Coming Soon: Heroes Are My Weakness by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

The dead of winter.

An isolated island off the coast of Maine.

A man.

A woman.

A sinister house looming over the sea ...

He's a reclusive writer whose macabre imagination creates chilling horror novels. She's a down-on-her-luck actress reduced to staging kids' puppet shows. He knows a dozen ways to kill with his bare hands. She knows a dozen ways to kill with laughs.

But she's not laughing now. When she was a teenager, he terrified her. Now they're trapped together on a snowy island off the coast of Maine. Is he the villain she remembers or has he changed? Her head says no. Her heart says yes.

It's going to be a long, hot winter.

Expected publication: August 26th 2014

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A new one from one of our favorites, SEP. I love her, I mean, who doesn't? One more thing to look forward to, and go crazy impatient about, for sure!

Josh & Hannah (Redwood Falls)

I will probably consider this a timeless love story. I started reading and forgot about doing groceries, my poor husband and daughter had to do it. I admire Josh's patience and restraint from keeping himself to almost devouring Hanna or it would be statutory rape. The story started when they were in their teens and later on evolved up until they graduated and had their HEA. I just couldn't help but fall in love with  Josh and found  Hanna's innocence so refreshing.  I'm so glad I read It I felt  half my day was fulfilled. I felt like I was bursting with love while reading it. -JB

One of my favorite parts :

“, "I'm serious. Repeat it. Josh wants me."

"Josh, please--"

"Now!" he barked and she jumped.

"Josh w-wants me," her voice came out shaky and soft.

"Josh wants me so bad his guts are tied in knots of constant pain," he pounded the words through his teeth and waited.

His eyes seared into hers and she attempted to answer. "Josh wants me s-so bad--" she found it impossible to say and her words dwindled off.

He reached up and his fingers twisted through her hair until he was holding her face in both of his strong hands. He continued to punch out his words in third person. "He thinks about me constantly." As he spoke, his gaze ran over her lips, her nose, and the hair that he held in his hands. "He lives from one hour to the next for the day he can sink into me."

Hannah's insides were lacerated by his primal words. It was almost more than her youth and innocence could handle. At the same time, an exquisite pleasure infiltrated her system at what he was telling her. He was telling her the truth. “He wanted her just as much as she wanted him. Her body shook as the depth of his need and what he was trying to convey to her sank in.

He continued in a harsh biting tone, "But I don't want Josh to go to prison.”

---

Josh Turner wants Hannah more than life itself. She's perfect and new . . . but she's a McIntyre. She's from the richest family in the county, and he's a Turner, from the wrong side of the proverbial tracks. And to make matters worse, there's no love lost between their families.--Goodreads 

On Amazon

Remembering Authors On The Bay : Part One

Real by Katy Evans

“When I take you, you’ll be mine,” he says, a soft promise in my ear. He slides his thumb along my jaw, then gently kisses my earlobe. 

“You need to be certain.” His eyes are so hot that I’m on fire with the lust in them, and the word “mine” makes the empty place between my legs swell with longing. 

“I want you to know me first, and then, I want you to let me know if you still want me to take you.”

A fallen boxer.

A woman with a broken dream.

A competition…

He even makes me forget my name. One night was all it took, and I forgot everything and anything except the sexy fighter in the ring who sets my mind ablaze and my body on fire with wanting…

Remington Tate is the strongest, most confusing man I’ve ever met in my life.

He’s the star of the dangerous underground fighting circuit, and I’m drawn to him as I’ve never been drawn to anything in my life. I forget who I am, what I want, with just one look from him. When he’s near, I need to remind myself that I am strong–but he is stronger. And now it’s my job to keep his body working like a perfect machine, his taut muscles primed and ready to break the bones of his next opponents . . .

But the one he’s most threatening to, now, is me.

I want him. I want him without fear. Without reservations.

If only I knew for sure what it is that he wants from me?

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Mary Ann's Review:

FINALLY! I found REAL.

I really have it bad, coz you see, I've read Fifty, Crossfire, Beautiful----and let's face it--Mr. Grey. Gideon and Travis are drool worthy. But I think this is the only time that I wanted to claim REMINGTON. I mean, can he just be mine? lol.

I don't think I will be able to make a decent review without spoiling the story, so I'll make one later. For now, here are some of the scenes:

--------------------------

Remington “Riptide” Tate, the sexiest man alive, is tossing anything in his path and yelling at the top of his lungs, “What the fuck did you tell her about me? Where the fuck is she?” while Pete is jacketless, and tieless, and desperate to calm him down. Remy flings a crystal decanter into the wall with a fantastic crash, and people scream both in fear and laughter, while Riley is busy ushering them out the open suite doors.

------------------------

“Don't let her see.”

“We won’t, Rem.”

