ARC REVIEW Maybe This Time by Nicole McLaughlin

Whiskey and Weddings #2, First off the cover does not match the story. It just seems way to conventional for the free spirited Jen with her dyed hair and tattoos. The story was okay it was entertaining, I loved Jen, in high school we probably would have been friends and grown up to be even better friends. I don't think I would have liked TJ in high school especially after what he did to Jen. But people grow up and TJ and Jen meet again a couple of years down the line after she gets a job bartending at Stag, the boutique whiskey distillery and wedding venue that TJ and his friends Dean and Jake own and operate. Jen was just doing the bartending jig part time while she acted and coached kids in acting and vocal but when the theatre closed down due to lack of funding Jen was left without a stable income not to mention her mother has been battling cancer and even though they may not have had the best relationship Jen feels it's her responsibility to take care of her mother. Jen's luck finally changes when the main receptionist at Stag has to go into maternity leave early and they ask Jen to fill in for her. 

Jen is bartending the night of Stag's big Uncasking Night, after five years they are "opening" up the first barrels of their aged whiskey. It's a big success but part way through the night Jen accidentally cuts her finger and TJ drives her to the hospital. While there they talk more honestly then they ever had and Jen confides in him that her Mom's cancer is back and refusing chemo. Usually Jen and TJ can't go five seconds without some kind of insult but that night starts anew chapter for both of them TJ breaks up with his girlfriend because he realizes everything Jen said about her was right and TJ finally feels confident enough to try and pursue Jen. TJ and Jen are just starting things when the apartment she lives in catches on fire and her and her Mom are homeless. Jen hates having to need anybody she's always done things on her own and she feels like she will have to repay TJ back for his generosity of letting her stay with him. TJ doesn't want to be repaid he likes taking care of Jen and after everything Jen has done for herself and her mother he thinks it's about time some took care of her for a change. But everything is moving to fast for Jen just starting a relationship and then moving in with him she's feeling overwhelmed. When she gets a call from a woman in Chicago about a teaching job at a prestigious art school she's conflicted about leaving.

Jen and TJ go from prickly to lukewarm to red hot in the matter of pages. Jen's defense mechanism ranges anywhere from a self deprecating comment to an insult. TJ always brought out the worst in her because she always felt that he was judging her and finding her not worthy which just made her feel worse that she was still attracted to him. TJ always liked Jen but her almost constant onslaught of insults kept him away. When Jen finally let TJ in he was full speed ahead no stops runaway train. 

Overall, it was a good read. TJ had some family issues he had to deal with so it wasn't an all about Jen book. In the end everything was wrapped up in a pretty little bow with their conflict with their families. The writing was well paced and the dialogue was witty at times. I like that this took place in Kansas City it was a nice change for me.        

ARC REVIEW The Librarian's Vampire Assistant by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

The Librarian’s Vampire Assistant 

 Mimi Jean Pamfiloff 

Series Name (or Stand Alone???): The Librarian’s Vampire Assistant 

Genre: Cozy Vampire Mystery 

From New York Times Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff comes a Horribly Sunny Mystery, The Librarian’s Vampire Assistant.

NOBODY MESSES WITH HIS LIBRARIAN. . .

Who killed Michael Vanderhorst’s maker? It’s a darn good question. But when the trail brings Michael to hellishly sunny Phoenix, Arizona, his biggest problem soon becomes a cute little librarian he can’t seem to stay away from. He’s never met a bigger danger magnet! Even her book cart has it out for her. And is that the drug cartel following her around, too? “Dear God, woman! What have you gotten yourself into?”

Things go from bad to worse when local vampires won’t play nice.

Can this four-hundred-year-old vampire keep his librarian safe and himself out of hot water? Can he bring his maker’s killer to justice? Yesterday, he would’ve said yes. But yesterday, he didn’t have a strange connection with a librarian. Yesterday, people weren’t trying to kill her.

Mimi has done it again she has taken one genre of books and twisted it in such a way she has made it her own. This cozy vampire mystery is very different from what she has written before but is still very classic Mimi with all the surprise twists, turns, foul language, sassy women, and brooding men. 

Michael would have preferred to be anywhere but sunny Phoenix, Arizona but his best friend/brother/father figure/maker was killed and he's there to pick up what's left of him not only that but he's not satisfied as to how long the investigation is taking so with the help of his plucky smartass assistant, Lula, he aims to find out. Now if he could only stop getting distracted by a certain librarian he could get down to the bottom of it, or not. Michael is an absolute book snob and coffee fiend with a hilarious narrative. Lula his lowly assistant is such a typical Mimi character she reminds me of Cimil except not quite batshit crazy or evil.  

I love that this is in Michael narrative (first person POV). Usually with cozy mystery or vampire books it all in the woman's POV as she learns about vampires and tries to solve whatever the mystery is. But in this Michael, the vampire, is trying to solve the mystery and that just happens to be the plain ordinary human librarian as well as finding who killed his maker. This is a complete story no cliffhanger but she does leave it open for another book, hopefully more than that.      

