Sunday, June 30, 2013

Book Blitz and Giveaway: We Are Made of Stardust by Mimi Strong

We Are Made of Stardust by Mimi Strong
Publication date: June 28th 2013
Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Peaches Monroe, age 22, is the sassy, plus-sized manager of a bookstore in the small town of Beaverdale, Washington.

One Saturday afternoon, she's balancing precariously on a chair, in a bridesmaid dress, when a handsome dark-haired man comes running into the bookstore. He knocks Peaches over, she lands in his muscular arms. They lock gazes, and ...

She recognizes him.

As the sexy vampire heartthrob she watches on TV every week.

Peaches and Dalton Deangelo are completely wrong for each other. He's only in town temporarily, working on an indie movie. She should stay away. He should stay away, too.

But they're drawn to each other. Dalton claims it's because they're made from the same stardust.

Author Bio:
Mimi Strong writes chick-lit, erotic romance, sex comedy, and new adult contemporary romance. Most of her characters have a strong sense of humor.

Here's what she has to say:

I've always had a lot of sides. Sometimes I'm vulnerable, and sometimes I go after what I want without a single doubt.

My favorite person is my husband. If I can crack him up and see his eyes crinkle at the corners, my day is made. In fact, I love making everyone around me laugh.

I've always enjoyed empowering stories about kick-butt women who don't hold back and the awesome men who are smart enough to love them. Now that I'm writing these stories, I couldn't be happier. I hope you enjoy them too!


Buy at Barnes & Noble: We Are Made of Stardust
Buy at Amazon: We Are Made of Stardust

LINKS:


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Hot Reads from Random House

Title: Flirting With Disaster (Camelot #3)
Author: Ruthie Knox

In the latest eBook original novel in Ruthie Knox’s scorching-hot Camelot series, a no-strings fling looks an awful lot like falling in love—or flirting with disaster.

Fresh out of a fiasco of a marriage, Katie Clark has retreated to her hometown to start over. The new Katie is sophisticated, cavalier, and hell-bent on kicking butt at her job in her brother’s security firm. But on her first assignment—digging up the truth about the stalker threatening a world-famous singer-songwriter—Katie must endure the silent treatment from a stern but sexy partner who doesn’t want her help . . . or her company.

Sean Owens knows that if he opens his mouth around Katie, she’ll instantly remember him as the geeky kid who sat behind her in high school. Silence is golden, but he can’t keep quiet forever, not with Katie stampeding through their investigation. It’s time for Sean to step up and take control of the case, and his decade-old crush. If he can break through Katie’s newfound independence, they just might find they make a perfect team—on the road, on the job, and in bed.

Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from these Loveswept titles: How to Misbehave, Along Came Trouble, and About Last Night.

Buy at Barnes & Noble: Flirting with Disaster: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance


Title: Forever (The World of Nightwalkers #2)
Author: Jacquelyn Frank

After being brought back from death, police officer Jackson Waverly receives the shock of his life: he has become host to a Bodywalker, a spirit that is reborn in flesh and blood, and part of a proud, ancient race that uses its extraordinary gifts to battle dark, evil forces. Jackson’s spirit is a powerful one—none other than the Egyptian pharaoh Menes, who longs to reunite with his eternal love, the Egyptian queen Hatshepsut.

While Menes is obsessed with finding the perfect vessel for his queen, Jackson cannot stop thinking about Dr. Marissa Anderson, the gorgeous precinct shrink who keeps pushing him to confront his grief over the loss of his K-9 partner. But what Marissa really arouses most in Jackson is intense desire, which is exactly what Menes is looking for. To fight a great enemy, pharaoh and queen must join; but to host Hatshepsut, Marissa will first have to die. Fate has given Jackson a profound choice: save Marissa from Menes’ plan or keep an entire species from the brink of extinction.

Buy at Barnes & Noble: Forever (World of Nightwalkers Series #2)
Buy at Book Depository: Forever (World of Nightwalkers Series #2)


Title: The Hunter (Highland Guard #7)
Author: Monica McCarty

Prized for his unbeatable tracking skills, Ewen “Hunter” Lamont accepts a dangerous assignment: locate a missing undercover courier. But this is no ordinary target. Ewen has met his prey before as “Sister Genna,” a fiery, forbidden woman forever etched in his memory after one stolen, sinful kiss. Now that he knows her real identity, he’s more determined than ever to keep her safe. But without the protection of the veil between them, fighting the allure of the beautiful lass may be the toughest battle this extraordinary warrior has ever faced.

