Tuesday 28 October 2014

Vanquish (Deliver #2) by Pam Godwin




Blurb

Warning: Graphic sex and violence. Age 18+ only
It is recommended to read after Deliver, but it can be read as a stand-alone.

Her life is like a prison cell.
A self-made, to-hell-with-the-free-world existence that locks from the inside.
Stop judging. Her agoraphobia doesn’t define her. It simply keeps her safe.

He belongs in a prison cell.
The 6x8, make-me-your-bitch variety that locks from the outside.
But he’s free. To hunt. To take. To break.
And he just found a sexy new toy.

Capturing her is the easy part. Her fucked-up mind, however, makes him question everything he does next.
But he’s a determined bastard. If all goes his way, this will hurt like hell.

BOOK LINKS



Excerpt → 

 “Are you going to cut me up in little pieces?”

A cold smile tipped his lips as he chuckled. Then his expression sobered. “Walk to the kitchen.”

Fucking psychopath. He stood right in the doorway, taking up the whole damned hall. At over six feet tall with a muscled body cut from stone, he could squash her without breaking a sweat. She didn't want to go near him. He was terrifying. But being forced outside was worse. She straightened her back and headed toward him.

As she slid by, his arm caught her waist and yanked her back against his chest. She slapped at his hand, bucking against him, and his arm clenched tighter. His erection jabbed against her backside, his breath hot at her ear. “Fighting and squirming only turns me on. Don't stop.”

She immediately stilled. God, he wasn't lying. His dick was undeniably more pronounced against her back. Feeling him like that, so close, so huge and hard, rushed heat between her legs and prickles over her skin. Why, oh why was she responding this way? She hated and wanted it, and mother of all fucks, she couldn't have been more completely and totally out of her mind.

She drew a ragged breath. Think, think, think. But his intention blatantly rubbed against her, scattering her thoughts. “You're going to rape me, aren't you?”

His torso moved up and down with his breath. “I thought you wanted to be fuck buddies. Don't make it weird.”


Teaser picture




Author bio


New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Pam Godwin, lives in the Midwest with her husband, their two children, and a foulmouthed parrot. When she ran away, she traveled fourteen countries across five continents, attended three universities, and married the vocalist of her favorite rock band.

Java, tobacco, and dark romance novels are her favorite indulgences, and might be considered more unhealthy than her aversion to sleeping, eating meat, and dolls with blinking eyes.

Author Links

Facebook / Twitter / Website / 




Giveaway → 4 signed paperbacks of Vanquish by Pam Godwin


Direct Giveaway Link → http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/2f0d1b672/



BOOK 1 in the Series



B&N 



4 Quiso Stars

I've never read this author and it was highly recommended that I read book 1 -Deliver before this one, due to the same characters being introduced their initially. Now this can be read as a stand alone. So don't fear. But, I always do the opposite of what I'm told. So this is me reviewing book 2 before reading book 1.



Vanquish is Van's story. Interesting that Van's name is the starting of Van-quish. Synonymus with the books's name, the hero- Van- is one cold-hearted mother.... cruel, evil, the devil incarnate himself. With a body made for sinning,

Van is a "retired" sex trafficker. His past job was that of slave owner and slave breaker. Now a year after he left that life behind, he's intent on proving his worthiness to his first slave, Liv. As much as he loves Liv, his ultimate goal is their daughter, Livana. A sweet, innocent, child, born within the confines of slave quarters. Van wants to prove that he  can be a good father and role model for his daughter. Ok, definitely not role model. Father figure. Daddy dearest. 

He stalks Liv, in an attempt to feed his loss and lust, but also to get a better understanding as to what it would entail in order to become a stable parent in Livana's life. Unfortunately for him, his stalking skills got twerked, by an agoraphobic neighbour of Liv's.

Talk about a walking conundrum. Amber suffers from agoraphobia and has acute OCD tendencies. Amber is afraid of everything, especially of being outside. Her disorder stems from genetics and also from a dumb, needled twit, of an ex-husband whose own insecurities, were used to mold and build on Amber's own inconsistencies and insecurities, to further drive her over the edge of normalcy, into the depraved pits of darkness and utter despair. She follows routines like clock work and she harbours and unhealthy addiction to cleanliness. A woman afraid of her own shadow.


