Thursday, March 10, 2016

Gotta Love It! - Beneath These Lies by Meghan March



Who loves a hot, sexy, commanding, powerful, romantic alpha male or three?  Who wants to be an independent, intelligent, strong, beautiful, multiply orgasmic heroine? Who loves finding adventure, excitement, suspense, danger, twists, romance, and surprises in their books? My answer to all of these is, ME!!!!!  I'm hoping you feel the same.

There's so much I want to say about this book. So freaking much!  But I can't. I promised I wouldn't.  Because Meghan March knows when she's outdone herself and this book is definitely the next step up for her. She wants you to go in cold, just like I did, so the full effect of this story begins with the first line.  Trust me on this; not knowing what to expect is just going to make this book better for you. I swear. There are a few things I can tell you though.

You get it all with Meghan March's 5th outing in the Beneath Series. Hot, gorgeous, tattooed men, beautiful, sexy women, steamy hot love scenes, and underneath it all, a yearning for the kind of love that sets your soul and your body on fire. It's all here. And you're gonna love every word of it.

We aren't giving you any hints here, folks. No character names, no plot lines, nothing. Why?  Because I received an advance copy of this novel for an honest review and I was so impressed, and so happy with the whole story; I want you to be as surprised as I was when you finally read the last words.

I will tell you this, though.  Beneath These Lies is proof that Meghan March gets a little better every time she sits down to write.  Considering how good she was to begin with, that's high praise.

The writing is outstanding and the characterizations are great. You will buy into this, hook, line, and sinker.  I promise. And no, no one goes fishing, so that's not a hint.

Here's a hint:  If you like good writing, good romance, lots of the unexpected, plenty of action, and alphas, alphas, alphas.... get this book. Don't go skimming, or skipping around in it.  Don't go reading the last few pages, and definitely don't spoil anyone else when you give this piece of reading heaven the five-star review it so richly deserves!

As always, click on the picture to buy it on Amazon.


Monday, February 8, 2016

GHOSTS is now available in paperback and ebook!!! GHOSTS by Kendall Grey!

Under the blazing cover of a post-nuclear, technology-crippled world, Sarah Coolidge is an expert at being neither seen nor heard.
She was an afterthought to her abusive parents.
She’s invisible to the criminals she works with.
And she’ll soon be the death-dealing ghost her enemies never see coming—if she can just shake loose the one person who does see her.
The one who could ruin her.
The one who gives her a reason to live.

I have been harping and nagging at you about this story. This amazing, incredible, surprising, outstanding story that, up until today, as totally free at Kendall Grey's website. It's a fucking masterpiece, written by a goddamned genius.  I swear it. But, you can't get it for free anymore.

Starting this week, the only way to take this unbelievable and totally relevant-to-your-life journey is to buy the book.  It will be available in paperback and e-book formats.  Not free, but worth the price. In fact, it's worth it at ten times the price. Trust me on this. You are going to be amazed at this story, and at Kendall Grey's masterful execution of a tale full of love and fear, pain and redemption, good and evil, truth and deception, unearned kindness and undeserved cruelty, and ultimately of finding the heart of your life and becoming whole. It's about writing your own story, no matter where you are in your life, and not giving in to propaganda and the ramblings of madmen.

The book is called GHOSTS, and it's really, really, really good.  Great. Fantastic.  I cannot heap enough superlatives on this book to really convey to you how utterly intense and rewarding this book was for me. As I read each installment, I went further down Grey's rabbit hole, lined though it was with nuclear weapons, medical experiments, and secret agendas. I waited eagerly for each new work day so I could start my mornings with coffee and post-apocalyptic, dystopian adventures.

Parts of this book are FUCKING BRILLIANT!  You will read words and phrases here that will make you stop, take a breath, and really rethink things before you move on.  Because this story, despite the fact that it takes place in a decidedly dark and dangerous future, is the story of everyone.  Each of us has lived in hopelessness at least once, experienced misery and misfortune, sought answers, found love and connection, then lost it. It's a true story, despite the fact that it's a work of immense fiction. This story, and its truth, will haunt you.

Use the buy links and get the damned book.  I am going to really be on you about this! The story is so fresh yet so recognizable. The characters are real, the plot is engrossing, and the writing is beyond stellar. Yes, it's dark.  Depressing at times. Thought provoking. It's also a fucking demonstration of a writing talent that is so woefully under-appreciated it's fucking criminal. This shit is the real deal.

