C.J. Butcher's Blog, page 118

Review: Clean Breaks

Clean Breaks by Ruby Lang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sarah Soon may have recovered from cancer—in body—but her brush with mortality has left the usually confident OB/GYN shaken about her future and herself. When she unexpectedly runs into Jake Li, her brother’s annoying high school BFF who betrayed her trust, he’s the last person she wants to see. She doesn’t need the now-disturbingly hot social worker hanging around while she sorts herself out, yet suddenly he’s inescapable.

Everyone’s telling the newly divorced Jake that he shouldn’t be looking for a serious relationship already, but he’s always been helplessly drawn to Sarah’s vivaciousness. Can he show her that he’s all grown up now and worthy of her trust and a second chance?

Or will they make a clean break once and for all?

Nope, nope, and nope some more. I just didn't like this book...like at all. I understand that things are in the past but dude and dudette - GET OVER IT! I guarantee that when you're married that if you bring up what's in the past....you're headed for divorce. The only thing that gave you 3 stars was your editor! Seriously....thank your editor on this.

I was given a copy of this ARC from the publisher on Netgalley for a honest review. All of the above comments are my express opinions and no one else's.

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Review: Delicious Satisfaction

Delicious Satisfaction by Sabrina Sol
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

As LA’s hottest up-and-coming chef, Alexa Montoya is known for her ruby red lipstick, award-winning arroz con pollo and a penchant for falling for the wrong kind of men. And when a confrontation with a loser ex-boyfriend lands her in some legal trouble, she’s forced to call her long-time friend, Dante Perez, to bail her out. Only this time, Dante seems different, somehow. More gorgeous, more sexy, more…mouthwateringly irresistible. Suddenly she’s tempted to give the lawyer much more than a simple thank you…

Dante is tired of seeing Alexa with guys who only know how to steal her money and break her heart. He’s watched--and waited for--her long enough. Helping with her legal situation will finally give him a chance to win her over for good. His plan? He’ll seduce her into finally believing that there’s something deliciously right between them…

Despite their chemistry, Alexa can’t trust that Dante won’t leave. But Dante knows how to win a case. And he’ll do whatever it takes to convince Alexa that she’ll always leave him hungry for more…

I don't know where to start. This book was short for starters which doesn't bother me. It fit a lot of stuff in it for being such a short novel, however and this is where we get to the meat of the problem....there was so much DRAMA. OMG....the drama in this book made me feel like it was Days of Our Lives Cultural Edition. Maybe I'm being jaded and OTT but it just hit me the wrong way. The steamy scenes were steamy and well-written but the "drama queen and her king" needed a play so they could re-enact their dramaness (that's not a word) lol!! I know I'm being harsh but, Oh good gravy the things they argued about!! Let me stop before I totally have a mini cow in my office while I type. Anyhow, if you like drama, culture, more drama, angst, drama...this is your book!

I was given a copy of this ARC from the publisher on Netgalley for a honest review. All of the above comments are my express opinions and no one else's.




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Review: Indiscretion

Indiscretion by Hannah Fielding
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Indiscretion is the new novel from award-winning romance novelist, Hannah Fielding. Set in the wild landscape of Andalucia in Spain in the 1950s, it is a compelling story of love and identity, danger and desire, and the uncertainty of happiness when two worlds collide.

1950’s London. Alexandra, a young writer is bored of her suffocating but privileged life amongst the gilded balls and parties of Chelsea. Keen for an adventure, Alexandra travels to Spain to be reunited with her estranged Spanish family on a huge estancia in Andalucía.
Arriving in sun-drenched southern Spain for the first time, Alexandra is soon caught up in the wild customs of the region. From bull fighting matadors and the mysterious Gypsy encampments in the grounds of the family’s estate, to the passionate dances of the region and the incredible horsemanship of the local caballeros, Alexandra is instantly seduced by the drama and passion of her new home.
When Alexandra inevitably falls for Salvador, the mercurial heir to her family’s estate and the region’s most eligible man, she finds herself entangled in a web of secrets, lies and indiscretion. Alexandra soon falls prey to scheming members of her own family, the jealousy of a beautiful marquésa and the predatory charms of a toreador, all intent on keeping the two lovers apart.
But nothing can prepare Alexandra for Salvador’s own dangerous liaisons with a dark-eyed Gypsy. Can Alexandra trust that love will triumph, or will Salvador’s indiscretion be their undoing?

