My Book Chatter...: Book #1

Showing posts with label Book #1. Show all posts

October 9, 2016

Forgotten Book Reviews ~ Menagerie by Rachel Vincent

Whilst going through my archives I found a few book reviews that seem to have been overlooked and left unpublished... so here's the first from my 'forgotten book reviews' file!

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Title: Menagerie (Menagerie #1)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Publisher: MIRA
Release Date: September 29th 2015
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley

When Delilah Marlow visits a famous traveling carnival, Metzger's Menagerie, she is an ordinary woman in a not-quite-ordinary world. But under the macabre circus black-top, she discovers a fierce, sharp-clawed creature lurking just beneath her human veneer. Captured and put on exhibition, Delilah in her black swan burlesque costume is stripped of her worldly possessions, including her own name, as she's forced to "perform" in town after town.

But there is breathtaking beauty behind the seamy and grotesque reality of the carnival. Gallagher, her handler, is as kind as he is cryptic and strong. The other "attractions"—mermaids, minotaurs, gryphons and kelpies—are strange, yes, but they share a bond forged by the brutal realities of captivity. And as Delilah struggles for her freedom, and for her fellow menagerie, she'll discover a strength and a purpose she never knew existed.

The general meaning of Menagerie is a collection of wild animals kept and trained in captivity for exhibition, so I was interested in the concept of keeping animals/beings/mythical creatures in a fair-ground, much like the oddities in freak shows back in the day - or most recently as seen on television on the show American Horror Story (Season 4, 2014). And I've always been a sucker for myths and legends, so I was intrigued as to how this story would bring all the elements of story together.

I liked the beginning - it had a definite changeling (Irish/Scottish) folklore feel to it and I was immediately sucked in, such a promising start. The flash forward to her 12 year old self was okay - but it didn't really follow on the anticipation of the introduction. And then another time jump to 'present' day. *note: I'm not a fan of the multiple time jumping thing unless it completely affects future narrative and/or is actually at time travel novel (in hindsight - not so much).

TBH - Dililah is boring. Boring life. Boring job. Boring boyfriend. Just boring. And I guess that's the point - she needs to grow as a person once she 'reveals' herself, it's a plot point - only it doesn't really work because she stays consistently boring! There are no high points or light points of story line to really get you motivated to root for her character and the possible romance factor is on such a slow burn it may in fact fizzle out - and for all their abilities/talents/weirdness - nothing of any importance ever really happens. It's all too even keeled which really is a shame. The potential for this story to blow your mind is right there - and yet its totally overlooked in favor of a 'nice' read.

I also was not a fan of the news 'snippets' interspersed amongst the chapters in an attempt to clarify 'the reaping' that had occurred - it just tended to add mud to an already murky story line.

So while I was not impressed at all by this book, I am curious to see if the author can improve on the story next time around, so I may give book #2 a look.

I so wanted this to be an epic story... but with very little light and shade, it was just mediocre at best - 2 stars

April 20, 2016

Release Blitz ~ Dirty by Kylie Scott

Are you ready to get Dirty?

Dirty is Book One in Kylie Scott’s Dive Bar Series

is FINALLY here!

NOW LIVE!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1Q7LCyb

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1OYc53N

iBooks: http://apple.co/1TOAhIG

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1MetF1F

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1Mez6t6

Blurb

The last thing Vaughan Hewson expects to find when he returns to his childhood home is a broken hearted bride in his shower, let alone the drama and chaos that comes with her.

Lydia Green doesn't know whether to burn down the church or sit and
cry in a corner. Discovering the love of your life is having an affair on your wedding day is bad enough. Finding out it's with his best man is another thing all together. She narrowly escapes tying the knot and meets Vaughan only hours later.

Vaughan is the exact opposite of the picture perfect, respected businessman she thought she'd marry. This former musician-turned-bartender is rough around the edges and unsettled. But she already tried Mr. Right and discovered he's all wrong-maybe it's time to give Mr. Right Now a chance.

