THE SUMMER'S END

THE SUMMER'S END                                  MARY ALICE MONROE
Posted:  May 19, 2015

The Summer's EndIt is summer’s end and Sea Breeze, the family’s beloved estate on Sullivan’s Island, must be sold. It is an emotional time of transition as Mamaw and the three sisters each must face loss and find a new place in the world.

Harper, the youngest sister, arrived at Sea Breeze intending to stay only a weekend, but a rift with her wealthy, influential mother left her without direction or a home. During this remarkable summer, free from her mother’s tyranny and with the help of her half sisters, Harper discovered her talents and independent spirit. 

But summer is ending, and the fate of Sea Breeze hinges on Harper’s courage to decide the course of her own life. To do so she must release her insecurities and recognize her newfound strengths. She must accept love fully into her life—the love of Mamaw, Carson, and Dora, the love of Sea Breeze and the lowcountry, and most of all, the love of a Wounded Warrior who has claimed her heart.

MY REVIEW:
We all look for love to feel it, hold it, and cherish it.  What happens when you come from a background of one controlling parent who has ever wanted you around as a prop or as her beck and call girl?  Welcome to Harper Muir-James life or nightmare whichever you choose. 
     You see her mother Georgiana is originally from England.  She lives with a sense of entitlement.  Believes that even at 28 years old Harper must still mind her, live with her, but must work for her at the top publishing company too.  Not as an Editor as she has a degree for.  No!  That would be too easy.  As her personal assistant who can do nothing right.
     When it came time for Mamaw’s (grandmother) 80th birthday party at Sea Breeze the family estate.  Harper knew she would be going no matter what.  To which her mummy did everything in her powers to make her not go.  To the point of a fight that makes Harper quit her job.  So, mid-May she was off to Sullivan Island close to Charlotte for Mamaw’s Birthday.  For Harper it was like going home.  But the last time she had stayed out there for the summer was when she was 10 or 12.  She and her two sisters from different mothers would have their exciting summer adventures at Sea Breeze.
     As they each got older and life got in the way coming to stay with Mamaw and Lucille just never happened.  The sad thing is they all had planned to stay just short whiles, it kept stretching for all of them.  Started mid-May seven days in Lucille’s passes away.  You see it had been Mamaw’s and Lucille’s plan to bring the girls to one last summer together before Mamaw sold the homestead.  The one home they all loved, the one they could always call home, Sea Breeze.  All the girls had drifted so far apart she needed them to find each other again and themselves again too.
     Endora (Dora) along with her son Nate, were in the middle of a nasty divorce.  On top of it Nate has Asperger’s and he is getting harder to handle during his episodes.  She had always home schooled him but that is no longer an option for either of them.  Luckily an old flame finds her again and they connect.
     Carson has always been the closes to Harper for they were the adventures souls.  They loved to be pirate buddies together looking for treasure around the island.  Yet, Carson has her own issues that are starting to push Harper’s buttons.  She has a plus one, Blake that she loves in her Carson way. Being a still photographer puts her in a detachment mode from her emotion sometimes.  When a crisis comes to Carson and Blake she finds it hard to rely on Blake for help.  She is so use to fixing things on her own.
     Harper is searching for direction now that she had no one breathing down her neck to tell her how to think, feel, and act.
When the girls decide to act like grownups and not children by helping around the house, they decide to clean house.  When she is in the middle of a deep clean of the kitchen the doorbell rings.  No one is around to answer it so she does.  A sexy as hell, tall, broad, muscular man turns and smiles at her.  Their eyes meet and hold for a little too long and at that moment it feels like she had known Taylor McClellan for forever.  He says hello and his name and asks for Carson.  Harper is just there blinking when it hits her of course he is there for Carson.  She asks him in and gets her sister…
     This was one of the most enchanting stories of love I have ever read.  The love of a grandmother for her granddaughters, the love of men, and the women who love them back.  The love of home and hearth, the love of nature, and most of all the love of roots.  The true connection that binds us to those we love.  This has some of the tenderest moments where you will be collecting your tears.  There will also be some funny places where you will find yourself laughing out loud.  This is a family saga that is so worth reading you will not waste your time at all.  I give this 5++++ stars.  If I could give 6 stars I would.  Provided by Net Galley.
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SPECIAL DELIVERY

SPECIAL DELIVERY                                      LAURA BROWNING
Posted:  May 19, 2015

Special Delivery (Mountain Meadow Homecomings, #1)Welcome home to Mountain Meadow, Virginia—a small town with a big heart, where love is just around the corner…

All Holly Morgan wants is a safe place to have her baby. Nestled deep within the Blue Ridge Mountains, miles away from her abusive ex-fiancé, Spence, Mountain Meadow seems perfect. Holly can manage a few meddling church matrons if it means Spence can’t find her. Harder to handle is Jake Allred. He may be a dark-haired hunk, but he’s also someone Holly can’t trust: a cop. 

Since his time in the military, Lieutenant Jake Allred has lived to protect and serve. And if anyone needs protection, it’s Holly. Having been let down by the law before, she’s wary of letting Jake into her life. But when an unexpected snow storm strands them together, their attraction is hot enough to melt the mounting ice. Just when Jake thinks he’s finally warmed Holly’s heart, Spence strikes. Now it’s up to Jake to save Holly’s baby and bring their fledgling family back together.

