The Air that I Breathe - Lila Veen

Where to start? I just finished reading this series and I was hooked after "Burning For You." But something happened in "Drowning in a Dream" which leads me to where I am now in "The Air that I Breathe" book 3 in the Blackwater series. I'm going to just come right out and state my problem for the record - Drama. It seems strange to have an issue with drama when most books require it in order to exist. However, I find that I have come to an example of an overload on drama. I love the story Lila Veen weaves but in this final installment, it was only seconds after everything was sorted that it was tipped on it's head once again. It seemed that everyone was lying or manipulating each other for personal gain. The horrible twisted web of relationships that tied so many different characters together - introduced partially in "Drowning in a Dream" - continued to become even more entangled with relationships being revealed between almost everyone and their brother (it's horrible that I almost mean that literally). I barely had a hold on what was going on and the final straw was the relationship between Theo and Olivia. I just couldn't. I never liked V.C.Andrews penchant for throwing weird twisted family relationships into her books and I cannot stomach it in this one either.

I kept reading despite feeling ill because I needed to know what happened to Leah - it wasn't her fault that the Lavanne family were a bunch of nutters. I'd hoped the ending would bring some much needed relief and happiness but no,

Reverb - By J. Cafesin (#COYER)

After I finished this book I couldn't sleep, I was so strung out on the story. You know you've read a good book when your emotional hangover leaves you wired. Despite starting the book thinking to myself this was not at all what I was expecting and not usually the type of book that attracts my attention, I could not put it down. Cafesin sunk claws into me and did not let go, even past the end of the book. James the main character in Reverb is hugely complex. His journey is not the endearing tale of boy meets girl but a man torn apart by his family and his past. It's tangible and raw while remaining slightly ethereal. I found myself connecting to this male who I had no understanding of as a person. I couldn't relate to his obsession with music, his fear and his suffering and yet I was heavily invested in his damaged psyche and possible recovery. I raged along with him against his father and found peace in moments with Elisabeth. My heart was wrenched out with all the emotion and I'm not entirely sure I liked it. While reading Reverb I felt tense, I was worried, anxious and curious all at once, similar to when I watch a scary movie. But this book is not a horror, it's an emotional roller coaster with a few horrifying events popping up. The journey James takes from addicted narcissist to loving partner and friend is very well written. His revelations do not feel forced and his struggles are not downplayed nor exaggerated. There is a wonderful balance in the writing as Cafesin is able to walk the fine line of reality and fiction which is what makes it such a riveting read. The ending left me less content and satisfied than I wanted. I still find myself worried and anxious about the life of James Whren and I'm probably going to need either a day to get my head out of the story. I would categorize this story as fictional thriller? There is a hint of romance but if not enough for it to be categorized as such. I'm not usually so taken by a genre I do not generally enjoy so Reverb gets 4 obsessed, tense and mesmerizing stars. Just don't read it before going to bed unless you like staying up all night dwelling on books because Reverb will linger.

4/5

xxx

George

A HUGE thank you to J.Cafesin for providing the copy in exchange for an honest review!

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Bunny Club - By Stephanie Beck (#COYER)

*Spoilers Alert*
I don't know who was more surprised and freaked out at the end of this book, me or Jarrod! I went into reading Bunny Club thinking, bunny shape shifters and a sex club that sounds like an interesting read. But the book turned out to be slightly more twisted than I realized. Jarrod and his friend Alex accidentally stumble across a supposed sex club and end up in a situation they desperately regret. The sexy women are in fact vampires and bunny shifters who kill the men they have sex with. The male narrator was not a problem but in addition aggressive, blood thirsty women, I simply couldn't relate to any of the characters. The novel wasn't a romance but nor was it really erotica either. The single sex scene was bare bones oral which was overwhelmed by the freaky vampires and shape shifter bunny women. If you're into slightly terrifying erotic-esque reads then definitely give this novella a read, I, however, have had enough of a taste to know that the F*ck like Bunnies series is not my cup of tea.

