Defying the Odds (Battered Hearts #1) by Kele Moon

Blurb...

When struggling waitress Melody Dylan gives a handsome, lonely stranger a simple gift she has no clue her life is about to take a drastic turn.

The stranger ends up being Clay Powers, a famous UFC heavyweight fighter. Clay’s large build and dangerous fists have always intimidated. People in his hometown keep their distance and Clay is fine with that. Everything changes when a new waitress at the local diner buys him a piece of pie on thanksgiving. Touched by the gesture when it’s obvious she can barely afford to survive, her warm smile and lush body churn up powerful feelings that leave Clay wanting more from her than pie.

Melody is running from her past and the small, country town of Garnet is the perfect hiding place. With an ex-husband after her and scars from her abusive marriage etched deep, the last thing she expects is to fall for a man who makes a living with his fists, but she can’t resist Clay or the tender connection they share.

Finding love in the most unlikely of places, the passion is undeniable, but Clay and Melody know their haunted pasts and unpredictable futures leave the odds stacked against them.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable: violence.

I'm keeping this short because there are already so many awesome reviews out there.

Defying the Odds is the first book in the Battered Hearts series and a very, very sweet story. In fact, it's uncommonly sweet given that it's also an extremely hot tale, and readers used to edgier erotica might miss that in this story.

I adored Clay and Melody and loved watching their relationship grow. Wyatt and Jules are also great, in an annoying family members kind of way.

Click here to purchase Defying the Odds from Amazon

Star Crossed (Battered Hearts #2) by Kele Moon

Blurb...

Heavyweight MMA fighter, Romeo Wellings comes from the hard streets of New York where his family ties to the mafia cause him nothing but pain. His life takes a surprising detour when he crosses paths with the twin sister of his long time enemy. After a steamy one-night stand, he faces the fight of his life, but it’s not in the cage. The secret relationship that blooms between Romeo and his real life Juliet has him battling his family and a dark past rather than let her go. 



The only lawyer in her hometown of Garnet, Jules Conner is also a volunteer Sheriff’s deputy and co-owner of a successful MMA training center. Strong and dependable, Jules is always there for those who need her. Until one forbidden night in Las Vegas with Romeo leaves her feeling so alive she can’t stop reaching out to the sexy, bad boy of MMA, even knowing the forbidden love affair could jeopardize everything.



As the tide rises against them and the people they love work at keeping them apart, Romeo and Jules hold onto a dream for a better life together and vow to go down fighting rather than accept a tragic ending.

Quickly...

*sigh*

I'm so in love with the men of Garnet - and New York! The main characters are great and the supporting cast is just as great. Exciting, poignant, and burn up the pages sexy, Star Crossed is one hell of a read!

I can't wait to read Wyatt's story next!!

Click here to purchase Star-Crossed from Amazon

Neanderthal Seeks Human (Knitting in the City #1) by Penny Reid

Blurb...

There are three things you need to know about Janie Morris: 1) She is incapable of engaging in a conversation without volunteering TMTI (Too Much Trivial Information), especially when she is unnerved, 2) No one unnerves her more than Quinn Sullivan, and 3) She doesn't know how to knit.

After losing her boyfriend, apartment, and job in the same day, Janie Morris can't help wondering what new torment fate has in store. To her utter mortification, Quinn Sullivan- aka Sir McHotpants- witnesses it all then keeps turning up like a pair of shoes you lust after but can't afford. The last thing she expects is for Quinn- the focus of her slightly, albeit harmless, stalkerish tendencies- to make her an offer she can't refuse.

Not at all what I expected....

....and so much more than I had hoped for!

This is, start to finish, a great read. It's laugh-out-loud funny, charming, romantic, with just enough angst to keep me off balance, but not so much that I dreaded reading on. You see, I hate angst-ridden stories. They upset my stomach, give me a headache, and keep me awake at night....but this is one entertaining, 'left me with a smile on my face' read!

I was actually quite surprised - though I don't know why, given the amazing reviews and high ratings. I was expecting something light, fun, and unemotional. I was wrong. That's not what I got - and I'm glad for it! I fell hard for Janie and Quinn, Janie's quirky friends, and Quinn's unconditional devotion. There truly are mannnnnnnny things to love about Neanderthal Seeks Human, so if you've been hesitant to try it, as I was, hesitate no more. I can't recommend this highly enough!

(At the time of this posting, Neanderthal Seeks Human is, once again, free for Kindle readers. See link below.)

Click here to purchase Neanderthal Seeks Human from Amazon

Heaven Can't Wait (I-Team #1.5) by Pamela Clare

Blurb...


