Saturday, April 27, 2019

Review: Luca by Brenda Rothert

Today we are celebrating the release of LUCA by Brenda Rothert. This is a contemporary romance, standalone, and it is the second title in the Chicago Blaze hockey romance series. Purchase your copy now!

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Luca by Brenda Rothert

Now Available

Chicago Blaze, #2

Purchase on Amazon | Nook | Kobo | Apple Books

Book Blurb:

Abby
I only have one love now—the home furnishings business I’m building into an empire. Maybe money and success can’t love me back, but they keep what’s left of my heart safe. One-night stands are my way of scratching the occasional itch I get for something more. And no one’s better for that than a sexy as sin hockey player I’ll never see again after one very hot night together.
Luca
I used to love two things: hockey and women. But now my nieces and nephew are my top priority, because I’m raising them after tragedy stole their parents. Somehow I balance single parenthood and my career as a forward for the Chicago Blaze. There’s no time for women, until I get knocked on my ass by Abby Daniels. She’s everything I’ve ever wanted, but her devastating past may end us before we even get started.

My Review:

While reading Anton, the first book in the Chicago Blaze series, I was so intrigued by Luca! Luca is Anton’s teammate and friend, but we didn’t know much about Luca except that he was raising his two nieces and his nephew. I was so excited to read his story, and it definitely did not disappoint.

My favorite scenes from Luca was when he was interacting with his nieces and nephew. Luca is the strong, silent type (well he’s not really silent, but he is quiet compared to his teammates!) and I loved reading how he took his brother’s kids and is everything a parent should be. He loves them like they were his own. I loved when they were painting his nails, and when he called one of them peanut. It was so sweet and I honestly just melted into a puddle when he was around them.

I also loved the way he was there for Abby. Man, Abby has been through some stuff! She is a great person, but what she’s been through has changed her. Luca is exactly what she needed to start the process of healing and moving on.

Overall, this book had everything I had come to love from author Brenda Rothert!
 

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Excerpt:
“Hold still, Uncle Luca.”
My niece Emerson gives me her best glare, but she’s five and cute, so it makes me smile.
“I’m trying,” I tell her, checking out the dark purple polish she’s trying to brush onto my nails.
It’s not my inability to hold still that has more nail polish on my skin than my nails; it’s her technique. My “MANicure”, as my two nieces like to call it, started with my ten-year-old niece Cora and was then passed off to Emerson.
“I found yogurt!” Cora says as she breezes into my bathroom. “It’s got strawberries in the bottom, but that’s okay. This face mask will make you smell good, Uncle Luca.”
I try not to roll my eyes. It’ll be better than the last face mask they whipped up in the kitchen, which had butter in it and was a bitch to scrub off in the shower.
“I have to leave for practice in twenty-five minutes,” I remind the girls. “And I still need a shower. So you have ten more minutes to beautify me.”
“Will you paint my nails, too?” Cora asks me.
“Sure.”
I was shit at painting nails when I first became the legal guardian of my two nieces and one nephew a little over a year ago. With practice, though, I’ve gotten pretty damn good at it.
“How long ‘til Gram and Gramps will be here?” Emerson asks, still painting my thumb nail even though she’s looking at me.
“About four hours ‘til their flight lands, then maybe an hour for them to get to the house.”
Her toothless grin of excitement makes me ignore the nail polish I can feel on my knuckle.
“Emerson!” Cora yells. “You ruined it! That looks awful.”
Cora picks up the bottle of purple nail polish and Emerson’s happy expression drops away.
“Give it to me,” Cora huffs, holding out her hand for the handle to the polish. “I never should have let you do it.”
“Hey, now.” I give Cora a sharp look. “She was doing her best.”
Cora’s eyes flood with tears. Emerson edges closer to me, because she knows what happens when Cora gets upset.
“He won’t let us do spa days if you mess it up!” Cora cries, glaring at her younger sister. “You ruined everything!”
“You didn’t ruin anything,” I tell Emerson. “And Cora, I never said we wouldn’t do this again. We can do a big spa day after my road trip, okay?”
Cora wipes her eyes and nods, still crying. It kills me to see her like this. As the oldest, she carries more of the weight from the deaths of her parents than her siblings. We’ve been in counseling for more than a year now, transitioning through the death of their mother, my sister-in-law Danielle, to the kids’ new life with me as their guardian. The clinical terms for what Cora struggles with—anxiety and controlling tendencies—are easier for me to handle than her breakdowns.
The tension leaves the room and Emerson starts my massage, which is pretty much just her karate chopping my shoulders, while Cora slathers strawberry yogurt onto my face.
“Is your shoulder better?” Cora asks me.
“Yep, it’s all good.”
“Think my mashage helped?” Emerson asks from behind me.
She can’t pronounce some words, and I kinda hope that’ll last longer, because it gets me every time.
“It definitely helped,” I tell her.
I tweaked my shoulder at practice yesterday, and Cora noticed me wince when I was taking out the trash last night. She worries about every sinus cold and bruise I get. I can’t blame the kid. Her dad, my brother Matt, died serving in Iraq and her mom passed away from cancer a year later.
“Hey, let’s get your nails painted, Cora,” I say after glancing at my watch. “I’ve only got five minutes til I have to hit the shower.” I turn to Emerson. “Can you go get the nail polish remover, peanut?”
“Okay.” She races from the room, brown curls flying behind her.