MY REVIEW:
     This is one of those books that just grips you from the onset.  You are carried through so many emotions on your way to a thought provoking story.  Exuberant joy to overwhelming anguish.
     This story starts with a very pregnant Holly Morgan and 11 year old brother Tyler fleeing for their lives in the middle of the night.  Holly’s ex fiancé Spence Dilby, of Dilby the department store chain, has proven not only to be a stalker but has laid hands on them both.  Being from that family he’s from, the restraining order he has against him means nothing. For the police just turn their backs or a blind eye.  This move is heart wrenching but she can’t let him hurt Tyler or the baby who is yet to be born.
     You see Holly and Tyler’s parents were killed a year ago in a car accident and Tyler was injured in the same accident.  She had met Spence a little before that but the push to be with her was on once they passed.  Not knowing it was her first time he took her rough.  Which only made her not want it again until after they were to be married if even.  Spence started to change though not being as kind, saying cruel things in front of others.  But the icing on the cake was when she said she was when she said she was pregnant.  He full on denied it and said she was just trying to trap him.  Which floored her since they were engaged.  So, they were over!
     The next thing she knows he’s calling saying his new fiancé can’t have children.  Then he said the one thing that made her cold to the bone.  That he wanted to baby to give to the new fiancé.  As if her daughter was a dog to be exchanged from owner to owner.  When she said never that’s when he got scary.  She tried selling her childhood home even lowering the price and nothing.  The she decided to just rent it out.  Now she was just dropping off keys with the realtor on the way out to see what he could do.
     So, sometime the next day the stop along the highway see the name of this little town Mountain Meadow.  They thought it was as good enough place to start over as anyplace else.  An older gentleman rented them what I guess you could call a house.  It was a ways out of town but it would do.  After they were settled in she knew what was available so she got a bookkeeping job at a pallet place.  Didn’t pay great but better than nothing. She makes an appointment with Dr. Jenny Owens for a check-up.  She’s fine but the baby’s showing stress.  She now needs to be on total bed rest, now the panic starts in.  She had Tyler wait at the general store while she saw the doctor.  While there he met Jake Allred Lieutenant Police Chief.
     Jake served 10 years in the military in the Special Forces the last half.  When he had to be sent home parts of his buddy, “No Man Left Behind!”  He knew it his career was over.  He came home to Mountain Meadows for a few reasons but then decided he needed the familiar and to feel safe being around people he knew.  The worst is the nightmares he wants a family so bad it hurts but with the frightening wakes he can’t think of subjecting a mate to that anguish.
     But the afternoon Holly walked into the store to pick up her brother and they met he knew.  No other woman could compare to her beauty.  Yet, her eyes told a story of lack of trust, panic, and fear.  Although her words were kind the tone was not.  He looks down to look for a ring and finds no ring but does find a baby bump.  He just remembers being so disappointed someone was lucky enough to have her and she was carrying his child.
     Now though the total bed rest means Tyler has to do more.  Which thank goodness he does.  Like going to the grocery store to do shopping when he arrives home extremely late she was in a panic.  Jake was the one who gave him a ride home brought food too.  Calming her but also sending her lady parts on red alert.

     This is the start of a process of learning to trust for both of them.  When something life changing effects them all the results of it changes the town.  I give this 5 stars.  Provided by Net Galley.  Follow us at: www.1rad-readerreviews.com 

A MONTH OF SUNDAYS

A MONTH OF SUNDAYS                              LAVENDER DAYE & R.L. SYME
Posted:  May 19, 2015

A Month of SundaysJoe Walker made a bet. His friends want him to date a frumpy librarian for at least a month, and while Joe is less than keen, he needs the carrot they offer. Almost a hundred thousand dollars to be invested in his business. 

Krista considers herself to be a serious woman, a master's graduate, a librarian... and she has a plan for the children of Somewhere, TX. When Joe approaches her, insisting they should date, she knows him by reputation. He's not the kind of man a librarian should date. But in person, he proves to be more persuasive than she anticipated, and she soon finds herself agreeing to a month of Sundays. 

Joe's friends are convinced they can turn him from a playboy into a serious adult, but he's not going to play by the rules.... none of them... 

This book is a follow-up to our first boxed set, TEXAS SUNRISE.

