Hi to all of our fellow readers, followers, bloggers and authors. We at A Reader’s Review Blog hope that you are all well. We have been keeping an eye on the FIFA World Cup final, although not exactly enjoyed it at times, over these last few weeks. Although our home team, ENGLAND, our out we will still be keeping a look in to see how other countries are faring. Good luck to all those that make it through to the Second-Round and further!
Over the last week Tina and myself have been a little excited to receive our first printed business cards. Tina spent some time with the design and I think they look great!!
I have been feeling a little guilty over the last few weeks as I am running behind schedule with my reading. My two-year old is at an active stage and there is also the toilet training!! Rest assured this is simply a stage and in the near future I will be back on track. If you are on my list I will still be reviewing your work. I apologise for any delays and thank you enormously for your patience 🙂 Meanwhile, Tina has been very active with all of the blog tours, blitz’s, spotlights, reviews and more!! 🙂
And so, without further ado, here are our latest reviews (please click on titles to see review). Again there is a great mixture of genre to suit whichever mood you may be in!
Love to our followers!!
Caroline & Tina 🙂
Bounty Hunter by S.J. Hollis – YA, sci-fi, fantasy, apocalyptic/dystopian (reviewed by Caroline)
What do you do when your magic makes you a target? Run. Fight. Die.
14-year-old Kai Koson had nothing to do with the apocalypse, thank you very much. He was just a baby the day a coven of blood witches ripped a hole in the universe and the demons fell screaming from the sky. Earth and its magic perished. Witchkind was hunted and annihilated.
Now, because he was born a witch, Kai must spend his life running and fighting for survival. Even his own uncle seems determined to abandon him.
With nothing left to lose, Kai runs away and joins a team of galactic bounty hunters. But instead of providing an escape, it sets Kai on a path that will destroy everything he believes about himself and the apocalypse, transforming him into the most wanted teenager in the galaxy.
Written with humour, imagination and darkness, Bounty Hunter and its protagonist Kai Koson stand confidently beside Percy Jackson, Artemis Fowl, Alex Rider, Young Bond, Mortal Engines and Harry Potter.
To Dream of a Highlander (Highland Fae Chronicles) by Samantha Holt – fantasy, historical romance (reviewed by Tina)
Scotland, 1230 Sent on a rescue mission, Finn Mac Chaluim is prepared to do his duty, hand over the lass and return home. But fate has other ideas.
In the midst of a Norse invasion, Catriona barely escapes with her life. Masquerading as her sister, she finds herself in the hands of Finn who intends to hand her over to her sister’s betrothed, Laird Gillean. In the interests of bringing peace to her home, Catriona is determined to continue the ruse—even if it means going along with the marriage and denying her growing attraction to a man who keeps his hurts hidden behind a quick grin. If the green faery, Tèile, has anything to do with it, Catriona and Finn will come together—but only at the right time. Thanks to her last attempt at matchmaking, many paths were changed and now it’s up to her to put it right. Can she help Finn— who learned the hard way that sharing your life with someone only leads to heartache—get past his doubts? And will the battle-scarred Catriona even accept him into her heart? When Laird Gillean’s attentions toward Catriona become dangerous, both Finn and Tèile will find they have an uphill battle on their hands.
The Queen of Swords: A Paranormal Tale of Undying Love by Nina Mason – hot paranormal romance, urban fantasy (reviewed by Tina)
When Graham Logan, a Scottish earl turned vampire by a dark wizard’s curse, draws the Queen of Swords, he knows he’s about to meet the love of his life. For the third time. But surrendering his heart will mean risking her life…or making her what he is. Neither of which his morals will permit him to do. Graham, who believes he lost his soul to the curse, rages at God: Why give her back only to take her again?
Cat Fingal, the third incarnation of Graham’s twin flame, won’t let him escape so easily. As soon as they meet, she feels she knows him and begins having past-life flashbacks. A white witch, she casts a spell to summon him, wanting answers and to fill the void she’s felt all her life.
Graham has other problems, too. Like the seductress who wants him for herself and the dark wizard who cursed him and killed his beloved the first two times.
Will he find a way to save her this time around? Or will she save him?
21 Hours by Dustin Stevens – action, thriller, suspense (reviewed by Caroline)
Felix “O” O’Connor is an ex-con from central Ohio that has spent the seven years since being released from prison working on a ranch in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming. Rarely does he venture out into the world and never does it come looking for him. Both of those things change when his twin sister Alexa “Lex” Borden calls from Columbus, Ohio to ask for his help.
Earlier that afternoon, she and her husband were both beaten unconscious and their two year old daughter abducted from their front yard. Nobody saw a thing, the police are stumped, and it is a well known statistic that if a child isn’t found in the first 48 hours, they rarely are.
O immediately drives back to Ohio and finds himself with just 21 hours to find his beloved niece before potentially losing her forever. Plunging himself into a world he’d long ago left behind, he crosses paths with criminal masterminds, human traffickers, gun runners, drug smugglers, blood-thirsty spectators and suspicious detectives all in the name of bringing her home.
