This Chick Read: Wildfire (Hidden Legacy #3) by Ilona Andrews

Nevada Baylor and Connor Rogan are one of my favorite fictional couples. The combination of strength, unselfishness, and unbelievable chemistry make discovering this world and reading their story a lot of fun. Wildfire, the third and possibly last book in this series stayed on my TBR only as long as it took for me to pick it up, take it home and start reading.

Nevada has discovered that she is related to one of the most ruthless houses. A house that does not have any living relatives but one, and her grandmother has found out that her lost son had a family, and she is going to try to claim them. In order to keep her family safe Nevada and her sister need to declare themselves Primes and become their own House, House Baylor. Nevada makes plans to register their house while investigating another mystery and battling the mysterious Consortium that was revealed in the two previous books.

Every time a House is revealed with new and fascinating powers I fall in love with the world in this book a little bit more. The thought that this could be the last one is heartbreaking. BUT, I have heard a rumor. Apparently Ilona and Gordon Andrews don’t want this to be the last book in the series either. There is a strong possibility that they may release more, but not with this publisher. I certainly hope so! Every Ilona Andrews book is completely original. What makes this series so special? Connor and his tragically lonely background, incredible power, honor and vivid love for Nevada makes him magical. Nevada’s strength of character, love for a man that everyone else is afraid of, and her loyalty towards her family and friends gives us a heroine to root for. The two of them together have depths that I still need to plunder. Please!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️


Click link to purchase! Wildfire: A Hidden Legacy Novel

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

This Chick Read: Under the Wire ( Bad Boys Undercover #4) by Helenkay Dimon

This romantic suspense novel is the fourth novel in the series, but luckily this story stands pretty well on its own. Our hero Reid Armstrong belongs to a top secret military unit that has previously rescued our heroine Cara Layne. Caught up in the passion of the moment they start a relationship and plan to be married. Until Cara comes to her senses, or really, starts to doubt her feelings and breaks things off with Reid. This novel starts when Cara is in danger in Russia and her brother hires Reid to find her and bring her out alive. Reid, who had implanted a LoJack in her previously ( yeah, you read that right!), switches it on and pretty easily tracks her down. That seems to be the only easy part of this mission.

Reid brings along one of his teammates to help with the rescue and thank god because he provided some much needed comic relief. The plot was well written, but I found it hard to identify with these two characters. Reid was the strong silent military guy. Non communicative about his feelings, he played silent and broody even during the emotional scenes. You would think Cara would be the more emotional character and bring a little balance to the pair, romantically, but she was kind of stunted. Her responses were robotic and even though the plot moved along well, her lack of emotion really slowed down any momentum in this book. It’s funny that I can forgive a man for being  unemotional but not the woman. Very stereotypical of me, but regardless, Under the Wire just didn’t pull my heartstrings.

❤️❤️❣️


Click on link to purchase! Under the Wire: Bad Boys Undercover

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

This Chicks Cover Reveal! Balancing the Scales (#BritsinManhattan series) by Laura Carter

I am really excited to be a part of the team who is releasing the cover for Balancing the Scales, the newest novel by Laura Carter and the first in the Brits in Manhattan series. This book will be released on November 21st through Kensington Publishing and Penguin Random House.

As with all of Laura’s other novels, this book sounds like a lot of fun! Check out this blurb.

BLURB:

“Carter’s writing style is absolutely brilliant.” —The Romance Reviews

A Hotshot Manhattan Attorney. 

Drew Harrington knows exactly who he is—a legal shark with a love ‘em and leave ‘em attitude that works just fine in his cutthroat world. He’s on the cusp of promotion to named partner, but only if he can prove to his colleagues that he has a more human side.

A Sweetheart of a British Patisserie Chef.

Becky Fletcher is running from her past, so the last thing she’s looking for is love. What she does want is a friendly face in a cold city. Her sunny outlook is the sweetness Drew never knew was missing from his life.

One fateful meeting at a bagel cart.

They sound like a match made in heaven—or is it a car crash? If they have any chance of finding happiness, Drew and Becky are going to have to rethink their life plans. Until then, is there really any harm in having some fun between the sheets?

All’s fair in love and lox!

