Jacked Up by Samantha Kane

Blurb:

32506423The secret about the Birmingham Rebels is out: With a girl in the middle, two mouth-watering football studs are better than one.

Linebacker Sam Taylor feels like a ticking time bomb. He left the army with emotional wounds as fresh as the scars on his back. Sam’s been living like a monk, but his best friend, defensive lineman King Ulupoka, wants to get him laid. Easy for him to say. The larger-than-life Samoan is a hard-bodied, tribal-tattooed fantasy. Sam agrees, under one condition: King stays to watch.

ER nurse Jane Foster is done being a good girl, and nothing says wild like picking up two of football’s sexiest players and bringing them back to your hotel room. Trouble is, she can’t decide which one she wants more. Sam is hot, sweet, and vulnerable. Jane’s more than willing to ride him into oblivion. But King’s intense gaze from across the room promises that the best is yet to come.

Sure, King has had his choice of girls and guys in the past. That doesn’t mean he’ll jeopardize his relationship with Sam over a case of locker-room lust—until a naughty nurse pushes them both out of their comfort zones. Seeing Jane and Sam together turns King on more than he ever imagined. If they’re game, he’s ready to tackle a three-way play.

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My Review:
3.5 stars — I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

I’ve read a few books in Ms. Kane’s historical menage series (Brothers in Arms) and really enjoyed them, and this modern series is quite entertaining as well!  It had some intriguing characters, a bit of depth (which is always nice for an erotica read), and obviously some hot sex.  And I enjoyed the little glimpses of either past book characters, or potential next book characters in the series.  It’s always fun when a series follows a close knit group of characters, in this case all being involved in the same fictional NFL football team.

I adored King.  I loved that he brought a little bit of diversity with his Samoan heritage, and I didn’t feel as though he was a caricature.  But he was so laid back and accepting, I just wanted to hug him for always thinking the right things and helping Sam and Jane get to the right places.

Sam was a bit up and down for me.  I LOVED the military background story we got with him, and he was so damaged and vulnerable, but willing to make baby steps and try to change and grow and slowly embrace the changes.  I loved some of his conversations with the team psych, Mark.  Heck, I loved some of King’s conversations with Mark too.  But he just brought this book from normal erotica to something with more depth and interest, if that makes sense.

And then there’s Jane.  *sigh*  She was a tough character to love, b/c she spent a lot of the book slut-shaming herself.  And I really don’t deal well with that, but it was kind of the topic of the book and something she was supposed to be learning to deal with and changing and growing about.  But there was just so fricking much of it, it was hard to take.  And it took her so long to learn, and I’m still not sure she really did and accepted it as much.  For all that self-flagellation, I was hoping for more of an obvious breakthrough I guess.  And other than that I’m not sure I really learned enough about her to like her a lot.  Not that I disliked her, she just didn’t make a big impression.  Although I did love how she handled Sam, and his issues from the PTSD to being confused about being bi.

And now onto the major aspect of any good menage erotica: the steamy scenes!!  And oh my gawd, they were a contradiction.  They were sooooo hot sometimes, like really woosh.  And then they would start talking.  And quite frankly, the dirty talking just didn’t work for me in this book.   It might have been just me, but it was just too comical at times.  I know it was supposed to be, but then it just felt forced to me.  Like how I would sound dirty talking.  Like from a script or something.  It was just a personal taste thing.  And it was pervasive through every steamy scene, so it was a mix of good and bad I guess.

So in the end it was a solid erotica, but the little things (like the dirty talking and the slut shaming) just have me rounding down instead of up this time.

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Déjà Revu January 29th, 2017

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

Meme

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Action/Adventure

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Fantasy

Graphic Novel

Paranormal

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Contemporary

Romance

Suspense/Thriller

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Contemporary

Historical

Horror

Mystery

Romance

Science Fiction

Suspense/Thriller

Justice Ascending (The Scorpius Syndrome #3) by Rebecca Zanetti

justice-ascendingBlurb: Before surviving the Scorpius bacterium, Tace Justice was a good ole Texas cowboy who served his country and loved his mama. After Scorpius, the world became dark, dangerous, and deadly… and so did he. The Vanguard medic is stronger, faster, and smarter than before, but he’s lost the line between right and wrong. His passion is absolute, and when he focuses it on one woman, there’s no turning back for either of them.

