THE BEST MAN #1

THE BEST MAN                                     ELLA ARDENT
Posted:  Jan. 30, 2015

The Best Man by Ella ArdentYou are invited to a wedding...

• where a mysterious lover fulfills a secret fantasy - and finds his own dream come true.
• where a disappointed woman finds true love - in the most unlikely of places.
• where the bride and groom have second thoughts - but discover a happy-ever-after beyond their wildest dreams.

Christine has always been in love with her best friend’s older brother, Jake. The fact that she’s maid of honor and he’s best man at Jess’s Caribbean wedding means that they’ll be thrown together repeatedly for the week of the festivities. Christine decides to make it count and tells Jake about her secret desire, hoping he’ll realize that he’s the fantasy lover she really wants. 

Jake has always wanted Christine to be more than his ‘other baby sister’ but doesn’t want to lose her friendship. When Christine confesses her secret desire, he appoints himself to make her fantasy come true. His only concern is the bet made at the stag, that whichever of the guys gets lucky first wins the money. Jake knows that winning the bet could mean losing Christine—fortunately, he’s a man willing to be creative in pursuit of the best prize of all.

MY REVIEW:
     When you’ve loved someone since they were 4 years old and you thought of her as your “other little sister” or at least that’s what you allowed others to believe.  He kind of get nervous when your mind and heart are telling you it’s time to settle down.  Jake was at that point and being that his baby sister was going to be walking down with the man of her dreams at her very own destination wedding in the Caribbean he wanted that too.  He’s really got it foremost on his mind.
     Since he will be the best man and the woman of his dreams and heart will be there.  He’s got a shot of getting her to come on board with his way of thinking.  She’s the maid of honor to his best man, Christine.  She is everything he’s ever wanted in a woman and they are best friends and that has been holding him back.  All these years he has not wanted to mess up their friendship if a romance didn’t work out.  Now he can hug her, hold her hand, give her a kiss on the head or temple any time he wants and no one thinks it odd.  Plus he loves how they banter and talk about any and all things.  She is his ideal woman.
     Christine really needs this vacation although it’s coming at the worst time.  This job that has now run over could be a career changer.  But she did promise Jess.  The thing is that she got no sleep the night before.  Worrying about what if she drank too much and spilled her guts out to Jake about how she felt about him.  You see she has been deeply madly in love with her best friend’s brother since forever.
     She was really getting so over going to or being in wedding.  Because it was showing her how alone she really is.  As usual she was the first one there.  After a while a rowdy group of guys come that she just ignores.  Until she feels one of them sit next to her.  He makes a statement causing to turn with a smile.  He tells her the rowdy group was Ryan’s friends (the groom.)  The loudmouth of the group Mark who kept trying to flirt with her came over and asked her what seat number she had.  All three of the guys wanted to know who the lucky one was who got to sit with her.  When he rattled off their seat numbers she looked at Jake like a deer in a head light.  Jake says, “Honey I’m going to check on our seats like we talked about.”  Jake was always saving her…
     I really enjoyed this first book in the trilogy.  Got it free on Amazon.  It is an erotica but I liked it because it was a really good story too which you don’t always get with an erotica.
I give this 5 stars.  Follow us at: www.1rad-readerreviews.com

PLAYING FOR KEEPS

PLAYING FOR KEEPS                          KATE DONOVAN
Posted:  Jan. 30, 2015

Playing for Keeps by Kate DonovanWhen Erica McCall finally gets her big break in advertising, she knows just which spokesperson to pitch: gorgeous football superstar Johnny Spurling. She has followed his career since college and knows he’s perfect for the spot, even though it’s common knowledge his famous family doesn’t do product endorsements, ever. But Erica knows Johnny’s weak spot, and she’s confident she can use it to gain his trust and seal the deal.

Quarterback Johnny Spurling is running out of time. His father’s health is failing, and there’s one last thing he’s asked Johnny to do—settle down and produce a son, before it’s too late. Which means Johnny needs a new kind of girlfriend. No more casual hookups or high-maintenance divas. When his sister-in-law claims to have the perfect candidate, he urges her to set up a postseason blind date.

