Romance Review: Zane by Brenda Jackson

From New York Times bestselling author Brenda Jackson—the first of a new trilogy starring three Westmorelands who are impossible to resist: Zane, Canyon and Stern.No woman walks away from Zane Westmoreland. But when Channing Hastings does just that, it leaves the rancher reeling—and then she returns to town, engaged! Zane will do whatever it takes to show her that there is no man for her but him.

Title: Zane

Author: Brenda Jackson

Series: Westmorelands

Publisher:  Harlequin

Format: ebook from NetGalley

ISBN: 037373252X

Genre: Romance
Release date: July 1st 2013

Number of pages: 192

I started this series a few years ago, but never managed to read them all. I had no idea the Westmorelands had released 24 already, but that’s beside the point because you can read them as stand alone. The other couples are mentioned, but nothing to serious about and the main focus is always the couple leading the book.

 

This book is about Zane Westmoreland and he’s super hot with cowboy boots and a hat, but there’s more to him than just that. He loves his family and until a few moments before only his family, but now Channing is back and he discovered that she’s perfect for him.

 

The thing is Channing is so over waiting for Zane that she decided to move on. So now Zane is crawling after her and trying to make her understand that he’s in love with her. Channing wasted a long time suffering because she loves him and wants more than just a fling, but Zane has a string of woman and now is really difficult for her to just accept he changed.

 

I really liked Zane crawling because he showed a fun and sweet side of a cowboy, plus they went in a few dates so things went back to normal couple dating. These two are super cute together.

 

Series in Order

#1 – Delaney’s Desert Sheikh
#2 – A little Dare
#3 – Thorn’s Challenge
#3.5 – Tis the season… for romance
#4 – Stone Cold Surrender
#5 – Riding the Storm
#6 – Jared’s Counterfeit Fiancée
#7 – The Chase is On
#8 – The Durango Affair
#9 – Ian’s Ultimate Gamble
#10 – Seduction, Westmoreland Style
#11 – Spencer’s Forbidden Passion
#12 – Taming Clint Westmoreland
#13 – Cole’s Red-Hot Pursuit
#14 – Quade’s Babies
#15 – Tall, Dark… Westmoreland!
#16 – Westmoreland’s Way
#17 – Wrapped in Pleasure
#18 – Hot Westmoreland Nights
#19 – What a Westmoreland Wants
#20 – A Wife for a Westmoreland
#21 – The Proposal
#22 – Feeling the Heat
#23 – Texas Wild
#24 – One Winter’s Night
#25 – Zane
#26 – Canyon
#27 – Stern

Stacking the Shelves #46–June Edition

 

 

Stacking the Shelves is a *new* weekly meme to feature all the books that have made their way into our homes this week!

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.

This is a big post, but I haven’t been updating for a month, so the number is higher than usual.

Bought:

          

Books Purchased (11): I was only supposed to get 5 books, but a few pre-orders arrived this month.

 

Galley:

              

Review Requests (16): I passed a little too much on my number off 7, but it’s okay since I already read 7.

That’s all for this week. What you got to show? Leave me a link and I’ll come to visit.

Romance Review: Suddenly Beautiful by Boone Brux

Being the son of Aphrodite isn’t a walk in the clouds. Rebelling against his demi-god status, billionaire make-up mogul Toraos Stephanos fights to separate his personal life and the immortal world by swearing off demi-god girlfriends forever. Too bad his newest employee can’t take the hint.
Though Nikki secretly pines for her smoking hot boss, no way will she jeopardize her job and independence professing her love to a guy so clearly out of her league. Too bad that leaves her with only imagining him naked and thinking evil thoughts about the new girl. After a single bottle of Ambrosia and one night of passion… Nikki finally thinks she has a chance with the man of her dreams. But the next morning, Tor pretends like nothing happened, leaving Nikki with an emerging drive for combat—after all, turns out she is the daughter of Ares and she’s about to make her mama proud.
All is fair in love and war… and Nikki’s not about to let anyone forget it.

Title: Suddenly Beautiful

Author: Boone Brux

Publisher:  Entangled: Covet

Format: ebook from NetGalley

ISBN: 1622661168

Genre: Romance
Release date: June 10th 2013

Number of pages: 250

 

I do love a mythology book so this one was perfect and I discovered Entangled makes one of the best romances. This one was not different and I fell in love with Nikki and Tor romance. They are so different in the first chapters but after a super hot night together we can see Nikki is really a demi-goddess and she showed her powers right and left.

 

I loved getting to know Nikki during this book, she’s sweet and very normal girl, but we can see that her life is more than just beauty contests, plus she’s in love with her boss Tor. After a reunion we can see Tor is really drunk or high, but the point is he spent a really hot night Nikki and never remembered a thing afterwards, so Nikki became a bit angry and being the daughter of Ares things progressed really fast to disaster.

