Review: Overall Review of January Books 2018

January 31, 2018July 11, 2018 amorettesreviewsLeave a comment

Can you freaking BELIEVE that January is basically over? Like….already? It’s over! I mean doesn’t it feel like January 7th or something? Where did the time go? To be honest I didn’t read as much as I wanted to this month but the books I did read were pretty good!
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I had the opportunity to read and review three ARC’S this month. All three books were very different and I enjoyed all of them. First up was Prince Charming by CD Reiss, a book about an FBI agent falling in love with a hacker and it was the surprise book of the month for me. There is something about couples that aren’t supposed to be together, that forbidden aspect of their relationship is very attractive to me and spices up the story and makes me want to keep reading till I finish the book. I high recommend Prince Charming by CD Reiss and if you aren’t sold on it yet, please check out my review with all the buy links here <—

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My second ARC of January was Fake Wife by Stacey Lynn. There are tons of tropes in the romance book world and being in a fake relationship/marriage but eventually falling for each other is a huge one for the romance book world. When it’s done right and written well it works, but not always and I adore Stacey Lynn but I was worried Fake Wife wouldn’t deliver. But I was wrong and Fake Wife was well written with some pleasant surprises and I thought it was great read. If you’re interested in reading and buying Fake Wife, please check out my review with all the buy links here <—

My third ARC for January was Midnight Blue by LJ Shen. She is one of the best writers in the romance book world hands down, but man do her male characters drive me up the dang wall! BUT LJ Shen is a master storyteller and I was able to get over my annoyance with Alex freaking Winslow. Midnight Blue is a story about an ordinary girl dealing with a life long tragedy hired to deal with the hot mess rocker that is Alex Winslow. What could go wrong and what could go right? Check out my review and the buy links for Midnight Blue here <—-
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And as to other books I’ve been reading this month? To be honest I’ve been doing a lot of re-reading of books I’ve read before! I’m currently re-reading A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas so I can properly write reviews for them. I’ve also been been re-reading Priest by Sierra Simone since the the sequel Sinner will be out in March. But the one book that was new that came out this month that I want to talk about is Fire In His Fury by Ruby Dixon.

Let’s talk about dragons shall we? First of all, I don’t know about you but I all about paranormal, sci-fi and especially post apocalyptic books, add romance to those genres and I am SOLD. Ruby Dixon is the QUEEN of everything sci-fi, she stole my heart with Ice Planet Barbarians series but she completely owned my heart when she came out with a series about DRAGONS. I am a huge nerd, I love fiction and fantasy and her Fireblood Dragon romance books just blow me away. There are four books total in the series so far and Fire in His Fury just came out a few weeks ago. I loved it of course and honestly I wish Ruby Dixon would ditch the Barbarians and just focus on her dragons I am that hooked! Anyway, I haven’t written reviews on this series but I might soon! Here is a blurb for the first book and the link to Ruby’s website!

Fire In His Blood: Years ago, the skies ripped open and the world was destroyed in fire and ash. Dragons – once creatures of legend – are the enemy. Vicious and unpredictable, they rule the skies of the ruined cities, forcing humanity to huddle behind barricades for safety.

Claudia’s a survivor. She scrapes by as best as she can in a hard, dangerous world. When she runs afoul of the law, she’s left as bait in dragon territory. She only has one chance to survive – to somehow ‘tame’ a dragon and get it to obey her.

Except the dragon that finds her is as wild and brutal as any other…and he’s not interested in obeying. What he is interested in is a mate.

http://rubydixon.com/wordpress/

That’s all I have for January folks! I’m hoping to read and review more in February and to also post some reviews of my favorite re-reads and of course some Kindle Unlimited books! I hope you enjoyed this review and you should definitely check out these books! Thanks for reading! 🙂

katy

Teaser: Eulogy by Rachel Van Dyken

January 29, 2018 amorettesreviewsLeave a comment

Blurb: All is lost.

All.

I don’t recognize myself in the mirror anymore.

My thoughts are filled with hatred and dripping with rage.

I’ve lost my soul.

She took it to the depths of Hell with her and haunts me with images of what could have been.

Sixty lives are mine to take.

