romance

Review: Denial by Lisa Renee Jones

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01 den IT’S ELLA’S BOOK!!!!!!

Talk about adrenaline pumping!! I had a hunch that Ella wasn’t in for a simple trip overseas. And boy was I right!!

Ella wakes up in a hospital, in Italy, knowing nothing. She doesn’t even remember her own name! All she knows is that there’s a beautiful man watching her and wanting to help her. I can’t even imagine waking up and not knowing who I was or why I’m in a foreign country. But seeing as she’s all alone, Ella has no other choice but to trust him.

With Kayden’s help, bits and pieces of her memory slowly start to come back. But with these memories comes the realization that she has made some very bad choices and befriended some very evil people. The crazy thing is that she feels this insane attraction to Kayden and wants to trust him to help her, but what if he’s one of those people?

My word, just when you think you know what’s going to happen, the rug gets pulled out from under you. Every time Ella had a flashback I was hoping for a some answers, but all we got were more questions. This is a fantastic start to another thrilling and exciting series for Lisa Renee Jones.

Denial can be read without reading the Inside Out series, but I highly recommend you read that series as well. It was also get your blood pumping and your heart racing.

~Melpomene

Read Denial before Demand comes out, in May.

Review: Fairytale Come Alive by Kristen Ashley

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01 fairy I believe in fairytales and happily ever afters. When the characters have to fight tooth and nail for those HEAs, I love them even more.

I’m not normally a fan of “ghost” books, but this book was so much more!!

This is book 4 in the Ghosts and Reincarnation series. I haven’t read book 3 yet, but I will say that this one is the first one that had more “ghostly” feel to it, compared to the first two books. The others were more light on the haunted undertones. Don’t let that turn you away. I wish I knew about this book sooner. Heck, I wish more people knew about it. If you like second chance romances, this is one you’ll wanna add to you TBR.

SYNOPSIS
In Isabella Austin Evangelista’s life miracles never happen… she knows she’s destined to be the princess who’s stuck in the middle of a fairytale where there will be no happily ever after.

Once upon a time, Prentice Cameron loved Isabella Austin until he discovered she was a spoiled, rich girl who spent her summers toying with his heart.

Life led Prentice to his own fairytale, the love of the full-of-life Fiona Sawyer. That being so, that fairytale was torn away when Fiona died of a brain tumor leaving Prentice with a house to keep clean, piles of laundry to be done, a business to run and two children who were getting tired of takeaway.

But Isabella comes back to Prentice’s tiny fishing town and she sweeps into his children’s lives like a beautiful, well-dressed fairy godmother who bakes exquisite chocolate cakes and gives the perfect manicure to six year old girls. Then Prentice finds out Isabella’s soul destroying secrets, secrets that explain why she left him so many years ago.

Fiona, stuck in her village and forced to haunt her family and watch Prentice and Isabella’s crazy dance, finds the impossible happening. She’s cheering for Bella and Prentice to rekindle their love. Then she finds out why she’s caught in her heartbreaking haunting and discovers she must embrace her magic and keep Bella safe or Bella’s fairytale will never come true.

20 years is a long time, and yet sometimes it’s not long enough. When we see Isabella and Prentice reconnect, I knew it wasn’t going to be smooth sailing, and this time, I was right. Hearts were broken again and again. Isabella knew how much pain she caused, the last time she was in town, but she really had no idea being back would cause even more. But with pain also comes healing. And being with Prentice may just be the one person who can heal her.

Besides Prentice and Isabella, there were so many side characters that made this story even more beautiful. Some brought a spot of laughter when it was needed while others added a new dimension to the healing process. On a side note, when we see Bella interact with Pren’s kids, I melted. Completely melted. It was insta-love. She was the best person to help them while they helped their dad heal her.

I like to cry and feel when I read, as you know. But as I said above, this isn’t usually my type of story. I thought “ghost” books wouldn’t bring the feels out, but I was so very wrong about this one. I swear to you, I spent the first 25% in perpetual tears and heartache. I was quite unprepared for this. No joke.

And that epilogue?? Hand me a tissue and I’ll tell you all about it. How does Kristen Ashley always write books that leave me in a pile of mush? I swear, she is a master word wizard of emotions.

~Melpomene

Buy Fairytale Come Alive.

Review: Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry

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01 aa This is another book that I can’t wait til my daughter can read it. This story is filled with a very real problem, cyber bullying. It’s a real issue and it happens more than we know. I swear to you, I never read the blurb, so I had nothing to go on. So when I realized what was happening, I was just sick. In my head, I kept trying to figure out a way to help her. I realize this story is fiction, but to many, it isn’t.