 

I loved seeing Nikki discovering this different side of her life and meeting the Gods, Ares was so much more than I expected and Aphrodite is super nice. She just wants a normal life, but Nikki discovered things are more than normal and Tor became a nice thing to add to the madness.

 

I loved this plot and wish this could became a series, I liked the Gods personalities and it would be nice seeing the other Gods too.

Young Adult Guest Review: Eyes Ever to the Sky by Katie French

When Hugh wakes up in a smoldering crater—no memory, no clothes—a single thought echoes in his head…trust no one. Frightened and alone, with no memory of who he is, he stumbles upon a grisly murder scene and is fatally shot. He wakes, only to find he can heal himself. He has superpowers, and he’s going to need them.
Desperate and bleeding, Hugh stumbles upon fifteen-year-old Cece, who’s got enough troubles of her own. Between caring for her bipolar mother and trying not to get evicted from her run-down trailer, Cece may be the only person struggling as much as Hugh. Drawn to Hugh, Cece finds a love she’s never known. But when the real killer—a man-hunting beast—chooses another victim, Hugh and Cece realize they must unlock the clues to their past if they have any chance at a future.

Title: Eyes Ever to the Sky

Author: Katie French

Series: The Sky Trilogy

Publisher:  Katie French Books

Format: ebook (PDF)

ISBN: 0615811213

Genre: Young Adult
Release date: April 9th 2013

Number of pages: 194

Review by Melissa

There’s not a single bad thing that I could say about Eyes Ever to the Sky, except that maybe it should have been longer, 194 pages of Hugh was not enough for me.  The book starts off when Hugh wakes up naked in the bottom of a crater at a park. He hardly remembers who he is, let alone how he came to be there of all places. At the other side of the story (it’s told from multiple points of views) we meet Cece, short for Cecelia, who lives with her bipolar mother in a trashy trailer. Her life is all messed up, basically living among garbage and constantly worrying for both of their safety. Mama’s health is dropping with every passing day, so Cece needs help urgently or she will lose her along with her freedom from foster care.

It’s astounding the way the characters grow throughout the story. We started out meeting a confused, terrified boy with no clue whatsoever of his identity and the next thing we see is a young man so ready to take on anything that threatens the life of Cece. Hugh’s survival instincts were impressive, though quite risky. He doesn’t trust anyone, his guts tell him not to, instead deciding to venture on his own and see where this leads him. When he falls in love with Cece, it doesn’t really feel like insta-love, it’s more like knowing he can trust her. She shows him kindness, ready to help him in any way she can, just like she would like others to lend her a helping hand.

“Hugh stared into Cece’s face. She stared back, her brown eyes filling with tears. ‘Don’t worry about me,’ she whispered.
‘I will’ he said, his voice trembling. ‘I will always worry about you.’ ”

That line made me tear up in front of my friends. I wish I had waited until I was home to fall apart and crush my heart a little bit without an audience, but I just could not stop reading. So yeah, I personally loved this book… and Hugh.

 

Note: I was provided with a free copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review

.

 

Series in Order

#1 – Eyes Ever to the Sky
#2 – Unknown

Romance Review: Sunset Seduction by Charlene Sands

The night she’ll never forget…
Is a night he can’t remember…
Audrey Thomas can’t forget the night of passion she shared with Lucas Slade, the man she’s loved for years. But it seems the sexy, super-rich rancher has no clue who warmed his bed!
The mystery seductress at his Lake Tahoe retreat was Audrey? His best friend’s off-limits kid sister? Now she’s back at Sunset Ranch…and having his baby! Honor bound to do the right thing, Lucas never reckons she’ll say I won’t to his proposal—or that she’ll settle for nothing less than all this cowboy has to give.

Title: Sunset Seduction

Author: Charlene Sands

Series: The Slades of Sunset Ranch

Publisher:  Harlequin Desire

Format: ebook from NetGalley

ISBN: B00BAT2WHO

Genre: Romance
Release date: June 1st 2013

Number of pages: 192

I love a good cowboy book and Luke was perfect with good looks and a very protective side. He loved Audrey like a little sister but had no idea she had a very different feeling for him and they shared a super hot night together, the problem he didn’t remember the woman in question and Audrey was completely hurt about it.

 

So after a few awkward moments she accepted to work in the ranch and let it go, but she was still in love with him and after some help from a friend, operation seduction started. Luke had no idea Audrey was the perfect woman he shared a very hot night. But once Luke discovered we can clearly see he’s afraid and decided to run from his mistake, so no happy ending for those two, but Audrey was pregnant and things changed quite a lot after that.

