Mini-review: Until the Sun Sets by Tara Wyatt

Until the Sun Sets by Tara Wyatt
Publisher: Swerve
Publication Date: 11th July 2017
My rating: 4 stars

Two best friends at a destination wedding in Mexico are forced into a fake relationship; but when one kiss turns into a week-long fling, could this change everything? Dean Grayson doesn't do commitment. So when his cousin asks Dean to bring a date to his wedding in Mexico, he asks his best friend, Carly Jensen, to come with him. After a recent break up, Carly’s feeling like she’ll never find love, so a week in Mexico with her best friend-slash-boss is the perfect way to take her mind off things. As fate would have it, Carly’s ex is also a guest at the wedding…with his new girlfriend. To protect her pride, Carly and Dean decide to fake a relationship for the week. But between the sand, surf, and sharing a bed, these friends turned lovers realize they’re meant for something more.

I’d never heard of Wyatt’s books until a blogger recently bought Until the Sun Sets to my attention. Fake relationships that develop into something more deep and meaningful have always been a favourite trope of mine. More so when done well and Wyatt did an incredible job of Carly and Dean’s relationship, I’m shocked as this book was only over a 100 pages, but the chemistry coming off these pages had me completely swooning. 

Dean has the reputation of being a player, so much that his cousin suggests that he brings a date to his wedding, as he doesn’t want Dean sleeping around with all the single women and breaking their hearts. Dean has no real options, so asks his co-worker and good friend Carly to accompany him. Both had planned to attend as friends, but things started shifting slowly on the plane journey over, but also when Carly’s ex was at the same wedding, and she didn’t want to come across as lonely individual so told him her and Dean were dating. Here’s when the fake relationship begins and honestly I assumed that these two would just have a great time pretending to be a fake couple and then eventually go back to how they were when they went back home. But both ended up getting something way more than either could have imagined, what started off as just two friends occasionally holding hands turned into innocently rubbing suntan lotion on each other, to some of the hottest scenes *fans self*. I of course was eager for these two to realise that what they had both discovered was something a lot of people spent years searching for and it was right in front of them. But of course I also knew that someone would try and sweep what has developed under the carpet like it was nothing (why does this always have to happen?). However this minor irk aside Wyatt did an incredible job with this short story, so much that I was left wanting a full story from these characters straight away. If you’re in the mood for a hot summer read with chemistry off the charts, then this is definitely the book for you!

Review: The Drowned Girls by Loreth Anne White

The Drowned Girls (Angie Pallorino #1) by Loreth Anne White
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Publication date: June 20th 2017
My rating: 4.5 Stars
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | TBD

 

He surfaced two years ago. Then he disappeared ...

But Detective Angie Pallorino never forgot the violent rapist who left a distinctive calling card—crosses etched into the flesh of his victim’s foreheads.

When a comatose Jane Doe is found in a local cemetery, sexually assaulted, mutilated, and nearly drowned, Angie is struck by the eerie similarities to her earlier unsolved rapes. Could he be back?
​
Then the body of a drowned young woman floats up in the Gorge, also bearing the marks of the serial rapist, and the hunt for a predator becomes a hunt for a killer. Assigned to the joint investigative task force, Angie is more than ready to prove that she has what it takes to break into the all-male homicide division. But her private life collides with her professional ambitions when she’s introduced to her temporary partner, James Maddocks—a man she’d met the night before in an intense, anonymous encounter.

Together, Angie and Maddocks agree to put that night behind them. But as their search for the killer intensifies so does their mutual desire. And Angie’s forays into the mind of a monster shake lose some unsettling secrets about her own past . . .

How can she fight for the truth when it turns out her whole life is a lie? 

My Thoughts:

The Drowned Girls is an atmospheric, dark, and captivating mystery.  Add in the chemistry filled romance between Angie and Maddocks and you have another win from Loreth Anne White.  

We’re launched into Angie Pallorino’s life as she’s on the prowl for anonymous sex. This is her escape of choice ever since losing her partner and a three year-old victim on the same tragic night. The encounter is passionate and brief, but ends up being not as anonymous as Angie would’ve liked, because the next day Angie finds out her she’s working with the man, James Maddocks, at the Victoria Metro Police Department. The awkward situation takes a back seat (sort of) to the troubling case Angie has landed, because her newest case bears striking similarities to two brutal rape cases she was unable to close.  It soon becomes apparent that this sicko is back and upping his game.  Angie and Maddocks struggle to catch this guy before he grabs up a new victim, while dealing their growing attraction.   

Angie is complex, a little prickly, and flawed, but she’s a likable character.  Her actions and reactions were understandable making it easy for me to form an attachment to her, and hope everything worked out. Angie is distrustful of Holgerson, her new partner, and initially of Maddocks, and has every reason to be considering the blowback from the department after losing her partner. Angie’s family life and past are a whole other story, and I had my suspicions early on about what had happened.  Her past will continue to be a factor in the next story.

Holgerson, Angie’s partner in the sex crimes unit, reminds me of Detective Stephen Holder in the TV series The Killing. A great secondary character I’m sure we’ll learn more about in the future.

