Tag: overdrive

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

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This Chick Read: Tinfoil Heart by Daisy Prescott #Giveaway!

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Lucy grew up thinking her father had been abducted by aliens. It wasn’t just a story to cover up the fact her father was a runaway dad they really believed it.  When Lucy’s mother passes away from cancer, Lucy decides to head out to New Mexico where her parents met to look into those alien abduction theories. Working as a waitress at a small diner in Roswell, Lucy meets Boone Santos. After months of only quiet eating one day he decides to break his silence and ask her out on a date. As he shows her different local aspects of Roswell Lucy is torn between finding out the truth about her father and falling in love with Boone. For some reason she thinks she can’t do both.

I wanted to read this novel because a romance novel in a Roswell setting was truly unique and this story really was one of a kind. The romance at the beginning led me to believe this was going to be a lighthearted love story, but really it was a story about a young woman who was determined to find her roots. Her father’s abandonment of she and her mother made Lucy shy away from commitment. When Boone’s interest turns serious Lucy has to make that decision of whether she wants to continue finding out what happened to her father or stay in Roswell and root herself.

This novel was quirky, fun and emotional taking the reader on their own journey right along with Lucy. She was a bit of a nut so that journey strayed down a few strange paths but I like her character a lot so I was happy meandering along after her. Boone was that good looking hunky hero that you expect to see in a romance but he had some hidden depths that were revealed a bit at a time. This story had quite a few surprises, the biggest being an alternate ending choice for those of us who are more adventurous in our decisions. Tinfoil Heart was my first novel by Daisy Prescott. It’s depth was a pleasant surprise and the feelings these characters generated will resonate for quite a few days. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was given an ARC of this book for my honest review and it was honest!

See links below for purchase!

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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BOOK DESCRIPTION:

A new romantic comedy about love, letting go, and little green men from USA Today Bestselling author Daisy Prescott.

My father was abducted by aliens.

Or so I believed for the last eighteen years.

After my mother’s death, I moved to Roswell, capital of all things alien. I’m going to find out the truth and nothing will stop me . . . except Boone Santos.

Compared to the intergalactic tinfoil hat brigade, he’s a god amongst mere mortals. Too handsome for his own good (and mine), with a grumpy arrogance, and the most beautiful smile ever—he smashes my plan to pieces like a UFO crashing into the desert.

I need a tinfoil hat for my heart.

Do I believe in aliens? I’m not sure.

What do I believe? I’m not going to fall in love with Boone. Definitely not . . .

AUTHOR BIO:

USA Today Bestselling Author Daisy Prescott writes romantic comedies about real love.

Her Modern Love Stories feature characters in their thirties and forties finding and rediscovering love in unexpected and humorous ways. Her Wingmen books star regular guys who often have beards, drive trucks, and love deeply once they fall. Daisy’s Love with Altitude latest small town, rom com series is set in Aspen, Colorado. Bewitched is a magical serial set in Salem, Massachusetts. Don’t miss her standalone, Tinfoil Heart, a rom com about love, letting go, and little green men.


Newsletter: eepurl.com/xhXb5  

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This Chick Read: Dead Girl Running (Cape Charade #1) by Christina Dodd

Dead Girl Running is a gripping, fascinating story about a woman who has run from her past and completely changed the direction of her life. She is now Kellen Adams, an assistant manager of a remote resort in the Pacific Northwest. When her predecessor’s body is found on the property she finds herself investigating the crime and drawing on all of her past and present talents to find the killer.

Kellen was such an interesting character! Through flashbacks we find out she had a different name and was in a bad relationship. When she left that persona behind she became Kellen Adams and through that change gained her strength and fought an internal battle to become a stronger person. Kellen went through some trauma where she lost a year of her life and as this mystery unravels, so does her memory. Through those flashbacks we saw her past, but I really enjoyed discovering who she is now.

Kellen’s head trauma caused her to become a little robotic. She see’s things almost android or computer like at times, listing off other characters attributes in bullet points that are unemotional and analytical. I know this is done on purpose so you can see her character grow and she does! She gets warmer, more emotional, and human as the novel rolls on. It took a little getting used to but once I did I was totally enmeshed in the story and really wanted to see this new persona that was emerging.

