Category: Contemporary

Embrace Blast! Check these books out!

5/15/2016

The Rule Book by Jennifer Blackwood

Starr Media Second-Assistant Survival Guide

1. Don't call your hot boss the antichrist to his face.
2. Don't stare at hot boss's, um, package or his full sleeve of tattoos. (No. Really. Stop!)
3. Don't get on the malicious first assistant's bad side.
4. Don't forget to memorize the 300-page employee manual.
5. If you value your cashmere, steer clear of boss’s dog.
6. Boss’s dimples are lust-inducing. Do. Not. Give. In.
7. “The elevator ate your clothes” is not a valid excuse for showing up to important meetings half dressed
8. Don't break seven of the rules within the first week of employment if you, ya know, are in dire need of money to support your sick mom.
9. Whatever you do, don’t fall for the boss. See rule eight about sick mom.
10. Never forget the rules.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29478744-the-rule-book
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Rule-Book-Breakers-ebook/dp/B01E3PZRSM
Barnes&Noble:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-rule-book-jennifer-blackwood/1123650344
Entangled: http://www.entangledpublishing.com/the-rule-book/

Jennifer Blackwood

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Rush by Shae Ross

College Quarterback Preston Rush is living the dream. He’s leading his team to the National Championship and days away from earning a ‘first round draft pick’ label. When he meets Little Bo Peep at a Halloween party, he thinks he’s scored big. Instead, he wakes up in a jail cell with the corseted beauty. Because of him, she’s in trouble and when he discovers her true identity, he realizes, his nightmare is just beginning.

The always shooting-for-perfection Priscilla Winslow can’t believe her good deed has cost her a soccer career. Even though she knows it isn’t Preston’s fault, she can’t forgive him for the disaster that is her life. She just wishes her damn body would get the message. Every time she sees him, it’s all she can do not to kiss him.

When everything crashes down around him, Preston will have to decide if doing the right thing is worth losing it all.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29847172-rush
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Rush-Shae-Ross-ebook/dp/B01EFJQBRM
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rush-shae-ross/1123671890
Entangled: http://www.entangledpublishing.com/Rush

Shae Ross

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Romance Read Thursday: To Katie With Love

5/12/2016

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To Katie With Love
by Erica Lucke Dean

Synopsis

Banker Katie James has a serious thing for romance novels. She’d almost rather settle for a fictional boyfriend than risk her heart on a flesh-and-blood man. Besides, the only real guy she’s remotely interested in is her rich, unattainable client, the mysterious Cooper Maxwell.

Looking less like the ultra-conservative man she knows and more like a drop-dead sexy character from one of her books, Cooper crashes Katie’s 29th birthday party. But one too many drinks lands Katie in uncharted territory… Cooper’s bedroom!

Drunk on love, Katie dives headfirst into the relationship only to discover that Cooper is keeping secrets… dangerous ones. As if things couldn’t get worse, her meddling mother makes a surprise visit, digging up a whole new set of problems.

Who would have guessed having an assassin for a boyfriend would be the least of her worries?

Review

I was totally surprised by this book. I feel the need to make that the first thing you read because it is so rare in the romance novel business to be surprised. But - I so was! So - spoilers lie ahead - you've been warned.

When I first started reading the book, I was really confused, but I just went with the flow. It was funny and the protagonist, Katie, is a romance novel lover. When she becomes involved with Cooper, it totally seems like it's too good to be true. Honestly, I was really starting to believe that he was an assassin. He was super mysterious and...well, secretive. But what he ended up being was so much more interesting! I said this review was fun of spoilers, but I can't let this one go - it's too unique. So, just take my word for it. The novel had a great balance of romance, mystery, and intrigue. I mean, I thought he was an assassin!

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Review: The Stone Prince

4/28/2016

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The Stone Prince
by Gena Showalter

Synopsis

Reduced to kissing the marble statue in her garden, Katie James is amazed when it warms to life in her embrace. Trapped for many years as a statue, Jorlan en Sarr must convince Katie to fall in love with him or he will once again turn to marble.

Review

Romance Read Thursday is back readers! Sorry for the hiatus - let's get back to it!

That super short synopsis does not doe this book justice! This is my second Showalter book and I think she's become one of my go-to authors. Possible spoilers ahead.

Katie is a strong and independent woman who is embarrassed by the stone prince that sits in the garden of her newly acquired house. Unable to help herself, she gives the statue a kiss - and feels it come alive beneath her touch. Jorlan en Sarr is a being stuck in a curse/spell on earth when his actual home seems to be among the stars (yup, an alien folks). Jorlan will slip back into that spell if he doesn't get Katie to fall in love with him. Katie finds herself endeared to him - but will it be enough to stop the spell?

I LOVED this book! It was adorable and just the right kind of light and funny read I needed. I have been reading the Fever series and it has done a number on my nerves - so I definitely needed this. Katie and Jorlan are so funny together, but also very sweet. I enjoyed reading from both of their POVs and especially Jorlan learning about modern times. If you are looking for something short, sweet, and funny to read - look no further.

I'll tell you what a woman's job is, it's building her self-discipline
so she doesn't kill every man she sees. - Frances

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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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