Saturday, April 30, 2016

Book Review: Be the One by Nina Levine


Price: $2.99
Pages: 350 
Blurb:
Jett Vaughn has one thing on his mind these days - Presley Hart. He will do anything it takes to make her his. At least, he thinks he will.

Presley Hart wants one thing in life - a man who will make her his number one. After being married to a man who never put her first, she swore she'd never settle for second best again. At least, she thought she wouldn't.

When Jett's life comes crashing down around him, his flaws are laid bare for all to see. Presley stands by her man but there's only so much she can do to help him. She loves him and wants to be with him but she has her limits and Jett's about to reach them.

In the midst of hurt, loss and destruction, can love win out? Can a man who is struggling to find his way, show the woman he loves just how much he wants her to be the one? Or is there only so much a heart can take before enough's enough?


Review:
Life is not easy, it is not a walk in the park. There will always be road blocks in your path and when those moments come you must hold your head up high and find another way. You need to find a way to do more then just survive. You need to live your life, to feel the emotions that you lock away.

"Don't forget to dance in the rain."

My best friend was the one who taught me to dance in the rain, she was the most fun and spontaneous person I knew. But one day she was killed, at the young age of 15. She was the one who taught me what it meant to live. 

This is a book that has the power to make you cry, it has the power to change your look on life. Give it a read and find out what it means to "Dance in the Rain.". Read and learn what it means to open up to love. 

Nina Levine is a person who can tear your walls down with the words that paint the pages of her books.

About the Author:

  USA Today Bestselling Author Nina Levine is an Aussie author who writes alphas with a side of dirty and sassy women who don't hand their hearts over easily.

When she isn't creating with words, she loves to create with paint and paper. Often though, she can be found curled up with a good book and some chocolate.


( I got this about me off her amazon website! Links below!)



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Book Review: A Drop in the Ocean by Jenni Ogden

A Drop in the Ocean

by Jenni Ogden

Goodreads

Amazon

B&N


    On her 49th birthday, Anna Fergusson, Boston neuroscientist and dedicated introvert, arrives at an unwanted crossroads when the funding for her research lab is cut. With her confidence shattered and her future uncertain, on impulse she rents a cabin for a year on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. However Turtle Island, alive with sea birds and nesting Green turtles, is not the retreat she expected. Here she finds love for the eccentric islanders who become her family; for Tom, the laid-back turtle whisperer; and for the turtles whose ancient mothering instincts move her to tears. But Anna finds that even on her idyllic drop in the ocean there is pain, and as the months fly past her dream for a new life is threatened by a darkness that challenges everything she has come to believe about the power of love. Evocative and thought-provoking, A Drop in the Ocean is a story about second chances and hard lessons learned in the gentlest of ways."  


My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:


“I hadn’t cried, even when alone, since I was in my twenties, and it felt wonderful in a strange sort of way.”

“If I’d been a bloke, as they say in Aussie, I’d have woken with a boner the morning of our trip.  The very thought of being alone with Tom tonight on Lost Cay turned my insides to goo.”

“My self-esteem always hit rock bottom in fashion shops.  Telling myself that I made more money and had more university degrees than any saleswoman made no difference.  But I sallied forth, credit card trembling in my handbag, past caring about cost.”

“There is no genetic reason why Hamish should resemble Dad, of course, but as the grandson of my heart I think he has rearranged my memories of my father in some mysterious way.”

“My last act of love will be to stand back when he takes his final ride out over the reef edge and falls backwards into his beloved sea.”


My Review:


I enjoyed reading this tale – structured as the personal musings/journey of an intelligent, well educated, and mature woman who has finally come of age at the ripe age of fifty – yes – that is exactly what I meant.  A closed off workaholic, she had buried herself in study and work until she no longer had either.  Being an unmarried woman, social isolate, unemployable research scientist, she suddenly had no one and nothing to fall back on but herself.  Encouraged by her one and only friend, she sets off on a quiet adventure of monitoring campsites on a tiny isolated island cay in Australia near the Great Barrier Reef - a surprising choice given her fear of the ocean.

