Blog Archives

Welcome to Vaginal Fantasy Friday!

2/26/2016

Hey there! Today embarks a new feature on my blog called, as you probably guessed, Vaginal Fantasy Friday! In case you haven't heard, the Vaginal Fantasy Book Club is an awesome group hosted by the lovely Ms. Felicia Day and joined by Bonnie Burton, Kiala Kazebee, and Veronica Belmont. They are all fantastic ladies who choose a different romance book each month and then get together and discuss it - which we can watch on YouTube! Here are the awesome links you should check out:

Vaginal Fantasy Wikia
Vaginal Fantasy Goodreads
Vaginal Fantasy YouTube

I am not affiliated with them...I have nothing to do with their club...sadly...tragically....

BUT I have been wanting to read the books and re-watch the videos after I read them. They provide a list of their books and alternates on their Wikia and I plan to plow my way through it. I'm not giving myself a deadline - I finish a book when I finish it. I tend to read more than one book at a time, so that's how it's gonna be!

Each Friday I will update you on my progress - it may be a review or it might be something else. You'll have to tune in to find out. Feel free to follow me into this lovely adventure! I am following their book list in chronological order (because...that's what I do). It would be great to have people to discuss with!

First Book....

The first book on this adventure of mine is Kalayna Price's Grave Witch, an Alex Craft novel. I started reading it last night and it has definitely gotten my attention. Here is the synopsis if you find yourself wanting to join me:

As a private investigator and consultant for the police, Alex Craft has seen a lot of dark magic. But even though she’s on good terms with Death himself—who happens to look fantastic in a pair of jeans—nothing has prepared her for her latest case. Alex is investigating a high profile murder when she’s attacked by the ‘shade’ she’s raising, which should be impossible. To top off her day, someone makes a serious attempt on her life, but Death saves her. Guess he likes having her around...

To solve this case Alex will have to team up with tough homicide detective Falin Andrews. Falin seems to be hiding something—though it’s certainly not his dislike of Alex—but Alex knows she needs his help to navigate the tangled webs of mortal and paranormal politics, and to track down a killer wielding a magic so malevolent, it may cost Alex her life...and her soul.

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Review: Pretend It's Love

2/25/2016

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Pretend It's Love
A Behind the Bar Story
by Stefanie London

Synopsis

One fake relationship shaken not stirred...

Bar manager Paul Chapman is sick of his family's traditional ideals. Marriage, babies, and a white picket fence? Not his gig. But now that his 'golden child' big brother is tying the knot, Paul's screwed. His ex will be there...and she's having his cousin's baby. Unless he wants to show up to the wedding alone and face his family's scrutiny, he needs a girl on his arm.

Now.

Cocktail specialist Libby Harris has spent her life earning the nickname Little Miss Perfect, all to win the love of her wealthy, controlling father. But she deviated from his plan, and now her business is on shaky ground. If it fails, she might as well kiss his respect-and her dream-good-bye. Her only hope? Convince the hottest bar in town to take on her product.

Luckily for her, the owner's brother is sexy as sin and in need of a perfect girlfriend...

Spoilers ahead!

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Review: Plateful of Murder

2/24/2016

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Plateful of Murder
A Terrified Detective Mystery
by Carole Fowkes

Synopsis

Claire DeNardo is scared of a lot of things. Ordinary objects like roller coasters and men's hairpieces make her knees knock loud enough to be a band's rhythm section. Unfortunately, the only job Claire can find is working for her Uncle Gino in his seedy detective agency. Until now, her cases have all be middle-aged men with trophy wives who needed watching. But when Gino retires and leaves her in charge, Claire gets swept up in a murder case despite her fears. Both the client who hired her and the handsome police detective want her off the case. When the wrong person is charged, it's up to the terrified detective to summon all the courage she can to find the true killer.

Review

*this review may contain spoilers - I warned you!*

I've become quite the fan of the "cozy mystery" - with my favorites being the ones that take place around books. Books about books are awesome! Anyway - I digress.

Claire is so used to the typical "cheating guys" private eye deal that she's honestly scared with a real mystery falls into her lap. Someone has been threatening Michael's sister and when she ends up dead - Claire realizes that she may be in way too deep on this case.

This book really pulled me in! In a way, I contradict myself. On one hand, I feel like it might have gone too fast and that there could be a steadier pace that fits better with a mystery. On the other hand, however, I feel like the fast-pace of it is what really drew me into the story of Claire helping Michael with his sister. It was easy to read and get lost in, and Claire is a likable character - no doubt about it. I think any fan of the cozy mystery would love to read this!

About the Author

Carole Fowkes is the author of the cozy mystery series, "The Terrified Detective." She has also had stories in a number of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books and other similar anthologies. She is a registered nurse and lives with her husband in Dallas, Texas. She is a member of Sisters in Crime.

Find the Author Online

Website: www.carolefowkes.com

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaroleFowkes

On Goodreads: http://ow.ly/Wt1qs

Excerpt

On the way over, I rehearsed how to back out of our contract. I was scared. Now that this case had morphed into a murder investigation, I wanted out. The police could handle Constance’s slaying. My role would be to offer my sincere condolences and a full refund.

Fearfulness was a familiar feeling. I come from a long line of anxious Italian women. My mother’s screams of “Don’t do that, you’ll hurt yourself,” still ring in my ears.

It might seem strange for someone as faint of heart as I am to be a PI, but my investigatory career started with me playing the part of an administrative assistant to my father’s second cousin, Gino Francini, who owned the PI firm. Later, Gino taught me how to take pictures of people in situations they shouldn’t have been in. Patience and a good long-range lens were the only things needed. That suited me fine.

Two years ago, Gino got tired of the harsh Cleveland winters and retired to Miami. He left the agency to me. Since my Master’s degree in Mass Communications didn’t put me high up on any employer’s list, I took it on. Not that it was much at that point. The profitable worker’s compensation cases had slipped through Gino’s fingers after he got into a fistfight with a deadbeat, claiming a back injury. Since I’d been the one photographing cheating spouses, it made sense for me to carry on the business. Despite some dry spells, it was enough for me to eke out a living without jeopardizing my life.

But staying on this case put me too near that line between making a living and getting killed. The most danger I cared to face was driving through the wild and busy intersection at W. 25th and Clark.

Then, one look at Michael convinced me resigning from his sister’s case just then would be cruel. Poor guy looked like someone took out his spine and left his body to flop about. Sort of like those balloon men snapping in the wind at grand openings of car dealerships. His red-rimmed eyes and drooping shoulders showed the depth of his sorrow. Sympathy tears sprang to my eyes and I blinked them back. I’m a hugger but this time I restrained myself. “Michael, please accept my condolences.”

Poor guy reminded me of Raymond, a kid in my third-grade class everyone picked on. That boy also wore thick glasses. I should have stood up for him. Before he climbed that tree to escape and fell. Fear stopped me, like it had so many times since. Maybe helping Michael Adler would be my chance at redemption.

The guy with Michael, looking every inch a police detective with his strong jaw and ‘sweat a confession out of them’ attitude, spoke up. “And you are?”

I peered into the bluest eyes I’d ever seen outside of a Paul Newman movie. Too bad their owner was staring at me over a dead body. Any other time I’d be batting my eyelashes for all they were worth. Better to play it straight. “Claire DeNardo. Mr. Adler hired me to protect his sister.”

I could’ve sworn he muttered, “Yeah, hell of a job.” The scowl on his face was loud and clear. “Don’t get in my way.” He flashed his badge. “Detective Corrigan, Cleveland PD. This is our investigation now.”

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Review: Losing the Light

2/23/2016

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Losing the Light
by Andrea Dunlop

Synopsis

A smart, obsessive debut novel about a young woman studying abroad who becomes caught up in a seductive French world—and a complex web of love and lust.

When thirty-year-old Brooke Thompson unexpectedly runs into a man from her past, she’s plunged headlong into memories she’s long tried to forget about the year she spent in France following a disastrous affair with a professor.

As a newly arrived exchange student in the picturesque city of Nantes, young Brooke develops a deep and complicated friendship with Sophie, a fellow American and stunning blonde, whose golden girl façade hides a precarious emotional fragility. Sophie and Brooke soon become inseparable and find themselves intoxicated by their new surroundings—and each other.

But their lives are forever changed when they meet a sly, stylish French student, Veronique, and her impossibly sexy older cousin, Alex. The cousins draw Sophie and Brooke into an irresistible world of art, money, decadence, and ultimately, a disastrous love triangle that consumes them both. And of the two of them, only one will make it home.

Review

A wonderfully executed debut novel! It involves Brooke remembering a year she studied abroad when she tried to leave behind the aftermath of an affair with her professor. She quickly became friends with Sophie, another American headed for France. Once there they meet Veronique and her cousin Alex. The girls experience a year that will forever change who they are.

At it's core, this novel is about friendships - how rewarding they can be, but also how disastrous. It is perfect for the France-lover (reader, you will feel transported), but it is especially well made for those individuals who know how others can very much affect how and who you are, if you allow them to.

The story is gripping, to say the least - surprising and rich. Anyone looking for an intricate tale will be happy they picked this one up.

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Review: Through the Veil

2/23/2016

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Through the Veil
by Colleen Halverson

Synopsis

Where the fairy tale ends, destiny begins.

Elizabeth Tanner is no Tinkerbell, and her life is no fairy tale. Broke and drowning in student loans, the one thing she wants more than anything is a scholarship from the Trinity Foundation. But after the ancient Irish text she's studying turns out to be more than just a book, she becomes their prisoner instead. And when Trinity reveals Elizabeth is half-Fae, she finds herself at the center of a plot to save the magical races of Ireland from a brutal civil war.

As Commander of Trinity's elite warriors, Finn O'Connell isn't used to having his authority challenged. He doesn't know whether to punish or protect the infuriating young woman in his custody. When he discovers the Dark Fae want to use Elizabeth's abilities to control the source of all power in the universe, he'll risk everything to help her.

At the mercy of Trinity and enslaved to the Dark Fae, Elizabeth finds herself alone on the wrong side of an Irish myth thousands of years in the making. Refusing to be a pawn in their game, Elizabeth has to fight her way back to the man she loves, but to do so, she must wage her own war against the magic that binds her.

Review

If there is something that I love, it's falling in love with ficitonal characters. I love when they are well developed and I can feel as if I know them, want to be them, or admire them. If I can do any of those with a character - yeah, I'm in love. I start my review as such because this is how I felt with Elizabeth and Finn. It's always touch and go with fantasy novels because I want some romance, but an awesome story and background with it too. Luckily with this story I got both! I loved Elizabeth and Finn - they were well-developed and the chemistry between them ever sparkling.

*insert dreamy sigh here*

The story was fast-paced and kept me wanting more. I loved the involvement of Irish lore - it made the story that much richer. There are also some sexy moments in this story - as anyone who has read my blog before can say - I did not mind such sexy moments.

*insert not so subtle wink here*

Through wonderful and intricate world-building and characters that are more than lovely, any fantasy reader (and not) will enjoy this read.

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