Tag: books

This Chick Read: Melt for You (Slow Burn #2) by J. T. Geissinger

Joellen has had a crush on the CEO of her firm since she started working there 10 years ago. When Michael Maddox’s marriage is breaking up that far away dream becomes attainable. Can she catch the eye of her perfect CEO? Cameron MacGregor is subleasing the apartment across the hall from Joellen. He is brash, scruffy, and the captain of a pro British Rugby team. Cam is also a big ladies man with a reputation for trouble. He offers to help “coach” Jo into catching her CEO, but quickly realizes that she is the woman he wants and starts to play dirty to keep her.

Finally, a Geissinger hero who is not fighting a darkness in his soul that only his heroine can shine a light on! Don’t get me wrong, Cam has his problems. He didn’t have a great childhood and fought to attain the status he currently has as a pro Rugby player, but he is charming and laughs easily. NOT like other characters in her novels. It was so refreshing and unexpected! Jo, also is unlike her other heroines. She is self described as somewhat plump and average looking, although both Cam and Michael see her very differently. It’s been awhile since Jo has practiced her feminine wiles, so when Cam offers to be her test subject the sparks fly. She spends most of the book being charmingly confused over who she really wants, Cam or Michael. Since this is an HEA we know going in who she’s going to pick, but that journey was really a lot of fun to read!

I loved both Jo and Cam! They each had their own insecurities that they helped each other overcome. Their relationship was fresh, sassy and filled with humor. In comparison, Michael seemed to be a dolt. No competition in my eyes! This Slow Burn series seems to be a stand alone novel as there was no relationship between the characters from book to book. Feel free to pick this up and enjoy! The Slow Burn comes from the build up in their relationship from friends to lovers. I was sitting on the edge of my seat in anticipation of the conclusion to this novel. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

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

Melt for You

Click this link to purchase! Melt for You (Slow Burn)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: A Mother’s Love for Books

Mother’s Day is one day in the year that we set aside to specifically celebrate, honor, and love our mothers. Yes, we do love our mother’s every day but we don’t always remember to tell them that we love them. I am not a mother myself, unless you count my dog and cat as children, but I do have a special place in my heart for my own mom. After all, she is the reason why I love books as much as I do!

My love of classic musicals came from watching them with my mother on Saturday afternoons at a really young age. I fell in love with Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz and their dancing and singing down that yellow brick road. My mother decorated my room in red gingham (yes, I know Dorothy’s dress was blue!) and started giving me copies of all of the Oz books by Frank L. Baum. I still have some of them sitting in my bookcase.

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She would read these books to me at night starting my long love of fantasy novels and transporting myself to other magical worlds. I had an older brother and sister who were reading “older” books and soon began asking for her to read books I knew they were reading like Robert Jordan and J. R. R Tolkien. She read the Hobbit to me every night for a year, a memory that lingers with me. I can hear Golem’s “precious” in my own mothers voice. In 1990 my mother gave me a bound copy of The Hobbit because she also loved that same memory.

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I can envision trips to the library with my mom where I would check out 5 books at a time. I had a small bookcase built into my closet that was filled with library books. A precursor to today’s book filled shelves and kindle! I have since wondered how often my mom had to pay the late fee’s on those books. I can’t remember returning them, although I’m certain we must’ve, but I can certainly remember the wonder of checking them out and the greed of having them awaiting me on my shelf.

Today, I am honoring my mother for showing me her love for books and passing that love on. She may have come to regret it because I am always asking her if she’s read such and such and what did she think, or pushing a new favorite into her hands. I think my mother should feel proud because she did such a great job in passing on that love. So, I want to say “Thanks Mom”! My life wouldn’t be the same without my journey through Oz and Rivendell. I’ve followed my own yellow brick road and it leads to a mountain of books that I have yet to read. When you’re ready to talk about that next book, you know where to find me…

XOXO and much love!

Discussion: What books did your own mother read to you? Do you have any special Mother’s Day book memories to share?

Until next Sunday,

Debs

fullsizerender-3 My mom.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads17 Comments

This Chick Read: The Case for Jamie (Charlotte Holmes #3) by Brittany Cavallaro

It has been a year since August Moriarty’s death and it has also been a year since Jamie and Charlotte have seen each other. Jamie is back at boarding school where he is hanging out with the same group of friends, but has a new girlfriend. When things start to go awry, his dorm room getting broken into, his report for class deleted and he is accused of stealing money he realizes that he may be the victim of a Moriarty trying to plot revenge on Charlotte. Even if he knew where Charlotte was, Jamie is too stubborn and too determined to try his investigative skills on his own.

