore.

Six lessons … with the most gorgeous man … who happens to be a Dom. 

The only problem … now that I’ve experienced his brand of delectable domination will anyone else ever compare? 

THE GENTLEMAN MENTOR is a full-length standalone novel.

Cover: Not my favourite cover ever. Kinda thing you don't want the fellow passengers on the bus seeing you reading. Fortunately, I read this on my Kindle- problem solved.

I've really enjoyed the Kendall Ryan books I've read in the past; Hard To Love, Resisiting Her and Filthy Beautiful Lies.
So when this was released- I knew it was one I wanted to read.
And I really enjoyed it- blazing through it and finishing it in just on day.
Brie is a bit of a bookworm (who can't relate to that?!) - stuck crushing on a friend that fails to notice her.
So on a whim hires Hale, The Gentleman Mentor- to bring our her passionate and sensous side to make her crush sit up and notice her.
But instead, there's a connection and smoking hot chemistry between Hale and Brie. But with Hale's somehwat tragic past, can a relationship beyond mentor and client ever happen between them?
I loved the chemistry and attraction between Hale and Brie. How he brought her out of herself and made her more confident and daring.
There was some angst thrown in towards the end, when I was dying for Hale and Brie to get their HEA.
A quick, dirty but exctig contempory read.
I would definitely recommend to fans of steamy romance.
Not my favourite Kendall Ryan read0 that still goes to Resisting Her- but I still loved it.
 4/5 stars.
 Read on 21/05/2015

#FridayReads 26/06/2015 'A Pound of Flesh'

Booking Through Thursday 25/06/2015 'The Other Side'

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Booking Through Thursday and a different question is posted every week.

What do non-reader friends think about your reading habits? Do they understand? Are they sympathetic? Or are they always trying to get you to “get your nose out of that book?”

A lot of my non-reader family and friends think I'm crazy.
It's like I'm their adorable little crazy reader girl that has to have editions that match, cries at cover changes, room smells like a Waterstones and flips out if a book has a cracked spine.
They accept me as I am- even if they think I take my love of reading and books to extremes.
They don't try to stop me reading- they know it would be pointless.

Waiting On Wednesday 24/06/2015 'Royal Wedding'

Waiting on Wednesday is all about sharing the books that I'm eagerly waiting to be released.

This week the book I'm waiting on is Royal Wedding, the 11th book in The Princess Diaries series.
Which was really the series that got me seriously reading.
Hearing of this release came as a surprise as it's six years since the last, and what was due to be the final book in the series was released.
Royal Wedding is the first adult book of The Princess Diaries.

Released July 2nd.

In ROYAL WEDDING (William Morrow), Princess Diaries XI, Princess Mia’s planned nuptials to longtime love Michael Moscovitz are in jeopardy when the paparazzi uncover a startling secret: Mia has a long lost younger sister.

Now a scheming politico is using the royal scandal to force Mia’s father from the throne, leaving Genovia without a monarch . . . unless Mia can prove to everyone—especially herself—that she’s finally fit to rule.

ROYAL WEDDING will be the first ever adult installment of the Princess Diaries, published by the adult division of HarperCollins, the company that brought you the YA books in the series. 

W...W...W...Wednesday 24/06/2015

 

To play along, just answer the following 3 questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading

What do you think you’ll read next?

 

 

I recently finished reading Grey by E.L. James

My current read is Vicious Cycle by Katie Ashley

I think my next read will be Pound of Flesh  by Sophie Jackson

Grey (Fifty Shades #4) by E.L. James

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Arrow (18 Jun. 2015)
• ISBN-10: 1784753254
• ISBN-13: 978-1784753252

See the world of Fifty Shades of Grey anew through the eyes of Christian Grey.

In Christian's own words, and through his thoughts, reflections, and dreams, E L James offers a fresh perspective on the love story that has enthralled millions of readers around the world.

Christian Grey exercises control in all things; his world is neat, disciplined, and utterly empty—until the day that Anastasia Steele falls into his office, in a tangle of shapely limbs and tumbling brown hair. He tries to forget her, but instead is swept up in a storm of emotion he cannot comprehend and cannot resist. Unlike any woman he has known before, shy, unworldly Ana seems to see right through him—past the business prodigy and the penthouse lifestyle to Christian’s cold, wounded heart.  

Will being with Ana dispel the horrors of his childhood that haunt Christian every night? Or will his dark sexual desires, his compulsion to control, and the self-loathing that fills his soul drive this girl away and destroy the fragile hope she offers him?


This book is intended for mature audiences.

Cover:  I like the cover of this one- but it doesn't really match the other books in the series as much as it could have.

