Preston's Honor by Mia Sheridan BOOK REVIEW

Rating: 4 Stars

Title: Preston's Honor

Author: Mia Sheridan

Genre: New Adult/Contemporary Romance

Pages: 304 Pages

SUMMARY: 

There were two brothers—identical twins—and though I loved them both, my soul belonged to only one. Annalia Del Valle has loved Preston Sawyer all her life. The daughter of an impoverished migrant farmworker, she grew up as an outcast in what was no more than a tiny, cooped up shack in California’s Central Valley. But her heart found freedom in the land, in the wide-open spaces of Sawyer Farm, and in the boys who were her only friends. Preston has yearned for Annalia since he was a boy. But a sense of honor kept him from pursuing her until he’s unable to hold back any longer and their worlds—and bodies—collide one hot summer night. A night that sets off a chain of events that will alter their lives forever. Now Annalia is back in town after disappearing without a trace for six long months. Determined to reclaim her heart, her life, and the baby she left behind—the son who was created in a moment of lust and love and pent-up yearning. Preston has survived grief, a ravaging drought, and the despair of heartache, but he’s not sure he can survive Annalia again. And he might be unwilling to try. Will pride and bitterness keep him from the one thing he’s always longed for? How do you heal what is irreparably broken? How do you forgive that which is unforgivable? How do you discover that real honor comes not from circumstance, but from the place deep in our hearts where truth resides? And how do you move beyond the wounds of the past to discover that some loves are as solid as the ground beneath your feet, and as enduring as the earth itself? 

THIS IS A STAND-ALONE SIGN OF LOVE NOVEL, INSPIRED BY GEMINI. 

New Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

REVIEW: 

I've been a fan of Mia Sheridan's for a long time. There's always been something that I've felt was missing in the descriptions of her books and I've never been able to put my finger on it. I finally figured it out! Her books are more than just "romance". Oh, for sure there is romance! But there is more. I feel like her books should get the "women's fiction" tag too. Her books are usually a little slower paced than the usual traditional "romance" novels that I tend to read. There's not cover-to-cover action going on. They also tend to focus more on the self-discovery of the two lead characters...or at least one of them. There's more introspection, more self-analysis, and growing up in her books. It seems like they focus just a little more on individual growth than the romance. Not that the romance isn't front and center! It's always a focus. What I've finally realized that I take away from many of her books is that you have to know and love yourself before you can do or be that for another. 

I know! I can't believe it took me that long either. 

Mia Sheridan tackled some big issues with this book: depression,  isolation, racism and illegal immigration just to name a few. As always, she does so with grace. It's all very well done and thought provoking.  By the end, she makes you want to do something to help. 

I loved these characters and their stories. Especially Annalia or "Lia" (love her name too). She had a lot of depth and her story just made me want to hug her. All of them, Preston, Cole and Lia made me just want to shake some sense in to them at various times though. Then there is Preston and Cole's mother, along with a girl that the guys go to school with, make you just want to smack them - the mother and girl, not the guys. Oh and Lia's mom! I waffled between feeling horrible for her and just wanting to give her a good smack on the back of the head.

I swear, I'm not a violent person normally. 

Despite the violence they seemed to incite in me here and there,  I really did adore these characters and the relationship between all of them. I especially liked the dynamics between them as a group when they were all younger. The  way Preston and Cole seemed to be the  opposites in terms of strengths and weaknesses led to some interesting scenes. One thing was always clear though: their love for Lia. 

I also loved the crew from Lia's job at Abuelo's. They were all great characters and even though, from an overall perspective,  they didn't have much face time in the book, they had a lot of heart to them and really came to life. I love the tamale scene. 

Lia being Mexican was such a huge part of this book, even with a non English speaking mother, I would have liked to see just a little bit more of the Hispanic culture making an appearance.  That's something that I usually enjoy in books  - the opportunity to learn new things, but that's just a personal preference. We did get more of it in the last quarter or so of the book though. 

There is a lot of miscommunication or little to no communication. Those kinds of books can be frustrating for me, when the main conflict is mostly due misunderstanding but it's all done realistically and I could understand why things happened the way they did.