After her ill-fated attempt three years ago to rescue her twin sister, Janet of Mar has found salvation acting as a royal messenger—until she surrenders to a darkly handsome warrior whose rough, sensual kisses stir feelings the woman in her can’t deny. But when betrayal leads to danger, and a crucial communiqué is put in jeopardy, Janet has no choice but to put her faith in the hunter who can find anything—perhaps even her heart.

Buy at Barnes & Noble: The Hunter (Highland Guard Series #7)
Buy at Book Depository: The Hunter (Highland Guard Series #7)


Title: Lover Be Mine (Legendary Lovers #2)
Author: Nicole Jordan

The last thing Sophie Fortin expects at a masquerade ball is a dazzling kiss from a pirate. Her desire quickly falters when she learns that her masked gentleman is devilishly scandalous Lord Jack, a member of the captivating Wilde clan — and a man she’s forbidden to acknowledge. But when Jack begins a breathtaking seduction, Sophie can barely resist.

Jack never imagined that the daughter of his family’s mortal enemy would awaken such fierce passion within him—until one unforgettable kiss changes his mind forever. Soon, Jack is hell-bent on winning Sophie’s hand, going so far as to abduct her to save her from marrying a rival nobleman. Determined to woo Sophie and her unyielding parents, Jack is faced with the one decision he’d sworn never to make. The secret heir to a prince, Jack has spurned his royal heritage for years . . . but for Sophie he’ll risk all to turn a legacy of heartbreak into love ever after.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Cover Reveal: Owlet by Emma Michaels


Owlet (Society of Feathers #1) by Emma Michaels
Publication Date: October 13th 2012
by Tribute Books - new cover for Summer 2013
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

Somewhere between falling and flying… there is a girl.

Iris has a secret. She lost her memory eight years ago and never told a living soul. After an asthma attack one night she finds out that her dreams of a strange house on a snowy island may be a memory resurfacing but the more she learns about the past the more she realizes the life she has been living is a lie. As the façade her father has built starts to crumble around her she will have to decide which means more to her; the truth or her life.
Author bio:
Emma Michaels is a cover artist and the author of Owlet. As the founder of The Writers Voice blog (http://OurBooksOurVoice.Blogspot.com) she loves to connect authors and readers. Her love of blogging started when she created a review blog in 2009 (www.EmmaMichaels.com) which gave her the courage to finally submit her own novels to publishers.
Feel free to stop by www.EmmaMichaels.com and follow to receive the latest updates!

Goodreads: Owlet
Barnes & Noble: Owlet: Society of Feathers #1

Author links:

Book Blitz: Precious Things by Stephanie Parent with Author Guest Post


Precious Things by Stephanie Parent
Publication date: June 4th 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary

Isabelle Andrews isn’t supposed to be here. She isn’t supposed to be a freshman at Hartford Community College, she isn't supposed to be living at home and working at her dad’s failing bakery, and she definitely isn’t supposed to be taking Intro to Electronic Music Production, a class that will get her nowhere toward her goal of an English Lit Ph.D. by age twenty-five. But when her dad’s latest business fiasco eats up her college fund, Hartford Community College is exactly where Isabelle finds herself—and thanks to her late enrollment, she doesn’t even get to choose her classes. Stuck with Electronic Music and way-too-easy English courses, Isabelle is determined to wallow in all the misery she feels entitled to.

But community college brings some unexpected benefits…like the fact that a certain overworked, over-scheduled Electronic Music professor hands over most of his duties to his teaching assistant. His tall, green-eyed, absolutely gorgeous teaching assistant. When TA Evan Strauss discovers Isabelle’s apathy toward electronic music—and, well, all music—he makes it his mission to convert her. The music Evan composes stirs something inside Isabelle, but she can’t get involved—after all, she’ll be transferring out as soon as possible.