Lissy Charteris and Will Fraser are two weeks away from getting married when Lissy suggests they put a bit of traditional romance into their lives by giving up sex until their wedding night. Though Will thinks it’s a crazy idea, he’s not about to admit he can’t do it. The two end up making a bet, vowing not to be the first to ask for sex. But what starts as a bet turns into a game of no-holds-barred seduction—winner take all.

Heaven Can’t Wait is only about 90 pages, but leave it to Pamela Clare to give us wonderful characters and a fun, sexy story that easily rivals some full length novels I’ve read. This story takes place between Extreme Exposure and Unlawful Contact, but I read it out of order and had no problem whatsoever. I'm giving this 5 stars because, in my opinion, unlike many short stories, this one didn't feel lacking in any way... other than I wish it were longer because it was so good.

Will Fraser and Lissie Charteris are two weeks away from their wedding day and everything is wonderful. They’re madly in love and their sex life is sizzling hot. They’ve begun moving their things into the home they’ll share when they return from their honeymoon and everything, everything seems perfect. Until Lissie gets a phone call from her relationship jaded mother who begins filling her head with doubts about whether she and Will are really in love, or if they’re merely in lust. Suddenly worried that they are doomed to end up unhappy like her parents did, Lissie suggests to Will—under the guise of experiencing an old fashioned romance—that the abstain from sex until after they are married, which leads to some funny, frustrating and incredibly hot scenes and kept the story interesting and moving at a fast pace.

Keep in mind, Heaven Can't Wait is not a romantic suspense as is the rest of the I-Team series. This is just a glimpse into Will Fraser's happily ever after and a feel good read. I truly love Pamela Clare’s full length novels and the way she gives us characters who are real, whose actions, reactions and emotions are convincing. She gives us stories and people that we can relate to, and this short story is no different. If you’re a fan of her I-Team series, I’d really encourage you to pick up Heaven Can’t Wait, available in ebook format or in an out of print anthology called Catch of the Day, and enjoy Will and Lissie’s sweet, touching and sexy story.

Click here to purchase Heaven Can't Wait from Amazon


The I-Team reading order, so far:

1. Extreme Exposure
1.5 Heaven Can't Wait - a novella found in the out of print anthology Catch of the Day and on ebook
2. Hard Evidence
3. Unlawful Contact
4. Naked Edge
5. Breaking Point
5.5. Skin Deep
5.9. First Strike
6. Striking Distance
6.5. Soul Deep
7. Seduction Game
7.5 Dead by Midnight

SEBRING (Unfinished Hero #5) by Kristen Ashley

Blurb...

Nick Sebring has issues. Born feeling like an outsider in his own family, growing up under the shadow of a brother who could do anything, Nick isn’t that great of a guy. But when this culminates with Nick lashing out to hurt his brother through the woman he loves, Nick turns inward and makes some decisions about the man he intends to be.

And as he does this, he falls in love and truly learns the man that he’s grown to be.

When his love is murdered right before Nick’s eyes, Nick knows he has to avenge her. He knows how he’s going to avenge her. And he has no qualms using Olivia Shade to exact that vengeance.

Olivia Shade has grown up on the outside of her family too. Her problem is that they don’t want her outside. They want her all the way in, right under their thumbs. She pays the price for seeking escape and learns her lesson—she’ll never see a dawn where she wakes up free.

Then she meets Nick Sebring, and even as she fights it, the hope that died years ago starts to blossom. She can find love. She can have a man of her own. She can be happy. She can be free.

Olivia hopes while Nick schemes.

However, as Nick peels back the layers of all that is Olivia Shade, he finds something surprising. He understands its fragility. He falls in love with its beauty. He seeks to protect it.

But he forgets to protect his Livvie from one thing: Nick Sebring.

Nick Sebring is the Unfinished Hero I was most excited to read about, and also the most apprehensive to read about. Truth be told, he’s a man I wasn’t sure was worthy of redemption, let alone a happily ever after. Let’s face it - some of the stuff he pulled on his brother, Knight, and Knight’s woman, Anya… the fact Nick was still breathing by the end of Knight’s story was more than surprising. That said, this is a Kristen Ashley story so I put my full trust and faith in her and she pulled it off. As always!

SEBRING, the finale to the Unfinished Hero series is all kinds of feels. Despair, hope, anger, joy, passion… this one took me through an obstacle course of emotions. And I say ‘obstacle course’ because there were some feelings I wanted to avoid, some I wasn’t looking forward to tackling because I didn’t want to love Nick and Olivia as much as I ended up loving them. But even so, I wish there had been more to Nick’s story. For all that he did, all he endured, all he overcame… I wanted more of that amazing man.

