http://bjsbookblog2.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/blog-tour-and-giveaway-fighting_8.html

ARC received for an honest review

Gut wrenching. Heart breaking. Absolutely beautiful. There are not enough words to describe how I feel about Fighting Redemption. It is everything I could ever want in a book - plus more.

Australian SAS soldier is a broken man. Things have happened in his past that still haunt him today, and he can't let it go.

Finlay is his best friend's younger sister - and the girl who has held his heart since the first day they met in primary school. The woman he can't have. It made my heart ache for him as we watched him love from afar, his feelings changing as he grows older to an eternal flame for her that will never die.

It is hard to write this review without giving any spoilers, as there are so so many wonderful things about Fighting Redemption that I want to scream about it from the rooftop for all to hear!

Ryan has always wanted to be a soldier, and knows as a teenager that when he leaves to join the Army, he is going to have to leave Fin forever, that he needs to move on. It is heartbreaking.

“It’s always the strongest who fall the hardest.”

I can tell you now, you will ugly cry - more than once - while reading

It is 6 years before Ryan and Fin meet again. Fin has moved on with her life, is successful in her career and studies, has been with her boyfriend for a while, and everything seems to be going perfectly.

"For six years I fought every day not to think of you, and I lost, because every day you were all I could see."

But the connection between Ryan and Fin can't be ignored - as much as they need to.
"Even though we've never been together, you've always been mine, and even if I never get to keep you, you'll still be mine."



There were some fantastic secondary characters in this story. Love love love Jake, Fin's brother and Ryan's best friend.

Jake and Ryan's Army friends are also a big part of the story. We see them in both their home environment and also on deployment in the Afghanistan war zone. Ms McCarthy had written these in such a way that you can almost feel the heat and the dust and the tension.

There are so, so many moments in this book that I am still thinking about now, well after finishing, Ryan and Jake, Ryan and Fin. The war scenes. Some letters. Birthday cakes. Deployments. Whales and penguins (I know, sounds random but you will get it when you read).

Even writing this now, I have had to walk away and come back, as I am getting emotional just thinking about this book. This one is going to stick with me for a long time to come.

On another note - thank you to all the service men and women, and their families for all you do for our country.


This book is so different from her other works, and for me it is a stand out.

I read so many books, but every now and again I come across one like this. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE should read this book.

Finding books like Fighting Redemption is the reason I read.

I have loved this series from the start.

Jack/Sweet Nuts/George/The Brit and Grace/Nuts Girl are just wonderful together.

In this book they are having more than their fair share of dramas, and at times I just wanted to slap Jack until he pulled his head out of his arse - he was really unlikeable at times!

Through everything - Grace's struggle to make it in h, ter profession, Jack's rising star, distance, media interference etc etc, Jack and Grace have stuck it out but they have not been able to get their HEA.

There is still the witty banter between them, as well as with Holly and Michael, but this book delves a bit darker into the Hollywood lifestyle.

There is the typical sex and drugs, paparazzi troubles, Grace's weight being more talked about than her acting abilities.

Jack runs a bit off the rails which was hard to read about, though at the end of the day, it was realistic to what the Hollywood machine does to young stars.

Do George and Gracie get their HEA? Uh uh, not telling you are gonna have to read it for yourself.

It was a fantastic way for this series to end, but I am sad because I could read about George and Gracie forever and I am gonna miss them!

hot hot hot!

loved the attraction between Sierra, Luke and Cole. I enjoyed the journey that Nicole Edwards has taken us on.

at times I wanted to slap some sense into Luke but loved he finally got it all together.

love this series, need to catch up and read the rest

4.5 stars.

ARC received from William Morris via Eidelweiss for honest review.


I have loved the Marked Men series from the minute I first got my hands on Rule, and have been impatiently waiting for Rome for a while now. So when I was offered the chance to take part in this blog tour, I jumped at the chance.

Rome has been military since he left school. Now medically discharged, he is at a loose end. He has always been the one to look out for other. His twin brothers, Shaw, his country. Now his country doesn't need him, Rule and Shaw have each other.

So what does he do? He is surly and quite unlikeable, and he takes it out on those around him.

