The Goal is the final and most emotionally driven story that will tug at those heart strings and pull your emotions through valleys and mountains to a beautiful finish....
I had decided that I need to pick up The Goal finally, because I have been meaning to pick this book up for the longest time now and I have been itching to get Tucker's book because he is the "nice guy" of the group. He may like to sleep around on occasion but he stays best friends with his entanglements and to me that says a ton about his character.
The key players that we become introduced to in The Goal are:
John Tucker, our sexy hero, honest and an open book, key hockey player and is a "momma's" boy. Looking to start his own business after college.
Sabrina James, our charming heroine, focused on getting into law school in Boston, and getting out of the gutter she was raised in.
I had a hard time remembering Sabrina in previous books, and I know we have seen her but we get to see a different side to her. Sabrina grew up struggling financially. She never knew her father, her mother ran off when she was a child and she was raised by her grandmother and her step father(who is down right disgusting) and she wants to be better than the way she grew up to be, she is focused on school and driven so on the outside many views her as cold when really she has dreams and doesn't have time for boys or fun especially if she plans on going to law school. Then she has a one night stand with Tucker, and that is all it can be for her. Before long she keeps trying to evade Tucker, especially since he is a hockey player and she has some not so good history with hockey players. But Tucker is really drawn to Sabrina and she intrigues him and even though she gives him the cold shoulder more often than not, he knows that at heart she is warm and in need of love.
You're the only one for me. My sun rises and sets on your smile. My heart beats because yours does.
I really enjoyed the way that these two come together. I love seeing a heroine that goes from being a queen of ice to become warm and free as we see unfold in this wonderful story here. I think what intrigued me most was seeing Tucker slowly get Sabrina to thaw and learn to open herself up to emotion that Tucker evokes in her. And when Sabrina learns that she is pregnant, well that just deals with a whole different aspect that Sabrina needs to learn to deal with. We see that she has to face some important factors in her life and see what is really important. And boy once Sabrina learns what she needs to, Tucker is always there patient and waiting. I loved this hero so much, so dreamy and kind and he is the type of hero you could see yourself married to in real life....that is how perfect he is. He is loyal, kind, charming, sexy, patient and understanding. What more could you ask for right? Now I tried not to be too hard on the heroine, because there is nothing wrong with the way she acts but she has a hard time letting people in due to how she was raised. I did like how she realizes that she can have a family and a career and she goes for it full speed and I adore that.
My goal, once upon a time, was to succeed. I didn’t realize that success wasn’t grades or scholarships or achievements, but the people I was lucky enough to have in my life.
This story was full on engaging, I couldn't put it down and I loved seeing this story unfold in all its great dialogue and delicious tempting moments.....A ROMANCE TO SINK INTO!!
“Footsteps approach the kitchen. Garrett wanders in, wiping sweat off his brow. When he notices Sabrina, he brightens. “Oh good. You’re here. Hold on—gotta grab something.”
She turns to me as if to say, Is he talking to me?
He’s already gone, though, his footsteps thumping up the stairs.
At the table, Hannah runs a hand through her hair and gives me a pleading look. “Just remember he’s your best friend, okay?”
That doesn’t sound ominous.
When Garrett returns, he’s holding a notepad and a ballpoint pen, which he sets on the table as he sits across from Sabrina. “Tuck,” he says. “Sit. This is important.”
I’m so baffled right now. Hannah’s resigned expression doesn’t help in lessening the confusion.
Once I’m seated next to Sabrina, Garrett flips open the notepad, all business. “Okay. So let’s go over the names.”
Sabrina raises an eyebrow at me.
I shrug, because I legitimately don’t know what the fuck he’s talking about.
“I’ve put together a solid list. I really think you’re going to like these.” But when he glances down at the page, his face falls. “Ah crap. We can’t use any of the boy names.”
“Wait.” Sabrina holds up a hand, her brow furrowed. “You’re picking names for our baby?”
He nods, busy flipping the page.
My baby mama gapes at me.
I shrug again.
“Just out of curiosity, what were the boy names?” Grace hedges, clearly fighting a smile.
He cheers up again. “Well, the top contender was Garrett.”
I snicker loud enough to rattle Sabrina’s water glass. “Uh-huh,” I say, playing along. “And what was the runner-up?”
“Graham.”
Hannah sighs.
“But it’s okay. I have some kickass girl names too.” He taps his pen on the pad, meets our eyes, and utters two syllables. “Gigi.”
My jaw drops. “Are you kidding me? I’m not naming my daughter Gigi.”
