Review: Truly, Madly, Deeply, You by Cecilia Robert

Title: Truly, Madly, Deeply, You
Author: Cecilia Robert
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Inkspell Publishing (Mar. 21st 2012)
Get it: Inkspell Publishing

Goodreads Synopsis
Four days before Valentine’s Day, Liese Hansfeld is determined to shut the door to her house, as well as her heart, for her annual four days of mourning her one true love. Little does she know her best friend Freytag Meier is just as determined to keep her from her ritual. He’s ready to pick the lock to her apartment door and camp in her living room if that’s what it takes.

What Freytag isn’t prepared for is the surge of deep-rooted emotions he feels for Liese, but two things stand in his way: the grief and guilt she still clutches close to her heart, and a man who threatens to snatch Liese from under Frey’s watchful eye. Frey is determined to distract her into forgetting her pain. But is that enough to ease her grief, or help her see he can be more than her best friend?


REVIEW

Truly, Madly, Deeply, You is a very sweet and heartwarming story. Liese has been having a very difficult time the past two years after a tragic accident occurs in her life...changing it forever. The four days leading up to Valentine's Day are always the toughest for her to deal with though. Frey, Liese's best friend since they were kids, has decided enough is enough and he plans to spend those four days with her whether she likes it or not because he can't bear to see her hurting anymore. That's when he notices that things are worse than he realized. What neither of them are aware of is that their feelings for each other have moved past the friendship stage but even so, Liese is afraid of losing yet another person that means everything to her so she denies her feelings for Frey.

With everything that Liese had gone through those two years ago, I did feel that she was a strong woman but she wasn't perfect. The guilt she felt was slowly destroying her. I was glad that she wasn't trying to push everyone away ... except, of course, for the four days every year that she set aside to mourn. Frey, gosh, I love him. :) He is everything a girl could want in a best friend. He refuses to let her spiral out of control, he knows her better than most, he's very caring, and he'll do whatever it takes to help her.

The story is nicely told and I was immersed in it from the go. What I did notice from this story, compared to other romances that I've read, is there is no major conflict that the main characters have to fight through to get where they are destined to be. Sure, there is another guy hoping to snag Liese's heart but no major conflict occurs. I rather enjoyed it surprisingly. It was different and the story stayed focused on Frey and Liese. Oddly enough, it kind of reminded me about how you might watch a movie and there is a subplot that you'd really rather just fast forward through so that you can get back to the romance aspect. Well this book gave me what I wanted without adding in something that takes you away from Liese's and Frey's story.

About the only thing that I could have wished for is...more. This book was a quick read for me and I would have loved there to be more to the story. Still, I enjoyed it very much and would certainly be interested in reading more from Cecilia Robert in the future.

 ** I received an eARC copy of the book from Inkspell Publishing.**

Find Cecilia Robert Online
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Review: To Seduce a Rogue by Tracy Sumner

Title: To Seduce a Rogue
Author: Tracy Sumner
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services (Feb. 5th 2012)
Get it: Amazon 

NOTE:  Story is for mature readers due to some sexual content.

Goodreads Synopsis
He challenged her legacy.
She challenged him to love.

In 1850s South Carolina, ladies with ambition and a penchant for wearing trousers are rare indeed. But that’s Charlotte Whitney all over. Not only does Charlie yearn to resurrect her late father’s newspaper, she wants to be its editor. That position, however, has been handed to Richmond newspaperman Adam Chase. Undeterred, Charlie convinces Adam to teach her the journalism trade. In doing so, she teaches him how to open his heart.

Adam Chase had one goal in mind: to return Edgemont’s newspaper to its former glory and then make tracks back to the big city. But he faces one very tempting obstacle in outspoken Charlie Whitney. The newsroom becomes the battleground for a war between the sexes—until Adam surrenders to Charlie’s sultry charms. Together, they discover that the power of the press doesn’t hold a candle to the power of love.