SYNOPSIS
One moment of recklessness will change their worlds

Smart. Responsible. That’s seventeen-year-old Breanna’s role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a toe out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyber-bully’s line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas “Razor” Turner into her life.

Razor lives for the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, and good girls like Breanna just don’t belong. But when he learns she’s being blackmailed over a compromising picture of the two of them—a picture that turns one unexpected and beautiful moment into ugliness—he knows it’s time to step outside the rules.

And so they make a pact: he’ll help her track down her blackmailer, and in return she’ll help him seek answers to the mystery that’s haunted him—one that not even his club brothers have been willing to discuss. But the more time they spend together, the more their feelings grow. And suddenly they’re both walking the edge of discovering who they really are, what they want, and where they’re going from here.

Razor!!! Oh, how I really like him. I had no idea this boy, we met in Nowhere But Here, had so much going on in his head. He’s been floundering for a few years. Struggling to come to terms with something that happened in his past. But it all changes when he meets Breanna. Something clicks. And now he knows what he wants, and he knows how he’s going to get it, even if it costs him his family.

I must admit, my stomach was twisting all over the place, with Breanna. My heart broke for her. She has been struggling with who she is as a person, a daughter, a sister and a friend. No one understands her. She is wired differently than most. Sad to say, but people don’t seem to accept differences, especially teens. The tipping point, for her, is now dealing with a bully. She wants help but she doesn’t know who to ask or how to ask.

It’s so hard being a teenager in this world. On a personal note, I’ve had to deal with this as a teenager and I will say, it SUCKED. You’re afraid to tell anyone, at the risk of making it worse. But cyber-bullying is a whole new thing. It’s 10 times worse.

This is another fabulous installment of Thunder Road series that dealt with real life problems. This book had me on the edge of my seat quite a few times. My heart was hammering in my chest and my nerves were wrecked. Razor and Breanna both had serious issues that required help from others, but neither wanted to go and ask. They thought they could do it alone but you need family to help sometimes. And this book is all about family.

~Melpomene

Buy Walk the Edge (Thunder Road)

Meet Razor and all the gang in Nowhere but Here (Thunder Road)

Review: Love, Lies & Spies by Cindy Anstey

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01 love A sweet romance filled with intrigue and early 19th century charm.

I was completely taken in by the cover. It looked like something I would enjoy and I was right. So cute!!

SYNOPSIS
Juliana Telford is not your average nineteenth-century young lady. She’s much more interested in researching ladybugs than marriage, fashionable dresses, or dances. So when her father sends her to London for a season, she’s determined not to form any attachments. Instead, she plans to secretly publish their research.

Spencer Northam is not the average young gentleman of leisure he appears. He is actually a spy for the War Office, and is more focused on acing his first mission than meeting eligible ladies. Fortunately, Juliana feels the same, and they agree to pretend to fall for each other. Spencer can finally focus, until he is tasked with observing Juliana’s traveling companions . . . and Juliana herself.

From the very first chapter title and sentence, I was hooked. In fact, I read the first page to my kids, while they were eating lunch, and my daughter said she wants to read it. THAT right there is a good sign.

I was totally taken in by Juliana’s quirks. She seemed to get into trouble, without even trying. All she wants to do is stay out of the limelight and avoid any suitors, but the more she tries to be invisible the more she’s noticed, and sometimes not by the best people.

Spencer has a mission to do, and it doesn’t include falling in love. Actually, that’s the farthest thing from his mind. That is until he sets his eyes on a bewitching young lady with a talent for trouble.

There’s something to be said for the friends to lovers stories. Those are the some of the best. The heart wants what the heart wants and even if you, or anyone else, try and stop it, it always wins in the end.

“There are not enough superlatives in the English language to capture even a tenth of my emotions.”

~Melpomene

Release date: April 19th
Preorder Love, Lies and Spies

Review: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

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01 wra “She was a dangerous, dangerous girl. A plague. A Mountain of Adamant who tore the iron from ships, sinking them to their watery graves without a second thought. With a mere smile and a wrinkle of her nose.”

This is one of the most epic and beautiful stories I have ever read. The backdrop was so rich in details I felt like I was there. The romance was a slow burn that had my heart twisting. The story itself had me neglecting my family, just so I could read faster. I was completely drawn into the story so much, that I never wanted to put it down. The words…oh, sweet heaven, the words…so romantic.

SYNOPSIS
In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad’s dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph’s reign of terror once and for all.

Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she’d imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It’s an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid’s life as retribution for the many lives he’s stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?

I’ll admit, at first, I never saw this turning into a romance, even though everyone said it was. I just couldn’t see how anyone could love a boy who had his wives murdered each night. I thought that there was no way he could ever be loved. I was so very wrong!