Buy links are below.  Your mission? Go. Get. GHOSTS. You need to read this story and let it move you, let it scare you, let it turn the fucking lights on in your head, and let it, ultimately, amaze you.



Saturday, January 9, 2016

A lovely finish to a steamy-hot series: Dirty Together by Meghan March


Meghan March wraps up the Dirty Billionaire series in style! An excellent read.

We catch up with Holly, looking for herself in her past, and with Creighton, looking for his frequently-gone-missing wife. We find that they're both looking for the same thing: To love and be loved without having to give up the things that matter to them.

This story plays out as you might expect, with obstacles and misunderstandings and steamy, dirty, wild, smokin' hot sex. The story is resolved nicely, if a little unrealistically, and is entirely satisfying. This is romantic fiction about a billionaire alpha and a young woman from the trailer park who is desperately seeking a better future, after all; realism isn't nearly as much fun to read! 

Overall, I enjoyed this book and the entire series. You will find a twist to the story that I didn't particularly like, but it didn't affect my overall satisfaction with the book or the series. In the end, lovers of romance, dreams, billionaires, and sex will find this story - all three parts - to be well worth the time spent reading it.

Click the pictures below to get all three books on Amazon.

           
     


Monday, December 28, 2015

The romance, the music, the fighting, and the hot, dirty sex continue! Dirty Pleasures by Meghan March




After the great ride that was Dirty Billionaire, I was a little concerned that March's sophomore entry into this series might come up lacking.  Silly me; part two moves our story along nicely.

Our heroine, Holly, has left her new husband, afraid that he doesn't realize how important her career is to her.  Creighton isn't happy about this turn of events and sets about retrieving his runaway bride.  In the course of reuniting - or not - we learn more about both partners, we see some bad things happen that turn out to be not so bad, and we realize that both of the main characters are experiencing some similar feelings about their situation. The writing is smooth and emotional, the sex is insanely hot, and both characters are well-drawn.

There's a but at the end of that last sentence.

I try very hard not to give away plot points, not to spoil stories, and not to ruin the book for anyone.  However, I feel the need to explain why I gave Dirty Pleasures four stars, when I wanted to give it five. So, without giving away too much, here you go:

There are tried and true tropes and tricks in every genre of writing, including romance. Some are great and really make the story better.  Things like  having your hero lose something that matters to them and have to fight to get it back. Sometimes a pregnancy scare can fit the bill, or an ex-lover showing up. There are, unfortunately, some little things that I dislike very much in writing. This book contains three of them.

     1.  I am not big on cliff-hanger endings. I knew going in that this book would have one, though, so that's not my biggest issue here. I also know that March will give me a fantastic climax to the story (much as Creighton does for Holly so often) and a satisfying, happy resolution to things. So I can live with the cliffie.

     2.  Miscommunication can work well in a story.  However, when the lack of understanding occurs because one character won't shut up and let the other offer an explanation, or when one assumes that what they think is what actually happened and won't listen to anything else... it makes me nuts. I realize I'm not explaining this well, but I think most of you know what I mean. Maybe you were late for dinner because you decided to have a go at the blonde in  your office, which is what your business rival told me, or maybe you just held up in traffic due to a 2 car accident; assuming my version is correct, and refusing to let you tell me what happened, and then blaming you when the relationship isn't working?  No. March employs this particular  ploy and in my opinion it detracted from the book.

     3.  Why is it that no character is ever honest about their feelings until it's too late, or almost too late?  I don't get it.  This is not March's fault as it's part of the plot, but it makes me want to tear my hair out!  I hate this particular trope and I wish she'd found a way to write this story without using it. That said, it's effective as heck.

None of which is a criticism of Meghan, because the woman is a fabulous writer.  I love her work. I'm just being honest here.

Read Dirty Pleasures.  It's a good story.  Don't let my own personal preferences deter you.  Holly is still head-strong (even pig-headed at times), as is Creighton. The pairing is fun, the naughty bits are very, very naughty, and the writing is excellent. Besides, you want to be ready when the conclusion to this series, Dirty Together, comes out!