But not Cora. Cora is like a mumma bear, watching out for those she loves. Shaw, the boys of at the shop. So when Rome turns his attitude on them, she is the only one who stands up to him and calls bullshit on his attitude.

I love Cora! She is feisty and smart and witty. A real spitfire. I like to think that she and I could be fantastic friends. But she is also emotionally damaged from her previously relationship. That guy really did a number on her!

Neither of them are looking for a relationship, but can their imperfections make them perfect for each other?

It was quiet emotional reading as Rome struggled with his PTSD. I can only imagine what these guys see and go through day to day in war zones, and I felt that Ms Crownover wrote these particular scenes very well.

I loved the secondary characters. Yes, we have the usual suspects ~ Rule and Shaw, Jet and Ayden, Asa, Nash and Rowdy. But we are also introduced to another character, Brite.

I don't want to spoil anything, but Brite is someone who helps Rome out, but not going to tell you how or why.

Soooo, are Cora and Rome what each other needs to get through their demons? Can they have the HEA that all their friends are finding?

Uh uh, for that you are going to have to read Rome for yourself!

I did find that the pacing of Rome was a little off for me. It took me about 15-20% to really get into it. But that being said, it was read over Christmas and when I was tired, so this may just have been me!!

And now, the wait begins for book 4, Nash!!!

Review by Janeane - ARC received for honest review - 4.5 stars

I have fallen in love with all the boys from Harper Sloan's Corp Security series, however Beck's story is one I have really really been wanting. So when I was offered the chance to join the Beck blog tour, this was me... give me give me give me!!

And I was not disappointed! Although I do feel very fickle and like I am cheating on each of the boys. I loved Axel, then I LOVED Cage, and now Beck is just so swoonworthy! And has more patience than I think I could ever ever have.


Denise "Dee" Roberts and John "Beck" Beckett have been circling around each other through the whole Corps Security series and now we delve deeper into their relationship.

Dee has had a shitty life. Disinterested parents to whom she was always just "their mistake", especially when she did not toe their line. Used by everyone she has ever met, until she met Izzy and Cage. Even as an adult she has still been dealt with blow after blow. Her story had me wondering how she could put that smile on and function day in day out. The way Ms Sloan has dealt with depression in

I just wanted to hug the heck out of her..

Beck sees through all the smiles she puts on for her friends. He sees HER. He sees her pain, even when those closest to her don't. His feelings for her are unwavering, even though she is forever pushing him away.

Can his faith in her be enough for her to leave her demons in the past and for them for forge a future together.

Uh uh - for that you are going to have to read for yourself.

Of course, the rest of the Corps Security crew all show up in Beck.

Axel and Izzy and their boy Nate. Cage and Melissa and of course the coolest 4 year old ever, Cohen. Hell, Cohen had me in stitches!



“Girls aren’t supposed to see wieners, Aunt Dee. And Daddy’s wiener was mad that Mommy saw. It was so mad, it was pointing at her!”

Maddox plays quite a big role in Beck and Dee's story, much more than the other guys really. As does Coop.

And we are introduced to a couple of, new characters who are connected with the crew in their own way, and there is one in particular that I hope gets their own story.

And who could forget Sway and all his glittery goodness? He just puts the biggest grin on my face whenever he turns up in one of the stories.

But Harper Sloan threw in one massive curve ball in Beck.

I cannot confirm nor deny whether this had my ugly crying.

I cannot say enough how much I love this series, and how Ms Sloan has dragged me into the world of the Corps Security family, and she is going to have to drag me out of it kicking and screaming.

If you haven't met the sexy hot men of Corps Security, why not?

ARC RECEIVED FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

Maddy is struggling to find her own way in the world. When she receives her rejection letters for medical school, she takes off and moves to the Outer Banks to become a bar tender, much to her parents disappointment.

She serves up a lot of "Sex on the beach" cocktails.

But that's not what she wants a serve of herself!

She is in lust with the entertainment. Lyle is "Mr Thursday Night", the singer she has been drooling over for months. She loves his lyrics, they talk to her - even though he has never said more than 3 words to her. She has a knack for guessing people's favourite drinks, but she still hasn't been able to get his, and it is frustrating her no end.