The epilogue was the perfect wrap up to the story and I loved it! I'm kind of hoping that the little tease at the end is a lead-in to the next novel. This author doesn't typically do that but you never know! 

Buy it here:

Midnight Lily by Mia Sheridan Book Review

 

Rating: 4 Stars

Title: Midnight Lily

Author: Mia Sheridan

Genre: New Adult/College/Contemporary Romance

Pages: 242 Pages

SUMMARY: 

A standalone romance from the New York Times bestselling author of Archer's Voice. 

Holden Scott is the prince of professional football. At least he was before he lost it all . . . or more to the point, before he threw it all away. Now he's out of a job, out of the public's good graces, and perhaps just a little out of his mind. So when a friend offers up his remote lodge in the wilds of Colorado, giving Holden some time away to get his life back on track, he can hardly say no. The last thing he expects is to see a beautiful girl in the woods—one wearing a white, lace dress who appears in the moonlight, and leaves no footprints behind. Is she a dream? A ghost? A product of his muddled imagination? Or something entirely different?

Midnight Lily is the haunting love story of two lost souls reaching for each other in the dark. A tale of healing, acceptance, and the worlds we create to protect our own hearts. It is a story of being lost, of being found, and of being in the place between.

THIS IS A STAND-ALONE SIGN OF LOVE NOVEL, INSPIRED BY VIRGO. Non-Paranormal, New Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

REVIEW: 

The author has requested spoiler free reviews so that the reading experience isn't ruined for others. That is not as easy as it may sound! I hate to just rehash what the blurb says because that's redundant. So,  words to describe this book: 

• Haunting
• Heartbreaking (at times)
• Beautiful
• Mysterious
• Complicated
• Sad
• Different 
• Unique

 I'm a huge fan of Mia Sheridan's work so I was excited for this release! This book, however, is different from anything of hers I've read in the past. Not bad, just different.  This is a book that you need to really pay attention to the details with. It's like getting up to go to the bathroom during a movie....don't do it! You're going to miss something if you do. I will also say that this book puts in mind of a movie, but I don't want to mention the title because it will give too much away. 

The book is well written, as always. The characters are very in-depth characters and charismatic.  You want  to get to know them better. You want to root for them. This is a book that embodies the sentiment of "nobody is perfect" and maybe even "who wants perfect? Perfect is boring." What is perfect though, is these two characters together. 

This is definitely a book that will be ruined by spoilers so try to avoid them at all costs. There's not a  lot more that I can say without giving things away. I hope you enjoy!

You can buy on Amazon here: Midnight Lily

Badass in my Bed

My life is music. I play it, I live it, I breathe it. Next week, I start my dream job playing cello with the Boston Symphony. My father might finally be proud of me, and I… well, I’ll have my music.

Then I met Dylan—tattooed, badass, always-hard Dylan. He’s nothing like anyone I’ve ever been with before. Just one night can’t hurt me.

But sometimes when you play with fire, you get burned.

Review: 4 stars

Title: Badass in my Bed

Author: Rae Lynn Blaise

Publisher:  Rae Lynn Blaise

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Short Stories, Romance

Pages: 69 pages

I'm actually pretty stoked about this series. You have a daughter that is trying to do the right thing, she's also a friend who is totally clueless outside of her music.  You have a friend that everyone should have, someone who will push you and who is looking out for you. You have a dad that's a...well he wants one thing for his daughter, no matter what. You have the sexy rocker you want to lick. You put those all together for a hot journey, it's sweet, sexy and a little heartbreaking.

I loved taking the journey with them and cannot wait for the next book!

