Archives for September 17, 2018

* Review * FIGHTING FOR WHAT’S HIS by Laura Kaye

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Review * FIGHTING FOR WHAT’S HIS by Laura KayeFighting for What's His by Laura Kaye
Series: Warrior Fight Club #2
on September 7, 2018
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
four-stars

Resisting her only makes him want her more…

Private investigator Billy Parrish is good at three things—fighting, investigating, and sex. MMA training with the other vets in the Warrior Fight Club keeps his war-borne demons at bay—mostly, and one night stands ensure no one gets too close. But then his best friend from the Army Rangers calls in a favor.

Shayna Curtis is new to town, fresh out of grad school, and full of hope for the future. With a new job starting in a month, she’s grateful when her brother arranges a place for her to stay while she apartment hunts. But she never expected her roommate to be so brooding. Or so sexy.

Billy can’t wait for Shay to leave—because the longer she’s there, the more he wants her in his bed. To stay. He can’t have her—that much he knows. But when fight club stops taking off the edge, Billy lets down his guard…and starts fighting for what’s his.

 

Forbidden attraction! With the second book in the Warrior Fight Club series, we get a sexy take on a best friend’s sister/friends to lovers story line. Both main characters have heartache and issues holding them back, but together they seem to make a little more sense out of life. They are a fun couple to get to know, and I enjoyed their story. The ending was really abrupt and I felt like some of her story was left hanging, but overall it was a good read.

Private investigator Billy Parrish has to keep himself busy in order to keep his demons at bay. He works hard, plays hard and fights hard! The Warrior Fight Club for struggling vets that he attends is all that’s kept him sane these last few years, so it’s always high on his list of priorities. When an Army Ranger buddy calls him up wanting a favor, he’s not one to refuse … even if it puts him in such an awkward position!

Shayna Curtis is relocating to DC and her brother has hooked her up with a place to stay until she gets on her feet with a place of her own. Only problem is, it’s with the guy she’s been crushing on since she was in high school! Shayna has her own set of struggles she’s trying to get through, so meeting someone that seems to have his head on straight for a change is good for her … but when the lack of communication sends them both spiraling, will they be able to correct the free fall before it’s too late?

four-stars

* Review * SHEIKH’S BABY OF REVENGE by Tara Pammi

* Review * SHEIKH’S BABY OF REVENGE by Tara PammiSheikh's Baby of Revenge by Tara Pammi
Series: Bound to the Desert King #1
Published by Harlequin Presents on August 1, 2018
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
four-stars

He ruthlessly seduced her…

Now he’ll steal her for his heir!

Seeking revenge for his royal family’s rejection, warrior sheikh Adir seduces his brother’s innocent fiancée! But when he returns to steal Amira from the altar, he discovers their illicit encounter left her pregnant. Secluded in the desert, longing soon consumes them. But Adir’s baby must be legitimate—and he’ll claim his with a vow!

 

Royal scandal abounds! With the first book in the Bound to the Desert King quartet, Tara Pammi is tasked with the job of laying the groundwork of the royal family we are to become entrenched in, as well as bring us the ousted family member’s story. Adir’s plight is quick to grab our attention and the fast paced story line keeps it stoked throughout. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next book!

Sheikh Adir Al-Zabah has waited a long time to claim his rightful place in the Khalia royal family, and the blatant rejection he receives when he steps forward has him boiling mad. Who do these people think they are to treat him like he’s lower class than them? He’ll find a way to get his revenge!

Amira Ghalib is betrothed to Crown Prince Zufar of Khalia, but it’s not a happy union, and she’s easy to sway with kind words and affection when Adir encounters her outside the palace. He figures what better way to get his revenge than to help himself to the virginal bride to be, but when he returns to offer her a way out of the marriage she’s about to enter into, he discovers she’s carrying his child. Whisking her away to his desert paradise is easy, but can he convince her to marry for the sake of their heir?

four-stars

* Review * SHOT ON GOAL by Jami Davenport

* Review * SHOT ON GOAL by Jami DavenportShot on Goal by Jami Davenport
Series: Game On in Seattle: Seattle Sockeyes Hockey
Published by Cedrona Enterprises on September 12, 2018
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
five-stars

When you're at the top, there's nowhere to go but down.

Two talented skaters. Two bright futures. Two shining stars. One ruined by a career-ending scandal and another by a father's ruthless ambition.

Marina Sanders was the darling of the winter games, winning a bronze in figure skating one week after losing both parents in a car accident. Four years later, she was the most hated woman in America.

Drew Delacorte was the future of the Sockeyes hockey team, crowned the best young player in the league and heir-apparent to the hockey throne once occupied by his father. Only Drew doesn't want that throne. Despite being in the prime of his career, he's considering hanging up his skates.

Together they're fire and ice, and when things get that hot, they melt. Can these two broken souls find comfort and courage in each other's arms or will they find only pain and regret?

