THE TRIANGLE: A Year on the Ground with New York's Bloods and Crips

THE TRIANGLE                                               KEVIN DEUTSCH

The Linden Triangle: Linden Avenue and Linden Place, Hempstead, Long Island. At this blighted intersection, seemingly forgotten by the middle and upper class communities that surround it, the dream of suburban comfort and safety has devolved into a nightmare of flying bullets and bloodshed. Here, a war between the Bloods and Crips has torn a once-peaceful neighborhood apart.The Triangle: A Year on the Ground with New York's Bloods and Crips, tells the true story of one year in the life of a suburban village-turned-war-zone. Written by Kevin Deutsch, award-winning criminal justice reporter for Newsday, it follows two warring gangs and the anti-violence activists and police desperate to stop them. As the body
count climbs and conflict spreads to New York City, young men wielding military grade weaponry wage a prolonged battle over pride, respect, revenge, and their legacies.Based on immersive reporting and interviews with more than 250 gang members, their families, drug addicts, police, and others, this is the first insider account of a New York Bloods-Crips gang war from the only journalist ever given access to the crews' secretive realm. The Triangle is a chilling investigation of a world in which teenagers shoot their childhood friends over gang allegiance; where rape is used as a form of retaliation; and once-promising students are molded into cold-blooded assassins.
 

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This story takes place in Long Island, Hempstead. The streets are Linden Avenue, and Linden Place. These make a triangle that the two street gangs the Bloods, and the Crips, have turned into a drugged infested war zone between these two gangs. The author give you a behind the scenes look at the people living in the neighborhood who can’t leave and the pain it has caused them in their lives. He also talks to a returning vet who with his PTSD, feels like he is still in the war especially after his wife leaves him. A woman who has lived in the neighborhood since it was the place to be and does not want to move because she is hoping for a change. She passes away. This is not a feel good book by any means this is just a little look at what life is like for anyone throughout the country living in many neighborhoods like this one. Murder, rape, drug addiction, and many other crimes are committed but go unreported for many reasons. The author explains this in the book. This is a very graphic but true life story that has taken away a generation, and now is working on another one with no hope for change and not being able to leave the hood even when they have it planned except for an ambulance. Be ready for a good story about real life on the streets and the author does not pull any punches when writing. A very good book that actually members of Congress should be forced to read. Won’t happen. Very good book! I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

TEXAS RANGER: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer, the Man Who Killed Bonnie and Clyde

TEXAS RANGER                                                 JOHN BOESSENECKER

To most Americans, Frank Hamer is known only as the “villain” of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. Now, in Texas Ranger, historian John Boessenecker sets out to restore Hamer’s good name and prove that he was, in fact, a classic American hero.

From the horseback days of the Old West through the gangster days of the 1930s, Hamer stood on the frontlines of some of the most important and exciting periods in American history. He participated in the Bandit War of 1915, survived the climactic gunfight in the last blood feud of the Old West, battled the Mexican Revolution’s spillover across the border, protected African Americans from lynch mobs and the Ku Klux Klan, and ran down gangsters, bootleggers, and Communists. When at last his career came to an end, it was only when he ran up against another legendary Texan: Lyndon B. Johnson.

Written by one of the most acclaimed historians of the Old West,Texas Ranger is the first biography to tell the full story of this near-mythic lawman.

HUBBY'S REVIEW;
Though I am a fan of the old west and stories of gangster’s, I was really looking forward to an exciting story of the true life story of a famous law man. One that took down Bonnie and Clyde when the FBI could not. This is a book that was thoroughly researched and I believed he put every detail and every case that Frank Hammer was either the lead investigator or worked on in any way and because of this it makes for a long book and at times I was bored. It was like there was too much information which I never thought I would say. You get Texas State politics, bootlegging, hangings, and then there is too many stories to count of men being guilty of a crime but the jury finding them not guilty. Stories of prejudice that after a while I was amazed that parts of Texas became livable with some of the stories he mentions in this book. One thing you cannot deny is that Frank Hammer got the people he was after and he did it by tracking, following a pattern that the individual or individuals had, sometimes it would take him a little while but they always gave him the toughest ones and he came through. That in itself was amazing. Along with his easy attitude, shooting, riding, investigation he was a remarkable law man. Still a good book. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 4 stars. Follow us atwww.1rad-readerreviews.com

AROUSE (Spiral of Bliss #1)

AROUSE                                                            NINA LANE

"One day I'm going to touch you in a thousand different ways and show you how to touch me," he said.