I was struck most by the enigmatic, poignant, and emotive writing, which seemed to be craftily and stealthily tapping emotions with words moving far beneath the surface… more than once I was surprised to be mid sentence and discover the words were squeezing my heart and constricting my burning throat.  The plot was interesting and relevant, and story was generously descriptive as well as active.  I learned a considerable amount about off the grid island living, reef fish, turtles, research projects, and the Shetland Islands - and I greatly enjoyed the lessons.  I am also now knowledgeable of several interesting Aussie words and expressions like dosh, doorstop sandwich, bommie, japes, bitumen, and fair dinkum – love my kindle with instant Wikipedia access.  

Empress DJ

About the Author 

jenni ogden

Reading and writing fiction is my passion. Even when I was a neuropsychologist, I wrote books that, while true, were all about story—the courageous struggles and triumphs of people who had suffered brain disorders. (My text, Fractured Minds, first published in 1996 with a 2nd edition in 2005, is still popular, mainly, I think because it is full of stories about real people, as well as facts about neuropsychology and brain disorders.Trouble In Mind , my book for the general reader, was published in the USA in 2012 and in Australia in 2013. If you like Oliver Sacks’ stories about his patients, you will probably like this too.) 

 Website 
Goodreads
 Amazon
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Book Review: All Your Reasons by Nina Levine


Price: Free
Pages: 131
Blurb:

A rockstar with one thing on his mind...her.
A woman fighting an attraction to a man adored by millions, in order to guard her heart.
A journey neither saw coming.

 When heartbreaker meets ballbreaker, sparks will fly.

Rockstar, Jett Vaughn, isn’t against settling down, but no woman has ever held his attention long enough for a relationship to develop. That is until he meets Presley Hart. She’s confident, opinionated and headstrong. She drives him to the edge of crazy, but he can’t deny how she makes him feel.

He wants her heart, but she only wants his body.

Presley’s not against giving her heart to a man, but she has too many reasons why he’s not the one to give it to. Jett isn’t a man who will take no for an answer though. He’s about to declare war on her reasons and take what he wants. 


Review:

When I see the name Nina Levine, I know she is an author that writes great MC Romances. If you are like me you think that MC books are a genre by themselves instead of them being in the contemporary romance category. I had no idea she wrote books outside of the MC life. So to learn about it was pretty exciting. To read another kind of book from her was amazing.

 I've always had a thing for rock stars and Jett is a guy I could crush on. I mean that mouth. DAMN... LOL This book just jumps right into the sex and rockin' roll. This only thing I was sad about, was the fact it was such a short book. I wish it was longer, this is just something to tease you with. A book to pull you and leaves you wanting more. The characters are hot, sexy and ready to roll.

 You have me hooked Nina. I can't get enough!

About the Author:

  USA Today Bestselling Author Nina Levine is an Aussie author who writes alphas with a side of dirty and sassy women who don't hand their hearts over easily.

When she isn't creating with words, she loves to create with paint and paper. Often though, she can be found curled up with a good book and some chocolate.



( I got this about me off her amazon website! Links below!)




Links:


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Friday, April 29, 2016

Deja Revu's Round Up Post! April 25th

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Déjà Revu is a weekly review round-up that is open to all book review blogs.