I read the Fifty Shades trilogy back to back when it was released back in 2012- reading and reviewing all three books (Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed).  And I've made no bones about how much I enjoyed the series.  I know this series splits readers, it seems to be a marmite book- you either love it or you hate it.
Yes- I could pick it apart, find faults- if I wanted to.  But I just enjoyed the book for what it was.
I was surprised how quiet they managed to keep this book.  It was only announced at the beginning of the month, and then BAM!  The release date is the 18th of June, for Christian's birthday.  Not that I'm complaining.
So I was definitely intrigued and interested to have the infamous Mr Grey's perspective.  Whenever I read a novel, a romance novel in particular, I love to have both protagonists points of view, whether it's an adult, young adult or new adult novel.
So I  was definitely sucked right back into the world of Christian and Ana.
And I did love finally having his point of view.
Seeing more of his interesting relationship with Elena, and previous subs.
I feel some parts made it a tad hard to like him- and the almost crude way he thought of Ana, it came across as piggish in places, rather than sexy.
But I mostly liked seeing Ana get under his skin- scenes like the interview, dinner with his parents, and gliding were some standouts for me.
And of course seeing what he was up to when Ana wasn't around (as of course we got to see Christian when Ana was with him in Fifty Shades as she was narrating).
We get to see more of his childhood through his nightmares.

I've seen a lot of reviews saying it's a rehash of the first book.
Of course there's going to be a lot of the same material here- it's the same damn book. 
Of course the dialogue is going to be the same, and follow the same plot.
It's just his perspective that's different.

This is a must read for any Fifty Shades fan, and I really hope we get more of Christian's point of view.

4.5/5 stars.

Read from June 18 to 22, 2015

Teaser Tuesday 23/06/2015 'Vicious Cycle'

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: 

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
  Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.

This week’s teaser comes from the 13% mark of Vicious Cycle by Katie Ashley.

“Uh…I’m looking for David Malloy,” I said.  Two men at the pool table whirled around.  The shorter of the two, a tough but cute-looking blond, cocked his head curiously at me.  But the moment my gaze locked on the other man, I knew he was Willow’s father.  They had the same dark hair, soulful dark eyes and heart shaped face.  David, however had dark scruff covering his face.”

[BLOGTOUR] Moonlight On Nightingale Way (On Dublin Street #6) by Samantha Young

• Format: Kindle Edition
• Print Length: 352 pages
• Publisher: Piatkus (2 Jun. 2015)
• ASIN: B00SHL3W22

Logan spent two years paying for the mistakes he made. Now, he's ready to start over. He has a great apartment, a good job, and plenty of women to distract him from his past. And one woman who is driving him to distraction...

Grace escaped her manipulative family by moving to a new city. Her new life, made to suit her own needs, is almost perfect. All she needs to do is find her Mr. Right-or at least figure out a way to ignore her irresistible yet annoying womanizer of a neighbor.

Grace is determined to have nothing to do with Logan until a life-changing surprise slowly begins turning the wild heartbreaker into exactly the kind of strong, stable man she's been searching for. Only just when she begins to give into his charms, her own messy past threatens to derail everything they've worked to build...

Cover:  With a lot of the books in this series, I prefer the U.S. covers, as they're a tad more romantic- with couples on the cover.  But I actually find this cover quite beautiful.  I wish my Kindle was colour so I could fully appreciate it.

I've read the On Dublin Street books out of order.  Starting at book 4, then reading book 5, then 1 and now 6.

I wish I had read them in order, but the series only came to my attention last year at the release of book 4- Fall From India Place.

I feel if I'd have read them in order, I'd have connected to each book that little bit more.  But each book centers on an individual story, and couple.

I loved Logan and Grace's story.

I love romance.  And I'm a sucker for a great one.  And I really enjoyed seeing the neighbours argue, then become friends, and ultimately more.

Definite chemistry between the two of them.

Not a fan of Logan's previous man-whoring ways- while I could understand it, doesn't mean I had to like it.  And I didn't.

Over all, I really liked seeing the two of them drawn together- as well as seeing the characters from the previous books throughout this one, as well as having their stories wrapped up in the end.

I'm definitely going to read the books in this series I've missed- and I'm sad to see it end, but think it was a great book to end the series with.

4/5 stars.

Read from June 05 to 07, 2015

[Video Response] The Rules To BookTube

Booking Through Thursday 18/06/2015 - Vacation

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Booking Through Thursday and a different question is posted every week.

When you travel, do you bring one book with you? Or a pile of them?

And, is that pile still a load of paper to lug around? Or do you use an e-book reader like a Kindle or your iPad to help carry the load? (Because, even if you prefer paper, it can get heavy when you’re traveling!)

I have always got a book with me.  I always have to have a hangbag that allows for me to fit a book in it.

I carry the book I'm currently reading.  As I use public transport to get to work, I use that travel time to read.  So if I'm reading a physical book- I have that.  Same goes for if my current read is on my Kindle.

