Tuesday 30 January 2018

REVIEW - Ice Daddy: A Hockey Romance (Boston Brawlers Book 2) by June Winters

The Book
Release Date: 29 January 2018
Goodreads Link

A meaningless hook-up ... 

Nashville nursing student Paige McMillan only wanted to get over a cheating ex ... but a few sinful hours with a tall, muscular bad boy left the good girl with a lifetime of responsibility.

Two years later, every day is a struggle for the single mom -- but Paige wouldn't change a thing about her adorable emerald-eyed daughter, Irie. If only she could track down Irie's father ... 

When a pro hockey team comes to town, Paige finds a familiar face in the most unlikely place: on the ice. As hard as it is to believe, Irie's father is Lance Couture, famous hockey star for the Boston Brawlers.

But the pro athlete isn't interested in talking about lost time. He'd rather rekindle their steamy one-night affair -- and his lips and tongue are oh so dangerous. Could this time be different? Can the bad boy become a good Daddy?

Rich, chiseled, and insanely good at hockey ... 
Love him or hate him, superstar center Lance Couture makes noapologies for being the best. But before the Brawlers brass hand over the keys to the kingdom, they want their future captain to cultivate a family-friendly image.

Easier said than done -- Lance has a nose for trouble, and everywhere he looks, a puck bunny is dying to have his babies. With his pick of Boston's hottest women, why would a young stud ever settle down?

When Lance runs into an old one-night stand, he's more than ready for round two. The Nashville babe with a hint of Tennessee twang is even hotter than he remembered -- and it's obvious that she can't stop thinking about their romp two years ago, either.

My Review  4 STARS

**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This is an author that is new to me and i will certainly be reading more from this author in the future.

Paige is a strong woman struggling to raise her daughter as a single mother after a one night stand in which she only knew that he was Lance from Boston.

Lance is a professional hockey player and is unable to forget the woman he met two years ago and every time that he goes back to her city he goes back to the place he found her.

Things move very quickly in this book and lust and feelings seem to power through these two in that within just two days paige is ready to throw away everything to be with him and their daughter.  Lance also seems to accept things far too easily.  Not even within a month they are engaged.

Although things move at such a rapid pace in enjoyed this book.  The writing was good and it sucked me in so that i had read it within a day.

Sunday 28 January 2018

REVIEW - With Good Behavior (Conduct #1) by Jennifer Lane

The Book
Release Date: 13 July 2010 (Re-released 14 August 2017)
Goodreads Link

Re-Release in 2017! We have re-edited With Good Behavior(Conduct #1), book one of a complete romantic suspense trilogy.

In the midst of organized crime and dim hopes of redemption, can love persevere? For Sophie Taylor, a psychologist who lost everything when she violated an ethical boundary, and Grant Madsen, a naval officer who sacrificed himself to protect his uncle, finding that love seems unlikely.

As they start their lives over in Chicago, both fight family influences and run as fast as they can to escape the past. When their paths cross outside their parole officer’s door, attraction sparks. Too bad a hidden connection may not only shatter their fledgling love, but prove deadly to them both.

My Review  2.5 STARS
**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

On the surface this has everything that i would want in a book.  Blackmail, love, mafia, dysfunctional families, friendship, loyalty, murder and betrayal.  However for some reason this book took forever for me to read and it just fell flat for me.

Sophie Taylor the ex psychologist seems fairly week and very susceptible to outside influence, whilst Grant who has grown up with a mafia family is in some ways weaker than i expected.

The book was told in 3rd person narrative from multiple point of views. While I’m fine with type this of narration, the transition from one character’s point of view to another in this book wasn’t always clear and changed so often without warning. I found myself re-reading sections to find out when the shift occurred and whose point of view I was reading.

Not an author i will be revisiting.

REVIEW - Falling for the Backup (Assassins #4) by Toni Aleo

The Book
Release Date: 24 June 2013
Goodreads Link

After serving as a dutiful bridesmaid in the wedding from hell, Aynslee Shaw just wants to slink home to Nashville and forget the whole trip. That is, until the hottest guy she’s ever seen is seated next to her on the flight and dazzles her with his easy laugh and killer smile. But just when she thinks things are getting good, he vanishes, leaving Aynslee wondering, was that guy the one? And did she just let him slip through her fingers? 

Former superstar goalie Jordan Ryan is back on the ice—finally. After a crippling knee injury that had him wondering if he’d ever play pro hockey again, he’s got his full attention on rebuilding his career. So a pretty—okay, beautiful—girl on a plane shouldn’t be a distraction. But Jordan is very, very distracted. And when Aynslee crosses his path again, he’s not sure any job in the world is worth missing his second chance with a woman like her. 

Includes a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from the Loveswept title Empty Net.

