Saturday 31 January 2015

Review ~ Three, Two, One (321): (A Dark Suspense) by JA Huss

Reviewed by Donna ~ 5 Stars

“Not everything should come in three’s.”

Holy moly, I don’t know how I can put into words what I have just read, but seriously, JA Huss can certainly write M/F/M. I had a lot of “freezer” time while reading this book, my kindle wanted to combust, it was insanely HOT, but incredibly beautiful at the same time.

Ark, JD and Blue…there is so much we know about them and yet so much we don’t. A story weaved around secrets, yet sometimes frank openness. But what we do have are three souls that found each other, they were in the right place at the right time, would this be their saving grace or would it be their ultimate downfall?

“You’re gonna lose her if you don’t give in.”
“Give in to what?”
“Us. The three of us, Ark. This is how it’s meant to be. You knew it the minute we found her.”

This is by far my favourite book of JA Huss, not only do we have an underlying horrific, yet beautiful story but we have the suspense, the mystery and the intrigue gluing this entire story together. Not only gluing the story, but gluing my hands to my kindle, I could not put this book down. I was swept away by their story, my heart was pounding for many different reasons, I laughed, I cried, I swooned, I fanned and I panicked, but at the end all I could think about was what a fantastic story I had just read.

I really cannot go into details, this is one of those books that you need to read blind, go in with an open mind and let the story over take you. I was glad that I had not read anything about it, because as soon as I opened the pages, I was just blown away and transported into their world and their bubble.

This is a book that makes you think, not only about the circumstances and scenarios that are unfurling before your eyes but I found myself trying to piece everything together. Some things made sense and some things didn’t so I had questions, lots of questions. I was constantly trying to read between the lines, I had my own theories and it wasn’t until the end that things finally started to make sense and you get your light bulb moments.

This is by no means a traditional romance, it is dark and gritty and in places raw and it will certainly pull at your emotions, yet when it was just the three of them the whole book changes for just those scenes. I was flooded with warmth, need and desperation, these three just clicked, it was like destiny and fate had brought them together and as a unit they were seemingly perfect.

“I want love,. I want it all ways too. I want the pain and the pleasure. I want the good and the bad. I want the light and the dark.”

Ark was the sensible one, yet he was incredibly intrinsic, he kept a lot to himself and he obviously had secrets, secrets that even his best friend JD didn’t know. He was the brooding one, the man behind the lens and certainly uncomfortable in front of it. He was incredibly appealing though, secretive, enigmatic but fiercely loyal and protective but what was really underneath those suits?

“I saw her first…”

JD was more the jack the lad, he was hilarious at times but extremely broken, he had lost and lost hard and had a lot of guilt on his shoulders, Ark was his salvation, a chance meeting leading to best friends and these two were tight. Ark always knew what JD needed and when, he was the angel on JD’s shoulder and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for him. They seemingly saved each other.

“We are polar. I am north and he is south. We are equal and opposites in almost every way imaginable. We are this and that. Black and white. Rough and calm.”

Blue just happened to be in the right place at the right having escaped a living hell. She was lucky to have been found by Ark and Blue. In the first instance maybe their reasons were not the best but it soon becomes apparent there is more between these three. Blue constantly needs reassurance, she needs to feel protected and these two men cocoon her the only way they know how.  They say sex sells, but it can also put a lot of band aids on a lot of hurts.

“Selling sex is dirty. Selling sex is filthy. Selling sex is lucrative.”

When these three were together the pages ignited, you could feel their dynamic changing, you could see the characters changing and you always had that sense of deep foreboding even though everything seemed perfect when they were in their bubble. Their lives are scattered across the pages, out of order, out of sequence, but when you get to the point where you are nearly there, the pages are sorted you are dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s, those final edits, it all clicks together, you can see the bigger picture. JA Huss delivers that moment with jaw dropping clarity, suddenly it makes sense but then how can this end?

“She is not one lost girl. We are not two best friends. We are the trinity of perfection.”