Still, no matter how tightly Isabelle holds on to her misery, she finds it slipping away in the wake of all Hartford Community offers: new friendships, a surprisingly cool poetry professor, and most of all, Evan. But Evan’s dream of owning his own music studio is as impractical as Isabelle’s dad’s bakery, and when Evan makes a terrible decision, everything Isabelle has gained threatens to unravel. Soon Isabelle discovers that some of the most important lessons take place outside the classroom…and that in life, as in Evan’s favorite Depeche Mode song, the most precious things can be the hardest to hold on to

Author bio:
Stephanie Parent is a graduate of the Master of Professional Writing program at USC and attended the Baltimore School for the Arts as a piano major. She moved to Los Angeles because of Francesca Lia Block's WEETZIE BAT books, which might give you some idea of how much books mean to her. She also loves dogs, books about dogs, and sugary coffee drinks both hot and cold.



Buy at Amazon: Precious Things
Buy at Barnes & Noble: Precious Things
Book will only be 99cents for the rest of the Book Blitz!


Guest post from Stephanie Parent:

What the Heck Is the College Experience, Anyway?
In Precious Things, I really wanted to capture the so-called “college experience”…but the fact is that the college experience encompasses many different things, and is different for every person.  There are the classes themselves, the social aspect, the dorms, being away from home for the first time, just to name a few.  For me personally, since I am an extremely private person, the whole dorm culture/roommate aspect was so overwhelming (in a bad way) that it completely dominated my first semester.  I know I had some great classes, was able to participate in a dance company for the first time in my life, and met some amazing people…but when I think back on that time, I get an overwhelmingly negative feeling, mostly because of all the dorm ickiness.  (September 11th also happened right after I started college, which certainly didn’t help, but that’s a whole different post…)
My experience with dorm life is actually one of the reasons I chose to set Precious Things at a community college without dorms, with my main character still living at home.  I wanted to show that not everyone has the same stereotypical “college experience,” and that missing out on it isn’t necessarily such a bad thing—and I also wanted to focus on other aspects of college, like the classes and the people.
At the same time, I tried to show hints of alternate “college experiences” through Isabelle’s interactions with her high school friends.  Because of over-enrollment, Isabelle’s friend Jenny ends up sharing a two-person dorm room with two other people at the University of Maryland—and believe me, those dorm rooms are tiny enough with just the two people they’re meant for!  This actually happened to a few high-school friends of mine, and they were absolutely miserable.  And even at a top-tier school like Stanford, where Isabelle’s ex-boyfriend Andrew enrolls, roommates cause problems, with Andrew spending almost every night in the library to avoid his roomie (and especially his roomies “guests”).  I knew plenty of people who went through this kind of thing as well, and at a time in your life when you’re dealing with a completely new environment, separation from parents and home, and most likely a much greater amount of academic work than you’re used to, it can be completely overwhelming.  Contrary to popular belief, college students do need sleep, and that can be a challenge with strange people coming in and out of your room at all hours of the night!
And then there’s the whole social aspect of college…the frat parties, the drinking.  Late in the book, Jenny explains to Isabelle why she decided to join a sorority, and her feelings about the situation pretty much match mine.  (Although no, I never considered joining a sorority—I am way too much of a loner for that!)  Here’s what Jenny says:
“I guess rushing was…it’s been my way of coping, and I’m glad I did it.  College isn’t exactly like I thought it would be.  It’s like…”  She thinks for a moment.  “Remember those huge parties in Ajel Cho’s basement, when he would invite the entire school?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“You know how we acted like everything was so great, like we were so happy and excited to be there, when really we’d rather have been home watching movies and eating ice cream?”
I laugh.  “Yeah.”
“Well, college is sort of like that, but…all the time.  You have all this freedom and you’re supposed to be having the time of your life, but sometimes you just want to escape and curl up on the couch to watch a movie, except you can’t, because…the party’s in your bedroom.  And besides, there is no couch other than the ratty stained one in the dorm common room, which people are probably either hooking up or passed out on.  Oh, and you’re also supposed to read more than you ever have in your life, and write twenty-page papers, and study for exams while all this is going on.”


So for Jenny, and Isabelle—and me—college is a lot more complicated than just having “the time of your life.”  I hope I reflected that in Precious Things…and yes, I just might be courageous enough to tackle the dorm environment in more detail in my next NA novel!



Hot Reads from Penguin Books

Title: Angel City
Author: Jon Steele

It’s been almost three years since we left Detective Jay Harper and high-priced escort Katherine Taylor on the esplanade of Lausanne Cathedral, bruised and battered from a biblical showdown with the Nephilim. Katherine has retreated to small-town life in the woods of Washington State with her son, Max—and a close protection detail of heavily-armed, elite members of the Swiss Guard. Harper is living in Paris, haunted by voices in his head and bone-tired after what turns out to be two and a half million years on Earth.