After all, what's wrong with getting dirty?

About the Author

Kylie is a long time fan of erotic love stories and B-grade horror films. She demands a happy ending and if blood and carnage occur along the way then all the better. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and one delightful husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet.

Kylie is represented by Amy Tannenbaum at the Jane Rotrosen Agency, New York.

Stalk Kylie Scott: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

February 19, 2016

Blog Tour ~ The Affair by Giana Darling

The Affair by Giana Darling

Blog Tour

2/15 - 2/19

Is a week of passion enough to warrant changing their lives forever?

Italian born Giselle Moore is reinventing herself for the second time in her short twenty-four years of life, trading in her bohemian artist’s life in Paris for the grit and glamour of New York City where the family she hasn’t seen in years awaits her. But before beginning her new life, she travels to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico searching for a week of relaxation and reprieve before barreling into her turbulent future.

She never expected to meet the handsome and enigmatic Frenchman Sinclair on the plane and she certainly never would have imagined herself accepting his proposal for a weeklong, no-strings-attached affair. Giselle has never experienced anything as heady as Sinclair’s controlled seduction and cool yet devastatingly erotic commands and she finds herself powerless to stop the ferocity of their passions, even when she discovers he has a partner back home. The last thing she needs in her life is another complication, yet as the week wears on, she finds it surprisingly easy to relinquish control to Sinclair, a man she knows nearly nothing about. And to her horror, the one thing she promised never to submit, her battered heart, is just as easily captured in the business mogul’s unyielding hands.

~*~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~*~

Giana Darling is a Canadian romance and urban fantasy novelist currently writing a romance series entitled The Evolution of Sin and a Frankenstein inspired vampire urban fantasy novel, The Bloodletting. After living in the French Alps, Paris and various places on both coasts of Mexico, she lives in the gorgeous city of Vancouver, British Columbia with her best friend and a cat named Persephone. When she isn’t writing, she hosts dinner parties, travels extensively and reads like it is going out of style.

Giana can be reached by:

Email: gianadarling [at] gmail.com

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/gianadarling/

Twitter: @gianadarling

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Giana-Darling/

July 15, 2015

Release Day Blitz ~ Mine by Marie York

Synopsis

The only thing Nixon Bennett ever excelled at is fighting. No one ever understood him, especially his parents and sister.

Then Brooklyn Davis walks into his gym, and his world shifts.

Brooklyn is just like him in so many ways, and yet so fragile in others.

Can she fix this broken boy even though she's broken herself?

Add to your TBR on Goodreads

Purchase Link
Amazon

About the Author

Marie York is an American writer who works the corporate circuit by day but come nightfall transforms into a steamy writer. She loves the city life and a good cocktail.

Facebook | Goodreads

June 23, 2015

Blog Tour Review & Giveaways!!~ Private Love in a Public Place by Toni Kenyon

Private Love in a Public Place
Published August 28th 2012 by Apeople Publishing
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15823105-private-love-in-a-public-place
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Private-Love-Public-Place

Mags O'Brien lives on the alcohol-soaked, drug-enhanced concert circuit, managing out-of-control rocker Julian MacAvoy. She helps him spread his musical gospel to his adoring followers, despite the fast-spinning turnstile on his bedroom door, and the broken hearts he leaves in his wake.

Mags believes she’s immune to Julian’s magnetic personality but when controversy hits the tour, she finds herself in danger of falling at his feet, slave to his appetites and her own desire and need.

Julian refuses to be tamed, but the pressure of the ravenous crowds clamps tighter and tighter around him. His chaotic world starts to crumble when he realizes his motivation to continue touring comes from an unobtainable woman. Can he force her to make the agonizing choice between himself and her estranged husband?

An erotic and candid look at life on the road.

At some point or another, most people have lusted after someone they know, perhaps a co-worker, or even the boss; and Mags is no different. The trials and stresses of being on tour, have stretched her marriage to breaking point. Her husband has become more of an annoying friend than lover, and her annoyingly charming boss is getting her hotter by the day.

