Tag: Gifted

Buddy Review: Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews

Posted March 14, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Buddy Review: Burn for Me by Ilona AndrewsBurn for Me
by Ilona Andrews
Series: Hidden Legacy #1
Published by Harper Collins, Avon on October 28th 2014
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Point of View:First Person
Pages: 400
Format: eBook
Source: Gifted
Add It: Goodreads
four-half-stars

#1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews launches a brand new Hidden Legacy series, in which one woman must place her trust in a seductive, dangerous man who sets off an even more dangerous desire…

Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile case. Nevada isn’t sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.

Then she’s kidnapped by Connor “Mad” Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan’s after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she’s getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world.

Burn for Me is the first book in the Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews and it really sets up this series nicely.

Nevada Baylor is a private investigator who takes her job very seriously. She’s the head of her family PI firm but when her employees are all in school, she’s the only full time employee that can actually do the work. Her latest case was forced on her and she hasn’t a prayer of surviving it but she has to try to figure things out anyway because her family is at stake. Nevada will do anything for her family.

When the case brings Mad Rogan into her life and he kidnaps her, Nevada finds herself partnered up with the head of House Rogan, who also happens to be Hurucan, the guy that can break cities. They’re partnered up and going after Adam Pierce, a Prime Pyrokinetic, who is trying to burn down Houston. Something bigger than Adam Pierce is going on and they’re determined to figure it out and stop the bad guys from harming anymore people.

Rowena: Alright, Ames….spill. How much did you freaking love this book and Mad Rogan?

Ames:: OMG I loved this book so much I jumped right into the second one…and as I’m writing this I’ve already started the third! haha

I love the Kate Daniels series and Ilona Andrews has definitely created another heroine I can get behind! For Nevada Baylor, family is everything. And that remains true for her character. She’s so strong and kick-ass and awesome. And every great heroine needs an awesome partner and Rogan definitely has the makings of a great hero. He’s a Prime…meaning super powerful and he’s definitely an alpha hero. But he’s in no way an alpha-hole. I heart Rogan. So bad. LOL Seriously, he gives me heart eyes.

But the book isn’t just about Nevada and Rogan. Nevada’s whole family plays a big part in the story and I loved all of them. Her 70 year old mechanic grandma, her sniper mother, her gifted cousins and younger sisters. They’re all awesome.

What about you Wena? I’m so glad you got me to read this book!

Rowena: Oh man, did I love this book. I’m super thrilled that Holly has been on me to get this book read because wasn’t it just the best book you’ve read this month? Gah, I loved the heck out of this book. There wasn’t much that I didn’t like about it.

I loved Nevada, Rogan, Nevada’s family and the way that they functioned as a unit. When we start to get to know Rogan better and better, I thought he was such an asshole but I still loved him to pieces. I wasn’t expecting how funny this book was going to be. I prefer my paranormal books to be on the more serious side and even though this isn’t a paranormal book, I thought that it would be a little more serious but holy cow, the humor had me up late into the night giggliing like a little school girl. Brenna came into my room and told me to knock it off because I was giggling so much that it was creeping her out. She was right. I was giggling a lot but I don’t care that I was creeping her out because I had a good ol’ time with this one.

When Rogan called Augustine Pancakes? I about died laughing. When he couldn’t get over her circle work? I couldn’t stop laughing. When they were flirting back and forth and she told him she wasn’t going to handle his snake? I laughed and laughed and laughed. Gah. I can’t say that I loved this book enough. It gets all of my heart eyes.

Ames: Oh yes, the humour was excellent! I liked that for sure. Even Rogan’s attitude about killing people – I know this is awful to say but it is fiction – it was somewhat funny, especially when he uses a building to get the job done. Like he just doesn’t give a shit. And that’s why this book works. Yes Rogan is all super-powerful but Nevada brings him back down to earth. She’s reminds me of his humanity and keeps it real for him. She’s equal in that way. The other thing is she keeps him on his toes. She’s full of surprises.

Honestly, I can’t think of anything about this book I didn’t like. Even the mystery surrounding Adam Pierce was engaging. The world-building was excellent and the way Andrews describes settings and scenes, I could picture everything so clearly in my head.

Rowena: I agree. It’s very easy for me to read quickly through scenes where there’s a lot of description, scenes that kind of set something up and I’ll gloss over scenes but I read every single word and enjoyed every single word that was written in this book. Ilona Andrews has the magic writing stick because I was wrapped up in everything from beginning to end.

