Review: House of Kings by Keary Taylor

House of Kings
By Keary Taylor
Series: House of Royals
BookWhisperer Rating:


Alivia’s father left her a letter before he died, begging her to stay away from the King and the Royals. But it was a plea made in vain. She never could have run from this life, not when she might be Cyrus’ resurrected queen. The King has arrived in Silent Bend and with him, he brought the end to Alivia’s mortal life.

Uncontrollable bloodlust and an ever-shifting world rule her nights now. These twisted politics are deadly enough, but now her heart is the newest battleground. There’s no hiding from the one who hates everything she was born to, a spy who embraces everything she’s become, and a King who vies for someone she may soon remember. 

The games have begun. The House of Conrath is growing. Blood will be shed, the bodies will fall. Alliances will be tested and old enemies look like harmless children compared to the new ones rising from the shadows.

House of Kings is book three of Keary Taylor's House of Royals series. Alivia, born royal to the Conrath Estate, has been racing through a very haphazard induction to her throne. Nothing like learning on the job, one would say. She has been thrown into this world of spiteful and vindictive characters. There is a genuine problem finding loyal subjects in a world where everyone will turn on you for the right price. As a true sign of destined leadership she has been swimming in her fatal sink or swim initiation. Surprising Alivia's House of Conrath had seemed to develop a bit of normalcy in the conclusion of House of Pawns. I had said in my review for HOP every character is charming and valuable in their own fashion. This will be short lived as everything I had come to know in the two previous books was abruptly uprooted in HOK. This includes the beloved Alivia, as her character takes on a more dark and dismal personality. It was a bit unnerving to see the manic quality in her dialog as she ventures down this twisted path, but I think it is further expanding this already intricate and exceptional character. The King's arrival promised to complicate already difficult matters, and I was not disappointed. I am even more in love with this story upon concluding this third book, but it as left me yet again uncertain where this story will lead. I will continue to raving and praise Keary Taylor on her talented and creative story lines. This is an author that will always provide a story worthy of five stars. Her House of Royals series keeps you guessing, and teetering in limbo of anticipating with no possibility of prediction. Just when I find myself at the cusp of what I believe is the unveiling of the true direction for this story Keary proves why she is an author not to be trifled with. I never tire of her adventures and suspenseful roller coasters that will accompany every Keary Taylor title.
~The BookWhisperer Reviewer JO~

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Cover Reveal: Too Hot To Handle by Tessa Bailey

TESSA BAILEY REVEALS THE COVER FOR TOO HOT TO HANDLE

 

Rita Clarkson's Suburban takes its last breath on a New Mexico roadside, rescue roars up on a Harley in the form of smooth-talking honkey tonk owner, Jasper Ellis, a man as mysterious as he is charming. Rita's cross-country journey to New York City--with her three estranged siblings in tow--is only beginning, but now that Jasper has found Rita, his plans do not include her leaving. 

 Amazon – http://amzn.to/1PWXTXl 

 B&N – http://bit.ly/24nRnR9 

 iBooks – http://apple.co/1T5bW0Z 

 Kobo – http://bit.ly/1SRy3YC 

 Google Play – http://bit.ly/1QedVxs

About Tessa Bailey:

Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.

Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.

She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of eight years and four-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.

www.facebook.com/tessbailey www.twitter.com/mstessabailey  

Review: Hawke by Sawyer Bennett

Title: Hawke
By: Sawyer Bennett
Series: Cold Fury Hockey #5
My Copy: Ebook from Netgalley.com
The BookWhisperer's Rating: 

Off the ice, elite defenseman Hawke Therrien enjoys his fair share of booze and good times. And why shouldn’t he? He’s worked his way up from the minor leagues and made himself a star. The only thing Hawke misses from that life is the pierced, tattooed free spirit who broke his heart without so much as an explanation. She’s almost unrecognizable when she walks back into his life seven years later—except for the look in her eyes that feels like a punch to the gut.

Vale Campbell isn’t the same girl she was at twenty. As crazy as she was about Hawke, her reckless behavior and out-of-control drinking were starting to scare her. She had to clean up her act, and that would never happen with Hawke around. Cutting him loose was the hardest thing Vale ever had to do—until now. Because she’s still crazy about Hawke. And if he could ever learn to forgive her, they just might have a future together.

I ended this book softly whispering, “yes, please” over and over again.  As if the repetition of the words would somehow turn Hawke into a live human being and at my door.  So I guess you can say based on my repetitive whispering that I loved this book.

I will admit that every Cold Fury book has held a special place in my heart because each are wonderfully written with strong characters, intense love, and beautiful moments.  Hawke was no exception. 

Wow, the way Sawyer laid this book out was extremely cleaver and sucked me right in.  Making Hawke and Vale a blast from the past that is now thrown together under the management of Cold Fury heated some things up.  As a reader, you get these intriguing chapters of the past when Hawke and Vale were young and in love and then the rug gets pulled out from under you when the breakup comes and you don’t know why.  Having this mystery hang over your head is enough to drive you crazy…and when you finally find out…it’s a doozy! 