The Case for Jamie was told from two point of view’s. Charlotte is off on her own, struggling to come to grips with Augusts death and also find out what devilish deeds Lucien may be up to. Her POV is a girl on the edge of a nervous breakdown and fascinating to read. Jamie’s point of view is strictly the investigation and his emotional wallowing in Charlotte’s absence. Yes, he has a new girlfriend but she seems to be a placeholder for his best friend Charlotte. I’ll admit that I found Charlotte to be a more fascinating character because of the depths of depravity she has been driven to. Jamie is just the boy next door, although in this novel he shows he has brains to go along with that brawn.

I thought the author did a great job weaving the mystery together without giving away the whole plot. I loved the personal twists this novel took with Jamie’s life. Those twists were life changing for Jamie and really made him evaluate what was important to him. He really grew up a lot in this novel. Some readers may not love the ending to this book but I loved how Ms. Cavallaro created a mystery around Jamie and Charlotte’s relationship leaving the reader wanting more, more, more! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

The Case for Jamie

Click this link to purchase! The Case for Jamie (Charlotte Holmes Novel)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Burn For You (Slow Burn #1) by J. T. Geissinger

Bianca Hardwick is a chef and owner of a restaurant in New Orleans. When she creates her menu around Boudreaux Bourbon her restaurant gains some notoriety and draws the eye of Jackson “the Beast” Boudreaux, a local resident. When Jax comes into her restaurant one night and can’t get seated immediately he lets the “Beast” out and is rude to her staff. Initially pleased and nervous he was in her restaurant, Bianca gets her back up over his demeaning her staff and her menu. Jax is intrigued by this beautiful chef who doesn’t back down and when he needs a chef for a charity event, he pays her a huge sum of money. Needing that money for personal reasons, Bianca puts together a menu that helps him raise tons of money and has them working directly together where more sparks fly.

J. T Geissinger writes tortured men so well, and Jackson Boudreaux is a fascinating character to unwrap. There is obvious tension between these two characters both sexual and mental, but unraveling Jax’s history into why he is “the Beast” intrigues not only Bianca but the reader as well. Bianca is forced into Jax’s company by need for cash, but quickly see’s the pain beneath the rude exterior and even though going through some personal pain as well, wants to soothe the savage beast.

Bianca is creole and talks with that Louisiana twang that gives this book great flavor, but it’s the characters around her that give her warmth and make her genuine. I love her relationship with her mother, the sass, grit and love they have for each other is a huge reason why I liked Bianca as much as I did. When Jax meets her mother for the first time, the contrast between her anxiety and his gentlemanly behavior  sold me on them as a couple. Burn For You is a slow burn novel, meaning that they develop their relationship slowly. They start off enemies (at least on her side), develop a friendship, and then become lovers and that journey when done well captures the reader, and that was the case with Burn for You. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Burn For You

Click this link to purchase! Burn for You (Slow Burn Book 1)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Torment (Origin #3) by Scarlett Dawn

In a world where the male population outweigh the females you have only a brief time before you have to make a decision. Join the army or get married and start doing your part to build up the depleted population. When you’re on the run from your psychotic father you don’t have a lot of time to think about your future. Megan is just trying to stay one step ahead and off his radar. After escaping imprisonment in the second book in the series, Transcend, Megan had found a job as a bartender. When the mercenaries that helped free her from captivity show up for a drink, Megan worries that they will lead her father straight to her, however her instant chemistry with Rune Mason pushes those worries to the back burner. For the moment. When she learns Rune is a panther shifter and she is his mate, she’s surprisingly blase about the whole thing. Panther? Cool! Well, cat’s do like to hunt, and he does promise to keep her safe from her father. I can see how that would weigh in his favor.

Origin is a serial where the plot is continuous from one book to the next. Our central couple shifts (pun not intended), however the overall story of these shifters trying to save the world from an evil mastermind continues. When Megan finds out her new beau, Rune, is a panther (also a successful, wealthy businessman) and can help her kill her father she embraces this dangerous world. After all, Rune can keep her safe and give her that princess life she’s always wanted. I’m not sure Rune gets anything out of the bargain except for a mate who is sassy and kind of cunning like he is, but as my mom always said, “there’s someone for everyone” and Megan and Rune are a matched set!

