Cowboy Delight (Cowboy Heaven 0.5)

 by Cheryl Brooks

# OF STARS  5/5                   Genre:  western/romance                       Pages: 162

Overview:

Lauren Allen is on her way to meet her future in-laws when her car breaks down on a scorching, dusty Texas highway. There’s no shortage of handsome cowboys turning up to save the day, but she puts her trust in local rancher Steve Williams. From the moment she shakes his hand, his warm, calloused grip makes her hotter than she knows what to do with…

ARC Review:

WOW what a way to find out that you almost made the biggest mistake of your life. You find that you can’t settle for what someone else wants from you but what you really want for yourself. Trying to be in a relationship where your partner wants you to change you will never be happy and it will never really work. By finding someone who accepts you for yourself is the greatest thing and that is what we all should try to reach for it is a great beginning to any relationship.

I am grateful to Cheryl for writing a great story of finding ones true self even if it is outside of what you would normally do.

Gideon: March (Mystic Zodiac #3)

 by Brandy R. Walker

# OF STARS  5/5                   Genre:  Paranormal               Pages: 140

Overview:

Welcome to the Mystic Zodiac Series.
High atop Mount Olympus, the ancient Gods and Goddesses still reside, hidden from mortal view.
They have always been there.
WILL always be there.
Watching…
Judging…
Meddling.
They dabble in the lives of humans and lesser immortals, known as Mystics.
For fun. Out of boredom. Simply because they can.
They thrive on watching people squirm under their thumbs. Laugh and celebrate each other while plotting to top what they did.

This is where our story begins…

Gideon Deckard is finally getting a little time away from the Keystone Predator Pack to go wolf. All he has planned is a week of running wild through the Grand Canyon before the hiking season starts back up. Once it does, he’ll go back to what he does best…being the Alpha he was born to be.

Ryder Sparks can barely contain her excitement. She’s taking a week off from work at the family store, Sparks Sporting & Outdoors, and going on her dream vacation. A four day hiking trip on a lesser traveled trek through the Grand Canyon. The season has opened early and she was the first to get the coveted pass. She’s looking forward to pushing herself on her first solo trip and discovering who she was really meant to be.

A run in with a massive grey wolf has Ryder stumbling and getting knocked out. When she wakes up, she’s back in her tent and there’s a hunky man there to help her get back on her feet. When she finds out he’s a wolf-shifter instead of freaking out, she decides to go on the adventure of a lifetime with him. Now all she has to do is convince Gideon to give her a chance to be his one and only Luna.

NOTE: Mystic Zodiac is a 12 book series. It is NOT a serial. Each book ends in a happily ever after for the main couple. However, the prologue and epilogue of each story follows the Gods that kick off the series, Eros and Chlotho (aka Chloe). At the end of the series the bet between the two will come to a conclusion.

 ARC Review:

If you love books about shifters and finding their mates you will love this book.

We start off meeting Eros the God of Love and Chloe one of the Goddesses of Fate they are on month Three of Twelve trying to mate couples. This is book 3 you don’t have to read in sequence as I have done but it will help with the prolog. There is some major sexual tension between the gods I can’t wait to see how that plays out hehe.

After convincing her family that she would be ok going on a solo hike for four days Ryder leaves on her adventure. She is at peace and feeling tranquil when she stops for the night.

Then her life changes in the blink of an eye. She finds her mate. She learns new things and surprises Gideon at every turn.

They learn that she has shifer blood in her family and it makes things easier for her. This is a well thought out book and I loved every minute of it.

I cant wait to see what Eros and Chloe are up to next……

Rough Rider (Hot Cowboy Nights #2)

 by Victoria Vane

# OF STARS  5/5                   Genre:  Western Cowboy                  Pages: 320

Overview:

Two loves …
Janice Combes has two loves, bucking bulls and Dirk Knowlton. But Dirk only has eyes for a dazzling rodeo queen. How can Janice ever compete while mired ankle-deep in manure? Exchanging playful banter with Dirk is all Janice can expect-until the stormy night he knocks on her door dripping wet and needing a place to crash.