His head hangs forward as if he has no strength to support it. 

“Just don’t let her see.”

------------------------

“You’re tired?” I prod.

He nods with sad eyes, his voice low, but not apologetic. “So fucking tired I can barely pull myself out of bed.”

-----------------------

And one of the sweetest moments, for me, is this part where Brooke realized that she's the only person who's given Remy tenderness:

Pete lifts one eyebrow as he watches Remington wrap his arms even tighter around my hips and draws me closer until the side of his head is perfectly cushioned on my breast. He grunts and sighs again. Riley lifts two eyebrows. Diane smiles tenderly, like she just melted.

I am not only melted. I’m liquid beneath him.

My parents, a coach and a teacher, are wonderful people but not big on hugs and kisses like, for example, my friend Melanie is, who was showered with affection and spreads it around the world like it’s her duty to. But the way Remington looks at me, the way he doesn’t hide his attraction to me even to his public during his fights, and the way he just cuddled me like a big hibernating bear who just found a cave, makes me ache in inexplicably deep places.

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

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Mary Ann's Review:

BEAUTIFUL DISASTER is when...

BAD BOY meets a BADDER GIRL

Abby moved to a new school to escape the life-long stigma she was born into. Everything was going alright until one night, she went with her best friend to watch an underground fight club and crossed path with Travis "Mad Dog" Maddox. 

Travis was intrigued when he met Abby. It was a novelty that a girl hasn't tried to impress him. Ms. Goody two Shoes probably thinks she's too good for him. 

But both of them couldn't deny the sparks that fly whenever they're in striking distance though...and soon both of them finds out that the harder they fight it, the hotter their attraction grows.

My fave scenes/parts:

--------

“Please don’t do this. I can’t stand feeling like this…it’s…it’s killin’ me,” he said, exhaling as if the air had been knocked out of him.

“I’m done, Travis.”

He winced. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s over. Go home.”

His eyebrows pulled in. “You’re my home.”

--------

“I’ll never love anyone the way I love you, Pigeon.”

I sniffed and touched his face. “I can’t.”

“I know,” he said, his voice broken. “I never once convinced myself that I was good enough for you.”

My face crumpled and I shook my head. “It’s not just you, Trav. We’re not good for each other.”

---------

“You can’t tell me what to do anymore, Travis! I don’t belong to you!”

In the second it took him to turn and face me, his expression had contorted into anger. He stomped toward me, planting his hands on the bed and leaning into my face.

“WELL I BELONG TO YOU!” The veins in his neck bulged as he shouted, and I met his glare, refusing to even flinch. He looked at my lips, panting. 

“I belong to you,” he whispered, his anger melting as he realized how close we were.

--------

His eyebrows pulled in. “I can’t win with you. I can’t win with you! You say you’re done…I’m fucking miserable over here! I had to break my phone into a million pieces to keep from calling you every minute of the damn day—I’ve had to play it off like everything is just fine at school so you can be happy…and you’re fucking mad at me? You broke my fuckin’ heart!”

-----------------

There are more, but I think you guys should just read the book, haha.

Well, the story is full of angst. Some might say that this isn't a good book for YAs since the characters are just 19 or so, but hey, it's a book, it's fiction. I got carried away on some "break-up" scenes

and actually got teary-eyed haha. 

Trust me, it's a worthy read. Again, I was entertained and I'm planning to read it again---and can't wait for the version next year where the story will be told in Travis' point of view.

Drop Dead Gorgeous by Linda Howard

“I can’t marry you.”

Wyatt Bloodsworth, police lieutenant, alpha male, all-around tough guy and the man I adored, bent down and slowly beat his head against the table. 

“Why me?” he groaned. 

Thunk. 

“Was it something I did in a past life?” 

Thunk. 

“How long do I have to pay?” 

Thunk.

---------------------

Blair Mallory has already survived one murder attempt. Now, while planning her wedding and dealing with holiday-season madness, Blair once again dodges a bullet. Or more precisely, a Buick. And though the driver’s identity remains a mystery, his or her murderous intentions are all too clear. 

Or are they? After all, Blair’s homicidal ex-husband and his partner in crime/wife are safely behind bars. And even Wyatt Bloodsworth, her police detective groom-to-be, isn’t inclined to believe she’s being targeted again. All of which makes Blair wonder if her close call was simply a mishap. But the wondering stops when she narrowly cheats death again in another seemingly innocent accident. Two strikes is all it takes to convince Blair that she’s back in someone’s crosshairs. And the only thing more frightening is that Wyatt still doubts her. That means this time, no one will be watching Blair’s back when she sets out to get the drop on her would-be killer–before whoever it is finally drops her.

---------------------------------

This is BOOK 2 of TO DIE FOR.

