Wednesday, December 31

Review: Natural Love by S. Celi

Title: Natural Love
By: S. Celi
My Copy: Ebook from Author
BookWhisperer's Rating: 

My whole life, I wanted one thing: to be the perfect son.

Growing up, I did everything my father required. Straight A’s in school. Perfect manners. I forced myself to live up to his standards--standards that pushed the Chadwick family name to the highest rungs of society.

Over the years, we climbed so high that my father hoped we’d never fall.

If only he’d been right. With each successful year, the Chadwick family skeletons grew bolder and darker. Every lie threatened to undo us.

The secret Avery Jackson and I shared was the worst one of all.

She was the one person I shouldn’t love--the one person I couldn’t love. But I did. I loved Avery Jackson. I wanted her, even though a romance with her threatened everything.

It all felt so natural.

And that was exactly the problem.


The two characters Spencer and Avery were not at all what I expected.  I expected Spencer to be this extremely privileged child that grows up to be a privileged man and falls in love with a girl who is under-privileged only to find that their love is frowned upon from both sides but it isn’t.  Spencer comes back from the Peace Corps to still have finds that he has feelings for Avery.  Not a problem, right? Well, it is.

Spoiler *stop reading if you do not want to know*
Avery is Spencer’s stepsister.  Taboo; I know. The only other time that I read something along this line was when two teenagers where brought together as stepsiblings but Avery and Spencer have been stepsiblings since a very young age.  This kind of threw me off because I couldn’t imagine two children growing up together would have anything other than a sibling relationship.  Plus, I really couldn’t feel the connection that they should have had if they were in love.  They ignored and tortured each other too much for me to feel like they really loved each other. 

What I did like was that Spencer seemed to really grow up during his time in the Peace Corps.  He came home ready to be his father’s right hand man at the family company even though it wasn’t his passion (I’m not saying that I liked that but just that he came back as a grown up and had come to peace with his decision.)  And Avery always seemed so sweet and upbeat until she hit her low points and then she hit them hard and Spencer was there for her. 


So without giving too much away, I found that I liked the book but I also found that I couldn’t thoroughly enjoy it sometimes because it was hard for me to become invested in Spencer and Avery.

Monday, December 22

Review: The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel

Title: The Book of Ivy
By: Amy Engel
Series: The Book of Ivy #1
My Copy: Bought from Amazon
BookWhisperer Rating:

After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual.

This year, it is my turn.

My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and restore the Westfall family to power.

But Bishop Lattimer is either a very skilled actor or he’s not the cruel, heartless boy my family warned me to expect. He might even be the one person in this world who truly understands me. But there is no escape from my fate. I am the only one who can restore the Westfall legacy.

Because Bishop must die. And I must be the one to kill him…
 

This is one for the record book. Newly added to my favorites list I expect to see much hype build for this incredible story in the next few months. I was first drawn in by the cover that seemed simple yet powerful. Then I found the book description that left me anxiously anticipating the release. Having now finished I can say with all consuming certainty that this was everything I was wanting and more. Ivy story is quite the adventure. As I journey through her self discovery I was overwhelmed with the experience as though I was living them. Stepping away from the family unit under the rouse of accepting participation she begins to spread her wings, and when she allows herself occasion moments of adventure her eyes begin to truly open. With the shadow of her secrets and responsibilities still hovering just out of sight she struggles through the up and downs.  Though, as times passes she finds an increased frequency in the occasional moment of release with which she allows herself to just appreciate life. The Book of Ivy is an story built on courage and innocence. It is a masterpiece carefully crafted with webs of detail and mystery. I am stricken by the proof of raw and untainted talent here. Readers will immediately recognize such ability as rare and unique. It is effortless to get caught up in the plausibility of this alternate future. Seeing Ivy and Bishop as the victims to the lies and hatred passed down through the years. As direct descendants they are being used pawns to years old grudges that will only prove to further the divide between these two communities. Somewhere in the middle the companionship and love turns the tables, but with no certain way to stop the cycle. Ivy's sacrifice is awe worthy and inspiring. This book was so wonderfully written that I could easily fall into the role of Ivy. I would not consider this an emotionally charged novel with normal mountainous peaks, but rather it is obvious that this is a book building marathon. The gradual building is evident and leading me to anticipate an entire earth shattering series that earns it's name as a BookWhisperer Favorite.



Review: Forever Dark by Chelsea Landon

Title: Forever Dark
By: Chelsea Landon
Series: Forever Love #1
My Copy: Ebook for Honest Review
BookWhisperer Rating:




One tragic night. 
One backseat promise shattered forever. 

