Review of Goddess of the Grove: An Immortal Highlander Novella by Mandy M Roth- an ARC Review

This is the 2nd book in the series, and a long favorite storyline for me! I would recommend that you read them in order, as there is a lot of back story which would influence your views of the lead characters in this story, but you could enjoy as a standalone by itself without having to read book one. And on to my review.

***A gifted copy was provided by the author for an honest review***

This story is about Korey and Gigi in Book two from the Sacred Places series. Korey is a 700 year old Druid sorcerer and he is I completely and totally in love with Gigi who is a waitress at his cousin's bar. Korey thinks GiGi is only human when really she is a goddess. Gigi is hiding from her uncle who is some really bad guy who is out to get rid of Gigi (i.e. eradicate her) because of something really great she had done to the Druid children but in her uncle’s eyes, she became a threat. Neither realized what the other one was doing for the other and was determined to protect each other from the dangers of their immortal world.

Korey and Gigi have been working together and against each other for years. The attraction sparks everytime they are in the same room. Korey refuses to allow the attraction to go anywhere because she is not” Immortal” which would make her “his mate”. Something Korey is mistaken about because there are things about Gigi he doesn’t know…Things from Gigi’s past come back to haunt her and and threaten all she the people she loves & things and destroy all she had worked for, Gigi will need to make a choice- the hardest choice that may affect the outcome of their 4 year friendship. Will it become more or end things for good?  Gigi wants to protect the man she loves and to do so, she is willing to risk everything to keep him and her friends safe. When it came to Korey, He was in denial, he was in shock he didn’t recognize her as a goddess and that he didn’t see his mate –He had such a hard time moving past his guilt and it really hit their relationship hard. Did their relationship survive. Did they get their HEA? Well, this is such a fantastic story, I really think you should grab this and find out!!

Both Korey and Gigi are awesome H/H. They are so in love with each other yet want to protect the other from bad things and kept the other from the bad things in their past, just wanted to see the other smile and laugh because it made their day brighter. As the 4 years progressed, their relationship strengthened and moved on and grew hotter, brighter, deeper day by day. I loved how they communicated. I loved the secondary characters in the story and the twists that came in the story.  I yelled at Korey when he acted like a jerk but I knew that Gigi would get thru to him and loved the outcome and cannot wait for book 3. I just wish that Korey wouldn’t have acted like a jerk the way he did, and would have shown a little more sense. I do love the author and her writing abilities. It is so seamless and the way she can write for the women and men, it flawless.

My Rating: 4.8 stars *****

My review of Act of Surrender (Immortal Ops: PSI-Ops #2) by Mandy M Roth

***A gifted copy was provided by the author for an honest review***

This is James Hagen’s story. We, as the readers, were first introduced to him back in book one as abducted, tortured and experimented on for a year by Corp. Since then he has been in a horrible mental place and doesn’t know where his head is at that moment. He is brought back in to the fold after being rescued and we start with him sitting in a lab a few weeks after his return. He is looking forward to an online chat with GothGirl ( our heroine) who he finds that he can chat with and be more himself with than others. There is some issues with GothGirl but James finds he can tell her his troubles and she listens without telling him what to do and how to do it…. No judgment.

Laney aka GothGirl is a wicked hacker with skills that are not humanly possible and is also a friend out of Dr. Mercy. Lane has all the files she hacked from the company and as fate would have it they are all on subject p87, who was James. She has also been on her own for many years after finding her parents were not her real ones and has discovered she was part of the Asia Project. Laney is a girl who has lived her life off the radar since she has been abandoned by her parents. She knew deep down that the government was covering something up. She spent her time looking for information she could use, and expose the truth on her website/blog. Laney never thought that her digging got the attention of someone, and that someone was out to kill her.

In this book, you have a whole can of worms opened up. The PSI-OPs and the Immortal Ops teams are both working on the issues created by the company and the other bad guys, who they have now found have people inside their teams and their governments. They don't know who to trust and have found they have been lied to for years.

The search for the truth and the building of the sexual chemistry between the H/h and the emotional connection was terrific. I love how these two wounded souls were able to find their way to each other and heal themselves from their tortured pasts.

The only glitch or thing I didn’t like is when the author portrayed Laney as a loner but yet showed her constant center point supporting or safeguarding the homeless veterans in her hotel encampment. Just seemed off kilter for someone who was a “loner”. I found that odd but could be a character flaw. I didn’t like that, could have been written a little different but c’ la vie.