To Die For by Linda Howard

Blair Mallory lives the good life. She’s pretty, confident, and the owner of a thriving up-scale fitness center. But in the shadow of success, a troubled member of the club develops a strange fixation on Blair, imitating her style and dress. Matters take a darker turn when the look-alike is shot dead–and Blair witnesses the horror.

As the media speculates on the tawdry details of the homicide and pushes Blair into the harsh spotlight, she locks horns with police lieutenant Wyatt Bloodsworth. He wants to lead an investigation without interference, while Blair is determined to probe the dead woman’s life on her own. But when someone begins to menace Blair with mounting threats, Wyatt takes notice: Was this murder indeed a lethal case of mistaken identity–and was Blair the intended victim?

-----------------

MA:

Like my sentiment on most of LH books, I was berating myself for not reading this SOONER. I didn't, well because, like the many characters in these books (To Die for & Drop Dead Gorgeous), I mistakenly took Blair for a fluff. I didn't realize how smart she is that she lets people (including me) think that she's a dumb bimbo, upto the point that it's too late to realize she'd been turning us in circles all along.

FIVE stars, for me. I was laughing out loud at some scenes, and then squealing at the next, and so on. In short these books kept me on my toes and kept me up waaayy past bedtime. I just HAD to finish them.

There are books that I always say I'd guarantee my reputation. These are those books.

Heartbreaker by Linda Howard

Michelle Cabot has inherited her father's Florida cattle ranch -- and a mountain of debt. To make matters worse, a huge chunk of that debt is owed to the neighboring rancher, her nemesis John Rafferty.

Nothing shocks Rafferty more than discovering that the spoiled, pampered rich girl he once despised is painstakingly trying to run the Cabot ranch herself, working the land with desperation the only thing she has left. He likes this new Michelle and decides to make her his woman. What he doesn't know is that underneath Michelle's cool, polished façade lies heartache, secrets and the raw determination to live life as her own woman. But Rafferty isn't about to take no for an answer.

---------------

Mary Ann's Review:

"Turn around and kiss me," he said, his voice low, daring her to do it.

Michelle met John when she was still so young, that's why she was so intimidated by him and his "reputation". Not wanting to be just another of his flings, she hid behind a facade, pretending that she didn't like him at all. John, on the other hand taught the "Princess" was a spoiled brat.

My fave scenes:

You came home early."

His arms tightened around her. "I couldn't stand another night away from you." 

It was the bald, frightening truth. He would have made it back even if he'd had to walk.

----

"It would bother me for your sake, but as for me You can be one-eyed, totally blind, crippled, whatever, and I'll still love you."

There. She'd said it. She hadn't meant to, but the words had come so naturally that even if she could take them back, she wouldn't.

------

Unlike Duncan's Bride, Heartbreaker is a suspense/mystery/romance genre, so it wasn't as light and as witty. But what I liked about this, is the attraction between the two. John is a typical alpha-male, which made me like and hate him at the same time, haha. Both were trying to fight it because of they misconceptions about each other. She thought he was a stud/playboy and he thought she's a spoiled b*tch.

Oh, I also like how LH created her villain. They always so creepy and scary. Michelle's ex-husband, Roger, was a slimy crazy toad. I hated him, because of what he did to Michelle's spirit.

All in all, one of my LH favorite. A definite keeper!

Shades of Twilight by Linda Howard

Roanna Davenport was raised a wealthy orphan on her grandmother's magnificent Alabama estate, Davencourt, where she had a passion for horses, a genius for trouble, and a deep love for her cousin, Webb. But everyone expected Webb to marry their ravishing cousin, Jessie. When he did, Roanna's desire became no more than the stuff of dreams -- until the night Jessie was found bludgeoned to death. After the shocking murder of his wife, Webb left for Arizona, abandoning the legacy that he had once believed was all he wanted. But then an all-grown-up Roanna walked into a dingy bar in Nogales to bring him home; the mischievous sprite he had known ten years earlier was no more. Gone, too, was her fire. In its place was ice that melted at his touch. Webb is drawn back to Davencourt, to Roanna, and to the killer that once destroyed his life and waits only for the chance to finish the job....

--------------

I rated this 4 on Goodreads, but for me, it's really hovering in between 4.5 and 5. I can't give it a 5 because I don't love it as much as I love DB, but it's close. 

Roanna has been in love with Webb all her life. He was her protector, from the bullies like her cousin Jessie. She was happy to look and love him on the sidelines, even when Webb & Jessie got married.

Then tragedy struck, and Webb turned his back on her, on everybody. Ten years after,her dying grandmother pleaded she went to him and bring him back.

Webb, on the other hand, was surprised to see the woman Roanna has grown out to be. Gone was the free spirited sprite who followed him everywhere. What he sees now is a woman so bottled up, she doesn't even smile, or talk much for the matter. 