REVIEW 

Charlie Whitney grew up working alongside her father at his newspaper. She's very intelligent, well read and has a mind of her own. She doesn't really care what a proper lady should be doing. She's happy the way she is. When her father dies, the newspaper is turned over to Adam Chase, who only wants to get the newspaper back to the greatness it once was but he never expected he'd have to deal with someone like Charlie. 

Adam and Charlie clash from the start, of course, because Charlie's angry that Adam is there in the position of editor, which she very much wanted and is very capable of handling. It was fun seeing them butt heads with one another, frustrating them both.

Charlie feels that she doesn't need a man in her life, that she's quite capable of taking care of herself, and the newspaper, and Adam has a difficult past that makes him afraid to fall in love. So despite the obvious attraction they feel for each other, they fight it practically ever step of the way! But both of them have meddlesome friends in the form of Miles and Kath Lambert. There were some small segments in the story that went back to Miles and Kath that didn't seem particularly necessary to the story but were certainly entertaining. 

I very much enjoyed To Seduce a Rogue! I thought it was very well written with very few, very minor errors. The story moves along nicely and it contains just enough description to feel like you are right there with these characters. The one thing that I would have liked a little more detail about is Eaton, Adam's brother. You're told very little about what happened to him and I would have liked a little more since what happened is one of the things that defines who Adam is.

I look forward to reading more from Tracy Sumner. 

Find Tracy Sumner Online
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Review: Emotionally Charged by Selina Fenech

Title: Emotionally Charged
Author: Selina Fenech
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, YA
Publisher: Fairies and Fantasy Pty Ltd (Nov. 1st 2011)
Get it: Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

Goodreads Synopsis
Livvy always dreamed of the day when a rich, handsome hero would appear and whisk her away from her mundane life. She never thought she would be the one doing the saving.

Reading the emotions of people around her is easy for Livvy. When an earthquake strikes her city, a supernaturally attractive group of rescuers show her that her power goes beyond that. She’s now one of them. Special. But the dream life she’s been swept into seems too easy, and soon turns into a nightmare.

REVIEW

I have to say that I really liked the premise of Emotionally Charged. You have Livvy who seems like your typical teenager but with one exception, she can tell what people around her are feeling. She's never told anyone about that fact because she just wants to fit in but at the same time she's bored with her life. She craves romance, excitement, danger. Really she wants to be a hero and be appreciated. When an earthquake hits, her adventure begins.

Livvy unexpectedly meets a group of people just like her and she desperately wants to be apart of their group because she believes that with them she will finally have the life she's wanted. But all isn't as she expected.

Now I really enjoyed Selina's take on what being an empath meant and I liked the character of Livvy and how, despite how badly she wanted an exciting life, there were limits to what she would do to achieve it. Though there was a moment when she allowed herself to do something that she'd never under normal circumstances do, she quickly realized that if that is what it takes to get what she wants, it's not worth it.

Livvy meets Dean, whom I liked, and an unlikely friendship is formed. It was nice to finally see Dean open up to Livvy about his life, his past, and his feelings, which he hid from everyone including Livvy.

Now although I did like the story it felt like it started off slow to me but it did pick up. And the end ... well, it seemed to end in the middle of a conversation. I turned the page and there was no more story. I honestly wondered if what I was reading was a finished version or not but I got it from Smashwords and there was nothing there that stated it wasn't a complete work. So I was disappointed about that. I really felt like there could, and should, have been more. There were some loose ends that truthfully needed to be resolved.

I have since learned, from seeing a reply to a post on Selina's site that she does in fact plan to write more for this series. She stated: "I’ll be releasing a short story about Emma from the Empath Chronicles before getting into the hard work of the next full novel." I'm very glad to hear that!

Find Selina Fenech Online
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Review: A Taste for a Mate by Carrie Ann Ryan

Title: A Taste for a Mate
Author: Carrie Ann Ryan
Genre: Paranormal Erotic Romance
Publisher: Carrie Ann Ryan (Feb. 1st 2012)
Get it: Amazon | B&N

NOTE: Book suited for mature readers, 18+, due to sexual situations and some language.

