Have You Met Joe?

February 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I tell ya, some days it’s hard to be me. Days like today when I’m sitting here writing a post about an absolutely beautiful man I’ve “met” thanks to Kimberly Knight, author of Where I Need to Be and the anticipated sequel, Wanted. But when I say he’s beautiful, I’m not talking about perfect definition to his six-pack abs (not a huge fan of the six packs that look like they’re literally cans under the skin because they’re so deep), his broad shoulders and narrow waist or his classic features. Okay, so I am, but not really.

The greatest thing about Joe Marvullo, cover model for Wanted, is what lies beneath the surface. Until this article in InkSpired Magazine, I will admit, without an ounce of shame, that Joe was in my top five for man candy.

While waiting for Kimberly to show us the cover for Wanted, I asked if it would be okay for me to sit down with Joe for a little bit of getting to know you time. Like I said, it’s a rough job, but someone has to do it. Luckily, Joe’s so flipping wonderful that he said sure!

Is Wanted your first book cover? If so, what made you make the jump to do it (besides the fact that Kimberly is awesome)?

Wanted is my first book cover ever, I have thought about it in the past and I am possibly working with another author down the road. I have done so many other things when it comes to the modeling world; editorials, acting, videos etc… I thought it was time to do something different. My pictures have been all over the internet, in ads, and on websites. I was thinking it would be a nice change to be on the cover of a novel that would sit on someone’s shelf for a long time.

Have you seen any differences between your other modeling jobs and being the cover model for a hot, steamy romance novel?

I am seeing a big difference between the two at the moment. I am getting a lot more attention, and more fans than I’ve ever had. Before I was introduced to Kimberly by a mutual friend of ours, Kris Adams, I didn’t have a fan page. Only a modeling site that people could see my photos, and I would occasionally post some pictures to my personal FB page. Since then I have created a FB fan page, and with the help of Kimberly and Kris, I have started to gain quite a following.

What I like about working with Kimberly is that in an upcoming book (not Wanted),I am her Muse, I try and help her where I can with some of the details inside the book. It’s really cool to know that I have an influence on what she writes, and how she writes it. She has asked me to help a little with Wanted but the book we came up with together is strictly what we came up with together.

For those who haven’t read the story in Inkedspired Magazine, can you give us the Cliff Notes version of your story? (do they even print Cliff Notes anymore? Am I dating myself?)

Hahaha, Cliff Notes were my best friend in middle school, and high school. In fact the funny thing is I even was too lazy to read them at the time…..

For those who have not read my story, it is plain and simple…. I am a recovering Alcoholic and Drug Addict. I have been diagnosed with some mental issues as well and I shouldn’t be alive today! I shouldn’t be alive for many reasons. Thirteen failed suicide attempts that I know of, the amount of drugs and alcohol I have ingested, and all the insane situations I got myself into. It is only by a miracle that I am here writing this today.

I have gone through so many situations in my life from my childhood, up until this point. I have failed miserably at different points in my life, and I have overcome what most would call impossible. Ever since I got sober six and a half years ago my life has changed so much, but that’s not to say that everything has been easy since.

I have worked really, really hard on myself to get to where I am at today. The major point of my story that I told in Inkispired Magazine was that we all have a choice everyday. Even though I never asked for most of the things that happened to me in life, I always had a choice in how it would affect me, and how I would deal with it.

Life is definitely a rollercoaster of emotions all the time, its not what happens to us that defines who we are, its how we carry ourselves on a daily basis that does. I am a liar, a cheater, a master manipulator, I am self centered, self righteous, and down right selfish. I say that because I will always be those “Things”. Over time I have been able to manage all of that. I have been able to keep it all under control to the best of my ability.

Today I sit here as a humble man, admitting fully that I am far from perfect. But that is exactly my point, when people meet me, or see my pictures, they would never know what kind of soul I have––what is inside my mind. The kind of person that I am so proud to be today. I was there when my mother passed away ten years ago. I heard her last breath leave her lungs, and when all that happened I was high and drunk at the time. That sound haunted me for years, it made my life spiral out of control to places I could have never imagined. There was one word to describe the person I once was, “Animal”.

Through years of hard work and dedication to something greater than myself, I have been able to still hear that sound multiple times a day that same sound is what inspires me to become a better man.