My Review  4 STARS
**My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This is a short, but enjoyable novella based around a hockey player and and a teacher that happen to meet on a plane.

The chemistry is sweet, however Jordan Ryan our main man is a little knocked down after is finance left him after an injury two years ago, but meeting Aynslee on the plane sparks an interest in a woman he has not hard since.

The chemistry is good, but as Jordan lacks confidence in himself, it is Aynslee who has to fight for the relationship, whereas he could otherwise have lost a good thing.

Monday 22 January 2018

REVIEW - The Rebound by Winter Renshaw

The Book
Release Date: 24 January 2018
Goodreads Link

The last time I saw Nevada Kane, I was seventeen and he was loading his things into the back of his truck, about to embark on a fourteen-hour drive to the only college that offered him a full ride to play basketball.

I told him I’d wait for him. He promised to do the same.

But life happened. I broke my promise long before he ever broke his. And not because I wanted to.

We never saw each other again …


Until ten years later when Nevada unexpectedly returned to our hometown after an abrupt retirement from his professional basketball career.

Suddenly he was everywhere, always staring through me with that brooding gaze, never returning my smiles or “hellos.”

Over the years, I’d heard that he’d changed. And that despite his multi-million dollar contracts and rampant success, life hadn’t been so kind to him.

He was a widower.

And a single father.

And rumor had it, he’d spent his last ten years trying to forget me, refusing to so much as breathe my name … hating me.

But just like a rebound, he’s back.

And I have to believe everything happens for a reason.

My Review  4 STARS
**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This book starts off in the past like a New Adult book that halfway through goes to the present day and to and Adult book

In the past we get how close Nevada and Yardley were, how they met, their promises t0 each other and how things fell apart.

In the present we get two people who in some senses have moved on but who are also stuck in the past and are unable to get over their hurt and love for each other.  Its a story of young love, misunderstandings and a second chance at true love.

Sunday 21 January 2018

REVIEW - Emma (Dark Fire, #1) by Jodie B. Cooper

The Book
Release Date: 1 July 2013
Goodreads Link

When worlds collide, myths become reality.

Dragons, vampires and other mythical creatures suddenly find themselves on Earth. Thousands are dead and war looms on the horizon.

For Emma, life is no longer perfect, not with monsters out of legend appearing in the forest behind her house.

When Tyler sets his eyes in her direction, she knows the bloodthirsty creatures (trying to kill her) are the least of her worries, especially when her blood heats to the boiling point every time the gorgeous shape shifter looks her way.

Too late, she realizes having a dragon’s unwavering attention is a dangerous place to be, because there is a fine line between attraction and prey.

Death is no longer in her distant future, it haunts her every move.

This e-book contains minor curse words and sexual innuendo. 16+ is the recommended reading age.

Contained in this e-book:
Emma: A Dark Fire YA Novel - 71,000 words
Plus a large bonus excerpt! Exile: The Prequel (Sídhí Summer Camp series #3) - 23,800 words
Sídhí Glossary - 1,900 words

My Review  4 STARS
**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

I will admit that this book has been sitting on my kindle for a little while, forgotten among the other books that i have on their.  It might have something to do with the terrible cover, seriously it does the book no favours.

That said i really shouldn't have judged the book by its cover.  The world created was brilliant, the two 'collided' worlds can together well and we got a world that was formed so well that you could almost see it.

The characters Emma, the human and Tyler the black Dragon were strong and Tyler had some really great loyal friends and Tyler and Emma were good at explaining the differences in their worlds when the others seemed perplexed.

I would certainly read other books by this author, however i hope that her book covers improve.

Friday 19 January 2018

REVIEW - Severed Stone (Souls of the Stones 0.5) by Kelly Walker

The Book
Release Date: 8 June 2013
Goodreads Link

See how it all started in the first prequel of Souls of the Stones. Severed Stone will answer the question posed throughout the other books: How did the once united land separate?

Immortality is my prison. I broke the bonds of brotherhood because I once loved a girl whose hand was not as available as her heart. Cursed by the gods, I watch countless generations live with the consequences of my transgression. Even with the gift of foresight, I cannot say I would be strong enough to turn away if given the opportunity. And were she cursed to watch the destruction unfold by my immortal side, I would without a doubt make the same fated choices. But Tomorrow is a cruel mistress, and the first death I witnessed as part of my damnation was that of my beloved. -Fidwen Roth

Their story should have been a fairytale, but someone is playing a dangerous game that can only end in heartbreak.

When Ciorstan awakes alone in a field, far from home and more than a little confused, it won't be the strangest thing to happen that day. Ignoring both her intuition and a mysterious but handsome stranger's warning, she allows a dashing prince to take her home to his palace. 

Agreeing to marry the prince was her second mistake. 

Her next one will rip an entire kingdom apart. Sometimes, true love can be a tragedy with devastating consequences. 


