Audio Review ~ Lingus ~ Mariana Zapata

Lingus by Mariana Zapata
Narrated by: Callie Dalton
Release Date: January 26, 2016
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance, Comedy
Source: I received a copy from Tantor Audio in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 3.5 Bookworms
Challenges: #2016NewRelease, #COYER
Goodreads

Synopsis
Most people would describe Katherine Berger as a responsible girl with a big heart, a loyal friend who takes care of those close to her, and the possessor of a wicked sense of humor. There was something about her that most people didn't know. "My name is Kat Berger, and I love porn." When twenty-five-year-old Kat is dragged to a porn convention by her best friend, she's both embarrassed and nervous. The last thing she ever expected was to meet someone who makes her laugh like no other. This is a story about acceptance and friendship, and a love born out of the most expected of places. Contains mature themes.

Lingus proved to be a relatively entertaining listen. The premise was what drew me in and Zapata did a good job in creating engaging characters. This is billed as comedy though and I felt it missed on that element some. Also, Callie Dalton, the narrator, while doing a good job in delivering the story, showed a lack of range with voices.

Kat and Tristan meet at the ultimate singles hunting ground...a porn convention. They end up hanging out, talking, and enjoying each others' company. Things are going well until Kat discovers Tristan has a secret. And an alter-ego. Can you be friends with, and maybe fall for, a guy who does porn for a living? Kat decides to find out.

I really liked both Kat and Tristan. There was so much more to them than porn-lover and porn-star. Kat is a generous person and would do anything for a friend. Tristan is also a compassionate person. He's a law student and has a strong connection with his family. AND they're both dorks - quite socially awkward. Their friendship grows organically and feels very genuine.

I liked the secondary cast as well. There were a few that felt a little one-dimensional at times but overall they were all fleshed out nicely. They added depth to Kat and Tristan as well as to the story since friendship and acceptance are such integral elements.

I'd have liked for the comedy to have hit its marks more often. There were some missed opportunities, in my opinion. I also felt Zapata does a little too much telling rather than showing in some scenes. There were things I felt were understood and didn't bear an explanation, but one was given. I was taken out of the story in these instances which messed with the flow.

Dalton, whom I listened to recently narrate another of Zapata's books, does well with delivery and pacing. I appreciate the vocalization she includes - for example, conveying giddiness with a squeal while delivering the dialog or appearing to have a mouthful of pizza while talking - as the character is doing. I felt her range is lacking though as her voices sound similar - especially her male voices.

On the whole, I enjoyed my second Zapata/Dalton listen and I'll be partaking in more.

Review ~ Finley ~ Ella Frank

Finley by Ella Frank
Sunset Cove #1
Release Date: March 22, 2016
Genre: Adult, M/M Contemporary Romance
Source: Purchased on kindle
Rating: 4.5 Bookworms
Challenges: #2016NewRelease, 
#COYER
Goodreads

Synopsis
It's time to come home, Finn.
It's been seven years since Daniel Finley left his hometown in Florida for the hustle and bustle of Chicago's city life.
Since then, he's worked hard for his position at the prestigious law firm Leighton & Associates, even when it's caused distance and isolation from his family and friends. But that's all about to change.
On his thirtieth birthday, he receives the one thing he never dared hope for. Something that was promised to him years earlier--a note. One simple sentence from the man he's never been able to forget.
Six words will forever change the course of their lives.
Brantley Hayes has it all. Or so he thinks. When he first made the decision to take a job down in Florida, his family thought he was crazy. But, after years of living in the quiet beach town, he finally feels a sense of community. He's surrounded himself with friends who are like family, has a job he loves, and owns a spectacular beachfront property that is his sanctuary.
Yet he still feels unfulfilled, as if a piece of the puzzle is missing, and he knows exactly which piece it is. On an impulse, he follows through with a promise he made years earlier. A promise to call home the one he sent away.
Nothing is as simple as it seems.
After years of separation, the former lovers are reunited, but Brantley wasn't expecting to encounter the high walls now guarding Daniel's heart.
Daniel may not be the same person he was when he left, but he knows that the first step to healing is the note in his hand.

I gushed and gushed about Ms. Frank's Trust series so when I saw she was releasing a spin-off of sorts - another M/M - I immediately pre-ordered it. Even though, for me, Finley didn't deliver quite the emotion that Tate and Logan did, I was not disappointed.

Daniel Finley, Finn, left home seven years ago broken-hearted. He built a life for himself and his a successful attorney in Chicago now. But he's come home to Florida for closure. For that, he has to face the man that broke his heart. The man he's not been able to forget.

