Review: Off the Clock by Roni Loren

Off the Clock (Pleasure Principle #1) by Roni Loren

Publication Date: January 5th 2016 by Berkley

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | The Book Depository

About the book:

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LOVING ON THE EDGE NOVELS, THE FIRST IN A SENSUAL NEW SERIES

Overtime has never felt so good…

Marin Rush loves studying sex. Doing it? That’s another story. In the research lab, Marin’s lack of practical knowledge didn’t matter, but now that she’s landed a job at The Grove, a high-end, experimental sex therapy institute, she can’t ignore the fact that the person most in need of sexual healing may be her.

Dr. Donovan West, her new hotshot colleague, couldn’t agree more. Donovan knows that Marin’s clients are going to eat her alive unless she gets some hands-on experience. And if she fails at the job, he can say goodbye to a promotion, so he assigns her a list of R-rated tasks to prepare her for the wild clientele of The Grove’s X-wing.

But some of those tasks are built for two, and when he finds Marin searching for a candidate to help her check off her list, Donovan decides there’s only one man for the job—him. As long as they keep their erotic, off-the-clock activities strictly confidential and without strings, no one will get fired—or worse, get attached…

Exclusive to this edition only—a bonus short story

My Thoughts:

Marin and Donovan first meet when they both are working late at college, each in their own research study.  One thing leads to another and they share an explosive night. The lead-up alone was fiery! Marin never expects to see Donovan again after a tragedy forced her to drop out of school and put the broken pieces of her family back together.  Years later, their paths collide again when Marin takes a job as a sex therapist at The Grove, an elite sex therapy institute that caters to the rich and famous, and Donovan is to be her trainer.  Getting back to school and supporting her brother had been the focus of her life, so while Marin’s really good at studying and researching all things sexual, she has almost zero personal experience.  This becomes glaringly obvious as she begins working, but Donovan oh-so-generously offers to help rectify that problem.  Let the fun begin!

In Off the Clock things between Marin and Donovan get heated very quickly, but they have an abrupt and sad end.  Even after the years apart, sparks fly when they meet again. Both Marin and Donovan have past baggage, and Donovan’s seemed to struggle more with his past than Marin did, but I enjoyed delving deep into what made these two tick.  Whatever issues they had, there was no denying the powerful attraction each stirred in the other. Marin and Donovan definitely “imprinted” on each other all those years earlier. Their dates were intense and out of control, in the best possible way.  Even when they weren’t tearing their clothes off they genuinely got along, and I adored the playful side they brought out in each other.  I laughed several times at their exchanges:

Marin: Need me to bring anything?

Donovan: Spiked heels, head-to-toe vinyl, and a vat of Crisco.

She blinked, and her phone buzzed again.

Donovan: For me, of course. I look great in vinyl and my shoe size is 13.

Roni Loren has come to be my favorite erotic romance writer.  For a romance to be truly hot, the writer must seduce your mind first, and I find Ms. Loren never disappoints.  She always builds a solid and sizzling foundation between her complex characters, and her novels have been some of the steamiest, kinkiest stories I’ve ever read!  I can’t wait for the next in the Pleasure Principle series!  I just read on her blog that it will feature Lane, one of The Grove’s sexual surrogates.  That should be very interesting!

As with many of Roni Loren’s books, there’s a bonus novella/short story at the end, One Night Only.  Getting a romance for Bianca, one of the patients at The Grove, was an immense treat!  

4 Suns

Connect with Roni Loren:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads

Waves of Sunday #83: How to Save a Life by Emma Scott

Welcome to our weekly edition of Waves of Sunday where each Sunday we spotlight a book that has been making waves in the book scene or has simply caught our attention causing a riptide on our TBR.

Today we are spotlighting:

How to Save a Life by Emma Scott

Expected publication: February 9th 2016

Josephine Clark is trapped. A harrowing past haunts her every time she looks in the mirror, and she can’t escape the violence of her everyday life. More and more, her thoughts turn to Evan Salinger, the boy she knew in high school. The boy they called a mental case. A loner. A freak. The boy who seemed to know things no one could know. For a few short weeks, Jo had found perfect solace in Evan’s company, sneaking every night to meet him at the local pool. In the cool of the water and the warmth of Evan’s arms around her, Jo had tasted something close to happiness.


Cruel circumstances tore them apart, and four years later, the sweet memory of their time together is dissolving under the punishing reality of Jo’s life now. Evan seems like a fading dream…until he reappears at the moment she needs him most. Guided by Evan’s strange intuition, they flee her small Louisiana town, running from police and criminals alike, and Jo begins to suspect there is something more to his sudden return than he admits.