Fantastic book, one that I will not forget for a long time and will certainly be re-reading. Go 1click, but read in private, steamy scenes ahead!

“One girl.
Two friends.
Three soul mates.”

Buy Links:

Amazon US:   http://amzn.to/1Lugw35

Friday 30 January 2015

Cover Reveal ~ Losing Her by Mariah Dietz

Check out the cover for Mariah Dietz's new book, Losing Her which is due for release on 1st March.


Book Description:

“I loved her and she left. Maybe I wasn’t enough. Maybe I’ll never be enough.” I’ve been thinking these words since before we even got together.

Everything is new. The old no longer has a place here. Physical items are easy to replace. I'm constantly battling the ones that aren't.

Every thought and memory I have is stained.

By you.

You weren't even there for half of them.

How is she still present even though she left?

I can do this. I’m going to survive losing her.

This is the second book of the His Series, and it DOES end with a cliffhanger. The final book of the His Series, Finding Me, will release June 1, 2015


Excerpt:

“Dude, you’ve got to get up.” Jameson sighs as I pull the pillow back over my head. I don’t even know what day it is anymore. I don’t care.

What adds salt to my wounds is the fact that the world keeps turning. People continue waking up and going about their day. The sun rises and sets. I hear kids laugh and play, neighbors greet one another, and birds sing, and all the while I wonder how? How does the entire world appear to be surviving this nightmare of losing her? 

****

Hank comes to visit in June. I still haven’t heard from Ace, and yet I’m still staying at my mom’s. I can’t leave. I can’t go back to that house. I’d moved rooms shortly after she left, and now reside in the guest room on the main floor. It’s better this way. There aren’t any pictures of her in here or random memories, like the one of her sitting on my bean bag chair when I was sick last summer. I also don’t have to face the window that looks out onto hers.

Hank knows that I know mom sent for him, hoping that he’d be able to “help” me. She of all people should know that having Hank around isn’t going to help me. He’s fucking married to the love of his life; he doesn’t have a fucking clue about the shit that I’m going through.

Of all things, Hank wants to go camping. I’m sure he thinks that getting away will help. He doesn’t understand that moving rooms has helped me realize I could go to Antarctica, and things wouldn’t change; the distance isn’t going to make the pain any less.

When we get camp set up, Hank opens a cooler and passes me a beer with a giant, shit-eating grin, like we’ve just overcome a huge hurdle. Deciding that I shouldn’t rain on his little douchebag tea party quite yet, I accept the beer with merely a grimace before taking a long swig. Before long, that single swig becomes a chug, and then a guzzle as I consume more alcohol than what three people probably should.

I sit by the fire and close my eyes. My mind automatically reaches back into that locked and forbidden drawer to pull out the image of Ace, striving to recall the sound of her laugh, the feel of her touch. It brings me back to our camping trip last September, when Jameson announced that was what he wanted to do for his birthday.

About the Author:

Mariah Dietz lives in Eastern Washington with her husband and two sons that are the axis of her crazy and wonderful world.


Mariah grew up in a tiny town outside of Portland, Oregon, where she spent the majority of her time immersed in the pages of books that she both read and created.

She has a love for all things that include her sons, good coffee, books, travel, and dark chocolate. She also has a deep passion for the stories she writes, and hopes readers enjoy the journeys she takes them on, as much as she loves creating them.

Author Links:






Friday Frights ~ Review ~ Eternal Hunter (Night Watch) by Cynthia Eden

Review by Shirley ~ 5 Stars

What a start to a new series. This is a book you can really get your teeth into. It has everything, a really great interesting story and very hot sex.

Our two main characters are Jude and Erin. Jude is a very rare white tiger shifter, a real mean machine who works for a special group of a people. They are Bounty Hunters for the paranormal, made up of a different species to make sure justice is served against paranormals which the human policing cannot fight against. Jude is a man with a very dark past and is doing his best to sort out his demons which plagues him daily. He is not your usual handsome man but very sexy in his own right.