To that end, the reason that I model today is because I have worked so hard on changing my insides, that I am now healthy on the outside. I use my modeling as a way to express myself, to celebrate life and all of my achievements and failures. Everything that has made me who I am today. I do it so that I can reach a broader audience, to share my successes and failures with others so they don’t feel as lost, or alone. We are never alone if we make ourselves vulnerable, and reach out to the ones closest to us.

My story isn’t just about drugs and alcohol. Its about life, its about feelings, emotions, we all experience that, not everyone will be able to relate to my story, but hopefully they can relate to what I have felt. I know that every day that I live I beat the “Odds”. I have a disease that tells me I am worthless, I am useless, and I don’t deserve anything. But I prove that wrong, and live everyday to try and better myself so I can pass the same message along to someone else.

How hard was it to make the call to your dad that it was time to go to recovery? What advice can you give to others who need to make that call?

The actual day that I made that call, honestly it really wasn’t very hard at all. It was everything that lead up to that day that was so hard. I wanted to make that call so many times, but was ashamed of myself on so many levels. My father has been sober for almost twenty three years now. I knew that he was waiting for the day when I would make that call. But like I have learned, and heard it a million times. “YOU” have to be ready to change your life, not for anyone else but you. No one can do this for us, we all have many reasons why we would want to change our lives, but it all has to start within.

So my advice to anyone that is struggling, as hard as it might seem to reach out and ask for help, do it! Risk something for a good cause. When we suffer from addiction, we risk so many things on a daily basis without even knowing it. Risk opening yourself up to someone and being honest with yourself, and them. Talk to someone close to you that you trust, or even talk to a complete stranger. The key is to talk about it or write it down. Once you do those words you write or speak become reality. In order to survive, we as human beings must constantly be changing. When I think of change I think of the definition of insanity. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result. To that end I always follow the following statement. If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done…..

In case you haven’t noticed, a lot of us are addicted to our hot, tattooed men. Your article in Inked mentions that many of your tattoos are based on struggles or milestones in your sobriety. Which one holds the most significance?

The tattoo that holds the most significance to me has to be the rose that I have on my right forearm. Any of the tattoos that have to do with my mother who passed are all in color. The rest are in black. Color for my mother to stand out amongst the rest, because that is who she is and was. Someone who stood out and always will. The rose signified my love for her first and foremost. The way I came about thinking of getting it was because I was having horrible nightmares for a very long time, and the one that I remembered the most was when I was putting the final rose on her casket before they lowered her into the ground. I would have that same nightmare over and over, until one day I decided to get the tattoo, once I did as crazy as it sounds I never had that nightmare again.

Is there a song, quote, or anything else that helps you get through the tough times?

I am not very religious, but I am very spiritual. Every night I pray before I go to sleep, and every morning I pray when I wake up. So prayer is very important to me, it keeps me humble and puts things in perspective everyday. One specific prayer I read often is the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, I also have the beginning of this prayer tattooed on my right forearm. The significance of this prayer, and what it does for me is simple, its about being selfless. I realize that I was “saved” for a reason, and I can’t take that for granted. So my job is to give back and help others. We can’t help others if we are selfish. So this is what I read almost on a daily basis.

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

Want to know if Joe’s single or not? Who he’d want to be stuck on a deserted island with and more? Stop by for Kimberly’s cover reveal and you’ll get that and then some!

Filed Under: Reading Sanctuary

Knight by Kristen Ashley

February 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Time for a confession… I saw Knight by Kristen Ashley long before I picked it up to read it. I saw it before I knew how awesome she is and I let the cover turn me away. In the ADD world I live in, I do have times when I’m drawn to a book by the flashy covers. But, in my defense, I still read the synopsis. And when I saw a “warning” about the book having an anti-hero, I turned away. Not sure why, but I let that word convince me I wasn’t going to like the book. Today, my right butt cheek is bruised because I was so flipping stupid months ago!

So, do you hear me? No, this book doesn’t have the flashiest cover in the world. Get over it. It’s the words that come after the cover that really matter. As I posted on Facebook this week, sometimes the phrase, “Dont‘ judge a book by its cover” is actually talking about books!

And about that “anti-hero” thing…

A main character in a dramatic or narrative work who is characterized by a lack of traditional heroic qualities, such as idealism or courage.

Given this definition, I do not think Knight is an anti-hero. I think he’s plenty messed up and does a lot of things that fall on the edge of moral norms, but I think he most definitely has redeeming qualities. More on that later…

Anya Gage has learned that to get anything good in life, you have to work for it. She has no expectations, no dreams.