Click to buy on Amazon:

Sunday, December 6, 2015

A country singer walks into a bar ... Dirty Billionare, by Meghan March



Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Here it is.
Do you like:
A rich, handsome, powerful man with a body to die for?
A smart, talented, strong woman who knows what's important to her?
Hot, sweaty, steamy, panty-melting sex scenes?
A little kink, a little alpha male?
A continuing story with lots of fun, romance, angst, and glitz?
Then get this book! Get it. I loved it.
Holly wants to be a country singer and she's entered into a deal that's supposed to help her get there. But the deal isn't working and she's coming out looking humiliated and sad, which isn't helping her career.
Creighton is a hot, sexy, uber-rich man who knows exactly what he wants. And right now, he wants Holly.
A Christmas Eve one night stand turns into a viral social media event and then into... who knows.
Creighton can't get enough of Holly, and Holly wants more and more of Creighton. The question, how much of each other can they take and still take care of their respective business? Can Creighton have Holly and remain emotionally unattached? Can Holly have Creighton and still climb to country stardom?
The plot is well developed, the characters are growing, and the sex is incendiary. What more do you need in the opening salvo of a romantic trilogy?
Bookish Bitch gives this book a 4 1/2-glasses-of-wine salute and recommends it highly! But then, we already know I love Meghan March, don't we!
The half a glass I didn't give? I have thing about cliffies. I knew it was a trilogy going in, and I knew there would be a cliff hanger, but it still leaves me a little . . . on edge. Still worth it, though. Click below to buy on Amazon.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Kendall Grey, and her art, ROCK!




I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

KENDALL GREY IS THE BEST WRITER THAT YOU’RE NOT READING!

Let me put this in other words. Words that Kendall herself would probably choose:

Kendall Grey can write the fuck out of a book, and you need to be reading her goddamned art! THIS SHIT IS AMAZING!

Yes, I said ART.  Because Kendall’s motto is MAKE ART, NOT HOUSE PAYMENTS

And she does.

Yes, I am an unabashed and devoted Kendall Grey fan. I was from the moment I finished the first of her books that I ever read. It has nothing to do with her sense of humor, her determination and loyalty to her friends and fans, or even with the fact that one of her swag items at signing is personal lubricant; it’s all about the stories. And the fluid, emotional, scarring, affecting, deeply personal and truthful words she uses to tell them.

Kendall doesn’t just tell you a funny, raunchy, exciting story, she doesn’t just salt those stories with liberal doses of profanity, relationships, and sex; she tells you the motherfucking truth. You just have to be willing to see it.

I’m so serious. Kendall’s characters are over the top.  They’re free-thinkers, free lovers, and free-range crazies who are out to live their lives as they want, and in so doing, these folks are also out to teach you something.  Just because they might be wild, drunk, high, scared, murderous, and horny doesn’t mean they aren’t telling the truth.  These people gain insight, grow, and learn from their mistakes. Would that we all could do.

The stories that Kendall Grey creates are amazing. Rockers reaching for fame and fortune while remaining true to their art. Whale warriors and earth forces fighting planetary destruction (this is not as sci-fi as it sounds, actually). Family fighting for family, no matter what that means for them. And now, Ghosts.

Ghosts is a web serial.  It’s outfuckingstanding and I’ve never read anything like it. Every day, I RUSH to my computer to read the day’s installment. I die a little bit with Sarah, the main character, and I feel her pain, her fear, her determination. Post-apocalyptic, dystopian, post-modern, science fiction… nothing does it justice. This is a story of abuse. Of hunger and pain.  It’s a story of fear, stark-raving mad terror, and quiet, sobbing dread and apprehension. It’s about survival, and death, and murder. It’s about living every single, endless, pain-filled day of your life walking on the razor’s edge between life and death and not even knowing for sure if you’d notice the difference.

I really, truly wish everyone would read this serial.  Ghosts is kind of life-changing in a way. If a mom from Georgia can write something this freaking incredible, then there’s hope for all of us. If a normal (and having met Kendall, I use that term loosely) human who sews and cooks and packs lunches and takes walks with children and cleans house and a million other every day things, if that person can put this story down on paper, then maybe there’s a goddamned genius living inside all of us. Kendall grey gives me hope that someday I’ll write something even half as amazing as Ghosts or Rock or Nocturnes or any of her other books. She gives us all hope for a world where art matters more than money or social acceptance or accolades. She’s living that.

