Monday, October 31, 2016

Obsessed With Covers #38: Dividing Eden, Shadow Run, House Of Furies

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:


  • 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
  • books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.
Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

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Hey there guys! It's been so long since my last OWC post. I've been in a funk lately with this feature for some reason, probably because I haven't searched for new books/covers. I've been flooded with work and I've only had enough free time to write reviews and read books. But since I have some free days from work coming up, I'm planning on catching up on my reviews and feature posts. Anyway, here are some of the prettiest covers I've seen this week.

There's something so creepy and evil about this cover art! Ever since I was a little girl I thought black and white together made for a very scary combo. I blame Cruella, because she scared the crap out of me. Even so, I think there's something insanely elegant about the combo, and mysterious. I can't help but think that the inky substance on the chair is kind of like that thing that happened to Scarlett Johansson in Lucy. So I'm so curious to know what it is, and how exactly will it "divide Eden". Also, Eden makes me think about the Garden of Eden, so I'm curious if there's any relation to that. Plus, the blurb is amazing.




Dividing Eden - Joelle Charbonneau 



One of my favorite things to do growing up was play video games. It was actually a mother-daughter activity, believe it of not, with Mom being just as in love with these games as I was. So when I saw this cover on Netgalley I remembered of the good ol' days. I can just hear the background music, getting my heart to beat faster, preparing me for when those doors open and the baddies start flooding the room. It reminds me of the game Quake II. Man, if only I had my old computer. Anyway, I am desperately curious to see what this book is about, especially since the blurb mentions it's kind of a mash-up of Firefly and Dune, so even more awesome.




Based only on the cover, this book makes me thing serial killer hiding in a nightmare-version of the hall of Hogwarts. It's the color! And the tagline, which I think it's brilliant. "They come here to die". Kind of like a twisted version of Hotel California. Now that I think about it, it does remind me a little of the Eagle's famous song. Even with the blurb. Ooooh, now I need this book in my life even more.









House of Furies - Madeleine Roux

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Blog Tour Book Review & Excerpt: Submission Is Not Enough by Lexi Blake

SubmissionIsNotEnoughNewAuthor: Lexi Blake
Series: Masters and Mercenaries #12
Audience: +18
Genre: Contemporary Romance, BDSM, Erotic Romance
Publisher: DLZ Entertainment LLC
Release Date: October 25th 2016
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):
A fallen hero reborn

Theo Taggart lost everything the night he died. His family, his beautiful Erin, and worst of all, he lost himself. A twisted doctor brought him back from the brink of death, but reprogrammed his identity to serve her will. Rescued by his brothers, he must fight to reclaim the man he was and the life, and love, that were stolen from him.

A love worth fighting for

Erin Argent thought she'd lost Theo forever. When he walked back into her life, it was nothing short of a miracle. Months of torture and conditioning at the hands of Dr. Hope McDonald have done damage to Theo that may never be mended. He has no memory of her or the life they shared. Breaking through to him, and helping him rediscover all he lost, will be the toughest mission she's ever faced. Luckily for Theo, Erin loves a good fight.

Their reunion under siege

Unfortunately, Hope is far from done with Theo Taggart. Obsessed with her prize experiment, she will do anything to get him back. If the only way to finally break him of his past life is to kill Erin and his son, then she's only too happy to oblige…
*Disclaimer: I rececived an eARC of this copy from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or opinion of the book in any way.

I absolutely loved this book, guys! I've been scared to read this book, I'll be honest, but I'm here to tell you that there's absolutely nothing to fear.

I loved Erin and Theo. First of all, Erin is badass. She's my heroine. I love how she managed to be both very scary, and very vulnerable at the same time. I love that she's a woman who can take care of herself, and I am so sorry that it took so long for her to accept who she is, mostly due to the fact that most of the men in her life that should have loved her disappointed her, and made her feel like she wasn't enough. I also love how honest she was, at least with herself, regarding how much she had to deal with since she lost Theo, how much she had to change. There's a moment where she has to deal with something that's happening with her baby, and I love how she kind of has a revelation about herself, about how she would have reacted had she not went through the terrible loss of her partner. I'm pretty sure I'll sound crazy, but it kind of made her grow as a person, having to lose Theo. I also love how determined she is, how strong she is. I admire Erin.

