Hard to Come By Review

Hard To Come By
Book #3 in the Hard Ink Series
Contemporary Romance
By Laura Kaye

Goodreads Summary:
Caught between desire and loyalty…

Derek DiMarzio would do anything for the members of his disgraced Special Forces team—sacrifice his body, help a former teammate with a covert operation to restore their honor, and even go behind enemy lines. He just never expected to want the beautiful woman he found there.

When a sexy stranger asks questions about her brother, Emilie Garza is torn between loyalty to the brother she once idolized and fear of the war-changed man he's become. Derek’s easy smile and quiet strength tempt Emilie to open up, igniting the desire between them and leading Derek to crave a woman he shouldn’t trust.

As the team’s investigation reveals how powerful their enemies are, Derek and Emilie must prove where their loyalties lie before hearts are broken and lives are lost. Because love is too hard to come by to let slip away…

Gabrielle's 4 Star Review:
         Derek and Beckett start out by checking out Emilie's home and the ground around her. They needed to find her brother, Manny, because he was a big part of the team's investigation. But they didn't find anything so Derek had to initiate a conversation with the therapist inside a coffee shop while on break.
To no one's surprise, considering how smoking hot Derek is, Emilie is immediately attracted to him.
         When Beckett and the team need more time, Derek seeks Emilie out and asks her on a date, that night. In most circumstances that would be EXTREMELY creepy but as I stated before, HE'S MEGA HOT, so she didn't really think much about it. She is hesitant though because her ex-husband cheated on her, so she tries to keep up a wall.
          As time goes on, Derek tries to spend more and more time with her even though he knows she's a mission asset and he shouldn't get involved. It takes a while but he finally comes clean to his team and Beckett freaks out big time. (Which turns out to be funny in the next book because he falls for a girl mid-mission, too.)
           While Emilie doesn't know about Derek's secrets she starts to worry about her brother more and more with his erratic behavior. Finally, she submits a report for him to be taken to the police or hospital so he could be evaluated... But she didn't know it would set off a chain of reaction causing a police officer to kidnap her, hoping it would bring Manny along... But instead, it brings Derek and his team and they do what is needed to get her out of the warehouse, alive and well. Or physically well, considering she was an emotional wreck.
            Derek finally comes clean about why he initiated a relationship with her and it backfires on him. She hates secrets because her ex kept so many from her... But as time goes on, Emilie can't hold a grudge because no one was sure if they'd make it out of this mission alive.

            I was looking forward to this book of the Hard Ink Series because Derek instantly became my favorite. Even though he lost his leg while in Afganistan, he still tried to keep everyone's moods up by always joking. He adjusted to having a fake leg and tried to prove to himself and his team that he was just as capable as they were. But this isn't my favorite installment in Hard Ink. It was a great read, and a wonderful addition to the series but I think I built Derek up so much in my head that I was let down.
           Emilie is a great addition to the Hard Ink family. She's a therapist so she takes the job of team therapist without hesitation. Without her, some of the team probably would have fallen apart (although her duties is more in the next book). Even though her brother was killed, she was a trooper and kept moving, never faltering whenever someone needed her.
          The steamy romance between the two was immediate and sparks flew everywhere. I felt their every emotion and it was an amazing ride to be on with them. When she found out he had a fake leg, she didn't look at him any different than before. Which, as sad as it is to admit, most people would think of him as less, but he wasn't. He's a solid teammate and he proves himself time and time again throughout the entire series.

Another well done job, Laura Kaye! I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good military romance, or anyone who just enjoys romance in general!

Hard Ink Series is wildly addicting. You've been warned! :)

COVER REVEAL FOR FURY ON FIRE

COVER REVEAL FOR FURY ON FIRE!!!!

Third book in the Devil's Rock Series

By Sophie Jordan

BLURB:

When you live next door to the big bad wolf . . .

After years in prison, North Callaghan is finally free. But the demons haunting him still make him feel like a caged beast. He loses himself in work and hard living, coming up for air only to bed any willing woman to cross his path. So when his new neighbor snares his interest, he decides to add another notch to his bedpost. The only problem? Faith Walters is a white picket fence kind of girl.

Prepare to be devoured.