Erin works in the DA’s Office and she is a woman with big secrets. She is trying to live as normal as possible, but fate was not on her side. This beautiful woman who has been through hell and back has had to run from everything she has known to start again in a new town. She has an evil person  stalking her, who is very sick minded and blood thirsty. Erin was so tired of running, all she wanted was a normal life but that was a luxury she could not have with this hanging over her head.

The story really starts when Erin crosses paths with Jude.

For Jude it was instant lust when he first catches sight of Erin, he knew he was not meant to get involved with anyone who was involved in the cases he was on, but with Erin he just could not help himself.

Erin was more reserved, doing her level best to be professional and that means not getting involved especially with sexy shifters. Just one fly in the ointment, her past was catching up with her and causing havoc in the new town she had moved to.

There is a lot of twist and turns in this book which makes it very hard to put down. The gradual romance which is blossoming between Jude and Erin starts slow but gets hotter and hotter.

“His cock drove into her. No tentative thrust. Just hard plunge. Balls-deep and so thick. Her legs locked around his hips, and she slammed up to meet him. Again and again. Her body tightened. His mouth took her breast again. Licking and sucking, scoring her lightly with his teeth while he kept thrusting. Driving as far into her as he could go. Hard and fast. Just the way she wanted him.”

The plot thickens and the sex increases. This really is a good book.

Loved it Ms Eden already bought the second book in the series which I cannot wait to read, will definitely be following this series.


Buy Links:

Thursday 29 January 2015

Review ~ The Reclamation (The Club #2) by Lauren Rowe

Reviewed by Donna ~ 4 Stars 

“One can easily forgive a child who’s afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”

I am totally loving this series, The Club was a huge introduction to this couple and The Reclamation just manages to embed them into your heart even more. You can feel their connection radiating off the pages and you cannot help but will for this couple to succeed. Both have their issues, but both are adamant that if they ever have a chance of finding love then this is it for them, it is just the small matter of the circumstances in which they met that threaten to throw a spanner in the works.

Jonas…Jonas…Jonas…I love this dude, there is nothing like watching a man who thought he never had the propensity to love to fall head over heels and I mean, he is all in, totally, completely, undeniably and he is giving it his all. Yes, he makes a few blunders along the way, but this is all new to him, it is a learning curve but there is no denying his commitment to get it right. You can see the man morphing before your very eyes, and while he knows it is happening, he cannot stop it, he doesn’t want it to stop and he embraces it, making him all the more endearing.

“But I promise you one thing, my sweet Jonas - whatever I come up with, it’s gonna bring you to your frickin knees.”

Sarah…Sarah…Sarah, her biggest hurdle in this book is learning to take and accept, having forever struggled in life she finds it hard to deal with Jonas’s generosity and this can cause the funniest of arguments. Sarah needs to remember that being the one and only forever member of the Jonas Faraday club has exclusive membership benefits and she just needs to accept it all. Jonas Faraday is the gift that keeps on giving, his heart is in the right place and he wants to do everything he can for her, but sometimes Sarah gets a bit overwhelmed and feels that she is losing herself along the way.

“Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.”

With the investigations into “The Club” well under way, these two are forever on tenterhooks, in case anything should happen, but you know that the people behind The Club are not going to let them skulk into the background and throughout this book you are left wondering what is going to happen. You know it is going to but you just cannot see it coming.

“Better a little that is well done, than a great deal imperfectly.”

This instalment was a fun read as well as cementing the relationship between Jonas and Sarah. You can see them building their foundations and you know that they are going to be an incredibly strong couple eventually. Although this relationship is in it’s infancy, sometimes you just know that this is it for life, and this is the way I feel about these two. They are perfect for each other, they balance each other out and keep each other centred, but they will always have that fire between them to keep their relationship fresh and entertaining.

