Freebie Alert!

Too bad I have already read this because it would be added to my Freebie Challenge List immediately!  Hurry and grab your copy of Maid for Love (McCarthys of Gansett Island #1) by Marie Force.  It is a fun read and a great start to a wonderful series!  Here is a link to Amazon and some great reviews on Goodreads.

REVIEW: No Place to Run by Maya Banks

No Place To Run by Maya Banks and Buy at Amazon!

5 Floozies

GoodReads.com Blurb: The last person Sam Kelly expected to save was Sophie Lundgren. Once they shared a brief, intense affair while Sam was undercover and then she vanished. She's spent the last few months on the run, knowing that any mistake would cost her both her life and that of their unborn child. Now she's resurfaced with a warning for Sam: this time, he's the one in danger.

Ohh . . . smokin' older brothers gonna be a daddy!!  You didn't think of that when you failed to use a rain coat, Sam Kelly?  After reading The Darkest Hour that last person I thought would be a brand new poppa was Sam.  He is definitely the more aloof brother.  Not that he lost his aloofness, it was just knocked down a few pegs.  He is rightfully suspicious of Sophie after she explains her lineage, but one thing he does not dwell too much on is the truthfulness of her child's paternity and I am happy for that.  It would have hurt my heart to see Sophie have to convince him after all she went through just to protect herself and her baby.

And what a trooper is she?  I am heart broken about what happened to her mom, and how things evolved after her escape from her father.  She is strong and courageous, sometimes to a detriment.  But she prevails and her baby is nestled safely in her womb.  I was rooting for Sam and Sophie from the first pages of the book.  And boy, were they steamy.  Sexy from the start . . . my kinda book.  Oh, big brother knows how to heat up the sheets.  He is hot like fire!!

The suspenseful parts were in perfect harmony to the lovey-dovey parts.  The conflict of Sophie in the boat, then subsequently over board, was so intense I stayed up late just to make sure she was safe.  And when Sam realizes it's Sophie on his dock, talk about a rising action!  Ms. Banks is great at making you need to read Just One More chapter.  Like ending the chapter with Sophie hanging on to the log for dear life in the middle of the night!  Yeah, just one more chapter!!   And Rusty's growth was so touching.  I cried through that whole conflict.  I'm not even gonna give you guys a little hit, you have to read it!!  Rusty is my girl and I am happy she is on the road to her happily ever after!

I always look forward to Maya Bank's talent of creating such a wonderful connection between the hero and heroine.  She has a special ability of making their time together, whether knockin' boots and just getting to know each other, so intimate.  You almost feel like you are prying in on a private moment.  If there is one way I love to get lost in a book, it's to feel like I am apart of these people's lives while I am reading.  I want to be at their table for dinner and laugh with them at their jokes.  I read because I love getting involved in a story, and hunky operatives are a major bonus!  Maya Banks has delivered every time and No Place to Run is another winner.  Hidden Away comes out tomorrow and I can't wait!!

REVIEW: The Darkest Hour by Maya Banks

The Darkest Hour (KGI#1) by Maya Banks and Buy it on Amazon!
5 Floozies

GoodRead Blurb: Intelligence: high. Body: hard. Mission: what no one else can do.

It's been a year since ex-Navy SEAL Ethan Kelly saw his wife Rachel alive. Now he's received an anonymous phone call claiming Rachel is alive. To find her, Ethan will have to doge bullets, cross a jungle, and risk falling captive to a deadly drug cartel that threatens his own demise.


This was a GREAT book!  One of the best suspense/romance novels I have read in while.  I stated in a previous blog that I was  surprised by the length of time it took to get down to business.  AND I WAS!!  Maya Banks usually delivers, and delivers hard, fast, strong, etc . . .  Well, The Darkest Hour was not like books I've read from her before but it suited.  It had the best build up v. nookie ratio I've read in a long while.  I grab Maya Banks for erotica but this was definitely romance/suspense.
I hold a special place in my heart for Ethan and Rachel.  I cried on Ethan's shoulder when he was hurting.  I just go gaga over a man that cries!!  But he was a douche bag and screwed up a great relationship.  He regretted his mistake and hoped to make it up to Rachel when she returned from her trip.  He did not get the chance because she died in a plane accident, or so he thought, for a year!!  My mom always told me to say your "Goodbye's" and "I Love You's" because you never know if you will see that person again.  And Ethan is literary proof.  Rachel ends not being killed, but held captive in the jungle where she was doing her missionary work.  They get her back and the work to rebuild her sanity and their relationship is an uphill battle.
I liked Rachel and her struggle and determination to remember life before she was held captive and to gain her strength back.  As always with Maya Banks, the characters are well-defined, relatable, and the men are hunky beef cakes.  I always love a good family series, and I can not wait for the other brothers books!  And who would not love Marlene and Frank Kelly.  What a great matriarch!  Strong and soft, exactly what a mother of 5 boys would have to be.  And Garrett . . . *sigh*  Such a softy!  He cares for Rachel and would protect her over his brother any day, gotta love having that in your corner.
I gonna make a prediction . . . Rusty and Sean are gonna hook up later on down the road!  He's only 10 years older than her and is already starting that bristling attitude thing that guys do when they shouldn't find someone attractive but do!!  Give it 7 KGI years, Rusty will be 23 and Sean will be 33.  Can't you just image all the delectable interactions to come!  Maybe throw in a marriage for Sean and then a divorce giving him a woe is me, I'm never marrying again attitude.  Then walks in pierced and dyed Rusty to complement his straight laced sheriff demeanor . . . maybe I should start writing books :D
Don't be swayed by me Ms. Banks, you keep doing your thing, cause it's working!!