SEVERED STONE is a prequel novella, 155 pages in length and can be read at any point during the Souls of the Stones series. (But because it is designed to answer questions posed in Cornerstone and Second Stone, it may be more gratifying after reading those titles first.)

My Review  3 STARS
**My thanks to NetGalley and All Night Reads, for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This is i understand a prequel to the main story and provides us insight into how the world we are to read has come to its current predicament.  That the land was divided up into three after a spurned sorceress bewitches her own daughter and a prince into falling in love and thereby setting into motion catastrophic events.

The novella moves quickly and you get to understand the three princes and their temperaments along with things have come to pass.

Wednesday 17 January 2018

BLOG TOUR - Sky's the Limit (Doomsday Preppers #1) by Elle Aycart

The Book
Release Date: 16 January 2018

Tired of waiting for her big break in the fashion industry, Sky Gonzalez, eternal part-time student and overworked retail drone, quits her job, sublets her New York apartment, and embarks on a semester abroad study program in Paris. Paris! Time to throw caution to the winds and jump-start her dreams. What’s the worst that could happen? 

How about getting sent to the wrong Paris? As in Paris-frigging-Minnesota?

Bye-bye career dreams. Bye-bye glamour and haute couture. Hello flannel shirts, mind-numbing cold, zero bars on the cell phone, and socially challenged mountain men with tons of unruly facial hair.

So yeah, let the truck barreling her way hit her, please. Less painful.

Logan should have dodged the little lost waif and kept on driving. Who in their right mind walked in the middle of the road, dressed in white from head to high heels, during a snowstorm? Clueless city girls, that's who. Sky is all that Logan has gladly left behind: stylish, cosmopolitan, and a massive pain in the butt. He wouldn’t trade a single day in his quirky little corner of the woods for all the high-maintenance beauties the city can offer.

Too bad this beauty has been deemed a health hazard and quarantined in his house. Damn his doomsday-prepper neighbors and their paranoid emergency protocols. Now he has to keep Sky in and the pandemic squad out until the roads are clear. The question is, will that happen before or after Sky realizes she's under house arrest?

Ah, the best-laid plans...

My Review  5 STARS
**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

If i could have rated this book any more than five stars, i would have.

This book is Elle Aycart at her best and certainly has you provided with all sorts of weird information, so much humour that sometimes you find yourself with a silly grin on your face and some completely wacky characters that you cannot help but fall in love with.

Sky has found herself in the wrong Paris.  Instead of France, she is in Paris Minnesota in the freezing cold.  However Sky soon finds that the crazy inhabitants become friends and one individual certainly burrows his way into more that just her underwear.

This is certainly a book that you will not want to put down for anything and you will be wanting more the moment you have finished. 

I am certainly looking forward to see who gets a book in the series next. 

Monday 15 January 2018

REVIEW - Fire (The Mermaid Legacy #2) by Natasha Hardy

The Book
Release Date: 15 April 2014
Goodreads Link

In order to save the one she loves, she will have to start a war... Just when Alexandra was getting used to the fact that she is half-mermaid, her beloved Merrick is captured by ruthless Oceanid Neith. Neith will stop at nothing to crush Alex to his will and has only one condition of release: She must start a war against humans who are destroying the ocean so that he can become ruler of land and sea. If not, Neith promises to destroy the underwater world Alex has grown to love. Alex is torn. She cannot fight against humans, but risks bring the fire of hell to her underwater home. Desperate and alone she roams the ocean, until she discovers that other Oceanids are prepared to fight against cruel Neith. Now Alex must become the leader she is fated to be and train an army to fight for their own freedom and that of the entire human race, before it is too late... The second book in THE MERMAID LEGACY Book 1 Water is out now

My Review  3 STARS
This is the last book in the series and is the concluding part.

We get a lot more of the almost preaching of the error of human ways in regards to the pollution of the ocean along with the slow draw up to the big fight.

Alex finds more talents speedily, is accepted far too easily by adult Oceanids and her 'wisdom' accepted and her leadership hardly questioned.

Considering that Merrick and Alex have only been together for a few days, i find that her missing him as much as she does unrealistic.

Looking back i also see that the first book has not been review too well or very much at all.  This book hardly seems to have any reviews either.

Alex seems exceptionally lucky with everything she does and almost everything falls into place too easily.

This book certainly answers all the questions we had from book one, however we are left wondering who the spy was and if Nasrim was ever found and brought to justice.

REVIEW - Water (The Mermaid Legacy #1) by Natasha Hardy

The Book
Release Date: 16 August 2013
Goodreads Link

Surrender to the power of the water... Alex knows she is different. She’s plagued by nightmares that feel shockingly real and an intense restlessness she cannot explain. As the long hot summer holidays stretch before her, Alex seeks out adventure in the rugged mountains of Injasuthi. But during a camping trip to the mystic jade pools, Alex meets Merrick, a boy who tells her the shocking truth about herself, and Alex's nightmare is about to become reality. Because Alex is no ordinary teenager...she is a half-mermaid and her adventures are only just beginning.


