Ride Steady (Chaos #3) by Kristen Ashley

Ride Steady (Chaos #3) by Kristen Ashley 

This is an adult motorcycle club romance novel (Rated NC-17)

♥♥♥♥1/2

(Four and a Half Joker Hearts)

Book Summary

The ride of her life . . . 

Once upon a time, Carissa Teodoro believed in happy endings. Money, marriage, motherhood: everything came easy---until she woke up to the ugly truth about her Prince Charming. Now a struggling, single mom and stranded by a flat tire, Carissa's pondering her mistakes when a vaguely familiar knight rides to her rescue on a ton of horsepower.

Climb on and hold tight . . . 

In high school, Carson Steele was a bad boy loner who put Carissa on a pedestal where she stayed far beyond his reach. Today, he's the hard-bodied biker known only as Joker, and from the way Carissa's acting, it's clear she's falling fast. While catching her is irresistible, knowing what to do with her is a different story. A good girl like Carissa is the least likely fit with the Chaos Motorcycle Club. Too bad holding back is so damned hard. Now, as Joker's secrets are revealed and an outside threat endangers the club, Joker must decide whether to ride steady with Carissa---or ride away forever . . .

My Review

This is my first time reading a Kristen Ashley book and thanks to Net Galley and the Publisher for giving me a copy.

Wow, I’ve been recommended this author many times. However, in recent years I find that sometimes the hype is just hype. So I stick to book and authors I know, so my reading experience will be enjoyable. (Except review, beta, and Arc books I receive).

I’m glad I was granted this book. Now being that this is my first KA book, I haven’t read the other books in this series. I’ve been told by reading friends that it isn’t necessary. And it isn’t. However, I can see how having read the others books would have acclimated me to the cast/players a lot easier.

This book is fantastic from the start. I love a broken man and Carson surely had it rough from the start. I’ve been rooting for him and actually her.

And can I just say, it’s unlikely that Kristen Ashley has read my reviews seeing I’ve never written a review about her before. However, it’s like she saw into my brain. Her characters say weeks into the relationship, I’M FALLING IN LOVE. They don’t jump in and say I’m in love. BRAVO!

So why not five stars? Why the half? This is an ARC provided to me, so I’m not sure if this is fixed. However, there is a house and it’s described as having one bathroom. Then later, the woman says she’s in the master bathroom. Small plot hole and a few grammar errors which I didn’t take off for.

I think what bugged me most is in the prologue, Carissa makes it seem like she won’t fall into the trap of a relationship with someone because she doesn’t love that person. However, in the following chapter, we learn she is in love with that person and goes the next step with that person. I’m trying to be cryptic. But it bothered me. It’s almost like why say that in the prologue if it’s not true.

The other thing, Carson’s biker name is Joker and I don’t really get why. He’s not a joker (someone that goes around telling jokes or kidding around). And he’s not sadistic like the Joker in the more recent installments of Batman. So why the name and it’s never really explained to us? If it was in previous installments, seeing that this is his book, I would think it would be explained again.

Anyway, excellent book. I will read the first two books in the series. I think KA has found a new fan in me.

My book boyfriend Carson/Joker.

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Magic Shifts (Kate Daniels #8) by Ilona Andrews

Magic Shifts (Kate Daniels #8) by Ilona Andrews

This is an adult urban fantasy novel (Rated NC-17)

♥♥♥♥♥

(Five Outstanding Hearts)

Book Summary

In the latest Kate Daniels novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews, magic is coming and going in waves in post-Shift Atlanta—and each crest leaves danger in its wake…

After breaking from life with the Pack, mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate—former Beast Lord Curran Lennart—are adjusting to a very different pace. While they’re thrilled to escape all the infighting, Curran misses the constant challenges of leading the shapeshifters.

So when the Pack offers him its stake in the Mercenary Guild, Curran seizes the opportunity—too bad the Guild wants nothing to do with him and Kate. Luckily, as a veteran merc, Kate can take over any of the Guild’s unfinished jobs in order to bring in money and build their reputation. But what Kate and Curran don’t realize is that the odd jobs they’ve been working are all connected.

An ancient enemy has arisen, and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it—before it takes their city apart piece by piece…

My Review

No, this installment was not about romance. But then again, romance was in the air. And our author duo treated up to a love scene for all love scenes in this series. And we don’t get them often. I was quite shocked and satisfied at the same time. I hope they aren’t setting us up for this being a one-time deal.

This book answers some questions and foreshadows the future. It is sweet and heart-wrenching what Kate experiences with this book, so be prepared. This isn’t an easy journey for her or the reader.

And Curran. I love that man even more. I’m still sad what he gave up but for the fact that he makes Kate see he’s made peace with it and she’s worth it, makes me swoon. And the damn ending… it’s not a cliffy that I’m talking about. It’s the sweetness that is Curran that made me wish there was more to the story.

Oh, one more thing. This book made me cry. This author duo pulled out all the stops and made me feel so much, I was balling at one time in the story. And hell, how often does that happen in an urban fantasy book. Two thumbs up for them (author duo).

