PLAYER by Joanna Blake (**)

JOCK, SPORT, MEATHEAD, PLAYER. I hate them all. Especially this one. He's rude, he's crude and he thinks he is God's gift to women.

James Fitzpatrick might have started out on the wrong side of the tracks, but his skills on the football field have brought him fame and glory. Now he's forgotten where he came from.

Hell, he's even forgotten me, the snot nosed brat from next door. So much so that he hits on me when he comes in to eat at the barbecue place I work at to pay my way through school. But the jokes on him when I turn him down in front of all his meathead buddies. No one has ever turned down James. There's a reason he's got a rep as being talented on and off the forty yard line. And now he's determined to make me pay with a pound of flesh.

Thing is, I've got some moves he hasn't seen yet. It's going to be a long, hot season.

PLAYER is a stand alone book with a guaranteed HEA and no cheating!

REVIEW: **

Ok.....I had a hard time with this one. I did read the entire book, but there were several times I felt like tossing it in the trash.

The hero... well the author tried to make him seem "Alpha" but to me he came off more like a dominating ass. It felt like he forced himself on her.
She did say she liked it, but honestly it felt more like date rape to me. I hated those sex scenes in this book. And the way he just took over her life would have driven me crazy if I were her. He kept dragging her back to his place and basically moved her in with him. Without her consent. It just felt....off I guess. Hard to put it into words. 

He never really asked what she wanted or what her goals in life were. I mean she was in college and supposed to be independent but she just fell in line with whatever he wanted. Even ran away from school and just gave it all up. Absolutely inane. 

Anyway...I just did not like this one much at all.  

Play Nice (The Devil's Share #1) by L.P. Maxa (***)

Rock a stadium. Bang a chick. Repeat. As lead singer of The Devil’s Share, Dash Conner could get anything or anyone he wanted—until he met Lexi Grant. 

MONEY. FAME. WHISKEY. SEX. 

For Dash Conner, lead singer of The Devil’s Share, everything he wanted was his for the asking. Whiskey. Drugs. Money. Sex. But not Lexi Grant. For the first time since he picked up a guitar, a girl was actually demanding he woo her. For a chance with her, Dash would do that and more. 

Lexi Grant was no groupie. Just because the biggest rock star in the world smiled at her didn’t mean she had to fall into bed with him—but it was going to be awfully hard to resist that impish smile and those tatted abs. Surely one night of fun wouldn’t hurt anyone. 

Unless that night ends with a broken condom. 

For Lexi and Dash, that’s just the beginning. Add an overly affectionate pit bull, a missing guitarist, a house full of sorority girls, a junkie ex-bandmate and an extreme aversion to Jäger, and it’s either a recipe for disaster or true love.

REVIEW: ***

Cute book. A bit too short for my taste. I prefer a longer book since you can expand the characters a bit more. It was  a typical rock and roll novel...but it was a quick, easy, enjoyable read. 

The Strongest Steel (Second Circle Tattoos #1) by Scarlett Cole (****)

Harper Connelly never expected to find herself outside of a tattoo parlor at one in the morning, summoning the nerve to take back her past. She's determined to forget her old life and is looking for an artist who can tattoo over the scars on her back.

Trent Andrews, local legend and owner of the Second Circle tattoo studio, has his own reasons for specializing in inking over scars. And in spite of her mysterious past and the difficult road ahead, he quickly realizes that Harper is funny, smart, and--under her ridiculously oversized clothing and SPF 100 sunscreen--totally hot. He's happy to take on the challenge of designing a meaningful and deadly full-back tattoo for her.

But when cryptic messages start appearing on Harper's phone, strange deliveries arrive at her door, and Second Circle is vandalized, Harper is convinced that her ex-boyfriend has tracked her down, and worse, that he knows about Trent. Running was the only thing that saved her last time, but now that she's started to put down roots in Miami, she'll have to decide if she can finally fight back instead.

REVIEW: ****

I really liked this book. It built the relationship nicely over a bit of time. Her problems did not overwhelm the book like it sometimes does, but was an integral part of the story. I really liked the hero in this one. He was understanding with her, but did make mistakes. Not perfect, but real sounding. It was similar to a lot of the romances out there now, but was well written and a thoroughly enjoyable read.  For a first book this was very good and I recommend it. Make a great beach read this summer. 

Blink by Caroline Easton (***)

Flynn Sullivan hasn’t had the easiest of lives, with his father absent and following the death of his mother, he is desperate to give his younger brother the life he deserves. Flynn finds himself on the wrong side of the law and he knows he could lose everything in the blink of an eye, as he stands before the court awaiting his fate.

Harper Lawrence was a major contender in the IndyCar circuit from the very first day she got behind the wheel of a car. Her life is turned on its axis after a tragic accident, leaving her locked inside her own body, all but switched off to the outside world.

When Flynn and Harper’s world’s collide the sparks begin to fly, but each one holds a secret they don’t want to share.
Flynn knows he needs to save the girl who’s stolen his heart, the problem is, Harper doesn’t believe she deserves to be saved. She doesn’t believe she’s been punished enough. 

REVIEW: ***

This book was ok. I had real trouble with the abuse in the hospital and her keeping it secret from everyone. I understand the shame/horror/uncertainty of abuse intellectually, but I have a really hard time relating to it. I am not built to keep my mouth shut and would have been screaming it from the tops of my lungs. 

The relationship that developed between them was sweet and slow enough not to seem like insta-love. But I was itchy about her not opening her mouth and saying something to someone...anyone about what was going on. 

Libre, A Silver Ships Novel (TSS #2) by S.H. Jucha (****)

The saga of the Rêveur continues in this second novel in The Silver Ships series.

The surviving Méridiens have returned to Confederation space, aided by their recently discovered cousins, the New Terrans. They expect a celebration after their 71-year absence. Instead, they’re shocked to find the silver ships have destroyed half the Confederation.

The Méridiens are fleeing in advance of the horde of alien ships. But Alex Racine and his crew didn’t come this far to run away from humanity’s enemy. They intend to hunt the silver ships. But, to succeed, they need help.

Renée de Guirnon, the leader of the Rêveur’s Méridiens, reveals a sordid secret of Méridien society: citizens who defy their House, for any reason, are stripped of their rights, declared “Independents,” and imprisoned on the planet Libre.

But the Independents aren’t everyone’s pariahs, especially if you’re Alex Racine and you’re looking for allies against the silver ships. An entire colony of independent, free-thinking radicals offers just the sort of people Alex wants on his side, and an alliance is struck.

Soon the enemy ships will swarm off the planet Bellamonde, so the race begins for Alex and the Librans. The planet must be evacuated and the military force readied before the silver ships attack. Alex knows a battle is coming, but will they have enough time to prepare? 


REVIEW: ****


This is the second book in the Silver Ships series and I loved it. It was quite different from book one..it was more about the logistics and how to evacuate a whole planet. But it was still about the characters themselves. I love a good character driven story. I thought there may have been a bit too much detail/description of some of the repairs/construction etc. but overall this was a great second book and I can't wait until the next one. I really wish all of them had been written and I could just devour all of them one after the other. Alas...it is not meant to be that way right now. :)

I miss having books like this to read. It was fun, fantastic and reminds me of some of the older books I used to read as a teen/young adult. The characters are wonderful and this is definitely a series worth reading and following. The authors writing is well done, flows along seamlessly and gives just enough tension to keep you up reading half the night. Loved it. 

Thanks to Mr. Jucha for allowing me to read and review this prior to publication.