Book review: SLAY, by Abbi Glines

Georgia Smoke #1

King & Rumor

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A new chapter in the Southern Mafia, this time in Georgia! And just as hot and addictive as the original Smoke series!  King is the charming one with the cute smile.  It hides how dangerous he is but it serves to convince Rumor to climb into his truck.  Rumor is on the run from an abusive husband, she’s bruised and broken but still beautiful as heck.  

King is assigned to charm and seduce her but guess who ended up smitten? A product of the foster system, Rumor is all closed up, sweet in spite of all she’s gone through.  She doesn’t trust easily but King and his grandmother Maeme do win her trust and affection.  Until she learns the truth….

Things are heating up in this part of the South and we’re just starting on this merry go round.  The book ends somewhat with not a dramatic cliffhanger, just a quiet splat, but we know the next one will be hotter and wilder than this one, and poor King will be up for a ride with this sweet steel magnolia.

Purchase link

1-CLICK now! https://geni.us/AGSlay

Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/209193189-slay

About the author

 Abbi Glines is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Rosemary Beach, Sea Breeze, Vincent Boys, Field Party, and Existence series. She never cooks unless baking during the Christmas holiday counts. She believes in ghosts and has a habit of asking people if their house is haunted before she goes in it. She finally moved to New England into a home that is 200 + years old with it's own ghosts. She drinks afternoon tea because she wants to be British but alas she being born in Alabama, her life in New England is as close as she will get. When asked how many books she has written she has to stop and count on her fingers. When she’s not locked away writing, she is reading, and/or watching Netflix like the introvert that she is. 

You can connect with Abbi online in several different ways. 

www.abbiglinesbooks.com

TikTok @abbiglines

Twitter: @abbiglines

Instagram: @abbiglines

Snapchat: abbiglines

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

Book review: FAMOUS LAST WORDS, by Claudia Burgoa

⭐️⭐️⭐️
The first half of this book is full of recriminations, accusations, remorse and guilt.  I like angst but this was more than I like.  Seraphina and Brahms were childhood friends.  After a tragic plane crash that took the life of Seraphina’s siblings and made her father wheelchair-bound, Brahms was her succor.  They clung together and fell in love, until something happened that destroyed what they had and turned into hate for her, guilt for him.

Brahms fell into a downward spiral, had several death-defying accidents, and the last one was severe enough that his family got him into Seraphina’s Rehabilitation Therapy clinic.  She hates Brahms but she’s about to lose her business so she had no other choice.  

Brahms was full of love and guilt towards Seraphina.  She was full of vitriol, she was hateful and vindictive.  It was not happy reading for the first half of the book.  Things began to change halfway into a more positive outlook, where forgiveness was beginning to sound possible.  I had an inkling there was a rat in the works, but the reader is kept in total darkness until about 80% of the story.  

The pace is slow and we are waiting for the truth to come out and for the main characters to achieve forgiveness and start dealing with their trauma.  The story is told in present and past scenes but the transitions were not very smooth, and to be truthful, did not shed a lot of light on their issues.  

When the truth comes out, it’s like a 180º turn, we are all happy and cuddly, cheesy and steamy.  I liked Brahms, found him generous and full of love and kindness.  His addictions were a direct result of his sadness and guilt.  His brothers, who are present in support of their stricken brother, are also nice with various interesting personalities.  I didn’t like Seraphina because she’s stuck on her hate and doesn’t budge, not even to ask for information.  She’s even snarky with her bestie and business partner Blythe! 

Purchase links

Amazon https://amzn.to/47UHG1s

Apple https://apple.co/47Ae6P6

Kobo https://bit.ly/3GkNyFH

B&N https://bit.ly/3QY3EtN

Google Play https://bit.ly/47Rx5oi

About the author

Claudia is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author.

She writes alluring, thrilling stories about complicated women and the men who take their breaths away. Her books are the perfect blend of steamy and heartfelt, filled with emotional characters and explosive chemistry. Her writing takes readers to new heights, providing a variety of tears, laughs, and shocking moments that leave fans on the edge of their seats.