Theo, my dear, dear Theo, what can I possibly say about him? This is probably one of the very few times when I've read a book in a series without reading the previous ones (I'm a bit behind in the series, but never fear, you don't get lost!), so I don't actually know how Theo really was before he went missing, other than what we see in the flashbacks. So I can't judge him or expect him to be a certain way. My heart broke for him, though, because you can tell how hard it is for him, knowing that there's something missing. I am happy with how the story ends for him, though.

I love how the book ended. I don't want to spoil anything for you, but just know that I'm super happy with what happened, or what didn't happen, in the end. I know I would have been disappointed had it ended any other way, because I love getting a little salt in my romance books, from time to time. And there's definitely a bit of salt there.

Speaking of salt, I was very impressed with the craziness of Hope McDonald. I found her very scary, but also very deranged, and the fact that she's a genius made her scarier. Some of the things she did kind of change the rules of the game a little bit, so I'm curious, very curious to see what's next, especially since towards the end of the book there were a few shocking stuff that happened because of her.

The pacing of this book is fantastic. The idea of using flashbacks for Erin and Theo's love story is fantastic, and I hope that in the future, we'll see more flashbacks. As I said before, super happy with how the book ended. I'm also very excited for the sneak peak we get into the future book of the series.

Submission Is Not Enough is a great story, a wonderful addition to the series, and I hope Blake will keep exploring the repercussions of what Hope did not only to Theo, but to others as well.


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 Theo took the stairs as quickly as he could. He knew where he was going, but he wasn’t going to think about it. For the first time since he’d gotten home, he didn’t care about his past or figuring out who he’d been. He wanted. He wanted something right now and that felt good.
She’d been right. There wasn’t a place for guilt here.
He strode up the stairs, her weight comforting in his arms. Yeah, he wasn’t going to think about that either. He was going to enjoy it, not wonder why his body remembered her when his mind would not.
“Hey, is everything okay?”
Damn it. Case was standing at the top of the stairs, obviously having come out of the privacy rooms. His wife was at his side, her face flushed. Mia had sex hair. Good for them. Red was about to have sex hair, too. Lots of filthy sex hair. “Everything’s great. Night.”
Case put a hand on his shoulder. “Whoa. I thought you were going to take this slow, brother.”
“If you don’t get your hand off him right this second, Taggart, I am going to ensure that you never have children,” Red said, her eyes narrowing on his brother. “You won’t be able to cock block anyone because you won’t have a damn cock. Am I clear?”
Case’s hands came up immediately as though he knew that tone and was not going there. “Trying to help.”
“Three is clean and has plenty of condoms. We’re taking a monitor turn up here. I checked all the rooms.” Mia grinned at him. She actually was helpful. “Have fun and we’ll see you at home.”
He didn’t bother to look back. Case could give him a lecture later. He wasn’t waiting anymore. He’d waited forever. Even when he couldn’t remember her face, he’d known she was there. He’d felt her, or rather he’d felt her absence.
Could he truly be with a woman whose name he couldn’t think without hurting her?
It didn’t matter. He wasn’t making those decisions tonight. He was enjoying her. His sub. He was bringing her pleasure and he probably should do a good job of it because his sub was fucking mean.
And fragile. He’d seen the moment she’d thought he was rejecting her. He’d watch her skin flush and her body start to turn in on itself. She was such a mix of strength and need. It was intoxicating. He wanted so badly to be the man who gave her what she needed.
Affection. Pleasure. Comfort.
Love—he wasn’t thinking that word tonight. Nope. Pleasure was way better.
He kicked out lightly at the partially open door number three. It looked like Mia had done her job. The room was perfectly clean, the lighting soft and romantic. The best thing about this room though was the complete lack of any of his friends or family being here.
It was him and her, and that was exactly what he wanted. No Ian. No Li. No Kai asking them hundreds of questions. Him and her and the night.
He tossed her on the bed and stood back, looking down at her. “Tell me why you thought I was rejecting you.”
The instant she hit the bed, she was up on her knees. So graceful. So deadly. What the hell was this woman like out in the field? She moved like a predator, but the look on her face was pure sarcasm. “Uhm, your words. That’s what sealed it for me. ‘I don’t want to do this’ is generally considered a rejection.”
Somehow she managed to put an unsaid “dumbass” on the end of her sentences. Not all of them. She’d been perfectly sweet most of the night, but she could turn it on when she wanted to. “I didn’t mean that. When I said the words, I watched you change. Why? You’re good at slapping people down. I wouldn’t have said that until today.”
“Because I’ve been careful around you,” she admitted.
“Why? You think I’m delicate?”
Her lips curled up. “I don’t think you’re delicate. I think I’m a lot to take, but I also am starting to believe I was wrong. You like me rough.”
“I like you a lot.” More than he could ever tell her.
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NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog int eh world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.