Faith’s new neighbor is the rudest man alive. He’d rather grunt at her than speak and he takes her “welcome-to-the-neighborhood” scones without a thank you. She knows she should run for the hills from the ex-con. If only he weren’t so smoldering sexy…if only the sounds of him with other women didn’t drift through their shared wall and fill her with longing…and if only he didn’t look at her like they were a collision waiting to happen.

Rise of Fire Cover Reveal

COVER REVEAL!

Rise of Fire
Sequel to Reign of Shadows
YA Fantasy
By Sophie Jordan


Expected publication date: Feb. 7th, 2017!

Summary:

A love that binds.
A kingdom that divides.

Luna and Fowler may have fled the kingdom of Relhok but darkness still prevails. When a battle against the dark dwellers mortally injures Fowler, Luna is faced with a choice: put their fate in the hands of mysterious strangers or risk losing Fowler forever.

Desperate to keep the one bright part of her life alive, Luna accepts the help of soldiers from a nearby kingdom. Lagonia’s mountain-side castle offers reprieve from the dangerous outside world—until the King discovers both Fowler and Luna’s true ties to Relhok and their influence over the throne.

Now pawns in each kingdom’s political game, Luna and Fowler are more determined than ever to escape and build the life they’ve been dreaming of. But their own pasts have a tight hold on their hearts and their destinies. Luna must embrace the darkness and fire within her before she loses not only Fowler but the power she was destined to inherit.

Links to pre-order:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/28TjGl5

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rise-of-fire-sophie-jordan/1123722302?ean=9780062377678

The Great Pursuit Cover Reveal!

The Great Pursuit
By: Wendy Higgins
YA Fantasy
Second book in the Eurona duology

About The Great Pursuit:
Releases on March 7, 2017!

Lochlanach has traded the great beast for something far more terrible, a Lashed enemy veiled in beauty, deception, and a vengeance passed down through generations: Rozaria Rocato. And she’s offering the hunter Paxton Seabolt power and acceptance he could never receive in his homeland. Pax must decide how far he’s willing to go under her tutelage, knowing she is the opponent of Princess Aerity Lochson.

In a land where traditionalists dread change, the Lochlan throne must contend with mysterious foes and traitors, while attempting to keep revolt at bay. As dire circumstances strike the royal family, matters of the castle are left in Aerity’s hands. It's time to put aside her fears and grasp the reign, taking actions that have the potential to save or destroy her people.

One hunt has ended, but the pursuit for love and justice continue. In this sequel to The Great Hunt from New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins, political intrigue and romance intensify in another thrilling fantasy. Princess Aerity embraces a quest for identity and passion before making the ultimate sacrifice for her kingdom.


About the author:
Wendy Higgins is the USA Today and NYT bestselling author of the Sweet Evil series from HarperTeen and her independently published Irish fantasy, See Me. She is a former high school English teacher who now writes full time, and lives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with her veterinarian husband, daughter, son, and doggie Rue. 

Wendy earned a bachelor's in Creative Writing from George Mason University and a master's in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford. Writing Young Adult (YA) stories gives her the opportunity to delve into the ambiguities of those pivotal, daunting, and exciting years before adulthood.

Hard As You Can by Laura Kaye

Hard As You Can
(Hard Ink Series Book #2)

By Laura Kaye

Adult Contemporary Romance

Goodreads Summary:

Five dishonored soldiers.
Former Special Forces.
One last mission.
These are the men of Hard Ink. 

Ever since hard-bodied, drop-dead-charming Shane McCallan strolled into the dance club where Crystal Dean works, he’s shown a knack for getting beneath her defenses. For her little sister’s sake, Crystal can’t get too close. Until her job and Shane’s mission intersect, and he reveals talents that go deeper than she could have guessed. 

Shane would never turn his back on a friend in need, especially a former Special Forces teammate running a dangerous, off-the-books operation. Nor can he walk away from Crystal. The gorgeous waitress is hiding secrets she doesn't want him to uncover. Too bad. He’s exactly the man she needs to protect her sister, her life, and her heart. All he has to do is convince her that when something feels this good, you hold on as hard as you can—and never let go.

Gabrielle's 5 Star Review:

Shane McMcallan is a sexy ex special forces soldier who was wronged, as was his remaining teammates who still alive and even the ones who died on the day they were all betrayed by their commander. For a year after they were discharged, he tried getting ahold of Nick, their second in command, (Also, Nick's book was Hard as It Gets) but Nick never returned any of the phone calls, emails, texts... Anything. And in the first book, Nick did everything he could to regain his best friend's trust but Shane needed more than just words.

