Whispered Music (London Fairy Tales #2) by Rachel Van Dyken

whispered musicBlurb: Scarred at a young age, Dominique Maksylov, Royal Prince of Russia, has lived a reclusive life. As a musical prodigy, his music has wide reach into the world, but few ever see his face. He never ventures into polite society, but when he dis-covers he is the only heir to the Earldom of Harriss, he goes to one ball. And that one ball, was enough to change the direction of his life forever.
But how could he possibly have known that other person— the other half of his whole—would not only need his help but threaten his very existence?

She didn’t know how hard it would be to love the broken.
Isabelle Hartwell’s mother just sold her to the Beast of Russia. He’s mean, tem-peramental, and the most virile, handsome man she has ever encountered. But he has a secret, one he’s willing to die for and he refuses to let anyone in. Will she be able to reach his heart before it’s too late?

Find out if love prevails in this regency retelling of how Beauty tamed the savage Beast…

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4 Stars

This story closely followed the fairy tale.  I took a star off for the fact that their physical relationship seems to be the answer to their problems.  And that just bugged me.  I mean, yeah, they started to get along and yeah, he was being kind to her.   But when the main focus was their physical attraction and how they just couldn’t resist each other, I call bullshit.

Isabelle is a bit impulsive and naive.  Dominique was childish in his actions towards her, spoilt even.  In my opinion, Hunter was the best character in the book and I can’t wait to read his story.  But all that was minor compared to the writing, I am a huge fan of RVD’s writing style.  She can paint a great back story and the emotions are always intense and make my tummy flutter. The steamy scenes were hot but classy, not to much detail which I like when reading historical’s for some reason.  I think this is my third or fourth book I’ve read so far by her and I own four more I plan on reading as well.  The part when he demands she join him for dinner was almost an exact replica of the Disney version. And I liked it.  

These books are quick reads, a few hours tops. It’s only 99 cents right now, so its a great value if you are a fan of historical romances.  

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This book satisfies the Historical Romance block on my Book Bingo Challenge that I’m doing from Just Another Girl and Her Books blog.  If you are interested in checking it out click the link.

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Storm (Storm MC #1) by Nina Levine

StormBlurb: Life can be a bitch but love can get you through any storm.

Madison Cole’s family is the Storm Motorcycle Club. Her father is the President and her brother is the VP. She grew up surrounded by bikers, crime and violence. Two years ago she walked away from her family and the world they live in. Her soul was shattered, her heart was broken and she had an addiction she couldn’t shake. She picked up the pieces and put herself back together. Now her family wants her back. The club is being threatened and they send a club member to return her home to safety; the one person that could destroy everything she has worked so hard to build.

Jason Reilly has sacrificed a lot for the motorcycle club he calls family. Two years ago he made the biggest sacrifice of all; he gave up the woman he loved for them. Now he is being sent to bring her back and he is conflicted. He thought he was over her but discovers their connection is as strong as ever. Their love was all-consuming, passionate and fiery. It was also their undoing and he doesn’t know if either of them is strong enough to battle the demons that ripped them apart, to find love again.

Madison and Jason are brought back together by a force out of their control; one that pushes them to a breaking point. Can they overcome their past and discover a love worth fighting for or will the harsh reality of their world finally and completely break them both?

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DNF

I gave up at 32%. I tried to get into this book, really really hard.  I love an alpha male as much as the next gal.  But there was too much telling and not enough showing.  Add to the fact that the back story could have been a book on its own so the information that I was plied with in the beginning was a lot to take in.  The terrible things she went thorugh were too glossed over and just made me feel they were added for shock value.  The story didn’t need them to be what it was.  In short I couldn’t see myself getting inton it and after a third of the book, I had to put it down.

This book is free so if you want to give it a go, be my guest. 🙂

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Slip of the Tongue by Jessica Hawkins


28230547Blurb
Sadie Hunt isn’t perfect—but her husband is. Nathan Hunt has her coffee waiting every morning. He holds her hand until the last second. He worships the Manhattan sidewalk she walks on. Until one day, he just…stops. And Sadie finds herself in the last place she ever expected to be. Lonely in her marriage.