I read backwards at first in this...I read Masquerade for a couple chapters and then stopped and went to this book. Hannah's an awesome writer and I must say had I not read a couple of chapters of the second book first, I might not have read it at all and I'll tell you why. This book was intense and at times I felt like the hero was a little wishy-washy. I don't like that. If a book is so long that you're looking for a noose...there's a problem. So why 5 stars? It was a good book but it wasn't my type of book. I'm not into this era and I couldn't get interested or invested enough to like it, like I could the second book. I think there are some people out there who will love it but for me it just wasn't my cup of tea.

I was given a copy of this ARC from the publisher on Netgalley for a honest review. All of the above comments are my express opinions and no one else's.

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Speed Dating Book Promo

Celebrate the release of Speed Dating by Noelle Adams and Samantha Chase! 
 Giveaway: a Rafflecopter giveaway



About Speed Dating: 
Forget all those other best-friend romances you might have read.
Jace and Isabella have only known each other…since kindergarten. And he hasn’t been secretly in love with her…for more than six or seven years. She doesn't make him bristle with jealousy when she goes out with other guys…that he’ll admit to. And she doesn’t get all flustered and confused when she starts to find him incredibly sexy…too often.
But they definitely don’t transform their friendship into romance…right away.
Isabella has known Jace all her life, and she’s been best friends with him since high school, when she used to date his best friend. Now she’s ready to settle down and get married, and she’s decided that her sister’s wedding in three months is her deadline. She’s going to find the man of her dreams in time to take him to the wedding.
Now if only Jace would stop acting strange and territorial so he could help her.
Find out more: A mazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

Excerpt:An excerpt from Speed Dating Copyright © Noelle Adams and Samantha Chase 2017
 She stared at him fixedly until she saw the corner of his mouth twitch just slightly.“I knew it! You’re bluffing!” “Never.” He was obviously still trying to hold onto his composure, but his eyes were brimming with humor, and he was having trouble hiding a smile.“Cheater!” Bursting into laughter, she tackled him, playfully pushing him down so he was lying on his back on the floor. “You’re cheating, and you know it, so you have to forfeit the game.”She realized her mistake when Jace’s hard, lean body started to rub against hers. Her heart began to race with excitement as her breath quickened and shivers of excitement ran up and down her spine.His hand slowly slid down her back until he was cupping her hips, almost—almost—touching her bottom. “I’ll never forfeit. I’ll go to my death declaring that Zoroastrian is a perfectly legitimate Scrabble word.”Despite his light tone, his expression had changed again. His eyes were hot. So hot. As hot as she felt.She couldn’t stop herself from rubbing against him again, and she suddenly realized how tense his body was.Tense. And tight. And hard.So hard.All of him hard.He shifted beneath her weight, and every little move he made against her fired all of her sensitized nerve endings.She wanted him to roll over on top of her. Sink into her completely.She wanted him to bury himself in her and never come out.Jace closed his eyes and took a slightly shaky breath, and she knew now why that was.He was aroused beneath her. She could feel it very starkly when she rubbed her pelvis against his.She made a breathless noise at the realization, and she trailed her hand down his chest to his belly.Jace jerked in what looked like surprised pleasure.“Jace?” she whispered, her hand grazing down even further.It felt like there was some sort of magnetic force drawing her hand down toward the bulge of his erection. He was sweating a little—she could see it—and his breath was blowing in and out in short huffs.He grunted, not really forming a complete word.Isabella’s hand had reached his belt, and she idly played with the supple leather. Maybe it was the wine. Or maybe she’d been holding back for too long.But she heard herself saying, “I know that we’re just friends, and that we said that kiss didn’t mean anything. I know touching like this is really against the rules.”Her hand slipped down even lower, brushing against the bulge at the front of his trousers. Jace let out a soft strangled sound in response, as if he were desperately trying to hold himself back.The knowledge was all she needed to know.He wanted this just as much as she did.“But I was wondering,” Isabella continued, lifting her upper body so she could look down on his strained face, “if maybe we could break that rule… a little.”