MY REVIEW:
     When you have been hurt in a relationship before we sometimes do anything to protect our hearts. That is exactly what this couple seems to be doing. 
     You have a 30 year old playboy who is still bedding the KAS Sorority Girls.  His high school football friends can’t stand to see him self-destruct anymore.  They thought for sure when his dad died last year he would become more responsible since he left his bar, “Everyday Joe’s” to him.  But Joe Walker has gotten worse.  Now he wants to barrow a huge chunk of cash from his pals to improve as well as bring all the things up to code before the city shuts him down.  There is a guy there who is being a hard as and is gunning for him.
     His friends Will Sloan, Berg Klein, Adam Van Bandt, and Rob Mac Leod have made a surprise visit on a Saturday morning.  When they let themselves in there is a trail of women’s clothing leading to his bedroom.  When they open the door to his bedroom he’s reading the paper on the bed and a blond chick that doesn’t even look old enough to get a drink at his bar is sound asleep next to him with just a sheet to cover her.  She wakes and asks who they are and the guys have words with her and Joe sees it’s not going good.  He has her wrap up toga style in the sheet and has her grab up all her clothes and leave because the guys are serious about a business meeting.
     When he gets back in the room they say that his life style has to change.  Then Will speaks and says he is not going to lead him money, because he doesn’t have that kind to lend not to mention it would never fly with his wife.  Especially since he is the talk of the town and he being the pastor and Joe being who he has become.  Basically a man whore.  The others say they will lend it but there are rules.  One is he will have to date a lady with a good reputation and they have one in mind, for one month.  No sex at all with anyone for that month.
     He agrees although he says he is feeling ganged up on and that he really needs the money to make the upgrades and expand, otherwise they will close him down.  They said that they had picked out a woman not a girl for him to date.  He got a funny look and they told him they were starting to worry you’re going to come home with one our nieces or a high schooler soon.  It was hitting him slowly that he was the laughing stock of the town.  They tell him to get dressed they are going to meet the woman right now.  They take him to the library to meet the children’s librarian Krista Foley.  She dresses like she just stepped out of the 50’s.  But Joe doesn’t hesitate asking her to dinner to talk over some business.  But she shoots him down.
     Right away his friends start rethinking her as the choice and start brainstorming.  But he says flat out “No it’s her.”  He asks again the wording he uses this time includes the total truth about a bet and the month of dates and how he can help her with a problem she has at the library and it fund raiser.  They make their own deal and she agrees to date him with her own rules, “NO SEX AND NO STRINGS!”
     This is a short story that has quite a punch.  But it is served up with a lot of humor, friendship, and love.  Small town and meddling by all what could go wrong with that?
I give this 5 stars.  Provided by NetGalley.
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THE MILLIONAIRE DADDY PROJECT

THE MILLIONAIRE DADDY PROJECT              ROXANNE SNOPEK
Posted:  May 19, 2015

The Millionaire Daddy ProjectHe takes control...and gives all kinds of pleasure

In the space of about a second, successful restaurateur Dane Bergman has gone from millionaire playboy to daddy. Now he's the sole guardian of a very adorable and willful four-year-old child, and he's counting on his executive assistant, Pamela Atwater, to save his ass. Even if it means bringing her along on a month-long ocean-side retreat...

Pamela Atwater prides herself on being the perfect assistant. Whatever Dane wants or needs, she's there—pretending to ignore Dane's golden charm and drop-dead gorgeousness. On vacation, however, Pamela sees a side of Dane she never imagined. And it's a side that tempts her to cross the line between professional and personal. But is one month enough time to prove to Dane that his perfect assistant might just be his perfect match?

MY REVIEW:
     What a way to have your life change in a matter of hours.  In the morning your ruling your kingdom and in the evening your trying to wrap your head around the fact that the woman that you thought you could have let your guard down to love has died.  Then to find out that the two of you had a child together that you never knew about and she will now become yours.  You were just out talking among your loyal subjects. By afternoon your whirling in an under toe of which you have no control.
     That would be Dane Bergman’s life right about now.  You see Dane is a self-made millionaire out to stay ahead of memories and block any feelings.  The two main things that worked so well for him was emergence in work and an endless array of women.  Always with an understanding he does not do long term.  Always with his trusted assistant sending flowers at the proper amount of days ending it formally.
     But when a social worker shows up unannounced his ever efficient Executive Assistant Pamela Atwater in her outer office is none too happy.  She is a force to contend with.  She has worked with Dane from the beginning, she knows all his ups and downs, moods, women and business deals.  So, when this woman wants to see him and says it’s personal she has to insist to know why.  When she tells her she’s a social worker and there is a child involved is off puts Pam.  She goes into tell Dane of course he agrees to see her and Pam stays with when she mentions Carman Maria Wilde.  It rings no bells for Pam which if she would have been one of his many women she of all people would have known due to the flowers.  She is his line of defense when the relationships end.  The expression on Dane’s face says he does know her.  At first he denies it could be his because he hadn’t seen her in like 5 years.  Then the worker said that the child is 4 almost 5.
     So, she says she needs a swab sample she takes it closes it up and then Dane swipes it out of her hand with the file.  He puts the swab in his coat pocket and says he will have the results back in 24-48 hours.  Then he says he will send her the results but that no matter what that Carman’s child will be cared for.  She says the files are confidential.  He looks anyway.  He sees she died in a car crash, that she had a daughter.  That she also had M.S.  He slumps into his chair.  Looking back she was one of the women he hadn’t sent on her way then had flowers sent to.  At this point Pam steals the file from him.  At if not noticing, still thinking that he had loved being around Carmen.  She was brash and she was exotic in a way but he thought after she left he could have love her, she could have been the one???
     She had been the closest thing to what he understood love to be.  When Pam’s voice broke into his thoughts he in some ways resented her being there seeing that he was a screw up like she said would happen one day.  Yet, he wanted no one else by his side.  When she tells him he needs to really see something in the file.  It’s a picture of Carmen and the child in question.  She looks just like him as a child.  His hair and his eyes.  He ask her name she says, Danielle.  He says, Little Dani.  That’s what he was called as a kid because his give name was Danny Berg.
     But living in foster homes after foster home both his parents O.D.’d. It was not fun so he changed his name to erase his past.  But it was his last foster home that saved him.  There he was met at 14 with love, understanding, and care.  Anna and her brother Ron took him under their wings and loved him unconditionally.  He is forever grateful.
     Once the worker leaves it is him and Pam.  He starts to panic.  She tells him he can do this that she needs him no one else. Like she and he both knew foster homes at least good ones are far and few between.  But if he really didn’t think he could or really didn’t want to now was the time to decide because she is at an age to be adoptable.  At which he was irate.  Which she was happy about.  She said she would be there to help as much as she could.
     That’s all he needed basically like at work he thought she would just do it all.  Did he have another thing coming!  Pam was not a total push over.  She had a love for him but his child trumped everything even her secret love.
     I loved, loved, loved this book.  A must read.  A fun easy book to read.  I give this 5++++ stars.  Provided by NetGalley.
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MIDNIGHT RIDE

