Book Review: Whiteout by Adriana Anders

Author: Adriana Anders

Series: Survival Instincts #1

Audience: Over 18

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Release Date: January 28th 2020

My Rating: 5 Cups

Source: NetGalley

Blurb (from Goodreads):

Angel Smith is finally ready to leave Antarctica for a second chance at life. But on what was meant to be her last day, the remote research station she's been calling home is attacked. Hunted and scared, she and irritatingly gorgeous glaciologist Ford Cooper barely make it out with their lives...only to realize that in a place this remote, there's nowhere left to run.

Isolated with no power, no way to contact the outside world, and a madman at their heels, Angel and Ford must fight to survive in the most inhospitable—and beautiful—place on earth. But what starts as a partnership born of necessity quickly turns into an urgent connection that burns bright and hot. They both know there is little chance of making it out alive, and yet they are determined to survive against the odds—and possibly, the world.

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of his book from NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

**Disclaimer: This book contains mature content. As a result, my review may contain references to content intended for mature audiences only.

I believe the first person to bring this book on my radar was Teresa @ Romance Reader and reads_romance on IG. She mentioned how this book was romantic suspense set in Antarctica and I knew I wanted to read this book right then. I am very proud to say that I also convinced begged Sam and Haley to come along for the ride, and it was the best of times, guys!

Blog Tour Book Review: Stroke of Luck by B.J. Daniels

 

From New York Times bestselling author B.J. Daniels, comes STROKE OF LUCK—the stunning first novel in her brand new Western-set romantic suspense Sterling’s Montana Series!

STROKE OF LUCK is now available! Grab your copy today!

Author: B.J. Daniels
Series: Sterling's Montana #1
Audience: +18
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: HQN
Release Date: February 19th 2019
My Rating: 4 Cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):

He’s hoping to bury the past. She’s ready to settle the score.

The Sterling Ranch’s season opening isn’t going so smoothly. With the ranch’s lodge full of guests and a Montana blizzard threatening, Will Sterling needs help—and he needs it fast. So when his childhood friend Poppy Carmichael agrees to lend a hand, he’s grateful for a second chance…and more enticed by the woman she’s become than he cares to admit.

For Poppy, it was supposed to be a retreat full of horse rides and hoedowns—with a side of showing Will what he’s been missing all these years. But as the snow deepens outside, the guests’ suspicion and mistrust turn sinister inside, catching Will and Poppy in the crosshairs.

Weathering the storm in each other’s arms is all too easy for Will and Poppy, but will a confrontation with a killer mean their reunion is short-lived?

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author B.J. Daniels starts her Sterling’s Ranch series off with a bang in this suspenseful story of romance and revenge.

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

**Disclaimer: This book contains mature content. As a result, my review may contain references to content intended for mature audiences only.

This was my first B.J. Daniels book and let me tell you, I quite enjoyed it.

Blog Tour Book Review: Evidence Of Desire by Lexi Blake

Author: Lexi Blake
Series: Courting Justice #2
Audience: +18
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: January 8th 2019
My Rating: 4.5 Cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):

A fast-paced contemporary romance that sizzles from the New York Times bestselling author of Order of Protection where passion for the aw isn't the only thing heating up the courtroom.

Isla Shayne knows she's in over her head. As former all-star linebacker Trey Adams's personal lawyer, she's used to handling his business dealings and private financial matters, not murder charges. She needs to find an experienced criminal attorney who speaks her client's language. David Cormack of Garrison, Cormack and Lawless is exactly what she needs in the courtroom—and the only man she wants in the bedroom.

For David, taking on the Adams case means diving back into a world he thought he'd left behind and colliding head on with tragic possibilities he's in no mood to face. There's a reason professional football is in his past and no matter how close Isla gets to the truth he intends to leave it there.

But long days working on the case together lead to hot nights in each other's arms. As their feelings grow, the case takes a deadly twist that could change the game between the two lovers forever.

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

**Disclaimer: This book contains mature content. As a result, my review may contain references to content intended for mature audiences only.

Blog Tour Book Review: Into The Darkest Night by Cassandra Giovanni

This is my stop during the bookstagram blitz for Into the Darkest Night by Cassandra Giovanni. This bookstagram blitz is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. This bookstagram blitz runs from 18 till 24 September. See the tour schedule here.

Author: Cassandra Giovanni
Series: The Chaos Theory Duet #1
Audience: +18
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Show n'ot Tell Publishing
Release Date: September 18th 2018
My Rating: 4 Cups
Source: Lola's Blog Tours
Blurb (from Goodreads):

I was born a child of the Elite; destined to live a life of privilege in Sun City.
With one decision I gave it all up.

Ana Jacobs knows the Elite and their depravity all too well. She was one of them once. Her father was a member of the Inner Circle and head of the Trinity funding the corruption of Sun City. When he learned she knew the names of those he'd hidden so well, he turned his back on her; had her kidnapped and tortured to protect his secrets.

When she escapes the island and learns of her father’s death at the hands of a knife-wielding vigilante called the Nightwatchman, she returns to Sun City, vowing to use her knowledge to protect the city. As a city cop, she blends into the background, and no one suspects her real motives.

Levi Bennett knows where Ana’s been. He's also an Elite, but where Ana was sent to the island, he ended up there by accident. While Ana buries herself in her work and stopping the flow of illegal drugs and weapons into the poverty-stricken Blue District, Levi covers his pain by partying and spending his trust fund on buying bars and restaurants.