FACEBOOK / TWITTER / WEBSITE / AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

Monday, October 24, 2016

Book Review: The Thief Who Pulled On Trouble's Braids by Michael McClung

Author: Michael McClung
Series: Amra Thetys #1
Audience: +16
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Ragnarok Publications
Release Date: May 17th 2016
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):
The self-published edition of this title is the winner of Mark Lawrence's Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (out of 270 entrants).

They butchered Corbin right out in the street. That’s how it really started. He was a rogue and a thief, of course. But then, so am I. So when he got himself hacked up in front of his house off Silk Street, I decided somebody had to be made to pay. They thought that they could just sweep him away like rubbish. They were wrong."

Amra Thetys is a thief with morals: she won't steal from anybody poorer than she is; of course, anybody that poor generally doesn't have much worth stealing.

When a fellow thief and good friend is killed in a deal gone wrong, Amra turns her back on burglary and goes after something far more precious: revenge. Revenge, however, might be hard to come by. A nightmare assortment of enemies, including an immortal assassin and a mad sorcerer, believe Amra is in possession of The Blade That Whispers Hate—the legendary, powerful artifact her friend was murdered for—and they'll do anything to take it from her.

Trouble is, Amra hasn't got the least clue where the Blade might be. She needs to find the Blade, and soon, or she'll be joining her unfortunate friend in a cold grave rather than avenging his death, and time is running short for the small, scarred thief.

The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids is the first volume in Michael McClung's Amra Thetys series.

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

I really love discovering hidden gems in the literary world, and The Thief Who Pulled On Trouble's Braids is just that.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about this book is the world building. I loved the characters, don't get me wrong, but the world of this book is so rich and so colorful. In a way, it almost felt like reading a post-apocalyptic book. It didn't feel dystopian, but it was certainly a book set sometime in the future, after the fall of mankind as we know it. I like how there really isn't a great detail of what happened in the past, and I have a feeling that that's actually the entire mystery of the series.

Amra is a great heroine. She's daring, she keeps her promises, she's much more honorable than many of the people she encounters that should be honest, and she isn't one to shy away from violence. The book starts off with her receiving a visit from a friend of hers, also a thief. And even from the very beginning you can tell that if Amra says she'll do something, she will do it. I liked that about her. I also liked the fact that she wasn't one to use pretty, "ladylike" language. If she needed to curse, then she did that, and I loved her for it.

The plot was pretty well paced. I did have a few moments where I felt as if maybe the plot was too fast. My only issue was with the way the book ended. The entire mystery of who killed Corbin, and why, is solved in a totally unexpected way, maybe because I wasn't expecting it. At the very end of the book we get kind of a history lesson about how the world in this series came to be, without actually answering the question of what happened before. It kind of stays somewhere above the real story, giving you a glimpse of what's to come, but also sharing bits and pieces of information that might or might not be revealing.

The book ended in a very interesting way, with Amra facing more problems than she imagines. I'm definitely curious about what will happen next and I cannot wait to read the next books in the series. I'm really glad I stumbled across this book on Netgalley.


Sunday, October 23, 2016

Book Review: Mistletoe Games by Jaci Burton (ARC)

Author: Jaci Burton
Series: Play by Play #6.5, 8.5. 10.5
Audience: +18
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: October 18th 2016
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):
No one brings the sexy out in sports like Jaci Burton, the author of the New York Times bestselling Play-by-Play novels. Now, she puts together a holiday hat trick with three novellas featuring the hottest sports around: baseball, hockey, and surfing—because hard bodies are always in season...

Holiday Games
For the high-achieving Elizabeth and her husband, baseball player Gavin Riley, failure is not an option. So when it comes to making a baby, they’re not about to let any holiday distractions get in the way of their necessary pleasures...

Holiday on Ice
It’s the season for giving and superstar hockey player Patrick “Trick” Niemeyer is ready to give dancer Stella Slovinski his heart wrapped up in bow. But he’ll have to melt the ice surrounding her heart to keep her from walking away...