What I loved about this author, was that in her portrayal of darkness, her quick wit and the sarcastic, childish banter between Amber and Van, was intriguing and smirky funny, It made the characters feel alive and normal.

"You always work in a dress and heels?" - Van

"You always chatter like a fourth grade girl?" -Amber


As much as Amber was afraid of Van she was also intrigued by him. 




He should leave the poor girl to deal with her demons, but instinct demanded he take control of this… of her.



With ulterior motives in place, Van kidnaps Amber. In his plight to unbreak Amber, to shake up her OCD nature, her keen obsession with the groups of four was soon used against her. Van twisted her all around. Provoking and pushing her to move pass her routines. To accept and yet release control.

In all her inherent brokenness, she mirrored Van's life and his feelings. Only she used her brokenness as a weakness, while, Van, manipulated his. Used it as it was his life's force and her brokenness mirrored his. But who was more broken. Van?? or AMBER?


Pam Godwin for a first time reader, you kept me captivated and gave me an aching jaw. Seriously. I had constant jaw dropping moments. I loved Van's darkness and his acceptance of it. He embraced himself - all the evil and cruel depths of his soul- shone through. In the end, he may have given up trafficking slaves and breaking them in for a living, but he ended up unbreaking a woman, enslaved by her own weapons.


He'd hit her, whipped her, raped her. Don't fucking forget how dark he can be.
But his darkness had shown her the moon for the first time in two years.



*ARC provided by on behalf of the author for an honest review* :):)

Monday 27 October 2014

Heart Recaptured Series: Hades Hangmen #2 by Tillie Cole *COVER REVEAL*


It's that time again! Tillie Cole has finished Ky and Delilah's story and it's time for us to see their cover! Who's ready for more from the Hades Hangmen?!

HR ebook cover

ADD TO GOODREADS

Title: Heart Recaptured Series: Hades Hangmen #2 
Author: Tillie Cole 
Age group: Mature new adult 
Genre: MC dark contemporary romance 
Release date: 2nd December 2014

BLURB

Even salvation can be delivered through the love of the damned… Beauty can be a curse. Faith can be a cage. Only love can set you free. A few long weeks after being reluctantly ripped from the comforting embrace of her sacred prophet’s religious commune—the only life she has ever known—a terrified Delilah is thrust into a world enveloped by evil and swimming in sin. Steadfastly devout in her faith, and retaining the deep belief that her soul is innately tarnished as a branded ‘Cursed woman of Eve’, Delilah is determined to find her way home to her people in The Order and away from the corrupt and damned outlaw motorcycle club—The Hades Hangmen—who hold her at their secluded compound for her protection—a 'protection' she strongly resents. Delilah yearns to return home, convinced that only amongst her own people, and under the holy guidance of the Lord’s revealed prophet, can her Satan-spawned soul be truly saved. Conditioned her entire life to believe she is a witch... a life-long temptress… the devil’s whore... Delilah increasingly resents her beautiful face, her shapely body and her sensuous effect on men. But when a man of the motorcycle club—a deeply sinful yet stunningly beautiful man—is charged with her care, Delilah begins to see that this dangerous and moralless sinner from the 'outside' may offer her something she did not know could truly exist: unconditional love. Kyler ‘Ky’ Willis loves his life: a daily abundance of brotherhood, liquor, the freedom of the open-road and—best of all—his pick of hot women. Raised a biker brat and now VP of the most notorious MC in the States, Ky has no shortage of club sluts warming his bed; a situation he takes full advantage of… until a certain blonde enters his life… a gorgeous pilgrim-blonde he can’t get out of his head… a pilgrim-blonde he and his club recently-rescued from some backward religious cult… and a pilgrim-blonde he’s been ordered to keep the hell away from and his whorish hands off. When yet another in a lengthy line of drunken blunders forces Ky to reluctantly take charge of the pilgrim-blonde’s care, he realizes that there could be more to this woman than just supermodel looks and a stacked set of tits. He begins to see that she could be the woman who could do the impossible—tame his wild ways and capture his reluctant heart. But the unyielding bonds of Lilah’s past are strong, her ‘people’ determined and, with a new Prophet in charge and hell bent on revenge, they are mightily reluctant to let her go...  

