Who here remembers Vice, a steamy little number by Rosanna Leo? Well, get ready to swoon because book two in the Vegas Sin Series, Covet, is here!
Heat Level: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Overall Rating: 6/6 Glass Slippers
Dana’s fiancé crushed her in the worst way possible; over a stale muffin in a hospital cafeteria after she’s given a painful diagnosis. So she sashays away like Diana Ross and goes to drown her sorrows in a local bar. As the saying goes, the best way to get over a man is to get under another and her new friend at the bar, Alex, fits the bill.
Las Vegas developer Alex has a bit of a reputation and a bit of a following, so he gives a fake last name when he meets Dana, and they share an hour together that rocks his world. But when he goes back to find her, his Cinderella is gone and she doesn’t even leave a slipper behind. Months later, he’s still wondering what became of the girl with the midnight eyes that haunt his daydreams.
When their paths do cross, it might take more than a few glasses of white and a few minutes of privacy to pick up where they left off. They’re both carrying their own heavy baggage, but if they can learn to let go, they might just be okay.
As you know, I’ve already rated this book a 6/6 on the Slipper Scale. It was hot, hot, hot, sweet, dramatic, and hot. But it didn’t just make me blush, it made me think and feel, something that not every book can do.
I felt for poor Dana, left by a man mere minutes after being told her chances of having a child were down to almost nothing. And I felt for poor Alex, hounded by the press after a tragedy that basically forced him to move across the country. They had complex backstories that didn’t weigh down the story, but humanized the characters.
But their chemistry was electric. Their banter and the little ways they interacted made their relationship believable and fun. Their passionate climb out of the darkness has that perfect spin that makes you remember what you love about romance novels.
Overall Rating: 6/6 Glass Slippers
Heat Level: ❤️❤️
One of the hardest parts about writing reviews is that sometimes you need to leave out some of the best parts, as to not spoil anything. All I can say is that Quinn has certain abilities that ties her to Elise in a way she can’t fully explain. As more of Elise’s life is revealed, the deeper Quinn’s character development goes. She lives her life alongside Elise’s past in a seamless way that Shapiro should be congratulated for. It’s difficult to time hop without confusing readers or muddling the stories, but everything is crystal clear in this book by the end.
Overall, if you couldn’t tell, I loved this book. I could see it as a movie with the same thrilling, dramatic feel as The Da Vinci Code or Tulip Fever. In ebook, paperback, or audiobook, this is the perfect read for lovers of thrillers, romance, and mysteries.
My summary does not do this book justice, but it’s so hard to create one when every small detail is like a breadcrumb leading to something big. Thomas paints a picture of pre-war life, down to the last vestiges of high society expectations and the dark beer of the Germans. Immersing yourself in a historical is truly part of the charm of reading and Thomas embraces it.
What do you get when you cross cocky heroes and heroines with Cocker Spaniels? Why, Cocky Cockers, of course.
So pour yourself a glass of whiskey, give towards the good fight, and answer the siren song of the cock. After all, it’s cheaper than a cop of coffee, so what do you have to lose? No, really. It’s literally cheaper than a Grande Cafe Latte from Starbucks. Total steal.
Today, we’re going to be exploring a book with a much darker theme than most we share. But often, the books with the harshest look at reality are the ones most important to read. After all, is there anything more frightening in the world than the things that we, as humans, do to one another?
Aaliyah was born into a loving family with two parents, a full toy box, and the carefree innocence that children inherently have. But when her father crosses the line and assaults her, Aaliyah’s life if turned upside down and the once promising trajectory veers sharply off course.
I’m sorry to leave the description on such a cliffhanger, but Aaliyah’s journey is the book. Unless you can walk beside her and really take in all the trials of her teens and adult life, you can hardly appreciate the work Benson has created. Still, Aaliyah’s story isn’t just words on a page, it’s the end result of months of research and true stories that are reflected on the pages.
Now that we’ve discussed the book and why I found this novel particularly engaging, let’s get to know D. Odell Benson and find out what brought her to write Queen’s Innocence.
4. Your biography states that you were born in Philadelphia (this makes us almost neighbors!) did the city of your birth lend any inspiration to your work?
9. How long did it take you to write Queen’s Innocence?
11. Do you have any plans to continue Aaliyah’s story?
Overall, I found this book to be engaging and raw. It was difficult to read at times, due to the harsh subject matter, but I find that that’s what makes it an important work. While parts were dramatized in a “Lifetime Movie” way that made them almost unbelievable, the themes were universally understandable across the board. I recommend this book to any reader over the age of 18 who wants to learn more about clawing your way back to the light.
Meghan is a natural performer. She made her rounds through the high school drama and choir scene and went to college to hone her craft. While it wasn’t what she expected, she couldn’t leave the entertainment world completely behind.
There is still joy in what she does, as she adores historical romance and fiction. A love passed on to her from her mother, it is what ultimately led her to Secrets and Charades, a sweet historical, western romance with more than one hidden agenda and man in disguise in its pages. Download Secrets and Charades
Evangeline is a no-nonsense doctor In Missouri that is far less interested in marriage than most women her age. She’s content to tend to her patients and recover from a small scandal that hit her medical practice. But her niece Maggie has other ideas. Maggie, pretending to be Evangeline, answered an ad for a wife in the matrimonial times and had been corresponding with a man named Jake for quite some time before coming clean to her aunt. Initially scandalized, Evangeline soon thinks that maybe a marriage of convenience and a fresh start is just what she needs to shake off her past. Besides, she believes the Lord works in mysterious ways and perhaps marrying Jake is all in the plan.
Okay, so I’ll start with the story first. Overall, I enjoyed the book. Because there was no physicality or overt romance scenes, the plot had to carry the book completely. In that, it did not disappoint. It had everything you would expect in a western, and more. There was the fallout from the civil war, cattle thieves, racist shop owners in a dusty town, men on the run, and the ramifications of women’s rights and breaking the glass ceiling of what is expected of a woman and a wife. As a historian, the story was vastly believable as well and I didn’t find any inaccuracies that might ruin it for another history buff.
As you know, I’m a historian with a degree and everything. I struggle to enjoy a historical book when timelines don’t add up and there are things like lightbulbs decades before their invention. But I didn’t have that big of a problem with Raymond’s novel. Some parts were “modern” in the sense that their conversations contained phrases that weren’t part of the American dialogue before the 1950’s, and Kate’s complete independence was sometimes a little too much for that time period, but things like that are easy to overlook when you’re enjoying the book. It had the feel of the late 1800s, and to me, that’s more than enough.
Cal has a reputation as a bad boy, a guy that leaves a girl when she decides she loves him. He’s not a mean person, just emotionally stunted, which is why he’s intrigued when a guy he knows named David makes him a bet. David gives Cal one month to get prim and proper Min into bed. The number on this bet? Ten thousand dollars. There’s a bit of a communication breakdown between the guys, but Cal finds that he’s drawn to the self-proclaimed chubby girl in the flashy shoes. He finds himself shedding his tough facade around her and figuring out for himself what in the world would really make him happy.