--------------

AUTHOR INFORMATION:


Brenda Rothert is an Illinois native who was a print journalist for nine years. She made the jump from fact to fiction in 2013 and never looked back. From new adult to steamy contemporary romance, Brenda creates fresh characters in every story she tells. She’s a lover of Diet Coke, chocolate, lazy weekends and happily ever afters.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Wattpad | Amazon

InkSlinger Blogger Final

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Review: Snitches Get Stitches by Lani Lynn Vale









Good vs Bad.

Light vs Dark.

Right vs Wrong.

There are always two sides to every coin.

Josiah ‘Liner’ Paldecki knew the moment he laid eyes on her that there was something different about her. Something special. Something so unique that it practically poleaxed him the moment that their eyes met.

Except, the next time he saw her, it was like she was a different woman altogether. There was a blankness to her eyes that concerned him. An air of menace about her that honestly scared him to death. He’s more than man enough to admit it.
At first, Liner thinks it’s because she’s bi-polar, or possibly psychopathic.

Then he realizes the truth.

That there isn’t a single person that exhibits such different personalities, but two.

Two identical twin sisters, both completely different, yet exactly the same.

One with a soul, and one without.

One that has his heart, and one that only wants to destroy it.


My Review:

When I first read the synopsis, I knew that I wanted to read the book. I requested it and starting reading an eARC. From the first chapter I was confused and felt like there were key information that I was missing. After doing some research on goodreads, I learned that it was book 8 in the Bear Bottom Guardians MC. I continued reading the story, because it is, in itself its own story. However, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had read the first seven books in the series. I’ll be honest, I wish I knew this before requesting.

Besides that, I did enjoy the two characters, Theodora (Theo) and Josiah (Liner). Theo definitely has gone through a lot, being brought up in a crazy family with a horrible father, brother and twin sister. Her other brother is the only other normal one besides her. Liner was the perfect male for her. He was sweet, caring and supportive. I really loved these two together and they had a wonderful chemistry!


I did enjoy this story, I just wish I knew more of the backstory. I would recommend this story, but I definitely feel you should read the other books in the series first! 

AVAILABLE NOW  

Amazon | Amazon AU | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Kobo | Nook | Apple










Lani Lynn Vale is a USA Today Bestselling Author of over thirty titles. She is married with three children, two dogs, two cats, a donkey, and a couple (a couple also meaning over twenty) chickens.

When she’s not writing, you can find her curled up in her favorite chair reading.


Lani is married with three children and lives in the Great State of Texas.

  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | BookBub  

Review: Eleanor & Grey By Brittainy C. Cherry

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Eleanor & Grey, an all-new beautiful and emotional standalone from Brittainy C. Cherry is available now!

Eleanor & Grey FOR WEB

Greyson East left his mark on me.

As the young girl who first fell for him, I didn’t know much about life. I did know about his smiles, though, and his laughs, and the strange way my stomach flipped when he was near.

Life was perfect…until it wasn’t, and when we were forced to go our separate ways, I held on to our memories, let go of my first crush, and wished for the day I’d find him again.

When my wish came true, it was nothing like I imagined.

I couldn’t have known when I took the nanny position that it would be his children I looked after, that my new boss would be that boy I used to know, that boy who was now a man—a cold, lonely, detached man.

The smile and laugh I had loved so much were gone, now distant memories. Every part of him was covered in a fresh pain.

When he realized who I was, he made me promise to do my job and my job only.

He made me promise not to try to get to know him, not to recall the memories I’d treasured all this time.

But, sometimes, I saw the boy I’d once known in his stormy eyes. I saw the Greyson who smiled and laughed, who had stolen a young girl’s heart, and there was no doubt in my mind that this boy was worth fighting for.

I was given a second chance with the one who’d left his mark on me. All I hoped was that somehow I’d leave a mark on his soul, too.

My Review:
Ok, first off. WOW. I was not expecting such a beautiful, funny, heartwarming story. Everything about this book was so perfect.

Eleanor & Grey is told in two parts. Part I focuses on the two main characters as seniors in high school in 2003 (literally the same as me!) and Part II is written in 2019, when they are both adults. I loved Grey and Ellie so much! I can’t even put it into words!

Eleanor, or Ellie is an introverted, Harry Potter fan. She would much rather be reading at home, cuddled in bed, or hanging out with her mom and dad, then going to parties. Ellie spoke to me. I am Ellie and Ellie is me. I felt so connected to her. Her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, so she’s been going through a lot. Greyson is her opposite, or so people think. He comes off as a happy, go with the flow, popular boy, but he is dealing with a lot. His parents are crappy and he doesn’t have any real connections with anyone. When the two of them become friends, they finally found someone they can be real with and forget about their problems. I loved these two together as teenagers.

When they meet again in 2019, Ellie hasn’t changed much, but Grey is a shell of a man that he used to be. He’s a widow trying to raise two daughters. Ellie and Grey meet again when she’s hired as a nanny to his daughters and I loved watching them reconnect.

I loved the writing. It was so beautiful and flowed nicely. I enjoyed every second of this story. I would love to read more from this author!

I highly recommend this story! Everything about it was amazing!


E&G - AN

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/EleanorGrey
Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2SYJ3dH

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Excerpt:

Eleanor
Thirty-two years old
Greyson’s assistant, Allison, finished giving me a tour of the house. “Okay, I think that’s everything. I’m going to head out now, but go ahead and make yourself comfortable. Get used to the property. Mr. East knows you’re here today, so don’t feel like you aren’t allowed to wander around a bit. If you need anything, my cell number is on the contact list in the book, or you can email me. If nothing comes up, I hope your first day goes well. Claire will be with you Monday to make sure the transition goes smoothly.” I must have looked terrified because as Allison grabbed her coat and purse to leave, she gave me a light squeeze on the shoulder. “You’re going to be fine, Eleanor. Mind over matter. You got this. Let’s touch base later in the week so I can check in on how things are going.” “Sounds great. Thanks, Allison.” After she left, I took a deep breath and flipped through a few pages in the binder. Then, I did a once-through of the house, familiarizing myself with whose room was where. There was something so unsettling about the quietness of Greyson’s home. It was so dark with an odd gloomy feeling attached to it, haunting almost. I didn’t mean dark as in the lighting situation, rather it was the energy level. There was such a heaviness in the space. The place felt like a house, not a home. If I hadn’t known any better, I wouldn’t have believed a family lived there at all. It felt so abandoned, almost like a memory frozen in time. That might’ve just been my own thoughts, thought, due to knowing about the tragedy that had taken place in the lives of the individuals who lived there. With the number of books I’d read, it wasn’t inaccurate to say my mind wandered toward the dramatics. I walked back into the kitchen, flipping through the binder, completely taken aback by the girls’ schedules. Between school, swim lessons, karate, piano lessons, physical therapy, and grief counseling, I wasn’t sure how they found the time to live a little. “Eleanor.” I leaped out of my skin at the sound of my name and turned to see Greyson standing behind me with an empty glass in his hand. He was dressed in a suit and tie, which was so strange to me. Who wore a suit and tie in their own home? I hardly wore pants when I was home alone. “Oh, Greyson, hi. Sorry I’m still here. Allison was just giving me a tour, and she said it was okay to look around a bit more.” “She made me aware.” Wow. He had responded immediately, unlike the first time I saw him. I called that progress. I smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back, and that felt like the oddest thing in the world. The old Greyson had been full of smiles. “It’s a beautiful home,” I stated, unsure what else to talk about. “It’s massive. I swear, it’s like ten times the size of my place.” He blankly stared my way as I shifted from foot to foot. “I love the décor,” I blurted out, and I hated myself the second the words left my lips. Just walk away, Eleanor. Don’t be awkward. “Those throw pillows in your living room are to die for. Where did you get them?” “The interior designer chose everything,” he replied dryly. “Oh, right, of course. My interior designer is normally the clearance section at T.J. Maxx,” I joked. “Or on special occasions, Target.” He didn’t laugh, probably because I wasn’t funny. I wondered when was the last time he’d laughed. Did he ever find anything funny anymore? We kept staring at one another in the most uncomfortable silence, though I didn’t feel as if I could pull myself away from it. I probably stared at him too long, but how could I not? I’d gone fifteen-some years without looking at him. It was understandable that I wouldn’t be able to turn away quickly. The awkwardness of it all finally came to a halt when Greyson cleared his throat. “Eleanor?” “Yes?” “I came for water.” “Oh?” I stared at him like an idiot, wide-eyed like a deer in headlights, waiting for his next words. I stood still as if he were going to expand on his interest in water. Was he offering me a drink? Were we going to sip water and catch up on things? Was I finally going to be able to ask him how he’d become the CEO of his father’s company at such a young age? What had happened to his father? His stare narrowed, and his lips turned down in a displeased fashion. He nodded once. “Hmm?” I asked. He nodded more aggressively this time, gesturing past me. I glanced behind me and realized I was standing right in front of the refrigerator, blocking the water dispenser. I stepped to the side, mentally beating myself up. Idiot. “Oh, right, of course. Well, I think I’m done here, so I’ll see myself out,” I stated, scrambling to grab my binder. “Have a good afternoon.” He didn’t reply, but that wasn’t shocking. I was quickly learning that this new Greyson didn’t have nearly as much to say as the old one.

About Brittainy:
Author Brittainy C. Cherry is an Amazon #1 bestselling author. She has been in love with words since the day she took her first breath. She graduated from Carroll University with a Bachelors Degree in Theatre Arts and a minor in Creative Writing. Her novels have been published in 18+ countries around the world. Brittainy lives in Brookfield, Wisconsin with her fur babies.

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