My rating: 4.3 stars ****

My Review of Big Bad Billionaire (The Woolven Secret Book 1) by Saranna DeWylde

***A gifted copy was provided by the author for an honest review***

OMG, this book grabs you literally on the first paragraph. Saranna has taken a paranormal tale and thrown a whole ‘nother twist on it. One that involves some kinky hijinks and some intrigue with some flirty , sexy matter. 

Blake Woolven is the bad boy CEO of Woolven Industries but there is more to him than meets the eye- he’s also Alpha to his pack . BBW Randi Rutger is back at Woolven, determined to take down Blake and his company because she holds them responsible for the death of her father. But not so fast. At first Blake kept her around because it’s the old motto “ keep your friends close and your enemies close” saying but something about how she smelled and the attraction meant that the old wives tale for wolves was true and Randi really was what that smell meant and he could not do her harm .

Intrgue and lies abound and Blake and Randi found themselves having to search for the truth to protect themselves and to get to the bottom –or else they would possibly never see the light of day and Blake’s pack could end up paying the ultimate price. Also there is a HUGE truth coming for Randi that I didn’t see coming til the very end ..let me say-GAME CHANGER. This is a great new series and I came wait for more in this series. 
I LOVE werewolves books and this is definitely my cup of tea. The passion, the intensity of lust , Blake’s alpha-ness was so yummy and Randi- loved her directness and how she looked for her truth, even at risk to herself-emotionally and physically because she wanted to give her father’s memory peace. Awesome new series!

My rating: 5 stars *****

My Review of Stepbrother Fallen by Aya Fukunishi

****A gifted copy was provided by the author for an honest review***

Madison was raised to be a good person, a good girl. She followed the rules and never stepped out of line. She did what her mom and step dad asked and is an all American girl. Then her world changed- her step dad found out he has a son he never knew about and in order to help him out of a legal situation, her step dad brings him to live with them which brings chaos to the house.

Madison is really skittish because after seeing his picture he's all she can have thoughts of. When he does get there, Madison is caught with her pants down, literally( you have to read). She is totally in lust. However he is her step-brother. There is such chemistry and sparks between the two that fly off the page. 

This story plays out over a period of time and there are twists and turns that will leave you needing to know how they end up. It is a very erotic, sexy and agile reading story. I highly recommend reading this story. 
Both Madison and Rafe by the end of the story realized what was truly important – Madison found what was important in life and Rafe was able to attain happiness he was so seeking in life. Do they find it together? You will have to read to find out. Aya Fukunishi has written such a great book that I can’t wait to read more from her and this book just makes me want to keep reading her stories.

My rating: 5 stars *****

My Review of Separation Zone by Mandy M. Roth

****A gifted copy was provided by the author for an honest review***

This is Tiger shifter’s Jonathon Reynell story. He has spent a great deal of his immortal life serving his country then suddenly tragedy strikes. His friend, Lance dies and Jon is reeling from the loss. He has been drowning his sorrows in the bottle; Jon has been put on a mandatory weeks leave. Jon is a man who is suffering and has really no one , he feels he can turn to-

His teammates have found their mates and he still searches. But unknown to the I-OPS team he has a letter from a long dead friend, foreshadowing that when he meets his mate, danger will come to her. Undertaking to avert the ball of fate, Jon decides to return to his hometown for a ceremony honoring fallen soldiers, including him and his best friend.

But once Jon arrives, he finds Fate has other things planned for him and she has plopped his mate right in front of him. Tori is an emotionally delicate artist. For Tori, it hasn’t been easy being the town freak. Seeing dead people and talking to them and the dead talking back to her, is not a talent to be touted to the mob. And why has she taken to painting tigers!!! Her dead gran keeps telling her to "make it and and he will come".

This is such a great book. The H/h has such great chemistry and this story was more of an emotional read than physical read than previous stories. I loved watching the hero and heroine meet, get drawn together and do the dance. This story hits the spot and I highly recommend this as one of the Immortal OPS series. I cant wait for more in the OPS series.

My rating : 5 stars *****

My Review of Falling for Jillian by Kristen Proby

***A gifted copy was provided by NETGALLEY for an honest review***

Falling for Jillian is the third book in Kristen Proby's Love Under the Big Sky series. This is Jillian and Zach’s story. We met both Jillian in Loving Cara Book 1 & Zach is the twin brother of Josh from Loving Cara.

Jillian has known Zach pretty much her entire life since he is best friends with her brother. She has come back to town after her divorce and is slowly rebuilding her life. Zach has returned to town from the military and is working on his family's ranch with his brother.

