Review: Back in the Texan’s Bed

Back in the Texan’s Bed by Naima Simone

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Content warnings: heterosexual relationship, heterosexual sex, sex, mention of abortion

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

So my immediate reaction to this book was “GOD. FUCKING. DAMNIT.” Suffice it to say, I *REALLY* enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the miscommunication between the two leads thanks to intervention from others. It’s always a fun dynamic when miscommunication is involved. I also enjoyed that the female lead was a chef and still managed to make time for her kiddo. There’s a lot of times where I’ve read something where a character is a chef and just ignores everyone in their life regardless of family or not. And all the chefs I know make time for their families/significant others. So to see my realities represented in a book is really great.

I’m always hesitant when books have rich to any degree people because of how many times I’ve read bad books with varying degrees of rich people. And I don’t enjoy reading the ones where they’re super out of touch with everything or one of the leads has to open the eyes of the other lead to whatever reality is shown in the book for non rich people. Super out of touch hits too close to reality for me and will take me out of the book cause I start mentally listing people that could fit that.

If you enjoy second chance romances, you’re very likely to like if not love this book.

Find the book here:

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Review: Empire High Untouchables

Empire High Untouchables by Ivy Smoak

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Content warnings: alcohol use, drug use, death, cancer, racism, heterosexual relationships, hazy consent, girl on girl hate

I received a free ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was definitely not expecting the ending of this book. I mean….I kinda expected it but not the way it actually went down. But it definitely got a frustrated reaction from me.

I was also not expecting to like this book as much as I did or get into it as much as I did. Which was a very pleasant surprise. I want nothing more than to spoil this book but because that’s not really my style that’s not happening (much like I don’t copy the blurb of a book in my reviews, not my thing).

I hated that this book ended on a cliffhanger. I can understand and respect why authors do that but that doesn’t make me like them any more.

Presuming none of the content warnings are things that you can’t read, if you don’t mind reading about high school kids this was actually a pretty good book.

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Review: Bling: A Diamond Doms Novel

Bling: A Diamond Doms Novel by Ivy Nelson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Content warnings: BDSM, Kink, heterosexual relationships, sex, alcohol, death, murder, smuggling, forced outing mentions and attempts.

I received an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I enjoyed this book. I really enjoyed the fact that the author actually put a disclaimer up in the beginning of the book. Which you can see a screenshot of in this tweet.

A Note From The Author
Bling contains depictions of BDSM. This book is the authors interpretation of BDSM fantasies and is not intended to be an educational tool. BDSM is different for everyone and this is just one perspective. Everything in this book is fictitious and should be read as such.  If you choose to participate in BDSM, please remember consent above all else and please do educate yourself with something that isn’t a work of fiction. I hope you enjoy this creation.

Ivy Nelson

Like, I really have to respect an author who puts that kind of disclaimer on their work. Especially since a lot of authors don’t. Any kind of content warning I appreciate even when I know/expect a book to have something.

I know the author says this is fictitious, however, outings do occur in the BDSM/Kink scene. And it can cause people to lose jobs and families. And depending on where you live also custody of your children. I have unfortunately seen that happen to people. I have to give kudos to the author with this regard of how the club happened to handle the outings issue. As well as the breakup issue.

And on the breakup issue, I appreciate a lot of how he gave her space. Especially since that doesn’t often happen with people, BDSM/Kink or not. And I’ve read enough books where one party says “oh yeah, I’ll give you space” and then 2 pages later or whatever they’re basically stalking and harassing the person who they said that to. Which is a huge pet peeve of mine.

While I did enjoy the book as a standalone, I might have enjoyed it more had I read the books prior to this. And I likely will get them as they’re interesting enough to me.

Buy it here:

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Review: Baker Thief

Baker Thief  by Claudie Arseneault

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Content Warnings: human experimentation, human trafficking, witch hunts, aromantic relationship, mentions of sex, demisexual representation, mentions of alcohol, transgender representation, breaking and entering, guns, gunshots, food, mob violence, accidental misgendering, asthma & breathing difficulty representation, state/police violence, fire, burns from fire/hot things, genocide, fat representation, biromantic representation, lgbtquia+ representation, asexual spectrum representation, aromantic spectrum representation

I received an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. This was a really good book. I really enjoyed reading this. If you’re looking for superhero books that aren’t terrible, I’d definitely recommend this one. This is one of the few books I’ve read with any representation of aromantic/asexual spectrums (I have read a few on the ace spectrum not so much on aro spectrum). And identifying as demipansexual myself made my heart sing especially since it was written closer to my identity and how I experience sexual attraction.

