Review: Crazy Good by Rachel Robinson

Title: Crazy Good
By: Rachel Robinson
My Copy: Amazon.com
Book Whisperer's Rating:

Before there were bikers, or fighters, or even good old-fashioned jerks, there were Navy SEALs. They put the bad in badass because, well…it’s their job.

Navy SEAL Maverick Hart has everything. Women want him. Grown men idolize him. Little boys want to grow up and be like him. The job, the glory—it’s all his. Not because it’s handed to him…because he works hard for it. The second his sights lock on something, he owns it—or destroys it. Unfortunately he does both at the same time.

Windsor Forbes only takes calculated risks in her profession and in her personal life. After being left at the altar by the only person she’s ever loved, the very last thing she’s looking for is a relationship—especially the insane brand an arrogant Navy SEAL is offering. Hesitant, yet trusting to a fault, she gives in.

She knew she shouldn’t take the chance, especially a second time, but love is irrational and their love is perfect, infallible. Or so she thought…

The downfall to having everything is you have that much more to lose. A man like Maverick can’t have it all without something slipping out of grasp.

Crazy people perish for love.

Good people live for it.

Love doesn’t die. No matter how many bullets you put in it.

When I first started reading this book, I remember having a conversation with Jackie saying, “I am not for sure if I am going to like this book or not and that makes me sad.  The first chapter gave away the biggest part of the story…how could he do that to her?!”  Now, after finishing the book, I can gladly say that I am so happy that I continued reading because I would have missed out on an amazing story.

Yes, a bomb is dropped at the very beginning and really, you aren’t even introduced to the characters before it explodes, but I can guarantee that there are more bombs blowing up in this book that will rock your reader world than the one in the beginning.

The best way to explain Maverick and Windsor is that they are the perfect couple with a screwed up past and a rocky future.  Windsor can’t say “I love you” and Maverick can’t trust.  These are the things that hinder them from truly committing and bring forth their rocky future.

I don’t want to say too much but I will say that I found myself loving Maverick and Windsor individually when they were a couple but when they fall apart, I couldn’t stand them (in a good way.)  They were absolute poison to each other apart and the cure for both when they were together.  It’s amazing how Robinson could write them that way.

And Morganna and Stone…*heart breaks*

Cover Reveal: Owning Violet by Monica Murphy

Owning Violet 

By: Monica Murphy

ABOUT OWNING VIOLET (NOT THE FINAL BLURB. BLURB WILL CHANGE):

The Fowler sisters are New York City’s darlings, heiresses to the Fleur Cosmetics Empire. Quickly put up on a fame hungry pedestal only for the media to lie in wait, eager to tear them down, these three very different young women soon find love in the most unexpected places…

OWNING VIOLET coming December 2.

Violet Fowler is the good sister. She works hard at her family’s cosmetics company, is faithful to her boyfriend and never causes any trouble. Until Zachary disappoints her yet again with a promotion that will take him to London—and away from her. His leaving sets a new fire within her. What’s the point in being so good when no one else ever is?

Someone within Fleur Cosmetics wants that London promotion and will do anything to get it, including throwing temptation in the path of the not-so-faithful Zachary. Ryder McKay came from nothing and has fought every step of the way to his position at Fleur. And now the mysterious charmer has set his sights on Violet. If it worked for Zachary, it could work for him. 

Seducing the good Fowler sister is easy. What Ryder doesn’t count on is how much Violet makes him feel. What started out as revenge soon becomes something deeper. Can Ryder go through with his plans to deceive Violet? Or is he only deceiving himself?

Other books in series:

STEALING ROSE coming spring 2015

TAMING LILY coming summer 2015

(tentative release dates)

PRE-ORDER LINKS:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Owning-Violet-Novel-Monica-Murphy-ebook/dp/B00KK0PJCO/

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/owning-violet-monica-murphy/1119221091?ean=9780553393262

ABOUT MONICA MURPHY:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Monica Murphy is a native Californian who lives in the foothills below Yosemite. A wife and mother of three, she writes New Adult and contemporary romance for Bantam and Avon. She is the author of One Week Girlfriend and Second Chance Boyfriend.

