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Showing posts with label #review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #review. Show all posts

Did you get an e-reader for Christmas? Like Australian Stories? ~~ #kindle #Australia #Football #MFRWAuthor


 
 Blurb:
 
Can their new love survive the scrutiny of the public eye?
After his father’s heart attack, Australian Football League player Tyson Gaspaldi takes his parents on holiday to a small place at the New South Wales coast.
One morning, following a surfing session, he comes across a crying woman on the beach. Everything about her intrigues him, and he can’t walk away. She’s not only sexy and humble, but, as he soon finds out, vulnerable as well.
It’s only been a few months since Katie Cassidy lost her sister in a car accident.
Still overwhelmed by the loss, a chance encounter on the beach with an attractive stranger awakens unexpected emotions inside her. She’s instantly drawn to his caring nature, but also his looks.
However, Tyson’s past quickly catches up with them, causing Katie’s childhood demons to return, and the road to romance becomes anything but smooth.

 
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Excerpt:

Over an hour later, Tyson took the next wave back to shore. He shook the water out of his hair and wiped his face before he walked back towards his car. As he struggled with his surfing board against the gentle breeze, he saw a woman sitting only a few feet away from him. Her body shook from her sobs as she wiped away her tears. It was none of his business, yet he stopped. He disliked the feeling of pity and helplessness creeping up on him. Inhaling a deep breath, he turned and walked towards her.

“Hi there,” he said quietly so as not to startle her.

She quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and turned to him. Shading her eyes with the other hand, she echoed his greeting, “Hi.”

Ty’s gaze went out over the ocean before looking back at her. The thin long-sleeved shirt which hugged her curves nicely, and the cargo pants she wore, gave her a very casual, but sexy look. She smoothed a loose strand of her curly light brown hair behind her ear and met his gaze. Although teary and red, the beautiful green colour of her eyes shone through brightly. He knew he couldn’t walk away. He looked at her for a second or two, noticing the tight lines of her lips. Still, she had a beautiful mouth. Even though her lips were slightly swollen from crying, there was an urge inside him to touch them and find out what they felt or tasted like. He sighed. Not that long ago he’d burnt his hands with a girl in his life and had sworn off the opposite sex, but there was something about the woman in front of him that drew him in and intrigued him. He’d always been a sucker for a lady in distress.

“Are you okay?” he asked, scratching his head.

Her mouth curved into a tentative smile. “Yes, I am.”

He frowned. “Was that sarcasm in response to a stupid question?”

“Yes, it was.”

Damn, she had a gorgeous smile that made his stomach tighten. She didn’t offer more.

After a brief, but silent moment, he offered her his hand. “Tyson.”

She ignored his hand. “Nice meeting you, Tyson.”

He chuckled. “This is where you tell me your name.”

She let out a sigh as she looked away from him. It was a fine line he was walking. He was well aware of it. More than anything else, he wanted to help her. It was in his nature. She was hurt, and it seemed she was alone as well.

“Apologies, I didn’t mean to come on to you. But I’ve never been good with going past a girl who cries.”

“Does that happen often?” she asked as she turned back to him.

“Actually, no.” He laughed. “Only with my little niece.”

A tiny smile appeared on her face. “How old is she?”

Raising an eyebrow, he asked, “My niece? Turned four just a few days ago.”

She stared at him as he waited for her next question. Yet, it never came.

“I’m kinda getting cold here,” he said after a long moment. “Could I invite you for a coffee or tea?”

“No, but thank you for the offer. And thank you for caring.”

“Will you be here again tomorrow?”

A small sigh escaped her lips, and she shrugged slightly. “Not sure.”

He nodded and stood.

“It’s Katie,” she said as she stood as well.

Ty’s heart skipped a beat. “Nice meeting you, Katie.”
 

***

 
Katie stared after Tyson. She couldn’t believe how fast her heart was still beating. It’d been a short conversation, but his smile and his touch had done all sorts of crazy things to her insides. With one final hiccupping sob, she picked up her jacket from the sand and walked across the dunes towards the parking lot. For the first time since Paige’s death, she experienced a sense of joy. It had only been a couple of minutes that she’d talked to Ty, a stranger, but she liked him. Wiping the last tears from her face, she walked to her car, recalling those chocolate brown eyes beneath his black lashes and the straight line of brow. But it’d been his smile that’d been so contagious. His teeth were even and white, in a nice contrast with his olive skin. Anticipation rushed through her as she contemplated returning the next day. In her mind, she imagined touching his body. He’d looked so damn sexy in his wet suit, unzipped down to just below the navel, revealing a muscular chest and powerful shoulders. She’d certainly been attracted to his tall, athletic physique. And she liked the way his dark, damp hair had started to curl slightly around his face.

Katie walked towards her car across the street when she heard her mother’s voice. “Here you are, love.”

Katie turned and smiled. “Mum? What are you doing here?”

Her mother placed her hand on Katie’s shoulder. “Caring for my little girl.”

A smile tugged at Katie’s lips, appreciating her mum’s words. “I needed a little time out, I
suppose.”

“I had a feeling you’d be coming down to the beach,” her mum said before placing a kiss on her daughter’s forehead.

