Saturday, 29 June 2013

The Silver Chain - Primula Bond


© Bianca


PRIMULA BOND - THE SILVER CHAIN
The Unbreakable Trilogy - Book 1
Release Date - July 4 - 2013
(AVON - Harper Collins, UK)

 ★★ 4,9 of 5 Stars



Bound by passion, she was powerless to resist.

One dark evening in London, photographer Serena Folkes is indulging her impulsive side with a night-time shoot. But someone is watching her – mysterious entrepreneur Gustav Levi. Serena doesn’t know it yet, but this handsome stranger will change her life forever...

Serena is fascinated by Gustav, the enigmatic owner of the Levi Gallery, and she soon feels an irresistible pull of attraction. The interest is mutual, and Gustav promises to launch Serena’s photographic career at his gallery, but only if Serena agrees to become his exclusive companion.

To mark their agreement, Gustav gives Serena a bracelet to wear at all times. Attached to it is a silver chain of which he is the keeper. With the chain Gustav controls Serena physically and symbolically – a sign that she is under his power.

As their passionate relationship intensifies, Gustav’s hold on the silver chain grows stronger. But will Gustav’s dark past tear them apart?

An erotic romance novel perfect for fans of 50 Shades of Grey and Sylvia Day’s Crossfire series. The Silver Chain is the first in the sexy, passionate and addictive Unbreakable Trilogy by Primula Bond.



After reading the blurb I was prepared for Sadie Matthews' Fire After Dark Trilogy meets Vina Jackon's Eighty Days Series. And after reading a few pages I still felt that way. And I mean that in a positive way - I loved those books. But just like with the Eighty Days Series, I'm afraid they are going to put this little round sticker on the cover of The Silver Chain Books saying: For Fans of Fifty Shades & Crossfire.
And that's just wrong! As Admin of a FSOG FanPage on Facebook I know that 95% of all Shadies do unfortunately NOT like the Eighty Days books. A lot more liked the Fire After Dark Series. But those books are just a touch too hard and there's not enough 'Hearts and flowers' for the average FSOG-Fans. So, if I could suggest a sticker for The Silver Chain books, try: For Fans of Fire After Dark & Eighty Days!


Now about the book:

Twenty-year-old Serena Folkes has a life to start living. That's why we start the book with her on a train from her little sea-side town in Devon to London. After her adoptive parents passed away and left her some money she packs up her cameras and pictures to move to the big city, where she plans on handing out her CV to art galleries. She will stay at her cousin Polly's flat. (Polly left to go to work in New York with her new boyfriend Pierre).
On the night of Halloween she's 'secretly' taking pictures children in a little gated park - that's when we meet Gustav Levi. A dark and handsome stranger with a vampirical vibe.

"A modern-day Dracula. A swarthy Edward Cullen."


They're instantly attracted to each other, even though he's almost twice her age. After some intense moments in the cold and dark park they're having a drink at a hotel bar, plus some more intense moments☺ and when she gets called away to a party, she forgets her cameras at the bar. That's how she finds herself in the Levi Building the next morning where she finds out that Gustav owns the whole building, including the gallery on one of the upper floors. 
Because he was curious, he checked out the pictures on her camera, and he's very interested in her work. In exchange for an exhibition of her photographs she will have to sign a contract that says she will be his until all her pictures are sold. He later gives her a silver chain - bracelet, with her name engraved on it,  to bind her to him......

I won't say much more - I don't want to spoil too much - only this:

- she has an ex-boyfriend - Jake
- he has an ex-wife - Margot
- he has a chauffeur, pilot, cook, bodyguard - Dickson
- he has an assistant - Crystal
- her past plays a big part in the book - the 'people' who raised her were horrible, unloving idiots.
- his past, of course, plays an important part too - his wife hurt him really bad.
- her silver 'bracelet' obviously plays a huge part - plus the chain he attaches to it - to keep her close ☺
- no idea for what it's supposed to stand, but his red scarf has lots of appearances in the book ☺
- his brother - the only family he had - is not in the picture anymore - there's a story there ;)
- we're flying to Switzerland - to stay at his chalet for a bit
- there's LOTS of sublte sex - and alone-sex - not much 'real' sex ☻
- there's spanking!
- voyerism plays a big part in the book - Peeping Tomasina!
- there will be Nuns ☺
- there will be a CLIFFHANGER ending!!!! I. DID. NOT. EXPECT. THAT. 

