ARC RECEIVED FOR AN HONEST REVIEW - 4.5 stars

A Hunted Man is book 2 in The Men Of Halfway House series, and I feel it could be read as a standalone book, but why do yourself out of reading another great book by not reading A Better Man?

If you have read A Better Man, you are in for more of a treat! This is the story of Cameron and Hunter.

Cam and Hunter could not be any more different, but together they are just perfect.

Cam has just been released from prison and is on his way to Halfway House. He has serious trust issues (which as you get further into the story it is not surprising why). He guards his personal life - and his heart - like a vault. Right from the first chapter I knew I was going to be intrigued by him.

Hunter has just turned 40, his career has been his life for years. He takes pride in his work as a lawyer, but now he finds himself alone and lonely.

I just loved Hunter. Extremely protective, sweet, sexy, charming ~ all wrapped up in one super hot man! As much as I loved Julian in A Better Man, I just LOVED Hunter.

Cam is sweet but so emotionally broken by what has happened over the past decade. At times this made him seem a lot younger than his 27 years, but I can understand why he is so withdrawn. But for everytime someone tries to knock him down, he gets back up.


It was a joy to watch as Hunter and Cam fall in love over cups of coffee, chocolate chip cookies and stolen kisses in the small diner where Cam works. His bosses are just wonderful. Lucy and Bill are just too cute for words, and absolutely relentless in pushing Cam and Hunter together!! They are like the parents he never had.

There is plenty of mystery and intrigue in this book. Corruption, murder, betrayal, drug dealers, you name it, we have it. And Cam and Hunter are pulled right into the middle of it all. There were a few 'Oh WOW!!' moments as things all started to come to light.

I loved that the characters from A Better Man are all a big part of book 2. Matt and Julian are still as adorably lovable as when we first me them, Julian all burly and gruff on the exterior but a heart of gold., Matt all sweetness and caring. Sam makes an appearance right off the bat.

I enjoyed the build up to Hunter and Cam getting together - those who have read my reviews would know that I am not a fan of insta-love relationships. While the attraction and unresolved sexual tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife, Ms Reese gives us that slow burn, the anticipation of what is to come (pun intended!)

I enjoyed A Hunted Man even more than I enjoyed A Better Man, and I hope we get more Men of Halfway House!!

3.75 sweet stars

I really enjoyed the premise of Click, especially in this digital age and when we are getting more "time poor".

It took me a little while to get my head around the characters, as the whole story is written in email form. it took a bit for me to figure out whose pov the emails were coming from, but the characters all started to get their own voice and I could distinguish them all better.

This is a sweet, funny read that felt a little bit like You've Got Mail with ADHD!

The lives of Renee, Shelley, Ashley, Mark and Ethan continue on from Click.

now I have gotten used to the email writing style and used to everyone's "voice" I got straight into this one.

I love the interactions between this group of friends, and while it is still mostly centred around Renee and Ethan we get a lot more of the rest of the characters this time round.

We have love,just, marriage and babies, the ups and downs of family and relationships.

There is laughter, there is sadness. a bit of everything.

You know how we all have that one person who we all are friends with just because they are the partner of another friend..... and how they really annoy the crap out of you? I am sooooo with Shelley when it comes to Cassidy! I would try and avoid her like the plague!

Now, on to read Right Click!

ARC RECEIVED FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

I have been a fan of the Runaway Train series since I first read Jake and Abby's story, and even through AJ and Mia's book I was curious about Rhys.

And I was definitely not disappointed with his and Allison's story! Though the story of a girl falling for her brother's friend is not a new one, the execution of this story was beautiful.

Rhys and Allison have history. History beyond her just being Jake's little sister. As bass player for Runaway Train, Rhys could have any woman he wants.... and Allison has been on his mind for years.

Rhys and Allison together are just wonderful. There has been that spark of attraction between them since her 16th birthday, but Allison's feelings go back even further than that.

Katie Ashley always writes strong women, but took it to another level with Allison. She has been an amazingly strong woman from since she was a teenager, and just grows stronger as the years pass.

Strings of the Heart sure did tug on the heartstrings. There was more than one time while reading that I may or may not have shed a tear or two.

At times I wanted to slap the crap out of Rhys for toying with Allison's heart the way he does. I can understand his hesitance at forming a relationship, but at the same time I was calling bulls&*t at his reasons. I wanted to love him and hate him all at the same time.

