From Fame to Shame

From Fame to Shame
   ~ Veronica Blade
Publisher ~ Crush Publishing
Published ~ 16 March 2012

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Jackie Bloom, famous star, needs to get out of the limelight to pull herself back from the Nervous Breakdown Abyss, so she enlists the help of her identical twin, Maddie. Maddie is the opposite of her twin. She likes a quiet life with books and photography, but she loves her twin, so agrees to the switch for a few days, possibly a week while her sister goes back to their parents to live as Maddie with only their parents and Jackie’s assistant Stella privy to the switch. Maddie only needs to make a few appearances as Jackie and lay low in Jackie’s apartment the rest of the time. What could possible go wrong?

An enjoyable short story with interesting characters. Maddie has a mad crush on Jackie’s neighbor, Dallas Bines, who also happens to be an ex-boyfriend of her sister. Jackie says he dumped her, but now he seems to be taking an inordinate interest in Jackie(Maddie) and Maddie just can’t resist him even though she’s supposed to be laying low.

This is a first read of Veronica Blade for me. I need to see what else she has out there.

*The publisher provided a copy of this story to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Frozen Heart

Frozen Heart
   ~ Annabelle Blume
Publisher ~ Inkspell Publishing
Published ~ 7 August 2012

My Rating ~ 5 out of 5

Cressenda lives with her two sled dogs, Tonk and Tilo, out in the icy wilderness far from the Collective. She’s an Outlier, a Missing Person and if she’s caught (Reaped) she’ll be sent back to the Collective to a work camp and Matched against her will. For ten years, ever since her parents were Reaped when she was 16, she’s been on her own. Surviving. Every trip to the Trade Path in the Collective runs the risk of getting caught, but she has to get supplies every few months and it’s time to make another trip. How much longer will her luck hold out?

I was sucked into this story right from the start. It’s a short well-written dystopian story about a strong woman and a strong man in an impossible hopeless situation. The world building is excellent without wading through a lot prose. Sparse yet effective wording made me feel as if I was right there living in that desolate world. So much so that it was a shock when the story ended and I found myself sitting in my office chair, feet up on my desk, A/C and fans running to beat the 100º heat and wondering why I wasn’t traveling on a sled behind Tonk and Tilo speeding off into my future.

I will most definitely read more by Annabelle Blume. Bring it on!

*The publisher provided this story to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Marina in a Green Dress

Marina in a Green Dress
   ~Alan Davidson
Publisher ~ Straw Hat
Published ~ 20 May 2012

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Jessica Tye is new to London. Her parents don’t believe in her going to University and since she has to support herself and get a job, she decides to go to London to do it. She gets a crappy job, a crappy room in a boarding room and a so-so boyfriend. She becomes fascinated with a West End stage musical called Marina and she’s even more fascinated with the lead Kennedy Orr. She writes a long letter to him that she has no intention of posting, but her boyfriend gets miffed and posts it to teach her a lesson. When Kennedy Orr shows up her life takes an exciting turn. But is it a good turn or a bad one?

An enjoyable well-written read with interesting characters and an intriguing plot. I didn’t know what to think about Kennedy Orr and his sudden interest in a rural girl recently moved to the big city. It had sinister undertones and Jessica seemed to be under his spell. I liked the build up and the conclusion. I’d be interested in reading more by Alan Davidson.

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Mia's Cop Craving: Double Teamed

Mia's Cop Craving: Double Teamed
   ~ Malia Mallory
Publisher ~ Malia Mallory
Published ~ 27 May 2012

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Mia can’t resist a man in blue and has been having hot times with Rogan. Now, Rogan wants to make Mia’s ménage fantasy come true and it’s up to Mia if she wants to go for it or not.

I really enjoyed Mia’s first adventure when she picked up Rogan at a known cop hang out in Mia’s Cop Craving. I had a feeling that this story would be just as good. Oh, boy! *fans self* Was it ever! Even better was the fact that we were traveling through the mountains in Virginia, so I decided to read this short story to my husband while he drove. I did read them in order to him and he is officially a fan hoping for more. *grins*

A short hot read with great characters. I’m…ok, we’re looking forward to Mia’s next fantasy come to life.