And he did.

Struggling with a tormented past, undergraduate Olivia Winter once led a practical but isolated life. Then she met Professor Dean West, a brilliant scholar of medieval history who melted Liv's inhibitions and taught her the meaning of both love and erotic pleasure.

But after three years of a blissful, lusty marriage, Liv and Dean now face a crisis that threatens everything they believe about each other as dark secrets and temptations rise to the surface.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
What starts off as a very hot and passionate story about a couple that has been together for 5 years married for 3 years. Takes a turn one day when she is disappointed in a pregnancy that comes back negative, and the response in her husband's Deans in not even thinking about children. Liv and Dean now are having communication issues which she has never experienced with him before. Still attracted to each other Liv is starting to question herself. She is nine years younger than Dean and met while she was a student or undergrad at UW, he was and a Professor, and still is. They have moved a few times for his job and she has not once complained. She came from a not so good background that is described in the story and Dean knows about it. A little later after the pregnancy test Dean reveals a secret about himself that he has kept since before they met. Liv is crushed because she has opened up to him her total self, and cannot understand why he would share his life before her with her. This now puts doubts into her mind and as much as she tries to force them away they will not leave. There more situations that come up and pull at them, and you as the reader are pulled into the story because you are fighting with them. I found myself being drawn towards the Liv character. I don’t know if this is because I am older, and have daughters, but I am going to go with that. The supporting characters help the story along and do not take away from the story at all. I know there are more books but this is a great way to get started. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

VAN HALEN RISING: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal

VAN HALEN RISING                                             GREG RENOFF                       

A vivid and energetic history of Van Halen’s legendary early years 

After years of playing gigs everywhere from suburban backyards to dive bars, Van Halen — led by frontman extraordinaire David Lee Roth and guitar virtuoso Edward Van Halen — had the songs, the swagger, and the talent to turn the rock world on its ear. The quartet’s classic 1978 debut, Van Halen, sold more than a million copies within months of release and rocketed the band to the stratosphere of rock success. On tour, Van Halen’s high-energy show wowed audiences and prompted headlining acts like Black Sabbath to concede that they’d been blown off the stage. By the year’s end, Van Halen had established themselves as superstars and reinvigorated heavy metal in the process.

Based on more than 230 original interviews — including with former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and power players like Pete Angelus, Marshall Berle, Donn Landee, Ted Templeman, and Neil Zlozower — Van Halen Rising reveals the untold story of how these rock legends made the unlikely journey from Pasadena, California, to the worldwide stage.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This is a fantastic book about the struggles of getting a band started, and working towards that record deal. The author gives you background of the Van Halen family and their move to this country and starting both Alex, and Eddie with piano lessons. From there he takes you through them finding their next instruments and their different bands that they were in and then formed. When they became a huge party band in Pasadena, and surrounding cities always wanting more. Even when they got a show at a club they were still looking for improvement. He also goes into the history of David Lee Roth and though Eddie did not like him from the beginning what he did like was his stage presence, showmanship. He brought that other it factor that made the band. Yes the guitar was and is always there but really the guy out front also brought a lot of power to the shows and to the music. Being a fan and being older now I found this book to be an opener into what really made them unique, the four of them. I also found out the Roth wrote most of the songs which I did not know especially the early stuff. The many interviews and other stories just make this a good read and very entertaining. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com 

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD (Returning Home #3)

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD                                SERENA BELL

The reunion is supposed to be the start of the rest of their lives. But when Trina Levine sees the soldier she promised to love forever, Hunter Cross looks at her like she’s a stranger. The connection is gone, lost in the blank stare of those soulful brown eyes. Hunter remembers his young daughter but not Trina, and he certainly can’t recall why Trina and her own child are living in his house. Although his lean, rugged frame bears the scars of battle, his mind took the worst hit.
 
