Leanne Crabtree's Blog, page 16

Book Review – Mine to Take

 

Name: Mine to Take

Author: Cynthia Eden

Genre: Contemporary, Romantic Suspense

Release Date: 12th June 2013

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes you want someone so much…

Sometimes you need someone so much…

Lust can become love.

And love can turn into a deadly obsession.

***

Skye Sullivan knows that someone is watching her. Not just watching—stalking her. Months ago, Skye was involved in a dangerous car accident. The accident ended her dancing career and sent her fleeing back to Chicago. Skye is convinced that her stalker caused the crash, and she fears that he won’t stop pursuing her, not until she’s dead.

When someone breaks into her apartment in Chicago, Skye turns to the one man she believes can protect her—Trace Weston. Once, Trace was her lover. Two lost souls, they’d come together in a firestorm of need and desire. But then Trace had pushed her away. He’d joined the military, vanishing from her life. She’d put all of her emotion into dancing, and she’d tried to forget him.

Now Trace is one of the most successful men in the United States. Rich, driven, and carrying dark secrets, he agrees to help Skye. He’ll protect her from the danger that lurks in the darkness, but Trace wants more than to just be a guard for Skye.

He wants her. And he’ll take her. The years have changed him, hardened him. He’s not just a poor kid from the streets any longer. Now, he can have anything—or anyone—that he wants. And the one woman he has always wanted has just come back into his life. He won’t let her go again.

But with the threats mounting against Skye, she suspects that her stalker may be intimately close. He’s a man who knows her too well. As his attacks grow ever more dangerous, she realizes that if she trusts the wrong man, she could be making a fatal mistake.

Lust. Love. Obsession.

Just how far would you go in order to possess the one person you want the most?

l love the cover of this; it’s very evocative. It caught my attention straight away. I should probably say that if a cover doesn’t look very good, I’m not very likely to read the synopsis. I know it sounds bad, but it’s how I choose my books. (This isn’t always the case, I might add, but generally it is.)

The story was just as good as the cover with some hot scenes and an engaging storyline.

This is my third book by Cynthia Eden (Bound In Sin and A Bit of Bite, are the other two) and I’ve enjoyed all of them. Her style of writing and the characters she creates are extremely engaging. This was no exception.

Trace was hot. The obvious desire he had for Skye was captivating and I was engrossed in their back-story and what started it all off between them and how he was going to get her back after letting her go ten years ago. He was so intense but it didn’t come across as annoying, to me it came across as passionate and almost desperate.

Skye was strong and somewhat stubborn but I’m surprised she didn’t break under the mounting pressure of the stalker. At certain points she just seemed so fragile but she always came out more determined. I liked that about her.

Not to mention the whole stalker issue and them trying to figure out who it was. I had a few suspicions about who it might be and questioned myself throughout about my thoughts when further information came out. I wasn’t quite expecting who it turned out to be either, not until right near the end.

If you like a domineering guy, then this is right up your street. If you like romantic suspense, then you’ll love this. I’m looking forward to reading more books from the author.

Next review(s): Dead Sexy Dragon

Thinking of changing the theme…? Plus a WC (Wolf Claimed) update

I’ve been thinking about changing my theme for a while but I cant decide which one to have, there are so many to choose from (and my internet still doesn’t always like WordPress) so I haven’t seen “live previews” of them all. Any suggestions for what might look good?

And Wolf Claimed’s current word count is: 14,006. Chapter’s 1-5 are complete. Chapter 6 is almost done. Chapter 7 is currently a page long, 8 is done and 9 is also a page long. Chapter 10, you’ve seen in the “Treat for you” post.

I’m getting there, slowly, but it is happening. Hopefully I’ll get it done within the next couple of months and it will be on Amazon around Christmas/New Year time. Maybe earlier, if i really knuckle down.

Ciao for now.

Two more ARC’S

Deeper

 

Well, I checked my email this morning to see I’d been approved for two more ARC’s, seen above. I’ve read a few books by Cynthia Eden and enjoyed them, so I’m glad I was approved for that one. And Deeper is New Adult, which I’m a big fan of, so looking forward to that one too.

More Paperbacks

Well as a new fan of the Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones, you can imagine I was very happy when these arrived in the post earlier. Just waiting on book 2, Second Grave on the Left, now and then I can start on them. Ooh, giddy at the thought.