Madison Thomas is shouldering guilt she may never forgive herself for. Her darkness has consumed her for three years and slowly seeped into every part of her life. 

She’s relying on substance. 

She’s trying to be brave when all she’ll ever be is bent. 
Cash Bryant, a college quarterback with a promising career, wants to show Madison there’s still hope. He’s her one sliver of light that never fades. 

He wants to let go. He needs to let go… before she destroys him completely. 

There’s something about the girl wearing hoodies to hide her dark eyes that reminds him of the girl he fell forever in love with. 

In the shadows of their blue-lit mornings, she makes him weak, steals the beat in his chest, and he’s reminded of the girl he used to know. 

Forever Dark is definitely a raw and gritty journey. A brief glimpse into the story can be best described as six inseparable friends that find themselves living a real life nightmare. The story that follows previews all of the repercussions of many immature choices, and the obvious damage that is caused by the curve balls life throws. Madison and Cash were on the fast track to their forever, and watching how everything falls apart is literally soul crushing. Regardless, of the decisions of the these young individuals no one deserves the torment and damage that this one terrible accident has left on their souls. This is not a story for the light hearted. Readers will have to overcome a mountain of emotions that accompany this story, and just hope that their might be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel for these four young people. Forever Dark was not intended to be an read for pure entertainment, but rather an all consuming downward spiral looking into the reality of life and the dangers around every corner. Forever Dark is every bit a lesson story that would be perfect for the young adult generations allowing them a glimpse of the life, and an experience through the lives of these characters. Overall, Forever Dark is a very dark and melancholy read, but it is a soul bending story that has the power to hold you in it's clutches beginning to end. 







Review: Greed by Fisher Amelia

Title: Greed
By Fisher Amelie
Series: The Seven Deadly #2
My Copy: Ebook bought from Amazon
BookWhisperer Rating:


Gather ‘round, love, because I want you. I want what you have, I want what you don’t have, I want more of what I already have. I want. But if you so much as ask for something in return, go ahead and walk away. Know if you want to play in my world, it’s every man for themselves and the weak become mine. Leeches will be obliterated because I make it my job to destroy them. I protect what’s mine and I take what’s yours…because that’s what I do. I want.

My story will not endear me to you and, frankly, I could care less if it does because I’m in this for the money and nothing else. There’s nothing redeeming about me. I’m a corrupt, money hungry, immoral asshole from Los Angeles. I’m every man’s worst nightmare and every girl’s fantasy.

I’m Spencer Blackwell…And this is the story about how I went from the world’s most coveted guy to the guy no one wanted around and why I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

First off let me just say that I don't know if my impression of Spencer from Vain was the intending reaction. I did not feel any attraction to his character, and at no point was conflicted about Sophia relationship with Ian, because I was absolutely not feeling Spencer. Therefore, in starting Greed I knew that this was a story of the underdog, and I was hesitant fearing my lack of attraction for his character would change the outcome of the story for me. I should have never feared, because this held no sway in my feelings for this 2nd story. 

My feelings for Greed were immediate and unexpected. This story is so dissimilar to the first novel. This is Spencer's quest to alter the cycle. When choice matters most he supports his sister, and rebels againist the man will his thumb over his entire family. As you will remember this is the horrible man that acquisitioned Sophia in book one. Spencer is no stranger to the darker side of life, and his father uses him for his own pawn at every opportunity. Greed combines Spencer's romantic story, and that of a side story for his sister. Cricket was nothing that I had expected from this series, and her character was so different I was overwhelmed with a bit of a rockabilly feel for her. Honestly, I would not see how it would have been possible to have a more contasting story line. It seems the only connection for the deadly sins series is the character, and the desire to change course of their train wreck lives. I am overjoyed to have had this experience if for no other reason than that many of the aspects of this story were foreign to me, and that proved to be an adventure all on its own. My faith in Spencer was restored, and I had the absolute pleasure of experiencing Greed. As if we needed any more proof book two definitely shows that Amelia Fisher's wide array of talents have barely been tapped, and she can write just about anything. This is a truly remarkable series, and one I can't wait to continue. ~BookWhisperer Reviewer Jax~



Review: Who He Is by Shanora Williams

Title: Who He Is
By: Shanora Williams
Series: FireNine #1
My Copy: Ebook for Honest Review
BookWhisperer Rating:

Eliza Smith has never been the one to seek a relationship. She’s never dated a guy in her life, never even hugged a man (outside of her father/manager of the hot and popular rock band, FireNine) but when she decides to spend her summer on tour with FireNine, it all changes. Eliza really gets to meet Gage Grendel - her former crush from high school and the lead singer of FireNine - and witness sides to him to which she’ll begin to truly despise.

