Friday, 25 November 2022

✪ Retribution (Lexi Winter #2) ✪ Sarah Barrie ✪

 


 

Once a vigilante, she's now a cop ... but she still plays by her own rules. A fast-paced, suspenseful thriller for readers of Candice Fox and Sarah Bailey.
Ace hacker, ex-prostitute, Jack Daniels drinker and part-time vigilante Lexi Winter returns, now working with the police - mostly - with a new enemy in the target and an old foe at the back of her mind.

Most probationary constables would baulk at chasing a drug dealer into a train tunnel in the dead of night. Not Lexi Winter. She emerges injured but alive, to face the wrath of her boss. Lexi may now be in uniform, but she has as much trouble with authority as ever, and is quietly using her hacking skills to investigate a notorious drug-dealing Sydney crime family with links to her old prey, the paedophile Damon Vaughn.

Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant Finn Carson investigates a death on a Sydney building site ... which oddly enough, leads him to the picturesque Wondabyne station on the Hawkesbury River, and Inspector Rachael Langley oversees an investigation that could tie it all together. Lexi holds the key ... if only she'll toe the line ...

 

ARC received via Netgalley for an honest review

Copy received via Netgalley for an honest review

The first book in the Lexi Winter series, Unforgiven, is an amazing tale, so getting an early copy of the next book Retribution was a big thumbs up from me.

And wow. Just wow. Retribution is an adrenalin-inducing, non-stop heart thumping conclusion to this particular storyline (I am hoping there will be more Lexi Winter in the future.)

Lexi is now skirting the line between vigilante and police officer, and as frustrating as it is for her and her supervisors,I love how they give her room to do her "thing" as well as getting her to toe the line.

I needed to turn each page to find out what was happening, while also wondering what twists and turns we would be taken on next.

I just loved this story and I look forward to more from Sarah Barrie in the future.

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, 22 November 2022

🌅 Tasha Boyd 🌞 STOLEN ENGLISH 🚤

 © ✰ Bianca ✰ Janeane ✰ 




• 22 November 2022
• Broken French Spin-Off

★★★★★
4.9 Stars


She’s going to make him break all of his rules, break down his walls, and tell her a truth he’s been hiding for almost a decade. And in the process, probably break his own heart.

Andrea

I didn’t think I’d live another day. It’s been almost ten years since I escaped to a life I could never imagine. And to a man I can only dream about. Evan Roark has been my beacon, he’s been the man who’s shown me that men who are strong can also be safe. After almost a decade, I’m finally ready to take back my life and remember the woman inside me, the woman who wants, who needs, who loves, who feels, who craves
… only he’s made it clear I can’t crave him. But I haven’t made it this far to make a new life only to fail now. I want him to be the one to help me erase my past and get over my fears. And if he wants to be all up in my space being bossy and over protective, and looking so hot, then I can’t help it if I’ll try anything possible to get him to touch me.

Evan

Nine years ago I asked my best friend, Xavier, for a favor, a way to keep Andrea safe. While I run security for him and guard his family against all threats, I can also keep her close. I keep her close, but never touch. But when she paints a target on her back by filing for divorce, I'm forced to make a choice, and it's her I have to protect. And now she’s calling my bluff, letting me know she’s ready to finally trust another man to hold her, to touch her, to love her
… It’s killing me. I want it to be me, but I can't be both her lover and her protector. If I give in, then I won't see the threat coming. I know what happens when I get distracted. People get hurt.

But she’s making it so
… damn… difficult.

What will it take to have them both give in to what has been there for longer than either of them knew?

Set against the back drop of Southern France in and around a tiny story book village reminiscent of Belle's village in Beauty and The Beast, comes a story of a woman who's life was stolen by an abusive husband, and the man who'll help her remember the woman she is inside.
 



Andrea + Evan
 
Before you start reading this book please read BROKEN FRENCH first.
Both are standalones, but all the people are in both books!
And this one spoils a tiny little bit in the beginning, because when Stolen English starts, Broken French is not yet done!