Goodreads Synopsis
Jasper Jamenson’s only responsibility to being the Beta of the Redwood Pack, second son of the Alpha, is to protect the Pack from themselves and the human world. After a century of selfless service, his brother’s new found mating forced him into taking a good look into his life. He isn’t sure he wants a mate, but fate may have other ideas.

Willow Delton is a skinny, bakery owner – the type most woman love to hate. Being without family, she finds herself alone to the Greek god with green eyes who saunters into her bakery every morning. Her desire to follow him, to be with him, overrides every rational sense she possessed.

Jasper and Willow are drawn together, despite every nuisance that works against them. But evil beyond even Jasper’s supernatural compensation will make war against him, by going after the only thing in his eternal life he desires – Willow. Is Willow’s heart enough to overcome Jasper’s soul to save her life? A fight he cannot win, but to save her life – he must.


REVIEW

I love paranormal romances and next to vampires, werewolf stories are my favorite! This book had a nice amount of action, whether in wolf form or not! There were some suspenseful moments which I think were actually my favorite parts, even more so than the romance aspect of the book ... though those weren't too bad either! ;)

Although I did like the characters of Willow and Jasper, I felt at times that Willow's self-doubt was a little off-putting. Hey, I can relate to that myself and I like when books have a female character that isn't all "I'm perfect and I know everyone loves me, and I can kick your ass, blah, blah, blah." But even though Willow originally suspects that Jasper was forced to accept her as his mate, and despite Jasper telling her that's not true, she still doubts his love for her at one point and I didn't like that. Sure, that led to another suspenseful portion of the story but it annoyed me a bit! I felt like smacking Willow upside the head and telling her to wake up. LOL

Apart from the fact that of the Jamenson brothers, this story focuses on Jasper, I rather liked Jasper's brother Adam! I'm not saying I didn't like Jasper but for some reason, I just really liked Adam's involvement in the story. Maybe that was because of Adam's history which you learn a little bit about. Being that A Taste for a Mate is book two in the Redwood Pack series and I've not read book one yet, I'm not familiar with the character of Adam (or any of the others) more than what this book delved into!

Now, I'm no expert here but I felt that Carrie Ann had a different style of writing than what I'm familiar with. Or maybe it was more that she had a different way with words. As I've already said, I did enjoy the story itself but I do feel it could have been better. There were instances of repetition of words or phrases that I felt weren't necessary. I also came across quite a few mistakes that although don't usually interfere with my reading experience, I think in this case it did hinder my enjoyment of it a little bit. Despite that, I certainly would not mind reading the other books in the Redwood Pack series. In fact, I look forward to it because I would love to read about the rest of the Jamenson family! Plus, not everything in A Taste for a Mate was resolved, in fact, the story kind of left you hanging and I have to know what happens! :)

Find Carrie Ann Ryan Online
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I received a copy of A Taste for a Mate from the author for a giveaway she conducted on Twitter, which I won.

Review & Giveaway: All's Fair in Vanity's War by Elizabeth Marx

Title: All's Fair in Vanity's War
Author: Elizabeth Marx
Genre: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, YA
Publisher: Elizabeth Marx (Oct. 23rd 2011)
Get it: Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

Goodreads Synopsis
Salem’s always held sinister secrets. No one understands this better than a sixteen-year-old girl who dies on Halloween night and is reborn a Seer.

The Seer can’t imagine anything worse than being an invisible teenager with enormous black wings. Until she finds out she’s been sacrificed to watch over Locke’s new flame.

Locke Cavanaugh is a Druid, and part of the Order, a clandestine organization entrusted with keeping its members cloaked in the Ordinary world. Physically scarred from the accident that took his girlfriends life, Locke is searching for the OtherWorldly magic that damaged him, because only those without blemish can rule the Order. And once at the helm of the Order he has every intention of finding those responsible for her death.

On the West Coast, Keleigh Flaherty witnesses her parents’ murder by beasts that should only exist in nightmares. She is whisked off to the safety of Salem, where she learns how potent and dangerous her concealed Vate talents are. Keleigh wants to be Ordinary, but when her mother reaches out from the OtherWorld, and implores her to find a forgotten relic she’ll have to use all her ExtraOrdinary powers to locate it.