Taking a deep breath, she leaned into her mother’s embrace, enjoying the comfort of a parent. “I miss her so much, Mum,” she said, her voice nearly breaking. The tears streamed down her face once more as her chest tightened again. Grieving was so painful, emotionally and physically. Yet, for the first time since her sister’s death, Katie felt something other than mourning. Something different. Sadness had suffocated all other emotions, but today something had surfaced. She wasn’t sure whether it was good or whether she was ready for it, but she’d never believed there was a timeline to grieving a person.

“We all miss her, darling, but she wouldn’t want us to stop living. Her life’s come to an end, you will need to live your life with twice as much enthusiasm, with four eyes, with two hearts and—”

“Without her,” she finished her mother’s sentence.

Her mother gave a slow nod. “Have you been working this week?”

Katie drew in her lips before she answered. “Yes, I have, but I took today off. Only today.”

“You need to keep this job, love.”

She inhaled deeply. “I know.”

Her job in the administration at the local shopping centre was nothing much on the career ladder, but it paid the rent and the groceries every week. Her boss had been very considerate since her sister’s sudden death, and helped her juggle her time off as well as catching up with her night classes in marketing.

Her mother turned Katie in her arms. “How about a little walk along the beach?”

“I’d like that.”

As they headed towards the dunes, her mum said, “You two loved the beach. Some weekends, you’d snuck out of the house and come here in the early hours. I was always worried, but your dad would say —” She imitated her husband’s deep voice. “They’ll be all right. The girls have the sea in their blood.”

She laughed. “But I always saw that tiny little bit of relief on his face when you two came back. You can’t be too careful near the water.”

Katie joined her mother in her laughter. “We’d watch the boys surf.”

“I liked my idea of you two building little sandcastles better.”

“Mum, we were teenagers.”

Her mother shrugged. “I was in denial. Sue me.”

Side by side, they walked along the shore, both comfortable with the silence, enjoying the fresh breeze off the water.

“I feel close to her when I’m here,” Katie said as they stopped to watch a few dolphins swim past.

 


 

 

Review: Bella Andre "Never too Hot" - #Review #BellaAndre #HotShots


Publisher: Bantam

ISBN:  978-0440245025

My rating: 3.5/5

A TOUCH IGNITES. A FIRE BURNS.
AND THE HEAT HAS JUST BEGUN.


Deep in the cool green mountains of the Adirondacks, wounded firefighter Connor MacKenzie has come to rebuild the 100-year-old MacKenzie family cabin – and to be alone. A horrific blaze has left him scarred inside and out and certain of two things: He’ll get back on his hotshot crew no matter what it takes, and any woman who ventures too close will not stay long.
Ginger Sinclair has been burned by a different kind of fire. Having just escaped from a bad marriage, she’s retreated to the safety of the lakeside vacation town in upstate New York to start a new life. She’s done with men, with relationships, with the danger of desires that can rage out of control – until she unexpectedly encounters Connor MacKenzie. As a hot summer on the lake grows ever hotter, they find themselves sharing a cabin and a romance that will swiftly engulf them both. (bellaandre.com)
 


My rating

I have to admit, the story took me by surprise. Having picked up the book merely because I read Hot Shot #1 and #2, this book contained that little bit of something which was missing in the first two stories. It had lots of clichés in it, but all in all, I enjoyed reading it.

We met Connor in the previous books when he ended up in hospital after a getting severely burnt in a bushfire. Two years later, while still waiting to be re-instated to the Hot Shot crew, he takes his mind off by repairing his grandparents' cottage in the mountains of the Adirondacks, which is currently occupied by Ginger Sinclair.

While Connor is running from his from his life as it is without being a firefighter, while Ginger is running from a broken marriage, trying to find herself.

I loved the issues in this book with Connor severely scarred, yet still sexy, and Ginger the curvier woman, trying to enjoy life without her parent's money, doing what she wants to do and not what she's told to do.

One of my favourite scene is, when Connor pulls her in front of a mirror and makes her "see" how beautiful she is.

 All in all - nice read..


Review: Jill Shalvis "Always on my mind" (Lucky Harbor #8)





Publisher: Grand Central

ISBN: 978-1455521104

My rating: 3/5


There’s nothing like the real thing.

After dropping out of pastry school and messing up her big break on a reality cooking show, Leah Sullivan needs to accomplish something in her life. But when she returns home to Lucky Harbor, she finds herself distracted by her best friend, Jack Harper. In an effort to cheer up Jack’s ailing mother, Dee, Leah tells a little fib – that she and Jack are more than just friends. Soon pretending to be hot-and-heavy with this hunky firefighter feels too real to handle…
No-strings attachments suit Jack just fine – perfect for keeping the risk of heartbreak away. But as Jack and Leah break every one of their “just friends” rules, he longs to turn their pretend relationship into something permanent. Do best friends know too much about each other to risk falling in love? Or will Jack and Leah discover something new about each other in a little town called Lucky Harbor?  (www.jillshalvis.com)
 
 
My thoughts
 

I never thought I'd be saying, but, um, this story was a bit flat. Sometimes even a bit boring.