ABOUT TILLIE COLE


Tillie Cole Author Pic

Tillie Cole is a Northern girl through and through. She originates from a place called Teesside on that little but awesomely sunny (okay I exaggerate) Isle called Great Britain. She was brought up surrounded by her English rose mother — a farmer’s daughter, her crazy Scottish father, a savagely sarcastic sister and a multitude of rescue animals and horses.

CONNECT WITH TILLIE

Blog || Facebook || Twitter || Goodreads
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COVER REVEAL HOSTED BY

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Saturday 25 October 2014

Withering Hope by Layla Hagen *COVER REVEAL*



Withering Hope by Layla Hagen 
Publication date: January 19th 2015
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Add to Goodreads


Synopsis:
Aimee’s wedding is supposed to turn out perfect. Her dress, her fiancé, and the location—the idyllic holiday ranch in Brazil—are perfect.

But all Aimee’s plans come crashing down when the private jet that’s taking her from the U.S. to the ranch—where her fiancé awaits—defects mid-flight and the pilot is forced to perform an emergency landing in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.

With no way to reach civilization, being rescued is Aimee and Tristan’s—the pilot—only hope. A slim one that slowly withers away, desperation taking its place. Because death wanders in the jungle under many forms: starvation, diseases. Beasts.
As Aimee and Tristan fight to find ways to survive, they grow closer. Together they discover that facing old, inner agonies carved by painful pasts takes just as much courage, if not even more, than facing the rainforest.

Despite her devotion to her fiancé, Aimee can’t hide her feelings for Tristan—the man for whom she’s slowly becoming everything. You can hide many things in the rainforest. But not lies. Or love.

Withering Hope is the story of a man who desperately needs forgiveness and the woman who brings him hope. It is a story in which hope births wings and blooms into a love that is as beautiful and intense as it is forbidden.




AUTHOR BIO:

My name is Layla Hagen and I am a New Adult Contemporary Romance author.
I fell in love with books when I was nine years old, and my love affair with stories continues even now, many years later.
I write romantic stories and can’t wait to share them with the world.
And I drink coffee. Lots of it, in case the photo didn’t make it obvious enough 

Author Links: WebsiteGoodreads / FB /Twitter


Other books by Layla Hagen

Lost Series

·        Foundin Us




Wednesday 22 October 2014

Love Me Later (Second Chances, #1) by Libby Rice



Title: Love Me Later (Second Chances, #1)
Author: Libby Rice
Release Date: September 15th 2014


Book Links:

Amazon / All Romance eBooks Kobo / iBooks / Love Me Later Goodread/ B&N


Synopsis


Can they love right on the redo?

Scarlet Leore enjoys a glittering existence among New York society’s elite. Ethan Blake is a prizefighter knocking his way through school, counting on his winnings to bankroll the dreams that won’t fit in a boxing ring. When the two meet, neither can deny the instant attraction that wells between the hulking fighter and the heiress who is miles and millions out of his league. But a vicious attack leaves Scarlet physically and emotionally battered, and for Ethan, the allure crumbles along with the rest of his life after Scarlet accuses him of wielding the knife.

Years later, Scarlet has abandoned the high life for that of a hard-working lawyer, while Ethan has clawed his way to the pinnacle of a business empire. Drawn into his world of high-stakes tech mergers, they dance to a tune of revenge, desire, and finally, redemption. But theirs is a world that won’t tolerate an attorney falling for her client. They’ll need more than lust and forgiveness. They must bridge the chasm of a tormented past to understand who they are today. Only then can they forge a future in the face of the resurging enemy who once tore them apart.