MIDNIGHT RIDE                                         CAT JOHNSON
Posted:  May 19, 2015

Midnight Ride (Midnight Cowboys, #1)One bucking bronco…
Oklahoma ranch hand Tyler Jenkins is too young, too sexy, and too damn wild to be tied down by any single woman—for more than a few steamy hours…

One hard-working widow…
Widowed rancher Janie Smithwick is too busy paying off her debts to play rodeo with a reckless young cowboy like Tyler—no matter how hot he gets her…

One midnight ride they’ll never forget…
As a rule, Janie should be dating a man her own age, like her handsome neighbor Rohn—not the twenty-four-year old ranch hand he employs. But once Tyler gets Janie alone—held tight in his arms, pressed against his hard muscled body, burning with desire—the widow realizes that some rules, like broncos, are meant to be broken…

MY REIVIEW:
     How do you tell your heart no once it has set itself to loving just one and has no room for anyone else?  This is the case for Tyler Jenkins, 24.  Due to a misunderstanding with a girl he met at The Two Step Bar he met Janie Smithwick, 36.
     You see Tyler had gone out to the bar with his work friend, Colton, to drink and meet girls.  Well, no sooner do they make it in the door when they each meet someone.  The girl Ty meets is quick to ask if he wants to go out back, he agrees.  No sooner are they out the door when she is kissing the enamel off his teeth with her tongue.  Then she moves her hand lower down to unhook his belt.  When he says, “Whoa slow down.”  When asked what’s the matter she says she’s mad at her fiancé and that she caught him staring at some girls tits.  Ty’s like hold up did you talk to him about it?  She mumble something like, But I saw him right there at the front door. Plus I can’t talk to him until the other bouncer relieves him. When it all clicks in Ty’s brain, wait she said “fiancé and bouncer” in the same sentences and “at the front door.” 
     Ty sees his life flash before his very eyes as the back door goes flying open as the back door opens hitting the back wall of the bar.  Seeing this too big for words, too mad bouncer coming after him.  What’s a guy to do but run of course, right?  There is a nearby forest that he sees as his safest bet of losing this guy bodily wise not so much, the branches are whacking him everywhere.  Not to mention it’s a little hard to run full out trying to hold on to your pants that are still unzipped and unbuckled.  Every time he stops and looks back he hears load grunting, this guy is pissed.  Really he can’t blame him he would be too still he’s not stopping to make amends that’s for sure.
     He sees he’s coming to a clearing by where the hardware store is he needs a quick plan.  He scans it quickly his best option is a truck he hops in the back he hopes lying flat the guy will just run right past him.  Well, God is on his side because there is a tarp in it.  So he covers up, holds his breath.  He hears the bouncer crash through the trees and hears him keep running.  Then, when he thinks he’s in the clear he hears footsteps walking to the truck.  He is worried so he holds his breath again.  Then he hears voices a females and a males and they stop beside the truck.  Now he’s really worried, especially since his pants are still unbuckled.  He hears the woman say thanks for carrying that out for me to the attendant.  Then someone pulls back the tarp.  To the surprise of all three there is Ty.
     It turns out the guy who brings out the post for the lady is a high school buddy of Ty’s.  He’s like Ty what are you doing?  Ty sends out his million dollar smile to the lady standing by him.  Basically, Ty says it’s not what it looks like.  Hops up and tells his friend let me help you get that in for this nice lady. Once they get it in his friend says fix your pants.  He does while looking around.  His friend teases him about what he may have gotten into now when he sees how uneasy the lady is.  His friend says, Ty may act crazy but he’s not at all.  He’s harmless and a good guy.  Then the friend asks, where’s your truck?  He says it’s at Rohn’s, the ranch he works at.  When the lady introduces herself she says she can give him a ride that she goes right by there.
     On the way to Rohn’s she gets curious about why he was hiding in her truck but he keeps steering it away with other talk.  As they are almost there he looks at her ring finger and finds that she is wearing a wedding ring.  He finds himself saying “to bad.”  Not only did she think she was sexy but she was easy to talk to.  But for sure she has curves in all the right places, small and compact, and mature knowing what she wants.  They turn into Rohn’s he tells her thanks for the ride sorry for putting her out of her way.  She tells him he didn’t that the last drive they passed was hers.  He says you’re the widow?  She laughs because after a year that’s the first time she heard anyone call her that.  He then ask what she planned to do with that fence post.  She says that the last storm knocked a branch loose that took out part of her fence and she needs to replace the post.
     Ty thought for all of two seconds.  Not happening he said.  Have you ever done it?  She said, no.  He says for being so nice that he’d be over in the morning to do it.  She said no but he said it was thanks for the ride home.  So, when she got up she found herself excited to have him coming over.  She thought about fixing herself up but she was like are you crazy he’s not coming for you he’s coming to work so hurry up so you can help.  When she got downstairs she started the coffee she hears a knock and it’s Ty and another hand, Colton, they come in for coffee.  Then is when she finds out the guys already did it.  She was totally surprised.  When Ty hears Colton say I only met Tom a few times he was a good man if you ever need any help around here just let Rohn know we would be glad to help.  That just sent a steel rod up Ty’s back.  He wanted to be the one that she needed to do for Janie and Colton was stealing his thunder. 
     After work Ty shows up on Janie’s doorstep.  He tells her that her alfalfa is ready to be cut and harvested.  That she needed to talk to her hand about doing it.  She said when her husband died she had to let him go with most of the cattle too.  He looked at her and said, I’ll do it!  She said no she couldn’t ask that of him.  He said, she didn’t ask he offered.  That when it was done that his boss might even buy it.  She couldn’t believe it.  She had been so worried about making ends meet this an answer to a prayer.  Not to mention lonely and now the most unlikely person was there to be was there to be her friend.  She invited him to stay for dinner.  He was excited and grateful to spend time with her.
     One day led to two then more but when that first kiss of his came, Janie panicked.  Was it right?  He’s so young (12 years younger.)  It’s only been a year since Tom died.  What would people think?  What would a young sexy as hell rodeo star see in her?  Well, you will have to read and find out.  This is so funny, endearing, and tender.  You can feel all to giddy, sad, joyful emotions that happen with and around Ty and Janie.  I give this 5 stars.  Provided by NetGalley.
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MIRACLE AT THE HIGHER GROUNDS CAFE