Dead Girl Running was a great start to this new series and for those of you who love Virtue Falls, they are only a few hours up the coast and you get a quick peek at a couple of characters to satisfy that fix. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I was given a free book by this author for my honest review and it was honest!

Dead Girl

Click this link to purchase!Dead Girl Running (Cape Charade Book 1)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved.

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This Chick Read: Midnight Valentine by J. T. Geissinger

Megan Dunn has struggled to get over the loss of her husband Cass who died five years ago. Deciding to act upon a dream the two of them had to buy and re-do a B&B they loved in Seaside, Oregon, Megan starts interviewing contractors. Theo Valentine, the towns best contractor, really wants this job but seems to have taken a big dislike to Megan glaring in silence at her the first time he see’s her. That isn’t the only challenge to working together, Theo is also mute. He hasn’t spoken since a car accident five years ago.

Megan was one of those heroines you just love. She is battling depression, wanting to live. She knows who she is and doesn’t suffer any fools, which is why she tries so hard to steer clear of Theo at the beginning of the novel, but fate seems to be betting against her when it comes to ditching Theo. Her feelings seemed to mirror my own until I started to grasp where this novel was heading, then I was rooting for Theo wanting to see him get his happily ever after.

Midnight Valentine explores the darkness inside both Theo and Megan. She is emotionally distraught over the death of her husband, and well, we aren’t sure why Theo is emotionally distraught, but it’s obvious he is. J. T. Geissinger writes emotional romantic tales so well and Midnight Valentine is right up there as one of my favorites by this author. The mystery of why Theo has an instant dislike to Megan contrasted with their amazing chemistry kept me turning the pages well into the night. The highest compliment to an author is to not be able to put their book down and that was certainly the case with Midnight Valentine. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase! Midnight Valentine

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: Obsidio (The Illuminai Files #3) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff- Audio Review

Obsidio was one of my most anticipated releases for this year. I had previously listened to both Illuminae and Gemina and was easily caught up in the action of Katie, Ezra, Hannah, and Nick as they fought against Bei Tech’s forces. Obsidio wraps up their stories while giving us two new characters to root for in Asha and Rhys. A couple who lost touch with each other and ended up on opposite sides of this war.

Katie and Ezra, in Illuminae Files had escaped Kerenza, but her cousin Asha was one of those who were left behind to deal with the invading force. While working in the hospital, Katie runs into her old boyfriend Rhys, who has just landed on Kerenza from the invading spaceship Magellen, where he’s been for the last seven months. The combination of the atrocities he’s witnessing and seeing Asha who he still loves is enough for him to question what Bei Tech is doing on this planet. Is all as it appears? Meanwhile, Katie, Ezra, Hannah and Nick are on the spaceship Mao heading back towards Kerenza. Their crew is a mixture of crews from several ships and lets just say that they all don’t see eye to eye. Mix in the conflicted AIDAN, the AI computer that is malfunctioning due to his developing feelings, and the mutiny on the Bounty crew and you have an action packed novel that was really hard to not listen to from start to finish.

Since I had listened to both Illuminae and Gemina before reading, I decided to do the same thing with Obsidio. I was again amazed at the quality of the cast and the feeling that I was listening to a movie (with sound effects!) rather than a cast of narrators reading a book. This series is truly among the best when it comes to the audio quality of it’s cast. Combine that top quality cast with an emotional action novel and you get around 18 hours of fun! This was a hard novel to hit pause on for sure.

If I had one criticism, I would say that Asha and Rhys, while definitely pivotal characters in this book, seemed to also be somewhat superfluous. I had been so caught up in both Katie/Ezra and Hannah/Nick’s stories that Asha and Rhys paled in comparison. However, the climax to this book was as powerful as it was because of those two characters so I’m a little conflicted and ultimately shrugged those feelings off. AIDAN also can’t be forgotten. Bei Tech was the evil villain but AIDAN was a close second and his emotional development was fascinating. Is this really the last Illuminae Files book? The ending seemed to leave a small opening for another novel or an offshoot of this series. I hope so, these books were so much fun to listen to and read, truly innovative! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Obsidio

Click this link to purchase! Obsidio (The Illuminae Files)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: Beard in Mind (Winston Brothers #4) by Penny Reid

I have been waiting for Beau Winston’s story. Twin to Duane, Beau is his complete opposite, charming, handsome, funny and loved by everyone.  We saw just a hint of Beau’s turmoil of his new co-worker Shelly in Cletus’s story in Beard Science. Shelly, who is drop dead gorgeous but is socially inept. Beau loves her at first site, but then hates her when he realizes how rude she is, but it’s that kind of hate that rides the line of love and in Beard in Mind we see Beau cross that line into love and we are given insight into why Shelly is rude and impervious to Beau’s charm.