*The author provided a copy of this story to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Tasting Fear

Tasting Fear
   ~ Shannon McKenna
Publisher ~ Kensington
Published ~ 1 April 2012

My Rating ~ 3 out of 5

The D’onfrio sisters were adopted by Lucia D’Onofrio when they were young teens in foster care, but they are as close as blood sisters. When their mother is murdered in a burglary, the house is vandalized after the funeral and a scrap of letter is found and a jeweler’s family connected to Lucia’s last gifts to her daughters are murdered the sisters get a bad feeling. A really bad feeling that more is going on and they could be the next targets.

This story is told in three parts with each sister getting her own story complete with her own danger and her very own knight in shining armor. It was a bit too convenient that these guys showed up at just the right time when the poor idiot women needed them.

Ok. The only thing that kept me reading was the mystery of the homicidal serial killer, his employer and what they were looking for that they were going to such lengths and expense to find. The mystery wasn’t a bad one, but the serial killer was an inept idiot. Though in his own thoughts he did say that while he was a professional (I had my doubts) everything about this job had gone wrong from the very beginning. Ok, I can believe that he was probably usually good at his job and this one was one of those jobs where Murphy’s Law takes over. It happens. He was just a bit too bumbling idiot for me though.

The first story with Nancy and Liam did nothing for me but make me alternate between rolling my eyes and grinding my teeth. Nancy was a wimp of the first order and Liam was one of the biggest jerks I’ve come across in a long time. Didn’t like either of them. At all.

The second story with Nell and Duncan was my favorite. I actually liked them even though Nell made me mad with all her carelessness when she knew someone was after her.

The last story with Vivi and Jack was better than the first, but not by much. I liked Vivi, but Jack was also a jerk. Though it turns out he had his reasons and it’s not always easy to let go of our childhood experiences.

So, I hung in there for the mystery and to see the bad guys get what’s coming to them, but it’s not a book I’ll ever reread. Well, ok, I might reread Nell and Duncan’s part, since I liked them and it was a hot story, but not the rest of it.

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Lightbringer

Lightbringer
   ~ Frankie Robertson
Publisher ~ Castle Rock Publishing
Published ~ 13 October 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Psychic Cassie Lewis is Progeny. Somewhere in her lineage an ancestor or two slept with beings from the Celestial Realm because she’s carrying two of their bloodlines. Jared Price is a Lightbringer stuck on Earth for 150 years because he screwed up. The Guardians need help in protecting her from a demon attack and they offer Jared a chance to come home if he helps Guardian Gideon keep her alive. She has a destiny and it’s very important she live to see it through. But if Jared does his job and keeps her alive will he be able to leave her to go home?

I loved this story! Well-written and smooth flowing with interesting characters. Cassie is strong yet vulnerable and Jared is noble yet a bit flawed for a Celestial being. While there was a conclusion to this story I’d love to see even more written in this world and the ending implies there is more to tell. I’d love to read more!

*The author provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Doorway

Doorway
   ~ Les Zigomanis
Publisher ~ Untreed Reads
Published ~ 6 February 2012

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Amy and her husband Brad are celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary when Amy finds her last relative, Aunt Zara, dead on their bedroom floor. Amy is in shock and when she wakes up to see a door at the foot of their bed and then Aunt Zara sitting in the chair, Brad thinks Amy has lost it. Amy hides the fact from Brad that Aunt Zara is hanging out in the bedroom because she refuses to go through the door. She says she doesn’t know where the door leads and she’s not opening it until she does. But is that really the case or is there another reason for Aunt Zara to be hanging around?

This is a great short story about grief, healing and what’s on the other side. Amy doesn’t want to let Aunt Zara go, so she’s happy. But is it the right thing for Zara to do? Hanging around and delaying Amy’s grief process isn’t exactly healthy for Amy and it’s putting a strain on Amy and Brad’s marriage since Amy runs to the bedroom to talk to Aunt Zara whenever she’s troubled. We find out that Aunt Zara has left some unfinished business and once that business is taken care of Aunt Zara decides it’s time to open that door and see where it leads.

Well-written with an even flow and well-fleshed characters I quite enjoyed this short story. I look forward to reading more by Les Zigomanis.

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.

Versatile Blogger Award

I want to thank Gina at Behind a Million and One Pages for nominating me for the Versatile Blogger Award! Much appreciated!!