Buy Links: 

Kindle: http://smarturl.it/b4ckys

Kobo: https://goo.gl/XRvqpr

B&N: https://goo.gl/spdgUd

iTunes: https://goo.gl/VyNSqR

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2DY81hG

Author Bio: 

MIMI JEAN PAMFILOFF is a USA Today and New York Times bestselling romance author with over a million books sold worldwide. Although she obtained her MBA and worked for more than fifteen years in the corporate world, she believes that it’s never too late to come out of the romance closet and follow your dream. Mimi lives with her Latin Lover hubby, two pirates-in-training (their boys), and the rat terrier duo, Snowflake and Mini Me, in Arizona. She hopes to make you laugh when you need it most and continues to pray daily that leather pants will make a big comeback for men. 

Author Social Links 

www.mimijean.net 

https://twitter.com/MimiJeanRomance 

https://www.facebook.com/MimiJeanPamfiloff

https://www.instagram.com/mimijeanpamfiloff/ 

Giveaway 

http://www.mimijean.net/romance_author_news.html

ARC REVIEW Want You by Stacy Finz

Garner Brothers #2,  As much as I love Nugget I am loving Glory Junction just as much. The Garner Brother's are all risk takers they love adventure so it really is a good thing that the family owns an outdoor adventure company where they specialize in extreme tours.  Stacy Finz always does a fantastic job building up the small town to where all the towns people are quirky and entertaining. The dialogue is smooth and the pace of the story is carries you straight through you won't want to put it down. I loved TJ because he asks like he has everything together but really he's just flying by the seat of his pants and he's a little more insecure than he lets on. Deb is great I really enjoyed her character she is so hard working and sweet and even when it seems like everything is against her she still remains strong and goes forward because she knows she can't give up. 

TJ is the one brother who seemed interested in the business side of things, he has a great head for business as well as for skiing. TJ has been longing for more time out of the office but with the new apparel line coming and a new website he can't get away. His only hope is that when the person he hires for the  retail division comes on he can take some time off, only the person he wanted didn't take the job. 

Deb has known the Garners just about all her life, her parents use to work for them and at one time she worked as a guide, she even dated Win. She and Win have had an on and off relationship since high school, she convinced herself that he was "The One" and so far she has just been waiting for him, until recently. Deb realized that there is no use waiting for Win and her mountain of debt is sinking her fast and she needs to concentrate on getting herself out of that. Out of desperation she asks the one person she usually tries to avoid, not because he's a bad guy but because she has always liked him and never thought she was in his league so she settled for Win, TJ for advise on her options. TJ helps because he's always liked her but she chose Win. When he sees just how bad her finances are he offers her a job to head the new retail division while she has no experience she is part of the target demographic and he trust her with the job. 

But things aren't going smoothly as he hoped they would one of their major competitors also launched an apparel line and had it featured in a magazine. Everything is riding on the line now and unless it picks up Deb is once again to be out of a job. Deb has to deal with a web designer who did a horrible job with the retail site and TJ doesn't want to admit that she's right, finding the best and cheapest way to promote their line, prove to herself as well as the rest of the Garner's that she is the right person for this job and keep her job all the while deal with her attraction to TJ, that is until they start sleeping together then they have to tell Win. 

Overall, this was a great book. I loved the side story with Win it helps set up his story and how he had to grow up. The conflict between TJ and Deb wasn't that massive but it was still very emotional and had a very sweet ending.      

ARC REVIEW Dangerous in Motion by Sidney Bristol

Aegis Group Alpha Team #4, Oh Adam. In this book Sidney Bristol Takes up to Peru, India, and Atlanta Georgia. Adam and Heidi married young and haven't seen each other since they married. Adam thinking her life is better off without him and Heidi waiting for him to fight for her but yet makes no attempts to fight for him. When Heidi comes across a pattern of outbreaks going on around the world that just may mean a leak in the CDC she runs off to Peru to check it the newest outbreak, and she goes missing. On her wishes her two colleagues who she told her suspicions too were supposed to contact Adam if anything went wrong. Zane and Abigail agree to let Adam  go with a small team to find her. The timing is just right and they get there in time to see Heidi escaping on her own. But now that she knows what's going on she is not letting the job end with her rescue. Someone in the CDC is selling virus' and creating designer diseases and she wants Adam and his team to find out who is responsible and stop them before a deadly virus is released.

This is why communication is so important in a relationship. Adam and Heidi never really talked and look where it got them living alone and pinning for each other for ten years. It's a complicated relationship and it takes a bit of work for them to work it out but together they are so adorable. Overall, I love second chance romance and this was a great addition to the Aegis Group series. The mystery and intrigue was really good the person behind it was, too me, very predictable but the journey to the end games was very intense and exciting. This can be read as a standalone and a great introduction to two of the Lepta team members who will be getting their own spin off next.          

RELEASE DAY LAUNCH Devil in Tartan by Julia London

   

From New York Times bestselling author Julia London, comes DEVIL IN TARTAN—the fourth novel in her Highland Grooms Series!

DEVIL IN TARTAN is now available. Order your copy today!

   

DEVIL IN TARTAN Synopsis:

Lottie Livingstone bears the weight of an island on her shoulders. Under threat of losing their home, she and her clan take to the seas to sell a shipload of illegal whiskey. When an attack leaves them vulnerable, she transforms from a maiden daughter to a clever warrior. For survival, she orchestrates the siege of a rival’s ship and now holds the devilish Scottish captain Aulay Mackenzie under her command.