Thrown together by Levi’s constant pressing of the limits, the two can’t deny the connection they share through their dark pasts.

Their demons are one in the same, but some demons can’t be tamed.

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from Lola's Blog Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

**Disclaimer: This book contains mature content. As a result, my review may contain references to content intended for mature audiences only.

Book Review: Going Hard by Kelsey Browning

Author: Kelsey Browning
Series: Steele Ridge #2
Audience: +18
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Publisher: KickSass Creations
Release Date: October 11th 2016
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Slick sports agent Griffin Steele is living the highlife in Los Angeles, far from the shadow of the North Carolina mountains where he grew up. But when his hometown falls on hard times and needs his help, Grif reluctantly agrees to commute between coasts. He never expects the lush scenery, in the form of pretty tomboy Carlie Beth Parrish, to be such a temptation.

After an impetuous one-night stand with Grif Steele fifteen years ago, hardworking blacksmith Carlie Beth has tried to make a living and raise her daughter in the hometown she loves. Then, too-sexy-for-his-Rolex Grif blows back into town like the perfect storm, making Carlie feel less like a thirty-something mom and more like an infatuated teenager.

When a stalker targets Carlie Beth, Grif can’t help but step in to protect her. But once he discovers the fourteen-year-old secret she’s been keeping from him, will he embrace the truth or will he turn his back on Steele Ridge and Carlie Beth forever?

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley and KickSass Creations in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

My first ARC August read and we're on a really good start. While the hidden baby trope is not one of my favorites in romance books, I have to say that Browning did a great job at writing it.

Now, while I don't think Carlie Beth made the right choice, I do understand where her nineteen-year-old-self was coming from. I don't agree, but I get it. All of that aside, I liked Carlie. She was funny, she was a good mother, and a good friend.

Grif was an interesting hero, full of contradictions. I'm curious to see if in the next books in the series this aspect about him is explored, but he seemed like a chameleon to me. When the book starts, we meet him talking on the phone with one of his clients, and by that small interaction, I was expecting a cold, stand-offish guy. Except the more time he spent with his family, back in his hometown, the more laid-back he turned out to be, so I'd love to see him in a big city environment, just to see if somehow he becomes a different person in any way.

Throughout the book there are such hilarious moments that I found it hard not to start laughing like a loon in the middle of the night, which I liked because it's been a while since my last laugh-out-loud read. The story is pretty fast paced, which is also a good thing, but I felt like the ending was a little bit abrupt. I would have wanted a "several weeks/months/whatever later" scene, but I guess that maybe we get that in the next books. I didn't expect the stalker to turn out to be who it turned out to be, which is a plus (I was completely pointing the finger at some innocent person).

I would have wanted to see more bonding moments between Aubrey and Grif, but all in all I enjoyed this book and I'll definitely read the rest of the books in the series, because I need more Reid in my life, Reid being one of Grif's brothers.

Book Review: Unbeautifully Loved by Emma Grayson (+18)

Author: Emma Grayson
Series:  Breathe Again #1
Publisher:Emma Grayson
Release Date:April 25th 2013
My Rating: 5 Cups
Source:Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review
Blurb (from Goodreads):

In three words I can sum up everything I learned about life. Regardless of the shit going on in your life, this fact still remains.

It. Goes. On

Lexie Todd knew these 3 simple words. They were her mantra. So, after dealing with years of abuse at the hands of her boyfriend and the father of her son, she knows what needs to be done. With help from her best friend Mollie, they go on the run.

After months of being on the run they finally find the perfect town to settle in. Unable to trust and always having her guard up, the last thing Lexie wants is to get involved with Lukas Gunn.

Persistent, annoying, bossy, over protective and extremely hot, Detective Lukas Gunn.

After an incident leaves her vulnerable, Lukas knows there’s something haunting her. He’s determined to find out, wanting to protect her and make her his. But Lexie is determined also. Not wanting to give up her past, she pushes him away. Repeatedly.

But when history repeats itself, will Lexie finally be able to trust those around her to keep her safe? Will Lukas be able to save her? Or will Lexie succumb to only knowing what it’s like to be Unbeautifully Loved?

******************************
**Warning**
This book contains the following and is recommended for ages 18 and up.


-Sexual content.
-Abusive subject matter
-Attempted rape
-Language

Have you ever read a book that took you so much by surprise it left you a little breathless? That’s how I felt right after finishing Unbeautifully Loved. Lexie and Lukas’s story was so beautiful, it made me not want to leave it’s pages for a long, long time.

Lexie has had a rough life. At only 26 she went through some pretty horrible things, so horrible I have no idea how she managed to escape them. I liked that even though she is tired and scarred by her past, she has enough strength in her to not let them rule her entire life.

Lukas was an amazing hero. Sexy and funny, he’s also very perceptive and very honest. He saw through all of Lexie’s walls, defenses and fears and managed to get to see the real woman that she should’ve been all along. He protected her when she needed it, even though at times he might have come across as way too stubborn for his own good.

I loved this book. Some parts where a little predictable, but they didn’t pull me away from the story. I would love to see a HEA story for Mollie. I loved her and she deserves it after everything she did for Lexie.

Now I’m waiting for the next book in this series, Unbearable Guilt. *sighs* I have to wait until October *pout*

Happy Reading!!