Monthly Archives: November 2014

Review: Ruin (Songs of Corruption #2) by CD Reiss

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Title: Ruin
Author: CD Reiss
Publisher/Year: Flip City Media   10/14/14
Length: 269
Series: Songs of Corruption #2

Overview

Antonio is a killer.
He’s beautiful, educated, a prodigy of a thief and as violent a man as ever came off the boat from Napoli.

Theresa knows it, but that doesn’t stop her from getting emotionally and physically entangled with him, and this is how, maybe, she got it in her head that she can protect him.

But it’s not her job to save him, and she’s just not getting that. Every time she tries to protect him, she practically gets him killed, and the tighter he grips her, the more dangerous she becomes.

It’s almost as if…well, he’d never admit this….but it’s almost as if protecting her the way he does is he one thing he should stop. As if the only way he’s ever going to find a moment’s peace is to just embrace her as a partner, rather than a defenseless creature.

But he’d never do that. Not this violent man.

My Thoughts

i’m in a weird place with this one.  I’m a huge fan of CD Reiss and the parallel series that i’ve read so far, yet this 2nd installment in this series – Songs of Corruption just left me wanting something more.

If you remember back to when the first one came out, we were quickly introduced to Theresa – who’s a Drazen – a large family that’s quite powerful in the business realmn and Antonio – someone quite powerful in the Italian Mafia realm.  Of course , there was a lot of drama that ensued – since Theresa was dating someone who’s end goal was to take down the mafia ….leading to some great chemistry between these 2 leads.  i had such high hopes because the story line was getting very dicey and then my prolonged wait….left a bit to be wanted.

Where we pick up in this 2nd book – Ruin – is that Theresa’s in hiding with Antonio because of the attempt on her life as a result of her relationship with him.  So what we have for the first quarter of the book is a lot of her in hiding so to speak, not being able to really do much but wait for Spin to come back and have his way with her.  (i know – very direct and to the point there).

The rest of the story is a lot of back and forth about what’s going to happen with Spin’s territory, and what he has to do to get out of the lifestyle since he’s really not made for it and wants to have a life with Theresa – if he can.

What i’m struggling with is that we get a decent story line – yet it’s really not overly developed.  We see the stirrings of plans being set up to get out of the area – and live their lives together – but it’s just glossy – on the surface and never really getting too much further into the meat of it all.  We get to see a bit more of the interactions with Theresa’s many siblings, but again, just a topline level of it – and never really getting to hear about their background and growing up which would have added a bit more dimension to things.

There’s the expected amount of passion here – we see that there’s clear chemistry between Theresa and Antonio – and that’s certainly carries us through – but i feel like i kept wanting ‘more’.

Then there’s the epilogue – i think that it’s a good tease of things – gives you a sense of geography and the tension of a situation – but i don’t know what it means for the series itself.  I get the sense that this was a 2 book series, yet…..i don’t know.  So all in all, took me longer than i would have liked to read this – and it was just eh….. good news though is that i still love this author and there’s much much more to pickup and read.

Launch Day Blitz & Giveaway: All He Desires (All or Nothing #3) by CC Gibbs

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Title: All He Desires
Author: CC Gibbs
Publisher/Year: Grand Central Publishing 11/4/14
Length: 284
Series: All or Nothing #3

Excerpt

He glanced at his vintage Cartier Santos Dumont watch. “I don’t have any appointments till noon tomorrow so we have plenty of time. And my appointments can be canceled if necessary.”

“How very accommodating of you,” Kate said softly.

Dominic smiled faintly. “We try.”

Suddenly the image of countless females being accommodated by the incredibly beautiful, sexually talented Knight Enterprises CEO filled Kate’s mind and brought the teasing game to a screeching halt. “But you’re accommodating only me from now on, right?” she said, challenge in the obstinate jut of her chin.

“Only you,” he readily agreed, when he would have found such limitations incomprehensible a few short months ago.

Leaning back against the flax-​colored sofa, her green gaze shimmering with delight, she smiled at the man she loved. “So,” she murmured, with delicate impertinence and a little dip of her head. “Have I really tamed the premier playboy of the Western world?”

A lazy flicker of a smile. “I didn’t think you liked it tame?”

His words hovered palpably in the sudden silence.

Spiked through her body, a flame hot and riveting.

Pooled in seething delirium deep down inside her.

“Meaning?” she whispered, finding it hard to breathe.

“Meaning, why don’t we find out what you do like?” he said gently, coming to his feet in a graceful flow of toned muscle, having patiently waited through the unwrapping of countless boxes for her to finally read his mind. He held out his strong hand with its dusting of dark hair, his long fingers faintly splayed.

A shiver of pleasure raced through her. Broad-​shouldered, lean hipped in jeans and a faded blue Peace T‑shirt, Dominic’s dark, brooding beauty was breathtaking: the long silky black hair, the bad-​boy scorching blue eyes, the high cheekbones and fine bone structure, the arrow-​straight nose, the mouth saved from outright sensuality by the contradictory don’t‑mess-​with‑me firmness. The whole package transcendent male perfection.

And when he leaned down and his hand closed around hers, she trembled at the glut of prodigal sensation, at the feverish need coiling in the pit of her stomach, at the blazing hot desire streaking up her spine. Agitated and restless, she said on a suffocated breath, “I’m sorry. But it’s been so long I don’t think I’m going to last.”