Tied, captive and forced to watch a stunning siren commandeer the Mackenzie ship, Aulay burns with the desire to seize control—of the ship and Lottie. He has resigned himself to a life of solitude on the open seas, but her beauty tantalizes him like nothing has before. As authorities and enemies close in, he is torn between surrendering her to justice and defending her from assailants. He’ll lose her forever, unless he’s willing to sacrifice the unimaginable…

   

Grab your copy of DEVIL IN TARTAN today!

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The Reulag Balhaie was not in the business of saving other ships. It was generally considered unwise to ap­proach another ship unless one was prepared to have a hull shattered by cannon fire. But their curiosity was aroused. The burning ship was just a spot in the dis­tance now, so they’d set course for the starboard side of the smaller ship, a gun pointed at the forecastle in the event there was trouble.
 Aulay watched the smaller ship slowly come into view, its outline muted against the darkening sky, the clouds weighing down on the masts. It wasn’t until they were almost on the ship that they could see it was listing.
 Iain the Red was studying it as they approached. “No’ a fly boat, no,” he said. “A bilander.”
 “A bilander!” Beaty blustered. “What nonsense!”
 Whether a fly boat or bilander, neither were partic­ularly well suited for the open seas. “Is there a flag?” he asked.
 “No.” Iain the Red paused, then laughed. “Look at them now, trying to lower the sail.” He laughed again with great amusement. “They look like children romping around a bloody maypole! Look at them trying to un­tangle those shroud lines, aye? They’re twisted up every which way—oof, there went one, down on his arse!”
 The men gathered at the railing to watch, and laughed at the blundering of the crew on the other ship as they tried to free a sail from a broken mast with what looked like a lot of pushing and shoving. “Aye, give it over, Iain, let’s have a look,” one said, and they began to pass the spyglass around, all of them doubling over with mirth.
 The spyglass came back around to Iain, but when he held it up, he stopped laughing. “Diah, de an diabhal?” he exclaimed and lowered the instrument, turning a wide-eyed look to Aulay.
 “What, then?” Aulay asked, feeling a mild tick of alarm, imagining a gun pointed at them, or a pirate’s flag being raised.
 “A lady,” Iain said, as if he’d never seen one.
 A lady? It was not unheard of for one to be on the high seas; wives of captains sometimes sailed with them. If it were anyone else, a lady of importance, she’d not be sailing on a rickety boat like that.
 “In a proper gown and everything,” Iain said, his voice full of awe.
 Aulay didn’t know what a proper gown meant to Iain, so he motioned for the spyglass to have a look. He could scarcely make her out, but it was definitely a woman standing at the railing, holding a white flag that almost matched the color of the hair that whipped long and unbound about her face. There were a few men beside her, all of them clinging to the railing, all of them looking rather desperately in the direction of his ship.
 Aulay instructed Beaty to maneuver closer, and when there was nothing but a small bit of sea between the two ships, the men’s frantic attention to the sail on the other ship was forgotten in favor of lowering a jolly boat down the hull. There was more chaotic shoving among them until four men scrambled down a rope ladder into the boat and began to row with abandon toward the ReulagBalhaire. The woman remained behind on the ship’s deck with a few men, including one that was the size of a small mountain, towering a head above all the others.
 When the smaller boat reached them, one of the men grabbed on to the rope ladder to steady them, and one rose to standing, bracing his legs apart to keep his balance. “Madainnmhath,” he called up, and with an affected swirl of his hand, he bowed low. And very nearly tipped over the side when a swell caught him unawares.
 “Scots, then,” Beaty said. “That’s something, at least.”
 “We are in need of your help, kind sirs!” the man called up, having managed to right himself. “We’ve been set upon by pirates, aye?” He spoke with a strange cadence, as if he were a town crier delivering this news to a crowded venue.
 The men did not carry swords or guns that Aulay could see. It seemed all they could do to keep the jolly from tipping too far to one side. “That ship flew the colors of the king,” he called down.
 The spokesman looked startled. He squatted down to consult the other men in his small boat. A flurry of shaking heads and talking over one another ensued, until the man stood up again and said, “She flew no such flag when she fired, on me word, sir! She fired with no provocation from us!” He pressed his hand to his chest quite earnestly.

     

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    About Julia London: Julia London is the New York Times and USA TODAY best-selling author of more than thirty romantic fiction novels. She is the author of the popular Cabot Sisters historical romance series, including The Trouble with Honor, The Devil Takes a Bride, and The Scoundrel and the Debutante. She is also the author of several contemporary romances, including Homecoming Ranch, Return to Homecoming Ranch and The Perfect Homecoming. She has over 100,000+ Facebook followers, is the recipient of the RT Book Reviews for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction. You can visit her website JuliaLondon.com. She lives in Austin, Texas.      