MIRACLE AT THE HIGHER GROUNDS CAFE            MAX LUCADO
Posted:  May 19, 2015

Miracle at the Higher Grounds CafeWhat if you could ask God anything? What would you ask? And how would he answer?

Chelsea Chambers is on her own. After a public split from her NFL superstar husband, Chelsea takes a bold step out of the limelight and behind the counter of the Higher Grounds Cafe, an old-fashioned coffee shop in dire need of reinvention. But when her courage, expert planning, and out-of-this-world cupcakes fail to pay the bills, this newly single mom finds herself desperate for help. Better yet, a miracle.

Then a curious stranger lands at Chelsea's door, and with him, an even more curious string of events. Soon, customers are flocking to the Higher Grounds Cafe, and not just for the cupcakes and cappuccino. They've come for the internet connection to the divine. Now the cafe has become the go-to place for people in search of answers to life's biggest questions.

When a catastrophe strikes and her ex comes calling, Chelsea begins to wonder if the whole universe is conspiring against her quest to make it on her own. After a shocking discovery opens her eyes to the unseen world around her, Chelsea finds the courage to ask, and heaven answers in a most unexpected way.
 

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This book is about a mom, who has left her husband after his high profile life as an NFL quarterback has been shown on the internet of his last encounter with a women that was not his wife. She has decided to move back to her home town in Texas and take over her mother’s coffee shop called Higher grounds café. She is dealing with her children that don’t want to be there along with people from town who only want to know want it was like being married to the hottest quarterback in the NFL and from Texas. They meet in college and she never thought her life would be like this. Then she receives notice from the IRS that her mother owes them and she is barely making it as it is. Max Lucado, uses this story and has an angel come down to help her but there is so much more to this story. She is looking for her faith which she has lost, forgiveness of her husband who actually is doing everything to apologize and tell her that he has made the biggest error of his life and is their any way that she could forgive him. Then there is the teenage boy who comes in she talks to and he tell her that his mother is sick. You find out later that she is dying from cancer and she pray is not for herself but for someone to love her son and take him in to a family so he is not running the streets. Once again a mother putting her sons needs before her own. Once Chelsea starts to look at her life and then turn back to the Lord things start to change for her. This is a good story and full of meaning. A good book. I got this book from net galley.  I give this 4 stars.

LAWLESS IN LEATHER

LAWLESS IN LEATHER                             MELANIE SCOTT
Posted:  May 19, 2015

Lawless In Leather (New York Saints, #3)Reina Easton never expected to be training a cheerleading squad for a baseball team. But the owner of the building where her burlesque club is housed is threatening to sell, and she needs to get a deposit together. 

Malachi Coulter can't believe that Alex Winters wants cheerleaders for their team. When he meets Reina, he can't deny his attraction… He's just not sure that Reina's wild ways are what he's looking for. Reina isn't thrilled about finding herself attracted to a guy like Mal, ex-army, motorcycle, security, tough guy.

When a crazed fan starts causing trouble, Mal is pulled in two directions. He wants to shut the squad down but Reina wants the money. Can a former bad boy and a former bad girl team up to win the day or are they just destined to strike out?
 