Sami Steel has been fighting to survive right alongside Tace, convincing the Vanguard soldiers she’s one of them. In truth, Sami is a former hacker turned government agent who worked at The Bunker, where scientists stored both contaminants and cures. Only she knows the location, and she’s not telling. Yet when sexual fire explodes between her and Tace, she’ll face even that hell again to save him.

 

scr2557-proj697-a-kindle-logo-w-rgb-lg This book is a pre-order, available Jan 31, 2017!

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5 stars

I’m so happy with this series!  I have received them ALL through Netgalley and I can’t wait to get the next one. But I’m conflicted!  I was expecting this to be a trilogy.  But it looks like there will be more books in this series since the sociopathic president and the VP aren’t dead yet and they so need to die. I’m happy I get to keep reading the series but dammit I really wanted him to die!

This is my fave book in the series so far and I’ll tell you why. 🙂 This is not a story of a soldier finding his love with a civilian – which has been the progression of the characters so far.  She switches it up in this one with both MC’s being soldier.  And it was a totally different paradigm than her previous books in the series and I love it.

First off, Texan Tace Justice is smexy! Super smexy! Super duper smexy! I really loved how self aware he was.  He knew he had OCD and he was obsessing about Sami.  He was very mush internally conflicted because of it.  He knew it wasn’t normal.  He was one of those guys you could always depend on and he enjoyed being that person.  He was proud of his long family line of texas rangers and couldn’t wait to be a part of that legacy.  Watching him struggle and come to terms with the fact it will never happen formed a soft spot in my heart for him.

Sami seemed to have a bit more dimension for me.  In the beginning she seemed a hardcore hand to hand combat expert with a background in law enforcement.  As the story progresses we get to see her feelings start to shine through.  And the dynamic of having a female soldier and how she is treated different but equal at the same time.  It’s written quite beautifully.

There was a lot more action and sex in this book.  Their chemistry was instant and escalated quickly.  It gave me tummy warmth to read it.  The solidarity exhibited by this new militant group is quite heart warming.  The trust is there and when someone fucks up it’s dealt with swiftly and not used against them at a later time.  They are a family and all that that entails.  They are flawed and forgiving.  And I love that about these characters.

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Stacking the Shelves — January 28th, 2017

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(Images link to Goodreads, Titles link to Amazon using Amazon Affiliate links)

Stacking The Shelves is feature/weekly meme created by Tynga’s Reviews in which you share the books you are adding to your shelves, both physical and virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Lenoreo’s Haul

(All Ebooks unless otherwise specified)

New Releases:

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  • Awaken (Brightest Kind of Darkness #5) by P.T. Michelle — Both Curly Carla and I have been waiting for the last book in this series for years it seems, and it’s finally here!  It’s a bit stretching my personal price range, but I know that authors rarely (if ever) put the final books in the series on sale, and since the author mentioned it was slightly cheaper for preorder and release day, I sucked it up.  Again, it’s NOT that I don’t think these books are worth this price, I’m just cheap.  It’s a personal flaw that has no bearing on the worthiness of the books.  🙂

 Got It On Sale:

