Perfect Touch by Elizabeth Lowell

Perfect Touch by Elizabeth Lowell

This is a contemporary romance suspense novel (Rated NC-17)

♥♥♥♥

(Four Cowboy Hearts)

Book Summary

The queen of romantic suspense returns with a heart-racing tale in which a former soldier turned rancher and a beautiful designer race to stop a vicious killer—a battle for survival that threatens to explode in an intense and irresistible passion

An art dealer and owner of her own design studio, Perfect Touch, Sarah “Sam” Maddox travels the world to find the ideal artwork for her clients. Her sophisticated, comfortable life in San Francisco is light years away from the poverty of her family’s dairy farm, and Sam will do whatever it takes to keep her business strong. A dedicated urban career woman focused on her work, she doesn’t have time or energy for a family or distracting romantic entanglements.

Jay Vermillion recently inherited Vermillion Sky, a working ranch near Wyoming’s breathtaking Grand Teton Mountains—and the estates of the rich and restless. While he was fighting in two wars, his father tried to keep the homestead running, until illness stole his fight and then his life. Jay’s determined to restore Vermillion Sky, but first he’s got to settle a vicious battle with his former stepmother over some of his late father’s paintings. The last thing on his mind is a finding a wife and creating a sixth generation of Vermillions.

When Jay hires Sam to handle his father’s artwork, it’s love at first sight—a mutually inconvenient attraction that is soon complicated by a double murder at the edge of the ranch and a potential betrayal even closer to home. Working together to unmask a murderer, Sam and Jay try to fight the intense heat between them. Then the killer targets Sam. And suddenly, Jay, the war-weary soldier, finds something he’s once again willing to die for . . .

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My Review

I’ve never read anything  by this author before and I will look for more of her books in the future. This story was a solid read that reminded me of authors I’ve read in the past, Nora Roberts and Mary Higgins Clark.

I received this hardback ARC from the publisher for an honest review.

This story is solid from a storytelling perspective. I really liked the two main characters and rooted for them all the way. I felt their attraction and wanted the best for both of them. The story was fast pace and kept moving. At some point, I found it hard to put down.

Now, I knew I was most likely getting a HEA based on the tone of the story, hence it was somewhat predictable. I knew the who done it early on as well as the twist. I’m not sure if it’s my genius, lol or a lack of twist storytelling on the author’s part. But it was obvious for me where this story would lead. I was surprised on one front with the mom. I’ll leave it at that.

Otherwise, I think the author tried to dance over the insta love with the “pre-talks” the characters had before the story begin that we were only told about.  I also felt like the ending was rushed to give us an “epilogue” when we didn’t really get one. Still it was a really good read.

Overall, I would recommend this as a light read. I would describe it like comfort food when you want to curl up and smile while reading.

My book boyfriend is Jay.

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*Disclaimer - I am not the owner of this picture. I found it on the web for causal fun use on my blog for which I receive no compensation. If this picture belongs to you (you are the copyright owner) please let me know and I will remove it.

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

(ARC provided by publisher)

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

This is a young adult realistic fiction (Rated PG-13)

♥♥♥

(Three Weeping Hearts)

Book Summary

10:00 a.m.

The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.

The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03

The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05

Someone starts shooting.

Told over the span of 54 harrowing minutes from four different perspectives, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

My Review

In recent years, more and more senseless acts of violence have invaded our school. I was particularly interested to see how things would turn out.

I think for me the biggest disappointment from this story was that I didn’t even begin to connect with the characters until about 40% in. I think most of that had to do with how the story was told. While the multiple POVs should have given me more insight, instead it hampered the story because we would get snippets of each POV in a chapter ending on tiny cliffies. It should have made me want to turn the page to find more, instead, I didn’t connect with characters enough to care what happened.

One of the other big issues for me is Claire’s brother Matt. This isn’t a spoiler. He has lupus or so we are told by Claire. Yet he acts like he’s mildly retarded and has some other disabling disease that I know for a fact isn’t a result of lupus. As I’ve had friends and family with the disease and none of them are retarded or disabled in any way. So I thought it was rather odd for the author to portray the lupus in such an incorrect light. Lupus is when you’re immunity system attacks your organs. And this isn’t something you are born with per se. It’s something that manifests itself later in life. Thus it’s not the cause of retardation or being unable to walk. And it’s managed with drugs and you can live a rather long life with minor disruptions. Most people who walk by a person with lupus would never know they have it. So for the author to mention it without explaining what else was wrong with Matt (unless I missed it) seems unfair to those dealing with those diseases.

