Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Review of UNFORGIVABLY BROKEN by Maegan Abel

~Synopsis~

**This is a New Adult Romance with dark themes intended for readers 18 years and up**

It took a near-tragedy for Zane and Lili to admit their feelings for one another. If they could survive that explosion, wading through the debris left behind should be a breeze, right?

Lili has spent years hiding from her past. Now, she's being forced to admit her mistakes and make a decision. Can she conquer her demons head-on, or will she remain by Zane's side while he fights his own?

Zane learned early in life that charm and deception are easier than hard truths. Sometimes, old habits die hard. When his past mistakes start making continuous reappearances, he is faced with some of the most crucial decisions he's ever made.

When you have secrets, they can rip ragged holes in the ties that bind even the strongest relationships.

What do you do when you realize you're unforgivably broken?

~Review~

        Unforgivably Broken is book 2 of 3 in the Broken Series. As it is a continuation of the first book, Perfectly Broken, you need to read that story first. This series deals with the struggles of Zane and Lili, and believe me when I tell you they have more than their fair share of them. Overall this is a fantastic series. Maegan Abel really has a way with words and paints a vivid picture for the reader. She also does a great job of making all of her characters real.
        When rating this book, I was torn. I gave the first book in this series 5 stars. The quality of the second book was no lower; it is still well-written. I did, however, find myself getting frustrated with Lili and Zane at points, especially Zane. It seemed that he was caught in a loop of repeating the same mistakes. This was especially true when it came to his interactions with Lizzie.
        Much like the first book, this one ends in a cliffhanger. In this case it is a more frustrating. This is the trend for most literature now, and I realize that many people don’t mind these ‘edge of your seat’ cliffhangers, but felt it was worth mentioning.
        Despite any minor issues I had with this book, I am anxiously awaiting the final book in the Broken Series. Maegan Abel continues to be one of the best new authors I have read in many years.

~Where to Boy~

Amazon.com      Amazon UK     Amazon CA      Barnes & Noble

Monday, November 24, 2014

Review of ORENDA by Ruth Silver



Synopsis
    Join forces with a parallel universe.
    Dark forces, magical creatures, and the world Lil thought she knew collide when a dream transports her to the strange world of Orenda. Stunned and terrified, Lil comes face to face with her doppelganger, Willow, who possesses the ability to travel between the two worlds. Everything Lil knows logically says that Orenda can’t exist, but a small clue may be proof that it was more than an ordinary dream. With the threat of her sister in danger, Lil crosses dimensions but it may cost her even more than she bargained for.
    A sword wielding girl, the eternal suit, and a parallel universe come together in this action- packed Young Adult fantasy adventure that will keep readers of all ages turning the pages. Orenda is the first novel in the Orenda series.
Review
    I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and agreed to read it because I enjoy Ruth Silver’s writing style. This book is a young adult fantasy novel which is not a genre I normally read, but it took me back to younger days when this would have been right up my alley.
    When Lil finds herself transported to Orenda, she is first convinced that it’s merely a dream. Lil quickly discovers this is not the case and sets out on a journey that she never would have imagined possible. I don’t want to give up too many details, but I believe this story could easily be enjoyed by readers as young as ten and would be enjoyed most by preteens and teens.
    Ruth Silver does a fantastic job of creating the fantasy world of Orenda. It was well-crafted and easy to picture. The characters are all likable and easy to connect to, with the exception of the evil sorceress bent on destroying two worlds. The story moved at a fast pace and was filled with action. This is book one in a series, so it does end with some unanswered questions and unsolved plots. Still, it was not an unsatisfying ending. A great start to this series.

Where to Buy

Friday, November 21, 2014

THE VAMPIRE WILL SEE YOU NOW - Teaser


Pre-Order The Vampire Will See You Now
Synopsis
        For more than three years Justin pursued Caitlin with a single-minded purpose, knowing she was the one woman he would do anything for. That resolve was tested when a member of his own family nearly destroyed Caitlin. Now, faced with the realization that she would be better off without him, Justin will do the hardest thing he has done in two hundred years of living and walk away from the woman he loves.
        Surviving the most traumatic experience of her life unlocked abilities Caitlin wasn’t sure she could handle and created a memory she wasn’t sure she could live with. Aided by a powerful empath, Caitlin has learned to control her own abilities and discovered that she is even stronger than she ever imagined. The only problem now is that the man she loves has decided she would be better off without him. Never one to let others control her life, Caitlin will do whatever it takes to prove to Justin how wrong he is.