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
Reina Easton is hired to be in charge of cheerleaders for a baseball team that has been bought by three new owners. The partners are looking for anything to get people into the stands but she wants to make sure that they are not a joke. She can also use the money for her business is really just starting. She opened a burlesque club after dancing for years on Broadway as a choir’s line dancer. Malachi Coulter cannot believe that one of his partners Alex Winters has hired cheerleaders for the team because baseball does not have cheerleaders, but he is attracted to Reina and he does not want to act on those feelings. When she sees him she is attracted to him as well but like him does not want to act on those feelings. It is not until a fan they starts making threats and doing damage to her truck and cloths that starts putting the two of them together more. He is not only the security director but also owns a security firm. He starts becoming more concerned when incidents were happening at her club and this put him on guard and put both of them on the front to deal with each one of their own issues. With the help of each other they work through their problems but still must find out who wants to hurt Reina and deal with that person while working as though nothing is happing. A good story with good characters. I got this book from net galley.  I give this 4 stars.

SEAL'S DESIRE

SEAL'S DESIRE                                       ELLE JAMES
Posted:  May 19, 2015

SEAL's Desire: (A Military Romance) (Take No Prisoners Book 2)Navy SEAL teams with a sexy NCIS agent undercover as a stripper to find a missing naval officer. 

Navy SEAL Remy LaDue wants Mitchell Sanders, but hasn't made a move since he slept with her the night of his buddy, her former boyfriend's funeral. A year later, his plan to be her Valentine date runs amuck when he finds her undercover as a stripper at a local club. 
NCIS agent Mitchell Sanders never wanted to settle, dedicated to her job and justice is finally ready to commit to the SEAL she accidentally fell in love with. When her friend, a female navy officer, goes missing she puts her love life on hold and goes undercover to find her friend, only to discover her SEAL is back in town and threatening to blow her cover. 
Remy and Mitchell join forces to find her friend and uncover a human trafficking organization in the darkest heart of Virginia Beach while their attraction for each other burns hotter than the sun. 
HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This story is about a Navy Seal Lieutenant Remy LaDue and a NCIS agent Mitchell Sanders, who was dating his best friend Derek Brewer. Derek was killed on a mission along with two other team members, and at the funeral Remy and Mitchell talked and spent part of the night together until she asked him to leave which he did. They both want to see each other but each of their jobs make it difficult. When she is finally ready to talk to him she finds out that he is deployed once again and they start e mail, texting, and skyping each other. The plans are to meet on Valentine’s Day. When he returns from his mission he leaves messages on her phone but does not her back from and after contacting her boss at NCIS he finds out that she has taken some personal time off, but when they tried to contact her did not get back to them either. He ends up going out with his team that night and he finds her at a strip club working as a stripper. She is working undercover with no back up and when she runs everything down to him he tells her that he wants to help. They also both show how much they miss each other and how he wants her to be done with this case. This is a fast read and a good book. Lots of action. I got this book from net galley.  I give this 4 stars.

BREATH OF SCANDAL

SANDRA BROWN                                          BREATH OF SCANDAL
Posted:  May 19, 2015

Breath of ScandalOn a rainy Southern night, Jade Sperry endured a young woman's worst nightmare at the hands of three local hell-raisers. Robbed of her youthful ideals and at the center of scandal and tragedy, Jade ran as far and as fast as she could. But she never forgot the sleepy "company town" where every man, woman, and child was dependent on one wealthy family. And she never forgot their spoiled son, who, with his two friends, changed her life forever. Someday, somehow, she'd return, exact a just revenge -- and free herself from fear, and the powerful family that could destroy her.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This is a very intense book right from the beginning. Taking place in a small town Jade, who is a senior in high school and has been dating just one guy Graham the whole time are both waiting for their results on whether they got full ride scholarships to college? But the local rich man in town has a son who is in the same class and all he does is party and pick on Graham and he also has always wanted Jade. The day she finds out about the scholarships she takes a ride with her best friend out to tell her boyfriend when the friends’ car runs out of gas. Who comes along is the rich guy with his two hang along and they act like they are going to give them a ride but when Jade gets in they lock the doors and take off leaving the friend. Then the worst happens for Jade as she is raped by the three of them and left out by the river. She makes it back to the road and gets a ride to the hospital and though she does everything right there it just gets worse from there as the sheriff is in the pocket of the man who basically owns the town and then her mother does not want her to press charges and her friend after hours of questioning is upset with her and does not support her story. After a few days she breaks up with her boyfriend and then after a few months go by you find out one day that he kills himself and the reason why is explained more as the book goes along. She ends up leaving town and vowing to get revenge against all the ones who have done this to her. You get to follow her life as she makes it to college and how some people are put in her life to help her. You also have a second story going on about a man named Dillon and these two people will connect it just takes a little while for this to happen. The writing is excellent and the characters are full of depth and you feel for her and as the story goes along you are wondering at the same time can she find healing. This is a powerful story and a very good book. I got this book from net galley.  I give this 5 stars.

BLOOD MOON

BLOOD MOON                                               ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF
Posted:  May 19, 2015

Blood Moon (Huntress/FBI Thrillers, #2)Book II in the Thriller Award-nominated Huntress/FBI series

Twenty-five years have passed since a savage killer terrorized California, massacring three ordinary families before disappearing without a trace.