Sixty lives stand in the way of my vengeance.

Sixty lives plus one more.

Mine.

When the last drop of blood falls — mine will be spilled.

Only one person stands in the way.

She doesn’t realize I’ll kill her too.

I don’t own a heart.

And even if I did — I wouldn’t fall prey to its lies again.

I am Chase Abandonato.

Heir to a legacy of betrayal.

And I will kill them all.

Even if it means pointing the gun at myself.

A life for a life.

A soul for a soul.

Now I lay me down to sleep… I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

Blood in. No out.

Pre-order:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2CY5B2O
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2CvrfdS
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/2CY388S
Amazon AU: http://amzn.to/2m2cxVr
iBooks: https://apple.co/2CITfPe
B&N: http://bit.ly/2Aw5Ak3
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2CwKaVT
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2CJj3ef
Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2mftDhQ

blog tour · new release · review

Blog Tour & ARC Review: Midnight Blue by LJ Shen

January 22, 2018January 22, 2018 amorettesreviewsLeave a comment

The Cover: I think the cover is very attractive and the font is nice but it literally has no connection to the story or the characters. I mean you could say it was Alex but meh, really underwhelming for me. I would just like to see a book cover that connects to it’s story better. B+

Basics: Midnight Blue was released on January 16th 2018 and is 338 pages long. Genre wise Midnight Blue belongs to contemporary romance.

Description: It should have been easy. I needed the money. He needed a babysitter to keep him from snorting himself to death.

I was cherry-picked especially for him. Responsible. Optimistic. Warm. Innocent.
The worst part is that I should have known better.

Alex Winslow. British rock star. Serial heartbreaker. Casanova with whiskey eyes.

“Don’t get near the devil in a leather jacket. He’ll chew you up and spit you out.”

Sounds familiar? That’s because it was a headline in a tabloid the second time he got arrested.

Guess what? I didn’t listen. I signed the contract. World tour. Three months. Four Continents. One hundred shows.

My name is Indigo Bellamy, and I sold my soul to a tattooed god. Problem was, my soul wasn’t enough for Alex Winslow. He ended up taking my body, too.

Then he took my heart. Then he took my all.

Excerpt: Nat’s words came back and haunted me like a bad haircut from the eighties. An irrational need to check the goods took over me. It wasn’t like he minded. According to the rumors, his dick had seen more cameras than Kendall Jenner. Slowly—so painfully slowly—my eyes drifted down his sinewy body. I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Whatever I had in mind, though, didn’t come close to the real thing. Thick, long but not atrocious. With thin veins running through its length.

“Nice view?” he groaned, tucking his junk back into his briefs. His profile was glorious. Strong jaw, pouty lips, eyes like sex…

My eyes snapped up when I realized he was talking to me. “I wasn’t…”

“Looking? Yes, you were. Next time take a picture. It lasts longer.” He rolled his zipper upward and flushed the toilet with the toe of his boot. He turned around and squirted soap into his palm, washing his hands almost violently—rubbing between each finger and scratching his knuckles like he wanted to shed his own skin. When he was done, he looked around for a towel.

I cleared my throat, scrambling to regain my wits. “Longer than the glimpse or longer than your performance?”

Casually—so unbearably casually—he wiped his wet hands over my purple dress. I gasped, moving sideways. It looked like he was about to open the door and get out, but before I had the chance to yell at him for using me as a human towel, he slammed me against the wall, bracing both his arms above my head and pinning me to my spot. I let out a shriek of surprise at the sudden proximity.

Alex Winslow is touching me. Willingly, my surprisingly pitiful brain squealed.

Heat rolled off his body, making my back arch and my breath catch in my throat.

“Let’s make one thing clear—I could fuck you to a point of numbness without even breaking a sweat if I wanted to. Now, careful, New Girl. If you don’t keep your distance from me, I think I just might.”

Midnight Blue.jpg

Overall thoughts: LJ Shen is one of the truly gifted writers when it comes to the romance genre book world; that being said, all of her male muses are starting to really rub me the wrong way. Being an asshole when you’re alpha male or the hero in a romantic story apparently is becoming a huge trope in the romance genre. Most of the time I’m fine with it because later reasons come out and explain the male guy is a jerk. Most of the time the reasons are valid, but being a jerk to the leading lady? Not so much. Again most of the time with but Alex Winslow really annoyed me.

