Review: "Revealing Us" by Lisa Renee Jones

You've discovered Rebecca's secrets. You've discovered Sara's secrets. Now Sara will discover "his" deepest, darkest secrets... but will those secrets bind them together, or tear them apart?

*Warning: Spoilers if you are not current on the series up until Revealing Us.  You can read my review of Being Me, the second book of the series, without spoilers here.

     Revealing Us starts right after the ending in Being Me.  Chris and Sara jet off to Paris hoping to leave the Rebecca drama behind them.  Of course running away from their problems won't be quite as easy as they had hoped.  The problems with Rebecca quickly follow along with clues of what has happened to Sara's missing friend, Ella.  Their drama takes a whole new twist in this latest novel and so does the romance.  Sara is no longer conflicted in her feelings.  She knows that she wants Chris and he knows he wants her, but it's his past this time that just may tear them apart.  We do get to see both extremes with Chris - his softer romantic side and his... other side.  

    

 In the latest novella, The Master, we finally got a glimpse at Mark's vulnerable side and it left me thinking maybe he's not so bad after all.  In Revealing Us we finally see the journal entries that Rebecca wrote when she was leaving Chris and coming back to Mark.  Some of her thoughts up until this point have seemed on par with Sara's but, luckily, Sara knows what treasure she's found in Chris's arms.

   

 Throughout the book we get to slowly learn some of Chris's secrets and he finally confesses to the past that he's been eluding might drive Sara away.  

  

  While this is the final book in the original Inside Out Trilogy, it looks like Lisa Renee Jones will be writing more stories in the series.  It sounds like she will be focusing more on Mark's story as well as what's going on with Ella.  I was hooked on this series after the first book and it just gets better and better.  Even the novellas were amazing and I'm not usually a novella fan.  The amazing mix of romance and mystery in this series makes it a MUST READ series!

For those of you that haven't read the whole series, 

here's the reading order - including novellas...

Revealing Us will be released September 10th, 2013.

For more information about Lisa Renee Jones and her books, visit her website at http://www.lisareneejones.com/.

Review: "The Mistress" by Tiffany Reisz

Nora Sutherlin is in handcuffs, held captive by two men. . Under different circumstances, she would enjoy the situation immensely, but her captors aren't interested in play. Or pity. 

As the reality of her impending peril unfolds, Nora becomes Scheherazade, buying each hour of her life with stories—sensual tales of Søren, Kingsley and Wesley, each of whom has tempted and tested and tortured her in his own way. This, Nora realizes, is her life: nothing so simple, so vanilla, as a mere love triangle for her. It's a knot in a silken cord, a tangled mass of longings of the body and the heart and the mind. And it may unravel at any moment. 

But in Nora's world, no one is ever truly powerless—a cadre of her friends, protectors and lovers stands ready to do anything to save her, even when the only certainty seems to be sacrifice and heartbreak….

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The Mistress is the fourth book in Tiffany Reisz's Original Sinners series.  

I have really enjoyed the series to this point but I really had mixed feelings about this book.   Nora has been kidnapped and is being held captive for most of the book.  As a result, about half of the book is comprised of flashbacks.  It was nice to get a little more back story of Nora, Soren and Kingsley but I just felt like it was way to heavy on the past and not enough present.  We will be getting plenty of their early days in the future and I was really hoping this one would have focused more on the here and now. There's certainly plenty going on to deal with, one of which is Wesley.  This was another sore spot for me.  I felt like the Wesley we saw in this book was a totally different person than we've grown to know and love through out the series.  Soren redeemed himself a little with his actions and through some of the stories, as did Kingsley.  Grace was even more disappointing than Wesley. Again, it just didn't feel like the same character.  Some of her actions were... disappointing to say the least.  I have so much more to say, but I don't want to give away any spoilers.  I would still recommend the series as the other books, including the novellas, are well written with just the perfect blend of story and steamy romance.  The Mistress definitely wraps things up and is still worth the read, even if it wasn't quite on par with the rest of the series.