I just adored Allison. She knows what she wants and goes for it. And when things go awry with Rhys, my heart shattered along with hers.

"Okay then, I'll put it all behind me. We'll go on like this never happened. If that's what you think is best."

"I'm sorry, but I really do. It'll be fine in the end, you'll see. We'll be able to be friends just like nothing happened." She gave me a quick jerk of her head. "I'll just try not to think each and every time I see you that you're the man who didn't just break my heart-you shattered it."

I really loved that we got more of the Runaway Train boys, as well as the Jacob's Ladder boys. It has been great to see them all grow up and become loving family men.

Though the thing that irked me - Jake. Ugh, he was such a hypocrite when it came to Allison!! He had been such a man whore for so long, but he ball-busted any man who even looked at his sister. And the way he acted towards Rhys.... grrrr!! I loved that all the other RT ladies and his band mates put him in his place!! OK, rant over!

So, can Allison and Rhys overcome what is keeping them apart, or can they make a go of things and get their HEA?

Nope, you are going to have to read for yourself!

I adore Katie Ashley's writing, and have read every word she has written so far. I love my down and dirty rockers, but I love seeing them knocked for six when they meet the woman meant for them.

ARC RECEIVED FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

We met Madam in book one, VIP, so you should read that book first to get the whole gist of people.

"You can call me whatever you want, I've heard it all before. But the truth is the first time I saw money, I fell in love. Money makes the world go round. It's the root of all evil. It gives you both pleasure and pain. Greed is one of the seven deadly sins, along with envy, and my personal favorite... lust. God said thou shalt not covet they neigbour's wife; well God never met one of my VIPs."

Where we met the present day Madam in VIP, The Madam is a story through the decades from a child to the force to be reckoned with now.

From the time she was a child, she has lived the life of VIP. Never wanting for anything, there were also great expectations of her, especially as she grew older. She took in everything around her, even if she didn't understand it at the time.

Her mother, well, she is a pretty cold hearted bitch, but softens a little when it comes to Lilith. But even that love is not the love a child deserves and needs.

Right from the prologue, I knew I was going to love to hate to love Lilith. I felt straight away that she was going to be a tough cookie, but not unreasonalby so?

I loved that we not only saw the business is business Madam, but we saw the sweet, vulnerable side too. There were only a couple of things she was very vulnerable about, but they are the most important.

Mika, Mika, Mika. The first time we meet Mika I was a little unsure about him, but through the years, he shows his true colours, and he is just completely adorable. I couldn't help but love him. Even if things are not easy between Lilith and Mika, you can only hope that things go right for them.

"I've been waiting for you. I'm always waiting for you and I f&*king hate you and love you for it."

The other things that makes her vulnerable.... nope, can't tell you without spoiling it for you. But it is a doozy of a thing!

The Madam is very much a character based story. It is about the Madam through and through, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. I laughed, I cried, I cringed a couple of times. But once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down.

There were a few things from VIP that I was curious about, and the main thing was why was Madam so interested in Ysabelle. And BAM at the end we get the down low on that! We started and finished this book with a bang! The things was not exactly what I had thought as I read, but I wasn't far off!

And THEN we get the prologue to book 3 - MVP. OMG I need to know how this pans out!!!

ARC RECEIVED FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

You will need to have read Click and Double Click to get the whole dynamic between the friends in Right Click.

Right Click continues on from the end of Double Click. Still centred around Renee and Ethan's relationship, which is moving along in leaps and bounds, we also get a whole lot more of their friends.

If you haven't read the others in this series, it will take you a while to get used to the style of writing. It is written all as emails between the friends, and I have to admit it took me a good part of the first book in the series to get the "voice" of each character straight in my head, so that I didn't HAVE to read the whole of the subject headers to see who was writing.

And as much as it took me a while to get my head around the style of writing, I loved that it was a completely different style. Yes, we have email conversations in other books, but not entire books written that way. It was a breath of fresh air to me.

There were some absolutely hilarious conversations between the friends - A Billy Joel song-off, who can come up with the best puns. I may have LOL'd more than once reading.

But for all the fun there was the sad. Friendships and relationships are tested, and there was more than one occasion I wanted to clip them all around the ears and yell at them - for goodness sake, pick up the damn phone and ring your friends for a change!!

I loved the growth of the characters through the series. They went from a bunch of quite neurotic twenty somethings to a group of thirty-somethings who have finally got their lives sorted.