Over twelve days across America’s heartland, deep secrets come to light, buried pasts are unearthed, and the line between dreams and reality is blurred as Evan and Jo fight to hold on to their soul-deep love, and discover that there is more than one way to save a life. 

Arlene's Thoughts
This book caught my attention for two reasons…First being the obvious which was the book cover. Enough said on that point… :) Second was that it reminded me a bit of Reclaiming the Sand by A. Meredith Walters.  Lovers that were once close friends always has a way of tapping into my emotional side. Couple that with what looks like a road trip, and I can't wait to get my hands on Emma Scott's novel How to Save a Life!

Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway: F*ck Love by Tarryn Fisher

F*ck Love by Tarryn Fisher

Published: December 31st 2015

Purchase Links:  Amazon US  |  Amazon UK  |  B&N  |  iTunes  |  KOBO  |  Smashwords

Helena Conway has fallen in love.

Unwillingly. Unwittingly.

But not unprovoked.

Kit Isley is everything she’s not—unstructured, untethered,and not even a little bit careful.

It could all be so beautiful … if he wasn’t dating her best friend.

Helena must defy her heart, do the right thing, and think of others.

Until she doesn’t.

My Thoughts

F*ck Love is the first book I’ve read in over a month, and I couldn’t put it down! It was so f*ckin' good that it shattered my reader’s block. Thank GAWD! This story is filled with twisted moments, muggle madness, and all sorts of lovely revelations that I felt like I traveled with Helena from Florida to Washington and everywhere in between in two short sittings. Every emotion, every fall, every painful moment was so clearly exposed that I felt absolutely vested in the story. 

In F*ck Love, Helena Conway has a vivid dream about her best friend’s boyfriend.  In that dream, Kit and Helena are married, have a child, and are madly in love. However, this can’t be farther from the truth than her current reality, where she’s in a relationship and hasn’t noticed Kit in the six months he’s been dating Della.

However, with a dream that feels so real, Helena can’t help but look for ways to make it her reality. She begins to make small changes in her life that parallel her dream, including taking art classes, acquiring a taste for wine, and unwillingly crushing on the one guy she should stay far away from. 

When her feelings for Kit become too much and her friendship with Della becomes strained, Helena does what she know best, which is to run away and leave Florida for the farthest point northwest. For reasons unknown, Helena heads to Kit’s hometown of Port Townsend, Washington and takes up residence with his ex-girlfriend Greer! I kid  you not! But don’t worry. There’s nothing stalkerish to fret about. How can Helena be creepy when she has so many loveable quirks, awkward moments and clumsy tendencies?  Helena loves Harry Potter, manages to trip on anything in her path, and speaks her mind despite how off-the-wall it seems.  Undeniably, Kit notices all of Helena's oddities and they begin to develop feelings for one another.

There was so much I enjoyed about this story. Setting aside the lusting after your best friend's boyfriend, I was able to connect with the meaning of the story, which is about searching for your truth. Finding your perspective and embracing your ultimate reality. 

“Who wants to hide from the truth? Maybe people who have had too much of it. Or people who have had too little. Or people who are too shallow to appreciate its hard edges. #TRUTH”

I also appreciated Fisher’s message about the difficulties of love. Where most people believe love should be easy and effortless, it’s really not. It comes with twists and turns, hurts and healings, as well as wins and losses.

"Embrace the lows so that you can more effectively enjoy the highs. Love the fight. Love it so much, and let it save you when your emotional muscles have become soft."

Every now and again, we catch Fisher’s inner geek through her Harry Potter references. I loved those moments! Being an avid fan that has placed herself in the house of Ravenclaw, I appreciated all the magical and muggle references!

"Fuck fear, and fuck Kit, and fuck love. I don’t need any of that muggle shit."

There was quite a bit of this story that reminded me of the Love Me with Lies series, and I attribute it to Tarryn Fisher reverting to her natural form of story-telling… a story that is her #TRUTH. Fisher has a way of taking you on an emotional journey where as a reader you reluctantly surrender your senses and allow yourself to experience the awkward moments, painful revelations and hard-earned endings of the characters you can't help falling for. I was hooked and I couldn’t pick a better novel to start off my reading journey for 2016. Thanks Tarryn Fisher for an emotional, awkward and twisted tale of love. I needed that…

5 Suns

Helena’s Harrowing Playlist

  

 Kit’s Playlist 

Chapter One Excerpt

 #wtf

“You are supposed to be with me.”