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Action/Adventure
Fantasy

Paranormal


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Contemporary

Paranormal

Romance

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Contemporary


 Historical

Mystery

 Nonfiction


Woman's Fiction


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Book Reviews, Giveaway: The Fear of Falling Flat and Battle of Brains by Michelle Graves

BattleoftheBrains_Blitz
 

The Battle of the Brains The Misadventures of Maggie Moore #2 Publication Date: April 29, 2016 

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Humor

BattleOfTheBrains_eBook

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

Maggie Moore is leaving small-town south Georgia behind to embrace adulthood on her own in big-city Atlanta. Finding inspiration in the unique people she’s met covering obscure sporting events, Maggie decides it’s time to fill her life with adventure – just as soon as she figures out how to cut ties with good ol’ Murphy, and his pesky laws, once and for all. Naturally, the universe has different plans. Before she even sets out to cover her next big story, Maggie is bombarded with old wounds and new insecurities, forcing her to choose between the reality in front of her and the promise of a dream just out of reach. Channeling the hard-fought lessons of her Dad, Maggie struggles against the seemingly insurmountable force that is her troublesome partner, learning the hard way that things are never as easy as you think they’ll be.  
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Purchase: Amazon | Amazon UK | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

This Book Contains: 1- Novella, 1-Short Story, and 1-Full-length novel! Maggie Moore has been put on notice: Find a new place to live and a life for that matter. Spurred on by her mom’s ultimatum, Maggie sets out to fulfill her dream of Life & Style Stardom, a la Martha Stewart. After a colossal failure on her first assignment, which has nothing to do with crafting or curtains by the by, she finds herself fighting to save her career. Far from home, and struggling with the aftermath of a family death, Maggie’s already hard fought lifelong battle with Murphy, and his pride-stealing Laws, kicks into high gear. Her enigmatic world-renowned photo journalist currently sporting a chip-the-size-of-Mount-Rainier on his shoulder might have something to do with it. Determined to succeed despite numerous bumps along the way, Maggie throws herself – quite literally – into the heart of her assignments as she travels across the country, unlocking the oddities of various obscure sporting events and surviving the World’s Most Difficult Partnership along the way.   


My Rating:
 


Favorite Quotes:


The Fear of Falling Flat - Book #1   
“Why they had to wand me, I wasn’t sure. And not to complain, but I didn’t think the metal detector want was meant to bonk the passengers in the head. I was pretty sure the TSA agent had been drinking.”


“I think you just crushed seventeen-year-old-me’s dreams. You want to go steal a child’s ice cream while you’re at it? Maybe kick a nun?”


“My mom’s voice sounded entirely too excited by the prospect of me not being alone. I was pretty sure she was the only mother on the planet to get excited about her daughter having a guy in her hotel room. Seriously, wasn’t that bad parenting?”


“There was something different about them… Maybe they were all part of some weird cult. Looking at the band members, I would totally join that cult. Admission for one please.”


“It had been a year since I’d even been kissed. The desert didn’t have anything on the dry spell I was rocking.”


“I was sure the giant bruise on my forehead didn’t help my cause. Maybe he was into women that looked like prize fighters.”


“Secretly, I was beginning to anticipate getting a sneak peek into his domain. It was like getting an invitation to the Batcave. That place was sacrosanct…”
  Battle of the Brains - Book #2    

“I eyed them warily.  So what if they were beautiful.  They were probably dipped in poison, or cursed, or dipped in a poisonous curse.  There weren’t to be trusted these daisies of doom.”


Surely this was just a side effect for not getting any sort of man-action in over a year.”

“I cursed my mouth for watering as John pulled on a hoodie, sufficiently hiding his impeccable sculpting while simultaneously putting a lid on my sudden nuclear hormonal meltdown.”

“I suddenly felt quite out of place.  There was a shocking lack of estrogen in the facility.  Mean-looking men spread out as far as the eye could see.  They could be the loveliest men on the planet, but the general vibe coming off of the testosterone laden patrons was you mess with me and I will end you.”

“She was a vacuum that sucked all the good in the world right out of the room, leaving it void and bereft.”

“My rudder had fallen off my ship, the dolphins had eaten my compass, and the seagulls had pooped on my head.  Nothing was going according to plan and celibacy was looking more and more appealing.”