This is my second series by Scarlett Dawn, and I have to say that I really enjoy her style of writing. It’s energetic, fun, and kind of wacky! If you can keep yourself from thinking too hard about the details and how the characters move from point A to point B, then you’ll enjoy reading her books. Torment on it’s own was an enjoyable story. I like Rune, he’s always plotting and playful and I felt that Megan was a great match for his cunning cat. I’m used to this world they live in, so those details don’t take me out of the story, but there was one small detail that made me pause and go “huh”. Megan’s dream, after killing her father and being free to do whatever she wants? To be a princess, I’m guessing in a Disney World type setting (I hope!) and making children smile all day was a little far fetched, but maybe that was my own problem. I’ve never had ball gown and magic wand dreams myself. Pushing that one thing aside, Torment was a lot of fun and once again I found myself enjoying the romp. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Torment

Click this link to purchase! Torment (Origin Book 3)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: This blogger’s musings about blogging

Recently I’ve thought a lot about why I started my blog. Originally I just wanted to talk about the books I was reading and maybe connect with someone who has read that same book and have a conversation. I was amazed that anyone even answered a question I asked or followed my blog. It was so much fun! My husband and family were probably thrilled because I stopped asking them if they’d read “that” book yet.  But, at some point over the last two and a half years I have gotten away from my original reason for blogging. The magic of talking about it with other people who have read the same book!blur-book-browse-256546.

Why have I gotten away from it? Well, besides having a full time job, trying to spend quality time with my husband and family, I guess the real reason is greed. LOL Really, it is so easy to get seduced by the books on NetGalley or Edelweiss. I can go on NetGalley and get lost for hours and before I know it I’ve requested 20 books that all have the same release date. Aarghhh!!! That’s the worst. Recently, I’ve tried really hard to cut back on requesting books and when I do, it’s usually to request from authors I really like or to read and possibly finish a book in a series I’ve started. Although I will say that when two or three authors books release in the same month or on the same day it can still get tricky. At times my brain goes into book overload, kind of like the whirlpool of books below.

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I also have a HUGE stack of physical books sitting in my shelves that are going unread. Some of which I don’t want to review, I just want to enjoy, you know? Lately though I feel like I need to review every book just so that I am putting out a post. It would be so easy to just let it slide and I really don’t want to!  The connections I’ve made with my fellow bloggers are fun, interesting, and keep my brain invested in something I really want to do. Have a conversation about books. How do I find that happy medium?

Here is my vow to, well, myself really, because I can’t imagine you all care about these musings… My vow is to read what I want to read, when I want to read it. Blog hop and join in on discussions with you guys, because, well, that’s part of the fun isn’t it? Write reviews because that’s what I really love to do, and hopefully inspire you all to interject with some comments.  I feel better already! Sometimes you just need to lay down the law with yourself. LOL.

Anyway, this is what was in my head this morning as I sat down to write. What’s going on in your own?

How do you all keep yourselves going?

I am always amazed at the hard work most of you put into putting out great content and discussions almost daily. How do you do think of all of these topics? Find the time to put in pretty graphics and pictures? That’s probably a topic for another day… 🙂

Until next Sunday,

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads6 Comments

This Chick Read: Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Ever since she was little Scarlett has had a dream of she and her sister Tella escaping their reality to go to Caraval, a magical performance that takes place in different locations annually. One day she receives a return letter from the master of Caraval, Legend, with an invitation to join the performance this year. Now that the invitation has arrived Scarlett panic’s at braving their fathers wrath until Tella takes that decision away from her, spiriting them to Caraval, Scarlett an unconscious accomplice. When Scarlett awakes, she finds that Tella has become the mystery she has to solve in order to gain the prize, one wish.

Even though I had read a lot of reviews about Caraval, I still didn’t know what to expect from the actual story. I knew the synopsis, but what I didn’t get from the glowing reviews was how the characters and story were so colorfully written. Scarlett has the ability to see emotions in color and Stephanie Garber embued the body of the story with the richness of those colors. As Scarlett unravels the clues to the mystery of where Tella had been hidden she goes on a journey of self discovery. Having lived under her fathers rule, his actions determining her own, this was the first time she was able to choose the path she’d take. As the story progressed, I loved seeing her self confidence bloom!

Caravel was one of those stories you want to relish, yet are also eager to see what the next chapter brings. I found myself speeding up and slowing down, changing the pace of my reading to fit the sequence of events I was reading about. This novel could’ve been a stand alone and I would’ve been happy with the completeness of the ending, but Legendary, the second novel, will be out May29th and we’ll get to read about Tella and find out what makes her tick. I hope to see behind the curtain of Caraval even more with her story and dare I hope a glimpse at Legend himself? ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Caraval

Click the link to purchase! Caraval

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: Hello Stranger (The Ravenels #4) by Lisa Kleypas

Lisa Kleypas continues to deliver unusual but extremely likable main characters who may be different than main stream society but have a real-ness that readers can relate to and root for. Dr. Garrett Gibson is the first female physician in England. She works for my favorite Welsh department store owner Rhys Winterbourne and has doctored some of our past heroines, so is a familiar sideline character. In Hello Stranger, Garrett gets rocked out of her steady clinical world when Ethan Ransom, ex-Scotland Yard investigator, steps in to help her fight some men hassling her as she’s walking home through a bad neighborhood after work. His offer to help train her in self defense puts them at close quarters and of course their chemistry sizzles. However, Ethan is in the middle of an investigation and doesn’t want to endanger Garrett so tries to leave her be, but fate keeps throwing her in his path.