Overall this was a fab read, the ending is…the ending and while I cannot give anything away you will be left wanting more and QUICKLY! Thank god we only have a couple of weeks to wait! This book was well balanced with the fun and humour, the angst and the suspense and of course the emotion. The more I read, the more I want and as much as I do not want this series to be over, I need to know what happens to these two. If ever you want a relationship to work, it is these two, they deserve each other and they deserve happiness, trouble is, will the world let them?

“I love Sarah Cruz.”

Buy Links:

Amazon UK:  http://amzn.to/1wyNjZX
Amazon US:   http://amzn.to/1zo7eT5

Wednesday 28 January 2015

Review ~ Kyland (A Sign of Love Novel) by Mia Sheridan

Reviewed by Donna ~ 4 Stars write

**ARC received for honest review ***

“Because I loved you so desperately. I still do. Because I couldn’t leave you here.”

Mia Sheridan is one of my favourite authors, she is an auto-buy for me and I don’t even need to read a synopsis. I know that when I open a Mia Sheridan book it is going to be beautiful, it will be emotional, it will leave a mark on me and I will be thinking about it for a long time and Kyland is no exception.

This is a book about poverty, hope, friendship, sacrifice, courage, love and forgiveness. It is hard to believe that even in the world we currently live in that there are still people in this world that live in an extreme state of poverty, even in America with all its high rises and world leading companies there are still little rural villages that suffer immensely.

Kyland and Tenleigh live in one of these little villages, they live on a mountain in trailers, living hand to mouth, day to day. Some days they cannot eat, they may not have warmth or electricity but at the end of the day, they make the most of what they do have even though it is not much. One thing that I loved was the sense of community, they may not have much but what they did, they shared. Everyone was there for each other and it just goes to show that “rich” does not necessarily mean money, but you can be “rich” with your love and your actions.

“They were good people – good people who barely had a pot to piss in. And yet they were offering up anything they had to give.”

Both Tenleigh and Kyland are anxious to get out of their village and for people like them there is only one option and that is to win the annual educational scholarship that is given to the leading student. Both Kyland and Tenleigh have been aiming to win this scholarship, each for their own unique reason, but for both of them, it is all they have thought about and strived for their whole way through college.

I absolutely adored Kyland; he was perfect in every way, totally selfless, would do anything for anyone and tried to do the best by everyone, even if it meant him making some extremely difficult sacrifices. Kyland had admired Tenleigh from afar for a long time, but knowing that as soon as he won that scholarship he was getting out of town he didn’t want to fall in love, didn’t want a relationship where he would ultimately leave someone behind and the last thing he wanted to do was upset Tenleigh, so the odd meaningless random hook-up would have to do for now.

“He winked and my hormones went a little wonky.”

Tenleigh’s home life was difficult at best, her mother having mental health issues was basically a child and Tenleigh and her sister were basically her carers. They both worked hard to keep what little food they did have on the table, their trailer warm and to keep their mother in the medication that she desperately needed. Tenleigh was another beautiful character, inside and out. Totally selfless, trying to do her best and making the most out of the crap hand that she had been dealt.  The scholarship was her meal ticket out of Appalachia and would also give her the means to get her family out of there too.

“All my life I was just a nothing, a nobody. My life was small and worthless. And it hurt so badly.”

Their paths cross many times, living on the same mountain, with very little else to do and no other places to go. A friendship develops with ease between these two and you know that for both of them their feelings run a lot deeper. Both have their inner turmoil, have their conscience and their own inner demons to battle but sometimes when you meet “the one,” fate has other ideas. The trouble is will either of them be strong enough to forego their desires, ultimately resulting in the destruction of their life goals or has fate dealt them an entirely different set of cards?

“A beautiful girl with a spirit so bright I wanted to squint when I looked at her was not going to derail me now.”

As with all Mia Sheridan reads, this one hits hard. Her imperfect characters are always perfect in their own way, her subjects may not be the generic run of the mill but that is what makes her books all the more enjoyable, you know that you are going to get something totally different. One thing you will always know though is that it will be beautiful, thought provoking, romantic and well written. While this may not be my favourite Mia Sheridan read her characters have still managed to embed themselves into my heart and my thoughts. Since finishing I find myself reflecting back and thinking about them, their hardships, their battles, and their day to day life that would destroy anyone, yet for these two they flourished.  My only niggle with regards to this book was for me the ending felt a bit rushed and I would have liked to have seen more, maybe that is me being greedy but I just felt that their story was really just beginning.

