Yummy Addictions (Yummy Trilogy #1) – Belle Davis

Yummy Addictions (Yummy Trilogy) #1 by Belle Davis is about a 28-year-old executive, Valentina (Vale) who is repairing her life after divorce from her cheating husband. She decides to head over to Paris for some shopping/relaxation time and hopefully to have a steamy hot affair. She meets Jason (Jase) on her flight (he is off to a Mediterranean cruise) and she invites him to stay with her instead. A few days later, he ditches the cruise and takes her up on the offer.

He’s portrayed as the yummy alpha male, with lots of “mine” thoughts and attempts to convince her to give them a chance beyond Paris. She’s the insecure female who is afraid of getting hurt. Lots of yummy steamy scenes ensue.

Jase was truly yummy, the erotic scenes were also just as yummy, and I one-clicked on Parts 2 and 3 and read them the same day/night. Another book hangover, thanks to Belle Davis.

Overall, it was a fun read. Don’t expect major epiphanies or messages about divorce, affairs, or rebounding. It’s really what it says it’s going to be, a woman going to Paris to have a fling and succeeding. There’s a small tug of war on emotions, “Should we continue after? Or shouldn’t we?” but most of that’s left for the next book.

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

Threefold – Sotia Lazu

Threefold, by Sotia Lazu, revolves around Colin, Brad, and Becca.  Becca’s birthday is coming up and Brad wants to fulfill a sexual fantasy of hers as a birthday gift, a ménage. He invites his best friend, Colin, to help with the fantasy.

The synopsis made it seem like a quick and dirty read, but it was actually deeper and much better than I thought it would be. There is a lot of grappling with the “what ifs” of the situation. What if there’s jealousy afterward, would we be destroying our relationship? What if I start to feel more than I want to? The grappling of “what-ifs” and the steamy encounters during their decision-making created more depth than I expected from this book. In addition, I enjoyed reading how Colin went from playboy bachelor, shallow and arrogant, to guy with real emotions.

(Spoiler!) I will warn readers, this isn’t a Maya Banks/Shyla Banks type of usual ménage, where the guys are all about the girl. There’s a relationship that develops between the guys too, so a couple of MM scenes are in there.

I gave it a 4 stars – It was a good read. The steamy parts were definitely steamy, the deeper parts dive into the characters’ anxiety are well written. The less one star is because I wanted more. The final scene was a good one, but after all of the hesitancy about the three of them getting it together, I wanted to bask in it a little more.

This ARC was provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

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Follow Your Fantasy: Deeper (Nicola James)

Follow Your Fantasy: Deeper, by Nicola Jane, where you can choose your own storyline. Every chapter ends with two links where you can choose which to follow. There’s a hint in most links (such as “Meet her and her lover and have a threesome” or “stay home”), which prepared the reader for what was to come. I’m sure readers would appreciate the hints if they’re squeamish with certain types of scenes.
With reading this type of “choice” book, realize that this book is really 6-7 short stories in one. Each storyline is not as fleshed out as expected from a full-length book. There is no real character development or any rhyme or reason, basically just choosing ways for the main character to get off. I had a feeling this would be the case going in, but there was still an abruptness of each ending. I would have appreciated at least some feeling of an end, at least on the HEA storylines.
A minor thing, instead of “The End”, I wish it was more like “Back”. I had to scroll all the way back to go through my choices. At one point, I stumbled upon a book map, which was nice to have. This helped with knowing if you covered all parts. But again, it just had me scrambling all the way back and then flipping the pages until I got to the choices.
Overall, the concept of the book was fun, going back and forth to see how many “happy endings” (wink wink) you can find.
On a scale of 1 through 5, I gave it a three stars.  The reason for the three stars isn’t because of the “Back” button or the abrupt endings, that’s relatively minor of this type of book. The lack of stars was more for the main character.
The story follows around a woman (did we ever learn her name?), I’ll call her Pretend Giselle (PG). She meets her doppelganger, Giselle, who happens to be a high-end escort. In the first couple of pages the author paints PG as this pathetic figure and does little to remedy this in any of the storylines. I felt PG should have claimed each scene more. If she did something to that hinted at empowering, the story ended and you had to go all the way back to the description of her being pathetic again. In the end, although more relatable than Giselle, PG just wasn’t for me.