Other books in the Preston’s Mills series:



Roommating (Preston’s Mill #1):

Forget all those other roommate romances you might have read.Heather and Chris don't hate each other...very much. And they don't have sex all the time...at least not at first. Chris doesn't go around shirtless, flexing his muscles and driving Heather wild...too often. And he doesn't get jealous and possessive every time she goes out with another man...well, maybe occasionally.But they definitely don't fall in love...right away.When Heather comes back to her hometown, she plans to take over her father's historic restoration business and move into a beautiful converted apartment in Preston's Mill. Then she finds out she'll have to partner up with the one man she can never forgive. Chris Dole, who abandoned her father and betrayed her trust three years ago.It gets even worse. They don't just have to work together. They have to become roommates for six months to prove they can get along. That means Heather will have to play nice with Chris and put up with his obnoxiousness, his drop-dead sexiness, and his ugly recliner named Flo.She'll do what she has to do out of loyalty to her father, but she isn't going to like it.At least not much.Find out more: Amazon | B&N| iBooks | Kobo
About Noelle Adams:
Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she reads any book she can get her hands on and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.
If you'd like to contact Noelle, please contact her at noelle.s.adams@gmail.com. Or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

I Would Recommend MaybeReviewLast updated on 25 Feb 2017B...

I Would Recommend Maybe


Review

Last updated on 25 Feb 2017


Bear Naked by Katie Kenyhercz - A novella in the Hot on Ice: A Hockey Romance Anthology


First Nations defenceman Bear Thompson wants to spend his day with the Cup back home on the reserve, but first he has to convince his childhood sweetheart and current band chief Aria Paul to give him another chance and that letting the media in won't be the end of the world. The last thing Aria wants to do is fall back in love with the man who broke her heart and left her in the dust, but old feelings spark new ones, and when Bear sets his sights on a goal, it's only a matter of time.

Hot on Ice: A Hockey Romance Anthology

The New Orleans Cajun Rage professional hockey team just won the Cup. No one thought they'd do it: they were a team of shoulda beens, never coulda beens and a star or two. They'd only been in the Crescent City for three years before this year's Cinderella run that had them skating off the ice with the championship. Over the following summer, each player gets to keep the Cup for a day. Nobody knows why, but whoever has the Cup falls in love.

USA Today Bestsellers Robin Covington, Kimberly Kincaid, Nana Malone and Virginia Nelson, Publisher's Weekly Bestseller Angi Morgan, along with Xio Axelrod, Christi Barth, Andie J. Christopher, Avery Flynn, Kim Golden, Lena Hart, Desiree Holt, Robin Kaye, Katie Kenyhercz, Heather Long, Kate Meader, Susan Scott Shelley, and Misty D. Waters bring you 18 romances with smoking hot heroes--both on and off the ice.
************ 
So I know this is a compilation book but I need to find out if any of these authors know about hockey? Call me a prude but I'm from North Carolina where the Hurricanes are and I'm a die-hard hockey fan and I'd like to say an aficionado. While I've been reading several of these, they've made me pause and go WTF? I mean, seriously...have you been to a hockey game? I know it's a novella and there's not a lot you can write in that short amount of space but then just call it something else....Like guys who whine too much. I know...harsh, I just can't get it in my head space to be accepting if you aren't going to do your homework.

I was given a copy of this ARC from the publisher on Netgalley for a honest review. All of the above comments are my express opinions and no one else's.

Bullies, Love and Waiting

[image error] Wait, Wait Wait...On Me Says the Lord

I didn't date growing up and before you think it was some rule that I was subjected to, it wasn't. My parents would have thrown me out the door at the first good-looking guy that didn't resemble a "serial killer" as my mother now refers to everyone.  She really thinks that every guy wants to wear me as a skin suit - because really my skin is all that great? It's not like I moisturize daily or even every other day!  It's not like the "put the lotion in the basket" great!! Don't get me started on Internet dating where ALL the freaks hang out who really might make a skin suit out of me. My mother just thinks that every man is literally a serial killer and it doesn't even matter if it's our neighbor...you're a potential! She might not even meet you and all you'll really get is a roll of her eyes and a sign of SK for serial killer LOL.


[image error] There was a guy I grew up with and we were considered friends (Mom surprisingly didn't consider him a SK.)  I wasn't popular, I didn't hang with the "in crowd" and this guy only liked me when we weren't around others.  He'd come to the house and hang out or he'd like to hit on my 2 friends who were girls, trying to get with them.  It's almost like he was afraid that the dork might rub off on him...I think to this day it's still that way.  Which is fine with me because you find out who your real friends are and who aren't.  It's sad that some people will always have what I call "High School Mentality."  That's where your mentality is still having to keep up with everything you were in high school.  You still talk about things you did in high school or what you accomplished.  You want to know a really big secret?  I don't remember anything from back then because it didn't matter to me.  I didn't come into myself until I hit my 30's and I have a feeling my 40's are going to be spectacular.  I've kept in touch with 3 people in 20 years and can count on one hand who I'd really care to go to dinner with.  The rest I catch up on Facebook with. We all change in 20+ years.  I know I have, so I hope that others have as well.  