***No Cliffhangers.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Embrace the Heat Blog Tour

Banner
Synopsis
        On her seventh birthday Layla’s mother mysteriously disappeared. Raised by a wood nymph in one of the few remaining human settlements, Layla learned to fight from an early age. She also learned to distrust the vampires who rule most of the land. When a vampire saves her life, Layla finds herself more than a little drawn to him, even knowing he could never give his heart to a human.
        The trauma of his childhood left Simon weary and distrustful of all humans, until the day he saved Layla’s life. After seeing the spirited human fighting like a seasoned warrior, Simon can’t help but respect and admire her. He soon learns that Layla is much more than he ever imagined, and he finds it hard to stay away from her. Despite the depths of his feelings, Simon knows there can be no future for them.
        Both of their worlds are turned upside down as Layla nears her twenty-seventh birthday. Suddenly the male vampires are inexplicably drawn to her, and Simon is no exception. As they unravel the mystery of Layla’s heritage, an enemy from their past resurfaces and threatens to destroy Simon and all that he cares for.

No Cliffhangers. While this book is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone novel.
Except
       There was no missing Simon’s erection. It was just there and very big. In fact, she should be rethinking her attraction to Simon. Instead, she was more aroused than she’d been after any dream. Stifling her moan took a lot of effort. Layla decided that the best way to deal with it was to remind herself of the many reasons she couldn’t be with Simon. “How can you be aroused after a night with two wood nymphs?” she asked without looking up.
        Simon’s voice took on that silky quality only he could achieve, and she knew his full lips were curled up into a sexy grin. “You know what happens when vampires chase someone,” he purred. “You made me chase you. Even if you hadn’t, whatever is going on with your scent is arousing every male vampire you pass. I’m not the only one chasing you right now.”
        Layla looked up at Simon with wide eyes. She was the reason Simon was aroused. Her blood heated, and her body tightened. Okay so maybe she wasn’t the reason in the way she’d like to be. His arousal was caused by the way she smelled and the fact that Simon had chased her. Still, her body didn’t seem to care what the reasons were.
       Simon groaned. “Don’t look at me that way,” he said. “This is not going to happen. I don’t screw humans.”
        Layla flinched at his intentionally crude words. This was Simon trying to push her away. “Don’t worry,” she said with a condescending smile. “If I need a vampire, I’m sure I can find one to take care of things for me.”
        Simon’s upper lip curled back to reveal his fangs, and he gripped her upper arm. “That is not going to happen,” he said angrily. “Until we figure this situation out, you are staying in your home alone.”
        Layla panicked. Being stuck in the house was not an option. She needed to get out. She was on patrol later that day and really looking forward to the trip into the woods. “You have no right to lock me up. I haven’t done anything wrong.” She struggled in his grip.
        “This isn’t a punishment,” he said holding her arm tighter. “Stop fighting me.”
        “Then let me go,” she said quietly. They’d attracted an audience. More than a dozen vampires, all male, were surrounding them. Layla’s instincts told her to fight. Those instincts told her to run from Simon at the same time as they told her to jump him and bite him.
        Bite him? She had no idea where the hell that idea had come from. Looking around at the vampires, she knew she needed to fight those instincts. Simon was part of the leadership council for this territory. People needed to see him as strong. Having a small and weak human refuse to take orders would look bad.
        With great effort, Layla relaxed in Simon’s hold and dropped her gaze. “I’ll go home,” she said as meekly as she could manage. She’d never excelled at meek.
        “I’m walking you home,” he said with annoying arrogance and didn’t release her arm as he walked her all the way to her door.
       Could this get any more embarrassing? The crowd followed them all the way to her house to see what Simon would do after her outburst.
        “Go back to work!” Simon ordered the crowd once he opened her front door and pushed her inside.
       Much to Layla’s dismay, Simon followed her into the house and shut the door behind him. He leaned against the door with his arms crossed in front of his chest. “Thank you for backing down. I know that wasn’t easy for you.”
       All of the anger drained out of her body. “You’re welcome,” she said. “I’m sorry for acting like a child. I’m just really tense lately.”
        “Then it’s probably a good thing you aren’t going out on patrol today,” he said. “You need to have your head on straight or you could get killed.”
       As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Still, he couldn’t be serious about her staying in her house. “I can’t stay locked up,” she said. “It’s just the new soap. Something about it must be causing this.”
       Simon let out a frustrated breath. He reached for her but jerked his hand back at the last moment and walked across the room. “It’s not your soap. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but you’re causing too many problems. I’ll come by to check on you tomorrow, and if things are better, you can resume your normal activities. Until then, you stay in this house.”
        “You can’t do that!”
        “I’m in charge,” he reminded her. “Until Connor gets back, you take orders from me. Your choices are to willingly stay in this house, or I can put you in a cell.”
       Layla fought the urge to fight him. She’d never been good at taking orders under the best of circumstances, and these circumstances sucked. Part of her wanted to push Simon and fight back to see how strong he was. None of what she was feeling made any sense.
       Simon looked guilty, and that made it easier to comply. He was her friend, and she knew he didn’t like doing this.
        “Fine, but I want out soon. This isn’t fair, Si.”
        “I know,” he said. He reached forward like he might hug her but stopped and looked uneasy. There was an awkward moment of silence. Simon had hugged her many times, but now he seemed almost afraid to touch her. “We’ll figure this out. What I said about you being alone was stupid. The male vampires need to be kept away from you for now.”
       He breathed in deeply and then closed his eyes. It looked like he was in pain. When he opened his eyes, he wouldn’t look at her. “I need to get out of here.”
       Without another word, he left.
       The ominous sound of the door closing behind Simon nearly made Layla panic. She couldn’t figure out why, but she needed to run. She needed fresh air. This must be what Raven felt like when she’d been kept away from the woods too long.
       It was strange that she was acting more like Raven now that Raven was gone. Layla really did feel like she was going insane from the sexual arousal. Too bad she couldn’t take care of it on her own.
Teaser 3
About Cassandra Lawson
Cassandra Lawson is an author and homeschooling mother of three from the San Francisco Bay area. She has always had a very active imagination and loves making up stories. When she is not writing she enjoys baking, spending time with her family, listening to music, or curling up with a good book.
Connect with Cassandra Lawson
Blog    Facebook    Goodreads    Twitter
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, November 13, 2014

