Forever Lies - Jill Ramsower

Forever Lies by Jill Ramsower
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've read Jill Ramsower's The Fae Games: Complete Series: Books 1-5 and loved them. Forever Lies is a little different, being set in the 'real world' rather than having a paranormal element. I have to admit that it wasn't completely obvious what this world was from the beginning and I only found out when the heroine did. I'm not sure if that was the plan, it seems to be as there is no mention in the book description, for that reason, I'm not going to allude to it myself here.
Luca is very much the powerful bad boy that has a caring side hidden beneath his powerful exterior. He is controlling and likes to get his own way and there is always a danger with this kind of character that he dominates the female lead too much. There was a good balance here between Luca's need to be in charge and the way that his feelings for Alessia floor him. Alessia herself is a strong woman with a firm idea of what she wants out of life and how to get it. She doesn't have all of the answers and has a level of weakness that allows some, such as her direct boss, to take advantage of her. This just adds to her believability, she's not some innocent who follows others blindly, but neither does she have all fo the answers.
I have to admit that I wasn't sure how this one was going to end. It did seem for a while at least that there wasn't a way for Alessia to reconcile who she was with who Luca was. I think the fact that their happily ever after comes at the expense of things that she might have felt was important before, actually adds something to the book. This isn't some light and fluffy fairy tale where the prince makes everything ok. There's a darkness here, in more than one area.
I think that this might be the start of a series, (actually I see that it's listed as book one of the Five Families series, so clearly it is). I'd be more than keen to read another book set in this world.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

You Beneath Your Skin - Damyanti Biswas

You Beneath Your Skin by Damyanti Biswas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm not really sure where to start with this one. It's a rare thing when a book can be both wonderful and awful all at once. It's wonderful, simply because this is a well written and deeply engaging story. The subject matter of the book is in many ways awful.
The story is set in New Delhi, it's not somewhere that I've ever been or know much about. Despite that, through the pages of this book, I felt as though I was there. It wasn't hard to picture the tea stall or the slums as the characters moved through them.
I tend to think that I'm quite good at spotting twists and turns before they happen in books, but this one got me more than once. In fact there's one point of the plot where I found myself thinking no? No? Surely not?! You can't help but be drawn into the plot of this book, following the characters as they discover who is behind the things that have been happening and why.
I enjoyed every second of this fantastic read and really didn't want to put it down until I'd got to the end and found out how it was going to all sort itself out.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

Alex - A.M. Salinger

Alex
A.M. Salinger
(Twilights Falls, #1)
Publication date: September 20th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

Alex Hancock needs money to salvage his career. Finn West needs a spouse to stop his aunt from sabotaging his future. Can the two men make more of the fake marriage they enter into?
When Alex’s business partner runs off to Mexico with their company funds, the lawyer has little choice but to return to his hometown of Twilight Falls to marry someone he’d never met in order to raise the money to save his business. What he didn’t expect was that the woman he was meant to wed would turn out to be a gorgeous, brooding man.
Finn had resigned himself to a life without love after his wife’s death from cancer. Wracked with guilt at never being able to satisfy her in bed, Finn is shocked when his body and his heart starts responding to the man he is tricked into marrying to stop his aunt from dissolving his trust fund.
Passions collide when the two men start exploring their relationship in ways neither of them anticipated. Can Alex convince Finn to embrace his sexuality and take a chance on them? Or will Finn run away from his only chance at true love?
Discover Alex and Finn’s story in the enthralling first novel in Twilight Falls, the new series by the author of the bestselling, contemporary romance series Nights.

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:

Ava Marie Salinger is the pen name of an Amazon bestselling author who has always wanted to write scorching hot contemporary romance. In 2018, she finally decided to venture to the steamy side. NIGHTS is the first of several sizzling series featuring sweet, sexy men with dark pasts and a whole lot of love to give to the ones brave enough to fight for their hearts. When she’s not dreaming up hotties to write about, you’ll find Ava creating kickass music playlists to write to, spying on the wildlife in her garden, drooling over gadgets, and eating Chinese.

