Oh how I loved Tom Cat!!

I have had this book sitting waiting for me to get time to read it since the day it was released, and finally, finally I got to it.

I adored Jake and Tru in the first two books, and I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about Tom Carter, The Mighty Storm's bassist.

I loved how we watched as he transitioned from asshat "mut" - man slut, to the man he is with Lyla.

Lyla irritated me a little the way she toyed with Tom, but I guess I could also understand it as we have found out why. You could feel the fire burning under all that animosity.

Another great book from Samantha Towle!

Full review at http://bjsbookblog2.blogpot.com from 6th Feg 2015

ARC received for an honest review

M.R Joseph is a new to me author, but I can tell you now, I won't be a stranger to her work any more!

39 and holding is a gem of a book. I hit that big 40 last year, so some of the things our leading lady Greer goes through hit right at home - not the cheating husband deal, but some of her thoughts and feelings - absolutely spot on to what I have felt!

We meet Greer as her marriage is falling apart, and she is going through all the emotional stuff - hitting middle age, being a mother, shutting her heart to ever finding love ever again.

A chance, brief encounter with a sexy, chocolate doughnut eating hottie in traffic one day brings those feelings back to life.

Dr Nick Costa - aka - Mr Doughnut has her feeling things she hasn't felt in a long time but they were just strangers passing in the traffic... or were they?

I really enjoyed the banter between Nick and Greer. It is fun, witty, full of sexual innuendos. And when their lives are thrown together, those innuendos become a thing of the past.

There is so many emotions in 39 and Holding. One minute you are laughing, the next your heart is hurting for either Greer or Nick as they tread the path of love and relationships.

I could completely relate to Greer. She has body image concerns, relationship concerns, worries about her children. I loved that she wasn't some perfect woman with the perfect life. Oh and I love how she and Nick tease each other about her "cougar" issues.

Nick is just swoon worthy. I loved him from the minute he ate that first doughnut. I love how he pursues Greer, how he feels about her, how he makes her feel. I love how he loves her kids. I love how he gets angry for her over what happened. I love how he doesn't give up when she tries to pull away.

So, can Greer and Nick make a go of things? Or will Greer's worries be too much for them/

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

There is a great cast of secondardy characters. Greer's gay-husband Sean and his partner, her best friend Jules. They are hilarious!

If you looking for a smart, funny, sexy romance with a lot of heart, 39 and Holding is the book for you.

ARC received for an honest review

I can't decide between 3.5 and 4 stars

I absolutely adored Jay McLean's more series, so when the opportunity came up to read Where the Road Takes Me, I couldn't say no.

Chloe and Blake's is a story of love when you least expect it, heck, even when you don't want it.

Chloe's family past looms heavily over her head and heart, and she has vowed never to let anyone get to her again. It really is quite heartbreaking what she has been through in her short life. And boy is it affecting her present and her future.

Blake's family life is hard, pressures to be what his father wants fighting with what he wants for himself.

When their world's collide, things change irreparably for them both.

But is it in a good of a bad way?

I could understand Chloe's reluctance to let people in, but oh my gosh I wanted to shake her and tell her to wake up and smell the coffee, stop and smell the roses. Her need to feel invisible, I just wanted to drag her up out of her self imposed loneliness!

Throughout the whole book "The Road" loomed like a mythical creature, always there between Chloe and Blake. I did wonder for a while if "The Road" was some kind of code for things a bit more sinister than just travel, especially with Chloe's darker thoughts at times.

I loved that Blake wouldn't take now for an answer. Every time she pulled away he moved himself closer. There is no denying the attraction between this pair. Now if only......

But will it be enough? Nope, for that you are going to have to find out for yourself.

Where the Road Takes Felt a lot more YA to me than her other books I have read.

There are some great secondary characters like Blake's Mum, Josh and Tommy, Mary and Dean - but I don't want to say too much about them or who they are to our sweethearts.