Then she finds herself at a party where she doesn’t want to be and she meets Knight.

Knight Sebring knows who he is, what he wants and what he likes. And he gets it. But he never expected something as sweet as Anya Gage to wander into his bedroom during a party he did not expect to be having to borrow his phone.

Knight tries to leave Anya to the life she deserves of white picket fences and a man who watches football on Sundays – good, normal and clean. But when Anya comes to his nightclub and finds herself in a situation, he knows someone has to look after her, he can’t fight it anymore and he decides that man will be him.

Knight teaches Anya that, just as with the bad, in life you should also expect the good. And he teaches her this by giving it to her.

But Knight has a dark past and just as he desires Anya for exactly who she is, he fears when she finds out exactly the man he has become and always intends to be, she’ll leave him for good, normal and clean.

What Worked

  • I could relate to Anya. She’s been through a hell of a lot and works for everything she has. She’s not weak, isn’t going to fall for a man who can give her the world even though it would make life easier.
  • Viv is one of the best supporting characters in a while for me. She’s a great friend, not afraid to tell it like it is. Loved that. I also love her little secret that’s revealed. Awesomeness!
  • The back and forth, at first, for Knight and Anya. He’s a prick, he doesn’t try to make excuses for it. He knows who he is and that’s fine. And I think Anya respects him for that, even when she has a hard time wrapping her head around it.

What Didn’t Work

Other than the two things I mentioned above, which have nothing to do with what’s in the book, about the only thing I really had an issue with was Knight referring to himself as “Daddy” in the bedroom. At first, it was creepy. A mood killer. Later in the book, I think I figured out the logic behind the unconventional term. He was a caretaker. He wanted to give her all the things that, in his mind, a father should give his child. Security. Love. Safety.

Why Knight’s Not an Anti-Hero

He’s worried about Anya’s safety. If he was truly an anti-hero, he wouldn’t give a flying fig about it. But he did. First, he won’t let her take a cab home. Then, he has issues with the lack of security at her apartment. The list goes on and on, but he’s definitely worried about her safety.

He takes things slow. Painfully slow at times. Yes, part of this was because he was trying to walk away from her, but he had a very admirable reason for that. Again, not the actions of an anti-hero. And when he responded to her text message, which was awesome by the way, he was still very much the gentleman.

There’s a twist to this book that I wasn’t expecting. I’m not going to give that away, but I think when you read it, if you get past the fact that it’s illegal and falls outside of what most people consider acceptable, his reasons are worthy of his name.

Knight is rough around the edges like a pair of frayed jeans. He swears. A lot. He is very alpha. But he’s also totally amazing.

Filed Under: Smut on Top Tagged With:

Floor Time by Liz Crowe (Stewart Realty #1)

February 26, 2013 By 1 Comment

I don’t think there’s any doubt that I loved Honey Red by Liz Crowe at this point. If you’re in doubt, check out my review! What I didn’t know from that one read was I was actually being indoctrinated into some sort of cult and I’m now powerless to resist.

I started hearing about Jack Gordon and knew I had to check out the Stewart Realty series as soon as possible. I was proud of myself that morning. I bought Floor Time for 99 cents and managed to get off Amazon without going 1-click crazy. Do you know how major that is for someone like me? Seriously, I only bought one book! HUGE!!

Jack Gordon is Ann Arbor’s most delectable bachelor. At age thirty-five, he’s made millions as a top-selling Ann Arbor real estate broker and has the right connections to close a deal by any means necessary. With his rugged good looks and compelling personality, he has a virtual black book most men would kill for and he uses it often, never settling for one woman for very long.
While his D/s past remains buried, exactly where he wants it, an undercurrent of boredom and dissatisfaction runs through his life now. A disastrous experience years earlier made him swear off the whole scene, but the more Jack suppresses his natural Dom, the more his frustration grows.

Sara Thornton, a rookie in the real estate game, has fast-tracked herself to the top of the Ann Arbor market. Her life reflects a disciplined and focused routine, exactly the way she wants it. However, as her career takes off, the fulfillment she seeks remains inexplicably out of reach. The one thing she knows for sure, she will not join the Jack Gordon groupies in her company, no matter how tempting that might seem.

A chance encounter, then a difficult transaction, throw Jack and Sara together and the sparks fly high and hot and often. Forced to confront the compulsions that gain momentum with each sizzling encounter, their relationship seems to spiral out of control until Jack finally admits what he needs, and shows Sara what she’s been missing

What Worked

Just. About. Everything. That’s not to say life was beautiful all the time, but there wasn’t a single moment where I was upset with this read.

