Wednesday 30 August 2017

Review - Until Ray


You may have seen my post last week about the new release from Cheryl Robinson; Until Ray. I had been supposed to be posting a review at the same time, but due to a mix up, I didn't get the book in time. Fortunately, I've now managed to get my hands on a copy and can share my review.

My Review of Until Ray

Until Ray is a bit of an unusual story, in some ways, it is a love story, although not in the usual sense. Ray comes from a messed up background, his father left when he was small and he has been raised by a mother who seems to resent her son for this. She continually tells him that he is just like his father, who she clearly hates and won't even allow him to call her Mum (sorry, Mom) or even Mother. Although Ray tries and in some ways has his heart in the right place, a relationship with someone with this kind of back ground is always likely to be tricky.

Sarita has issues of her own. From an incredibly sheltered background, in her early 20's she hasn't even kissed a man, let alone anything else. While she might have a fantastic education and be doing very well in her career, her personal life just hasn't begun. Suddenly she is faced with not one, but two admirers. The safe, chosen by her parents, Dr Emerson, and the dangerous and exciting Ray. 

I really wasn't sure where this was going to go. Ray isn't a particularly likeable character. Although, I did feel sorry for him at times, he's his own worst enemy and causes most of his problems himself. Sarita is more likeable, but I still wanted to shout at her at times to grow up a little. She really needed to live life a bit, get out from the control of her parents and find out who she was and what she wanted before making any major decisions.

This is only book one in a trilogy, so I assume that we have more to come from these characters. I'm not sure where it's going to go as yet. I'll be very interested to find out. This is a good read that offers something quite different from a lot of the formulaic offerings out there.

Thursday 17 August 2017

Until Ray - Cheryl Robinson

Until Ray by Cheryl Robinson

Title: Until Ray
Author: Cheryl Robinson
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Two people in the same city but worlds apart.
Until Ray is an unconventional love story of how two young people transitioning into adulthood find each other and develop a bond that will be tested through three decades.
HE IS LOST…
Ray lives in northwest Detroit in a four-family flat with his mother. When he’s not at home, Ray’s either at the mall selling women’s shoes or in the club. In both places, he’s focused on one thing—picking up women. Dissatisfied, dysfunctional, and leagues behind his peers, Ray’s ready for a change but isn’t sure how to make it happen.
THEN SHE ARRIVES…
At twenty-four, Sarita has an MBA, is a CPA, and works in upper-level management at GM. But all that success comes at a cost: she’s lonely and craves the one thing she’s never had—attention from men. Until now. Dr. Graham Emerson wants to marry Sarita, and her parents expect her to, but Sarita isn’t convinced he’s the one for her. On a blind date, she meets Ray Saint and is immediately drawn in by his good looks and sense of humor. But his reputation for being a ladies’ man raises several red flags. Ray swears he’s changed. Is giving up a sure thing for a maybe worth the risk?
Set in the mid-eighties, Until Ray explores life and love through the lenses of colorism, classism, and family dysfunction.

Author Bio

Cheryl Robinson was born in Detroit, Michigan, the youngest in a family of five. She grew up in Palmer Woods, a residential historic district that is now one of the settings in her forthcoming novel, Until Ray. For the past fifteen years, she has been busy writing contemporary women’s fiction. For  Penguin/NAL, Cheryl wrote six novels: If It Ain’t One Thing, It’s Like That, Sweet Georgia Brown, In Love with a Younger Man, When I Get Where I’m Going, and Remember Me. Cheryl is now an independent author and the owner of Rose Colored Books. With her company, she has published The One, Like Mom, and the forthcoming Until Ray Trilogy.
Cheryl currently resides in Florida.
To learn more about Cheryl and the Until Ray trilogy, please visit www.untilraytrilogy.com




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Thursday 10 August 2017

The Scent of Roses - Sienna Blake


THE DARK ROMEO SERIES IS NOW COMPLETE!!
HANGING IN THE STAR IS LIVE!!

RELEASE DAY ONLY

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Title: Hanging In The Stars

Book 3 in the Dark Romeo Trilogy 

Author: Sienna Blake 

Genre: Erotic Romance 

Formats: Paperback & ebook 

Cover Designer: Romacdesigns




The finale to the Dark Romeo trilogy…

Roman and Julianna are rocketing towards a fiery end. But it’s not over until it’s over. Betrayals will be revealed. The twisted truth will come to light. Nothing is what it seems.

Can Roman and Julianna find a way to be together or will Shakespeare’s curse befall our star-crossed lovers?

Inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, this is a retelling for mature audiences. Don’t enter the Underworld if you’re scared of the dark.
 


~ Paperback Purchase links ~
Amazon US | CreateSpace

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~ Ebook Purchase links ~
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MY REVIEW:  

If you've been reading my other blog posts about this trilogy, then you'll already know how much I've enjoyed it. (By the way, if you haven't read my previous reviews, then you can find them here and here.) I was a little nervous about starting this, the third and final book. Would Roman and Juliana find a way to be together? Was this version of Romeo and Juliet destined to end in the same way as the original story?