Want to be the first to know about Ava’s new releases and get access to exclusive content, sneak previews, sales, and giveaways? Then sign up to her Reader Group here and join her VIP Facebook Fan Group here.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Bookbub / Instagram / Pinterest / Amazon / Book and Main Bites

My Review

A while ago now I read and enjoyed the Nights Series by A.M. Salinger. That was a series of short, hot reads. Most of them focused on male/male couples and it looks as though Twilight Falls will follow a similar route.

Alex left Twilight Falls after a car accident that he felt responsible for. After his business partner runs off with his money, he returns to the town to take part in a fake marriage. Finn needs to marry if he isn't going to be cut off from his funds by his aunt. After the death of his wife, his aunt is doing her best to convince Finn to keep living his life.

This is a very quick read and it moves at great speed. Salinger's books are certainly hot and steamy and if that's what you're looking for, you'll certainly get it in this book. I enjoyed this story and I'm looking forward to finding out what else Twilight Falls has in store for us.

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Her Wicked Libertine - Lisa Torquay

Her Wicked Libertine by Lisa Torquay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Her Wicked Libertine is, as you would expect, a story about a man who is hardly a 'gentle' man. Harris Darroch is a businessman, but if he works hard, he plays even harder and with little thought for anything other than his own pleasure. Edwina Whitman is everything he is not. Refined, gentle, proper and certainly not knowledgable in the pleasures of the flesh. When she goes to Darroch to try and convince him to forgive one of her late fathers' debts. He agrees, eventually, but only if she offers herself as payment.
Of course, when she has no choice but to accept his terms, it isn't long between the fire between them begins to burn brightly and they cannot keep their hands off one another. Can Darroch learn to see her as anything other than a temporary pleasure? Can Edwina tame the famous libertine into a loving partner? That would just be telling.
The only thing I would mention is that this isn't a book that adheres slavishly to historical fact and if that's important to you, then this might not be for you. Edwina behaves in a way that a lady of the time just wouldn't, I know that is addressed a little in the book, but really it isn't that realistic. She also works producing lace, I think it highly unlikely that she would be working for herself and still accepted as a member of the ton, it's simply not done darling.
That all said, this was a good read. Edwina was a little too tightly laced, to begin with, but Darroch certainly brought her out of herself. I'd certainly be keen to check out the next in the series.


View all my reviews

All I Do - Tamara Lush

All I Do by Tamara Lush
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I nearly missed this latest instalment of Paradise Beach. I thought that I'd already read book three, but it turns out that book one is actually a pre-series book (0.5 or similar). Fortunately, I spotted that this was one that I was yet to try and I'm glad that I did. I've enjoyed all of the books that follow the Hastings family so far, this one was no exception.
Remy, twin of Damian (who we met in All I Know) is a confirmed bachelor. When he meets a real-life mermaid (no really, but you'll have to read the book to find out how that's possible) he can't fight the instant attraction. Fortunately, she wants nothing more than a 'friends with benefits' situation. After inheriting some money from an aunt, Leilani leaves her abusive boyfriend and moves to set up her own business. Of course, the more time that they spend together and in bed, they soon come to mean much more to each other than just friends.
This is quite a sweet story. Remy, despite his playboy reputation, is lovely. Leilani, with her love of the sea, is the perfect match for this professional fisherman. I really enjoyed reading the progression of their story.
I can't wait to read the next book in the series, featuring the only daughter in the family. I'm really enjoying Paradise Beach.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