The haunted child who was the only surviving victim of his rampage is now wanted by the FBI for brutal crimes of her own, and Special Agent Matthew Roarke is on an interstate manhunt for her, despite his conflicted sympathies for her history and motives.

But when his search for her unearths evidence of new family slayings, the dangerous woman Roarke seeks - and wants - may be his only hope of preventing another bloodbath.

It is highly recommended that you read Book 1 of the series, Huntress Moon, first.
 

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This is the second book in the series titled Blood Moon. Agent Roarke is still looking for the reaper who he believes has come back and started killing again. He has his team search data bases on crimes with a 25 year sentence and then when they would be paroled. This takes many days but with the help of computers it does goes faster. He also is dealing with more stress from his team and from his boss who feel that he is not doing all he can in the search and finding Cara Lindstrom who is also killing but for different reasons and is the reapers only survivor for her families attack from years ago when she was 5. Now Roarke is against two but he feels a connection with Cara and she feels one with him and this comes to help him and the end of the book. This is a very good and intense story with a lot of mystery and suspense which adds to the story and the ending. A very good book. I got this book from net galley.  I give this 4 stars.

HUNTRESS MOON

HUNTRESS MOON                                             ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF
Posted:  May 19, 2015

Huntress Moon (The Huntress/FBI Thrillers Book 1)A Thriller Award nominee for Best eBook Original Novel... Book 1 in award-winning author Alexandra Sokoloff's riveting new Huntress FBI series about a driven FBI agent on the hunt for that most rare of all killers: a female serial.
FBI Special Agent Matthew Roarke is closing in on a bust of a major criminal organization in San Francisco when he witnesses an undercover member of his team killed right in front of him on a busy street, an accident Roarke can’t believe is coincidental. His suspicions put him on the trail of a mysterious young woman who appears to have been present at each scene of a years-long string of “accidents” and murders, and who may well be that most rare of killers: a female serial.
Roarke’s hunt for her takes him across three states...while in a small coastal town, a young father and his five-year old son, both wounded from a recent divorce, encounter a lost and compelling young woman on the beach and strike up an unlikely friendship without realizing how deadly she may be.
As Roarke uncovers the shocking truth of her background, he realizes she is on a mission of her own, and must race to capture her before more blood is shed.
This is a new release of a previously published edition.
HUBBY'S REVIEW:
Huntress Moon, is about a serial killer who an FBI agent named Roarke, sees kills one of his agents but is amazed in how she did it. As the story goes along you find out so much more about the killer, who she is and why she is doing the killings. You also find out that there is a little bit of a connection between Roarke and the female. This leads to quit the change in locating her and what is the agent going to do if by chance he comes face to face with her. As he finds out more and more about her past they are almost drawn to one another and you get the feeling that something very dramatic is going to happen as you are getting close to the end of the book. I will not spoil it for you but this is an excellent story that begins and goes through as someone would on an investigation. This makes for a more dramatic story but also at times a slow read. That is because they are following leads which I actually liked and made the story more intense for me. Good characters and well written, a good book. I got this book from net galley.   I gave this 4 stars.

OFFICER ELVIS

OFFICER ELVIS                                               GARY GUSICK
Posted:  May 19, 2015

Officer Elvis (Darla Cavannah Mysteries, #2)In the vein of Harlan Coben and Lisa Gardner, Gary Gusick takes readers on an explosive ride-along with Mississippi detective Darla Cavannah, a Yankee transplant making her name in the Deep South.
 
After performing at a local old-folks home, off-duty police officer and part-time Elvis impersonator Tommy Reylander smoothes out his pompadour, climbs into his pink Caddy, and gets all shook up—fatally so, when a bomb explodes. Whether he was killed for his police work or bad singing is a mystery that detective Darla Cavannah is determined to solve.
 
Though it’s been several years since Darla (reluctantly) partnered up with Tommy, she convinces her boss to let her lead the murder investigation. As the new regional director of the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Shelby Mitchell can think of better uses for his star detective’s time, but not even the most hardened good ole boy can resist Darla’s smart, savvy persuasions. She soon embarks on a roller coaster ride through the world of Elvis tribute artists while tracking down one of the most bizarre serial killers in the history of the Magnolia State. Aiding her pursuit of the killer is recently reprimanded officer Rita Gibbons, fresh from the trailer park and described by Shelby as “half a licorice stick short in the manners department.” But Rita’s plenty smart, even when this case takes their suspicious minds in an entirely unexpected direction.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This book tilted Officer Elvis. Is a Darla Cavannagh mystery set in Mississippi and has her looking into the death of a former partner who also is an Elvis impersonator? She along with other people that know him is trying to figure out why someone would kill him since he is not a very good impersonator. A matter of fact for the last few years in the annual completion he is always last year after year. This happens to be at times a funny story and at other times a serious story. They do take their Elvis seriously in Mississippi. Along with the different characters that the author comes up with and the two friends of Darla are really funny especially when they get talking and can’t stop. The sayings are what really makes this story move along at a pace that is fast and you don’t realize how far along you have gotten in the book. An excellent story. I got this book from net galley.  I gave this 4 stars.