I noticed it when I read Vicious by LJ Shen too; the leading male is a complete and utter douche to the heroine and a lot of readers find this attractive and swoon. However I do not; I don’t think it’s attractive and I honestly find it a scary at how many readers are drawn to someone written like that. It took me literally three reads to sort of like Vicious and I honestly kept reading because LJ Shen is a great writer and storyteller. Little did I know the same issues I had with Vicious would come back to haunt me with Midnight Blue. There are little things that irk me when it comes to reading but being a complete jerk to the person you fall in love with is a big one. But the other issue I have when it comes to reading? Really, really awful and hurtful jokes.

I am part of a military family and the “going to war” and ISIS jokes really upset me. Even if it was meant to be funny towards someone who isn’t involved with the military, how can the idea of going off to fight war or include ISIS, the group that is known for atrocious and demoralizing acts funny? It’s not funny. At all. Those were my only two issues with Midnight Blue, the bad “jokes” and Alex being a jerk. But after saying all that is Midnight Blue worth reading to dear reader? Absolutely.

Everyone loves a good comeback and lord knows fallen from grace rocker Alex Winslow needs it. He needs a babysitter too apparently Indigo, down on her luck, family loving and fashion designer guru is perfect for the job. What could go wrong when a normal person falls in love with additive rock god? A lot. But the ride that was Midnight Blue was worth taking. The characters are great and holds a great message when it comes to doing the right thing and addressing drug abuse and addiction. Indigo and Alex was electric hot when it comes to chemistry and I enjoyed the high’s and low’s of their relationship. Although I may not agree with some of the things included her in stories, LJ Shen is not meant to be overlooked because her stories truly are great and excuse the pun but rocking.

Couple Chemistry Rating: 5/5 Shells

Favorite Quotes: “I don’t want to fall in love with you.” “You don’t seem to have much choice.” -Indigo & Alex

“I can’t believe this shit’s for real, Stardust. How can you not answer me? How can you not need me the way I need you?” -Alex

“She was my muse. She was my life. She was my all.”

My Rating: 4/5 Shells
4 stars

Read Today! (Free in Kindle Unlimited)
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2FNBCMg
Amazon Universal: http://mybook.to/MidnightBlue
Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2lIShL

LJSHENLogo
About The Author: L.J. Shen is an International #1 best-selling author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat.

Before she’d settled down, L.J. (who thinks referring to herself in the third person is really silly, by the way) traveled the world, and collected friends from all across the globe. Friends who’d be happy to report that she is a rubbish companion, always forgets peoples’ birthdays and never sends Christmas cards.

She enjoys the simple things in life, like spending time with her family and friends, reading, HBO, Netflix and internet-stalking Stephen James. She reads between three to five books a week and firmly believes Crocs shoes and mullets should be outlawed.

Connect with LJ Shen:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorljshen/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lj_shen
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorljshen/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorljshen/
Stay up to date with LJ Shen by signing up for her mailing list:
http://bit.ly/2umcYPg
http://www.authorljshen.com/

katy

new release · review

ARC Review: Fake Wife by Stacey Lynn

January 16, 2018January 30, 2018 amorettesreviewsLeave a comment

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The Cover: I adore this cover! You can feel steamy the chemistry come through the cover with this couple and I think it’s a perfect cover that represents Corbin and Teagan.

Basics: Fake Wife was released on January 9th, published by Loveswept and is 219 pages long. Genre wise Fake Wife belongs to contemporary romance.

Description: This marriage is strictly business . . . until the temptation gets way too real.

Corbin: I loved my grandma, but I don’t need her money. All I care about is keeping the house—the only place that’s ever felt like home. That, and screwing over my dad, who wants to turn the property into a mall. There’s only one catch: To receive my inheritance, I have to get married within six months. Me, the guy who’s never dated a girl for more than six minutes. Now I need to find a woman I can trust. So when I’m rear-ended by a Prius, I figure it’s a sign that I’m supposed to meet gorgeous, down-to-earth Teagan Monroe.