When rugged and sexy Finn Cohen moves into the apartment across the hall, he and Sadie share an immediate spark. Finn reveals dreams for a different life. Sadie wants to save her marriage. Their secrets should keep them apart, not ignite a blistering affair. But while Sadie’s marriage runs colder by the day, she and Finn burn hotter.  Her husband doesn’t want her anymore.
The man next door would give up everything to have her.

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5 Stars

So cheating…..Some people can’t read it.  It’s not really a trigger for me, although I never read any books that had marital cheating in them before now.  And I gotta say…

This is a phenomenal book! It easily goes into my top ten in this genre.  This book really twisted me up, like a lot.  For me that was the hardest part to read when they had a break down in communication.  To see from the outside what they could have done to fix it.  You can see the story from all three perspectives and that’s one of the reasons why it was so difficult for me to pass judgement or even side with someone. And I still can’t, I still don’t think that anybody was wrong. I think that in this situation it is one of those things that, “it is what it is” and you just kinda move past it.

I just kept thinking what would I do if I was in her situation. Actually, not even her situation, what I would do if I was in Nathan’s situation because his character is probably closest to myself than any of the other ones. I can see where Sadie was lonely and I could see where she blossomed under the attention of another person who made her feel special. I could understand that as a married woman.  Also, I could understand Nathan’s POV probably a little but more because, honestly, I identify with his personality more.  An affair would never have crossed my mind, if there was a problem, that would not be the thing that I think about.  He went about it in a terrible, terrible way though.

I think they both couldn’t see past themselves, to get to the heart of the issue. Nathan was thinking a lot about how her behavior was effecting him and not how his behavior was effecting the marriage.  And Sadie was the same way, it wasn’t a team effort on either of their parts.  That’s where they really lost sight of each other.

Finn came off a little creepy, honestly.  I mean, I could see the passion and I could see the temptation and I could see that relationship progressing into more than just a fling but at the same time he remembered her from ten years ago. Then he did like this emotional transfer. It was odd because a lot can happen in ten years and for him to try to pick up right where they left off, it just came off as weird to me.  One of the things that kinda bugged me was the fact that they never really addressed the affair.  It was like it was swept under the rug and the basis of the book was communication and right when they needed it the most they kinda dropped the ball. That didn’t sit well with me.

I will say this, one of the positives outcomes reading a book like this from someone like me (happily married) would be that it immediately made me think, “Am I showing my spouse enough love? Does he really know how much he means to me?”

Highly recommend it, really great read.

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(Dis)content (Judgement of the Six #5) by Melissa Haag

discontentBlurb: I hate. I thought I hated before the letter, before the werewolves, but now I understand that was nothing more than a chip on my shoulder. The urbat took what was mine. They will pay.

Isabelle leads a very normal life…for an emotional syphon. If not for Ethan and his bar, she would have lost her sanity long ago. But everything changes with the crash of her fighting cage and a man who transforms into a wolf. There’s something about Carlos—when he’s not growling at her—that makes her do things she wouldn’t normally do, like sigh and daydream.

Attraction aside, she is faced with the very real evidence that werewolves and urbat exist, and the urbat are after her. And the only way she can keep Ethan safe is to join with the werewolves and Carlos. It’s a race against time to stop a war, fight for love, and find the last Judgement.

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5 Stars

This is my second favorite book in the series. I really like the wrench the author threw in to this one.  When the werewolves find her they realize she is not alone, she has a someone with her. And he is very special to her.  I like Ethan…a lot.  He is caring and he knew what she needed.  He didn’t let her feel sorry for herself when she accidentally hurt him or someone else.  He pushed her, and I wanted her to be with Ethan because I like to rage against the machine.

Her power was very interesting to me because of how she couldn’t control it and how she had to get the others emotions out of her body.  I really liked how she was a fighter and that’s how she exercised her demons, so to speak.  I’m a emotional reader so for the emotions to be the main basis was really enjoyable for me.

Carlos, I don’t really know how I feel about him honestly. He’s kinda like Clay a bit in that he’s the strong silent type but at the same time he was too silent. He didn’t really give a lot of himself, he kinda just absorbed what Isabelle was leaking.  He listened and he didn’t really offer anything.  And while that’s a great trait to have, I  didn’t really get a chance to know him because of it.  He was so silent and he didn’t really talk about himself or his past.  We didn’t really get to know him as a person, we just got to know him as an extension of Isabelle. Which kinda put the breaks as to how I connected with him as a character.