My Review  3 STARS

**My thanks to NetGalley and Montlake Romance, for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

I think the best part about this book is the cover.  The colours pop, and pull you in, the write up sounds intriguing and pulls you in too, however the thing that pulls me short in this book is the amount of times humans are lambasted for the ocean pollution and deaths we cause in the sea for all sea life and the fact that as a race we do not seem to care about it.

In some ways this book is just preaching that we as a species need to change our ways with the resources we consume and the rubbish that we produce.

Alexandra is based in South Africa and it starts with her on holiday after her father has abandoned her.  After some folk tales two boys and her head off into the mountains for adventure and she certainly finds more than that.

Merrick is an Oceanid, a merman in other words and has been looking out for Alex in secret for the last three years.  It is now that she gets to meet him and the world that he comes from.

The book can be long winded at times and you almost wonder if anything is going to happen, then the book finishes and you are left with so many questions as nothing has been resolved but everything is still to come.

REVIEW - Man Card (Man Hands #2) by Sarina Bowen

The Book
Release Date: 15 January 2018
Goodreads Link

Nothing ventured, nothing banged...

Ash
I still don't know how it happened. One minute I was arguing with my arrogant competitor--our usual trash-talk over who deserves the larger commission. But somehow I went from throwing down to kneeling down... 
It can never happen again. I don't even like Braht. He's too slick. He's a manipulating mansplaining party boy in preppy clothes.
So why can't I get him out of my head? 

Braht
There are two things I know without question. One: Ash and I are destined for each other. Two: never trust a man with a unibrow.
Ash is my missing my piece. She's the sweet cream to my gourmet espresso. And nothing gets me going faster than her contempt for me. They don't call her the Ashkicker for nothing. 
Eventu

My Review  5 STARS
**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This is another laugh out loud book from the brilliant duo of Sarina and Tanya.

The first book in the series introduced the best friends Ash and Braht who definitely had chemistry.  In this book they sizzle together they are so hot.

Ash has ex-husband baggage and does not trust men too easily and Braht is hiding something from his past.  However Braht proves himself to be a wonderful individual who goes for what he wants and protects it.  He proves he is a true man, even if he does like mansplaining and manicures.

Ash is loyal to her friends and finds herself softening towards a man who proves that not all men are bastards and that they is a man out there for her.

I really hope that there is a third book for Sadie and that she gets a happy ever after and it was nice to catch up with Brynn and Tom too.

Saturday 13 January 2018

REVIEW - Claimed (Club Sin #1) by Stacey Kennedy

The Book
Release Date: 5 August 2013
Goodreads Link

Presley Flynn is ripe to experience her secret fantasies . . . and Dmitri Pratt wants nothing more than to fulfill them. Once inside the elite Club Sin in Las Vegas, Presley is nervous but excited—and determined to surrender to her every desire. Dmitri is her Master, and his touch is like fire. With each careful, calculated caress, he unleashes her wildest inhibitions, giving her unimagined pleasure.

Presley is different than the other submissives Dmitri has mastered. The BDSM lifestyle is new to her, and so are the games they play at Club Sin. From the start, Presley stirs emotions in him far beyond the raw purity between a dom and the perfect sub. For the ecstasy they share goes beyond the dungeon igniting a passion that claims the very depths of the heart.

My Review  3 STARS
**My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This book follows on from the Fifty Shades craze, however i feel that the characters in this novel have a better connection and find something in each other that they did not know was missing from their lives.

Presley is a person who wants to make everyone happy, however it can lead her to heartbreak.  Dmitri however has been a Dom for many years and when he see's Presley he senses something in her that calls to him.  Her sub nature and the person she is is something special that needs to be nurtured.

The supporting cast are great and Cora proved herself a true friend and the other Doms stick to the rules.  The ex boyfriend Steven certainly has a screw or two loose.

Things do progress fast between our couple, however some people just know what is going to work for them and make them happy.

Thursday 11 January 2018

REVIEW - Hooked on a Phoenix (Phoenix Brothers #1) by Ashlyn Chase

The Book
Release Date: 6 March 2018
Goodreads Link

LOCKED IN A BANK VAULT TOGETHER...
THEY MIGHT REDEFINE THE MEANING OF 'SAFE' SEX

Misty Carlisle works as a bank teller in Boston's financial district. She's had more rotten luck in her life than most, except when her childhood crush shows up to cash his paycheck. Then her heart races and her mouth goes dry.

