Tuesday 29 December 2015

★ First Touch (First & Last #1) ★ Laurelin Paige ★


Bianca Janeane



LAURELIN PAIGE
FIRST TOUCH
First & Last #1
• release date:
29 December 2015
384 pages
• Book #2 LAST KISS will be out in June 2016

★★★★★
4.5 Stars

When Emily Wayborn goes home to visit her mom while on hiatus from her hit TV show, she receives a voicemail from her former best friend, Amber. Though the two were once notorious party girls, they haven't spoken in years. Although the message might sound benign to anyone else, Amber uses a safe word that Emily recognizes, a word they always used to get out of sticky situations during their wild days. And what's more chilling than the voicemail: it turns out that Amber has gone missing.

Determined to track down her friend, Emily follows a chain of clues that lead her to the enigmatic billionaire Reeve Sallis, a hotelier known for his shady dealings and play boy reputation. Now, in order to find Amber, Emily must seduce Reeve to learn his secrets and discover the whereabouts of her friend. But as she finds herself more entangled with him, she finds she's drawn to Reeve for more than just his connection to Amber, despite her growing fear that he may be the enemy. When she's forced to choose where her loyalty lies, how will she decide between saving Amber and saving her heart?




Emily and Amber were best friends. They did a lot of stupid shit when they were young. Gave sexual favors to rich guys, to have a better life - a more luxurious life. But Emily wanted out of that life. She wanted something more, something real, and that's why she left for Hollywood. She hasn't seen Amber in years. But now there's a message on her mom's phone. A seemingly normal and innocent message....only Amber uses an emergency code!!! THE EAGLY FLIES AT MIDNIGHT!!! Hehehe, kidding....

Blue Raincoat!

Emily knows Amber has to be in really big trouble.
Some research into Amber's life leads her to him....
REEVE SALLIS.

He was infamous, famous, and if the rumors were to be believed, dangerous - a multibillionaire luxury resort owner and legendary bad boy.

We don't know how and if at all he's connected to Amber's disappearance, but Emily and her PI think so. To find Amber, she has to get close to Reeve. Close as in naked if it comes to that. She needs to find out what happened to Amber - and there are some very dangerous rumors going around about Reeve.

And even though Reeve is all the things she thought him to be, he's so much more too. She can't stay away from him. If he wasn't this supposedly real bad person, he might just be the one guy she always dreamed of belonging to.

 But she's not here to fall in love - she needs to find her friend......


WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO Emily & Reeve???
WILL THEre be a Happy Ever After for them??
WILL THERE BE A HORRIBLE CLIFFHANGER?



I'm not telling you that




well - there might be a tiny little HUGE Cliffy!
 ____________________________________________________





I really enjoyed this book.

This story had everything I love in my books:

VERY EROTIC MOMENTS!
Suspensy & mysterious & exciting moments!!!
HOT GUYS!!!! AKA REEVE!!!!!


You want Reeve to be a good guy. You want him to be good for Emily. You want them to get their Happy End together....but you're just not sure. He could be a murderer, a sex-trafficker, a greek mafioso....
But of course we hope that it's all just a misundertanding, and he's a really good person.

I couldn't put the book down. I just had to know if Emily would find Amber, and if Reeve had something to do with her going missing.
But all through reading this book, I knew that it would probably end with a really bad Cliffy :/
Grrrrrrr - I sooooo need the second book ASAP!!!!



Was there a little something I didn't like?
Hm, not really - it's more that some things, to me personally, felt just weird.
I can't understand how a girl can do the things Emily did with Amber when they were only 17.
And then I didn't much like the whole belonging to a guy thing - extreme version. The whole name-calling in the bedroom - ewwww. Some moments in this book were a bit too much for me.
Also the tiny fact that Emily kind of uses Reeve the whole book through. Yes, she starts to develop feelings et cetera, but as long as she's not telling him about Amber, the situation with Reeve is not a nice thing in my opinion. I know it belongs in the story and it has to be like that, but I didn't like it. Made me feel bad for Reeve, even if he really were the bad guy.......BUT .... I still loved Reeve and the story!!!!

FIRST TOUCH was extremely erotic, mysterious, exciting. An amazing romance!!! Can't wait for book #2! GO & one-click yourself some Reeve NOW!!!!!