Shelly was a fascinating character. She was seriously flawed, in therapy, and very infatuated with Beau. When Beau finally see’s past the fact that Shelly didn’t fall at his feet, he opens his eyes to why she is the way she is and he is all in. No hesitation. I loved that about him. Shelly has some serious issues, she is OCD to a level I’ve never read before and she needs Beau with a capital N, and Beau needs her back in just the same way. This was a LOVE story full of trepidation, self awareness, and charm. It had a sweetness that was different than the other stories in this series. It didn’t have Duane and Jess’s sizzle, Jethro and Sienna’s humor, and Cletus and Jennifer’s oddity. It was singular in it’s own uniqueness and I enjoyed it a lot.

In addition to the love story between Shelly and Beau, we also had a story filled with the Winston family dynamic. I want to adopt myself into this family. Even though they are a strange bunch, they love each other infinitely. How nice is that? ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Beard in MInd

Click this link to purchase! Beard in Mind (Winston Brothers Book 4)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: About That Kiss (Heartbreaker Bay #5) by Jill Shalvis

Jill Shalvis is my go to author for funny and sweet romances. As with the Lucky Harbor series, Heartbreaker Bay revolves around a group of friends who work within the same complex of buildings circling a magical fountain. In each of the previous books, a wish for true love was made and that wish was granted. In About That Kiss, neither Kylie nor Joe actually makes that wish. It is made for them by someone else. Thank goodness, because these two both have a ton of baggage. It seemed to take that mystical push to get them to admit to any feelings for each other, and a ton of chemistry that they couldn’t keep ignoring.

Joe seemed like a good guy to have around in a crisis and Kylie has a crisis that needs handling. Joe is the last person she wants to ask for help because, well, after that one kiss they shared he never called her back! However, this crisis is emotionally daunting and Kylie overlooks her own feelings in favor of getting something back that has been stolen from her.

I enjoyed this book because like I said above, Jill Shalvis writes great light hearted romances. I think the heart part of light hearted was a little lacking because both of these characters had walls a mile high! It took chemistry and being forced together by Kylie’s problem to make either of them act on it. About that Kiss doesn’t land in my top 5 Jill Shalvis novels, but it was a quick read and in the end I got the Happily Ever After I was looking for. Oh! I also got to look in on the rest of the gang in Heartbreaker Bay and see how they were doing. I do love the friendships in these books. ❤️❤️❤️❣️

About That Kiss

Click this link to purchase! About That Kiss: A Heartbreaker Bay Novel

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved.

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This Chick Read: The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross

The Queen’s Rising is a fantasy novel that has an old world European feel. Brienne has been at the Marigald estate since she was ten studying for her passion, an affinity for Art, Music, Knowledge, Wit and Dramatics. The trouble is, Brienne didn’t go into this school with an affinity for any of these, she dabbled a bit with each before settling on knowledge with only three years left to study. The opening to this novel felt a little bit like Kiera Cass’s Selection series, however at the end of their schooling, instead of getting picked to marry a prince, they find a patron. A job interview of sorts, where they sign a contract and move on with their life. At least that’s what’s supposed to happen.

Although this novel starts with a bunch of girls at school, it’s actually very political. Brienne may have trouble figuring out her passion, but when memories surface of a past relative that may have implications that could change a monarchy, she doesn’t hesitate to get involved. Brienne learns that her heritage may be the key to making change to a monarchy.

There was quite a lot to love in this novel. I loved the world building. It was easy to enmesh myself as a reader because it was not that dissimilar to our world politically. It was a fantasy novel, so no planes, trains and automobiles, instead there were carriages, castles and candles. I felt like I was reading a historical novel, but more in the vein of King Arthur’s realm. It was easy to like Brienne. She seemed very young and insecure in the beginning but as the story went on she overcame those insecurities and found an inner strength. I liked her Master (teacher) Cartier. They had a forbidden attraction that added some tension to help move the plot forward and added emotion to the story.