About the Author

Before becoming a writer, Libby was first a mechanical engineer in the data acquisition industry (voltmeter anyone?). Preferring writing to technical design, Libby headed to law school and eventually practiced patent law for several enterprising years (patent application covering a voltmeter anyone?). Finally realizing that technology just wasn’t her bag, she traded the voltmeters for alpha heroes and the women who love them.
Today, Libby writes contemporary romances from the foot of the Rocky Mountains, where she lives with her husband, a bona fide rocket scientist (he stuck with the voltmeters!). When not writing, Libby loves good food, even better wine, and traveling the world in search of the next great story.

Libby loves hearing from readers! Join the fun at www.libbyrice.com, where you can sign up for Libby’s new-release e-newsletter, or on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram.
Author Links:




 3 'Empress' Stars


There is something about this book that simply pulled me in from the start. It may have been the premise of being reunited, second chances, or just simply the entirety of the struggling, bad-ass boxer meets well-to-do heiress. I struggled with some of the plot, in hindsight, if it was done differently, it would have screwed it up. Whatever it is, this story simply put a smile on my face. :):)

Love Me Later is a debut Romantic Suspense novel that highlights the rich, spoiled, soft, socialite, Scarlet Leore juxtaposed to the hard, prize fighting Ethan Blake. We are given a glimpse into second chances, with the perfection of contrasting circumstances. Choices are made and fate will decide to reunite two persons in opposing lifestyles. But still, no one, more in need than the other.


Socialite, Scarlet Leore is dragged to a boxing match and becomes instantly lured into the dark depths of the star, prize fighting boxer.



Ethan Blake is trying to set up his software company, by fighting he hopes to earn big bucks to aid his ambitious dream to fruition. An unfortunate and nearly fatal incident, stirs hatred and betrayal,. Turning the tables on both their lives, which causes Ethan and Scarlet to become estranged for many years.

Several years later, Scarlet has left the penthouse behind and settled for a middle income apartment, that she can only afford by selling off intimate mementos. Now a lawyer, Scarlet is left broken - physically, emotionally and psychologically scarred- after a brutal incident years ago, Scarlet, has to also deal with regret and her own betrayal towards an innocent man. 

Ethan and Scarlet reunite, when Ethan's company desperately needs a lawyer versed in Acquisitions. This is where the scales now tip in favour of Ethan. He still fights, but its purely for sport now. Ethan former prize fighter is now Ethan Blake, CEO of Atavos International, his own software company. 


"Tell me, Scarlet. How did my Empress fall from her throne?" Ethan

"We passed on the stairs, remember? You were going up as I was coming down." Scarlet

An enjoyable romantic suspense, where fates changed and revenge turned to love. Regret to hope, and where the boxer, now fought for more. The princess fell from her throne and both their scars could only be soothed by each other.


*ARC provided by Inkslinger PR for an honest review*

Tuesday 21 October 2014

Unlit Star by Lindy Zart



Synopsis


We are not guaranteed anything, not even this life.


Rivers Young is the popular guy untouchable by reality. He is like a star—bright, consuming, otherworldly. The thing about stars, though, is that they eventually fall, and he is no different. 



He falls far and he falls hard. 



Delilah Bana is the outcast enshrouded in all of life's ironies. Alone, in the dark, like dusk as it falls on the world. When Rivers hits the ground, she is the night that catches him. In the darkness, they meld into something beautiful that shines like the sun. 



Only, the greater the star is, the shorter its lifespan.



Book Links: Goodreads / Amazon 



About the Author
Lindy Zart has been writing since she was a child. Luckily for readers, her writing has improved since then. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband, two sons, and one cat. Lindy loves hearing from people who enjoy her work.

Links: Goodreads /  Amazon Page / FB / Twitter / Website









4.5 'My heart needs you, Delilah.' Stars


Life is mostly froth and bubble, 
Two things stand like stone. 
Kindness in another's trouble, 
Courage in your own. 

This is purely a blissful celebration of contrasts.

"When Rivers hits the ground, she is the night that catches him. In the darkness, they meld into something beautiful that shines like the sun. "

Sometimes, it’s not always about choice. Sometimes as much as we chose a path, fate always intervenes. And then sometimes, if we tangle fate and choice together, what we get is something……. SPECTACULAR…… IRREVOCABLE……. And ultimately INTENSELY AWE-INSPIRING that it leaves us mind boggled and out of breath.