Brantley sent Finn away seven years ago in what he considered a selfless act - what was best for Finn. He broke his own heart in the process. But now Finn is home and he can't wait to see if there's still that something special between them.

Finn and Brantley broke my heart. Their love was so strong, so pure. It hurt that they'd been apart. I understood Brantley's actions though, and I admired him for them. I also admired that despite the fact he still loved Finn, he'd have put his own wishes and desires aside if Finn wanted that. Finn was understandably crushed by Brantley's actions. He thought he was coming home to put things to bed between them. But what they had was too powerful.

Ms. Frank tells their story via present time dual narration and flashbacks, which beautifully illustrated the development of their romance in the past and explained the depth of feelings the current romance was building from. It worked well for their story. She also introduced the cast of characters who populate this series - including the couple I believe will star in the next installment. They're delightful and I'm eager for their story. But I also think they're why I didn't feel the same level of emotion as I did in the Trust series - since we're not focusing on one main couple, the intense level of emotion wasn't achieved...at least not for me. That's not to say Ms. Frank didn't deliver the feels because she did. It was just different but no less enjoyable. I'm anxious to continue the series and hope to see more of Finn and Brantley around Sunset Cove.

By the way, Tate and Logan did make a cameo. Woohoo!!

That's What HE Said #69 ~ Thirsty Thursday & Hungry Hearts #50

That's What He Said is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely ladies @Chapter Break. Here's the deal: every Thursday, post a line from your book boyfriend to his heroine. Keep in mind, these are direct quotes from dialog in the books. The quote doesn't have to be romantic - just something our hunky hero said to his lucky lady. Be sure to link up over at Chapter Break as well.

My pick this week for That's What He Said is from:

Rock Chick Revolution by Kristen Ashley

There are so, so many wonderful things that Ren, the hero in this final installment, said. But one thing I've really enjoyed in this re-read is the family dynamics between the Nightingale's. And so I went with a quote from Lee to his little sister, Ally. They're talking about Ally's choice in careers, by the way.

***

"There are a million other things I'd want for you. It took me a while and Hank to lay it out, but the thing I should want most is what you want. So now I'm tellin' you, like yesterday with that ntoe, don't ever doubt it, anytime you need me, I'm there."

*~*~*~*~*~*

"You want me to make breakfast?" he asked.
Jeez.
Seriously?
This guy could also cook?
I tested the waters.
"Are we talking instant oatmeal or eggs benedict?"
That got another lip quirk before he answered.
"I was thinking croissants, eggs whatever way you want 'em, fresh strawberries, bacon and tater tots."
Did he say tater tots?
For breakfast?
"Did you say tater tots?" I asked in order to confirm.
"Baby." His hips pressed into mine. I bit my lip at how good that felt and his face dipped close. "Tater tots rock breakfast."
Ren Zano ate tater tots for breakfast and served them up to his fuck buddies.
He was a dream.
"I'm totally down for breakfast," I answered.
At that he smiled and my world ended.
Again.
Because I wanted that smile every morning right after mind-blowing sex and right before my tater tots.
And I wanted it for a lifetime.

2016 Bookish Resolutions Challenge Update ~ August

Laura @Trips Down Imagination Road and Michelle @Because Reading are once again hosting the Bookish Resolutions Challenge in 2016. I participated in this challenge last year and it was a good way to keep me motivated in certain areas, so I decided to do it again this year.

My Goals for 2016

• Blogging Goals
• Keep up with commenting back weekly
• Link up my challenge posts bi-weekly
• Learn some HTML to change up format of posts
• Reading Goals
• Raise my Netgalley rating to 50%
• Read books my kids *need* me to read
• Alice in Wonderland
• Death with Interruptions 
• Everything is Illuminated
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• Listening for Luka
• School of Good and Evil
• The Things They Carried
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
• Wonderstruck
• Personal Goals
• Stick to my daily schedule

Progress made in August

Blogging Goals

• The kids are back in school and I can return to a 'normal' routine. That means I'll be around visiting y'all and commenting back. :D 

Reading Goals

• My rating is still at 22% but I have a few reviews to post so it'll be higher next month!
• I didn't get any of my Kids' Recs List read in August. Alice in Wonderland is up next though.

Personal Goals

• I'm still struggling...gosh, I sound like a broken record!! I have started back to exercising. And I've been working at writing. I have two WIPs going right now and I've enjoyed being able to switch between them. I say this like I've spent so much time at it...I haven't. But I'm working at it. Also, after a chat with Lexxie, I think I'm going to do NaNoWriMo this year. I was inspired on our vacation to the Southeast and want to get to work on that. ;) Band season is upon us so between competitions with my two younger kids and visiting/getting visits from my older kid, it's gonna be a busy fall!