Double Alchemy: Climax (Double Alchemy #2) by Susan Mac Nicol – fantasy, paranormal, romance, erotic (reviewed by Tina)
Powerful modern warlock Quinn Fairmont found ecstasy with the silver-eyed and not-quite-human Cade Mairston, but to know true happiness the pair must best both the shadow of a long-ago lover and an ancient enemy who seeks to destroy love, light and all they hold dear.
A BLINDING LIGHT
It begins with a Book of Shadows discovered by a London coven. The grimoire is as dangerous as it is rare, which is why it evokes modern-day warlock Quinn Fairmont’s desire. He collects objects of great power and beauty—like his lover, Cade Mairston.
Against all odds he and Cade found each other, but their perils have just begun. First is the ex-lover who once held Quinn in thrall. And, someone has been killing warlocks. Could it be one of his own kind? There are those too who would challenge Quinn’s power in their quest to overthrow him as Grand Master. Or is the danger something darker, something invoked inadvertently, rising from the shadows, building from the very inside of a man until it brings an end with a quick flash of light? Of the truth, the surface has only been scratched. Now Quinn and Cade must go deeper and find both answers and an end. They must learn what lurks in the hearts of men…and whether it seeks to love or destroy.
Pushin’ Buttons (Boot Knockers #1) by Em Petrova – adult fiction, erotica, contemporary romance (reviewed by Tina)
It’s all in her head. Until she falls into the hands – and hearts – of two cowboys.
Sexual dysfunction. The words make Sybill cringe, but after one too many failed relationships, she has to face reality. Her O-button is broken, big time. Sick of sitting on the sexual sidelines, she books a week at Boot Knockers Ranch. If a passel of rugged cowboys vying to bring her bliss can’t get her off, nothing will.
Hugh had planned to sit out this week’s rotation of sexual therapy, but when he spots sultry Sybill, he pulls rank. His bone-deep urge to possess her isn’t enough to coax elusive orgasms out of her body, though. And his resolve to give the lady whatever she needs wavers when she shyly makes a mind-blowing request.
Riggs stepped aside when Hugh muscled in to claim Sybill, but he jumps at the chance to fulfill her ultimate fantasy – a threesome. But once they come together, all barriers are stripped away, exposing his love for the one man – and woman – he’d break every last rule to make his own.
Warning: This ain’t your daddy’s ranch. Contains cowboys administering sexual therapy to frustrated ladies – and each other. Fresh batteries recommended. You’re gonna need ’em!
30 Days to Syn by Charlotte Boyett-Compo – contemporary erotic romance (reviewed by Tina)
The ad reads: Young woman (American only) willing to engage in domination roleplay. No BDSM. Salary: $1,000,000 upon completion of contract. Length of employment: 30 consecutive nights.
Drowning in debt, Melina Wynth is going under for the third time. With a dead-end job and a disabled brother dependent on her, the ad in the paper could be the lifeline to keep her from sinking. Reeling in her courage, she casts her line. Synjyn McGregor is a shark—a very wealthy shark from Down Under—and his bite could prove to be her undoing. But Lina is determined she isn’t going to allow him to get away. The length of employment might read thirty nights, but she suspects he is fishing for something more.
Synjyn needs a woman who will love him—mentally and physically—as never before. A woman whose touch will not only put the billionaire in his place but keep him there…begging for more. He will quickly realize Lina is made for Syn.
A Romantica® contemporary erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave.
When it Happens to You: A Novel in Stories by Molly Ringwald – contemporary drama, chick-lit, women’s fiction, drama (reviewed by Caroline)
When it happens to you, you will be surprised. That thing they say about how you knew all the time, but just weren’t facing it? That might be the case, but nevertheless, there you will be.
Molly Ringwald mines the complexities of modern relationships in this gripping and nuanced collection of interlinked stories. Writing with a deep compassion for human imperfection, Ringwald follows a Los Angeles family and their friends and neighbors while they negotiate the hazardous terrain of everyday life–revealing the deceptions, heartbreak, and vulnerability familiar to us all.
In “The Harvest Moon,” a stay-at-home mom grapples with age, infertility, and an increasingly distant husband. In “Ursa Minor,” a former children’s television star tries to rebuild his life after being hospitalized for “exhaustion.” An elderly woman mourns the loss of her husband and her estranged relationship with her daughter in “The Little One.” In “My Olivia,” a single mother finds untapped reserves of strength to protect her flamboyant six-year-old son who wishes only to wear dresses and be addressed as Olivia. And in the devastating title story, a betrayed wife chronicles her pain and alienation, leading to an eviscerating denouement.
As the lives of these characters converge and diverge in unexpected ways, Ringwald reveals a startling eye for the universality of loss, love, and the search for connection. An unflinching yet poignant examination of the intricacies of the human heart, “When It Happens to You” is an auspicious literary debut.
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