 

Delectably irresistible! With the highly sought after return of the Seattle Sockeyes hockey team, Jami Davenport captivates her audience with a wounded hero sure to snag their hearts! Drew is at the end of his rope and fading fast, but the love of a woman just might be the nudge he needs to start living for himself again. The characters each have a riveting back story that quickly nabs the reader’s attention, and the sports fans in the crowd will be pulling for the Sockeyes to make the most of their Stanley Cup Final appearance! Really great story with just the right mix of romance, sports and emotions to leave this reader smiling!

Figure skater Marina Sanders was once America’s sweetheart, winning a bronze medal as a teen mere days after both of her parents were killed in a car accident. She unfortunately didn’t hold up for long under the pressure of having her support system gone and made a few bad decisions that led to her downfall. Now a few years have passed and she’s returning to the US in hopes of rebuilding her life again. What are the odds that before she even starts her new job, she’ll run into a touch of her past?

Hockey star Drew Delacorte has gained the moniker of best young player in the league, been touted the future of the Seattle Sockeyes hockey organization … yet he feels nothing when he plays anymore. He’s going through the motions and feeling more dread every day that he laces up his skates. Being the built-in successor to the hockey empire once held by his father has gotten old really fast, as has his father’s constant critiquing and criticism. He’s really starting to wonder if he ever enjoyed playing the game at all at this point. Will meeting Marina and getting a fresh take on a skating passion revitalize his attitude, or will the additional stress of having her in his life be the final nail he needs?

five-stars

* Blog Tour/Review/Excerpt/Giveaway * COUNTRY GOLD by Heatherly Bell

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

* Blog Tour/Review/Excerpt/Giveaway * COUNTRY GOLD by Heatherly BellCountry Gold by Heatherly Bell
Series: Wilder Sisters #1
on September 17, 2018
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
four-stars

A second chance...

A scandal ended the careers of the Wilder Sisters, the chart topping country rock band. But Lexi Wilder is okay with that, thanks for asking. She's been on the road since roughly forever, and even if the scandal has followed her home to Whistle Cove, California, Lexi is going to enjoy the break. After all, there's quite nothing like the beautiful sandy beaches of Monterey Bay to calm a woman's soul.

Luke Wyatt never asked to trade fame and fortune for the only woman he's ever loved. Now that he's finished a punishing year-long national tour, all bets are off. He's coming back to his hometown of Whistle Cove for the quiet, the beaches, the inspiration, and the girl. Not necessarily in that order. There's pressure from Nashville to deliver more country gold like the #1 song he co-wrote with Lexi Wilder.

But Lexi can’t forgive Luke for choosing fame over her…

 

With the first book in her new Wilder Sisters series, Heatherly Bell brings us Lexi’s story. We see her come face to face with her old boyfriend and get a front row seat as he tries to rekindle their flame. The premise of the story is interesting and the characters were quick to grab my attention. I would have preferred a little more depth to the backstory of their relationship and the timespan, etc. to give me a deeper picture, but overall a satisfying read. Looking forward to the sister’s stories!

Country newcomer Luke Wyatt is coming down off of the high of his first big country-wide tour, and he’s exhausted. His body aches, his mind is burned out and his heart hurts from the empty hole she left behind. He knows he needs to get on the songs everyone is stressing him to write, but his first stop has to be home. Whistle Cove, California … and her. He has to make her see she’s everything … and then he can get back on the path of his future.

Lexi Wilder was once part of a big country sensation herself … until scandal brought them down faster than they could turn around. Now running her Gran’s B & B is keeping her busy while she pretends not to notice all the headlines about him … the one that was too busy to be bothered with her once she wasn’t there by his side anymore … the one who with all of the women clamoring for his attention.

 

 

 

 

Title: Country Gold
A Wilder Sisters Novel
Author: Heatherly Bell
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 17, 2018

 

Blurb

A second chance…

A scandal ended the careers of the Wilder Sisters, the chart topping country rock band. But Lexi Wilder is okay with that, thanks for asking. She’s been on the road since roughly forever, and even if the scandal has followed her home to Whistle Cove, California, Lexi is going to enjoy the break. After all, there’s quite nothing like the beautiful sandy beaches of Monterey Bay to calm a woman’s soul.

Luke Wyatt never asked to trade fame and fortune for the only woman he’s ever loved.
Now that he’s finished a punishing year-long national tour, all bets are off. He’s coming back to his hometown of Whistle Cove for the quiet, the beaches, the inspiration, and the girl. Not necessarily in that order. There’s pressure from Nashville to deliver more country gold like the #1 song he co-wrote with Lexi Wilder.

But Lexi can’t forgive Luke for choosing fame over her…

Purchase Links
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

 

Playlist

She’s My Kind of Rain by Tim McGraw

In Case You Didn’t Know by Brett Young

Make You Miss Me by Sam Hunt

Sober by Little Big Town

Die a Happy Man by Thomas Rhett

She’s Everything by Brad Paisley

Make me Wanna by Thomas Rhett

 

 

Excerpt

“Lexi Wilder.”

