Tag: book review

This Chick Read: At Peace (The Burg #2) by Kristen Ashley

Widow, Violet Winters and her two daughters, Kate and Keira, move in next door to Joe Callahan. From the instant they meet sparks fly and Violet gives in to her passion with Joe hoping that love might again be in her life. What she doesn’t realize is that Joe’s past is filled with pain and he’s buried those kinds of emotions deep. Knowing he needs to let her go, he cuts her loose breaking her and her girls hearts. What he doesn’t realize is that Violet has a stalker, one that killed her ex and is looking to make her his. Joe has to fight his own demons to help protect Violet and in doing so he realizes that she and her girls fill up that empty place in his heart to bursting.

It’s been a few years since I’ve read this book but I instantly remember the heat and tension that fill the pages. The book is named At Peace because Violet and her daughters finally bring that peace to Joe’s life, but as you’re reading it it’s anything but filling me with peace. This novel is action-filled and brings the sizzle into every scene that has Violet and Joe in it. Can two people really have chemistry that’s this intense? That’s a question a lot of readers probably ask themselves, but regardless of if they’ve ever felt it in this way they enjoy the feelings that are written into these pages.

As with the first novel in this series, At Peace is a woman in jeopardy romantic thriller. Violet is running away from the Chicago mafia, the man in charge having taken an instant like to her looks after killing her husband. It takes a lot of cajones to kill a womans husband and they try to make her yours. Well, luckily, a security specialist to the stars lives next door and Detective Alec Colton lives across the street! Vi moved into the right neighborhood because nothing will happen to her family while living under their protection. Unless Violet herself chooses to let it in.

This novel was just as much fun as the first in the series, and just as I promised, the Burg reunites to help protect Vi and so we see some of the characters we learned to love (and hate) in the first novel reappear. It’s nice to get a glimpse into how those lives have moved forward in the year or so since the end of the previous novel, but it’s Vi, Joe, Kate, and Keira who are front and center in At Peace and you do not want to miss their story if you haven’t read it yet. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this book!* At Peace (The ‘Burg Series Book 2)

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On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: For You (The Burg #1) by Kristen Ashley

Colt and February were a legendary couple. High school sweethearts and destined to always be together until one night it ended and only February knew why. Years later, after they both were married and then divorced, Feb is back in town to help run the family bar. When one of their customers is murdered behind the bar, it’s Colt that sent in to investigate and what he finds pushes them back together. He becomes her protector and their passion reignites.

This is the third time I’ve read For You. This story about the fated couple who somehow drift apart to be brought back together by a serial killer is seriously good. This woman in jeopardy romantic thriller is one of my favorites, and when the story and tension backs up the promise of great characters you know you will keep coming back. Every few years I find myself picking it back up again.

February is the woman that every man wants and every woman wants as their best friend. She’s gorgeous, loyal, and funny. She is a hard woman to resist and Alexander Colton doesn’t have a reason to resist any longer. The novel starts with them being distant with each other and as the danger amps up and people close to Feb are being killed the tension threatens to explode. It does, in very hot detail. This is one of those mysteries where you are on the edge of your seat but the romance has you relaxing back and dreaming of your own alpha hero. One of the best early Kristen Ashley novels, if you haven’t read it you need to give it a look.

This author writes great romance novels, but what I really love about her books are the friendships. She gives you background into the surrounding characters to the extent you either love or hate them and some of them turn up as the heroine/hero’s in a future novel. Also, you know that you aren’t seeing the last of them, that they will take part, even in a small way in a future story. So never fear, if you love Feb and Colt, you’ll see them again! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase!* For You (The ‘Burg Series Book 1)

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*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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It’s Monday, what are you reading? (12/13/21)

I feel like this weekend I checked several things off the to-do list. Cookie’s have been exchanged, presents wrapped, and I had to work for a few hours to prepare for our Nashville’s Nutcracker opening this Wednesday. The next twelve days are packed, so it’s good to get some of the Christmas preparations out of the way. I didn’t spend a lot of time reading, unfortunately, but here are the two that I touched.

JUST FINISHED

I know, I read this one a few weeks ago, but I went ahead and got the audiobook too because it was on sale for $2.99 and I couldn’t resist. It’s a novella, so I was able to listen to it quickly. I’ll admit that I caught quite a few more details the second time around. This is a good story!

JUST STARTED

The next installment of the secret Library series. Our heroine has just found out she’s the daughter of the bad guy they’ve been chasing or at least avoiding in the last few books. I’m looking forward to the action getting started! This series is all fantasy, but there are historical mystery elements that I really enjoy digging into. Can’t wait to see how it concludes!

I hope you all had a great weekend! Please share the wonderful books you’ve been reading. I love to add new ones to my TBR!