-----------------

I love the part when Webb came back and promised himself he'll make Roanna smile again. And he counts the times that she does. Imagine his happiness when Roanna laughed for the first time in years!

Another reason I love this is I didn't guess who the actual killer was until it was revealed in the book! It didn't cross my mind who the killer would be.

And maybe, the only reason I didn't give it a 5,was because of the villain. It's not that LH failed in making the villains hateful, it's because I can't stomach them, really. I can't quite wrap my head around it, because it's so...wrong. You'll get my meaning when you read it, promise.

My fave parts:

There's this bed scene, that I find so funny, I was actually laughing when I read it:

"Are you ready?" he asked.

She didn't know what he meant. She gave him a bewildered took, and a tight smile twitched his lips.

"For what?"

"To make love." She looked even more confused.

"Isn't that what we're doing?" she whispered.

"Not quite. Almost."

"But you're ... inside me."

"There's more."

Confusion changed to alarm.

"More?" She tried to draw back from him, pressing herself into the mattress.

He grinned, though it looked as if the effort cost him.

"Not more of me. More to do."

"Oh."

---------

And this part, where Roanna stood up for Webb, showing just how much she loves him:

She had endured a lot on her own account. But, by God, she wasn't going to stand there and let them slander Webb.

"You people were supposed to have been Webb's friends," she said in a clear, strong voice. She had seldom in her life been angrier, except at Jessie, but this was a different kind of anger. She felt cool, perfectly in control of herself.

"You should have known ten years ago that he would never have harmed Jessie, you should have supported him instead of putting your heads

together and whispering about him. Not one of you-not one-expressed any sympathy to him at Jessie's funeral. Not one of you spoke up in his

behalf. But you've come to his house tonight as guests, you've eaten his food, you've danced ... and you're still talking about him."

She paused, looking from face to face, then continued.

"Perhaps I should make my family's position clear to everyone, in case there's been any misunderstanding. We support Webb. Full stop, period. If

anyone of you here feels you can't associate with him, then please leave now, and your association with the Davenports and the Tallants will be at an end."

The silence on the patio was thick, embarrassed. No one moved.

---------------------------

AND THE ending, I so love its poignancy: 

Their fingers twined together, and he lost himself in her whiskey-colored eyes as the words began, washing over them in the soft purple twilight:

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here together ..

-------------------

A MUST READ! - MA

Duncan's Bride by Linda Howard

Reese Duncan wanted a wife, pure and simple. Someone to have children with, someone to help him rebuild his ranch, someone uncomplicated...and someone very different from his first wife, the woman who'd destroyed his life. But he hadn't bargained on Madelyn Patterson. She was sophisticated and citified, and she was willing to herd cattle, keep house and start a family with Reese. The only thing she asked for in return was love - the one thing Reese refused to guarantee.

Eu’s Review:

Home means many things to many people. To Madelyn, it represented something she longed for-- a husband and family. She wanted those things so much she was willing to take a huge risk in answering to the newspaper ad of a Montana rancher looking for a wife. 

Reese Duncan was lonely; he wanted a wife and family, but not an emotional involvement that goes along with it because of the nasty divorce that he went thru a few years back which made him and his ranch financially ruined. It made him hard and bitter and he was busy working too hard to find a wife by the more conventional means of dating and courtship. A newspaper Ad was the most efficient way and it brought Madelyn to him. 

Madelyn was struck the moment she first saw Reese. For the first time in her life she had experience the feeling of being poleaxed. Everything in her knew this was the man she had always known the right one for her...

On the other hand, when Reese first saw her, he knew immediately that she was perfect for his bed but not in his life. She was stunningly attractive and an embodiment of elegance, clearly unsuitable to his ranch and to be a wife he was looking for. He wanted someone rather plain and reliable woman, not someone who wreaks havoc in his senses. But none of this rationale had alleviated his physical attraction to her one bit.

I find this novel shorter compare to the previous Linda Howard books I’ve read before. It only got 196 pages on a softbound but that hadn’t kept me from being entertained. There were lines in this book that really had me laughing. I love the part where they had spent their first meeting with the hilarity of exchanging bizarre trivia about anything towards the other in the midst of blatant sexual tension they’ve been trying to deflect. However, Reese had been a perfect gentleman knowing that his visitor possessed none of his requirements. 

The following day he regretfully sent Maddie to the airport back to New York. While Maddie though silently disappointed, was too determined to keep her pain to herself. It was only then at the terminal they had shared their supposed first and last kiss. It was poignant knowing that would be their last and their goodbye kiss wasn’t at all polite. It went nearly carnal and too earth-shattering considering they were on a public place. 

