[Audiobook Review]: "In Your Dreams"

In Your Dreams by Kristan Higgins
Publisher: HQN Books (October 1, 2014)
Series: Blue Heron, 4
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Emmaline Neal needs a date. Just a date—someone to help her get through her ex-fiancé's wedding without losing her mind. But pickings are slim in Manningsport, New York, population 715. In fact, there's really only one option: local heartthrob Jack Holland. Everyone loves Jack, and he won't get the wrong idea…. After all, Jack Holland would never actually be interested in a woman like Em. Especially not with his beautiful ex-wife creeping around, angling to reunite ever since he rescued a group of teens and became a local hero. 

But when the wedding festivities take an unexpectedly passionate turn, Em figures it was just one crazy night. Jack is too gorgeous, too popular, to ever end up with her. So why is she the one he can talk to about his deep, dark feelings? If Em is going to get her dream man, she'll have to start by believing in him… 

Narrator: Amy Rubinate
Narration time: 12 hours, 44 minutes

Where to Buy*:

Audible | Amazon | Kindle | BN | NOOK | Kobo

More Info:

Author's Site
Add it on Goodreads! | Find the Series

Reviews of Higgins' Previous Novels:

Waiting on You (#3) -- TBQ

One of the Guys -- TBQ

My Review:

[Kame's Review]: "Stepbrother, Mine"

Stepbrother, Mine (Part 1) by Opal Carew
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (July 28, 2015)
Series: Stepbrother, Mine (#1)
Genre: Erotica

From New York Times bestselling author Opal Carew comes an erotic new serial about the lengths to which one woman will go to live the life of her dreams.

Dana's always had a clear vision of what she wanted out of life. But when her father dies during her final year of college, Dana's whole world threatens to topple down. In desperate need of money, she comes up with an idea. It's scandalous. It's HOT. And it's got everybody talking. . .Is Dana really going to auction off her own virginity? And at what cost? 

Where to Buy*:

Kindle | NOOK | ARe

More Info:

Author's Site
Add it on GoodReads! | Find the Series

Kame's Review:

[NOR and ARC Review]: "A Lady Awakened"

A Lady Awakened by Cecilia Grant
Publisher: Bantam (December 27, 2011) Genre: Historical Romance
Summary (Amazon.com):

Newly widowed and desperate to protect her estate and beloved servants from her malevolent brother-in-law, Martha Russell conceives a daring plan. Or rather, a daring plan to conceive. After all, if she has an heir on the way, her future will be secured. Forsaking all she knows of propriety, Martha approaches her neighbor, a London exile with a wicked reputation, and offers a strictly business proposition: a month of illicit interludes . . . for a fee.

Theophilus Mirkwood ought to be insulted. Should be appalled. But how can he resist this siren in widow’s weeds, whose offer is simply too outrageously tempting to decline? Determined she’ll get her money’s worth, Theo endeavors to awaken this shamefully neglected beauty to the pleasures of the flesh—only to find her dead set against taking any enjoyment in the scandalous bargain. Surely she can’t resist him forever. But could a lady’s sweet surrender open their hearts to the most unexpected arrival of all . . . love?

Where to Buy*: Amazon | Kindle | B and N | NOOK
More Info: Author Website | Book Page | Excerpt



My Review:

Debut author Cecilia Grant offers romance readers a look into a storyline that is not often seen. But while the story has the potential to captivate, this reader found it, unfortunately, to be lacking instead.


Martha Russell was only just recently widowed. She doesn't mourn his death, but she didn't plot it either. She is finally free of him...but there's only one problem. Mr. Russell did not leave her pregnant. When she is told that she must move out, for her late husband's brother is to inherit, she makes a sudden decision (after hearing tales of the man's time at the estate years before) and tells a little white lie. It is possible, she tells everyone, that she may indeed be pregnant, and therefore be carrying the estate's rightful heir. In order for this plan to work though, Martha must quickly (and secretly) get pregnant within the next month in order to pass the babe off as her late husband's. But who will she get to do the job?

Enter Theophilus Mirkwood, a typical young man who is accustomed to London and all that it includes. When his father tires of him running around and spending his money with no concerns as to the consequences, he decides it is time for his 26-year-old son to learn how to work and send him off to the country estate in Sussex to learn how things are run there. No sooner then he arrives and he receives a calling card from a neighbor; it's Mrs. Russell, the recent widow he saw in church the other day. Intrigued, he pays her a visit, but he never would have guessed what she was going to ask him for...

Martha decides on Mirkwood to be her “hired stud” for the month, as he already plans on returning to London as soon as possible, therefore leaving her and any babe that may come in peace. She offers him money for his seed with promise of more should she deliver a boy. Though taken back by her proposition, Theo agrees as he figures this easy “job” will help to make his stay in Sussex more enjoyable. He soon finds out, though, that there is no joy in being needed only for his seed, and finds it difficult to come to her day after day while she lies there waiting for it all to be over.

