Tuesday, July 31, 2012

From Rags by Suzanne Wright








Summary:
There has only been three people in Jaxxon Carter's life who truly mattered to her. Her mum, who committed suicide. Her sister, who she hasn’t seen since her teens. And Connor McKenzie, who disappeared from her life the same day he left their foster home. The hardest part of that was that he never completely left her life because she was forever seeing him on T.V. or in magazines as a Formula One Driver. But Jaxxon refuses to live a ‘woe is me’ life, even in spite of living alone in her one-roomed flat and being expected to survive on a ridiculously low income. Then one night she is offered a modelling job and before she knows it she has been catapulted to the peak of success, gaining fame, fortune and security. Oh and a stalker.

Connor McKenzie is busy trying to shake off his crazy ex-girlfriend – another woman who thought she could get around his no marriage rule – when he sees Jaxxon on the cover of a magazine. Remembering how close they had once been, he’s shocked when she doesn’t respond to his attempts to contact her and then acts indifferently to him when they meet. But Connor can’t let it go. The only reason he had kept his hands off her ten years ago was that she had been younger than him. Now that they’re adults, he isn’t prepared to allow anything – not even Jaxxon – to stop him from having her.

Warning: This novel contains a bitchy female who curses like a sailor, a persistent alpha male who doesn’t understand the word ‘no’, and explicit hot sex in some very public places.



 Reviewer: Dolce Amore



Everyone Jaxxon loved had left her. Her mother committed suicide when she was eight and Connor for whom she had a crush; and her good friend Roland, and Leah her sister, all left her when she had fourteen. 
“You know she won't come back, don't you? She won't. They never do,” grumbled Rhona. She wasn't feeling sorry for herself; just simply stating what she believed was a fact.
 “She's my sister.”
 “She's also a self-absorbed, spiteful, selfish bitch who—”
 “But—“
 “But nothing, Jaxxon,” she said firmly. “Just because she's blood doesn't mean anything. I'll bet that girl has never done a single thing for you in her life. She looks out for number one, and number one only.  Just like the rest of them. So wise up, Big Tits. And do it now. You're on your own.” Just before leaving the room, she turned back to Jaxxon.  “Wanna know what the trick is to getting through this shit? Never let anyone in.”
However, the pain didn't end there. And she finally had to close herself off in order to survive.  
 
Boys had seemed to automatically think that if she had a body so alluring she was some kind of seductress and was up for anything. Then there was the fact that her sister had been very loose with her body; boys tended to then reason that if Jaxx was Leah's sister, she must be easy just like her.
 
When eight years later she meets Richie Moore from Moore's Modelling Agency, she is stunned that he wants her to be the faces of Allure, a new line of makeup. However, she has enormous success and she meets again Conner, now a famous Formula One's driver and she tries to deny her feelings for him. I just love the conversation between them. 
“My body owned yours the other night, and you know it.”
  It nettled her the way he said that; like she was at his mercy, like her body was his to bloody command or something. “It's so sad, Connor.  The way you're being all cocky and boastful you sound like a teenage boy who's just finally popped his cherry. It was a quickie in the woods, no need to get carried away with yourself.”
 “I'm getting carried away, am I? As I recall it, you were the one screaming.”
  “If you think that makes me anything like the other women who follow you around like you're the Pied Bleeding Piper then you're very much mistaken. And you're just as mistaken if you think I'll tolerate your possessiveness.”
 It was a struggle to keep his voice level. “And you're very mistaken if you think I'll ever be alright with another bloke being near you, let alone touching you. I see red every time.”
 “Try to imagine how little I actually care.”
 
  And, like the other two books of hers, Ms Suzanne Wright keeps that style I adore, including the the sassy feminine character as well as the powerful masculine character who hasn't any clue of what is to love but who couldn't live without his sassy lady. So yes, I loved the book and I can't wait for her new release, I bet it will be as good as this one and the other two. Thus, I give it 5 stars; I couldn't give it less.