Enter her two roommates, her best friend since forever, Macon, and Brody. Both are like her big brothers and tease her relentlessly about her obsession with the singer. These two are great. They are her hardest critics and fiercest defenders all wrapped up in two sexy men! And the banter between the 3 did make me laugh.

Then there is Colin. I liked Colin. Sexiness in a suit, he has been pursuing Maddy for weeks, always asking her out, he is relentless in his attention towards her. Was soooo glad when she finally said yes.

I loved the interaction between Maddy and Colin. They are so comfortable with each other, the sexual attraction is so think you can cut it with a knife. But she is still holding back a little because of Lyle.

I did feel sorry for Colin when Maddy kept him at arms length for so long. I was his biggest cheerleader the whole read. Though at times I could not blame her when his workaholic personality got in the way, he tried.

There is a funny but awkward "proposition" along the way.

After reading the synopsis, I was expecting more of a love triangle story. I was glad it wasn't though (even if there was a tinge of a possible one). The love triange story arc is getting a bit worn out these days, soooo many books I read have it.

Shaken Not Stirred is really about the journey that Maddy is taking to find herself. She has been at a loose end for a while, her parents are pressuring her in a direction she doesn't want to go. I really did like this story quite a lot.

I enjoyed being taken along on her journey to find what she wants in her professional and her personal life. Watching her find what she is looking for, even though she was not searching for love. Watching as she struggles with her head and her heart.

There is also a connection between the two love interests that was a twist that I was not expecting.

So, does Maddy get her happy ending?

Nope, for that you are going to have to read and find out for yourself.

ARC Received from Blackbird Publishing via Netgalley.

Travis Maddox meets Remy Tate, that is the best way to describe Wrecked.

Lorrie has had a crap past couple of years. She has lost both her parents in separate tragic ways, she has had to drop out of school, she is sick and tired of being the focus of gossip.

Back on campus to rejoin school, she meets Hunter, though not in the most flattering circumstances.

Hunter is hot, built, tattooed. Man whore. He is also a MMA fighter extraordinaire.

Wrecked does have the cliched NA elements that seem to be in most books these days.

Boy meets girl. Troubled pasts. Secrets. Girl pushes boy away. Boy relentless pursues. Misunderstanding. Boy and girl part. Reconcilition.

This seems to be the recipe in a lot of books these days.

This being said, Wrecked grabbed me pretty early on in the story and kept me involved the whole story, and the end really seemed to ramp things up a bit, right up to ....duh duh duuuuuuuuuh




At times Lorrie's issues really started to irritate me. Yes her issues were valid, but I wanted to roll my eyes and think "come on girl, what are you thinking!!"

Hunter is all big bad fighter boy on the outside, soft as a marshmallow on the inside. How he put up with Lorrie at times while dealing with his own issues showed what strength of character he has.

I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with some of the secondary characters, particular Hunter's best friend, Gary. I still haven't worked out how I felt about him.

So until then, I will leave you with these images, that are both a big part of Wrecked



and




This is the first of Ms West's book that I have read, but I have to say that it will not be the last.

Now I need book 2, Rescued.

I just love Braden and Joss!

well, love the whole series but there is a special place in my heart for these two. enjoyed getting more of their story, their struggles as a couple.

now, off to pack my bags and heading to Scotland to find my own Braden

Helen Cooper (JS Cooper's steamier alter ego) is back!

I put off reading this series until the whole 3 were out, as I knew they were short reads, but now book 3 is out I am jumping righ tin there!

Katie is a college freshman when she meets Brandon.

Brandon is an older, wealthy, sexy hot man who has fallen for her charms.

A lie brings it all come crashing down.

We flick between past and present events to get the story of what happened and how.

There is some smoking hot sex, mistakes, anger, love and loss.

I love it when Helen comes out to play.

Now, on to read part two...

Well, this part 2 is on full of surprises!

Brandon and Katie are one hot mess, both when they are together (steamy!) and apart.

But as much as they want each other, all they seem to do is hurt each other.

We find out a few more interesting tid bits - fiancees, children.... where will this merry go round stop?

I did roll my eyes a couple of times thinking "really Katie, this same thing again?" but I know it is all leading up to the big finish.

And Brandon... well, as hot and sexy and alpha as he is, he was really pretty much a dick in this installment, was quite unlikeable a few times.

But never fear, onto part 3 now!