Slowly Theo breaks down the walls surrounding Martha, and by the end of their month together she realizes that with the right man she too can find enjoyment. Meanwhile, she teaches him a few valuable lessons as well, about responsibility, taking care of those less fortunate, and of how to run an estate smoothly. But when Theo declares his love for her, she draws away, arguing that he is young and only thinks he is in love when really any woman would illicit the same response from him. He sets out to prove her wrong—but will she listen?

I tried to enjoy this book, I really did. But the writing was stiff, formal, almost like a report written on how a romance story progresses. This I could have dealt with (maybe). But the biggest flaw in the book's construction lay at the base of its foundation—the characters.

I didn't much care for Martha or Theo; I felt they were about as three-dimensional as the various background characters that showed up throughout the story. There was no emotion from them, no distinction in their characters, and we did not get to see things clearly from their point of view (it read like someone commenting on their outward actions rather than anything internal). In fact, I felt as if, even after almost 350 pages of their story, I didn't even know them. Not as friends, not even as passing acquaintances. Instead, they were as much a stranger to me at the turn of the last page as they were at page one.

If they had been more developed, more defined in who they were and what they stood for, I think the book would have been better off. As it was, the only reason I finished this book was because I had hoped it would improve—and more importantly, I had an honest review to write.


2.5 Stars! Despite the unique storyline potential, the characters and writing was flat, and fell short of my original expectations for A Lady Awakened. The passion, for all the times they joined together in this novel, was often missing, or even worse, felt forced. Personally, I wouldn't recommend this book to others, and I wouldn't read it again myself. However, I try not to cross an author off my list completely after only one book, so I may still look for Grant's book in the future—but I won't go out of my way to do so.




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Thanks to Night Owl Reviews, where I received this ARC for free in exchange for reviewing the book. (Free book does not equal biased review, however!) This review is the property of NOR.
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Enjoy!






 Until Next Time,



*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!

[Review]: "A Good Confession"

A Good Confession by Bridget Whelan
FORMAT: PDF
PUBLISHER: Severn House Publishers (February 1, 2009)
GENRE: General Fiction
Summary (Amazon.com)
A captivating novel about forbidden love - Cathleen Brogan is a young widow, struggling to bring up her family in 1960s north London. Times are tough for the Irish immigrants who live there, their hardships comforted by local Catholic priest, Father Jerry Brogan. Over time it becomes clear that Cathleen feels more for Father Jerry than perhaps she should. She hopes confession will ease her troubled mind, not realizing that she is confessing to the man she loves..



Where to Buy*: Amazon | B and N
Other Info: Author's Website | Book Page | Excerpts



My Review:

Cathleen Brogan thought life was going well; she is married to the love of her life, Mick, they have two beautiful daughters, and while they might not live in the lap of luxury they aren't on the streets begging for food either. But when her husband suddenly gets sick, she never expected the worst to happen....Burying Mick is one of the hardest things Cathleen has ever done. Now how is she to go on with her life?




The one good thing, if you can call it that, that comes from Mick's untimely death is the reappearance of his cousin, a priest, who was more a brother to Mick than even his own brother. Father Jerry Brogan was even the man that married Cathleen and Mick all those years ago. Since that day, they've not seen him, but upon hearing the news, he leaves Italy (where he was currently stationed) to make Mick's funeral in England. His last gift to his friend and non-blood brother is to speak at his funeral.



As a priest, as well as a family member, it is understandable for him to stay around to try and help the grieving widow out. But the thoughts and feelings that Jerry has for Cathleen are anything but pure and innocent, and when she lets him know that she feels the same, he is torn over what to do. Does he honor his vows to the priesthood or allow himself the one thing he's always wanted: companionship and love?



A Good Confession is not so much a romance as it is a fictional story that has a few brief romantic elements in it. I knew this going into it, but I had still hoped for something more. But it was not to be, and instead I was left feeling disappointed and quiet upset by the end of the novel. Nothing turned out like I had hoped, like I had thought from the beginning chapter, and the ending (if you can call it that) seemed to come out of nowhere.



I wanted to feel for the characters, but there was little to them and what was there wasn't enough for me to sympathize with, except for during a few brief moments. Cathleen was a bit flighty, at least in my opinion. She only stood up for herself and her family once or twice and the rest of the time it was like she was simply going through the motions of life: get up, provide for the family, cook, eat, clean, get ready for bed. I wasn't able to connect much with her, though I tried.



