Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Review: Sugar By: Jenna Jameson and Hope Tarr

SugarSugar by Jenna Jameson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sarah Halliday is done with the Adult Entertainment industry. With the release of her 100th film, the scary stalker that has been leaving letters and knows the most intimate of details of her life, and one of her friends battling breast cancer – all the signs are there. She leaves the West Coast and returns home to New York to care for Liz and Liz’s son. Nothing prepared her for a chance encounter with billionaire playboy Iraq war hero Cole Canning and what would melt her heart and her body along the way.
A good story, filled with interesting characters, had a storyline and erotica, the scenes were hot and steamy. The secondary characters were an added depth. You will see similarities between the main character and Jenna Jameson and you will recognize Hope Tarr’s writing influence where she put her exquisite stamp. Not the hardest read, not the deepest (pardon the pun) twist, but a good read simply because of the words on paper. This is part of a series.


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Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Review: Dirty Rocker Boys: Love and Lust on the Sunset Strip By: Bobbie Brown with Caroline Ryder

Dirty Rocker BoysDirty Rocker Boys by Bobbie Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Who can forget Warrant’s Cherry Pie? Blasting the song that came on almost every hour, and the video that played just as much – Bobbie Brown, the new metal goddess. This is her story. A small town girl from Louisiana, growing up in a volatile home until her mother finally left her father for good sneaking both her and her brother out of the house in the middle of the night with suitcases that were already packed. Winning Miss Louisiana Teen pageant without “trying” to going National second place.
With big dreams, offers from agencys, California was calling and Bobbie was going. Everything this girl touched turned to gold, everywhere she went doors opened – and people took notice. Within the pages are some famous names and crazy stories, some of regular people in extraordinary situations – but what you will find is the dirty, raw truth – the drugs, the alcohol, the fights, the abuse, the self worth, the Hollywood that will eat you up and spit you out and have you come back for more. Ms. Brown is reflective about her own addiction and issues, her lack of ability of being a true mother to her daughter, but even in the darkest of moments she has heart (I even think a romantic) and humor. She expects truth from others and gives it here to the reader.
I couldn’t put this down. The way it was written, part confessional, part conversational – it was so personal – as if I was privy to everything as it happened, when it happened, as she experienced and felt it. Did she dish some fun dirt – yes! Some that I suspected, yes! I also think that there was something of tragedy and personal growth, learning and development – can we learn from others – yes, and there is a lot to learn from Bobbie.


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Review: Mischief & Mistletoe By: Tayna Anne Crosby

Mischief & MistletoeMischief & Mistletoe by Tanya Anne Crosby
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A novella fit for the season. Lucien Morgen, Duke of Willynham, has returned to Newgale to end the engagement he found himself still in after four years, to Emma Peters. Admiral Peters was more of a father to Lucien, with the Admiral’s death along with harsh words to Emma the last time they saw each other – this should be simple. That is until Emma’s brother, Andrew, his wife, Cecile, and their children lend a hand once it is evident that there is no greater match for each other.
Emma convinces herself that she is glad to be rid of Lucien, only to find him still beneath their roof (sometimes under some unusual circumstances). Lucien who thought he would be glad to be rid of such a burden, to be released of such fears that have harbored him since childhood, keeps being drawn closer to the light that beams from within the woman that he thought he no longer wanted.
Sweet, quick read. Perfect for that quiet time and a pick me up romance. Filled with wit, humor, and Christmas spirit.


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Monday, December 16, 2013

Review: The Heart of a Duke By: Victoria Morgan

The Heart of a DukeThe Heart of a Duke by Victoria Morgan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There is a new romance author on the shelves to enjoy and her name is Victoria Morgan!!!

Lady Julia Chandler is tired of waiting, there are bets at Whites about her engagement. When she hears that the Duke is back in town, she races over to meet and confront him. Lord Daniel Bryant is back from America and accosted by his twin brother's fiancee with a kiss that will not escape his memory. A case of mistaken identity, but not a mistake.
Daniel spent ten years away after an attempt on his life. A cryptic letter brought him back and a young girl he once knew has grown up to bring life back into his beating heart, it seems like his to do list has gotten very long :
1. Stop Julia from marrying his brother, Edmund
2. Find out who tried to kill him
3. Rebuild Lakeview Manor
4. Find out who is currently trying to kill him
5. Find out what the cryptic letter "claiming destiny" is about
6. Get Julia to marry him

Shouldn't be too hard.

Love. Love. Love. You will not just fall for Daniel and Julia, the quick wit, the way they are matched for each other, or the storyline filled with action, adventure, and romance (and great back stories for the characters), but you also fall for the secondary characters like Robbie, Brett, Emily, and more.

This is an author to look and keep and eye out for - fresh and talented, you'll be sure to enjoy!

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Review: Bits of Broken Glass By: Martha Reynolds

Bits of Broken GlassBits of Broken Glass by Martha Reynolds
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

*******This is a First Reads *** Thank You GoodReads ****

West Alton High School in Rhode Island is gathering together for it's 25th Reunion for the Class of 1988. For some it's a chance to show off, others to prove something, a few have some amends to make - but in this book, we meet five complicated people, whose lives for better or worse have somehow been influenced by one or all.
Joe Travera, who is gay, victimized and assaulted in high school, went on to be a Hollywood director. Yet Joe's life is missing something and when a few personal crisis occur, he knows the strength he holds to stand tall and face what made him leave home all those years ago.
Cherry Weiss (Patel) former cheerleader, popular girl, finds herself looking at her own mortality battling an aggressive cancer. She decides to hold the reunion, does all the work even as she undergoes a double mastectomy. Her search is on a deeper level than any other attending, if she can make it to November.
Scott Hunter is one of those people that never change, just got older. Now on a pension due to an injury he claimed he got while he worked for the Fire Department, he scams and drinks, lives in the same town and remembers what a big shot he once was. He hopes the reunion might be the thing to recapture his "glory days".
Suzanne Fitch (Thomas) is the girl who everyone knew and everyone was friends with or so it seemed. Now she finds herself married with children but in an empty house more often than not. She has been the keeper of secrets both new and old, will she let them out at the reunion especially when a few need to be told?
Kellie Blunt (Campbell) was the wallflower, the forgotten poor girl, whose half brother murdered their mother. Her life has been through bruises, battles, and scarred more ways than one. With a new face, a great job, a new lease on life, what scars from the past are holding her back from going to the reunion, what is she or who is she afraid to face and why?

Well written, each character very developed. The build up was great, ending tasteful and perfect! Loved it! Those of you that have endured High School will find something in this to connect to, especially if you have put some years between then and now.

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Monday, December 9, 2013

Review: ?How Can My Hate Help Me Love? How to Build the Feelings You Want By: M Cruz & Gregg Loy

How Can My Hate Help Me Love: How to Build the Feelings You WantHow Can My Hate Help Me Love: How to Build the Feelings You Want by Gregg Loy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

********* This is a First Reads *** Thank You Goodreads ***

Can the strong emotion of hate be guided to change your thinking and turn your life to good? The basis is working on Core Catharsis - asking questions, changing scenarios - But maybe I am getting ahead of myself.
I must say I was a little skeptical and felt that it was important not just to read the book, but to put the exercises into action to truly write a review. With the Holiday season full force, this is very simple to do - finding yourself at your boiling point as people shove into you in line, reaching from behind to that perfect last gift on the shelf.. this is one of the reasons why I see car accidents everywhere in the parking lots, the rush for a space, my usual response would be to push back, scratch back as the boiling over had been reached. Okay, I decided to take the steps, to use the exercises I had practiced, I kept cool. My family looked at my response and followed and we have had great shopping experiences (even in the craziness of others). This has spilled over in other areas too.
I think the book is easy to read, funny at times, goes over details in different ways multiple times so that the idea is understood, the exercises are helpful, and the results - well, they are there.