Advance copy provided by the publisher/author for a fair and honest review.

Cover Reveal

In this powerfully emotional debut New Adult novel, Avery has just met her hot upstairs neighbor. He's irresistible. Tattooed. And a virgin.

Nursing student Avery Michaels wants nothing to do with dating—she's perfectly happy single. Privy to too many of her mother's bad decisions and even worse taste in boyfriends, all Avery can handle is a string of uncomplicated hookups whenever the mood strikes.

When she meets smoking hot tattoo artist Bennett, she wants him—for just one night. But he won't accept a no-strings-attached arrangement. He lives by a straight-laced code of values based on his own troubled upbringing.

Bennett sees something special in Avery and he wants more from her. Way more. As Avery wrestles with her emotions for Bennett, danger and tragedy force them to open up to each other. And Avery must face the terrifying realization that she wants more from him, too.

So she needs to make a choice—let Bennett go or finally let him in

Christina Lee:  Mother, wife, reader, dreamer. Christina lives near Cleveland with her two favorite guys. She's addicted to lip gloss and salted caramel everything.


New Adult/Young Adult author. 

Connect: Website, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter 





New Adult Contemporary Romance, All of You, releases in September. 

Review: "Complete Me" by J. Kenner

This sexy, emotionally charged romance continues the story of Damien Stark, the powerful multimillionaire who’s never had to take “no” for an answer, and Nikki Fairchild, the Southern belle who only says “yes” on her own terms.

Our desire runs deep. But our secrets cut close.

Beautiful, strong, and commanding, Damien Stark fills a void in me that no other man can touch. His fierce cravings push me beyond the brink of bliss—and unleash a wild passion that utterly consumes us both.

Yet beneath his need for dominance, he carries the wounds of a painful past. Haunted by a legacy of dark secrets and broken trust, he seeks release in our shared ecstasy, the  heat between us burning stronger each day.

Our attraction is undeniable, our obsession inevitable. Yet not even Damien can run from his ghosts, or shield us from the dangers yet to come.
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Complete Me is the third book in J. Kenner's Stark Trilogy. 

     When we last saw Damien and Nikki, they were attempting to relieve some stress from his impending murder trial by heading out on the autobahn... Lamborghini style. 
     Damien has some decisions to make that will ultimately effect his very private life and his relationship with Nikki. For a man that is used to getting his way, he's going to find that skeletons have a way of creeping out of their closets... and that he may not be able to stop them. All the money in the world can't stop the spiral that is his life and the choice he makes will ultimately reveal what's most important to him.

     Nikki continues to fight her inner demons, the biggest one with horns happens to be her mother. Her mother is looking at a future that could hold everything she's ever wanted... a man that loves her and her very own company. But when she is approached and the threat is against someone she holds dearest to her heart, she makes a decision that changes everything.

Warning: This book contains:
Hot sex
Driving a Lamborghini like they stole it.
Lawyers
PIA Mother
Hot wicked sex
GPS phone tracking
Mile High Club
And a pissed off cat

For more information about J. Kenner and her books, visit her website at http://juliekenner.com/.




This book was provided by the publisher/author for an honest and fair review.

First Look! - "Gabriel's Redemption" Cover and Blurb

Professor Gabriel Emerson has left his position at the University of Toronto to embark on a new life with his beloved Julianne. Together, he’s confident that they can face any challenge.  And he’s eager to become a father.

But Julianne’s graduate program threatens Gabriel’s plans, as the pressures of being a student become all consuming. When she is given the honor of presenting an academic lecture at Oxford, Gabriel is forced to confront her about the subject of her presentation – research that conflicts with his own. And in Oxford, several individuals from their past appear, including an old nemesis intent on humiliating Julia and exposing one of Gabriel’s darkest secrets.

