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Review: Best Friends with Benefits

3/18/2016

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Best Friends with Benefits
a Most Likely To novel
by Candy Sloane

Synopsis

Seven minutes in heaven never felt so good…
​

Valerie Barkin and Alec Rogers survived bullies, awful parents, and seriously shitty social standing the only way best friends can—together. But with the unexpected sexual tension suddenly flaring between them, surviving their ten-year high school reunion might be a different story…
​

Val hasn’t changed. She still feels like the stringy-haired band geek the popular kids teased, but Alec has definitely changed. He’s now the front man for the Grammy-winning rock band Chronic Disharmony, with the sexual reputation to match. And he’s more than willing to help Val rock the reunion.

And then it happens—a drunken game of Seven Minutes in Heaven—and their fourteen-years-long foreplay comes crashing to the forefront…changing everything.

Seven minutes turns into a weekend of mind-blowing, no-strings-attached sex. But these best friends won't be able to leave their hearts out of it forever, not when the most meaningful benefit could change their relationship for good.

Review

My heart is a flutter with this story because it is basically every non-requited crush dream come to life. *dreamy sigh* But I digress - beware of spoilers!

I am usually not a fan of the best friends turned lovers story - I don't know why exactly. This story, however, was different in that the best friends have been apart for many years and when they first see each other - they don't expect the attraction to be as present. Val is coming off of a break up from a guy who didn't ever want to marry her and Alec is the quintessential bad boy rocker. There is definitely a sweetness when they are together and that tender side eventually gives in to their growing attraction as they attend their high school reunion. 

I definitely liked how our two protagonists were once geeks and are now pretty cool, each in their own right. I also appreciated how being back in their hometown brought back insecurities - you never can escape everything about high school, right? With each other's support, however, they're able to move past the bullies and annoyances of their youth. I enjoyed how even though Alec is a big time star, he still has affection for his best friend and is not a cocky jerk. He's pretty goofy and funny - with a twist of sexiness. 

There were a few things I didn't enjoy, but I was able to ignore in order to enjoy the story. One was Val's fixation on getting married. I can take it that rejection is horrible - and the concept of rejection is a big part of the story - but I didn't like that not being proposed to equaled "there's something wrong with me". I wish Val could have shown how much she's grown as a person from the get-go instead of when Alec enters the picture.  The other thing I didn't like was how Val's encounter with one of her bullies, the school's "mean girl", happened. Alec stands up for Val and Val gets back at her bully - but in a "under the radar way." I would have loved seeing Val square off with her bully, face to face, and finally standing up for herself. 

The end was pretty good and it does end in a proposal - but not in the usual way! I really was grateful for that because it did not hinder my liking the story. Since the story is told from a dual perspective, we know that Alec is going to propose, he's got the ring in his pocket and everything. What's different is that we don't read about him actually doing it or read about Val saying yes - the reader knows she's going to say "yes." That, worked out perfect for me. See? I'm not totally against proposals at the end of books!

Overall, I enjoyed this book so much I read it in a day :) I recommend it to my romance lovers out there!

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Review: Loving the Odds

3/17/2016

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Loving the Odds
What Happens in Vegas #14
by Stefanie London

Synopsis

He's a risk she's willing to take...


Risk analyst Bailey Reuben might be in Las Vegas, but the last thing on her mind is sin. She’s there to find her jerk of an ex and get her grandfather’s watch back. Instead, she finds a smoking hot stranger. A stranger with a crazy plan to help her retrieve her family heirloom and get revenge. It’s a bad idea—she calculates risks for a living, after all—but she can’t say no. 


Bad boy PR guru Lance Fulton is all about helping the gorgeous, quirky Bailey. She’s in desperate need of some fun, and pretending to be her new boyfriend is the perfect way to help her see how sexy she is, get the watch, and show her ex what he’s missing. But the more they get to know each other—and the hotter their attraction burns—the higher the probability one of them will end up with a broken heart…

Review

Excuse me while my romance-loving heart gushes warm goo everywhere.

Got a visual? Sorry!

I loved this novella! I usually dislike stories that have an insta-love quality to them (hello enemies to lovers catnip!), but this was a novella so there was a reason for things to happen quickly and I LOVED IT. Seriously - Lance is a cutie and Bailey is a focused woman who realizes she kicks butt. And the whole story takes place at a romance book convention in Las Vegas???? How meta - I love it!

Love love love!

It's such a short story, I don't want to give cute details away, but here are 3 thoughts I will leave you with: one, more romance novels should take place at romance book conventions; two, this story could have been a huge book and as long as the insta-love was drawn out and the characters remained the same, I would have read it through and through; and three, I very much appreciated that the two women in question did not fight over a man, did not even DISCUSS the man, and Bailey actually appreciated the encounter with her. Bravo. 

