Hold Me Down Hard

I give Cathryn Fox’s Hold Me Down Hard 5 stars! This was a short, sweet, sensual, sexually-charged story (enough ‘S’s for you?). With 51 pages to convey the story of Eden and Jay, you get the importance of their strong bond and what stops them from pursuing what they truly desire – each other.

From the get go, I could feel the raw desires and fear of not being able to act on them. I instantly felt a pull to Eden and Jay and was mentally shouting at them to just do it already. Literally. I mean, who doesn't love a guy in uniform?!

Cathryn Fox does a wonderful job of writing each character’s true-to-themselves personalities and having their reality bleed through the pages.

Perfect read for a short trip from reality!

(I received an ARC for my honest review and this is my honest to goodness, straight from the heart review!)





Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hold-Down-Entangled-Flirts-ebook/dp/B00CGFEJ1I/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1371488204&sr=1-1&keywords=hold+me+down+hard

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hold-me-down-hard-cathryn-fox/1115161572?ean=9781622661398

Coffee Break?

Okay, Okay. It has been way too long since I posted a review and I have read several books the last few days. I have some catching up to do. But, it is coming up on the end of the school semester for me which means PAPERS! PRESENTATIONS! EXAMS! NO LIFE! Haha.
But I promise to overload you all with reviews and other things quickly following the end of school  ; )

I don't know about you, but it is a beautiful Monday morning here in Colorado, and I hope you are all having  a fantastic day! If not, crack open a book and dive into that reality..........

Tall, Dark, and Divine

I give Jenna Bennett’s Tall, Dark, and Divine 4 stars! I have never been much for books involving mythology, however, I adored the Greek Gods of this tale. Eros, the Greek God of Love, is the ultimate hunky matchmaker who failed in finding his true love, until now. Annie, the owner of a dog bakery on the same block as Eros’ business, is your average, sweet, compassionate, hard-working woman who is looking for love, but really just wants someone to give her (and her well deserving body) some hot attention for one night. Crossing paths in Dion’s bar, Annie seeks the company with Eros while he pushes her toward a mortal, just like herself; Eros is not about to get himself mixed up with another mortal again. All good intentions, all disastrous results!

I found myself on the rollercoaster ride of Annie and Eros’ relationship as well as the mood swings of Harry (the said mortal), and the tension among the other Gods who become main players in the love triangle.

Jenna Bennett’s writing is also marvelous! Giving the characters personalities in which you could find yourself relating to (mortal or immortal), a real-world setting, and fast paced love that draws you in right from the get go.

*I received an ARC for my honest review and this is my honest to goodness, straight from the heart review!*

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tall-Divine-Entangled-Covet-ebook/dp/B00CGFJ1DE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1371488271&sr=1-1&keywords=tall+dark+and+divine

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tall-dark-and-divine-jenna-bennett/1112185596?ean=9781622669530

Voodoo for Two

I give Elle James’ Voodoo for Two 3 stars. It was a decent book with an interesting plot line in which the sexy bayou beauty, Lucie, weaves a tangle of webs when she casts a Love Spell on the town’s perfect, rich, romantic, politician, Eric. Of course, it can’t be so simple when her ex-boyfriend from seven years ago, Ben, comes storming back into her life at the same time she is trying to grasp a proposal from Eric. Her world just keeps getting more and more chaotic when tempers fly and emotions run hot. To top it off, there is someone looking to take Eric, and anyone he cares, about to their grave.

It seems to me that this book has a lot to offer (and it does), but, unfortunately, there is still too much potential, too many things left undone that leaves me feeling dissatisfied with the book overall.

There were also several points in the plot that seem too far-fetched to be considered plausible in anyway. (aka, the allusive ladybug that somehow seems to keep making appearances when they are looking for it).

The reactions between Ben and Lucie are also a little off kilter in the beginning of the book when they first make their initial interactions after having been separated (and supposedly hating) each other for seven long years. Don’t get me wrong, they were always hot and steamy, but in the category of stretching the believable.

I enjoyed the Elle James’ writing and her creativity with words and imagery that brought scenes to life. I found this extremely imperative for someone who is not familiar with Cajun culture.