Other than that, while I liked the diversity of the characters such as race, sexual orientation, jock or not, I thought that the important stories around the main characters that should have been reminders and morals of stories were lost in the multiple jumping around POV.s I think one POV per chapter or even telling the story in third person would have served this story better.

I also think that the blog post and tweets were unnecessary and added no value to the story.

Still with all that said, there was something there. I did tear up, not so much of the characters as the situation lended itself to so many emotions. Just sad situation. I just wished the story and the characters would have been fleshed out better.

Don’t take my word on it. If the blurb captures you, you should give it a try. You might love it.

My book boyfriend Tomas.

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*Disclaimer - I am not the owner of this picture. I found it on the web for causal fun use on my blog for which I receive no compensation. If this picture belongs to you (you are the copyright owner) please let me know and I will remove it.

Last Light (Night Owl #2) by M. Pierce

Last Light (Night Owl #2) by M. Pierce

This is an adult erotica novel (Rated NC-17)

 ♥♥♥♥♥

(Five Bunny Hearts)

Book Summary

Matt Sky is missing. After a solo ascent of Longs Peak that left only a large blood stain, tatters of climbing clothing, and the tracks of an animal in the snow, he is presumed dead ...

Hannah Catalano is guarding a secret ...


Tensions rise, secrets grow bigger, and passions run deeper in the highly anticipated second book in the Night Owl Trilogy.

My Review

Wow what a bumpy ride. I will admit that there were times I hated this book… and there were a lot of them. But when I step back and really think about it, when a book makes your FEEL so passionately not just about the story but the characters themselves good or bad, then an author has done their job right?. They’ve made you care about words on a page. So if you are so passionate about your feelings about those words, how can you possibly give a book that made you hate, a low rating? Is that really fair to the author? Do we only want books with predicable happy endings? Or should an author risk it all and piss you off enough to make you feel and set their book apart from the thousands of books out there?

Me thinks, the later. I read a lot. A LOT. I’m pretty sure at this point I’ve seen it all or a version of it because I read all genres. And it’s hard to surprise me.

I’m selective in what I read because I have so many choices. So generally, I pick books I know I’m going to like.

But enough about me, this book…

The author mentions at the end of the story about readers writing reviews and how important it is and how this author reads every review.

So it got me to thinking. I know I couldn’t have been the only person who in the last book felt annoyed by Hannah’s passiveness. Not that she can’t be passive, but how she was kind of a doormat and didn’t question internally or externally about things I as a woman would have, even if I ultimately didn’t mind it.

Well, either the author continued with the set trajectory with the story, or felt Hannah had been bashed enough, or wanted to clarify Hannah’s character. Whatever the reasons, Hannah came out guns blazing. I don’t think there was a point in this story that I didn’t agree with the actions or reactions she had/took. And I loved her all the more for it. Finally, she had her big girl pants on.

Matt on the other hand made me fall a little out of love with him. Okay, maybe not that drastic, but certainly I fell out of like with him. He just to me did almost everything wrong. And I hated him for it. Thank god he didn’t go down the predictable paths I thought he would. But at the same time, his thoughts and actions still weren’t good. And maybe that’s just me. I have a moral line I drawn in the sand for both my human and fictional people, lol. A lot of my book reading fans don’t have those same notions. So for some of you, you may not get mad with Matt at all. So no spoilers here.

At the end of it, I was pleased with the ending more than anything. It could have gone a number of ways. And again no spoilers because sometimes things happen for the best. So I’ll leave it at I was completely surprised by the ending. I wasn’t expecting it at all.

I’m going to have to stray away from tradition and not have a book boyfriend. Matt just didn’t make the cut and it would be mean to have Seth be my boyfriend. So well deserved…

My book girlfriend is Hannah.

Okay... I'll give you Matt too!

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*Disclaimer - I am not the owner of this picture. I found it on the web for causal fun use on my blog for which I receive no compensation. If this picture belongs to you (you are the copyright owner) please let me know and I will remove it.