Maybe it was because of that kiss Reese had decided Madelyn was the one he’s going to marry after his two unsuccessful “applicants” of a wife. Regardless of the odds he might be going to take and could be making a terrible mistake with his decision, his desire for Maddie was too potent he had to have her. So after two weeks of sleepless nights and turning his bed in shambles, he finally called her and asked her if she still would be willing to marry him. 

I’m telling you it was one of the most unromantic proposals in my record. But given his oozing maleness and raw sensuality he exudes, who needs a promise of the star and the moon? You would openly accept him in total abandon. 

After they were wed was only the beginning. Especially for them who were basically strangers to each other. I love the spirited character of Maddie that managed to put up with a very complex man that was Reese Duncan. She’s very passionate and believes in love but very quick-witted and always up to the challenge. She’s a woman who knows her boundaries and knows how to exchange blows with her man without disgracing his authority.

I especially love the scene where she, a city girl had to chase a hen for dinner in front of her husband after saying, “You don’t think I can do it, do you? You want to show me how much I don’t know about ranch life. Well you’ll have your damn chicken for dinner, if I have to ram it down your throat with feathers and all!” I got carried away I read it aloud. Haha! And oh the next scene after that was so sweet.  

The dialogues were funny especially the out of the blue trivia which had become the couple's hobby. 

Reese was thoughtful and sweet but grouchy the next. He was fighting his growing feeling of attachment to his wife day by day. Reese’ bitterness about the ugliness of his first marriage was the root of their problems along with their day to day challenges of being husband and wife. 

There goes the Carpenter’s song .. We’ve Only Just Begun… Sharing horizons that are new to us.. watching the signs along the way.. talking it over just the two of us.. working together day to day.. together… together..” 

This was my first (thin and purely romance) Linda Howard book and it didn’t disappoint. I’ve read a lot of romantic mysteries written by her and sufficiently enough I could say that she has this way of turning a simple plot into marvelous one thru her characters which I find exceptionally compelling. 

“Duncan’s Bride is the story of how Madelyn fought Reese’s bitterness, his lack of trust and of how she finally managed to make him see that home is many things, but the home represented by LOVE and family is far more important than the home constructed of four walls.”

Favorite lines:

*

“Never run if you can walk. Never walk if you can stand. Never stand if you can sit. Never sit if you can lie. 

“Never talk if you can listen.“

“Then you listen, and I’ll talk.”

**

“Come home with me, Maddie”

“Give me one good reason why I should.”

“Because you love me”

“I loved you when I walked out the door. If it wasn’t reason enough to stay, why should it be reason enough to go back?”

***

“Come home with me and I’ll take care of you.”

“Give me one good reason why I should.”

“I love you.”

Mary Ann's Review 

You know that feeling when you know that something's absolutely bad for you and still you can't help but have that? Duncan felt like that about Madelyn. He was jaded and disillusioned from his first marriage that he was so bent on finding someone totally opposite his ex-wife. Unfortunately for him, he thinks Madelyn is like his ex.

For Madelyn--she KNEW that they were meant to be. She just had to be patient with Reese and make him realize that he could trust and love her. 

I really admired Madelyn. She didn't give up. She was so brave in doing what she thought was right even though she knows Reese will hate her for it. I love that she didn't leave him for New York and yet she gave Reese the fright of his life. Haha.

And I love the bantering between them, it felt so normal, like how a married and in-love husband and wife should be.

Oh and on my fave scenes--Ate Eu had already posted them haha, and I have other lines that I liked, but I want you guys to read them. I especially laughed out loud awhen I read the trivia about the safety pins and zipper.

Oh! The chicken Scene. The Kitchen sink. The frozen stream scene. The diner scene. I mean, the whole book is packed with them. 

All in all, the book had made me fall in love. 

5 stars! 

Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard

“You said shit.”

“What else is a man supposed to say when he sees his glorious bachelor days coming to a swift and ignominious end?”

“You’ve been married before.”

“Yeah, but that didn’t count.

------------------------

This time I'm not going to use a book's blurb, because it centered on the mystery of the novel, and I'd like to focus on the story between Jaine and Sam.

So Jaine just moved in a new house, and her neighbor is testing her patience. After three broken engagements, she had temporarily sworn off men, and the drunk, noisy and mean man living next to her did not stand any chance.

So imagine her surprise that the infuriating man turned out to be a cop, in the name of Sam Donovan. 

AND SPARKS FREAKING FLY.

Let's cut to the chase ladies, it was a damn good book and here are my favorite scenes (now Jaine got me swearing too! she has a potty mouth, lols):

“Donovan.”

His deep voice was rusty, as if he wasn’t truly awake yet, and the single word clipped with irritation.

“Urn… Sam?”

“Yeah?”