Audio Review

Renee Raudman did an excellent job with narration.

My book boyfriend is Curran. (He is who I would cast)

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Hung (Selected Sinners MC #4) by Scott Hildreth

Hung (Selected Sinners MC #4) by Scott Hildreth

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

♥♥♥♥

(Four Hanging Hearts)

Book Summary

Stand-alone. No cheating, no sex outside the relationship, no love triangles, no club whores, HEA, no cliffhanger. 

Kat 

Being raised by my asshole police officer father and my subservient mother, I went to college with a penchant for outlaw alpha males. I knew Dalton Biskette was in the Selected Sinners MC, and a bad boy; but the night he walked into my bar I had no idea how bad he really was. He was tall, covered in tattoos, had gauged ears, was muscular, and had awesome beard. Just watching him walk was enough to make my lady bits itch, but after our first night together I found out although he was a bad boy, he was really good at some things...

He was perfect in my eyes. 

My police officer father disagrees… 

And so does my former Marine ex-boyfriend who just got out of jail. 

Biscuit 

The license plate on my bike says it all – RFOF – Ride, Fuck, Or Fight. 

I’ve never met a girl who made me stop and pay attention to her until I met Kat. Kat's tall and gorgeous and is able to take all I can sexually dish out without complaint. There’s only one problem, her father’s a cop. 

And I hate cops. 

If he thinks he can stop me from fucking his daughter, he’s as wrong as the day is long. 

HUNG is a stand-alone MC Romance with an HEA, and is book IV in the Selected Sinners series of stand-alone full length novels. This novel is 71,000 words of action-packed erotic romance. There is no cheating, nor is there sharing of partners, but the sex is detailed, graphically depicted, and frequent. No other book is required to tell this tale. PLEASE be over 18 to enjoy this book. 

My Review

This book had some serious laugh out loud moments. I mean burst out people staring at you kinds of laughs. They catch you off guard and blurt out of your mouth. Beware of drinking while reading, you just might snort some liquid.

Okay, but it’s not like the entire book is funny. I would say the first half is funnier than the second, but that didn’t take away my enjoyment of the book.

I really liked Dalton and he felt like a guy (basically he felt real, like a guy wrote him). It was different than some books that “claimed” to be written by guys. This felt spot on. With that said, there are some crude moments, especially in some of the humor that felt like guy talk and I loved it.

And well, the woman in the story felt real too. All her emotions and “girly”ness felt real too. And the sexy times, yum. A little stretch here and there like the length of his tongue, but a girl can dream.

The one thing that shot this book down from five stars is that it didn’t feel like a biker’s book. Some of the things that happened with the club were glossed over and a summary of the events were given. I would have liked to explore some of those topics. Please note, I haven’t read the rest of the series. So this could be my problem and not the book or the author.

Overall, I liked this book enough to go back to read the series from the beginning. I just hope the other books live up to this one.

My book boyfriend Dalton/Biscuit.

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Labeled Love (Labeled Series #1) by Danielle Rocco

Labeled Love (Labeled Series #1) by Danielle Rocco

This is a young adult to new adult coming of age story (Rated R)

♥♥♥♥♥

(Five Amazing Balls Hearts)

Book Summary

I was twelve years old when I met him. I guess you could say opposites attract. We didn’t know it then. Or maybe we did, but we didn’t care. It’s not easy growing up in Los Angeles. Well, for me it was. But, not for him.

I’m a Hollywood girl born and raised in the business.

I have everything I’ve ever needed 

and only wanted him.

Is it possible to find your forever love when you’re thirteen? Maybe not for most, but I did.

I’m just a boy raised in the pits of Los Angeles.

I have nothing

and only ever wanted her.

Worlds apart

Miles away

It would only be her

It would only be him

Labels never defined us

But will they tear us apart

My Review

Some books make you smile, others make you cry. While the best of the books will give you all the feels and chills that will leave you wanting for more. This is true with Labeled Love.

I had no idea what to expect when I got this book. What I couldn’t imagine was picking up a book from a first-time writer and after reading, believing she knocked it out of the park.

The characters are rich on paper they step into your mind in Technicolor. The sound of their voices is as if they were speaking in your ear. The emotions they feel will make you swoon or want to be there for them. Hell, you want to be them. As you turn each page, you won’t want it to end.

When you get there, you will be begging for more. I can’t say enough good things about this book other than STEP OFF, JACE JAMES is MINE! Lol

If I had an award to give for BEST NEW AUTHOR OF THE YEAR, it would easily go to Danielle Rocco. This book is amazing and I look forward to more great things from her.

PICK THIS ONE UP. It’s on a ONE DAY ONLY SALE for 99 cents, today (August 6^th) only.  It’s a bargain at that price but even for a few bucks more, you won’t regret the purchase.