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  • Amour Amour (Aerial Ethereal #1) by Krista & Becca Ritchie — Ever since I read the first few books in the Addicted series by these authors last year, and met them both at the Emerald City Author Event, I’ve followed them.  And as such, eReaderIQ sent me a notice that this book was on sale for 99 cents from its usual $3.99.  Still on sale!
  • The Hard Count by Ginger Scott — I received and read an ARC of this book this summer, but I always like having a final copy in my hands, so when eReaderIQ told me it was on sale for 99 cents from its usual $3.99, I snatched it up.  See my review here if you want to know why you need to take advantage of this amazing sale as well (bonus points, it’s a diverse read!).
  • The Debt by Karina Halle — This author will be attending the Big Apple Author Event in October 2017 that I will be attending, and while I’ve only read part of her paranormal series, I keep an eye on her books.  So when I saw this one on BookBub for $1.99 (though I think I got it for 99 cents) from its usual close to $5, I one-clicked it!!  I’ve really been wanting to read her contemporary romances, so might as well grab them for a deal.  And this one is still on sale!
  • Chase the Sun (Free Fall #2) by Christina Lee & Nyrae Dawn — I *just* got an eReaderIQ alert that this book is on sale for 99 cents from its usual $3.99.  I ADORE Ms. Dawn, and have even had the privilege of beta reading for her once, so I’m always up for reading more of her books.  I haven’t read book one yet, but I already have it.  This must be a sale to celebrate book three coming out in February.

Top Ten Series We Want to Finish in 2017

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

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 “FREEBIE — that super specific list you want to make?? All yours to tackle this week!”  So Curly Carla came up with Top Ten Series We Want to Finish in 2017.

Curly Carla’s Top Ten:

Why haven’t I read them all? I have utterly no idea!  This year is my year to finish all these.

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  1. Brightest Kind of Darkness series by P.T. Michelle. I have literally been waiting YEARS for this series to finish. I’m on book 4 entitled Desire. I think I’m gonna go back and re-read since it’s been so long though.
  2. The Judgement of the Six series by Melissa Haag. I’m waiting on the last book titled (Sur)Real. I’m putting a lot of hope this will be finished this year, however according to Amazon there is no set release date.  (Note from Lenore: there also is no cover, so I just put the one for the first 3 book bundle)
  3. Vampire Girl series by Karpov Kinrade. I own all three books, I am currently on the second one entitled Midnight Star. This story is amazeballs.
  4. The Relentless series by Karen Lynch. I’m on book two entitled Refuge. The first one is perma free!
  5. Red Rising series by Pierce Brown. OMG this series has all the things!!! I own all three books. I am on the third one entitled Morning Star. It’s cheaper to get the paperback so that’s the link I’m leaving.
  6. How To series by Cassie Mae! I love CM. She has a soft spot in my heart for wonderful books. I have read almost all of them. In this series I am on book two entitled How to Seduce a Band Geek.
  7. War of the Princes series by A.R. Ivanovich. This series y’all. It’s got so much depth and love. I love it so much. I’m on book three entitled Monarch.
  8. Dirty Blood series by Heather Hildenbrand. I have been sitting on this a while also. I own them all but have just never finished it. Maybe I don’t want it to be over? I’m on the LAST book entitled Broken Blood.  I think I will have to re-read this one too. It’s been a long time.
  9. Imdalind series by Rebecca Ethington. I read the first four really fast. Then I stalled out on the fifth one because I didn’t know there were seven books in the series. So I waited till they were all available. I’m on the fifth book entitled Burnt Devotion.
  10. Brewer Brothers series by Nancy Straight. I have read most of her books and loved them all. Again I am sitting on the last book in the series entitled Shroud of Lies.

Lenoreo’s Top Ten:

I kind of wanted to put 1, 2, 7 and 9 of Curly Carla’s list on mine as well.  But I went for some different ones.  I wonder how many I’ll actually get through this year.