Hot Holiday Nights
Christmas in Hawaii brings sports agent Tori Baldwin two presents: a young surfer at the top of his game and his business manager. But this hot threesome has to decide if the romantic wave they’ve caught is nothing more than a vacation fling, or the kind of love that could change their lives forever...

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

Jaci Burton's Play by Play series is the first series that made me fall in love with sports romance, so when I saw this book on Netgalley I might have danced and made a few raptor noises, due to my excitement.

Holiday Games was absolutely adorable, mainly because of Elizabeth. I love Gavin, don't get me wrong, but Elizabeth is my girl. She's such a badass character, and she's actually someone I'd love to meet in real life. I love that she's a woman who made it in a career that's dominated by men, and she's good at her job. And Gavin is such a sweetheart, like always. I loved reading about them, about how their story continues. I also love reading about Liz being more open to other people. I remember that when we first meet her, she's this cold woman, that will do anything to do her job as she sees fit, which sometimes wasn't a good decision. But Gavin changed her in a way, and I really enjoy reading more about this Liz.

Holiday On Ice is one story I've been dying to read for a long time. I've always been curious to know more about Stella. It's probably one of my favorite things about this series, the fact that there isn't just one sport that it's explored. In this case, with Stella, we see a glimpse into the world of professional dancing. Stella and Patrick are really great characters! Their chemistry is amazing, it's just the type of relationship that I'm used to reading in one of Burton's books. My favorite scene is when Patrick sees Stella dance for the first time. There's just something so incredibly sweet in that scene, I just love it.

Hot Holiday Nights is the last novella on this collection. Victoria, the heroine of this book, is another female sports agent and, if my memory isn't playing tricks on me, she actually appears in the second book of this series, alongside Elizabeth. I have to say though, I wasn't as in love with this novella as I was with the other two. I can't explain it, but to me it felt more like a holiday fling than a beginning of a love story. I do have to say I really enjoyed reading about surfing. The two heroes, Alex and Ben, are surfers. Ben was actually a professional surfer before he had an accident that prevented him from even playing the sport at a competitive level, while Alex is currently a professional surfer. I loved reading more about this sport, and I hope there will be more books in this series that include surfers. Like I said though, I didn't feel as if this was the start of a romantic relationship, but a really hot holiday affair.

As always, Jaci Burton knows just how to write a hot relationship, and how to get me interested in finding out more about certain sports. I am curious to see which character will get their stories told next, as well as which sport will be featured in future books.

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Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Book Review: Fish Out Of Water by Hailey Edwards

Author: Hailey Edwards
Series: A Gemini Novella
Audience: +18
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: CrushStar Multimedia LLC
Release Date: September 18th 2016
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):
Harlow Bevans was a changeling mermaid working as a diving consultant for the Earthen Conclave. Then he came along. Charybdis. A serial killer who possessed her body and wrecked her mind. Now she's an inmate—patient—at Edelweiss Mental Institution.

When a haunting song lures her to the scene of a brutal murder, the calm of the past few months is shattered. A fellow patient is dead, and Harlow is caught standing over his body by a mysterious guard who hides his own secrets behind a pair of aviator sunglasses her fingers itch to remove.

Unwilling to be a pawn in another psychopath's game, Harlow sets out to discover the real killer. What she uncovers makes her a prime target, and the next song she hears could be her last. Curiosity may not have killed the cat, but it just might fillet the mermaid.


*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this copy from Netgalley and CrushStar Multimedia LLC in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or my opinion of this book

The world of the Black Dog and the other connected series keeps getting bigger and bigger, and that makes me insanely happy. The latest book in the series brings you the story of Harlow, after she is rescued from Charybdis, and it shows her road to recovery.

What I love most about this book is that the story takes place in the facility where Harlow is recovering at. She's still struggling with what Charybdis did to her, she's not healed yet. Actually, this book shows Harlow go from the mute girl who would only make sounds as she's having gruesome nightmares about what happened to her, to the adventurous girl who will try to save everyone around her. So it's actually a book about healing, which I enjoyed a lot.

I feel like Harlow still has a lot to deal with, and there's a lot she still needs to face, to be fully healed, but she's getting there. Maybe she'll never again be that pink-haired mermaid that she was before being used as a pawn in a serial killer's sick game, but at least she won't be a living ghost anymore. She'll have a life, as normal as possible. I'm actually really proud of how much she's managed to accomplish in this book.

