Our Book Picks for the Week of Aug 30th 💖 Reviews and Recommendations

📚 Our Book Picks for the Week 📚
 Reviews and Recommendations
Aug 30th

🔗 Mine by Natasha Knight
💀 Shattered Skull by Tabatha Vargo
🐺 The Experiment by Lexi C. Foss
📿  Sin by Elena M. Reyes
💔 The Promise by Felice Stevens
🔥  Voodoo Burning by N.M. Catalano

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Mine by Natasha Knight
Description:
She was never supposed to walk into my club.
But she did.
I shouldn’t have looked twice at her.
But I did.
The criminal underworld is no place for a girl like her.
One night with Katerina isn’t enough, but men like me can’t afford to be weak.
So, I tell her to leave me behind.
She does, but not before she sees something she shouldn’t.
My Thoughts 💭:
"And then, there is only silence. "
Holy chit! I need answers!
Katerina was out celebrating her 19th birthday with her bestie Nina. A little excited - A lot relaxed - She takes risks she normally wouldn't have - Only the consequences land her in the arms of Levka - Changing the course of her life forever.  This had some intense scenes that had me holding my breath while mentally chanting "please please" - You know when you want to close your eyes so you won't see the inevitable train wreck you know is coming - but well you can't (you can't read with your eyes closed) - That was me!
I was terrified of the fallout I knew was only a few flips away
I do wish this was longer - I know I am greedy -
But truthfully I flew right through this.
We are given some past secrets as well as current events that I still need answers to (ending excluded)
Kat was a solid female lead. She wasn't afraid to do what she thought was right. And she faced the repercussions of her choices with a dignity that only comes from owning your actions.
Lev, I'm a bit torn with him.
I wish I had gotten the chance to know his character on a more personal level. Towards the end, we are given small glimpses but I felt like he was a bit too closed emotionally for me to really connect with him.
Andrei ... ewwwww
and Uncle? How are you so inept?
This ends with a bang of a cliffhanger
I need book two, yesterday
#CrimeFiction #OrganizedCrime #MafiaRomance #NatashaKnight #AZavarelli
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Shattered Skull by Tabatha Vargo
Description:
The first time I saw Aiken Cross aka Skull, he was standing atop a speeding motorcycle.
The second time, he was putting his fist through my brother’s face.
Now he’s everywhere I look.
He’s making my life hell with his vulgar remarks and seductive lure, but it’s not my fault my brother joined The Border Lords, his rival crew.
My Thoughts 💭:
I wasn't sure what I expected when I picked this one up
I was thinking it would be a bit of bully blended with the gruff MC
What Vargo delivered though was something unique and different
Sons of Sinister is not your normal motorcycle club -
They are street racers -
Drug runners -
Brothers -
Doing what they need to do to survive
Everly has had her world turned completely on its axis.
What was once a life filled with laughter, love and acceptance is now nothing but Moments -
Moments of loss
Moments of loneliness
Moments spent counting
Counting down the minutes just to survive
Aiken (Skull) was raised by the streets
He knows what it takes to win
How to grab what he wants
He doesn't do forever's
He has seen how they end - too messy
That is until a sweet little cherry drops from the tree and right into his path
She is innocence personified
She doesn't belong in this world
And she definitely doesn't belong in his bed
I have to say I was a goner for Skull
I can't pinpoint what it was about him but he was so much more than just your every book alphahole
And Everly?
She was young but life had already granted her so many lessons. Some were good ones others left a darker scar, a reminder, reasons to fight - to believe - even when it seemed that she was standing alone.
I really enjoyed the slow build relationship between these two. It wasn't lacking heat in any way.
From the beginning, the pull was there.
Aiken was so honest yet responsible (?) about how he felt. And the way he tried to subtly at first care for Everly was ... Sigh
If you are looking for something that is a bit different but has all the feels and the drama look no further
A solid five-star cast!
Built on a strong series plot with engaging character story lines that will pull you in an make you a believer look no further!
I can not wait to see where Vargo takes us
Trust me it's worth trading your money cup of coffee for 😉
#MCRomance #RomanticSuspense #Erotica  #NewAdult #TabathaVargo #KindleUnlimited
Amazon

The Experiment by Lexi C. Foss
Description:
Daciana
I'm an offering. A test. A pawn in an agreement I know little about.
Fly to Andorra Sector.
Allow them to experiment.
Mate an X-Clan Wolf Alpha.
Hope for the best.
Those are my orders. My fate. My current existence. There's nowhere to run, and the moon is a clock I can't ignore.
My Thoughts 💭:
Fire 🔥 and ice
Daciana knows the value of an Omega
They are nothing more than a warm body to soothe an Alpha's needs
An incubator to breed the next generation
She's seen the savagery that an Alpha visits upon his chosen conquest
Now she is to be traded - like livestock -
A breeding vessel in exchange for technology
Elias has his fingers crossed that this trade agreement will work
Being second in command he knows how vital it is to the Alphas under him
To find their mates
To procreate
When the first test subject arrives he finds himself questioning the trade agreement
She calls to him on a primal level
His wolf has decided she's his
But something isn't right
She reeks of fear
Elias is mine! - just want to get that out there so there is no confusion
We first met him in book one and he has owned my heart ever since.
Just something about him
All Alpha
All primal male
All 😋 yummy goodness
This is a short story
but it doesn't hamper the burn 🔥that is Daciana and Elias
They just fit so perfect
He knows she needs a gentle hand and despite his normal lack of patience for Daciana he will make the world stop
***Be still my beating heart ***
There is just something magical about the way Foss presents her characters
UGHHH - I wish this was longer
If you enjoy omegaverse
If you like your reads with an edge of darkness and suspense
and a whole lot of steamy romance
Don't pass this series up
#Omegaverse #Shifter #Paranormal #Gothic #Romance #LexiCFoss #kindleunlimited
Amazon

Sin by Elena M. Reyes
Description:
I am both heaven and hell. Sin and pleasure.
The Devil she never sees coming…
Everyone knows that Malcolm Asher owns Chicago. Nothing—not a single move is made in my city without my authorization. I’m ruthless. Conniving. Worshipped by those around me, and yet, it means nothing the moment my eyes meet hers…
My Thoughts 💭:
"Word"
So far above what I expected
It was intense the way that Malcolm loved her
He was ruthless
He was decisive
He was a true gentleman
He lived by the belief that one should never use nor need to use force or coercion to acquire and keep that which truly holds your heart
As it should always be
The intense chemistry between these two *sigh*
Off the charts
The frivolous banter back and forth - I couldn't help but smile
They were that rare couple - They complimented one another -
You knew they were meant to last forever
London's brother gave me the heebie-jeebies
Just Ewwww
Her father? Wait for it...
She has been through he ll
But she has a plan - a solid one really -
that would eventually give her a chance at true freedom
Until him
He does not want nor need the headache that comes with heartache
He has been there done that and is very much over it
His preferences fall more toward "observing" (?) than participating
Until her
This ... How do I word this?
This is how a true love story should read
Oh there is blood, death, and violence
A bit graphic at times really
But never at, only for, the one who holds his heart
*Swoon*
Where can I find me a Malcolm?
#Contemporary #NewAdult #RomanticSuspense #ElenaMReyes #kindleunlimited
Amazon 

The Promise by Felice Stevens
Description:
A promise made:
When Ezra Green sits next to Monroe Friedman in their high school English class, friendship blooms into first love, and even Ezra moving to California won’t keep them apart. Ezra promises Roe that once he finishes college, he’ll come home and the two will be together. In the meantime they’ll write and keep in touch. Nothing has to change.
A promise broken:
My Thoughts 💭:
This is the second book in this series - it is a standalone but the characters' stories interconnect
I want to say right from the get... Love Love G'ma Nettie
Ezra and Monroe both needed a good tanning to their backsides
Talk about stubborn!
Thank goodness G'ma could see when they both could not
Ezra and Roe were both filled with feelings of betrayal and abandonment
Neither could drop their barriers long enough to listen - to hear what was not being said
The back and forth between them in the beginning made me want to lock them in a room together until they kissed it out or ...
I cried - I laughed - I got a bit angry
I do not want to give away spoilers -
I will say I was mad and hurt for them both when they "why" of how this tragedy occurred was revealed.
This was such a warm and emotional read looking forward to the next in series
#Gayfiction #LGBT #MMRomance #FeliceStevens
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Voodoo Burning by N.M. Catalano
Description:
VOODOO Burning Ignatius Beauchamp, plantation heir. Dominique Chavelle, descendant of a powerful voodoo priestess. VOODOO BURNING SERIAL KILLER ON THE LOOSE As Mardi Gras approaches, women are being slaughtered and burned sacrificial style, each murder another of the 7 Deadly Sins. Three murders, Three unidentitified women, fourteen days until Mardi Gras. The race is on
My Thoughts 💭:
In the forgotten underbelly of New Orleans, women are being sacrificed.
Dominique has been called in to help catch the killer before he/she can strike again
Tasked with deciphering the ritual marks left behind and separating fact from fiction should be easy for her-
After all, she is one of them
Things get a little too hot as she closes in on the truth
Ignatius is from one of the original families - Old blood
But his path is a bit different from his ancestors
Instead of watching the innocent burn🔥, he is fighting the flames that feast upon them
Drawn to Dominique from the moment she crossed his path he finds himself consumed with the need to know her, to protect her
She brings out his darkness like nothing else
Can he battle the darkness that is New Orleans Voodoo, protect his city and the woman who calls to his soul?
Or is this evil a more earthly entity?
Both have secrets
Both feel the pull -
Calling to them
Encouraging them to feed their earthly desires.
When the smoke begins to clear they have to ask themselves-
Sacrifices or Misdirection?
The chemistry between Ignatius and Dominique is explosive
Ignatius has a darkness to him that is awakened
when it comes to sins of the flesh and Dominique
The burn between these two could ignite the world around them
Dominique is one of those lead females that just takes control of the situation -
No hesitation
No waffling back and forth
I loved her responses - her take no chit attitude
I will warn some of you that our killer takes his/her ritual killings to a whole new level - so if you are squeamish I suggest a bag to the left and a teddy to the right
As I have come to expect from Catalano's work this is a delicious blend of erotica and thriller/suspense
#Contemporary #Romance #CrimeFiction #Thriller #NMCatalano #kindleunlimited
Amazon