Their story is beautifully written so that you feel every piece of bitterness and every ounce of love in each page and deep down in your soul you know that they are meant to be together forever – if both of them just realize it before the opportunity passes.

Release Blitz: Fighting Dirty by Lori Foster

We are so excited to bring you the Release Week Blitz for FIGHTING DIRTY by Lori Foster! FIGHTING DIRTY is a Contemporary Romance and is the final installment in Lori Foster’s Ultimate Series. Grab your copy of the conclusion to this sexy series today!

 

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble **iBooks ** Kobo ** GooglePlay ** Books-A-Million

   

Link: https://youtu.be/xSAingxdCSE

  FIGHTING DIRTY Synopsis: He's the hottest MMA fighter in the game, but one woman is ready to try out a few steamy moves of her own in an unforgettable new novel from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster With the life he's led and the muscles he's gained, Armie Jacobson isn't afraid of anything. Except maybe Merissa Colter's effect on him. It's not just that she's his best friend's little sister. Fact is, she deserves better. Women pursue him for one night of pleasure, and that's all he wants to offer. Until rescuing Merissa from a robbery leads to the most erotic encounter of his life. Good girl meets bad boy. It's a story that rarely ends well. But Merissa is taking matters into her own hands. No matter how he views himself, the Armie she knows is brave, honorable and completely loyal. And as past demons and present-day danger collide, they're both about to learn what's truly worth fighting for…      

Merissa loved her brother. She’d always seen him as Superman, larger than life, a rock whenever she’d needed one. He was only a couple of years older than her, but for as long as she could remember he’d seemed grown-up.

Right now, Superman was in her kitchen, insisting on getting her a drink when all she really wanted was the time alone to let go. She knew if she fell apart in front of him, Cannon would never leave her.

He didn’t need to be a savior, not right now.

“Here.” He returned with a cola over ice, urging her to the couch. He smoothed back her hair, his gaze drawn to the bruise. Yes, it hurt. But the physical discomfort was nothing compared to the fear.

And here she’d promised herself, long ago, that she’d never again let herself be that type of victim.

But this fear—it was more about Armie standing in front of her, using himself as a shield. Risking his own life.

Willing to die.

“Take these.” Cannon handed her two aspirin.

She tried a teasing smile. “This feels so familiar.”

He stalled, then shook his head. “Don’t think about that.”

She couldn’t help herself. They’d lost their dad when she was only sixteen. As the owner of a neighborhood bar he’d resisted the extortion of local thugs, refusing to pay their demanded fees for “protection.” Late one night when he’d been closing, men had come in and beaten him to death.

Devastated but determined, their mom had nearly worked herself into her own grave trying to keep them afloat. Merissa could remember it all like yesterday. The goons wanted her mother to sell but she’d refused.

Until some of those goons had cornered Merissa on her way home from school.

“It’s all the same. You coddling me, being the strong one for both of us.”

“You were a kid then.”

“You’re only two years older than me,” she reminded him with a shoulder bump. “You were a kid then, too.”

“Maybe. I remember feeling so damned helpless.”

“Like you feel now?” She knew her brother, knew he wanted to make things right for her when that wasn’t his responsibility. “I’m not a kid anymore, Cannon. I can handle it.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do,” she told him gently. “Because I don’t want my big brother stuck taking care of me again.”

He folded her hand into his own. “You know I enjoy it, right?”

Her laugh sounded pitiful. But she still remembered how her mother had given in because of her. Cannon had found those men, and even at eighteen he’d made them pay with his fists—because of her.

She’d influenced him into becoming a fighter.

And it was because of her that he’d formed the neigh­ 

borhood watch. Everyone loved Cannon, but no one could love him more than she did.

“Superman,” she teased. “This time, I promise I can take care of myself.”

A slight knock on the door made her jump.

“It’s just Armie,” Cannon said with a squeeze to her shoulder. “I’ll let him in.”

Nodding, she again thought of the way Armie had stood in front of her, willing to block bullets if neces­sary.

Emotion welled up, choking her, killing her.

She quickly took the aspirin and tried to get herself together.

Armie peeked in cautiously, saw her on the couch and came in farther. “She okay?”

“Yes,” Merissa and Cannon said at the same time.

Armie gave a slight, tilted smile. “Hey, Stretch.” He came over to her, laid her keys on the coffee table, then winced at the darkening discoloration on her jaw.

“I bruise easily,” she explained. “By tomorrow it’s going to look worse, believe me. But it was just a slap. I doubt you guys would have even noticed.”

Armie crouched down in front of her. “Hey, you’re not a fighter, hon.”

She liked it when he called her something other than Stretch. Something affectionate. “No kidding.” She hadn’t fought at all; fear and the furious beating of her heart had kept her malleable and weak. It infu­riated her. “I may be big, but I lack muscle.” And guts.

“Tall,” Armie corrected. “You’re tall, but far from big. More like…”

“What?”

He thought about it. “Delicate.”

A genuine smile took her by surprise. So Armie Ja­cobson saw her as delicate? Huh.