My Review:




Michelle Grave’s writing is clever, uproariously humorous, easy to read, and occasionally heart squeezing.  I barked, snorted, and smirked my way through two volumes of her work this week and am already looking forward to reading the next installment.  Maggie is a walking Calamity Jane and highly prone to disaster.  She is accident prone, inattentive, and clumsy, which is a lethal combination for this karma challenged young woman.  Yet despite her misfortunes and challenges, she remains optimistic, spunky, and upbeat.  I enjoyed the irreverent and self-effacing humor, which remains a constant, even when Maggie is upset or angry.  I loved being her head and found her endlessly amusing and highly entertaining.

Empress DJ


About Michelle Graves

Michelle Graves
Michelle Graves is a self-proclaimed nomad, moving every two to three years with her husband the Army man, her beautiful daughter, and a fat tailless cat named Torri. When she is not writing away trying to purge her mind of yapping characters she can be found entertaining her daughter, attempting to craft (whilst trying not to injure herself with the glue gun), baking yummy treats, or reading. She admits to having a restless spirit and forces her family to go out on adventures whenever possible. They lovingly play along.

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Book Review: Command by Nina Levine

Amazon/Goodreads
Price: $3.99
Pages: 199
Blurb:

 Betrayal. Destruction. Loss.
The Storm MC is a club in crisis and their new President, Scott Cole, has declared war on their enemy. As Scott takes command, the MC is thrust into the biggest battle in their history – a battle to not only save the club, but the lives of its members.

Harlow James stands behind her man as he takes charge. She’s determined to prove she can be the woman he needs. However, somewhere along the way, she’s lost a piece of herself, and she fights to be strong for him when she feels anything but strong.

As the club descends into chaos, Scott and Harlow are pulled in opposite directions while they try to protect everything that is important to them. Their relationship is tested in ways it never has been, but they cling to the faith they have in each other.

Is faith enough to get you through when all appears to be lost? For Scott and Harlow, it may be the only thing that, in the end, will save them and the club.


Review:
We met Scott in the first book, and then again in his own book when he met and fell in love with Harlow. It's been a long road since then and things have happened in the club, the couple has been through heartache. Now they must work their way through it and try to overcome the mountains that sit in their path.
The thing I like most about Scott was the fact he cares. I mean the guy takes care of someone else's kid. One that isn't his. I mean come on, you can tell he has a soft heart underneath his tough armor. This book only goes to prove how sweet he really is. I have to admit my crush on this man. Harlow and Scott can always make me laugh. After reading all the books I have two favorite couples, Scott and Harlow & Nash and Velvet. These four people know how to make me laugh.

 I really enjoyed reading this book, and reading the series.

I am not sure when the next book is coming out, but I have no more reviews for this series. But luckily for me, I have some of her other books to review. I am looking forward to that!!! Nina Levine Marathon, I think yes!

About the Author:

 USA Today Bestselling Author Nina Levine is an Aussie author who writes alphas with a side of dirty and sassy women who don't hand their hearts over easily.

When she isn't creating with words, she loves to create with paint and paper. Often though, she can be found curled up with a good book and some chocolate.




( I got this about me off her amazon website! Links below!)




Links:

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Thursday, April 28, 2016

Book Review: Illusive by Nina Levine

Amazon/Goodreads
Price: $3.99
Pages: 410

Blurb:

He’s been burnt by love.
Griff Hawkins keeps his pain locked away and the ghosts of his past buried even deeper. Three years ago, he chose the Storm MC as his family and accepted the ways of their violent world. These days, he lives his life with one rule – don’t get attached to anyone but his club.

She longs to be loved.Sophia Barnes aches to know real love, and lives her life with arms wide open, ready to embrace the possibilities that come her way.

When Griff’s past is exposed and his place in the club is jeopardised, he fights for his family the only way he knows how, regardless of the consequences. That is, until he meets the woman who brings him to his knees, giving him something to lose.

Can they teach each other to leave the sins of the past behind in order to find love, or will Griff's demons dictate their future?

Review:

Out of all the Storm books, I have to say that this one is my least favorite. I am not 100% sure why that is, but I had a hard time getting into the book from the start, and I didn't really connect to the characters in this one. They seemed a little too vanilla even with the BDSM sex scenes. I actually skimmed most of those since I just wasn't interested. I am sure that others would enjoy this book.