Sabrina is mystified. “Why Gigi?” she asks slowly.
Hannah sighs again.
The name suddenly clicks in my head. Oh for fuck’s sake.
“G.G.,” I mutter to Sabrina. “As in Garrett Graham.”
She’s silent for a beat. Then she bursts out laughing, triggering giggles from Grace and eventually Hannah, who keeps shaking her head at her boyfriend.
“What?” Garrett says defensively. “The godfather should have a say in the name. It’s in the rule book.”
“What rule book?” Hannah bursts out. “You make up the rules as you go along!”
This timeless love story starts out with the willful and independent Princess Theresa Christina Rubinoff has been in a convent for quite some time now. When her cousin Sacha gets her out, she is relieved to say the least. However she doesn't want to have to go back to court and face her father once again. Tess and her father have always rubbed the wrong way to say the least, since Tess is a free spirit, her father has always been a bit harsh with her. However when Galen Ben Raschid convinces Tess to marry him and bear him a son to help him unite with the other tribe leaders, and then she will be free to go anywhere she wants after her three years are up, she agrees. Having ached for being able to be free to choose her own path in life, much more desirable than the plan her father would have set for her. However, she never realized how much her life would change once being married to a barbarian chieftain whose way of life is very different from what she is accustomed to. But despite all the dangers surrounding them, there is a profound love that will blossom beneath the desert sun.
I truly enjoyed reading The Golden Barbarian, and it flew by so quickly, and by the end I was disappointed that the story was over, I was wanting more and more, but a book can only last so long right? Its been quite some time since I have read anything from Iris Johansen, and after reading this one I am eager for more of her books. I love her historicals, she has such a talent to portray the historic events and scenery surround the story, and it comes alive for the reader. Its very exhilirating for me, to read this one, because I felt so enraptured like I was actually in the story and seeing it all come to reality. The characters and the plot are so vividly written it really astounded me about how much I was drawn into it.
This review was originally posted on Addicted To RomanceI received this book for free from Pocket in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Going Rogue is the third in the Cursed Ravens MC series, and this is Rogue's story and it was just as good as I was hoping that it would be. This book was a bit different than the previous two books and I really liked the softer tone to the beginnings of their relationships...it had such a sweet romantic feel to it. Book two wasn't my favorite so I was hoping that this would be a better experience and it definitely was...I had so much fun with this one that I breezed through it in one sitting which doesn't happen very often so YES this was such a keeper.
In this story we have our book begin with our heroine Zoe, who works in a nursing home and has been connecting with a new resident, a lady that is snarky, swears on ocassion and has a great laugh and has the most handsome son who catches Zoe's eye. She knows that she probably isn't good enough for him, but there is a connection between them. Rogue visits his mother regularly, who is suffering from dementia and a heart condition. Some days are good for them and other days are a real struggle for Rogue emotionally. He has such a close bond with his mother and seeing her slowly fade away is killing him inside.
But then he catches the eye of his mothers nurse, and his heart and other body parts go into overdrive. He takes it slow with her, bringing her lunch on her breaks, showing her his sweet baby his club has adopted for their friend who is in prison, and not being too rough around the edges for Zoe. Zoe is not made of glass though, but she does have reservations about being with a biker. She was once with a biker who was only using her since he already had a old lady. But our Rogue is sweet on Zoe and doesn't want to do anything to jeaopardize their relationship. But Rogue is VP of the club and that brings certain risks to their relationship and Zoe will need to decided if what she feels for Rogue is strong enough to handle it and be his support when he needs it.
Going Rogue was such a wonderful and charming read and I am thinking it might be my favorite one of the series. Rogue I have always had a soft spot for, and just seeing the gentler side to him just was so sweet. I loved how this book begins and how their relationship develops...its more slower paced and I loved how gradual their relationship begins to form. Its not too slow, but not too fast either. The story really speeds up when Zoe visits the club for the first time and meets the fellow club members and we see how they all accept Zoe into the fold and boy Zoe really suprised me in this one. Because she was so accepting of what Rogue did for the club, and helped him when he really needed her and she just stepped up.
We did see a tense situation that forms towards the end that involves Rogue's mom and even though I understood what she was doing, it really broke my heart to see how it was tearing Zoe apart inside. And It was pretty rough seeing her work through what was right for her and I felt like she made the best decision that she could live with and yes Rogue is pretty stubborn at the end, but this story needed some conflict and seeing them work through their problems and resolve it in the way that they did was pretty fantastic. You see both sides and when it matters, they resolve it.