But Hunter Cross hasn’t forgotten everything. His body remembers caressing Trina’s delicate curves, holding her close, never wanting to let go. Was it just a dream, or was it real life? Now, as he tries to put the pieces back together, Trina’s the one who comforts him when his night terrors strike. It’s Trina whose warm touch rekindles a connection no man could deny. Even with the odds stacked against them, Hunter wants to believe. Because passion has the power to awaken the past—and remake the future.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This is a very powerful story that grabs you from the beginning and does not let until the end. Hunter Cross and Trina Levine have known each other for some time. But after Hunter's wife is killed in an explosion in their lives become more meshed together because of their daughters. After some time they decide to date and as it starts to heat up he is given orders to ship out. They come up with a plain that helps them but also mainly the girls. While he is deployed his daughter and Trina have become more attached and now she looks to her as her mother figure. Hunter is injured in an explosion while deployed and is gone a little longer than expected. When he does return he does not remember Trina or anything that they spoke about before he shipped out. This is breaking her heart but she is doing everything to hold it together for all of them. He realizes that he cannot have her leave because not only does his daughter love her but that there is a routine that he has no idea what to do. He does not remember meeting his mother’s boyfriend and them traveling on his motorcycle. Causing more problems is his nightmares and it seems that the only why they leave is when Trina comes in to help him and he remembers her curves and her touch. Wanting to get help for his PTSD he goes to counseling and you as the reader are hoping that they can get it worked out before she leaves for L.A. This is a powerful story full of many emotions. A very, very good book. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 5 stars. 
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FROM THIS DAY FORWARD (The Wedding Belles 0.5)

FROM THIS DAY FORWARD                           LAUREN LAYNE

Up-and-coming wedding photographer Leah McHale’s career is on the rise–thanks in no small part to the Wedding Belles, the elite New York wedding planning agency that always throws top-tier business Leah’s way. So when one of the Belles asks Leah to fill in at the former First Daughter's wedding, Leah is overjoyed to say yes–until she finds out who she’ll be working with.

Jason Rhodes is the one man who was able to capture Leah’s heart and, once he had it, promptly stepped all over it and left her broken. Now he’s working side-by-side with her at the biggest wedding of the season and Leah is determined to give him the cold shoulder. Despite his persistence, she is not going to fall for his charming, impish ways again. Not even if he still has that killer, irresistible smile...
 

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
A fast fun quick read about two wedding photographers who are working together on a wedding of the former first daughter. This story is part of the wedding bells, and the two photographers Leah McHale and Jason Rhodes, were seeing each other until one Sunday morning when Leah showed up at his placed unannounced and an unfamiliar women answered the door wearing the shirt that she bought for Jason. Not waiting for an explanation she took off. Now one year later they are together again at a business meeting introducing them to one another as the two photographers for this huge wedding. Jason is happy just to be in the same room as Leah for she has not spoken to him in a year, and he is hoping that this weekend can be the start of new beginnings. Leah wishes that her body would not react the way it does when he is around and as much as she wants to do this wedding she is hopping for strength to not want Jason as well. Once they arrive at the place for the wedding the togetherness begins and each of them must decide want it is they want for themselves and from the other one. A fun fast paced story with a few moments of seriousness because there is a guy involved. A good book. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

THE COFFEY FILES: One Cop's War Against the Mob

THE COFFEY FILES                                      JOSEPH COFFEY & JERRY SCHMETTERER

A true crime account of the old-school New York Police Department from the detective who helped catch the Son of Sam and waged a one-man war against the Mafia.

In 1978, a gang war erupted in New York City, and the five boroughs ran red with blood. Men with names like “Matty the Horse” and “Tony Ugly” were found dismembered in garbage dumps, dead on the roadside in the far reaches of the Bronx, or suffocated in the trunks of cars parked at LaGuardia Airport. For years, the New York Police Department hadn’t bothered to investigate Mafia murders, preferring to let the mob handle its own bloody affairs—but that was about to change. The NYPD was going to war with the Cosa Nostra, and Det. Joseph Coffey would lead the charge.

A hard-nosed veteran of the force, Detective Coffey took down some of the highest-profile organized-crime associations of the 1970s, from the conspiracy between the Mafia and the Catholic Church known as the Vatican Connection to the homegrown terrorists who called themselves the Black Liberation Army. In 1977, when the city was terrorized by serial killer David Berkowitz, better known as the Son of Sam, Coffey led the NYPD’s nighttime operations as they worked to lure the murderer into a trap. But the war against the mob would be his greatest challenge—one that would take him right into the heart of gritty, dangerous NYC.

