Review: Royal Heartbreaker (Royal Heartbreaker #4) by Renna Peak & Ember Casey

Title: Royal Heartbreaker
Author: Renna Peak & Ember Casey
Publisher/Year: Casey Publishing 9/6/16
Length:   100 Pages
Series:  Royal Heartbreaker #4

Overview

Leo wasn’t supposed to show up in my life again. But now he’s here, asking for one last night with me.

I can allow myself one final fling to get him out of my system, once and for all. And I can protect my heart this time.

Can’t I?

~

I’ve been without Elle for too long. While she might believe one final night together will be enough for us both, I believe no such thing. All I have to do now is convince her I’m right. That we are right together.

She will be mine again. And this time, it will be forever.

This is Part Four of a six-part contemporary romance serial by bestselling authors Renna Peak and Ember Casey.

My Thoughts

I think that we know where things are going to go with these two, and it’s no where good just yet.  We start out this 4th installment with Leo having run away from Elle while she’s waiting for him in bed, and he finds himself 3 months in the future, in Italy lounging at a resort with a new actress.

It’s interesting to me to see how hard he’s trying to convince himself that he can live without Elle since it was his choice to leave her, and it’s kind of the same for Elle.

We find her in Arizona where she’s just finishing up a 3 month contract at a hospital there, which is something that seems to be the course of action for her – to find short contracts and keep moving around.  She’s on her way to Oklahoma next for a contract, and that’s just when Leo arrives.

So of course, just when Elle’s finally starting to get over the fact that Leo ran out on her, he shows up to sweep her off her feet, and we learn that he’s been planning it for a month now – trying to find a way to convince her to be with him since he’s got these incredibly strong feelings for her.

It’s a mess as expected – Elle doesn’t want to allow him back into her life and heart yet of course it’s something that she can’t control around him.  Leo keeps trying and trying to prove that he’s devoted to her and it’s something that’s so new for him.

So where we end up in this next installment is a place where Leo’s willing to give up everything to be with elle, and Elle is still trying to figure out what she can be or not be with Leo.  There’s tension at the very end of this one, and i think that we see interesting decisions being made by everyone.  The King plays a role of course and we find ourselves finally back in Montovia for the continuation. I love how our authors are taking us on this journey – making it impossible to be an easy road, yet making it worth the fight – sort of.   Enjoy!

Review: Royal Heartbreaker (Royal Heartbreaker #3) by Renna Peak & Ember Casey

Title: Royal Heartbreaker
Author: Renna Peak & Ember Casey
Publisher/Year: Casey Publishing 8/16/16
Length:   100 Pages
Series:  Royal Heartbreaker #3

Overview

I know my heart will break when this is over. Princes don’t end up with girls like me. And there are many things he doesn’t know about me. Secrets I can never tell anyone.

No matter how many times I tell myself how wrong this is, I can’t resist him. I can’t stop myself.

~

I thought I could leave Elle. I told myself I was protecting her.

I was wrong.

What should have been nothing more than a distraction has become so much more.  An addiction. An obsession. It’s too late to prevent either of our hearts from breaking now.

My Thoughts

The story continues and boy does it get more complicated.  Elle and Leo are back in LA and they are finally coming to terms with the insane attraction that they have for each other yet they know that there are so many complications and reasons to keep them apart.  they don’t care.

And that has consequences.  There’s a point that Leo decides to leave and yet he can’t stay away.  There are moments when Elle pushes him away because she’s got secrets of her own that are bound to come out if people dig based on a relationship with Leo.  So it means that there has to be an expiration date to things.

Well, that of course  can’t happen when there’s so much heat and passion between them.  It’s when the Papparazzi discover them, and when Andrew and the king make dictates on Leo that things get even worse.  They are holed up in the house and Elle feels scorned by what Leo’s family want, and it seems that Leo doesn’t care.  Or does he?

where we are left off is a point where he realizes that he wants to stay with Elle but it’ll do more harm than good so he can’t – and elle hasn’t quite realized it yet.  So it’ll be interesting to see how that all plays out – since it’s got to get more complicated before it gets better.  Enjoy!

Review: Royal Heartbreaker (Royal Heartbreaker #2) by Renna Peak & Ember Casey

Title: Royal Heartbreaker
Author: Renna Peak & Ember Casey
Publisher/Year: Casey Publishing 7/26/16
Length:   100 Pages
Series:  Royal Heartbreaker #2

Overview

As a prince, my life is already complicated. I don’t need a relationship making things even more difficult for me.

But there’s something different about Elle. I should know better, but now it’s too late. I find I’m willing to follow her to the ends of the earth, and I’m not sure what’s come over me.  I should have stopped myself while I still could.

She’s revealed herself—exposed her darkest secrets—and even those are not enough to push me away.  I know too much about her now. And something about her makes me crave more.

She’s under my skin. And I won’t rest until she’s mine.

My Thoughts

The story continues and where we left off in the first installment, Leo and Elle sort of starting to come together, well, the replacement doctor walks in 2 days early and ruins the moment.  Of course, that’s not all he ruins since he turns out to be a very well bred doctor who was up for a nobel prize – and he knows all about Elle’s past – something that we don’t quite know yet.

He’s set on making everyone as uncomfortable as possible, yet he doesn’t quite realize who Leo is yet and that adds to some of the humor.

The path of this next story is one where we see Elle leave the clinic and go home, but to what – she has no idea since she’s got nothing really good going for her because of her past (which we learn in this book).  Then we see Prince Andrew appear because Leo’s valet Mattias called the king, and Andrew has come to clean things up.  Well, we all know how much of a ‘stiff’ Andrew is, so it’s not surprising at all that the story takes yet another poor turn.

Once Elle is back at home in LA, she finds that Leo has managed to beat her to her home and has had it cleaned and maintained.  That scores brownie points which of course leads to them finally allowing themselves to discover what’s between them, yet you know that all good things have to come to an end, and well, this one comes with a harsh blow to Elle.

Cliff hanger of course because we know that there has to be a reason to keep reading these novellas – and in this instance, it’s with a secret being kept and a swift departure.  So, on that note, onto the next.

Review: Master Professor (Lessons from the Rack Series #1) by Tara Sue Me

Title: Master Professor
Author: Tara Sue Me
Publisher/Year: Penguin Publishing 4/4/17
Length:   304 Pages
Series:  Lessons from the Rack #1

Overview

Students are begging to be held after class…

Andie Lincoln is madly in love with Terrence Knight—her childhood friend-turned-Hollywood’s newest golden boy. But he’s a Dominant and wants her trained as a submissive before he’ll consider a relationship with her. He enrolls her at the RACK Academy with strict instructions for her teachers: Do whatever you need to, but don’t take her virginity.

Fulton Matthews, the director of incoming students, is enthralled by Andie. Though he questioned her enrollment at first, watching her discover her submissive nature is hotter than his most intense fantasy. Under his control, her sexual awakening brings him to his knees.

Yet they can go only so far. Andie belongs to another, and Fulton is bound by a contract that strictly forbids relationships between teachers and students. But when Terrence comes to collect his prize, Fulton discovers it’s not easy to let Andie go. . .

My Thoughts

I’m a huge fan of the other series that introduced me to our author and of course that means when a new one rolls around, i have to pick it up.  Like the intro to this story says, sometimes it’s both a blessing and a curse to start something new because you have all new characters to write about and intertwine yet you don’t have any of that continuity that sometimes helps a story along.

So in this first installment on a completely new journey, we meet Andie who is in a relationship with a guy who has been her best friend for years and is now something more.  As part of that more, she learns that he’s got a Dom side to him and that’s part of his life that she’s interested in learning about and exploring to see how she fits.  As part of that, she’s been granted entry into the best BDSM academy for the summer to learn about being a sub and if it’s who she is at the core.

It’s always interesting to me to see the dynamics of relationships with D/s characters.  we know for the most part that Doms Do Not share yet in this case, Terrance, Andie’s boyfriend is an actor and is on set filming so he’s ok sending her to the academy.  For me, i knew that it would scream Danger and of course that’s what we get from the moment go.

Enter Fulton – the professor that has been designated the instructor for the summer, and who has to write up the plan for Andie upon her arrival.  There’s animosity there of course and that means that there’s going to be some under lying chemistry to deal with.  So from the minute they meet, you can see that there’s something there – and it’s just a matter of time until we see how that something manifests.

Throughout this first book, we get to see Andie learn about the basics of being a sub and what the lifestyle includes.  There are some rather steamy scenes where she gets pushed beyond her limits but all in all rather PG 13 since she’s a virgin and has told the school that it will stay that way upon graduation.

What throws me of course is that we often see a lot more playing and kink when we have series that have ‘lessons’ in them – sub training schools and the like.  But in this case, in the style of our author, we get more of the character story and the emotions behind their actions.  It’s a nice change, since it makes this book less about the BDSM life persay and more about the relationships that these characters are building.

The twist of course comes when there’s a proposal, a stolen boat ending up with a hospital visit and a suspension.  All that need to happen in order to get us to a point of closure and discussion towards the end.

The nice thing that Tara Sue Me does for us, is that she sets up the whole sense of the next story in the book.  We know that there’s a dark and painful past for Lennox (the headmaster) and Mariela (another instructor) and we see that there’s something keeping them together while pushing them apart too.  (or vice versa).  personally i’m really desperate to find out what that means for them since it’s so complicated and complicated often means hot and steamy!!! Enjoy!

Review: Provacative (White Lies Duet #1) by Lisa Renee Jones

Title: Provacative
Author: Lisa Renee Jones
Publisher/Year: Lisa Renee 4/18/17
Length:   254 Pages
Series:  White Lies Duet #1

Overview

Book one in the sexy and intense new White Lies duet by Lisa Renee Jones!

There are those moments in life that are provocative in their very existences, that embed in our minds forever, and sometimes our very souls. They change us, mold us, maybe even save us. But some are darker, dangerous. If we allow them to, they control us. Seduce us. Quite possibly even destroy us.

The moment I walked into Sonoma’s Reid Winter Winery and Vineyard and made eye contact with Faith Winter for the first time was one of those moments. Provocative because I know at least one of her secrets, of which, I suspect she has many. Provocative because she believes I was a stranger to her when we met, but I am not. Provocative because I sought her out, with no intention of touching her. But now I have. Now I want her. Now I have to have her. But that changes nothing. It doesn’t change why I came for her.

My Thoughts

First off – i have to thank the folks at Netgalley for getting me a pre-read of this new series.  I’m a huge fan of all things Lisa Renee Jones and while you don’t have to read all the others, it’s helpful since characters pop up again in this one, chris merit and Sara to be specific.

So in this first book of the White Lies series, we meet Faith who’s come back to Sonoma to run her family’s winery after her father died 2 years ago and her mother died a few months back.  She’s stuck dealing with the debts that her mother accumulated and there are secrets being held that she can’t figure out since her mother’s account are empty and there should be money around.

Then there’s Nick – a tough Lawyer who’s in town on a mission of his own.  He’s got a reputation for taking no prisoners and when he comes to Faith’s aid, we see that maybe there are other motives.  specifically the fact that his father passed away a month after Faith’s mom from the same cause, under mysterious circumstances and apparently his father had paid Faith’s mom upwards of a million dollars for reasons unknown.

throughout this first installment, we see how the story is set up – There is clear chemistry between these two from the moment that they meet, but Faith has such high walls that it makes their relationship one that’s tough to start and unlikely to last.  Add to that, the fact that Nick thinks that Faith had something to do with both parent’s death, and that’s a secret that he’s keeping close to himself – and well i think that we’ve got an interesting twisted story.

while he wants to think she’s innocent, there are things that keep turning him the other way, and a twist at the last moment of this book makes you really wonder who’s on what side.  I’m glad that we only have to wait until July to get the next book since this one was great.

We get all the best parts of Ms Jones writing – really heated and passionate scenes between our mains and a really twisted story of who’s right and who’s wrong – and who can be trusted.  It has all those qualities that make for a great new series.  Enjoy!

Review: The Adjustment (The Program #3) by Suzanne Young

Title: The Adjustment
Author: Suzanne Young
Publisher/Year: Simon Pulse 4/18/17
Length:   416 Pages
Series:  The Program #3

Overview

How do you go back to a life you can’t remember? Find out in this follow up to the New York Times bestselling The Program and The Treatment.

Tatum Masterson never went through The Program. She never had her memory stripped, never had to fight to remain herself. But when Weston, her longtime boyfriend and love of her life, was taken by handlers, she hoped he’d remember her somehow—that their love would be strong enough.

It wasn’t.

Like all returners, Weston came back a blank canvas. The years he and Tatum spent together were forgotten, as well as the week when he mysteriously disappeared before The Program came for him.

Regardless of his memory loss, Tatum fights to get Weston to remember her. And just as they start to build a new love, they hear about the Adjustment—a new therapy that implants memories from a donor. Despite the risks, Tatum and Weston agree to go through the process. Tatum donates her memories from their time together.

But the problem with memories is that they are all a matter of perspective. So although Weston can now remember dating Tatum, his emotions don’t match the experiences. And this discrepancy is slowly starting to unravel him, worse than anything The Program could have done.

And as the truth of their life together becomes clear, Tatum will have to decide if she loves Weston enough to let him go, or to continue to live the lie they’d build together.

Prepare for your Adjustment.

My Thoughts

It’s been quite some time since i’ve been in this series and i have to say that it’s come back with vengeance.  I couldn’t be happier with where this story has taken us.  We’ve gone through The Program with several characters, we’ve read about their backstories.  We’ve spent time with those who are brought into the mix to help families adjust.  And still, there’s so much further that this story can be taken.

In this next installment, we are at a point of time in Portland where the Program has been closed down as we knew, but there are so many who have been treated and now have to find their way back into the world where people aren’t accepting really and no one knows what life will be like for those out of the program now.

Tatum is our lead – she’s been living through high school as the Program has taken it’s toll on all the kids around her.  her boyfriend was taken into the program and their love story was cut short. He’s now returned back to high school with no memory of Tatum, and that’s both heartbreaking but hopeful all the same.

The journey that we go on with Tatum and Wes is a complicated one.  They find their way back to each other but it’s not quite the same as before since Wes doesn’t remember anything.  It’s intense to see how their connection grows and extends even under these new conditions.  Of course, that’s all made more complicated when they learn of The Adjustment, which is supposed to be a treatment that brings back memories so that the returners can begin to live their best life.

Where the story goes from there is so complicated and dark that you get sucked in.  We see that secrets begin to unfold, both with Tatum keeping secrets from her grandparents about what she’s doing with Wes.  They adore him but with their background (gram being in medicine and Pops being a reporter), there’s so much fear and skepticism that Tate has no choice but to hide things.

While they see progress with The Adjustment, there are so many setbacks as well.  Even in the grand scheme of things in the school, there are issues arising.  So many of the returners are having issues and are killing themselves spawning a new epidemic.  Then we see one girl Vanessa who’s gone through The Adjustment start to have problems stemming from memories, paranoia etc.  She makes us start to think about things differently and it starts to make you think about what’s really going on again since all is definitely not how it seems.

Where we end this next installment is nuts.  Things that we thought we knew about people were completely false and backstories on others are beyond fabricated.  Friendships and relationships were not at all clear and when we see characters that we love and adore either die or lose themselves again, it makes you anxious to see what’s next.  I honestly cannot wait for what’s to come in this series since there’s so much that has not been resolved.  Enjoy!

Review: Complete Me (Royals Saga #7) by Geneva Lee

Title: Complete Me
Author: Geneva Lee
Publisher/Year: Geneva Lee 1/8/17
Length:   178 Pages
Series:  Royals Saga #7

Overview
I met Clara Bishop when I least expected. Loving her was nothing I could ever have imagined. We’ve weathered dangerous storms together, but our love has always been a tempest. I’m not a perfect man, but I will fight to protect her and I’ll do everything in my power to keep her. But first I have to prove that she completes me.

Return to the world of the Royals and their intersecting lives, loves, and secrets. When Alexander discovers a shocking mystery in his father’s past, it threatens to divide him and Clara forever. As Belle builds her company, she ignores the pain of last year’s events. Can Smith help her move forward once and for all? Edward shocked everyone when he embraced his love for David, but a wedding seems further away than ever before. Will the couple finally make the leap? It’s going to be a scandalous, steamy holiday season for each of them.

My Thoughts

where this 7th installment takes us is a place full of closure across almost all of our favorite characters.  We see chapters intertwining the stories of Clara/Alexander, Belle/Smith, Edward/David – with each taking us to a complicated point in their lives.

We’re a year in the future and we are seeing how life has settled in for them, yet how it’s still so unsettled.

For Alexander/Clara, they have their daughter, they have their country to run, and they have their relationship, but we see that there are still so many secrets that are being kept that it threatens the happiness of their marriage.  Alexander keeps too many things close to the chest at the detriment of Clara’s feelings.  This means that we spend much of the story seeing a rift in their relationship. Top that off with the fact that we learn there’s a brother that Alexander didn’t know about, and there’s a question as to who he is and why he was kept a secret.

Then there’s Smith and Belle.  they are unsettled in the sense that their relationship is good but there’s still so much that threatens them from the past.  No one has confirmation on who killed Hammond and while they know it wasn’t Smith, the reprive that they have in feeling safe can’t last forever.  Add to that the fact that they both want to expand their family yet are afraid, we see that cause a bit of a ruffle in things.

Then there’s Edward and David, the couple that’s finally been allowed to enjoy each other how they want, yet they have challenges of their own.  Marriage is tough, especially when it’s only recently become accepted.  then there’s the fact that David wants a baby, and he often feels like he comes in second to Belle and Clara – so you know that what’s next for them won’t be something that’s come by easily.

All in all, i think this is the exact finale that we needed for this entire series.  We see so much come full circle and we see so many questions answered but there’s still so much that we don’t know for the future and wish that we could have the crystal ball to see.  Will Alexander and Clara finally be able to liver their happy life sans secrets and will the secrets kept thus far cause too much pain?  will belle and Smith ever get their baby and feel safe from the powers that be?  and will edward and david finally get their happily ever after?

the one thing that i can say i’m hoping for next though is a spinoff with Brex and Georgia and then a story line for Lola since i feel like these are all characters that we spent quite a bit of time with but never got to see their stories play out.  That’s my ask – hopefully it’ll happen.  On that note – enjoy!

Review: Capture Me (Royals Saga #6) by Geneva Lee

Title: Capture Me
Author: Geneva Lee
Publisher/Year: Geneva Lee 12/8/15
Length:   291 Pages
Series:  Royals Saga #6

Overview

Smith and Belle’s captivating story races towards its breathtaking conclusion in Capture Me.

I never expected to fall in love with Smith Price. Now he was more than my lover. He was my obsession. My savior. My future.

But someone had to pay for the sins of our fathers. Ghosts don’t always haunt you. Sometimes they stalk you down and demand retribution.

We promised each other forever, but we might not live to see tomorrow.

My Thoughts

What we have here is the roller coaster of a finale to Smith’s and Belle’s story.  There’s so much going on between them and around them that you really have no idea who’s going to last and what it’s going to mean.

Throughout their story, we know that Smith’s past is dark and dreary yet we don’t know the extent of it and i don’t know that we’ll ever learn about what it truly is.  We know that he’s controlled by Hammond and that his father was as well, but there’s so much more to the story.  Even to the point that Smith’s working with Alexandra to take Hammond down.

Of course that means that Belle will again be caught in the crossfire.  While her past isn’t the best, she’s making her future with Smith, and that’s coming with it’s fair share of pain and suffering.

We know that they secretly got married while in New York and we know that they want to make a life together, but each is a target now for Hammond and each will do whatever they need in order to keep the other alive and safe.  That comes at a Price (no pun intended).

So throughout this final installment to their story, we see that they are torn apart, pulled together, scared out of their minds through car jackings, murder etc, that you wonder if love is enough to keep them together.

Tying it all together, we get to see how the truly dominant side of Smith is the perfect thing to keep them together – Ms Lee is really doing a great job with this story line giving him that persona – so that we get to see that what he was raised to do within the lifestyle isn’t what he needs in his life but it’s come in handy when certain skills are needed.  It’s hot and passionate and exactly what’s right for this story.

So all in all, we get closure on things with quite a few surprises.  Characters that we love aren’t where they are meant to be necessarily in the end.  And in the author’s notes, there’s the teaser that there will be more so i can’t wait to see a story for Edwards, and hopefully for Lola and Georgia as well.  Enjoy!

Review: Covet Me (The Royals Saga #5) by Geneva Lee

Title: Covet Me
Author: Geneva Lee
Publisher/Year: Geneva Lee 9/29/15
Length:   211 Pages
Series:  Royals Saga #5

Overview

Belle Stuart walked into my life with crimson lips, and a smart mouth to match, that made it impossible not to put her in her place—and on her knees.

She should be off-limits. Claiming her was reckless. Keeping her is dangerous. But she’s more than a conquest, she’s my obsession.

I’ll do what it takes to protect her, even if it means letting her go.

But she’s the one woman I can’t give up. She’s the one woman I can’t stop craving.

She’s the one I covet…

My Thoughts

Well, it didn’t take long for them to find that they can’t keep their hands off each other and that it’s going to lead somewhere bad (and maybe a bit good).  The path that this next installment takes us on is one that’s quite the roller coaster.  Belle has no choice but to follow her heart and body into the arms of Smith, and he feels the same.  the challenge though is that Hammond is still trying to pull strings to keep a vendetta going, and that means that things will be bad.

So at the end of the last installment, Smith had ‘fired’ Belle in the hopes of getting her off Hammond’s radar, and therefore prompting Belle to start her business Bless.  That’s starting to get legs, and she even finds herself with an opportunity to fly to New York for a huge interview for a magazine.  Of course this comes at a good time because she’s beyond miserable because of what’s going on with Smith – he breaks up with her in the most disrespectful way, and that means that in addition to being a target, she’s got a broken heart.

Lola, Clara’s sister begins to take a larger role in things, we see her coming on as a partner for Bless, and that’s the help that Belle needs.  We also see that Edward is continuing to be the voice of reason, although he’s got definite opinions about Smith and none of them are good.

The trip to New York brings around new revelations for Belle and Smith, with even more secrets being created and hidden.  IT’s all a set up for what’s to come towards the end of the story.  We see alliances that we were unsure about before, attempts at murder and even murder itself.  Someone that we love seems to be dead, and now there’s not one but 2 attacks on Belle that leave her on a ledge.

So all in all a great continuation to the story.  And if that angst and anxiety weren’t enough, we see how Dominant Smith truly is even if he’s not willing to live the lifestyle anymore and it makes for some incredibly steamy scenes.  Thank you Ms Lee for writing all that in, and i can’t wait to jump into the next installment tonight.  Have a good one all!

Review: Crave Me (Royals Saga #4) by Geneva Lee

Title: Crave Me
Author: Geneva Lee
Publisher/Year: Geneva Lee 7/21/15
Length:   209 Pages
Series:  Royals Saga #4

Overview

Belle’s story begins in the captivating fourth installment of the New York Times bestselling series. I made myself a promise: No men. No romance. No waiting around for a prince that’s not going to come. Because some girls don’t get happily ever afters. Some girls only get broken hearts. Which is exactly why I should stay away from him. He’s vile. He’s arrogant. He’s controlling. And I don’t trust him. But some men get into your blood-under your skin. Some men you just can’t get enough of. Some men you just crave.

My Thoughts

Well if you didn’t get enough in the main series with Alexandra and Clara, you know that there’s so much more that could be done with Belle, Clara’s roommate.  We last knew that Belle had been cheated on by her fiance Phillip and she was now starting a new chapter in her life – trying to move on.  She’s now in a different situation though cause she has no job, and Phillip had provided her with financial support which she no longer has.  So this is the story of how she begins to stand on her own two feet.

That of course takes us to the law offices of Smith Price – a man who is looking for a personal assistant.  Somehow Belle manages to land that job, and she’s in way over her head since from the second they meet, there’s an electricity between them, so much heat and tension that it’s palpable.  (and very different than what we had in the first bits of this series).

So the journey that we go on is one that’s heated, intense and quite complicated.  Our author keeps things very close to the vest in the sense that we really dont know what we’re getting into – we don’t know what Price’s background is aside from that fact that it’s shrouded in mystery and danger.  Belle knows this but still manages to get ensnared in all that is him.

We see a variety of folks come into the story that want to hurt both of them, and we see that one in particular, the man who gave Price his start is really after him for something or another.  We don’t yet know what the end game is for either but we know that it’s not good.  Add in Georgia, Price’s pseudo sister and Hammond’s ‘daughter’ and we learn that there’s definitely a bit of twisted ness going on.

Top that all off, we get a glimpse into the Alpha male that Price is – his need for control, dominance and submission.  we learn of Velvet, a BDSM club that he’s involved in and yet we don’t know what the extent of all that is.

Where we are left at the end is a place where we totally expect to be – Price is trying to protect Belle at all costs and that means that their relationship has to change and not in a good way.  soo…onto the next!