Overall I found Going Rogue to be a sweet and sensational romance with strong willed characters, a passionate love affair, a sexy biker hero who is great with kids, a strong heroine who has a compassionate heart and a story that will make you happy and satisfied!!
I will admit that I was a bit nervous to pick this book up, I have only read her historical’s so I wasn’t sure how she would do with a romantic suspense although both require some well planned research for the world building. After seeing book three being released and seeing how many have loved these books so far, I just knew it was time to read them. So I grabbed this one up and I am so happy that Ihave done so….this author will always work for me and she has become an auto buy author for me. From the get go, I couldn’t put this book down and I had a feeling this book would be such a keeper and it definitely turned out that way.
Our story begins with SEAL Team Nine on a submarine, traveling to the Baltic Sea towards Russia and going on a dangerous mission, one that if they are discovered by the Russians, it could cause a war. The LT, has a very bad feeling about this mission, too many risks and not enough facts given to them. But their mission is compromised when the LT receives a message about it being a trap and with half of his team killed, he gathers the survivors and scatters them all over the world until they figure out who betrayed them and who was behind their team being attacked when no one should have known they were there.
Our heroine, has come to Scotland, in protest against oil spills against marine wild life. After she witnessed a horrible spil of oil and seeing the devastation to the marine life she knew she had found her purpose. She and her boyfriend want to make a stand although she isn’t sure what the plan really is. She feels the situation is a bit iffy, but she trusts her boyfriend. But then while on a boat to the oil rigging for a protest, she finds explosives in one of their friends bags and she knows that she is in way over her head. The captain of the boat, is someone she feels that she can trust and is capable. And they manage to escape but now they are on the run from the authorities who think they are the criminals. Dean and Annie have to work together to survive and stay one step ahead of the eco terrorists. But Dean also knows he is putting his team at risk by staying with Annie.
Dean and Annie know that there is no way to be together because of their circumstances, especially when Annie learns who Dean really is and that its just not him that he is protecting, but what is left of his team. But there is a connection between Dean and Annie, and they draw closer as the danger to them gets nearer to them and Dean realizes some important facets about himself and if he is willing to fight for what they have or let it go because of the danger surrounding them.
I really had SO much of a good time reading this book and it really speaks to your emotions and I truly admire this talent that Monica McCarty has with aspect in her stories. I fell in love with this story for the most part, I will admit that the heroine drove me a bit nuts with her anti military ways and her misconceptions about many things made it appear how naive she could be. But I did enjoy seeing her change and see how wrong she is about certain things. The chemistry between Dean and Annie is very obvious and it was interesting seeing them explore this aspect of their relationship and I do love the way McCarty writes her sex scenes. But we also get the details to the overall plot of the series and enjoyed seeing where McCarty takes this and I am curious to find out what we will see in future books and see how this team will find out the truth.
Overall I found Going Dark to be a stunning story that gave me all the edgy thrills that you expect from romantic suspense and McCarty delivers on ALL fronts and I found this book to be a SPECTACULAR addition to her work!! FANTASTICALLY WELL WRITTEN!!
Golden Dynasty is a brilliantly written love story that takes us back to this epic series, to a fated couple..a barbarian warrior king and his queen---dangers around every corner, intensity at the corners of each page and a heart felt romance that will capture your heart....
Golden Dynasty is the second book in the stunning Fantasyland series and I will be honest...I was expecting a book more like book one to be honest. Now this is the same world but we have a completely different setting. Instead of ice and snow and civilization, we are dealing with a whole different culture that is more rugged and rough around the edges but is still full of emotion and passion. However I would like to warn you that this book is NOT for everyone. It has dubious consent in the first part of the book so keep that in consideration. However I fell in love with the whole book and it definitely took me back to some of my old favorites in HR. So without further ado let me show you what made this book such an adventure for me here.
Circe Quinn, goes to bed one night and wakes up in a pen of women, she is dressed in strange clothing and she is surrounded by guards with swords...SWORDS!! She feels like its just a dream but it's a dark reality, one she gets a wide wake up call for. She has somehow been transported to a world of primitive people with strange customs. She is about to be hunted in the forest and be claimed by one of the men. Most of the women with her are excited however excitement is the last thing that Circe is feeling at the moment. She is scared out of her mind. But Circe attracts the attention of the one man that no woman has attracted until now....Dax Lahn is the king of Suh Tunak, The Horde of the nation of Korwahk. Circe is a fighter though and she doesn't go down easily. She is then claimed by Dax Lahn and set up as his queen.