 

I really loved Audrey, she has strength and a lot of hard work, but she’s not a little princess waiting for her prince. She works and follow her life, because Luke is clearly oblivious to her love. I loved these two finding a half way. Luke needed someone strong and Audrey was perfect for him.

Series in Order

#1 – Sunset Seduction
#2 – The Secret Heir of Sunset Ranch (Expected publication: November 5th 2013)

Top Off Tuesday #69

What better way than to top off a good book than with a GREAT Cover!

Amanda from On a Book Bender, Christi from Smitten with Reading, and Felicia from Geeky Blogger’s Book Blog want to see the covers that made you swoon!  Feel free to play along and show us your favorite covers. Button made by Missie.

New Year and I decided to continue with my harlequin books. I think they deserve to be exposed, now look if those abs could ever be hidden.

Kappa Psi Kappa brother Taariq Bryson loves the single life. So when his frat brother sets him up on a date with his sister-in-law Anna Jacobs, Taariq figures it will be just another notch on his freewheeling playboy belt. But the two prove to be a stormy combination, that is until they’re stranded together and share a night of explosive passion.Anna’s track record with men is a disaster. And her blind date with sexy, arrogant Taariq Bryson tops the list. So when they’re isolated in a remote cabin, Anna prepares for the worst. Instead, the sexual sparks fly…but it’s more than body heat that keeps this unlikely pair coming back for more. Can their combustible, passionate affair ignite a real love match?

Erotica Review: King Cobra by Jayne Rylon

After Eli’s mother died, his father honored her life’s mission as a social worker by taking in several kids from the wrong side of the tracks. Not all of them stuck, but those who did became Eli’s quasi family.
Their bonds, forged in fires set by their personal demons, are unbreakable—or so Eli wants to believe. Especially since he and Alanso, his best friend and head mechanic, witnessed the overpowering allure of polyamory while visiting the Powertools crew.
Much as Eli would like to deepen the relationships among his foster brothers and sister in the Hot Rods Restoration Team, he’s hesitant to risk everything on a quick romp behind a stack of tires.
But when Eli catches Alanso exploring their mutual fantasy at a known hookup spot in a public park, all bets are off. And Eli must decide if it’s time to jump in full throttle—and trust his instincts to guide him through the night. If the pair of mechanics can dodge the potholes in their own relationship, maybe they can race together toward the unconventional arrangement with Mustang Sally they both desire.
Warning: Fasten your seatbelts, this is going to be a wild (and naughty) ride!

Title: King Cobra

Author: Jayne Rylon

Series: Hot Roads

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Format: ebook

ISBN: 1619213389

Genre: Erotica
Release date: April 16th 2013

Number of pages: 144

 

 

I loved meeting the crew in her Powertools series and was dying for a story about Eli and Alanso, because they shared a super hot moment in Hammer it Home, so this book was perfect in some moments for this, but I was hoping for another crew and it didn’t happen yet.

 

This was more focused on Eli and Alanso working their fears and discovering a different relationship. It’s pretty clear Eli is afraid off what people will think, but mostly his father. Alanso is tired of hiding and wants a normal life with someone that truly loves him.

 

So the Eli and Alanso moments were super hot!! But something was missing in this book because we can clearly see they want Sally to be a part of their love and I missed this. I know this is book two story, but there’s thought in my mind about her with them and the rest of the gang was a bit like ghosts.

 

I wanted something like the crew, but the relationship was over the top super hot.

 

SERIES IN ORDER

#1 – King Cobra
#2 – Mustang Sally
#3 – Super Nova (Expected publication: December 3rd 2013)
#4 – Rebel on the Run (Expected publication: 2014)
#5 – Swinger Style (Expected publication: 2014)
#6 – Barracuda’s Heart (Expected publication: 2014)

Romance Review: No Strings Attached by Nicolette Day

She wants one night. He wants her forever.
Hayden Summers just landed the job of a lifetime taking pictures for Time magazine, but she’s determined to leave with no regrets. The first thing on her list? Erase the memory of her cheating ex with a wild night of anonymous sex. The second? Figure out why her best friend, sexy bar owner Jace Jennings, stopped speaking to her the night she told him about the job.
Jace has a problem. Hayden isn’t just leaving the country, she’s risking her life—just when he’s realized he’s in love with her. When fate traps them in the storage room of his bar together, barely contained desire simmers to surface. In one last attempt to keep her, Jace offers Hayden the one thing she wants: a night of hot sex, no strings attached. But when the night is over, will Jace be able to let her go? And will Hayden leave with her heart intact?

Title: No Strings Attached

Author: Nicolette Day

Publisher:  Entangled: Flirt

Format: ebook from NetGalley

ISBN: 1622661796

Genre: Romance
Release date: June 10th 2013

Number of pages: 62

 

I really liked this novella, and the story had potential to be a great novel. I think Jace and Hayden had a beautiful story that could be more exploited, but for only a novella it’s actually really clear where everyone is and the past they shared.