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  1. GearShark series by Cambria Hebert.  I’ve read the first two, and am on to #Swag now.
  2. Hashtag series by Cambria Hebert.  I’ve read all but the last book, #Bae.
  3. The Winslow Brothers series by Katy Regnery.  I’ve only read the first of this series, but I’m meeting this author in May so I want to read as many of her books as possible before then.  I’m on book 2, Proposing to Preston.
  4. The Premonition series by Amy A. Bartol.  I tried to finish the series last year, but got distracted after book 3.  So I’m on to book 4, Incendiary.
  5. Penryn & the End of Days series by Susan Ee.  I read the first book a few years ago and ADORED it, and then just never finished the series.  I’m on book 2, World After.
  6. Grizzlies Gone Wild series by Kathy Lyons.  I received book 2 through NetGalley and caught up on book 1 afterwards.  I actually have an ARC of the last book, For the Bear’s Eyes Only, so I really need to finish this one!
  7. What Kills Me series by Wynne Channing.  I really enjoyed the first book and was delighted that it was a 2 book series, so I’m on the last book, I Am Forever.
  8. Fishing for Trouble series by Laura Drewry.  I’ve read the first two in this series, and have an ARC from NetGalley of the last book in the series, Catch and Release, which releases in February!
  9. Over the Top series by Kelly Siskind.  I’m reading this series in a weird order, so I’ve read the 2nd and 3rd books already and have the first book, My Perfect Mistake, left.
  10. The Noctalis Chronicles by Chelsea M. Cameron.  Another series I read quite a few years ago, but the last book wasn’t out at the time, and then I got distracted.  So I’m on the last book, Neverend.

Wish us luck!  For those of you series readers out there, what series do you hope to finish in 2017?

Déjà Revu January 22nd, 2017

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

Meme

Reading Challenge

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Dystopian/Post Apocalyptic

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Contemporary

Fantasy

Steampunk

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Romance

Woman’s Fiction

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Contemporary

Dystopian/Post Apocalyptic

General Fiction

Non-Fiction

Paranormal

Romance

Woman’s Fiction

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Horror

Woman’s Fiction

Stacking the Shelves — January 21st, 2017

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(Images link to Goodreads, Titles link to Amazon using Amazon Affiliate links)

Stacking The Shelves is feature/weekly meme created by Tynga’s Reviews in which you share the books you are adding to your shelves, both physical and virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Lenoreo’s Haul

(All Ebooks unless otherwise specified)

Loaned to Me:

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  • Grin and Beard It (Winston Brothers #2) by Penny Reid — My lovely co-pilot on this blog, Curly Carla, loaned this book to me so I could fulfil the Body Diversity theme for January for the Platypire Diversity Challenge.  It was so amazing I immediately bought it upon finishing it so I wouldn’t lose all my highlights.  See my review here.

Preorders That Went Live:

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  • Chasing Polaris by Erica Cope and Autumn Doughton — Released on January 17th, 2017.  I haven’t stayed caught up with Ms. Doughton, but I’ve loved the previous books I’ve read about hers, so I keep buying her new releases.  And this one was only 99 cents (still is), so it was a no-brainer.  Now if only I could find some time to catch up.

More Book Outlet Craziness:

No sale this time from Book Outlet, just a few of the books I wishlisted but were then sold out came available, so I snagged them.

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  • Under the Spotlight (The Jamieson Collection #3) by Angie Stanton — I completed my collection!!  This is the one book in the series I haven’t read yet, but I knew I was going to want all of them.  But seriously, I need to finish this series.
  • Geek Magnet by Kieran Scott — My favourite author recommended this one, and that was good enough for me.  Especially when I can get the paperback for cheaper than the Kindle version.
  • Love Me Never (Lovely Vicious #1) by Sara Wolf — I’ve read this book twice, once when it was indie-published, and then again when it was picked up by Entangled Teen (see my review here).  I adore Isis, so needed this one.  I was kind of disappointed that someone wrote on the cover though… 😦
  • Whatever Life Throws at You by Julie Cross — I recently read Chasing Truth by this author and really enjoyed it, so thought I might try another book by this author.  It was only $2, so I figured why not.
  • A Thousand Pieces of You (Firebird #1) by Claudia Gray — I’ve seen a lot of buzz about this book, and it sounds intriguing, but as always the Kindle book is above my price threshold.  So I took a chance.