There is serious sparks/chemistry between these two but they are both so unsure on how to proceed. Jillian has baggage from her childhood and divorce while Zach has guilt from being away from his son for so long while in the military. Also, there is some mention that Zach suffers from PTSD (military related). Zach's son Seth is a huge part of the relationship between Zach and Jillian. She was in love with Seth before Zach. This is , I believe, in part that Jillian suffered fertility problems in her relationship with her ex-husband and couldn’t conceive and this made her relationship with Seth even more special. 

The story picks up with Zach and Jillian trying to forgot a particularly steamy evening they had together but they kept running into each other. **Sort of a Sticky Situation*** Zach wants to keep his space. Jillian is open but baffled by his actions because he does one thing and says another.

They finally decide to give in to their feelings and keep it casual. I liked that there was a build up to their feelings for each other. It didn't happen right away and it just happened like it would normally and they didn’t try to overdo things.

But as with all couples, things come to a halt when things get caught in translation and miscommunications. One of the reasons Jillian was wary of serious relationship was due to a big issue in her marriage. There is something that unexpectedly happens between Zach and Jillian and while she is happy, Zach's reaction is not what she expected. I do not want to give too much away but suffice to say, it takes some unexpected words to get the Zach to see things differently and to get these two back together.

This author wrote a terrific book and the characters have a wonderful real life feel. Loved the characters and how the author portrays the people and omg, I loved Zach’s son. He almost completely stole the book. He is adorable. I wish this wasn’t the last book in the series. 

Although these titles MAY be read out of order, the LOVE UNDER THE BIG SKY series order is:
1. Loving Cara - Cara Donovan and Josh King's story
2. Seducing Lauren - Lauren Cunningham and (Josh's best friend) Ty Sullivan's story
3. Falling for Jillian - Jillian and (Ty's brother) Zach King's story

My rating 4.7 stars ****

My Review of The Millionaire's Forever by Sonya Weiss

***A gifted copy was provided by the publisher for an honest review***

Olivia Carter has a business that she is trying to save. She told a lie and now that lie could sink her business. With both her reputation and career in jeopardy, Olivia is desperate enough to do almost anything...
Millionaire Mason Parker is ready to take advantage of her desperate situation and force her into a sham “fictional” relationship to get his hands on land that Olivia owns This is payback for what Olivia’s father did to Mason. We are given a lot of info on what Olivia's father did to Mason and his need for revenge but in the end Mason does nothing and it is NOT because he chose love; it was because that part of the book was somewhat rushed.

Olivia has this reason to be in this position due to lie she told to get her business set up and get it booming-Your asking how is this –well , the media have sat up and paid attention, orders are coming in from Hollywood Big namers, and she’s even appeared on Ellen --And the reason for her success is…true love, but of course! Olivia has set herself up of an ideal couple—the other is her childhood friend and now self-made millionaire who swept her off her feet and just overwhelmingly adores her and gives her whatever she wants and loves her to bits. They are head over heals in love with each other- get the picture- It’s FAKE- and she is about to be found out but Mason knows the truth and is blackmailing her in a roundabout way and is saying to her,” I will be the fake boyfriend/fiancée or else I will go to the media and tell the truth-pick your poison” .

Mason wants a piece of land that Olivia owns….the piece of land that the correctional facility he spent time in is situated on. The deal is straightforward enough—he’ll pose as her boyfriend for six weeks, thereby saving her business and by the end of their time together, he’ll convince Olivia to part with her treasured land-Just as Olivia has big plans for the land as well. Her mother, who is no longer on earth, wanted to use that land to help her community so Olivia had a piece of the land she was going to take and use for the community. Olivia is not about to part with the land and things are going to get nasty between Mason and Olivia.

There is such chemistry between these two now as there was years ago. Olivia had feelings for him then and still does today. Mason let his feelings for Olivia’s father color his feelings for her and now is conflicted on how he treats her. Understand the energy and emotions will have you reading as fast as you can to get to the final resolution. You want Mason and Olivia to both win and as I was reading, I kept urging Mason to kiss her and then I was yelling in my head to quit his vendetta. This book will definitely keep you invested and is quite the page turner. As they grow closer and the chemistry between them sparks off , resolving their main issues looks almost impossible. Someone has to lose. 