“My Kentucky girl.”

Buy Links:

Tuesday 27 January 2015

Blog Tour ~ Review & Giveaway ~ Second Debt (Indebted 3) by Pepper Winters


Book Description: 

seocnd debt #3.jpg
“I tried to play a game. I tried to wield deceit as perfectly as the Hawks. But when I thought I was winning, I wasn’t. Jethro isn’t what he seems—he’s the master of duplicity. However, I refuse to let him annihilate me further.”

Nila Weaver has grown from naïve seamstress to full-blown fighter. Every humdrum object is her arsenal, and sex…sex is her greatest weapon of all.

She’s paid the First Debt. She’ll probably pay more.

But she has no intention of letting the Hawks win.

Jethro Hawk has found more than a worthy adversary in Nila—he’s found the woman who could destroy him. There’s a fine line between hatred and love, and an even finer path between fear and respect.

The fate of his house rests on his shoulders, but no matter how much ice lives inside his heart, Nila flames too bright to be extinguished.

Find it on Goodreads here: : http://bit.ly/1BRsIGR

Our Review: 

**ARC Recieved for honest review**

Reviewed by Donna ~  5 Stars

“Darkness was their asset, the sun their foe.”

This book continues where the last one finished with Nila having paid the first debt. Now there is the small “mark” to be made confirming that the debt has been paid, something that will forever link Jethro and Nila, something that Jethro forgot to do at the time, much to his father’s chagrin.

Nila and Jethro are still warring with their feelings towards each other. Nila battling with her conscience and common sense as to why on earth she could possibly be falling in love with the person that will ultimately be the death of her and Jethro knowing that what is unfurling between him and Nila goes against everything that his family believes in and if it ever came to light just how deep his feelings are, it could ultimately be the death of him too.

“I’d kiss him until I’d stripped him of his arctic armour and destroyed it, I’d lick him until I tasted his truth, and I’d bite him until I’d eaten every morsel of his soul.”


Forbidden romance is always enticing, you get that feel of the forbidden through every interaction and Pepper Winters delivers this in spades. Every kiss, every touch, I had goose bumps, just waiting for them to be caught, every glance, every look, every action, watched and studied, each eliciting that all new fear of even more danger and anticipation.

This book is truly an edge of your seat read; I constantly had my heart in my mouth waiting for the shit to hit the fan. When two people have such intense feelings as Jethro and Nila you know that it is going to be difficult to hide, but each of them seemingly have their “ice face” firmly in place and are seemingly getting away with it.

“I breathed revenge. I ate vengeance. All I saw was hate.
I felt invincible with rage, as if I controlled the tectonic plates and had the power to summon a catastrophic earthquake to devour this disease-riddled place forever.”


There is also the second debt that needs to be paid and it is through this that we get an insight into how this family feud started and what happened to start this awful chain of events and the past deaths at the hands of the Hawk family. The second debt also is the turning point for Nila and Jethro and this is where this story really kicks off. From here on in, I felt sick, my heart was in my mouth, I was panicking, I was stressed and I just knew that this was going to cause trouble.

“Mud and soil from the graves siphoned down the drain, swirling around like dead souls.”

I am not going to go into what happens because if you have read this book, then you have read the ones before and you know just how intricately weaved this story is. This is one of those books that you need to read at leisure, no matter how tempting it is to read at speed. Devour this book, inhale this book, consume this book, and let all the little things sink in and then try and compute. It takes some digesting and as usual you are left wanting more at the end.

“…I’d messaged her the first shred of truth. I began the journey that would pulverize me.”