Then Johnny meets long-haired, long-legged Erica and can’t resist her outrageous proposal—or her. So he decides he’ll do the commercial and have one final, hot-as-hell fling before settling down. They set the ground rules, then proceed to break every one of them as fun turns to the kind of true romance that just doesn’t end with the final touchdown—and with luck, never ends at all.

Words: 101,470

MY REVIEW:
     This is the third book of Kate’s that I have read.  I have to say that her books are very engaging.  You become fully invested in her characters because each one for sure brings something different to the table.  Invoking so many different emotions in you that you feel you are right there in the story with them all.
     This story revolves around Erica McCall who is an up and coming in the Advertising World.  She finally getting her chance to work with the A-team.  Several think she took a cheap shot in how she got there by filing a formal complaint on Frank Garr for sexual harassment.  She agreed not to file formal charges on him and in turn her bosses are allowing her to be able to pitch an idea she has for a client they have. 
Plus a gag order on all at the meeting which was the owner, Frank and A-team executives. All agreed.
     Yet, Frank had a problem keeping from making crude remarks over and over again.  Her idea was accepted on the condition she could get Johnny Spurling who he and his family never did commercial endorsements, but especially for beer since his mom and brother were killed by drunk drivers.  So due to this commercial to air at the half time of the Super Bowl, not wanting his family to find out and clearing things with the league, the NFL, and the Lancers the team Johnny plays QB for.  Mum was the word.
     Plus when they met with Johnny and his agent Murf, there was a glow of sexual chemistry that bounced off Erica and Johnny.  So, when they chose to have a couple of nights together they knew it would have to be over by Super Bowl.  He had promised his dad he would finally settle down, get married, and start a family.  So, finally agreed to have a blind date with a school teacher after Super Bowl that his sister-in-law would set up.  Or will it happen???
     The ones that stole my heart in this book were “Bam Man” and “Deck.”  I want me a “Deck.”  They were just so funny, sweet, and cute.  I give this book 5 stars.  Provided by Net Galley.  Follow us at: www.1rad-readerreviews.com

CUPCAKES AND CRUSHES (TURTLE PINE #1)

CUPCAKES AND CRUSHES                  KERI FORD
Posted:  Jan. 30, 2015

Sometimes there is enough sweet to make up for the bitter.

Turtle Pine, Book 1

Years ago, a broken heart sent Annie Cookie running from home, and she’s never looked back—until now. Her grandpa’s broken wrist means the family bakery is at risk of losing two big orders.

Reluctantly, Annie returns to Turtle Pine to help out, only to discover it’s not just seven hundred cupcakes she has to bake, but also a wedding cake for the half-sister who stole her high-school sweetheart. Annie left town to get away from her sister. No way is she getting mixed up with her again. Once the cupcakes are done, she’s outta there.

Back in high school, Cade Revlin hid his crush on his brother’s girl, but when his brother dumped Annie for another Cookie sister, Annie slipped through his fingers and out of town. Now that she’s back, he’s determined to give her a reason to stay.

He’s got one week to change her mind. Or she’ll be gone in a cloud of powdered sugar.

Warning: Contains small-town meddling, family drama and all the necessary ingredients for a second chance at love—if they have the guts to turn up the heat.

MY REVIEW:
     What do you do when you are the most hated person in your family?  When all you did was to be born.  That was the million dollar question that Annie Cookie kept asking herself.  You see it turns out her father had an affair with her mother when he was married.
     Her mother was about to give Annie up for adoption.  Her grandparents got there before she could do that, causing problems in her father’s marriage.  The thought of Annie caused fights and one night after a fight his wife had gotten in the car and left.  Two blocks from home ran a stop sign and was killed.  Her dad shipped Annie’s two sister’s to her grandparent’s too.
     Tina being older, hated her on site.  Jane being the same age, 3, they got along when Tina wasn’t around as they got older the torturing of Annie got worse to the point where Annie stayed away from the house as much as possible.  Then she started dating Peter and for two years all was good.  Then they had a scare and Jane was there for her and said she would talk to Peter.  She didn’t really care about Peter but here she truly thought her and Jane had turned a corner and were becoming friends/sisters.  So, the betrayal was deep.
     After that she became invisible so she thought.  She became focused on reading all she could on baking and decorating because she was leaving to go to college and never coming back so she thought.  But her grandma calls saying her grandpa broke his wrist and that he had 700 cupcakes to make and a wedding cake.  This is where it all gets exciting.  Let’s just say she wasn’t invisible to one young man who had lost his heart to her at 12.  This week he is planning on getting it back from her too.
     Cade Revlin was asked by Tina to pick Annie up from the airport.  Being that he is covered from head to toe in mud she has no idea who he is.  By his overall built and being asked by her evil stepsister to pick her up that he’s Tina’s boyfriend.  That is surely not the case and when she finds out her interest is peeked and disappointed all in one shot.
     I totally enjoyed this book.  It was so very funny and playful.  The characters had depth to them.  It was a family drama that you could see being played out in your own family for sure.  I give this book 5 stars.  Provided by Net Galley.  Follow us at:  www.1rad-readerreviews.com

THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE

THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE                JANE O'REILLY
Posted:  Jan. 30, 2015

The Pleasure Principle by Jane  O'ReillyAn education...

When it comes to sex, shy and awkward Verity is as reluctant as a virgin. So imagine her horror and shame when her ex reveals her inadequacies to the internet? To prove that she’s not frigid, as claimed, she’ll sleep with the very next man she sees!

So when her boss, Cal Bailey, a man completely confident in his own sexiness, invites her to one of his legendary parties Verity leaps at the chance. She gets Cal right where she wants him but at the crucial moment her insecurities take over, leaving Cal confused and her frustrated!

Verity, convinced she can’t do it, is set for rejection again but Cal is a sexpert and he’s determined to turn Verity’s pain into her ultimate pleasure...
 

MY REVIEW:
     This story overall has a much better vive to it when you start reading it than “Guilty Pleasures.”  For me “Guilty Pleasures” was darker than lite and playful as this one feels out of the shoot.
     This is a story of two people who work together Verity and one of her bosses Cal, who is well known for his sex parties.  Cal hears her crying in the back room over what she found on a posting on the internet.  It was posted by her ex-boyfriend.
     It’s a site where you rate your girlfriends in bed, he gave her a two.  He also said, “My girlfriend is so frigid she makes the Artic look Warm.”  Nice guy!  Cal decides then and there to invite her to one of his parties that night.  She goes and well let’s just say it was extremely over whelming and over stimulating. 
     So, she rushes out and who does she run into on her way to her car but her ex-Will and his friends.  He calls out to her asking why she was there.  Why she was leaving was she kicked out.  Was it because they threw her out.  Just about when she was about ready to respond Cal comes up to her. He says, “Hello Will!”  Will says hi and he heard he was having one of his parties.  Cal says, “Nope!”  Verity says, “Right, I’ll just be going then.”  Cal says, “I’ll walk you home, see you around, Will.”  He puts his arm around her and they walk away.  It feels like they connect in all ways.  Because they do that night.
     Then a week goes by and he brings her a gift to the office and tells her he wants to have her again.  Giving her a present of a sex toy but she returns it.  She’s happy he thought of her but mad.  Under the circumstances because she wants to be more than a two she wants to learn to be more than a two in bed.
     This couple goes on a sexual journey to help Verity find herself.  What ends up happening is they both end up finding not only a friendship but a grand love that runs deeper than all sexual experiences.
     I really enjoyed this story much better than “Guilty Pleasures” because it’s much more lite hearted.  The characters seem more real in a lot of ways, although Verity’s neurosis is all of womanhood’s rolled into one character.  Which can make you chuckle and sad too. 
     I give this book 5 stars.  Provided by Net Galley
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GUILTY PLEASURES

GUILTY PLEASURES                            JANE O'REILLY
Posted:  Jan. 30, 2015

Guilty PleasureAfter hours...

Architect Tasha has to work harder and longer to be taken seriously by her sexist boss. No wonder she feels like a pressure cooker ready to explode! 

But working late every night Tasha has found some very creative ways to relieve that pressure once her co-workers have left for the day. Far from taking orders - in her steamy fantasies Tasha is the one issuing instructions and her fellow (smuggest!) architect Ethan Hall has to do her bidding! 

Then one night, Ethan catches Tasha in the act. Tasha’s sure Ethan will use the discovery to sink her career so she’s stunned, then thrilled, when he promises to make her secret fantasies a red-hot reality...

