Book Review: The Final Score by Jaci Burton

Author: Jaci Burton
Series: Play-by-Play #13
Audience:  +18
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 12th 2017
My Rating: 4.5 Cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

In the new Play-by-Play novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Contact, a star quarterback is torn between his love of the game—and the woman who may be the love of his life.

Nathan Riley is ready to follow in the footsteps of his famous football player father. He’s been drafted as quarterback for his dad’s former team, and his sports future is bright. When his friend Mia Cassidy moves to the same city, their years-long friendship suddenly sparks hot, reminding him of the one night they had together in college that he can never forget.

Like Nathan, Mia is from a sports dynasty family and embarking on an incredible new career—as founder of her own sports management company. Her friendship with Nathan means everything to her, and tossing sex into the mix again could jeopardize it all. But the chemistry between them has always sizzled, and it isn’t long before Mia realizes she wants more with Nathan than just late-night talks and pizza.

Passion has a funny way of changing the rules, and soon Nathan and Mia realize that to win it all, they’ll have to make an unexpected play for love.

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from Berkley and Netgalley 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.

Play-by-Play is one of my favorite sports romance series out there, so whenever I hear that Jaci Burton is publishing a new book in this series I know I'll have an amazing time. My realization that The Final Score is about Nathan, Mick and Tara's son, however, made me delay my reading of this book for so long. I knew I was going to be emotional while reading this, and I'm here to tell you that I was right. I was an emotional mess. But I also had tons of fun.

Blog Tour Book Review: How To Love A Duke In Ten Days by Kerrigan Byrne

“Romantic, lush, and suspenseful.”― Suzanne Enoch, New York Times bestselling author

How to Love a Duke in Ten Days, an all-new must read historical romance from USA Today bestselling author Kerrigan Byrne, is available now!!

Author: Kerrigan Byrne
Series: Devil You Know #1
Audience:  +18
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Release Date: August 27th 2019
My Rating: 5 Cups
Source: Social Butterfly PR

Blurb (from Goodreads):

These men are dark, bold, and brave. And there is only one woman who can bring them to their knees...

Famed and brilliant, Lady Alexandra Lane has always known how to look out for herself. But nobody would ever expect that she has darkness in her past—one that she pays a blackmailer to keep buried. Now, with her family nearing bankruptcy, Alexandra strikes upon a solution: Get married to one of the empire’s most wealthy eligible bachelors. Even if he does have the reputation of a devil.

LOVE TAKES NO PRISONERS

Piers Gedrick Atherton, the Duke of Redmayne, is seeking revenge and the first step is securing a bride. Winning a lady’s hand is not so easy, however, for a man known as the Terror of Torcliff. Then, Alexandra enters his life like a bolt of lightning. When she proposes marriage, Piers knows that, like him, trouble haunts her footsteps. But her gentleness, sharp wit, independent nature, and incredible beauty awakens every fierce desire within him. He will do whatever it takes to keep her safe in his arms.

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC from Social Butterfly PR and St. Martin's 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 such, my review may contain references to subjects intended for a mature audience only.

Trigger Warnings: Rape, murder, blackmail

Wow. That was my first and only thought for a good portion of my morning after reading this book. Since this was my first Kerrigan Byrne book, I didn't quite know what to expect, but I had very high hopes. I can honestly tell you that my hopes were met and surpassed.

Double Cover Reveal: The Royal Engagement and The Rebel Queen by Jeana E. Mann

🔥🔥 DOUBLE COVER REVEAL🔥🔥

Covers created by Jena Brignola at Bibliophile Productions

From USA Today bestselling author Jeana E. Mann comes this dark, contemporary romance filled with twists, turns, and unprecedented heat. Lies, seduction, and the struggle for a kingdom will heat up your e-reader. Preorder your copy today!

 

A billionaire prince searches for a new wife in this intriguing tale of power and seduction from USA Today bestselling author Jeana E. Mann.

When I walk into a room, people look twice. Once because I’m the Crown Prince of Androvia, and twice because I’m that guy—the one who makes your panties wet with just a smile. My life is grand until the unexpected death of my father. To claim the throne, I’ve got to find a wife in twenty-four hours or be forced to marry the woman who cheated on me.

A chance encounter with the daughter of my sworn enemy changes everything. The first time I saw her, she was chained to a dungeon wall. The second time I saw her, I took her to my bed. The third time, I proposed marriage. If she accepts, I’ll rule her body the same way I intend to rule my kingdom—with an iron hand and no mercy. The stakes are high for both of us. If she turns me down, I could lose the throne to my traitorous uncle. Even worse, if she accepts, I might lose my heart.