The biggest thing that worked was also the closest thing to something not working. This book takes place over a LONG period of time. There was minor frustration at the time jumps but they were necessary. In the end, they are what made the story believable.

The power struggle. This, to me, is a key element in the first three books of the series. Jack and Sara are both very strong, very driven professionals. This issue brought a sense of realism to the book. It makes sense that someone driven to succeed and used to being in charge would be attracted to someone who feels the same. It also makes sense that this would create issues in the relationship.

Rob. I love Rob. No, he’s not a love interest, he’s Sara’s brother’s boyfriend. He is a voice of reason. He keeps Blake grounded (and possibly keeps Jack alive, or at least unscathed from big brother’s protection).

The tangled web of life. I’ll admit, there are times it’s hard to remember who knows who from where and whether this person slept with that person or not, but I enjoyed the web of connections.

What Didn’t Work

That’s a hard question for me to answer. Like I said, just about everything did work for me.

I guess, if pressed, I’d have to say that it was hard to watch Jack and Sara not getting together. I wanted to slap them and tell them to get their shit straight so they could be happy. But again, it happens.

The Stewart Realty series has become a prime example of why I like reading e-books. I can’t imagine not having the next book ready to go if I wasn’t home when I finished one or worse yet, not owning the next book when I finish one at one in the morning. Not that that’s a problem for me. I wound up heading back to Amazon to buy the rest of the series about the time I hit 80% on Floor Time!

Filed Under: Smut on Top Tagged With: ,

Knight & Play by Kitty French

February 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment

“Buy it,” they said. “Read it with us,” they said. And because I’ve never been good at resisting peer pressure, I went to Amazon and hit the blessed 1-click button. It’s not often that I buy a book without knowing anything about it, but I took a chance with Knight & Play by Kitty French.

Now, before we get into my thoughts on the book, I’m going to warn you. There is infidelity in this book. Not that it excuses it, but Sophie’s husband is no saint either. Please remember that as things get rolling. Like I said, it’s no excuse, but you’ll see…

CEO of Knight Inc. Lucien Knight is catch-your-breath gorgeous and damaged by his troubled past in Norway. All grown up and relocated to London, he’s built his empire of adult clubs from the ground up to become the gorgeous patron saint of the sex industry. No one knows the dark childhood secrets that have given Lucien a backbone of steel and a heart encased in ice. No one until Sophie Black, that is…

From the moment girl-next-door Sophie accepts the job as Lucien Knight’s PA, she understands how Alice must have felt when she tumbled down the rabbit hole. Lucien takes her safe, vanilla life away and plunges her head first into a huge dish of fantasy flavours. Rich, spicy chocolate covered with dark, oozingly lickable sauce? Check. Tutti-frutti with indecently red, glistening cherries on the top? Yes please.

Lucien strips away all of Sophie’s inhibitions, and when he instructs her to select three new toys, she soon realises he has more than a game of Monopoly on his mind…

He’s opened the door to a whole new pleasure packed world without limits, and Sophie is utterly intoxicated. But how far is she willing to go? And what happens when she has to step back into reality again?

Lucien & Sophie’s is a story of star crossed love and forbidden passion, a sexual odyssey that spans the globe and changes both of their lives forever. Let it change yours, too.

What Worked

  • I could relate to Sophie so much it scared me at times. The dynamics of her marriage, the sense of needing something different in life, being forced to face things she wasn’t comfortable with, I got it. I felt it.
  • Lucien’s business. With the obvious exception, it’s very much a business. The sex industry isn’t all pervy, dirty or anything else. It’s a business, just like any other.
  • The smexy. I thought the scenes were well written, enough detail to turn up the heat without going overboard.
  • Northern lights, hot tub sex. Need I say more? It’s now on my bucket list because I can only imagine how spectacular that would be!

What Didn’t Work

There wasn’t much that didn’t work. There were some times when I felt like things were dragging out a bit but not enough for me to start skipping pages.

I’m not sure I really needed Dan’s POV when he was off doing what he was doing. I can’t go into a whole lot of detail without giving away more than I’m willing to. Yes, I suppose it gave a touch of insight on what was going on in his head, I just wanted to get back to the meat of the story.