Unlit Star is a poignant portrayal of youth and looking beyond the surface.


People don't like ugly things. People don't like things they don't understand.

A melding of separate and different worlds. Two individuals learning about the meaning of life, love and loss. Both fighting their own trials and tribulations.

How do you break through the black and into the light?

Perfect rich boy, Rivers Young, meets working class, awkward, conundrum of an eighteen year old girl, Delilah. When their paths collide, the beauty that is created is blinding and brighter than the stars above. 

"When Rivers hits the ground, she is the night that catches him. In the darkness, they meld into something beautiful that shines like the sun. " 




Rivers is scarred- physically and emotionally. After a boating accident, the perfect, pretty boy jock, isn't so perfect anymore. His legs are mangled and scars run the length of his face. Making him brooding and angry, he secludes himself from everyone. Always trying to be perfect for everyone else and himself to. A facade that will soon perish.

Rivers is a perfect mix of clouds and sunshine, openness and hardness. He's an impeccable, yet inconsistent being of all that if good and all that is not. 

Delilah, sweet, contradicting Delilah. She is a young face with an old soul. Delilah Bana has a strategic and mature outlook towards life. After a life altering accident at the age of six, Delilah has grown up fast. Her plan is to go on a holiday by train. In her quest to attain this, she takes a job at Rivers house as the housekeeper. But unbeknownst to both herself and Rivers, she will become more than a housekeeper. She will become his strength, his perseverance. Delilah will push Rivers below the surface. To find all the beauty within the ugly. Rivers will learn the true meaning of life through the eyes of a misfit. A perfect misfit.

How does a boy who used to have everything decide he has something to fight for when he's lost all he's known?

Reading their story was heartbreaking, joyful, and poetic. Lindy's words elicited all these emotions within me that drew me down, made me laugh, smirk, and bawl my eyes out. Her use of literary devices made Rivers and Delilah dance before my eyes. My own thoughts got mixed up with this fictional story, yet it's realistic tendencies, stole a piece of my heart, my soul, and these pieces got buried within the pages with Rivers and Delilah.



I will argue that Delilah thought Rivers to live, to treasure every single moment, experience everything. Good an bad, dark and light. To laugh when sad. For me, she made Rivers strong, so that when her turn came, he could be strong for her. Delilah didn't want a reason to be angry with life, with God. She has an innate respect for fate and things that cannot be changed.

“I didn't get to choose whether or not I wanted my life this way, but there was one thing I did choose. It was you. I chose you.”

My favourite part of this book was the epilogue. Hearing Rivers thoughts was amazing. The depth of his emotions. His yearning and his undying love. Embracing his feelings was heart rendering and even more emotional the the actual story.

Lindy Zart, you simply have a way with words. I initially compared your work to that of Amy Harmon's  - Making Faces. However, you story was MORE, it was profound, with such wonderful themes. It made me re-evaluate what's important and it's all about perspective.

Thank you Lindy Zart for allowing me the opportunity to read this 'work of art.'

Sunday 19 October 2014

Stepbrother Dearest by Penelope Ward

Synopsis:


You’re not supposed to want the one who torments you. 

When my stepbrother, Elec, came to live with us my senior year, I wasn’t prepared for how much of a jerk he’d be. 

I hated that he took it out on me because he didn’t want to be here. 
I hated that he brought girls from our high school back to his room. 
But what I hated the most was the unwanted way my body reacted to him. 

At first, I thought all he had going for him were his rock-hard tattooed abs and chiseled face. Then, things started changing between us, and it all came to a head one night. 

Just as quickly as he’d come into my life, he was gone back to California. 

It had been years since I’d seen Elec. 

When tragedy struck our family, I’d have to face him again. 

And holy hell, the teenager who made me crazy was now a man that drove me insane.

I had a feeling my heart was about to get broken again.

Stepbrother Dearest is a standalone novel. 

**Contains graphic sexual content and harsh language. It is only appropriate for adult readers age 18+




Book Links: Goodreads / Amazon / B&N



About the Author

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author.