Release Date: 9/17/19

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47107518-the-royal-arrangement

PREORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon: http://bit.ly/TRA-Amazon

Nook: http://bit.ly/TRA-Nook

Apple: http://bit.ly/TRA-Apple

“Shall we begin?” When spoken by my new husband, these three little words fill me with terror and anticipation.

In private, King Henry rules my body like he rules his country—with unrelenting control and passion. I crave his orders, his punishment, his commands. Outside the bedroom, we’re strangers caught in a web of lies and decadence.

Our marriage is a sham, a business arrangement devised to save my life and secure his crown. He doesn’t love me. He loves my body, controlling it, shaming it, worshipping it. To survive the dangers at court, I need to be smart, but it’s hard to think straight with a man like Henry between my legs.

Each night, he locks the bedroom door, determined to teach me a new lesson. Obedience, patience, trust. I lie awake in bed waiting for the sound of his footsteps and the latest installment in pleasure and pain. My heart pounds when the hinges creak and his broad shoulders block the door. I’m not ready, but I can’t wait to feel his hands on me. He shoves his bowtie into my mouth, binds my hands to the headboard, and whispers in my ear…

“Shall we begin?”

Release Date: 10/15/19

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47107577-the-rebel-queen

PREORDER:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/304PE5I

Apple: https://apple.co/2Z2cE8q

Nook: http://bit.ly/2N9iA8W

Jeana is a USA Today and Publishers Weekly Bestselling Author from Indiana. She gave up a career in the corporate world to write about sexy billionaires and alpha bad boys. With over twenty books and several awards beneath her belt, she’s never regretted her choice to live out her dream. She’s a free spirit, a wanderer at heart, and loves animals with a passion. When she’s not tripping over random objects, you’ll find her walking in the sunshine with her rambunctious dogs and dreaming about true love.

You can follow Jeana here:

Website:http://jeanaemann.net

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/JeanaEMann

Twitter:https://www.twitter.com/JeanaEMann

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/JeanaEMann

Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Jeana-E.-Mann/e/B00HI4KQB4/ref

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jeana-e-mann

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeana.e.mann/

Text Alerts: Text the word “Jeana” without quotations to 21000

   

Wednesday Chatter: Musings About ARCs And ARC Bans

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks

WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!

DISCLAIMER

This post is brought to you because I was naughty and broke my self-imposed ARC ban with signing up for 4 blog tours (I am a weak, weak individual) and Soph @ Bookwyrming Thoughts held me accountable and gave me this punishment topic.

***

Why You Don't Actually Need The ARC You Really Really Want During An ARC Ban

I have a confession: I have an ARC problem. Because I have a lot of overdue ARCs I have to read and I feel quite guilty about them I've decided to go on a temporary ARC ban. I'm only allowed to sign up for blog tours for authors I've worked with in the past. I've been on an ARC ban since July and it's been an interesting experience. When I broke my ban because I wasn't able to resist signing up to some unplanned blog tours and Soph gave me this punishment topic to talk about it got me thinking about why I had that feeling of "I need these books" when I signed up for the blog tours, as well as what requesting ARCs meant long-term. It led to some pretty interesting results, people.

Source: Giphy

I feel like before we start I need to add this: I've been on an ARC ban before, ages ago. I went a year without looking at Netgalley and it was absolutely, positively miserable

The fear of missing out is big. Since the hype is always with upcoming books, bloggers and reviewers try to ride that wave as long as they can. There's a pressure to stay current, even if sometimes that pressure is something we put on ourselves. I acknowledged that feeling in myself even before I went on an ARC ban, but right now I realized that the feeling is totally irrational. Unlike what happens with doll prototypes that sometimes never get to be mass-produced, books will be published. So the feeling of not being contemporary or not riding the wave of popularity isn't real. So what if you don't have the ARC? If it's a book you really want to read, you'd probably go ahead and buy it or borrow it and you'll still get to read it. 

I'll admit that during this month I did check out my usual ARC spots, but realizing that I'm not actually missing out on anything made me feel like a weight was lifted off of my chest. Now I know what you're going to say. "But Ruby, you signed up for four blog tours". You're right, I did. But that's because I had a weak moment. I'm not saying I won't join tours or I won't request in the future, because that is a lie and it's a pointless lie too. But I'm more conscious about what I'm requesting and what I'm signing up to, and I'm less disappointed over the idea that I don't get to read a certain book before it publishes. Because, once again, I still will get to read it in the future.