Adam Pierce was an interesting antagonist and his whole story was interesting as well. I was really curious to read more about this shady business he was a part of because with the ending, you just know that there’s gonna be more drama to come. This stuff isn’t over and I’m so.here.for.it.

Overall, the book was wonderful. The world was magical and the characters were the best. I give this book a 5 out of 5. You?

Ames: Oh I liked that Adam’s story was wrapped up extremely satisfyingly but that there was a whole bigger arc to the story that joins all three books. I’m looking forward to finding out more in book 3!

I’m stingy with my 5s so I’m giving this one a 4.5 out of 5. Still a high recommendation from me!​

Final Grades

Ames: 4.5 out of 5
Rowena: 5 out of 5

four-half-stars

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Mini Review Round Up (4)

Posted November 17, 2016 by Rowena in Features, Reviews | 8 Comments

Mini Review Round Up (4)Irresistibly Yours
by Lauren Layne
Series: Oxford #1
Also in this series: I Think I Love You
Published by Random House, Loveswept on October 6, 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Point of View:Alternating Third Person
Pages: 236
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Add It: Goodreads
four-stars

Meet the men of Oxford magazine! In the first captivating spin-off of Lauren Layne’s Sex, Love & Stiletto series, a not-so-friendly battle of the sexes turns into a scorching office romance.

Hotshot sports editor Cole Sharpe has been freelancing for Oxford for years, so when he hears about a staff position opening up, he figures he’s got the inside track. Then his boss drops a bombshell: Cole has competition. Female competition, in the form of a fresh-faced tomboy who can hang with the dudes—and write circles around them, too. Cole usually likes his women flirty and curvy, but he takes a special interest in his skinny, sassy rival, if only to keep an eye on her. And soon, he can’t take his eyes off her.

Penelope Pope knows all too well that she comes off as just one of the guys. Since she’s learned that wanting more usually leads to disappointment, Penelope’s resigned to sitting on the sidelines when it comes to love. So why does Cole make her want to get back in the game? The man is as arrogant as he is handsome. He probably sees her as nothing more than a barrier to his dream job. But when an unexpected kiss turns into a night of irresistible passion, Penelope has to figure out whether they’re just fooling around—or starting something real.  Includes a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

With Someone Like You releasing just next month, I did some re-reading of the first two books in the Oxford series because I’m not ready to say goodbye to these guys. I also did the re-reading because I was slumping big time and needed something to dig me out. This book did the trick because I’ve been reading non-stop ever since.

So this book follows Cole Sharpe, a freelance writer for Oxford Magazine, as he battles for a permanent position at the magazine with Penelope Pope. Penelope Pope is moving to New York from Chicago and she’s basically running away from some drama that went down back there. She wanted a fresh start and thinks that Oxford is the place for all of that. When she interviews for the Oxford position, she feels good about it and she’s pretty excited to hopefully be a part of this team. When she meets Cole, she doesn’t think he’ll see her as anything other than a friend so she immediately friend zones herself even though she is crushing big time.

Pen’s experience with guys are…they friend zone her every single time. She’s a tomboy, she knows entirely too much about every sport there is and she can spout of sports stats like a freaking machine. The last guy that she dated ended up doing her dirty so she’s going to steer clear from men for the time being.

She strikes up a friendship with Cole and things are going great. Even though they’re competing for the same position at Oxford, they can’t stop hanging out with each other. Cole didn’t plan on getting buddy buddy with his competition but Penelope is fun. She’s cute and he wants to pick her brain so they become friends and they plant themselves into each others lives and I just really, really enjoyed their friendship that turns into more story.

Both Cole and Penelope are great characters who are great apart but better together. Lauren Layne really shines with writing characters that readers will cheer for and relate to. This was a fun contemporary romance that isn’t to be missed so if you haven’t read this book…fix that cause it’s fun!

My Rating

4.25 out of 5

Mini Review Round Up (4)I Wish You Were Mine
by Lauren Layne
Series: Oxford #2
Also in this series: I Think I Love You
Published by Random House, Loveswept on February 2, 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Point of View:Alternating Third Person
Pages: 260
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Add It: Goodreads
four-stars

Perfect for fans of Alice Clayton and Emma Chase, Lauren Layne’s Oxford series heats up in this story of forbidden desire as a brooding jock hoping for a comeback falls for a woman who’s strictly off-limits.

