Oh. My. God. That ending....

Review to come.

Split Second is the second book in the Pivot Point series and picks up shortly after book one left off. Kasie West does a great job bringing the reader back into Addie’s story and also introduces us to some new characters this time around. I loved that the chapters were alternating between Addie and Laila as we got to see Laila’s point of view as well as meet Conner.

After making the choice to save Laila and not be with Trevor in Pivot Point, Addie is now living in a world where Duke is her ex-boyfriend and she feels humiliated every time she sees him. In addition to this, Addie’s and Laila’s friendship has taken a hit although they are still friends. On top of all of that, Addie is noticing that her ability is acting up and she is manipulating time in a different way.

With all of this going on, Addie makes the decision to go live with her dad for a few weeks and this is how we are re-introduced to Trevor and ultimately meet Conner. I have to admit, I still love Trevor even though he and Addie were basically strangers to each other and the way West brought Addie and Trevor back together was great.

Addie is still a little nerdy, a good friend, and struggling to come to terms with her parents decision to break up. On top of dealing with Duke, when she gets her memory restored, she has to deal with knowing Trevor from her search and then also figure out a way to explain it to him. When she finally did explain to Trevor what was going on, he didn't dismiss it and that won him points in my mind. The fact that he responded by requesting she tell him three things about them from before only made him even more swoony.

As I mentioned, the chapters alternated between Addie and Laila this time and West does a great job giving the reader a glimpse of what is going on with both Addie and Laila despite them not being together for most of the book. The two stories flowed seamlessly and I really enjoyed hearing Laila’s voice more this time around. A great addition for me were the headers on each of the chapters...it is a small thing but I thought they were an added bonus.

Laila quickly became a favorite character for me and I feel like she is the perfect friend for Addie. She has a lot of crap going on in her life and she still wants to be there to help Addie. To do that she has to recognize that she can’t always do things on her own which pulls Conner into the story. I would consider Conner the “bad boy” here as he is the motorcycle driving guy who sells illegal programs to people. Once Laila gets past what she thinks she knows, she finds out there is more to him than she originally thought.

Conner is struggling with who he is and has been doing so since he was 12 when he ended up healing his father. Because of what happened, he has cut off his ability completely and Laila is the one who makes him see how that isn't’t the answer and in all honestly, wasn't his fault.

There is also a relationship building between these two characters and I loved it. The banter between them made me smile and only love them more.

“Whining makes you less attractive. Don’t do it anymore.”

And the swoons…Gah – I would love more Conner anytime West wants to write a full book of just him.

“You’re impossible to ignore, Laila. I was acutely aware of exactly where you stood, what you looked at, when you took a breath.”

Those are only a few examples…trust me when I say that West certainly knows how to write the swoony parts and when Laila and Conner finally got past the crap and were honest about what was going on with everything I couldn't have been happier. They were both so closed off and I was happy that they were able to recognize how good they were for each other.

This is another great story by Kasie West and based on my love for all of her books so far, there is no question she will be on my auto-buy list. If you like great characters, a wonderful story and some swoons, definitely check this series out if you haven’t already – you won’t regret it.

Review to come.

Perfectly perfect. Review to come.

Adam might be my favorite...just saying.

I don’t know what else to say about Brighton Walsh’s books that will convey the love I have for her stories and characters. She knows exactly what I am looking for in my romance novels…fantastic characters, a bit of swoon, some sexy times, and a story that pulls me in.

Paige is one of those characters that when I started this book I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about her but in the end, I loved her. Paige is smart, she works hard, she loves her family, and she isn’t afraid to go after what she wants…or say what she wants. After getting burned in a relationship in the past, Paige only does hookups but the one kink in that these days is Adam Reid. Paige thought he would be one night of great sex but he continues to occupy space in her thoughts and she isn’t ok with that…she has other things to worry about. Like her internship and getting the job of her dreams.

So…Adam. He might actually be my favorite of all of Walsh’s heroes. There is so much about him that makes me love him – he is smart (he even has the nerdy glasses), he isn’t afraid of a challenge, he can be swoony, he’s absolutely sexy, and of course, he loves his family. The other thing about Adam is that he also wants a relationship…the challenge is that he wants that relationship with Paige – which, as I mentioned, is not her thing. Just trust me when I say, while all the guys are great, there’s just something (or a lot of things) about Adam that put him at the top of the list.

I loved these two together and the way Walsh builds their story and weaves it around the existing characters of this series (Cade, Winter, Tessa, and Jase) made me want to read all the other books again. I also loved seeing these characters with their families. Paige’s relationships with her brothers and her parents was fantastic. Selfishly I hope Walsh considers writing more about her brother’s stories as I am definitely curious about them. I also thought it was great to get some insight into Adam’s relationship with his parents. Both pieces added a layer to the story that we didn’t necessarily have in the other books.

As these two try to figure out what they want from each other, they are also trying to figure out things in other areas of their lives. Paige is fighting for a job after her internship and doing her best to prove that she belongs at the police station (and not just because her brother works there). Adam is only back in town to help his parents…he has always planned to go back to Denver. This is the sticking point for both – he absolutely feels he has to go back and Paige isn’t about to give up the opportunity she has earned. Now you have to read the book to find out what happens!