There were a couple of tears in the eyes moments while reading too.

An interesting premise and a good story.

ARC received for an honest review

You will need to have read the introductory novella The Prince first to understand all of The Raven

I have said it before and I will say it again - I am not a big reader of supernatural/paranormal books, and I am very fussy about what I do choose to read.

I absolutely adored Sylvain Reynard's Gabriel series, so I was pretty sure that I was going to like The Florentine Series.

I more than liked The Raven - I loved it. Yes, The Prince is a vampyre, but it is not just about vampyres doing vampyrey things. The Raven is more of a love story than anything else.

I really do like The Prince. Yes, he is kind of a bad guy, but you can't help but want him to be happy. But that happy has to be with Raven Wood. It just must!

The attraction between The Prince and Raven is undeniable. Both have been hurt in the past, neither of them wants this attraction, but it is what it is, and the heart (if you have one) wants what the heart wants.

I adore Sylvain's writing style. I get caught up in the imagery of Florence. I can imagine myself walking around the Uffizi, gazing at the amazig Botticelli artworks, walking the streets of the city. I may or may not have on more than one occasion whilst reading, Googled the places named, the artworks talked about.

Sandro Botticelli - Birth of Venus

The Prince and Raven are absolutely perfect for each other. Their imperfections are what make them beautiful to the other, and you just want them to be together. Need them to fight for each other.

We also get a little more of the Emerson's in The Raven. Gabriel and The Prince's lives have unwittingly crossed, and there are some issues . But I don't want to say too much about these as I don't want to spoil anything!

The Raven is a suspenseful kind of read. There are things going on in the Vampyre world, things going on in the art world, things going on in Raven's world that you are not quite sure where they are going to go.

What will happen to the Emersons? Will The Prince and Raven find their happiness?

Nope, not telling!

Just a heads up - The Raven does end on a bit of a cliffy, but nothing too bad!

I am really looking forward to where Sylvain Reynard takes us next in the world of The Prince and The Raven. I hope it is not too long before we find out because I don't like to be kept waiting!!

4.5 stars

I was not sure what to expect when I first started reading Kiss Me In Paris, but I was definitely not disappointed.

Winter Deveaux and Cade Savage are both college students, attending a summer programme in Paris. The first meet at the airport before their flight to Paris - in a very funny manner - and their attraction is instant.

She is a romance writer who has never experience romance, and he is an architecture student who is going against family wishes to make his way in the world.

Both have deep, dark secrets in their past that they are trying to keep from the world.

Can two people with such pasts have a future together? Or will their emotional baggage be too much?

Kiss Me in Paris is first and foremost a love story, but it also deals with darker issues, which are dealt with in a sensitive manner.

Written in dual POV, we go to delve deeper into both Cade and Winter's stories.

Winter's story is a bit of a comedy of errors at times, the things that happen to her are both funny and cringe-worthy - and often made funnier by the fact that Cade is there as witness to it all.

Cade has had more than enough tragedy in his life, and he is trying to live his life to the fullest, each and every day.

I enjoyed that the story took the reader outside of the story and to places most of us have only heard of and never visited, like Notre Dame (no hunchbacks today!)

It was a joy to see both Winter and Cade grow so much emotionally through the book - they both endured so much in their time in Paris, and it was wonderful to see them come through everything being so much stronger - both in themselves and in their relationship.

The authors have also done a great job with the secondary characters. I wanted to throttle Jenifer, Winter's best friend for a lot of the things that she does. I was wondering why Winter was even friends with her at all? What a craptacular friend, and even though we learn more about her later in the book ,it still left me wondering. Rodney - he just gave me the creeps from the start to the finish. And Winter's sister Autumn, she just sounds like a lot of fun, and cannot wait to read more of her.

Cade's father was just a horrible person for 90% of the book. Cade's brothers had me in tears.