Links:

Website: http://www.monicamurphyauthor.com/# 

Blog: http://missmonicamurphy.blogspot.com/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MsMonicaMurphy 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MonicaMurphyauthor 

Author Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5934418.Monica_Murphy  

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Monica-Murphy/e/B00AVPYIGG

OWNING VIOLET Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21965297-owning-violet  

Review: Rock My Bed by Michelle Valentine

Title: Rock My Bed
By: Michelle Valentine
Series: Black Falcon #2
My Copy: Ebook for Review
BookWhisperer Rating:


Everything always seems to fall into place for twenty-four year-old Aubrey Jenson, except for when it comes to her luck with men. Bad boys always draw her in and crush her heart, and Black Falcon’s lead guitarist, Riff, is no exception. After sharing a few wild nights together, she leaves him behind, knowing a guy like Riff isn’t the relationship type, merely just a play thing. 

When she returns to New York, she tries to get the passion she felt in Riff’s arms out of her head by dating Isaac, a successful representative at Center Stage Marketing. Just when she thinks she’s forgotten Riff, she’s forced to see him again when her best friend, Lanie, ropes her into being a bridesmaid for her upcoming wedding to Black Falcon front man, Noel. 

Sparks fly instantly between Aubrey and Riff when they’re forced to reunite, and suddenly she finds herself caught between the man that’s good for her and the one who completely rocks her in every way. 

There are so many amazing books lately that have debut and sequel novels retailing the same story, but approaching from alternate angles. Rock My Bed was a wonderfully twist on this theory. Rock My Bed was the story of the best friends romance. Riff and Audrey take the fore front of this novel, but it is ran side long of the incredible story you experienced in Rock The Heart. So, like the alternate views in debut and sequel of the same romance this was second chance to see the original romance from a very different perspective. I was impressed by this delivery, and it added not only a new excitement, but it also added a bit of reminiscing. Obviously, with this complexity it was a very intense and powerful read. Everything that was felt in book one instantaneously returns, but with the addition of Riff and Aubrey. Riff turns from such a complete and utter ass to one of my favorite people. All of the additional detailed past, and the experience of observing him with Aubrey will turn even the most die hard Noel and Lanie fans will find themselves falling head over heels in love with his character. On the other hand, Ms. Aubrey is impossible not to love. She is very normal average girl just looking for love with all the spice of life that won't end up breaking her. This is a spectacular second book, and an incredible addition to this series.  ~BookWhisperer Reviewer Jax~

Review: On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves

Title: On the Island
By: Tracey Garvis-Graves
My Copy: Ebook for Review
BookWhisperer Rating:

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day.

T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and a stack of overdue assignments -- instead of his friends. 

Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island. Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter.

Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

On The Island is a masterpiece of a love story. T.J. and Anna's story is not one easily accepted. This is a story masterfully created, and is a raw display of talent and creativity. Readers concept and values will
definitely be tested on this adventure, and open mindedness is required. This was really like two stories in one. Following T.J. and Anna survival on this Island was a story all in itself. This naturally should have been the hardest part of the story, but I had no clue what I was walking into. After the rescue these characters enter a much dark and depressing world. I was amazed to acknowledge the desire for the solitude of the Island again. Living our daily lives we are oblivious to the darkness in this world, but it is brought to the forefront in this novel. This was a truly incredible story, and will carry readers with the bows and breaks of emotion throughout. There are just not enough words to clearly express the wonders of this book. 

Review: Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

Title: Love Letters to the Dead
By: Ava Dellaira
My Copy: Ebook from Netgalley
BookWhisperer Rating:

It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was; lovely and amazing and deeply flawed; can she begin to discover her own path.

This is a story about love, death, and the power to move forward. What begins as an English project soon turns into a very healthy alternative to therapy. Laurel is grieving over the loss of her beloved family, but seems to be stuck. Trying to find where she belong is difficult with this help of writing letters to famous dead people she travels the hills and valley of despair. What she discovers is life at the end of this dark tunnel, and slowly but surely the healing she requires to move on. This is sad yet motivating story for the young adult audience.

