*I received a free copy of Harlot from Selfpublished via Netgalley in exchange of an honest and unbiased review*

Harlot by Victoria Dahl
Published by Selfpublished on 26 October 2015
Genres: Adult, Erotica, Historical Romance
Pages: 123
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley

Reading Challenges: 2015 New Release Challenge

He came home to marry an angel...
After working in the gold fields of California for two years, Caleb Hightower has come home to marry his childhood sweetheart, Jessica Willoughby. But when he returns, Caleb learns his refined bride-to-be is now a whore. Enraged by her betrayal, he can’t reconcile this shameless woman with the sweet innocent he once deeply loved—but Caleb knows what to do with a harlot. He’s determined to get everything from her that she’s sold to other men. And he’s prepared to pay for the pleasure of his revenge.

But all he found was sin.
Left penniless after her father’s death, Jess made a deal with a devil. Now she must face her first love, whose scorn is no match for her regret. To make amends, she’ll let Caleb quench his rage with her body. Their bargain strips them down to searing passion and naked vulnerability, and Jess can still glimpse her loving Caleb buried deep inside this rough cowboy. In the end, an unbearable truth emerges that could push them toward forgiveness…or could destroy their fragile bond forever.

 

 

Harlot was a very short, hot story, and I think it was a little too short. The story was a bit rushed, and the characters were not exactly complex.

 

 

Harlot is a good story, and it especially shows how it was difficult for women to be empowered and take charge of their own lives and destinies in the past. When Jessica’s father died and left her with only debts, she didn’t know what to do. The house would have to be sold, as would most of her other possessions. Caleb had been gone for two years already, and she hadn’t heard from him in a long time, and had to find a way to get through this on her own. When someone presented her with what seemed like the only possibility to find a place to live, and enough money to live with, she took it. Even if that possibility was to give her virginity to a man in exchange for a house…

 

When Caleb got back to town after learning that Jessica’s father had passed away, the first thing he heard about her what that she was a whore now, working from her very own whorehouse on the outskirts of town. And to say he was angry to find his angelic girl opening her legs to strangers for money is an understatement!

 

Harlot is about more than the relationship between Caleb and Jessica, though. It is about women having the power to choose their own life, about not judging others, about being able to feel safe, and having enough to eat and a place to live. I get what Dahl wanted to do with this story, and it was well done, however, I would have enjoyed it more if the story had been a bit longer, so that the character development could have been a little deeper. The hypocrisy of a man going to pay for a whore being OK, but the whore taking his money being dirty is definitely something that is addressed – and it should be!

 

The writing is really good, of course, this is by Victoria Dahl, you know! Written in third person point of view, past tense, and peppered with well-done dialogues. If you enjoy historical romances that have a somewhat realistic and feminist goal, Harlot could be the perfect book for you! I was left with a feeling of needing just a little more.

 

 

And it was easier this way. If they knew about the awful, gnawing agony in his chest, he’d have to add humiliation to the pile of hurt. He’d never asked her to marry him. No one knew they’d been anything more than childhood sweethearts. No one but Jessica and Caleb.

 

It terrified him that he could still feel this way for her, but it awed him, as well, because maybe their love was bigger than anything else. Bigger than hurt and jealousy and stupid decisions. It was just… right. 

Close Enough to Touch by Victoria Dahl
Series: Jackson Hole #1
Published by Harlequin HQN on 28 August 2012
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 384
Format: Kindle
Source: Kindle Purchase

Can a city girl make it in the wild, wild West?

For makeup artist Grace Barrett, Hollywood isn't the land of golden opportunity. It's the land of difficult divas, cheating boyfriends and unemployment. So when her great-aunt offers her a free place to stay in Jackson Hole, Grace thinks she'll spend a little time in the sticks to figure out her life, and then move somewhere exciting to live out her dreams. But it turns out that there are a few more thrills in this small town than Grace was expecting....

Cole Rawlins is a rugged Wyoming cowboy born and bred. Yet he can't help but be drawn to the fascinating big-city girl who moves in across from him. He wants to get close enough to Grace to see past her tough facade, but if he does, she might see the real Cole. The one with a Hollywood history gone bad. As they discover a sizzling attraction, it becomes harder for him to keep his demons at bay-and those fires from long ago may burn them both.

They'll need more than scorching-hot passion to make this opposites-attract affair work. But if they can learn to trust one another enough to reveal their secrets, they just might have a chance at forever.

I loved Close Enough to Touch, both because I found the characters to be so compelling, and because the story was very touching!