BALANCING THE SCALES is the first standalone novel in the BRITS IN MANHATTAN SERIES #BalancingtheScales #BritsinManhattan

PRE-ORDER:

iBooks: https://goo.gl/0MLjEk 

Barnes and Noble: https://goo.gl/0xaq5B 

Amazon UK: https://goo.gl/AbwA8z 

Amazon US: https://goo.gl/vCN42X 

GooglePlay: https://goo.gl/he4H3O 

Kobo: https://goo.gl/mlxcDH

Follow Laura on:

BOOKBUB: https://goo.gl/6kND3X
GOODREADS: https://goo.gl/4GuJdd

This Chick Read: Wicked Bite (Realm Enforcers) by Rebecca Zanetti

Finally we get to see Bear the Alpha of the Grizzly nation and head of the Grizzly MC Club get his own heroine and chance at everlasting love! Wicked Bite continues the storyline of finding and eliminating the Apollo drug that is being used to kill off the Witch nation. Nessa Lansa goes undercover by approaching Bear as a possible mate. She is a witch who can’t draw upon fire and he is a bear shifter who is also half dragon. In a previous novel, Bear went against nature to shift into a dragon to save his sister Simone, irreparably harming his soul. Nessa’s story is that if they mate, her healing skills will work better at healing Bear, where she may gain his dragon fire. Of course, there’s this thing called physical attraction that comes into play and Bear starts taking this Mate thing very seriously!

I’ve heard this is the last novel in the Realm Enforcers series. Oh no!  As an offshoot of the Dark Protectors series I really enjoyed catching up with all of our past characters. I hope I’m wrong because I can see a couple more heroes in this last novel that should get their own story. Can we get another spinoff? We can only hope!

Bear had been a favorite character and I was happy to see his HEA. His easygoing bear nature fooled everyone including Nessa, who learned that there was a reason he was Alpha, and in this novel that Alpha warrior got to come out and play. Nessa was also no push over. Her Alpha Princess came out packing this novel full of action, and not just of the bedroom variety! If this series does end here, I think it’s a great ending, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that there’s more of this world in our future.  ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley for an honest review, and my review was honest.


Click link to purchase! Wicked Bite (Realm Enforcers Book 5)

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

 

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: Favorite Fictional Couples 

I have never been the type of person who gets crushes on famous actors, has a book boyfriend, favorite band or heck, even a favorite food.  Sure I have likes and dislikes; I like Chris Hemsworth more than Liam Hemsworth and Mexican Food more than Chinese, but never have had an outright favorite.

I do however have favorite fiction couples. Is it the thought that there is one person out there for everyone? Sure. But it’s more of how those two people fit together and that chemistry thats so fascinating. Let’s analyze a few of my favorites.

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon – Jamie and Claire

I read these books when they first came out in the ’90’s. Yes, some of you weren’t even born yet! ALL the women in my family passed these books around to each other and swooned over Jamie and Claire. One of my Uncles even named his daughter Claire ( yes, the men in my family have read Outlander, even my own husband!). Why do these two connect so well with us? Claire is a modern woman, well modern for historical highland Scotland anyway. She’s smart, stands up for herself, and even though torn between two men finds enough love within herself for both. Jamie is the love of her life or lifetimes, as the case may be. Jamie, a young handsome highlander likes her smarts, sass, and experience. Most importantly, he allows her to to be Claire. In doing so, he captures her heart even when they live centuries apart. That separation and the fact that Claire travels through time to be with her true love only makes us love it and them more.

Click this link to purchase! Outlander

In Death series by J. D. Robb – Eve and Rourke

She’s a cop, and he’s a gazillionaire ex-thief and the setting is futuristic New York. Despite their surface differences they have commonalities in their depths. Eve was abused and raped by her own father and she killed him when she was a child in self defense. Roarke was a street punk who survived by those artful dodger skills. Both lacked love as children but somehow overcame that to have thriving careers and ultimately finding that love they needed from each other. He is whimsical and uber brilliant, and she is steely and analytical and because of those traits they are the yin to each others yang. It’s great fun to see Eve discover her own hidden depths and Roarke to love in overwhelming waves and to see each other grow as a couple because of their trust for each other.  His gazillionaire status doesn’t play into it at all though all his gadgets, gizmos and exotic locations do make for a fun read

