I Married a Billionaire: Lost & Found (I Married a Billionaire #2) by Melanie Marchande

This is book 2 in the series, Danny and Maddy have been married for over a year now and things are going well. The book open with them on a second honeymoon and this is where the conflict is first hinted at, a reported ask's Danny a questions about a sealed lawsuit settlement [so ding, ding, ding; that's gonna play a huge part], Danny and Maddy immediately leave the restaurant and Danny is all upset, but won't talk about it.

They get back home and in the middle of the night Danny gets a call that all his assets are being frozen because he's suspected of insider trading.

Here's what knocked this book down, Daniel spends the entire book being a douche. His ex from book 1 returns and she, along with some people he screwed over in the past are out to get him and they set him up for insider trading. 

Maddy spends her time trying to solve the mystery and prove his innocence and throughout the book Daniel still spends a lot of time thinking Maddy is only with him for his money. 

At least during this book Maddy gets a chance to her art further and actually gets to be featured in a gallery. 

This story had more drama, but you just couldn't really get into it when Daniel was so ugh and Maddy couldn't really reach him.

Rating 3.5 out of 5

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Seeking Her (Losing It, #3.5) by Cora Carmack

Told from the point of view of Jackson Hunt as he follows Kelsey Summers through Europe, it ends at just as he meets her at a club when she gets drugged and he saves her and takes her to a hotel to recover. 

Yet he never explains why he just left her at the hotel or anything and really felt like a waste for the series. This one didn't live up the other books in the series so it didn't rate that high for me.

Rating 2 out of 5

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Learning To Love (Carson Hill Ranch, #1) by Amelia Rose

This one is real short and quick, I got it free on iTunes and it was so funny. 

Bernard is in his 70's and he wants to see his sons married and with children; he married late and his wife died about 10 years ago [in the story timeline], but since his sons have no inclination to marry he decides to meddle. How does a 70 year old meddle, he creates an online profile on a dating site for his sons [don't allow your parents near a computer] so he can move things along. 

Miranda is a bad relationship and her little sister Gracie decides to intervene by creating her an online profile, eventually she finds out and she continues the conversations with Casey [Bernard actually pretending to be him]; when things get really bad in her relationship, she flees with her little sister Gracie and since they had nowhere to go, so she decides to accept Casey's [Bernard] invitation to come to the ranch. 

Casey is very irritated with his father's idea, especially when he is sent to pick up a city girl who he believe will be very high maintenance and annoying. Miranda and Casey butt heads immediately but after suffering an accident caused by Jack one of the two bad guys in the book and Miranda nurses him, Casey tries to stop being such a jerk. Well, after they can both store their attitudes, they eventually have sparks fly left and right. 

Miranda's ex Mike comes along with thoughts of revenge for Miranda's leaving him and well, they deal with him the old west style. 

The only reason this story lost points with me is that they skip a lot of details, like how where the bad guys fully dealt with, maybe a date or two for Miranda and Casey, just saying.

Rating 3.5 out of 5

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Glory: The Complete Saga by Joe Keatinge, Ross Campbell (Illustrations)

The only thing glorious moment in this book is when you reach the agonizing end. There is absolutely no plot to the story.

Glory is the daughter of like the ruler of the underworld or something and the queen of Thule, they're an amazonian like group of warrior women [so, yeah, think Wonder Woman if she had been made the old fashion way and not clay]. 

This book tries to revive the 90's character Gloriana Demeter and all I can say is that it fails miserably. The only reason it got 2 stars from me is that the illustrations were decent enough; but story wise this is a bore. The only thing the story focuses on is that Gloriana has daddy issues and an anger management problem.

I feel so bad about expressing myself this way, especially when Joe Keatinge and Ross Campbell are really talented guys, but they totally missed the mark on this one.

Rating 2 out of 5
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Before He Was Famous (Starstruck, #1) by Becky Wicks

 Noah Lockton and Chloe Campbell have been best friends since she snuck into his room after hearing him sing when she was a little girl. 

Noah has never been able to keep a long term girlfriend, because Chloe is always first. Chloe has a long term boyfriend that she stays with more out of fear that being with Noah will ruin things, eventually Chloe breaks up with him. 

Noah becomes a singing sensation after winning an American Idol like competition and Chloe gets a job as blogger/photographer for a teen magazine and has to follow Noah around everywhere and these two friends can no longer fight their attraction. 

With so many things, mainly themselves, this book becomes a bit frustrating. Eventually these two are able just speak their hearts. 

Noah is a decent guy who after finally getting the chance to live his dream. He is so torn between confessing his love to Chloe and playing the industries game that it's tearing him apart. Chloe is finally getting over her fear of being with Noah and then things just get in the way of these two. 

This was a fun read and I hope that further down the series, we get maybe a Noah+Chloe wedding, because seriously, these two have wasted too much time.