Ghosts is not an easy read. It’s dark, it’s full of bad things, and it can be a little gory at times (although not excessively so, imho).  It’s also built on string theory – the time frame moves around and it takes a few installments to get it all down and chronologically organized in your head, but it’s totally worth the minimal confusion in order to take this story in, feel it, and then think about it as you wait for the next episode.  I’m really being sincere here. I cannot believe how incredible this story is. Some days it makes me smile for hours, and some days it’s like a punch to the gut; not many authors can affect my emotions like Grey does. Just because it is sometimes scary, sometimes painful, sometimes bloody, doesn’t mean it isn’t great; it hurts good.

So, the giveaway.  You read the first ten installments of Ghosts.  You can find it on Kendall's website.  Go to our Facebook page tell me you’ve done so (the thread with this same post), and tag one or more friends who might be interested in reading something different and new. Share this post. Everyone who does this will be entered into a drawing for a $5 Amazon gift card, to be given away on Thanksgiving day. 

RULE:  There must be at least five entrants for the drawing to be held. The point of this is, after all, to get the word out to people about a fantastic writer, and five entrants means at least five people tagged, which helps my cause, so there you go.

Please be advised that Facebook, BlogSpot, God, Hera, Odin and Freya, Krishna, Buddha, nor any other social media site or cultural deities are responsible for this giveaway.  It’s entirely my doing. Although I may consult Beelzebub, my neighbor’s Yorkie, for advice at some point; he’s never steered me wrong.

Go read Ghosts.  Discover Kendall Grey’s writing. Check out her book on Amazon.com and other sites. I can’t imagine that anyone wouldn’t become as devoted and fawning and adoring (and obnoxious) as I am. 

This woman, and her art, ROCKS!

 CLICK ON THE PIC TO GO TO KENDALL'S WEBSITE


Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Thirty-five and a Half Conspiracies, by Denise Grover Swank



Denise Grover Swank has done it again! Created a romantic, thrilling, scary, exciting, funny, twisty-turny mystery featuring Rose Gardner, Arkansas' answer to Miss Marple.

To avoid spoilers, even the smallest one, I'll just say that this book is everything you've come to expect from a Rose Gardner mystery, and from Swank, and more. Swank's writing gets better every outing and this is a case in point.

This series is fresh, different, and loads of fun. There's love, hate, fear, passion, joy, happiness, sorrow, and even a little envy in here. There's a little dog, a sad friend, a loyal protector, a mysterious sister, and evil b*tch, and a lawyer who knows exactly which side of the law his clients walk upon.

The upshot of this series, I think, is that we all have to grow and change to live and love successfully. Sometimes, we find lifelong friends and partners along the way, people who make us more than we are alone, and sometimes we find people who are only moments in our lives and not meant to be there forever. Facing adversity makes you stronger and really can't be avoided anyway, so you have to take the bull by the horns. Sometimes, we find that those we love have committed sins and that, no matter how much we love them, we can't get past those. This series of books is a woman's journey and in addition to being fun, exciting, and a little (occasionally a lot) sad, it's also got some deeper truths to be mined and paid attention to. We are all works in progress.

Thirty-Five seems to be approaching some sort of climax and a culmination of the things that have come before. Not that I expect Swank will end the series any time soon, but just that many questions our protagonists have had will soon be answered and there will be some sort of wrap up of a major story line. I say this with great hope of finding out just what the heck is going on, as well as for seeing where the author takes our heroine next. I cannot wait for the next installment to come in May.

I want to point out that I read this book is about five hours all told, and that the denouement, several pages long, had my heart pounding and my palms sweating. I am not lying.

If you have not read Twenty-eight and a Half Wishes, or the other six books in this series, you'll want to do that first, but I promise you it's worth it. Denise Grover Swank never fails to satisfy her readers. Click on the pic to get it.



Friday, October 23, 2015

A Match Made in Paranormal Heaven! (Recombinant by Denise Grover Swank and Shannon Mayer)


The minute I heard that Shannon Mayer (one of my favorite urban fantasy writers of all time) and Denise Grover Swank (a favorite of mine, as well) were teaming up to write a book, I got all excited and giddy.  It had to be good, right?  I mean, these two on their own are amazing writers and successful authors, so I figured the Blood Borne Series was certain to be worthwhile.

Turns out I was right.