Death in the Village - Betty Rowlands

Death in the Village: A totally gripping British cozy murder mystery by Betty Rowlands
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm going to be really sad when this series comes to an end, I've become quite fond of Sukey and her investigations. This is book eleven and I think that there are only two more left in the series. Reading these books is very much like meeting up with an old friend for a good old chin wag. I've never been a fan of the term cosy mystery and I think in many ways, this doesn't totally fit into that category, but there is something cosy about the familiarity of these books.
This time Sukey is involved in the investigation into a missing girl. There is also a question mark over death from seemingly natural causes. As the story progresses more things need to be looked into and it's not clear if any of them are connected at all. Sukey now has a boyfriend, a journalist who's father happens to live quite close to her. She enlists him to help out with a bit of poking around into something that isn't really an ongoing investigation and in the processes manages to solve the whole thing.
I have to admit that I had got this one all figured out before Sukey and the other detectives. She didn't make as many dramatic leaps this time, but she did seem to miss one or two things that seemed a bit obvious. I did think that there was a bit of a lack of understanding around computers, the idea that the police wouldn't even look at a missing person's computer until it was suggested that she might have met someone online seemed a little unlikely, even if this book was originally written in 2011.
Sukey now has familiar characters around her, although they are different from those that appeared in the earlier books. Her son Gus, who I've always really liked got barely a mention in this book. I suppose that he will have long finished university and moved away from home, but it would still have been nice to have some input from him.
I'm looking forward to the last two books with a mix of pleasure and sadness. They are always a good read, but I will miss them when I've reached the end.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

Fighter's Kiss - Sienna Blake

Fighter's Kiss 

An Irish Kiss novel by 

USA Today bestseller Sienna Blake is LIVE

and we're celebrating with a HUGE giveaway! 

Declan “The Homewrecker” Gallagher.

World #1 MMA Champion.
Broad shoulders, perfect eight pack and the temper of a bull.
Still recovering from a car accident that broke his body.
Still married to the cheating supermodel bitch who broke his heart.

…My new boss

I can’t even begin to list all the reasons why getting close to him is a bad idea.
Or going to that fancy red carpet thing as his date.
Or letting him kiss me like he might never let me go.

Did I say bad idea?
Scratch that.

Worst. Idea. Ever.

 My Review

As much as I've been enjoying reading Sienna Blake's quick and dirty series, I was really looking forward to the Fighter's Kiss. I'm happy to report that it was more than worth the wait. Like the other books in this series, the hero and heroine have all kinds of issues to work through on their way to true love.
Declan has been an MMA fighter (mixed martial arts, which apparently people watch worldwide, but I'm obviously mixing in the wrong circles as I know next to nothing about it.) His career has been ruined after his wife left him for a rival and he went out and crashed his car. River is running from her own past. She is ashamed of the upbringing that she has had and is desperately trying to work her way to a better life.
River is a strong character and is exactly what the damaged Declan needs, someone who stands up to him and calms him, rather than someone who just bends to what he thinks he wants. He offers her what she needs and they work really well together.
Their relationship works well and the way that they faced what they really wanted and what was important to them made for a gripping read. Declan starts out as quite a closed-off character and it's hard as a reader to get a grip on who he is. As the story progresses and he gets to know River more, she begins to help him to open up and we learn more about him and what motivates him. Even the way that he thinks about River changes, in the early chapters he just refers to her as 'the girl' but as she becomes more important to him he sees her more as a woman in her own right.
This is a great read, I really enjoyed it.

Amazon Universal

MEET THE AUTHOR

Sienna Blake is a dirty girl, a wordspinner of smexy love stories and an Amazon Top 20 & USA Today Bestselling Author.

She lives in Dublin, Ireland, where she enjoys reading, keeping fit and adding to her personal harem of Irish hotties

GET THE COMPLETE BOUND DUET AS A ‘THANK YOU’ GIFT FOR JOINING MY SEXY SUBSCRIBERS.
NO SPAM. NO JUNKY NEWSLETTERS. JUST THE GOOD SHIT. JOIN HERE: http://bit.ly/2tf1yun

If the link is broken CLICK HERE to find the giveaway on Sienna's page