Also just picked up If I Should Die by Amy Plum from The Works for £1.99. Pity it’s book three in the series :/ Will keep an eye out for the first two though now.

Book Review – Bound By Night

Name: Bound by Night

Author: Larissa Ione

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Release Date: 24th September 2013

Rating: 4½ out of 5 stars

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The first installment in a sexy new paranormal romance series by Larissa Ione, author of the bestselling Demonica series!

A WOMAN OUT FOR BLOOD

Nicole Martin was only eight years old when the vampire slaves rose up in rebellion and killed her family. Now she devotes her life to finding a vaccine against vampirism, hoping to wipe out her memories—along with every bloodsucker on the planet. But there’s one thing she cannot destroy: her searing, undeniable attraction for the one man she should hate and fear the most . . .

A VAMPIRE OUT FOR REVENGE

A member of the renegade vampire MoonBound Clan, Riker is haunted by demons of his own. When he recognizes Nicole and remembers how her family enslaved his loved ones, his heart burns for vengeance. But when he kidnaps Nicole and holds her in a secret lair, his mortal enemy becomes his soul obsession, his greatest temptation, and, perhaps, his only salvation—a hot-blooded lover who could heal him with her touch . . . or bury him forever.

I’ll start by saying I really, really, liked Riker. He might have tried to act like a hard-ass but he wasn’t. Something right from the start grabbed me about him and I went a little mushy. Awww… And he was hot, too!!

Nicole turned out to be quite ballsy and I liked that about her. Riker needed someone like her in his life. I liked how she told it to him straight and if he didn’t like it, then she either fought to make him listen or walked away, making him come to her.

The secondary characters were quite fun too. Hunter, the head of the MoonBound clan, made me smile a lot. Playing is video games and saying some of the stuff he did. Myne, a fellow member of the clan, was another favourite. He might have come across at the beginning of being some rather scary ass vampire but by the end, he’d grown on me.

I feel I have to mention that first sex scene. It was HOT!!  As was the second. Crikey, Larissa Ione knows how to write passionate scenes between her characters.

The storyline was different, with vampires being slaves to humans and I wondered how it was all going to work out. I wasn’t disappointed, it was a hell of a journey. I was happy, sad (I almost cried a few times), and angry at various points in this. But to me that made it goooood. Really good.

If you’re a fan of Larissa Ione then this isn’t to be missed. If you like steamy paranormal romance, again, this isn’t to be missed. I highly recommend it.

P.S. I am so going to look up what an origami vampire looks like

Next review(s): Charming

Julie Kagawa – Iron Traitor

Well Julie Kagawa is back with her second-to-last book in the Iron Fey series, Iron Traitor.

The price of love might be unthinkable.

As the son of Meghan and Ash, queen and consort of the Iron Realm, Keirran is gifted with powers of Summer, Winter and Iron. With silver hair and blue eyes, he has captured the heart of Annwyl, an exiled Summer faery. But exile comes with a price, and she is in danger of fading from existence. Both from different courts, Keirran and Annwyl are forbidden to love, but the Iron Prince will stop at nothing to be with her. Even if it means shattering both worlds forever and being branded a traitor.

Release date: October 29th 2013

Julie Kagawa is the internationally bestselling author of The Iron Fey and Blood of Eden series. In addition to writing, Julie is an artist and gamer who studies martial arts.

I, myself, have books 1 to 4 in the series, though I’ve only read the first one so far (you know me and all my books ). I also have the two books of the Blood of Eden series, once again, only having read the first and having recently bought the second and I cant wait to read them.

A treat for you :D

Well I wrote this chapter yesterday and I really like it, so I thought I’d share it with you. It comes a fair way through the book and may change a little before it makes it onto Amazon. Hope you enjoy it

__________________________________

“If you’re going to do this, then you need to know how to fight,” Rhys said softly.

Misha nodded, determined to do whatever it took to protect her friend.

“You’ll get training from me, Kaitlin and Brent every day for at least three hours in the mornings: eight until eleven. After that you can do whatever you please for the rest of the day.”

Her mouth had dropped open at the number of hours expected of her and was still hanging open when Rhys beckoned her closer with his hand.

She took a cautious step forward and before she knew it she was flat on her back on the blue mats covering the floor of the training room. Her head was still spinning from her spin through the air at the hands of Rhys who was staring down at her unimpressed, with his arms folded across his chest. “I want to know how to do that,” she said.

