Sunday, October 16, 2016

Review: In Safe Hands by Katie Ruggle

Title: In Safe Hands
Series: Search and Rescue
Author: Katie Ruggle
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: October 4, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
ASIN: B01DMJHEMW


He was her hero, but one wrong move ended their future before it could begin.
Now he'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if that means turning against one of his own.


As a member of the Field County Sheriff's Department, Chris Jennings is used to having it rough. The Colorado Rockies aren't for the weak-of-spirit, but he's devoted his life to upholding the law—and to protecting the one woman he knows he can never have. He'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

Daisy Little has lived in agoraphobic terror for over eight years. Trapped within a prison of her own making, she watches time pass through her bedroom window. Daisy knows she'll never be a part of the world...until the day she becomes the sole witness of a terrible crime that may finally tear the Search & Rescue brotherhood apart for good.


My rating:

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Review: Gone Too Deep by Katie Ruggle

Title: Gone Too Deep
Series: Search and Rescue
Author: Katie Ruggle
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: August 2, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
ASIN: B01BX1PIOW


In the remote Rocky Mountains, lives depend on the Search & Rescue brotherhood. But in a place this far off the map, trust is hard to come by and secrets can be murder...

George Holloway has spent his life alone, exploring the treacherous beauty of the Colorado Rockies. He's the best survival expert Search and Rescue has, which makes him the obvious choice to lead Ellie Price through deadly terrain to find her missing father. There's just one problem-Ellie's everything George isn't. She's a city girl, charming, gregarious, delicate, small. And when she looks up at him with those big, dark eyes, he swears he would tear the world apart to keep her safe.

With a killer on the loose, he may have no choice.

Ellie's determined to find her father no matter the cost. But as she and her gorgeous mountain of a guide fight their way through an unforgiving wilderness, they find themselves in the crosshairs of a dangerous man in search of revenge. And they are now his prey...


My rating:

Review: Whispers at Wongan Creek by Juanita Kees

Title: Whispers At Wongan Creek
Author: Juanita Kees

Read copy: eBook
Published: November 15, 2016
Publisher: Escape Publishing
ISBN: 1489221107
ISBN-13: 9781489221100

Wongan Creek has a second chance at life, but new possibilities unearth long-buried secrets...

Travis Bailey may as well be Wongan Creek. His family has farmed canola for generations, and he sometimes feels like he holds the community together with his bare, dirt-stained hands. Between caring for the farm, his orphaned niece and his elderly, ailing neighbour, he doesn't have time for himself. He doesn’t have time to fall in love.

Social worker Heather Penney is living on borrowed time. When her mother died of Motor Neurone Disease, she took the initial blood tests and now nothing is guaranteed, let alone a future with a family and a home and a child. Wongan Creek, and its resident protector, might be getting under her skin, but she can't afford to get attached.

But even as a new mine revitalises the small town, old secrets threaten resurface, and Travis and Heather find themselves fighting to save the farms and the futures of Wongan Creek's long-time residents—and possibly their own lives.


My rating:

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Review: Sugar, Spice, and Shifers by Elianne Adams, Calle Jaye Brooks, Rinelle Grey, J.K. Harper et al.

Title: Sugar, Spice, and Shifters
Author: Elianne Adams, Calle Jaye Brooks, Rinelle Grey, J.K. Harper, Loribelle Hunt, Ellis LeighEllis Leigh, Anna Lowe, Eris Sage, Vivienne SavageBethany Shaw, Kristen Strassel, Elle Thorne, Holley Trent, Catherine Vale, Lori Whyte
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: November 15, 2015
Publisher: Kinship Press
ASIN: B0160D014K

Ring in your holiday season with all-new holiday shifter stories from today's hottest paranormal romance writers.

From the sweetest of mating claims to the spiciest of holiday wishes come true, this set has a perfect present for every reader. Whether you've asked Santa for wolf shifters, werebears, or dragons, this box set of ALL NEW holiday tales from bestselling authors gives the best gift any lover of paranormal romance could want: a little naughty n' nice with a whole lot of sugar n' spice.


My rating:

Her Gingerbread Dragon by Elianne Adams (2 stars)
This one started really promising, then lost its way a little by slowing down (a lot), then got interesting again with the hole dragon-hating thing...That unfortunately didn't lead anywhere.
I guess that's for the full-length novels in the series (which I won't be reading anytime soon).


God of Nightmares by Calle J. Brookes (DNF)
I cringed at the blurb...And threw in the towel at the end of the first chapter. I guess I wasn't in the mood for so much "world-building".


Bringing Christmas to the Dragons by Rinelle Grey (DNF)
There's a limited amount of time to grab a reader's attention in a novella. For me, that's one chapter. If the first chapter leaves me cold, the rest won't be any better.
The first chapter in this one, was the equivalent of the Ice Age. Next!


Solstice Wolf by J.K. Harper (1 star)
Rather iffy, but manageable with a slightly PWP-ish "love" scene (no context and rather "cold" characters), and a heroine that didn't know what she wanted until she lost it, and didn't realize that what she thought she wanted turned out to be too good to be true. Lesson learned.


Mated By Christmas by Loribelle Hunt (DNF)
Yeah...No.


