You Really Got Me (Rock Star Romance #1) by Erika Kelly

The first irresistible novel in a hot new series about a rock star on his way up—and the woman he wants to take all the way…

Emmie Valencia has what it takes to be the music industry’s hottest band manager. She just needs to prove it. Determined to discover a killer new band, Emmie is ready to make her move. First stop: Austin, Texas.

As a sizzling-hot lead singer, Slater Vaughn has no trouble raising heart rates—but his band’s been flat-lining for years. When Emmie, his bandmate’s sister, crashes with them in exchange for some free management, her industry know-how lands them a spot in the biggest music festival in Texas. But it isn’t just her business acumen that catches Slater’s attention. Emmie is sexy and warm, and—for the first time in his life—he wants more.

But as irresistible as Slater is, Emmie is done with musicians. In her experience, a man can’t be a rock star and someone to trust with your heart—but Slater is determined to show her he’s both.

REVIEW: **

I had a hard time with this one. The story was ok, but the heroine drove me crazy. I did not like her much, she was too angsty/needy or something. How many times does someone need to prove they love you or tell you they love you or show they love you before you stop telling yourself they don't REALLY love you? And she got mad over the stupidest things. He never cheated on her but she acted like he did and I hated that. Get over yourself. If I were him I would have walked away and not looked back after about the 10th time she would not believe him or got all angry at him for doing his job. I don't want to give spoilers so what I am saying may not make sense, but its the best I can do without giving away half the story.


Book Finished: 05-09-2015

Terms of Enlistment (Frontlines #1) by Marko Kloos

The year is 2108, and the North American Commonwealth is bursting at the seams. For welfare rats like Andrew Grayson, there are only two ways out of the crime-ridden and filthy welfare tenements, where you're restricted to two thousand calories of badly flavored soy every day:

You can hope to win the lottery and draw a ticket on a colony ship settling off-world, or you can join the service.

With the colony lottery a pipe dream, Andrew chooses to enlist in the armed forces for a shot at real food, a retirement bonus, and maybe a ticket off Earth. But as he starts a career of supposed privilege, he soon learns that the good food and decent health care come at a steep price…and that the settled galaxy holds far greater dangers than military bureaucrats or the gangs that rule the slums.

The debut novel from Marko Kloos, Terms of Enlistment is a new addition to the great military sci-fi tradition of Robert Heinlein, Joe Haldeman, and John Scalzi.

REVIEW: **
So-So book. It was slow going and the main character was not anything special. There was not much action and very little to really sink your teeth into with this book. It started with his enlistment and basic training. Same old, same old for these types of books. But it never really got moving...just as he was in his first fight or two they move him into more training then stick him on a ship doing a nothing job and no excitment until the end where they are in one more fight. Nothing suspenseful, nothing emotional in this book to really make it great.

Comparing this to Robert Heinlein or John Scalzi...NO. Those writers have some great books and the characters are wonderful in those stories...this one...no, not so much. I could not have cared less about his main character...there was just nothing there to hold onto to or believe in. He was a non-entity of a character.

The Legacy of Buchanan's Crossing by Rhea Rhodan

EPIC ebook award winner!
Breaking denial’s spell takes more than magic
Cayden Sinclair: BBW—big, beautiful witch—struggling to control her power and become worthy of her legacy.
Clint MacAllen: Blinded by ambition and desperate to save his failing construction company; he’s not expecting to find redemption wrapped in goth and toting a truckload of crazy.
J Milton: Mega-developer with plans for the Crossing.
Buchanan’s Crossing: One of the last magical strongholds on earth.
Each has everything to lose. All will stop at nothing to win. 


REVIEW: ***

I did not like this book as well as the first one I read. Don't get me wrong...the writing was just as good...I just didn't like the characters as much. I thought the Hero was an ass who could not be more embarrassed about liking this girl. He was a grown man who seemed wishy-washy at the best of times. It wasn't until the end when he stood up for her that he became likable. But it was too late for me by then. I just did not like him. 

I also can't seem to really get into the books about witches. I love paranormal stuff, but witches is something I have never been able to get behind for some reason. It turns me off a book almost instantly. I would never have picked this one up to read if I had not first read her other book and loved it so much. I could have dealt with the witch aspect of the book if her characters were better. The heroine was not bad as a character, but I just could not relate to her well. 

Overall its worth a read, but I suggest reading Finding Grace first..now that was an excellent book. 