He has bragged greatly about you. The Lahnahsahna, a true warrior’s wife. He told his people he did not claim you. He told his people he battled you before he won you. He told his people you challenged him. The warrior king’s bride fought like a warrior. She did not lay back and accept her fate. She stood strong and shouted in the face of a king. She fought and did not give up. Even knowing she’d taste defeat, she fought on, like a true warrior. He told his people you are not his queen. You are his warrior queen
At first Circe has no clue how to handle her new situation. But thanks to her newest friend, who is one of the few people that can speak her language helps her with their customs, their language and how to be a queen.... A QUEEN that the Korwahk would die to protect. Despite the language barrier, Dax and Circe begin to share desire and more, their story turns into love and devotion.
There is SO much that goes on in this book though, its a pretty long book (which I totally don't mind because I never wanted this book to end) the story really gets good once Circe starts to learn the language and become a true queen to the Korwahk. I loved her strength and courage and what a fighter she is. Dax Lahn likes to call her his "tigress queen" and that is so apt for her. Now our hero....well he is an ASS many times, he is definitely an anti-hero but we see his changes through the book and I really admired the way he grows and allows love change him. And when he makes the "bad" mistakes, Circe definitely makes him work for it and boy does he GROVEL.
(One of my favorite scenes where we see the strength and growth of our heroine as she helps a fellow woman and her warrior )
Your king did not break through with me until his touch stopped taking and started giving and until, in our cham, he treated me with kindness. He is the mightiest of Suh Tunak, recognized the battle he had on his hands, analyzed it, created his strategy and then he went about winning that battle using any means necessary. And, Zahnin," I edged closer and for the sake of this man who pledged to guard me even if it meant giving his life, who backed me against Dortak and who clearly wanted his wife to settle in her new life with him in his cham, I admitted to him at the same time I admitted to myself, "my Lahn won that battle. I now lay awake at night waiting for him to return. When he does not, I fall asleep looking forward to the morning when he will wake me with his hands. He is my king, he is my warrior, he is my husband and I am proud to say above all...he is mine.
This isn't an easy love story at all...there is no light or fluff in this book....it works the reader through their paces, pushes you and challenges you sometimes to your limits but it also is very rewarding and seeing this couple overcome the worst to find a love worth fighting for. The reader does need to realize that this isn't a modern style romance. Its very savage and primitive and is tough as nails but as its soft underbelly that wins you over. I was very impressed though with the way that Kristen Ashley wrote this book. We see the development in their relationship grow, the sexual tension that is off the charts, we finds a true love tale that you want to last forever and never let go of!! ONE OF THE MOST DEEPLY ROMANTIC TALES I'VE EVER READ!!!
If you’re given the opportunity to look deep enough, you can see a person’s spirit in their eyes but usually, they are guarded, kept safe. Not you, my tigress, the night of your claiming, even in the moonlight, I could see your spirit shining from your eyes. You hold your spirit close to the surface for all to behold and it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
Erin Mac Aed, daughter of the Irish king. Erin, is the one of the few of her siblings that has remained unmarried. Erin is also a favorite of her father, who has spoiled her throughout the years. Erin has learned how to fight with swords and the like from her brothers, whom she loves dearly. When the Lord of Wolves invades Ireland, she encounters him and her hatred for the man deepens, for all those on her side that have been killed, a couple that were dear to her and she blames Olaf for it. Now a year later, her father demands that she marry Olaf of Norway, so they can have a powerful alliance against the Danes. However Erin hates having to join with her enemy, but the passion the Olaf ingnites in Erin weakens her resolve and steals into her heart.Golden Surrender is the first installment in the Viking Saga written by Heather Graham. I have read only historicals from this author, and I love them, and Golden Surrender is my favorite so far from her books that she has written. I have read Golden Surrender before but it has been a while, and since I saw this on the library shelf, I decided to pick it up since I was in the mood for this type of story. Its a powerfully written love story, back in the medieval age around 900 A.D. I find that there aren't that many books that are written in this era, and so I love to read every one that I can get my hands on, because I find it so fascinating, especially the Viking people. Throughout this story, we learn what kind of people they were, even though they could very well be barbarians, they had a passion for life and for their beliefs.There was only one problem I had with the story, was Erin, her character, it just seemed to me that she was too strong, and had so much hatred within her and treated Olaf pretty horribly, but as the story progressed I loved seeing the change within her. Both of these characters are stubborn, loyal and strong personalities, so they definitely clash especially at the beginning of the story. But as the love between them depends, so does this passionate love story. Golden Surrender is on my list of favorite romances, and one well worth reading for any romance lover.
Honey Winston is a private detective, with her finances struggling, she knows she needs a good case. When a woman comes to her asking her to find some letters for her, Honey is more than willing considering the reward involved. So Honey sneaks into Prince Rubinoff's hotel suite, hiding beneath the service cart, however since she is allergic to cigar smoke, she is discovered and forced to reveal her true reason for her being there. However Lance is viewed on the media as a royal playboy his nickname being "Lusty Lance". After being discovered she is then blackmailed into serving as his bodyguard, having been made aware there is a threat on his life and that of his friend Alex. When they head to a remote island, Honey doesn't realize that she will be in close proximity to Lusty Lance who has developed a unique fascination with her. A fascination that develops into a relationship with aspects neither of them expected to find in one another, one where love and commitment thrive.
I have just loved reading this Sedikhan series, and I just love this author, especially through Audio. This is a contemporary romance novel written by Iris Johansen, who is one of my favorite romance authors to read from. We have Lance, who is a talented artist, where only he and a few others know of his rare gift.He hides who he truly is with a exterior of a play boy, where inside he yearns for love and a family. When he sees Honey, a beautiful Valkyrie who stirs up his emotions like no one ever has, and vows that she will be his. Honey has a duty to protect Lance Robinoff from the danger that threatens his life, but somewhere along the road they are both headed on, Honey realizes that there is a lot more to him that she ever realized. That she is falling in love with the one person she doesn't know if she can trust with her heart. This was such a lovely riveting story, filled with witty interaction between the character, a exciting plot and a well written story that is portrayed well with the audio story that makes the story come alive for the reader and listener. I am definitely looking forward to reading the rest of this series!!!
Golden Trail is the next installment in the "burg series by this author and even though I am liking this series, it hasn't really impressed me too much overall. It seemed like it took forever to get through this book and not like it was a bad story at all, in fact, I did enjoy it, but not sure my heart was really invested in this story. I think I just wanted way more from this book but I will say once I did get into it, then I was into it. But it does take a while to build and with these books so long, you just know you are in for some crazy fun adventure and KA definitely delivered on that front.
So Golden Trail is a story that features our two main characters Tanner and Rocky who are old sweethearts. And Tanner was a man that is solid and sure, but something drove Rocky away and she left him and never gave a reason and for years he has wondered, but Tanner moved on even if his heart wasn't in his relationship and now he has two teenage sons and when he ends up getting shot, Rocky visits him in the hospital which thus begins a rocky start to a beautiful relationship. Racquel has her own reasons for doing what she did to Tanner, she lives in a nightmare constantly since she was young, but she finds the courage to stand with Tanner and face her demons. But Rocky wonders if she will be strong enough to endure her upcoming journey....
Golden Trail is a story where at first I really couldn't like the heroine that much, but to be fair, Ashley really writes this pairing so well. So even though you don't care for how she treated the hero in the past, you feel that there is something deeper and darker going on and you just want to find out the truth of the situation from both sides. But unfortunately this author really makes the reader wait lol I should be used to it by now, the suspense and tension in how she builds relationship is unlike any other author. I really have found it a delight to see Tanner and Rocky start anew and the relationship with Tanner's sons. I have to say I really adored seeing Tanner as a single father, you can just tell how devoted he is to them and even though circumstances aren't perfect, he loves and supports his boys and you begin the story with so much reverance for the hero here and there is a good reason behind that.
The romance that builds or "rebuilds" should I say between Tanner and Rocky is not an easy road they have to maneuver around. There are so many secrets and my goodness her family I wanted to strangle at times. Because they know the full truth and won't share it with Tanner no matter what he does. You sense they love him like family too, and are split between the two and are trying to remain neutral. It was really saddening to see the tension build between all parties involved. Now I get why Tanner didn't go straight to Rocky with his issues, because she fled from him once and he doesn't want that to happen again. And since we see this story from the hero's perspective way more than the heroines, you gain such admiration for his strength and love for Rocky. Even though she has hurt him so badly, he still loves her deeply.
As a plus we get to see some budding romances with his two boys and this really has connections to the previous book, and I really loved seeing this "young love" form. We rarely see it happen in a KA novel to be honest since she deals mostly with more mature characters. So it was refreshing to see these kids work their way through all of it.
Overall I found Golden Trail to be a enjoyable solid read that I found such solace and comfort in, its a story of pleasure, mystery, patience and endurance.