Lucien’s history. I’m going to assume there’s more coming in the sequel. Yes, his history has shaped him into who he is, but we didn’t get enough of it to fully understand it. On the other hand, it explained the trip.

I hate cliffhangers. Well, I hate them when the second book isn’t released yet. Yes, Knight & Play has a cliffhanger. Luckily, it won’t be long before the sequel is out so I can live with it. Plus, it will give me time to recover and re-read Lucien and Sophie’s beginning!

Filed Under: Smut on Top Tagged With:

Honey Red by Liz Crowe

February 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Sometimes, someone tells you about a book and you grab it immediately. Other times, you hear about a book and wonder if it’ll be as good as the hype. Sadly, I spent a month in the wrong category when it came to Honey Red by Liz Crowe. I have no good reason. I just wasn’t sure it was going to be my cup of tea.

Of course, when I heard about the book, I was still under the assumption that a menage with two men would be weird and awkward. That was probably a contributing factor. Now, I’ve seen the light and Nick, Ian and Hannah have earned a place in my heart as one of the BEST menage families I’ve met.

Not only were they a great group that didn’t fall into their situation easily, Honey Red introduced me to my favorite book boyfriend EVER. You’ll need to scroll down to see who wins the prize.

Two men suffering from visible and invisible wounds meet by chance circumstance.

Nick Traynor and Ian Donovan spend a lot of time and effort keeping it very hot, only physical, and purely superficial. But when their resolve starts to slip, a woman is tossed into their midst.

Hannah Williams wants nothing more than to do her job until something better comes along, but is forced to own up to her visceral reaction to Ian, her new boss, and later to Nick, his sometimes lover.

Lust has a funny way of turning into companionship, and eventually evolving into a deeper connection. Faced with the internal and external complications of their potential three-way relationship, they begin to heal and trust, to consider that it might work. Then life tosses them a hardball, forcing them back into their respective corners, where each must choose what is most important.

Three people determined not to commit, thrown together by fate and undeniable attraction-their nights heat up and emotions run high in spite of a claimed mutual desire to “keep it simple.” In the process of honest self-discovery, can they learn that while love is never simple, it is definitely worth fighting for?

What Didn’t Work

Let’s just get this out in the open right now. There wasn’t much that didn’t work for me in this book. In some ways, I felt like the first few chapters were too much backstory and I was chomping at the bit to get to the meat of the story. Yes, there is purpose to a lot of it but I did have a little bit where I was relying the praise of a blogger I respect, assuring myself that it had to pick up at some point. And it did.

Yeah, pretty sure that’s about it for what didn’t work for me.

What Did Work

Relationships - These people didn’t live in a bubble. I enjoy books where I get to know the people around the characters. In this case, it was mostly Gavin and Alyssa, Ian’s twin brother and Nick’s sister (also Gavin’s girlfriend). Having lived my life with fraternal twin brothers, I think Liz Crowe hit the nail on the head as far as the relationship between the brothers.

The Kid - I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting Ian to be a single dad and I was a bit concerned when that came to light. I love that Jamie was his life and that he took measures to make sure his sexcapades weren’t flaunted in front of his son. It also added a nice bit of conflict because, as any parent knows, sex with kids sometimes isn’t as frequent as we’d like.

Nick - OMG, my heart ached for him. Yes, it is a risk to throw in a “blind, gay, pissed off, computer-geek ex-Marine” as one of the main characters. It worried me at first. I’ve lived with a man who fit that bill, with the exception of blind and gay and he was a tough man to love. Nick, on the other hand, had more redeeming qualities and I loved him for them. In many ways, I think I loved him more than Ian because of his “flaws.” I loved how perceptive he was to what was going on around him, including knowing things before other people did because of his heightened senses. Things like knowing that Ian was sleeping with Hannah before anything was said. Or knowing when Hannah was getting ready to climax. Seriously hot stuff!

The Menage - As much as I love a good menage where the focus is solely on the woman, the true triangles are the ones I love the most. There’s something about two men in love, making love, that I never thought I’d enjoy as much as I do. Knowing that everyone is head over heels in love with both other people is awesome.

The Epilogue - Not much I can say about it or I’ll give away the whole damned thing, but it was the epilogue of my dreams. And the last words Jamie says in the book totally stole my heart.

And now, for my new book boyfriend…

Brutus - Yes, my new book boyfriend is a service dog. I laughed out loud (which let hubby know I hadn’t gone to sleep like I said I was going to) when I learned just how in tune he is to Nick’s emotions. Let’s just say Nick had to explain that not all agitation is negative. And then he saved a life and I was his forever.