Olivia’s side of things was interesting. The daughter of a drug dealer who helped “launder” the ill-gotten gains? How in the world I’d ever become invested in her, I did not know…but again, trust and faith in Kristen Ashley paid off there, too.

Just a note: the Unfinished Hero series is erotica, and Nick and Olivia’s relationship, from early on, is a sexual one. No, seriously… bunnies got nothing on them. Nick and Olivia were going at it hot and heavy from the start, and the romance didn’t come until later on. So invested was I in Nick, that I wish less time had been given to sex and more time spent getting to know him even better.

The bottom line… SEBRING brings the series to an end, and even though I’ll miss those Unfinished Heroes, I know we’ll be seeing more of them as Benito Valenzuela continues his reign of terror and meets the full wrath of CHAOS which will, no doubt, include the droll-worthy alpha men from Rock Chicks, Dream Man, and Unfinished Heroes.

An ARC was provided by the author for participation in the SEBRING Blog Tour and Giveaway.

The giveaway is over, but for an excerpt of the story, click here: SEBRING Blog Tour Book Excerpt

Click here to purchase Sebring from Amazon

Love in the Light (Hearts in Darkness Duet #2) by Laura Kaye

Blurb...

Two hearts in the darkness…

Makenna James and Caden Grayson have been inseparable since the day they were trapped in a pitch-black elevator and found acceptance and love in the arms of a stranger. Makenna hopes that night put them on the path to forever—which can’t happen until she introduces her tattooed, pierced, and scarred boyfriend to her father and three over-protective brothers.

Must fight for love in the light…

Haunted by a childhood tragedy and the loss of his family, Caden never thought he’d find the love he shares with Makenna. But the deeper he falls, the more he fears the devastation sure to come if he ever lost her, too. When meeting her family doesn’t go smoothly, Caden questions whether Makenna deserves someone better, stronger, and just more…normal. Maybe they’re too different—and he’s far too damaged—after all…

One Life, One Chance, No Regrets

A few years ago I read Laura Kaye’s Hearts in Darkness and fell in love with Caden Grayson and Makenna James, two incredible people whose poignant (but too short) story stole my heart. I truly didn’t think anything could make their happy for now more beautiful, more heartwarming, more…perfect. I was wrong.

Love in the Light is the sequel to Hearts in Darkness, and both are stories that rocked my world. Both are despairing yet hopeful, tragic yet joyous, deeply romantic and intensely passionate. Makenna is the light in Caden’s dark, she’s the one person who can make him face his demons and not back down. With faith and trust and unconditional love, there’s nothing that can tear them apart and that is what makes this such a wonderful story. Their happily ever after doesn’t come easy but when it comes, it’s a beautiful thing.

Brava, Ms. Kaye! Well done!

Click here to purchase Love in the Light from Amazon

Some Kind of Wonderful by Maureen Child

Blurb...

Holiday shop owner Carol Baker infuses her business and her life with peace and good will. But she has secrets from her past that make her all the more determined to someday have a family of her own. She never expects a sweltering July heat wave to bring the gift of a baby girl who needs a mother's love...and a man who needs to heal his wounded soul.

Ex-LAPD copy Jack Reilly's back in town--temporarily--to fill in for the ailing local sheriff. Haunted by the tragedy that made him leave Los Angeles, Jack doesn't believe in "forever." His sassy landlady Carol, with her year-round Chistmas spirit, gorgeous smile, and adorable little foster daughter, Liz, begin to bring him back to life. But the past has a way of coming back again, and the dark places of the heart have a way of staying hidden. Still, good things have a way of happening in Christmas--and if the Reillys have anything to say about it, what develops between Carol and Jack will be some kind of wonderful...

The absolutely adorable baby on the cover is what made me decide to pick this one up, but it's Jack, Carol, and baby Liz that kept me turning the pages. Some Kind Of Wonderful is all kinds of heartwarming! It's a romantic, steamy, and sometimes even poignant 'believe in the magic of Christmas' story that can be read any time of year. And I have to say, I hope this is part of a series because there are so many incredible people in the small, quirky town of Christmas, California who need to have their stories told, too!

This is book 1 in my Goodreads Challenge of reading 50 Kindle Freebie books in 2016. All books read in this challenge were free at the time of 'purchase'.

Click here to purchase Some Kind of Wonderful from Amazon