Kiss Me in Paris is a book about love, friendship, forgiveness. It is about striving for your dreams, no matter how much people try to stop you from reaching them. It is sweet, sexy, romantic, funny. Something for everyone.

ARC received for an honest review

4.5 hyper-emotional stars

Godsend is another fantastic m/m romance from Sloan Johnson, and this is my favourite book of hers by far, in any genre she has written.

I gotta tell you, she goes straight for the heart with this one. I was ugly crying and I hadn't even finished reading the prologue! She gets a tight grip around your heart and there is no letting up until you read the final words.

There are some heartbreaking situations in Godsend, and Ms Johnson has handled them sensitively and poignantly. Though situations I hope none of us ever has to go through, the way they are written draw me right into the heart of the story. If you are not reaching for the tissues in the first 5 minutes, you are so much stronger than me!

Scott and Chris's story is more than just a love story. It is a story of loss, grief, sorrow. It is a story about moving forward, rebuilding lives, and finding love again.

The way Scott and Chris interact is beautiful. So touching, but so strong. They are what each other thinks they don't need. I loved that Chris does not give up on Scott, that they both - eventually - fight for each other.

Ms Johnson does not shy away from the hard subjects in her writing. And I love her for it! While the subject matter of Godsend may be a difficult one to read, she does it with sympathy. I adore her writing style, get drawn into each and every story.


I think Ms Johnson has found her niche with m/m romance with an edge.


I can't wait to see what she brings us next.

ARC received for an honest review

When I first signed up for this blog tour, I thought "Oooh sexy hot firemen!" But I have to say, this is not what A Firefighter's Flame is about, and I was pleasantly surprised by the journey I was taken on.

This is the story of Lennox, a sexy firefighter's wife, and we follow her from her teenage years to married with children status. The thing I liked about her the most is her imperfections. She suffers from bipolar disorder (and from the perspective of someone who has suffered depression for many years, I could totally relate to her in her depressed phases). Her marriage is not perfect, she struggles with the day to day.

Her husband Dean has always been her one. Or has he? I both loved and loathed him at times, but mostly loved him.

There is a bit of a love triangle that isn't really a love triangle (does that make sense) with Lennox, Dean and his friend Brayden, but I don't want to tell you much about that as I don't want to spoil things for you.



Lennox did frustrate me for a good deal of the book with the flip-flopping between her feelings for Brayden and the love for her husband. I wanted to shake her at times and tell her to snap out of it, and make up her mind (though in theory having two hotties after you isn't a bad thing, is it? lol)



A Firefighter's Flame is a bit of everything. While it is predominantly a book about Lennox and her fights to find herself and grow as a human being, it deals with mental illness, love and loss, lust and temptation, hope and faith, betrayal and regret.



It is written in 3 different times in Lennox's life (teen/college years, present, and the very near past), and this took me a little while to get into, but it was a great way to get into Lennox's mind set at those times of her life.



A Firefighter's Flame is a book with a great deal of heart and a great deal of heartbreak. There was also a twist in the tail of this story that had me thinking "ooooh wonder where this is going" but then it ended and we didn't get to find out the road it took :(



If you are not after a run of the mill fireman book, A Firefighter's Flame is the way to go for it.

Melanie Corona has done it again! Treasured Land is another beautiful, suspenseful historical romance.

Set in gold rush Australia, you are whisked away to the gold fields and land claims of 19th century Victoria and taken on a wonderful ride.

Once I picked it up, I was engulfed in the story of Nathaniel and Brigid and I didn't want to stop reading, and didn't want their story to end.

Ms Corona has a wonderful way with words. The imagery has you feeling like you are there, in the sights, the sounds - and the smells!! of the day. She has woven the Aboriginal Dreamtime stories so seamlessly into Treasured Land.

I thoroughly enjoy Ms Corona's writing style, the story flows well and her characters capture your heart.

She is very quickly becoming a must read author of mine. I am looking forward to what she has for us next