This is definitely a book I look forward to re-reading in the future. It’s also the type of book I wish I knew how they are doing now.

Filed Under: Smut on Top Tagged With: , ,

They Made Me Want to be a Groupie

December 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I’ve never been the type to get googly eyes over celebrities. I blame my father. He taught me from an early age that celebrities are people just like everyone else. He never said anything about book celebrities. That means I can get all goofy over them without fear of my dad popping me across the back of the head. Yes, I’m 35 and know without a doubt that he would. Then again, he’ll probably do it anyway because I have crushes on fictional characters.

Kellan Kyle


Kellan Kyle, head Douchebag (if you haven’t read the book, read it before you complain about me using that word), is right at the top of my list. He holds this place for multiple reasons. First, S.C. Stephens’ book, Thoughtless, was one of the first books I read by an independent author that I became obsessed with. In a way, she was the one who opened my eyes to a whole new world. But back to Kellan…

He really wants to make it onto my jerks list but he won’t. I know he’s got issues but deep down, he’s a sensitive guy. If he was as bad as he likes to think he is, he would have gone after Kiera without thinking twice about Denny. But he didn’t. He tried to do the right thing, even if it meant breaking his own heart.

Three things that made me fall in love with Kellan happened in Effortless while he was visiting Kiera for Christmas. I love a guy who screws with his girl’s head. Yes, that sounds bad, but I swear, I don’t mean it that way. Kellan texting her saying he coudn’t make it for Christmas when he was right behind her… priceless! It’s the type of thing my friends would do. Second, the boy climbed out a second story window, barefoot, in the snow so Kiera’s dad wouldn’t know he spent the night. THAT is love. (okay, make it four things because he was awesome and bought her eggnog) But the best… he’s this up and coming rockstar who’s out on tour and the best gift he got was a matchbox car. I could see the innocent joy on his face when he opened that little car.

Jake Wethers


Have you ever met two amazing men and had to pick between them? Yeah, that’s me with Jake and Kellan. If I hadn’t met Kellan first, Jake would be the only rocker for me. Yes, he’s royally screwed up at the beginning of the book, but I think he’s one of the best book boyfriends out there.

The lead singer of The Mighty Storm is certainly screwed up. You would be too if you were dealing with the pressures of fame combined with a screwed up childhood and the death of your best friend. But even with all of that, he has a mind like a steel trap. I fell in love with him the moment he and Tru pulled up to Pizza Hut. Not where you’d expect a famous rockstar to take a girl to dinner but there was so much sentimental meaning that he melted me.

With the exception of his coke binge, I can’t think of anything he did in the book that made me hate him. Start to finish, I fell in love with Jake and can’t wait for Wethering the Storm to come out!

Micha Scott


Okay, so he’s not a big time rocker yet, but there are big things on this boy’s horizon! The Secret of Ella and Micha sat in my Kindle, unread, for a long time. After reading it, I wish I had read it sooner. Micha is the epitome of the loyal, determined young man. He had to deal with Ella leaving and not telling anyone where she was. He spent the time she was gone trying to find her. Most kids his age would have moved on to the next conquest, but he knew she was what he wanted.

When Ella came home and tried to push him away, he didn’t give up. He knew the demons she dealt with in her life and wanted to help her grow past them. Sure, it was a little creepy when he crawled into her bed right after she blew him off but even that wound up being sweet. When did I know for sure that I would follow Micha anywhere? The very last pages of the book. What he did to show Ella that she is his top priority was awesome! I’m stalking Jessica Sorenson’s blog for information on when the sequel will be released.

Filed Under: Reading Sanctuary

Avoiding Responisbility by K.A. Linde #bookreview

December 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

When I read the first book in the Avoiding series, Avoiding Commitment, I lost sleep because I couldn’t put it down. I could have easily done the same with this book if I hadn’t been smart! Instead of going 36 hours or more, I took a nap the day before it came out. Sure, judge me and tell me I need to learn moderation, I dare you. It won’t work. I like to read at night and get sucked into good stories!