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Thursday, December 5, 2013

Review: The Witch's Get By: Diana Janopaul

The Witch's GetThe Witch's Get by Diana Janopaul
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An extraordinary story. An otherworldly narrator begins her story, letting us, the reader know, it is a snippet of her life, that she was a liar from necessity and very good at it - but she has no need of it now. Samantha, "Mancy", the village healer, although she wishes not to be called that, for it is only a step closer to the whisper of being called a witch, has kept to herself. The intuition she listens to, the herbs and flowers she gathers, the dreams that guide her - she knows these things are dangerous, knows first hand..from her mother to the woman she studied under, so she never wants coin or attention.
That changes one night, when a man is brought to her gravely injured by his brother, left to heal or die. With her determination she works fervently to heal him and begins to weave a lie even she can not escape - that he is her long, lost husband, William. He is there to heal her too. But soon the whispers begin and witch is muttered.. it might be too late.
Expressive and descriptive, powerful writing in an original story. The reading is so pleasant, like Irish lilt is to the ear. Ms. Janopaul has a voice, I am listening and looking forward to more.


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Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Review: Wake The Dawn By: Lauraine Snelling

Wake the Dawn: A NovelWake the Dawn: A Novel by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The small town of Pineville, Minnesota finds itself caught in one of the largest storms ever to hit. Border Patrolmen, Ben James, looking for Snakeheads (those helping illegals cross the border via Canada) comes across a newborn just as the sky begins to open. The only clinic in town, hosts a physicians assistant, Esther Hansen, who finds that her fears of being ill equipped are realized. With homes crashing down, trees uprooted, drug addicts with hostages - these chapters read fast and with amazing medical, action, and heart.
The main characters are wounded in their own way, one a widower - losing his wife and unborn child, who turned to alcohol to numb the days, only to find purpose in a child left behind, left to die.. the other battling PTSD, hanging on by a thread, afraid that she just isn't good enough, but that is where she is wrong.
As a reader, you will dive right into the pages, enjoy the main characters, but also fall for the town - those secondary characters bring so much life to the book and a deeper dimension. There is also little "lessons" to think about throughout the novel, and the readers guide is great for book group discussions.

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Sunday, December 1, 2013

Review: The Secrets of the Notebook By: Eve Haas

The Secrets of the Notebook: A Woman's Quest to Uncover Her Royal Family SecretThe Secrets of the Notebook: A Woman's Quest to Uncover Her Royal Family Secret by Eve Haas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Written in a style that reminds me of being with an enthusiastic best friend, getting lost within the adventure, over the storytelling. It all begins with a little notebook, with the fear of the anti-Semitic beliefs growing and her father holding a deep rooted family secret that could end with her, a sixteen year old Eve is seated and told that she is in fact a princess and her great great grandfather who was Prussian Prince August. The secret went on to say that it was his union with his last wife Emilie Gottschalk, the daughter of a Jewish tailor that they were descended from, against his family's wishes and that they will speak no more of this.
Eve understood this was a time of necessary secrets, but this information - to tell a girl that she is descended from royals and a love story could only be on the back burner for so long. Life goes on, from Hitler to trying to get family out safely and regrettably not being able to get her paternal grandmother Anna out of Prague. As the years pass, it wasn't until her father's untimely death that the notebook is located again and the fire inside is once more do ignited do to something... but now was only the time to gather information from her uncle and only limited, this is when she sees a portrait.
For every step Ms. Haas took, she took me with her, every experience not matter how little I was with her and enjoying it. There were moments of deep sadness that reached deep within me I thought I would not be able to shake off were it not for the gentle inspirational words written by Ms. Haas almost like a whisper to help guide you out of the depth that she once found herself staring at.
When she finally goes looking, this becomes her obsession, to find out about Emilie, then to find the missing papers about her great grandmother Charlotte, and in the end to seek out the woman she loved, felt connected to, and missed most of all her grandmother Anna. Ms. Haas's drive takes her into cold war East Berlin, beyond the wall and checkpoint into archives being opened to none other but her, yet denied to the rest of the world. It is this drive that keeps you reading and going with her, heart pounding searching for the answers... and when they come, relief, heartbreak, resolution, grief, and thanks to Ms. Haas hope all comes into play.
There is mystery, intrigue, secrets, loss, hope - you name it, it is in here and it is a true story. I think everyone would find something to love about this book.

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