A year ago, Jackson Burke was married to the love of his life and playing quarterback for the Texas Redhawks. Now he’s retired, courtesy of the car accident that ruined his career—and single, after a nasty scandal torpedoed his marriage. Just as he’s starting to get used to his new life as a health and fitness columnist for Oxford magazine, his unpredictable ex shows up on his doorstep in Manhattan. Jackson should be thrilled. But he can’t stop thinking about the one person who’s always been there for him, the one girl he could never have: her younger sister.

Mollie Carrington can’t say no to Madison. After all, her older sister practically raised her. So when Madison begs for help in winning her ex-husband back, Mollie’s just glad she got over her own crush on Jackson ages ago—or so she thought. Because as Mollie reconnects with Jackson, she quickly forgets all her reasons to stay loyal to her sister. Tempted by Jackson’s mellow drawl and cowboy good looks, Mollie is sick and tired of coming in second place. But she can’t win if she doesn’t play the game.

I Wish You Were Mine is the second book in the Oxford Series and it’s a book that isn’t as popular as Layne’s other books but me? I loved it! I liked getting to know the new guy at Oxford and seeing him form attachments he didn’t even want to begin with.

I’m not normally a sister’s ex romance kind of reader but I was a fan of both Jackson and Mollie. I thought their story was sweet the first time I read this book but I loved them just as much the second time around.

Jackson Burke is a big time football player from Texas that has retired from the NFL. He was in a car accident that injured him and now he’s sidelined from the job he loved and is now working as a fitness writer for Oxford Magazine that is in New York, not Texas. He doesn’t know anyone in New York except his ex-wife’s sister, Mollie and even though they used to be close, they’re not so close anymore and Jackson is sorry about that because he misses her.

Mollie Carrington is over her long ago crush on her ex-brother in law (yes, you read that right) so she can definitely catch up with him over drinks and not fall in love with him all over again. She can totally do it.

Wrong. The more time they spend together, the harder they fall and…I loved them. I loved Jackson. I loved Mollie. I loved seeing them become eachothers champions and I really loved how each of them became home to the other. Their romance wasn’t an easy one, it’s another one of those friendships to lovers type of romances and I enjoy those so much. Lauren Layne hit me in my feels at every turn in this book because the romance wasn’t easy. These two were connected before and it was a messy connection but when all is said and done, you can’t help who you love and I loved that these two let go of what they should feel and went with how they really felt because *swoon* I just adored them together.

This was another fabulous contemporary romance by Lauren Layne and everyone should read and fall in love with them too. 🙂

My Rating

4.25 out of 5

four-stars

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Mini Review Round Up (3)

Posted October 27, 2016 by Rowena in Features | 2 Comments

shadow-rider
Shadow Rider (Shadow #1) by Christine Feehan
Series: Shadow Series #1
Release Date: June 28, 2016
Publisher: Penguin, Berkley/NAL, Jove
Genres: Contemporary, Paranormal, Romance
Pages: 448
Format: eBook
Source: Gifted
Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The #1 New York Times bestselling “queen of paranormal romance”* is back with a sexy new series starring a Chicago crime family that hides a dark, mystical secret…

Whether it’s fast cars or fast women, Stefano Ferraro gets what he wants. When he’s not fodder for the paparazzi, he commands Ferraro family businesses—both legitimate and illegitimate.

While their criminal activity is simply a rumor yet to be proven, no one knows the real truth. The Ferraros are a family of shadow riders capable of manipulating light and dark, an ability Stefano thought ran in his family alone—until now…

With little left to her name, Francesca Cappello has come to Chicago in hopes of a new life. She wasn’t expecting to attract the attention of a man with primal hunger in his eyes, driven to claim her as his to protect and to please. And if he discovers her secret, it could ruin her…

I read this book for book club and it was recommended to me by one of my book besties so I went with it. I haven’t read very many Christine Feehan books, only one comes to mind and I can’t even remember the title of that book.

There was a lot of promise with this book. I thought the idea behind this mafia type family that rode shadows to right wrongs and protect the weak was great but when I finished the book, I was still confused about all things Shadow Rider. I get what their purpose was but how did Shadow Riders come about? Why were they necessary? Where did their magic or whatever it is you call shadow riding come about? How exactly are they traveling through these shadows and what are these tunnels that they talk about but never really explain? I closed the book, feeling the way that Stefano’s Mom wanted Francesca to feel when she was berating Stefano for sharing family secrets with someone outside of the family.