Gabe Fierro is a firefighter―and a phoenix. Like his brothers, his biggest challenge is finding a woman open-minded enough to accept a shapeshifter into her life. When his boyhood friend asks him to watch over his little sister Misty, he reluctantly agrees. But when the bank where she works gets held up, Gabe does everything he can to protect her. The two of them end up locked in the bank's vault...where things get steamier than either of them ever imagined.

My Review  3 STARS
**My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This was a decent book and the second book that i have read from this author, although it is in a different series it is still about the same family of Phoenix's.

Gabs is the more sensitive brother and has decided he never wants a wife or a family of his own, however after his best friend Parker asks him to look after his little sister, a girl he has not seen for years, things take on a different turn.  It takes Gabe having his life turned upside down to realise the mistake he has made, it also takes a special woman.

Misty is a strong woman who has a hard time just as she is seeing Gabs for the first time in ages, with health concerns that worry her.

The family shows a strong sense of loyalty and kinship and welcome Misty with open arms, helping her without question.

The author gives a good view of the modern world with a paranormal twist that is believable without sounding silly.


Wednesday 10 January 2018

REVIEW - Seducing Her Brother's Best Friend (Tea for Two #3) by Noelle Adams

The Book
Release Date: 10 January 2018
Goodreads Link

After too many years being overlooked by men, Carol is ready to take action. She wants a man, and she knows which man she wants. Her brother’s best friend, Patrick Stevenson. 

Patrick is funny and brainy and the sexiest man she’s ever known, but he has never looked at her as anything except his friend’s little sister. That’s going to change. 

Carol isn’t good at flirting. Or seduction. Or anything that requires putting herself out there. But she’s going to make sure Patrick sees her as a desirable woman—and one he wants for more than one night—even if it turns her whole world upside down. He already likes her a lot. He just needs to open his eyes to how good they’d be together. 

After all, how stubborn can he be?

My Review  4 STARS
**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This is the concluding part to this trilogy and can be read as a stand alone book, however i suggest reading them all in order so you get a better measure of the other characters.

In this book, Carol has finally decided that she is going to try and get what she has always wanted, one of her best friends brother, the slightly geeky, awkward Patrick.

Carols friends help her seduce an unknowing Patrick and a light comedy evolves in the push me pull you department, until Patrick finally admits its Carol that he wants and realises that she wants him too.

A really good ending to this light-hearted and fun series.

Monday 8 January 2018

EXCERPT Reveal - Sky's the Limit (Doomsday Preppers #1) by Elle Aycart




Release Date: 16 January 2018
The Book

Tired of waiting for her big break in the fashion industry, Sky Gonzalez, eternal part-time student and overworked retail drone, quits her job, sublets her New York apartment, and embarks on a semester abroad study program in Paris. Paris! Time to throw caution to the winds and jump-start her dreams. What’s the worst that could happen?

How about getting sent to the wrong Paris? As in Paris-frigging-Minnesota?

Bye-bye career dreams. Bye-bye glamour and haute couture. Hello flannel shirts, mind-numbing cold, zero bars on the cell phone, and socially challenged mountain men with tons of unruly facial hair.