This book was provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

Caught in the Air (Watchtower Chronicles #4) – Delwyn Jenkins

Caught in the Air by Delwyn Jenkins is a paranormal romance, set in an “in-between world”. There are good witches and knights battling a dark magic that is currently looking to find a way into the world that we know (the world below).
This is the fourth and final installment of the Watchtower Chronicles. You do not need to read the first three, the author does well with explaining the concepts very concisely that it doesn’t slow down the story but it doesn’t leave those who did not read the first three in the dark. However, this reviewer will recommend that you do read the previous books.
Admittedly, I’m reviewing this for NetGalley, so I skipped to the fourth but I do wish I read the first three (I’m probably going to go back to read Charlotte’s book, since I was intrigued by her story). There was a little lack of emotional connection with Amelia that as a reader, I didn’t have. I’m sure if I read the other books, I would have built it.
As a paranormal. I really enjoyed the world that this author built. There was a lot of thought surrounding how these worlds functioned in relation to our world, and how these witches will develop their skills. I liked the idea of knights and witches working together to build this community.
Many times, during paranormals with other worlds, readers sometimes resign themselves to not understanding the full spectrum of the worlds and just concentrate on storyline. I get the sense, just from this last and final installment, that the author did well in laying out the foundation for readers to sit back and enjoy this paranormal world and the relationship being built by these characters.
I gave it a 3 stars, just because I personally didn’t feel the connection between the hero/heroine and I didn’t have any standout moments that I bookmarked to re-read. I did enjoy the World Between and hope that when I read Charlotte’s story, that I’ll enjoy the relationship just as much as I enjoyed being in the world of sisterhood and knights.

ARC provided by NetGally for an honest review.

The Trouble with Emma (Jane Austen Factor #2) – Katie Oliver

The Trouble with Emma (The Jane Austen Factor #2), by Katie Oliver, will be released on Feb. 29th and is a contemporary take on Jane Austen’s Emma. The book follows Emma as she is struggling with making life in her small town a little more exciting. She’s matchmaking, meddling, and generally running around getting into trouble. Her greatest asset is also her worst trait – she cares so much about others and wanting to help them that she’s borderline condescending.

The first chapter was worrisome.  I had to remind myself that Jane Austen wrote Emma saying that the heroine won’t be liked much by readers, yet somehow you end up liking and rooting for Emma. Katie Oliver also accomplished this feat in this retelling.   At first, I personally struggled to get through my general dislike until I realized that it all stemmed from a deep love and care for those closest to her. Then, the novel progressed so quickly that I finished the entire book in a night — definite book hangover the next morning.

Mark Knightly, the hero, was her solid foundation. He was part of the reason I started to like Emma. Where he held himself aloof, she was social and intrusive. He was the voice of reason and contentment, while she’s the voice of fantasy and romance. What started off as traits that I disliked, all of a sudden became positive assets. The combination of Mark and Emma together was appealing and entertaining.

The only thing that I was on the fence about was Mark’s attitude toward Emma. It’s a typical Austen type hero, borderline (if not totally) condescending at times. But then, with all the trouble she can get herself into, maybe that’s the exact type of person she needs (not the condescending part) but someone who sees who she is and tempers her.

I give this a 4 out of 5 stars. Overall, it was a fun and entertaining read and I couldn’t put it down. I’m ready to read it all over again, but maybe after I read #1 in the Jane Austen Factor. I’ve already downloaded and ready to read Katie Oliver’s “What Would Lizzy Bennet Do?”

 

*ARC provided through NetGalley for an honest review.

Nothing Like Love – Abigail Strom

Nothing Like Love by Abigail Strom was an “intense like”/love for me. It was a quick 2 hour read but felt like an entire journey.  This story is about Simone, a set designer who is working with Zach an ex-movie star/current director and how they fall in love in the beautiful setting of an Irish castle…

It starts with Simone (heroine) rushing around, late for her meeting with Zach (hero), with hair sticking up and paint on her face. The perfect introduction of Simone – she’s not afraid of showing everything that she’s been through and living life while adapting to its situations. She’s so upfront about EVERYTHING; it was refreshing. Zach, on the other hand, seemed to be opposite. Perfect on the outside and keeps almost everything in. For the first half, I felt like I got to know her so well – but nothing from him. She calls him out on it a couple of times, gets some things and then bam! (like the almost-sex scenes) something seems to interrupt. Later, we find out a whole lot about him and the way she deals with the knowledge, just made me love her even more.  I liked Abigail’s set-up as it made me appreciate each character in their own way.