My frustrations with the book didn’t end there either. I could not get on board the Stefano train. His extreme controlling nature was a complete turnoff for me. I get that he wanted to protect Francesca from the villain of the book, I even get that he wanted to protect her because she was his future wife that would bear his children and nurture them but holy cow, he dictated what she wore, where she would live and work and he even dictated when she could climax during their lovemaking. Give me a freaking break! There’s alpha man and then alpha dickhead and Stefano veered into the alpha dickhead camp far too often for my likes.

Francesca was not a very memorable heroine for me. She was fine but not someone that I’m going to remember a few months from now. My gripes with her were how submissive she was to Stefano right from the jump. She didn’t know this guy but within the span of a week, she’s moved in with him, got engaged to him, thought he worked for organized crime and then felt bad that she asked if he was in organized crime (I totally didn’t get this. She asked him a question based on his behavior and treatment of her since they met, why the hell was she feeling bad about that?). I wanted her to be stronger than how I portrayed her to be from reading the book and I wanted her to stand up for herself more, put her foot down and have some kind of say in her life but nope. That wasn’t to be.

The romance felt like it happened at warped speed for me but that didn’t bother me as much as everything else that frustrated me. I enjoyed the dynamic between the Ferraro siblings and I’m curious about where the rest of the series goes but all of that didn’t really save the story for me. On the upside, it was a hit for most of the members of my book club. I was the lone member who was left unimpressed. *shrugs* Oh well.

My Rating


2.5 out of 5

undecided
Undecided by Julianna Keyes
Series: Burnham College #1
Release Date: April 4, 2016
Publisher: Julianna Keyes
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Pages: 300
Format: eBook
Source: Bought
Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Nora Kincaid has one goal for her second year of college: be invisible. Last year’s all-party-no-study strategy resulted in three failed classes and two criminal charges, and if she messes up again she’ll lose her scholarship. But there’s one problem with her plan for invisibility, and his name is Crosbie Lucas: infamous party king, general hellraiser…and her new roommate’s best friend.

Crosbie’s reckless reputation and well-known sexcapades aren’t part of Nora’s studious new strategy, but as she’s quickly learning, her new plan is also really boring. When Crosbie’s unexpected gestures of friendship pull her head out of her books long enough to see past his cocky veneer, she’s surprised to find a flawed and funny guy beneath it all. The muscles don’t hurt, either.

But as Nora starts to fall for Crosbie, the weight of one of last year’s bad decisions grows even heavier. Because three failing grades and two misdemeanors are nothing compared to the one big secret she’s hiding…

I re-read this book while I was working on my Eye Candy Friday post for Crosbie, the hero in this book and I was reminded how great this book is.

Nora spent her freshman year in college, partying too hard and going buck wild so when she almost gets expelled for her party girl shenanigans, she swore that her sophomore year was going to be different. She was going to cut ties with her party girl image and friends and she was going to buckle down and get to work. She was going to get good grades, she was going to work hard and she was going to keep her head down. When she moves in with the gorgeous and big man on campus, Kellan, she thought things would be okay because he was looking for a roommate who wasn’t about partying and drama. He wanted a low-key roommate that could help keep him focused on his studies as well so really, they were the perfect solution to each other’s roommate problem.

Nora is serious about no distractions and no temptations so when Kellan’s best friend Crosbie Lucas starts coming around a lot with his distracting presence and his tempting bodies, Nora knows that she’s in trouble. She’s in trouble because Crosbie is a part of the scene that she’s trying to stay away from. He represents everything that went wrong with her freshman year but with each passing day, she sees different parts to his personality and she can’t help but fall a bit for him.

Crosbie loves the college life. He’s got a great best friend and he doesn’t have any trouble getting ladies even with being in the shadow of his campus celebrity best friend. He’s never been jealous of the spotlight that Kellan inhabits until he meets Nora. Nora is Kellan’s new roommate and for the first ever, Crosbie wants the girl. He wants a girl that he thinks is interested in Kellan and being around Nora is torture for him because he can’t help but think MINE every time he’s around her and the insecurities that pop up wherever she is, is new to him.

I loved watching these two circle each other. Their every interaction was filled with so much goodness that I grinned and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Even after reading it a second time, it was like reading it for the first. The romance between Crosbie and Nora was front and center and I adored it to pieces. I loved seeing them come into their own and then grow in their love for each other. There’s an incident involving Nora and Kellan that I thought was just flat out dumb but I chalked it up to them being in college and young enough to get away with dumb stuff.