Cowritten by New York Daily News veteran Jerry Schmetterer, Coffey’s work is crime reporting at its finest. Fans of the two-fisted journalism of Jimmy Breslin and New York stories like The French Connection will find The Coffey Files has the thunderous intensity of a runaway subway train.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This book is about a true life person N.Y Detective Joseph Coffey. He describes different cases that he worked on and when he is assigned the task of heading up the Mafia task force. He gives background on his childhood and the reasons for wanting to join the force and who things worked out for him to be assigned and able to pick the men he wanted to work with when he formed the task force. You get a little background into the son of Sam case he worked on plus others, he also takes you through some of the politics of the force of the 70’s and 80’s. He also speaks of his working or nonworking relationship with the FBI and that was BS. What they did to him. He does give a lot of credit to his wife and children for her understanding and her wonderful job as a mother and wife. I thought that was really nice since divorce is so high that he gave her much space in the book spoke volumes to me that he did not take her for granted. He also gives time to his children as well. Overall a good book. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 4 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com 

OLD RECORDS NEVER DIE

OLD RECORDS NEVER DIE                          ERIC SPITZNAGEL

High Fidelity meets Killing Yourself to Live in this memoir of one man's search for his lost record collection. As he finds himself within spitting distance of middle-age, journalist Eric Spitznagel feels acutely the loss of…something. Freedom? Maybe. Coolness? Could be. The records he sold in a financial pinch? Definitely. To find out for sure, he sets out on a quest to find  the original vinyl artifacts from his past. Not just copies. The exact same records: The Bon Jovi record with his first girlfriend's phone number scrawled on the front sleeve. The KISS Alive II he once shared with his little brother. The Replacements Let It Be he’s pretty sure, 20 years later, would still smell like weed.

As he embarks on his hero's journey, he reminisces about the actual records, the music, and the people he listened to it with—old girlfriends, his high school pals, and, most poignantly, his father and his young son. He explores the magic of music and memory as he interweaves his adventures in record- culture with questions about our connection to our past, whether we can ever recapture it, and whether we would want to if we could.
Foreword by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
For me this book touched home because of two things, one I enjoy collecting and listening to music, and second because of some water damage I lost about 50 or so records that I have been collecting since the 70’s, 80’ and 90’s. Some I don’t think I will be able to replace because they were hard to find back then and now there is a new generation getting into vinyl. This is good and bad for someone like me who has been with the help of my wife lugging my albums, stereo equipment from one move to another since 1978. That in itself is scree. I enjoyed parts of this book and could relate to some of it. I am at a point now where my wife and family have accepted my records, to the point that now people give me some. Which I take with much thanks because you don’t know what you will find in the stack. For each person it is something different and unique. This book has moments where there are funny times and time that make you think back to a move and where some people left or gave away their records I took mine, and my wife would make a face but after are 5th move she just knew I was taking them. We never argued and for us it is memories of high school and dances and of course the parents saying turn down that noise and how can you listen to that. It is not music. For me that is what I got out of this book memories that I am still making and hopefully will pass on to my grandchildren. A good book. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 4 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

DODGERLAND: Decadent Los Angeles and the 1977–78 Dodgers

DODGERLAND                                                MICHAEL FALLON

The 1977–78 Los Angeles Dodgers came close. Their tough lineup of young and ambitious players squared off with the New York Yankees in consecutive World Series. The Dodgers’ run was a long time in the making after years of struggle and featured many homegrown players who went on to noteworthy or Hall of Fame careers, including Don Sutton, Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, and Steve Yeager. Dodgerland is the story of those memorable teams as Chavez Ravine began to change, baseball was about to enter a new era, and American culture experienced a shift to the “me” era.

Part journalism, part social history, and part straight sportswriting, Dodgerland is told through the lives of four men, each representing different aspects of this L.A. story. Tom Lasorda, the vocal manager of the Dodgers, gives an up-close view of the team’s struggles and triumphs; Tom Fallon, a suburban small-business owner, witnesses the Dodgers’ season and the changes to California's landscape—physical, social, political, and economic; Tom Wolfe, a chronicler of California’s ever-changing culture, views the events of 1977–78 from his Manhattan writer’s loft; and Tom Bradley, Los Angeles’s mayor and the region’s most dominant political figure of the time, gives a glimpse of the wider political, demographic, and economic forces that affected the state at the time.

