Revelry (Taint #1) by Carmen Jenner

Cooper Ryan is living the dream. Between the parties with rock royalty, booze, groupies and performing to crowds of thousands with his band Taint, life seems pretty sweet. There’s just one thing missing: the feisty little red-head that took his baby and ran off with his heart. Throwing himself into music is the only thing keeping him sane.

Until a run-in with a nonplussed, package-wielding PA throws everything off balance.

Ali Jones is having a craptastic life. Her grandmother died, leaving her homeless, penniless, and alone, and her boyfriend left her for a tramp who takes her clothes off for money. That’s why when she lands her dream job at a record company it seems like it’s too good to be true.

Because it is.

Slapped with an ultimatum, Ali must decide if facing the horror of the unemployment line is a fate worse than going on the road with four rowdy rockers hell-bent on making her life misery.

He’s adored by millions.
She’s not even loved by her cat.

Can they ignore their hatred long enough to survive the tour from hell? Or will their chemistry force everything to come crashing down around them?

REVIEW: **

I didn't really like this one much. I thought both main characters were idiots who did not show much in the way of improvement over the course of the book. 

I don't really like to read books that include drug use as if its no big deal...I don't mind the mention of using drugs etc as a hard rule...sometimes its integral to a story..what I don't like is that everyone accepts it as ok and something to do on a regular basis. Rock stars or not, its not okay to use drugs of any kind..especially for a young adult/new adult  book to play it off as no big deal and everyone does it. Not a message I want sent to my kids..its a serious issue and having it in a story is ok if you are telling them its not really ok to do this, that you should strive to NOT do drugs etc. Anyway to get off my soap box here...I don't much like it and it did not add anything to this story to make it better. 

The romance was not really a wow factor and was ho-hum at best. Yes there was sexual tension...but you can get that with a stranger in a bar or grocery store. It was not really one I would read again and I most likely won't read the rest in this series. Not worth my money. 

Everything You Are by Evelyn Lyes

Sometimes a reckless moment of passion changes everything. 

Ian Thornton has it all; wealth, looks, a brilliantly successful career – and any woman he wants. Until a demure Jane walks into his life as his new assistant. Even though trouble is brewing at Thornton Enterprises, throwing his life into chaos – and even though his type is confident buxom blondes – he finds himself unable to stop thinking and lusting about his new assistant. 

When sensible Jane Bennet accepts the job offer from Thornton Enterprises, she doesn't expect to be working for the owner's son, a man who looks like a Viking god, and acts like one. But despite Ian being irritatingly arrogant and entitled, she's drawn to him, so much that she ends up in his bed. It's an encounter Ian doesn't even remember and one Jane won't ever forget. A month later, she discovers she's pregnant. 

Thornton's business troubles lead to lethal consequences and pose a frightening danger to their unborn child. Like it or not – and she doesn't – Jane must look to her arrogant boss to protect her and their unborn baby.

REVIEW: ***

Average romance. It was a decent read, but did not really have much affect on me. Its been a few days since I read this one and I had to look it up again to remind me what it was about. So not much impact, but entertaining enough for me to actually read the whole thing.

Pucked by Helena Hunting

With a famous NHL player for a step-brother, Violet Hall is well acquainted with the playboy reputation many hockey stars come with. She’s smart enough to steer clear of those hot, well-built boys with unparalleled stamina. That is until she meets the legendary team captain—Alex Waters.

Violet isn’t interested in his pretty, beat-up face, or his rock-hard six-pack abs. But when Alex inadvertently obliterates Violet’s previous misapprehension regarding the inferior intellect of hockey players, he becomes more than just a hot body with a face to match.

In what can only be considered a complete lapse in judgment, Violet finds out just how good Alex is with the hockey stick in his pants. But what starts out as a one-night stand, quickly turns into something more. Post-night of orgasmic magic, Alex starts to call, and text, and e-mail and send extravagant—and quirky—gifts, making him difficult to ignore, and even more difficult not to like.

The problem is, the media portrays Alex as a total player, and Violet doesn’t want to be part of the game.

REVIEW: ***

I liked this one a lot. It had a lot of funny moments and was not too serious. Not a lot of angst (although there was some). I enjoyed the characters - even the supporting characters. They were easy enough to relate to and their motivations were clear. This was a light-hearted romance...something a bit different from all the darker romances out there now.

Attraction (Elements of Chemistry #1) by Penny Reid

One week.
Private beach.
Invisible girl.
Jerk-faced bully.
What’s the worst that could happen?

Kaitlyn Parker has no problem being the invisible girl, which is why she finds herself hiding in various cabinets and closets all over her college campus. Despite her best efforts, she can’t escape the notice of Martin Sandeke—bad boy, jerkface bully, and the universe’s hottest, wealthiest, and most unobtainable bachelor—who also happens to be Kaitlyn’s chemistry lab partner.

Kaitlyn might be the only girl who isn’t interested in exploiting his stunning rower’s build, chiseled features, and family's billionaire fortune. Kaitlyn wants Martin for his brain, specifically to tabulate findings of trace elements in surface water.

