Where do I even begin?? The last 6 months my reading has been all over the place from erotica to dark romance to NA to Contemporary Romance. I had such a hard time picking my top 5 I almost went to the top 10!! Some of these authors have hit my tops before but 2 are new to hitting my top lists so that makes me extra excited.
As always, out of my 5 books 3 of them are books you can find at my author event called Writers on the River. It is in Peoria, IL on July 21. **Quick event plug** General Admission tickets are still available for $10 at the door or on line at www.writersontheriver.weebly.com.
Ok so off to the top of my books. They are in no particular order!!!
Here goes and I hope you grab a book or 5 off my list!!
#UglyCry #WOTR18 – Don’t Be Afraid by CA Harms
Have you ever looked at someone and just knew,
knew that they were put in your life for a reason?
The one person that would be not only your best friend,
but would be your absolute everything?
That’s how I felt the first time I saw him.
That one day when a few little words changed our entire lives forever…
Don’t be Afraid, he said.
Life can change so quickly.
One moment you can be smiling and feeling as if you’re walking on clouds and the next, everything you love, everything you treasure crumbles at your feet.
I told him to fight, I told him I needed him.
We needed him.
But there are just some fights that can’t be won…
He was my angel then, and he’s still my angel now.
In a way, I believe he’s still looking out for us, giving us a future.
Sometimes it’s as if I can still feel his presence,
guiding us and keeping us safe.
So, I won’t be Afraid.
I’ll live. I’ll fight.
It’s what he would have wanted.
I’ll do it for him…
I receive this book from the author for an honest review.
I don’t know if I will be able to get through this review without stopping to blow my nose or wipe the streams of flowing tears from my eyes. Sweet Baby Jesus I am completely destroyed in the most beautiful of ways.
This book is such a simple idea but CA writes it with such depth of emotion if you don’t cry you must be a heartless person! LOL The story is all about love. Pure and simple love. The love of a man and wife. The love of 2 brothers willing to do for each other and their family. The story is about what happens when one person loses the love of their life or the person they consider to be their brother. How do the remaining two continue on without their missing link plus what happens when feelings begin to develop between the remaining people?
Sawyer has had a sad life and when she meets Pat everything clicks for her. She seems to have a golden life with the man of her dreams. When Cancer tears her happily ever after apart she learns to lean on Gage. Gage and Pat have grown up together and are brothers. When Pat asks Gage to watch out for his family. Gage does it because his feels Sawyer is his family too.
The story has me sobbing through most of the beginning of the book. Chapters 14 and 21 had me a hot mess so be warned!! But as the middle to end of the story is being told we are facing life without our Rock Pat but also looking to Gage for MORE. The end of the book throws a few amazing scenes that made my dried eyes begin to leak full force again.
The emotion and depth of story totally knocked me for a loop. I was stunned at how well CA Captured the emotion of each character in the story. The anger Pat felt. The sadness Sawyer felt, and the guilt Gage felt. Such a raw and emotionally gritty story this book is intense so be ready with the tissue. Be ready to have some Tylenol to help with the raging headache you will have from the snot sobbing tears you will be shedding!!
#DarkRomance – Viole(n)t Obsecurity by Megan Martin
![Viole[n]t Obscurity (Violent, #1)](https://i0.wp.com/images.gr-assets.com/books/1516023787l/37928754.jpg?w=474&ssl=1)
Aaron Whitman is my patient. That’s all.
The murky words in his skin don’t call to me.
His twitchy gray eyes don’t make me desire more than I should.
He’s my patient.
I’m his psychiatrist, Dr. Adeline Violet.
I’m in control.
I’m fine.
Why are you worried?
I can help him. I can cleanse his sadistic tendencies.
He’s my patient. Don’t you know?
Maximum security Ward Z at Silent River Psychiatric Hospital for Violent Criminals is our home.
He’s just my patient.
I received this book from the author for an honest review.
WTF did I just read. It’s a crazy ass story and I FLOVED it …like HARD and I am flipping out that I have to wait until SUMMER to read the second part of the duet!! Holy Shit Balls Batman!! This book was hella crazy as allllll of Megan’s dark books are. They are so complex and twisted and just WHUT!!!!!!!!
Dr. Violet is the new psych doctor on Ward Z. This is pretty much where all the Charles Masons are going. These people are not getting out…EVAH!!! But she is young and hopeful that she can make a difference. She has limited staff, but she knows she can get this stuff done. She befriends one staff member, Richard who tries to help her stay away from the darkness that is inside of her and starts to shine when she spends more and more time with Aaron.
Aaron is hella crazy but at the same time I LOVE HIM. He loves hard and is so loyal to the people he trusts. The conversations between Aaron and Violet start to consume each of them. Their professional relationship starts to dance and then definitely crosses over inappropriate very quickly. But I was falling more and more in love with Aaron and wondering more and more for Violets sanity. I guess when you love someone who is nuts you tend to become nuts yourself???