Pepper Winters totally had me from the first word in this instalment and did not let go until the end. This book consumed me, just like the previous books in this series. Pepper Winters uses the analogy of a roller coaster in this book and that certainly defines the ride that she has just taken me on. The nerves, the anticipation, the dread, the highs and lows, the twists and turns, will leave you nauseous but at the end, once your feet are back on terra firma, you will stand back and admire the ride that you have just been on, try to comprehend what you have just done or in this case read.

“I want to breathe. I want to live.”

I must admit, Pepper has taken this story to somewhere I never saw coming, just when you think you are on the right track, something happens and any theories you had are blown to smithereens. This is what I love about this story, it is unpredictable and when an author can surprise you like Pepper does it makes you appreciate the story all the more.

“I’m insane, but you’re the only cure for my insanity.”

I cannot wait to see where this story is going, Jethro and Nila have firmly weaved their way into my heart and soul and as a result this series is fast becoming one of my all-time favourites. It is unusual for a story to manage to consume you to the point that the world around you turns into a blur, background noises turn to nothing and nothing else matters but the next word you read. That is exactly how I felt reading this book and as much as my husband wishes this was the end so he could finally get some attention, I am anxiously waiting the next instalment, and as far as I am concerned, it cannot come quick enough.

“It’s your initials that I bear. Your mark. Your brand. I may be born a Hawk, but I’ve been captured by a Weaver.”

Buy Links: 
Series Reading Order

indebted series.jpg


Debt Interitance (Indebted #1) 

First Debt (Indebted #2) 

About the Author:


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

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

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

Her Grey Romance books include:
Destroyed

STALK Pepper: Website | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Goodreads

Giveaway: 

Monday 26 January 2015

Blog Tour ~ Excerpt, Trailer & Giveaway ~ The Travelling Man by Jane Harvey-Berrick


Book Description:


I was ordinary. Nice. He was extraordinary. And he wasn’t always nice.

Moody and difficult, brilliant and beautiful, Kes scared me and he protected me. He could be incredibly hurtful and incredibly thoughtful. He wasn’t perfect, but he was perfect for me. He challenged me, he took me out of my safe little box and showed me the world could be magnificent. He was everything I wasn’t.

Aimee Anderson is ten when the traveling carnival first comes to her nice little town. She doesn’t expect her world to change so completely. But meeting Kestrel Donohue puts her life on a different path.

Even though she only sees him for the two weeks of the year when he passes through her home town, his friendship is the most important of her life. As a child’s friendship grows to adult love, the choices become harder, and both Kes and Aimee realize that two weeks a year will never be enough.

Find it on Goodreads here: http://bit.ly/1CrR7Tl

Excerpt:

Kes’s ‘costume’ hadn’t changed much in the last couple of years. He was still barefoot and bare chested, but this time the new assistant, Sorcha, was hanging over him, wearing a skimpy bra top that looked two sizes too small, and a floaty chiffon skirt that made her legs seem to go on forever. I hated her.
I could see why the Cirque du Soleil agent had been surprised by Kes’s age. He looked like a man; Sorcha was all woman, and I looked like a little girl.
When the drumbeat started, the small arena stilled, a few whispers rippling around the ring. And then Kes galloped out holding two flaming torches, with Sorcha riding behind him, clinging to his waist.
My jealousy was so bitter that I wanted to throw up, but the audience clapped and whistled.
She slid gracefully to the ground, her bare feet sinking into the sawdust. Her focus was on Kes as he galloped around her. He hung from Jakey’s neck as he planted one torch to Sorcha’s left and the second to her right, so her wild hair seemed to catch fire.
And then the show began. Kes stood on Jakey’s racing back briefly, then leapt to the ground.
He juggled the flaming torches, ran, jumped, and somersaulted onto and from Jakey’s back again and again, always fluid, always in motion. I held my breath until my head spun. He wasn’t born for an office or a desk job; he was born to thrill, to make you gasp, to stop you in your tracks so you’d have to ask, how did he do that?