As Locke and Keleigh join forces, they unravel the Order’s involvement in the witch hysteria and murmurs of a Celtic prophecy. While Locke’s affection for Keleigh blooms, The Seer is torn between her duty to protect Keleigh, and her desire to stop Locke from making the ultimate sacrifice in order to earn Keleigh’s love . . .

But if they don’t find the witches bottle before the ShiningOnes do, someone stalking Keleigh from the shadows will take her instead and plunge all worlds into chaos.


REVIEW 

Although Keleigh is aware magic exists, she'd promised her mother that she wouldn't use magic nor would she remove a necklace that cloaks the real her from Ordinary people. But after receiving a message from her mother, whom she thought dead, from the OtherWorld, she is charged with locating and protecting a relic that neither her nor Locke know how to find. And they only have a limited time in which to locate it. 

With the help of the Wyrd Sisters (the maiden, the mother and the crone) she is taught as much as possible about who she is and how to harness her magic. And between her, Locke, Madi (her best friend) and Wiz (Locke's best friend) they search for information that will help them in their quest.

I really enjoyed the magic and the mythology in this book. It's choke full of adventure, mystery, suspense, and a bit of romance. And plenty of magic!

The characters are great! There are so many characters in which to love and some you just can't help but hate. I love the interaction between Locke and Keleigh. Despite her best attempts at keeping Locke at a distance, Keleigh can't help but be drawn to him. And I love how cocky Locke is at times but yet, he's very sweet as well. Madi, Keleigh's best friend, is a fun character. She tells it like it is no matter who she's talking to. Plus, she can see and communicate with the Seer where Keleigh and Locke can not. There are just so many interesting characters in the book ... druids, vates, bards, cluricaunes, fairies, boggarts and other OtherWorldly beings. If you like paranormal and/or fantasy stories, I definitely recommend this! 

Being that I never used to enjoy reading until a couple years ago, I really like reading a book that I feel I've learned something from it. With All's Fair in Vanity's War I learned a lot! And not just about Celtic mythology either. I hate to admit it but there were quite a few words that I had to look up the definition of. LOL I don't know whether that would turn some people off or not but I certainly did not find the writing boring.

Now, I did actually find quite a few mistakes in the book. Maybe had there not been so many I may have actually given the book a higher rating. But I do feel that the story was interesting and exciting enough to make up for the mistakes. There were times, however, when I was a little confused because the story is told from the Seer's point of view and she's never named, other than being known as the Seer. So sometimes I would forget who's telling the story for a moment. But it was really just a matter of me remembering so that's my fault. :)

I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next book when it is released. 

Find Elizabeth Marx Online
FB: The Seer | FB: Elizabeth Marx | Website | Goodreads | Twitter


I received a copy of All's Fair in Vanity's War from the author in exchange for an honest review.

GIVEAWAY

Elizabeth has graciously offered two copies of her book to be given away! All you have to do to enter is "Like" The Seer on Facebook and fill out the Rafflecopter form below. There are also two optional entries. Giveaway open to anyone 13 years of age or older! Ends 12:01AM EST on March 3rd.

Announcement: Review & Giveaway - All's Fair in Vanity's War

Thanks to Elizabeth Marx, author of All's Fair in Vanity's War, I will be having my first ever giveaway! Ms. Marx not only offered me a copy of her book for review (for which I'm extremely grateful for) but has graciously offered two copies to give away on Feb. 25th when I will post my review of All's Fair in Vanity's War! I'm really excited about this (and a bit nervous) as I'm new to blogging, and reviewing really.  :) Be sure to stop in on Saturday!

So until then, please feel free to check out the following links!
FB: The Seer | FB: Elizabeth Marx | Website | Goodreads

Review: Water by Terra Harmony

Title: Water
Author: Terra Harmony
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Terra Harmony (Sept 26th 2011)
Get it: Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

NOTE: Story is for mature readers due to sexual content, some of which is non-consensual.

Goodreads Synopsis
All of the elemental powers are in the palm of her hand…and it won't be enough to save her. When Kaitlyn Alder is involuntarily introduced to a life of magic, she becomes part of an organization hell-bent on saving the Earth. Just as her new-found life holds promises of purpose, romance, and friendship, the organization divides and a rogue member holds Kaitlyn hostage. Now one of the most terrifying men the human race has to offer stands between her and Earth's survival.


REVIEW

I found the concept behind this book to be original and very interesting. You have people, whether they were aware of it for most of their lives or just learning about it, who have magical abilities for which they can control the elements. Some may only have the ability to really affect one particular element and then there are others, called Gaias (aka. Mother Earth) who can control them all.  Kaitlyn Alder is one such woman. 


After what Kaitlyn believes to be a natural disaster that she gets caught up in, she wakes up in a locked room with no idea where she is or how she got there let alone who is keeping her locked up. It's after an escape attempt she meets Micah, whom she finds herself strangely attracted to even though she's basically kept to herself and avoided human contact for many years. With Micah's help, as well as an older man named Cato, Kaitlyn learns about herself and what she is there for. The Seven, which is the organization Cato runs, needs Kaitlyn's help to save the earth. But there is one person who has his own agenda and he also needs Kaitlyn's help and he'll do whatever it takes to get it.


I really enjoyed this book. I found Terra's writing to be very witty and I absolutely loved how sarcastic Kaitlyn was. She used sarcasm in some respects to deal with her situation and at other times, her sarcasm was purely to annoy people. The characters were all well written and likeable to some extent. One character in particular, which I won't mention the name so as to not point out who the bad guy is, is someone you'll love to hate. He is cruel and cold-hearted and only once shows any real emotion for which I found myself feeling sorry for him, albeit briefly.

The story is for the most part fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat, so to speak. The eco-friendly nature of the story is refreshing and informative. There is a bit of romance in there as well, which I love. And I am very much looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Air.

I feel I should mention that there are some grammatical and punctuation errors but I didn't find them particularly distracting while I was reading. 


In conclusion, I highly recommend Water.

Find Terra Harmony Online

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Terra's short story ebook Gleaming White is currently free (at time of posting) at Barnes & Nobles.

I received a copy of Water from the author for winning a giveaway at Ritesh Kala's Book Reviews.

Review: Always You

Always You by Shilpa Mudiganti

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



*** I received an eARC copy of the book from Inkspell Publishing. ***

Let me just start out by saying that I wrote up a long review and then accidentally clicked outside of the review window thus causing everything to disappear without being saved. So I think this time around I will skip explaining what the story is about as you can read about it in the blurb, I guess. Plus, this way I'm not spoiling any of the story for you.

I enjoyed reading Always You. I could relate to the characters and the story. I was emotionally invested in the characters and their situations. Plus I absolutely loved the ending.

There were, however, quite a few grammatical, punctuation, and/or spelling errors however I have to take into consideration that this was an advanced copy of the book. Hopefully when it is officially released, those issues will be fixed!

Apart from the writing issues, there were a couple scenes that just felt impossible to me. One example - Lyla sees Alex's expression when a beautiful woman sits down next to him while on an airplane. Problem is, Lyla is sitting directly behind him! Now, I just don't see how she would be able to see his face while sitting behind him, unless he leaned over the arm rest, but that's not stated.

I feel the need to say that there was one line in the book that I absolutely did NOT like. And that line is: "Not once did he try to force himself upon her, though he had a right." OKAY! Now, I don't believe the author meant it like that but no guy has the right to force himself on a woman, even if he is engaged to her. Nick, Lyla's fiance, is a caring, considerate, patient man ... what with the fact that they have been engaged for a year (dating for who knows how long before that) and they had never had sex. So I don't believe he would be the type to force himself on her anyway. But just the fact that that line is written the way it is sounds really wrong to me.

Now with all that said, I would certainly be willing to read more from Shilpa Mudiganti. Always You is definitely worth a read. This is, in fact, my second time of reading it!

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