She recognized the deep voice, the smooth sound of whiskey if it could speak. Lexi whipped around to face Luke Wyatt. Her heart hiccupped at the sight of his long and lean body braced against the side of her cottage. One corner of his mouth tipped up in a half smile and he studied her with those deep and fathomless dark eyes.

Her mouth was dry. Knees? Liquid. “W-what are you doing here?”

“Wasn’t going to give you the chance to say you don’t want to see me.” He moved away from the side of the house and took a step toward her. “Tour’s over. I’m home.”

Despite her churning gut, she found her voice. “We have no vacancy. You’ll have to stay somewhere else.”

He went brows up. “Just checked in.”

When she didn’t speak, but simply swallowed and blinked, trying like hell to regain her balance, he filled in the silence.

“Still mad at me. Still won’t talk to me.”

She was so not prepared to deal with this today. With him. “Why would I be mad? You mean because you wrote an entire album all about our private life? Every single private and personal thing about us. After everything I’ve been through with Sabrina. No, why would I be mad about that?”

“Baby,” he said, squaring his shoulders. “It’s what songwriters do. We write about our life, the pain and the joy.”

I’d rather keep my private life private.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I was hurting. You wouldn’t take any of my calls. You wouldn’t come see me.”

“You didn’t seem to be hurting. You were all over my TV set, cozying up to gorgeous models and reality TV stars.”

She’d seen the woman practically on Luke’s lap at a televised awards show. And he was mad she hadn’t called him back? If he’d been hurt when she stopped taking his calls, he sure in the hell got over it quickly enough.

He took a step toward her making her take one back. No, no, no. Already she felt her body buzzing from being this close to him for the first time in a year.

“Give me a break, Lex. You know what this life is like. I didn’t even know that woman.”

Lexi did an internal face palm. No, no. It would not go this way. Check her out letting loose with all her pent up hurt and anger the minute he showed up, giving Luke every indication of how much she still cared about him. If she didn’t care at all, maybe the rumors of these women wouldn’t bother her so much. So she’d already blown her cover in the first twenty seconds of seeing him. Get a grip.

She’d expected to do much better than this if she ever ran into him again, say in Nashville while visiting Miranda Lambert to collaborate on some songs. Lexi would have another hit song by then. Maybe she’d be dating another handsome country singer not named Luke Wilder. She’d be over him by then.

Chalk it up to running into him so unexpectedly but this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He shouldn’t still look so good to her, his beard making him look like a strong mountain man. Like a man who would take care of his woman.

For Luke, it turned out his career came first. Not her.

But the thing to do here was pretend it didn’t make a difference whether he stayed or left. Pretend he had that little effect on her. Maybe it wasn’t too late to salvage what little was left of her pride.

“I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “I’m being rude.”

He quirked a single brow. “Yeah?”

Score one for Lexi. She’d shocked him. Good.

“Of course. You’re a paying guest and I’m usually not so…so…”

“Pissy?” He gave her another smile, this one lifting both corners of his mouth and demonstrating he still had the power to render her speechless when he laid on the charm.

“Yeah. Pissy.” She let out a half-hearted fake laugh and waved hand in the air. “Rough day. You know how it is. Sisters.”

His brow furrowed. “And how’s Sabrina doing?”

Luke had a front row seat to the implosion of the Wilder Sisters. He’d been performing alongside them at the stadium in Oklahoma when Sabrina had her public mini-meltdown. Even though their demise as a band had meant his opportunity for stardom, Lexi didn’t doubt he’d been sorry about the way it had all happened.

When she’d been worried about Sabrina, whose entire life from the time she’d been ten had been the stage, Luke had held Lexi every night until she fell asleep, assuring her that Sabrina would survive this. They all would. And she’d fallen even deeper for the man. Luke reminded her there would be life after all the speculation and rumors. Because Luke Wyatt knew a lot about scandal. He understood what it was like to feel like you had to apologize just for being allowed to breathe the same air as everyone else.

“She’s okay. Still walks around with ear buds in all the time, singing and dancing. It’s in her blood. But I don’t think she wants to get back up on a stage anytime soon. None of us do.”

He nodded, as if he understood all too well. “And you. Are you still writing?”

Not with you.

Never again with you.

The wall was still up and there it would stay. If anything, she’d wallpaper it. But she was a Wilder first and foremost, and yes, they could put on a show.

She shrugged and got ready to lie. “Here and there.”

“I’m supposed to write a few more hit songs.” He held up finger quotes. “They want me back in the studio next week. So I thought I’d come here and relax. See if I can find some inspiration.”

His gaze took a slow slide down the length of her body and she almost felt…naked. She was so not going to be his inspiration. Not this time. He’d taken enough material from her already.

She took a breath and went for deep sincerity. “I hope you find what you’re looking for, Luke.”

And with that she opened the door to her cottage and closed it in his face.

Author Bio

Heatherly Bell drinks coffee, craves cupcakes, and occasionally wears real pants.

She lives in northern California with her family.

Author Links
four-stars