Trailer:


Buy Links:


About the Author:

I lived in London for over 10 years and have a love affair with New York. It's only since I have moved to the countryside, that the words have really begun to flow.

I live in a small village by the ocean and walk my little dog, Pip, every day. It’s on those beachside walks that I have all my best ideas.

Writing has become a way of life – and one that I love to share.



Author Links:


Giveaway:

Sunday 25 January 2015

Review ~ Withering Hope by Layla Hagen

Reviewed by Donna ~ 4 Stars

“…it's that no one is unimportant. Every person means the world to someone. That makes us vulnerable, but it also makes life a gift. I had no one who could give me that gift. Now I do.”

This was one of those diving in blind reads through a recommendation; I didn’t even read the blurb so I was pleasantly surprised as the story unfurled.

This is the story of Aimee, who is a lawyer and is currently planning her ideal wedding to her childhood best friend come lover, Chris. These two have been together for ever and being the planner that she is Aimee is fired up to get to Chris to oversee the last few remaining final details. With a week to go and after finishing work early, Aimee boards the private jet to get to Chris. Tristan is the pilot and he is the only other person on board, he has been working for Chris for a few years and when he is not flying them around he is their chauffeur. Towards the end of their flight disaster strikes and they lose their one and only engine, Tristan has no alternative but to try and land the plane, a job made all the more difficult when you are flying over the Amazon jungle.

This is where the story really begins to take off and we find out Aimee and Tristan’s true characters. Facing adversity of the highest level, these two need to work together, they need to be a solid unit, a team if they have any chance of survival. Aimee is one of those bright and bubbly characters that always see the best in everyone, will do anything for anyone and can chat the hind legs off a donkey. Everyone she comes into contact with loves her and everyone is her friend.

Tristan is the complete opposite of Aimee, he is a bit dark and mysterious, brooding, sheltered, he keeps himself to himself and is a man of very few words, much to Aimee’s annoyance in the beginning. It soon becomes apparent that Tristan is well equipped for these kinds of circumstances and soon takes over and guides Aimee in what they need to do to ensure their survival until they are rescued. 

With only themselves for company and with team building and survival being at the forefront of their thoughts Aimee and Tristan make a great team. Slowly but surely you see them as individuals change, a lot of free time leads to lots of thinking time and reflection and each of them have their own demons and eureka moments. Being in such close proximity to another also lends to discoveries about yourself and of the other individual and Aimee and Tristan’s story is no different.

“I'm not a star ," I whisper. "I'm a satellite rotating around you. You're the star. I need your light to shine.”
“You can only discover your own light in the darkness.”


Aimee has to struggle with her conscience and Tristan has to struggle with his past, but between them they are there for each other. The friendship that these two build together was beautiful to read but you could tell that their kind of friendship was on a much deeper level. These two seemed perfect for each other, the ying to the yang, the salt to the sweet; they balanced each other out perfectly. They had that soul mate vibe going on and as longer time went on and their fight for survival intensified you could only see their connection getting stronger and stronger. I have to admit I was rooting for them, not only to survive, but to admit themselves what I the reader could see bubbling under the surface.

“There are many things you can hide in the rainforest. But not lies. Or love.”

I will say though that this was not an easy read in the beginning, I did struggle through the first sixty percent but this is one of those books that I classify as a slow burner and I was glad that I didn’t give up. The story really comes into its own for the last half and it was hereafter that I was gripped. I would have liked to have seen more dialogue between Aimee and Tristan, although I understood he was a man of few words, I personally felt that if they had communicated more in the beginning it would have led to better character connection for me from the start. The writing style takes some getting used to and at points it felt like the story was being narrated but as I said above, after the sixty odd percent I was so engrossed in the story I didn’t really notice it. 

“When you find the person who sees you clearer than you see yourself, you know you've found true love.”

While I loved the epilogues, personally I would have loved to have seen more from the early period, for me I felt that after all they had been through their “what happens after” deserved expanding. The last epilogue had me in tears, the floods of tears type cry and for me this was the most poignant and beautiful epilogue that I have read for a very long time.