He grinned in response and nodded before offering her his hand and pulling her to her feet. “We’ll start with the very basics: pressure points. These are places you can hit that cause a lot of pain. We’ll stick to the easy ones for now.” He pointed to his head, “The face has many, for instance, the forehead and nose. The collarbone is also a good one. With enough force behind the hit, you can break it and disable your attacker. Lower areas you might be able to guess.”

“The crotch.”

Rhys nodded, “A very painful area on a man; he’ll drop like a stone, but don’t expect it to work on everyone you come across in battle. They’ll expect the move and it may end up being your downfall.”

Misha nodded.

“Another good area is the knee. A good kick and the knee will be useless and won’t support your attacker’s weight,” he smiled suddenly; “I’d just make sure you have sturdy footwear on or it could be painful for both of you.”

She was instantly itching to try the pressure points out, “Can we practise?”

The Alpha’s lips quirked, “I don’t think Brent or Kaitlin will be so happy with us if we did.”

“Then what’s the point of this?” She asked. “We’re shifters; we heal,” she added as she turned away to leave.

“Misha? You need to know this if you want your plan to work.”

With a huff she turned back. “Alright.”

“A fist is better for smaller areas such as the nose. On larger areas like the stomach,” he grabbed her hand and made a partial fist, making sure her knuckles were sticking out, “hitting someone like this will hurt a lot more than a normal punch; less surface area for a large target. More surface area for a small target. You get that?”

She wiggled her knuckles and momentarily wondered if she’d get away with testing his words out. Rhys’ fingers closed over her hand, “Don’t even think about it.”

Grinning up at him, she fluttered her lashes, “Now would I do that?”

He snorted and let her go, simultaneously taking a step back. “A palm strike is another good move to use.” Rhys showed her how the move worked in slow motion, drawing his palm up in front of his body and then pushing outwards. He then repeated it quicker and she tilted her head to the side, watching how he moved. “If you can get enough power behind it, you can push an enemy far enough back to begin a counter-attack.”

Misha nodded, Rhys’ words seeming to sink in like water into a sponge.

“This one, we can try,” he added and then took a few steps back from her. “You need to spread your feet wider and bend your knees a little, like you would in a fighting stance, and then put as much power into your palm as you can when I get close enough to you; just strike out aiming for the centre of my chest. Ready?”

Nodding, she watched him come closer and when he was within striking distance she sent her palm out in front of her hard, catching him in the chest and sending him stumbling a step backwards.

Rhys rubbed at the spot and nodded. “That was good, but you could have done with more power behind it. You need to draw it from every inch of your being and direct it into your palm.” The way he said it made it sound easy and she curled her top lip at him, making him chuckle. “I admit it was good for a first attempt.”

“Thank you.”

“How good are you at punching?”

Her grimace was his answer.

They spent the rest of the training session with Rhys showing her how to throw a punch with one of the many punching bags because she’d never hit anyone in her life; well, not with the intention of seriously hurting them anyway.

An hour and a half later, Misha wiped her brow with the back of her forearm and sat on the floor with her back against the wall to drink from the water bottle Rhys had produced for her half way through the session. She was aching all over and was sweating profusely. With her back to the wall, she managed to avoid looking at the reflection of her sweaty self in the mirrors that ran along the entire right hand wall. It wouldn’t be a pretty sight, she was sure.

“You did well for a newbie,” Rhys complimented from his position a few feet to her left, where he was applying white tape to his hands, like he had done hers earlier when they had first started with the punch bag.

Was he going to box?

Misha smiled, “Thanks.”

The door opened on the far side of the room and she glanced across to see Brent walk in, he had a dark blue towel around his neck and no shirt on. He was carrying a large duffel bag that he set on the ground, his muscles rippling deliciously.

Her mouth watered at the sight of him and she licked her dry lips. He was absolutely gorgeous.

It was obvious he hadn’t noticed her yet and, with her scent already in the room from the sweat she’d shed, she watched as he took a great lungful of air to breathe in her scent. His eyes closed in pleasure. “She smells fucking amazing,” he rumbled, “I have no idea how I’m supposed to keep it professional around her during training when her scent alone is enough to bring me to my knees.”