Click the link to purchase! Naked in Death (In Death, Book 1)
The Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews – Nevada Baylor and Connor Rogan

An Urban Fantasy series, the third,Wildfire, came out this week and I am reading right now. (I MUST get back to it!) Connor Mad Rogan, is a Prime. A mage with an extraordinary skillset that has been used in battle and earned him a certain reputation. He and Nevada cross paths when they are both investigating the same crime. He is instantly intrigued by her and although she can’t ignore how attractive he is, his reputation is pretty scary (hence the nickname “Mad”) and she isn’t interested. However, forced to work together she is drawn to his strength and honor, and see’s that young boy inside of him that suffered from a lack of love. Those things whittle away at her walls until she lets him in, and at that moment, he has her trust, heart, and hope. Connor, with all of that power never used it to win her over. I think it was the fact that he let her grow without trying to influence her, fought by her side, protected her family and ultimately that strength of passion that won her over. Oh, don’t forget their incredible chemistry. Wowza!

Click the link to purchase! Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy)
A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas – Feyre and Rhysand

This YA fantasy series used misdirection and an evil enemy to move our two heroes Feyre and Rhysand together both in the fight against evil but also in a bonding love that would seem to be everlasting. Feyre, human turned Fae, is certainly put through the wringer in these books. Fighting for herself and her family, the whole time. Rhysand, introduced to the reader as the King of darkness, had a lot to overcome, both with Feyre and the reader because Ms. Maas manipulated our minds into believing he was the bad guy. As the story unfolds and we see the true nature of Rhysand and Tamlin (the red herring) our own hearts unfold, right along with Feyre’s and we bleed our love for Rhysand. Or at least that is what it felt like to me. Theirs was a union that had to overcome death, deception and war. In comparison their happy moments felt like golden moments of stolen time, sure to be taken away. Feyre, although not my favorite female character of all time, was held up as part of one of my favorite couples because of Rhysand’s grit and fortitude, and yes love and passion. He was desperately fighting for their love, we just didn’t realize it until later, and when we did, we bought it and him, hook, line and sinker.

Click the link to purchase! A Court of Thorns and Roses

The more I think on this topic the more I could go on and on and on. I left out the obvious classics like Romeo and Juliet (although they both die so really does that count?), Ron and Hermione for the Harry Potter fans, and even Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. These four are a few of my favorites and I know my choices lean towards fantasy which may not appeal to everyone.

I would love to hear who is your own favorite fictional couple. Do they come from the classics? Contemporary romance? Or are they from fantasy novels like mine? Please comment below and lets talk.

Until next Sunday!

Deb

This Chick Read: Star Cruise: Outbreak – The Sectors SF Romance series by Veronica Scott

I enjoyed the first book in this series, The Wreck of the Nebula Dream. The author, Veronica Scott, did a great job mixing action, adventure, science fiction and romance and I wanted to see if she was able to replicate that magical formula. Star Cruise was slightly different than the first novel, dealing with real life subjects like PTSD and alcoholism, but still had that great mix of genres I mentioned above. The cruise ship is crewed by a group of ex military vets. Continue reading “This Chick Read: Star Cruise: Outbreak – The Sectors SF Romance series by Veronica Scott”

This Chick Read: Flame in the Mist (Flame in the Mist #1) by Renee Ahdieh 

Mirako is on her journey to become the bride in an arranged marriage to the younger son of her emperor when she and her company is attacked with everyone dying but her. On her own in the forest Mirako decides to investigate who had killed her retinue and ends up infiltrating their group. Of course, she can’t do this as a girl so she decides to disguise herself as a young boy and discovers the freedom a change in sex brings.