I loved Mags - all things considered, she is an incredibly normal woman in an unreal world fueled by booze, drugs, and overinflated ego's. She's struggling to keep herself sane, while pandering to the every need of her crew and her 'star' boss Jules.

Jules is a great leading man. He's cheeky and funny with just the right amount of sarcastic flair - although he does have a tendency to sulk, but he's sexy and alluring, and knows that Mags has the hots for him.

A great cast of characters to both love and hate, Private Love in a Public Place has been expertly written, drawing the reader in right from the start. The life of this on-tour band was both descriptive and entertaining, perhaps a little predictable in parts, but it was definitely shaken up with some really unexpected twists and turns - and lets not forget the hot sex! While there are some really tender and heartfelt moments of aww, there is a decent amount of hot blooded, I-want-you-right-now sex :)

Right out of left field, the author spun this story on its head and had me gasping with shock and excitement. I was not expecting that at all, a great turn of unexpected events :)

Toni Kenyon has written a really great story around a life we usually only hear about through trashy magazine articles using mysterious sources and telescopic photo lenses. But instead of just your typical hype, the author has brought to life the real story behind the scenes; she has made her celebrities human, fallible, and extremely likeable - warts and all.

A thoroughly entertaining and pleasurable 4 star read.
memorable line...
"He whispered pacifying words to me through my hair; they ran like warm treacle down the long strands, taking eventual residence in the small caves of my ears."

The Fan
Published April 18th 2013 by Apeople Publishing
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17348248-the-fan
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fan-Rockstar-Romance-Private-Love

"Have you ever lusted after a famous musician? Or maybe you've fantasized about being 'the one' to be plucked from the audience. What really happens when the lights go down?

With a fast-spinning turnstile on his bedroom door, Julian MacAvoy spreads his musical gospel to his adoring followers, leaving broken hearts in his wake. What did happen between Julian, Barbie and Young Elvis that one night after the gig?

THE FAN is a short explicit romp - written for those of you who desperately need to know what happened in that bathroom - or for anyone else who has lusted after a famous musician!"

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Public Love in a Private Place
Published May 21st 2015 by Apeople Publishing
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18008139-public-love-in-a-private-place
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Public-Private-Place

Having faked his own death to escape his out-of-control lifestyle, Rocker Julian MacAvoy and his beloved Mags are lying low in the Far North of New Zealand.

Enjoying their newfound anonymity, Julian has to come to terms with the prospect of discovery when Mags turns their new life upside down by announcing that she's pregnant.

Will this reformed bad-boy be forced to return to his rock star roots?

Romantic, erotic and awash in the beauty of the Far North of New Zealand, PUBLIC LOVE IN A PRIVATE PLACE captures the essence of the rock star's dilemma: The Band or The Girl.

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Toni Kenyon lives in Auckland with her husband (and their two dogs) the goldfish are just squatting! She writes romance by day, sings in a band by night and in her spare (yeah, right) time she wrangles difficult heroes into line, so they can star in her next novel. Toni also loves the garden and has a special place in her heart for her fruit trees and her veggie patch. A keen amateur photographer, Toni posts “Mood of the Suburbs” shots across most of her social media profiles. She loves to hear from like-minded people, so pop on over and say 'Hi' any time.
Visit her website and sign up for her newsletter so you can stay informed about her new releases.

Toni can also be found at:
Website: www.tonikenyon.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Toni.Kenyon.author
Twitter: @Toni_Kenyon
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/Toni_Kenyon
Instagram: www.instagram.com/toni_kenyon

Not only is there a tour wide rafflecopter giveaway with a $30 Amazon gift card up for grabs, but as an added bonus I'm giving away a kindle copy of Private Love in a Public Place to one lucky blog follower!

Just leave your email address in a blog comment for your chance to win!!
(winner will be drawn and emailed on Saturday!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to check out all the participating blogs for reviews, guest posts and more!