Avoiding Responsibility takes place a year after Julia left Jack and Ramsey in Atlanta. She’s graduated from law school and it appears that there’s a new man helping her heal from the pain! Can you imagine how uncomfortable it would be to wake up in the apartment of an incredibly sexy man after a steamy night to him telling you to answer your cell phone? Yeah, that’d be bad. But then, what if it’s your recent ex, who happens to be the soon-to-be brother-in-law of your sorta-non-ex-boyfriend? Yep, that’d qualify as a bad morning! Now, imagine that he’s calling you to ask you to accompany him to his sister’s wedding. You know, the sister that did everything she could to crush your spirit and is now marrying the man you were in love with for much of your adult life.

Much like in AC, you’re constantly being throttled from the past to the present, exploring the relationship of Ramsey and Lexi and then living the torture of Lexi being in Atlanta during the week leading up to the wedding from hell. This style of writing was hard to follow at the beginning of AC, but it’s done in such a way that you’re being shown that everything in the past has significance in the present and I I love it!

I can’t say I was surprised to see Ramsey and Lexi get together. The circumstances that led to their reunion… sheer brilliance! What did surprise me is how much I fell in love with Ramsey by the end of the book. While I can’t say I was ever on Team Jack (because I think he’s an asshat who doesn’t deserve happiness, respect or anything else) I wasn’t on Team Ramsey either. He just rubbed me the wrong way.

In AR, you start to see just how far Ramsey is trying to go to win Lexi’s heart. Again, because of the split time frame structure of the book, you start seeing hints about what he’s doing now before you see what he’s done in the past. He really, truly is trying! But, he has a lot of skeletons in his closet that they have to deal with before they can live happily ever after.

I still don’t like Bekah. Even though I don’t like Jack, I don’t want to see them get married. I have issues with spoiled princesses who’ve been handed everything on a platinum platter and that’s what she is. She is out to make sure Lexi isn’t happy. I’m pretty sure Lexi could be with Mystery Man and Bekah would find a reason to need to crush her. Seriously, who does that?

K.A. Linde did a great job, again, keeping the readers guessing what was going to happen. This time around, I kept turning the page wanting to know what secret from Ramsey’s past was going to come to light and what he was going to do to screw things up. Of course, there was also the “Will Lexi go back to Jack” aspect, but like I said, I was able to forget about Jack through a good chunk of the book.

I can’t wait to see what she does with book three! Right now, I have zero clue who Lexi will wind up with and I like that! Okay, I hate it. I want to know NOW but I’ll have to be patient…

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The Mighty Storm by Samantha Towle #bookreview

November 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I love it when a book winds up in my to-be-read pile and I don’t know how it got there. The only thing better is when it’s a book like The Mighty Storm by Samantha Towle and I enjoy the book so much that I want to wake up the morning after reading it to spend another day with the characters.

It’s been twelve years since Tru Bennett last saw Jake Wethers, her former best friend and boy she once loved.

Jake Wethers, sexy, tattooed and deliciously bad lead singer, and brains behind The Mighty Storm, one of biggest bands in the world, left Tru with a broken heart when he moved from England to America with his family when they were both fourteen.

Sent to interview Jake for her music column by the magazine she works for, they are both unprepared for the sparks that fly the instant they reconnect. Only, there’s a complication to their instant feelings for one another – Will, Tru’s boyfriend of two years.

Then Jake makes Tru a job offer she can’t refuse - travelling the world with him and his band. But taking the job means leaving Will behind, and being on the road with the band means spending an inordinate amount of time with Jake.

Is Tru strong enough to resist the delectable bad boy who once held her heart so completely, or will she willingly risk it all for one night with the worlds most notorious womanizer?

Thanks to an amazing execution of first person writing, I woke up this morning feeling like I made a new friend. Her name is Tru Bennett and she’s got to be one of the luckiest girls on the face of the earth! No, seriously, that’s my knee-jerk reaction to the book overall. I didn’t feel like I was reading an account of what Tru was going through, as if it was her journal, I felt like she was sitting on the phone with me, telling me everything that was happening in real-time.

I’m still trying to figure out if Jake is supposed to be 100% badass or if I was supposed to see right through all of his scrumptious layers right from the start. It’s hard for me to read books featuring built, tattooed, drinking, smoking hardasses and not immediately start looking for the gooey filling. I blame too many years of doing that in real life.

I do feel bad for poor Will, the boy never stood a chance. I’m not sure there was any way he could have compared to the childhood best friend Tru was in love with before she went to his hotel room for the interview, but after that, it was done. Once she wound up going on tour with them, he might as well have called it quits before she even left.