Happy Monday and happy reading!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Sunkissed by Kasie West

SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD.

Every summer Avery’s parents take she and her sister on a long vacation in order to bond and have “family time”. This year is no different and she finds herself at a family camp for two months without wifi. This year’s trip comes right after she finds out her best friend betrays her with her ex and the lack of wifi gives her a little time to decide how she really feels. On the day she arrives she meets Brooks, a moody, cute, staff employee who plays in the resort band but there’s a firm policy against staff-guest relationships. Her love of music and writing poetry draws them together and their friendship helps her come to terms with the difficulties she left behind at home.

My first impression of Sunkissed was that this was a fan fiction rewrite of Dirty Dancing. Two sisters, one outgoing and loud and the other quiet and kind of introspective. The quiet girl meets a good looking guy at a family camp who seems at first like he might be from the wrong side of the tracks. Girl has a talent for writing poetry and singing, boy has a contest coming up where he needs a song written for his band. Lead singer gets hurt and can’t compete, quiet girl overcomes nerves to sing. Boy and girl fall in love and have to overcome daddy’s objections. They only thing missing was a pregnancy and some raunchy hot time in the sack. As this is a Kasie West novel, everything is PG-13 and seen through rose tinted lenses, but the similarities were hard to not see. Despite the parallels I did like this story and Avery’s character.

We learn some interesting things about Avery as the book goes along but the most pressing is the fact that she has terrible stage fright and a bit of an anxiety problem. She’s known for going with the flow and that’s mostly because she’s trying to avoid anything that makes her anxious. It’s only when her dad seems to admire her younger sister for her cleverness in starting up a podcast that Avery see’s that maybe she’s been playing life a little too safe and she wants to make some changes and spread her wings a bit.

I always like the novels where the shy girl has a hidden talent that makes her shine and Sunkissed has exactly that kind of story. If you like these same traits then I suggest you give it a try. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase! Sunkissed

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*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

When Vivienne Jones had her heartbroken at 19, she acted as any young witch her age would, she drank vodka, ate ice cream, took a bubble bath, and with the help of her BFF cursed the man who had just broken her heart. Nine years later and Rhys Penhallow is back in town to re-charge her town’s ley lines and from the moment he gets close the curse kicks in and everything starts to turn wrong. Having to fess up to her actions, Vivi works with Rhys to try to break the curse. Surprisingly their chemistry and feelings haven’t really changed and they quickly fall back into old habits.

I was surprised at the hidden depth in this light and fluffy Halloween inspired love story. Don’t get me wrong, it did not stray far from the light and fluffy but the story was really well written and I was able to fall into huge like with the characters and was interested enough to see how their love story would end.

These quirky and fun characters were easy to like but I also loved the side characters. Rhys’s surly brother, and Vivi’s cousin and best friend helped add depth but also were part of why the book came to life. It might be interesting if these two characters somehow got connected? Possibly at a wedding in Wale? Hmm, my from lips to this authors ears!

If you’re looking for a fun, light, romance than give this one a chance. Despite the witchy plot I think it can be read and enjoyed on any holiday, or just a plain old weekend. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Ex Hex

Copyright 2021 the Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon

Kidnapped out of her bed while sleeping, Georgie wakes up to find herself in her pj’s on an alien spaceship. In a hold with the other human female cattle on the way to god knows where. Their captors do not treat them like guests but like hostages and they don’t handle them with care. When their ship needs to get rid of excess weight they drop their cargo bay on a habitable planet. The least hurt by their crash landing, Georgie suits up and climbs out into the snowy landscape to try to find help. What she finds is a race of blue horned alien men whose species is dying from a lack of women and this particular alien claims Georgie. Luckily for her he will do everything he can to ensure his tribes survival. Starting with saving the women in the hold of their space ship.

I’ve been on a little bit of a sci-fi romance kick lately and I’ll admit that when I saw this advanced reader copy I thought it sounded like a lot of fun. What I didn’t know is that it’s a re-release of the first book in a series of like 22 books and I’d get sucked in by the humor and read through 7 in one weekend. Ice Planet Barbarians was by far my favorite because Georgie was such a funny narrator. She was everything I like in a heroine, sassy, bold, and adventurous. Her alien mate, Vektal, while an alpha male, he was super gentle and sweet and wanted to do everything for Georgie which made their interactions really sweet and as they didn’t speak the same language for a good portion of the book, extremely funny.

Here’s my R rated warning. This book (and the series!) is filled with sex. Vektal, while humanoid, does not have a human body and his equipment while similar, does have some differences. If you can’t appreciate those differences you may not enjoy all of those scenes and truthfully, they were some of the most humorous so it was hard to skim. So, I gave in and embraced the weird alien sex so I could appreciate Georgie and Vektal’s story.