Though Katherine and Harper have been prevented from remembering each other , baby Max has unwittingly stirred the interest of vengeful spirits—and only a worldwide (and cosmic) effort to save his life will bring Harper and Katherine together again.
Meanwhile, from the shadows steps a defrocked priest named Astruc, whose face looks as if it has been clawed by some terrible beast and who hides his eyes behind blue lenses. He and his brilliant young ward, Goose, have discovered something unfathomable in the Catacombs under Paris, something that will confirm that �the time of the prophecy” is at hand. . . .

Electrifying from its explosive first scene to its unexpected and shocking conclusion, Angel City reunites the unforgettable characters from The Watchers to reveal more of the earthly—and otherworldy—mysteries of the Angelus trilogy.

Buy at Barnes & Noble: Angel City
Buy at Book Depository: Angel City


Title: Blood of the Lamb: A Novel of Secrets
Author: Sam Cabot

While in Rome, American Jesuit priest Thomas Kelly is called upon to reclaim a centuries-old document stolen from the Vatican. An enigmatic letter leads him to the work of a 19th century poet, where Thomas discovers cryptic messages that might lead to the missing manuscript. His search is unexpectedly entwined with that of Italian art historian Livia Pietro, who tells him that destructive forces are threatening to expose the document’s contents. As they’re relentlessly chased through the heart of Rome by mysterious men who quickly demonstrate they would cross any line to obtain the document for themselves, it becomes clear to Livia and Thomas that the pages hold a deep, devastating, long-buried truth. Livia, though, has a secret of her own: she and her People are vampires. But all this pales in light of the Secret that Thomas and Livia discover together—a revelation more stunning than either could have imagined.

Buy at Barnes & Noble: Blood of the Lamb: A Novel of Secrets
But at Book Depository: Blood of the Lamb: A Novel of Secrets


Title: The 9th Girl (Kovak and Liska #4)
Author: Tami Hoag

On a frigid New Year's Eve in Minneapolis a young woman's brutalized body falls from the trunk of a car into the path of oncoming traffic. Questions as to whether she was alive or dead when she hit the icy pavement result in her macabre nickname, Zombie Doe. Unidentified and unidentifiable, she is the ninth nameless female victim of the year, and homicide detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska are charged with the task of not only finding out who Zombie Doe is, but who in her life hated her enough to destroy her. Was it personal, or could it just have been a crime of opportunity? Their greatest fear is that not only is she their ninth Jane Doe of the year, but that she may be the ninth victim of a vicious transient serial killer they have come to call Doc Holiday.

Crisscrossing America's heartland, Doc Holiday chooses his victims at random, snatching them in one city and leaving them in another, always on a holiday. If Zombie Doe is one of his, he has brought his gruesome game to a new and more terrifying level. But as Kovac and Liska begin to uncover the truth, they will find that the monsters in their ninth girl's life may have lived closer to home. And even as another young woman disappears, they have to ask the question: which is the greater evil--the devil you know or the devil you don't?

Buy at Barnes & Noble: The 9th Girl
But at Book Depository: The 9th Girl


Title: Loyalty 
Author: Ingrid Thoft

The Ludlows are a hard-charging family, and patriarch Carl Ludlow treats his offspring like employees—which they are. But his daughter, Fina, is a bit of a black sheep. A law school dropout, her father keeps her in the fold as the firm’s private investigator, working alongside her brothers.

Juggling her family of high-powered (and highly dysfunctional) attorneys, the cops and Boston’s criminal element is usually something Fina does without breaking a sweat. But when her sister-in-law disappears, she’s caught up in a case unlike any she’s encountered before. 

Carl wants things resolved without police interference, but the deeper Fina digs, the more impossible that seems. The Ludlows close ranks, and her brother Rand and his unruly teenage daughter Haley grow mysteriously distant from the family. As Fina unearths more dirt, the demands of family loyalty intensify. But Fina is after the truth—no matter the cost.