I'm sifting through my overdue ARCs and I realize that by chasing new releases I miss out on older books that deserve the same amount of attention. I went through some older review copies and with a few I had this overwhelming urge to kick myself for not getting to them faster.

Another thing that I realized with my ARC ban is that sometimes the hype around an upcoming book makes me not pay attention to my instinct when it comes to a certain book. I know myself very well and I am usually right when I think I'll like or dislike a book. The hype around a book kind of makes me want to completely ignore that initial reaction. Sometimes the results are amazing and I end up loving a book I thought I would dislike, but I've also had a few situations in which I was right to think I wouldn't enjoy a book. So unfortunately I have DNFed a few books since this ARC ban started.

Do we need ARCs? Not really. Do we want ARCs? Yes, yes we do. So although I definitely won't be requesting as many ARCs as I have going forward, I won't stop requesting them completely.

Let's discuss: Have you ever put yourself on an ARC ban? If yes, how was it? Did you manage to keep it, or were you naughty like me and broke it? 

Blog Tour Book Review: Avenged by an Angel by Felicity Heaton

Author: Felicity Heaton

Series: Eternal Mates #16

Audience: +18

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Self Published

Release Date: August 20th 2019 

My Rating: 4.5 Cups

Source: Felicity Heaton

Blurb (from Goodreads):

Duty should mean everything to the Fourth Commander of the Echelon angels. It did before he met her. Now, the only demon he wants to slay is the one that haunts the enchanting mortal huntress, and the temptation to hunt him in Hell, a realm that might kill him, is becoming impossible to resist.

Held captive by a dragon shifter in Hell, Emelia survived a torment that changed her in ways she hates. She wants her strength back. Her life back. To do that, she needs closure. To get that, she might have to trust not only a man again, but an immortal.

But when the price of vengeance is the soul of the angel bringing her back to life, will Emelia be willing to pay it?

Grab your copy today and step into a passionate, lush, and powerful paranormal romance series packed with dark elves, vampires, demons, fae, shifters and angels from New York Times and USA Today Best-Selling Paranormal Romance Author Felicity Heaton.

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from Felicity Heaton 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 such, my review may contain references to subjects intended for a mature audience only.

It's been a hot minute since I last read a Felicity Heaton book and it was time I corrected that. I also felt like it was time for a good paranormal story, and when I got the chance to join the blog tour I did so happily and as quick as I could. The world of the Eternal Mates gets bigger and bigger and I'm very happy for that. As I expected, this book was just as good as I could have hoped for.

Blog Tour Book Review: Lost In You by Lexi Blake

"A hot, sexy mix of angst, longing, suspense and drama you don’t want to miss!" -- Carly Phillips, New York Times Bestselling Author

Lost in You, an all-new sexy and action packed installment in the Masters and Mercenaries: The Forgotten Series from New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake, is available now!

Author: Lexi Blake

Series: Masters & Mercenaries: The Forgotten #3, Masters and Mercenaries #19

Audience: +18

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense

Publisher: DLZ Entertainment, LLC

Release Date: August 6th 2019 

My Rating: 5 Cups

Source: Social Butterfly PR

Blurb (from Goodreads):

Robert McClellan was forced to serve as a soldier in a war he didn’t understand. Liberated by McKay-Taggart, he struggles every day to reclaim the life he lost and do right by the men he calls his brothers, The Lost Boys. Only one thing is more important – Ariel Adisa. The gorgeous psychologist has plagued his dreams since the day they met. Even as their mission pushes him to his limits, he can’t stop thinking about taking his shot at finding a life beyond all this with her.

Ariel Adisa is a force to be reckoned with. Her performance in Toronto proved she’s more than just a brilliant mind, but Robert still acts as if she is a wilting flower who needs his protection. Joining him on the mission to Munich should be the perfect opportunity to test their skills and cement their relationship. She and Robert are an excellent match. But when a stunning secret from Robert’s past is revealed, their world is turned upside down and nothing will ever be the same again.

While they chase dark secrets across Europe, Robert and Ariel realize that the only thing worse than not knowing who you are could be discovering who you used to be...

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of his book from Social Butterfly 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.

I finished reading this book last night and my heart is still beating fast when I think about this story. Holy crap, people!!! I've been reading Lexi Blake for so long now that I'm pretty used by now to having her play with my emotions, but this book just took everything I knew about the Masters and Mercenaries world and my heart and stomped all over it.