“What are you doing to me, you plague of a girl?” he whispered.
“If I’m a plague, then you should keep your distance, unless you plan on being destroyed.” The weapons still in her grasp, she shoved against his chest.
“No.” His hands dropped to her waist. “Destroy me.”

Shazi is a good wife. She will do her duties to the king, even though she is terrified. She has more determination to stay alive and find out why all of the wives are found dead each morning, and to not become one of them. She is different than Khalid’s past wives and he finds himself intrigued with her.

The more I read, I knew there was more going on with Khalid!! I just knew it! Heck, I even fell in love with him. This murdering boy-king stole my heart.

“This dangerous girl. This captivating beauty.
This destroyer of worlds and creator of wonder.”

I read this book back in December but I could never review it fully, due to the fact that my simple words could never convey exactly how much I love this story. Now as I prepare for my reread, in anticipation for The Rose and the Dagger, I felt I needed to try. I highly recommend this story to those who are in the mood for a rich romance set in the beautiful Arabian nights backdrop. Your heart will thank you. If you are unsure as to how much I loved this book, look at this picture and notice the amount of tabs I used. So many beautiful words. I wish I could use them all in my review.
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~Melpomene

Buy The Wrath and the Dawn

Be sure and check out the short story,The Moth and the Flame: A Wrath & the Dawn Short Story, which, even though it’s only a few pages, will make you fall in love with Khalid all over again and have you wanting more from his point of view.

Preorder The Rose and the Dagger before it release April 26th.

Review: Never Never by Brianna Shrum

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01 ner
I’ve been hooked on fairy tale retellings and books based on fairy tales. Since I’ve never read them, as a child, I think that’s why I like them now. So when I was gifted Never Never, I was super excited to start it. Now that ABF is over, I was finally able to do just that.

SYNOPSIS
James Hook is a child who only wants to grow up.

When he meets Peter Pan, a boy who loves to pretend and is intent on never becoming a man, James decides he could try being a child – at least briefly. James joins Peter Pan on a holiday to Neverland, a place of adventure created by children’s dreams, but Neverland is not for the faint of heart. Soon James finds himself longing for home, determined that he is destined to be a man. But Peter refuses to take him back, leaving James trapped in a world just beyond the one he loves. A world where children are to never grow up.

But grow up he does.

And thus begins the epic adventure of a Lost Boy and a Pirate.

This story isn’t about Peter Pan; it’s about the boy whose life he stole. It’s about a man in a world that hates men. It’s about the feared Captain James Hook and his passionate quest to kill the Pan, an impossible feat in a magical land where everyone loves Peter Pan.

Except one.

Since I’ve never read the Peter Pan story, so I really have no idea how it goes. But when I finished this book, I had tears forming in my eyes. I have no idea what to do now. James Hook had my heart. I wanted him to be good. I really did. I wanted him to find peace and a home and to find love. But I never expected this. I’m a bit shocked, but yet, not really. He is a pirate after all. He does the usually pirate things, but I knew it was for a reason. There just had to be!!

One part of this story made my romantic heart very happy and, at the same time, broke it into a million pieces. I wanted such good things for James. He deserved it, after what Peter did to him. My heart really wanted the happily ever after. But sadly, life, or in this case, fairy tales don’t always work like that.

“I grew up for you.”

And that Peter Pan…..I was a bit mad at him. I don’t wanna talk about him. I understand he was a boy, but there’s a side to him that smashed the Disney version to pieces. SHATTERED.

If you like retellings, you will enjoy Never Never.

~Melpomene

Grab NEVER NEVER while it’s on sale!! Only $1.99!!!

Review: Midnight Lily by Mia Sheridan

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01 mid A devastatingly haunting story about two young people who were so lost inside themselves until they discovered the key to being found, each other. This book made these feelings reach deep into your soul and scare you. That is why it’s so haunting.

SYNOPSIS
Holden Scott is the prince of professional football. At least he was before he lost it all . . . or more to the point, before he threw it all away. Now he’s out of a job, out of the public’s good graces, and perhaps just a little out of his mind. So when a friend offers up his remote lodge in the wilds of Colorado, giving Holden some time away to get his life back on track, he can hardly say no. The last thing he expects is to see a beautiful girl in the woods—one wearing a white, lace dress who appears in the moonlight, and leaves no footprints behind. Is she a dream? A ghost? A product of his muddled imagination? Or something entirely different?

Midnight Lily is the haunting love story of two lost souls reaching for each other in the dark. A tale of healing, acceptance, and the worlds we create to protect our own hearts. It is a story of being lost, of being found, and of being in the place between.