She’ll ignore him, she’ll dislike his ways, she’ll do anything to try and stay away from him until Gage finally gets her to slip up and give in. She agrees on a casual fling with Gage, but soon they’ll both see how the fling will blur into something they can’t control and when it’s finally time for Eliza to go and accomplish her own dreams, she’ll know there’s more she took from Gage than she ever thought possible.
 

Who He Is is another Rockstar romance only this one includes the damged and broken daughter of the groups manager. Eliza has seen the dark side of life for many years. Her salvation came in the shape of her absentee father, and the past couple years have proved a start for healing. Everything about her life is planned and constructed to her liking, and in effort for maximum accomplishment. When her Father finally convinces her to accompany him on his summer tour she enters a world filled with all the activities that she formerly believed did not fit into her now perfect world. What she finds is the her life long crush may be the devil that will undo everything that she has planned. I was a little frustrated with this story, because it does seem to have the detail and development that would allow me to feel the flow of the story. Grendel is a very
conflicting character with his demands for her attention, but all the while he tells her what a unworthy player he really is. At the same time this was a very spicy and hot read, but I did not feel the overwhelming attraction that I think the story was trying to portray. Who He Is can guarantee a story that will peak your interest of the "what's next" vibe, but overall I felt as though the story was a bit mediocre for me.
~BookWhisperer Reviewer Jax~ 



Friday, December 19

Blog Tour Review Crush by JC Emery

Young love is always perfect. Until it's not.

Cheyenne Grady is a total daddy's girl to her bad-ass father, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Forsaken Motorcycle Club. She's funny, and kind, and she just wants that deep, earth-shattering love like her dad has with her school secretary, Holly. But Cheyenne's been looking in the wrong direction, because the only good that can come from the way she looks at Jeremy Whelan is a lesson in heartbreak.
Jeremy always wanted to prospect for the Forsaken Motorcycle Club and wear the same patch as his father. When a life-long dream becomes reality, Jeremy realizes that the outlaw lifestyle is not for the faint of heart. Nor is it easy on relationships. He wants to be a good man, but temptation is everywhere.
Cheyenne is beautiful, and strong, and exactly what Jeremy could have forever. As long as he doesn't screw it up.

Love is never more powerful than the first time.

About the author:
As a child, JC was fascinated by things that went bump in the night. As they say, some things never change. Now, as an adult, she divides her time between the sexy law men, mythical creatures, and kick-ass heroines that live inside her head and pursuing her bachelor's degree in English. JC is a San Francisco Bay Area native, but has also called both Texas and Louisiana home. These days she rocks her flip flops year round in Northern California and can't imagine a climate more beautiful.
JC writes adult, new adult, and young adult fiction. She dabbles in many different genres including science fiction, horror, chick lit, and murder mysteries, yet she is most enthralled by supernatural stories-- and everything has at least a splash of romance.
EXCERPT
"You're throwing your future away for a boy who isn't going to give a shit in six months. You want me to stop getting in your business, then you need to start making better choices."
"You're wrong," I say through falling tears. "He loves me."
"I'll bet he thinks he does," he says. "But you're going to school. Holly has worked too hard to keep you on track for your education for you to throw it away because you want some asshole's attention. As it is, you had to get your GED because you couldn’t get your ass to class."
"It's not like that," I wail. I don't even bother to wipe the tears away. Every word he says is meaner than the last. They slam into my gut and practically pierce my heart one after the other.
He needs to stop before his words split me in two. Maybe if he knew the reason I missed so many classes he would understand. Maybe then he wouldn't look so disgusted with me. No, then I'd have to deal with the entire club's disapproval.
"I was eighteen once," he says. "It's always like that. He wanted your pussy, and now that he's got it, he's going to leave you behind. He's Forsaken now, Chey. He won't be faithful." Dad's words have fallen to a whisper. His shoulders have dropped and the intensity of the moment has passed. He just looks pained.
Good. Misery loves company.
"I'm not going to leave him no matter what you say," I mutter through a series of hiccups.
"You don't get it. It's painful thinking about going away, and I won't do it to him or to me. I love him, sometimes so much it hurts. It feels like it's crushing me from the inside out."