Jerry wasn't much better; I can understand how his religion and his work, his very promises, would mean so much to him, but I can't quiet see how with all that passion, he was only able to offer Cathleen a brief affair. I would have thought he would have given it all up for her, for that chance to finally feel loved and have a family, but apparently his beliefs are more important to him. I can't judge him because of that, but it did make it extremely difficult for me to connect with him in any way, and I can honestly say I was angry with him, and Cathleen, by the end of the novel.



2.5 STARS! While A Good Confession is in no way a romance novel, it does touch briefly on the complicated feelings of love, especially love that cannot be. Perhaps for some readers, this will be a keeper, one that they return to again and again. However, I was almost relieved when it was over, as I couldn't stand it anymore. I only wish the descriptions of the mother country (Ireland) could have been more engaging, more captivating, as this would have at least provided some way to escape while reading the story. Do I regret reading this one? No, not exactly. But I won't be re-reading it ever again, and as for future reading, I'm not sure if Ms. Whelan's books are right for me.


 

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I received this e-book from the author in exchange for an honest review. My opinion is not in any way based upon the fact that I received the book for free.

~*~*~

Enjoy!





 Until Next Time,

*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!

"Over the Moon" Has a Few Weak Spots, but Still Manages to Come out On Top...

SYNOPIS from B&N.com:

Three bestselling superstars and one exciting new voice in paranormal romance in a hot new anthology.

When it comes to sexy werewolves, fairies, and magic, there's only one place for readers to go this winter: Over the Moon.

Angela Knight ventures to the borders of Mageverse, a land ruled by vampire knights.

MaryJanice Davidson returns to the wicked lair of the Wyndham werewolves.

Virginia Kantra finds magic and wonder in a strange fairy kingdom.

And Sunny discovers a Mixed Blood Queen in command of a new realm.


Okay, I have to start out and say that, unfortunately, the only reason I labeled Over the Moon as 'One of my Favorite' is because of Angela Knight's short story, Moon Dance. The other three stories, I felt, were a little weak and not exactly what I expected. I will give the whole book a
rating, and then I will proceed to break it up, reviewing each of the four stories and giving them their own rating.

Although the book was full of paranormal and romance, I found more of the first than the second-- and that kind of put me off, because when I pick up a book from the genre of 'paranormal romance', I kind of expect an equal amoung of both the fantasy, aka paranomal, and the connection and love, aka the romance. If I wanted straight out fantasy *I have heard some people refer to the genre as 'Urban Fantasy'* I would go to that section in the bookstore. No, I want an equal combination of both, and I felt that for the most part, Over the Moon failed in that area.

For a book total, I am giving Over the Moon 4/5 STARS, but I most, once again, point out that most of those stars come from the brillant work of Angela Knight. Her story in thie book, Moon Dance, continues her sexy Mageverse series that I fell in love with about a year ago. The other three authors, I am sorry to say, did not really impress me, at least in this book. This does not mean that I do not like their work, because I do not believe that I have read any of their other books before. I am willingly to give them another chance, and who knows, maybe they can impress me more when they are writing a full length novel by themselves-- I don't really know yet, but I will definitely give them another chance, some day, and read one of their own books.

Moon Dance

By Angela Knight

If you have read Angela Knight before, you already know how she deftly combines paranormal romance with both erotic sex scenes and even some tender love connections between the hero and heroine, providing, in my opinion, a perfect example of a paranormal romance book. I have devoured and loved each and every book in her Mageverse series, and in Over the Moon, her short story is a continuation of the series, following the sexy tale of Lucas and Elena, both of whom are Dierkind (Or werewolf for those of you unfamiliar with Angela's Mageverse series.)

The only thing I don't like about anthologies is that usually the author's individual stories cannot be properly spun out and resolved in only a hundred or so pages. True, some of them do it nicely and leave you satisfied in the end, but a lot of them, usually the great ones, seem like they've been cut short *Which I guess they have, in order to fit into the anthology.* and even though you love the story and the author's writting, you still finish the story and find yourself asking "But what about..." or "Wait, I don't want it to end- what's going to happen next?".

Moon Dance was by far my favorite book in the whole anthology, and probably the only one that I really felt was cut short and I would have loved to have seen Lucas and Elena's story in a full length novel.

So, for Angela Knight's story, Moon Dance, I felt it deserved a 4.5/5 STARS easily, because, once again, Angela has proven that she can write a great romance with fantasy and wild sex and yet still keep that true romantic feel to it in the end. Great story, can't wait for her next books, especially in her Mageverse Series.

Between the Mountain and the Moon

By Virginia Kantra

I have never read any books by Virginia Kantra before, so forgive me if may judge her a little harshly.