Teagan: First I lose my job. Then I come home and find out—in the most graphic way possible . . . yeah, that way—that my boyfriend is a cheating jerk. And then I speed off and nearly kill Portland’s sexiest bachelor. Sterling Lane should be pissed. Instead, he offers me more money than I’ve ever seen in my life to marry him and live together in a mansion for two years. No sex. No feelings. Just cash—enough to make all my dreams come true. Then we go and break all our rules . . . and I realize I’m falling in love with my fake fiancé.

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Overall thoughts: Fake Wife was such a fun and cute read! It had an interesting story that had several different aspects to it but somehow everything came together for a great romantic read. Teagan isn’t exactly living her life at the moment and Corbin is dealing with the loss of someone he loved and is being threatened to have something very dear to him taken away, so why not put these two together and see what happens?

Teagan just found out her boyfriend (the boyfriend who she’s given up dreams and traveled all over the country for mind you!) is the worst and on top of that lost her job. Not to mention the fact that she had to leave the apartment she was in because who wants to stay with their cheating, lying ex? No one! But everything changes when she runs into the back of Corbin Lane, AKA Millionaire Playboy of Portland, the man every woman wants to get their hands on. Ironically enough he’s dealing with some issues as well and once he talks to Teagan and finds out situation, he suddenly realizes that the woman who just rear ended his car might be the solutions to all their problems.

Teagan and Corbin were such a great couple and I loved reading about them. Being in a fake relationship usually comes with a different set of problems and I really did enjoy reading about how they came together all those problems. Their chemistry was deeply palpable and honestly made me want to rush through the book because I wanted to know what was going to happen to them so badly! I loved them THAT much.

Stacey Lynn does it again with Fake Wife and I highly suggest reading this fabulous book if you love a fake love story turning into something much more real and magical!

Couple Chemistry Rating: 5/5 Shells

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Favorite Quotes: “Trust me Teagan, I’m thinking anything other that cordial thoughts right now and you’re testing my control.” “Holy freaking snickerdoodles.” -Corbin and Teagan

My Rating: 5/5 Shells

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Read Today!
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2qlVKzH
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2qmbAda
iBooks: http://apple.co/2qpIvMo
Nook: http://bit.ly/2pR0wkK
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2qm8rKN
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2qpLAfg
Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2CgahQN

About the Author: Stacey Lynn currently lives in Minnesota with her husband and four children. When she’s not conquering mountains of laundry and fighting a war against dust bunnies and cracker crumbs, you can find her playing with her children, curled up on the couch with a good book, or on the boat with her family enjoying Minnesota’s beautiful, yet too short, summer.

She lives off her daily pot of coffee, can only write with a bowlful of Skittles nearby, and has been in love with romance novels since before she could drive herself to the library.

If you would like to know more about Stacey Lynn, follow her here:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/staceylynnbooks
Twitter: @staceylynnbooks
Website: http://www.staceylynnbooks.com
Stay up to date on Stacey’s latest news! Subscribe to her Newsletter today! http://www.staceylynnbooks.com/contact

katy

Cover Reveal · new release · pre-order

Cover Reveal: Midnight Blue by LJ Shen

January 15, 2018January 15, 2018 amorettesreviewsLeave a comment

Midnight Blue, an all-new sexy standalone from LJ Shen is coming January 21st!

Blurb: It should have been easy.
I needed the money. He needed a babysitter to keep him from snorting himself to death.
I was cherry-picked especially for him. Responsible. Optimistic. Warm. Innocent.
The worst part is that I should have known better.
Alex Winslow. British rock star. Serial heartbreaker. Casanova with whiskey eyes.
“Don’t get near the devil in a leather jacket. He’ll chew you up and spit you out.”
Sounds familiar? That’s because it was a headline in a tabloid the second time he got arrested.
Guess what? I didn’t listen. I signed the contract.
World tour. Three months. Four Continents. One hundred shows.
My name is Indigo Bellamy, and I sold my soul to a tattooed god.
Problem was, my soul wasn’t enough for Alex Winslow. He ended up taking my body, too.
Then he took my heart. Then he took my all.

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2lIShL2

LJSHENLogo
About the Author: L.J. Shen is an International #1 best-selling author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat.