Different Dreams…
Dirk Knowlton is living the cowboy dream. Life should be good-roping, branding, backing broncs, riding bulls, but there’s a void he can’t seem to fill. After getting hung up by a bull, he wonders if this is really the life he wants. Restless and rebellious, he bolts…but there’s a certain cowgirl he can’t forget.

When a battle-scarred Dirk returns to his Montana ranch he’s determined to hang on at any cost. Janice has come back home to lick her own wounds. When old dreams turn to dust, can two wary hearts take another chance on love?

ARC Review:

WOW what a great story. This is a story that you can sink your teeth into. Girl loves cowboy, cowboy has issues but realizes he loves girl. Boy runs away scared and loses what he really wants and has to figure out his own life.

Girl makes bad choices but lives with her choice tries to make the best of it. Grows stronger from it and moves on with her life and raising her son.

Cowboy fights for his beliefs and makes the ultimate sacrifice. He feels that he has nothing but his ranch to fight for and gives up on everything else.

Girl comes back in to cowboys life and turns it upside down and makes him face his issues instead of hiding behind them. They make the ultimate choice and have a wonderful life the life they should of always had a life together.

Thank you for such a great love story Victoria and please keep up the good work.

How to Kiss a Cowboy (Cowboys of Decker Ranch #2)

 by Joanne Kennedy

# OF STARS  5/5                   Genre: Romance Cowboys               Pages: 463

Overview:

Between rodeo wins and endorsement deals, Saddle Bronc Champion Brady Caine is living a charmed life. But when he causes an accident that could end a promising barrel racer’s career, he decides that he’s done with loose women and wild rides. All he wants to do is erase his mistake by getting Suze Carlyle back in the saddle.

The last person barrel racer Suze wants to see on her doorstep is the man who ended her rodeo career, but she can’t help admire Brady’s persistence. Sparks fly between them, but when her barn is sabotaged she wonders if he’s really the straight shooter he seems to be…

 

ARC Review:

We are introduced to two rodeo stars with a bit of a history and some issues. We follow them through some rough times and misunderstandings. This is the second book in the Decker Ranch Series. I didn’t read the first but I do love the second one.

Will Suze forgive Brady and can they overcome their own problems and insecurities and find what is right in front of them. Will Brady find what was lost and confess or will he keep faking it?

The more I read of this book the more I fall in love with the characters. I am grateful that Joanne was able to write her story in such a way that it pulls you in and you can relate to the characters and feel what they are felling.

I am happy that they were able to work things out and I love how Joanne was able to make it feel like you where a part of the story from beginning to ending. She did a great job describing the Rodeo and everything that happens in them and I am most grateful for that. This is a true Cowboy book and LOVE IT.

Jaguar Pride (Heart of the Jaguar #4)

 by Terry Spear

# OF STARS  5/5                   Genre: Paranormal                            Pages: 323

Overview:

JAG Special Forces operatives like Golden Claw agent Melissa Overton and her partner, Huntley Anderson, are trained for the most dangerous missions in the harshest environments. These hardened jaguar shifters can handle any variable, even . . . babies?

When Huntley and Melissa find two jaguar shifter cubs snoozing in their jungle hut while on assignment, they have to keep the cubs and each other safe from ruthless poachers, bringing these partners closer in ways they never expected…

ARC Review:

JAG is a Military branch for Jaguar shifters only. They are on a case where they are hunt poachers who grabbed a puma and her cubs. They rescue them and lose the ring leader will they be able to catch him or not?

Melissa and Huntley not only found out that their relationships ended when they were out of town but when they start their vacation they decided to follow up leads on the case they just finished and run into a whole lot of crap. So they are now dealing with more information and are on their way back to the same place they just left hunting their man. What else could go wrong or right with this case?

Taking care of cubs/babies is no small task when you are prepared its another thing all together when its thrown on you in a mission and you sink or swim. Good thing they both seem like naturals in this. Also they finally figure out what the parent’s names are and have devised their own mission to rescue them but will it work?

They are just getting out of the frying pan in to the fire. What else can possibly happen? Really can’t the catch a break?

