Book Review: Relentless Flame by Jillian Davis

Author: Jillian Davis
Series: Hell to Pay #2
Audience: +18
Genre: Paranormal romance
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Release Date: May 4th 2015
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: Reading Alley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Immortal. Colossal. Suave. Indebted killer Dante Blackstone has the world at his feet. Every vice, any desire, is his for the asking—until he finds the one person he cannot have: one sweet, diminutive woman who could bring about Dante’s destruction.

Despite her supernatural ability to heal others, a devastating act of evil has left Hannah Miller broken in body and spirit. As she rebuilds her life while on the lam, a not-so-chance meeting with Dante chips away at the walls surrounding her fragile heart. But before their fledgling love can take flight, Dante’s boss sends an evil minion with one mandate: Eliminate Dante’s new reason to break his eternal contract.

As they fight to survive, Hannah’s amazing gift gives Dante one chance to save them both from the vicious minion. How can any love survive eternal hell and annihilation?

The answer lies in Dante’s inferno.

*Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from Reading Alley and Crimson Romance in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion or my rating of the book in any way.



There are books in series that are good, and then there are books that kind of set the bar for the next installments in the series. Relentless Flame is that book for the Hell to Pay series.

First of all, let me tell you that the cover model looks so similar to Kevin Sorbo. If you don't know who Kevin Sorbo is shame on you, and go search him. I had to get that off my chest before talking about the book. My love for the book has nothing to do with KS, just FYI. Anyway, moving on.

Dante is the kind of hero that I love to love. He is cocky, he is sure of himself, and he knows what he wants and acts accordingly. The part that I love about him? He is so freaking adorable when he's out of his element. I giggled like a loon reading his first interactions with Hannah, because he was so confused by her. Here you have an old-as-dirt man that has been with more women than he could ever count, and Hannah renders him speechless. I loved that so much, mostly because I love reading about the inner struggle of any character to realize that they can be bested. Aside from the funny stuff, I love that with him you can sort of see the old, kind of classic upbringing. I love his speech patterns, his vocabulary, even the little phrases in Swedish. A testament to Davis' writing style really, because it was a different experience than with reading Peter's book. I loved that book, yes, but this book had an old-soul feel to it.

Hannah was awesome. Her life was so tragic, and I am so happy with how the story ended for her. I was impressed by her, really. She has an interesting ability, to heal people, and it's interesting to see how that ability isn't helping her heal her soul. I found that aspect of her really intriguing.

I like how the story is going for Jerahmeel. I love how both the previous book and this one show how he is slowly losing it. I also like that he's not portrayed in a typical way, he isn't smooth or silent or just deadly. He seems more deranged, and I like that.

I liked the pacing of the book, it felt fast enough to keep me on my toes, but slow enough to not make the relationship between Hannah and Dante forced. This book also introduced a new character, Ruth, and her book is next. I'm curious how that will go on, and how the rest of the Indebted start fighting for their freedom. I'm not ready for the series to end, though. Is it too much to hope for a spin-off?

Comic Book Tuesday #13: Monstress #2 by Marjorie M. Liu

Author: Marjorie M. Liu
Series: Monstress #2
Genre: Comic Book, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: December 9th 2015
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: Netgaley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Maika fights to cross the wall. Elsewhere, the Warlord makes her move.

*Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from Netgalley and Image Comics in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion or my rating of the book in any way.

This second issue of the Monstress comic book picks up right after the first one ends. We get to see the struggles of Maika to get away from the people hunting her, as well as from herself.

We also get to see a little bit more from the villain's POV, and so far I'm wondering who the biggest threat is. I haven't yet decided if Maika's more in danger because of other people or because of herself.

The art is, as in the first issue, beautiful, with dark colors, although some rich colors do appear because of some new characters.

My favorite thing about this issue was the ending, which presents a different view of the history of the world in this comic book. It's difficult to talk about it without giving too much away, but I like how it gives a sort of unbiased view of what happened before this particular story. I adore it, anyways.

I did however felt the need for the issue to be bigger, maybe not as big as the last one, but I felt like the story is so rich and complex, that I wished it lasted longer. All of that aside, a good installment and I am curious to see what happens next.

ARC August 2016: Week 2 Progress Update

Hello fellow readers! I hope your weekend went great and that it will continue to be fantastic. I decided to give you an update for my ARC August challenge. In case you don't remember, I planned on reading at least 27 books during this challenge. Here's where I stand after the first two weeks:

ARCs read that were part of my initial list:

ARCs read that weren't part of my list:

I know I said on Twitter that I was going to start with my oldest ARC on my initial list, Menagerie, and I was going to, honestly! But for some reason my heart wasn't into it, and I decided instead of DNFing, to work my way up to it. Plus, I was craving some fast paced books. Also, I recently got some other books that I need to get to, that are ARCs and that weren't part of that list. I hope to get to read them all *fingers crossed*.