Okay. Andrea and Even. There have been sparks for years.
Both are working on Xavier's yacht.
Well, Andrea is the chief steward and works only five months of the year on the yacht and Evan is Xavier's security guy and best friend - so he's around Xavier all year.
Ten years ago Andrea got out of a very dangerous marital situation and Xavier hired her to work on his boat.
Andrea and the reader don't know exactly what happened back then or how deep Evan is involved with things.
Andrea just turned 33 and she thinks that she's finally able to leave the security of the yacht and live a normal life. She got a job in a museum and a cute little apartment in the little town of Saint Paul de Vence.
But Evan is not letting her go that easily. How can he keep on protecting her when she's not on the yacht anymore?
So he rents the room next to hers for the next few months.

LET THE FUN TIMES BEGIN ...


ADORABLE!

I loved Broken French so much, so this book didn't have it easy with me. But I really loved it! It didn't have the same exact oomph for me though ... It had all the things. A super hot bodyguard hero, romance, suspense, sparks, sexy times, funny times, heartbreaking times, sightseeing times, adorable moments, et cetera. And I really enjoyed reading it and I LOVE Evan and Andrea so much. I just loved Xavier and his girls a tiny bit more.
Maybe it was Andrea's sad past that made the mood a bit darker. And also the wasted years made me a bit sad or maybe even somewhat angry at them.
But that doesn't mean that this second book was bad in any way.
You won't be able to stop reading - you need to find out how everything will end.

Like the first book, this one was pretty long - and I could say that it was a tiny bit too long with a few scenes or back and forth moments that could've been cut. But it's still all so very read-worthy. Nothing was too much or redundant - I could've read another 150 pages. But it still felt a tiny bit long at various points. No idea what I mean. LOL.

I would not mind seeing these two books as two seasons of a show on Netflix one day. With all the beautiful places and the eating and drinking and the hot guys!
 
From the beautiful cover to the last scenes in the final epilogue - this was a such a sweet + heartwarming romance with some very serious topics! READ IT!
 
STOLEN ENGLISH was such a beautiful + heartwarming + sparky + sexy + french + british 'finally' love story. Run to your nearest book dealer to get your own Evan - this one is MINE!




 

↓ Links to the Book & Author ↓

 


Book #1

 


if you haven't read Natasha's #Eversea #ButlerCove series yet - DO IT NOW!!!



Charleston Book #1




Charleston Book #2
  





Natasha Boyd is an internationally bestselling and award-winning author of contemporary romantic southern fiction. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, and has a background in marketing and public relations.  Eversea, her debut novel, was a finalist for Contemporary Romance in the 2013 Winter Rose Contest, won the 2014 Digital Book Award for Adult Fiction and is a LIBRARY JOURNAL self-e selection 2015. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Georgia Romance Writers and Island Writer's Network in coastal South Carolina where she has been a featured speaker on book marketing.  She lives with her husband, two sons and the cast of characters in her head.
Natasha grew up in South Africa, Belgium and England. She now lives and writes full-time in the USA.
Her work is available in English, Italian, Turkish, German, and Indonesian.

Tuesday, 15 November 2022

⏲ Jodi Ellen Malpas 🖤 THIS WOMAN 💕 #ThisManFromHisPOV1 🔥

 


THIS WOMAN
Jodi Ellen Malpas

• 15 November 2022
• This Man Series #1.5
★★★★★
4.5 Stars

Jesse Ward has stumbled through life drinking and indulging himself within the rooms of his high-class sex club, The Manor, numbing himself to the pain, grief, and guilt of his wrongs. Pleasure and alcohol are his medicine. Hedonism is all he knows.

It’s how he copes.

How he survives.

Until Ava O’Shea strolls into his office and knocks him back with her breathtaking beauty, ambition, and drive. It only takes one look into her eyes, one touch of her skin, and one word murmured, before his heart is kick-started, offering him something he never thought possible. A distraction from his daily torment. A semblance of peace.