 

Jace is in love with Hayden for almost a year, but she had just ended a bad relationship so he decided to be her friend and help her for awhile, but they never got the chance to be together and now Hayden is headed off country to photograph, her big dream.

 

We got the story about their past together and all those sacrifices Hayden made for Jace and his family, so now he wants her to be happy, but one hot night together changed everything and now he wants her for good. I really liked these two together and it was nice meeting them, but the story could be a little longer.

Romance Review: Just What He Wanted by HelenKay Dimon

Travis Yardley thought he had everything he needed, but one look at Andrea Patterson shows him he was wrong. Andie is a gorgeous, curvy blonde who moves to town to manage a nearby campground. Seizing the chance to get close to her, Travis volunteers himself as tour guide and "bodyguard.’
After a bad breakup, Andie is looking to start over and determined to put her heart on hiatus. She’s working on her self-esteem, and she is not ready for the likes of Travis. He comes on strong, with all the energy of a guy almost ten years her junior, which is exactly what he is.
Even as Travis’s troubled past catches up with him, he pulls out all the stops to convince Andie he deserves a chance. And with the spring thaw hitting the Mountain View Resort, Andie discovers her own temperature rising whenever Travis looks her way…

Title: Just What He Wanted

Author:  HelenKay Dimon

Series: Holloway

Publisher:  Carina Press

Format: ebook from NetGalley

ISBN: 9781426895722

Genre: Romance
Release date: June 10th 2013

I have a big problem following this series, because every time I look another book was released and I missed, but that’s completely fine because the stories are sweet and very easy to follow, almost stand alone, but the other couples are always popping up.

 

This couple had a very difficult life and deserved a little happiness. Travis made himself after running away from his insane family and discovered a family in Holloway that adopted him. So now he’s very focused in work and very little fun, but the moment he met Andie it was like everything broke inside of him.

 

Can you imagine a grow man with lost of words? It was so fun seeing Travis falling in love, but he had a few issues to handle first, because Andie didn’t want the relationship, she had a dummy boyfriend that wanted to change her and now she’s a little insecure, plus Travis is younger and Andie thinks he only wants another notch for his bed.

 

But these two were so cute when they finally managed to be together. I really liked this couple and the town was helping them all along. Andie needed a little push.

 

Series in Order

#1 – It’s Not Christmas Without You
#2 – Lean On Me
#3 – We’ll Be Home for Christmas
#4 – Just What He Wanted

Erotica Review: One to Keep by Sophie Oak

Stefan Talbot let Jennifer Waters run from him once. He knew she was far too young for him, but he kept a watchful eye on her, protecting her from afar. When she’s arrested for a crime she didn’t commit, Stef knows the time has come to get close again. Jennifer ran from Bliss only to find herself in hot water in Dallas. She’s longed to return to Bliss, but not in handcuffs. The only thing she longs for more than her mountain home is the man she ran from–Stef Talbot. In the middle of the Winter Festival, Stef and Jen find themselves fighting for their love and their lives because danger has followed them back to Bliss. ** A Siren Erotic Romance

Title: One to Keep

Author:  Sophie Oak

Series: Nights in Bliss, Colorado

Publisher:  Siren-Bookstrand, Inc.

Format: ebook

ISBN: 1610344286

Genre: Erotica
Release date: March 25th 2011

Number of pages: 276

 

This book was a little different but expected because we can see how much Jennifer and Stefan are meant to be and this book was all about them finding hapiness and discovering a way to be together.

 

I couldn’t see the reason for them to be apart taking in consideration they have the same passions, both love art and Jennifer was willing to try BDSM, because it’s hot and Stefan needs this, so what was their problem? It’s all about Stefan, he was afraid because of their age difference.

 

The thing is Stefan mother left him and never returned, he doesn’t miss her now, but her reasons are fairly simple and haunt him thill today. She was young and had a kid, but wanted another life, I don’t think she’s right, because it was completely unffair to Stefan, but his afriand Jennifer will woke up one day and decided to leave him too.

 

I think their love was really intense, but so beautiful. Stefan discovered Jennifer was in trouble and went to the rescue so fast, that we could start to hope for them. Plus this book also showed another couple.Stefan father was once in love and now he decided to fight for his love again. I liked this book, but the BDSM part was fairly simple.

 

Series in Order

#1 – Three to ride
#2 – Two to love
#3 – One to Keep
#4 – Lost in Bliss
#5 – Found in Bliss
#6 – Pure Bliss
#7 – Chasing Bliss
#8 – Once Upon a Time in Bliss
#9 – Back in Bliss