So as of right now, I've read 3 books out of 27, and 1 book extra. Pretty proud of myself, considering I've had to do some work around the house and could only read at night, before bed. Hopefully soon I'll get some free time on my hands.

Did you make any progress on reading the books you wanted to during this challenge?

Book Review: Kayden/Simon by Alexandra Ivy and Laura Wright (ARC)

Author: Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright
Series: Bayou Heat #21-22
Audience: +18
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
Release Date: August 9th 2016
My Rating: 4.5 cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):

ENEMY TO LOVER

Kayden is obsessed with revenge after his parents disappeared when he was just a cub. Now the gorgeous Hunter has discovered the man responsible for betraying them - Joshua Ford - and it’s time for payback. Beginning with the kidnapping of Joshua’s daughter, Bianca. But last thing he expects is to be confronted with the horrifying realization that Bianca is his mate. Will he put revenge before his chance for eternal happiness?

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Sexy male model, Simon refuses to give up his exciting life in New York City to return to the slow heat of the Wildlands. For a decade, many pantera have tried to capture the rogue Diplomat and bring him home, but all have failed. Now it’s Tryst’s turn. The hard, brilliant, and gorgeous, Hunter is the ultimate tracker. But can the admitted beast-girl of the Wildlands capture her prey without losing her heart in the process?

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from INKSlinger PR and Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion or rating of the book in any way.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. First of all, I've never before read this series (shame on me, I know), so I was a bit afraid that I'd be lost, that maybe I wouldn't understand the way the series works.

I am very happy that that was not the case. Yes, there are chunks of story that I'm missing, but I didn't feel that way while reading this book, I didn't feel like I was lost in an unknown place, which is a fantastic thing, especially for series this long.

The second thing that surprised me was the format. I felt that writing two stories into one book was a very unique idea, and also a very good one. It made the pacing be a little bit more smoother, more relaxed and yet fast paced. And because they're two stories into one, there's no need to drag the story to get to the page count that you need to get to, so the book is basically filled with scenes that need to be there, if that makes sense. Even with the two stories inside, I feel like the authors did a great job at creating the world and for making it as rich as it is.

Speaking of the two stories, I liked them. Kayden is a guy that has suffered a lot, especially since his parents disappeared when he was really young. I liked that even so, he didn't let that anger and that pain rule his judgement. I liked him, and I hope to read more about him in the next books. Bianca is a heroine that I enjoyed reading about. I liked that by the end of the story she finds courage to do certain things that I don't think in the past she would've done them.

Simon's story was my favorite one out of the two. Simon is a hero that hides stuff, and he hides them really well. I loved him, really. He's one of those characters that just need a bear hug, you know? I liked his interaction with Tryst, I liked seeing him trying to keep one step ahead of her. Tryst is a unique character. As the blurb says, she's more her animal than she is human, and I don't think I've ever read about a character like that before. It was interesting, but I would've wanted to read more on that subject. Maybe if the story was longer, we could've explored that side of Tryst more, but even so, I enjoyed reading the way she sees the world.

Like I said, I really enjoyed this book and I'll definitely be checking the other books in this series out. I may have (happily, I might add!) just found yet another paranormal series to fall in love with.

The Olympic Book Tag

This amazing book tag was created by Shannon from It Starts At Midnight and it is absolutely glorious. When I was a kid I used to watch the gymnastics events, synchronized diving, diving. I also used to watch show jumping, because the horses are gorgeous, but not so much anymore. Anyway, on with the tag.

I actually loved this book, from the very beginning. Especially since it starts with the girl hiding in a library. I'd hide there and never get out. EVER! Can you live from pizza and books?

I read The Edge Of Never about three years ago, and I remember loving it. I might do a reread soon.

Look, there's no nice or cute way for me to say it. Unless it's in erotic romance, in which case there's a threesome, I don't care for love triangles. And it's not a triangle. It's usually a character (most of the times female) that's attracted to two other characters (most of the times males) and doesn't know who to choose, because that character kind of needs to grow up and understand that there's love and then there's lust, and in no way does finding someone attractive means you're a cheater, but kissing someone else does and for the love of all the bookish gods, let's not have love triangles anymore please and thank you!

