Why I'm Yours ~ C.A. Harms and S. Moose

A point in time, an unexpected event, changes everything.

Reagan’s life was about to begin. A recent college graduate with her career about to launch, she was living in Boston with her best friends. She had everything she worked hard for until one man took it all away, leaving her feeling empty and desolate.

After spending a few years alone, Reagan finally moves to Chicago with her best friend, Aimee, and vows to put her past behind her. When Reagan lands a job at Powers Financial, she never expects to find the one person that would give her back the girl she left behind years ago.

Drew Powers loves being the powerful CFO of a successful corporation and raising his son, Dawson. He's known as "asshat" at the company and it doesn't help calm his temper or patience. Drew's main focus doesn't include love or commitment. Those are the last things on his mind.

When the reserved and beautiful Reagan Halloway bumps into him and tests his patience, he ignores the lust he feels for her until she becomes all he can think about.

Fate is a powerful thing. A force that leads two people to one another and gives them both the one thing they didn’t know they were missing.

 I did enjoyed this collaboration with these two authors, but there were times where it became apparent that there were two different people writing. The story line and ideas were a good concept and I did like the characters. 

Reagan is a stronger person than she gave herself credit for. I wish she would have leaned on those that loved her, but I get that she had to find her way again. Drew was loving and supportive. When he found out what happened to Reagan, his protective side really shows. You can't help but love that. 

There was a twist at the end that I wasn't sure these two would get through. Definitely some major drama. Relationships are tested and surprises unfold that makes you want to know what happens. Even with a little cliffy, I'm sure the next will be able to be read as a standalone as well. 

Rooke ~ Callie Hart

Amazon US

Watchmaker. Car thief. Heartbreaker extraordinaire.

Rooke Blackheath has spent enough time in juvie to know that he really doesn’t want to go to jail. The food sucks, the clothes itch, and there are absolutely no women in sight. Well…none he wants to fuck, anyway.

He should probably stop boosting cars, but the money is stellar and the high is out of this world. And why should he turn his back on something that sets his soul on fire anyway?

The answer to that question comes in an unexpected form: a petite five-foot-three firecracker named Sasha who refuses to give him the time of day no matter how thick he lays on the charm.

Rooke’s not easily deterred, though. Just like the watches he builds from scratch, Rooke knows all too well how women tick. Women are a game to him. A game he always wins.

Sasha doesn’t stand a chance.

***

Sasha Cross’s life has been permanently derailed since her son died five years ago. You wouldn’t know it to look at her, of course. She has a great job, a beautiful house, and caring friends. Every week, she hosts a book club featuring the sexiest, most romantic stories on the planet, and every week she falls for a new fictional knight in shining armor.

Fictional men are perfect, though. They don’t hurt you. They don’t break your heart. They don’t cheat on you after your child dies, and they rarely ever leave the toilet seat up.

When Rooke Blackheath shows up at Sasha's workplace, it’s clear he’s nothing like the men who grace the pages of Sasha's favorite books. Dangerous, arrogant, sharp-tongued and sarcastic, Rooke’s not the kind of guy she needs in her life. Not to mention the fact that he’s eleven years her junior.

They don’t live in different worlds. As far as Sasha is concerned, Rooke lives in a different galaxy altogether. She’d like to keep it that way, but fate appears to have other plans.

When Cinderella lost her shoe, Prince Charming showed up at her door.

When Sasha Cross loses her book, an entirely different kind of rogue comes a-knocking.

I have to say after reading the first chapter, I though this book would go in a completely different direction. To say there are some twists and drama, is an understatement. There’s a lot going on in this book and I think this book could have been split up in to a couple different books.

Rooke is an alpha hottie, no doubt. He seems older than his 23 years, but that could be because of his time in Juvi and the experiences he has had in his past. He has his own demons and unsavory people in his life that could affect their relationship or even the start of one.

While Sasha can’t seem to get past her own tragedy, Rooke is the calm to her freak-outs and is the only person to break down her walls. Her tragedy is definitely a tragedy that most could not overcome and she seems to have a lot happen to her for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This is an action-packed story with a lot of different things going on and it seemed to wrap up rather quickly. I would have loved more of the two of them and maybe more of the backstory of Sasha’s past. I’d even like more of Rooke’s past and what has made him so angry, even before the stent in Juvi. Still love Callie and her writing, but wanted more with Rooke. 

Cross Checked (Shots On Goal Standalone Series Book 2) ~ Kristen Hope Mazolla

One accident - a freaking car crash. That’s all it took to send my life into a tailspin.

Little did I know that out of the wreckage, everything would fall into place. I would get everything I had ever worked for.

Little did I know that I would find the woman who would cross check my life, flipping everything upside down.

Even though she's melting the ice that surrounds my heart, I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Will I ever be able to find my footing or am I destined to stay pinned against the boards?

Cross Checked does include characters from Hat Trick, the first book of the series, but it can be read as a standalone. We do get glimpses of Brayden and Karla in Hat Trick, so I was anxious to read Cross Checked. I really enjoyed their quick sweet story.

Now it wasn’t always sweet for Brayden or Karla. Brayden had to take care of his sister while Karla was dealing with her own heartbreak at home. The car crash that crippled Brayden’s family also brought Karla into it. Even though they both were interested in each other, other circumstances were in the way. It just wasn’t their time.

Once Brayden and Karla connect, they spark. They have a good relationship and just get each other. Their friendship grows into more and helps each other through the drama. 

Marriage Games (The Games Duet Book 1) ~ CD Reiss

Amazon US

THIRTY DAYS

That’s all Adam Steinbeck demands of his wife.

Thirty days in a remote cottage, doing everything he demands. After that, he’ll sign her divorce papers and give her complete ownership of their company.

THIRTY DAYS

That’s how long he has to rediscover the man he once was. The Dominant Master he hid when he fell in love with her five years ago. 

THIRTY DAYS

She wants the business they built badly enough to go to the cottage for a month. Cut off ties to the world and do his bidding. She can submit to him with her body, but her heart will never yield.

She thinks this is his pathetic attempt to repair their marriage.

She’s wrong.

This was a new spin on a wife asking for a divorce and the husband making certain stipulations for the divorce to go through. Even though Diana feels that this 30 day request from Adam is an attempt to have her fall back in love with him, Adam has other intentions.

While the sex and BDSM scenes were hot, I had a hard time getting in to their dynamic. I felt like Adam kept saying he loved his wife, but I couldn’t feel it. As the story went on, I did see why he kept her away from this lifestyle and in his mind, why the two had to be separate.

Unfortunately, Diana never really had a choice of which side she would fall on. During the 30 days, her eyes and mind open up to different avenues, but it almost seemed like it was too late for them, despite Adam loving Diana so fiercely.   

Game ~ London Casey and Ana Fawkes

Amazon US
Amazon UK

To save her life, I had to win the fight. To keep her alive, I'll have to get her pregnant. The second I see Shayna, I know she doesn’t deserve to be mixed up in this world. Innocent, beautiful... being used as a prize. She’s looking for answers in all the wrong places and I have to get her out of there. So I do what I do best: I fight and I win. When I take my prize home, my boss is waiting for me and gives me an ultimatum: get Shayna pregnant. If I don't, we both die. If I do it, he's going to snatch the baby away to replace his own lost grandchild. We aren’t supposed to fall for each other...but our time together becomes something more powerful than I could ever imagine. And when Shayna tells me she’s pregnant, I know one thing for sure… no one's taking our child away.

ARC Received in Exchange for an Honest Review. 
While I enjoyed the characters, the plot line was a little difficult for me to hold on to. The idea that there are these two Mafioso types that are at war, so one takes his prized underground fighter and demands that he knocks up a woman who he thinks is connected to his enemy. While the Boss was a little off due to a recent loss of his own, the reasoning fell a little short for me.

That being said, Finn and Shayna have so hot, sparking chemistry. I mean it is insta-lust from the moment their eyes meet. The sex scenes definitely get you hot and as long as you’re not thinking of why they have to get it on, you can really enjoy their romps.

I love me a good fighter and Finn proves to be one time and again. He’s extremely loyal and that hurts his and Shayna’s connection for a bit, due to tragedy in his past. His best friend, Cormac is another sexy man with fierce loyalty and while he is “clean”, he would do anything for his brother. That Irish accent is sexy as hell too!

Shayna was in a bad situation due to her past which led her to the underground.  In the time she’s saving Finn, she holds a gun to him and we can tell she’s putting on a brave face, but she ends up making matters worse. All hell breaks loose and they have to get away from the underground fight and Finn's Boss's enemy, Zander. 

The writing of the story is good, but the plot just left me wishing for more. I liked the characters, the action and sex scenes. Overall, the story was written well and was a quick read. 

Dared: A Boneyard Bad Boy Series by Kristina Borden

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1RxjBSx

Damien: I am Damien Cole. Manager of Dallas' Top Tattoo Shop "The Boneyard." I play the game by my own set of rules. I discard women left and right. Their only purpose is to cater to my sexual appetite. No woman will ever tame my bad boy ways. I am at the top of my game. Summer: I am Summer Montgomery. My face has graced magazine covers all across the world. My looks will deceive you. I am a bad girl with a smart ass mouth and the attitude to back it up. Playing with me is like playing with fire. I will consume you and swallow you whole. When faced with temptation, which of these two badasses will fall first?

 

Usually, I gravitate towards the heroine of the story and feel all her emotions, frustrations, etc. Unfortunately, Summer fell short for me. She was so stubborn and so selfish, that I got annoyed with her. I guess that is testament to the author’s writing that she wanted me to see Summer as a dramatic and selfish person. She did a great job on that.

Damien, on the other hand, hit all the right buttons. Sexy and tattooed, sign me up. Maybe its just me and I have a thing for the wounded bird, but I felt really disappointed that Summer didn't fight more for Damien. Don't get me wrong. Damien is messed up and was not by any means perfect, but he had a lot to work through before he could bare his soul to Summer.

When I got to about 60% in, I started to enjoy the story more, but there was still this niggling feeling about Summer. Her views were unrealistic and she tried to be a hard ass so much that it pushed Damien and almost her mother away. Summer's mother is a Saint BTW. Just saying.

The overall chemistry and sex was hot. There was definitely a fire between Summer and Damien, but want too much game playing. It was exhausting. I did have some confusion on names here and there, since I think they changed a couple times in the story, but overall, it was a good story line. Just fell a little flat for me.

Just A Number ~ Fifi Flowers

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Not looking for love.

No details.

Follow rules and restrictions.

Only fun. No feelings.

Forever--not an option.

Simple Flings.

They were all just a number.

Dash Oliver and Willow Dane both shared the same philosophy.

That is, until a merger of sorts.

Thrown together by fate or serendipity, was their connection... their chemistry... their compatibility enough to convince them that their rules were made to be broken and that they belonged together?

This was a sweet, quick read. After reading this I definitely wanted to start doing yoga. I mean, a hot, sexy and smart male yoga instructor, who wouldn’t want to? Dash is not what I was expecting, but was pleasantly surprised. When he reveals his other profession, I was definitely shocked.

Willow is a strong business woman and very forward when she’s drinking. Fortunately for her, she is able to get away when some stress comes up at work and meets the sexy yoga instructor, who she doesn’t remember meeting before, but can’t keep her eyes off of him during yoga class.

Dane and Willow can’t keep their hands off each other and they definitely had chemistry. While I enjoyed the story, I couldn’t really connect with the characters. The characters didn’t interact verbally as much as I would have liked, except towards the end of the book. During those exchanges is where I really enjoyed these two.