Trust me, if you love romance books you should absolutely be reading Brighton Walsh’s stuff. Her characters are real and her stories are engaging. She also writes heroes in a way that will have you wondering why fictional characters can’t be real. Go get Paige in Progress because you don’t want to miss out on this one and definitely consider the other books in the series.

"Calm your Tits." Review to come. Ha ha ha ha

Captive is the first in the Captive series by Brighton Walsh and if you haven’t read anything by Brighton yet I have two things to say to you before I get into the details of this story. One, what are you waiting for? And two, go read her books!! I loved everything about this book and admittedly I might be a bit biased but I do believe everyone needs to get started on this series.

To begin, Walsh does a great job developing these characters. She has taken the time to give us a peek into Madison’s life before she is kidnapped and although Ghost is a bit of a mystery at first, we get enough information about him to begin to wonder what he’s really all about. As the story progresses, we get to see what these characters are really made of and why they ultimately are drawn to each other.

Madison is an interesting character. I liked her and although she is quiet and reserved, she is always thinking and not afraid to act when she needs to. Clearly things aren’t as they always seem and she is the perfect example of that…along with her home life. She is dealing with things in her life that no one really realizes and all of those things have impacted how she acts and what she does. I loved how her story progressed and felt her initial reactions to Ghost were realistic as well as how her feelings toward him changed.

Ghost was fantastic. Initially he comes across as an uncaring kidnapper who has some ideas about who Madison is based on how her family is represented in the media and what he knows about them. As we delve more into the chapters tied to Ghost’s point of view, we see how his impression of Madison changes and ultimately how it changes his feelings about the job he is doing.

As the story progresses, we learn more about who Ghost is working for and what is really going on. I loved how Walsh structured this story to give us snippets of information along the way and as things start to change for these characters we learn the rest…and realize just how much of an impact it will have on who they are going forward.

I would like to mention that the brief introduction we got to Riley (Ghost's brother) made me very interested in learning more about him. As a matter of fact, I think he has one of my favorite lines in the book.

There isn’t a whole lot I can say about the plot of this story – mainly because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone. Just know that there is an underlying twist in the story that I wasn’t expecting and it made things even more interesting. Walsh knows how to not only tell a great story, but also creates some great characters and please, please don’t forget about the sexy parts (as if you could)! If you are looking for a story that will pull you in and have you wondering what will happen next, definitely check this one out. I can’t wait to get my hands on book two of this series!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy!

When I found out that Brighton Walsh was going to be writing a book about Ghost’s brother Riley I have to admit, I was so excited. We got a small glimpse of him in Captive but in Exposed, Walsh gives us so much more!

This book picks up shortly after Captive ends and I loved that we still get bits with Ghost and Madison. I always love seeing where characters are after the story ends. With that said, this book is about Riley and the one person he has yet to get over, even though she has been gone for 5 years, Evie. And when I say gone, I mean, he has thought she was dead.

In a desperate attempt to get away from the man who tried to kill her (their boss), Evie works with Ghost and another member of their crew to create a new identity and say goodbye to everything she has ever known…including the boy she loves, Riley. When her cover is blown, Evie is pulled back into a world where she is fighting to not only protect herself, but also the only people she has ever really trusted and loved.

As Riley finds out the truth, he doesn’t stop to think. He just gets on his bike and goes to get Evie because he knows she needs him. I loved seeing that side of him but as he realizes that Ghost was in on the secret, the betrayal he feels is overwhelming. Unfortunately for all, Max is again after Evie and in order to protect her until they can come up with a plan, Evie and Riley have to hole up in a friend’s apartment.

There are a number of layers to this story. The first being the thing that Evie knows that put her on Max’s radar to begin with. I won’t say what it is but all you need to know is that in order to get out of the trouble she is in, she has to find out more and come up with some leverage.

There is an aspect of this story that won’t be for everyone but I thought Walsh did a wonderful job of conveying the impact it had on the character’s story without making it the focal point. The past plays a huge role in this story and Evie has something in her past that makes it not only difficult for her to trust, but also difficult to give up control. This is something that creates some challenges in the relationship that Riley and Evie have. That wasn’t always the case but Riley is a different person than he was 5 years ago and that is an adjustment for them both.

A good portion of the story takes place with these two in a confined space and I loved seeing them get to know each other again as well as realize that they are still very much in love with each other, regardless of what they have been up to for the time they have been separated. As secrets are revealed and things begin to come to a head with Max and the crew, Riley, Evie, and Ghost have to come up with a way to survive.

Overall I thought this story had a great mix of suspense, action, and romance. Walsh always does a wonderful job of developing characters and mixing in the sexy times with a great story. If you are looking for a story with all of this, definitely check it out. If you haven’t read Captive, don’t worry. I read both and while there is overlap on the characters, the stories are separate. With that said, you should definitely read it, and everything else Walsh writes, when you can.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy!

Once I started this I could hardly put it down. I was drawn into this world that was interesting and a little odd. One of my first thoughts was around how someone thinks of a story like this...similar to the reaction that Karou's drawings get.

At first I wondered who was supposed to be good and who was supposed to be bad and honestly I am still unsure of which side I should be rooting for. A chance meeting on a battlefield between the two main characters are what leads to the rest of the story and it is a fantastic story.

I am looking forward to the next book and encourage anyone to read this when it comes out in September.

Review to come