Not the most welcoming of responses. She tried to swallow and found it was difficult to do when her tongue was hanging out. She reeled it in and sighed with regret. “This is Jaine, next door. I hate to tell you this, but you might want to… close your curtains.”

He wheeled to face the window, and they stared at each other across the two driveways. He didn’t dart to the side, or squat out of sight, or do anything else that might indicate embarrassment. Instead, he grinned. Damn, she wished he wouldn’t do that.

“Got an eyeful, did you?” he asked as he walked to the window and reached for the curtains.

“Yes, I did.” She hadn’t blinked in five minutes, at least. “Thank you.”

--------------------------

“Oh, yeah? Can you imagine what would happen if even one of your little marauders jumped my girl?”

“They’d tie up and fight like two wildcats in a sack.”

“Yeah. Like we just did.”

He looked horrified. He released her and stepped back.

“They’d be in the sack before they even introduced themselves.”

“We’ve never introduced ourselves,” she felt compelled to point out.

“Shit.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m Sam Donovan.”

“I know who you are. Mrs. Kulavich told me. I’m Jaine Bright.”

------------------

He lifted the arm covering his eyes and turned his head to glare at her. “I knew you were trouble the first time I saw you.”

“What do you mean, trouble?” She sat up, glaring back at him. “I am not trouble! I’m a very nice person except when I have to deal with jerks!”

“You’re the worst kind of trouble,” he snapped.

“You’re marrying trouble.”

-------------------------------

Rock Chick Revolution by Kristen Ashley

"But I was Ally Nightingale, so pull myself together I did."

Mary Ann's Review: 

If I get to have one wish and that wish revolves around the question of who of the Rock Chicks I want to be, before RC 8, I would have picked Stella. All the Rock Chicks are awesome in their own way, but I’d pick Stella, because she has an amazing voice and she has Mace. See, before RC8, my favorite Hot Bunch guy is Mace. 

Now, after the release of RC 8 and I get to have that wish; I’d definitely want to be Ally. Why? She’s Ally! She is the only Rock Chick who’s also a member of the Hot Bunch! She can strip dance with ZZ Top’s Tush and bring the house down with it! She can kick bad-guys’ butts! She has an amazing cool boyfriend with the name Ren Zano. Before RC 8, I worshiped Mace but after reading this book, I was like Mace? Mace who? (Kidding! I still love you Mace!) 

"I powered through that because I was Ally. That’s what I did."

But, hands down, RC8 really cemented KA’s reputation of writing amazingly heartwarming crazy stories. This book made me smile (alone, like a fool) and laugh out loud, with a lot of floor stomping and snorting (because I was trying to hold my laugh in). It also made me cry tears of heartbreak, anger, love, jealousy and even frustration. RC8 made me ride on a train of reminiscing over the past RC books (thru Ally’s and Ren’s part in it) and you can really feel the love. The love from friends and family (blood or not). That’s what made Rock Chick Series so phenomenal. It is a story about (not so) ordinary men and women with (super) extraordinary friendship.

Shirleen and Daisy

These two are the most awesome friends any girl could have. They have your backs anytime in every way possible. Shout out to them, you girls rock!

Darius

Man, Ally is so lucky to have two brothers, because that meant their best friends also became her brothers. What I would do to just have Darius backing me up, even though he thinks I’m a pain in the ass!

Lee and Hank

These two made me cry. Really. How much they love their family, their wives, their sister. I mean, they are sooo perfect!

All the parts of this book are noteworthy, but I’d like to site out some of my favorites:

Ally’s 

MA: What I really liked about Ally is she really tries to b a straight talker, and not lie to anyone, especially to herself. 

"And Ren Zano was all man.

Unfortunately, I liked men who were all man.

I also had a weakness for men in suits.

I just didn’t like bossy, annoying and in my face.

And, of course, someone who would eventually break my heart, even though I figured he genuinely

didn’t know he was going to eventually do it.

But I knew he would.

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MA: This scene really B-R-O-K-E me. Hands up to KA, she really knows how to tear us apart with words.

“So think what you want but I know I’m not jacked,” I whispered. “That, Ren, when a woman lies naked, thus exposed, in a man’s arms, when all she’s thinking about his him, and he calls her another woman’s name, that’s how she knows.”

And with that, I was done.

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MA: Apart from making me cry, I also laughed out loud and smiled a lot while reading RC8.

I kept my mouth shut and just gave him big eyes. Indy cuted her way out of things. She was good at

it. It even sometimes worked on Lee.

I’d never tried it but I figured now was as good a time as any.

He took in my big eyes and didn’t find them cute.

I knew this when he declared, “Christ, you’re a pain in my ass.”

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MA: More heartbreaking moments...this really kills!