what I say - Bianca:

I really loved the book - it was different - but good different. Compared to other books in the erotic genres, there was a lot of written stuff to read ☺ WORDS - endless lines of words, with no breathing space in between ☺  
There is this huge connection between Serena and Gustav, but it takes them forever to finally get it right. It was a bit too slow for me - especially in the beginning. It felt like the two of them didn't have that much time together in the book. Serena was alone too much, talking to us too often. I can't wait for book 2 - the cliffhanger really left me hanging! I want to know what happens with Serena and Gustav and why and what and everything ☺ NOW, PLEASE!


what I say -Janeane

ARC received from publisher through Netgalley for honest review.

3.5 silver stars

Firstly, please don't promote this as one of those "If you loved Fifty Shade of Grey or The Crossfire series blah blah" book.

Books should not be compared to others, especially to blockbusters like those two series.

I really enjoyed the story in The Silver Chain, even though it did drag along for the first 3/4 of the book. I did comment to a friend who had also read it that "OMG it is sooooooo slow" and she agreed with me.

Gustav meets Serena one cold wintery night, just after moves to London. Sparks fly, and they can't seem to keep away from each other.

He offers her a business proposition with strings (or silver chains) attached.

I do no mind inner dialogue (thank god there was no Inner Goddess here),but boy Serena had a lot of it! I felt myself wishing she would move on!

I did enjoy the side stories of Dickson and Crystal, they tied into the stories quite well. The background with Gustav and Serena's exes was also good in helping us realise why these two work so well together - eventually.

By the time I got to the last 25% of the book, I like that things were moving along a lot quicker.

Oh, and what is the deal with the red scarf? Does it have meaning, or is it just described too much in the book and I noticed it?

Just be aware that there is a cliffhanger at the end - and even though a bit of a tedious read at times, I am looking forward to reading more.

Just please - don't drag things out so much.

► GO BUY THE BOOK ◄


here are the links to the book and to Primula Bond:








 BOOK 2 is expected to be released in NOVEMBER 2013!!!

Thursday, 27 June 2013

Cover Reveal - Breaking the Rules by HB Heinzer



Breaking the Rules by H.B. Heinzer

Cover Reveal

Hosted by:


Book Enthusiast Promotions

 Release date: August 1st
Author: H.B. Heinzer







Synopsis:

Growing up in small town Wisconsin, Carly Turner couldn't wait to escape when she graduated high school. Now, she's living the life in New York City, even if she isn't seeing her name in lights like she used to dream about at night. She's living paycheck-to-paycheck, working behind the scenes in small theaters off Broadway. When there's an equipment malfunction the week before opening night, Carly makes a call that winds up changing everything.

Life in the city isn't all it's cracked up to be. While she feels like she's getting closer to making the move from behind the scenes to center stage, she misses being surrounded by people who understand the quirks that come from living in a town of five thousand people. That, and the fact that he's sexy as sin, make Adam everything she feels like she's missing.

The only problem? He's her best friend's kid brother...

Adam Sanders wants to settle down, find a good woman and start a family like he sees so many of his friends doing. But how is he supposed to meet Ms. Right when he's constantly on the road for work? When he's sent to New York to handle a repair that would typically be contracted out as a favor to his boss, he's just about to his breaking point.

Everything changes when the stagehand sent to open the theater for him is none other than his big sister's childhood friend. The same girl he lusted after as a teenager. Could this be fate's way of showing him that he was looking in the wrong place for love?

As Adam and Carly's friendship develops, lines will be crossed and rules will be broken. Will they be able to come out the other side without destroying everything they had back in Brooklyn?

Author Bio:

With the exception of three years spent in the middle of Nebraska, H.B. Heinzer has called southern Wisconsin home. During that time in Nebraska, she imagined one of her favorite authors living on the far western edge of the county, just south of the highway. At the time, becoming a novelist was a distant dream for her. Now, she is the author living in that location. Ironically, she later found out that same favorite author lives just outside the town HB lived in for the first eighteen years of her life.

Now, HB lives in the middle of nowhere but still close enough to the city to not feel isolated. It's the perfect place to let her two kids run and explore their huge yard, teach them about the food chain as they prepare their first-ever garden and debate building a chicken coop. It's one of those dreams that is only possible thanks to the amazing opportunities that have come through writing.