As a person with asthma I could also relate to that aspect of the book. Which, if memory serves, this is the second book I’ve read with good rep asthma wise. Like, this book rings true as someone who has either done fantastic research on the topic and had good readers to tell them they were on right track or not or who actually has it. Whether or not the author does I can’t tell you, but I can tell you that they are on the aro spectrum. They may also be on the ace spectrum as well.

Reading is a form of escapism for me and to see parts of me so well written in my escapism meant a lot to me. And the bonus of seeing someone who bakes in a book and it not being sexualised or anything other than “this person is a baker” as part of identity and profession was pretty great too. A lot of books I’ve read where someone cooks or bakes wind up finding ways to sexualise it and it kinda makes me uncomfortable.

Don’t get me wrong, the book did have a few uncomfortable moments for me, some of the best books do, but even though they were there, they enhanced my reading experience. If you are on the aro and/or ace spectrum or want to read a good book with main characters who are also on the spectrums, I highly encourage you to read this book.

Buy it here:
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Authors adopting healthcare workers

Penny Reid has come up with a fantastic idea for giving books and easing stress. I’ve signed up along with tons of other great authors. Read it all here: Calling all authors and medical professionals (nurses, doctors, medical technicians, medical assistants, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, phlebotomists, AND SO FORTH). Authors are adopting medical professionals! We want to express our gratitude for all that you do to keep us safe and healthy, so we’re sending you a signed book. BAM!! If you are a medical professional who wishes to receive a signed book, sign up here: http://bit.ly/2Q6PlEu If you are an author who wishes to send a signed book to a medical professional, sign up here: http://bit.ly/2W1Kp7N Authors, bloggers, readers– even if you can’t participate, feel free to copy/paste this post on your social media accounts and spread the word!! How this works: Authors will be paired with medical professionals on or about April 2 based on author/genre preferences. Authors will mail signed books to medical professionals on or around April 15 (open internationally). Authors will not send books if they or a member of their household is unwell. Furthermore, they will do their utmost to sanitize the contents and interior of the boxes before sending. That said, medical professionals may want to quarantine the boxes for 14-30 days before opening, or sanitize upon opening. Week of April 20, medical professionals receive their boxes. The end. I realize that donating to ‘such and such charity’ is more impactful in the long run, but many of us already do that. The goal is to reach individuals and put a smile on that individual’s face, let individual people know they are appreciated. This is a simple thing we authors can do. It won’t make a difference to mortality rates, but it might make an overwhelmed nurse or an exhausted respiratory therapist smile. If you have any questions, feel free to email pennreid@gmail.com <3 Healers, we appreciate you <3

It’s dislike at first sight…
Deflected by Jami Davenport is available now!
Amazon — https://amzn.to/2V5qkgC
Apple — https://apple.co/2Izg8Xc
Nook — http://bit.ly/2Pbf4Km
Kobo — http://bit.ly/2v2GFUW

Alexander “Rush” Markov has been given an ultimatum by his team—shape up or ship out.
Alex is celebrating his biggest season in professional hockey, and he’s enjoying every minute of it—perhaps a little too much. He’s been non-stop partying like a rockstar since his team won it all, and management isn’t pleased. Next thing Alex knows, he’s been exiled to a remote island with orders to lay low, stay out of trouble, and avoid one-night stands.
Rosalind Newcomb is the quintessential good girl, and she’s fine with her role. Sure, she gets lonely and wishes for a special someone, but the choices on Madrona island are slim to none. When a panty-melting mystery man disrupts the peace and quiet in her bookstore, it’s dislike at first sight. The infuriating man turns her ordered life upside down and inside out and has her thinking about hot summer nights and tangled sheets. Only Alex isn’t who she thinks he is, and love isn’t all hearts and roses.
As Alex battles who he pretends to be and who he really is, he also resists falling in love for the first time in his life. His intense feelings have him ready to bolt, and only he can decide if love is worth fighting for.