New Release Review ~ Mr. Corporate ~ JA Huss (@JAHuss)

Mr. Corporate by JA Huss
Mister #3
Release Date: August 17, 2016
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Source: Purchased on Kindle
Rating: 4 Bookworms
Challenges: #2016NewRelease, #COYER
Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ B&N

Synopsis
Weston Conrad is the best headhunter in the business. That handsome smile goes a long way towards convincing most people to trust him with their future.
I'm not most people. I'm his direct competition. And it doesn't hurt to be just the kind of woman he's been looking for.
I'm gonna flash you these legs, Weston Conrad.
I'm gonna wear low-cut shirts and micro-mini skirts.
I'm gonna dazzle you with wit and conversation and kiss those lips like they're exactly what I've been waiting for.
So don't hate me when you figure out my secret.
You understand, right? You're Mr. Corporate and this is just business.

And the plot thickens!

It's a good thing the next Mister releases in less than 2 months. Mr. Corporate, while answering a few (very few) of my questions about who Weston Conrad is, left me with more questions than answers. And in this way, Huss continued weaving a twisty story around these five friends - one that will probably keep my mind turning over possibilities until the final reveal.

As for what I learned about West - well, this boy has some secrets. So many, I'm wondering why he wasn't named Mysterious. ;) Although I guess that's because none of the other Misters knew just how secretive West was being. Despite that, West is a decent guy. Truly. I think. He's made lemonade with the lemons life threw his way and he's built a good life. One he'd like to share with a certain someone. That certain someone who continually walks out on him and who he hasn't spoken to in several years because she stole a contract from him. Or did she? A contract split them up. And a contract is reuniting them. Victoria has been granted the opportunity to compete for a contract that could change her fortune. But she didn't count on it being so important to West.

Victoria was rather a hard nut to crack. Although I identified with her on a few levels - wanting to be independent rather than beholden to a man, wanting to make her own way - her hot/cold flip-flops with West kept me unsure where she really stood. And therefore, I was unsure whether or not to side with her. She did, eventually, win me over. And she did this by standing by her man.

The questions that arose from the deserted island, the safe room, guns, and explosions - those really have my mind spinning. Huss may have given us a single piece to fit into the puzzle but she threw a hundred more onto the table and I'm still trying to turn them over and spin them around in a fun if vain attempt at figuring out where they all might fit.

Mr. Corporate is a well paced and placed building block in the Misters' story. I await Mr. Mysterious with bated breath and hope that the puzzle will begin to come together. I'm eager to see the whole picture.

Review ~ The Strongest Steel ~ Scarlett Cole

The Strongest Steel by Scarlett Cole
Second Circle Tattoos #1
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Source: Gift (kindle) from Lexxie <3
Rating: 4.5 Bookworms
Challenges: #COYER, #ShelfLove
Goodreads

Synopsis
Harper Connelly never expected to find herself outside of a tattoo parlor at one in the morning, summoning the nerve to take back her past. She's determined to forget her old life and is looking for an artist who can tattoo over the scars on her back.

Trent Andrews, local legend and owner of the Second Circle tattoo studio, has his own reasons for specializing in inking over scars. And in spite of her mysterious past and the difficult road ahead, he quickly realizes that Harper is funny, smart, and--under her ridiculously oversized clothing and SPF 100 sunscreen--totally hot. He's happy to take on the challenge of designing a meaningful and deadly full-back tattoo for her.

But when cryptic messages start appearing on Harper's phone, strange deliveries arrive at her door, and Second Circle is vandalized, Harper is convinced that her ex-boyfriend has tracked her down, and worse, that he knows about Trent. Running was the only thing that saved her last time, but now that she's started to put down roots in Miami, she'll have to decide if she can finally fight back instead.

"I love words. I love the structure of language and I love awe-inspiring writing." -Harper, pg 150

A girl after my own heart, I couldn't help but adore Harper!

Thank you, Lexxie, for the gift of this amazing book!! I didn't re-read the synopsis or Lexxie's review before diving in, so I went in only expecting a great read. It was a great read but it was so much more than I could have hoped. Seriously, if you have read this yet, hop to it! *wink*

Harper, as I stated, was a girl after my own heart. I'm not sure I could be as strong as she's been in the face of all she's endured though. And she'd argue the point of her being strong but she so is. Watching as she emerges from her self-imposed cocoon was beautiful. She didn't - couldn't - trust many. But there was something about Trent that spoke to her soul. And her spirit truly seems to have been forged in steel. Seeing her realize she was worth fighting for and stand on her own - *sigh* - it was something to behold.