She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, her youngest two children, and three fluffy dogs.

When Claudia is not writing, you can find her reading, knitting, or just hanging out with her family. At nights, she likes to binge watch shows or movies with her equally geeky husband. 

 

Keep up with Claudia Burgoa and subscribe to her newsletter: https://bit.ly/NwsletterCB%20%20

 

To learn more about Claudia Burgoa & her books, visit here!

 

Connect with Claudia Burgoa:

https://claudiayburgoa.com/wp/contact/

 

Book review: JUMP ON THREE, by Julia Wolf

Savage Academy #3

Ivan & Evelyn

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Super cute!  Everything you want to see in young adults attending high school!  A fantastic group of friends, a bully we all love to hate, meetings at the school cafeteria, and as a super bonus, an enchanting young woman who is in the spectrum.  Evelyn is Delilah’s twin sister, she’s autistic and she delighted me with her very deliberate manner.  From what I know of autism, she’s highly functional but she does have her meltdowns and her quirks. I found her fascinating!

Ivan is from Russia, his father is a powerful businessman who has all seven of his children under his thumb.  As in, he directs their whole life, where they study, who they marry, where they work, where they live.  At the moment, Ivan is happy with his life because he likes Savage Academy and he’s entranced with Evelyn.  He works nights at a nightclub his father co-owns and I loved when Evelyn crashes into his workspace and enchants the manager and the bouncers.

There’s not an inordinate amount of angst or spice, what I mostly read and hugely enjoyed is a guy and the girl he likes learning to deal together and her situation.  Ivan has a lot of patience and understanding and when he fell, he fell hard.  Evelyn takes a more cautious approach, deliberates every step of the way and is no less enchanting as she evolves.

I loved their texting, Evelyn’s desire to step out of her routine, the close and loving bond she has with her twin Delilah, the knitting classes she gives Rhys (Delilah’s boyfriend), the sheer kindness she shows everyone, notwithstanding the treatment she has been shown by some, and the way she awakened to love with Ivan.  It was a sweet, lovely story, and Evelyn is a delight!

Purchase links

FREE with #kindleunlimited 

Amazon: https://bit.ly/48yPruR

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/JumpOnThree

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/47u6YTG

About the author

Julia Wolf writes sexy rockers, broken bad boys, snarky heroines, and bad ass women. She's a firm believer in happily ever afters, no matter how rocky the road is to get there.

Julia lives in Maryland with her husband and three crazy, beautiful children. When she's not writing romance, she's reading it. Some of her favorite things are, in no particular order: goats, books, coffee, and Target.

 

Connect with Julia

Website: http://juliawolfwrites.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17563191.Julia_Wolf

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Julia-Wolf/author/B078VDJ3Z1

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

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2086152844974595

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/JuliaIsWriting

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Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/julia-wolf

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Book review: MY DARK DESIRE, by Parker S. Huntington & J.L. Shen

Dark Prince Road #2

Zach & Farrow

I thought Parker Huntington and JL Shen let out their crazy in My Dark Romeo but they still had lots more crazy to let go in this story! It was a hoot, initially it went from the sublime to the ridiculous and hilarious.  Then it settled down to a wonderful, passionate, angsty and tender romance.  Vibes of Cinderella including the lost shoe except in this case it was a dirty sneaker.  And in Zach’s case, I would say there were hints of a male Sleeping Beauty.  Traumatized by a car accident where his father died protecting him, he’s frozen in life, no touching, no emotions, a completely colorless life.  Until a hurricane in the form of Farrow Ballantine arrived in his life, initially to steal from him, then forced to work for him. She turned his life upside down, sassed him back when he dared order her around, and taught him how to live and how to touch without aversions.  So in a way, she awakened hm from a frozen sleep to vivid life. Or maybe he was Frozen like Elsa and he let it go?  

