Audiobook review: Crystal Cove (Friday Harbor #4) by Lisa Kleypas

Justine Hoffman has made a comfortable life for herself on the island of Friday Harbor. She is the proprietor of a successful boutique hotel, and she has the safe, predictable life she has always wanted. Growing up with her flighty, nomadic mother, Marigold, has instilled in her a deep longing for stability. But in spite of everything Justine has achieved, there is still something missing. Love. And after years of waiting and dreaming, she is willing to do whatever it takes to change her destiny. What Justine soon discovers is that someone cast a spell on her when she was born, with the result that she will never find her soul mate. Determined to change her fate, Justine finds a way to break the enchantment, never dreaming of the dangerous complications that will follow. And when Justine meets the mysterious Jason Black, she accidentally unleashes a storm of desire and danger that threatens everything she holds dear...because Jason has secrets of his own, and he wants more from her than fate will ever allow. 

This audiobook was given to me by a friend. I have no read or listened to the other books in this series. I didn't feel i missed anything by starting here though although it might have helped to read the first three first.  Justine is happy with where she's at in life except that she's missing one thing. Love!  She finds out someone put a spell on her as a baby to prevent her from having real love. She decides to try and do something about that. In the mean time Jason Black shows up at her hotel. Rich with a list of requirements for him and his staff. He's got a motive for being there though. He's a man without a soul and thinks Justine has a spell book that can help him.  

Kind of a interesting audiobook. The voice work is well done. Every character has a different sound and fits the character. Jason is kind of a sneaky selfish guy but at the same time he's attracted to Justine. He battles what he wants and needs and still he tells himself it's OK to be sneaky and lie to Justine.  The book is supposed to be contemporary romance but it still have elements of paranormal and BDSM. Since i read all three of these it didn't bother me but i was a bit surprised all the same. The scheme for Jason is to get a soul but when he finally gets the spell book and has someone cast a spell for him it ends up putting Justine in grave danger. He saves face in the end but it's kind of a emotional mess to get there. I enjoyed the book but felt it was a little all over the place still. 3 out of 5 stars for Crystal Cove by Lisa Kleypas.

Find out more about Lisa Kleypas and her books here www.lisakleypas.com

Book review: The Hitwoman and the Family Jewels (Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman #4) by J.B. Lynn

Available now!!
How do you say “no” to a mob boss?

When bumbling hitwoman Maggie Lee is asked by her mob boss employer to kill a cop, she wants to say no.

When her sexy murder mentor, Patrick Mulligan tells her the cop in question is a guy she once dated, she REALLY wants to refuse.

But when her former date, Paul Kowalski tries to kill her, she changes her tune to “Hell, yes!”

Maggie and Patrick grow closer as they scramble to figure out what it is that Kowalski is looking for and what it has to do with her prison escapee father.

Maggie’s search is hampered by the presence of US Marshals hunting her father and her crazier-than-usual family.

Along with her snarky talking lizard, grammatically-challenged Doberman, and a pissy cat, she races to solve the mystery and protect her family. But nothing in Maggie’s life ever goes as planned…

I have to tell you i don't know where you can get this much romantic suspense mixed with killers, talking animals and comedy. This series is such a mix of all these things and more it's fun to see how author JB Lynn pulls it off.  This is book 4 in the series and i am always drawn into the book pretty fast. Maggie is a hitwoman for hire. She came by it pretty much by accident and now she's kind of stuck with it.  In this book she's supposed to kill Paul Kowalski a cop she once dated. She's kind of on the fence about it until he tries to kill her.That certainly changes her tune. This book gets more into her family relationships. She finds out more about her sister who was missing for years and her relationship with Patrick grows. Sigh Patrick. Somehow i need that whole thing to work out eventually.  JB Lynn gives you just enough story to get you entangled in Maggie's life and you want to find out what happens next.   She ends on a bit of a cliff hanger and a shock. I literally said out loud OMG NOOOO! laughed and then groaned.   To highlight some of the funnier lines involving the talking lizard, God or Godzilla as he is formally known. I'll post some below.  So much story packed into this book. Sucks you right into the Maggie vortex!

"Ow!" a voice that sounded suspiciously like a Englishman with a stick up his butt, exclaimed. ( God was hiding in a box he was not supposed to be in)

I gave him my best suspicious glare, but since lizards don't blink, I was doomed to lose that staring contest. ( yeah a little hard to win that one)

5 out of 5 stars for The Hitwoman and the Family jewels by JB Lynn. Find out more here www.jblynn.com

Hot Cover Monday! Rush Phoenix Rising Series, Book 3 by Joan Swan

Available August 27th 2013

Jessica Fury, Washington lobbyist, has money, connections, and her own firm. But five years ago she had something better: happiness. Her firefighter husband, Quaid, was handsome, courageous, and crazy about her. Then one day he walked into a chemical inferno—and never walked out. Jessica has been through hell to get back on her feet. And then a rumor surfaces that could bring a miracle or shatter her world – again.