Rhys chuckled as he finished taping his hands and looked at her on the floor, eyes wide. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“Seriously, I get the mother of all hard-ons whenever I catch the slightest hint of her scent. It’s crazy. How do you cope?”

The Alpha walked over to his second and patted him on the back consolatory, “The obvious way.”

A groan came from Brent and he shoved both hands roughly through his hair. “I don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve tried everything. She always pushes me away in the end.”

“I’m sure she’s just scared. Having her parents force their opinions on her at a young age was going to warp her own views. Give her time.”

“I’ve given her almost four months to get used to this. I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop myself if she pushes me away again when we’re so close to reaching the finish line. It’s torture.”

Rhys’ gaze flared amber, “You better be able to stop, Brent, or I’ll hunt you down and kill you myself.”

Raking a hand down his face, he groaned. “That sounded really bad, didn’t it? It wasn’t meant to. I just can’t handle this whole blowing hot and cold routine. She needs to make her mind up. She either wants me or she doesn’t.”

Having listened in silence and so far undetected, she felt she needed to speak out in her own defence. “I do want you,” she said quietly. Brent’s head shot around to where she was sat on the floor and his eyes widened. “I just need a few more days before…well, just before,” she finished lamely.

Climbing to her feet she pushed away from the mirror and keeping her head bowed shuffled past the two men and headed out of the room.

###

 

I sent it to Natalie and she was listening to “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon at the same time she read it and she said it had become her song for the scene. But then suggested “Sex on Fire” as well.

I’m going to incorporate some music into the scene so I was just wondering what song you’d suggest?

Thanks

Book Review – Trace Elements

Name: Trace Elements

Author: Kate Donovan

Genre: Contemporary

Release Date: 26th July 2013

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Special Agent Annika Trace is the hottest thing in law enforcement—at least on TV. Her long legs, designer suits, and hunky sidekick have garnered millions of fans, one of whom—a four-year-old kidnap victim named Linzie—is refusing to talk to the real FBI. In desperation, Special Agent Trace—a.k.a. actress Nikki Gower—is called in to help.

Special Agent Josh Saxon became a hero when he brought Linzie back safely. Now he’s out to catch the kidnappers and doesn’t need some Hollywood caricature of a federal agent interfering in his case. But when Nikki establishes a rapport with the child, Josh admits she might just get him enough information to track down the culprits. And even as Josh and Nikki spar over the best way to get the job done, another rapport is being established—on a much more physical and decidedly more adult level—as Josh discovers firsthand how Nikki makes the airwaves sizzle.

I liked this. I liked the idea behind it; a real FBI agent having to work with a TV FBI agent. It was different and I did enjoy it.

The relationship did appear to just sort of happen. Sure there was sexual tension between them but nothing verbal for a long time and then they were suddenly in bed with each other. It just happened a little too fast for me.

Other than the relationship, I enjoyed the rest of the book, the case, the characters, the sub-plot.

Next review(s): Bound by Night or Charming

Self-defence and martial arts??

Does anyone know of any good websites where you are given step by step guides on how to do self defence and martial arts fighting moves?

It’s not for me, but for Misha, who is gong to be trained how to fight in Wolf Claimed. I’m a complete novice and know absolutely nothing at all. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

First Time on in a few days…

Well this is the first time I’ve been able to get on here in the past couple of days. Nothing too major to tell you though.

One: I’m back to buying books, nothing too major as yet, just one every week or so.

Two: I’ve gone back to paperbacks for a while. It started when I went to York on the train and instead of risking losing my kindle I took a book. It was Darynda Jones’ First Grave on the Right, and it was amazing!! In the process of buying books 2-5 . I then read Alyxandra Harvey’s Blood Feud which was ok. And now I’m reading Forsaken by Jana Oliver which I’m just starting (pg 41 of 423).

P.S. I’ve also just gone and bought Stacia Kane’s Sacrificial Magic and Chasing Magic, books 4 & 5, cant wait to read them!!

Three: I’m still filling in bits of Wolf Claimed. It is currently 27 pages and 10,111 words. I haven’t really had much time to do any writing with my parents being off work and us going out to places this past week but I promise you it is getting written, if very slowly.

I think that’s about it, for the time being. It seems that WordPress and TalkTalk are finally getting along again with how quick this loaded today but we’ll see.

Ciao for now