Claiming Their Christmas by Ellis Leigh (3 stars)
It was a little heartbreaking reading about Beast and his lingering feelings about Amber and her death. One one hand he felt guilty, because the witch died instead of him, on the other he still felt rage toward her for having manipulated him, and on the third a complete inability to comprehend just what Amber was supposed to mean to him.
It was a little heartbreaking, and a little angering, really, because I just didn't understand the reasoning behind everything. Why didn't he simply talk to his mate, talk it through with her, when he knew it was hurting her, when he knew he was hurting her. Why did it take him so long to just talk to her, why did it take everybody and their aunt to drum some sense into the guy? I loved his story so much, I loved the ending of Claiming His Desire, and he ruined everything, he even ruined Amber's sacrifice, in this short story.

Damn.


Desert Yule by Anna Lowe (DNF)
An obvious collection of Christmas-themed epilogues to previous stories in the series. Since I'm not familiar with either the series (the context) or the author, these snippets did nothing for me.


Claimed by Heart by Eris Sage (DNF)
Something was off with this one. Maybe the "older" h/H, maybe the fact they has children from previous relationships, maybe the very slow and uneventful start...Or maybe the bland character and zero chemistry between them.


A Beary Merry Christmas by Vivienne Savage (DNF)
It was rather disappointing that even such a short story didn't really grab my attention. There was just something off, maybe even the fact we're thrown into the story in the middle or after it already happened. The two already got their HEA, what's there more to tell?


Healing Christmas by Bethany Shaw (DNF)
Another one that didn't register on the radar. I didn't care what was the heroine's problem with Christmas, I didn't care how h/H might have gotten together (I didn't get to that part), I didn't care how the plot with the robbers would end...I simply didn't care.


Celebrate Me by Kristen Strassel (DNF)
I know it's a novella, but still, pacing is key. Even knowing when to slow down the story. If you rush things, you'll blow it. And insta-love is rushing things, simple as that. Add to it the fact I didn't understand nor feel the insta-love, and the Romeo-and-Juliet vibe with everybody trying to keep the two apart...I couldn't finish it.


Fascination by Elle Thorne (2 star)
It started well, but then went astray with the main conflict and the slightly silly attempts at arresting the burglar. Also, the connection between h/H didn't really click for me...And the whole panther-polar bear combo was a tad odd.


Maker by Holley Trent (DNF)
The narrative was juvenile, making the characters more young adult than new adult (or whatever the new category is). The style and voice made my teeth ache, the MCs left absolutely no impression and somewhere close to the middle, I stopped caring...And reading.


Furever Yours by Catherine Vale (DNF)
The surprise bun in the oven screamed Harlequin for me, and the fact it happened in a novella wasn't encouraging. To top it off, the narrative style and voice didn't work for me.


Snowbound at Solstice by Lori Whyte (DNF)
I don't share and don't really understand those that do. Fictional or not. Pass!


Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Review: Rebellious Cargo by Susan Lodge

Title: Rebellious Cargo
Author: Susan Lodge

Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: October 6, 2015
Publisher: Crooked Cat Publishing
ASIN: B015UESBL0

Spring 1803

Jane Charlesworth, daughter of England’s foremost code breaker, is the only person thought capable of deciphering a vital government document. But when a naval frigate is sent to enlist her services and transport her to Malta, Jane is horrified. Haunted with terrible memories of an earlier voyage, she has no intention of putting herself under the protection of the Admiralty ever again.

Anxious to be at the forefront of the action as the peace with France crumbles, Adam Marston is livid when his ship is diverted to collect a reluctant blue-stocking whose accusing eyes and insolent manner hold nothing but contempt for him and his orders. Sparks fly when captain and code breaker find they have different ideas on how to handle a French attack, a malicious chaplain, and boisterous midshipmen.

Duty and desire collide as they approach Malta, but Jane is determined that her judgment will not be clouded by Adam who, once he has dispatched his Rebellious Cargo, will sail out of her life again. But, as the ship docks, Jane’s life becomes a nightmare and she is forced to gamble that Adam is the only person she can trust.

As passion battles with duty, will future orders throw them together or tear them apart?


My rating:

Review: Fan the Flames by Katie Ruggle

Title: Fan the Flames
Series: Search and Rescue
Author: Katie Ruggle
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: June 7, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
ASIN: B019HQ2LF4


He's a firefighter.
He's a Motorcycle Club member.
And if a killer has his way...he'll take the fall for a murder he didn't commit.


Ian Walsh is used to riding the line between the good guys and the bad. He may owe the club his life, but his heart rests with his fire station brothers...and with the girl he's loved since they were kids. Ian would do anything for Rory. He'd die for her. Kill for her. Defend her to his last breath—and he may just have to.

Every con in the Rockies knows Rory is the go-to girl for less-than-legal firearms. When she defends herself against a brutal attack, Rory finds herself catapulted into the center of a gang war, with only Ian standing between her and a threat greater than either of them could have imagined.


My rating:

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Review: Hold Your Breath by Katie Ruggle

Title: Hold Your Breath
Series: Search and Rescue
Author: Katie Ruggle
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: April 5, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
ASIN: B017HX13DA


In the remote Rocky Mountains, lives depend on the Search & Rescue brotherhood. But in a place this far off the map, trust is hard to come by and secrets can be murder...

As the captain of Field County's ice rescue dive team, Callum Cook is driven to perfection. But when he meets new diver Louise "Lou" Sparks, all that hard-won order is obliterated in an instant. Lou is a hurricane. A walking disaster. And with her, he's never felt more alive...even if keeping her safe may just kill him.

Lou's new to the Rockies, intent on escaping her controlling ex, and she's determined to make it on her own terms...no matter how tempting Callum may be. But when a routine training exercise unearths a body, Lou and Callum find themselves thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a killer who will stop at nothing to silence Lou—and prove that not even her new Search and Rescue family can keep her safe forever.


My rating: