A fabulous allegorical short story about love and loss written in the impeccable style of Alexis Hall. It broke my heart but i'm glad I read it and I can't recommend it enough. My review. Add to Goodreads. 

Buy from Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Riptide 

Synopsis

Tension sizzles in this new book in the One-Eyed Jacks series by New York Times bestseller Cindy Gerard: a sexy, pulse-pounding story featuring special ops agent Jamie Cooper and a female cyber analyst as they fight for justice and fall in love.

No commitments, no promises, no looking back. Those are her rules. They used to be his rules, too. Counterterrorism operative and shameless playboy Jamie Cooper has gone head-to-head with some formidable opponents, but none so quick-witted, free-spirited, and smokin’ hot as security analyst Rhonda Burns. She lives up to her name, all fiery passion and zero inhibitions. 

In the wake of a sniper attack that leaves a close friend clinging to life, the duo is pegged to undertake the One-Eyed Jacks’ latest security mission alone—an assignment that leads them to a top-secret desert military facility. Almost immediately, the sexual tension that has been brewing for months erupts, blindsiding Rhonda and Jamie with the intensity of their feelings. They try to play it cool, but when an elite terrorist team makes the future uncertain, they ask themselves: is it now or never?



Why am I waiting for this? - I read the previous book in the series when it came out last winter and i have been  waiting for this one ever since. I enjoy a good romantic suspense involving military men and in this case, a military woman as well, so it should be good read for me.  

Teaser Tuesday - hosted by Miz B
at Should be Reading  

Top Ten Tuesday - hosted at The Broke and the Bookish

Waiting on Wednesday - hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine

Nia Martins believes a fresh start will help her leave her traumatic past behind. Moving to a different country, she seeks to shake off her demons by doing the one thing that sets her free from her destructive thoughts – teaching dance. But change doesn't come easy, and all Nia really wants is to take the next breath without the perpetual suffocation that follows.

Reeves Mitchell has looked death in the eyes so many times it’s become habitual. That is, until his best friend's life was on the line. When the one thing he feared the most turns into reality, all he can do is pick up the pieces of his loss. As Reeves tries to live with the constant thought of “what if” gnawing at the back of his mind, he persistently and steadily builds a thick wall around himself.

Their solitary lives are all they have—until fate brings them together. Nia and Reeves’ new friendship helps make life, shadowed by the ghosts of their past, more bearable. But as their relationship deepens and new, suppressed feelings emerge between them, are they willing to retrace their steps back to where wounded hearts can be broken once more?

Review

This is my first book by this author and I was drawn to it by the beautiful cover and the premise of a romance between a dancer with a broken soul and a dangerous, tortured hero What a got was a nice, albeit passionate romance but I felt the story lack depth to be a more memorable read. 

It's told from dual POV which I quite liked since we get to be in the head both of Nia and Reeves. Their voices were rather distinctive and revealed their background and personalities quite well.

There is a lot of telling in this story and not enough showing. We learned certain facts from the character's background but they are told as simple facts and their impact in the characters' present was not shown. Nia's dancing was supposed to be central to the story but it didn't feel that way to me - she could have been doing anything else. On the other side, Reeves' military/FBI past was rather violent but it was also toned down a lot. The emphasis was just on their growing attraction and it didn't feel very authentic to me

They both developed feelings for one another beyond the strong chemistry and lust, yet they kept denying them at every occasion, both to themselves and to the others. It was immature and it didn't fit two grown-up with turbulent pasts and some/considerable life experience.

There a bunch of secondary characters appearing in this story - some with considerable page time, others - just making a brief appearance. They were interesting but didn't add much to the story of Nia and Reeves. I was particularly annoyed with Kate, Reeves' best friend's sister. She was this shy girl with a crush on Reeves, then we see her acting completely out of character, being mean and spiteful and doing some crazy things.

The story started, the prologue especially was very powerful, but things slowed down considerably towards the middle. Both Nia and Reeves were stuck, not admitting their true feelings. This said, the book ended on a positive note with a great epilogue.

Overall, it was a nice read, though it had a bit too New Adult feel to it - a lot of angst and some melodrama. I expected a more adult romance with deeper/darker emotions but fans of stories with tortured, broken heroes and heroines finding their HEA, should give this story a try. I believe they will enjoy it more than me.

Purchase link: Amazon

Add to Goodreads

My rating: 3.5 stars

Review

Purchase link: Amazon

Goodreads Blurb

Scenes from the City (Knitting in the City #5.5)

aka... the Festivus Surprise

100% of proceeds go to Toys for Tots.

This book cannot be read as a standalone. It is a collection of short scenes following the ladies from the 'Knitting in the City' series and will only be available in eBook format from December 1 - December 15, 2014.

'Neanderthal Seeks Honeymoon' - Janie and Quinn

'Friends Definitely With Benefits' - Elizabeth and Nico

'Hacking the Hacker' - Sandra and Alex

'Beauty and the Beard' - Ashley and Drew

'Ninja at First Sight' - Fiona and Greg

Mini Review

Scenes from the City, aka Festivus Surprise is a collection of  5 short stories about the already published four books in the Knitting in the City series and the upcoming release of book 5, Happily Ever Ninja. 

I loved all the snippets into our favourite knitting club ladies and the men in their lives. The stories are written with the trademrk sense of humour of Ms Reid and her appreciation of the awkward . They read easily and all show the characters in all their awesomeness. 

We get at glimpse of Janie and Quinn on their honeymoon - and as can be expected with these two, it's full of passionate lovemaking and the wierdest/funniest conversations in the meantime. 

Sandra and Nico's story is tender and touching and absolutely loved it. There is more seriousness to it, even some sadness but it's also beautiful and intimate.

Sandra and Alex show their love for one another in the most unconventional way which is also they only way they both know how and while most people would find it strange, even unacceptable, it works well for them. 

Now, what can I tell you about Ashley and Drew? I loved their story the best - it's so full of raw passion and deep emotion. It made me want to go back and re-read Beauty and the Mustache for more Drew deliciousness.  I'm sure it will stay with me for a long time. 

In the final snippet with get to meet the young Fiona and Greg while they are in college. They both seem intriguing characters, especially him, and I'm now getting really impatient to read their story. 

This book is available for pre-order for 0.99$ on Amazon and will be available for purchase only between 01 and 15 December 2014. A recommdended read, one which I'm sure, fans of the series will enjoy a lot.

Pre-order link: Amazon

Synopsis 

Keep your friends close—and your enemies closer....

Bar owner Raina Harper can’t say for sure what Duncan Welch is to her. With her small Nevada town under siege by a ruthless casino development and still reeling from a spate of murders, she knows that trusting the public face of the corporate invaders is risky to say the least. Though, damn, it’s one fine-looking face.…

Duncan may be a mercenary when it comes to getting the job done, but he’s no villain. In fact, the calculating fixer soon finds himself in the bad guys’ crosshairs, framed and facing professional ruin. To clear his name, he’ll need help from Raina and her roughneck motorcycle club, the Desert Dogs. Gaining their trust won’t be easy, and the molten sexual tension between Raina and Duncan only makes things more complicated—especially since Miah Church, Raina’s friend and ex-lover, would sooner strangle Duncan than shake his hand.

One thing’s certain, though: If they don’t deal with their incendiary attraction soon, the whole damn town might go up in flames.…



Why am I waiting for this? - Cara McKenna is a favourite author of mine. She writes intense erotic stories which I absolutely love. The first book in this series, Lay It Down, was a 5-star read for me and I don't expect any less of this one. Duncan was not my favourite person in book 1 and I feel bad for Raina choosing him over Miah but I hope that Ms McKenna can win me over on their side.
Aaaand, Ms McKenna will be giving us a novella of Miah and Raina when they were together. I can't tell you how excited all this makes me. You can read more about this over at Wonk-o-Mance.

Once the golden boy of the English literary scene, now a clinically depressed writer of pulp crime fiction, Ash Winters has given up on love, hope, happiness, and—most of all—himself. He lives his life between the cycles of his illness, haunted by the ghosts of other people’s expectations.

Then a chance encounter at a stag party throws him into the arms of Essex boy Darian Taylor, an aspiring model who lives in a world of hair gel, fake tans, and fashion shows. By his own admission, Darian isn’t the crispest lettuce in the fridge, but he cooks a mean cottage pie and makes Ash laugh, reminding him of what it’s like to step beyond the boundaries of anxiety.

But Ash has been living in his own shadow for so long that he can’t see past the glitter to the light. Can a man who doesn’t trust himself ever trust in happiness? And how can a man who doesn’t believe in happiness ever fight for his own?

Review

I have the hardest time reviewing books that I really love. And this is definitely one of them. I also made the mistake a reading all the info on the book Mr. Hall has shared on his website, together with the blog tour posts and all this additional insight into the story of Ash and Darian just made me love it more and further complicated my efforts to write a constructive review.

It's Mr. Hall's debut novel, a fabulous m/m romance beautiful and skillfully told. I'm alrady a big fan of his writing style (I read Prosperity before this one) this story stole my heart.

The story of Ash and Darian is moving and real without being melodramatic. It's told solely from Ash's POV and his voice is dark and pained but also captivating in its honesty and rawness. He is a bipolar depressive writer and his illness/issues affect everything he does. The story shows his journey to accepting that he is allowed to search for happiness. It's scary how much I could relate to some of his thoughts and fears (and I thought I was a well-adjusted and optimistic person). He is not a nice guy and it's not just because of his illness, it's beacuse of his life, I think. At the same time, there is so much vulnerablity to him. Very much like Milord in Prosperity, Mr. Hall has managed to make me care deeply and sympathise with the villan/bad guy in the story. Though, unlike Milord, I think Ash mostly is lost and he hurts the others mostly without meaning to do it, though he also has his moments of cruelty.

Darian, oh Darian! He is unqiue, flamboyant, full of life, hope, a total opposite to Ash. There is a strong emphasis throughout the story of how different Ash and Darian are, yet they compelent each other perfectly. I do not really belive that opposites attract and I think that two people need to have a common ground in order to make a relationshop work. Yet, Ash and Darian manage to be happy together despite their difference. Ash admires Darian for his lack of inhibitions, his fearlessness, his desire to live life to the fullest. He is in way what Ash wants to be. 

I loved Niall and even though he was all wrong for Ash and see him as an overall good guy who is quite unlucky in love. The romantic in me beleive, even though it was not explicitly stated in the book, that  finally he got his love reciprocated with the most handsome guy he met in the bar.

The book ends with a HFN ending, which absolutely fits Ash and Darian. There is a follow-up short story, which the author insists is not an Epilogue, but more of completion of Ash and Darian coming together coupled with some passionate sexy times. Glitterland: Aftermath is availabe for free on the Riptide site.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romantic story beautifully told. There is a lot of emotion, some drama and some angst and a ton of glitter to counter Ash's dark thoughts. One of the best books of the year for me, but I'm partial since I absolutely love everythign Alexis Hall writes.

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Riptide

Synopsis

When “crazy” runs in your family and your namesake is known for walking into a river with a pocket full of rocks, a girl kind of wants to avoid tempting fate at all costs. For Virginia Nichols, the only way to dodge that bullet is to be perfect at everything: school, student council, life. Too bad it’s all a lie, and underneath the perfection...Virginia is lost. 

Ryder Blackstock knows a thing or two about being born into fate. The talents passed down from his father aren't exactly normal; instead of learning how to throw a fastball, he was taught to hot-wire a car like a pro and pick any pocket in sight. He’s got criminal blood, just like his old man. And as soon as he turns eighteen, he’ll be living life on the run with his dad.

When Ryder and Virginia meet on the beach, it seems they couldn't be more different. Soon they discover they’re both trapped in their lives—Virginia denying her fate, Ryder embracing his. Like the rocks in Virginia Woolf’s pockets, the weight of their destinies will pull them under. But being together brings out pieces of themselves they didn't know existed—pieces that make them want to take fate into their own hands and rewrite their destinies...if it’s not too late.

I've slowed down my reading a bit due to going back to work full-time, so have only book recommendation this month - Complicated Creatures: Part II by Alexi Lawless.

Genre/Themes: Romantic Suspense, Military

My rating 4.5 stars, review to come

Add on Goodreads

Buy on Amazon