Rating 4 out of 5

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Married to a Rogue by Donna Lea Simpson

Could not get behind this romance 

Baxter claims to love his wife Emily yet he sends her away 

Then he takes on a slew of mistresses until settling with Belle for a while 

He stops having a relationship with Belle because he develops paternal feeling toward her, like eww 

Then he "realizes" he really loves Emily, whom he hasn’t seen in 5 years and he only comes to this realization after he sees how she is getting attention from another man 

Granted this story is staged in a time when this was the norm, married rich guys from London's upper echelon take on lovers while being married, but this story is just so bad 

Emily is so nice and you just feel so bad for her, because she actually loves her husband 

Etienne is introduced as a romantic interest for Emily, except in the end he just disappears and then dies 

Too many characters are introduced and they really don’t do anything for the story 

Baxter doesn't apologize to Emily until the very end and it really doesn't seem like they  have a real resolution of their problems, the end is just too rushed 

Belle was an insufferable and grotesque character in my opinion, the author tries to redeem her at the end but it didn't seem good 

Another thing that I absolutely hated was that there was so much mention of Emily's weight, which based on the description, she wasn't fat, she just had the body of a woman in her 30's not the teenage physique of Belle who was supposedly 18 or 19 in the book (so again eww because Baxter is 42 and he started his relationship with her when she was like 16)

Of all the characters introduced the only two I actually found enjoyable were Less, the theater owner and fried of Baxter and Emily; and Dodo, the elderly aunt of Baxter and friend of Emily's 

I know in all these stories, the guys are always jerks who redeem themselves but this one just wasn't good

Rating 2 out of 5

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The Naughty Nine by Various

This is collection of 9 stories that combine a bit of danger with a lot of attraction. 

The collection includes: 

• Stop in the Name of Love by Nina Bruhns  
• Deathblow by Dana Marton  
• A Girl, A Guy And A Ghost by Patricia Mason  
• Everything He Never Wanted by Mary Leo 
• Red Rock Rises by Taylor Lee  
• Dirty Little Secrets by Julie Leto  
• One Night To Kill by Rita Heron  
• Saved by Lorhainne Eckhart  
• Snowbound by Karen Fenech  
• Secret Identity by Jill Sanders 

Some of these stories are more enjoyable than the others, depending on your taste, but over all this collection was fun and entertaining. You get a little bit of everything and a whole lot of romance. Plus everyone knows a story with danger leads to some fun romantic encounters.

Rating 4 out of 5

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Alive at 5 by Linda Bond

Zack is a former ranger, investigating his rich uncle's death. He is in no way looking for romance and he sure as hell doesn't want some reporter tagging along messing up his investigation. 

Samantha (Sam) is a reporter in need of a big scoop. When her friend and mentor dies in a mysterious "accident", her reporter instincts tell her there is something more going on and she is going to find out. Dragging her camera man George along, she decides to twist Zack's arm into letting them follow him on his "adventure". 

Sparks fly left and right with Sam and Zack and so do a few very near death encounters. 

The story is fun and engaging, the suspense will keep you flipping the pages, just to get to the big revelation. Because, come on it’s a mystery, there is always a big revelation. The ending is the only thing I would have changed a bit, perhaps add an epilogue where Sam and Zack go off into a non-death laced vacation; maybe have them sitting on the beach of Cabo sipping margaritas. 

Rating 3.5 out of 5

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Up To Me by Christi Barth

Ella Mayhew is the young owner of Mayhew Manor, a hotel that looks like a castle. Ella's been locked up in herself since her parents tragic death three years ago. When she spots a good looking stranger running across the grounds of the hotel, her hormones kick in. 

Graydon "Gray" Locke is a corporate hitman; his routine, go undercover and assess the business, recommend it for closure and vamoose. When Gray spots Ella, he is captivated. Well that captivation is trouble with a capital T for Gray who is supposed to be assessing the business, not the attractive owner. 

Gray's been lying to Ella since the beginning and falling in love. Ella will do anything to save her family legacy, Mayhew Manor, but does that include turning her back on true love. 

The story was sweet, Gray and Ella are rocking the love at first sight romance. Ella and Gray are very sweet, Gray fully won me over when he admits his favorite Disney movie was "The Little Mermaid"  and that he used to dress up as Prince Eric when he was a kid. That right there won me over. In the story we meet Ella's friends who soon become friends with Gray; and these people are a real riot. The way they act is very realistic, made me think of my friends and how "shut up" never works. This is book 1 in a new series and if this book is anything to go by, the series looks promising. I am hoping the next book in the series will follow Ella's friends Piper and Ward, there were some real fireworks going on there.

Rating 4 out of 5

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Liquid City, Vol. 3 (Liquid City #3) by Various

Liquid City is a collection of short tales that each usually has some small lesson or token for contemplation. Some stories and illustrations were better than others and that ultimately affected my opinion of the book. Many of these short tales have a rooting in the author's culture. Ultimately I'd still buy this book, so I say read.

Rating 3 out of 5
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Naja (Naja #1-5) by Jean-David Morvan, Bengal (Illustrations)

The concept is unique, the illustrations are good and damn if Naja [the main character] not kick some serious ass. 

The story follows Naja a professional assassin, she is ranked number 3 for the organization she works for. When Naja gets attacked and told that the number 1 assassin wants to kill her because he thinks she wants to kill him. That sets in motion the story and the action just keeps coming. 