2/5
xxx
George
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Wolf with Benefits - By Shelly Laurenston

THIS IS AWESOME! Was pretty much my reaction as I fell utterly in love with this book. Shelly Laurenston you give me life! Every time I read one of her books I love everything about it. The guy, the girl, the dialogue, the weird ass situations they get into, the fact that they are shape shifters and lawd oh lawd the drawl of them Southern hunks - be still my heart. I admit I was a bit skeptical about the Reed boys. When I realized it would be about Ricky Lee Reed I was thinking to myself, will I be able to care about this character? I barely know him and definitely don't know this Toni Jean-Louis Parker woman... This wasn't like Blayne when I had been hanging out for her book since I met Blayne in The Mane Squeeze. Little did I know how WRONG I was (which is understandable because I am usually never wrong).

The opening scene pushed me off a cliff and I never stopped falling. "Are you my daddy?" Poor Ricky Lee never knew what he was getting himself into from the start and Toni was typical Laurenston gold. Sassy, independent, ass-kicking, crazy woman! YEAH! She looks after her obnoxious, self absorbed, egotistical siblings perfectly and said siblings are right terrors. I love the way Laurenston writes sharp witty dialogue even for children! My favorite scene would have to be the interaction between Toni and Bo Novikov. (view spoiler)

Ricky Lee Reed is an absolute darling, who isn't the typical imposing, alpha male. Don't get me wrong the man has serious hotness factor and chomps when he chooses but he is typically laid back. He doesn't jump in and try to push anyone around, in fact he prefers staying back and watching the action. He is a pillar of support for Toni and I loved that he adored her crazy curly hair (disclaimer: this may be because I also have crazy curly hair Ricky Lee Reed marry me?)

Toni Jean-Louis Parker has never been away from her family and her life literally revolves around them. I found myself connected to her search for an independent identity and her absolute fear of everything going to pieces. She isn't as aggressive as previous Laurenston female shifters which I liked a little more, she showed more restraint with her ball busting. I love how Ricky Lee and Toni's chemistry is brought together piece by piece like a slow burning fire rather than a hot flash.

I am a sucker for a shifter romance but throw in some humor with a little bit of crazy and you have Shelly Laurenston's "Wolf with Benefits"... You also have one of my favorite books ever!

5/5
xxx
George
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Hot Little Shop: Dairymaid Cafe - By Ellen Dominick

I've always been interested in reading books with weird fetishes. When I was trolling the internet I found this little gem which attracted my attention with it's *perky* cover.
I read the blurb and decided what the hell, let's do this.

First of all this book is SHORT. I seriously got to the end and thought something had gone wrong. You know what? Something had! It was waaaaaay too SHORT. The ideas in the book of the cafe are awesome and riveting! I truly wish the book was longer and explained in more detail because with only 25 Kobo pages I was left reeling. Slapped in the face with a fricken amazeballs fetish read and it wasn't even full length. It could definitely be extended into a proper novel. Though Cindy is a little naive but with such a short length you really can't do much with character development. She is willing to do anything and she gets a job at Dairymaid Cafe. It's not out of the ordinary but they make all their products with special milk. Particular women respond to this type of milk by lactating and cha-ching, Cindy is one of those women.

SECRET Shared - By L. Marie Adeline

Book two in the Secret series.

This book is gold. If you don't want to read a gushing review just go get it and read it NOW!

In SECRET shared we follow the story of Cassie and Dauphine in good ol' New Orleans. Cassie is a recent graduate from the SECRET ladies club that helps sexually liberate woman and Dauphine is the current initiate. While I've come across books with similar intentions, they haven't been ground breaking reads but with Adeline it works! There is no fluff about the power of men to make a woman into a real woman. Instead it is about ten steps (see end of review) that help women rediscover and believe in the power of themselves. Note that I said RE-discover, because it's not that women never had belief in themselves, it's that somehow, something convinced them that they were unworthy and powerless.

Cassie is currently struggling with life after SECRET and the fact that the man she loves is having a baby with another woman. Cassie was going to leave SECRET to start a relationship with said love of life but with the baby on the way she turns to SECRET as a way of coping. Through an accidental encounter she meets Dauphine who has never been able to come back from her cheating boyfriend and best friend. I'm not surprised because her boyfriend sounds like a self absorbed prick and her best friend a lying selfish cow, she's better off without them. The hard part is the fact that idiot boyfriend becomes famous and using Dauphine as fodder in a book, causing her to hyper analyse herself. (If I could get my hands on that son of a-)

Ilona Andrews Question and Answer

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Ilona Andrews is the author of the Kate Daniels series.