Griff is very quiet and secretive, I think that Sophia does a great job pulling him out of his shell. The two are a really great couple and are perfect for each other. I'm disappointed I didn't like this book as much as the previous ones.

About the Author:


USA Today Bestselling Author Nina Levine is an Aussie author who writes alphas with a side of dirty and sassy women who don't hand their hearts over easily.

When she isn't creating with words, she loves to create with paint and paper. Often though, she can be found curled up with a good book and some chocolate.




( I got this about me off her amazon website! Links below!)





Links:

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Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Spotlight: Come Undone (The Cityscape series #1) by Jessica Hawkins

Jessica Hawkins Cityscape blitz

Come Undone (The Cityscape series #1)

by Jessica Hawkins

 

Blurb:

Olivia Germaine has already found love. Devoted wife, loyal friend, determined career woman–she’s created the life she always envisioned. But when Olivia locks eyes with a handsome stranger across a crowded room, he peers a little too closely and sees emotions she thought she’d buried long ago.
David Dylan, alleged playboy and eternal bachelor, challenges Olivia to confront the life she’s built and to make decisions that could either lead to happiness... or regret.
Will Olivia be able to draw the line between lust and love? And can David respect that line?

  come undone

Add to your TBR on Goodreads

Buy Links

Amazon US / Amazon UK

 

Excerpt – Come Together

As the elevator ascended, David’s body seemed to grow bigger, his bearing predatory. I was his cornered prey—and he was about to strike. After a charged moment, he nodded at the doors. “Go on.” In my thickening haze of anticipation, I hadn’t even noticed our arrival at the penthouse. “We’re late for a very important date,” he said.
“And what date is that?” I asked as we stepped off.
“You, me and nothing else. Leave everything at the door.” He unlocked the apartment and held it open so I could pass through before him. As I did though, he snatched my elbow. “I said everything.”
Over my shoulder, my gaze met his brown eyes, dark and lusty. He let the door slam to merge his body against my backside, gripping my shoulders roughly in his hands. “I’ve been crazy for you all day,” he rasped in my ear. “And although I love this nude dress, I want it off. Now.” He dragged the zipper down and dropped to his knees. I gasped when his lips touched the base of my spine. His hands skated up my exposed back and slid over my shoulders, releasing the gown so it slumped at my feet. They came around to my front, where he spread his fingers across my stomach. A moan vibrated against the small of my back, sending a shiver up to my shoulders.
He stood and wrapped an arm around my chest, his hardness pressing against my spine. His other hand dropped to pull me open by my inner thigh and touch me through my underwear. I was panting, swaying when he released me suddenly. “Jesus,” he muttered.
“I can’t control myself with you.”
Through oversized windows, the city glow lent the only light to the room as he circled in front of me. I put my hand in his and stepped out of the dress, following as he led me down the stairs into the sunken living room.
“Keep those on,” he instructed, motioning to my new black stilettos. He removed his blazer and lit the fireplace as my body, alive with desire, wavered unsteadily in the four-inch heels. He emptied his pockets onto a side table and removed his Rolex. He undid his bowtie slowly with his hooded eyes fixed on me. His limbs, strong and brawny, moved fluidly as he shed clothing. I wanted to learn the contours of his body with my eyes, my fingers, my tongue. And when he looked at me that way, like it was the first time, I could barely help from melting at his feet.

  jessica hawkins cityscape 1  

About the Author:

Jessica Hawkins grew up between the purple mountains and under the endless sun of Palm Springs, California. She studied international business at Arizona State University and has also lived in Costa Rica and New York City. To her, the most intriguing fiction is forbidden, and that's what you'll find in her stories. Currently, she resides wherever her head lands, which is often the unexpected (but warm) keyboard of her trusty MacBook.

Amazon / Facebook / Website

   
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