ARC Review of “ScaRred: Demons of Hell, Book 1”, by Elizabeth Knox @givemebooksblog and @eknoxbooks

A story about a woman who has to live with her choices. If she had made a different choice years ago, her life would be easier now. Roxanne “Roxy” Stevens was a young girl who lost her father to a terrible accident when she was 16. She was left to fend for herself and thought she found the people that would protect her and keep her safe.

Rage a man who has no heart. He is a dangerous man who takes what he wants and has no limits to what he will do to keep his property and do with it as he wants. Most of the men in his MC are afraid of him and will do anything he tells them to so that they can survive. He is the President of the Demons of Hell MC that he started at a young age with his best friend Vince, Tex. They were there for Roxy after her father’s death and took her in.

This book is dark, scary, and heartbreaking. I love Roxy and her spirit. She is a strong woman who thinks that she is weak because of her choices she made after her father’s death. She takes everything that Rage dishes out to her and she doesn’t talk about any of it, she just takes it and keeps her mouth shut. Her life has been in danger many times and no one has stood up for her or stood in front of her when Rage was on the war path. Until one night when Tex came back from a vacation to find Roxy laying on the ground outside the club.

There are triggers in this book and the scenes are very detailed and raw. It also has a cliff hanger. However, this book was very well written and I was not happy when it ended. I really liked this book and found it hard when it came to the end. Ms. Knox did a great job pulling me into the story and keeping my interest throughout the book. The pages turned very quickly and I found myself wanting retribution for Roxy. It’s not all bad for Roxy though. I give this book a 5 star review and highly recommend it to anyone who likes MC’s, or books that will bring out all the feels. Great job with this book.

 

Review of “Professor’s Pet”, by Alexa Flores

This was an interesting read. A story about step-brothers, professors, and needing to make the grade.

Cassie is failing her Physics course and she comes up with a plan to get a better grade while at her mothers wedding. Little does she know that there will be a lot of complications with her plan. Her best friend since high school, Tanya and Tanya’s boyfriend, Ricky, are failing the class with her and they all need a good grade so they don’t have to retake the course. They’re all in this together, but will that be the case in the end?

I liked this book and was pleased that it was brought to my attention by Alexa Flores the Author, who contacted me and asked if I would be interested in reading it and reviewing. It is a book with three parts, so while it is a series, they were all together in one book. I liked that. I found the characters to be well developed and well written. There were some nice scenes as well as some hot scenes. It was as if the author was writing about a part of her life.

I give this book a 4 star review. Thank you, Alexa for contacting me and asking me to read it.

ARC Review of “Coming Home”, by PE Kavanagh @pekavanagh

A story about politics, political families, and childhood friends turning into lovers.

I really liked this story and I love Ramona Barrett. A young woman who has made her own way through life and made a life of her own. She has a hard time making a change in her life that makes her look at life differently. She’ll go through a lot of changes and her life will head in a different direction than she planned, all from one trip back home for a death in the family.

A celebrity chef who is the son of a political powerhouse and a powerful family. He made some changes in his life a while ago and now that his best friend has come back home to attend a family funeral his life will go through more changes, but these changes are a dream come true for Lucas Winston.

This story was refreshing and fun to read. A story of two young people from powerful families that don’t want to follow in their parents footsteps in many ways. They want to make a difference in the world and their lives will not be the same after the death of Ramona’s grandfather, the Governor of Virginia. Ramona’s will find what has been missing in her life for some time when she sees Lucas again after so many years away from home. The characters in this story are fun, strong, and enjoyable to read. I laughed at the way that Ramona, Connor, and Lucas interacted with each other and I cried with Ramona when she was upset.

I give this story a 4 star review and look forward to reading “Claiming Power”. I read an excerpt at the back of this story and it looks intriguing. I like Connor and would love to read more about him and his life. I voluntarily read this book for an honest review.

 

BLOG TOUR: Another Good Killing: DI Marco Book #2, by Stephen Puleston #BOOKREVIEW #CRIMEFICTION #POLICEPROCEDURAL @INSPECTOR_MARCO @BOOKS_N_ALL

It’s my pleasure to be the final stop on the Blog Tour for “Another Good Killing”, by Stephen Puleston.  Inspector Marco is a very talented Detective and has a great team working with him on is cases.