Buy at Book Depository: Loyalty: A Novel

Friday, June 28, 2013

Cover Reveal: I Breath You by Lori L. Clark


I Breathe You by Lori L. Clark
Publication date:  July 2013
Genre: NA contemporary romance

When a tragic accident leaves Rhane Evans -- lead vocalist for the rock band Fate's Crazy -- permanently unable to speak above a whisper and kills the love of her life, she moves across the state to pick up the pieces. Shattered, Rhane struggles to understand what happened the night of the accident, an accident everyone blames her for, even though she wasn't driving the car.

Enter Ian Callahan. He's the one person who may have a more tumultuous past than Rhane. Though they try hard to deny the sizzling attraction between them, it proves nearly impossible. When Ian's troubled past threatens to tear them apart, they begin to believe happiness isn't in their cards.

Because Fate's Crazy that way...

Author Bio:
I read, I write, I run 1/2 marathons for fun. Ten things about me:

1. I'm an only child.
2. I love dogs!
3. I was born in Iowa City, Iowa and lived in Iowa my whole life until January 2007.
4. I worked as a professional psychic reader for 2 years.
5. I'm a Pisces Sun, Leo Moon with Aquarius rising.
6. I've written 5 books and am in the process of brainstorming a 6th.
7. I don't look or act my age!
8. I ran my first 1/2 marathon at age 50.
9. I love 80's hair band music.
10. My day job is as a claims payment analyst for one of Fortune 500 Magazine's "Top 100 places in America to work."


Author links:

Review: Faster We Burn by Chelsea M. Cameron

Title: Faster We Burn (Fall and Rise #2)
Author: Chelsea M. Cameron
Genre: New Adult Romance
Source: Self Purchased
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Katie Hallman is done with douchebags. Done with guys who treat her like crap and leave her broken. But then Stryker Grant is there anyway. With his numerous piercings and bleached hair, he’s the polar opposite of all of her past relationships, which makes him the perfect candidate.

At first, Katie just sees him as a physical escape from her previous rocky relationship, and Stryker doesn’t seem to mind just being a distraction from Katie’s problems. But soon he’s getting under her skin, peeling back layers she’d rather keep covered. She tries to make it clear that she doesn’t want a relationship, but keeps breaking her own rules.

Then a tragedy sends Katie into the only arms who are there to catch her, and she’ll realize that she needs him more than she ever thought possible. But is she ready to let herself trust another guy with her already-battered heart? Or will she push him away to protect herself from getting hurt again?




We start book 2 in the Fall and Rise series just before the end of the book 1, only now we are seeing Katie and Stryker's views.  It's nice that the author doesn't linger too long over the part of the story we already saw, but goes back just enough for us to get into these characters heads a little.  It's amazing how the situation looks a little different when we're shown a different person's perspective.

I wasn't a big fan of Katie in book one - even after she got her head out of her butt.  She was a little to girlie girlie fru fru for my tastes - but in this volume we see a completely different side of her.  Is she still a bit of a girlie girl - yes - but with an additional layer of depth that makes her much more fun to read about.  We get to see a lot more about why she is who she is (or thinks she is).

I loved Stryker in book one, and I still like him a lot in book two, but he has a few extremely jerky moments that I'm not sure I would have been able to forgive him for.  In a strange way they are perfect for each other.  

There was just a little too much tragedy in this one for me to give it 5 stars.  I felt a little beaten over the head by some of the points that were trying to be made, and there were times it seemed bad things were happening just to fill pages.  Still, it was a great book overall that I would definitely read again.




Book Beginnings on Friday (4)

Book Beginnings on Friday at Rose City Reader is the place to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

I'm about half way through a Middle Grade book Keeper Of Reign, Fantasy Series, Book 1 by Emma Right.  So far it's been a very exciting read with some very unique characters.

""Sire, you're running out of blood." Eleaser's voice quivered as he addressed the only other occupant in the royal chamber.

I know it sounds a bit gory to start - but it really isn't at all.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Cover Reveal: Landlocked by Tiffany Duane


Landlocked (Surface #2) by Tiffany Daune  
Publication date: Summer 2013
Genre: YA Paranormal

As if staying focused in trigonometry wasn't hard enough....Eerie visions are plaguing Theia's mind, driving her insane.  Someone or something is reaching out to her, dragging her into a dark underwater world. And, to add to her metal delirium, she has no control over her newly awakened Siren senses. She thinks she can hear her cat's thoughts, she wants to pummel Sarah Collins, and she's trying to keep it together so she doesn't lose her scholarship. She needs someone who understands—someone bound to the ocean water she craves—she needs Luc.  But contacting him is risky, and returning to the water a death sentence. She must find a way to harness her Siren senses even though the waves are calling to her. Denying her intended destiny may be the only way to stay alive.