I have to admit to being a little on the fence with Zach (part of the 1 less of 5-stars reason) just because I loved Simone so much. I think when I thought of Zach, I had thought movie star looks like a Hemsworth brother type of perfect, but in the end, I realized that was faulty. I much rather liked him to be a Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is handsome (but not crazy movie-star perfect), a little quirky, with boyish charm and stability. Once I thought of him as a JG-L, rather than the perfect GC, it made more sense and made me love him even more.

Simone and Zach’s outlooks on love and how they came about those perspectives made me tear up. I used a few tissues– Abigail Strom’s scenes were written with so much thought…The author really put herself in their shoes and was able to demonstrate what their barriers were. Many times authors don’t stay true to their characters, where you wonder why that character is doing what they’re doing, but Abigail Strom has written some strong characters in this book.

I have to think on/talk about the title for a bit. Nothing Like Love was ALL about love, how people view them and all its different forms. What I got from the title was the idea of assumptions versus reality – Assumptions about love is really nothing like being in love. I, also fully admit that I could be reading more into this, it could just be about denial of being in love. (Haha, I like to think of this title interpretation as a Zach versus Simone interpretation.)

I gave this book 4 stars because the ending seemed a little rushed and a little bit of Zach (aforementioned reasons). I expected more after all the thought laid out in the first 95% of the book. The ending though was still 4-stars good and sweet – and made me love Zach.

I assume that this is a book in a series and I know that I’ll be picking up the previous Kate’s book, as well as the Abigail Strom’s following book, even if it’s just to visit with Simone and Zach again later. (Desperate plea to author: I want a full Simone/Zach update!! I want a greeting from Simone’s father, some insight in how Zach is dealing with Isabelle/Julia/Glen and I’m demanding that this will be in Jessica’s much deserved story…possibly set in Ireland during Simone & Zach’s wedding).

This ARC was provided by NetGalley for a honest, unbiased opinion.

Fighting for Control (Against the Cage Series) – Melynda Price

This book is #3 in the Against the Cage Series by Melynda Price, although the title does not specifically mention the series (yet?). While I wasn’t aware that it was part of a series at first, the extra characters and some vague references made it obvious.  Fortunately, readers can read this book without the other two and not miss anything.

 

The story is about a cage fighter, Nikko, a former veteran who suffers from PTSD and a psychologist, Violet, who is hired by the fighting organization to evaluate and treat him. Problem is, before she knew who he was, they had a chance encounter on a plane that led to joining the mile high club.

 

I gave 3 stars due to first third. I felt that the prologue was not needed and actually caused the story to drag and created more questions than anything (like, after joining the mile high club with a stranger in the airline bathroom, did they go back to their seats and watch in-flight movies? Pretend to sleep?).

 

For some reason, although the synopsis clearly shows that this is one of those taboo relationships between a psychologist and patient, for some reason, I was expecting something more. I realized quickly that it was really going to be a typical sexy read rather than a deep story about veteran’s PTSD and how it may affect his relationship with a psychologist.

 

(Disclosure: I have a few friend psychologist and knowing how hard they worked through college made me think “Why are you throwing away all of your hard work!?!? Just wait a month. It’s only a month!” So this may have clouded my thinking a bit.)

 

In the end, I had to suspend the deeper thought processes and stop cringing at the ethics, as well as the fact that this guy clearly needed proper treatment and wasn’t getting it, in order to enjoy the book.   Once I did that, the story seemed to move more quickly and I couldn’t put it down at the end.   I started to enjoy it so much more that I wondered about the other books in the series (ones that didn’t have psychologists and patients).

 

What I liked: The author does differentiate between lust and love. At first, I thought this would an instance of insta-love and absolutely hated how selfishly the hero acted if this was the definition of love. There were some relationship building type situations and only then did he realize that was in luvre, enough to sacrifice for the heroine.

 

Overall, I gave it 3 stars. There were a lot of things that were overlooked, but it was still a fun read in the end.

I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.