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Romance Read Thursday: One Night with her Boss

9/29/2016

One Night with her Boss
by Noelle Adams

Synopsis

Anne has worked for her sexy, ex-surfer, businessman boss for seven years, and she’s been in love with him for two. Jake doesn’t think about her as anything but his ever-efficient assistant, though. She’s been trying to get over her feelings by dating other men and interviewing for other jobs—which doesn’t make Jake very happy. But Anne is determined not to put her life on hold for him.

When she gets a new job offer, Jake will do anything he can to keep her, but he still only seems to want her as an employee. Anne might find him irresistible, but she’s learned to resist. There are lines that he’ll just never cross.

But then everything changes in only one night...

Review

Anne has been in love with her boss, Jake, since she started working with him. Now, three years have passed by and Anne has realized that nothing will ever happen between the two of them. So, she's decided to move forward by accepting a new job offer. She thinks Jake will be indifferent to the situation, but he's anything but.

This was an interesting novella to get through and it's fast pace did work in its favor. It's a good read when you want something quick and satisfying to read. The chemistry between the two characters is palpable. I would normally feel uncomfortable with that chemistry and the fact that they are employee and employer - except that Anne is Jakes ONLY employee. Ha, for some reason, that made it easier. As always, I do wish it would have been a teensy bit longer - but novellas are called such for a reason, right?

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Spotlight & Giveaway! Piece by Piece by Elisabeth Staab

9/27/2016

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Piece by Piece by Elisabeth Staab
Release Date: September 20th, 2016

Book Blurb

ETHAN’S HIT A ROUGH SPOT

So I caught my dad in bed with my ex-girlfriend.

My best friend cancelled our plans to celebrate my birthday.

Decided to drink away the betrayal.

Made out with a cardboard cutout of a celebrity in front of my new roommates.

Got in a bar fight.

Hooked up with that pretty bartender whose sad smile I’ve secretly been painting pictures of since forever, but she shoved me out the door without a word.

Did I mention the tattoo I don’t exactly remember getting?

And that’s only Saturday.

Now I need to pick up the pieces of my messed-up life.

LEEANNE’S HAD A TOUGH LIFE

What do you do when you’ve lived in the same small town your whole life and you feel as if you’ll always be stuck in the same rut, like a piece of busted wagon wheel? Well, maybe you start by hooking up with the first decent guy who walks into your bar.

Maybe once you do, it’s hard to get him out of your head even though you try. And maybe, just maybe, you find out he makes you laugh even more than he makes you want to shout his name.

If you’re me, you don’t even know what to do with a guy like him. A little piece of happiness…that feels downright dangerous.

Book Links

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29489446-piece-by-piece
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/piece-by-piece/id1110535979

Excerpt

(Ethan’s POV):

So, whatcha thinking? Time to go?” He rises up on his knees. The way he’s poised, he could either move away or get closer just as easily.

“Oh, I don’t know. I'm not dizzy yet.” Not that I honestly want to get dizzy, but we’ve gotten a little too serious. After Ethan brought me here to have fun, I want to lighten the mood.

With his hands deep in the pockets of his leather jacket, Ethan leans in toward me again. “I thought you didn't want me to make you dizzy.”

I didn't think so. Yet here we are, hot breath puffing in the cold air between us. My lips tingle as he leans close. It’s impossible to forget the way his hands explored me so carefully before. The way his tongue tasted me like he wanted to keep on tasting me forever.

“You remember that first time you kissed me?”

His cheeks turn a deep merlot. “Damn right I do. I remember thinking it was the best kiss I'd ever had.”

Well now. I'm pretty sure if I wasn't sitting on something cold and metal, I'd have just melted right into the playground gravel.

“It was the first time I’d kissed someone because I wanted to, and not because I thought I should.” My chest feels strange when I confess this to him. Like it’s full of butterflies or bees. Lighter but nervous. And oh God, my heart is just bouncing every which way.

As his hair brushes my forehead, his dimple deepens and his eyes get darker. “I’m glad you wanted to kiss me, LeeAnne. I’ve been dying to do it again.”

Maybe…maybe I don’t have to lean on him. Maybe I could just lean in again. Meet those wind-chapped lips halfway. That’d be okay, right?

I wrap my arms around my knees and smile. “I think I've decided I wouldn't mind getting a little dizzy.”

His lips brush mine so fast, I’m left breathless when he jumps from the merry-go-round to give it a spin.

“Hang on tight,” he says.

So I do.

About the Author

Elisabeth Staab started hunting mutant hedgehogs back in 1842… Oops, wrong bio… Elisabeth Staab digs coffee, saucy stories, and sexy things that go bump in the night. Once, she ate dinner in a jail and liked it. She lives in the Washington DC area with her incredible family and does her best to juggle life while ignoring the laundry.