(Here comes a tiny little rant about something that bothers me hugely.
And it's probably just me and maybe another 2-3 people out there, I know that, but it's just this hard limit I have for my books....
I know people - especially many american people - are religious (no idea how intelligent people can believe in a non-existent character from such an old book, but that's another rant for another day) - anyway. I know people are sometimes religious, BUT - if you are....and if you are an author, and the point of being an author is to get as many people as possible to read your books.... then PLEASE DO NOT THANK GOD in your Acknowledgments!!!!! Or if you just HAVE TO do it, please put those Acknowledgments AT THE END OF THE BOOK!!! That way I don't start the book being mad about stupid things - it's just going to ruin my reading pleasure....the story might be amaaaazing, but all I can think about for the first chapters is how stupid people have to be to believe in a God!!! - NO OFFENSE INTENDED - it's just my personal opinion!!!!)



ARC received for an honest review

What a great book!

You know how sometimes you read a book, get to the end and think "WTH was that I just read?" - but in a good way?  That was how I felt when I finished First Touch.

Emily, Reeve and Amber's story is not a light, fluffy story.  Far from it.  It is dark, gritty, 

It starts out with a bit of mystery, and had me on the knife's edge right until the end.  Emily's search for her friend Amber is always going to be dangerous, so please remain seated and keep arms and legs in the car, as you are going to be taken on one hell of a ride.

Reeve Sallis is the definition of bad boy. Dark and brooding. Rumours and innuendos add to the mystery that is Reeve.  Even at the end, I still could not be 100% sure if he was or wasn't a baddie.

I so want him to be a good guy, for himself, for Emily.

Emily, Emily, Emily.... what the hell woman!  I want to like you, but I don't know.  Are you still just using people, or are you a changed woman?  There were times I wanted to reach into my kindle and slap you!

Together Reeve and Emily can be oh so good, but they can be oh so bad for each other.  They are explosive together, but could be each other's downfall.

There were a couple of things that happen with Emily and her friend Amber that at times I had to put the book down for a minute to gather my thoughts.  But this is a good thing.  It means I was drawn right in, was feeling things that made me uncomfortable, but made me want to read more.

First Touch delves into darker subject lie drug use and abuse, sexual domination, BDSM.  There is plenty of emotion and tension bubbling away beneath the surface, just waiting to erupt.

And just when you think it might be about to happen.

 BAM - we get cliffhangered.

Ms Paige amazes me every time I pick up a new book, and I can't wait for part two of this series.

  LiNKS TO THE BOOK AND AUTHOR


BOOK #2 LAST KISS - will be out in June 2016











STALK LAURELIN ON:


FACEBOOK HOMEPAGE GOODREADS TWITTER
 
USA Today and New York Times Bestselling Author Laurelin Paige is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however. When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, or dreaming of Adam Levine & Michael Fassbender. She is represented by Rebecca Friedman.

✜ Mastered ✜ Maya Banks ✜ #TheEnforcers1 ✜

© Bianca   
    

MAYA BANKS - MASTERED

• release day 29 December 2015
• #1 in the ENFORCERS Series
• 368 pages






 



What he wants, he takes with no remorse or guilt.
 
She stood out in his club like a gem, unspoiled and untouched. A lamb among wolves, she clearly didn’t belong. Drawn to her innocence he watched as she was surrounded by men who saw what he did
but no one but him could touch her. He summoned her to his private quarters. He sensed her fear. He also recognized the desire in her eyes. And he knew she wouldn’t leave before he possessed her. She had no need to know his secrets. Not until he had her under his complete and utter control.
 
What he wants, she isn’t sure she can give him.
 
The moment he told her want he wanted, she couldn’t resist. Instinct told her to run, but her heart said stay and walk the fine line between pleasure and pain. Though she wasn’t sure she could ever completely surrender, the primal part of her wanted to try, even knowing this man could break her in ways she never imagined. Because once he possessed her, he owned her and it would be too late to turn back. She can only pray that he doesn’t destroy her in the end.



 

23-year-old Evangeline is your typical shy, innocent, almost-virgin.
Her idiot ex Eddie dumped her cruelly after telling her she totally sucks in bed...and not in a good way.
Her friends/room-mates want her to win back some confidence - to show Eddie what he threw away - so they send her to the in-club in Manhattan IMPULSE --- a club owned by Drake Donovan!