This was a very exciting book I had a hard time putting it down. You never knew where the two would be going or getting into next. I LOVED how it ended and am grateful for such a great book.

Hoodoo Blue (Magic and Mayhem #1)

 by Katalina Leon

# OF STARS  5/5                   Genre: Paranormal                            Pages: 70

Overview:

Fredi is a passionate witch with a scorching hot secret. Every time she has a sexual thought, green fire blasts from her fingertips. Gus is a gorgeous lycan who scares women away with his wild wolf-shifts. Not the best way to find relationships.

Both have vowed not to date until they get themselves under control, but a witchy friend thinks differently. The pair get tricked into sharing a frosty pitcher of “Hoodoo Blue” and fall prey to a wayward love potion that has them blurting out every lustful thought. Worse, it won’t allow them to walk away from each other. They’re stuck together until dawn under the devilish effects of a time-released hoodoo that makes them do outrageous things. For everyone’s safety, Fredi is forced to take Gus home and tie him to her headboard and only some very witchy lovemaking can calm the storm.

Fredi and Gus might find themselves on the set-up date from hell, but even a hilarious cascade of disasters can’t keep a plus-sized blonde witch with attitude, and a hunky lumberjack of a lycan from seeing the other would be the perfect mate.

ARC Review:

Fredi is a witch who has issues with her powers when she gets to emotional. She wants to hide away from the world, from love, from any form of emotion till she can get her powers figured out. But will she be able to do it or will she fail?

Estele set Fredi up and put a magic hoodoo elixir of some kind in a mixture at the bar she was at. What kind of side effects can they expect? What will the outcome be? Can a werewolf and a witch really be mates? These are just some of the questions to pop in my head half way thru the book but will they be answered?

Holy cow I knew it was coming but I wasn’t expecting to be like that and am pleasantly happy. I love the book but I really love the way she ended it.

Heir of the Dog (Black Dog #2)

   by Hailey Edwards

# OF STARS  4/5                   Genre: Paranormal                            Pages: 326

Overview:

Faerie teeters on the brink of war and the mortal realm swells with fae refugees desperate to escape the bloodshed. As a half-blooded fae, Marshal Thierry Thackeray has a stake in the outcome of both realms and isn’t afraid to knock a few heads together if it keeps the peace.

When her father goes missing, the only hope of negotiating a truce between the light and dark fae vanishes with him. Eager to avoid another Thousand Years War, the Faerie High Court reaches out to the one person they believe can track him down—the daughter who shares his curse.

ARC Review:

This is book 2 in the series. This book was originally written to be book 1. The author decided to write what is now book 1 as a prequel to this book. The series order is now B1 Dog with a Bone, B2 Heir of the Dog (this book review), B3 Lei Down with Dogs and B4 Old Dog, New Tricks.

She is on occasion Judge, Jury and Executioner. She has history with her partner on one of her cases and its rocky at best. Over feeding her ex has unexpected consequences. Gets taken to another realm where she takes on one of her father’s task but will she survive it? She is being hunted what else could possibly go wrong?????

The book for me was slow at times it was a good book but I couldn’t full get lost in the book.

The Sound of Suspicion (The Puget Sound—Alive With Love #3)

 by Susan Ann Wall

# OF STARS  5/5                   Genre: Romance                               Pages: 256

Overview:

For Owen Landry, the world is perfect until he asks his girlfriend Stacie to move in with him. Shortly after she says no, with no real excuse except that his daughter is coming to visit, his ex-wife shows up at his door and starts doing what she does best – inflicting her poisonous ways on Owen’s life. While trying to figure out if the one year old his ex left at his door is actually his son, Owen realizes he can’t trust anyone and suspects the secrets Stacie is keeping are one more nail in the coffin of their doomed relationship. He turns to bourbon, his abusive father’s answer to the problems that test a man and realizes he’s more like the man than he ever wanted to admit. Stacie Nightingale wants to move in with Owen, but ten years with the wrong man has her reluctant to take that next step. She has to get past what she refers to as her Armageddon day, the day she was supposed to marry her ex and what would have been the biggest mistake of her life. While the looming date has her distracted, she knows when it passes, so will her feelings of dread and self-doubt. She doesn’t want to hurt Owen, but he knows her too well to let her distractions just fade with the twilight. His ex-wife’s timing couldn’t be worse, and Stacie is forced to face her own demons in order to help Owen fight his

Review:

You can read this as a standalone like I did or you can read it as part of the series. I feel that you can feel for them more if you read parts 1 and 2 but you can still relate without reading the others.