Renee Ahdieh writes in a lyrical style that was totally appropriate to the time and story she was telling and rivaled the beauty of the covert art on her book. Her descriptions really gave the setting an otherworldly feel that matched an era that was royally majestic and colorful, which hid the squalor of its poor. Mirako as a girl was seen as strange and odd. While not unattractive, she was a girl who asked questions and showed intelligence in a time where girls were to be seen and not heard and femininity was prized above all else. Mirako as a boy was allowed to use her brain and in fact her intellect was rewarded. It’s no wonder that when she infiltrated the Black Clan the lines between right and wrong were blurred. She makes friends and yes, she finds love, but her duty to her family keeps clouding thoughts of what would bring her happiness. Would leaving honor and duty behind bring her joy? Those are the decisions she finds herself making in this book.

This was a beautiful book to read and very easy to go all in emotionally. Who doesn’t want to root for a girl to be honored for her intellect, find true love and fight the bad guys? Right on!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️


Click the link to purchase! Flame in the Mist

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

This Chick Read: Come Sundown by Nora Roberts

Get out your tissues because Nora Roberts newest romantic suspense novel is a three hanky event. A novel about family lost and family found, love, and survival.

There are two storylines in Come Sundown. The first, takes place in current time at the Bodine resort and ranch. Bodine Longbow lives on the ranch with her brothers and parents while running the resort side of their business while her father and brothers run the ranch side. We learn that Bodine, named after her mother’s side of the family who owns the land their property is on, is super organized and the lady in charge, but isn’t the most emotional woman in the world. Not that’s she’s unfeeling but she’s all business. She has to be to keep their little empire afloat. Her love interest, Cal Skinner, is back after leaving at eighteen to make it on his own. He had worked as a horse wrangler in the movies and was ready to settle back down close to his family. He finds a job working for Bodine and the sparks start quietly zapping as the intensity between them builds.

The second plot line is set 26 years ago when Alice Bodine is hitch hiking back to her parents ranch after disappearing on the day of her sister’s wedding. She is kidnapped off the side of the road and held against her will until 26 years later when she escapes. This plot line was very well done, but the subject matter was not for the faint of heart. Alice was beaten, raped, and indoctrinated into this new life in ways that were heartbreaking to read about. When she finally has her reunion with her family, her journey back to normalcy was very emotional and well written.

Bodine and Alice’s storyline ran parallel to each other, but their journey was not similar at all. The disparity between the two stories gave the story impact and delivered a solid punch. This was a tough one to read but also a really heartwarming story about family ties. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click the link to purchase! Come Sundown

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: Marketing Your Blog

When I first started my blog my goal was simple. I’d read a book for pleasure and then write what I thought about the book. I didn’t know much about this book blogging world and really have learned by trial and error. I had few rules, but over time my goals have changed. As I’ve interacted with my fellow bloggers, publishers and PR machines, I’ve discovered that I actually love the relationships I’ve built and blogging has really added something to my life that I didn’t know was missing. An outlet for my creativity, certainly, that is still my main purpose. Reading books I love and talking about them. However, I’ve also discovered that I enjoy helping get the word out into my universe (which is admittedly not huge), but in my own way, promote reading and help some authors I enjoy attain success and hopefully make their living writing. This year, my goals changed slightly. I decided to apply myself more using my skills from my day job. So I am going to out myself on my blog today in the hopes that some of these tips may help some of you too! 

I am an Advertising Sales Executive! Ok, it’s not like I’m a superhero or anything, sorry! However, being in the advertising business, my job is to help small or large businesses deliver a message to their customers, bring people through their doors, and to buy whatever it is they are selling.  Thats remarkably similar to what we book bloggers are trying to do for our favorite authors, right? I decided to apply those marketing skills to my own blog, grow my followers, while at the same time, getting the word out and help authors sell some books! These five things helped me jump start my own blog and I wanted to share them with you all.

  Clean Look– This one seems like it should be so easy! Nobody likes to view a cluttered blog. Keep the colors simple and please make sure we can read your blog against whatever background color you pick. No white on light pink backgrounds please!  If I go to a website and can’t read the posts I hit unfollow. Put a menu at the top and make sure your followers can easily find reviews, Tags, etc. If they can’t find things easily your readers either won’t click follow, which is what your goal is, right? Or worse, they will hit unfollow! 