Overall, this book was fun and the romance was sweet and I really enjoyed it. You should read it so you can enjoy it too. 🙂

My Rating


4.5 out of 5

2 Comments
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Mini Review Round Up (1)

Posted October 13, 2016 by Rowena in Reviews | 12 Comments

Each week, I’ll do mini reviews of the books I’m reading to keep everyone who doesn’t read my other blog up to date on my thoughts on the books that I’m reading. Enjoy!

PS I Like You
P.S. I Like You by Kasie West
Release Date: July 26, 2017
Publisher: Scholastic, Point
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Pages: 330
Format: eBook
Source: Gifted
Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Signed, sealed, delivered…

While spacing out in chemistry class, Lily scribbles some of her favorite song lyrics onto her desk. The next day, she finds that someone has continued the lyrics on the desk and added a message to her. Intrigue!

Soon, Lily and her anonymous pen pal are exchanging full-on letters—sharing secrets, recommending bands, and opening up to each other. Lily realizes she’s kind of falling for this letter writer. Only, who is he? As Lily attempts to unravel the mystery and juggle school, friends, crushes, and her crazy family, she discovers that matters of the heart can’t always be spelled out…

This should have been a really fast read for me but I was in a weird reading funk so it took me quite a while to finish this one but it was super cute. It’s not my favorite from Kasie West but it was still really good. The main character, Lily, was a little hard to take at times with her constant assumptions where the love interest was concerned but she came around and she apologized for being a punk so I didn’t hold any grudges. I thought the love interest (which I spotted a mile away) ended up being really cute and I really liked him.

Kasie West really shines writing contemporary young adult romances and I hope she never stops writing books because she’s one of my favorite contemporary YA authors. P.S. I Like You was cute and fluffy and perfect for when you want something light instead of something deeper and all angsty. I’m super looking forward to reading her next release, By Your Side.

My Rating


4 out of 5

Hating Game
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Release Date: August 9, 2016
Publisher: Harper Collins, William Morrow Paperbacks
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 384
Format: eBook
Source: Gifted
Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Debut author Sally Thorne bursts on the scene with a hilarious and sexy workplace comedy all about that thin, fine line between hate and love.

Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome.
2) A person’s undoing
3) Joshua Templeman

Lucy Hutton has always been certain that the nice girl can get the corner office. She’s charming and accommodating and prides herself on being loved by everyone at Bexley & Gamin. Everyone except for coldly efficient, impeccably attired, physically intimidating Joshua Templeman. And the feeling is mutual.

Trapped in a shared office together 40 (OK, 50 or 60) hours a week, they’ve become entrenched in an addictive, ridiculous never-ending game of one-upmanship. There’s the Staring Game. The Mirror Game. The HR Game. Lucy can’t let Joshua beat her at anything—especially when a huge new promotion goes up for the taking.

If Lucy wins this game, she’ll be Joshua’s boss. If she loses, she’ll resign. So why is she suddenly having steamy dreams about Joshua, and dressing for work like she’s got a hot date? After a perfectly innocent elevator ride ends with an earth shattering kiss, Lucy starts to wonder whether she’s got Joshua Templeman all wrong.

Maybe Lucy Hutton doesn’t hate Joshua Templeman. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game?

I wanted to read this book because it sounded good and early reviews were very positive but then I read a review that made me not want to read it. I talked that over with my friend Ames and she gifted me the book so I could give it a try (she really liked it) but I didn’t read it until last week and holy cow am I glad that I didn’t let that one bad review stop me from reading this one because…I really liked it too.

I loved seeing the change in both Josh and Lucy’s relationship. I loved that it was a gradual change and not that insta-love business. I enjoyed their bickering, their games and then seeing them have eachothers backs. My favorite scenes in the book were probably the office paintball competition and then Lucy letting Josh’s Dad have it. When she went on Xena Warrior Princess on Josh’s Dad, I wanted to stand up and applaud.

The romance felt real, the feelings that crept up for both characters made me laugh and then happy sigh so you know that I enjoyed this one. I did catch the things that the bad review complained about but they were such small parts of the story. The thing that kept throwing me out of the story was the authors use of CVs instead of resumes. I thought the story was set in the US so when Lily and Josh talked about updating their CVs, that threw me off because I don’t know of anyone in the US that refers to their resumes as CVs but then Ames told me that the author is from Australia and that made sense. Still, this was a great book and I will definitely be reading more from this author.

My Rating


4 out of 5

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