In an effort to confront his remaining demons, Gabriel begins a quest to discover more about his biological parents, beginning a chain of events that has startling repercussions for himself, Julianne, and his hope of having a family.



Now available for pre-order on Amazon in print and e-book format.

Find out more about Sylvain Reynard and his books at www.sylvainreynard.com or visit him on twitter at @sylvainreynard.

"Claim Me" Giveaway and Blog Hop

In Release Me, powerful multimillionaire Damien Stark made Southern belle Nikki Fairchild an unforgettable indecent proposal which she couldn't resist. Now their sensual, erotic, powerfully emotional romance continues in Claim Me, the next in J. Kenner's bestselling trilogy.

For Damien, our obsession is a game. For me, it is fiercely, blindingly, real.

Damien Stark's need is palpable - his need for pleasure, his need for control, his need for me. Beautiful and brilliant yet tortured at his core, he is in every way my match. I have agreed to be his alone, and now I want him to be fully mine. I want us to possess each other beyond the sweetest edge of our ecstasy, into the deepest desires of our souls. To let the fire that burns between us consume us both. But there are dark places within Damien that not even our wildest passion can touch. I yearn to know his secrets, yearn for him to surrender to me as I have surrendered to him. But our troubled pasts will either bind us close...or shatter us completely.
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I highly recommend this series and am glad to be part of the blog hop and allow you a chance to win one of these great books or one of the infamous scarfs that Damien puts to good use (wink, wink).  

a Rafflecopter giveaway
                                                                    Must be at least 18 years old to enter.  USA only.

Stop by some of the other stops along the hop...

Review: "Back to You" by Priscilla Glenn

When Lauren Monroe first laid eyes on Michael Delaney back in high school, she had every reason to stay away from him; within minutes of their first encounter, his volatile actions confirmed his notorious reputation. But Lauren saw something in him that caused her to question his bad-boy persona, and against her better judgment, she took a chance. She had no way of knowing that the unlikely friendship they formed would become so important to her or that it would end so painfully. Eight years later, when Lauren begins her new job at Learn and Grow Day Care, Michael is the last person she expects to see. Refusing to revisit the hurt and confusion of their past, Lauren vows to keep her distance from him. But staying away from Michael proves to be more difficult than she thought, despite her lingering grief and her instincts for self-preservation. As Lauren and Michael recall the friendship that changed them forever and the events that tore them apart, will they finally be able to heal? Or will the ghosts of Michael’s past prove to be too much to overcome?
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     "Back to You" had a sweet romance with a very real-life feel to it.  It was told partially in the past and part in the present.  The author did it a little different than the usual flashbacks.  Each jump from Michael's early childhood, Michael and Lauren in high school and them in current day are broken up by chapters and dated.  This really eliminated the confusion that sometimes happens when an author does quick glimpses in the past without clearly defining them.  It also allowed her to be able to let us step back with the characters and get almost as much of the early years of their friendship as what's going on with each of them now.  
     Priscilla Glenn did a wonderful job of really helping you to connect with the characters and feel what they were feeling.  The second half of the book drew about every emotion, good and bad.  The only issue I had, and it was not a big one, was that I found the characters and scenes were not described in detail.  It made it hard to picture it in my head and I really love to feel like I'm right there in every scene.  
     There was a lot of suspense waiting to find out where things were going to go and what happened in their past to get them to this point.  It was definitely a story of friendship and love and what you're willing to do for each other.  Michael also has a daughter and seeing his relationship with her after the troubled past he's had was touching.  This book was just what I needed after coming off a couple of very dark books.  "Back to You" was suspenseful, heartwarming and completely down to earth. This is Priscilla Glenn's first published book, but I will definitely be watching for what she has coming out next.

Review: "Gabriel's Rapture" by Sylvain Reynard

     Gabriel's Rapture picks up right where we left off in Gabriel's Inferno.  Gabriel and Julia are still very much enjoying themselves in Italy.  They're finally getting some time to truly enjoy each other's company without all the drama back home.  It's short lived however upon their arrival back on campus.  They are both confronted by the Dean and a huge battle ensues between the Dean and them which causes huge relationship issues. 