Look, Sophie Kinsella is probably one of my favorite authors ever, and she's on my Auto-buy list and probably will stay there forever. However, the Shopaholic series confuses me to no end. Because, and this is an honest question of mine, HOW MUCH TROUBLE CAN YOU GET INTO AND NOT LEARN ANYTHING FROM IT???? Becky seriously doesn't learn a goddamn thing, and it becomes frustrating. I actually put this one aside, because maybe I'll forget what the series is all about and pick this one up and like it, but honestly, I feel like 3 books about these characters are enough. Sorry, Shopaholic fans out there.

I realize now that haven't read many book set during the summer, which is very sad. I did love Nantucket Blue a lot.

Helm's Deep, people, Helm's Deep. 

Although I've stopped reading this series a while ago, I do remember one of the plot twists in this book that had me reconsidering, in a way, the books that I did read. Not a huge one, necessarily, but an important one. Maybe I'll pick the books up again sometime.

I think I've only ugly-cried during only a handful of books. One of them is this one. Because what else can you do when a character is drawing a portrait of their loved one and their child and then you get to learn the ugly truth, that I won't mention because major spoilers, but it's painful and I'm feeling like crying just thinking about it?!

Although a good book, Ironskin was too slow-paced for my taste.

Y'all were expecting me to say Harry Potter weren't you? I thought about it, and I realized that while, yes, it is a childhood favorite, it's not the book that I first fell in love with. The Hunchback is a fantastic book, and while it has some moments when I was confused, because most of the action is supposed to happen over the course of just two days, I loved it.

There are so many animals in Harry Potter that I adore. But you know what? I want to know what happened to Croockshanks. 

It's not that this book is bad, because it's not. My main issue is that I knew who the killer was before the detectives confirmed it. I felt disappointed that the author showed from the first few pages who the killer was. Sure, there's a certain twist at the end that kind of makes up for it, but barely, really.

The relationship that Wesley and Bianca have is pretty weird, and not a platonic friendship in any way, but I like it.

So I admit that I haven't read many books featuring Olympic sports. The only one that I can think of is Girl Against The Universe. I do imagine that at least one of the books from the Play by Play series by Jaci Burton features an Olympic sport, but I'm not sure.

*phew* I had fun doing this tag! Thanks Shannon for making it! Did you make the tag? If you did, let me know so I can check it out.

Book Tour Book Review: Reaper's Fire (ARC) by Joanna Wylde

Author: Joanna Wylde
Series: Reapers MC #6
Audience: +18
Genre: Erotic Romance, Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: August 9th 2016
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: TRSOR Promotions/Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

It’s time for more men and motorcycles in the latest from the New York Times bestselling author of Reaper’s Fall...<br />
The club comes first.

I’ve lived by those words my whole life—assumed I’d die by them, too, and I never had a problem with that. My Reaper brothers took my back and I took theirs and it was enough. Then I met her. Tinker Garrett. She’s beautiful, she’s loyal, and she works so damned hard it scares me sometimes . . . She deserves a good man—one better than me. I can’t take her yet because the club still needs me. There’s another woman, another job, another fight just ahead.

Now she’ll learn I’ve been lying to her all along. None of it’s real. Not my name, not my job, not even the clothes I wear. She thinks I’m nice. She pretends we’re just friends, that I’ve still got a soul . . . Mine’s been dead for years. Now I’m on fire for this woman, and a man can only burn for so long before he destroys everything around him.

I’m coming for you, Tinker.

Soon.

Amazon US | Amazon UK | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Google Play

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from Berkley and TRSOR Promotions in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion or rating of the book in any way.


I have been waiting for a very long time for this book. One of the things I liked about this book is that it somehow completes some details from the previous book in the series.

Tinker is a great heroine. I felt sorry for her a lot of times, especially when it came to her ex and her relationship with him. I did wonder a few times why she spend so many years trying to make that relationship work, but I'm glad that eventually she got out of that relationship. I really liked some of her scenes, and I giggled a lot because of her.

Gage is really loyal to his club brothers, and that alone made me forgive him for some of the things he did. In a strange way, I actually admired him for that loyalty. Just as I admired Picnic, the club president, for showing that that loyalty was not misplaced or unfounded. I think Gage is a bit different than the other Reapers, probably because of his background. I don't want to spoil anything, but there's a great scene where he talks a little bit about his past and he lets Tinker understand the real Gage a little bit more than I previously expected.