So yeah, let the truck barreling her way hit her, please. Less painful.
~~~~~~
Logan should have dodged the little lost waif and kept on driving. Who in their right mind walked in the middle of the road, dressed in white from head to high heels, during a snowstorm? Clueless city girls, that's who. Sky is all that Logan has gladly left behind: stylish, cosmopolitan, and a massive pain in the butt. He wouldn’t trade a single day in his quirky little corner of the woods for all the high-maintenance beauties the city can offer.

Too bad this beauty has been deemed a health hazard and quarantined in his house. Damn his doomsday-prepper neighbors and their paranoid emergency protocols. Now he has to keep Sky in and the pandemic squad out until the roads are clear. The question is, will that happen before or after Sky realizes she's under house arrest?

Ah, the best-laid plans...


Somewhere in the back of beyond, Minnesota

SOS. Car broke down. Stuck in snowstorm. Check my location and alert troopers.

Sky Gonzalez pressed Send and threw her cell in the air as high as she could. There was nothing but trees and snow around, no cell coverage to be had where she was standing. Maybe another six feet up, the situation was different.

She caught the phone on its way down. Checked the screen. Nope. Jesus Christ, the whole country was infested with butt-ugly, fake-tree cell towers, and she had to get lost in a place where all the damn trees were real.

Turning against the gusts of wind and brushing flakes away from her face, she gave it another go, tossing as far as she dared. Which wasn’t far, really, because she wasn’t the most coordinated person in the world. If she dropped the phone and it smashed into a million pieces, or she lost sight of where it landed, that was it for her last lifeline to the outside world. She’d never find her cute, sparkly cell again—slick and thin and white.

In hindsight, going for that color had been a very poor decision.

Still no dice. Squinting, she tossed the device up again. Hopefully her message would eventually go through, and Lola would contact the authorities. After all, it was Lola’s fault Sky was in this bind. Of all the crazy shit her sister had pulled over the years, this stunt trumped every one of them.

Every. Single. One.

She caught her cell a third time. Nothing. Well, practice made perfect, right? Besides, she didn’t have much else to do except throw that stupid phone into the sky and continue walking. The road must lead somewhere. Sooner or later she’d arrive there. Or she’d get lucky and her cell would catch a signal. Or she’d freeze to death and become a cautionary tale to stupid girls. Whatever came first.

She looked back to where her car was being buried under a steady fall of big flakes. Steam was still coming from the hood. How a car could overheat in the middle of a snowstorm, she didn’t know. That annoying little red light on the dashboard that had flashed at her for the last twenty miles might have had something to do with it. Not that she could have done shit about it, seeing as the last person she’d crossed paths with was at a gas station a hundred miles away. Or so. She wasn’t great at calculating distances or reading maps.

Orienting herself wasn’t one of her fortes either, evidenced by the embarrassing fact that her destination should only have been about fifteen miles from the regional airport and she’d still managed to miss it. She’d tried backtracking, but she’d only succeeded in getting more lost. And that was hours ago. The car’s GPS had stopped working right after she left the airport, and her cell had been without a steady signal for a long while before the car itself died. For all she knew, she’d crossed state lines. Heck, she might be in Canada. Or in frigging Alaska.

Great way to kick off the New Year. Best first of January ever.

Eyes on her airborne cell, she tripped and fell flat on her face, the useless device landing on the back of her head.

Coordinate colors? Forecast fashion trends? Put together a knockout outfit from a thrift shop? All that she could do, no problem. But apparently, throwing an object up in a straight line and catching it on the fly were not in her skill set.

Aggravated, she got up, patted the snow from her pants, and burrowed her hands under her jacket. The wind wasn’t too strong, but the constant bee stings of flakes on her skin, along with her shitty clothes, made her feel like she was freezing. The extremely fashionable hand-me-downs from her boss were not designed for off-road snow trudging.

Then again, she should have been strolling around Paris’s Golden Triangle of luxury boutiques and haute couture labels. Or sitting in a cute little café, watching the sun set over the Champs Elysées, enjoying the mild chill of the French winter—which this year was supposed to be warmer than usual—sipping red wine, and munching on a baguette slathered in gooey cheese. For that, she was perfectly dressed.

Thank God she’d gotten that ridiculous white bunny-ear hat at the airport, ugly as it was, and the white bunny-paw mittens. The snowstorm must have caught other travelers off guard, because those had been the only winter garments in the tiny store. High heels and a bunny hat. Hell of a fashion statement. On the plus side, she was color coordinated down to her underwear. White pants. White jacket. White boots. White hat.

She should have stayed in the broken car. No heat and a cramped space were a thousand times preferable to walking in the open, but she was so tired, she couldn’t afford to sit idle. She’d fall asleep in a second and wake up a Popsicle. Or, more to the point, not wake up at all.

That she’d been awake thirty hours and counting wasn’t helping. But why would she have wasted her last night in New York City sleeping when she thought she had a transatlantic flight ahead of her? Eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Sky was infamous for drifting off in the weirdest places and the most impossible positions. Tourist class, no leg room, screaming babies? Bring it on. Heck, once she’d zonked out in a jumper seat and snored there for hours, back in the day when she flew standby, courtesy of a friend’s industry-discount tickets.