Notorious Nineteen - By Janet Evanovich

I've always been a fan of Janet Evanovich and Miss Stephanie Plum. Who couldn't love the quirky female character she has brought into existence, a bounty hunter who has bitten off more than she can chew. Yet I find myself getting more and more frustrated with the Stephanie Plum novels. In this nineteenth installment the usual characters are there: Morelli, Ranger, Lula, Stephanie's Mum, Dad and the fabulous Grandma Mazur with the same jokes and situations. Where is the originality that initially sucked me into this series???

Morelli and Stephanie are a little bit more serious but when I say a little it really is the barest of changes. Stephanie has stopped thinking about possibly taking Ranger up on his offers but she still lives in her apartment. Ranger is still the hot man on the side with Stephanie making the same comments about said hotness. He hasn't changed much and to be honest his character doesn't do anything but save Stephanie from her ridiculous fiascoes. Fiascoes that used to be funny are now simply tired. Not to mention the fact that it has been how many years in Stephanie world and she still isn't any good at her job? You would think that she would do some training or find a different job. I'm actually not entirely sure why she is still a bounty hunter when it was only supposed to be a filler. You can take the "I'm new at this" only so far before it becomes "I suck at this and yet I still do it."

I guess what's missing from this series now is change. These characters have become stagnant and you don't read a sequel to receive the same book. It's the same old Janet Evanovich but that's what has become the problem. I won't be hanging out for the next book maybe I'll eventually borrow it from the library. If only to check if Stephanie has grown up after twenty books and whether Evanovich has let her.

2/5

xxx
George

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Devon Monk - Magic for a Price

When it comes to ending a series it is often difficult for everyone to get that feeling of satisfaction. Answering the unanswered questions and making everything tie up nicely is a challenge. So for the final instalment of the Allie Beckstrom series I held my breath. Allie has always been a fiery heroine whom I have a slight girl crush on and Zayvion Jones is one smoking hot, sexy, powerful man. Ahem, excuse me. The last book left us with Portland's magic poisoned, illness spreading like wildfire and Leander/Isabelle still out to destroy the world. I was interested to see how Monk would pull them both out of this alive and whether she would do it well.

Of course she didn't. Neither of them stayed alive yet they did and she didn't do well, she did better. This book and series were beautifully ended. Allie steps into the role of revolutionary leader and city defender with ease. She keeps the mismatch group of Hounds, city police and ex-Authority members glued together in a battle that is practically impossible. The beauty of Allie is, she does it both grudgingly and with a bumbling, self destructive manner that has always attracted me to her character. Zayvion is beside her every step of the way doing what needs to be done and keeping Allie safe. The relationship between Terric and Shamus (Shame) develops into something truly spectacular as they accept their Soul Complement status and make magic like bosses. Even Allie succumbs to a brief adoration of their awesomeness much to Zayvion's jealousy. 

Leander/Isabelle are in possession of the International Head of the Authority, Margaret something or other and are going to "blow Portland off the map." Allie decides to shut down and cleanse the wells of magic before L/I arrive with their cavalry. Allie, Zayvion, Shame, Ter and Eli Collins of all people, head out on their mission to save Portland and thus doing so THE WORLD. No but really, the world and magic. Allie's Father lends a helping dead hand and everything goes to custard as per usual. Allie makes a deal and her father reveals the truth about his split personality. Zayvion, Shame and Terric save Allie from death on multiple occasions, Cody becomes one Cody and everything... well I'm not going to tell you. The tying up is done with artistic grace and a twist that wasn't expected though completely needed.One character whom I had previously believed had no soul, surprised me with their humanity.

Needless to say I ended this book a satisfied customer of Allie Beckstrom novels. I will admit that this is not the best book in the series and though the ending is satisfying I was hoping for a bit more of a send off for the great Allie and Zayvion. Fireworks, kids, marriage, a happily ever after on steroids. But I know when it is time for a series to end and Allie was reaching hers. Maybe there will be a spin off of Shame and Terric though I am certain it is highly unlikely. I am sad to say goodbye to a wonderful series but this book is a solid ending to a more than solid series. If you haven't read any of the Beckstrom novels then why are you even reading this?! Go get the book and start! Jeez.
However, if you are an Allie Beckstrom lover you know what I mean when I say I wish there was one more book...

5/5

xxx
George

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