Social Media Links:



Teaser:

"Hello?" A deep voice resonated from backstage. The way the timbre of the man’s voice echoed off the acoustic panels in the empty theater sent a shiver down Carly’s spine. She was surrounded daily by men whose voices could melt butter, but there was something about this particular voice that heightened her senses."Out here," she shouted, still wrestling to pull the set piece out of the curtain without causing any damage Dax would make her fix later. She blew a stray hair away from her eyes as the lighting contractor rounded the corner.

When she looked up, she did a double-take. The broad shoulders and angled jaw were all new but there was no mistaking the icy blue eyes looking down at her.  They were the same eyes she had seen nearly every day of her childhood. "Adam?"                

"Carly Turner? What are the odds..." 

When she had moved away from home, Adam Sanders had been a bit gangly and not nearly this tall. She figured he would have grown up to be the man a woman grew to love for his heart despite his awkward appearance. The fact that it looked like he wasn’t opposed to spending time in the gym and he had lost the child-like face did nothing to settle her nerves.Carly shook the thoughts out of her head. This was Adam, the boy who had been the little brother Carly never had. Even if she had never felt that familial bond with him, there was definitely a rule about drooling over your best friend's little brother.

"Well, I think they're probably long enough that there's no point in buying a lottery ticket tonight," Oh god, did I just compare seeing Adam to winning the lottery?

Monday, 24 June 2013

RUSH - EBOOK AB 25. JUNI ONLINE!!!



© Bianca


  ABBI GLINES - RUSH OF LOVE - ERLÖST 
(Teil 2)

Sie hat ihn verlassen. Ihre Welt liegt in Trümmern. Doch Rush kann sie nicht vergessen, er will sie wieder glücklich sehen: sie erlösen. Blaires Welt bricht mit einem Schlag zusammen. Alles, was sie für wahr hielt, ist nichts als Lüge. Sie weiß, dass sie niemals aufhören wird, Rush zu lieben – sie weiß aber auch, dass sie ihm niemals verzeihen kann. Sie versucht, ihr Leben wieder in den Griff zu bekommen. Ohne ihn. Bis ihre Welt erneut erschüttert wird. Doch was tun, wenn der Mensch, der einen am tiefsten verletzt hat, der Einzige ist, dem man noch vertrauen kann? 


AB HEUTE NACHT 00 UHR KÖNNT IHR DAS EBOOK DOWNLOADEN!!!

hier die Links - einfach draufclicken!





UND VERGESST NICHT NACH DEM LESEN EINE REZI ZU SCHREIBEN!!!!! ☺


LESEREIHENFOLGE DER RUSH BÜCHER
leider gibt es ja leider erst 2 auf Deutsch - aber falls ihr es jetzt nicht mehr aushalten könnt - vergesst nicht vor Rush 3 - Woods 1 zu lesen!!!


hier meine Rezis zu Woods 1 und Rush 3

Sunday, 23 June 2013

SOPHIA CHASE - HEAD OVER HEELS 2

© Bianca

Sophia Chase - Head over Heels - Teil 2 
 ★★ 4,5 von  5 Sternen

Nach dem Ende von Band 1 haben wir ja alle sehnsüchtigst auf den
2. Teil gewartet...jetzt ist er endlich da!


Klappentext:

Rose hat sich Hals über Kopf auf ihren Boss eingelassen. Er hat sie in eine wunderbare Welt der Lust mitgenommen und ihr gezeigt, wie wunderbar er sein kann. Doch ebenso hat er ihr oft genug bewiesen, wie unberechenbar er ist. Immer wieder sind sie beide gegen eine Wand gefahren. Ihre Versuche ihn an sie zu binden blieben erfolglos, bis sie sich ganz von ihm trennte. Doch die Sehnsucht ist einfach zu groß, die Leidenschaft zu mächtig und die Liebe zu stark.
Wie lange wird sie durchhalten und ihn von sich weisen? Wie lange wird sie ihm widerstehen können? Aber vor allem, wie viel Potenzial hat er? Kann er und will er sein Leben für sie ändern?