Anyway, he fell hard and got obsessed and we were treated to a fantastic story, a slow burn romance, a virgin (guess which one?), and a zany group of friends who are a wonderful found family.  I loved the group messaging, it was hilarious, and loved all the references to octopuses.  Or is it Octi?  The mango scene was wow 🔥 

I had moments of laugh out loud, others when tears sprung in my eyes.  Very emotional and very intense.  Loved it!

Purchase links

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3SMJuE5  

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/4abqwy4

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/48iSWWb 

About the authors

Parker S. Huntington is a stay-at-home dog mom from SoCal, where she discovered her allergy to rain. In spite of her shoddy attendance record and strong aversion to homework, she earned a B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of California, Riverside and an A.L.M. in Literature from Harvard. When she's not writing or exchanging food pics with her friends, she's binge-watching an unhealthy amount of Netflix while curled up with her dogs.

Parker hates talking about herself and is (also) allergic to social media, but you can catch up with her in her newsletter at www.parkershuntington.com. Occasionally, she'll post a TikTok video, which you can find at @parkershuntington.

L.J. Shen is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of contemporary, new adult, and young adult romance. Her books have been translated in over twenty different countries, and she hopes to visit all of them.

She lives in Florida with her husband, three rowdy sons, and even rowdier pets. She enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows, and reading to her heart’s content. 

Connect with L.J. Shen

Website  www.authorljshen.com 

Instagram (@authorljshen)

Facebook group at http://goo.gl/QZJ0NC. 

Sign up for her newsletter at https://bit.ly/3LhsIrb, and text SHEN to 313131 to get new release alerts (United States only).

Join LJ's mailing list for exclusive material ➜ https://bit.ly/3LhsIrb

Website ➜ www.authorljshen.com

Book review: IF YOU HATE ME, by Helena Hunting

Toronto Terrors #1

Tristan & Beatrix

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I usually love Helena Hunting’s books but this one was hard to like.  There were sex scenes almost every two pages, way too much and it was tiresome.  Then Beatrix and Tristan are constantly fighting with a maturity I expect in high schoolers, not young professional adults.

The hating and the insulting took up too much space in this story until about halfway that feelings started to develop and the writing turned more caring and sweet.  Even so, Tristan has mother abandonment issues and it really prevented him from being a good secret boyfriend.  Many times, he acted like a jerk and hurt Trix’s feelings.  I felt like she gave him way too many opportunities.

The book turned into the angsty romance I expect from this author about half way in the book and that is when I started to enjoy it as I read about their vulnerabilities and feelings.  The way too frequent sex scenes continued and I just started to skim them, I wanted the romance and the story, not the copious spice.

Elements I enjoyed in this book are the girls friendship and how supportive and fun they are, the hockey teammates who are present to give Tristan suggestions that he very much needed.  Flip, Trix’s brother, is a loving big brother, eager to help his little sister; however, he was a rabid player who constantly brought women into his bedroom for sexy romps and didn’t care if he was disrespecting his sister with the noises.  I feel like there’s a grow up storyline for him in future books! 

There’s the tension of discovery for when Flip finds out that Tristan and Trix are together, and I loved reading about Trix’s career, her financial talent, her nutrition help to her brother and his teammates.  There were good parts, but I’m sad to say that I love Helena Hunting but didn’t like this book.

Purchase links

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗶𝗻 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱

https://books2read.com/u/49aG8X

About the author

 NYT and USA Today bestselling author, Helena Hunting lives on the outskirts of Toronto with her incredibly tolerant family and two moderately intolerant cats. She started her writing career with new adult angsty romance and branched out in sports romance and romantic comedies that will make you laugh and swoon. But sometimes she likes to serve up a little heartache on the way to the happily ever after.

 

Connect with Helena Hunting

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3NVxqwe

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2kN5wdZ

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2mloUim
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/Zt1xm5
Facebook Fan group: http://bit.ly/2kN5yCD
Website: https://bit.ly/3x2H8WI

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