 Got It On Sale:

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  • Alex (Cold Fury Hockey #1) by Sawyer Bennett — I was actually cleaning up my wishlist and had ordered my books from lowest to highest priced (because then I can find the ones now unavailable), and I saw this one for 99 cents.  Eventually I also saw it on BookBub, still on sale for 99 cents from its usual $4.99.  I recently read a NetGalley ARC of a later book in this series, Max, and really enjoyed it, so definitely wanted to read more from that series.
  • Her Secret Prince (Royal Holiday #2, Rags to Riches) by Madeline Ash — Last Christmas (ie Christmas 2015) I read You for Christmas by this author (part of the Rags to Riches series) and really enjoyed it.  I noticed some characters that I was sure had their own stories, and tracked those down and wishlisted them.  So when I got an eReaderIQ alert that this book was free from its usual $2.99 (still is), I one-clicked the bejeezus out of it.
  • Phase (Phoebe Reede: The Untold Story #1) by Michelle Irwin — This one was recommended to me on a gazillion fronts!  I saw it on My Book Cave email for free from regular $3.99 (still on sale) and was intrigued.  And then Curly Carla shared the sale on our Facebook page b/c she knows the author, and that was the straw that broke my one-click finger…:)

Grin and Beard It by Penny Reid

Blurb:
23337863USA TODAY Bestselling Romantic Comedy Series

Sienna Diaz is everyone’s favorite “fat” funny lady. The movie studio executives can’t explain it, but her films are out-grossing all the fit and trim headliners and Hollywood’s most beautiful elite. The simple truth is, everyone loves plus-sized Sienna.

But she has a problem, she can’t read maps and her sense of direction is almost as bad as her comedic timing is stellar. Therefore, when Sienna’s latest starring role takes her to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park she finds herself continually lost while trying to navigate the back roads of Green Valley, Tennessee. Much to her consternation, Sienna’s most frequent savior is a ridiculously handsome, charming, and cheeky Park Ranger by the name of Jethro Winston.

Sienna is accustomed to high levels of man-handsome, so it’s not Jethro’s chiseled features or his perfect physique that make Sienna stutter. It’s his southern charm. And gentlemanly manners. And habit of looking at her too long and too often.

Sienna has successfully navigated the labyrinth of Hollywood heart-throbs. But can she traverse the tenuous trails of Tennessee without losing her head? Or worse, her heart?

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My Review:
5 stars — My wonderful co-conspirator, Curly Carla, loaned this book to me through Kindle (which we both didn’t think was going to work since I’m in Canada and we Canadians can’t loan books, BUT IT DID!)!!  And I adored it so much I immediately upon finishing went out and bought it so I didn’t lose my multitude of highlights…

YOU GUYS!!!  I’ve been so worried that something was wrong with me, since my previous Penny Reid reads (*snort*) have not been stellar successes.  But it appears I just hadn’t found my match as yet.  Apparently I’m picky or something.  I don’t know, it just seemed that there was so much good in her writing, but I would inevitably be rubbed the wrong way by something or other.  BUT NOT IN THIS BOOK!!  This book was a delight from fricking beginning to end.  It was full of happy sighs and goofy grins and tummy tingles and great guffaws.

I actually own book one but have not read it yet, but I really needed a book for my Platypire Diversity Challenge since the theme for the month of January was “Body Positivity”, and I *knew* Sienna was a plus sized girl, so I thought SCORE!  Plus, extra bonus points since she is also a person of colour!  So it was kind of a lame reason, but I can’t believe how well it worked out for me.  I was honestly sucked in from the very first page.  Or rather, I had previously been sucked in by the first page because I’d read an excerpt (and promptly wishlisted this book), but it just continued to suck me further and further as the book went along.

Sienna was a delight.  She was silly and sassy and confident but with a hint of vulnerability.  Her internal monologue about being a plus sized actress had me immediately highlighting and wanting to high five her.  She also had an interesting family dynamic, that while it didn’t come into play a LOT, it made an impression on me.  And her first encounter with Jethro is just so….well, quite frankly, I swooned right along with her.