I mentioned Picnic earlier, and I have to do it again. Each and every book makes me fall in love a little bit more with him, and I cannot wait to read more of his scenes. He was insanely funny in this book, and I am hoping his sarcasm makes an appearance in the next books.

I have to say that the ending was not what I expected. There were a few things that were not answered in this book and I was kind of left with more questions than I would have wanted. That being said, based on how previous books were written, I have a feeling that these things will be addressed in future books. Or at least I hope so. The ending was sweet and I wonder what it means for the future of the series. Not going to say more, because of spoilers, but let's just say that if it means what I think it means, I'll be extremely happy.

All in all, a good story, and I cannot wait for more stories of the Reapers.

Excerpt

         “I can’t believe how late it is,” Tinker said, yawning, and I realized the movie had ended. Now she stretched upward, the blanket falling to her waist as her boobs pushed forward. 

         God, how much should a man be expected to take? 

         I should’ve stayed away from her completely—that’d been the plan—but something had snapped when I’d seen her out in the courtyard. Couldn’t remember the last time I’d met a woman like Tinker. She was smart and sexy and funny, and she worked damned hard to take care of her family and business. Sure, I wanted to fuck her—you’d have to be gay not to—but I respected her, too.

         “I should probably get going,” she said, offering me a smile so sweet I wanted to bite her lips. “I like to check on Dad before going to sleep, and I’ve got to be up early in the morning. I’ve got to package orders for the courier tomorrow—if they aren’t ready by two p.m., I’m screwed.” 

         I considered rolling over on top of her. Pushing her down into the couch cushions, shoving my leg between hers, and showing her what a real man feels like. 

         “Cooper?” she asked, looking confused. I blinked a couple times, forcing myself to focus on her face. 

         “I’m going to watch another one,” I told her, because I’m a goddamn masochist. “You sure you’re ready to head out?” 

         She frowned, and I could almost read her thoughts. Yes, she should leave. But she wanted me as much as I wanted her. And yeah, I realize that makes me sound like an egotistical ass, but this wasn’t my first rodeo. I saw the lust in her eyes, and the way she licked her lips and stared at my mouth. This wasn’t a one-way street, not even close. 

         “I guess I could stay a little longer,” she whispered. Christ, she was so sweet and soft. I wanted to bite her even more now. Suck that pouty lower lip into my mouth and shove a finger up her ass. 

         Break her. 

         You’re one sick fuck. 

         Why yes. Yes, I am. Thanks for noticing.

         I managed to control the urge, catching her hand instead, giving it a friendly squeeze like some kind of pathetic tool. Her fingers tightened on mine, then she pulled away and snuggled back down under the blanket, raising her feet to rest on the coffee table. I grabbed the remote and clicked through the menu.

         Tomorrow I’d do my job. I’d fuck Talia and spy on Marsh and look for any kind of weakness that might end this situation, the faster the better. Tonight, though . . . Tonight I’d pretend this wasn’t a waste of time. 

         Goddamn, but my dick hurt. 

         The next hour was torture. 

         Tinker sat next to me, all cute and classy and absolutely refusing to make any kind of eye contact. I don’t know how she felt, but to me the sexual tension hanging in the air was thick and heavy. I kept thinking about her hand in mine—small, but strong. The hand of someone who knew how to work hard. So far as I knew, Talia had never held down a job, let alone supported herself. 

          The couch shifted, and I glanced over to find Tinker sliding deeper into the cushions, drawing the blanket up to her chin. Our legs were maybe six inches apart. She shifted again, and then her hand bumped mine under the blanket. She jerked it back quickly, and I caught the hint of a flush on her cheeks. That was another thing I liked about her—her skin was so pale that I could see every hint of arousal. 

         Grabbing her hand, I pulled it over to rest on my thigh. This was a really bad idea, so I pointedly refused to think it through. Her hand tensed at first, then relaxed into my strength.            My cock swelled against the fabric of my jeans, just inches from her fingers—it’d be so easy to push her hand toward it, wrap it around my painfully swollen dick, and just go to town. 

         Tinker’s fingers gave a quick squeeze—almost more of a spasm—and I bit back a groan. 

         Yeah, okay. Really, really bad idea. I should get off the couch and shut this shit down right now, because I couldn’t afford to blow things with Talia just yet. Instead I found myself leaning toward Tinker, bumping shoulders. 

         God. 

         I’d grown a pussy. No other explanation, because I couldn’t figure out why the hell else an adult man would sit holding hands under a damned blanket like a kid. 

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About the Author

Joanna Wylde is a New York Times bestselling author and creator of the Reapers Motorcycle Club series. She currently lives in Idaho.

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