Author Bio:
Tiffany Daune doesn't get why people want to grow up or why anyone would ever stop eating candy. Her purse is filled with books, lip gloss and a few pieces of Lego bricks. She writes best with a dish of chocolate chips on hand and finds licorice makes a better straw than plastic.

She lives on an island and believes mermaids may be raiding her candy stash, though she hasn't caught them, yet.

Surface is her first novel and pairs well with gummy sharks.


Author links:

Book Blitz: Ruby's Fire by Catherine Stine and Giveaway


Ruby's Fire by Catherine Stine 
Series: Fireseed, #2 (however, can be read as a stand-alone)

Publication date:  June 26, 2013
Genre: YA Sci-Fi

If everything about you changes, what remains?

Seventeen year-old Ruby, long-pledged to the much older Stiles from the Fireseed desert cult, escapes with only a change of clothes, a pouch of Oblivion Powder and her mute little brother, Thorn. Arriving at The Greening, a boarding school for orphaned teens, she can finally stop running. Or can she? The Greening is not what it seems. Students are rampaging out of control and as she cares for the secret Fireseed crop, she experiences frightening physical changes. She’s ashamed of her attraction to burly, hard-talking Blane, the resident bodyguard, and wonders why she can’t be happy with the gentler Armonk. She’s long considered her great beauty a liability, a thing she’s misused in order to survive. And how is she to stop her dependence on Oblivion to find a real beauty within, using her talent as a maker of salves, when she has nightmares of Stiles without it?

When George Axiom, wealthy mogul of Vegas-by-the-Sea offers a huge cash prize for the winner of a student contest, Ruby is hopeful she might collect the prize to rescue her family and friends from what she now knows is a dangerous cult. But when Stiles comes to reclaim her, and Thorn sickens after creating the most astonishing contest project of all, the world Ruby knows is changed forever. This romantic fantasy set in 2099 on earth has a crafty heroine in Ruby, and a swoonworthy cast, which will surely appeal to the YA and new adult audience.
AUTHOR BIO
Catherine Stine writes YA, New Adult and middle grade fiction. Her YA futuristic thriller, Fireseed One, illustrated by the author won finalist spots in both YA and Science Fiction in the 2013 USA Book News International Book Awards. It was also granted a 2013 Bronze Wishing Shelf Book Award and a 2013 Indie Reader Approved notable stamp. Her YA Refugees, earned a New York Public Library Best Book. Middle grade novels include A Girl’s Best Friend.

Fireseed One sequel, Ruby’s Fire is earning advance praise from reviewers and authors:
“Ruby's Fire, returns to the sun-scorched earth of Fireseed One. In this long-awaited sequel, Stine delivers a thrilling adventure led by a new and exciting cast of characters. Ruby, Armonk, Thorn and Blane are memorable, and the romance is really well handled. Favorite quote: " It feels wrong to lean on Armonk right now with Blane staring at me, a hungry, lonely look in his eye. It’s as if he’s never been hugged, never been fed, never been loved..." ”  -YAs the Word

More and more, Catherine enjoys writing speculative tales where her imagination has wild and free reign. She has taught creative writing workshops at the Philadelphia Writing Conference, Missouri University Summer Abroad, The New School and in her own ongoing NYC writing workshop. She loves her readers, and enjoys blogging.



Author Links:


a Rafflecopter giveaway



Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Review: The Ophelia Cut by John Lescroart

Title: The Ophelia Cut (Dismas Hardy Mystery #14)
Author: John Lescroart
Genre: Legal Thriller
Source: FirstReads
Reviewed by: Jasmyn
*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

Brittany is 23, the pretty, popular daughter of Moses Mcguire - and niece of defense attorney Dismas Hardy.  Her most recent of many ex-boyfriends, Rick Jessup, can't get over her.  His abuse escalates, culminating in a terrible night when Brittany is raped.  Within 24 hours, Rick is dead, Moses is the prime suspect, and Hardy must defend his old friend.  The case threatens to uncover old secrets that could destroy the careers of Hardy and police lieutenant Abe Glitsky.