If you’re interested in a different type of sci-fi novel and don’t mind a LOT of sex, then this is the series for you! I will say, sex aside, the story was unique, the characters were fun and lovely to get to know, and I loved all of the ladies that crash landed in that cargo hold. I knew by the middle of the book that I was going to keep reading this series. These books are quick reading and a bit addictive.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Ice Planet Barbarians

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Dream Keeper (Dream Team #4) by Kristen Ashley

Single mom Pepper has always been attracted to Auggie Hero, but her plan is to provide a solid home for her daughter Juno and that means no men. Her daughter has other plans. She’s seen all of her moms friends meet the loves of their lives and she wants that for her own mom and she knows it’s not going to happen with her dad. Pepper and Auggie both have a LOT of baggage but what they could have with each other makes working through their problems worth it.

I really liked the characters in this book! Auggie and Pepper had a lot in common including a messed up family life. What Pepper has built with her daughter Juno is something that Auggie never had for himself and reading their story really touched my heart. As with a lot of Kristen Ashley’s men, Auggie was very alpha. He was a tough hombre, with very few words, but when he spoke he had important things to say. KA did a really good job with his internal thoughts because without those I wouldn’t have an inkling on what type of guy he really was, but those emotional rivers ran deep and he felt a LOT for Pepper and Juno. It was truly sweet.

As with my favorite Rock Chick novels, this novel is a woman in jeopardy novel. Pepper’s jeopardy was a little more emotional than physical but there was one moment that we got to see Auggie’s commando skills come into play and that made the book. I love KA’s retro Rock Chick-ish novels and this series as an offshoot of that series definitely plays on that vibe.

Do you like the older Kristen Ashley novels like I do? If so, you will really enjoy Dream Keeper. It’s the fourth in the series and while it can stand alone, I think you’ll like it more if you’ve read the others first. Pepper was supposed to be the last of Lottie’s friends to be set up but the reader is led to believe that there will be three more and we were introduced to three additional commando’s that need ladies to help make the man. I’m looking forward to seeing where this author takes this series and can’t wait for the next book. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase!* Dream Keeper (Dream Team Book 4)

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick’s Audio Review: Shifting Shadows (Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson) by Patricia Briggs

Shifting Shadows came out in 2014 and despite loving the Mercy Thompson series I didn’t have that sense of urgency about reading it. I had an Audible credit to use so I finally pulled the trigger and purchased Shifting Shadows. These short stories are narrated by Lorelei King who narrates the Mercy Thompson books and Alexander Cendese. I was expecting Holter Graham for the male voice and wasn’t familiar with Alexander Cendese but thought his narration excellent. As the narrator started reading the first short story, “Silver”, I was immersed in the origin story for Bram and Samuel, wondering why I had let this book lie in those shadows for so long.

For me, there were a couple of stand out novellas in this compilation. As a big fan of Patricia Briggs and both the Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega series I was really interested in the above mentioned “Silver”. Bram is the Moroch, or leader of all of the packs in the United States and he raised Mercy, and is Charles’s father (Alpha and Omega). I’m already invested in their story and so learning their origin and how they became werewolves was particularly interesting. Also, this was the origin story for Samuel and his mate Ariana, who were separated for centuries. Their story was interesting and heartbreaking and explained quite a bit about their motivations in later novels.

Possibly because I’ve been listening to the Alpha and Omega series recently I immediately knew who the characters were in “Seeing Eye”. Moira and Tom are side characters in one story featuring Anna and Charles. This novella is the origin of how the two of them met and how they were drawn to each other right from the start. Tom, a werewolf, comes to Moira, a witch, to ask for help in locating his brother who has disappeared. It’s a really quick, fast paced story and truly enjoyable.

“Alpha and Omega” is the first story in the Alpha and Omega series. Charles, is Brams son, but he’s also the enforcer for his father and is sent to clean up problem situations. He is sent to Chicago because some things have come to light that all is not as it should be with the Chicago pack. Anna, abused in her own pack, has seen something that her alpha has done that she knows is not right. So she calls the Moroch, Bram, and is put in charge of driving Charles around as he investigates. What they both don’t expect is that Charles’s wolf declares Anna his mate and he has to fight his instincts to protect while also deciding the outcome for her pack. This novella is so good!

The last story I’ll speak about in this review is also the last novella in the book, “In Red, With Pearls”. Warren, the openly gay werewolf gets his own story and it is a fun one! A woman in red, wearing pearls comes into the law firm where Warren’s boyfriend Kyle works. Something about her is suspicious and Warren suspects there is ill intent. Boy is there! This novel has the humor you expect from his character but we get a little more insight into he and Kyle’s relationship. Warren is a fan-favorite and this is a truly fun glimpse into their relationship.