Oh, and a bonus for using the name Bailey for our female protagonist...love it!

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Review: Kidnapped by the Billionaire

3/1/2016

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Kidnapped by the Billionaire

by Jackie Ashenden

Synopsis

Get lost in the deeply passionate, darkly sensual new novel from Jackie Ashenden, Kidnapped by the Billionaire.

He kissed her the way he’d run her down, conquering her, taking her…

A priceless plan. An illicit attraction.
Seven years ago, billionaire-turned-bodyguard Elijah Hunt lost everything he had―his family, his future―and now he wants revenge. But when he decides to kidnap the daughter of the man who ruined his life, Elijah gets a lot more than he bargained for. Violet Fitzgerald is nothing like her corrupt wealthy father. In fact, she’s so disarmingly independent―and irresistible―that she just might be dangerous…
​

And a love that’s too good to be true.
Violet never thought she’d feel a connection to her captor. But there’s something beneath Elijah’s steel-bodied exterior that makes her want to know him more deeply…and surrender to his every demand. But once Elijah’s erotic fantasies become a reality―and he and Violet develop a real romantic connection―he finds himself in a quandary: Is he still the one in control? Or has Violet imprisoned him―body and soul?

Review

Well. Hm. I don't know how I feel about this book. This is going to be a semi spoiler review. I won't giveaway the end or anything...but I have some things to say. You've been warned. 

The writing was great - wonderfully detailed between the chemistry between characters, even down to what they're wearing. I had a clear picture in my mind of what was going on throughout the whole story - it was very easy to fall into. 

And there is no doubt about it - the chemistry between Violet and Elijah is crackling and hot. Seriously. But then I think about the other things...like the fact that Violet was a virgin before Elijah and Elijah had all the intention to use Violet as bait to someone. Not just any someone...but someone Elijah hates...and he has no idea why he (Jericho) wants Violet. These and other things just made me really think about how I felt about this story. It is not just some love story where the two characters hate each other and then love each other... It's more complicated than that. It just seemed odd to me that Violet would fall for her captor...which is funny because that has happened (Stockholm Syndrome anyone?). Plus, I was able to rationalize it enough because Violet and Elijah were not complete strangers...they did know each other. 

I also found myself being bored with the Honor and Gabe sections. Maybe this book is part of a series? I'm not entirely sure. Those sections are quite detailed, but I was mainly interested in what was happening between Violet and Elijah. 

All in all, however, even though I was able to rationalize it enough to get through the story...I never stopped feeling uneasy about what was actually happening in the story. But, reader, that is just me - maybe this is just your kind of read. 
 
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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: Bloodfever

2/18/2016

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Bloodfever (Fever Series #2)
by Karen Marie Moning

Synopsis

I used to be your average, everyday girl but all that changed one night in Dublin when I saw my first Fae, and got dragged into a world of deadly immortals and ancient secrets. . . .

 
In her fight to stay alive, MacKayla must find the Sinsar Dubh—a million-year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over the worlds of both the Fae and Man. Pursued by assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she can’t trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and powerful men: V’lane, the immortal Fae Prince, and Jericho Barrons, a man as irresistible as he is dangerous.


For centuries the shadowy realm of the Fae has coexisted with that of humans. Now the walls between the two are coming down, and Mac is the only thing that stands between them.

Review

I was finally able to finish this book! It's not for lack of the book being good - because it is VERY good! It's just super easy for me to get distracted by the television or other books or the internet. 

​SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

In this second installment of the Fever series by Moning, we have more answers, but far more questions. Mac is living at the bookstore with Barrons (forced proximity is my catnip - add a bookstore to the mix and I'm over the moon!!!!) trying to hone her skills to become a better OOP detector. Barrons is as enigmatic as ever. Lots of stuff happens: Mac's father comes to get her, only to be magically persuaded by Barrons to leave without her; V'lane saves Mac only to place her in Faeryland giving her an illusion of spending time with her sister (this was a really sad and touching scene -for sure); and Mac and Barrons...well, let's just say a side of their "relationship" that we haven't really seen starts getting more uncovered, which is awesome!

I really crave sexy times for Barrons and Mac, but there is so much more to the story that it helps with the cravings...a little. If anything those little moments where Barrons shows he cares about Mac in more than the OOP sense is what does me in. Barrons is a jerk - except that I kinda want to hug him most of the time. 

Mac learns more about her sidhe-seer bloodline and finds a couple of might-be friends: a young sidhe-seer who seems as tough and lonely as Mac and a guy named Christian - we don't know much about him except that he seems to know A LOT about Mac.  I can't wait to read the next book!

"One day you may kiss a man you can't breathe without, and find breath is of little consequence." - Jericho Barrons

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