Drake.
He's your typical dominant, dark, hottie millionaire.
He doesn't have time for girlfriends, or love or any other stupid shit.
He controls his life 100 percent. In and out of the bedroom.

As soon as Evangeline entered his club, his eyes were on her.
And once her ex Eddie started making a scene, hurting Evangeline, Drake sent his security team to get rid of him. And to bring this gorgeous girl to him.
He's fascinated.
She doesn't belong in his world. But he wants to make her his.

And even though the night ends very sexy, Evangeline will not just stop her life and be his 'Angel' from now on...or will she??
Can she give up her life, stop working to support her sick parents, and just be this hot guy's plaything?
Or does Drake want more than just someone available for sex 24/7???

What will happen to Evangeline & Drake?
Will there be a HEA?
Will there be a horrible Cliffy??


Will everybody survive???

  ______________________________________________________


I really enjoyed the story.
It was nothing new of course.
(And if I remember correctly, Maya wrote kind of the same stories in her Breathless series??)

The dominant guy - the poor innocent girl.
BUT - those are the stories we love. The cinderalla romances.
And even though there were some pretty unbelievable/weird moments in MASTERED for me - I still enjoyed it. I wanted to know if Drake and his Angel would get their HEA at the end... well - the end of the series... we still won't know after this book :/ #Cliffy

What's been a problem for me with Maya's books for a few years now.... she just writes too many words.
She does horrible redundant repeats. When she lets people talk or think, it can add up to half a page for one thought or argument, that's just too long - it would be ok if it was important stuff they're saying, but most of that is repetition and unnecassary stuff. I don't know why Maya doesn't have an editor who's really good at his job and is willing to cut some of the redundant words??? Please someone DO THAT for the next books.
(The last KGI book I read - Hancock's story - I was sooo looking forward to it, but couldn't read it - I only read the conversations so that I knew what was happening - why make a 600 pages book, when you can say the same - and better - in 400 pages??)

Also - the way they talk in this book - it felt a bit like they time-traveled from 1800 England.
Maya uses very weird and so horribly webster-ish senctences. I didn't like that at all. I hope you'll know what I mean when you read it. I can't really express what I mean extactly ☺
BUT.... to my surprise....

Mastered was a really erotic and moving and funny and adorable book in a series about a very rich, mysterious, dominant millionaire hottie and his innocent Angel. If you love erotic Cinderella Romances - GO AND BUY IT!!!!



Now hurry Maya, I need to know what will happen in book #2 ☺


LINKS TO THE BOOK AND AUTHOR





STALK MAYA ON:

Meet Maya

Hi, and welcome to my home on the internet!
My name is Maya Banks and I live in Texas with my husband and three children and our assortment of pets. I’m more of a cat person, but my daughter became convinced she NEEDED a dog. So convinced in fact that it became her mission to convince her father and me. She prepared a two page handwritten proposal that detailed WHY she needed a dog, and well, after I sent her to her father (I knew he wouldn’t tell her no) we embarked on the search for the perfect dog. The journey that was two hours away and that I got pulled over for speeding while I was on the phone with my agent who had an offer from a publisher for one of my books… The officer wasn’t impressed. He wrote me a ticket anyway. Thus, I now tell my daughter that her dog turned into one very expensive concession! But isn’t he cute?
When I’m not writing, I love to hunt and fish with my family. We all love the outdoors and go on family hunting trips every year. We also love to travel. One of our more recent trips was to Scotland, which was every bit as comical as National Lampoon’s European Vacation. You know the part about “Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament” as they went round and round the roundabouts? Yeah, that was us, only we couldn’t even get out of the airport in Glasgow without hitting three of those suckers.
Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of a writing career is getting to meet so many wonderful readers. There’s nothing better than dishing books with someone who loves the romance genre as much as I do. Romance readers are passionate and vocal. We love our books, love our happily ever afters, and we love to spend time talking to others about our favorites. THIS is why I love my job so much, and I’m so grateful to readers who gave ME a chance when I began my career. So thank you.
Love, Maya Banks

Monday 28 December 2015

★ Last Wish ★ Erin Butler ★


Bianca


Some things can never be fixed....