Website: http://elisabethstaab.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElisabethStaabRomance
Twitter: https://twitter.com/elisabethstaab
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/elisabethstaab/
Newsletter: http://elisabethstaab.com/newsletter-signup/

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Review: The Girls

9/26/2016

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The Girls
by Emma Cline

Syopsis

An indelible portrait of girls, the women they become, and that moment in life when everything can go horribly wrong—this stunning first novel is perfect for readers of Jeffrey Eugenides’s The Virgin Suicides and Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad.

Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s. At the start of summer, a lonely and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Soon, Evie is in thrall to Suzanne, a mesmerizing older girl, and is drawn into the circle of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader. Hidden in the hills, their sprawling ranch is eerie and run down, but to Evie, it is exotic, thrilling, charged—a place where she feels desperate to be accepted. As she spends more time away from her mother and the rhythms of her daily life, and as her obsession with Suzanne intensifies, Evie does not realize she is coming closer and closer to unthinkable violence.

Emma Cline’s remarkable debut novel is gorgeously written and spellbinding, with razor-sharp precision and startling psychological insight. The Girls is a brilliant work of fiction.

Review

This was a fantastic debut novel by Emma Cline. It had everything I enjoy in a book - coming of age story, a shy and confused protagonist, and a dangerous intrigue that flows throughout the story.

Evie is a "blank slate" - life has been happening around her without her permission and she's just been dragged along. Then, she meets Suzanne and the rest of the folks at the ranch, and at first it feels like freedom. A place where she is given attention, and is part of something bigger. She finds herself escaping home more and more so she can be at the ranch. And then slowly - the air feels different and the freedom Evie feels starts to meld into something else, something a bit more ominous.

I'm about to go into something a bit spoiler-y - so feel free to stop reading. Just know that I truly recommend this book. It's a fantastic debut.

Now - what I thought was great about this book is that it appears to be loosely based on the Manson murders that happened back in 1969. It is definitely parallel to those crimes, give and take some details of course. Because of this link, the book goes to a whole other level. It takes the reader to what it truly would be like to be a teenager coming into her own at a time where promised love and freedom could have twisted into something horrible very quickly. If you're a fan of true crime or have an interest in the psychology of psychopaths - this novel gives you an analyzation to think about.

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Romance Read: A Negotiated Marriage

9/22/2016

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A Negotiated Marriage
by Noelle Adams

Synopsis

Sex wasn't supposed to be part of the deal.

Three years into a marriage of convenience, Molly's high-powered CEO husband wants to add a new term to their marriage agreement. Sex--without any messy emotional entanglements. But weekly sex with Luke, despite their carefully negotiated terms, is likely to get messy eventually.

Content in a mutually beneficial arrangement, Molly isn't going to fall for Luke the way she fell for an old lover, only to be crushed in the end. She vows to stay strong, no matter how much intimacy develops between them in bed. When her old lover returns, finally wanting a real relationship, Molly has the chance to give her heart to a man who will accept it.

It's too bad she now wants to give it to her husband, who has never admitted her heart is what he wants.

Review

As regular readers of this blog know - I have a thing for stories involving marriage of convenience or contract marriages. Well, A Negotiated Marriage puts a great spin on those tropes.

In this story, the couple is already in a contract marriage. It was truly a fun read with quite a different perspective. Both Luke and Molly are already getting something from each other, but after living like a marriage couple, Luke decides he'd like to introduce sex into their contract. Molly has been burned in relationships before and she doesn't want her fake one to succumb because of her feelings.

The only thing that would have made this book better would be if the reader was given Luke's POV in alternating chapters. I really love that in books. Molly's POV was written just fine - the alternating POV just adds more substance in my opinion.

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Review: Written in Red

9/16/2016

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Written in Red
by Anne Bishop

Synopsis

No one creates realms like New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop. Now in a thrilling new fantasy series, enter a world inhabited by the Others, unearthly entities—vampires and shape-shifters among them—who rule the Earth and whose prey are humans.

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

10 Reasons Why You Should Read Written in Red

1. Anne Bishop pretty much rules in creating this world.

2. There are shape-shifting wolves, vampires, crows, and...a little something extra.

3. The "little something extra" owns the coffee place!

4. One of the shape-shifting wolves owns a book store next to the coffee place. A BOOK STORE OWNED BY A WOLF.

5. Meg Corbyn is simultaneously adorable as she is strong. This is one bad-ass woman here folks.

6. There's a wolf puppy and he's also adorable in a more puppy sense of the word.

7. Simon is a wolf and he is grumpy which can be very amusing.

8. There is more than one story/plot line going on here. Who exactly is Meg? What is up with living at the Lakeside Courtyard? Who is after The Others?

9. There is definitely an underlying tone of interest between our two main characters. *eyebrow wiggle*

10. Did I mention Simon, THE SHAPE SHIFTING WOLF, owns a BOOK STORE and it's called HOWLING GOOD READS? You're welcome.