MY BOOK BOYFRIEND IS JACE JAMES (and I’m so not sharing, lol)

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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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Spider's Trap (Elemental Assassin #13) by Jennifer Estep

Spider's Trap (Elemental Assassin #13) by Jennifer Estep

This is an adult urban fantasy novel (Rated NC-17)

♥♥♥♥

(Four Metal Hearts)

Book Summary

The next thrilling book in Jennifer Estep’s New York Times andUSA Today bestselling Elemental Assassin series—“an extraordinary series… One of the most intriguing heroines in the genre” (Romantic Times Book Reviews).

Keep your friends close but your enemies within stabbing distance.

One important lesson I’ve learned in the assassination business is that to be the best you have to roll with the punches. Now that I’m queen of Ashland’s underworld—by default, not by choice—a lot more punches are being thrown my way. But I suppose that’s the price of victory for taking down some of the underworld’s top dogs. Good thing I have my Ice and Stone magic to help me survive my volatile new position. Just when I think things are finally settling down, someone tries to murder me during a hush-hush underworld meeting. But the real surprise is how strangely familiar my shadowy assailant seems to be.

My job is to maintain order among killers, crooks, and thieves, and soon I’m embroiled in a bloody game where the ability to keep secrets could be the greatest superpower of all. My enemies have all sharpened their knives and laid their traps, waiting for me to fall. But this Spider weaves her own webs of death…

My Review

With a long standing series, you want to read more about the characters at the same time, you hope for new innovated storylines.

It’s never a bad day to read about Gin and her struggles to survive. So here is the good and bad.

The Good

-We finally get some extra smexy time with Owen. The scene doesn’t seem like a last minute add to make the reader happy. It had all the feels. And I felt especially because it reminds us when disaster strikes.

- Kinkaid. Oh how I miss him. Parts of me wish Gin could be with Finn, Owen and Kinkaid. I love all of them. Kinkaid barely shows up these days. And a part of me feared that I wished to hard when something bad happens to someone in the book.

- I like that Gin is taking on a different role in the city.

The Bad

- I can’t imagine how Gin would forget Lorelei. Too much happened for her to forget. I wish it was more of Lorelei didn’t look familiar. So much time past and she didn’t recognize her from the girl she’d been??? But to conveniently have a dream to all of a sudden remember felt contrived.

- A couple of times weapons that wouldn’t be useful were brought into a fight and it seemed stupid on the part of the players using them to not choose better in advance as they weren’t sneak attacks against them.

- I just wish the storyline would change more to evolve around Gin’s new position instead of the same old fight. (She goes in and is unsuccessful against her foe, she fights again and the foe gets away, she fights again and barely overcomes to be the victor). (How about she goes in and defeats the foe but lets them live, they come back and kidnap someone, then she has to go in and save the day and off that person) IDK. Something different.

- I wonder why Owen and Gin haven’t progressed their relationship. Most of the time, they spend their nights separate. For two single people with their own place who claim to love each other so much, I’m shocked at the lack of “nights” they spend together. And I don’t mean we need to see (or be shown) the smexy time. But Gin spent a fair amount of time in the book at night home alone.

Audio Review

I couldn’t image anyone else other than Lauren narrate this series. However, with new players, Lauren is forced to use voices for players long dead but remembered for new characters. Not her fault.

Overall, I do look forward to the next installment. Based on the info we got at the end, I’m curious to see how things play out.

My book boyfriend is Owen.

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The Rook (The Patrick Bowers Files #2) by Steven James

The Rook (The Patrick Bowers Files #2) by Steven James

This is an adult crime/mystery novel (Rated R)

♥♥♥♥

(Four Drowning Hearts)

Book Summary

An arsonist has struck a top-secret research facility at a key US naval base. But it's not just a random terrorist attack. These people were after something specific. When Special Agent Patrick Bowers is called in to investigate, he is drawn into a deadly web of intrigue and deception. With his own criminology research being turned against him and one of the world's most deadly devices missing, Bowers is caught up in a race against time to stop an international assassin before it's too late.

Full of fast-paced action and mind-bending plot twists, The Rook is an adrenaline-laced page-turner that will keep readers up all night. Book 2 in the Bowers Files, this riveting look into the criminal mind is the perfect follow-up to James's well-reviewed The Pawn.

My Review

Mystery/Thriller/police Procedural books are my first love.

While the first book had me excited, this book left me a tiny bit disappointed. I didn’t go through the changes of trying to decide who did it, well, that’s not true. There was one player I couldn’t decide on.

This book sinks us into another mystery. What’s nice is there is somewhat of a tie into the previous book. However, I think if you skipped the first book, you wouldn’t have a hard time following.

The characters are well developed and you feel a part of the story. The plot isn’t convoluted and is plausible.

I also love that this author has a secondary storyline that is somewhat separate from the main mystery which keeps this a series. And the realism in the relationship between Pat and his stepdaughter and her choices are brilliant.

I will dive into the next book after I read a few books that were recently released that I was waiting for. Not that this isn’t’ good. But it has been around the block and isn’t going anywhere, lol.

Audio Review

Richard Ferrone did a good job with the narration and capturing the emotions from all the characters.

My book boyfriend is Patrick.

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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.