About the Author:
USA Today Bestselling Author Jami Davenport writes sexy contemporary and sports romances, including her two new indie endeavors: the Game On in Seattle Series and the Madrona Island Series. Jami’s new releases consistently rank in the top fifty on the sports romance and sports genre lists on Amazon, and she has hit the Amazon top hundred authors list in both contemporary romance and genre fiction multiple times. Jami ranked Number Seven on Kobo’s Top Ten Most Completed Authors, an honor bestowed on the year’s “most engaging” authors based on an average page completion rate by their readers.
Jami lives on a small farm near Puget Sound with her Green Beret-turned-plumber husband, a Newfoundland cross with a tennis ball fetish, a prince disguised as an orange tabby cat, and an opinionated Hanoverian mare.
Jami works in IT for her day job and is a former high school business teacher. She’s a lifetime Seahawks and Mariners fan and is waiting for the day professional hockey comes to Seattle. An avid boater, Jami has spent countless hours in the San Juan Islands, a common setting in her books. In her opinion, it’s the most beautiful place on earth.
Connect with Jami!
Subscribe to my newsletter to receive a free novel and be notified of new releases, special sales, and contests: http://eepurl.com/LpfaL
Website Address: http://www.jamidavenport.com
Twitter Address: @jamidavenport
Facebook Address: http://www.facebook.com/jamidavenport
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jamidavenport/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1637218.Jami_Davenport

__________________________________________________________________________

It’s dislike at first sight…
Deflected by Jami Davenport is available now!

Amazon — https://amzn.to/2V5qkgC
Apple — https://apple.co/2Izg8Xc
Nook — http://bit.ly/2Pbf4Km
Kobo — http://bit.ly/2v2GFUW

Alexander “Rush” Markov has been given an ultimatum by his team—shape up or ship out.

Alex is celebrating his biggest season in professional hockey, and he’s enjoying every minute of it—perhaps a little too much. He’s been non-stop partying like a rockstar since his team won it all, and management isn’t pleased. Next thing Alex knows, he’s been exiled to a remote island with orders to lay low, stay out of trouble, and avoid one-night stands.

Rosalind Newcomb is the quintessential good girl, and she’s fine with her role. Sure, she gets lonely and wishes for a special someone, but the choices on Madrona island are slim to none. When a panty-melting mystery man disrupts the peace and quiet in her bookstore, it’s dislike at first sight. The infuriating man turns her ordered life upside down and inside out and has her thinking about hot summer nights and tangled sheets. Only Alex isn’t who she thinks he is, and love isn’t all hearts and roses.

As Alex battles who he pretends to be and who he really is, he also resists falling in love for the first time in his life. His intense feelings have him ready to bolt, and only he can decide if love is worth fighting for.

About the Author:

USA Today Bestselling Author Jami Davenport writes sexy contemporary and sports romances, including her two new indie endeavors: the Game On in Seattle Series and the Madrona Island Series. Jami’s new releases consistently rank in the top fifty on the sports romance and sports genre lists on Amazon, and she has hit the Amazon top hundred authors list in both contemporary romance and genre fiction multiple times. Jami ranked Number Seven on Kobo’s Top Ten Most Completed Authors, an honor bestowed on the year’s “most engaging” authors based on an average page completion rate by their readers.
Jami lives on a small farm near Puget Sound with her Green Beret-turned-plumber husband, a Newfoundland cross with a tennis ball fetish, a prince disguised as an orange tabby cat, and an opinionated Hanoverian mare.
Jami works in IT for her day job and is a former high school business teacher. She’s a lifetime Seahawks and Mariners fan and is waiting for the day professional hockey comes to Seattle. An avid boater, Jami has spent countless hours in the San Juan Islands, a common setting in her books. In her opinion, it’s the most beautiful place on earth.

Connect with Jami!
Subscribe to my newsletter to receive a free novel and be notified of new releases, special sales, and contests: http://eepurl.com/LpfaL
Website Address: http://www.jamidavenport.com
Twitter Address: @jamidavenport
Facebook Address: http://www.facebook.com/jamidavenport
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jamidavenport/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1637218.Jami_Davenport

Rafe by Rebekah Weatherspoon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Content warnings: cheating, hints of abuse

Disclaimer: I received a free ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I loved this book so much. We had the doctor who was smart and fun to read. We had the nanny who was just an amazing person. Amazing with children and with the doctor. I like that he cared so much for the children. It’s nice to see men portrayed as more than just the stereotypical macho emotionless man.

I hated her ex husband. But let’s be real, I hate all men who are like that and have the viewpoint that their woman (or partner) should be stay at home parent and not have their own job. And take advantage of inexperienced people.

I kind of didn’t like her mother a lot but I tend to not like parents in books a whole lot. So that’s my own issues.

The airport showdown was great, especially the bit where there was video evidence. I look forward to reading more in this series.