The guy I was friends with used to pick on me relentlessly and part of me is glad he did it...I know you're sitting there thinking "Huh?" He taught me to have a thick skin and to ignore all the other kids in my class who did it.  I could resent them or have little voodoo dolls made of them and poke them occasionally but that's a waste of my time.  Before you laugh - I'm in mental health and it's been done before by a patient so some people don't get over hurtful words or the past.  I also learned to watch what I say to people when it comes to hurting their feelings because what comes out the mouth can never be taken back.  I'm sorry is just a platitude that people use after they hurt someone and it doesn't help once something's been done.  They didn't have this anti-bullying crap when I was in school because if they did....Jesus knows I'd have been in the principal's office every day because someone was bullying me.  Like the time Jeff and Lee (last names have been withheld to protect the innocent) decided to throw around my bug purse because they thought it would be funny in the 4th grade.  FYI guys....it wasn't funny.  Nowadays it would be called bullying - go figure!  
The thing about being made fun of by people you trust and even people you don't trust, it sets you up for every relationship you'll have in the future.  People say that it's not that big of a deal and that it's just kids being kids, but it's not.  It's taken me all these years to figure out that there isn't anything wrong with me other than I don't let anyone form an attachment to me.  Therapists have a field day with me and I've worked in the Mental Health and Medical field for 20 years.  I find it very hard to trust people because I think they're going to hurt me.  I'd rather stay single and be alone than have someone who I thought was the love of my life hurt me.  Everyone is probably thinking that that's what opening yourself up to love and trust is all about but I can't really keep taking potshots to the heart without it taking it's toll.  The funny thing is that the same guy I once loved in my youth who made fun of me...kind of married a heavyset woman!!  Oh the irony of life! I guess God knew then that I wouldn't be happy if I settled for less than the best of what he had for me...So girls, women, men...Wait, wait and wait some more but do it with a trusting heart that's open to love.

If you or someone you love is being bullied, there is help out there.  Please contact Stop Bullying and help someone else find a way out.  Thank you!

Review: Her Secret Ranger

Her Secret Ranger by Donna Michaels
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

By-the-book event planner Beth Brannigan’s best friend dared her to kiss a cowboy. She should have said no. Instead, she said please…again and again. If her brother finds out she’s dating—okay, kissing—okay, sleeping with—one of his military buddies, he’ll kill her. Assuming he doesn’t kill his friend first.

Former Army Ranger Brick Mitchum isn’t a relationship kind of guy. But then he meets Beth and starts to wonder if maybe it’s time he settled down. She’s mysterious. Unpredictable. Curvy in every way he needs… And hiding something. He’s just got to figure out what.

Brick is one of those guys that keeps everything close and that includes friends and family. Beth loves her brother, who also happens to be Brick's best friend and one of his Ranger buddies. A good part of this book is spent on some lovin' and I'm the type of person who likes some plot to my book, so this was an okay read for me. I must be in a book slump because lately all I'm reading is books that have nothing but sex and no plot. I want a good book with a plot. Throw in some sex and I'm good but if every other page is nothing but sex then I am like an ADHD kid hopped up without their meds...I'm skipping pages and jumping books back and forth. So why the 4 stars? I liked the writing overall and I can overlook the fact that it was overrun with sexual content. What I couldn't overlook was all the pouting Brick did because he couldn't date/sleep with his best friends sister when he thought she wronged him by keeping it a secret that she was "the secret sister." OH MY GOD MAN!!! Grow some man balls and grow up!! It's not the end of the everloving world or maybe it is because you're not getting your 20 times a day sex! LOL. All-in-all, if you want military turned cowboys in a sex-romp - this is the book for you.

I was given a copy of this ARC from the publisher on Netgalley for a honest review. All of the above comments are my express opinions and no one else's.

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Review: Take Me Harder

Take Me Harder by Jackie Ashenden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Rush Redmond never expected freedom to taste so bittersweet. He spent eight years in jail doing someone else’s time, and for what? As an ex-con, Rush can’t work as a bounty hunter like his brothers—not in Texas. Better to drown his sorrows with a stiff drink and soft curves. Too bad the temptation he craves is a redhead with a badge: Ava St. George. Once upon a time, Rush would’ve done anything for the sheriff’s innocent daughter. Now he’s fighting the urge to let her sweet-talk him into some trouble he can’t afford.