ERIN BUTLER - LAST WISH
• release date:
28 December 2015
I suggest you reas HOW WE LIVED before reading LW - I'm reading it now - after Last Wish - and I hate reading older books after the newer ones! HWL is the book about Kelsey & Chace. BUT both are standalones, so it's not absolutely necessary, I'm just weird that way. ☺

★★★★★
4.9 Stars

Nothing feels right. Not since my best friend died and I fucked up the one promise he asked me to make. The past follows me everywhere, tangling me up like weeds, reminding me that my life is empty. So fucking empty.

Then she walks into the bar, all bright beauty and sweet lips made for kissing.

Em Stewart is a complication...one I need to avoid. She’s got heavy secrets of her own, ones she hides from her friends
and lies about to herself.

No matter how hard I try, I can't resist her, and our unexpected road trip sure as hell isn’t helping my cause. But I’ll be damned if I screw up my first chance at something real...




We're in a small College town - everybody knows everybody else's business.
And everybody knows that Ronan's best friend Kyle died about a year ago. And everybody - including Ronan - now hates Chase. One person doesn't though: Kelsey. Kyle's sister. She's in love with Chase.
And Ronan can't understand and approve. He promised to keep Kelsey safe. How can he do that when she wants to be with Chase. Or is Chase not the bad guy everybody thinks he is?
 Kelsey & Chase's story has been told in HOW WE LIVED! I wish I had known that before reading this book :(

Ronan hasn't really lived since Kyle died.
But now there Kelsey's best friend Em. She's not letting him suffer in silence.
Somehow he ends up on a road-trip with her. (After rescuing her from being stranded on the road - after finally leaving her violent idiot of a boyfriend.)

Ronan is really attracted to Em, and she seems to be the first person to finally draw him out of his grief. She makes him want to start living again.

But of course there's the fact that he might only be her rebound - and there's also the fact that her ex Nate hasn't given up on her yet...
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO Em & Ronan???
WILL THEre be a Happy Ever After for them??
WILL THERE BE A HORRIBLE CLIFFHANGER?

I'm not telling you that



of course there's no Cliffy ☺
 ____________________________________________________




I really enjoyed this book.

I just wish someone would've mentioned that Kelsey & Chase's story had already been told in a previous book!!! I hate when that happens to me - I want to know everything there is to know about everything when I start a new book :/
Of course it's not really necessary to know the first book - this is a standalone - but still.
I just one-clicked the first book and will read it right after this one ☺

LAST WISH was a really cute romance.
Ronan is this sad, cute guy.
And Em, with her bully of a boyfriend.
She's been kind of in love with Ronan since they were little.
But he never saw her like that.
But now that she broke up with Nate (Nate might not know that yet, though.) she might have a chance with Ronan - but he doesn't seem all too willing to start something. He's still grieving, and probably still in love with Kelsey.
Only he never was in love with her. He just promised to protect her.
But Em is just too adorable for him to resist.
And he really needs someone to pull him out of his mourning!

LAST WISH was a very moving and cute romance!!! GO & one-click yourself some Ronan!!!!!


  LiNKS TO THE BOOK AND AUTHOR


I suggest reading HOW WE LIVED first☺


STALK ERIN ON:


FACEBOOK HOMEPAGE GOODREADS TWITTER
 
Erin Butler is lucky enough to have two jobs she truly loves. As a librarian, she gets to work with books all day long, and as an author, Erin uses her active imagination to write the kinds of books she loves to read. Young Adult and New Adult books are her favorites, but she especially fangirls over a sigh-worthy romance.

She lives in Central New York with her very understanding husband, a stepson, and doggie BFF, Maxie. Preferring to spend her time indoors reading or writing, she'll only willingly go outside for chocolate and sunshine--in that order.

Erin is the author of BOUND IN BLOOD, a YA paranormal novel, HOW WE LIVED, a contemporary NA novel, and the YA contemporary romance titles, FINDING MR. DARCY: HIGH SCHOOL EDITION and FALLING FOR SHAKESPEARE. Find out more about her at www.erinbutlerbooks.com or @ErinButler on Twitter! You can also sign up for her newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bylfx9