The boys in blue drew baseball’s focus in those two seasons, but the intertwining narratives tell a larger story about California, late 1970s America, and great promise unrealized.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
Dodgerland is a book about the 1977-78 Dodgers who made it the World Series both of those years only to be defeated by the Yankees both times. The author takes you back in time from before 1977 to the beginning of the 70’s with how the social climate, economical, and political happenings of the period. You see part of the transformation of the Inland Empire of how Rancho Cucamonga which was known for vineyards, and had more grapes being grown there that you could not see the town. I should know grew up in that area and now there are homes, a freeway, and many, many shopping centers in places that once I hiked around with my granddad. He takes you through the struggles of Los Angeles and how Tom Bradley felt that getting the 1984 Olympics would be the thing that bring us together, not knowing that his hiring of Chief Darryl Gates would have a much more lasting effect on not only L.A. but the whole state. Once you see these you are taken back to a time when Tommy Lasorda was being announced as the new manager of the Dodgers, and they were still owned by the O’Malley’s. That the infield of Gravey, Cey, Russell, and Lopes. I of course was and still am a Yankee fan, but growing up in Southern California I remember the games especially the ones the Dodgers played against the Reds. Those years they seemed to always battle. The author does a fine job of mixing all of the issues together to get a better understanding of what was going on at the time. When he talks about Jarvis and prop 13 I had forgotten that it was during this time. An excellent book about baseball and how everything changes. Also a good look at behind the scenes of what was going with the Dodgers during that time. I got this book from netgalley. I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

VISIBLY BROKEN

VISIBLY BROKEN                                     CHELSEA CAMARON & MJ FIELDS

In a powerful, smoldering novel from the bestselling authors of the Caldwell Brothers series (“Bad boy heroes to die for!”—Tracy Wolff), two tortured souls team up to overcome the past, finding the courage to heal . . . and to love.

Jason “Cobra” Stanley was born to fight. With a father like his, he had to toughen up just to survive. Now Cobra tries to take out all of his frustration, all of his anger, and all of his pain in the MMA cage. But after he receives one too many hits to the head during a match with Jagger Caldwell, the cycle of violence comes to a screeching halt. Cobra wakes up in the hospital, under the care of a nurse whose blond hair shines like a halo—and whose pure heart touches him on the deepest level.

Lorraine Bosch is a fighter too. Having escaped from her own controlling father, she prides herself on remaining professional, despite the chaos of the ER. But Cobra is the ultimate distraction. Lorraine knows she should run away screaming from his rippling muscles and shattered psyche. And yet how can she deny this broken man a second chance—especially since she knows exactly what he’s been through? Lorraine’s used to playing guardian angel. Now it’s her turn to find heaven in Cobra’s arms.
 