Buy it here:

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Review: Bite Me

Bite Me (The Puritan Coven Series Book 1) by Louise Cypress

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Content Warnings: death, heterosexual romance, violence, gore, mentions of torture, mentions of diets, internal organs outside of bodies, veiled reference to smuggling of said organs

I received an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was an interesting take on the vampire genre. We’ve got vampires that don’t feed on humans and that can be in the sunlight but garlic doesn’t affect them. There’s two religious type groups that watch over the vampires that don’t feed on humans. There’s also ones that do feed on humans that are the dangerous ones. And with that we have the male equivalent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and I’m not kidding when I say that I was thinking that through at least half the book). And the non blood drinking vampires follow a Paleo diet. And that pretty much sums up the book. Oh and none of the vampires sparkle but if a female gets bitten by a vampire then she suddenly becomes *super* hot and irresistible. Vampirism also corrects your vision.

I’m not a fan of the “get bit by vampire become instantaneously attractive” trope. That does seem to dominate the genre though so I put up with it. The writing was good. The ending wasn’t too much of a deus ex machina which was nice because I’ve read a lot of vampire books that were.

It was interesting enough to catch my interest and to read all the way through. Not sure I’d buy it immediately but if I saw it on a decent sale (and had the money which is my bigger issue) I’d probably get it. If you like vampire books and don’t mind the young adult genre it’s a good book. If you don’t like one or the other you might not like the book.

Buy it here:

Amazon

Review: Song of Blood & Stone

Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Content warnings: racism heavily implied (and at some points outright stated), heterosexual relationships, microaggressions, attempted rape, death, violence, blood mentions for magic use

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Ok yes, second time reviewing this book. But the first it was self published and this time it’s through a publishing house. My first review will stay up in it’s own post. This is going to be a different review.

Things that aren’t different from my initial review: I still adore the hell out of the cover because it’s absolutely gorgeous and I enjoyed the story.

Having read this once and this being my second read through of it didn’t change my love of it. However, I did notice more. Mostly because I wasn’t partly reading this at a party like the last time I read it (I don’t like people for the most part but it was a housewarming party and I like the person throwing it so I went for them….shush). There were definitely things that changed in it. Particularly around the ending. I remember the original ending very different from this time around. But it’s a great set up for the next book.

One of the things that particularly hit me was this quote

“Don’t I have the right to be in a temper when unarmed children are being shot? When this entire country seems to have fallen victim to lunacy? At what point, I ask you, am I permitted to be upset?”

which was said by the prince of the book. It hit me hard enough that I had a mini conversation on twitter with the author about it. It also might’ve hit me harder than it normally would have because I literally finished 4 YA books that literally have similar-ish themes only they aren’t in the fantasy genre. And it’s a serious thing that we need to continue to have conversations about because it’s been going on way too long (literally I went through my last year of middle school and all of high school -ok fine that was my 10th grade year- with shit like this going on…for chrissakes there’s a freaking wikipedia page about school shootings alone).

Anyways though, if you enjoy fantasy novels with a pretty good imagry for scenery/setting (I’m not talking Tolkien levels, I promise) and the content warnings don’t put you off of it, then I definitely recommend this. If you’re looking for a black female led fantasy book, I definitely recommend this.

Buy it here:
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Baker Thief Pre-Order

Adèle has only one goal: catch the purple-haired thief who broke into her home and stole her exocore, thus proving herself to her new police team. Little does she know, her thief is also the local baker.

Claire owns the Croissant-toi, but while her days are filled with pastries and customers, her nights are dedicated to stealing exocores. These new red gems are heralded as the energy of the future, but she knows the truth: they are made of witches’ souls.

When her twin—a powerful witch and prime exocore material—disappears, Claire redoubles in her efforts to investigate. She keeps running into Adèle, however, and whether or not she can save her sister might depend on their conflicted, unstable, but deepening relationship.
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BAKER THIEF is the first in a fantasy series which centers non-romantic relationships and stars a bigender aromantic protagonist. Those who love enemies-to-“lovers” and superheroes will love this story!

 

Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/l/bakerthief / All other retailers: https://books2read.com/bakerthief/

About the author:

Claudie Arseneault is an asexual and aromantic spectrum writer hailfing from Quebec City. Her love for sprawling casts invariably turns her novels into multi-storylined wonders centered on aromantic and asexual characters. Her high fantasy series, City of Spires, started in February 2017. Her next book, Baker Thief, features a bigender aromantic baker and is full of delicious bread, French puns, and magic. Claudie is a founding member of The Kraken Collective and is well-known for her involvement in solarpunk, her database of aro and ace characters in speculative fiction, and her unending love of squids. Find out more on her website!