My Review:
Cheyenne Grady is the daughter of a Forsaken Member. The Forsaken MC has been an ever present entity that exists in the shadows of her life, but there is much more to this world than she truly knows. It is her family, but on the brink of adulthood things are about to change. This is about her discovering where she fits into this world, and her introduction into the reality of this world. Jeremy is quite similar having a Father as a member, but he has always been certain of his future. The patch is his focus. That is until crossing paths with Cheyenne Grady becomes about more than acknowleding a common acquaintance.
This is by far my favorite so far. Jeremy has always come across as a snot nosed little punk, and I loved peeling this character back to see his true colors. The transformation from boy to man has been quite an experience. Side lined with the previous stories it is fun to watch alternate versions of scenarios from all the books wrapped up here. Cheyenne will transform as well. While she was not always whiny and difficult she does have a tendency to pull the princess card. Her teenage "know it all" personality is racing her down the a path of destruction, but it is her character changing in its own way. Opening her pretty eyes wide to what it actually means to be Forsaken, and what her future as part of this club means. She is a very naive girl, and Grady has made sure that the true working were always spared on Chey's ears. Although, he must not have accounted for her curiosity. It is nerve wracking to watch her pushing into this world knowing that she should be cautious when shaking this bee hive.
Every other MC novel that I have come across displays this world to a unknowing victim. This was a very unique story of love between two kids of the life. Crush been a fresh twist into the world, and livens the story up a bit. This has been JC Emery best yet. She has created a world so intricate, and the story has continued to build over all these books. I have loved every opportunity to dig into the characters of the Forsaken MC. Crush seems to bring the absolute danger to a bit of a calm, so I am left anxious to see what Emery has enstore for the future of this series.

A surprise from Kristen Proby

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristen Proby has been sitting on a secret, and we get to share it with you today! We think all of her readers across the board will be thrilled to hear what's coming next!

Check out what Kristen has to say about the upcoming plans...

  Dear readers, As you know, the With Me In Seattle Series came to a close earlier this month with the eighth and final installment, FOREVER WITH ME. I've been steadfast in my decision that there would be no further stories from the series, no spin-offs, nothing more. In my mind, it was complete. And I still feel that the Montgomery/Williams families are complete, and I maintain that I'm happy with their happy-ever-afters. But, I've also heard you when you've said that Asher, Matt Montgomery's partner in TIED WITH ME, deserves to have a happily ever after for himself and his daughter Casey. So, when the lovely ladies from 1001 Dark Nights asked me to participate in their wonderful project, I thought long and hard about whose story it should be about. Seattle is finished, and I've moved on to New Orleans for the new Boudreaux Series... And then it occurred to me: why not do both, and offer a companion novella to each of the series? And so, because you, the reader, has been so insistent that you want to see Asher and Casey find their perfect person, I'm excited to introduce you to EASY WITH YOU. I think you're going to love Asher and Lila's love story this spring... Happy Reading, Kristen Proby

Can you believe it??

  EASY WITH YOU, a companion novella to both the With Me in Seattle Series and her upcoming Boudreaux Series, will be releasing March 24, 2015! Now you can see some of your favorite characters again while they interact with some new ones. We're so excited to get Asher and Lila's story! Check out the cover for the novella and all the information on EASY WITH YOU below!
  1001 Dark Nights_Kristen Proby_300dpi

Amazon Kindle ** Amazon Print


ABOUT EASY WITH YOU:
Nothing has ever come easy for Lila Bailey. She’s fought for every good thing in her life during every day of her thirty-one years. Aside from that one night with an impossible to deny stranger a year ago, Lila is the epitome of responsible. Steadfast. Strong. She’s pulled herself out of the train wreck of her childhood, proud to be a professor at Tulane University and laying down roots in a city she’s grown to love. But when some of her female students are viciously murdered, Lila’s shaken to the core and unsure of whom she can trust in New Orleans. When the police detective assigned to the murder case comes to investigate, she’s even more surprised to find herself staring into the eyes of the man that made her toes curl last year. In an attempt to move on from the tragic loss of his wife, Asher Smith moved his daughter and himself to a new city, ready for a fresh start. A damn fine police lieutenant, but new to the New Orleans force, Asher has a lot to prove to his colleagues and himself. With a murderer terrorizing the Tulane University campus, Asher finds himself toe-to-toe with the one woman that haunts his dreams. His hands, his lips, his body know her as intimately as he’s ever known anyone. As he learns her mind and heart as well, Asher wants nothing more than to keep her safe, in his bed, and in his and his daughter’s lives for the long haul. But when Lila becomes the target, can Asher save her in time, or will he lose another woman he loves?  