If I was going on holiday though, I would probably take my Kindle, so that I knew if I finished the book I was currently reading, there would be many more on there that I could start straight away, without taking up anymore space.

W...W...W...Wednesday 17/06/2015

To play along, just answer the following 3 questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading

What do you think you’ll read next?

I recently finished reading The Martian by Andy Weir

My current read is Ten Days in Tuscany by Annie Seaton

My next read will be Grey by E.L. James

Teaser Tuesday 16/06/2015 'Ten Days in Tuscany'

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: 

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
  Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.

Teaser comes from the 55% mark.






"Nic had held himself back from the minute Gia had interrupted him while he was painting.  The instant he had turned around and seen her, desire had flared through him."

Heart Recaptured (Hades Hangmen #2) by Tillie Cole

• Format: Kindle Edition
• Print Length: 503 pages
• Publisher: Tillie Cole LLC (13 Dec. 2014)
• ASIN: B00QZLSQ9U

Even salvation can be delivered through the love of the damned…

Beauty can be a curse.

Faith can be a cage.

Only love can set you free.

A few long weeks after being reluctantly ripped from the comforting embrace of her sacred prophet’s religious commune—the only life she has ever known—a terrified Delilah is thrust into a world enveloped by evil and swimming in sin. 

Steadfastly devout in her faith, and retaining the deep belief that her soul is innately tarnished as a branded ‘Cursed woman of Eve’, Delilah is determined to find her way home to her people in The Order and away from the corrupt and damned outlaw motorcycle club—The Hades Hangmen—who hold her at their secluded compound for her protection—a 'protection' she strongly resents. 

Delilah yearns to return home, convinced that only amongst her own people, and under the holy guidance of the Lord’s revealed prophet, can her Satan-spawned soul be truly saved. Conditioned her entire life to believe she is a witch... a life-long temptress… the devil’s whore... Delilah increasingly resents her beautiful face, her shapely body and her sensuous effect on men. But when a man of the motorcycle club—a deeply sinful yet stunningly beautiful man—is charged with her care, Delilah begins to see that this dangerous and moralless sinner from the 'outside' may offer her something she did not know could truly exist: unconditional love.

Kyler ‘Ky’ Willis loves his life: a daily abundance of brotherhood, liquor, the freedom of the open-road and—best of all—his pick of hot women. Raised a biker brat and now VP of the most notorious MC in the States, Ky has no shortage of club sluts warming his bed; a situation he takes full advantage of… until a certain blonde enters his life… a gorgeous pilgrim-blonde he can’t get out of his head… a pilgrim-blonde he and his club recently-rescued from some backward religious cult… and a pilgrim-blonde he’s been ordered to keep the hell away from and his whorish hands off.

When yet another in a lengthy line of drunken blunders forces Ky to reluctantly take charge of the pilgrim-blonde’s care, he realizes that there could be more to this woman than just supermodel looks and a stacked set of tits. He begins to see that she could be the woman who could do the impossible—tame his wild ways and capture his reluctant heart.

But the unyielding bonds of Lilah’s past are strong, her ‘people’ determined and, with a new Prophet in charge and hell bent on revenge, they are mightily reluctant to let her go...


Dark Contemporary Romance.
Contains explicit sexual situations, violence, disturbingly sensitive and taboo subjects, offensive language, and very mature topics.
Recommended for age 18 years and up*

Cover: I love how similar this cover is to the first one.  I think they're beautiful.

After finishing book one, It Ain't Me Babe, and loving it, I needed to read the second book straight away.
Lilah is Mae's sister.  After being taken away from the compound and trying to adapt to the world outside as well as living in a Motorcycle Club.
Unlike Mae, Lilah didn't want to leave the compound- believing what the false prophets told her, that she's an evil temptress sent from the devil to tempt men to fall.  She wants her soul to be saved, and wants to go back.  So finds adjusting to living outside of it difficult.
Kyler- the MC vice president is charged with teaching Lilah about the world.  And sparks fly.
But can anything happen between them when for her whole life Lilah has been used and abused, told that she is an evil temptress, and Kyler's father taught him his man-whoring ways, taught him that women are to be enjoyed but not worshipped or loved.
I really liked Kyler and Delilah- two people that on paper, really shouldn't work. But do.  Brilliantly.
There were parts of this book that were really dark.  So much so that it made for some really hard reading in places.
Over all, I loved it.  Not quite as much as the first book, but it was still fantastic.
4.5/5 stars.

Read from February 16 to 19, 2015

June 2015 Book Haul/In My Mailbox

Booking Through Thursday 11/06/2015

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Booking Through Thursday and a different question is posted every week.

What magazines do you subscribe to? Personal ones? Professional ones?

Or do you only/mostly pick up your periodicals at the newsstand?

How do you feel about digital editions versus print?

Do you save the old copies after you read them? Or promptly recycle them?