Now Carlos is an elder and it was my understanding that elders weren’t allowed to have mates.  So that kinda confused me because that question was never answered. Also, there was another question that was never answered that kinda stuck in my head and that was, who left her the note?  That’s what I wanna know.

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Intuition by Amy A. Bartol

Synopsis:
13381357I don’t open my eyes so I can’t see him, but I can smell him. He thickens the air I breathe, choking me with his scent…his aroma. I shiver. I have to resist. If I’m not strong, then I will be relegated to the same fate as this predator whose sickness infects me even now. But now, I crave him and he knows that; he has been counting on my need to end the gnawing pain. How he would savor my surrender. I’m alive, but how much longer will it take until I beg him not to be?

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My Review:
Original review: 5 stars — Yup, loved it again.  In reality, there are quite a few things that bug me, but I love the books as a whole so much that the little things just slide on by and I still give it a 5.  In general though, I am not a big fan of love triangles, and this one is painful to watch.  But it was kind of fun to see Russell’s POV for a while.  Lovin all the characters, even some of the evil ones….loving all the new little side characters (Phaedrus intrigues me)….basically can’t wait for more please!!

ON REREAD: 4 stars — OK, so I don’t think I’m in the best mood for reading in general right now, so that definitely affected my enjoyment of this book the 2nd time around.  There were times where I felt like I was forcing myself to read, but then there were other times when I was so sucked in and enthralled that time just passed me by (and I truly notice that stuff when I’m biking while reading).

For me, where this book shines is Evie’s sass and spunkiness.  I even enjoy her self-sacrificing, but I can see why that might bug others.  I enjoy the personalities of all the characters (particularly my favourite angel squad), even the bad guys, though Brennus confuses me.  I’m not entirely sure how I feel about him.  I’ve seen people be team Brennus online, but he’s such a truly evil guy that I don’t quite understand that.  I did enjoy the super tiny roles of Finn and later Pleben (that was his name right?).  And I’m still intrigued by Phaedrus…I enjoyed Evie’s conversation with him in the airplane.  My problem now is that I have even less tolerance for love triangles…or quadrangles?  In the end I’m all Team Reed, but that doesn’t mean I don’t hate what Evie ends up putting Russell through as a consequence…I guess I just don’t like to see genuinely good characters tortured like that for reasons that are yet to be apparent.  I guess we’ll see how this is going to play out in the rest of the series, eh?

I think one other thing that drove my tired brain crazy is that a LOT happens in this book.  Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I think the pacing threw me off in places.

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Inescapable by Amy A. Bartol

Synopsis:
12925064My name is Evie Claremont and this was to be the making of me–my freshman year of college. I’d been hoping that once I’d arrived on Crestwood’s campus, the nightmare that I’ve been having would go away. It hasn’t.
I may be an inexperienced seventeen-year-old, but I’m grounded…sane. I look for rational explanations to even the strangest circumstances. Since meeting sophomore Reed Wellington, however, nothing makes any sense. Whenever he’s near, I feel an attraction to him–a magnetic kind of force pulling me towards him. I know what you’re thinking…that sounds fairly awesome. Yeah, it would be…if he liked me, but Reed acts as if I’m the worst thing that has ever happened to Crestwood…or him. But get this, for some reason every time I turn around he’s there, barging into my life.
What is the secret that he’s keeping from me? I’m hoping that it’s anything but what I suspect: that he’s not exactly normal…and neither am I. So, maybe Crestwood won’t be the making of me, but it could be the breaking of me. I’ve been left to wonder if the dark future my dream is foretelling is…inescapable.

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My Review:
This was a reread for me, so I’ll include my original review first, and then my reread impressions.

5 stars — So so so good… The wide range of characters were delightful….from the boys, to Evie, to the brief glimpses of Uncle Jim, to the girls… Essentially it is Evie’s relationship with each one of them that is absolutely priceless… So much witty dialogue, and just hilarious situations. So much endearment. Evie was emminently likeable…I would love to be her friend. I had glimmers of the bad guy…didn’t completely see it coming, but felt something was off. Wow, the Russell and Reed thing is gonna kill me, but really? I want it to be Reed… Such a strange take on a love triangle that isn’t *really* a normal love triangle. Yup, thoroughly enjoyed it and will now go devour number 2.