When Kaitlyn saves Martin from a nefarious plot, Martin uses the opportunity to push Kaitlyn out of her comfort zone: spring break, one week, house parties, bathing suits, and suntan lotion. Can she overcome her aversion to being noticed? Will he be able grow beyond his self-centered nature? Or, despite their obvious chemistry, will Martin be the one to drive Kaitlyn into the science cabinet of obscurity for good? 

REVIEW: ***

This was an ok read. It was laugh out loud funny in some places, but I got a bit tired of the heroine and her angsty feeling towards the hero. 

I did not realize this was a serial book...I actually hate reading those. I don't see why an author needs to chop up a perfectly good book into multiple parts so you can only read the first few chapters at a time. I understand series of books, but not cutting one book into many parts. Luckily I did not start reading this until after all the parts were published. 

The entire story was good overall (after I finished all three parts) but I did not like the last two parts as well as the first. I am not sure what it was exactly about the heroine that irritated me after a while...maybe it was her total lack of understanding the guy, I really don't know, but she did irritate me in sections two and three. 

Leviathan (The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier #5) by Jack Campbell

Two Syndicate World star systems have fallen prey to a mysterious fleet of warships—a fleet controlled entirely by artificial intelligence—that is now targeting Alliance space. The warships are no mystery to Geary. They were developed by his government to ensure security, but malfunctioned. If the Syndics learn the truth, the war with the Alliance will resume with a vengeance.

As the government attempts to conceal the existence of the A.I. warships—and its role in their creation—Geary pursues them, treading a fine line between mutiny and obedience. But it soon becomes clear that his fleet is no match for the firepower of the machine-piloted armada.

With the help of the Dancer species of aliens, Geary has tracked the A.I. ships to their secret base in the supposedly mythical Unity Alternate star system where his fleet, the last hope of the Alliance’s future, will end the conflict at any cost… 

REVIEW: ****

Great Series. I liked this one a lot more since it did not go into every little detail of things like the video conference systems and every missile etc. every time they talked about it. That was the main problem with the other books in this series...way too much description (and every time it was mentioned they described it again) of every thing. There is only so many times you need to tell me about the conferencing software/program or the missiles being used before it gets way way overdone.

The characters are great though and I really enjoyed reading this series.

Her Fictional Fling: Scandals in Scotland Contemporary Romance Series Book 1 by Jo Summers

First in a brand-new sexy contemporary romance series! 

Andi McKenna knows passion—in fact, it’s her job. But the twenty-six year old self-made bestselling historical romance author wouldn’t touch the stuff herself with a ten-foot pole. 

She’s learned the hard way that it’s smarter to live vicariously through the Regency debutantes and Highland lasses of her acclaimed novels than to risk her own heart. But just as she arrives to visit the movie set of her first runaway hit, Andi discovers that her next story is short on the steamy love scenes readers have come to crave. Rather than allow her dry spell to affect her work, Andi will do anything to make sure her upcoming book pleases her fans, even if that means recruiting her own hot Viking hero as a temporary muse. 

For rising star, Colin Walker, traveling to Scotland for his latest movie will guarantee distance from the actress who publicly crushed his heart. Love is off the table, but how can he resist Andi’s offer to help him get back at his ex, in exchange for a little role-play to inspire Andi’s next book? 

When he and the sexy author can’t keep their hands off each other, will they be able to admit that it’s more than just acting?

REVIEW: **

Not one of my favorite books by far. It was too quick on the romance, too short a book to really develop any kind of lasting relationship. And the fictional fling...I did not understand the reasoning of that at all...maybe if that had been the initial intent..if he had requested that right off it would have made more sense, but he didn't and they developed a relationship prior to him asking to pretend. It just felt contrived and fake the way it was done. And there was no confrontation with the exes that would give reason for the fake relationship..especially when they were already in a real one. Just seemed backwards, awkward and not well done. 

Book Finished: 05-15-2015

Into the Dark (Alexis Carew #1) by J.A. Sutherland

At fifteen, Alexis Carew has to face an age old problem - she's a girl, and only a boy can inherit the family's vast holdings. Her options are few. She must marry and watch a stranger run the lands, or become a penniless tenant and see the lands she so dearly loves sold off. Yet there may be another option, one that involves becoming a midshipman on a shorthanded spaceship with no other women.

REVIEW: ***
This book was ok, but not great. There were times I was so bored with the story that I almost put the book down and forgot about it. I did finish it, but it took me several days. I liked the main character, a bit naive but one to stand up for herself and others. There was no real action/fighting in this book. A few times here and there, but nothing major. It felt like a set up to lead into another book...and I guess it is. 

I don't really understand the science in this one...they are using sails and have to rig them manually to get them to work...more like actual water sailing vessels than science fiction starships. Seemed archaic, not futuristic. Also the attitude toward women. It seems as though they digressed back to the 1700s with those attitudes and it threw me off. In most science fiction I have read the women are, for the most part, treated like equals and capable of doing just about anything. In this book it was like they were once more a man's property...unable to vote (ridiculous), unable to inherit/own property (again ridiculous). I understand it was a colony world they were on, but didn't the women who colonized the world object to being treated like second class citizens? It just did not make sense to me. 

Overall an ok book, but not a series I am sure I will pursue. 

Book Finished: 05-14-2015