Q has been a prisoner forever. He’s honed his mind and body into weapons. He’s developed abilities no one else understands. But he’s still at the mercy of a cabal of ruthless men, who blank his memory, test him like a lab rat, and tell him lies. Although his past has been erased and his future looks grim, instinct tells him he has a woman to live for. What his mind can’t remember, his body can’t forget…

The heat is on.

Find out more on Joan Swan's website about this book and the series. www.joanswan.com

Audiobook review: Reflected in You (Crossfire #2) by Sylvia Day

Available now!
Gideon Cross. As beautiful and flawless on the outside as he was damaged and tormented on the inside. He was a bright, scorching flame that singed me with the darkest of pleasures. I couldn't stay away. I didn't want to. He was my addiction... my every desire... mine.

My past was as violent as his, and I was just as broken. We’d never work. It was too hard, too painful... except when it was perfect. Those moments when the driving hunger and desperate love were the most exquisite insanity. 

We were bound by our need. And our passion would take us beyond our limits to the sweetest, sharpest edge of obsession..

I have to start out by saying i did not read or listen to book one so i came into this with book 2. A friend gave me this audiobook. All i can say is WOW! While a few things left me confused because i did not read book one. ( I will soon)  I took me about 3 lines in to get hooked into the story. Gideon and Ava are both seriously messed up. Events from their pasts have given them both serious trust issues among other things.  Their relationship starts in book one and continues in this book.  If you thought it was good in book form you really need to try it in audio. The voice work is superb.  Gideon sounds like the hot sexy guy he comes across as in the story.  Every voice is different and distinct.  You feel like your there living it. You can picture pretty much everything in your head. You feel the frustrations and happiness of the characters along with all the other emotions in between. One of the best audiobooks i have had the pleasure of listening too. Looking forward to book 3 Entwined in you available June 4th. 5 out of 5 stars for Reflected in you by Sylvia Day.

To read the series in order starts with:
Bared to you Available now
Reflected in you Available now
Entwined in you  out June 4th 2013

Find out more from Sylvia Day's website here including excerpts. www.sylviaday.com

Book review: Midnight Secrets (Wildefire #1) by Ella Grace

AT THE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT, THE HEAT BEGINS
 
On a hot southern night, with a storm on the horizon, a family is shattered. Three beautiful daughters—Savannah, Samantha, and Sabrina Wilde—go on with their lives, each significantly changed, as they bear the memory of the murder-suicide that killed their parents. For years, they have stayed away from Midnight, Alabama. Until Midnight calls them home.
 
Savannah is the first one back, when a grueling case in Nashville leads the young prosecutor to seek shelter in the quiet of the once grand Wilde mansion. But when she finds letters casting doubt on her family’s dark, shameful past, she realizes that peace in Midnight is a shallow façade and sinister secrets lurk beneath the surface. Zach Tanner, once the town’s bad boy, is now the new police chief and still has a wild hold over her. Zach can feel it, too, but he hurt Savannah once. As teenagers, they broke every rule together. Now it’s his job to keep her safe, even though he isn’t sure who her enemies are—or which ones might be his own

This is book one in the Wildfire Series by Ella Grace.  It serves as a intro into the series and the 3 Wilde triplets get introduced whom the series will be about. It all starts with a murder/suicide. The girls are just young kids at age 10 when it appears their father murders their mother and then kills himself.  Later as teenagers of 18 years Savannah falls for bad boy Zach Tanner. She sees in him what most other people don't. He's sweet and sensitive and takes care of those he cares about. Then right on the cusp of him leaving for the military it all falls apart. The promises he makes to Savannah are shattered overnight. Ten more years pass and when Savannah is forced to go back to Midnight, Alabama to take a break from her job as a prosecutor and close up and sell her family home she finds herself running into Zach again.  Zach is now a war vet and the town's police chief.  The chemistry is still there and things begin to sizzle between the two again. When Savannah finds some letters from her grandfather which indicate her father might have been innocent and murder victim as well Savannah and Zach start investigating a 18 year old murder case which starts a mess of terrifying incidents that tells them they are on to something. While trying to find a killer Savannah and Zach get close and have to learn to trust each other again and let go of old hurts and tell secrets that might end their fragile new beginnings. Lots of things going on in this book because you have to intro quite a few characters and yet tell the story of Savannah and Zach.  The couple have a long way to go to finding their love again. The suspense keeps you guessing. The guilty party was a big surprise to me. Never would have guessed it. I think this was a solid intro into the series and i loved the love story here and it hurts the heart to know that Savannah and Zach wasted ten years of happiness they could have had. Definitely looking forward to book 2 in this series. 

Find out more about Ella Grace (AKA Christy Reece) on her website here www.ellagracebooks.com