“One stolen kiss, one gifted smile, one shared memory at a time.”

In summary this is a story of survival and self-discovery, living in the now and grasping it with both hands, making the most of a bad situation and learning about yourself along the way. Finding love in direst of circumstances but not just any kind of love, that all-encompassing, I cannot live without you kind of love and it was beautiful.

"He loved her so much he never wanted to say goodbye to her. He wanted to leave with her."
Buy Links:

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1J7XLQT
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1ErexYl

Saturday 24 January 2015

Cover Share ~ Verum (Nocte Trilogy) by Courtney Cole

"There’s savagery here, there’s grace.
But above all, there’s oblivion and no matter what I do, I will be sucked into it."

VERUM, the sequel to Courtney Cole's spellbindingly dark, heartwrenchind new adult psychological suspense, NOCTE, is coming February 2, 2015.

Are you ready?

VERUM-CourtneyCole-500px

Book Description:

My name is Calla Price and I'm drowning.

My new world is a dark, dark ocean and I'm being pulled under by secrets.

Can I trust anyone? I don't know anymore.

The lies are spirals. They twist and turn, binding me with their thorns and serpentine tongues. And just when I think I have it figured out, everything is pulled out from under me.

I'm entangled in the darkness.

But the truth will set me free.

It's just ahead of me, so close I can touch it. But even though it shines and glimmers, it has glistening fangs and I know it will shred me.

Are you scared?

I am.
 
Find it on Goodreads here: http://smarturl.it/VERUMGoodreads
 
Buy Links:

Preorder your copy now, and get it the second it's live:

 
Get NOCTE (Book 1) on
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1CMPxt7
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1CMPI7U
B&N: http://smarturl.it/NOCTEBN
Kobo: http://smarturl.it/NOCTEKobo

Find it on Goodreads here: http://smarturl.it/NOCTEGoodreads
 
Sign up for the NOCTE List and get exclusive series excerpts, teasers, and clues.

Friday 23 January 2015

Cover Reveal ~ Conviction by Lesley Jones

Check out the cover for Lesley Jones' new book, Conviction which is due for release March 2015


Book Description:

She was mine. Our love unquestioned. Our futures planned. But she didn't show. All that we had, all that we meant, and after all that was said, she just didn't show. That one act by her changed everything, but it especially changed me and from that moment on, there was no going back. No words of love, no whispered promises, just sex and drugs and rock and roll. No one gets a piece of Reed, but what they will get is the night of their life, the chance to let go, break their own rules and enjoy the best, the dirtiest, filthiest sex ever... Along with the other four people in my bed.

 I thought he loved me, I believed everything he said, every promise that he made but then, when I needed him more than I'd needed anyone in my life, when I was at my most vulnerable, he let me down. He chose to take a different path and leave me to pick up the pieces of my now broken life. I was changed forever and chose the easy option, letting others take charge of my destiny, until once again, I'm let down in the cruelest of ways.

Dirty filthy sex.

Love.

Heartbreak.

Betrayal.

High emotion.

And a bit more sex.


About the Author:

I was born and raised in a small working class town in Essex, just outside of East London. I am married with three sons and in 2006 we all moved to the other side of the world, settling on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula, about 50K outside of Melbourne, Australia. It's a whole new way of life for us down here, we are so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

I am currently a stay at home mum but in the past I have worked at Marks & Spencer, as a classroom assistant/teachers aid and have run my business.
As well as writing, I love to read and have been known to get through four or five books a week. My other interests are watching my boys play football...The round ball version.  I am happy to admit to being an addict of social media and I owe a lot to my Facebook and Twitter family in promoting my work. I am also rather partial to a glass... or bottle of wine, a nicely chilled Marlborough Sav Blanc being my favorite. Being a born and raised Essex girl, I will happily admit to be being a big fan of spray tans, Shellac and am regularly, waxed, tinted and sculpted, although I am more likely to be found in thongs/flipflops than a pair of white stilettos these days.