This was Rebecca Ross’s debut novel and boy did she deliver! Put The Queen’s Rising on your TBR folks, this one is a winner! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase! Queen’s Rising

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: Mist’s Edge (The Broken Lands #2) by T. A. White

Mist’s Edge continues the story of Shea, a Pathfinder, who falls in love with a Trateri Warlord and has to reinvent herself. Her identity has always been tied to what she could do as a Pathfinder, but now as Telroi, she struggles with what that that title makes her instead of what she can accomplish. I first read and reviewed Pathfinder back in 2016 and loved how this woman was kick ass, not for some special super power, but because she was gifted at what she’d learned how to do. In Mist’s Edge, I am still enamored with the Shea who was accomplished, but now I have fallen in love with the Shea who is going through self discovery, trying to find her place among the Trateri and in her relationship with Fallon, her Warlord.

The relationship between Fallon and Shea is heated and passionate. They feel so much for each other, but Shea is still dissatisfied with her new place as Telroi. The beginning of this novel has Shea doing a lot of soul searching, so it starts off kind of slow, however, when a fellow Pathfinder finds their way into camp, the threat of Shea leaving makes the plot really move. Fallon feels threatened  because he knows she hasn’t yet settled into her role. A role which is kind of confusing, not just to Shea but also the reader. Telroi seems to be somewhere between a wife and a mistress, but women don’t seem to have leadership roles within Trateri society, so other than being attached to the Warlord, she doesn’t have much to do. It would be hard to go from a leadership role to the plus one, even if you are with the man you love.

After Reece, the other Pathfinder, shows up the plot moves along, the conflict heating up and giving both Shea and Fallon purpose together. I like it best when they are working together towards a resolution, so the second half of the book was great and the conclusion was very satisfying. Book three will hopefully not be two years out because I’m looking forward to seeing them face their final task together, each of them getting what they need. Fallon, world domination (seriously, he’s a conqueror) and Shea a place in his world that satisfies her need for respect and love. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

To read my review of Pathfinder click HERE. MIst's Edge Click this link to purchase! Mist’s Edge (The Broken Lands Book 2) Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: Shiver by Suzanne Wright

Shiver is one of the most surprising novels I’ve read this year. The main character, Kensey Lyons, has one of the most original background stories I’ve read in a long while. When Kensey was a small child, her mother wrote to and married a serial killer on death row. Raised going to the prison to visit her step father, Kensey has mixed feelings about the man she loved as a child and the man she knows killed 30+ women. Working as a waitress in a bar owned by her godmother, Kensey retreats from reality by writing horror fiction under a pen name. When Blake buys out a silent owner and meets Kensey for the first time he makes a terrible impression. He insults her intelligence, calls her a drug addict and believes every lie her enemies have told him. He needs a long ladder to climb out of the big hole he dug when he realizes that he wants and has to have Kensey for his own. She’s not stupid, even though she’s incredibly attracted to him, she doesn’t want anything to do with him and makes his chase very difficult.

I have read a couple of Suzanne Wright’s Phoenix pack shifter series and really enjoy her style of writing. Blake reminds me of an Alpha in a pack. A bit he-man but cares for and wants to take care of his woman. Kensey is not your usual woman. She has a ton of baggage and is also being stalked by a man who thinks he is her step father’s son and wants her out of the way. A story that is just as much a mystery as a romance, Shiver is deftly written and I applaud the author for intermixing the two plots so well.

I found it really interesting being inside of Kensey’s head and watching/listening to her manage her feelings about her mother and step father. When she needs her step fathers insight into who may be stalking her, those scenes are very chilling, the flip between loving father and psychopath like a switch turning on and off. I have to admit, I favored the mystery plot line a bit more than the romance. Blake was a little controlling, although I did like how their relationship progressed to trust and love. They both had a lot of baggage and seemed to be a match made in heaven.

If you are looking for a dark and sexy novel then you must read Shiver. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Shiver

Click this link to purchase! Shiver

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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