Shane struggled with the kidnapping of his younger sister when he was only a teenager. So, when they find out that Church (the gang they are in the middle of fighting) is kidnapping and selling women, he almost goes insane.

He meets Crystal at the strip club where he had to rescue Charlie. After their initial meeting, he goes to her place and he starts to slowly gain her trust and without him realizing it, falling for her.

Crystal is stuck working at Confessions, the strip club owned by the notorious Church gang because when her father died, he was in debt to them. In the beginning, she met Bruno. He rescued her from being used and sold off so she thought she could trust him... That he was a good (or at least better) man but as time went on he proved to be abusive. But she put up with it because he paid for her sister's epilepsy medication. She keeps telling herself that in a few months, her and her sister can leave because she's saving money but the longer they are there the more dangerous it becomes for them.

After a couple meetings, Crystal and Shane start to fall for each other. Their "relationship" is forbidden because she is helping him to go against very dangerous people. People who wouldn't hesitate beating and selling as if they aren't humans. As time goes on, both realize their feelings for each other but they try to fight them. Crystal was planning on leaving and leaving Shane behind in the process.

Then, Crystal sneaks into her boyfriend's office to look for any evidence that could be of some use to Shane. Her purse falls over and she picks everything up quickly before Bruno comes back. Bruno finds something she left behind and realizes she is working against him. So, he shows up at her house and kidnaps her sister. Shane and his fellow teammates team up with the Raven Riders to try take down Church once and for all, and most importantly, to save Crystal's sister before she is sold off to the highest bidder.

Can Crystal and Shane survive the race against the clock to save her little sister? Will their love hold them together even as they uncover secrets about each other?

I had no complaints about the book. It went above and beyond my expectations. I loved the inner battle Shane had when he wanted to forgive Nick for abandoning him but at the same time, he was too hurt to forgive. As time went on though, he forgave Nick, and Nick helped him mostly get over his sister's kidnapping. Crystal had more depth to her than I could ever think possible. She held on by a thread when everything fought against her. She didn't even want to tell her sister any of her problems because she didn't want her sister to feel guilty.

I also love how when Crystal went to Hard Ink for a safe haven, the men accepted her as one of their own. None judged her or held any grudges against her. And Becca welcomed her with open arms (literally hugged her the moment they met). This group of people are people I wish I could meet and even become friends with.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance with a bit of edge to it. Or just to anyone because it was simply that great. Great job, Laura!

Hard As It Gets Review

Hard As It Gets

By Laura Kaye

Adult Contemporary Romance

Goodreads Summary:
Trouble just walked into Nicholas Rixey's tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm, sexy, wholesome--pure temptation to a very jaded Nick. He's left his military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is his ex-commander's daughter. Loyalty won't let him turn her away. Lust has plenty to do with it too.

With her brother presumed kidnapped, Becca needs Nick. She just wasn't expecting to want him so much. As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized crime ring, only Nick can protect her. And only Becca can heal the scars no one else sees.

Desire is the easy part. Love is as hard as it gets. Good thing Nick is always up for a challenge..

Gabrielle's 4.5 Star Review:
The book starts out with Becca Merritt, who goes to a tattoo parlor, in a desperate search for a man her brother told her to find in a secret code because he was kidnapped. First she meets, Jeremy Rixey. He is funny and down to earth, a breath of fresh air... But he soon realizes Becca is looking for the other Rixey brother, Nick. Enter Nick. He is brooding, doesn't give a crap about her problem, and is a complete a** hole. But after he turns her away, guilt eats away at him and he searches for her to make sure she is okay. Then crap hits the fan and they're thrown together because without him, she would be dead or kidnapped within five minutes.

A war rages inside Nick because she is the daughter of the man who betrayed him (who died) and his fellow soldiers but he soon realizes she is nothing like her old man. He calls in his former special forces team - the remaining live men - and tries to convince them that Charlie, Becca's brother's, kidnapping was part of why their commander betrayed them. Eventually, each member of the team agrees and they throw together a plan, without cops because the gang has some of them on their payroll, and attempts to save Charlie.
As time goes on, Nick and Becca grow a bond between the two of them. But Becca learns that Nick kept secrets from her, big ones... And Nick has to learn that she isn't her father and that she truly cares about him and his men.