  Consistency– every blogger has their own goal for their blog. The key is to pick your subject and be consistent with your message. You are a book blogger and if you’re trying to market yourself as a reviewer then make sure you post reviews. If you start talking about gardening, cooking, or makeup you will lose followers. Be consistent in your message! You don’t have to stick to reviews, Book Tags, Stacking Your Shelves, TBT are all ok because you are sticking with your book theme. Stick with that theme to deliver a consistent message and gain followers. 

   Social Media– This has been a HUGE part of my own blog gaining traction. I will not lie, it takes work! WordPress will automatically send your posts to Facebook, Twitter, and a few more. Take advantage of that! Create a Facebook Page for your blog. Tweet out your posts, use Pinterest, Instagram, Google+. They all help deliver eyeballs to your posts. I love looking at the referrals section of my blog to see what post gains traction on what site. Of course, this is what I do for a living and seeing what works interests me. Recently I have noticed that Google+ has become particularly active with my Sunday Commentaries! Find where your traffic is coming from and cater to them. I wrote a review for the author Meghan March and when I posted it on Instagram I wrote one sentence about bringing a gun on your vacation, it was a romantic suspense novel and I hadn’t any idea that Google would rate that post high because of the word gun. I noticed a TON of views from Google. Ok, maybe not the best example because I’m sure some people didn’t know they were clicking on a book review, but the point is to be clever!  It works!

   Branding yourself– Remember while doing both of the above keep your message and the look of your blog consistent from Social site to Social site. You want your followers to recognize your blog name and the look of your blog. When a reader see’s the name The Reading Chick they know what they will get. Reviews, Tags and Comentaries! All delivered with my charm and personality, of course! Lol. When they see The Reading Chick from site to site and the message and look are consistent, it becomes branding. Everyone knows who McDonalds is, right? Golden Arches, red and yellow colors, Ronald McDonald, and burgers and fries. They are the master at consistency and  their dominance shows that consistency works regardless if your burgers are sub par.

   Organized topics/regularly scheduled– This year I introduced my Sunday Commentary, which I use to sound off, but to also post some fun tags. However, my blog is about book reviews, so I make sure I deliver on that promise and I post three reviews a week. This still gives me a few days to do other fun book related posts if the mood hits. Some bloggers post weekly Waiting on Wednesday or Throw back Thursday blog posts. These are great examples of regularly scheduled posts. We know what they are, they happen the same day every week and we come to expect them. In fact, I look for some of them! Branding, consistency and regularly scheduled all at work!

All of you know that reaching out to your fellow bloggers on WordPress, commenting, liking and developing relationships also helps you gain followers so don’t stop! It takes some time, but if you put in the effort you will see the results- and make some great friends while your at it!

I hope you all found this post interesting and helpful! I’d love to hear how you think you’ve gained the most followers. Please give your tips in the comments below!

Until next Sunday!

Deb

   

This Chick Read: Deceptions (Cainsville #3) by Kelley Armstrong

Life for Olivia Taylor Jones has been spinning uncontrollably ever since she discovered she was adopted and her real parents were famous serial killers. Now working for friend and lawyer, Gabriel, Olivia continues to explore the reasons for her real parents killing spree. She can no longer write off the visions she has been having, as now, they overtake her everyday life, leaving her incapacitated and feverish. These visions are trying to tell her something about herself, Ricky and Gabriel, and the people of Cainsville. These visions have her asking questions that ultimately answer the mystery of why her parents would kill three couples in cold blood.

Her relationship to Ricky has become even more heated. However, her relationship with Gabriel, although different than with Ricky is just as emotional. As her visions get more specific, she realizes that the three of them are players in a game between two factions of fae. A game none of them are playing willingly yet they keep getting sucked in deeper.

I am thoroughly enjoying how Olivia’s feelings are being yanked back and forth between Ricky and Gabriel. Ricky, heir to an MC gang, should be the bad boy in this threesome but he is actually the reasonable, stable choice. Gabriel is the bad boy, the emotionally damaged choice. Olivia can’t let him go and I’ll admit there is something about him that makes me root for her final choice to be Gabriel. However, this is only book three and there are two more books full of paranormal happenings, romantic entanglements and strategy between fae to take place. I am going to sit back in my armchair and enjoy the ride. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click the link to purchase! Deceptions: A Cainsville Novel

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.