Even though she’s a cop, Ava knows that sometimes justice means pushing the boundaries of the law. To track down her mother’s killer, she turns to the man with the county’s criminal underworld in his little black book. The boy she knew is still drop-dead gorgeous, with panty-dropping charm as smooth as his smile. But his sculpted arms and the menacing gleam in his eyes scream “Don’t mess with me.” Yet Ava needs Rush more than ever—in more ways than one.

So this was a hard book to rate for me. Usually I like Jackie's books but this one was kind of hard for me. I didn't like the hero...at all. I felt like he was kind of a tool. He could have been nicer to the heroine. Ava had treated Rush as her idol since she was a kid and he treated her now like a male chauvinist. I just didn't feel like they clicked. As a matter of fact I almost didn't finish it when he went to the strip joint and then threw in her face after he slept with her that she wasn't all that. That's a real DNF for me - when a hero treats a heroine like she's a whore and she's not...she just made a bad choice by picking him! It's not a romance, it's not angst because he's tortured - it just makes him a horrible character.

I was given a copy of this ARC from the publisher on Netgalley for a honest review. All of the above comments are my express opinions and no one else's.

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Review: Coming Home

Coming Home by N.J. Walters
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Kansas Fielding and Tobias Slater had always been friends, so when the two indulged in a kiss out of simple curiosity, the depth of the passion they ignited caught them both by surprise, and left them with an insatiable hunger for more. But the next day Tobias was gone, disappearing into a secret life Kansas knew nothing about. Now, two years later—years Kansas has spent building a life and forgetting Tobias—he’s returned, disillusioned and uncertain of his future.

Despite the unanswered questions hanging between them, neither can ignore the deep longing stirred up by that one long-ago kiss, and they recklessly surrender to the intensely erotic feelings. And while Kansas knows she’ll do whatever it takes to make Tobias admit his true feelings for her, it’s Tobias who will have to trust in himself to know he’s come home for good.

This is a revised edition of a novella that originally appeared in the Taming the Alpha boxed set.

I don't usually expect a lot from Novella's because they're short and I know that authors are usually trying to fit a lot into a short format but this book started with sex at probably 8 percent and that's all it was. I gave it 2 stars because it had a plot albeit a plot that was small...it had one. I also gave it 2 stars because it was labeled correctly at being Erotica...it was definitely that! The sex scenes that I didn't skip over were well-written but excessive and I wouldn't let my 18 year-old cousin read them. If you like wham, bam, thank you ma'am then this is your book!!

I was given a copy of this ARC from the publisher on Netgalley for a honest review. All of the above comments are my express opinions and no one else's.

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Review: Cheater

Cheater by Rachel Van Dyken
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lucas Thorn wasn’t born a cheater. All it took was a single moment—say, a certain disastrous incident on the night before his wedding—and boom. Reputation destroyed forever and always. So now he owns it. He has a lady friend for every night of the week (except Sundays—God’s day and all), and his rules are simple: No commitments. No exceptions.

But a certain smart-mouthed, strawberry blonde vixen is about to blow that all to hell.

Avery Black has never forgiven Lucas for cheating on her sister. And suddenly being forced to work with him is pretty much a nightmare on steroids. Of course, it does afford her the opportunity to make his life as difficult as possible. But no good revenge scheme comes without payback. Because he didn’t become the Lucas Thorn without learning a few things about women.

Now Avery’s lust for vengeance has turned into, well, lust. And if Lucas stops cheating, it’s definitely not because he’s falling in love…

This book got me out of my book slump...I loved this!!! Avery and Lucas were great together. At first, after the Prologue Lucas was a pig...he had a woman for every day of the week except Sunday. Sunday was his sisters day lol. When he screwed around with a woman in his office in front of Avery, it made me want to reach through the kindle and beat him to death. There were times when you just wanted to shake him...with a hot iron - upside the head :)

Avery was one of those characters that's just snarky...she has a sarcastic remark for everything Lucas says. I love that she doesn't take any junk from him. It comes out that he liked her from the beginning and that she's the reason that he didn't marry her sister. He doesn't believe in monogamy and staying with one woman and doesn't realize that one by one he's getting rid of each of the women from his "days of the week." There's some angst, some sex, some love, some sarcasm, some humor and Van Dyken does ALL of this really, really well. She is a master at storytelling and doing it in a humorous way! It's a book you won't want to miss. I know that I'm going to reread it the first chance I get that I'm not speedreading!!

I was given a copy of this ARC from the publisher on Netgalley for a honest review. All of the above comments are my express opinions and no one else's.

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