When the story started, the setting sounded like a promising one: the heroine is out in the mountains hiking, and she comes across a handsome man, whom she nicknames Tall, Dark and Mysterious for obvious reasons. I settled in, thinking I was going to be reading a great story that I would love and want to return to every now and then and rush out to look for previous novels by the author. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

I found the 'sex' scenes to be kind of bland and, well, not very hot or wild, lacking 'details', if you will. I prefer my romance books to USUALLY lean more towards the 'X' rated, as some call it, or even 'erotic', and I felt that this one was very gentle, not the more 'mature' content that I am use to, that I have come to enjoy. Virginia had ample opportunity, considering that the hero and heroine were alone in the woods, he's a total rough and sexy alpha man type, but when the two of them finally had sex, it seemed quick and meaningless, with only vague refrences as to what was going on-- for a moment, I wasn't even sure if they had actually proceeded to the 'third base', because one moment Rhys was teasing her and the next thing you know it's two or more paragraphs of how good this felt to him and how he'd never felt like that before, etc *Which isn't a bad thing, but I would have prefered to hear more details inbetween his thoughts of 'could this be love'.*

Though it is not my first choice in romance novels, or any books, for that matter, I did find the sidhe 'plot' of the book very interesting, and I would have loved to have heard more about the race, especially Rhys and his chidlhood, and instead the story felt rushed and choppy. I may still give this author another chance, but for now, I'm going to simply move on and stick with my review of her work.

Between the Mountain and the Moon gets 3.5/5 STARS, because the ending was sweet and the story itself wasn't completely horrible.

Driftwood

By MaryJanice Davidson

Yet another author that I have yet to read any other books from, but I am pretty sure that this is one that I might just completely cross off my 'potential future reading list'-- sorry MaryJanice!

At first, I was happy to find that her story in the anthology would be about vampires-- one of my favorite fantasy characters. And then I started to read it... and I was quickly let down.

The starting was kind of flat, the heroine was a little bit annoying, and the hero wasn't very vocal, nor was he very strong in personality. In fact, he almost seemed like he should have been cast as the sidekick or best friend, because he just didn't seem to fit the role of a hero.

Just like I said about Virginia Kantra's story, MaryJanice's was a little bit bland and boring as far as the sex. I'm not asking for outright erotica from my romance authors, but I would prefer just a tad bit more orginality, personality, and, oh yeah, details!. Also, I thought that even for a short story, the plot was kind of weak and not the most interesting, and I was, I'm sorry to say and I hope I do not offend MaryJanice fans out there, but this is my honest opinion, happy to see the end of the story. Unlike the other books in this anthology, I worked through Driftwood much slower, forcing myself to stick with it to the end, hoping it would get better... Unfortunately, it didn't, at least not for me. However, if you have not read any MaryJanice Davidson before, please don't completely cross her off your list just because of my review. This is my opinion, nothing more, and who knows, you might love her work. I am only saying that her books aren't really my thing, and I doubt I'd pick up another one, unless I could be assured that it would be a complete 180 degrees from what I just critiqued.

Driftwood receives one of my lowest ratings, with only 2.5/5 STARS. I found it lacking details, plot, character development, sex.. pretty much everything that I look for in any book, especially a romance novel. If the plot cannot hold up the whole book, then it should fall to the characters interactions, conversations, connections and for me, Driftwood failed on all accounts.

Mona Lisa Three

By Sunny

Though I am not a huge fan of the heros and heroines of my romance novels being in 'Open Relationships' or polygamy, I was surprised to find that Mona Lisa Three wasn't half bad, all things considered. I wouldn't call it a 'romance' book, not in the classical sense of the word, since Mona Lisa, the heroine, has two loves from the very beginning of the story, both of whom are willingly to share because they both love her so deeply. I will give the book some 'romance' credit, because it does show how deep of a connection all of them have with one another, which is a plus in any book, but it's not a plot line that I would usually want to read, and especially not one that I would usually label as 'I really enjoyed it!'. However, I think that both apply to Sunny's work, though this is the first one I have read by her (so far). I may actually go on to read her full length novels about Mona Lisa and her life, just to see if she can continue the story without overduing it or making it seem repeatitive.

Be warned, if you do not like the idea of threesomes and hot and wild sex, all very detailed, I might add, then you might want to skip Sunny's book. However, if you are willingly to try those things or you already have a liking for them, then I think you will like it. The plot line is fairly interesting, with a few unique twists and turns to it, and the fantasy world she's created does add to the amazing sex that the characters have together (After all, a truly great book has to have more than just great sex in order to make it in the industry, at least in my view.) The story is very erotic and yet the characters have their tender moments.

The only thing I would have liked better is if the author has better explained Mona Lisa and her two lovers', Amber and Gryphon, lifes before the point in which she starts the book at. I'm hoping that her future books do a flash back type thing, in order to give us the full story, which sounds interesting, from what little bit Sunny tells us in this book.

Mona Lisa Three gets 3.5/5 STARS for having interesting characters, plot, and, of course, sex scenes, while still playing a bit on the romance that the series belongs to.

~TBQ~