My Close Enough to Touch review:

Grace is one of those prickly characters who prefers being angry rather than show anyone that she is vulnerable and maybe a bit fragile. And I fell in love with her from the beginning, because she was a fighter all the way. She fought against having friends, loving other people, Cole, her sexy cowboy neighbor, and just life in general. And while my life has been nothing like hers, I could relate to her, and I just wanted her to find a way to at least be content. Close Enough to Touch is both about the physical touch and the more emotional touch, and Grace was definitely OK with physical touch, as long as she let nobody through the tall and wide walls she had erected around her heart. Down on her luck and almost penniless, she showed up in Jackson Hole to stay for a few weeks in one of her great-aunt Rayleen’s apartments at the stud farm.

Cole seemed to be the complete opposite from Grace, because he was outwardly friendly and smiling, but he was hiding a big heap of hurt inside as well. Thirteen years of hurt, with a nice, big new pile of hurt on top. A cowboy ready to by the ranch where he was working, he wasn’t even sure if he’d ever ride again after a bad accident several months before Close Enough to Touch started. These two characters both intrigued me and each other, and I enjoyed their story very much. It took both of them a very long time to open up to each other emotionally, but their physical chemistry and hotness was off the charts!

Grace was running away from her life in LA, from an ex-boyfriend who might get her in jail, and the jaded Hollywood business as a make-up artist. In Jackson Hole, she knew she had to find a job, and she somehow ended up working as a freelance for the local photographer, who had a contract for an onsite movie gig. The arrival of the production team to the small town affected both Grace and Cole in many ways, and it made their tough façade crack a little bit – turning their steamy relationship into something more distant as they had to deal with their personal demons.

Slowly learning to make some friends, and also trying to get to now her great-aunt, Grace changed quite a bit over the span of the story. However, when push came to show, she was ready to run once more, as fast and as fast as she could. Tender and sweet, Close Enough to Touch made me want to help Grace become her own woman in a way that would permit her to let go of her anger and embrace her strong sense of self in a different way.

Written in third person point of view, past tense, but with a lot of dialogues to help the readers get to know the characters well, Close Enough to Touch was a great story that is the beginning of what I think is an amazing series.

Some of my favorite Close Enough to Touch quotes:

Even the most cynical person could tell he was offering the truth. And his face Hell, that was enough to inspire generosity. It was lovely in a very masculine way. A jaw like steel. Strong nose. And blue eyes that crinkled with warmth fairly often, if the laugh lines were any indication.

She felt lighter as she headed for the faint sounds of music leaking from the saloon next door. “The saloon next door,” she murmured. That was something she’d never said before. Bar, yes. Liquor store, sure. And on one occasion even a strip club. But never a saloon.

The old woman was harmless. Eccentric, but harmless. Even the jokes in town meant nothing, which was why everyone thought they were funny. Obviously nothing was was going on between Rayleen and her young renters, but with the house being part of the old Studd homestead, the jokes were too easy. Too damn perfect.

*I received a free ARC of Surviving Ice from Atria Books via Netgalley in exchange of an honest and unbiased review*

Surviving Ice by K. A. Tucker
Series: Burying Water #4
Published by Atria Books on 27 October, 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Suspense
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley


Reading Challenges: 2015 New Release Challenge

Ivy, a talented tattoo artist who spent the early part of her twenties on the move, is finally looking for a place to call home. She thinks she might have found it in San Francisco, but all that changes when she witnesses a terrible crime. She’s ready to pack up her things yet again, when a random encounter with a stranger keeps her in the city, giving her reason to stay after all.

That is, until Ivy discovers that their encounter wasn’t random. Not at all…

Surviving Ice was fantastic! Suspense, romance, danger, a very cool tattoo artist and a former SEAL who didn’t know how far the company he was working for took some matters.

 

My Surviving Ice review:

Surviving Ice was so intense, especially because it started right in the middle of the action – Ivy witnessed her uncle being killed, and she had to hide underneath a desk in order to stay undetected herself! If you have read the prior stories in Tucker’s Burying Water series, you have already met Ivy – she comes across as distanced and quite abrasive, but there is a soft heart hiding deep inside of her. After her uncle’s death, she is ready to be on the move again, even if just days before she had started thinking about putting down roots in San Fransisco. Being the legal executor of Ned’s will makes sure she has to stay for a while, though, and when she meets Sebastian, she wonders if maybe San Fransisco isn’t an OK place after all.

 

What Ivy doesn’t know, though, is that Sebastian is basically made of secrets! And because Surviving Ice is written in dual points of views, with equal chapters from Ivy’s and from Sebastian’s points of views, the readers are privy to Sebastian’s inner thoughts, which made both their relationship and the budding romance even more interesting and tense. Ivy normally isn’t the girl to think about the future with a guy, though, she will get what she wants from him before moving on. However, there is something about Sebastian that makes her feel utterly safe – and she needs that now that her life has been turned completely upside-down.