BILLIE HOLIDAY: THE MUSICIAN AND THE MYTH

BILLIE HOLIDAY: THE MUSICIAN AND THE MYTH      JOHN SZWED
Posted:  May 19, 2015

Billie Holiday: The Musician and the MythPublished in celebration of Holiday’s centenary, the first biography to focus on the singer’s extraordinary musical talent

When Billie Holiday stepped into Columbia’s studios in November 1933, it marked the beginning of what is arguably the most remarkable and influential career in twentieth-century popular music. Her voice weathered countless shifts in public taste, and new reincarnations of her continue to arrive, most recently in the form of singers like Amy Winehouse and Adele.

Most of the writing on Holiday has focused on the tragic details of her life—her prostitution at the age of fourteen, her heroin addiction and alcoholism, her series of abusive relationships—or tried to correct the many fabrications of her autobiography. But now, Billie Holiday stays close to the music, to her performance style, and to the self she created and put into print, on record and on stage.

Drawing on a vast amount of new material that has surfaced in the last decade, critically acclaimed jazz writer John Szwed considers how her life inflected her art, her influences, her uncanny voice and rhythmic genius, a number of her signature songs, and her legacy.
 

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This book about Billie Holiday, takes a look at her life and the book that she wrote “Lady sings the Blues”. In that book as with some other biographies of her. Omissions about her life and people who when the book went to print did not want their name in the book for different reasons. The author of this book goes into detail how she was going to describe the men mostly in the movie business who put out her name in bad light because she would not do their film. Most of the films would have her playing a maid and she would tell them no. “That if she wanted to be a maid she would have stayed in Baltimore with her mother who was a maid”. She also did not call them yes sir or mister. You have to remember that when she was making a name for herself African- American women were not called ma'am or anything nice even a lady. If a white person was mad or just upset at an African American woman they would be called a prostitute or any other slew of names but nothing doing with being a lady regardless of who it was. The author also goes into the different band leaders that she worked with and some of the reasons she would leave. Some because she felt they could not do anything more musically to Artie Shaw where she was tired fighting with establishments about accommodations even when they traveled in the south. The finale blow came in New York at the Lincoln Hotel when the owner asked her to take the freight elevator so that customers would not think people of color were guests. The author also mentions that when FDR was in office there was a bill in congress that would make lynching a federal crime. This bill did not pass and did not get the President's support either, she does make reference to this bill which did not sit well with people in print. So of course not everything said about would be truthful. Of course musicians, bandleaders, producers and fellow singers thought highly of her and especially Frank Sinatra who went to her more than once to watch her sing and to talk to her about how to use your voice to deliver the song to make it yours. This was a good book with a lot of information much more than what I put in this review. Overall a good book. I got this book from netgalley.  I give this 4 stars.

IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY

IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY                  NED VIZZINI
Posted:  May 19, 2015

It's Kind of a Funny StoryAmbitious New York City teenager Craig Gilner is determined to succeed at life - which means getting into the right high school to get into the right job. But once Craig aces his way into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School, the pressure becomes unbearable. He stops eating and sleeping until, one night, he nearly kills himself.

Craig's suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.

Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric hospital, has created a remarkably moving tale about the sometimes unexpected road to happiness.
 

Dezi's Review:
A teen novel, published in 2006.  The idea of this novel was inspired by his hospitalization in 2004 for his depression. It is told in the first person by Craig Gilner.  He is a fifteen year old that attends a prestigious school in New York. He becomes stressed by the school’s pressure, his crush never liking him because she is dating his best friend.  Feeling like he doesn’t fit in.
     Eventually, the stress turns into an eating disorder, the use of pot, lack of sleep, and suicidal thoughts.  Craig is prescribed Zoloft and he is okay for a while.  But, when he believes he is cured Craig stops taking Zoloft.  The effects of this is his depression worsens.  When Craig’s mind leads to suicide one night, he calls 1-800-suicide. 
     He admits himself into the hospital and they admit him to the adult psychiatric hospital because then the teen side is under construction.  The rest of the book Craig’s six days of being admitted (minimum number of days to be admitted.)  I won’t tell you anymore than this so you can read the rest.
     This 444 page book is one of my favorites.  It deals with real life issue.  No sugar-coating of anything.  It is specifically a teen/young adult, so do not let anyone younger than fourteen read it.  Warning: Does Talk About Drugs, Sex, and Personal things. I give this book a 4.9-5 stars.

     I HAVE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THIS WAS WRITTEN BY MY 14 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER.  AS A MOM I AM SO PROUD OF HOW ARTICULATE SHE IS WITH THIS PIECE AND THAT SHE WAS SO AWARE THAT SHE WAS THOUGHTFUL ENOUGH TO INCLUDE THE 1-800 NUMBER. SHE HERSELF HAD STRUGGLED WITH THIS ISSUE FOR A VERY SHORT WHILE BUT WAS ABLE TO WALK THROUGH IT WITH MEDICATION, COUNSELING, AND A LOT OF LOVE. OUR KIDS ARE EXPOSED TO A LOT. FOR HER IT WAS BULLYING. THE PRESSURES NOW ARE SO DIFFERENT THAN BEFORE.  I HOPE YOU ENJOY HER REVIEW AND THE BOOK IF YOU CHOSE TO READ.  THANK YOU.
  

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