James Maddocks was every bit a main character as Angie, IMO, and I just loved him!  How could I not love a man who rescues a three-legged scruffy terrier?!  Angie and Maddocks were a great team, even with some of the friction they had trying to feel each other out, they were in sync with each other as they investigated, interrogated suspects, and slowly got close.

The setting of Victoria, British Columbia in winter was eerie and beautiful; brought to life through Ms. White’s vivid descriptions that gave a sinister edge to the mysteries at play. I must warn that the crimes described were graphic and gruesome at times, but not any more than you’d get from a Criminal Minds episode.

The Drowned Girls is a thrilling, addictive mystery, with many interesting layers and side stories.  The multiple POVs completely worked, IMO, and I enjoyed every viewpoint. Well, maybe except for the killer’s.  The Drowned Girls is a tie for my favorite Loreth Anne White story or at least a close second to In the Waning Light. While this main mystery was solved parts of Angie’s past is still up in the air.  I know she won’t be able to stop until she has all the answers.  I can’t wait to get my hands on the next installment! 

Connect with Loreth Anne White:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Mini-reviews: It Had to Be You and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: May 14th 2013
My rating: 4 stars 

The Windy City isn't quite ready for Phoebe Somerville—the outrageous, curvaceous New York knockout who has just inherited the Chicago Stars football team. And Phoebe is definitely not ready for the Stars' head coach, former gridiron legend Dan Calebow, a sexist jock taskmaster with a one-track mind. Calebow is everything Phoebe abhors. And the sexy new boss is everything Dan despises—a meddling bimbo who doesn't know a pigskin from a pitcher's mound. So why is Dan drawn to the shameless sexpot like a heat-seeking missile? And why does the coach's good ol' boy charm leave cosmopolitan Phoebe feeling awkward, tongue-tied . . . and ready to fight?

I’ve always been a fan of sports romance novels, I’ve loved watching sports since I was a little kid, and so combine this with a well done romance and I’m a complete goner. Also with the types of books I’d been reading lately, nothing had been holding my attention, so when I’d come across It Had to be You, it sounded like the perfect read for me! After reading a few pages I was completely hooked, Phillips did a fantastic job of making the relationship between Phoebe and Dan work, here were some parts where I felt there was unnecessary drama, but their relationship was one of the best ones I had come across in a long time.

Of course I was a fan of Dan straight away, characters that get riled up and shouty and who are as passionate about his team as Dan was always tend to win me over. Also despite being a person who was generally agitated a lot of the time, I loved seeing the tender side of his character come though. It really just made me love him even more. The team dynamics was also fantastically done too, I loved getting to know the characters and their quirky ways, I for one can’t wait to get to know their characters more hopefully in the next books! 

Phillips really made me fall hard and fast for the characters in It Had to be You, but she also dealt with a lot of tough issues really well! I for one can’t wait to jump into the rest of this series right away!

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: June 13th 2017
My rating: 3 stars

Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds through the decades—revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Jenkins Reid amazes me with her stories; in the past typically I’ve gone into her books expecting one thing and then being left in awe after finishing her book. This time around however I did struggle with this book, it took me a while to complete, but that’s not to say that it didn’t leave a lasting impression with me afterwards. I was left reeling with Evelyn Hugo’s life and everything she had to go through to reach that end point. Evelyn Hugo was a hard person for me personally to like, she did a lot of unimaginable things, but she was one heck of a person to withstand everything that was thrown her way during her attempt to the top; tragedies, people talking crap about her, abuse and people trying to trample over her name. Like I said Evelyn was a woman that I had a difficult time relating to but I could understand all the things that she did. 

I was super curious to see how Jenkins Reid would relate both Monique and Evelyn’s stories together. As it seemed completely out of the blue that Evelyn plucked Monique to write her story and you could say I was super surprised when everything was unravelled, so I wasn’t expecting that connection to be there at all .(Highlight to view spoiler) I was imagining Monique to be Evelyn’s long last daughter or something. But I enjoyed Monique’s time with Evelyn, and how we were given Evelyn’s story from the very beginning, how we got to experience her ups and downs in her big career and to the very end. In many ways The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was a very bittersweet story, and one that will have me thinking about it for a long time afterwards. I really liked the different take that Jenkins Reid gave us in this book, the depths and emotions that she explores with her characters was beautifully done and once again her writing was flawless. I’m really glad that I ended up giving this book a go, although it wasn’t one of my favourites by Jenkins Reid it is definitely one of her most memorable.

Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: Gone to Dust by Liliana Hart

Gone to Dust (Grave Diggers #2) by Liliana Hart
Publisher: Pocket Books
Publication date: June 20th 2017
My rating: 4 Stars
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | TBD | Kobo

 

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Liliana Hart’s second book in her sexy, suspenseful Gravediggers series, GONE TO DUST, features an elite group of mysterious men who might be dead to the world, but are also tasked with saving it—and no one can ever know.