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ARC REVIEW Winter Igniting by Rebecca Zanetti

Scorpius Syndrome #5, Waiting for Damon's book has been like waiting for that one piece of chocolate you reward yourself with after waiting for what seems like forever and when you finally get it and it's so good. mmmmmmmm. You can read this without reading the first four but if you are like me all the previous characters with obvious stories and I don't know them bug me, but it is an easy read. It's easy to get absorbed into the dystopian post pandemic world where people struggle for water, and all the amenities we take for granted. Rebecca paints a pretty scary picture for what the world could be like if something like that actually happened. I'm torn on the characters, I absolutely love Damon he's the cool and calm one to counterbalance Grey's hot tempered nature, Damon is loyal and as a former cop has a good sense of right and wrong. April on the other hand has been very timid and sweet but she started to come back to her true self and damned if she didn't get annoying. She bordered on TSTL and I hate that term so for me to actually use it shows how much she pissed me off. I can understand her wanting to assert her independence and prove her worth in the community but there is being smart about it and being stupid and she was doing some pretty stupid things. Thankfully by the end she learned her lesson and actually showed common sense for a change.

April and Damon are more alike than it seems, both are loyal and steadfast, they both had families and lost everyone they loved, and they both are still Scorpius free. Which make them prime candidates for infiltrating the "Pure". The Pure are the people who have yet to be infected by Scorpius, their leader who founded the Pure and gave that stupid name, yes even the people who are part of that think it's a stupid name too, is dead and the new leader a young cocky guy Zach is in charge now and even though it makes sense that the unifected would want to stay that way it still feels like something funny is going on and they need to get to the bottom of it. But that's not their only worry the gang Twenty joined forces with the evil President of the United States, Bret Atherton, and have been systematically attacking Vanguard territory, trying to merge Vanguard and the Mercenaries, and they have to plan a raid on the Reno Bunker for more information. Between all that Damon is stretched thin and falling for April wasn' t in the cards. 

April lost everything to Scorpius, raised in the foster system her husband and daughter were her whole life. Then suddenly this PTA president baseball mom extraordinaire had nothing she was at a loss of what to do, until Jax gave her a mission. April's determination to do a good job starts to bring back her confidence. Her attraction to Damon scares her because of who he is, he was L.A.P.D. SWAT he's always going to be the first one in the door, she so afraid of losing another loved one she doesn't want to get close to him and with as many times as he gets injured in this one book alone I don't blame her. Damon is determined to win April over and show her he's worth living for.    

Overall, I loved Damon, April not so much but she was better by the end of the book, everything else about this book I loved. I can't wait to find out what happens next.   

ARC REVIEW Highland Conquest by Alyson McLayne

The Sons of Gregor MacLeod #2, This can be read as a stand alone. This is my first Alyson McLayne book and it won't be my last, I want to read the first book in the series because that brother sounds just my type of hero. Lachlan McKay is a good character, I love how he got awkward around Amber when he would give her little trinkets to try and win her over. Lachlan is the second born son he wasn't supposed to become the Laird to his people but then his brother and sister in law were murdered, Lachlan has never given up looking for the murderer and now it seems he finally tracked him down. Amber is smart and stubborn and hates to her own beauty, it's caused her nothing but trouble. She's even more so stubborn when it comes to Lachlan because she's trying to guard her heart. Amber Macpherson has spent the last five some odd years protecting her clansmen and herself from the evil Machar Murray who killed their Laird, all his lieutenants, and anyone who stood against him; including Amber's father. For the first couple of years Amber had her grandmother there to help her thwart off Murray's unwanted attention, pretending to a witch and threatening to curse Murray kept him away from Amber. After her grandmother's death Amber was only able to fend him off for so long and now she's faced with leaving her clansmen or Murray finally getting his hands on her.

Amber cuts her hair and dresses like a boy and manages to escape over the keep's walls. Amber's escape is waylaid by a group of big highlanders who were getting ready to storm the keep and kill Murray, Amber has no problem with that she just doesn't want them to either hurt or kill her people. Still thinking she's a boy and a risk to their mission leave her tied up. That doesn't hold her she gets back to the keep just in time to learn Murray's escaped. Lachlan feels oddly protective over the woman who dressed as a boy, he admires her skills as a healer and how she treats people and he wants her more than anyone else. With Murray gone the MacPherson's finally have their home back but no laird, Amber kind of bullies Lachlan in to the job, but since he is still trying to kill Murray and Lachlan knows Murray's obsession with Amber is going to keep him close so he becomes the MacPherson's new Laird. They devise a plan to lure Murray back but Murray is smart and sneaky and has had five years to make an escape plan, and all that just makes you hate him more.

The romance between Lachlan and Amber is kind of funny, the attraction is there and Amber almost doesn't know what to do with it after fighting off Murray she has started to view intimacy as a form of abuse, she's scared of it. Lochlan sees how she treats her other men in the compound when they give her things and so Lochlan tries to be smart about it and just ends up acting like a teenager with his first crush, it's adorable. They can't help but fight with each other and it really build up the sexual tension between them. Lochlan little by little shows Amber by action and by words that she can trust him with everything even her heart.

Overall, it really was a great read. It was funny and romantic, and there were some scenes in there involving Murray that were pretty intense. I loved the writing, the active setting was well done the character building really brought them to life and the dialogue was witty.         

ARC REVIEW Raz by J. S. Striker

Clan Legacy #10, From the last book Raz was in I wasn't completely convinced that he was a good guy, well as good of a guy a vampire whose second-in-line of command can be, so I was surprised when I found out this was his HEA. It can be read as a stand alone none of the past books have anything to do with this one. Good characters with a good plot and easy to read writing that you can read through in no time. Raz really did turn my opinion around on him.