First, I'll start off with saying how I like how he turns her away because if he didn't then it wouldn't make any sense because he hates her father with a passion and it only makes sense his hatred would be shot at her, too. But then he very quickly changes his mind and pretty much stalks her... But his stalking does save her from getting hurt. She somehow trusts him too quickly, in my opinion at least, and his men.
The heat between Becca and Nick is undeniable but it should have been the last thing on their minds. But I do think their chemistry is off the charts. Nick is stubborn and confused but Becca is patient with him, knowing there must be a reason for his mood swings.

When the rest of his team comes in, I love the tension between them. Each of them, other than Marz, holds a grudge against Nick because he disappeared without checking in on his men. (Nick was the second in command.) Shane, Nick's best friend, is the one who is the angriest and he has a reason to be. He called Nick numerous times, emailed, but Nick ignored every message. But they are a team and when one of them calls... They all come running to aid them. I love their sense of loyalty.

Becca quickly shows the men that she ISN'T her father and each of them start to realize it. By the end of the book, every man 100% realizes she is her own person and she personally earned all of their trust. It is a great book for romance, loyalty, friendship. I read it in two sittings because I couldn't put it down. None of the issues I listed above dettered me from wanting more and more and more. I bought the second book before I even finished the first so I could read it ASAP.

Perfect Chemistry Review

Perfect Chemistry

By Simone Elkeles

YA Contemporary Romance

Simone went to my little sister's school because I was a winner of her giveaway. She was one of the nicest and funniest authors that I have ever met, and I've met quite a few authors.

Simone and her books change lives.

Author's Summary: 
A modern tale of star-crossed lovers with a fresh urban twist. 
At Fairfield High School, on the outskirts of Chicago , everyone knows that south-siders mixing with north-siders can be explosive.  So when Brittany Ellis and Alejandro “Alex” Fuentes are forced to be lab partners in chemistry class, this human experiment leads to unexpected revelations – that Brittany ’s flawless reputation is a cover for her troubled home life, that Alex’s bad-boy persona  hides his desire to break free from gang ties, and that when they’re together, life somehow makes more sense.  Breaking through the stereotypes and expectations that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart, Perfect Chemistry takes readers to both sides of the tracks in a passionate love story about looking beneath the surface.


Gabrielle's Review:
Brittany Ellis is the most popular, perfect girl at Fairfield High school. She has to project the image that she and her family is perfect but she and her entire family has plenty of imperfections. Her mother is mean, her father is never mentally present whenever he is home, and her sister has a mental slowness. So Brittany has to pretend to be the most perfect girl in town.
Alex Fuentes is the most thoughtful and loving gang member you will ever meet. He pretends to be tough and mean but deep down he has a huge heart. He's in Latino Blood to keep his family safe, and younger brothers away from gangs. He never did anything for himself.
Throw them together in chemistry and force them to become partners, this happens:

"'Miss Ellis?" Mrs. Peterson says. 'It's your turn. Introduce Alex to the class.'
'This is Alejandro Fuentes. When he wasn't hanging out on street corners and harassing innocent people this summer, he toured the inside of jails around the city, if you know what I mean. His secret desire is to go to college and become a chemistry teacher, like you, Mrs. Peterson.'
Brittany flashes me a triumphant smile, thinking she's won this round. Guess again, gringa.
'This is Brittany Ellis,' I sat, all eyes now focused on me. 'This summer she went to the mall, bought new clothes so she could expand her wardrobe, and spent her daddy's money on plastic surgery to enhance her, ahem, assets. Her secret desire is to date a Mexicano before she graduates.'
Game on..."

Slowly, the two of them realize there is more depth to the both of them than they allow anyone to see, and that they are more alike than anyone else they know. Brittany brings out the goodness in Alex and together they try to fight the odds even though they are from different sides of the tracks.
Alex takes a bet that he could get into Brittany's pants before Halloween. That is what starts his pursuit to the perfect barbie who he thought was as shallow as a kiddie pool. He didn't want ot lose Julio, his motorcycle he built by himself. They then begin to break down each other's walls and experience new things.
Simone brings to life two wonderful characters. This book teaches people to not judge a person based on rumors and appearance. It was beautiful to watch two unlikely people fall head over heals for each other. I felt their love as if it were my own.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves YA contemporary, forbidden love stories, or books that bring awareness about youth gang members and trying to find where you belong.