EMBRACE THE HEAT by Cassandra Lawson - Release Day!

Synopsis
        On her seventh birthday Layla’s mother mysteriously disappeared. Raised by a wood nymph in one of the few remaining human settlements, Layla learned to fight from an early age. She also learned to distrust the vampires who rule most of the land. When a vampire saves her life, Layla finds herself more than a little drawn to him, even knowing he could never give his heart to a human.
        The trauma of his childhood left Simon weary and distrustful of all humans, until the day he saved Layla’s life. After seeing the spirited human fighting like a seasoned warrior, Simon can’t help but respect and admire her. He soon learns that Layla is much more than he ever imagined, and he finds it hard to stay away from her. Despite the depths of his feelings, Simon knows there can be no future for them.
        Both of their worlds are turned upside down as Layla nears her twenty-seventh birthday. Suddenly the male vampires are inexplicably drawn to her, and Simon is no exception. As they unravel the mystery of Layla’s heritage, an enemy from their past resurfaces and threatens to destroy Simon and all that he cares for.

No Cliffhangers. While this book is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone novel.



Connect with Cassandra Lawson
Blog    Facebook    Goodreads    Twitter

Saturday, November 8, 2014

MASQUERADE by Dahlia Donovan - Blog Tour



Masquerade by Dahlia Donovan
An Ivy short from the Blackbird Series



As the months have gone by since Ivy and her wolves bonded, hints have continually been

dropped about moving in together and marriage. It's unfortunate then that the romantic proposal which Ivy had hoped for never quite arrived. Her two alpha wolves instead merely demand her hand in marriage.

Suitably unimpressed, Ivy tells her gits to bugger off and hops on a private jet for a swanky
masked ball in Monte Carlo with Alicia, Alim and Dane.

Can Steve and Gareth find the right words to win the yes from her lips?

You just never know who or what you'll find at a masquerade.


“You look stunned.” Ivy shot him an amused smile. She glanced between the two alphas. “I’ll be in Monte-Carlo for a few days. Alim has his entire security team with him, so I’ll be perfectly safe. I’ve got my mobile with me. There is literally no reason on Earth I can imagine the two of you needing to pop up at this ball, so why don’t you do something more useful, like talk to each other? Figure out a way to fix the problem you gits created.”

“Love...”

With a slow shake of her head, Ivy silenced Steve’s argument. She pressed soft kisses on both of their cheeks before walking gracefully away, placing her hand lightly on Alim’s arm to let him escort her from the apartment. They heard her quiet laughter when two low growls rumbled from both of the wolves at the same time. 

Gareth glanced over at his partner with a groan. “We’re bloody fools.”

“Accurate.”


Other books in the Blackbird Series

(Blackbird Series Book 1)
Buy HERE on Amazon

(Blackbird Series Book 2)
Buy HERE on Amazon
Click HERE to subscribe to Dahlia Donovan's newsletter and get access to Under Fire, a FREE short story.



Dahlia Donovan started out working in the insurance world. After ten years, she morphed 
her love of investigating accidents and studying people into writing about them. She's a bit of 
a hermit and despises being in front of a camera. Her life wouldn't be complete without her 
husband and her massive collection of books and video games.

Her first novel Ivy started out as a crazy dream which she turned into an adventurous and 
suspenseful paranormal romance. Her second novel Natasha was released at the end of August.

A third novel in the Blackbird series, Alicia, will come out in 2015.