Author photoABOUT KRISTEN PROBY: New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Kristen Proby is the author of the popular With Me in Seattle series. She has a passion for a good love story and strong characters who love humor and have a strong sense of loyalty and family. Her men are the alpha type—fiercely protective and a bit bossy—and her ladies are fun, strong, and not afraid to stand up for themselves. Kristen spends her days with her muse in the Pacific Northwest. She enjoys coffee, chocolate, and sunshine. And naps. Visit her at KristenProby.com.

Monday, December 15

Review: Inspire by Cora Carmack

Title: Inspire
By: Cora Carmack
My Copy: Ebook from Publisher
BookWhisperer's Rating: 

Kalliope lives with one purpose.

To inspire.

As an immortal muse, she doesn’t have any other choice. It’s part of how she was made. Musicians, artists, actors—they use her to advance their art, and she uses them to survive. She moves from one artist to the next, never staying long enough to get attached. But all she wants is a different life— a normal one. She’s spent thousands of years living lie after lie, and now she’s ready for something real.

Sweet, sexy, and steady, Wilder Bell feels more real than anything else in her long existence. And most importantly… he’s not an artist. He doesn’t want her for her ability. But she can’t turn off the way she influences people, not even to save a man she might love. Because in small doses, she can help make something beautiful, but her ability has just as much capacity to destroy as it does to create. The longer she stays, the more obsessed Wilder will become. It’s happened before, and it never turns out well for the mortal.

Her presence may inspire genius.

But it breeds madness, too.


While it took me the first few chapters to get into the characters and plot line - once I got in it, I couldn’t get out.  I thought Carmack developed some great leading and supporting characters in this book.

Kalli meets Wilder at a grocery store and realizes that when she looks at him, there is a feeling that she has never had before with a mortal human.  Most connections that she has with humans are so that she can inspire their art so that she can release her energy and if a relationship evolves, then it is a timed relationship; too much of her can make the person mad.  However, Kalli feels a strong connect with Wilder when she meets him, a stringed connection if you will, but before she allows herself to long for it, she runs away because she knows that she dangerous to him.  And for most of this story, the twisted Fates keep bringing Kalli and Wilder together, teasing them with their connection, and Kalli keeps her secret and continuously pulls away.


I was expecting for this book to be a well-written love story that gives the readers the push and pull of the impossible love between these two characters, but what I did not expect were the small twist and turns that Carmack included that gave the ending a completely different edge than what I was expecting…and yes, it was a great ending.  It actually broke my spirit a little when I realized that the second part of this book is coming out sometime in 2015.  I need it…now! J

Review: Seducing the Princess by Jen McLaughlin

Title: Seducing the Princess
By: Jen McLaughlin
Series: Shillings Agency #3
My Copy: Ebook from Publisher
BookWhisperer's Rating: 

Protecting a princess is not what former marine Gordon Waybrook signed up for when he joined the Shillings Agency. But instead of the spoiled, regal little creature he expects, Isabelle VanGuard is a fiery, sexy-as hell woman who's been denied what she needs for too long. And he's just the man to break through her frozen public facade and give it to her.

When she's with Gordon, all Isabelle can think about is pleasure. Their blistering chemistry is immediate and intense, but volatile. In fact, the only thing they agree on is that their one night together is just that—one night. Even after it becomes more. But tempers and temptation can't disguise reality. Isabelle is a princess, and a hot, hard, and tattooed bodyguard isn't the Prince Charming her country expects…even if he's exactly what she needs.




I genuinely thought that that this book was adorable in most parts and sexy in the others and it made it an all around good read.  When Gordon first meets Isabelle, he is just scoping her out before he starts her detail but the cute interaction between the two in the coffee shop sets up a great feel for how these characters are with each other and how the flow of the set up will be. 

What I liked about this book was that Isabelle is a princess and can be very posh when needed but when she gets around Gordon, she is an average girl. Like when they get caught in the rain, she doesn’t freak out, she runs through it and smiles the whole way.  With Gordon, Isabelle can let her hair down so to speak and just be a woman who is attracted to a man instead of being a princess who lives and breathes the rules for her country.


Gordon has fought for his country and has the mental and physical scars to prove it but being with Isabelle makes these scars less pronounce.  She not only tempts him but also puts him at ease.  I liked how bluntly he tried to teach Isabelle to do things for herself every once and a while.  After learning the secret to why she is visiting the US, he tries to open her mind and tell her how she doesn’t have to do this for her country; that she should do it for herself.  It pulls at Isabelle because she is stuck in this ‘between a rock and a hard place’ limbo and it helps make her character more real and defined.