Book Finished: 05-09-2015

Finding Grace by Rhea Rhodan

Two haunted souls seeking peace find each other instead

Kidnapped by human monsters, Grace Thorne was ripped from her quiet intellectual life and left deeply scarred. She’s hidden herself for five years, but there’s no escape from the nightmares of the past, or visions of the future. When one foretells tragedy, she gambles her fragile defenses on a haunted man to prevent it—only to discover love is the biggest risk of all.

Jack Daggery doesn’t need a mirror to know why people avoid him, not that he cares. After years working deep undercover, immersed in betrayal and death, all he wants is some peace and the quiet security company he co-owns.

Dagger has no idea why the foul-mouthed little server of questionable gender bothers him. But he does know that living with the ghosts of his past was hard enough without being tormented by the mysterious thorn in his side—or finding how much he needs her.

This second edition has been lightly edited and bears a new cover from the original edition by Musa Publishing. 

REVIEW: *****

WOW! Excellent Book! I really, really adored the characters in this one. They were both damaged, but strong. It was a funny, serious, happy, sad story. The emotions ran the whole gamut and kept me reading long into the night...way past my bedtime. If this was her first book then she did an outstanding job of it. I have to assume it was since I only found one other book listed by her so far. I'm going to give that one a try as well since this one was so great. 

I loved the way she did the different viewpoints in this book. The side characters were wonderful and the way she wrote their views focused on the main characters, but also gave insight into what others were thinking. It was uniquely done and I loved it. Usually I don't much care for extraneous viewpoints from supporting characters because it always seems to detract from the main characters and sometimes even the central story line. But this author had those views focused on the main characters and it added an extra dimension to the book that I was not expecting. 

Again .... a Wonderful book that I highly recommend for anyone that loves a good, emotional romance. 


Book Finished: 05-05-2015

Hyde and Seek (Hyde #1) by Layla Frost

Piper Skye is rock ‘n’ roll. She’s party all night, sleep all day. She’s get wild and be free.

Or she would be if she had the time. 

And the energy.

And not being so awkward would probably help, too. 

As the owner of a thriving dessert business, Piper spends her days at school and her nights elbow deep in batter and frosting. She’s confident her hard work and sacrifice will pay off as long as she stays focused and sticks to the plan.

Fate, as it often does, has other ideas. Plus, a killer sense of humor.

When Piper takes her delivery van to a custom auto garage for some work, she finds herself with front row seats to an unexpected hot guy parade. And the tall badass with the gorgeous face, sexy stubble, and all-knowing green eyes? 

He’s the Grand Master of that parade.

Too bad he's also immune to the sweet, tattooed baker. 

With a new group of friends and something vaguely resembling a personal life, it isn’t long before Piper’s plans take a giant left turn. 

And they do it on the back of a Harley. 

*Warning: This book is intended for adults. It contains frequent adult language and situations.

REVIEW: ****

Excellent Book! I was amazed to find out this was her first published novel. It was a great read. The characters had real personality..it was funny, fun, the romance was great and I just adored it. It reminded me of a Kristin Ashley book with the alpha male being tough but sweet. 

The writing was excellent...tight and flowed well. No real editing errors either which is a big plus for me. 

I hope her next book is just as great as this one..looking forward to it. 



Book completed: 05-05-2015

The Martian by Andy Weir

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him & forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded & completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—& even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—& a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

REVIEW: ****

I was not expecting much from the blurb, but the book was surprisingly good. The science got a bit too much at times (I am not a science type and it was way over my head) but the book was written well and the story line was good. I had no idea that an author could take only one character in a book (there were a few others here and there, but mainly just the one character) and base a whole story on him. And make it interesting, riveting and readable. 

 I really enjoyed this one.

Expérimentation (SINDER #1) by Jane Devreaux

A rumor can make you popular and it can make you dangerous. A rumor can change everything. 

Her black, too large eyes with too much makeup have already made shudder more than one. It has been said that her parents are in jail; that she beat up to death a guy who dared to make fun of her name. She is Sandre River. 

He’s the handsome popular football player. The one going out with the gorgeous and too prude Marcy Shepard; the one who has all girls drooling over him. He is Josh Anderson. 

Sandre will never admit she likes him. 
Josh will never admit his hormones are boiling. 

A single provocation from Sandre will be enough to turn their lives upside down. “You want my advice? Get yourself a girl, whichever one, empty your balls, and turn your brain back on.” 

Who would have imagined that those words could lead to an incredible love story?

REVIEW: *

This was difficult to read. Maybe it was because it was translated from French to English, but the writing was choppy..no flow..no good transition from one scene to the next. And the characters were unbelievable. It was mainly just sex, sex, sex. No deeper emotion, although the author did try for it...it fell flat. 

Book finished: 05-03-2015