A story about a young woman who agrees to help out a friend so that she can make some extra money. She meets a young man who takes her breath away. They are from different worlds and neither one is looking for anything permanent, but fate has other ideas. A professional hockey player, son of a senator, and cocky, Aaron, who is on suspension from his hockey team agrees to go to a Valentine charity dinner in his father's place. He meets Jenn, who is a woman who works in fashion, and has agreed to help out her friend Becca, by serving drinks and wearing a dress that is to be auctioned off as a fund raiser. The dress she is to wear is not her taste, and she feels very out of place. They have an instant reaction to each other and want to find out how things will end up between them.
This was a good story, it was a short, quick read. The chemistry between Aaron and Jenn is quick and hot. The characters are likable and fun to read about. They each show their vulnerabilities at times and it makes them more natural.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This was a different story. It was really good, but it’s not very often I read a story where the Groom is the one who is pushing for the wedding.

Jocelyn (Jo) Swann, a no-nonsense single woman, she isn’t afraid to say what is on her mind, and she doesn’t take any crap from anyone. She runs a local news paper that was started by her grandfather and she cares for her aging grandmother who has dementia. Her best friend is in the SAS, Australian military. They have been friends since they were very young.

Dan Jansen, Jocelyn’s best friend. Dan is single and a man who feels that he has to take care of everyone in his life. He is a protector and a fierce friend. He is deployed for six months and when he comes home he is not the same man. He lost two very close friends during deployment and to others were seriously injured, whether physically or mentally. He has a new take on life after this deployment and he has retired from the service. He plans to take over the farm that was run by his father now and make a life there.

After a breakup that Jo had a few years prior, Dan and Jo signed a marriage pact on the back of a coaster. Since Dan has gotten home from deployment he is bound and determined to fulfill that contract and marry Jo. The problem is that Jo has changed as well. She has gone through somethings while he was away and she is afraid to make the committment to Dan.

Most of the story goes through Dan trying to convince Jo to marry him and her trying to get everyone in town to believe that it is a joke. I like how Dan is so committed to Jo and the way that their lives are so intertwined. It is refreshing to read a story where the one who has reservations about commitment is the woman and not the man. I enjoyed this story and look forward to reading the next in the Special Forces Series: Stand-In Wife, Ross Coltrane’s story. Ross is one of the men that served with Dan and he is also a very close friend. He is in this story and I would love to get to know him more. I give this story a 4.5 star rating, and I look forward to reading more from Ms. Bliss.

Great story! I loved this book. It drew me in from the beginning and it kept me reading through to the end. It was raw, beautiful, dark, and suspenseful. I waited for someone to catch on to Andre in every chapter.

Andre, dark, empty, alone, cold and deadly. A man who believes he is damned to hell and has no one who cares about him and he has nothing to live for. The man who does what he is told by jefe without question. He’s worked his way through the ranks of Paulo Garcia’s drug cartel and he is very dangerous. He is waiting for the day when he can get out of Paulo’s grip and try to live a normal life. He’s empty, until he meets Nicole Harris. He lives in the compound and has to put up with Paulo’s other henchmen, Jose, Diego, and Marco.

Nicole Harris, a woman who is trying to save her little brother from being killed. He owes Paulo money for drugs and is beat up and ends up in the hospital. Nicole, Nicky, thinks she can save him and shows up at Paulo’s house to pay off her brothers debt. Unfortunaley for her, she has no idea what she has just gotten herself into. She’s mouthy, feisty, and small, but she is also very protective of her little brother. They are all each other has left since her parents died in a car accident several years earlier. She also has no idea that she is short by $5000 for the dept owed by her brother. Paulo decides to keep her to take the rest of the money out of her body.

If you like a story that draws you in and has a dark side, then you should read this book. I give it 4.5 stars. I look forward to reading more books by Jennifer Bene.