The story is very up and down and the twist is like whoa. This book may not be everyone's cup of tea or poison, if we want to keep with the assassin theme. 

The drawing style is very Japanese manga and the storyline is dark and gruesome, but it worked; so enjoy.

Rating 4 out of 5

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Telling Tales by Patience Agbabi

Often a little hard to follow if you're just reading it, I felt that this book should spoken out loud when reading. The rhythm flowed naturally and in a lyrical sort of way. 

I enjoyed the book and if you're a fan of musical poetry, you will enjoy this book. 

Rating 3.5 out of 5

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Her Secret, His Surprise by Paula Altenburg

Career driven girl meets cute bartender, they hit it off and spend the night. A month or so later, girl is over the toilet tossing her cookies and uh oh, you guessed it, she's pregnant. Tries to find bartender and if you guessed he's no longer there, then you are correct. 

SKIP ABOUT 2 YEARS [this is where the story really picks up] 

Logan is a CSIS agent [which from what I gathered is like the Canadian NCIS] and former bartender [he was undercover].  

Cass is an engineer, with a cute little baby girl and whole lot to deal with at work. She works for a military contracted company and a lot of people don't like the idea of a woman as a division director [sexist much]. Well, when her car breaks down and her sweet elderly matchmaking neighbor tries to set her up with her grandson, who is coming to live with her, all Cass can think is freeloader. 

If you guessed that the bartending, freeloading grandson is Logan, well good for you.  

When Logan and Cass see each other again, the sparks are still there, but can they make it work, when one has to lie for a living and the other is too focused on success? 

The story was fun and endearing, although it did lose some points for me because the ending felt too blah. I felt the ending needed something extra to really bring closure to the story. It's a fun light read perfect for relaxing after a long stressful day. 

Rating 4 out of 5

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ADDICTED BY TRACY WOLFF - BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY

 

ADDICTED: An Ethan Frost Novel

A Loveswept New Adult Romance

Written by Tracy Wolff

On sale: July 15, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-553-39438-2

Pages: 304

Find ADDICTED on Goodreads

“I do love you, Chloe.”

Ethan Frost returns in the breathtaking conclusion to New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Tracy Wolff’s seductive novel Ruined—perfect for fans of Release Me and Bared to You.

As Chloe Girard discovers, there’s love . . . and then there’s addiction.

Ethan Frost is everything a woman could want in a man. He’s rich, gorgeous, powerful, one of the most eligible bachelors in the world.

But that’s not why I’m with him.

I love Ethan for all the things no one else gets to see: his innate kindness, his reckless spontaneity, his unwavering determination to use his brilliance for good. I love the way he looks at me, the way he touches me. The way he makes me forget the wreckage of my past and the twisted fear that still lives inside me.

But sometimes it terrifies me how much I crave him, how much I need him just to breathe. I always thought it would be my past that ruined us, but there’s a darkness in Ethan I never dreamed existed. Can we survive as his secrets surface—threatening to unravel us both?

Get your copy of ADDICTED

Amazon  |  B&N Nook  |  ibookstore  |  Google Play  |  Kobo  |  Other retailers

ABOUT TRACY WOLFF

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Tracy Wolff lives in Texas and teaches writing at her local community college. She is married and the mother of three young sons.

Connect with Tracy

Facebook  |  Twitter 

______________________________________________________

 

After reading "Ruined (Ethan Frost #1) by Tracy Wolff" I ended my review with "The ending of the book tells us there will be a part 2 and OMG is that ending crazy. I'm almost upset with Ms. Wolff for making us wait till July for the sequel. She gets us hooked with this book, gives so much of Chloe's story and not enough of Ethan's, then she goes and gives us the craziest cliffhanger ever."

All I can say is that the wait was worth it. Ms. Wolff really knows how to create an engaging set of characters that keep drawing you in to their story.

At the end of book 1 we have a very shocking cliffhanger and book 2 picks off exactly where book 1 ended. The revelation is so great that it causes great upheaval in Chloe and Ethan's relationship.

Throughout the book Chloe and Ethan keep trying to find a place where the past won't matter; but everytime they take one step forward, it feels like they're taking two steps back.

With all their ups and downs you'll feel like you've just got whiplash, but in the end they are able to face their demons and meet half way to reach their happily ever after.

I would have loved to give this book 5 stars, but I has so many questions about Chloe's roommate [I'm still hoping she gets her own book], her family and most importantly, did the karma bus run over Brandon 5 or 6 times.

Rating 4 out of 5

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ADDICTED GIVEAWAY

Loveswept is sponsoring a sexy giveaway for ADDICTED!

Letter 44 Volume 1: Escape Velocity (Letter 44 #1-6) by Charles Soule (Writer), Alberto Alburquerque (Artist)

Great story, this looks to be a real promising series. 

We've got a new President coming into the White House; but what happens when on day 1 he learns his predecessor has hid a huge secret from the country and the world. 

Now he must make the tough choices and decide if the world really is ready for what awaits up in space. 

At the same time we have a team of brave scientist and soldiers up in space trying to learn if ET is friend or foe. 

You will really enjoy this series and all the conspiracies that come along with the government trying to hide ET.

Rating 4 out of 5

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