MY REVIEW:
          Jason (Cobra) Stanley never stood a chance with a father like the one he had.  Who needs enemies.  One of the earliest messages that he learned from his mother is, “The more he reacts, the more he loves me.”  All while you are being beaten of course.  Her sick way of being a good mother but what can you say to a broken woman.  She had to be able to justify allowing her son to be beaten by this monster call his father.
     It got to the point where there was no reason he could figure out for being beat it could just be for bad weather that day or at that minute.  He would just go to another place in his mind.  He knew he had become physically able to fight back yet he never did he just took it.  He couldn’t even tell you why if you asked him.
     At nineteen he joined a gym that taught him boxing and he took on his father.  But then one night his father had men hold him so he could give it back again.  Once he got into the illegal ring that is where he got his anger out at his father.  But when him and his girlfriend Missy whom he truly loved at the time moved in together things were great for a while.  The first time he put hands on her was to stop her from leaving him.  As he put after that she just got off on it.  Then the hitting started.  He swore it would never happen again.  The make-up sex was out the roof.  It just became a sick game of hurt.
      Three years later her jealousy has become old.  When he met Tatiana “Mouse” Rand Caldwell and they became friends (which still drives her husband crazy.)  He started making changes in his life because Tatiana saw good in him.  One major thing for his is that “Mouse” thinks is that he has made a promise not to put hands on a woman again.  And he will keep that promise to Mouse.  So, instead of hitting Missy he hits the tile in the shower.  Tatiana said love shouldn’t hurt either of them it might be time to move on.  To cut his ties with Missy.  He told her not yet that he loved her.  He said he truly wants to be a better man for the first time in his life and that this was supposed to be the better times for the two of them if he could just get her to see it. 
     When Brock calls later that day and says there is a fight.  This is not a normal fight because when he gets there not in a ring it is like a parking lot.  Not hardly any people.  Not feeling it but he needed to hit something.  But it goes wrong and Cobra ends up in the hospital.  Brock has to drop him and run.  That is the way it is done in the underground world of fighting.  He knew his friend needed help bad so he got it but Cobra knew that he couldn’t say how he got hurt or he was a dead man with the fighting club not to mention his father the mayor would come after him for disgracing the family.
     That beating causes him a lot of pain and hurt.  The doctor says they called the person down on his phone as ICE (in case of emergency.)  He knows he is screwed every way but Tuesday.  Because as a joke he had Mouse as that person and well that means at one in the morning she would be calling Missy. Meaning well, she would be on the warpath.  But what he is Jonesing on now is the Angel that has been soothing him since he got here the nurse.  Beautiful blonde hair in a ponytail and gorgeous blue eyes.  As he is dozing thinking about her gentle hands on him he hears Missy screaming.  He has to go.  Sure enough she has brought close.  They are coming at a price but so be it.  He takes out all the tubes and monitors and gets dress.  As Missy is yelling about me and Mouse having an affair I yell enough.  I say it’s over.  That I am done we are done.
     I walk out of the ER.  I go out and call Brock to come get me.  As I am waiting I see the Angel that took care of me leaving to go home.  I call to her but I scare her.  She walks faster.  I call again.  When she gets in her car and starts the engine I knock on the window.  When she turns I say HI it’s me from the ER she rolls the window down about a half inch.  I tell her thanks for helping me and if she ever needs anything to give him a call really that he owes her.  He jots his name and number down and tries to give it to her.  She doesn’t move so he just drops it through the window.  She backs up and leaves.
     Just as she is leaving Brock his right hand man shows up.  He tells him to follow her.  Brock is like don’t you think you should get rid of Missy before you move on to a new one.  Jason says I just broke up with her after this we will have to go by the condo to pick up a few things.  He follows her to a very nice neighborhood but he doesn’t go down the street.  But he does note the address.  The rest of the night his thoughts kept going back to Angel (Lorraine).  The next night he was feeling somewhat better but he was feeling restless and horny so he goes to a sex club.  He meets a lady there with black hair but with Angel’s eyes.  They could be twins.  Things get hot and heavy.  They both lose control.  Which scares Heidi, which they don’t give names but that is what she is going by, so right after they connect she right away retreats to the restroom.  Jason waits outside the restroom for her.
     After waiting for what he feels is a long enough time he asks the next woman coming out what happened to the woman dressed like Heidi.  She says she just climbed out the window.  Jason takes off out of the club straight for the parking lot he sees her jump into a car so does he and he follows her.  She parks in a lot and so does he but he loses her on foot.  So he leaves.  He realizes he is just a block or so away from Angels and heads over that way. 
     He parks across the street and just watches her house feeling guilty because he had sex with a woman that looked a lot like her when he really wanted Angle.  He sees lights going on and there is a dark haired lady with a bat but when he gets out of the car and looks again he sees Angel standing there with her ponytail and then she just goes to the ground.   All he can think of is saving Angel.  He pulls out his lockpick device and his pocket knife to dismantle the alarm.
     All Angel knows when she wakes up is Jason is pissed and he knows her full name.  He knows all about her family and the condition of her home.  Not to mention he was the one that brought her to the hospital.  When he sees how familiar the older doctor Bennett is with Angel he gets possessive.  He does not share well with others.  He had already marked her at the sex club.  Or did he?  Now he feels confused but he plans to get to the bottom of it.  Which he can’t do if she is in the hospital or goes home with this doctor.  What is really going on?  What game is Angel playing?  Whose toes is she stepping on?  Should Jason worry about her?   Can he even walk away or was their first encounter at the hospital just to powerful?