Wow this was a great book. I didn’t read part one and two but I won this book part three in a contest and I am happy with the book. I now have to get part one and two as well as the next book in the series. Wow Susan did a great job in pulling you into the life and trials of Owen and Stacie. I had a hard time putting the book down and now that is done I am left trying to figure out what happens and can’t wait to get the next book.

Rogue Wolf (Wolves of Willow Bend #4)

 by Heather Long

# OF STARS  5/5                   Genre: Paranormal                           Pages: 130

Overview:

The Italian Alpha, Salvatore Esposito, crossed an ocean and dared to venture into unfriendly territory to hunt for his missing sister in Willow Bend.. He’ll do anything to get her back, even if it means he must resist chasing the fierce enforcer who wakens his primal beast…anything.

As an enforcer, Margo Montgomery monitors the lone wolves. She is in the middle of investigating missing wolves from multiple territories when the order comes in to escort the Salvatore to Willow Bend. There’s bad blood between her and the current Alpha of Willow Bend, but they soon discover a new danger–a lone wolf gone rogue.

Now Margo must hunt the rogue–a pursuit made all the more dangerous because it becomes readily apparent the rogue they seek isn’t alone and Salvatore refuses to be left behind–not when wolves are vanishing without a trace…

 

ARC Review:

I love how Heather gives us a mini introduction to all the characters before we start the book.

This is book 4 in the series of Wolves of Willow Bend. I have not read any of the other books in the series so my review is solely on this book. It can be read as a standalone or as a continuation of the series. The other books in the series are Wolf Law #0, Wolf Bite #1, Caged Wolf #2, and Wolf Claimed #3.

The book starts off with wolves missing from different packs and a really hot Alpha from another country. Seems like there might be some sparks between Salvatore and Margo wonder what will happen? Margo can’t catch a break she now has to help Salvatore find his sister. There is some basic family drama that we can all relate to. Love the fact I have to look up words I don’t see every day when reading helps to expand my knowledge.

Oh shoot someone stepped over a line wonder what will happen because of it? Fighting their attraction to each other is getting harder. They are hot on the trail of both the missing sister and the wolves what will they find next? Will they figure out what is going on before it’s too late?

They are attacked and all hell breaks loose what will be the final outcome? They find the missing wolves and the sister but no one was prepared for what they found. Who will come out on top and what will the consequences be?

The final outcome leaves you on the edge and makes you very upset with Heather. But oh my gosh what a great book. I can’t wait to read the next part.

At His Service: Part 4 (At His Service #4)

 by Suzanne Rock

# OF STARS  5/5                   Genre:  BDSM                                   Pages:  130

Overview:

Leo Perconti’s life is spinning out of control. As head of his family’s hotel conglomerate, it’s his job to save his family from bankruptcy. At the center of his turmoil is Karin Norell, a quiet, alluring housekeeping manager who compliments his dominating personality and lets him feel in control once more.

As Karin explores her passion her feelings for Leo deepen. Unfortunately, Karin and Leo come from  different worlds, and when the two worlds collide, the cost can be devastating. As the service staff at The Palazzo rise up against the Perconti family, both Leo and Karin are faced with losing what each of them holds most dear. Together they must learn that true power comes from vulnerability and trust that can only happen when you let your insecurities go.

ARC Review:

Starts on Chapter 16 where book 3 left off.

Leo and Karin are both miserable. She meets and talks to Arianna. She tries to help Leo but will it be enough?????

They all have decision to make and in the end will it be the right ones for them?

Will Arianna’s decision come back and bite her?

We will all have to see what will happen but WOW what a way to end a book and leave us all hanging…..