Drawing her to her feet, he slid his hands under her arms, lifted her over the pile of boxes, and set her down. “Then let’s go take care of you.”

Overview
Kate Hart and Dominic Knight’s volatile love affair continues in the last book in the All or Nothing trilogy from C.C. Gibbs. Being tied down to just one woman was the last thing Dominic wanted. But from the moment he laid eyes on Kate, he couldn’t deny his overwhelming desire for her or his need to possess her.
Praise for Book #1, ALL HE WANTS: “There are so many Fifty Shades-esque books on the market nowadays, but book one of the All or Nothing trilogy will be remembered. This sensational debut will spark interest among the most dedicated erotica fans. Gibbs doesn’t beat around the bush, gets straight to the point, and will leave readers gasping for breath…this story is much more imaginative and will take readers to heights they never even believed existed.” —RT Book Reviews
Praise for Book #2, ALL HE NEEDS: “This electrifying follow-up to the debut of the All or Nothing trilogy will satisfy readers across the map. Gibbs’ writing has a way of connecting with one’s libido and keeps readers wanting more. Our hero and heroine’s relationship seems stronger than ever since they’ve been apart, and their explosive meetings together will stay embedded in erotica fans’ memories for a very long time. All He Needs is suspenseful, emotionally driven and will keep Gibbs’ fans wondering how in the world she will be able to top this installment.” —RT Book Reviews
Buy Links:
About the author:
C.C. Gibbs is the pen name of a New York Times bestselling author. She lives in the Midwest, at times in Northern California, is married with three children and considers the life of a writer the best of all possible worlds. Bringing characters to life allows her imagination full rein, while the creative process offers fascinating glimpses into the machinery of the mind. And last but not least, researching anything, but particularly a book like ALL HE DESIRES—thank you Google—is great fun!
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Crossfire Series by Sylvia Day: Check-in – Re-reading the series as a prep

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Morning All,

So as i’m sure most of you are aware, Captivated by You comes out on 11/18 and I know that i’m not the only one that’s really excited since it feels like ages since we last connected with Eva and Gideon.  Since it’s been so long and I’ve been so invested in the series, i felt that i owed it to myself to re-read all 3 books so that I’m not left wondering who we know what about.  For those of you who haven’t read them all yet, there may be a few non-intentional spoilers below.

As you’ll remember, our leads met when Eva had just moved to NYC from San Diego – in the hopes of starting her life over and taking control of things since she’s had a bit of a rough past.  She was abused by her step brother and as a result, that trauma has been something that’s stuck with her for her entire life.  She moved here with Cary, her surrogate brother and best friend, someone who she met while trying to sort herself out in therapy in SD.

It’s on the day before Eva’s first day of work that she crosses paths with Gideon who she calls ‘Dark and Dangerous’ when she times her walk to her new office and runs into him.  Gideon of course is the expected billionaire control freak, who has his own fair share of issues.  He is also haunted by abuse from when he was younger – he had gone to therapy as a result of dealing with his father’s suicide and was taken advantage by the therapists assistant.

So, fast forward through the 3 books, we’re left in a place that makes you continue to wonder about the security and status of their relationship.  We know that it’s not easy, there are a bunch of exes who want nothing more than to get in the way of the budding romance.  Corinne – Gideon’s ex fiance (who’s also married) comes back into place, and she’s trying to stir things up.  When she goes so far as to try to make Eva doubt Gideon, fails at that and then tries to kill herself by ODing – well things go from bad to worse.  Then there’s the fact that Eva has her own triangle brewing.  Her past comes back to ‘haunt’ her in a sense – Brett Is the lead singer of a rock band signed to Gideon’s label that’s making it big, and it’s when Eva learns that their biggest single is of her that things get dicey.  Gideon gets jealous, Eva trying to deny the feelings that she still has for Brett- and brawling ensures.

Here are my questions though:

1) What’s Anne’s angle now?  We know that she is married to Dr Lucas whom Gideon HATES, yet she’s found herself at an event that they are all at, and ties to Cary now that she was trying to get with him.  So…i’m curious what her angle is and what she’s trying to do to the couple

2) Deanna – what’s she gunning for?  i feel like it’s more than just a bitter ex – so we’ll have to see what she’s going for.  She’s digging for information and trying to write a story that’s pretty deep i think – even with the ‘bone’ that Gideon’s tosses her for the wedding exclusive

3) The wedding – what’s going to come of that?  I think that there’s going to be much more drama since nothing can be that easy

4) Cary and Tatiana – i don’t know about anyone else, but i’m still not sold that it’s Cary’s baby and i don’t know that she’s even really preggo – so we’ll have to see how that plays out

5) Megumi and Michael – i’d love to find out more about this one – i think that there have been quite a few teasers throughout the series so far and i want to know what’s really going on there and who he is

6) Eva’s Mom and Dad and what that’ll mean in the end.  We know that there’s clearly a lot of love there and while i like Stanton a lot – i think that we’d all love for some sense of a happy ending for them.

So – i guess it’s just another little while until we get the next installment – but below is the link to pre-order so please make sure to pick it up!

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