Amazon Links:

#1: http://amzn.to/1Sd9NLx

#2: http://amzn.to/1Ctyt0E

#3: http://amzn.to/1CtyrG1

Cale by Victoria Ashley Release Day Blitz

Cover by CT Cover Creations

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Amazon UK Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B010VP01R0
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My name is Cale Kinley and I’m a fucking Virgin… Well, with the exception of my tongue. The countless things I can do with my tongue are bound to leave you breathless and begging for more, but more… is something that I can’t give. It’s a choice. My choice. There’s a reason for that. A very good reason, and that reason is her. Riley. She’s the only woman that I want to bury myself deep in. The one woman I have wanted since I was old enough to fuck. I never got my chance though, because she left. She had no choice and it stung like hell. But I couldn’t let her leave without telling her how I felt. I wanted her to be my first and I didn’t give a shit how long I’d have to wait. It’s been six years and now she’s back and sexier than all hell. Just the sight of her stops my damn heart from beating. I want her and for more than just having her as my first. I’m determined to have her in every way possible. She thinks this is still a game; that I’ve already given myself to countless women. What she doesn’t know is that I have a lot of willpower. When I want something as badly as I want her, I don’t let shit stand in my way. I’m going to prove that to her. There’s just one little problem I need to take care of… Him.

After securing my apron filled with my lotions and oils, I turn to the table and my heart starts pounding like crazy in my chest as I see a body, barely covered by a small towel, just waiting to be touched by me. I swallow hard while letting my eyes roam over the stiff muscles of the tanned back on display. The top of the client’s ass peeks out of the towel, displaying the roundest, firmest ass I have ever seen before… and the dimples in his back are making it hard for me to gain some much-needed confidence. Doing a silly little shake in an attempt to shake my nerves off, I squirt some oil in my hands and slowly run my hands up the bottom of his back, being sure to make it feel as insanely good as I possibly can. The feel of his muscled back beneath my fingers and the deep, undeniably sexy moan that escapes his throat almost has me turned on as I start to go lower, until I’m right above his ass. “Go lower,” the deep voice whispers. “Take the towel off.” I almost deny his request, when I remember that Sensual Touches is clothing optional. That’s the one thing that almost kept me from applying, but comparing the pay that you get here versus the other options, I knew what my choice had to be. “This is new to me,” I whisper, before speaking up. “Let me know if you get uncomfortable and I’ll replace it before you flip over on your back.” “That won’t be an issue,” he says huskily. Keeping my moan to myself, I lower my hands down to his ass, removing the towel little by little as I continue to get lower. As soon as my hands reach the bottom of his ass, I remove the towel completely and hold back the gasp that fights to escape me. Holy hotness… Remembering that this was per his request, and that it’s fully professional to be doing this here at Sensual Touches, I grip the back of his upper thighs and massage it while rubbing my thumbs over the bottom of his tight ass, enjoying every single moment of it. In fact, I’m enjoying it so much that I almost feel guilty. Tyler and I have been broken up for less than a week, and here I am enjoying myself as I rub on another man’s ass, listening closely for each moan that he will grace my ears with. After spending a good, long, fifteen minutes on his ass itself, I focus my attention on the rest of his muscular body, mentally preparing myself for the rest of his gloriousness that I’ll be seeing in the flesh as soon as I finish up on his backside. Now I understand why that Hailey chick is going to be pissed off. Massaging this stud has to be the best part of her job here. How can you not enjoy this? Pulling my hands away, I turn away to give him some privacy. “I’m ready for you to flip over, sir. Please let me know when you’re ready.” “I’m always ready for you, Rile.”



Review:

I have decided every city needs a "walk of shame". Yep, every city, not even joking.

Holy smokes this book starts out hot and just about melts your kindle from the get go. If you're looking for hot and steamy look no further!

How hard would it be for you to let the love of your life go without making love to them?  Can you imagine  the temptation Cale had everyday and still be a virgin? It blows my mind that he was able to do that. BLOWS MY MIND!

You get to see how sweet Cale can be and what steps he takes to show Riley that she's it for him. You get to see the struggle for Riley on choosing which man she wants to be with.

It seemed like it moved very quickly, then I remind myself that they had spent years together as best friends before she moved away. I would have liked to have seen more of the internal debate that Riley had on choosing which man she wanted to be with and seen more memories from the beginning but that's just a personal preference. I really enjoyed this book and it's a great addition to the Walk of Shame Series!