Jethro was just EVERYTHING I was needing in a hero.  He was this bizarre mix of confident, sweet, flirty, charming, damaged, vulnerable, complicated and deep.  But I’m right there with Sienna, the thing that drew me to him was just how genuinely and effortlessly good he was.  This is not to say that he doesn’t have his flaws, but I understood them.  And I just can’t gush enough about him.

And quite frankly, while they were both amazingly unique and intriguing individuals, it was their dynamic with each other that had me just glued to the pages.  They were exactly as Sienna described them — so EASY with each other.  They fit like puzzle pieces.  And even the conflict that arose between them made sense and ran its course and didn’t overly frustrate me, but allowed me to see their relationship grow and change.

I ADORED Ms. Reid’s note at the end about how Sienna Foster became Sienna Diaz.  I really appreciate that she took the time to try to make Sienna as authentic as possible, and it really shows.

I’m definitely excited to read more in this world.  I don’t know if I’ll have quite the same luck as with this book, because these two were just tailor made for me, but I’m so intrigued with all of the brothers (and Ashley) and their love stories, either already told or still to come.

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Thomas’ Heart (Judgement of the Six Companion Series #4) by Melissa Haag


33010788Blurb:
 Thomas’ race is dying. To protect those left, the Elders create a safe haven. However, the safety of their sanctuary is threatened by the cause of their kind’s decline. A human. But, she’s not like the rest; and despite his hatred of humans, Thomas wants her for his own.

When females start dying while trying to reach safety, Thomas realizes it’s no longer just humans who pose a threat, but desperate males. Thomas must secure his place at Charlene’s side as leader of sanctuary, or everything they’ve worked together to build will crumble, and any hope of a future for Thomas’s race will die.

 

 

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5 stars

I was surprised at my interest in this book.  Although I suppose I shouldn’t be, it seems if I don’t like the girls story, I love the guys.

This story was different due to the fact that this is the beginning of the cycle.  (You would understand if you read them all) We get to see how some of the elders came to be.  Along with some insights into the enemies camp and the extent of their influence to the shifters and the damage they have done.  Not to mention how far they will go for control and power.  These bad guys are INSANE!

Since no one knows who Charlene is, she gets a very different welcome than the other judgments.  It was nice to see a different POV.  Thomas may be one of my favorite out all the guy novels so far.  I feel like his character had the most growth because of the difficulty they went through striving to bring order to a pretty lawless and violent species.  He didn’t want her there at first, even though she was clearly his mate.  This was telling for me in several ways. His pride in the old ways conflicted with the fact that he knew his race would die out if they didn’t change.  The parts where he started to realize this and was opposed by his own species was very intense to read.

Grey was my favorite and reminded me of Jim.  And they hint of Jim’s future in this pack at the end of this book guys so keep your peepers peeled.  Wini is in this one again – she has a pretty prominent role in this book.  We see the progression of Mary and Gregory – in fact, a whole lot of holes are filled in this book.

I was never a fan of Charlene and I gotta say this book didn’t change my opinion of her in the least.  She came off as over-aggressive and even a bit condescending at times.  Thomas was no angel either. He constantly used every advantage available to him to get his way. I’m just glad he was called on it.

The ending brings us back to current timeline. I’m very interested in reading the rest of this series.

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It’s You, Book Two by K.P. Kelley

Blurb:

33387588The second book in New York Times bestselling author Katy Regnery’s first duo of paranormal romances!

HAPPILY EVER AFTER…
To some, they’re just words signifying a fairytale ending.
For me, Jack Beauloup, they represent an unyielding desire:
Forever with Darcy Turner, the unexpected love of my life.
A love that has placed her human life in danger.

According to Pack Law, my binding is an abomination that must be severed.
It’s ignited a fiery hatred that I must confront and control.
But what is bound cannot be broken.
I will keep Darcy safe.
Even if it means giving up on my dreams.
Even if it means giving up my life.