Jake might be all hard on the outside, but he tries so hard to be everything for Tru. At times, I got mad at her for downplaying his feelings for her. I got really upset with the way everything went down once they were together. I’m not sure I would have been a great friend to her if I’d known how she was hurting Jake.

Was there any way to doubt that the paparrazi and tabloids would have an influence on their relationship? Not really. These bottom-feeders played just enough of a role to be believable, again, helping me feel like I was living the story with Tru.

The only thing that didn’t work for me was the ending. It felt rushed to me. Then again, that’s my big complaint about most novels that really move me!

This book is not only in the read it again pile, there’s a good chance it’s going to be in the read it again tonight pile. Not many books wind up there!

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Easy by Tammara Webber

November 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

There are books out there that can pull you in and make you fall in love from the very start. Easy by Tammara Webber wasn’t one of those books for me. That’s my hang-up because of the subject matter in the first book.

When Jackie leaves the Halloween party hosted by her ex-boyfriend’s frat, she doesn’t realize she’s being followed. Buck, one of the fraternity brothers, stalks behind her through the dark parking lot and attempts to rape her on the front seat of her truck. Luckily, Lucas arrives just in time and pulls him out of the truck.

The next week, Jackie, going by Jacqueline since her split, returns to her Econ class for the first time since breaking up with Kennedy, the little weasel boyfriend who apparently hoped to avoid a political sex scandal later in life by freeing himself to screw around in college. Being the upstanding guy that he is, at least he told Jackie first and broke up with her so he could sow his oats.

Because of the time she’s missed, Dr. Heller advises her that he’ll give her another shot, as long as she completes a project to make up her missed midterm and catches up on everything else. He gives her the email address for the class tutor.

There is some innocent flirtation with Landon, the Econ tutor. Seriously, we’re talking sweet “why didn’t guys like this exist when I was in college” flirting. At the same time, she realizes that Lucas is in her Econ class, sitting in the row behind her new seat. The problem is, he’s not terribly studious.

As time goes on, Jacqueline starts to show some feelings for both Lucas and Landon, but she realizes that she only knows snippets about both men.

Lucas turns out to be one of the hardest working men on campus. Not only is he a barista (who slipped Jacqueline his phone number on a to-go cup), but he’s also a parking enforcement officer, a handyman, and there’s another job that I’m not telling you. I did love that right when I asked him (yes, I occasionally talk to characters. Out loud. Don’t judge.) how many jobs he had, Jacqueline’s friend, Erin, asked the same question.

Like most romances, there’s conflict that pulls the budding couple apart. Unlike many novels, it’s not so calculated that I could guess the page number of the next conflict or resolution.

What Worked For Me

  • Unlike a few other books I’ve read, Easy isn’t filled with teenage angst and drama. Yes, they’re college students, but you don’t feel like you’re babysitting kids.
  • Lucas and Landon. I love them both for who they are.
  • The frat boys. I hate them, but I could see them reacting the way they did. It really is the whole bros before hos mentality.
  • The assaults. Hard to read, very well written.

What Didn’t Work For Me

  • The assaults. Yeah, I know, it seems like a huge contradiction, but to have three written in so much detail was too much. On my second read, I wound up skipping them because I couldn’t go through it again with her. There’s also a lot of how Jacqueline reacted to the assaults that I couldn’t identify with.
  • Lucas’s reaction when he’s caught. Yeah, it’s one of those things I’m not going to say a lot about, but something didn’t settle well with me about it.
About the Romance
I’m really starting to enjoy books that aren’t as graphic. I absolutely love the first time Jacqueline and Lucas are together. I love the tenderness Lucas shows her every time they are doing anything. I love him for respecting that things aren’t easy for her after being assaulted. His respect for Jacqueline is what puts him on my list of great men, not his pursuit or anything else.
I was a bit confused by him asking her to ask him to stop. Why not just tell her that you’re not willing to go any further? That was a bit odd. Other than that, very well written!

The first read through, I loved the book. The second read through, I really liked the book. I’m going to keep it around to read again some day, but it’s not quite on the OMG, I have to read this again NOW pile.

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Cyber Monday Money Giveaway

November 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Who wouldn’t want to win $150 Amazon gift card? Of course, I look at that and think of how many books I could buy, but I’m sure there are plenty of other things you could use it for.

From now until tomorrow night, a bunch of us bloggers want to thank YOU for reading our blogs. Without you, we’d all be sitting here talking to ourselves, and that’d just be sad! So hey, thanks for allowing me to think I’m not insane.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

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