(I received an ARC for my review and this is my honest-to-goodness, straight from the heart review)

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Voodoo-Two-Entangled-Suspense-ebook/dp/B00CGFJ3QE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1371488458&sr=1-1&keywords=voodoo+for+two

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/voodoo-for-two-elle-james/1115375440?ean=9781622667062

Gone with the Wolf

I give Kristin Miller’s Gone with the Wolf 4 ½ stars!! This book has it all from the rich, mysterious, drop-dead sexy man to the beautiful, no-nonsense, speaks her mind woman to sibling rivalry, to werewolves and fated soul mates.  Emelia and Drake captured my being and didn’t let go. You know a book is good when the characters have weaseled their way into your heart and your emotions are just as intense as theirs.

Emelia, Drake, and Silas are realistic to their surrounding environments, making this tale involving werewolves believable. Emelia, being full of sarcasm and wit from working tooth and nail to keep her bar from crumbling, Drake being full of logic and reasoning from hundreds of years in the business world and numbers and investments, yet having to deal with new feelings that consume him, and Silas being full of contempt, dripping with hatred from not having what is “rightfully” his from the moment his father died.

The reason I didn’t give it 5 stars? Only because I would have personally liked a more in depth turning point at the climax of the story.

Kristin Miller’s use of language is phenomenal throughout the entire book! Not repetitive, finding new words and phrases to draw you in to each scene, emotion, conflict, and character. Her writing gives the book the perfect amount of personality and flare.

Kristin, Thank You! for this wonderful story and the characters that will now reside in my heart, joining the other characters from my other favorite books.

(I received an ARC for my review and this is my honest-to-goodness, straight from the heart review!)

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Wolf-Entangled-Covet-ebook/dp/B00CGFEIM8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1371488531&sr=1-1&keywords=gone+with+the+wolf

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gone-with-the-wolf-kristin-miller/1115161571?ean=9781622661442

Critics Abound

I haven't been posting as much on here as I'd like and I realized it's because I constantly have my nose in a book, finishing usually one a day, barely coming up for air before diving back into a new book. Yes, this may seem like Hell to some and Lazy to others. I would agree to both of those on some level, however, this is my life. Literally. Well, maybe not entirely my life yet, but one day.
Since I am still working towards my degree in Creative Writing, I am on the path towards my dream. It is my dream to be a successful, published author, and work in a publishing house. Ideally as an Editor, however, I would just love to be involved in the "book making" process to get all of these wonderful stories and characters that infiltrate our world into the hands of people.
A lot of the books I have been reading are pretty new, just published books in which most people haven't heard of. And I always have an opinion on the books I read and I've decided to use this blog as a place for book reviews (with random rants about life in general still thrown in there). I am an avid user of goodreads.com, always list the books I'm reading and as soon as I finish reading it, I rate it, but I seem to just leave it at that. But no more! I will be doing my own personal review of said books (complete with cover photos) giving my rating, and it will be filled with all of the emotional stresses these stories always impress upon me.
A book you want me to read and review, just say so and I would be more than happy to oblige :D

Happy Friday Everyone!!

Eight & 48, and Then Some

8 hours of sleep total in the last two days, and the first thing I had to do this morning? Survive Composition Theory without falling asleep. Much easier said than done, however, I achieved just that.
But now the point is to stay awake right now, waiting for my next class which will, yet again, be another challenging class to actively participate in. Too. Much. Energy. Required.
Oh, but that is life, so on to other things.........




I was planning on having a lot to say, but after sitting here for 15 minutes, I still am coming up with a blank slate. Really, Brain? Nothing? Oh well. Maybe next time.

The Twist, Turns, and Loop-D-Loops that is Life

The biggest excuse we can ever give in life is "I'm waiting for a better time" or "I'm waiting for things to slow down". Well, guess what? LIFE WILL NEVER SLOW DOWN! Or get any easier. There may be certain times in your life when you are working extra hard, putting in long days, suffering through difficulties, just trying to get to a certain place. And you may reach that place eventually (yay!!), but it doesn't mean that life is going to be easier just because you've reached that point you have been so desperately striving for. It just means you've reached a new point and life will throw something else your way.
I struggle with this concept everyday, so I'm being quite hypocritical when I say "Suck it up and just do it", but it doesn't mean I don't believe in that conviction.
Life, in the last few years, has been a test of wills and power and changes. Little things over the course of the years have added up to be monumental things, which in turn are things that probably cannot be undone. It has been a learning curve and growth period in huge proportions, and it still isn't over.
I consider the things I keep telling myself I'm going to do, or the things I should be doing, and then I think of why I haven't done them and I find myself full circle to my excuse that dominates all excuses. But really, if it were so incredibly important and an absolute must in needing to be done or attended to, then why haven't I done it or taken care of it? Why have I let it fall to the wayside? Because, now, it no longer seems that important because I clearly didn't seem to care as much as I should. Or I'm just frustrated with everything else in life that I just gave up.
So this, in turn, has changed the person that I am, the person that I once was, and the person I miss. However, I can't say that I'm completely unhappy with myself. I have learned quite a bit about myself and my expectations in life, expectations of myself, and what I seek from others. But, this realization has placed me in a position where I am not fulfilling these expectations, which has caused a negative person to emerge instead of the optimistic, happy, fun, lovable person I used to be. Boy, those were simpler times.
But no fear! I know that life isn't through with me, it will never be through with me until my death, and I am still striving for greatness in my life. It just seems that, currently, I am stuck until something can be done about it. And soon.
Like I said, life will never get any easier, it just gets different and then we're out of time.

So why not do those things you've been making excuses for now? Otherwise, you may not ever get there and regret it down the road when negativity and hardships have taken a hold on your life.

For the Love of the Game

Baseball. I Love baseball. The last few years I haven't been as into the season as past years because Life was really not letting up. But I am determined to not let things interfere with my MLB season. My Dad and I really connect over the Rockies (yes, I am a Rockies fan, no bandwagon shit. Legit fan) and I love every minute that we "talk shop" and bash other teams (aka Yankees). Thinking back, it has been 6 years since I've played softball and I am determined to play this spring.... Or at least hit the batting cages.
Either way,
Spring = Baseball
End of story.

Go Rockies!!!!

Well done, Kate. Well done.

It has been awhile since I read a book that made me uncomfortable, have dreams that scare me, keep me completely enraptured, all while loving (and loathing a few) characters and the life they breath into the book. But it's okay because I keep thinking that I know how the book will end, where each character will be, and life will be happy. But oh, no! The author of Flawed had other things in mind. The twist to the tale was like a sucker punch to the gut, heart break, and the death of millions of puppies all at the same time. Can you tell I bawled my eyes out? Good thing Maximus wasn't home to witness that unpleasant and embarrassing event. And,of course,the story does come to an end; Not one that I expected. And I closed the book thinking how much I hated it, but after a few hours of the story and characters still being on my mind, I thought about how that was the point of it all!!!
Damn if that book didn't pull at my emotions and heart strings in the most marvelous and horrible ways and made me really think about it in a real-life kind of way. As much as I would have liked for there to be different outcomes for certain characters, I couldn't help but think "it had to be that way".
Then I began commending the author, Kate Avelynn, for writing Flawed and taking that risk of writing such an intense emotional story that most people will have the initial reaction I did. I do hope that most people will grasp the gravity of the story and lives these characters embodied.

It is just who I am

This pictorial of procrastination can just have my face added to that body. This is my life. Example? I had a week off from classes, have small assignments, papers to write, readings to do, and huge projects to research, start and send in. What did I do? I sat on my ass and read a good 9 books that were not required, far from it. Oh woe is me. I did do my small assignments and papers, but the bigger projects I didn't even touch and my slightly larger reading and paper due this morning, I stayed up until 3:30am to work on it and to also fun read. Did I finish in time? OF COURSE I DID!! I finished it and submitted it before the deadline while sitting in the class prior. Oh geez. You'd think I would learn and do things ahead of time, but I am the biggest proponent of denial and excuses.
This drives Maximus crazy because I do let things at home fall by the wayside for the time being, and I get stressed out, but he knows I will get it all done, on time, and still manage to get a good grade. I work well under pressure. But sorry, Honey, for the shit you have to go through since my Mom gave me Procrastination as a middle name.

The miracle? I have accepted and embraced this flaw that encompasses my being and use it to my distinct advantage. Actually, I have no idea what the advantage is; there really isn't one, but I don't beat myself up about it anymore. Well, most days I don't. I just make sure to enjoy the things I am doing that contribute to my procrastination