I'm not subscribed to any magazines at all.  Kind of a boring answer from me this week, but I just don't read any.  On an odd occasion if an issue has something I'm particularly interested in, say an upcoming film, then I'll pick it up.

Waiting On Wednesday 10/06/2015 'When You're Back'

Waiting on Wednesday is all about sharing the books that I'm eagerly waiting to be released.

This week the book I'm waiting on is When You're Back by Abbi Glines, sequel to When I'm Gone.
Released 30th June.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Abbi Glines comes the next new adult novel in her beloved Rosemary Beach series, which continues the story of Mase and Reese from When I’m Gone.

The future is bright for Reese Ellis. She has Mase Colt-Manning, the man of her dreams, and a family she didn’t know existed until her long-lost father arrived on her doorstep in Rosemary Beach. After growing up with a cruel mother and abusive stepfather, Reese is eager to get to know the caring and charming man who wants to be a part of her life. Everything is finally falling into place.

While Reese is visiting her new family in Chicago, Mase spends time with his “cousin,” Aida, who has worshipped him since childhood. Though they’re unrelated by blood, Mase and Aida have been raised to think of each other as family. But when Reese returns, she can tell something isn’t quite right with Aida, who clearly resents Reese and excels at manipulative little games. And though Mase is unsuspecting, Reese knows Aida doesn’t love him like a cousin should...

W...W...W...Wednesday 10/06/2015

To play along, just answer the following 3 questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading

What do you think you’ll read next?

My current read is The Martian by Andy Weir

I recently finished reading Hired by The Brooding Billionaire by Kandy Sheperd

I think my next read will be Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Teaser Tuesday 09/06/2015 'The Martian'

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: 

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
  Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.

This week I'm currently reading The Martian by Andy Weir.

Teaser comes from the very first page.

"I'm pretty much fucked.

That's my considered opinion.

Six days into what should be the greatest two months of my life, and it's turned into a nightmare.

I don't even know who'll read this.  I guess someone will find it eventually.  Maybe a hundred years from now."

Say My Name (Stark International #1) by J Kenner

Received for review
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Headline Eternal (7 April 2015)
ISBN-10: 1472226283
ISBN-13: 978-1472226280

New York Times bestselling author J. Kenner kicks off a smoking hot, emotionally compelling erotic Stark International trilogy that returns to the world of her beloved Stark novels, Release Me, Claim Me and Complete Me, with a brand new hero and heroine. For fans of Fifty Shades of Grey, the Crossfire and Most Wanted series.

I never let anyone get too close - but he's the only man who's ever made me feel alive.

Meeting Jackson Steele was a shock to my senses. Confident and commanding, he could take charge of any room . . . or any woman. And he hungered for me. Our bond was immediate, our passion untamed. I wanted to surrender completely, but I couldn't risk him knowing the truth about my past. Yet Jackson carried secrets too, and in our desire we found our escape. Learning to trust is never easy. My mind told me to run. But heart had never felt a fire this strong - one that could save me...or scar me forever.

Fall in love with J. Kenner's hot and addictive bestselling Stark series charting the romance of Nikki and Damien Stark: Release Me, Claim Me, Complete Me, Take Me, Have Me and Play My Game.

Cover:  Fairly typical cover for erotic romance in the post Fifty Shades era.  Part of my likes the simplicity of it and it's actually kind of elegant, but at the same time, it doesn't stand out in the crowd anymore, particularly with Sylvia Day's Crossfire novel.  Very similar.

I'm a sucker for romance.  I love me some romance books.  But erotic fiction is something I have only really dipped my toe into.
I loved Fifty Shades of Grey.  That was really the first 'erotic' fiction I read.  I've read a couple sporadically since, but there's been nothing I've enjoyed as much.
So I was hoping I'd find a new favourite in this series.
I didn't love this one.  I struggled to connect to the characters, particularly the protagonist Sylvia.  
I liked J Kenner's writing.  I definitely felt it was well written, compared to other erotic fiction I've read.
I felt everything that happened between Sylvia and Jackson was fast paced.  I think that's why I struggled to connect to them.  There was no time to get to know them, to see them progress.  
Over all, I did enjoy it.  And I think it was a good introduction to the series- so will definitely be picking up book 2 to see how things progress.
I have high hopes for the series.
2.5/5 stars.

Read from May 26 to 30, 2015

May 2015 Reading Wrap Up

Booking Through Thursday 04/06/2015

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Booking Through Thursday and a different question is posted every week.

May and June … graduation season.

If you were to give a book as a graduation present to some eager person ready to launch themselves into the world … what would it be?

I think I would have to give a selection of New Adult novels.  I think it's a 'genre' that perfectly bridges the gap between Young Adult and Adult novels- perfect for people just becoming adults, perfectly fits that age and time in life.

Some I would recommend;