K.J. Simmill's Blog, page 15
July 16, 2020
Book review: Daniel Maldonado – Butterflies Blue (@DanielMalAuthor )
Layla Little had supported her boyfriend Leon through his studies, she had even thrown [image error]him an amazing graduation party and moved her life for him. But still he had refused to publicly acknowledge their relationship. She wanted to be his First Lady, but instead she was nothing more than a dirty secret, one he thought he could cheat on and abuse. When she met Daniel some time later she thought she was finally ready to take a chance on love, that is, until Leon returned, wanting her back. Their past is complicated, her future uncertain as memories from the past imprint onto the present casting her into turmoil. Should she go back to him, or take a chance on Daniel, who doesn’t seem to be the man she thought he was.
Butterflies Blue is the fourth book in Daniel Maldonado’s Chambers Lane Series. It follows the insecure journey of Layla Little as she fights between past and present, heart and mind to try to uncover exactly who she is and what she wants. This story is as much about Layla learning what she needs and is worth as it is about the three men vying for her affection. I enjoyed the scene setting of this book, at times I really felt like I was in the wonderful places being described to the point I now want to visit some of them to see them with my own eyes.
Book review: Kate Messick – Rolling for love
Sandy had never lasted long as part of a D&D team. It might have had something to do [image error]with her inability to bend rules while knowing the rule books back to front, or maybe it was her abrasive personality. She didn’t play well with others, but this group was different. Willing to be flexible with her difficulties and help her grow. Things were going well, in the game and in life, until her boss and ex-boyfriend decide he wants her back and will go to any lengths, even blackmail, to make her his.
Rolling for Love is a romantic RPG/ real-life alternating fiction written by Kate Messick. I have to say I really enjoyed the mechanics of this book, two stories in one you have real-life and in-game which create a unique opportunity for all the characters to grow in both game and life and watching Sandy blossom as a character drawing on lessons and relationships was brilliant. As a lover of fantasy and LitRPG, I enjoyed the mingling of the fantasy world and the tabletop gaming aspect that will appeal to readers seeking fantasy adventure, real characters, magic, and romance.
July 9, 2020
Book review: Ivy Smoak – Addiction (@IvySmoakAuthor)
Broken hearted, mortified, lost. Penny can’t eat, she can’t sleep, she can’t focus on [image error]anything but the pain. Professor Hunter, however, seems fine. He’s back to normal, teaching and looking his sexy self with only one major difference. He won’t even look at her, he won’t acknowledge she exists. Seeing her sinking into devastation Tyler puts aside his anger towards her, concern trumping over his own heartbreak as he sees her slowly wasting away. Her friends keep telling her to move on, to get on with her life, and yet he was such a big part of her she fears she can never be the same. But she needs to try. He is doing fine, just fine without her, so maybe she too can recover, and like her friend says, the best way to get over someone is to get under someone. And it helped, right until he turned up. It seems things aren’t as finished as she thought. He was her addiction, her passion, her drive, but she needed to move on, didn’t she?
Ivy Smoak’s Addiction is the second book in The Hunted series, and if you thought the first one made your pulse race just wait until you get your hands on this. Life is changing for everyone and hard decisions must be made. The past is always present, infringing to the present, jeopardizing any chance of happiness but something else remains too, passion, love, addiction. Filled with contradiction and confusion Penny must understand her heart, learn what and who she really wants before someone gets hurt again. But no matter what she chooses someone will be hurt. There is nothing simple about love, especially when you feel you have to hide. Written with a passion and fervor that will make your heart race and leave you gasping. Jilted lovers, possession, heart wrenching, and moving, what’s not to love?
Book review: Ivy Smoak – Temptation (@IvySmoakAuthor)
Disappointed, let down, and stood up, again. After being ignored all summer Penny knew [image error]it was time to move on, so why was she still waiting in the coffee shop when she already knew he wasn’t going to show? Perhaps because fate had other things in mind. A chance encounter. He was tall, dark, handsome, and unfortunately the lecturer in her most despised class. She had always followed the rules, always. But there was something about Professor Hunter that made her want to be bad, made her want to make him notice her. He wants her, she wants him, it should be simple right? But he has his own secrets, demons still haunting him from the past that could destroy everything. It’s the best sex of her life, and the most confusing. She wants more, but she also needs to know him, to uncover the truth which seems to haunt his present.
Ivy Smoak’s Temptation is the first book in The Hunted series. I picked this up because I enjoyed the Made of Steel series so much I wanted to see what other majesty this author could weave and she does not disappoint. Steamy, sexy, forbidden, it is everything a reader wants from an adult romance. The sex is epic and leaves you yearning while Professor Hunter’s evident addiction to Penny will make your pulse quicken. With secrets, twists and turns, and a gripping narrative this is yet another book you’re not going to want to put down. Snuggle down for the night, have a cold glass of water to hand, and allow yourself to sink into heart-pounding, lust-filled, confusing, and contradictory romance. They both want what they know they shouldn’t, yet neither can look away, or at least not for long. That is, until the truth comes out.
Book review: Ivy Smoak – Forged in Ice (@IvySmoakAuthor)
Wanted for murder, Sadie and her friends find themselves on the run, hiding away from [image error]the life they knew. But four people forced to give up everything, career, love, privacy, all being pushed together while the police are on the prowl is enough to put a strain on any relationship. Shattered beyond repair Sadie seeks revenge, vengeance, but her actions are anything but collected leaving her friends no choice but to intervene. She knows she must end this once and for all, to break free of the oppressive bonds Don has imprisoned her with. He is willing to destroy and take everything she loves to get her back, and the cost may just be too much to pay.