A character that intrigued me a lot was Lam. He's a mystery, and it isn't until very close to the end of the story that we get to find out more about him. I'd really love to know more about him, and more about his past.

We also get to learn what happened to the pregnant werewolf from the Gemini series, Bianca. Her story is still heartbreaking, it's still painful, and it seems that, at least for now, it will continue to be that way. However, I have hope. I love the little twist at the end, and what that kind of means for her future, so I have hope for her. I do wish we get to read more about her in the next books, especially in the Lorimar Pack series.

Speaking of series and future books, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for more Harlow books. I love her so much, and I'd love to see how she recovers from being kidnapped and possessed, as well as learn more about Lam, and the patients at the Edelweiss Mental Institution.

The book was pretty well paced, and I read it pretty quickly. I'm very happy Harlow is on her way towards a happy ending, and I can only hope we'll get to see more of her in future series. If you still haven't started reading this series, trust me, you're missing out on a lot of fun.

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Sunday, October 16, 2016

Blog Tour Book Review: Confessions of an Undercover Girlfriend by Kay Marie

Author: Kay Marie
Series: Confessions #2
Audience: +18
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 11th 2016
My Rating: 4.5 cups
Source: Author
Blurb (from Goodreads):
So, I'm no longer a virgin sex columnist—thank you, Ollie—but if I thought that was going to make my life easier, boy was I wrong! John is back in town determined to win my forgiveness. Blythe is more ready than ever to take me down. Bridget is totally onto the new twinkle in my eye. And, well, Ollie is just as distractingly delicious as usual.

So, naturally, I have a few more confessions to make.

Confession #1: I came up with what I thought would be the perfect plan to keep my relationship with Ollie a secret—pretend to get back together with John!

Confession #2: It backfired. A lot.

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC from Kay Marie in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or opinion of the book in any way.

I've been super excited for this book to come out, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

Confessions of an Undercover Girlfriend picks up right where the previous book, Confessions of a Virgin Sex Columnist, ended, and it kind of felt like I was watching part two of a movie, which was awesome. We don't jump forward in time, weeks or days later, we're right there, when John knocks on the door in the morning after Skye and Ollie's romantic night.

Skylar is still the same girl from before. I love that sex didn't magically change her, it didn't make her have the self-confidence that her co-worker, Blythe has, nor the lack of fear that her best friend, Bridge, is known for. She's still the rambling, clumsy, awkward girl, that can't quite control her fear, and I liked that. We get to see her come to some conclusions about herself, her relationship with Ollie, her friendship with Bridge, and I'm actually proud of her. She kind of managed to make me want to shake her a few times, because her freak-outs in this book were even more epic than in the previous one, but that's her charm, in the end. There's a brilliant scene at the end of the book, where Bridge asks Skye how she manages to live with the anxiety and hyperventilating all the time, and Skye says it takes talent, and it's true. I can understand Skye though. I feel like everyone, myself included, has moments of self doubt, that, when seen from someone else's perspective, can seem strange, or exaggerated, or even annoying at times, but it really does take a special kind of talent to have that inside you and still manage to do all of the stuff you want to do.

I liked Oliver more in this book that before. He kind of grew on me, and I liked that he was willing to let Skye have her little meltdowns and moments of self doubt, and hold her until those moments passed. Sure, there was a moment when I questioned his resolve, but I didn't blame him.

I liked the dynamic between Skye and Bridge. At first I had mixed feelings about Skye wanting to hide her relationship from her best friend, but I eventually got it. She even says is at one point, what if this relationship isn't what she thought it would be, what if she realizes that Ollie is so not the guy for her, why risk a friendship over something that might not be true. But at the same time, I wanted to shake her, because if her best friend really loved her, it wouldn't matter. It shouldn't, and, in the end, it turns out okay. But what I love is that it showed how, even from the one person that we trust with everything and anything, we still get scared of rejection, of judgement. I liked that the book went there.

There were laugh-out-loud moments in this book, one of them involving a drink and someone's face, that made me laugh like a loon. The ending was super cute, and I absolutely adored it. Speaking of things I'd adore, you know what, I'd love to see how Blythe's story ends. I'd love her to get a happy ending, I'd love to see more of her. I couldn't stand her at first, but this book made me like her. I'd definitely read a book about her.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book, which was a really great ending to Skye and Oliver's story.


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