What words are these? They startle me, and at first I think I’ve heard him wrong. He’s leaning across the table while our significant others are twenty feet away, waiting in line for our food.

“You and me,” he says. “Not us and them.”

I blink at him before I realize he’s making a joke. I laugh and go back to looking at my magazine. Actually, it’s not really a magazine. It’s a math journal, because I’m super cool like that.

“Helena…” I don’t look up right away. I’m afraid to. If I look up and see that he’s not joking, everything will change.

“Helena.” He reaches out and touches my hand. I jump, pull back. My chair makes a horrid scraping sound, and Neil looks over. I pretend that I dropped something and reach under the table. Under the table are our shoes and legs. There is a blue crayon lying at my feet; I pick it up and resurface. Neil is at the front of the line ordering our food, and my best friend’s boyfriend is waiting for my response, his eyes heavy with burden.

“Are you drunk?” I hiss. “What the fuck?”

“No,” he says. Though he doesn’t look so sure. For the first time, I notice the scruff on his face. The skin around his eyes is sallow. He’s going through something, maybe? Life is being bullshit.
“If this is a joke, you’re making me really uncomfortable,” I tell him. “Della is right there. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I only have ten minutes, Helena.” His eyes move to the blue crayon, which is resting between our hands.

“Ten minutes for what? You’re sweating,” I say. “Did you take something, are you on the crack?” What type of drugs make you sweat like that? Crack? Heroine?

I want Neil and Della to come back. I want everything to go back to normal. I spin around to see where they are.

“Helena…”

“Stop saying my name like that.” My voice shakes. I make to stand up, but he grabs the crayon, then my hand.

 “I don’t have much time. Let me show you.”

He’s sitting very still, but his eyes remind me of a cornered animal: frightened, panicked, bright. I’ve never seen that look on his face, but since Della’s only been dating him for a few months, it’s a moot point. I don’t really know this guy. He could be a druggie for all I know. He turns my hand over so it’s palm up, and I let him. I don’t know why, but I do.

He places the crayon in my palm and closes my fist around it.

“You have to say it out loud,” he says. “Show me, Kit.”

“Say it, Helena. Please. I’m afraid of what will happen if you don’t.”

Because he looks so afraid, I say it.

“Show me, Kit.” And then, “Should I know what this is?”

“No one should,” he says. And then everything goes black.

Author Bio


Tarryn Fisher is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of eight novels. Her newest novel, F*ck Love, released on New Year’s Eve, 2015 and she is currently working on the third installment of Never Never. She is the co-founder of Clothed Caption, a fashion blog she runs with her friend, Madison Seidler. Tarryn resides in the Seattle area with her family. She loves rainy days, Coke, and thinks Instagram is the new Facebook. Tarryn is represented by Amy Tannenbaum of the Jane Rotrosen Agency.

Author Links:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Twitter

Enter for a chance at Kindle copies of F*ck Love and a signed wine cork from Marrowstone Vineyards.

F*ck Love by Tarryn Fisher Blog Tour

Release Launch & Review: Seduction in Session by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake

Seduction in Session (The Perfect Gentlemen #2) by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake

Publication Date: January 5th 2016 by Berkley

Purchase Links: Amazon | Amazon UK | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo | Amazon Print

About the book:

Privileged, wealthy, and wild: they are the Perfect Gentlemen of Creighton Academy. But the threat of a scandal has one of them employing his most deceptive—and seductive—talents…

Recruited into the CIA at a young age, Connor Sparks knows how dirty the world can be. Only when he’s with his friends can he find some peace. So when an anonymous journalist threatens one of the Perfect Gentlemen, Connor vows to take down the person behind the computer, by whatever means necessary—even if it means posing as his target’s bodyguard.

Publishing a tabloid revealing Washington’s most subversive scandals has earned Lara Anderson the ire of the political scene—and a slew of death threats. To keep herself from ending up a headline, Lara hires a bodyguard, a man as handsome as he is lethal.

When the bullets start to fly, Lara is surprised to find herself in Connor’s arms. But as they begin to unravel a mystery that just might bring down the White House, Lara is devastated when she discovers Connor’s true identity—and finds herself at the mercy of forces who will stop at nothing to advance their deadly agenda.

My Thoughts:

Opposites attract with fiery hot chemistry in this installment of The Perfect Gentlemen series, and I devoured this addictive story!  Lara was the sweet, “fairy princess” with a pure heart, and Connor was the gruff, protective, alpha male.  