Women never reject Jesse Ward. They fall at his feet, melt from his charismatic, devious smile, and obey his every salacious command. All except the one woman who unwittingly becomes his obsession and the only thing that can keep him from the brink of self-destruction.

He needs Ava and will do anything to have her.

Even hide every last skeleton in his large closet.

Because the truth could destroy them both.





Ava + Jesse

We all know this story. Ava told it to us years ago.
And now it's Jesse's turn to tell his side of everything!
And I mean everything!
We start with a little look into teenaged Jesse and what happened back then.
And then of course we meet Ava for the first time and Jesse is done for.
It's like his heart is finally starting to beat again after so many years.
But we know it won't be easy to get to that happy end with Ava with all his secrets and his past and his enemies ....



Oy! 🔥

Ugh! I usually don't like these 'his-side-of-the-story' books that come out years later. But we all love Jesse so much - we just have to read this and love it!
And I did love it. And hate it. Or rather hated parts and people in it - like we did before of course.
It's somehow all so much more interesting when the guy tells the story.
I just loved listening to his crazy.
But I also kind of missed Ava's thoughts. We don't get anything from her - obviously. But it bothered me more than it usually does in these books. Ugh - that's why I hate single POV books. I need both my people to talk to me in my books.
And with Ava's thoughts completely missing here - we don't get the complete picture. We miss the falling in love thing completly in my opinion. If I were a new reader and hadn't read the old books - I would stop reading at so many crazy Jesse moments!
I read Ava's books twice at least - and even I was this close to stop reading a few times.
Jesse needed therapy so badly ages ago. Poor guy.

He said it best himself in the book:

Someone needs to have a serious word with me
because I'm trying myself and getting nowhere.

There's not much more I could say without telling you all the secrets. Which is stupid because you might think you already know everything. But you don't .... 
(insert creepy Halloween laughter!) 

This book is a 100% Must Read for all fans of Jesse!
I would not recommend this for new reades. Please read Ava's books first.
You will get the shock(s) of your life if you start with Jesse's side. LOL!

I loved reading this book and I can't wait to get the next ones in Jesse's POV.
Like I said before there are some moments where you want to stop reading or where you just want to hit him over the head with your kindle. (Especially that one time in the beginning when he has those stupid few days! Ugh - I wanted to k*ll him!)
But the poor guy has a lot of growing up to do - despite his age he's still a young boy. With his horrible parents and his lifestyle he never really had a chance to mature in a normal way. Which does not excuse his horrible behavior but we can understand him at least a little bit.
Okay - that's all. READ this book if you love Jesse and if you don't yet know him - get Ava's books and fall in love with them for the very first time. It won't be easy but it'll be worth it!

THIS WOMAN is a Must Read for all fans of Jesse and Ava - and if you haven't read Ava's books yet - run - don't walk - RUN to your nearest book dealer and buy those books! And then come back for Jesse's side of everything!
You'll get Sexy. Crazy. Sweet. Erotic. Insane. Adorable. Hot. Funny. Loco and most importantly you'll get.... the Lord himself: JESSE WARD!! THIS SERIES IS A MUST READ!





↓ Links to the Book & Author ↓
 


Pre-Order Book #2
 




if you haven't read the THIS MAN series yet - DO IT NOW!!!

This Man Novella 3.5

  

Book #4





Other Books by Jodi:

Unlawful Men Book #1

 

Book #2

 

Book #3
 

Pre-Order Book #4 - January 2023
 

Arts Book #1




Book #2


Leave Me Breathless


  


The Protector


THE FORBIDDEN!

  








‘A lingering idea that I just couldn’t ignore.’ – Jodi Ellen Malpas

Jodi Ellen Malpas was born and raised in the Midlands town of Northampton, England, where she lives with her husband, boys, and a beagle. She is a self-professed daydreamer, a Converse and mojito addict, and she has a terrible weak spot for alpha males. Writing powerful love stories and creating addictive characters has become her passion—a passion she now shares with her devoted readers.

Her novels have hit bestseller lists for the New York Times, USA Today, Sunday Times, and various other international publications and can be read in more than twenty-four languages around the world.