These two people are such beautiful characters, even in the midst of their trials. So hard to read it and not FEEL. My stomach was in knots and my heart broke over and over. Such pain. They’ve suffered so much and they cope the only way they know how. I wish I could say more, but it would totally ruin the beauty that is this book.

“We will never be perfect or without flaws, the lives we’ve been given are not like that. But, Lily, in my heart, you are perfect for me. Perfectly mine. And I’m yours.”

Without saying too much, I’ll end with this. I’m a big fan of Mia’s writing. I’ve come to expect a certain “type” of romance story, but this was nothing like that. Twisted and yet not. Wrong and yet right. Messed up and yet perfect.

~Melpomene

Buy Midnight Lily

Review: Legend by Katy Evans

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01 leg The most REAL ending to this series I could ever hope for.

Reese Dumas is staying with her cousin, in order to get a break from her life and to find the real her. She’s been hidden away for so long, now the chance to find her. I liked Reese. She seems very sheltered on some ways, and yet very worldly in others. She has a very low self esteem and is trying to make herself into a person that she thinks is perfect. But there is no such thing as a perfect person.

Maverick Cage is fighting to prove himself worthy. He just needs a chance to do it. But really all he wants is for someone to be in his corner. Deep down that’s what we all want. When we first meet him, he has this passion and drive and it hurt to see him being rejected for reasons outside of his control. But he never gave up. By some miracle, he stumbles upon Reese and his world is about to change.

Love is a funny thing. I don’t even know if you could it a “thing,” precisely. It’s a force. An energy. A feeling. A moment. A look, a kiss, a smile. All of those things in one.

It sneaks up on you; you never see it coming. And when it does finally hit you, it isn’t a small little poke. It’s like a rhinoceros rammed itself against your chest. Or you just got run over by a car. It knocks the wind out of you. Slams you against the wall. Kick-starts your heart.

Of all the fighters she could’ve fallen for, he was the worst. But for her, he was the best.

The crazy thing about this book is that it seemed like there was WAY more action and less talking. Normally I don’t like that, but I felt this book needed that. We needed to be inside Reese and Maverick’s head to fully understand their trials and pain. Of all the fighters she could’ve fallen for, he was the worst. But for her, he was the best.

While I am sad to see the series end, I think it went out with a bang. With the roll that Remy played, I don’t think this book could’ve ended any better. Bittersweet.

~Melpomene

Be sure and grab Legend (The REAL series Book 6), since Katy will be donating a percentage of sales to the NationalMsSociety.Org.

Quick review: The Hunter by Kerrigan Byrne

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After that prologue I was pulled right into this book. WHOA. That prologue……

A story about survival, healing, forgiveness and love, in all forms.

The killer was never meant to be a lover. But tell that to Christopher Argent’s heart. It doesn’t seem to be listening. He was sent on a job to kill the beautiful actress, but one look at her and he knew this was going to be a order he wasn’t going to be able to fulfill.

While I liked The Highwayman more than this book, I still enjoyed this one very much. It was so nice to see Dorian and see him help Argent some to the realization that all men can change, be forgiven of their pasts and find love. Anti heroes are quickly becoming my favorites.

I look forward to reading the next one.

~Melpomene
Buy The Hunter https://amzn.to/2KrjIAD

Review: The Shadow by Sylvain Reynard

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01 a122 I have missed William and Raven. So I was super thankful to receive an ARC and find out what happens.

Between the Curia and a traitor in the midst of the Consilium, it’s up to William to do what needs to be done to protect his city and the woman he loves. But in doing so, he may lose the Raven, no matter what he does. He’s caught between a rock and a hard place.

I’ll admit, I was a bit overwhelmed with all the character names, since some had two, and kept having to go back into my notes to recall who was who. All the while trying to figure out who was the traitor. But let me tell you, I was wrong in my guess.

For some reason, I wasn’t pulled into this one as much as The Raven. Perhaps it was more suspenseful and less sensual. Now, don’t get me wrong, there was romance, but not like Gabriel’s romance. Heck, I doubt anything is like Gabriel’s romance. But this was more about solving the city’s problems and less about the romance. And that’s fine, but not what I was hoping for. But it was still very good and I look forward to the next one.

Speaking of Gabriel, there was a few scenes with him that made me happy. However, seeing Gabriel scared wasn’t my favorite part. To me, he should always be strong and a mighty protector. Seeing him nervous and scared irked me. Not sure why. It was totally warranted. But I just didn’t like it.

Silly me, I thought this was the last book. I was mistaken. So I can’t wait until the next book! William and Raven need a HEA. Well, I need them to, at least.

~Melpomene

Buy The Shadow (Florentine series).
Get caught up with The Raven (Florentine series Book 1).