My rating 4.0 stars

My Review of The Millionaire's Unexpected Proposal by Jane Peden

***A gifted copy was provided by the publisher for an honest review***

 I really found this book to be fantastic! The complex emotions and feelings and the twists and turns that , at times, you could see and sometimes , couldn’t see coming , kept me reading without putting this book down and was a read-through book. The author kept the feelings real and emotions
involved as Camilla Winthrop sought out her ex-boyfriend in order to keep someone safe- their son.

The son he never knew about. A two week whirlwind fling in Vegas and ends suddenly by Sam who is so focused on his career and a woman who faced with some difficult decisions. Now five years later she goes to him and tells him she needs to marry him. Within those five years she had to get married to someone else and now has a child. But after she tells him her situation, Sam is fighting mad. He'll do it--marry her- -- but under his terms. And he'll take everything he can, including Camilla. in his bed…unless she can find a way to defrost the millionaire's glacial heart once more.

What develops is Sam’s scheme to annihilate Camilla by taking the only thing that means the most in the world to her- their son. The relationship between Camilla and Sam is embittered. When Sam agrees to marry Camilla, against his law partner’s advice, he sets into motion a series of investigations that show to Sam that supposedly prove what he believes about Camilla to be true. He is dead set to take back the son he knew nothing about and in the process, wipe out Camilla for the betrayal and heartbreak. At the same time, he wants all of the benefits of married life.
When the truth is finally exposed, Sam realizes that he has made the biggest mistake of his life. It is a race against time to get to Camilla to win her back before he loses her and the monumental surprise she was saving to tell him . The secondary characters include Sam’s law partners; Camilla’s half sister Olivia; her ex mother in law; -- Love the cast of secondary characters and I hope we do get to read Olivia’s book someday. I feel it would be a great read- Now my thoughts on Camilla’ dead husband is interesting- a series of flashbacks and memories with Danny- we get to see how their relationship came to be .

 It adds a level of why things happen to her for those 5 years she never contacted Sam…glad the author added it for the reader to have. Fantastic story and would love to read more of Camilla and Sam somehow down the road.

 My rating : 5 Stars *****

My Review of Crossing Abby Road by Ophelia London

***A gifted copy was provided by the publisher for an honest review*** Abigail Kelly is—mega rockstar, tabloid fixture while Todd Camford went from Marine sniper to owning a beachfront surf shop in Florida and when the two met- sparks happen. It was nice to see two different people meet and fall in love BUTthis story is mainly about one day and there is a lot of talking and a lot of descriptions - which is normally fine but it drags ... there is romance and chemistry but honestly, I hoped for a real development. It is a story where two people from different worlds collide and meet. Todd who has been hurt in love before and Abby who is literally stalked by fans and media who really can never have a life...two souls meet and in one day, there lives change and change, it looks like for the good. I felt like this story needed to delvelop over a week or even more, only but to happen in one day and it leaves off where there “may be” a chance for us to see Abby and Todd again? The story fell flat for me on that premise. I really liked Todd and Abby and felt the author did us, the reader and her characters a disservice by not fully flushing the story out more and giving more of a story. I did like what I read and hope there will someday be more of a story for Abby and Todd. What story we did get, I did like. My rating : 3 Stars ***

ARC Review of Persuading Him

***A gifted copy was provided by NetGalley for an honest review*** This was one wild read!! It kept me on the edge of my seat and there were so many twists and turns, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next but OMG, loved this book. Kasi Markson is someone who is determined to get what she wants and is a go-getter. She is an heiress but she does not like to be in the public eye, she keeps everything on the down low where the paparazzi comes into plays. Radek Cole is a retired Air Force officer who agrees to a last minute job to fly Kasi when her regular pilot became ill. One look at him and Kasi is hooked, she knows she needs him. Radek is a man who is instantly attracted to her but tries to keep her at arm’s length as he has a bad reputation for something that happened in the past. So begins this fabulous, engrossing,, fast-moving romance between Kasi and Rdek! The carnal knowledge between these two was powerfully written by Ms. Dare. I read A LOT of of genre, especially erotica/romance, and it takes oh so much to really cause that “wet panties” effect after reading a book and Ms Dare accomplished that in spades! What started out as a quick one time sexual affair turned into something much more seductive and deeper. Soon, a fascinating and loving friendship began to form and Kasi knew within a very short time that she was falling for Radek. But as all things were known to happen, things were going a little to smoothly for these two. At the end of the book Kasi receives a call from a woman from Radek’s past and the book ended on a cliffhanger. WOW!! WHAT A way to end the book. Loved this book. Kept me on the edge of my seat. Can’t wait to read book 2 and find out the outcome. My rating : 5 Stars *****