Raz was satisfied with his place in vampire society a place that gave him just enough power but without all the responsibility and paper work of the higher up position. But a mission goes bad and one of their own turn on them and Raz is the only survivor. Before the betrayer died he told Raz he was hiding a deadly secret. Lucinda tells Raz to find out what it is and then they can figure out a way to deal with whatever the secret is.  Eva Thomason is struggling, not to make ends meet but with the fact she was left with her half brother's two teenage kids. Eva is half fox shifter who can't shift, she does have the extraordinary senses of a shifter though so she can tell when someone starts watching her house. Raz has been watching the house for a couple of weeks when he notices another presence around the house, Raz knows now is the time to act and the only way to keep the kids safe is to gain the trust of Eva. Eva has never liked vampires but the dangerously sexy Raz is showing her a side of vampires she never could exist. Raz convinces her to let him help with the kids but is it enough?

Overall, it was a good story. There was one part that was, WTF Just Happened! I can't believe Striker went there, wow. The sexual tension is good they don't have sex until the latter half of the book so there is a good build up to that, which is kind of funny Raz knows and Eva tries to deny it there is some teasing but in the end it pays off. The action was also very well done very exciting. The ending fell short with me a little, it was bittersweet but a HEA nonetheless.     

ARC REVIEW The Cowboy Who Came Calling by Linda Broday

The Cowboy Who Came Calling is book two of Linda Broday's Texas Heroes series. Technically you can read this as a stand alone but I personally felt like I was missing something important about Luke. I didn't really care for the fact that he was in love with his brother's wife at the beginning of the book, it just seemed unnecessary especially how adamit he was about, pardon my bastardization of the bard here but the Cowboy doth proclaim to loudly even if it was only to himself, it almost seemed like he was trying to keep himself convinced he loved her and that there could be no one else but her even if he couldn't have her, even when he's fighting his attraction to Glory he's trying to convince himself that he can't lone Glory; cue the eye roll. Even with all that he is a pretty great guy a former Texas Ranger who was falsely accused and now is trying to right that wrong and get his job back. Glory Day is the head of the household with her father wrongly imprisoned and he's slowly dying, her mother is lucid on her good days, her extremely annoying little sister makes things harder than they need to be and the middle child Hope is the peacemaker and because of her father almost the whole town has shunned them. The Day family needs money or the bank is going to the farm away and to top it all off Glory is slowly going blind.

Glory thinks their luck might have changed when she sees a wanted sign in the general store. She knows she can track him all she has to do is capture him and the reward is all hers. Unfortunately she's not the only one trying to find him. Luke needs this thief alive so he can question him about who was behind his frame up, Glory and Luke find him at about the same time and when they are arguing the thief gets away but not before he grabs for Glory's gun and it goes off shooting Luke in the leg. Glory feels guilty for shooting Luke in the lag and brings him home to patch him up. It's Luke's turn to feel guilty when he finds why Glory had been out there looking for the bounty. The more time Luke spends with Glory the more he likes her and before he knows it despite trying to convince himself he can't love her, he does. He was the first to figure out Glory was going blind and he decides to put her needs before his own and help her and her family out. Luke soon realizes that her father and himself have more in common than he thought and that path leads straight to where he needed to go to clear his name. Glory keeps fighting Luke about everything but his perseverance and kindness win her over and as much as she doesn't want to love him, for fear she will lose him too, she still falls hard.

Overall, aside from some really annoying qualities the characters have it was an enjoyable story. The story was very intriguing and I wanted to find out what would happen next, but the ending just kind of happened and was a little anticlimactic and left some unanswered questions.         

ARC REVIEW Eternal Mourning by Carrie Ann Ryan

Talon Pack#7, Carrie Ann Ryan is so good when it comes to clusterfucks. Her stories are so well planned and throughout you never know what's going to happen next. Her stories are also emotional they hit you in the right spot and her romance, oooo, so hot and steamy. Walker and Aimee's love story was so worth the wait. 

Walker is the healer for the Talon pack, he's no soldier he's doing what he was Goddess blessed to do. When someone is sick he want s to fix them that why he thinks he's being pulled toward Aimee, he knows she is sick. But he's lying to himself he knows the real reason he's drawn to her, more than a few seconds around her and everything else fades away. The fact that she is sick complicates everything. While Aimee knows she doesn't have the time she wants to make sure the feeling are coming from the right place from the heart and not out of pity because Aimee feels the same for Walker. Just when they think they have things figured out life throws them a curveball. That's just the tip of the clusterfuck iceberg the new big bad has was focused on Parker, but after another failed attempt he decides to go after their healer and the best way to get to Walker is to go through Aimee.

One thing I love is that with Carrie Ann Ryan you don't have to wait until the end of the book to get a teaser for the next book. Overall, it's another outstanding book for this epic series. Walker and Aimee just such a good story and Walker is such a sweetheart and Aimee is so much strong than she thinks she is; she's become one of my favorites. The ending seemed to wrap up real quick but it was still a nail bitter and edge of your seat excitement kind of ending.