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My Review:
3.5 stars — I received a free copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

Well hmmm…this is a tough one.  As I’m writing this up, I still don’t know whether I will round up or down.  I enjoyed a lot of this book, was hooked into the romance and action and mythology of the paranormal aspect.  But I also had a few qualms, a few niggles.  It wasn’t quite as satisfying as I’d hoped, and some parts went in directions that I wasn’t entirely happy with (from a personal taste perspective).

So what was I happy with?  I still really loved how unique this take on a shifter story was.  I enjoyed the concept of the Roux-ga-roux and the way Ms. Kelley really made it her own, and blended in the Métis culture and superstitions.  It extended from what was in the first book and remained fairly consistent.

I also really enjoyed that the immediate conflict which ended book one on a bit of a climax was actually dealt with pretty quickly in book two, and was not dragged out.  I loved that we got more good, loving, romantic time with Darcy and Jack, and not just conflict.

What was I less than happy with?  A bunch of little things that kind of added up.  1) There were a few spots (particularly in some steamy scenes) where the POV jumped from Darcy to Jack from one paragraph to the next.  When I’m reading dual POVs, I’m happiest when it’s very clear whose POV I’m reading, and there are clear delineations between them (like chapters or at least breaks).  2) I wasn’t happy with the eventual explanation of the time loss.  I felt it was kind of cheap and didn’t make sense, and if the author wasn’t going to delve into it and make it more clear, then it should have been left out altogether.  There were enough interesting and unique paranormal aspects that it wasn’t needed.  I almost felt similarly about the rash/burns, but I can live with that one.  It just kind of felt lost in the shuffle of book two.  3) I wasn’t happy with the resolution with Willow and Amory…did they tell Amory?  Is he in the dark?  How did they explain everything????  4) I wasn’t happy with the glossing over of Willow’s Enchanteresse stuff.  If you’re going to make it part of the plot, give it some lip service, otherwise it feels very plot device-ish.

SPOILERY PARAGRAPH!!!!  I will hide this on Goodreads, and remove from my Amazon review, but please just don’t read unless you’ve read the book!!!!  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!  5) I was a little disappointed the biology/moss stuff didn’t go anywhere.  It was so foreshadowed, and I really thought she was going to have some breakthrough.  That could have been cool.  6) I really wanted Jack to take out Saint Germain, or show them there was another way, and more clearly break from the pack, though I suppose that would be too dangerous.  7) I wasn’t happy with the amount of sexual propositioning that seemed to happen between unbound Rougs (Julien with Willow, even though he had feelings for Lela, and Tombeur reacting to Darcy, even though he loved Tallis).  I guess this goes along with 6 a bit, in that I kind of thought they were just broken, and Jack and Darcy were the new way (what with all the cheating even in bound couples). 8) I WANTED LOUVETEAUS DAMNIT!!!  ie that epilogue was not nearly satisfying enough.

SPOILERY PARAGRAPH FINISHED!!!

I still wasn’t a big fan of Darcy.  I loved Jack way more, so I was constantly mad at Darcy’s actions.  Although at least Jack kind of screwed up going too far with the keep his distance stuff, so he wasn’t perfect.  But I was never quite happy with how she saw the Roug stuff, and how disgusted she was even by the animals.  I never fully believed that she accepted him (and I guess he didn’t really either).  And I am not a fan of couples that are so bad at communication.  Seriously, I get that neither of you have had much for relationships, but COME ON!!  *sigh*  It’s just a personal taste thing, not my favourite.

So yeah, it looks like a lot of bad, but they’re honestly not big things in the grand scheme of things, just annoyances, you know?  But there were just so many…round up, round down, round up, round down.  But OMG people the emotions in this book were actually pretty amazing!!  My heart broke for Jack on so many occasions, he just grabbed your heart and twisted it!!  *sigh*  My life is so hard.  This one really is a solid 3.5 stars.  I’ll decide on a whim I guess.

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