Versatile Blogger Award Official Rules:

** You can find out more about this award here.**

1. Thank the person who gave you this award. That is common courtesy.
2. Include a link to their blog. That's also common courtesy - if you can figure out how to do it.
3. Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you've recently discovered or follow regularly. (Chelsea's rules state that these should be blogs/bloggers who are relatively new, and I will follow that rule as I like it and it will bring more attention to these well deserved blogs/bloggers.)
4. Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself (I will follow in Chelsea's footsteps and post these facts here for you all to see).

7 Facts About Me:

1. I love chocolate-covered cherries.

2. I grew up on a farm.

3. I can lick my elbow. Well, ok, I can't. Nobody can.

4. I'm a Pisces.

5. I love Star Trek.

6. I was born on my oldest brother's birthday. We're 10 years and 5 minutes apart.

7. We have three dogs and three cats that are color coordinated. White dog (Snowy), white cat (Sugarcube), mostly black dog (Taco), black cat (Nox), orangish-beige dog (Vengeance) and orange tabby (Capt. Kirk).

I follow a lot of blogs and I'm not sure who is new and who's been around, so I'm just going to list the ones I have a particular fondness for and hope you follow.

15 Blogs to Follow:

Wonk-O-Mance

Seduced By A Book

My Bookish Ways

Badass Book Reviews

Carole's Chatter

Michael Cargill

Read Our Lips Book Blog (18+)

Eternally Books

Janet Reid Literary Agent

Versatile Book Reviews (18+)

FUYOUONLYKNEW
Book Whispers
Guilty Indulgence
Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
A Librarian's Library

Master's Email

Master's Email
   ~ Tonya Kinzer
Publisher ~ Tonya Kinzer
Published ~ 12 June 2012

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Alexis is a submissive and Colt is her Master. Everyday he sends her an email and she must do the things listed in it or be prepared for punishment. What will today’s email bring? Will she be able to perform the expected duties? Let’s click ‘Open’ and see.

This is a very hot short read. Told from the POV of Alexis we get an idea of what it’s like to be a submissive and the things a Master will order his sub to do. A very enjoyable read and even more enjoyable to read out loud to my husband who also liked it very much. ;) I (we) hope there will be more stories about Alexis and Colt.

*The author provided a copy of this book to me to review. Please see disclaimer page.

Demon's Coven

Demon's Coven
   (A Bull Protettore Murder Mystery, #1)
   ~ A.J. Burton
Publisher ~ Quintessence Publications Ltd
Published ~ 24 September 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Detectives Angelo ‘Bull’ Protettore and Tommy Delaney have been partnered up by the Chief either in the hopes they’d get their acts together or screw up even more badly so they get kicked off the force. Tommy has real anger management problems, but Bull is still dealing with losing his fiancé to a serial killer. Just when it looks like Bull is finally pulling his life back together the serial killer strikes again and Bull is determined this time to catch him, no matter the cost. Tommy agrees to help because on top of his anger management problems he has a real problem with authority and playing by the rules.

Starting with a missing persons case and ending with a lot of bodies on the ground I really enjoyed watching Bull try to piece together a lot of various pieces of a much bigger puzzle to find the serial killer. Intertwined with the case is a group of Dominatrix informally known as The Style Mistresses who Bull thinks are involved in some way, so he attaches himself to one of them in hopes of finding out more about the group. Along the way he and Tommy learn a lot about themselves and solve the case, too.

This was a great read! It proceeded at a good clip, had a twisty plot and an interesting cast of characters. The best part? It’s not completely over. While this part of the mystery was solved there’s still a bigger mystery to unravel. I can’t wait for Book 2!

*The author provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer.

For the Good of the Clan

For the Good of the Clan
   ~ Miles Archer
Publisher ~ Untreed Reads
Published ~ 28 February 2012

My Rating ~ 5 out of 5

While preparing Ulat’s body for burial, Ledeth, the shaman of his clan, discovers evidence that Ulat was not killed by animal or evil spirit, but by a man. For the good of the clan, he must uncover who did this and justice must be dispensed or the clan will be subject to evil spirits.

This is an excellent short read! Interesting, well-written and compact this is a short story that combines my love of Jean M. Auel’s Earth’s Children series with Forensic Science. It was like it was written just for me. J

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.