I love how this authors heroines are unusual for their time. Always smart and in this instance an educated doctor, not your typical society miss. Garrett is a bit stoic and cool, not used to the more passionate emotions but she is so well balanced by Ethan! He has got to be the most romantic historical male I’ve read in quite a long while. As it turns out, he has Irish roots and I don’t know if the author was trying to portray his Irish-ness with a poetic side, but wow. I’m married to an Irishman and I wish he spoke so poetically to me about his feelings! Ethan was a man’s man, yet was definitely not afraid of showing how he felt. If I were Garrett, he would’ve rocked my world too.

This was another fun novel by Lisa Kleypas. Was it my favorite of hers? No. Though I did enjoy these characters and learning about the difficulties Garrett had as a female doctor in a man’s world, even if learning about it in a historical romance, was eye opening.

I can’t wait for West Ravenels book. He was very present in Hello Stranger and he was hilarious! His romance is going to be worth the wait. ❤️❤️❤️❣️

Hello

Click this link to purchase! Hello Stranger: The Ravenels, Book 4

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: The Laird (Castle Blackstone #1) by Sandy Blair

Duncan MacDougall, Laird of Castle Blackstone was cursed to haunt the castle until he finds a woman that he could love and make her fall in love with him in his own time. When Beth Pudding inherits Castle Blackstone and finds it haunted she doesn’t shrink away. Raised in foster care, this is the first home she has had that is her own. If it’s haunted she’ll just get to know the ghost and hopefully they can live together companionably. As she proves her mettle Duncan thinks she may be the one to break him from his curse and slides his family ring onto her finger. She travels back in time until she finds herself the bride of Duncan in his own time.

There were several things I liked about this novel. First is our heroine Beth. She has never been loved. She has serious self esteem issues from her years in foster care. She was always passed over for adoption and one of her foster parents made her feel bad about her looks. She was not the beautiful heroine who gets transported back in time and because of her beauty is loved by all. This was a girl who had to work for everything. She worked hard at her job and rose up through the ranks in catering because of that hard work. Duncan saw those attributes in modern time, but when she transported back it was her looks that people talked about, until she started to prove herself again through hard work. I liked Beth a lot. The second thing I liked was that it was a time travel novel. Those are fun! If the characters are bright, they take their knowledge from modern times and use them to better their surroundings. Beth did this and it made everyone love her. The third thing I liked was Duncan. It didn’t take him long to see her for her worth. He was also a handsome Scottish guy in a kilt which doesn’t hurt a romance at all!

I love discovering older books that have several novels in the series out. This book was written in 2016 so now that I know I like the writing I get to play catch up with the series, yay!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Laird

Click this link to purchase! The Laird (Castle Blackstone) (Volume 1)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: Traitor to the Throne (Rebel of the Sands #2) by Alwyn Hamilton

Very slight spoilers ahead….

Why did I wait so long to read Traitor to the Throne????  I LOVED Rebel of the Sands, the first edition in this series. I think sometimes when you read a book that good you are scared that the second book can’t possibly live up to your expections. I am happy to say that I loved Traitor to the Throne just as much. Whew!

Amani, our Blue-Eyed Bandit, is back with the Rebel Prince, Ahmed and his crew. Except her guy, Jin, has run off. He was scared that she was going to die after being shot coming to his defense. When Traitor opens, she is trying to rescue some of her compatriots that have been captured. During their mad escape with other Demdji who were in jail with her friends we discover that the Sultan is collecting Demdji. We don’t realize why until Amani does actually get captured and the Sultan reveals his plans. As she gets to know him she starts to doubt her cause.

There is something about the bad guy, isn’t there? When we get introduced to the Sultan, horrible things have been done to Amani and immediately I dislike him. However, he treats Amani kind of like a surrogate daughter which confuses her. Is he really that bad a guy?  Ummm, Yes! He is one dastardly dude! However he was written with a subtlety that even when we know how bad he is, he still left me with that question in my gut, a hint of hope before that hope was dashed yet again. See what I mean? Subtle evil! Interesting!

For those of you who love Jin and Amani’s love story, it comes to the forefront of this story and may change how you feel about him and them as a couple moving forward. There is a lot of love, but for me, she is just such a strong character and her personality dwarfs his. I’m looking forward to seeing how they move forward in the next novel, which has actually already been released. Will I wait as long to read the next one? Nope, not after two solid books. I have faith that Alwyn Hamilton is going to give me a third strong story and a conclusion that I will also love. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Traitor to the Throne

Click this link to purchase! Traitor to the Throne (Rebel of the Sands)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads4 Comments