REVIEW: THe Perfect Play by Jaci Burton

The Perfect Play by Jaci Burton and Buy it on Amazon!
5 Floozies

Pro quarterback Mick is a star on the field and a playboy off.  That is until he meets single mom and business owner Tara.  Tara wants a one night fairytale but Mick wants more.  Working their way through a relationship of different lifestyles is rewarding while causing problems.  Will they find their happily ever after or are the odds stacked against them?

OK, so there a few reasons I am in love with this book and will admittedly be a little biased:

1. I ♥ football!  All kinds, PeeWee, Powder Puff, High School, College, Pros.  I come from a huge football family.  My favorite player is Joe Montana, and the 49ers will be my team until the day I die.  So, football in San Francisco is so much fun to read about.  And the fictional team in the book actually had a great season, GO SABERS!!
2. I was born and raised in the East Bay and met my husband in Concord!  How cool is that!  Lots of books I've read are based out of San Francisco, but none so close to home.
3. I was one of those girls who dreamed about dating the star quarterback.  My adolescent fairytale come true.

The People: Mick is the star quarterback, a la Tom Brady, only hotter.  He is for all intense & purposes a media whore.  Good looking, actress dating, play maker.  But is that it?  NO!!  He is so sweet and kind.  And although he is new to the multiple-dates-with-one-person scene, he cares for Tara from the get go, and, man, is he good in between the sheets.  He has secrets that make him endearing and the take charge job he does with Nathan melts your heart.  A little oblivious sometimes, but quick to fix his mistakes.  Overall, a prize winning catch!  Tara is strong, focused, and determine to keep her son out of the lifestyle she grew up in.  She shares one night with Mick and think that's it.  But we know better :D Tara constantly talks herself down, which I get, but being a strong woman it erked me a little.  She is a great mom, but refuses to think of her own happiness, to a detriment. Perfect character descriptions and I fell in love with them instantly.  I was rooting for the home team from the beginning!


The Plot: Wow, way too much stuff.  One conflict after another.  I was thinking to myself that the plot seemed a little thin and how would you make an entire book out of that.  Now I know, you add charity events and parties where things go wrong over and over again.  But did I care enough to take a Floozy away?  Hell no!  The conflicts are exactly what you think would happen when a 'somebody' falls in love with a 'nobody'!  Crazy agents, surprise appearance with a hot woman who not the heroine, drunk teenagers. I do wish the skeletons would have stayed in their closets a little longer.  All was revealed by mid-book, so it left a lot of room for filler and more sex :D


The Sizzle: So hot I had to take a few cold showers.  The chemistry was amazing and the anticipation was short lived for the one night fling in the beginning.  I love dirty talk, and this did not disappoint.  There are a lot of sex scenes so if you are more into the relationship and not the lovin' this book might turn you off.  I, for one, am not!  There was enough substance that supported all the coupling.  Mick & Tara's relationship was fun too.  Their non-sexual interactions were sweet and filled with promise.  Phenomenal Sizzle, some of the best I've read in a while!!


I begurdingly paid the $9.99 kindle price (ouch!) hoping my love for football & romance would prevail and they did.  I've found a new author!  I've found a new author!  I am going to go get more Jaci Burton books (hopefully less expensive) and read to my hearts content.  If you want a great love story and steamy bedroom (and beach) scenes, pay the $10, you will not be disappointed!

REVIEW: Blue Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas

Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas and Buy it on Amazon!
5 Floozies

Love, love, love this book!! My favorite by far. Being a self-proclaimed feminist, I have forever wondered how a woman could allow herself to be in an abusive relationship, but after this book I see how the small things can escalate under the right narcissists hands. Thank Lisa for BED! All-Time favorite. Just so you know, I do not reread books. In and out is my philosophy!! I have read this book and the related Travis books 3 times or more!! Absolutely recommend to anyone, such a great message!!