"What I have to do out there with half a mind to wondering what you’ll think about this case or that decision or a client or how you’ll react when I come home and tell you about my day. I wouldn’t have to worry about any of that shit if you trusted me. Believed in me. But you don’t and you won’t, because you don’t want this for me, or for you, or for our future. So what is the fucking point of dragging this shit out now when it already hurts in a way that if we even gave it days, it would kill?”

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MA: Ally is sooo brave.

“We’ve been around this and around it and it leads nowhere. I have no fucking clue why you worked so hard to get in there with me when you didn’t want me. But you did. Now, you need to move on. Because I’m me. And if you can’t accept me as I am, then we’re done.

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Ren’s

MA: Ren is also a straight talker. Takes no shit, but sometimes can be really hot tempered, he talks first before realizing he’s hurt Ally.

“I’m pissed, and I don’t know what’s goin’ on with you out there, which means I’m pissed because

I’m worried. But that doesn’t negate the fact that I like what we got and I want more.”

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MA: More evidence here. But he’s really hot! And did I mention sweet?

“You know what I like?” He didn’t wait for me to answer. He kept going. “I like it when you act all badass, calling me Zano when I don’t have my hands and mouth on you or my d**k inside you.

But when I do, all I get is sweet breathy Rens.”

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MA: See? SWWWEEEET!

“You’ve got your way, the way you are and the way you are with the ones you care about. And that tells me, a man gets in there, you give that to him, the children you give him, that man will be all kinds of lucky. And I’ve decided we’re gonna see if that man is me.”

----------------------------

MA: And quite smart too!

“Clue in, Ally,” he immediately volleyed, “Watchin’ the Rock Chicks, I know exactly what does and does not fly with you, and just like every one of those men when their women serves up attitude, I don’t give a shit. And, just sayin’, that attitude, just like with them, is why I’m with you.”

Ally & Ren

“Ally, you been f*ckin’ me for a goddamned year, in love with me since the night we met, and pushing me away that whole time. That’s whacked.”

“There were circumstances that led to all that, Zano.”

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“You’re in love with me?” he asked.

“Well, I was,” I snapped.

“So you were in love with me and then you spent a year sleeping practically every night at my side, every morning eating breakfast with me, even though you thought I had feelings for another woman, and you’re not in love with me anymore,” Ren replied immediately.

That sounded absurd.

------------------------------------

“Are you using sex as a way to get me to go out with you?” I clipped.

Suddenly he threw his arms out in exasperation.

“Jesus!” he exploded. “Ally, usually a guy’s gotta take a girl out as a way to get sex.”

“I told you, I’m not like other girls.”

------------------------------------

You’re Ally. And I’m Ren.”

------------------------------------

Rock Chick Revolution marks the end of this series. But wait! We’ve been given clues and hints that Rock Chick will extend to LA! I’m hoping, Darius’ story comes next, and we get loads more of Stella and Mace and all those new LA Hot Bunch and Rock Chick! I’m so freaking excited!

Lastly, it’s probably safe to say you don’t need to know what my rating for this is, right?

Rock On!!!

Lady Luck by Kristen Ashley

Ty Walker was wrongly imprisoned and for the five years he was inside, he honed his plan so when he gets out, he has nothing but vengeance on his mind.

But then he walks straight to stylish, leggy, beautiful, goofy Lexie Berry and he suddenly has something else to think about. He knows within seconds he wants her and within days he can love her but with the filth that was flung at him clinging; he also knows he can’t have her.

Since birth, Lexie Berry has been Lady Luck’s favorite toy and because of that, Lexie is cautious. But within a day, she senses Ty is something special. With her luck, however, she can’t trust it. Then she finds out what was done to Ty and she’s willing to do anything to make it right.

Even what Ty will never forgive her for doing.

Ty clings to vengeance and Lexie goes all out to give him back the time he lost. But Ty is battling demons within and they’re up against dirty cops and criminals who will stop at nothing to sway Lady Luck against them. All Ty and Lexie have is hope Lady Luck will finally swing their way.

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Mary Ann's review:

This is a gritty one, from KA. You can actually feel the emotion,the rage, the wanting of getting your revenge, you can taste it in your mouth feel. Ty Walker has lost his power when he got framed for a crime he didn't do. Lexie, even before she was born, she already lost that power.

Here's my fave scene:

“Just go,” I hissed. “Fuck, Ty, if I make the decision that I want to just be, can’t I just fucking be without all this fucking bullshit? My grandfather controlled my life and with that, I had no choice.
Then Ronnie did and with that, I did but did I make the right choice? No. Then Shift controlled it and my choices were limited but I still didn’t make the right ones. Can you give me one fucking thing in this nightmare and let me make my own fucking choice?”

When I was done speaking I felt his body had gone still again, stone still.

And silent.

Then he asked quietly, “Nightmare?”

“Nightmare,” I replied firmly.