Publisher: Suzanne Wright
Source:  Purchased

Christmas Eve at The Powers That Be Cafe (25 Days of Christmas)








Summary:
It is Christmas Eve 1943 at The Powers That Be Café and Nat, the lonely café owner, does what he can to offer some warmth and comfort for families and lovers to say goodbye to soldiers who heading into battle. When he finds Kent, a G.I. far from home, outside his back door, he offers him a hot meal, a place to rest and some much-needed comfort. In return, the two men find themselves passionately entangled in taboo lusts and something deeper that neither of them expected...love.



 Reviewer: RedDragonfly


It's 1943 and Nat is the owner of a restaurant called The Powers that Be Cafe. His place is beside the train station so he gets a lot of GI's  coming in right before they ship off for war. 

It's Christmas Eve and he finds a young GI out back and invites him in for a free meal and rest  before he leaves in a few hours. Kent notices how Nat is looking at him and tells him he has never been with anyone before and doesn't want to die a virgin. The ending was more a hfn (happily for now) because Kent decides not to get on the train and go to war, so we don't really know what will happen with him but Nat and Kent decided whatever does happen  they will deal with it together. 

I really enjoyed this short novella. I would have liked to have learned more about Kent as he was really only in about half the story and I would have liked to have learned what happened to them after the story ends. The mood of the story was a little sad but had an uplifting and hopeful ending. I'm giving this story 4 stars. 
 


Publisher:  Silver Publishing
Source:  Manic Readers

Monday, July 30, 2012

Lucky for Her by Stephanie Taylor








Summary:
Lucky certainly lives up to his name. Once the fat kid in school, he's all grown up and taking prisoners, literally. He's the town sheriff and delights in handcuffing idiots. Most people barely recognize him being the fit and trim man he is now.

Lana, pregnant and alone, flees her abusive ex-husband and seeks refuge with her father in her hometown. She doesn't expect to meet a handsome man at a get-together and fall head over heels. Of course, she can't trust herself when it comes to men and she certainly doesn't trust Lucky.

Then Lana finds out who Lucky really is - the fat kid whose invitation she turned down for her senior prom. Fat Jack has now grown into a man that makes her burn inside. He even has a new name. Ashamed of the way she treated him in the past, she tries to walk away, but there's something that pulls her back to him.

Is it the fact that Lucky can protect her from her ex-husband or can love really conquer all?



 Reviewer: Dolce Amore


Lucky O’Donnell, who carried the malicious nickname Fat Jack in junior high and high school, had always been in love with Lana Roche but she never gave him the time of day. And now, years later, he discovers that she is back in town. He wants revenge for the way she treated him back then. However, when he meets her again, divorced and pregnant, he realizes that she isn’t that girl anymore. And that he can’t bear to hurt her. 

Despite his need for revenge, he found the thought of hurting her more disturbing by the minute. God forbid, but she was actually kinda sweet. Nothing like the girl he remembered from high school.

When everyone in town starts to believe that Lana’s unborn child is Lucky’s, he decides to say it is his and to marry her in order to protect her and the baby from her abusive ex. 

The marriage is a good thing for the two of them and soon they fall in love. 
Having a husband she actually enjoyed spending time with was a novelty to her. One she intended to enjoy

But, her ex-husband has decided to make her pay for not telling him about the baby. 

Wow! I loved the book. It has everything: love, romance, humor,  passion, and action. Here some samples of the humor I found so charming:  
 “If you don’t leave, I’m going to…”
 “You gonna call the cops? Oh wait, I am the cops.”

 “Who are you?” he growled.
 “Your wife, idiot,” came Lana’s sharp reply.
 
Despite the fact that I loved the main characters because they are so real, lovely, and wonderful, I have to say that I prefer Lana’s little sister, Ally. Although she is seventeen years old, she is so passionate  and loyal with her sister. 

You know, she’s been hurt before. Please don’t hurt her again, Sheriff.”
“Ally!” Lana said, shock causing her jaw to go slack.
“I love you, Lana,” she said. “You’re my sister. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t protect you.”


“Don’t you do this to her, Sheriff. She can’t handle another bad marriage.”

 “I  hope he makes you happy. A part of me wants him to be your knight in shining armor, but another part of me hopes a certain part of his anatomy falls off.”

So, Ms. Stephanie Taylor, could you please, please write her story? I bet it will be an amazing one. And 5 stars for this book! 


Publisher:  Astraea Press
Source:  Manic Readers