Connect with LJ Shen:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorljshen/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lj_shen
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorljshen/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorljshen/
Stay up to date with LJ Shen by signing up for her mailing list:
http://bit.ly/2umcYPg
http://www.authorljshen.com/

new release · release blitz · review

ARC Review & Release Blitz: Prince Charming by CD Reiss

January 4, 2018January 5, 2018 amorettesreviewsLeave a comment

The Cover: I really like this cover! I think it’s very eye catching and the colors look fantastic. Usually I like to see the cover model’s face but once I finished the Prince Charming I actually like the nod to mysterious cover model because it makes sense for the leading man in this book. A+

Basics: Prince Charming was released on January 4th 2018, published by Flip City Media Inc. and is 350 pages long. Genre wise Prince Charming belongs to contemporary romance.

Description: Keaton Bridge is exactly the kind of guy a straight-arrow like Cassie doesn’t need. For one thing, he’s a criminal—and she fights crime for a living. And being criminally handsome isn’t helping her say no, either. Everything about him screams trouble, from his British accent to his mysterious past.

And Cassie doesn’t do trouble. Keaton’s got his own trouble. He’s trying to go legit, and an FBI agent hanging around is the last thing that will help his credibility. All it took was one night of passion to sear her into his skin. Now he can’t imagine living happily ever after without her.

All they have to do is walk away. But neither of them ever walks away from danger.

Overall thoughts: Prince Charming was such a wonderful surprise for me! As for my first read of 2018 I had high expectations for this book and my expectations were definitely succeeded. Prince Charming was a dramatic, mysterious, sexy read and I was pleasantly surprised when the story wasn’t focused solely on romance. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I just want to read an intense love story about two people who can’t keep their hands off each other. But there are also times where I wish the stories were elaborated on and that’s exactly what Prince Charming did.

In fact I don’t think the title should of been Prince Charming at all, I feel like Prince of Mystery would of work better or maybe even King of Mystery because Keaton intrigued the living heck out of me! I found myself re-reading some chapters and pages of this book because he was so mysterious and honestly I wanted to know more! He’s the perfect kind of man romance lovers like to read about: speaks with an accent, mysteriously sexy, intense and a bit possessed and most of all…not what he seems.

Cassie makes a great heroine and I love her strength and spunk. She’s a hardworking and very relative, who doesn’t want a good job of their dreams and wants to take care of their family? Don’t we want that all for ourselves? Together Cassie and Keaton sizzle and pop chemistry wise and I actually wish there were more scenes of them together because their chemistry was so strong. The plot was strong and kept me interested, but Prince Charming really shines with the beautiful, deep connected relationship that Cassie and Keaton start to build towards one another. Prince Charming was a great way to start off 2018 and a definitely book you’ll want to add to your TBR!

Couple Chemistry Rating: 5/5 Shells

Favorite Quotes: “He’s everything. I love him, and more than anything, to the ends of the earth and the end of time–I trust him.” -Carrie

“I will never leave you. I hardly think even death can separate us.” -Keaton.

My Rating: 5/5 Shells

Read Today!
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2CGBa18
Amazon Universal: http://mybook.to/PrinceCharming
iBooks: https://apple.co/2xTXtAk
Nook:http://bit.ly/2EGYmgs
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2yp8eeD
Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2i2MIFJ

About the Author: CD Reiss is a New York Times bestseller. She still has to chop wood and carry water, which was buried in the fine print. Her lawyer is working it out with God but in the meantime, if you call and she doesn’t pick up she’s at the well hauling buckets.

Born in New York City, she moved to Hollywood, California to get her master’s degree in screenwriting from USC. In case you want to know, that went nowhere but it did give her a big enough ego to write novels.

She’s frequently referred to as the Shakespeare of Smut which is flattering but hasn’t ever gotten her out of chopping that cord of wood. If you meet her in person, you should call her Christine.

Connect with CD Reiss:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2iwpkPQ
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CDReiss.writer/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cdreisswriter
Instagram: https://instagram.com/cdreiss/
Website: www.cdreiss.com
Newsletter: https://cdreiss.com/cd-reiss-mailing-list-signup/