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.

Review of “Leather Horizons”, by Laverty Sparks @Sparkswriter

Meet Misty Briscoe, 42, a Chicago entertainment journalist, who hangs out in blue-collar bars and even Chicago boardrooms, and contemplates giving up one for the other. Either way, will the decision be the right one?

In the meantime, you will be introduced to Misty’s best friend Rebyl Miles. Owner of a southwestern Michigan resort, she has plans and deadlines, refusing to slow down in the fast lane of life. This woman is bold, street-smart, and enterprising, often gambling with dangerous encounters. She defies conventionalism. But there is one clear challenge that soon becomes an enemy.

Adding intrigue to the plot, Misty’s elderly grandfather vanishes along with his deceased wife’s body leaving a community waiting for clues. The answer comes just in time. One obvious savior, reserved, industrious, with nothing to prove, gets caught up in an unselfish act leading to a surprising revelation.

But when Misty meets entrepeuneur Austin Matthews, she gains the strength and courage needed to bow out of the big city attitude and embrace the familiar mindset of leather jackets and blue-collar salvation of home.

Come along for the ride into LEATHER HORIZONS.

This description peeked my interest to read this book when I was contacted by Ms. Sparks. It looked like a good read so I agreed to read the book and do a review. I am very glad that I did. This book is about life, love, loss, and friendships. It was a story of a woman (Rebyl Miles) who is trying to find herself and in the process living life to it’s fullest and not let anyone tie her down. She lives life on her own terms and makes no apologies for it to anyone. She will encourage her best friend, Misty to do the same.

Misty will realize that her life is more than she thought it was and that she should be valued more than she is in her life in Chicago. She will find that there is someone who will cherish her and treat her the way she should be treated, as if she is the most important woman in the world. I really enjoyed this story and I look forward to reading more by Ms. Sparks in the future. Thank you for contacting and asking me. I give this book a 4 star review and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys contemporary romance, a story about life and all that there is to enjoy of it.

Review of Diana Christmas: Screen Siren Noir, by F.R. Jameson @frjameson

A story of a once young actress who after a party leaves the film industry. Now jump ahead twenty years. She is still has fans who want to know what she is up to and why she left, but will her story ever get published? A young reporter who has been a fan of Diana’s for years is assigned to interview her, only their meeting doesn’t go as planned and their “relationship” will drag hem both through a lot of tough times and trouble.

I enjoyed this story and found it reminiscent of some of the movies I watched as a young girl. A majority of this story takes place in the 1980’s and there is a lot of names dropped fo actors from Diana’s time in the movies. The story is well written and there were a lot of twists throughout the book. The characters are very well written and rounded. The characters go through a lot of emotions and tough times. I liked the ending, but I wished that it had given a final decision by Michael.

I give this story a 4 star review and recommend it to anyone who likes noir, crime, or Hollywood biographies. I think that you will find it to keep distracted from what is going on around you and draw you into a different time a place.

ARC Review of “Roses & Thorns: Conquer”, by Bry Ann

THANK YOU FOR WRITING THIS SERIES!!! I love this series and the ending of it was bitter sweet. I loved the end, but I hate to see it end. I love being in Sven, Rose, Lacey’s, and Boss’ lives. I love reading the twists and drama going on in their lives, and meeting new friends in their lives. The characters in this series are well developed and really came out of the book for me. They were broken, beaten, strong, lovable, and a joy to read.

The end of Roses & Thorns: Conquer was perfect. The HEA for two women who had a lot of drama and trauma in their young lives it perfect. They deserved it more than anyone. Rose’s strength comes out when Sven is near and when he pushes those buttons that make her annoyed and push her strength and sassiness to come out. I love Rose, but I hate seeing her be so dejected and scared. I like the strong Rose and her character is much better when she is strong. Lacey is still a bada** and one of the strongest women I have read in awhile, even considering all she has been through. I know that Boss is her strength and he helps her overcome the darkness that can seep in.

Sven has grown so much in this series and his reaction to Rose when she returns is great. He doesn’t show any anger towards her until later in the story. They’ve overcome a lot in their relationship considering how it started. It is great to see how Sven and Boss have grown so much throughout this series. Their relationship has grown as much as they have and it’s great. They are a great team.

I thinks this series has been one of my top reads for this year so far. I am so happy to see that other characters will get their own story and I look forward to visiting these characters again in other stories. I give this book a 5 star review and highly recommend it to anyone who likes mafia romance, alpha males, kick butt heroines, or just a story with great characters and a well written story. I can’t wait for Cut’s story. I love a dark, brooding, sexy man.

ARC Review of “Ven: The V Games”, by Ker Dukey and K Webster @KerDukeyauthor @KristiWebster @IndieSagePR

The patriarchs of the Vasiliev, Vetrov, and Volkov families are ruthless and despicable in their daily lives. The V Games were created by Yegor Vetrov and his own son was the first victor of the Games. The children of these men are ruthless as well, but their youthfulness and understanding of life around them has made them smarter than their fathers and when they have the power for their families things will be different. Women will not be treated as an accessory and they will be able to prove their own knowledge and power to rule beside their men.

Veniamin Vetrov is a young man who follows his fathers rules to keep the peace for now. He does not believe in all that his father does or says to run their family and he can’t wait until the day comes when he can be the one to rule the Vetrov name. However, when that time comes will he actually take the reigns? A lot will change for him in this story and he will find himself as well as the one woman who can keep up with him and stand beside him to show their world that they were meant to be together.

Diana Volkov is a young woman who is smart, strong, and vicious in her world. She will have to prove herself in this story and unfortunately, she will have to fight for her own life more than once in this story. I love Diana, she is a woman who knows her place in the family, but she will not take much more from the men around her before she cracks and shows them all that she is not just a woman to hang on a mans arm. She is a business woman and she thrives when she has something to focus on and a business to run. She knows what her family does and she may not agree with everything, but she is a business woman and will do what she can to make sure that her family business thrives and makes money.

If you like a story about mafia families, dark love, strong heroines and alpha males, then I highly recommend that you read this story. I would suggest that if you have not already read the first book, Vlad: The V Games, that you read it first as this book takes up after that one. They are both very good and I was cheering for Diana a lot in this book. Sorry, but I still don’t like Vika. I give this book a 4.5 star review and look forward to the next story in the future. I need to know more about these families.

 

NEW RELEASE: “SHAMELESS KING”, BY MAYA HUGHES @MHUGHESWRITES

Available Now - Flat Lay - Shameless King

RELEASE BLITZ
Title: Shameless King
Author: Maya Hughes
Genre: New Adult Romance
Release Date: June 28, 2018

Blurb

A deliciously steamy enemies with benefits romance.

Declan McAvoy. Voted Biggest Flirt. Highest goal scorer in Kings of Rittenhouse Prep history.
Everyone’s impressed, well except one person…

After a blow out in high school, Makenna Halstead and I were happy to never have to cross paths again. Except life has a way of knocking you straight in the teeth with a puck when you least expect it. She hasn’t just returned to my life, she crashed into it like a wrecking ball…into my college kingdom, into my class, and smack dab into the seat next to mine. My new lab partner to be exact.

For years we hated each other… I may be King on the ice, but she is the Ice Queen. She has no problem calling me out, doesn’t back down, and her piercing blue eyes have me picturing more than than just my arms wrapped around her.

Now we’re stuck with each other and there’s no getting around that fact that we have to work together. My hockey career hangs in the balance. Problem? Oh, yeah.

I can’t deny it. I want her. More than I ever thought I could want a woman. I’ve got one semester–only four months–to convince her everything she thought about me was wrong.

Will my queen let me prove to her I’m the King she can’t live without?

Only one way to find out…

eBook Cover - Shameless King

GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39669992

 

Available Now - Grid - Shameless KingFlat Lay - Shameless King

AUTHOR BIO

Maya Hughes is a Jersey girl, no not that kind! And she also thinks it’s super weird to talk about herself in third person 🙂 I’m a romance writer who loves taking inspiration from everyday life, the music I listen to, and the people I know to create stories that sparkle and shine.

I’m the mom of three little ones, the wife to an amazing husband and also work full time. Some of my favorite things are cinnamon rolls, white wine, laughing until I can’t breathe and traveling with my family.

Logo - Maya Hughes

AUTHOR LINKS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mayahugheswrites
Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/MayaHughesGroup
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mayahugheswrites
Book + Main: https://bookandmainbites.com/maya
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maya-hughes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mhugheswrites
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/cZoUzT
Website: http://mayahughes.com

eBook Cover - [Prequel] Kings of Rittenhouse

FREE PREQUEL – Kings of Rittenhouse

PURCHASE LINKS – FREE!

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DP1L9VP/
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07DP1L9VP/
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07DP1L9VP/
AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07DP1L9VP/

Full Wrap Cover - Shameless King

MY REVIEW:

Makenna and Declan are two people who put on a good outside face but they are both actually a couple of kids who have a lot in common, even though no one think they did.

Makenna a young girl who comes from a family that is hurting due to a painful loss and she is trying to make up for it by being the best she can be and living a life that she thinks she has to live, rather than a life for herself. She puts too much pressure on herself and keeps herself from those around her that would like to get to know her better and be her friend.

Declan, a young boy who goes to a prep school on a scholarship. He has a lot to prove to himself and his father who walked away from him. His dreams are centered around proving himself and making things better for his mother. He lives his life to prove that he is good enough, if not better than the man who gave him life.

I really enjoyed meeting Declan and Makenna and would love to read more about the Kings and their lives after high school as well. The life lessons these two learn from each other is what makes them a strong couple. The fact that they can both be who they really are around each other is great. Thats the way any relationship should be. It’s too bad that they both feel that they have to keep their lives a secret and not let people in. I do wonder why Declan didn’t share his secret with anyone. If you like YA romance and coming of age stories, then I would highly recommend this story. Its well worth the read. I give this story a 4 star review and look forward to more about the Kings in the near future.

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