Ty didn’t move.

By a miracle, I held it together.

Then he moved but it was to rest his chin on my shoulder and I closed my eyes because I needed
him to go, go, go so I could fall apart again on my own.

Then he said, “Your nightmare, mama, was my dream.”

My heart clenched.

He kept going. “Never had a home until you gave me one.”

My breath started sticking.

“Never had anyone give to me the way you gave to me.”

My breath stopped sticking and clogged.

“Never thought of findin’ a woman who I wanted to have my baby.”

Oh God.

“Never had light in my life, never, not once, I lived wild but I didn’t burn bright until you shined your light on me.”

Oh God.

“Whacked, fuckin’ insane, but, at night, you curled in front of me, didn’t mind I did that time that
wasn’t mine ‘cause it meant I walked out to you.”

He had to stop. He had to.

He didn’t.

“Your nightmare,” he whispered, turned his head and against my neck he finished, “my dream.”

Creed by Kristen Ashley

Way too young, eleven year old Tucker Creed and his six year old neighbor, Sylvie Bissenette, find they have something awful in common. Creed then decides he’s going to do everything in his limited power to shield his Sylvie from her ordeal. So he does and Creed and Sylvie form a bond that grows and blossoms with their ages.

They plot to leave their lives behind, the town they live in that will hold them down and the histories they share that, unless they break free, will bury them. Sylvie goes to their special place, Creed never shows and she doesn’t see him again until it’s too late.

With Creed gone, Sylvie is forced to endure a nightmare and do the unspeakable to end it. To deal, she develops a hard shell with sharp edges that very few can break through. So when Creed again finds his Sylvie, he discovers the girl he loved is locked away and he has to find his way back into her heart without getting shredded in the process.

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Mary Ann's Review: 

From all of KA's works, Sylvie is the most kick-ass heroine for me yet. She's strong, passionate, and when she feels, whether it's love or it's hate, she feels DEEP.

Creed, on the other hand, has suffered together with Sylvie, but he suffered more when he finally found her again and saw that his sacrifices made years ago were all for shit.

It was a long road for them, but in the end, I got my happy ending. 

I'm only sharing one scene, so explosive, that my heart was racing the first time and the second time I read it:

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His casual, yet careful, words pierced through me like spears and I froze in an effort to contain the pain.

Then the pain engulfed me and I couldn't contain it anymore. As it swallowed me into its dark, fiery pit, I tossed my plate of ziti on the table. It went skidding across the files and flew over the other side as I drew my other arm back and brought it forward in a sidearm slice, releasing my beer so it sailed past him and shattered against the low wall under the windows at his back, foaming beer spraying in wide spatter all around.

His feet came off the table and I knew by his eyes, he knew.

He knew.

He didn’t forget.

That motherf*cker knew.

“Sylvie, let me –” he started.

“You named her kids my names,” I whispered, my breaths coming heavy.

“Sylvie –”

Sh*t, f*ck, sh*t.

I couldn’t take it.

We’d talked about it. We’d talked. Frequently. Talked. Dreamed. Planned. Frequently. I told him, we had a girl, she’d be named Kara. We had a boy, we’d name him after his Dad.

Those were my names.

My f*cking names!

“You named her kids my names!” I screamed then attacked.

Launching myself over the table, I hit him in the chest. His chair slammed back, taking us and his plate with it, ziti smushed between us but I did not give one, single, solitary f*ck.

He named another woman’s children my names!

That f*cking motherf*cker!

The Golden Dynasty by Kristen Ashley

Circe Quinn goes to sleep at home and wakes up in a corral filled with women wearing sacrificial virgin attire - and she is one of them. She soon finds out that she’s not having a wild dream, she’s living a frightening nightmare where she’s been transported to a barren land populated by a primitive people and in short order, she’s installed very unwillingly on her white throne of horns as their Queen.

Dax Lahn is the king of Suh Tunak, The Horde of the nation of Korwahk and with one look at Circe, he knows she will be his bride and together they will start The Golden Dynasty of legend.

Circe and Lahn are separated by language, culture and the small fact she’s from a parallel universe and has no idea how she got there or how to get home. But facing challenge after challenge, Circe finds her footing as Queen of the brutal Korwahk Horde and wife to its King, then she makes friends then she finds herself falling in love with this primitive land, its people and especially their savage leader

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Mary Ann's review:

I was awed by this story, because it really pushed me. Pushed me beyond my limits on what I read, how I read and how I react. I know this garnered a lot of flack for its content, but my advice is read this with an open mind, and JUST READ and enjoy.

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I’ve left you,” I whispered and his head jerked.

“What?”

“I’m standing right here but I promise you, even if it is simply in my mind, I’ve left you. I’m gone.

You’ve lost me forever.