Victoria Ashley grew up in Rockford, IL and has had a passion for reading for as long as she can remember. After finding a reading app where it allowed readers to upload their own stories, she gave it a shot and writing became her passion. She lives for a good romance book with tattooed bad boys that are just highly misunderstood and is not afraid to be caught crying during a good read. When she’s not reading or writing about bad boys, you can find her watching her favorites shows such as Sons Of Anarchy, Dexter and True Blood. She is the author of Wake Up Call, This Regret, Slade, Hemy, and Get Off on the Pain. Victoria is currently working on more releases for 2015.

Victoria’s Facebook Page

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Salvation by Ahren Sanders

Her innocence is masked with vulnerability. Until her walls crumble…

Undeniable Desire

His world is full of despair. Until he finds her light…

Unyielding Chemistry

Falling in love seemed to heal them both. Until their haunting pasts threatens to destroy…

Unrelenting protection

Robbie Hayes’s life changed the day a horrific accident shook his foundation. He’s resolved to regain control. While the physical wounds have healed, the emotional scars remain.

Will he ever be able to outrun the memories? Can she be his salvation?

Ember Walker’s life hasn’t been easy. Fleeing from a world filled with hatred gives her a fresh start, one she desperately craved. Now, she’s stronger, but guilt and insecurities still plague her.

Will she ever be able to outrun her memories? Can he be her salvation?

“What the hell is so funny?” I lick up the column of her exposed throat.

“The look on your face.”

“Glad to amuse you, babe, but you won’t think it’s quite so funny when I punish you for your little stunt.”

“Whatever you say. It was innocent.”

“Innocent? You’re in a bar in a strange city, with some of the craziest girls in the world, looking like a fucking sex kitten, and you call that innocent?”

“You think I look like a sex kitten?” Her voice goes low.

“Absofuckinglutely. Hottest girl in this room. The hair, the body, the outfit... Every guy in here, with the exception of our friends, wants to fuck you. Lucky for me, that’s my job. And when I get you alone, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Her eyes grow hazy with lust, and she licks her lower lip. “Can you tell me more about this punishment?”

I move her to a dark corner and pin her against the wall. “Stop looking at me like that, Ember. I’m not above fucking you against the bathroom wall.”

“Ummm, sounds like fun. What else.” She taunts me, and I grow hard against her pelvis.

“You like that? You want me to talk dirty and tell you I want to eat your fucking pussy until you beg for mercy for leaving me tonight? Make you come silently against my mouth, fingers, and dick while we’re in a house full of people?”

“Yes, I want that. I want you any and every way I can get you.”

 

Rating: 4 Stars

Title: Salvation

Author: Ahren Sanders

Publisher: Ahren Sanders

Genre: Military, Romance, Contemporary

Pages: 379

Review: 

This book is book three of the Surrendering series. It can be read as a stand alone, however, I would definitely recommend reading the other books in the series because the characters are recurring and I think it would be more enjoyable to the reader to know them better. 

I loved the secondary characters in this book. Ember's Aunt Chloe is a total trip and I just wanted to hug her cousin, Cruz. Oh, and Cruz's boyfriend, Alex? Yeah, they are both yummy. They are gay, over protective, alpha male big brother figures to Ember and I loved them to death. I want them to be my big brothers so we can all watch chick flicks together and be snarky together.

Ember's childhood is heartbreaking and causes her to be very shy, withdrawn and insecure. Robbie, an ex-marine, helps bring her out of her shell and show her how to not be afraid to be herself. He's understanding about her insecurities while still being the typical alpha ex-military over-protective sexy male. The sexual attraction between these two is intense and the sex scenes are steamy hot!
 

Without giving too much away, there are other characters from Ember's past that show up whose ass I wanted to kick. Of course problems ensue and then I briefly wanted to kick Robbie's ass too at one point. There is a HEA though and no cliffhangers so definitely read this one, you won't regret it!  