And I have to say, we all have a friend like Ashley. She is not really likeable with her whining, her back-handed compliments, her judgmental behaviour. But we all have a friend like her or know someone who could very well be her.

But the one thing that I didn't like - the epilogue. It has jumped a fair way into the future, and it looks like there is quite a bit that has happened in that time that I would love to have read about! But that's it!

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Click series, and am sorry it has come to an end. These are the first books I have read by Ms Becker, but will not be the last

ARC RECEIVED FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

A rock star, a billionaire, some cowboys, some firemen, a personal trainer and some detectives walk into a bar.... sounds like a great night ahead, right? That's what you'll get while reading Some Like It Hot!

5 new novellas by 5 of my favourite authors - yes please!! I was very excited when I heard they were going to collaborate on Some Like It Hot, and could not wait to get my greedy little hands on a copy!

And I was not disappointed!! It was hot hot hot!!!! Serious cold shower-worthy reading!

ONE STARRY NIGHT - OLIVIA CUNNING
We have quickly met Jake Tremaine in the Sinners on Tour series - he's a Sinners roadie and we just know he is all kinds of trouble!

The book starts with Michelle attending her high school reunion and reminiscing about the one who broke her heart - Jake. She is also remembers her so called friends, the mean girls of the school. She is not that girl any more, she doesn't follow, she takes her own road.

Then there is Devlin. The geeky, sweet guy who made it. Rich, and did we mention hot?

When these three start talking at the reunion, there is a spark between the three and when they decide to all leave the reunion together, you just know that things are going to get f&^k hot!

And they do!! From a helicopter ride to Dev's island home, things go at warp speed and everyone is in a sex haze. As we say, everyone is "cracking a moisty" in no time at all.

I loved that we did get a bit of a background on their previous relationships, especially between Jake and Michelle. And I can't forget that we get a mention of Sed Lionheart and my man Trey Mills from the Sinner.... damn, now I want more Sinners!!

As always, Olivia gets us all hot and bothered, and leaves me wanting more


BOOTS OPTIONAL - NICOLE EDWARDS
Boots Optional is a novella that introduces us to Nicole's new series Dead Heat Ranch.

Grant and Lane have been chasing Gracie for the past couple of years.... but lately they have been chasing each other as well. We start off with a heated exchange between the pair in Grant's kitchen one night, which Grace just happens to walk in on.... ***fanning myself***

Gracie takes not crap from nobody. She will call them on their BS, will give back as good as she take. And she is sick of the games that Grant and Lane are playing with her... or are they?

I loved the push and pull with this trio. Grant thinks things through a lot more then Lane who is the more spontaneous and easy going of the pair. I loved that they had to work for what they are going to get.


SHAMELESS - CHERRIE LYNN
We've all been there. That one person you can't help thinking about, are totally in love with, and they love you too but just don't know it yet. It happens to all of us.

This is Merideth Taylor's life. She has been in love with her brother's best friend Cameron forever. But he still thinks of her as Dane's kid sister. Or does he.

After listening in on a couple getting a little something something, Meri decides that she can't keep on like this

Sick of the "what ifs" Meri decides, with a lot of encouragement/blackmail from her best friend Alyssa, to do something about it. Hey, they worst that could happen can be that he laughs at her. I loved that she grabbed the bull by the horns and went for it. Go girl!!

Cameron is just wonderful. Fit, sexy, completely in love with Meri. I felt for both Meri and Cam that they had held off for so long on acting on their feelings because of a) perhaps losing their friendship b) what Dane would think about it. I was glad that they both manned up and did something for themselves, took what they wanted,

Cherrie definitely lived up to my expectations of her writing. Smoking hot, tattooed men who take what they want - yes please!!



Also loved the interactions with Grace's sisters, especially Faith and Mercy. I guess when it comes to all the family living and working together, there is not much you can hide!

I tell you what, no one can write a cowboy menag` like Nicole Edwards. Now I have to impatiently wait for more of the Dead Heat Ranch series.... grrr I don't like waiting!!!


PLAYING WITH FIRE - KRISTEN PROBY
Time to call Triple Zero... my house is on fire and I need Kevin and Gray to come and put it out!!

If you have read Tied With Me, you will remember Bailey is Nic's friend, and has always said looks can be deceiving, that she is not as vanilla as she looks.