I don't really want to give anything away, but I think that it's fair to say that I really enjoyed this installment, just as much as the first two. I (again) couldn't put it down and polished it off in record time. When I got to the end, I was left feeling slightly bereft that it was over, as often happens when you finish a series that you've become really invested in. But that's all I will say about that.

If you've read the first two installments, then please, dive in and get this second one. If you haven't read the others, then you have to go back and read those first. This isn't the type of series where each one works as a standalone. Don't let that put you off, go back and get Love Sprung From Hate, you won't regret it.


Sienna Blake is a pen name for a USA Today Bestselling Author. She loves all things that make her heart race — rollercoasters, thrillers and rowdy unrestrained sex. She likes to explore the darker side of human nature in her writing.

If she told you who she really was, she’d have to kill you. Because of her passion for crime and forensics, she’d totally get away with your murder.

Follow Sienna 

TWO MEGA GIVEAWAY GOING ON NOW!!!
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Giveaway #1

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Monday 7 August 2017

Knowledge of Sins Past - Lexie Conyngham

Murray of Letho book two


Scotland at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Scoggie Castle is cold and grim, but a refuge to the disinherited Charles Murray. Then a series of mysterious deaths shakes family and servants alike, and splits the local village in two. Murray is thrown once more into the midst of murder, but who has the answer in this dark rural landscape - the pig-lovers or the pig-haters? 

My Review

I'm fast becoming a big fan of the Murray of Letho series. This is the third book that I've read, having started with the most recent installment; Thicker than Water. I enjoyed that so much that I decided to go back to the beginning of the series and read them all. 

In many ways, Knowledge of Sins Past is quite different to most murder mystery novels. The first half of the book is concerned with the setting of the scene, there is plenty going on and a number of mysteries start to emerge. In all honesty, I'd almost forgotten that this was a murder mystery, by the time that I reached that element of the story. Although it's much slower moving than some other books in the genre, the depth of the characters and the story lines, mean that it doesn't really matter. The historical setting is so finely painted, that you feel as if you are actually there.

Murray himself is very likeable. A young man, trying to find his place in life, having upset his father. He now exists in that twilight zone somewhere between the servants and the family, not really fitting into either. Having read the latest book, I do have some idea of where his life is going, but I'm looking forward to reading about it in future books.

I really enjoyed this book and I'll be reading the third in the series soon. I'd really recommend the Murray of Letho books.

Saturday 5 August 2017

Scent of the Past - Erin Marie Bernardo

Scent of the Past

Scent of the Past by Erin Marie Bernardo
A secret diary. A forgotten past. Another time.
​​
When people think of time travel, they think of the clichéd manufactured kind. Of giant electronic machines with flashing lights and buttons calibrated to shoot you into the past with one press. But it doesn’t work that way. You need a reason, a connection, and—most important—a link. But you can’t choose when and why you go. That would be too easy, and we’d all be snapping our fingers in hopes of seeing lost treasures of yesteryear. It must choose you.

Close cousins Addison and Elissa live in present day New York City and lead somewhat ordinary lives. When uncertain circumstances surrounding a set of antique perfume bottles sends them back to eighteenth-century France, they must uncover the truth behind their travel.
Disaster strikes when Addison finds herself in a nearly identical situation to a mishap she experienced in the present—the witnessing of a murder and release of a secret. Only this time the truth could destroy the entire French monarchy. With Addison’s head on the line, the young women search for answers before Addison suffers her unlucky fate twice. It is only when they discover the haunting connections to life in the present, that they understand why they both were sent, and why a repeating past…may not always be such a bad thing.

My Review

This was quite an unusual book, the two main characters, Addison and Elissa travel back in time to previous incarnations of themselves when they lived in France in the 1700's. It takes them a little while to adjust to their new surroundings and work out why they are there. History, it seems, really does repeat itself. By journeying back, maybe they can avoid the mistakes that they always seem to make, back in modern day America.

I liked the idea of this story, it was an unusual take on the idea of time travel and self discovery. We saw far more of Elissa's experience, although in many ways, it was Addison that had more to learn. Having modern day characters, in the historical setting, meant that the inevitable anachronisms that a modern writer will use, no matter how careful they are, were easily explained away. There were still a couple of small things, (chocolate croissants? I don't think so)but that didn't really matter.

Scent of the past drew you in and I found myself thinking about it for days afterwards. The story was well thought out and written and I really enjoyed it. If there was one small thing that didn't work so well, it would be that the ending seemed a little sudden. Although Addison and Elissa were there for a reason, once they had an idea of why, it was quickly over. If you're looking for a good read, with a historical setting, then I think that you will enjoy Scent of the Past.