 

I loved getting to know Ivy better in Surviving Ice, understanding why she was always so independent, and the reasoning behind her moving around so much. Even as a very successful tattoo artist, she didn’t feel the need to settle anywhere, and thanks to her personal web-site, clients always knew where to find her if they wanted a new tattoo, or an add-on to her prior work. Sebastian continued to intrigue me for a very long time, even if he shared his inner thoughts and doubts with me, there was still a layer of mystery surrounding him, and it was hard to see if he would ever be the man Ivy wanted and needed in her life.

 

Between the danger, the trashing of her house, and having to refurbish the Black Rabbit, Ivy didn’t have much time to wallow, or to actually grieve for her uncle. Surviving Ice still managed to show how hard it is to live with the sudden death of a loved one, though, and Ivy’s coping mechanisms made a lot of sense to me. The romance was definitely hot – with a lot of teasing both on Ivy’s and Sebastian’s parts. Written in in first person point of view, past tense, the story was quite fast-paced, and still managed to shift the mood from sad and frightened to one of hope and the need to build a secure life for the future. If you’re a Tucker fan, I’m sure you’re going to love Surviving Ice, and if you haven’t encountered her books yet, you could start with this – it can definitely be read as a stand-alone, and it will keep you interested for the whole story.

 

Some of my favorite Surviving Ice quotes:

He’d never take a dime of rent money from me, even if I tried to pay. And I have tried.

 

Ian chews the inside of his mouth. That’s one of a few signs that his father’s death has affected him emotionally. He hasn’t shed a single tear from what I’ve seen. Neither have I, though – and I?m devastated – so I guess crying is not a good indicator of pain.

 

I wonder exactly how much he keeps from her. I wonder if she’d be looking at me like that – and inviting me to sleep under her roof – if she knew the kinds of things I’ve done for her husband.

*I received a free ARC of Omega from Smashwords via Xpresso Booktours in exchange of an honest and unbiased review*

Omega by Lizzy Ford
Series: Omega #1
Published by Smashwords on 25 October 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction
Pages: 490
Format: eARC
Source: Xpresso Booktours


Reading Challenges: 2015 New Release Challenge

In a modern world ruled by territorial Greek gods, the human race has been oppressed, exploited and now, nearly destroyed by the constant infighting of gods.
However, a human girl with the power of a goddess is coming of age. Alessandra is the Oracle of Delphi – the last prophesized – and bears the mark of the double omega. Soon after she turns eighteen, Alessandra is told her destiny: to step between the warring gods and the human race and save her world from certain ruin.
For the gods, her appearance marks the beginning of the end – their end. They and the Triumvirate – leaders of the human elite – who serve them will stop at nothing to preserve their power.
Alessandra emerges from the forest where she spent her life hidden from gods and men and immediately plummets into a race against time, gods, and herself to discover who and what she is in a world where everyone she meets has a hidden agenda, and those pulling the strings remain in the shadows.
Before she can determine exactly what kind of savior her world needs, she must first master her power by completing three trials devised by the Triumvirate to enslave her.
One lone girl stands between warring gods and the people she’s destined to protect, but it’s the battle to understand who she is that she must win first.

Omega is a tale including Gods from Greek mythology, as well as a girl who has trained her whole life for survival, without knowing why.

My Omega review:

I think that reading the prequels to this novel made me enjoy Omega even more, as I got to know the main characters in their previous life, and knew more about some of them than they did themselves. That being said, I am sure it’s possible to enjoy this story without the prequels, as the story is solid, with good introductions to the characters, their strengths and weaknesses, as well as a good dose of world-building that unfolded as Alessandra discovered the world outside of the monastery where she grew up.

The story is quite fast-paced, especially after Alessandra is forced to leave her safe haven. The big outside world she had so longed to discover was nothing like what she had expected, though, and she never knew who she could trust, or who she should run far, far away from. Omega is written mostly from Alessandra’s point of view, in first person, past tense, with a lot of dialogues to allow the readers to get to know the other characters as well. Some chapters are from other characters’ point of view, as well, which brings the world into a sharper focus, especially because Alessandra is very inexperienced when it comes to navigating in the city, surrounded by politics and people in high places who want a piece of her.

What I enjoyed the most in Omega was the Greek Gods who wanted to stay on earth, but they were so adamant about it they were ready to anything to keep a portal open so they could still have their powers. As it turned out, Alessandra was very important to their quest, but they weren’t the only ones who needed her to further their own agendas. Between the political machinations, the fights and action scenes as well as the rapidity at which Alessandra had to mature and understand the world, Omega kept me on my toes and had me wanting more at every page. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book in the series to see how Alessandra will deal with her predicament.