Cover Reveal: Personal Target by Kay Thomas

Personal Target: An Elite Ops Novel 

By Kay Thomas

AEGIS: an elite team of ex-military men working under the radar of most governments. If you have a problem no one else can handle, they can help.

A former SEAL and Black Ops specialist who left the CIA, Nick Donovan gave up a life on the edge to work in the private sector. But that didn't stop his enemies from coming after him—or his family. In a case of mistaken identity, a drug cartel kidnaps his sister-in-law's best friend … a woman from Nick's past.

One minute Jennifer Grayson is housesitting and the next she's abducted to a foreign brothel. Jennifer is planning her escape when her first "customer" arrives. Nick, the man who broke her heart years ago, has come to her rescue. Now, as they race for their lives, passion for each other reignites and old secrets resurface. Can Nick keep the woman he loves safe against an enemy with a personal vendetta?

http://www.avonromance.com/book/kay-thomas-personal-target

Review: Taming His Tutor by Natalie Tutor

Title: Taming His Tutor
By: Natalie Tutor
My Copy: Ebook from Publisher
BookWhisperer's Review: 

Computer guru Abbi Hayes needs to kick her sex life into overdrive—and she’s designing the perfect App to make it happen. Thanks to all of the self-help bedroom tips she’s accumulating, she’ll be able to go from boring and passive to own-him-now vixen with a couple of swipes of a touch screen. And when former NBA basketball star Joe Fuller offers to help her test out her ‘product,’ how can she say no?

Joe can’t quite believe this temptress-in-training is his formerly shy, geeky ex-math tutor. If Abbi wants to discover her inner vamp, he’ll happily be her how-to guide. But it only takes few face-to-face lessons to realize that underneath the talk, there’s a truly passionate woman begging to be claimed by someone strong. Someone like him.

Maybe it’s time to teach his former teen fantasy a few tricks of his own…

This story was a pleasant surprise for me.  I immediately fell in love with both Abbi and Joe's characters and the plot line that twisted them in and out of each other's lives. 

Abbi and Joe run into each other on the street close to Abbi's office and realize that they know each other from high school.  After a few more run ins, Abbi and Joe strike up a deal...since Abbi tutored Joe for six sessions in high school to catch up on math, Joe will tutor Abbi sx times...but not on the subject of math (if you know what I mean.)

Their chemistry is great and they are absolutely perfect together, except they fight it.  They fight it with all of their might and that is what makes this book so addicting.

Review: Saving His Mate by Savannah Stuart

Title: Saving His Mate
By: Savannah Stuart
Series: A Crescent Moon Story #4
My Copy: Netgalley.com
Book Whisperer's Rating: 

From the moment vampire bounty-hunter Rex Serano meets sexy shifter Margery, he’s smitten. When the alpha of the Kincaid pack asks him to join with them, he’s stunned by the offer, but the real draw is the beautiful, caring female who seems to want nothing to do with him.

Margery is the driving maternal force for her pack and she has one rule: she doesn’t date vampires. Years ago she was nearly killed by rogue vamps and she has no interest in getting involved with one now. No matter how sexy a certain, persistent bounty hunter might be.

When one of Rex’s hunts gets messy, Margery gets caught in the crossfire and he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her. They might be different species but the mating call is undeniable and too strong to ignore. Now they must find a way to reach common ground and trust their instincts if they’re going to fight for a future together.

Did I read book 1-3 in this series? No, but that didn’t stop me from understanding what was going on, so don’t let it deter you.

This book was a nice, little read that swept you up in a supernatural world and kept you there until the end.  It was delightful to read from Rex’s POV when he first laid eyes on Margery and how smitten he was with her.  For Margery, even though she was attracted to him, it wasn’t all sweet, safe feelings.  She gives an insight into her past that allows you to understand why she is hesitant of vampires and what happens to her in this book gives her more reasons to be. 

What I found adorable was the scene where Rex came in and helped Margery out at her bakery…hot guy and sweets, could a girl want anything else?!