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AMAZON

AMAZON

Ahren spent her formative years living in an active volcano. There her family made collectible lava art. She studied rock collecting at the Sorbonne in France. There she met the love of her life-her pet pig Sybil. She returned to the states and started writing. She is happily married to a guy who used to live under a bridge and she met while pole-dancing. They have one amazing daughter.

Now, meet the real me. I grew up in the south and consider myself a true “Southerner”. Most of the special locations mentioned in my books are reflections of my favorite places. Living on the Florida coast, my family spends a lot time at the beach which is where I usually can be found with a book in my hand. I started writing my Surrender Series, in the spring of 2013 and have received incredible support from the Indie community. Throughout this year, I have been privileged to meet some amazing people that I am thankful to have in my life.

Visit me online: Facebook * Goodreads * Twitter

Click on link below to join my mailing list! http://eepurl.com/S4RI9

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Becoming the Whiskey Princess Tour Blog

Title: Becoming the Whiskey Princess

Author: Toni Aleo

Series: Taking Risks #2

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Toni Aleo

Pages: 199 Pages

Rating: 4 Stars

Summary:

For better or worse, for richer or poorer, ‘til almost death do they part…

Amberlyn Reilly took a risk and found a new life in Ireland. She did something drastic and jumped in front of a loaded gun for the one she knew she couldn’t lose. And with her mother’s last request, she did more than fall in love. She fell into Declan O’Callaghan—with her eyes wide open and her damaged heart and soul leading the way.

When Irish-born Declan O’Callaghan spotted Amberlyn across the lake, he knew his life was about to change. And it did. Now he has everything he’s ever dreamed of —he’s marrying for love, and with that love, the family distillery will now be his as long as he marries before the deadline.

Things are moving fast. It’s now or never. And as their beautiful relationship grows, time is something these two don’t have a lot of. Declan’s and Amberlyn’s souls are tightly tethered, but will the questions and second thoughts of others prevent them from having a life they’ve both only begun to dream of? Will family and the obligations that come with the O’Callaghan name push them to their breaking point? Or has the Whiskey Prince truly found his happily ever after taking Amberlyn as his Princess?

Goodreads | Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iTunes

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Review:

This book starts out where Whiskey Prince ends. You have to read Whiskey Prince to know what is going on in this book. So, if you haven't read it, you need to stop reading this and go start that book.

I'm going to start off saying that I love Toni Aleo. I mean I love her!! Unfortunately, this book just didn't seem to hit all the emotions that I'm used to having when reading her books.

Ok, I felt that Amberlyn was actually whiny in this book. She was not my favorite heroine. I understand she had lost her mom leaving her an orphan, moved to a new country, etc. She had met Declan, who I want as my bbf or if I can incorporate some of his mannerisms and demeanor into my husband that would work for me too.  She shows how much she loves Declan but then ends up second guessing herself way too much.  She does show her strength in places but when it comes to Declan she needs to be talked to.

Declan is a sexy talking man with an Irish brogue. Yum! That man is hot! He will do anything and everything to make sure that Amberlyn knows how much she is loved by him. He goes way above what the average guy would do to make sure that his woman knew she was loved. There was a few times I was throwing my hands up for him and thinking "really?" He has a lot more patience than I do!

Fiona, Amberlyn's cousin, has no filter and cracks me up big time. It's good that Amberlyn has her to help settle her and help her think straight. She actually gives pretty good advice most of the time. I like the interaction between her and Kane, Declan's best friend. You can see the love that they have too.

Lena breaks my heart in this story but she shows how strong she is and what she is capable of. 

Declan's mom is something else. In Whiskey Prince I couldn't stand the dad and now it's flipped to where I can't stand the mom. Crazy, I tell you!! 

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About the Author

Toni Aleo is the author of the Nashvhille Assassins series: Taking Shots, Trying to Score, Empty Net, Falling for the Backup, and Blue Lines.

When not rooting for her beloved Nashville Predators, she’s probably going to her husband’s and son’s hockey games and her daughter’s dance competitions, taking pictures, scrapbooking, or reading the latest romance novel.

She lives in the Nashville area with her husband, two children, and a bulldog. Read more about Toni here.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads 

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