While most of this story is potentially a stand alone that can be read outside of the series, there were repeated referenced to some incident that they had all been sworn to secrecy that lost me.  The characters were also a little hard to keep straight without more background on them, but once the trial started it became much easier.

I really didn't like Brittany.  She used men and then casually tossed them aside - but after several horrible encounters with Rick Jessup, ending with her being raped, she really became a different person.  Her growth was one of the highlights of the story.  Dismas Hardy would be a fantastic defense attorney if he were real.  The story wrapped up the trial and the book with quite a twist - I'm still trying to decide what I think of it all.

Most of this story moves very quickly with very few slow points.  The conspiracy theories from sides of the case were classic and fit right in with the story - enhancing it in the perfect way.  This would have been a home run book if I had a little more background and could have kept the characters straight easier.  I would recommend reading at least some of the previous books to help.


Hot Reads from Harlequin

Title: Just One Kiss (Fool's Gold #11)
Author: Susan Mallery
Format: Paperback, ebook

He won't hesitate to put his life on the line...but will he ever risk his heart? 
Falling for Justice Garrett was a high point in Patience McGraw's otherwise awkward adolescence. Even after he disappeared, Patience never forgot the boy who captured her heart. Now, he's back in Fool's Gold, California, and her passion for him is as strong as ever. But how can she trust that he won't abandon her again-and her daughter, too? 

When bodyguard Justice Garrett was a young man, witness protection brought him to this idyllic town and he never forgot its warmth, or the sweet beauty of his childhood friend. He's returned to open a defense academy, and the Patience he once knew is all grown up. He can't resist her smile, or her curves. But Justice's past doesn't make him husband, or father, material. 

Patience and Justice think they'll succumb to just one kiss... Then one more... Okay, just one night together. But they might learn that falling in love is beyond anyone's control.

Buy at Barnes & Noble: Just One Kiss (Fool's Gold Series #11)
Buy at Book Depository: Just One Kiss (Fool's Gold Series #11)


Title: Big Sky Summer (Parable, Montana #4)
Author: Linda Lael Miller
Format: Paperback, ebook

With his father's rodeo legacy to continue and a prosperous spread to run, Walker Parrish has no time to dwell on wrecked relationships. But country-western sweetheart Casey Elder is out of the spotlight and back in Parable, Montana. And Walker can't ignore that his "act now, think later" passion for Casey has had consequences. Two teenage consequences! 

Keeping her children's paternity under wraps has always been part of Casey's plan to give them normal, uncomplicated lives. Now the best way to hold her family together seems to be to let Walker be a part of it-as her husband of convenience. Or will some secrets-like Casey's desire to be the rancher's wife in every way-unravel, with unforeseen results?

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Title: The Unexpected Wedding Guest (Wedding Season #1)
Author: Aimee Carson
Format: Paperback, ebook

"Surprised to see me?"Getting caught in her wedding dress by her drop-dead-gorgeous ex-husband is Reese Michael's worst nightmare. Especially when her perfect-on-paper fiancé then cancels their wedding!

Reese has spent years trying to forget how her marriage to Mason Hicks crashed and burned—yes, their chemistry was incredible, but a girl can't live on lust alone! And what's a jilted bride supposed to do when the one man she could never forget is back in her life, as irresistible as ever? Mason might be her own personal brand of Kryptonite, but surely life is meant to be lived a little dangerously…?



Title: A Brother's Honor (Grangers #1)
Author: Brenda Jackson
Format: Paperback, ebook

The Granger brothers left behind their family's Virginia estate—and the bad memories it holds—years ago. But their dying grandfather's request brings them home: to a failing business, a legacy of secrets and a deathbed promise to make things right.As the eldest brother, attorney Jace Granger is determined to take responsibility for Granger Aeronautics, his family's failing business. But the years of mismanagement seem impossible to untangle. As CEO, he hires a consultant to turn the company around. Smart, sexy Shana Bradford is the right person for the job—and the right woman to turn Jace's world upside down.

But the passion between them is jeopardized when old secrets begin to emerge. A woman from Jace's past suddenly reappears. And an explosive discovery changes everything Jace thinks he knows about his mother—and his father, who was convicted of her murder.

Jace Granger tried to leave his family history behind once before. But this time he needs to face the past…or risk losing his future.

Three brothers. One legacy. A lifetime of secrets.

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