     I can’t believe this book.  It was an amazing read.  I liked the first book but this one I loved.  The reason being Cobra.  The character to hate in the last book and in this one you can’t help but end up just loving him at the end.  He turned into a true meaning of what a man should be.  Turned his stone cold heart into a loving warm home.  I could not figure out who did it until the reveal~~~Man you got me which is usually had to do!  I give this book 5++++ stars.  Provided by netgalley.com.  Follow us at:  www.1rad-readerreviews.com.

Coming Friday Night Here at 7pm Karla Brandenburg Author of: COOKIE THERAPY SEE EXCERPT Return to Hoffman Grove NOW

Coming
Friday Night Here at 7pm
Karla Brandenburg

Author of:

Excerpt from Return to Hoffman Grove (Book 3 of the Northwest Suburbs Series)
Chapter 1
With help from his GPS, Brody Parkhill steered into the parking lot of the Pioneer Trail Lodge. It was as sprawling as he remembered, but more rustic, if dilapidated could be considered rustic. Paint peeled around the guest room windows. Late summer weeds grew between the cracks in the concrete. Wooden walkways connected a series of out buildings that housed a bowling alley, a candy shop, a café, a dinner theater and a gift shop. Parts of the railings along the boardwalk leaned to one side. Nostalgia was one thing, but the lodge’s disrepair made him think twice about whether this was a safe place to visit. He parked his car and squinted into the sun, low on the horizon. He’d come to check the place out, to see if there was any hope at reviving it. Until he walked inside, he wouldn’t be able to report back to his boss. Brody stepped out of his car and walked into the lobby of the main lodge.
Thick tree trunk columns and high-beamed ceilings lined the way to the stone hearth. Next to it, a green and yellow parrot fluttered in its cage at one end of the reception desk. The great stone fireplace wasn’t lit this time of year, but people rested in front of it on the well-worn red leather sofas.
While he checked in, Brody glanced at the birdcage. An attractive woman poked her finger at the parrot and tried to get it to say hello in that odd parrot voice people affected. Didn’t she realize the parrot mimicked her, and not the other way around?
“Sir, can you sign here?” the woman behind the desk asked.
Brody nodded. When he’d heard the lodge was for sale, he’d hoped to pitch the idea to his boss, to give the old place venture capital for renovations. But seeing it with his own eyes, the Pioneer Trail was no longer an investment. It was a money pit. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to stay the night.
Memories from those last days of high school, the time he’d spent here with friends who had given him the courage to step out into the world on his own, held him firm. What’s one night?
He took one last look at the parrot and did a double take. He knew that woman.
Brody folded the copy of his bill neatly into thirds and tucked it into his suit coat pocket. He stared at his old-style room key, rehearsing what he could say to Cinda Cooper after almost ten years apart. He’d been in love with her once, and damn, if she didn’t still poke that spot in his heart. If he was smart, he’d walk away.
Brody shook his head. Not yet. Even after all these years he was drawn to her, and the desire to see her mismatched eyes, one blue and one hazel, conquered his indecision.
Cinda turned away from the birdcage and glanced toward the lobby bar, but she didn’t move. Her short, dark hair was streaked with purple highlights. The grass-green dress she wore clung to her curves and narrowed at her trim waist. Her long legs extended from the bottom of her narrow skirt.
Brody tapped her shoulder. “Hey, stranger.”
She wheeled around with a momentary look of panic, and then her million-dollar smile lit up her face.
“Brody Parkhill. Oh my God! I was just thinking about you—when we all came here after prom, of the fun we had.” She pulled him into a hug and he felt eighteen again, right down to the out-of-control hormones.
“What brings you here?” he asked, straightening his suit coat.
She started to speak and then clamped her mouth shut, a trait he remembered well. For all the secrets they’d shared growing up, some were harder to draw out than others.
She pressed her lips tightly together. He recognized that expression, too. Ten years hadn’t changed her. She was angry.
Brody nodded toward the bar. “How about a drink to catch up on old times?”
Cinda put her hands on her hips. “You walk out of my life without a word and now you want to have a drink, as if nothing happened?”

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