ARC REVIEW The Luckiest Cowboy of All by Carolyn Brown

Happy Texas #3, Jace Dawson probably the nicest, caring, unselfish guys I've ever read. He's also great with his niece and nephews and he has a way with animals. So what did he do to deserve this? I enjoy Carolyn Brown's writing it's emotional and well paced, the characters are likeable for the most part, Carlene not so much but she grows on you. The situations isn't overly angsty and aside from the times you really just want to smack Carlene upside the head for being stubborn and kind of stupid at times the characters are fun. Especially Granny Hope who has a bit of a side story going on and Valerie, which I am glad to say she has gotten that stick removed from her butt and she is a delight in this book, and of course Lila, Brody, Kasey, Nash, and the kids they are awesome. I how Carolyn Brown doesn't depict a picture perfect small town, Texas small towns are often super judgmental, close minded, and very gossipy but at the same time very friendly and will go out of the way to help and I love living in a small Texas town.

Carlene and Jace feel in love in highschool, but unfortunately Carlene's Dad was in the military she had to move shortly after graduation. They kept in touch for about a week or two then Carlene cut off all communication. Jace's heart was broken and never became seriously involved with another woman after that. Nine years down the line Carlene inherited her Great Aunt's farmhouse and after spending her whole life moving first with her father then with her sister, who also was in the military, she decided it was the perfect place to put down roots mostly for her daughter Tilly. Carlene loved Happy Texas and the few years she spent there were the happiest memories. Her first day back and Jace shows up, she knew he would eventually she just wish she had time to prepare she wasn't ready to tell him about Tilly, his daughter. The reason Jace showed up was two fold, one he wanted to see Carlene and two he needed to tell her the house she inherited was sold to him a couple of months before her aunt's death. One look at Tilly and Jace knows she is his daughter, she is the spittin' image of his sister but with his eyes. It's a good thing Jace found out first because with how fast gossip spreads in that town can you imagine how pissed Jace would have been if he found out through gossip, heck I'm surprised they managed to keep it from Tilly as long as they did and when she does find out she adamantly proclaims she doesn't need a Daddy. Carlene has some adjusting to do as well, she so use to being the only one there for Tilly that suddenly having a big family to help when needed is a little overwhelming. It's a long journey for Jace, Carlene, and Tilly to become a family with lots of bumps along the way, the biggest one being Carlene herself.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I don't know if I would have called Jace the "luckiest" he did miss out on almost nine years of his daughter's life, but he is lucky that he finally has them in his life again. I absolutely adored Granny Hope's side story.        

   

ARC REVIEW Survive the Night by Katie Ruggle

Rocky Mountain K9 Unit #3. The strong and silent type does it for me yet again and this time he's great with animals and kids, it's official Otto has replaced George as my favorite Ruggle hero. It's so cute Otto and Sarah get so tongue tied around each other they usually end up saying the first thing that comes to their head like, "Your mouth is pretty" or long silences. I loved this one, not just for Otto and Sarah but it was almost non stop from the introduction of Sarah, formerly known as Alice- I like that name better, and Mr. Espina who was able to rescue her from a horrible marriage to a very bad man and her villainous brother to the very end it kept on going, aside from the brief down time Sarah had when she first arrived in Monroe and was getting to know everyone especially the viking/lumberjack, Otto.

For most of Alice's life she lived in a bubble, he father was overprotective but she managed to sneak out a bit and spend time with some of the staff, when her father died and her brother Aaron took over things became worse and now with the crime family, Jovanovic, in dire straights with the two main leaders in prison Aaron hopes to take over but first he  needs a way into the family, that's where Alice comes in. He plans to marry her off to the psychotic Logan Jovanovic. Lucky for Alice the mysterious Mr. Espina spirits her away before that can happen. Alice becomes Sarah and moves in with Grace, Jules, and Jules' brothers and sister in a dilapidated farmhouse in the tiny town of Monroe Colorado.

Otto is a gentle giant, and goes out of his way to help animals, he has a way with them. He also gets tongue tied around beautiful women so when he first meets Sarah it renders him speechless. Pretty soon Otto talks to her more than anyone else. Sarah has been sheltered so much she, like Otto, is tongue tied and is endeared and flattered by Otto, not to mention all the dirty thoughts she's had about him since meeting him. Sarah is in Monroe long enough to start feeling safe when her brother and Logan show up at the farm house. Luckily Otto was already on the way to the house. After they are dealt with Jules and Grace fill in Sarah on their story and Jules finally tells Theo the full truth of why her brothers, sister, and herself needed to disappear. While Grace and Jules stories are briefly explained at this part it might not be enough for some people to say this can be read as a standalone, personally I would read the first two books before this one. But it doesn't stop at that first attack and pretty soon the whole town is in danger. Sarah and Otto get separated and Sarah proves to herself that she is strong enough to survive this and with Otto at her side she can survive the night.

Overall, I thought this was the best one yet, the romance between Otto and Sarah is light and easy compared to the rest of the story and it kind of balances out. I loved how they were both the shy temperament but when the shit hit the fan they both proved to be strong when they have to be, they work well together. Just one question, How in the Hell did they find her in the first place and why were none of the characters asking that question????       