Some of my favorite Omega quotes:

“An apocalypse is not required to announce itself,” he stated
I bit my tongue. I knew better than to argue with Herakles. He was of a singular mind and convinced the world was going to end any day.

Sometimes he blindfolded me or hobbled one leg or arm so I had to survive for a weekend alone in the forest with simulated physical impediments. He first dropped me off in part of the forest alone with no compass when I was nine. I bawled for a day until he came to get me. Instead of taking me back, we stayed in the forest, and he taught me to navigate by the stars.

I had nothing to compare the experience to and couldn’t help wondering if I’d spent my entire life cut off rom such small pleasures. it made me despise the nymphs even more, since they probably spent ever weekend feeling whatever this was out in the real world.

Omega Giveaway:

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Purchase:
Amazon | B&N

AUTHOR BIO:
Lizzy Ford is the award winning, internationally acclaimed author of over thirty five books written for young adult, new adult and adult romance readers, to include the internationally bestselling Rhyn Trilogy, Witchling Series and the War of Gods series. Considered a freak of nature by her peers for the ability to write and release a commercial quality novel in under a month, Lizzy has focused on keeping her readers happy by producing brilliant, gritty romances that remind people why true love is a trial worth enduring.

Author links:

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Thanks for stopping by today! Good luck in the giveaway.

*I received a free ARC of Hanover House from Selfpublished via Netgalley in exchange of an honest and unbiased review*

Hanover House by Brenda Novak
Published by Selfpublished on 1 September 2015
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Psychological Thriller,Romance, Suspense
Pages: 198
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley


Reading Challenges: Summer COYER 2015

Welcome to Hanover House….

Psychiatrist Evelyn Talbot has dedicated her life to solving the mysteries of the psychopathic mind. Why do psychopaths act as they do? How do they come to be? Why don’t they feel any remorse for the suffering they cause? And are there better ways of spotting and stopping them?

After having been kidnapped, tortured and left for dead when she was just a teenager—by her high school boyfriend—she’s determined to understand how someone she trusted so much could turn on her. So she’s established a revolutionary new medical health center in the remote town of Hilltop, Alaska, where she studies the worst of the worst.

But not everyone in Hilltop is excited to have Hanover House and its many serial killers in the area. Alaskan State Trooper, Sergeant Amarok, is one of them. And yet he can’t help feeling bad about what Evelyn has been through. He’s even attracted to her. Which is partly why he worries.

He knows what could happen if only one little thing goes wrong…

Hanover House is really, really creepy! And well written with an amazing main character who has been through hell, and now wants to help figure out what it is that makes a psychopath. Filled with suspense and a little romance, this prequel definitely made me want more!

My Hanover House review:

From the very start of Hanover House, I was in awe of Evelyn! Instead of hiding and not confronting her fears after she was brutally attacked by her boyfriend when she was only sixteen, she went on to become a psychiatrist to try to find out what exactly it is that makes some people psychopaths. And she wanted to further her research to see if there was any possibility at all to try to find psychopaths before they did too much harm to those around them. The way she went about it was to get funding for a high security prison, where she would transfer serial killers who showed no remorse for their crimes, so that she could study them. When she was finally able to build her prison outside Anchorage, the local population wasn’t exactly happy with her. But she was determined to find out why Jasper had become the way he was, why he had killed her three best friends before he attacked her and made her stay in a living hell until he slit her throat and left her for death.

Evelyn definitely has some baggage, but she won’t let that stop her from making sure Hanover House will open, even if the one law enforcement officer in Hilltop, Amorak, was not happy about the new prison being built in his village, either. And plenty was gong out both in Hilltop and in Boston, where Evelyn was tying up loose ends, selling her condo and getting ready to move. Jasper being on the lose, but without anyone knowing his whereabouts made Evelyn on edge, and with very good reason! The psychological thriller aspect of Hanover House was so well done! Especially because some of it was narrated showing Jasper, and his inner thoughts as well. This prequel definitely whetted my appetite, and I’m sad I’ll have to wait almost a full year before the full novel in this series will be released.

Written in third person point of view, past tense, the narrator mostly followed Evelyn and her thoughts and feelings, with some extremely chilling insights to Jasper as well. Well written, with characters I want to get to know much better, Hanover House has a lot of promise!

Some of my favorite Hanover House quotes:

To hide the fear that slithered, snake-like, just below her skin, making the hair on her arms stand up, Evelyn paced across one end of the small, concrete cell, pretending to be absorbed in her notes.

Although she told herself that the same thing wouldn’t happen twice, no amount of self-talk could overcome the emotional response that welled up whenever the slightest sound, smell or other trigger reminded her of what Jasper Moore had done twenty years ago.

Jasper Moore had changed his identity several times over the years.