ON REREAD: 4.5 stars. Finally getting back to this now that the series is complete! I still absolutely adored this book and was sucked right in. I’d actually forgotten a lot of what went on. Reading some of the more negative reviews for this book, I can see why some people might not enjoy certain aspects, but none of them were button pushers for me. The only thing that aggravated me this second time around was Russell’s accent….yup, could have done without that, it just made him sound like a stereotype.

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Top Ten Most Recent 5 Star Reads

Top Ten Tuesday
(Images link to Goodreads, Titles link to Amazon)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish in which you make a list of ten to do with a certain topic.  This week’s topic is “10 Of My Most Recent 5 Star Reads (Or Ten Of The Best Books I’ve Read Recently if you don’t 5 star stuff…or you could do 5 of my latest five star reads & five of my most disappointing or 1 star reads).”  We chose to stick with 10 Most Recent 5 Star Reads.

Curly Carla’s Top Ten:

Breaking up with barretTeh butter battle bookPhoenixed2823054729243507259154232misfortuneunwiseunbiddendiscontent

  1. Breaking up with Barrett (Blueberry Lane 1 – The English Brothers) By Katy Regnery — my review.
  2. The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss — my review.
  3. Phoenixed by Anyta Sunday — my review.
  4. Slip of the Tongue by Jessica Hawkins — review not yet posted.
  5. Squirrel Bait by C.P. Davis — my review.
  6. Him (Him #1) by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy — my review.
  7. (Mis)fortune (Judgement of the Six @2) by Melissa Haag — my review.
  8. (Un)wise (Judgement of the Six#3) by Melissa Haag — my review.
  9. (Un)bidden (Judgement of the Six #4) by Melissa Haag — my review.
  10. (Dis)content (Judgement of the Six #5) by Melissa Haag — review not yet posted.

Lenoreo’s Top Ten:

Things I’ve learned while making this list: I am EXTREMELY stingy with my full 5 stars.  I give away a gagillion 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars, but not the full 5 stars.  I did have a 5 star short story that I omitted from this list b/c the full anthology didn’t get 5 stars…so I probably could have made my life a lot easier.

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  1. You Can’t Catch Me by Becca Ann — my review (just released yesterday).
  2. #Junkie by Cambria Hebert — my review (the sequel just released yesterday, so excited to read it!).
  3. The Mistake by Elle Kennedy — my review.
  4. Crazy About Love by Cassie Mae — review not yet posted since it doesn’t release until June, but you can see my review on Goodreads.
  5. #Holiday by Cambria Hebert — my review.
  6. Bound Together by Stormy Smith — my review.
  7. #Nerd by Cambria Hebert — my review.
  8. The Libby Garrett Interventionmy review.
  9. Doing It For Love by Cassie Mae — my review.
  10. Fractured Suns by Theresa Kay — my review.

What are some of your most recent 5 star reads?  Share your lists with us!

(Un)bidden (Judgement of the Six book #4) By Melissa Haag

unbiddenBlurb: I left home because I didn’t want to end up in a cage like a lab rat. Hitching rides, begging for cash, and sleeping on the ground got old fast. That was the only reason I braved an overgrown path to a group of buildings. I’d hoped to find a bed and a decent night’s sleep. However, what I found was a place overrun by werewolves.

While on the run, Charlene finds herself surrounded by werewolves, creatures she can’t control with her mind like she can humans. Their existence has her believing she’s found a safe place to stay, a place where secrets are okay. However, she soon discovers she’s anything but safe. Charlene must learn how to use her abilities to influence the strange new species because if she can’t, the next bite she suffers might just kill her.

Read how the cycle begins, and have no doubt. Charlene’s past will shape the future of the Judgements.

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4 Stars

This book takes us into the past, it’s almost like a prequel. Charlenes story is a little weird because her powers are still kind of…. I mean, we know what her powers are but the usefulness remains to be seen within the six.  Its my understanding that nobody really knows the full extent of her powers yet.   Except for her.