Ivy Smoak’s Carved in Ice is the third and final book in the Made of Steel series. I have to admit that there was nothing about this series that disappointed me. As the series unfolds the character continue to grow, their lives change, and perspectives alter. I really loved the romance aspect of all the books and of course, the ending is perfect. I enjoyed how Sadie was broken and confused, human in every way, making mistakes, feeling conflicted, and embracing whatever she must to push through the pain, even if deep inside she knows what she’s pursuing isn’t what she needs. Tense and intriguing I really didn’t want to put this book, or any of them down. While it ends at the perfect point I can honestly say that I never wanted it to finish and these are characters I will truly miss.
Book review: Ivy Smoak – Forged in Flames(@IvySmoakAuthor)
Sadie was in trouble, not only was her heart conflicted but her mind was a mess. She no [image error]longer knows who she can trust, everyone is keeping secrets and now a new game is afoot. Don has found her. The life she thought she had is over, but if the latest threat is understood it isn’t just her life as Sadie in danger. Don is playing with her actual life, and in the end he always takes what is his.
Forged in Flame is the second book in Ivy Smoak’s Made of Steel series and just like the first, it was impossible to put down, a perfect sequel. I loved the characters, how they changed and grew and how I didn’t want to part from them for even a second as I watched their lives unfold and sometimes unravel. Filled with emotion, hardship, doubt, and love a journey for truth, survival, and healing has never been so entertaining. Book three is already on my kindle and I’m raring to go.
July 7, 2020
Book review: Ivy Smoak – Made of Steel (@IvySmoakAuthor)
Summer had gone. Scrubbed out, erased, forgotten. All but for a single memento. A [image error]reminder of the worst and best night of her life. Becoming Sadie was bad enough, but when her path crossed with the one person she could never forget her new start is in jeopardy. She had one instruction, to call if she saw anyone from her past, so why wouldn’t her finger press the button when Miles smiled her? He was the first boy she loved, the man she once thought she would marry, the boy who broke her heart and forgot about her when she needed him most. She has to stay hidden, but the way he looks at her makes her feel seen. But a darkness has followed her to New York. To reveal herself would be to put the lives of those she loves in jeopardy. Can she really start over with her past so close?
Made of Steel by Ivy Smoak is a gripping romance about a young woman forced into witness protection only to find the one person she has been missing most of her life. The absolute worst thing about this book was my decision to open it at bedtime thinking I could just read for an hour. Boy was I was wrong. Not only couldn’t I sleep until I finished, but I was also so emotionally charged reading it I struggled to sleep. The cliff hanger ending meant I had to pick up book two, and trust me when I say it took a hell of a resolve not to start reading it at 4am. This book is impeccably written and you can’t help but become invested in the characters, especially Sadie as she learns to trust and embrace her new life. Action, romance, heartbreak, and danger combine in an addictive combination that leaves you needing more. This book certainly earned a place on my recommended books list.
Book review: Eve Gaal – Penniless Hearts (@EveGaa)
Fed up with her humdrum life where she is overworked, taken advantage of, and [image error]underappreciated Penny feels like its time for a change, time to reignite the spark she once felt. So when Dan, a handsome charming pilot, woos her she is on his trip to Hawaii before she has time to think. Leaving behind her father and boyfriend in search of the adventure her fantasies and soul cries for. Little does she know she is about to get more than she bargained for and with only a maxed out a credit card to her name things are not looking good.
Penniless Hearts by Eve Gaal is a sweet romance and a journey of action, danger, and self-discovery that pulls the reader into Penny and John’s life. I loved how I felt like I was part of their story, from beautiful descriptions to intense discovery. Watching the plot unravel to discover exactly how much trouble Penny is in is handled beautifully. What started of as simply being alone and abandoned becomes so much worse, trespassing, crimes, drugs. Penny, even prone to her flights of fancy, had never imagined something like this, and yet it was exactly what she needed to realize who she is and what she really wants.
July 5, 2020
Book review: M.J. Sewall – Seven Ways to Jane (@MJSewall)
Jane had wanted to be a writer but with a quick last-minute panic, she changed her [image error]specialty a took job she didn’t really want, a safe job or so she thought. Jobless and forced to return home it seems her life is falling apart, no job, no boyfriend, no future, that is until Christian pitches an idea for a book she just had to write. What started as drunken comfort becomes a road trip of discovery into other Jane Waldens, but the premise is evolving, the plot thickens and the story is no longer the one she’s writing but something so much more.
M.J Sewall’s Seven ways to Jane is an on the road journey of self-discovery and romance. Written as a combination of journal entries and third-person narrative we follow Jane as she discovers through other Janes aspects of herself. I enjoyed the portrayal of the characters and the engaging dialogue which drives the plot forward. Secrets, romance, and adventure create a journey on perspective and discovery with hidden messages and insights.
July 4, 2020
Book review: Julia Sutton’s The School of Dreams (@booksbyjulia72 )
Sophie, Evelyn, Juliette, Ann, and Will, five people from completely different walks of [image error]life, from rich spoilt housewife to struggling single mum, oppressed teenager to a woman jaded by the hand life dealt. They have nothing in common, except for the fact they all enrolled in the same English degree. Each is in pursuit of their own dreams, a life that belongs to them beyond the confines of society and responsibility. This is their journey, their story as they follow the path to their dreams and discover what it truly means to be chasing a dream.
Julia Sutton’s The School of Dreams is as much a romance story as it is a book on self-discovery. Thrust into five lives the reader soon appreciates the characters’ strifes and struggles, some are innocent difficulties, others far more deep rooted, but what there isn’t, are any beyond believe. This down to earth, real feel book really embraces making relatable realistic characters to will enjoy getting to know and following on their journey and is presented with a smooth and flowing narrative.