Kevin and Gray share everything.... and now they want to share Bailey. There has been attraction between all three for a long while now, but no one has ever done anything about it. The boys have had enough, they are no longer going to wait for Bailey to realise it is them they want, and they make their move.

Wowser, what a move they make!!! Kevin, Gray and Bailey are smoking hot, that spark between them all is at ignition point, and when they fall into bed, the sheets are going to catch fire!! I needed to be hosed down!!

I loved that as much as they went after they wanted, they took such good care of Bailey, tended to her needs. I could understand Bailey's reluctance to get involved in case one of the two men she cared for got hurt by her, but loved even more that they boys reassured her.

Now I need more of this trio!

And another thing... I am a firefighter, and I am going to my captain to ask him to order me a Kevin and Gray!!


GUARDING NADIA - LAINEY REESE
Guarding Nadia was sizzling hot right from the get go. After some issues going on in her life (that I don't want to get into as it will take away from the story for you), she meets Caleb and Jonas and hotness ensues! They sure know hot to treat a lady. I mean, who doesn't want two hotties watching out for them, taking care of them.

As there is a bit of a mystery element to this story, I don't want to say too much, but needless to say, you will not at all be disappointed in the way the story goes!!!


       

Copy received from the author for an honest review

I have loved the Manhattanites series, so reading the Undergrad years was never in questions.

I loved that we got to see Lex, Taddy, Vive and Blake "before we knew them".

Love, Lex has it fair share of drama, fun, sexiness (hellllooooooo Ford!!!). The foursome are snarky, bitter, loving. They are just the kind of friends we all need in our lives - for a good time and a long time!

Can't wait to get to Yours Truly, Taddy.

If you are looking for a quick, fun, smart short read, definitely give this series a go!

ARC Received for an honest review

Enthrall her is the second book in the Enthrall Sessions series, and you will need to have read book one, Enthrall, before you start on book 2.

In Enthrall we met sweet, innocent Mia Lauren, who lands a job at a sex club, and meets the intriguing Richard and Cameron. Both doms, both sexy as sin.

Enthrall her carries on where Entrall finishes up. Mia is growing and changing as things move along. Her relationship with Richard is moving forward, she loves her job, and she is more and more intrigued with what happens as the club and at Chrysalis.

She is struggling with things in her past and things in her present have sent her mind reeling. She feels she is fine but both Richard and Cameron know that things aren't right.

This is where things get a bit murky. Richard and Cameron come up with a plan/an idea to make Mia confront these issues. When Richard signs over Mia as Cameron's sub for two weeks to train her as a good submissive, you just know things are not going to work out all they all planned. Waters get muddied, feelings and emotions get involved and confused.

As much as I wanted to feel for Mia in this situation, she was not the one my heart went out to ~ that was Richard.

Sure I felt Mia's confusion, her hesitance at the training involved, but she chose to enter the lifestyle. And as much as she says she loves Richard, she agrees to it all. While Richard was willing to give it all up, she seems willing to give up Richard for learning the lifestyle.

The relationship between Richard, Cameron and Mia is seriously frigged up. Cameron is supposed to be Richard's best friend, closer than brothers, but really, is that the way you treat your friends. I could see where the story was going to go, and did NOT want it to go there. I wanted to scream at the characters for the turn things took.

Both are such strong men but who will win her heart?

Enthrall her delves deeper into Mia's psyche and is quite dark at times. But it is also HOT! The scenes at Chrysalis - woweee!! Get me a fan!! There was sweet and there was sexy and there was down right dirty! And I loved it all!!

Vanessa Fewings writes scenes that draw you right into the room with the characters, gets us right into their minds. Her writing is insightful, believable, and kept me interested from the first to the last page.

But now, since I didn't like the turn the book took, I need to hope that things right themselves in Book 3 (well, right to me anyway, you might like the way things turned out!!!).

Wow! So much happens in Your Truly, Taddy!

Who doesn't love Taddy, Lex, Vive and Blake? And even more, their teenage selves!

Yours Truly, Taddy is like a comedy of errors, it is like Murphy saw the group and put his law in full force. I had to laugh at Taddy's inner monologue/fantasies, but there were things that happened that I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

You would think that with all that the group has been through in the past couple of years, a trip to the Caribbean would be a walk in the park, right?

The trip turns into a bit of a cluster*&^% with all the things that could go wrong going wrong.

I loved that we saw Taddy grow into her sexuality and go for what she wants.

Now I really need to know more about teenage Vive and Blake!!