The Gravediggers aren’t exactly what they seem. They’re the most elite of the world’s fighting forces—and all they have in common is that they’ve been betrayed by the countries they’ve died for. Because they are dead. To their country, their military, and their families. Sometimes the dead do rise…

Miller Darling is one of the most popular romance novelists of her time. Not bad for a woman who doesn’t believe in romance. She’s as logical as they come, and she doesn’t believe in happily-ever-afters. What she does believe in is family, so when her brother disappears, she doesn’t think twice about packing her bag and her laptop and heading out to find him.

Elias Cole lived and breathed the live of a Navy SEAL. Now he’s “dead” and his hero’s honor tarnished. The only thing keeping him sane are the men who are like him—The Gravediggers—and the woman who makes his head spin. He’s never met anyone like Miller Darling. Her smart mouth and quick wit keep him on his toes, and damned if he doesn’t find that appealing.

When Miller receives a package from the brother who abandoned her asking for help, it’s clear she’s in over her head with the mess he’s gotten himself into. She needs a professional, and Elias is just the man for the job. Only her brother is a former SEAL—the man who left his team to die—and Elias is more interested in vengeance than saving his life.

My Thoughts:

Gone to Dust was an adventure, and hot romance all wrapped into one thrilling story!  Sort of Romancing the Stone meets Mission Impossible except instead of a treasure hunting scoundrel for the hero we have Elias Cole, an ex-SEAL and complete sweetheart! 

Miller Darling is a romance novelist immersed in writing the last bits of her latest novel for her fast approaching deadline; surviving on coffee, junk food, and the occasional shower.  Miller wakes the heck up when she receives a very disturbing package in the mail demanding her presence in a foreign country or else her brother, Justin, dies.

Miller is shocked and fearful, but not altogether unsurprised at the trouble her brother has gotten into.  Her parents were obsessive in their search for the treasures of King Solomon, and that fanatic type drive led to their deaths twenty years earlier.  After their deaths, Justin took up the searches and left Miller behind in Last Stop, Texas.  If it weren’t for Tess, her best friend, Miller would’ve felt very alone in the world.  Well, alone except for the annoying Elias Cole; a man who worked her up and left her wanting.  He’s part of Tess’s mortuary crew, although if Miller thinks hard about the situation it really doesn’t make sense for all these military-type hotties to be working for the funereal home since Last Stop is a dinky town.

Miller is in need of some help, and she’s about to get it along with some answers about those sexy “gravediggers”. 

I enjoyed Gone to Dust so much! More than The Darkest Corner.  Like I said, it was a fun adventure; action, beautiful settings, a gorgeous high tech yacht, and a strong capable alpha male like Elias to share it with.  Miller is no slouch in the equation as far as characters go. She’s a romance writer, who may not have experienced the world first hand, but she’s researched the heck out of situations, and Miller’s imagination is rich with possibility, and useful information.  Readers will definitely appreciate her occupation!  The story was exciting, fun, with loveable characters and a smoking hot romance!  I had a lot of fun with this fast, action packed ride!

About the author:

Liliana Hart is a New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of more than forty titles, including the Addison Holmes Whiskey and J.J. Graves Mystery series. Since self-publishing in June 2011, Liliana has sold more than four million ebooks. She’s hit the #1 spot on lists all over the world, and all three of her series have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. Liliana is a sought-after speaker who’s given keynote speeches and self-publishing workshops to standing-room-only crowds from CA to NYC to London. Visit LilianaHart.com, facebook.com/lilianahartauthor, twitter.com/Liliana_Hart.

Praise for Gone to Dust, Book 2:

“Lucky fans of the super-talented Hart don’t have to wait long for the second installment of her new romantic suspense series Gravediggers, as the installments are being released back to back. In the first book, Hart set up her world where five men, declared dead to the world at large, work for a super-secret anti-terrorism force. Hart’s new heroine is a very talented romance writer who takes no crap from anyone — even secret commandos. Miller and Elias are both funny and sexy together, which helps make this book nonstop entertainment, with plenty of witty bantering and thrilling adventure!”

—RT 4 ½ star TOP PICK Review

“Modern Cliterature...Enjoy [this] lusty [passage] adapted from summer’s raciest reads…”

—Cosmopolitan, July 2017

Praise for The Darkest Corner, Book 1:

“Gritty, deadly, and peppered with unexpected humor, this supersexy, adrenaline-charged story will keep readers on edge and breathless until the last page.”

—Library Journal

“Liliana Hart sets up a fascinating and intriguing premise of individual men forced into taking extreme steps. Her heroine’s reluctant immersion into this world allows readers to discover the treachery and danger looming all around…a thrilling series!”

—RT

“A cool blend of entertaining antics and suspenseful moments, with a slightly morbid sense of humor thrown in for good measure. (Our heroine was a mortician, after all!) I had a blast getting to know this cast of characters and can’t wait to see what exciting things Liliana Hart has in store for us next.”

—Harlequin Junkie

 The publisher has generously offered up a  copy of The Darkest  Corner by Liliana Hart to one lucky readers.  Just fill in the rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

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September 25

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