This one starts the beginning of the cycle, she is the youngest of the six at the time of their claiming, which kinda pisses me off shes only 15 in the book.  I remember being 15 and I just don’t get how emotionally mature she is.  She shouldn’t be at that age and I had a real hard time believing her age.  So, I do what I do and pretended she was in her mid twenties. That consistency with the age versus the maturity in the writing was off. I gotta give it to Charlene though because even in the face of a whole bunch of agressive males, she holds her own.  She is attacked near constantly, there is a lot more internal strife in this book as oppossed to the others.

The cool thing about this book is it tells you how they came to be more civilized.  Before Charlene they were living in the forest and didn’t work together as a pack or socialize with the humans at all.  You get a glimpse of the evolution of their species between Charlenes times and the others.

Thomas can see what Charlene is pushing them towards and he is a driving force behind their change toward the future.  He sees the potential in them working together. That right there what kind of a leader that he eventually will become.

I like Nany Wini and Grey. And I’m kind of upset because Jim is still my favorite who’s unclaimed so far. I really wanted him to get someone in the end.  I hope he gets his HEA.

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(Un)Wise (Judgement of the Six #3) By Melissa Haag

 

unwiseBlurb: The dreams start and Bethi’s very normal life goes down the toilet. Reliving past lives, where Dog-men chase her and she sees her eventual tormented death, Bethi sets out to find a way to live this time around. The dreams hint at an answer. She needs to be strong enough to find it, or die…

The third installment of the Judgement of the Six answers questions, questions answers, and risks the fate of the world.

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5 Stars

This one, by far, is my favorite book in the series. and I’ve noticed a pattern with myself. The third book, generally, is most often my favorite. I don’t know why. I’m guessing because the story is established and I have a connection with the characters and the third book usually has the most information relating to the progression of the story.

That’s not why this is my favorite. The MC, Bethi, (I don’t think the name fits, never did but whatevs) is a badass. She is prob the most tortured and she’s also the youngest.  Shes got the best powers, I think, even though she is the most tortured. I was wondering how the author was going to do it too and she nailed it.  She is like the lore holder or the bard.  She relives all the past lives and feels what they feel.  It’s a terribly important gift she has.

I love her snarky attitude, she’s hella sarcastic.  She would have to be I guess, you can’t take too much seriously when everytime you go to sleep you die a violent death.  And Luke is fricking adorable. He just kinda lets her get her aggression out while at the same time understanding that its not directed at him but at the situation.  He trying to be all virtuous and chilvalrous and she’s just not having it. I totally dig a woman is not afraid to make the first move.  I think that their easy going banter back and forth regarding the bite and the claiming was hilarious.

Favorite quotes

“Hush,” he warned when I would have moved away to keep talking.  “The decisions you make and the words you speak influence the people around you.  Be aware of your influence.”

He wanted me to like him? How in the hell did I end up finding the only damn werewolf who wanted to take it slow and get to know each other?

In the shower, I let myself cry.  I was beyond done with the dreams and feeling so desperate and crazy all the time.  Why was I fighting so hard to hold on to a life I hated so much?  The answer helped firm my determination.  I didn’t want to be born again in the same crappy cycle facing the same hopless situation.  With this life, I needed to make a difference.

“It’s a boob,” I bit out annoyed.  “I have two of them.  They don’t do much.  They just sit there.  They definitely don’t bite, so stop acting like they’re going to come after you.  Grow up.”  “Please stop talking about them,” he said in a stiff strangled voice.  I didn’t let up. “You know, sometimes it helps to name the things you fear.  Let’s call the right one Everest and the left one Fuji.  Two mountainous ranges waiting to be….”

What was so wrong with me that he freaked out at the slightest touch?  Other than the fact that some other werewolves wanted to kill me and I had dreams that made me scream loud enough to shake the nearest window…I mean, really, who didn’t have some kind of baggage

Go read this book!

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Deja Revu March 27, 2016

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Déjà Revu is a weekly review round-up that is open to all book review blogs.
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Contemporary

Fantasy

General

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Contemporary

Romance

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Horror

Paranormal



Romance

Suspense/Thriller

Woman’s Fiction