Trent is one of the most appealing heroes I've had the pleasure to read. He's muscle-bound, tattooed, and all-man but he's soft-hearted, compassionate, and knows his Dante. *wink* He saw something in Harper, something besides the need to protect her, and he worked at getting what he wanted. He grew emotionally as well and although he'd experienced nothing as harrowing as what Harper had, he learned to let go and move past things that were putting an obstacle between them.

I can't not mention my extreme appreciation for Ms. Cole's nod to great literature. That she uses Dante as such an integral part of the series (Second Circle) and in Harper and Trent's story thrilled me...so much symbolism. And it added that much more depth and pleasure to an already incredible story.

Character development, strong plot, and an element of suspense all melded together for an excellent read. I'm beyond eager to jump into the next installment!

Review ~ Werewolves of Chicago: Howard: The Underdog ~ Faleena Hopkins

Werewolves of Chicago: Howard by Faleena Hopkins
Werewolves of Chicago #2
Release Date: March 27, 2016
Genre: Adult, Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4.5 Bookworms
Challenges: #2016NewRelease, #COYER
Goodreads

Synopsis
Curragh, Xavier and Draik made me prove myself. And I changed into something extraordinary.

The strength and speed.
The night vision.
Hearing through walls and even into heartbeats.

All this is new. Strange. FANTASTIC.

Because I'm about to meet HER. The blue-haired girl. Around her, I act totally out of character. I would never hurt her, but HE might. Not every wolf gets a cool name. Not until they've earned it.

A werewolf who's scrawny? Small in stature and has no supernatural abilities to speak of? A coroner? And named Howard?!? An underdog indeed but I find I tend to root for underdogs. ;)

Howard was exciting, funny, and suspenseful. The premise grabbed me and Howard, his pack mates, and Alisa drew me in. Hopkins' writing is inherently readable and the story was well constructed and nicely paced.

I loved Howard! He's such a gentle and sweet guy. He's recently undergone a dramatic physical change but it didn't change him. Alisa is quirky and fun. You gotta admire a girl with blue hair. She is definitely courageous and although she put up all kinds of emotional barriers, she melted for Howard. Both Howard and Alisa have similar upbringing which left them with emotional scars. I liked that there was something about them both that pulled at the other. They complemented each other well.

The secondary cast is fantastic. I read this out of order, which I hate doing, but although I would have felt I knew them all better, I didn't feel it took away from the story. I will, of course, be reading Curragh ASAP. And then Xavier. And Hopkins' other werewolf series as well. And probably her other works too because I have a feeling she's going on my favorite authors list. I'll keep y'all posted. ;)

Historical Romance Review ~ Wicked Intentions ~ Elizabeth Hoyt

Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt
Maiden Lane #1
Release Date: August 1, 2010
Genre: Adult, Historical Romance
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5 Bookworms
Challenges: #COYER
Goodreads

Synopsis
A man controlled by his desires...

Infamous for his wild, sensual needs, Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, is searching for a savage killer in St. Giles, London's most notorious slum. Widowed Temperance Dews knows St. Giles like the back of her hand - she's spent a lifetime caring for its inhabitants at the foundling home her family established. Now that home is at risk.

A woman haunted by her past...

Caire makes a simple offer - in return for Temperance's help navigating the perilous alleys of St. Giles, he will introduce her to London's high society so that she can find a benefactor for the home. But Temperance may not be the innocent she seems, and what begins as cold calculation soon falls prey to a passion that neither can control - one that may well destroy them both.

A bargain neither would refuse.

Oh, Wicked Intentions...how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1) Hoyt delivers such appealing characters despite them being atypical. Lazarus is an anti-hero and Temperance is intelligent, witty, and strong.

2) Lazarus was fascinating to become acquainted with as Temperance peeled back all his layers. In the same way, Temperance was compelling as a heroine as Lazarus aided her in her self-discovery. In many ways, Wicked Intentions is a study in human nature.

3) The mystery kept me glued to my kindle trying to solve it alongside Lazarus and Temperance. I had my suspicions but in the end, I was wrong.

4) The secondary characters were interesting - from Temperance's siblings and Lazarus' mother all the way to Polly the wet nurse. I do hope we see much more from many of them.

5) Temperance's profession - I adored that she helps run a home for abandoned children along with her brother.

6) Hoyt's use of snippets from a fairytale as the start for each chapter. These snippets lead into the chapter and the story overall so well.

Wicked Intentions was a delight! Hoyt always entertains me and I'm eager to get started on the next in the Maiden Lane series.