The Perfect Gentlemen are a tight knit group of friends, each have grown up into power and riches, but have always been loyal, sticking together like brothers.  Connor, the “scholarship” kid went into the CIA after graduating, and spent so much of his life doing whatever it took to keep his friends and country safe that he’s become cynical.  He doesn’t believe Lara Armstrong could run an exposé type blog like Capitol Scandals without malicious intent.  Lara covertly runs Capitol Scandals, a news blog that uncovers governmental corruption. She comes to the attention of The Gentlemen when an informant hints at Lara having information on two of The Gentlement: Zack, the current US President, and Maddox, who was murdered (in the last book).  When someone starts sending threats to Lara, it gives Connor the perfect excuse to insert himself into her life as her bodyguard all the while snooping for information. However, when he meets Lara, with her big crusading heart, Connor begins to see her motives are sincere. 

Lara’s passionate with her causes and determination to expose injustice, but she never thought she’d feel passionate in love.  While engaged, she never felt the overwhelming attraction and lust she feels every time Connor looks at her.  He’s not the sort of man she’d ever pick:  caveman, carnivore, rough around the edges, and bossy! But he’s direct and honest (with his heart, at any rate) and Lara senses underneath all the hardness is a man who craves love and affection.

Shayla Black and Lexi Blake wrote multilayered, imperfect characters, and it was impossible not to love the sweet and idealistic, Lara.  Even though I thought Connor was kind of a jerk at times, his heart was mostly in the right place, and I couldn’t help but love him, too. Delicious push and pull between Lara and Connor built steam making their romance wickedly hot!  I do love a bossy alpha male!  

The mystery behind Lara’s threats provided exciting thrills and suspense, and I wondered who could be behind it all.  Nice to be surprised!  There was a little progress with the continuing investigation into Mad’s death, and a few surprising revelations about Zack’s murdered wife, Joy.  I can’t wait for Zack’s story, but Dax’s story is up next.  After reading what happened in his past, his second chance romance is going to be a bumpy road!

4.5 Suns

ABOUT SHAYLA BLACK:

Shayla Black is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than forty novels. For over fifteen years, she’s written contemporary, erotic, paranormal, and historical romances via traditional, independent, foreign, and audio publishers. Her books have sold well over a million copies and been published in a dozen languages.

Raised an only child, Shayla occupied herself with lots of daydreaming, much to the chagrin of her teachers. In college, she found her love for reading and realized that she could have a career publishing the stories spinning in her imagination. Though she graduated with a degree in Marketing/Advertising and embarked on a stint in corporate America to pay the bills, her heart has always been with her characters. She’s thrilled that she’s been living her dream as a full-time author for the past seven years.

Shayla currently lives in North Texas with her wonderfully supportive husband, her teenage daughter, and a very spoiled cat. In her “free” time, she enjoys reality TV, reading, and listening to an eclectic blend of music.

Visit Shayla’s website: http://shaylablack.com/
Visit Shayla on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShaylaBlackAuthor/?fref=ts
Visit her Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Shayla-Black/e/B001IOFJQM/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1451315186&sr=8-2-ent

ABOUT LEXI BLAKE:

NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn't until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.

Her first novel, Their Virgin Captive: Masters of Ménage, Book 1, was a collaboration with New York Times bestselling author Shayla Black. There are six more books available in the series: Their Virgin's Secret, Their Virgin Concubine, Their Virgin Princess, Their Virgin Hostage, Their Virgin Secretary, and Their Virgin Mistress.

In addition to the Masters of Ménage series, she is the author of the Masters and Mercenaries series. The first nine novels, The Dom Who Loved Me, The Men with the Golden Cuffs, A Dom is Forever, On Her Master's Secret Service, Love and Let Die, Dungeon Royale, A View to a Thrill, You Only Love Twice, and Master No are available now, along with the novellas Sanctum, Unconditional, Dungeon Games, Cherished, Luscious, Adored, and Just One Taste. The tenth novel, From Sanctum with Love, is coming February 23, 2016, along with a new novella, Devoted, on April 12, 2016.

In 2013, Lexi also began releasing her urban fantasy series, Thieves. The full series, Steal the Light, Steal the Day, Steal the Moon, Steal the Sun, and Steal the Night, are available now on Amazon. The first two books in a spin-off of the series, Ripper and Addict, were released in 2015. Look for Sleeper, the next book in the spin-off series, to be released in Fall of 2016.

Lexi again collaborated with Shayla Black in a new series The Perfect Gentlemen. The first book, Scandal Never Sleeps, is now available. Book two, Seduction in Session, will release on January 5, 2016, followed by book three, Big Easy Temptation, on May 3, 2016.

Sign up for Lexi's FREE newsletter at http://lexiblake.net .