     They've both had such a troubled past that they seem to always assume the worse in almost every situation and just makes things worse for them.  Gabriel has grown a lot in this book though.  He's starting to recognize where his main faults lie and taking responsibility for them.  Definitely a little more action and suspense in this second novel.  There was a little slow part in the middle, but overall it was much better than the first and things seemed to move along a little quicker.  Julia definitely is a little more judgemental in this book but that may have been brought on by other circumstances between the two.  This was certainly a story of redemption and overcoming obstacles to be with the one you love.  One big issue I had was with Crista's story, or lack thereof.  She causes lots of issues at the beginning of the book as well as some contact with another character that I expected to hear more about.  It was like her whole storyline got completely dropped after the beginning of the book.  Not that I particularly cared for her character but it left me wondering what was the point of even bringing it up?  While the artsy, poetic bits between Gabriel and Julia were sweet I think it was overdone.  Not everything needs to be a quote from some poet or a reference to a painting!
  
     On a lighter note, I really liked Paul's character.  He was a great friend to Julia even though he wanted more.  He gets a chance to talk to Julia about his feelings in this book but he's always been sweet with her no matter what situation she's going through.  I think Gabriel learned a lot about himself in this book and that is ultimately what ended up making a huge difference in their relationship.  This story is perhaps a more accurate portrayal of a relationship than we get in some books lately where love and lust seem to overcome everything.  Julia and Gabriel have definitely had to work at their relationship.  Even with the story's minor downfalls, I still enjoyed it and like I said previously, things certainly picked up in this second book.

Review: "Gabriel's Inferno" by Sylvain Reynard

Gabriel's Inferno is not my usual read.  It's a contemporary romance... yes you read it right, I'm reading a story about humans ;)  I've read a couple of good series that have pulled me away lately... Fifty Shades of Grey (yes, I've been sucked into the hoopla) and The Crossfire series.  I still like my vamps and shifters better but these series definitely have some hot alpha guys in them too.  Just a brief review on this one...

Amazon synopsis:
Enigmatic and sexy, Professor Gabriel Emerson is a well-respected Dante specialist by day, but by night he devotes himself to an uninhibited life of pleasure. He uses his notorious good looks and sophisticated charm to gratify his every whim, but is secretly tortured by his dark past and consumed by the profound belief that he is beyond all hope of redemption.  When the sweet and innocent Julia Mitchell enrolls as his graduate student, his attraction and mysterious connection to her not only jeopardizes his career, but sends him on a journey in which his past and his present collide.  An intriguing and sinful exploration of seduction, forbidden love, and redemption, Gabriel’s Inferno is a captivating and wildly passionate tale of one man’s escape from his own personal hell as he tries to earn the impossible—forgiveness and love.

First of all, I have to say this synopsis is very deceiving (which is why I wanted to share it instead of writing my own on this one).  It makes you believe it's a hot steamy romance, but it is certainly far from that.  It's more of a touching tale of two people trying to overcome rough pasts and learning to love again.  The first half of the book was a little slow for me.  The author did a good job of making you understand their pasts and why they act the way they do at this point in their lives, but definitely could have been done in probably the first 20% of the book just as well.  Several other reviewers have called this a dark romance, but they have obviously not been reading the same type of books that I do.  The PNR and urban fantasy novels as a rule are usually pretty dark with lots of tortured protagonists.  Compared to those this was all flowers and rainbows with the exception of a couple very short parts and even those are not bad.  I will say that by about 3/4 of the way through the book I started to get a little more invested in the characters, I think one little action/fight scene got things rolling a little.  Gabriel and Julia definitely took their time getting to know one another which was sweet.  I'm sure I'll pick up the second book in the series, Gabriel's Rapture at some point.