Looking forward to a cozy nap in coach, she’d gone partying with friends instead of resting—and checking her flight details. Now she was stuck in the middle of nowhere, sleep-deprived, knee-deep in snow, freezing her butt off, and probably catching the mother of all flus.

Minnesota. Where the heck was Minnesota? She was an East Coast person through and through. She hadn’t been this far west since that time she took the wrong train and ended up in Newark. That had been traumatic enough, thank you very much.

She glanced around. It was beautiful, though. Perfect snowflakes poured out of the sky, blanketing the whole landscape in white. Very… Christmassy. Too bad it wasn’t Christmas, and she was lost, alone, and irremediably soaked. Her hair and makeup were ruined. And let’s not talk about her brand-new manicure. Hansel and Gretel dropped bread crumbs. Her? She was dropping fake nails all over the place.

Damn the countryside. Not a single soul around to ask for directions. Where were aggressive taxi drivers when one needed them? Rude walkers, honking cars, hotdog vendors, a Starbucks on every corner—there was nothing like that here. No landmarks she would recognize.

Just snow, trees, and a back road, poorly delineated and with worse signage, all of it getting fuzzier by the second.

And that was the view in the middle of the day. She shuddered to think how all this would look when it started getting dark. Were there wolves in Minnesota? Bears? Because if her high-heeled boots were shit walking in the snow, just wait until she had to climb a tree.

Sky was about to toss the cell up again, but she stopped. Sighed. Who was she kidding? She’d need a rocket launcher to make it past the treetops. She might as well put her phone to better use before the battery died or it got buried in the snow, Fargo style, until the end of time. She pressed the recording function and started talking. “This is the last will and testament of Sky Gonzalez. This message is addressed to my sister Lola. I leave you, Lola, all my belongings, which you’ll find in a car buried under a ton of snow somewhere in the middle of Minnesota, where you sent me!” she yelled into the device. “Know that I blame you for everything, and I will haunt you from the afterlife for freaking ever! You’ll never have a good night’s sleep, I guarantee you. Damn your presbyopia! Yes, you’ve hit forty. Yes, you need glasses. Own it, for Christ’s sake!”

Screaming seemed to help, marginally. To vent her frustration, if nothing else. She knew she shouldn’t be mad at Lola. After all, it wasn’t completely her sister’s fault. Never mind how busy she’d been, Sky should not have asked her sister to fill out her application for the semester-abroad program. At the very least, she should have suspected something was fishy when the secretary in the placement department had been so glad about Sky’s choice of location, she not only arranged the flight for her, but also informed her that the position came with a voucher for a car rental. Big red flag if Sky ever saw one.

“I don’t need a car,” she’d told the woman. Why would she? Public transportation was a far better option in European cities.

The secretary had sounded confused. “Uhh, believe me, you’ll need a car. Any preferences?”

In all her years as a part-time undergrad at that school, taking classes here and there whenever she could afford it, Sky had never heard the old hag be so nice to anyone. So she went for broke. “Okay, if I can choose, a cute little Mini would work.” Driving in style trumped trunk space any day. Besides, parking would be at a premium in Paris.

“A what?”

She’d gone too far. “If it’s too much, I can—”

“No, no,” the secretary had hurried to interrupt. “It will be arranged.”

Probably she’d thought Sky was going to pull her application if she didn’t get her preferred car. Which she would have. In a heartbeat. Not because of the car, but because she had thought she was going to Paris, France. Not Paris, Minnesota. Who in her right mind would choose an internship in Minnesota when Europe was available?

Sky Gonzalez, apparently.

Entering the semester-abroad program had been an ill-omened idea. She should have accepted her destiny as an eternal student and sales clerk turned personal shopper’s assistant. Dressing in castoffs from her boss and living vicariously through others people’s pics on Instagram. Making ends meet, a big smile on her face, happy and satisfied with her lot.

But traveling to Europe in the hopes of becoming a buyer for a classy continental retailer? Not in the cards for a Gonzalez.

Sky blew warm air over her frozen fingers. Manipulating her cell with the mittens had been a no-go, so she’d stashed them in her jacket. Time to fish them out, or she was going to lose more than her nails. Rummaging in her pockets produced only one mitten. Oh, shit. She must have dropped the other one. Fantastic. Getting better and better. Her teeth were chattering. The storm didn’t look like it was lightening up anytime soon, so she put on the one mitten and picked up her speed.

She pressed Record again and spoke into the phone.“I left Arnie at the dog hotel, so you are getting your sorry ass over there and picking him up, Lola. To hell with your allergies.”

Arnie hated it there. Ungrateful mutt. Much as it pained Sky, she couldn’t take him with her overseas. She’d dished out an indecent amount of money, money she couldn’t afford, to that first-class kennel, and he’d looked at her as if she were dumping him into the pound. “If I freeze to death… which at this stage is a very strong possibility, because the clattering sound you’re hearing is my teeth… I expect you to care for him. The expensive doggie treats he likes. His massage and spa days. The whole shebang, Lola. Do not cut corners with my baby. You owe me.”

When Sky stopped yelling into the phone, she realized the screeching she was hearing wasn’t coming from her. It sounded like brakes locking. She turned around in time to see the shiny grill of a black monster truck barreling her way.

Her eyes opened wide. Holy shit.