Leah is back in Lucky Harbor to help out in her grandmother's bakery. Background story is her being part of some baking-off reality show with everyone expecting her to win. Jack's the local firefighter, who's been Leah's friend since childhood - through thick and thin.

This is hard, but ... it just lacked the "Shalvis magic". If someone would tell me it was written by a "ghost writer", I easily believed it.

Leah's self-doubt was somewhat over the top, Jack a push-over. None of the characters had the usual depth we're used to and it seemed all the hilarious scenes were left for the dog "Kevin".

*sighs*

Eagerly waiting for Ben's story!

 








 

Review: Carla Neggers "Cold Dawn"


Publisher: MIRA Books  

ISBN: 13:978-0-7783-2824-7
 
My Rating: 3/5

The small town of Black Falls, Vermont, finally feels safe again—until search-and-rescue expert Rose Cameron discovers a body, burnt almost beyond recognition. Almost. Rose is certain that she knows the victim’s identity…and that his death was no accident.
Nick Martini also suspects an arsonist’s deliberate hand. Another fire killed an arson investigator in California months ago. Now the rugged smoke jumper is determined to follow the killer’s trail…even if it leads straight to Rose. Nick and Rose haven’t seen each other since they shared a single night of blind passion, but they can’t let memories and unhealed wounds get in the way of their common goal—stopping a merciless killer from taking aim straight at the heart of Black Falls. (carlaneggers.com)


 
My thoughts

My first book by Carla Neggers and I am aware of the fact that this story is part of a series, but still ...
 
It took me an awful long time to get into the story. It was drawn out and loooong and lots of people involved in many places. Confusing. For a little summary you need to go by the blurb, I wouldn't have a clue how to write one.
 
All in all, the plot was okay and kind of different from other books I've read, which made it interesting for me, but as I said above ... IMHO it needed a bit more oomph to pull me in more.
 
I wouldn't recommend it as such and I have to admit 3 stars is generous, but the plot was okay.


 
 

Review: Rebecca Clare "Breaking Point"



Publisher: Penguin Group

ISBN:  9780425240519

My rating: 4/5


While investigating border violence in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Denver journalist Natalie Benoit is caught in a bloody ambush and taken captive. Alone in the hands of ruthless killers, she will need every ounce of courage she possesses to survive.

Betrayed by another operative, Deputy U.S. Marshal Zach McBride has endured a week of torture and interrogation at the hands of a bloodthirsty Mexican drug cartel. Ready to give his life if he must, he remains unbroken—until he hears the cries of an American woman.

Although Natalie is only a voice in the darkness of their shared prison, her plight brings renewed strength to Zach's battered body. With her help, he overpowers their captors, and they flee through the desert toward the border, the attraction between them flaring hotter than the Sonoran sun.

But past loss and tragedy leave both of them reluctant to follow their hearts, even when the passion between them reaches its breaking point. Faced with feelings neither expected, they fight to stay ahead of the danger that hunts them as forces more powerful than they can imagine conspire to destroy them both…
(www.pamelaclare.com)


My thoughts:

Ack - this is a tricky one. I liked it, then came the sex scenes and I was close to not finishing it, but persisted. AND I'm glad I did.

Natalie Benoit, a Denver journalist, gets kidnapped in Mexico and held captive next to Zach McBride, US Marshal, tied up and tortured by the Los Zetas (Mexican Crime ring). They're able to escape and make it back to the US. But even back home they're not safe. Piece by piece they figure out why the kidnapping happened and who is responsible for.

It's a definite page turner, if you turn a blind eye to the 'into-too-much-detail sex scenes. It's fast paced, with a wonderful touch of romance, a great story about friendship and emotions. I really enjoyed the book to the very last sentence.




Review: Rachel Gibson - It must be Love


Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers

ISBN: 9780380807154

My rating: 3/5

It Must Be Love

Undercover cop Joe Shanahan's bad luck hit bottom the morning he stared up into the face of sexy suspect Gabrielle Breedlove. She'd blown his cover---brought him down with a can of hairspray---and now his new assignment was to pose as her boyfriend. But spending as much time as possible with the utterly irresistible New Age beauty caused unexpected complications. To make matters worse, his matchmaking sisters are picking out china patterns.
Joe's brooding good looks and T-shirt-straining muscles might be easy on the eyes, but how could Gabrielle be attracted to a straight-laced detective who's determined to find evidence to arrest her? Still, he invades her dreams and when they share a transcendent lovemaking experience, Gabrielle knows it must be love.


My thoughts

This was an okay read by Rachel Gibson, a nice "time filler".

Joe Shanahan is an undercover cop, trying to find out who has stolen Mr Hillard's Monet. Suspect is Kevin Carter, Joe's reluctant informer is Gabrielle Breedlove, Kevin's business partner.

The background story was actually quite interesting, but slowed by the constant "inner thoughts" by both main characters, Joe and Gabrielle, as well as their romance. Fair enough, it's a romance novel, but it's still a shame, it could've been much better.

As usual with RG, there's lots of "in detail" sex scenes.

Bottom line, as said before, a nice time filler.


 



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