Knowing she needed to get this over with, Merissa took another drink, then set her glass aside and stood.

Armie slowly did the same, his cautious gaze never leaving her. Cannon stood near him, strangely quiet. They both watched her as if expecting her to lose it at any second.

And maybe she would—if she didn’t have an audi­ence.

And don’t miss the previous books in the Ultimate Series!

HARD KNOCKS

NO LIMITS

HOLDING STRONG

TOUGH LOVE

      About Lori Foster: Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martin’s, Harlequin, Silhouette, Samhain, and Berkley/Jove. She is currently published with HQN. Visit her online at LoriFoster.com.      

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS | PINTEREST | YOUTUBE

   

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Review: Fighting Dirty by Lori Foster

Title: Fighting Dirty
By: Lori Foster
Series: Ultimate #4
My Copy: Netgalley.com
The BookWhisperer's Rating: 

 With the life he's led and the muscles he's gained, Armie Jacobson isn't afraid of anything. Except maybe Merissa Colter's effect on him. It's not just that she's his best friend's little sister. Fact is, she deserves better. Women pursue him for one night of pleasure, and that's all he wants to offer. Until rescuing Merissa from a robbery leads to the most erotic encounter of his life.

Good girl meets bad boy. It's a story that rarely ends well. But Merissa is taking matters into her own hands. No matter how he views himself, the Armie she knows is brave, honorable and completely loyal. And as past demons and present-day danger collide, they're both about to learn what's truly worth fighting for…

I have been waiting for Armie’s story for a long time AND I FINALLY GOT IT! The whole book was everything I have wanted and more – worth the wait.  They have been dancing around each other for a while and it was great to read how their story played out.

While this can be read as a standalone, I wouldn’t suggest it because you will love the other books before it as well.  All of the characters in the older books play a huge part in this book so it was nice to see what the old crew was up to but wonderful to read about Armie and Merissa.  Also, reading how these men are all alpha-males, protective, sexy, and sweet plays a big role into why you should read this series.

Oh, their beautiful love!  While I knew walking into this book Armie didn’t think he is good enough for Merissa, I didn’t know what hard-core pursuer Merissa was going to be.  She kinda rocked it.  Every time Armie tried to turn away in the beginning of the relationship or fade away while in the middle of it, Merissa always pulled him back.  She reached in and lit a fire in his soul that burned bright for only her.  And it was hard because there was a lot of self-doubt that Armie carried around.  He wanted Merissa to have the best and he didn’t think he was the best.  He wanted her safe and now that he was in the spotlight, a lot of scary events start to happen.  While he pushed and pulled her, Merissa held on tight because she knew that her love with Armie was exactly what she wanted.

While I loved everything about this story, the suspense, the drama, and the love, I particularly loved Merissa’s pull on Armie.  He physically fought in and out of the ring but Merissa fought for their relationship.  Armie doubted and Merissa knew what they could have and worked hard so that it would last. 

Their story was beautiful and I can’t wait to continue this series with the rest of the Ultimate crew.

Review: Wrecked by Sherilee Gray

Title: Wrecked
By: Sherilee Gray
Series: Axle Alley Vipers #3
My Copy: Ebook from Publisher
The BookWhisperer's Rating: 

He's driving her crazy...

Piper West is finally on her own, and it's time to get crazy. Except that her overprotective big bro has enlisted his ex-cop best friend to keep an eye on his baby sister. With every move monitored and reported back, Piper's life has gone from "going crazy" to "being driven crazy." But a searing-hot kiss with her sexy and scarred watchdog is just the game-changer she needs...

Cole Black owes Piper's brother big-time, but there's nothing easy about his new assignment. Piper is all feisty sexiness and curves meant to tempt a man beyond reason, and Cole can't stop himself. Now he's caught up in a hunger like nothing he's ever known, and he can't get enough...

Even if Piper's the one girl he's not allowed to have.

This was my first book by Sherilee Gray and I found myself really enjoying it.  So much so that I am completely interested in the first two books in this series since I jumped right into the middle of Axle Alley Vipers. 

I can tell you that everything about this book made me happy.  Piper was the perfect mixture of sass, wit, and kindness.  And Cole was superb all the way around and a dirty talker.  He has always wanted Piper but has stayed away as long as he could.  Now, back at home, he finds himself watching over her as a favor for his friend, Piper’s brother.  Since Piper has loved Cole since the beginning of time, she hatches a plan to bust down his walls and this involves enticing him in all ways possible – which was so fun to read.  But it is not as easy as one would believe.  Cole has some baggage and is having a hard time seeing past the guilt that he harbors. He doesn’t feel worthy of Piper so he pushes her away until he can no longer take it.  This part, my friends, is when it starts getting really good. Cole and Piper are so steamy together.  I seriously zipped through these pages because they were eatable.  They are the definition of perfect even when they are fighting. 

I did like that there was more to the story than just Piper and Cole and their love.  Someone is harassing Piper and she is keeping it a secret from her brother and Cole.  Cole is fighting his guilt and it is a battle that is too big for him to take on by himself.  It made the whole book more interesting.