Zum Inhalt
--->>> (ACHTUNG SPOILER!) <<<---

Am Ende von Buch 1 war Rose ja von George's Party, und William's 'Flotten-Dreier-Plänen' abgehauen und stieg in ein Taxi - wo sich jemand zu ihr setzte. Wir hofften dass es William ist - dem war natürlich nicht so - es war Club-Besitzer Andy. Mit Andy hat sie sich dann in den Tagen nach der Taxifahrt angefreundet und viel Zeit mit ihm verbracht. Die erste Woche nach dem bösen 'Tag' verbrachte sie erstmal bei ihren Eltern.

Die Woche, die ich nach der bösen Auseinandersetzung mit William bei meinen Eltern verbracht habe, hat mich beseelt. Natürlich habe ich viel geheult und bin wie eine Verrückte am Strand herumgelaufen, als würde dort die Lösung begraben liegen.


 
Als Rose dann das erste Mal nach ihrem 'Urlaub' wieder ins Büro geht - ist sie doch sehr unsicher wie sich William ihr gegenüber verhalten wird. Sie sieht ihre Beziehung eigentlich als beendet an, obwohl sie ihn natürlich immer noch liebt.
Von William's Schwester Gaby hört Rose einiges aus William's Vergangenheit dass sie doch sehr nachdenklich macht.
Als sie zu einer Geschäftsparty müssen - und Rose zur Verstärkung Naomi mitnimmt, eskaliert es ein wenig, weil Rose sich betrinkt als sie merkt dass Willliam ein Date dabei hat. Als William Rose besoffen und flirtend an der Bar sieht - platzt ihm der Kragen und er packt die drei Damen in ein Taxi und setzt 2 seiner Begleiterinnen an deren Wohnungen ab, bis dann nur noch Rose abzusetzen ist. Er folgt ihr natürlich mit rein, weil er sich Sorgen um sie macht.
Nach ein wenig hin und her vertragen sich die beiden natürlich wieder ;) und verbringen ein sehr schönes, relaxtes und vor allem sexy Wochenende miteinander.

"Rose Erwing, Sie werden irgendwann mein Untergang sein. Frauen wie dir ist es zu verdanken, dass Männer ihre Häuser und Autos verspielen und anschließend bei einer Schießerei auch noch ihr Leben verlieren."


Weiter will ich nicht erzählen - lest es selbst ;)

nur soviel....
- Natürlich streiten die beiden sich nach wie vor, aber sie versöhnen sich logischerweise auch immer wieder.


- Es kommt ein RIESEN Geheimnis über William ans Licht - dass den Leser doch sehr überraschen wird.

- Rose bekommt einige schöne 'Sachen' von William zum Geburtstag geschenkt.

- Rose tut etwas, was William dezent ausflippen lässt und er tut ihr im Gegenzug etwas 'schlimmes' an, was vielleicht einige Leser etwas schocken könnte.

- Jemand böses tut jemandem was gefährlich böses an - gegen Ende des Buches.

"Jemand sagte einmal, ich hätte keine liebenswerten Eigenschaften. Das Einzige, was an mir hübsch anzusehen wäre, sei mein Gesicht, wenn es blutig geschlagen ist."



 "Ich bin immer an die falschen Leute geraten, die mir alles, was mir lieb ist, wegnehmen wollten."



- Es gibt einen wunderhübschen Epilog - der uns einen schönen Abschluss der Geschichte zu Rose und William beschert.




Meine Meinung:

 Ich fands ganz super. Klar - es ist nicht die Neuerfindung des sexy Romanes. Aber wer erfindet heutzutage schon was Neues ☺ Es war eine schöne, sehr sexy Romanzenfortsetzung auf die wir doch alle sehnsüchtigst gewartet haben. 
Bin ich minimal enttäuscht davon? Ja, leider, ein wenig.
Es gab so ein paar Minipünktchen die mich gestört haben:
(aber lasst euch bloß da nicht von abschrecken!!!)

- ich war schon gleich am Anfang etwas enttäuscht dass es Andy war der ins Taxi stieg - es hätte nicht unbedingt William sein müssen, aber irgendwie hatte ich mir da was spannenderes erhofft.
- die Versöhnung der beiden am Anfang kam doch irgendwie extremst überraschend und dezent sinnlos wie ich empfand.
- Von dem Geheimnis aus Williams Vergangenheit (die ca. 8 Jahre entfernte Vergangenheit) war ich leicht geschockt - nicht unbedingt negativ, aber irgendwie hat es nicht so ganz dahingepasst - es gab irgendwie keinen Grund für mich warum das nicht schon viel früher rauskam.