It was a damn good thing she couldn’t feel half her body anymore, because this was sooo going to hurt.

* * *

The second that Logan saw a flash of long red hair and something resembling human eyes, he wrenched the wheel, sending the truck spinning to the shoulder, barely missing the tiny figure in the middle of the road. Jesus Christ. Who in her right mind wore white from head to toe in a blizzard? The truck screeched to a halt, the passenger side a mere half an inch from the woman. He jumped down and ran around the front. She had fallen to the ground. Fuck, had he hit her? “You okay?”

“You… almost… ran… me… over,” she said, her teeth chattering. From fear or cold, he couldn’t tell. Well, he could. It had to be cold. Her clothes were flimsy at best. Flashy, but not warm at all.

“Are you crazy? Standing in the middle of the road, all in white? I could have killed you.”

He saw a gleam of defiance in her eyes. “White’s… trendy… this… year.”

Right. “There’s nothing ‘trendy’ in this part of Minnesota, lady. Where’s your car?”

“There.” She pointed in the direction Logan had come from. “Or there,” she corrected herself, pointing in the opposite direction. “Not sure now. It all looks… white.”

No shit.

He tried to help her stand, but her legs buckled, so he lifted her in his arms. “Let’s get you somewhere warm, shall we?” After placing her on the passenger seat, he cranked up the heat.

“Can’t leave… without… my bags.”

He stepped outside and scouted the ground a little.

Her footsteps indicated she’d been walking in the same direction he’d been driving, which meant he must have passed her vehicle and missed it. “What car are you driving?”

She sneezed, the useless synthetic-fur hood on her jacket flopping over her bunny-eared head. Out of the whole stupid outfit, that bunny-eared hat was the most sensible piece. “A Mini.”

Great. Wherever she’d left the car, it was probably buried now.

“We’ll come back for it tomorrow,” he decided, jumping back in and revving up the engine.

“My Manolos are in there.”

Manolos. Oh, boy, wasn’t that a blast from the past? Another shoe whore. Just what he needed. “They’ll still be here tomorrow, believe me.”

She was going to object, but a sudden sneeze derailed her. And another and another. He opened the glove compartment, took out a wad of napkins, and offered it to her. “Why did you leave the car?”

“Stopped working,” she answered, grabbing a napkin and wiping her nose. “And when I began walking… it wasn’t snowing so much.”

“You aren’t from anywhere around here, are you?” Her dumb clothes were a dead giveaway. Her actions too. She shook her head, placing her hands in front of the air vent. “New York City.”

It figured.

She narrowed her dark eyes on him. “Why?”

The heat had kicked in. She must have finally felt it, because her teeth weren’t chattering as hard. She was even getting some color back in her face.

He looked resolutely forward and edged the truck into motion. “For your information—next time you decide to take a stroll in the Minnesota countryside, you need better shoes. And clothes. You don’t assume the weather conditions will improve. And you never leave your vehicle. Ever. Under any circumstances. You don’t stand in the middle of the road without wearing reflectors. And—”

A sudden move from the passenger side caught his attention. He gave her a quick glance and saw, flabbergasted, that her head had lolled to the side.

“Lady, you okay?”

A light snore was all the answer he got. “And you don’t get into a stranger’s ride and proceed to check out,” he muttered. Jesus fucking Christ. Talk about a lack of common sense.


After a colorful array of jobs all over Europe ranging from translator to chocolatier to travel agent to sushi chef to flight dispatcher, Elle Aycart is certain of one thing and one thing only: aside from writing romances, she has abso-frigging-lutely no clue what she wants to do when she grows up. Not that it stops her from trying all sorts of crazy stuff. While she is probably now thinking of a new profession, her head never stops churning new plots for her romances. She lives currently in Barcelona, Spain, with her husband and two daughters, although who knows, in no time she could be living at the Arctic Circle in Finland, breeding reindeer.

Elle loves to hear from readers!

elleaycart@gmail.com


















RELEASE DAY BLITZ (Review) - Crazy Sexy Notion by Sarah Darlington

The Book
Release Date: 8 January 2017
Goodreads Link

My former best friend...is now a hooker...

MICK
After a terrible breakup, the crazy notion hit me to look up my childhood friend. With half a country between us, I haven't seen Raven since the day my dad rushed in and saved me from the Sandy Hill Trailer Park. But I loved Raven as a boy, and now I need to find out if I could love her as a man. Only problem: her profession.
Come to find out—she's a prostitute.

RAVEN
Mickey Lawson
Yeah, I hate that guy.
Really, he's only a faint memory now, but at one point in time he meant everything to me.
My protector. My savior. My best friend.
I was ten.
Then he left.
Now he's back.
Fifteen years too late.

My Review  4 STARS
**My thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

Mick plays in the minor leagues for baseball, but has eventually gone back home to where it all began in order to 'rescue' his former best friend Raven.  Raven is still there, with a daughter, but she is also a prostitute.  Not that it matters to Mick.

Raven had lost her best friend and the boy that protected her, ever since she has had to look after herself, stuck in Pecan.  When Mick rocks up, he does not give her much of a choice in the matter about going home with him, rather than staying in her trailer.

Its a friends to lovers book, only they have been apart for a good many years and have to build up the trust and friendship again.  Mick however seems the more stable of the two and quickly comes to the realisation that the reason that he has not found a suitable relationship or why he sabotages his relationships is because he has always wanted Raven.

ITs a sweet book, not too much sex and not too much angst.  Definitely well worth the read.