August 10, 2019

* Review * ALL THE LOVELY PIECES by J.M. Winchester

All the Lovely Pieces by J.M. Winchester
Published by Thomas & Mercer on August 6, 2019
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Motherly love can drive her to the absolute edge…

For nine years, Drew Baker has been running from her brutal husband and the dark deeds of the night she left him. Focused on protecting her ten-year-old son, Drew reluctantly settles into a small town, eager to find proof of her husband’s true nature so she can stop looking over her shoulder.

But Drew is also on the run from her own terrible crimes—ones that mean prison and separation from her son should the police catch up to her before her husband does. If only she could remember that night and what really transpired…

Without warning, the unthinkable happens, and Drew is plunged into the most nightmarish situation a woman and mother could imagine. Desperate to save her child, Drew takes matters into her own hands, proving that anyone is capable of darkness, and nowhere is safe for those who fear themselves.

A satisfying debut thriller! J.M. Winchester normally writes happily-ever-afters under another name, so I wasn’t sure what to expect going into her first psychological thriller, but she held her own quite well. The back story was secretive enough to keep us guessing well into the book, and the turmoil the heroine and her child faced was riveting. Winchester stayed a bit true to her roots and left us with a semblance of a HEA with a twist, but there was also a little quirk involved. Recommended to anyone wanting some mystery and mind games without all the gore.

All the Lovely Pieces is a thriller centering around a mother who’s been on the run with her child for years from a brutal husband and a night she can’t exactly remember. The back story is given in small doses while weaving her current life in the mix as well as the husbands current machinations.

* Review * WICKED ANGEL by Sawyer Bennett

Wicked Angel by Sawyer Bennett
Series: Wicked Horse Vegas #6
Published by Big Dog Books, LLC on August 6, 2019
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First there was pain, and now there is just… nothing. No one can ever understand the losses I’ve suffered. A solitary existence that consists of my work and the empty house that serves as a constant reminder of all I have lost.

After months of paralyzing emptiness, I turn to The Wicked Horse so I can feel something. Anything, really. Any shred of emotion that will explain why I’m still here. Any justification for why my life was spared and theirs were not.

It’s all in vain. Not even the debauchery of the notorious sex club can fill the hollowness that consumes me.

Until she walks in.

Absolutely perfect. Gorgeous and bends to my will. Gives me her body willingly, while expecting nothing more from me than the pleasure I offer her. And the more she gives, the more I find myself wanting to take.

Wanting to crawl out of my personal hell for this wicked angel.

Hold on to your heart-strings ladies! Wicked Angel is the sixth book in Sawyer Bennet’s delectable Wicked Horse Vegas series and is a second chance at love story between a neurosurgeon who once had it all, and a hairstylist who has yet to find true love.

Benjamin is particularly compelling because he has closed himself off from the world since the tragedy that took all that he lived for away. He is numb to life, and watching him slowly start to wake up once Elena comes into his world is riveting.

Elena doesn’t trust herself anymore after picking a bunch of losers, but she can’t turn her back on the instant pull she feels towards Benjamin. Their connection is full of heat and sass.

If you love an angst ridden hero who isn’t so sure he ever wants to put his heart on the line again after heartbreak, this story is for you. You can’t go wrong with any book in the series so far, but this one was particularly emotional and I highly recommend it.