ARC REVIEW The Last Wolf by Marie Vale

The Last Wolf is the first book of Marie Vale's Legend of All Wolves, it's also her debut novel. The Last Wolf isn't the last wolf in existence it's Silver's pecking order in the pack, she has the least amount of power, strength all because when she shifts she only has three good legs, and she is a runt. Unless she's paired up with someone she basically become a slave to her alphas. The Great North Pack is exactly what it seems it is the greatest and the strongest pack in all of North America. They have strict rules that must be followed to insure the safety of the pack it's how they lasted this long. Silver has only dreamed of moving up in the pack, she knows it hopeless until one day the stranger shows up.

This is not really your standard PNR werewolf/shifter romance. What really sets it apart from the others is that they are wolves, their true form is wolf they just have been blessed with the ability to transform in to human, the only stipulation is that for the full moon they have no choice but to be wolves. The book starts in England hundreds of years ago when the wolf packs were dying off because the human population was getting to great and they migrated to the new country. They bought land and set it up to where they would always have it and have a safe place to live without human interaction. Because this is the first book of a new series there's a lot of setting up and explaining of lore and how things work in the pack. But it makes sense how it is done and the reason is twofold, Silver has to explain how things are done to Tiberius as a new pack member and at the same time explain it to us the reader.

When the wounded stranger first appears asking for sanctuary the alpha turns him down because he is only half wolf the other half is something the wolves have learned no to trust, a shifter. But Silver sees a strong male who could help her gain rank in the pack and at the risk of everything she pairs with him. Tib doesn't realize it at the time but when Silver agreed to their pairing she no longer was pack and when he heals Tib and Silver have to earn their way in by fighting the alphas. Silver and Tib barely make it back in. They gradually go from friends to lovers but Tib's big secret is keeping him from fully mating with Silver. The secret is one that has the potential to break what little trust the pack and Silver have in him.

Overall, I love how primal they are as a pack they are first and foremost wolves and humans second. They are self sufficient for the most part and only interact with humans as needed. They do let pack members out for education and such but they always come back. I love how in depth the lore goes and the fact that the characters in the book make fun of the werewolf pop culture. Silver and Tib are quite the couple he makes a crappy wolf and she makes a crappy human but what they share goes deeper than that and really enjoyed them and I really enjoyed this world Vale has created, I look forward to more books.   

ARC REVIEW The Missing Wife by Sheila O'Flanagan

The Missing Wife is a story about a woman finding herself again. After about a couple of years being married to her husband realizes just how controlling he really is, and starts planning her escape because she knows he would never let her go willingly. Imogen plans for two years all the while her husband Vince continues to barade her for being useless and helpless without him. Vince is a narcissist he tears her down and then tells her she would be helpless without him, Vince has to be in control of everything and it goes beyond OCD, he controls every aspect of her life and if anything ever goes wrong everyone especially Imogen is at fault except himself. He needed to be the center of Imogen's life so slowly her friends all left and he distanced her from what little family she had left. Two years and Imogen gets the perfect opportunity to escape.

Imogen use to not be like this and she is determined to prove to herself that she is better than what Vince says. She goes to the south of France where she spend part of her childhood, it's when she was the happiest and when her time there ended badly she was determined to go back. She knew she would be safe there because she never talked about her time there with Vince, and she would lay down false leads in the opposite direction. Imogen spend quite a bit of time remembering her childhood and her time in the little town and also everything after it, and even her relationship with Vince and how that went all wrong. Even after all the times Vince claimed Imogen couldn't plan, she proved him wrong she planned well. She opened up a secret bank account she would set aside money in she destroyed her phone, she layed out a false trail. Slowly as time goes on she finds a temporary job, an apartment, and now she's making new friends Imogen is finally remembering what it was like to be Imogen. But Imogen still worries that Vince will find her after all Vince doesn't like being told no, he doesn't like to be proven wrong, and Vince doesn't know when to quit. 

Overall, this was a great read. I'm not normally one for women fiction, I do enjoy it every now and then and this was a great choice for me. It was emotional without being angsty, the flashback scenes were well placed and well done revealing what needed to be revealed at that moment. Romance is not the main focus, Imogen finally rediscovering herself after being lost for over five years and her husband trying to find her was the focus, but romance was there in the sidelines just waiting for her. It has a very satisfying ending it left me with a bit of a book hangover to where I just had to sit there and let my brain absorb what I just read. Top it all off with the imagery it was beautifully written.   

ARC REVIEW Heat by Donna Grant

Dark Kings #12, Dark World #31. I don't know what I was thinking jumping in at this point. I love Donna Grant's Contemporary and Romantic Suspense, but I was always afraid of her paranormal because it is already such a big series, even though it is divided up into different series they are all tied together. Aside from feeling lost with the huge cast a characters and their backstories and side stories I did enjoy the book. Nikolai and Esther's story was exciting and hot. I loved Nikolai he's a great character and his ability is pretty cool. I love how strong and determined Esther is and the romance between them fits in to place, there's hardly any angst with is good they have enough problems as is the extra angst would have just been silly and would have made it seem like it was making it more difficult than it had to be. I wouldn't say their romance was easy because Nikolai has some issues from his past that he has to deal with before they can really have a HEA. 