Rachel is a reporter who stumbles across a huge story that involves murder, vampires, military experiments, corrupt government, danger, and Lea.

Lea is a vampire and a cazador.  A  hunter. She hunts her own kind, determined to eradicate the vampire virus from the earth.

Together, Lea and Rachel take on a vast conspiracy and some very nasty people and creatures in order to get to the bottom of things. There's action, adventure, violence, a little blood, love and pain, and everything else that makes for a great story.

All books have things in them that someone here or there won't enjoy, and this book had one of those for me. I'm not going to say what, because you might like it and I don't want to influence your opinion of this book. Suffice it to say that the story was compelling enough, and the writing engaging enough, that my dislike of one aspect didn't convince me to put the book down. I read this book in a total of about four hours and loved it overall.

The most notable thing about this book is that the shift between writers and characters is flawless. You absolutely cannot tell which woman is penning a particular segment.  So often, when a book has more than one writer, the shifts between authors can be distracting, or even detrimental to the story. Not so here. It's almost as if Mayer and Swank are the same person, but  . . . wait!  I have never seen them in a room together!  Could it be? No, of course not.  But really, the writing here is smooth, intense, appealing, and utterly seamless.  Swank and Mayer pull this off like they've been writing together for decades.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable story, featuring a couple of tough, strong, intelligent, resourceful, heroic women. They don't need rescuing, they do the rescuing. Gotta love the girl power!

The Bookish Bitch gives this book 5 bottles of Happy Bitch wine:


And one bottle of Jealous Bitch.  Because I wish I'd written this.  It's that good.


Click on the picture of the book to order this on Amazon, starting Tuesday, October 27.






Monday, June 22, 2015

Beneath These Chains, by Meghan March

Meghan March is a talent to be reckoned with. And watched. Because this woman is going to on the NYT and USA Today lists very soon. Trust me on this. (You can click on this very hot teaser to buy Beneath These Chains right now!)




I don't do plot recaps and I don't do spoilers, but I do gushing, fawning, love. Which is what I have for Lord and Elle. Each has their own issues, and each is looking for something special. They come together and it's inevitable.

Well, it's inevitable except for Elle's fear of being controlled, which leads her to limit her encounters to one night stands. Also inevitable except for Lord's past as a one night stand guy, himself. Inevitable but for Lord's belief that by having anything but a relationship with Elle, he might cause trouble for his brother and Vanessa, who happens to be Elle's BFF. And it's all inevitable if not for Elle's horrible family. And the murders.

What I really, truly, deeply love about Meghan March is that when she tells a story, it's not the tried-and-true boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl back, girl loses boy, they reconcile, fight the evil, and live happily ever after. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I have enough stress in my life without worrying about fictional characters! March, on the other hand, takes two unlikely people, puts them together, and then pits them against the conflict *together*. There's no yo-yo relationship. They use their new found relationship to learn to be together, and whatever problems come against them are not from each other, but from outside forces. By pushing her characters to fight for one another, together, she creates believable, understable romances. She also creates really steamy, sexy, well-written love scenes.

CAUTION: March's stories are addictive and you may find yourself thinking about Con, or Lord, or one of her other heroes while, you're supposed to be working or cleaning house or whatever. You might realize that you've read one of the Beneath stories 20 times and you're considering going back for number twenty one. You might even decide you can live without that morning latte, and spend the money on Meghan March books to hand out to your friends! You've been warned.

Overall, a good read, a good story, a satisfying romance, hot smut, multiple orgasms, one sexy, tatted, pierced badass of a hero, a girl who has the same fears and insecurities as the rest of us, and true love. Relatable, enjoyable, and totally drool-worthy. All of them are, really.  Click on the pics to buy on Amazon.



           

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Skip to the Good Part, Volume 4 - Various Authors

On March 16, 2015, we get Skip to the Good Part, Volume 4. Twenty smokin' hot excerpts from 20 romance novels written by authors you know and authors you'll be glad you found here.

These scenes are melt-your-panties, set the fire alarms off hot and they come from the likes of Emma Hart, Chelle Bliss, Melissa Foster, Lili St. Germain, and more. NYT best sellers, USA Today best sellers, and up and coming writers whose names you'll want to remember.

Get it quick, because it's only out for a limited time, too. And if you haven't read the first three?  Well, they're still available, too.