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers. She spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family friendly career.

Penelope lives for reading books in the new adult genre, coffee and hanging out with her friends and family on weekends.

She is the proud mother of a beautiful 10-year-old girl with autism (the inspiration for the character Callie in Gemini) and a 8-year-old boy, both of whom are the lights of her life.

Penelope, her husband and kids reside in Rhode Island.

She is currently working on her fifth novel and loves friend requests from readers!

Links: Goodreads / FB / Website 



3 stars

"Through death there was life, through hate there was love."


Penelope Ward brings us a two part instalment for Stepbrother Dearest. Showing us the innocence of adolescent desire and love, whilst contrasting with that of adult passion, longing, heartbreak and undying love between teenagers long past. A love that transcended a seven year span. A love which tortured both participants, until their brokenness couldn't with stand that final pain of reunion. Only to be lost again.

Greta and Elec meet in the most uncomfortable of circumstances, becoming step siblings. When he comes to live with the stepmonster and stepsister for a year. Enraged at the sudden change in situations, Elec decided to seek revenge on an abusive and philandering father. Elec's intentions are mean spirited and to become as difficult as any uprooted and angry teenager can be.

"I'm Greta. Nice to meet you."
 

" You look different... than I pictured."


He squinted as me. "And you look pretty... plain."



Greta is attracted to Elec in a way that elicits desire deep within her. Elec is a major jerk and making Greta's life miserable. Greta is determined to push through and make Elec like her. As a sibling and a friend.

‘I left the room and went back downstairs. Seeing him looking so down when he didn’t know I was watching him made me more determined than ever to break through to him somehow. I needed to know if this was just a façade or if he were truly a genuine asshole. The meaner he was to me, the more I wanted to make him like me. It was a challenge.’


As their time together progresses, they both play constant pranks on each other, further adding to growing tension and angst. Greta doesn't know what happened between Elec and his father. In her determination to prove she can overcome Elec's pranks and cold hearted attitude towards her. Greta, stands up for Elec when the going gets seriously tough with his father.


Elec receives a single phone call that will change the course of both their lives for the next seven years. All they both have is now one night together. A night of goodbyes- passionate embraces and heartbreak.

"I'd rather have one night with you than nothing at all."

“I want to be the first one to show you everything and to be the one you’ll always remember for the rest of your life.”
Believe me, he made an impression. Uuhhhhuh!
******

Seven years later

A single phone call informing both Elec and Greta, that his father and her stepfather has died, will again alter both their worlds.


Coming back home has never given them more sorrow and misery, than Elec learning the truth about this parents.

Greta and Elec meeting face to face after seven years, has brought  all the pain and suffering crashing down upon them both. Elec returns home with a girlfriend, soon to be fiance in tow. Greta is devastated that he moved on while she suffered. Measuring every boyfriend she had to Elec. But being the bigger person, she wants Elec to be happy, even if it means, it's not with her.

"A broken heart is still a beating one."

Elec and Greta, go their separate ways after the funeral. It must have been the emotions that made Elec keep in contact with Greta, or it must have been the divinity of him knowing she didn't move on. That underneath all those years of yearning and suffering. She wholeheartedly waited and hoped for him to return to her. For him to erase all the hurt.

" In Life, he led me to my one true love. In death he made it possible to find her again."

My Thoughts:

Loved, loved the cover. The title even more. Yum!! The characters were perfectly developed and suited to each other. Innocence vs Arrogance.

The title and the story wasn't taboo and forbidden as it could and should have been portrayed. The forbidden aspect needed more angst. Randy should have found out and...... (I'll leave it to your imagination).

When I started reading this, I got all excited when chapter two finished. My hopes for a dual POV was bitterly crushed. *sad face* It would have added a nice edge to the book. All that angst alpha-male anger and desire, bubbling over to be let out. Whoop!!!!

I honestly, didn't  expect the story of Randy and Elec. That was such a fabulously unique surprise. It really had me going and I believe if it was let out sooner, it could have done so much more for the story line.

It's a good read and I definitely recommend this book and author to be checked out.