Another-Good-Killing - cover

Another Good Killing (Inspector Marco #2)
Does any man deserve to die?
When a well-connected and wealthy banker is found dead in his luxury car in the middle of Cardiff, the motive for the crime seems clear. The killer even left a note telling the world the man deserved to die, simply for his greed.
But despite the obvious clues, seasoned detective, John Marco has his doubts that this was just a disgruntled employee. The killing was too clean, the crime scene too perfect. Marco also has a gut feeling that the family of the victim are hiding something…
And when another business executive is murdered, Marco’s fears come true – there is now a serial killer to catch. An online video points to a violent anarchist group, determined to make the bankers pay for their perceived sins. But Marco doubts a ragtag bunch of anarchists would be granted breathing space in the world of the sophisticated uber rich.
As the case progresses and Marco starts piecing together the clues, things take a dramatic twist when a member of Marco’s team is kidnapped. Now the killer has made things personal and Marco faces a race against time to bring the murder to justice – before it’s too late…

Stephen Puleston author photo

Biography

I write crime fiction based in Wales and about Wales. The rural landscape of north Wales provides the backdrop to the Inspector Drake novels. And Cardiff the capital of Wales provides the setting for the Inspector Marco novels set in a modern urban environment.
I love the novels of Raymond Chandler, Ian Rankin, Mark Billingham, Henning Mankell, Val McDermid – the list could go on! And I enjoy watching detective series on the television the recent Hinterland series based near Aberystwyth in Wales was great. One of my favourites is the French series Spiral but The Bridge and Broadchurch and the Rebus series with Ken Stott and Kenneth Branagh in Wallander are great too.

I have been on writing courses at the Welsh Writers Centre in Llanystymdwy, North Wales tutored by Matt Whyman and Marcus Sedgwick as well as crime writing courses with Peter Robinson and Andrew Taylor at the Scottish Writers centre.

I was born in Anglesey an island off the north Wales coast and after leaving school in Holyhead I went to University in London before training as a solicitor/lawyer. I practised in a small family business doing criminal work in the magistrates and crown courts, divorce and family work.
I still live on Anglesey, North Wales near the beach and the mountains of Snowdonia.

 

BLOG TOUR BANNER - Another Good Killing

************

My Review:

Another Good Killing was another great read by Stephen Puleston, It was fast paced, with twists and suspense throughout. The way that Detective Marco figures out each case is unique and his instincts are generally always on. He gets that “gut feeling” when something feels off or not quite right, and when he investigates further or looks as the facts again he can generally find a clue that will help him.

In Another Good Killing, DI Marco feels that he has messed up and put one of his team in danger. It leads to a touchy situation for him and almost causes him to back slide. I was rooting for him the entire time while reading this section that he would walk away. His intensity for his work as well as his loyalty to his team and the people that he cares about is what makes him a a great character. DI Marco does a lot of reflecting in this story on his life and his family. This story helps him realize what is important in life and helps him to analyze his life and make changes.

I enjoyed reading this story and found it to really challenge my detective brain as well as it did DI Marco’s. I give this story a 5 star review. I highly recommend the DI Marco series to readers who like a good challenge when reading a crime thriller and like to play a couch detective while reading. I look forward to more DI Marco stories in the near future.

 

ARC Review of “Scathed”, by Sue Coletta @SueColetta1 @RosieAmber1

Scathed

Scathed
Grafton County Series, #3
Author: Sue Coletta,
Award-Winning, Best-Selling Crime Writer
Cover Art: EJR Digital Art (ejrdigitalart.com)
Publisher: Tirgearr Publishing

On a picturesque fall morning in Grafton County, New Hampshire, a brutal murder rocks the small town of Alexandria. In the backyard of a weekend getaway cabin, a dead woman is posed in red-satin, with two full-bloomed roses in place of eyes.

In her hand, a mysterious envelope addressed to Sheriff Niko Quintano. Inside, Paradox vows to kill again if his riddle isn’t solved within 24 hours.

With so little time and not enough manpower, Niko asks his wife for help. But Crime Writer Sage Quintano is dealing with her own private nightmare. Not only did she find massive amounts of blood on the mountain where she and her family reside, but a phone call from the past threatens her future–the creepy mechanical voice of John Doe, the serial killer who murdered her twin sister.

Together, can Niko and Sage solve the riddle in time to save the next victim? Or will the killer win this deadly game of survival?
Pre-order SCATHED and save with one-click! Releases July 25, 2018.

Buy link: https://smarturl.it/SCATHED

My review:

Sue has done it again! I was so happy to receive this book as an ARC and I am very happy to give an honest review of this book. I must say that Sue Coletta is one of those authors that I will purchase her books as soon as I hear that she has a new one out, without reading the blurb, or reviews. Sue is a great author and there is so much of her in her books. For anyone who follows Sue on social media and then reads her books will see her in the story. One of my favorite lines from the book is “We all want to be remembered after we die. Through the power of the written word authors are immortalized.” This is only part of the quote, but the quote really resonated with me and I loved it.