MY REVIEW:
  Ethan and Tasha start the game of cat and mouse.  But no one else knows their part of their game.  You see the thrill is in the possibility of getting caught in a sexual act.  The thing is the author whom I love, she wrote “She Who Dares,” is book it took me till 10% in to engage with it.  Although much of this is of their sexual escapades are over the top for me so I just skipped it.
     What I did like was that I didn’t stop and that I actually found the story within of a real couple.  One who needed to cut loose and one who needed to cut back.  In each other they were able to find that happy medium.
     For me I felt it had issues combining a story with the erotica smoothly at first.  I found it rather uncomfortable at the first 10% of the book.  Until she meets Ethan and their one on one.  I give this book 3 stars.  Provided by Net Galley
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FULL THROTTLE #7

FULL THROTTLE #7                              JULIE ANN WALKER
Posted:  Jan. 30, 2015

Full Throttle (Black Knights Inc., #7)She Needs a Hero... 

Abby Thompson didn’t sign up to be the daughter of the President of the United States. The position was forced on her by the small matter of her birth. Preferring a quiet life of study, she’s content to leave the politics and the international intrigue to her father. Unfortunately, the most powerful man on the planet is sure to make enemies. When a group of armed thugs takes her hostage half a world away, demanding the U.S. government release prisoners in exchange for her safe return, she fears her father’s policy of “not negotiating with terrorists” means she’ll never see the shores of the Potomac again. Luckily, there’s one glimmer of hope. His name is Carlos Soto. And though she abruptly ended things with him years ago, she knows now he’s the only man who can save her…

Black Knights, Inc. to the Rescue... 

Carlos “Steady” Soto has taken part in his fair share of dangerous missions working at the covert government defense firm of Black Knights Inc. But nothing prepared him for the emotional rollercoaster he faces when he’s tasked with rescuing the only woman he ever loved—who also broke his heart. Racing against time and outmaneuvering a group of trained terrorists will take everything he’s got. Plus there’s the heat simmering between them which is threatening to ignite into an inferno. While ruthless enemies stalk them, they must learn to trust each other again. Even if they do make it out alive, will Abby turn her back on him…for the second time?

MY REVIEW:
     What’s a guy to do when he falls in love with the future president of the United States daughter?  Especially, if he has been told by his own twin he could never measure up.  Being that he comes from a Puerto Rican immigrant’s, who worked in a bar and he’s just him a medical student.  Forget the minor details of both he and Rosa his twin a crazy smart pre-med and that the future president’s daughter, Abby Thompson, has a mad crush on Carlos Soto.
     Rosa was to be Abby’s pre-med advisor during her college stay.  Which seemed to be working out great.  Carlos somehow always seemed to pop up around her or them at any given time.  Which Abby, never minded.  Rosa did because she knew from day one that even though Carlos kept telling himself and Abby that he was too old for her or anyone her age, 19, he still was crushing on her too.  They both had this fun bantering fun that Rosa never understood.
     This morning was no acceptation.  Abby was due to meet Rosa at the coffee shop, when she was walking along campus of course the secret service detail in toe, she runs into Carlos.  He calls out to her she trips over her own two feet like she always does around him.  When the next thing she knows she’s falling into an oncoming car.  She closes her eyes for impact and she feels a yank on her wrist and the next thing she knows she’s being held in the arms of the man she dreams of nightly.  Once she’s calm he releases her, she thanks him, and she continues on with him in toe.
     He asks where she’s going and she says to meet Rosa.  He’s perplexed because Rosa tells him everything and she didn’t tell him this.  They do their bantering thing as they walk getting closer to the coffee shop.  She’s running late and she feels bad but glad to have the time with Carlos.  When all of a sudden there’s an explosion and she is knocked to the ground.  Her ears are ringing she can’t see there is something heavy on her she can’t move.  Her detail is yelling, “Stay down Abby!”  She yells, “What’s going on?”  Then she hears, “Soto stay down!”  Then she is riddled with fear.
     This is a fun and exciting story.  I didn’t know really what to expect.  Well, maybe I did I was expecting cheesy but not what I got.  There is the secondary story line of her detail that goes on too that is so good also.  Only wish more would have come of Dan and Penni at the end.  A really good book I give it 5 stars.  Provided by Net Galley.

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