The last couple of chapters shit goes down in a huge way. Secrets are spilled, and holy hell does Aaron come back to the crazy side of life even crazier after the way Violet misuses his trust. People I am dying to know what is going to happen to them….DYING!! Plus I wanna see the body count total because these two are going to definitely leave a lot of bodies in their wake.
#Erotica #WOTR18 – No Stranger by Anya Breton
Trawling dive bars on Halloween merits curvy Kate more than a one-night stand. Someone is obsessed with her…only, he won’t reveal his identity. But this hottie knows too much about her to be a stranger. Will she laugh in his face when she discovers the truth? Or will Kate and her sexy stalker find their happy-for-now?
I purchased this book.
So I was looking through the list of attending authors for the Writers on the River Author Event and noticed I hadn’t read but one book form this author. I freaking love her humor as a person plus the last book I read had me in stitches so I started to look through her catalogue. When I read the blurb for this book…..sex with a stranger and trying to figure it out…I was sold. But then to open the book and read the first line!! GASP! I settled in for a nice long, hawt read.
This books is about Kate who is kinda outspoken and at times can be a bit brutal with her opinions and come backs but she is who she is. She is also a bit on the insecure side because she isn’t a tiny girl. She is curvy annnnnd a bit slutty. Seems finding a boyfriend is not her goal where as a one-night stand is her goal. LOL When she meets Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome at a dive bar and discovers he knows her…like Real Life knows her and is doing the things he is doing to her in the store room…she can’t get enough.
I loved this book and how Kate is desperate to figure out who the heck Mr. Mystery Lover is. Kate and Mystery Man keep getting it on in the book and we keep getting more and more clues so Kate can finally cross more and more men off her “who is it” list.
I loved loved loved who the guy was at the end of the story. I also loved how it all comes out and how they finally admit how they feel about one another. I would have totally loved to have maybe one chapter in our Mystery Man’s POV but not knowing what he is thinking kept me wondering like Kate…WHO IN THE HECK IS IT!!!!!!!
#Paranormal #UglyCry – Bam’s Ever by Sandra Neeley
Bramley, Bam, as he’s known to his friends and family is a Bear shifter. He’s also a healer. He senses things about others and the world around him, but he can’t get a sense of what’s right for himself. He’s always known he wasn’t enough for a Mate. And he’d accepted it; until her. The female that would have been his Mate, had he been born worthy of one. And didn’t fate just love to jerk him around? It wasn’t enough that he couldn’t have her. She had to be placed right in front of his eyes where he had to interact with her and watch her find the male she was truly destined for. But it’s okay; he’ll watch over her, protect her, and love her enough to let her go when she finds her male. Only now, after pushing her away repeatedly so she’d find her true One, she’s missing. And he’ll be damned if he will allow her to stay missing; her male should have protected her better. He’s gonna find her, he’s gonna bring her home, and whether he’s worthy or not, he’s making her his! If he survives, that is…
Everly grew up forced to submit, used by the Fox skulk she was born into and especially by its heir apparent. It’s just the way of the world she lived in, but she’s always wanted more, wanted better. A chance encounter when she was young introduced her to a new friend and a whole new world of possibilities. Thanks to her friend and her friend’s brother, she learns to stand on her own, defend herself, and she refuses to settle for less than she knows she deserves. Then she meets him, her Mate. But he won’t have her, no matter how hard she tries. Until one night they finally connect. Just when she thinks it’s all going to be okay, her world comes to a screeching halt when he rejects her a final time, telling her to go to a male that means nothing to her. She runs away from her home, her friends, everything, as she searches for solace. There’s only one thing that could bring her back, her Mate. And now he needs her; his very survival depends on her. She’s going after him, and after she saves him, she’ll walk away if he still doesn’t want her. Now she only has to hope that she’s strong enough to save him, ‘cause she’s going in alone.
Edmond is Alpha of the local Fox skulk. He believes he’s entitled by birth and is cruel by nature. He was humiliated by Everly years ago and has fixated on her ever since. He’s managed to make her life a living hell. As far as he’s concerned, she’s his property to do with as he desires, and he plans to keep it that way. But there’s a chink in his plan; there’s a big Bear shifter hanging around lately, and Everly thinks the Bear is her Mate. Edmond is livid; the Bear not only interfered with his afternoon plans of a little fun with Everly, but he and his Wolf friend injured both Edmond and Edmond’s little brother. Any fool knows what that means; the Bear has to die, a slow and painful death at that. And Everly? She’s going to suffer for causing Edmond so much trouble. Neither one will ever know what hit them.