I loved Scathed. It was a story that had me thinking and trying to figure out who the killer was, but Sue doesn’t make it easy to figure out. The twists and turns in this story were intriguing and interesting. I found myself thinking one thing and finding out that I was not on the right trail after all. The characters are so real to me in Sue’s books. I love Niko and Sage, they are such a great couple and they work so well together to figure out the cases. They are so well developed that they feel like my neighbors. Being a Vermonter myself, I felt as if I could see the mountain they were on and the area they live in with no problem.

If you like stories that will draw you in, keep your interest throughout the book. This is a great book to pick up and read. I hated to put it down, and I hated to see it end. I wanted more of Niko and Sage. I love that Frankie is not afraid to be herself with everyone that she meets. She doesn’t hold anything back and that makes her a great character.

I loved the twist at the end and look forward to the next book in the Grafton County Series to see what happens next. I give this book a 5 star review and highly recommend it to anyone who likes crime, thrillers, and suspense stories and characters who will draw you in to their lives.

Outlook-3u5fi3hi

 

 

 

ARC Review: “Giovanni”, by Natasha Knight @givemebooksblog and @NatashaKnight13 #TuesdayBookBlog

Intense, dark, Mafia Men, Cartel Men, and a Cartel Princess are all brought together when the brother of the Cartel Princess double crosses the mafia.

Giovanni Santa Maria is the right-hand man of the mafia king and he is determined to find Alessandro Estrella for double crossing the mafia and disappearing. Giovanni will get his man one way or another but he doesn’t figure that the Cartel Princess, Emilia Estrella will mean more than the means to an end, the capture of her twin brother. Giovanni is a mafia man and he is not a good man. He is ruthless, dark, and lethal.

Emilia Estrella has hidden away for four years and has changed her name to keep from being found by the one man who has hurt her to breaking, her twin brother Alessandro Estrella. Emilia is broken, but she is also a strong woman who fights for herself. Alessandro is an evil man who has a very dark heart and has no love for his own sister. He is a part of the Cartel and even his own men are afraid of him and don’t like him. Alessandro will find that he isn’t as strong or bad as Giovanni.

This book was well written, it is dark, intense and the suspense in the story was a page turner for me. I wanted to know Emilia’s story as well as the truth of Giovanni’s story. I wanted to know how Giovanni and Emilia’s story would end, and I was not disappointed. Emilia found the only other man in her life who would defend her and protect her and put her back together after her brother broke her apart. I give this book a 4.5 star review and I hope there will be more to read in the near future of the Benedetti’s and hopefully more of Giovanni and Emilia.

Review of “Betrayed Angel: Coastal Adventure Series (Volume 1)”, by Tom Haase @HiddenGemsBooks @TommHaase

Chuck McGregor is lost, confused, and looking for a new life since he retired from the Army. He is wasting his days away by drinking and laying on the beach until one fateful day when he witnesses what he will later discover is the kidnapping of a young woman who is mistreated and owned by the men who have her. He moved back home to his childhood city to find that a lot has changed since he joined the Army.

The police aren’t able to do their job due to one of their own working against them, but is it only one of their own? Can Chuck trust anyone? He will have the chance meetings of high school teammates, old bosses, and past partners, but who will he be able to trust and rely on. His relationship with his old Sergeant, when he was a police officer has not improved, and actually things are even worse than they were before he went into the Army.

The story line of this book was good and it was interesting. I kept wondering who would be on Chuck’s side and who he would be betrayed by. It kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen to Chuck and the people that he met and worked with. It had it’s ups and downs throughout the story. It was a slow read in the beginning but it picked up after the first few chapters. I give this story a 3.5 star review.

Review of “Unfinished Business: David Trilogy, Book 2”, by S. C. Cunningham @rararesources @SCCunningham8

Unfinished Business - EbookDavid is back and he is still in control, unfortunately. He is pulling Tara and her friends back into his web. He will continue to manipulate and terrorize anyone that has a mind to.

Tara wants to move on with her life and is trying but there always seems to be something coming between her and her life moving forward. Tara had to deal with a lot after her abduction and close death from David, but she will find that she is stronger than she thought she was when she returns to London.

I really like the suspense in this series and want to know how it will end. I am so frustrated with Tara.

I give this story a 4 star review and look forward to the final book in the trilogy. I only hope that it ends the way I am hoping it does. I love the twists that come out in this book and the suspense of what will happen, who someone could be, and the finality of this story keeps my intrigue in this series.

ARC Review: The Devil Don’t Sleep, by Janine Infante Bosco @IndieSagePR @JanineBosco #TuesdayBookBlog

I received an ARC to read for an honest review of this book.

I loved this story. As a matter of fact, I stayed up until 2:00 am to read and would have stayed up longer to finish the book, but decided I needed some sleep, luckily, I started reading on a Friday night into Saturday. The pages just kept turning while reading this book. I love Bas and I had to find out what was going to happen.

This book was very well written and the characters were very well rounded and came off the pages for me. I had read Loner, of the Nomad Series, so I knew a lot of the characters in this story. I really like how the Satan’s Knights of Brooklyn are a real family and they watch out for each other. It makes the book so much more enjoyable to read. I love Jack and his craziness. He makes these stories fun to read. Bas is such a strong character and to read his story was great.It was nice to watch Mac find herself again and be the woman that Bas loved at one time. I was happy to read their story and have them find each other again and work out their past. I love Ryder too. He’s such a great little boy. I love how Bas is such a different person from the members of the Kentucky MC. He has a heart and his own mind.

I give this story a 4.5 star review and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to read MC stories or romantic suspense. I look forward to more stories of the Satan’s Knights MC.

 

BLOG TOUR OF SPEECHLESS: INSPECTOR MARCO #1, BY STEPHEN PULESTON #BOOKREVIEW #CRIMEFICTION #POLICEPROCEDURAL @INSPECTOR_MARCO @BOOKS_N_ALL

 

BLOG TOUR BANNER - Speechless

Today is my stop on the Blog Tour for Speechless, by Stephen Puleston. I have the final stop on this intriguing story of murder and sex trafficking. DI Marco will have to work hard on this case and his life will be in danger while trying to find the murder.

Speechless:

The body of a young Pole working in Cardiff is pulled from the River Taff. His tongue has been amputated in some sort of ritual.

More murders in the Polish community take Inspector John Marco and his team into the East European immigrant community and the murky world of people trafficking.

But what is it that links all the deaths together?

When the evidence points to one of the city’s criminal and the involvement of a gangster from Poland Marco faces the challenge of gathering evidence from a close knit and secretive community.

And why do the Polish Secret Service seem to be interested?

When Marco finds himself entangled emotionally its impossible for him to think clearly. In search of an answer Marco travels to Poland only to find himself implicated in a murder and hoping he can avoid another.

Racing back to Cardiff he hopes he has enough to unravel the case and arrest the perpetrators.

Speechless-cover

Biography

I write crime fiction based in Wales and about Wales. The rural landscape of north Wales provides the backdrop to the Inspector Drake novels. And Cardiff the capital of Wales provides the setting for the Inspector Marco novels set in a modern urban environment.
I love the novels of Raymond Chandler, Ian Rankin, Mark Billingham, Henning Mankell, Val McDermid – the list could go on! And I enjoy watching detective series on the television the recent Hinterland series based near Aberystwyth in Wales was great. One of my favourites is the French series Spiral but The Bridge and Broadchurch and the Rebus series with Ken Stott and Kenneth Branagh in Wallander are great too.

I have been on writing courses at the Welsh Writers Centre in Llanystymdwy, North Wales tutored by Matt Whyman and Marcus Sedgwick as well as crime writing courses with Peter Robinson and Andrew Taylor at the Scottish Writers centre.

I was born in Anglesey an island off the north Wales coast and after leaving school in Holyhead I went to University in London before training as a solicitor/lawyer. I practised in a small family business doing criminal work in the magistrates and crown courts, divorce and family work.
I still live on Anglesey, North Wales near the beach and the mountains of Snowdonia

Stephen Puleston author photo

My Review:

The intrigue and deception in this story kept me turning the pages. DI Marco works overtime to find the murder in this story and to save the Poles in his community. He doesn’t care who was murdered, his job is to find the murder and put them behind bars, he has no prejudices against the murder or the victims. His only goal is to find the bad guy and make them pay for their crimes.

I love DI Marco and enjoy reading these stories. It’s kind of funny, when I was reading this story, I felt as if I was listening to the detective in the old Dragnet series from the 60’s and 70’s. Some of the dialogue and writing made me think of it. I liked it and found it to be an interesting way of reading the story. I find DI Marco and Boyd to be a great team and like how Marco knows when he is doing something he should not be and Boyd will mention it to him, but he is always respectful in his approach to Marco. You can feel the respect between the two men and that is why they work so well together.

I look forward to reading more of the DI Marco stories in the near future. I kept waiting for trouble to be in store for Terry. The same as I did for Dead Smart. It seems he gets put into some very dangerous situations, but he still does it. I give this story a 4 star review and highly recommend it to anyone who likes detective or crime stories.