If you like Patricia Briggs novels, short stories, have a commute, or like to listen while you work (gasp!), please check out this compilation. The Mercy Thompson universe has a lot of action and fantasy-filled drama and I promise there won’t be any regrets! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this audiobook!* Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: The V’Dan (First Salik War #2) by Jean Johnson

Grand Ambassador of the Terran Motherworld, Jacaranda Makenzie, has arrived with her Gestalt partner, Prince, and Captain of the V’Dan space force, Li’eth, to his home world to introduce his people to their human cousins the Terrans. Jackie brings with her technology that will help the V’Dan fight and possibly win a war against the Salik, a non-human species who is terrorizing the universe. She and Li’eth as Gestalt partners need to be close to each other as their powers grow. Prophesied to bring peace to the universe there is a lot riding on their success in uniting their two races.

It’s been a couple of years since I read the first novel in this series, Terrans, where we were introduced to Jackie and Li’eth but in a Terran setting. Li’eth was welcomed onto their planet and treated honorably. When Jackie and her crew escort Li’eth to V’Dan, the similarities between their own people are only separated by a discoloration on the skin of the V’Dan’s called jungen, which all V’Dan receive when they reach puberty. Terrans don’t have these marks, and because of that the V’Dan’s treat them as children disrespecting their people. As their leader, Jackie is faced with a cultural and racial insensitivity that her people have not seen in over 100 years.

This book, written prior to the Black Lives Matter movement uses the V’Dan’s skin discoloration to make some interesting parallels to the struggles we’ve faced to eliminate degradation due to skin color. It was interesting to read a science-fiction novel that chose that subject (among others) to take a stand and I relished every time Jackie as Grand Ambassador struck down this insensitivity and prejudice. I wish it were that easy today.

The V’Dan as a lot of sci-fi is, can be very technology heavy and there were pages that I skimmed to the plot to move forward a bit quicker but when the story called for action the plot moved along quite quickly. In addition to the technology-laden paragraphs there were a lot of politic-speak between the different alien races who were in an Alliance together. That too, made for slow points but ultimately picked up when Jackie got to kick-butt and smack down some furry or many-eyed creature for viewing her as a child. I admit, I did get a kick out of those moments.

I really enjoyed the more psychic moments in the book. Li’eth and Jackie were a solid pairing and I liked their hidden conversations, spoken mind to mind as they could talk freely where no one could hear them and those conversations gave insights into the actions going on around them. Theirs was not the only emotional connections but certainly as the main character theirs was the most prevalent.

If you like sci-fi and don’t mind techo-jargon then you may enjoy this series. I immediately picked up the third and last book in the series because I liked this book so much and would recommend it to anyone who thinks they may like a story that while a little older, runs parallel to the story lines of today. Granted, I do hope there aren’t some tentacled species out there hoping to inhabit our planet, breed humans so that they can eat us, so there is that. 🙂 ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase!* The V’Dan (First Salik War)

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*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: The Silence Between Us by Alison Gervais

For the first time since becoming deaf, Maya will be starting school at a public school with hearing kids, instead of being surrounded by kids like her. Maya does read lips but in order to stay on top of her school assignments she has an interpreter who signs for her, making her stand out. She expects the attention, but what she doesn’t expect is for her to make hearing friends, including one cute boy named Beau. The Silence Between Us is the story of Maya’s journey as a deaf teen, building relationships, and standing up for who she wants to be.

This #ownvoices novel deftly explores the difficulty of a deaf teenager navigating life among the hearing. When I started reading this book I’ll admit, I read it from the perspective of a hearing person. Although I do wear hearing aids for a slight hearing problem, I’m not in the same situation as our main character who can’t hear words at all. I had to turn my own experiences off, although I did identify with quite a few, in order to relish the journey that Maya takes and the difficulties she faces at school and in developing relationships with her peers. Maya had an inner strength that was really admirable and allows her to fight for what she believes.

An interesting sub plot of this story is Maya’s interactions with a deaf group her mom signs her up to meet. Prior to moving her group of friends conversed using sign language and when she meets this group she tries to sign with them and realizes that none of them know how to sign and that in fact, they’ve all had a procedure that allows them to hear with hearing aids. This isn’t the first instance in the novel where Maya runs up against the subject where others think she would be happier if she weren’t deaf. Maya’s fortitude and decision-making regarding this conflict was so adult. She is someone who isn’t going to take the easy solution and is happy with who she is. I think we can all learn something from Maya. She stands as a proud deaf person and all of the difficulties that might present in her life as an adult.

If you’re looking for a clean YA with an #ownvoices plot give The Silence Between Us a try. Alison Gervais has a talent for delivering a story that rings true and makes you want to learn more about the subject matter. This is a story that will stay with you for a good long while. In a good way! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase!* The Silence Between Us (Blink)

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads