sabato 12 ottobre 2024

The Unraveling by Vi Keeland


This isn’t a love story.

It’s a story about obsession.

After experiencing a terrible loss, New York City psychiatrist Meredith McCall feels painfully adrift. When she crosses paths with a man with whom she has a tragic connection, she follows him, sparking an unhealthy obsession with Gabriel Wright. How is he doing so well while her life is in shambles?

But when Gabriel walks into her office as a patient, seemingly unaware of who she is, she knows it crosses all ethical and moral bounds to treat him. Yet, Meredith can’t bring herself to turn him away and becomes further entangled. With her life and career continuing to unravel, it appears that things could not get any worse…until they do.

 

REVIEW

 

Unexpected and engaging. The Unraveling is a very well-written psychological thriller by Vi Keeland, whom I already knew for her romantic-comedy books, which are fun and easy to read. Here she has definitely taken a turn with her writing; if I hadn’t read her name on the cover, I wouldn’t have recognized her as the author of this story.

In this book her writing is engaging, almost hypnotic that pushes you forward page after page.

It’s written through the POV of Meredith, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist who recently lost her husband in a tragic accident.

From the beginning I loved the alternating chapters with Meredith's past and present. Slowly discovering how her life has been turned upside down and why. 

In the past I have read many thrillers and I am used to trying to solve the puzzles I encounter in reading as I go along, but in this case all assumptions collapsed miserably. I could never have imagined a story like this, and especially its unexpected ending, a bit unsettling but absolutely perfect.

I think Meredith is a character who gives so many mixed reactions in the readers, some of it makes you angry, some of it you want to shake her and scream "wake up!" but you can't help but go on page after page to find out what awaits her. She is human, not perfect, and she makes mistakes, but she faces the consequences of her actions, always.

Gabriel is an absolute mystery and he is perfect this way.

 

RATING 5 STARS

 

 

 

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4c8Ia6S

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3XNcjUV

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/4bsK80w

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3RQV0OU

B&N: https://bit.ly/3VR1qyC

Kobo: https://bit.ly/45LXt33

Apple Books: https://apple.co/4cXI6I0

Audio: https://adbl.co/3VPSMQZ

UK Links: https://geni.us/TheUnravelling

Add to your Goodreads TBR  https://bit.ly/45SCKum

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sabato 17 febbraio 2024

Made For You by Renee Harless (Sunny Brook Farms #3)

BLURB

Heading to a teachers’ conference hundreds of miles away from my small town should have been a nice break. Until I was propositioned by a stranger to be his wife for the next six months. And for whatever reason, I said yes.

Talon Beckett was a domineering billionaire with a steely-blue gaze that made me forget my own name. It was my excuse for agreeing to his terms…that and he agreed to play up our recent vows when we attended my ex’s wedding.

We both decided that we’d go our separate ways when our six months were up. He’d get full control of his bank account and the hotel chain that bore his mother’s maiden name, and I’d get whatever I needed in return.

When our time was coming to an end, I realized the one thing I wanted was something he had no desire to give. It was the affectionate side he’d kept hidden from everyone despite his need to say, “My Wife” when we were out in public. And as I crossed the days off the calendar, it was harder to remember that our marriage wasn’t real. Especially when we needed to sign those termination papers.

I feared I’d lose not only my new last name and job, but my heart along the way.

**This is book 3 in the Sunny Brook Farms Series. Each one can be read as a complete standalone. Always an HEA!**

 

ORDER NOW: mybook.to/madeforyou

 

REVIEW

 

I lover reading Made For You by Renee Harless, her writing is smooth, ready to read and captivating from the start of her story.

Her characters are amazing, not only Aurora and Talon, the main characters, but also Aurora’s family and Dean, who is more like a brother for Talon, always ready to protect him. He’s intriguing, their bond strong and funny and I hope in a story only for him in the future.

Aurora an Talon meet by chance and are the opposite. She’s a smalltown girl, she’s impulsive and a little wild at times, totally unselfish, with a great big loving family, that always has her back. Saying she never had the best luck with her past boyfriends is an understatement.

Talon is a broody billionaire, who wears an armor of coldness and ruthlessness because of his family. Apart from his grandmother, who cares for him, there always has been a big hole in his life. He lost his parents in childhood and his grandfather tried to erase the memories of his mother in every way possible.

That made Talon’s mission in life: take hold of his mother legacy, not for the money or power, but because it’s the only thing he could cherish about her.

And for that he desperately needs Aurora’s help.

I loved Talon because is so different from the usually “broody billionaire characters”, at the beginning he’s a little scary, cold with people, but with Aurora he shows a new side of him. He’s protective, caring, free to be himself and down to earth with everyone. He’s amazing.

Aurora and Talon chemistry is hot and their back and forth fun to read.

Aurora is perfect for him, she’s far from naïve, strong and really a ray of sunshine in Talon’s life.

Made For You is the third book in the Sunny Brook Farm series, I read it as a standalone, but I’m going to read now the previous books because they are about Aurora’s family and I loved them so much.





***I received an ARC from the author in exchange of an honest review.***

giovedì 4 gennaio 2024

☆¸.•*¨*★☆ FROSTBITTEN by Rebecca Zanetti (#6 Deep Ops) ☆★*¨*•.¸☆

Enigmatic. 

With a wildly gifted mind, and an untamed head of hair to match, petite
powerhouse Millicent Frost is brilliant when it comes to gadgets and electronics—less so with people. After an attempt to bust a bank scam goes awry, Millie is in hot water with Homeland Security and targeted by lethal enemies. In the midst of the trouble, she heads home to help out with the family hunting and fishing business. But when their rival competitor and Millie’s ex is murdered, she’s the number one suspect . . .

Irresistible. 

Former Marine turned lawyer Scott Terentson devotes himself to getting his clients out of tricky binds. A loner, the last thing he wants is to belong to any team, yet the Deep Ops group considers him one of their own—and he pays the price by getting shot at by their enemies. Now Millie is seeking his help—just as he’s dealing with a brutal fail regarding a recent trial. Both are a headache, yet he’s drawn to Millie in spite of himself. They’re opposites, but maybe the old adage is true . . .

Electric. 

Working together, Millie and Scott soon have more on their hands than they bargained for as the danger escalates—along with the sizzling heat between them. And when a disappearance is thrown into the mix, all bets are off . . .

 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/34epjhdm

B&N: eBook http://tinyurl.com/eudbw45w

B&N: https://tinyurl.com/49ewe3pw

Apple: https://tinyurl.com/5n8rsfm6

KOBO: https://tinyurl.com/442tu3em

Google Play: https://tinyurl.com/4sdwt8an

 

REVIEW

Frostbitten is a great read to start the new reading year. I love the Deep Ops series by Rebecca Zanetti and this is the sixth book, and as always amazing to read because of her characters, because of the plot that doesn’t give away who the real murderer is, and why he’s after her. Really the plot is great, a page-turner, but also Rebecca Zanetti has such a perfect gift to start a story, and a romantic suspense one.

This time everything is more focused on Millie, the little “Q” (as the one on James Bond movies and books) in the team lead by Angus Force, a team part of the Homeland Defense Department. And Scott is the lawyer who helped the team in the past and took a bullet and saving Angus’ life in the previous book. 

Millie always dismissed Scott as a fancy lawyer, a gorgeous man, but still a lawyer and she hates the category. She’s also angry with him because he blew-up her mission while she was undercover and he crossed her path working for a client. But when she’s accused of her ex-boyfriend murder, after returning in her hometown, she needs a good lawyer, and he shows up to take charge of her defense, not that Millie made a call for him, it was a nice interference of the Chief of the police who knows her from childhood.

And this is one of the beautiful and funny things of this story, how everyone in town wants to protect her.

Scott is an ex-marine, protective, alpha and stubborn, so no fancy lawyer there, and when the times get tough that’s his cup of tea, and Millie realizes how she was wrong about him.

The chemistry between them is explosive, the plot well developed and I loved the new characters we find in this story as JT, Millie’s brother, her aunt or Scott’s mum.

There’s also a lot of Roscoe time, Angus’ dog. Scott is taking care of him while Angus is away, and Roscoe is a star as always, he’s fun to read. And also part of the team comes to help Scott and protect Millie.

Anytime I read a new book in this series I think how Rebecca Zanetti can do better than the previous book, and I’m so happy about it.

I hope, if my sixth sense is good, that we’ll see more in the future about JT, he could be a good addition to the team…


RATING 5 STARS


 

 

giovedì 28 dicembre 2023

Review Consort of Fire by Kit Rocha (#1 Bound to Fire and Steel)

From cult-favorite writing duo Kit Rocha comes a fiery novel set in a lush fantasy world brimming with ancient magic, dangerous secrets, and erotic connections.



For three thousand years, an ancient dragon god has protected the borders of the Sheltered Lands. In return, he makes only one demand: every one hundred years, the mortal ruler must send their heir to serve as his consort…for as long as they can survive.

Sachielle of House Roquebarre is the thirty-first consort to be sacrificed to the monster who guards the mountain passes. She is young, beautiful—and she has three secrets.

First: she’s a disposable orphan trained in seduction.

Second: her handmaid, Zanya, is an assassin and the only person she has ever loved.

Third—and most dangerous: she’s cursed. Sachi and Zanya have five weeks to murder the Dragon in his bed. If they fail, the mortal king’s curse will steal not just Sachi’s life, but her very soul.

The Dragon has only one secret: he is nothing like what they have been told. And he will do whatever it takes to possess them both. 

REVIEW


 

I loved this new book by Kit Rocha and first in the series Bound to Fire and Steel. I’m a huge fan of Kit Rocha’s books and when I read about a new paranormal romance with dragons I was thrilled, but I couldn’t imagine how far they could go with the worldbuilding for this series.

I was stunned at first, it’s a mix between paranormal romance, magic, gods and somehow  a little like the world of Greek mythology. Perhaps everything at first slow down the story, but it’s worth it, I was enthralled with the plot and the characters.

I loved the journey through the lands of the Dragon, Ash, after he exchanged his vows with Princess Sachielle. With Kit Rocha the romance in their story is never easy, or only between two people. It’s more complicated and this time at first is a slow-burn, then an intriguing game full of passion, erotism, secrets and betrayals, that involves Ash, Sachielle and her handmaid Zanya.

Ash is the character I loved the most, because of his immortal life he’s gone through a lot of pain, losses of loved ones, but his heart still has the strength to love and care, to protect the people he loves and his lands.

Zanya is an amazing character as well, her story, her loyalty and love for Sachielle is unconditional, she’s a fighter and I love her darkside.

I can’t say the same for Sachielle, I didn’t connect with her as the others.

There’s so much more to read about this story, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series, after the little cliffhanger at the end of the book.

 

**Thanks to Netgalley, ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**

 

RATING 4 STARS 

domenica 15 ottobre 2023

`*•.¸★☆ The Best Laid Plans by Karla Sorensen ☆★¸.•*´

A tough-as-leather football player. A happy-go-lucky historian. It’s love against all odds in a warm and emotional romance about found family, friendship, and the restorative powers of the heart.

Former Dallas football player Burke Barrett is weathering a lot of changes. He’s retired from football. He’s mourning the loss of his best friend. And now he’s been bequeathed a dilapidated house in northern Michigan he doesn’t want. To his surprise it comes with a long-legged, blindly optimistic renovation manager with big ideas for Burke’s inheritance. She’s passionate, irritating, and irresistible.

Restoration expert Charlotte Cunningham is used to rough exteriors. This surly client, with his stubbled jaw, towering physique, and inflexible attitude, is worth smoothing over. The attraction sizzles, and a proposal is in order: a romantic tryst to relieve the tension. No strings attached. A safe bet for both of them since Burke is prepared to renovate, sell, and move on.

A pet project with an end date. Does that go for love too? Burke must decide what he really wants and what he’s willing to risk. He should know by now that the best-laid plans can change in a heartbeat.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon IT: https://amzn.to/3F7X8er
Ebook- bit.ly/BestLaidPlansKS
Audio- bit.ly/BestLaidPlansAudio
Paperback- bit.ly/BestLaidPlansPB

REVIEW

 

The Best Laid Plans was fun to read, and  it’s a story that puts you through a rollercoaster of emotions, it’s beautiful that way.

Karla Sorensen never disappoints me, I love her characters.

From the start  Burke and Charlotte are hilarious with their back and forth. He’s a Mr Grumpiness in the flesh while she’s cheerful, sparkling, full of ideas and in love with the restoration project.

Burke is in a sensitive time of his life: he stopped playing football and he was good at it, and he is grieving the loss of his best friend Chris and his wife.

They left him a wreck of a house in their will, but it was Chris’ legacy, his dreams was bound to it and Burke knows how much his friend cared for this house and he can’t just get the rid of it.

And then there’s this maddening girl, Charlotte, the restoration expert who worked for Chris.

At first they can stand each other, and reading the exchange between them was so much fun, but their chemistry is explosive and the time they spent together too much so they have to come to terms with that.

I think in the future I’ll never attend a Power-Point presentation without smiling because of Charlotte.

I loved Burke, his feelings are so deep, he always shows to other people his strength, his determination, he loves fiercely his sister and nieces. He hides his inner conflicts, his doubts.

Charlotte is strong as well, but a different kind of person, what I loved the most was her empathy for Burke’s feelings and moods, she understands his struggles, why he just can’t show his emotions, and she gives him space, time. It’s one of her way to love him.

This first book in the Best Men series is amazing, can’t wait to read the next one.

I hope is going to be about Liam.

 

Thanks to Netgalley and Montlake for the kind preview.



RATING 5 STAR

 

 

 

venerdì 6 ottobre 2023

Warrior's Hope by Rebecca Zanetti (Dark Protectors #16)

As the only female vampire ever born, and the heir to two powerful immortal families, Hope Kayrs-Kyllwood has always felt the weight of fate and destiny. Now her heart is torn between two men and two different futures. It’s a choice between duty and love, peace and war, with the fate of everyone she loves hanging in the balance.

As the leader of the Kurjan nation, Drake has always known that mating Hope is the best path to avoiding war. He’s counting on her to know the same. . . . Paxton has been Hope’s best friend and protector since they were children. He would kill and die for her without a second thought. In fact, he’s always known that would be his path . . .

With deadly factions at her heels, Hope must decide whom to trust and where her loyalty lies—before the choice is taken away from her . . .

 

LIVE NOW: 

Amazon IT: https://amzn.to/46z3oaR

Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/2ukyzwzu

B&N: https://tinyurl.com/43vf5rj7

Apple: https://tinyurl.com/2czvp63z

KOBO: https://tinyurl.com/mpswwpjc

Google Play: https://tinyurl.com/ynx7vafk

 

`*•.¸★☆REVIEW☆★¸.•*´

 

After having seen Hope, Drake and Paxton grew up as childhood friends in the Dreamworld in the previous books, finally we see them as adults and the time has come to understand Hope’s destiny and find out if her dream for peace between the Realm and their enemy the Kurjans is linked to her fate. 

The book can't be read as a standalone, the plot has twist and turns strongly connected with the past. I don't love spoilers so it's hard write about this story, the plot is a masterpiece, engaging, with a lot of action scenes. Hope's fate is not only about her choice between Drake and Paxton, their romance story, but there's also her role in the ritual of the Seven against Ulric, the enemy who could destroy their world. A war with no holds barred. 

It"s a story about family, friendship, love and most of all trust, loyalty and total unselfishness. Talking about the characters in this story I really loved Hope, Paxton and Zane, Hope's father. Hope nature as only female vampire, among the immortals is an unsolved mistery, because she seems almost human, fragile in the Realm World, she can't heal herself, she hasn't special skills as the others, but she conquered her role as leader strategist in the battlefield. Everyone vampires, demons, shapeshifters, follow her lead, because she's the best. 

She deeply cares for her family and friends and she feels the responsability to find a way for a truce in the war. Paxton’s childhood with his father was a nightmare, the only kindness showed to him was from Hope's mother and father, Janie and Zane and this gave him a purpose, a mission in his life: protect Hope, no matter what. He's an enigma, full of secrets and surprises, at one point nobody seems to know who the real Paxton is. 

And Zane? Sometimes it's so strange for me to think about Zane and Janie as parents. More than ten years ago, in the series he was a child himself, than a boy, now he's the powerful King of the demons and a father. Without mercy for the enemies, but such a great daddy for his forever baby-girl Hope and a great role-model for Paxton. I enjoyed the moments when Zane and Paxton are facing each other, really loved them I don't know if this is the end of my journey with the Dark Protectors, I'd love more books in the series, but I'm also happy and fullfilled this way at the moment. 

 

RATING: 5 stars

 

sabato 30 settembre 2023

The Ghost Illusion by Kat Martin

If you need help, we are here for you.

Eve St. Clair desperately needs help sorting reality from her fearful imaginings when ghostly voices seem to haunt the Victorian house in Sunderland, England, that she inherited from her uncle. Online research leads to a group that claims to offer just the aid she’s seeking. But can Ransom King’s handpicked team of investigators truly banish Eve’s night terrors?
Since the deaths of his wife and daughter, Seattle billionaire Ransom King has devoted himself to researching parapsychology and debunking the frauds who prey upon the bereaved. But Eve is a psychologist herself, clearly sane, and her sincerity is palpable. King senses a very real danger stalking the beautiful divorcée. As his interest in her case turns deeply personal, he will move heaven and earth to uncover the truth—no matter how shocking—and save the woman he loves.


REVIEW

“…are Eve’s night terrors real, or just an illusion?”


Eve St. Clair is a psychologist and after her uncle death, she inherits his house in England, where she spent part of her childhood, but something happens there, she hears whispers, creepy sounds and running feet. She doesn’t know if these are only tricks of her mind, if she’s imagining things and she’s scared.
She make researches on the web and decides to contact for help Ransom King, a billionaire who lead a paranormal investigation company in Seattle, after the loss of his wife and kid.
This is the start of one of the best read of the year for me.
I didn’t know this author, I read a lot and I know I have big holes in my “reading shelf”, as they say; so many books so little times, and it’s so true.
Kat Martin is an amazing writer and If you love this genre it’s a great story.
I always loved ghost, and mistery in books, movies and tv series and I was totally hooked by this story from the start.
The atmosphere is everything, engaging, a page turner, and I must say sometimes feels so real that it’s a little scary. I really loved it.
And MS Kat Martin’s writing is wonderful to read, her characters, Eve and Ransom are great, the chemistry between them perfect, but also their Insta-connection. What I love the most in Ransom is how he takes care of everyone around him, his team and Eve, in everyway possible.
Eve is sweet and strong and her empathy for the people around her makes her extraordinary.
Ransom’s team give something more to the story with their presence, I almost hoped this is a first book in a series, because I could feel something in the air…
The plot and the research behind the ghost presence in Eve’s home is intriguing and fascinating, I don’t want to tell more, because you have to discover it while reading.
I think I really need to explore the booklist of this author.

RATING: 5 STARS

Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the kind preview