This is the fifth book in the Avaleigh’s Boys Series. This series follows a group of shifters who make their home in the backwoods and bayous of South Louisiana. Their clan consists of a mix-matched group of five shifters who depend on one another and are loyal to no end. These are their stories.
Warning: Intended for mature audiences. These stories contain hot bear, dragon, wolf and lion shifters. They like to cuss, fight and love their women. This book contains explicit love scenes, lots of use of the “F” word (among others), some violence, and possibly some abuse both real and inferred that may be disturbing for some readers.
I purchased this book
Oh BAM!! You did not disappoint me…..you made me want to kick you in the bear butt but disappoint me NEVER!!
If you are a fan of the series, like me, you have been dying for this book. You have been waiting for our sweet, sensitive bear to find love right?? Well Find love he did and push it away he did too. Bramley is convinced he is not to be loved by a mate. He thinks that since he can’t see his intended in the golden auras like he does the other mates, he isn’t deserving of one. Friends, the heartbreak and anguish he feels about his Ever…His Everly…can be felt through the pages. I was in full tears in chapter 4 seeing him push away his mate out of his sense of doing the right thing for her. But can I say a mad Bramley is something to behold….lets not get started on an angry Everly either!!!
Everly is over the moon at finding her mate and then destroyed when he pushes her away. She thinks its because of her past that is thrown in his face. She doesn’t know the broken male she is intended for. Her past clan come back and cause A LOT of trouble for our couple but the love they have for one another will not be stopped even if Bam and Ever are not in a good place.
The other characters of the story do an amazing job of helping our favorite bear figure love out. Bane being his brother’s rock, Avaleigh being the mother he never had, and Maverick being the guy to give him THAT shove he needed when he needed it. But friends, Delilah made my heart!! This woman has come so far and so fast in understanding pack love and acceptance. To see all she does for the family made my heart so happy for Kaid too.
Their are two set ups for future books…..Vince or Riley?? Gosh I am not sure who I want more!!!
The epilogue made my heart so happy. To see the HEA again for all the couples was amazing. I would have loved a few more chapters for Bane but that is just me because he is my favorite in the series!!!
#NA #WOTR18 – Outcast Jamie Schlosser
KAYLA
My infatuation with Ezra Johnson started how all obsessions begin—with a simple crush. Over the years I silently soaked up every shy smile and random act of kindness, wrestling them away to a secret place in my heart meant for unrequited love.
Because if it wasn’t for the fact that I tutor him once a week, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t even know I exist.
Then I find his sketchbook.
And it changes everything.
EZRA
There are two certainties in my life: I’ve been in love with Kayla Reynolds since I was fourteen, and I can’t have her.
I’ve spent years settling for a two-dimensional fantasy world, capturing her beauty with a pencil and paper. She’s kind, smart, gorgeous…
And she belongs to someone else.
Or so I thought.
An interesting turn of events makes me realize things aren’t always how they appear on the outside, and now I’ve got my chance to be the man she deserves.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been called a loser. The cripple. An outcast.
But maybe—just maybe—this time the good guy won’t finish last.
Although OUTCAST is the fourth book in the Good Guys series, it can be enjoyed as a standalone. Due to language and sexual content, this book is intended for readers 18 and older.
I received this book from the authors for an honest review.
OH MAN!! Ezra!! I gotta say it. This is my favorite book of the series. FAVORITE!!! Ezra and Kayla are such a great read!!
Ezra and Kayla are both blind to the way the other feels about them. He thinks he is the gimp with the limp and the squishy belly guy so no way would this beautiful girl like him let alone LOOK at him THAT WAY.
Sure Kayla is a popularish girl who is seen as another guys girlfriend but little does everyone know what is really happening between Gavin and Kayla. Side Note: Gavin needs a book. He needs some love Jamie!!!
Ok back to the review. When Kayla discovers Ezra’s secret she decided to go after what she wants buuuut is stunned he pushed her away. The couple spend the summer writing letters and forming an amazing bond that will help them when they go away to the same college in a few months.
Ezra is such a great guy. He feels even though he has changed a bit physically he is still not enough for Kayla and makes a few stupid decisions…but I mean even he says Guys do stupid things…..
Kayla is such a sensitive person. She really loves her people with her entire heart. She doesn’t let a lot of people in but when she does, you are set for life with her. Looking at all the people she helps in her life from Gavin to Paul shows the amazing character she has and strength to know when to do the right thing. Shauna is also a great person for her to connect with and she will help her grow in her charitable contributions.
There is just so much about this story that I love and I wasn’t able to put the book down because I needed to know what would happen….how would the first kiss go? How would the first of OTHER things go? *wink* But I loved seeing the two grow as a couple and as individuals in the story.
Thanks for hanging with my and my long post. Hope you enjoyed. Have you read any of these books?? Lemme know in the comments!!!
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