Rafeal DeMarco, retired FBI Agent and secret spy on the ORUS team, now works with his brother in-law Noah as a special Security team. The group takes on all kinds of cases, all the team members are ex-agents of some sort, and they are from all over the globe. This team will fight together and they will fight for each other, even if there are some bad feelings still from a previous situation where Rafe tried to kill a few of the guys.

Diana Vandergraff, a young woman who comes from a very nasty family, but has no idea how bad they were or are, until she gets ahold of Rafe’s files and sees the information he has on her father and brothers. Now she has to try to figure out a way to stay alive and away from her brothers so that she can have the life she wants with Rafe. The team sets up a trap to get her brothers and she wants to be the bait. Rafe isn’t happy with it, but she is determined to end the hiding. She is also hoping to get the one thing she has of her mother back into her hands. The Jewel of the Sea, a large stone that had been handed down from mother to daughter on the daughters wedding day. It’s work millions of dollars, but Diana only wants it back because it is the last thing she has from her mother.

Great ending to a wonderful story. The characters in this story are so raw and powerful. Rafe and Diana were made for each other and their chemistry makes the story that more great to read. I love that Diana doesn’t take any crap and yet, she knows that Rafe will protect her at all cost to keep her safe and alive. She may look like a damsel in distress, but looks can be deceiving.

If you like a story about a strong heroine, who will put her life on the line for her hero and a hero who finds his match in life, then you really need to read the Deep Duet. I give both of these books a 5 star review, and I look forward to reading more about the lives of the team members.

Another great book by Chris Collett. Another great story about DCI Tom Mariner. This story was a bit more personal for DCI Mariner, and it showed his vulnerable side. However, it also showed his ability as a great detective too.

DCI Mariner and his girlfriend Ann are getting more serious in their relationship. It’s almost Christmas and they are headed to a Christmas pageant with members of the Police department where Mariner works. Anna wants to do a little more shopping before heading over, so she and Tom send Knox and his new girlfriend, Selina ahead and will meet them there. Just before they get to the church there is an explosion in the church and they are blasted backwards. They are the lucky ones, they are able to get up and move around. Tom goes into the see what he can do to help those who were not as lucky. It’s a devastating site when he gets in the church and it is not something he can get over quickly or easily.

Aside from this case where Mariner is trying to find out what happened and why, he is contacted by an old friend from another precinct who is working a murder case in the London area. A high-profile couple, Geoff and Diana Ryland, are killed in their limousine and their driver, James O’Connor, is found dead outside the car. The man inside the car worked for the Judicial Review Commission, the JRC. Mariner’s friend, Dave Flynn contacted him to give him some photos that were found in Mr. Ryland’s home when it was searched for clues as to who might have killed them. Most of the photos are of Tom Mariner as a young boy. Tom Mariner was raised by his mother and never knew his father, he had been wanting to know who his father was for years. Now he knows. The trouble is that it can get him killed, and almost does.

This story had a lot of twists and surprises. I love DCI Mariner and his tenacity when trying to solve a case. He doesn’t give up easily. This book left me with a few more questions than answers though, and I hope that the next book answers those questions.

This was my first book in the Genoa Mafia Series and my first book by Ginger Ring. It will not be my last though. I enjoyed this story and I love Valentina and her need for independence and distance from her family life.

Valentina Caponelli is a strong willed woman who is kind, sweet, and in love with a man that contradicts her family’s line of work. Her father is a Don in the mafia and is very protective of his daughter. She has passed the bar exam and is now a lawyer. Her father paid for her to go to law school and become an lawyer so that she could work for the “family”. The problem is that she doesn’t want to just work for the “family”, she wants to open her own law office and help people who needed her, and she wanted to work on the right side of the law. She moves to Lake Genoa, Wisconsin to open her office and continue to run her restaurant. She will still be near family, her brother Ramon and his wife Madison live there, so she won’t be alone.

Officer Ryan Donovan, a police officer in Lake Genoa. Orphaned as a child, he found himself in trouble quite often until his Uncle told him he needed to settle down and take the right path in life. He’s know Valentina since he was a sophomore in high school and has wanted her since then too. When Valentina moves to Lake Genoa, Ryan finally finds his chance to get to know her and make those wishes of having her as his come true. He doesn’t care who her father is or what her brother thinks, he only cares about her. He feels that he has to get Valentina’s fathers approval to marry her and he knows that it won’t be easy, but he will do anything have Valentina in his life forever.

These are meant to be together and it becomes pretty clear early on that they were made for each other. Even Valentina’s family can see it and she doesn’t face too much trouble when their relationship starts.

If you like stories about mafia men, strong women, mafia princesses, and kind hearted men who will do anything for the woman that they love, then you will want to read this book. There are some very dangerous men in this book, but there are also some very strong and dangerous women as well. This was a great read and I look forward to reading more of this series, and going back to read Ramon and Madison’s stories as well.

Such a tragic story. This one was hard to read, even when I wasn’t sure of what had transpired in Pricilla’s past, but it was a good read. Just the thought of what could have happened was heart breaking. Even with the dark content of the past lives of Pricilla and Killian, this story was well written and a beautiful love story. Killian was Pricilla’s worst night mare, but he turned out to be her savior and hero.

Killian Black, a dangerous man who doesn’t take kindly to people trying to double cross him or steal from him. Jason Hawking is a broken man who gets caught stealing a bag full of cocaine from Killian and trying to sell it. The problem is that he is caught trying to sell it to one of Killian’s men.

Pricilla Hawking walks into her brother’s apartment only to find that she has bad timing. Killian’s men are threatening Jason, and she doesn’t know what is going on. When the men get scared and don’t know what to do with Pricilla, they end up taking both Jason and Pricilla back to Killian. When Pricilla finds out what is in store for her brother, she offers herself to save him. Killian finally agrees to one month of Pricilla’s life and he will let Jason live and not break his legs.

Neither Pricilla (Cilla) nor Killian (Kill) expect to find anything more than a one month contract where Cilla has to do whatever Kill tells her to. When Kill finds out about the dark past that Cilla survived, he realizes that they both have a darkness in them. These two are may be able to heal each other.

I give this story a 5 star review. It was well written, the characters are very well rounded and drew me into their lives. I felt as though I was in the room with them on a few occasions. The story drew me in from the beginning and I hated for it to end.

Jai Stone, a man who is looking for retribution for his families pain and destruction. He’s a police officer, but is suspended after getting into trouble at work. He hit superior after the case of the man who destroyed his family is taken from the police department. He feels like the man, Skull, will not get what is coming to him. He has another idea of how to get to him and destroy him, but will it destroy Jai in the process.

Skull, Damien Wolf, a man who was destroyed and now rains destruction down on anyone he wants. He is rich, powerful, cruel, and deadly. Drugs, underground fighting, sex trade, it doesn’t matter, he will make money off of it. A criminal who runs New York City without any trouble from anyone.

Emily Shepherd, a young woman who is fighting to make ends meet and taking nursing classes to have a better life. She’s close to being done and getting her nursing license. She has to take another exam and is studying on her tablet on the subway home from working a late shift at the hospital. She bumps into Jai when he is exiting the train and drops her tablet. Against her better judgement, she follows him to make him pay her to get it repaired. One bad decision leads to another on her part and she is now fighting for her life.

In Guts & Glass, the sixth book in the series, they are in Skull’s compound and there is no light at the end of the tunnel for Jai, Emily, Joel or Monique, they are at the mercy of Skull and they can’t find a way to get free and stay alive in the process. The pain and destruction that Skull rains down is dark and cruel, he has no respect for anyone. It’s obvious that Jai and Emily will do whatever they can to save the other, but will they get the chance to be together again? They are just surviving and still trying to find a way to escape and get away from Skull, but they have to destroy him in order to flee him.

OH MY! I did a marathon read of the New York Crime King Series, over the weekend to catch up on the books before Guts & Glass. I became immersed in Jai and Emily’s world as I read:  #1 Blood & Rust, #2 Sin & Secrets, #3 Smoke & Metal, #4 Rage & Bullets, and #5 Ink & Bone. I’d read the first book in this series under the original title, Broken, Round One, and had not gotten to the others yet. Wow! After reading all of them and then reading Guts & Glass, I am now in a hurry for the next book! I wish the last book were coming out sooner than March 20. I’ve fallen in love with Jai, Emily and Joel. I want to have the rest of the story now!!

If you like strong women who do not back down when they are being threatened, even if they are scared, they you need to pick up this series and read them. I have to say that the New York Crime King Series will be at the top of my reading list for this year. Even with it being the beginning of a new year, this one will stay with me for a while. I give Guts & Glass a 5 star review. This book was probably the hardest to read, but easily a top read for me.

A tragically beautiful story.

Allison, a young woman who is struggling to find a way to avenge her childhood best friend Samantha. Decides to change who she is to accomplish this. She goes to college and acts like a girl who sleeps around and doesn’t care what others think of her. She is estranged from her mother and has no one left to confide in. She meets the guys on the rugby team at college and one boy stands out to her when they meet.

Dean, a young man who is struggling with past issues and anger management. He is at college due to a benefactor who wanted to help him out of a tough situation. A friend of his uncles, offered to send him to college, a classmate, Kevin, is the benefactors son. Dean is not the type of guy who wants to fit into the college boy mold, he plays rugby for the physical release he gets when he is playing. He’s never been the type of guy who commits in a relationship. When he meets Allison, his whole world is turned upside down, completely.

Kevin is the son of a rich man who is powerful and has money to keep his son out of trouble when he finds it, a party boy. This has given Kevin the attitude that he is above everyone and everything and he can always have what he wants no matter the cost or consequences to his actions.

The past for all three of these people will come back to haunt them in the worst way possible. It will even cost lives. The love that comes out of this story is beautiful, but the lives that these three have lived are the tragedy in this story. This story is about a very touchy subject and it is very pertinent to what is going on in the world at this time. Ms. Winters did a great job with the story and the path that she took to tell the story was very heart wrenching, but well written. I give this story a 5 star rating and I look forward to reading more about the characters in the near future.

I am loving this series. The men are hot, Alpha, and very dark. They are devoted to the women they meet and fall in love with, and they would do anything to keep them safe and show them that they are cherished every day.

Victor Drayton, artist, businessman, part owner in Spiked Roses, and creator of Drayton Dolls, is a man who likes everything and everyone in his Dollhouse to be structured, punctual, and neat. He is a creative man who can get lost in his art when he is working on a show. His shows are much different than you would expect in an art show. His art shows are created around and with his Drayton Dolls. They are the art show.

Ivy Adams, a young woman who is working to send money home to her family to help with her fathers medical bills and running the house hold her sister and father live in. She makes one mistake and gets fired from the best job she has ever held and could ever hope to hold for the money to send home, a Spiked Roses waitress. When one door closes, another door opens. She is offered a position in Drayton’s Dolls, but the rumors she has heard about them scare her a bit. If she doesn’t take this opportunity though, she will be letting her family down. She agrees to Victors job proposition, and a new life begins for her. She didn’t anticipate falling in love with the man though.

The stories in the Top Shelf Series are very well written, they touch upon some dark and hard situations to read, but they cover these situations well. I look forward to reading about the other men in this series. The owners of Spiked Roses may be dangerous, rich, and a bit on the scary side, but they are also hot and I love reading their stories. If you like a story with some danger, Alpha men, and a HEA, then you should read this series. Although be warned by the cover note: “If you don’t like a splash of shock, a dash of taboo, and a heavy dose of sex, then don’t take a sip of this TOP SHELF cocktail.”