- Auch die 2. Versöhnung, nach dem schlimmen Ding was Rose getan hat, sowie nach dem schlimmeren Ding was William getan hat, kam wieder extremst zu schnell fand ich. 

- Es wird viel gesagt/rezensiert wie sehr das Buch doch an Shades of Grey erinnert - und tatsächlich sind einige Sachen hier sehr ähnlich!

- was mich am meisten störte war, dass die Situation, mit der Buch 1 endetet ÜBERHAUPT nicht mehr erwähnt wird, bzw. sind Williams sexuelle Neigungen auf einmal wie weggehext.

- ein Ausdruck hat mich gestört - liegt logischerweise an mir - aber ich hab das wirklich noch NIE gehört und es hört sich auch blöd an find ich  - und zwar SEINE RECHTE oder LINKE - anstatt einfach zu sagen - er streichelte mit seiner linken Hand über ihren irgendwas?? 

ABER - an sich hat mir das Buch gut gefallen - man hat's Ruck-Zuck ausgelesen - vor allem weil man ja wissen will wie es mit den beiden ausgeht. Aber auch weil es wirklich einfach nett ist. Eine schöne sexy Romanze. 
Den Epilog fand ich super - damit wissen wir was passiert und wir haben unser erhofftes HAPPY END!


Hier die Links zum Buch und zu Sophia:






Saturday, 22 June 2013

The Rules of You and Me by Shana Norris - Review




© ✰ Janeane ✰ Copy received from Netgalley for an honest review

Blurb

Hannah Cohen has always lived her life by a set of carefully constructed rules to maintain the image of perfection. But now, the rules aren't helping control the chaos that is quickly taking over.


Opting out of spending the summer in Paris with her mom, Hannah instead heads to the mountains of North Carolina to stay with her aunt. The Blue Ridge Mountains provide a barrier between Hannah and the rest of the world, a safe haven where her secrets can be forgotten.


When Hannah crosses paths with Jude Westmore, a guy who hangs a different shirt from the tree in his front yard every day, she finds herself breaking out of the comfort of her rules and doing things she had never dared before.   

As the summer passes, Hannah and Jude grow closer and make up their own rules for dealing with life.


But when the secret Hannah has tried to forget is finally revealed, even the new rules can't save her from possibly losing everything--including Jude.


Review

To get the most out of The Rules of You and me, I think it is best to read The Boyfriend Thief .  The author/publisher do say that The Rules of You and Me is a stand alone novella, however without some of the back ground from the first novel, some of the intricacies of the relationships between the characters will leave you thinking “but why?”

Here we meet 17 year old Hannah, told for years who she should be. The summer before her senior year of high school, her world is falling apart.  

She finds our her father life, which she thought he always had perfectly under control, is spiralling out of control.  Her mother just wants the image of perfection, so takes off overseas on vacation. 

Hannah decides to buck the system and spend her vacation with her aunt (who abandoned Hannah when she needed her years ago) instead of with her flakey mother.

What would a YA book be without the "troubled" boy for our heroine to fix and fall in love with.  This would be Jude.

The interactions between Hannah and Jude are very well written, you can feel the pain of both characters as they learn about each other, and learn to let someone else into their life.  They both have their tragedies and issues with family - the death of Jude's brother, the lack of a mother figure (seriously, as much trouble as Hannah's dad has got himself into, he is the much better parent than the self involved, selfish mother!!)

Jude's story just seemed to have a couple of unfinished/unanswered questions - he was accused of something, but we never find out more of why he was accused/what really happened?  It just seemed to be roughly kind of answered and swept to the side, which was disappointing.

I really quite enjoyed this book, although the ending seemed to wrap everything up in happy ending a bit quickly for me, after all the angst and drama throughout.  The mother had a complete personality transplant at the end, which after the way she had acted the whole way through the story was a bit of a let down. 

Teens/YA will enjoy this book, and even though I am well past my teens, I did enjoy this book. 




To purchase The Boyfriend Thief



To purchase The Rules Of You And Me  

Amazon US