 Esther is trying to find the Druid who took away her memories and controlled her to the point she almost killed someone. Nikolai has the ability to draw whatever he sees in perfect detail, with his connection to Esther -she's his mate he knows it he's just waiting until she's ready to hear it- he can draw her past. So together they go to London and backtrack until they get to the point where she comes across the Druid. It's a good thing her hobby is collecting bar coasters they use those to retrace her steps. Visiting each bar and Nikolai draws picture after picture of her in those places until they finally discover one commonality each picture has besides Esther, she was being followed. There's a lot that happens in this book most of it is Nikolai and Esther's story but they are also dealing with Fae problems which I was completely lost with and then you throw in the reapers and the witches, although the witches/druids/warrior tie in is mainly with the main story. 

Overall, the main story of Nikolai and Esther, I loved it was exciting and I really got invested in their story but with everything else happening I felt in over my head.                                                                   

ARC REVIEW This Fallen Prey by Kelley Armstrong

This Fallen Prey is book three of Kelley Armstrong's Rockton series. I recently just back into reading Kelley Armstrong, I fell in love with her Women of the OtherWorld series when they first came out but lost track of her book releases. I saw this up for review and I nabbed it, when I saw it was book 3 I quickly hopped on Amazon and ordered the first two. That's how much faith I have in Armstrong I knew without a doubt these books would be amazing, and the freakin' are. Armstrong has such a way with words, her active setting pulls you in and everything else around just falls  away and you are completely immersed in this town and tied to these people. This is one of those series where I think it best to read them in order just because background for all the major characters and the town happened in the first book and events of the second book are mentioned.

Spring has arrived in Rockton, the isolated Canadian town where people go to disappear, where Casey Duncan has become Casey Butler. But that's not the only thing that has arrived. The council has send up a serial killer for them to keep safe for six months. Completely unprepared and unsure of how to handle a person like this Sheriff  Eric Dalton, Deputy Will Anders, and Casey struggle on what to tell the rest of the town and what to do with Oliver Brady, serial killer, especially when their holding cell isn't big enough to keep him for six months and whenever he gets the chance he's spouting off his innocence. Things only get more convoluted the longer he's there and when he manages to escape it all goes to hell in a handbasket. Casey and Eric have to not only track down Oliver, but face the elements, the wildlife, find Eric's missing brother, a sniper, a traitor, deal with the primitive First Settlers, the string of dead bodies they seem to keep running across, and unravel the mystery of Oliver Brady.

Overall, OMG this book. It's one of those books where I just have to sit back after I'm done reading it and just let my brain absorb everything that happened and the ending, oy vey. I know it's only February but it's going to take a lot to knock this book down from my favorite read for this year. 

ARC REVIEW Only The End Of The World Again by Neil Gaiman

Only the End of the World Again

Neil Gaiman

Art by Troy Nixey, Matthew Hollingsworth, P. Craig Russell

Story: It's the end of the World, again. Adjuster Lawrence Talbot has set up in the quiet little town of Innsmouth, which smells of fish no matter where you go. Lawrence discovers through a series of odd meetings that the people of Innsmouth are setting up the end of the world and the key for these events the blood of a werewolf, in other words Lawrence. But it's always the end of the world and only by some small action or pure luck is it diverted.

Art: Hit and miss. Some of it was very nicely done, the werewolf and some of the other supernatural elements were nicely done and looked beautiful and but the people's features were overly exaggerated in a way that made them seem lumpy, it's the best word I can think of to describe them. The actual story is only about 50 pages long the rest of 100 some odd pages are scans of the sketching process. So it's the book twice over showing the initial sketch to the more detailed drawing before inking and coloring. It was nice to thumb through and see the process but it's not something I'm typically interested in.

Review: Overall it was an interesting story, I would be interested in reading the original prose that Gaiman wrote, but the illustrations do add something to the story, and it's nice to have that visualization there. It was strange and weird and just the kind of thing I like.   

 

ARC REVIEW Dark Horse Comics Predators: Hunters

Predator: Hunters

Chris Warner

Art by: Francisco Ruiz Velasco

Dark Horse ComicsIssues: 1-5

Story: A covert-ops group of mercenaries has one job, kill all Predators. The brutal aliens that come down to Earth to hunt us has been happening for as long as man has been on this planet and it's time to stop them. This group lead by a generational hunter of Predators, a former drug lord, and a bunch of former military have devoted their lives to stopping them, because all of them are lone survivors of past Predators and most of then have killed one. Newest recruit Enoch Nakai is one such lone survivor and someone the military labeled crazy and discharged after he managed to kill one after it slaughtered the entire base. They have word now that a isolated island in a South Pacific archipelagos is hiding a Predator. Everything should go smoothly once they get there but not everything is as it seems on the island as the Hunters become the Hunted.





Art: That's some scary ass Predator, it looks so primal; well for good reason. The art was really good. It was wonderfully detailed and colored. With some pretty nifty variant art in the back. I love how dark they were yet you could still see so much detail. The human characters, as well, were really brought to life the action and the gore was exceptionally done.








Review: This was not expected, it had a great twist there. A very 'The Most Dangerous Game' feel to it. I really liked this story it was something different and the character so diverse and the fact that some of them came from other series was a nice touch. I hope there will be more with this cast of characters.