For more information about her books, her appearances and her wacky life visit her Facebook page (http://goo.gl/q2IHnJ) or her website (http://www.lexiblake.net) .

Cover Reveal: Reaper's Fire by Joanna Wylde

I'm a big fan of Joanna Wylde's Reaper's MC series so I'm thrilled to be part of the cover reveal for the next installment, Reaper's Fire! I read a teaser of Gage and Tinker's story and I'm already hooked! Can't wait to read their story!  So without further ado, here is the drool-worthy cover:

Reaper's Fire (Reapers MC #6) by Joanna Wylde

Publication Date: June 28th 2016 by Berkley

Purchase Links: 

Amazon US | Amazon UK | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Google Play

About the book:

New York Times bestselling author Joanna Wylde returns to the “wild and raw”* world of the Reapers MC with the story of Gage and Tinker…

The club comes first.

I’ve lived by those words my whole life—assumed I’d die by them, too, and I never had a problem with that. My Reaper brothers took my back and I took theirs and it was enough. Then I met her. Tinker Garrett. She’s beautiful, she’s loyal, and she works so damned hard it scares me sometimes . . . She deserves a good man—one better than me. I can’t take her yet because the club still needs me. There’s another woman, another job, another fight just ahead.

Now she’ll learn I’ve been lying to her all along. None of it’s real. Not my name, not my job, not even the clothes I wear. She thinks I’m nice. She pretends we’re just friends, that I’ve still got a soul . . . Mine’s been dead for years. Now I’m on fire for this woman, and a man can only burn for so long before he destroys everything around him.

I’m coming for you, Tinker.

Soon.

About the Author:

Joanna Wylde is a New York Times bestselling author and creator of the Reapers Motorcycle Club series. She currently lives in Idaho.

Stalk Her: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

Book Blitz: Before Goodbye by Mimi Cross

Before Goodbye
Mimi Cross
Published by: Skyscape
Publication date: January 1st 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Music means more than anything to high school student Cate Reese; it’s also what unites her with Cal Woods. Devoted classical guitar players, Cate and Cal are childhood friends newly smitten by love—until a devastating car accident rips Cal out of Cate’s life forever. Blaming herself for the horrific tragedy and struggling to surface from her despair, Cate spirals downhill in a desperate attempt to ease her pain.
Fellow student David Bennet might look like the school’s golden boy, but underneath the surface the popular athlete battles demons of his own. Racked with survivor’s guilt after his brother’s suicide, things get worse when tragedy darkens his world again—but connecting with Cate, his sister’s longtime babysitter, starts bringing the light back in.
As Cate and David grow closer, the two shattered teenagers learn to examine the pieces of their lives…and, together, find a way to be whole again.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

EXCERPT:

CONNECTION
CATE

The sheet music perches on the black metal stand, a stack of white flags begging for surrender. But I will not. The music itself looks like a war zone: Pencil strikes are everywhere, the pages filled with casualties—discarded fingerings, interpretive markings. Added, then savagely crossed out. I am trying desperately to get the changes right, Cal’s changes.
The upcoming concert is my inspiration to get up in the morning. Making these changes is my homage to Cal, my connection to him.
But the Brooklyn gig . . . that show was for us. I need to cancel, yet can’t make the call.
There are so many people I can’t seem to call, my friends in the city—some who knew Cal. A few have called me, but I’m not sure that it matters. They all seem a lifetime away.
Besides the addition and blackened subtraction of musical direction, there are comments written in my music: maybe I’m just a crazy person with this boy in my head.
Cal Woods is not the only guy on my mind.
When Mr. Close finally showed today, he acted like he didn’t know why David and I were there. He probably just didn’t want to punish David for something everyone wanted to do, and he didn’t want to punish me because he doesn’t even know who I am. Half the time in PE I’m like a ghost. Or maybe Close knew I didn’t deserve a detention. Yes, I served a volleyball at the back of Dee’s head, but it couldn’t have hit her that hard, I can’t spike for shit. Of course the volleyball incident was right after I went off on her for telling me not to call Laurel. That was a big deal—to me, but not to her. So neither of these things should have sent her crying to Close. I think she was just pissed at me because of that guy she was talking to earlier.
I haven’t been able to go into the cafeteria for lunch since the accident—too many people, too many eyes on me. Hardly anyone at school knew Cal, but the fact that I was in the car with someone who died in an accident on Chapel Hill Road means that now everybody knows me.
So I’ve been going to the library with my lunch, when I remember to bring it, but I didn’t quite make it today. I couldn’t. Couldn’t stop crying.
Laurel heard I was having a meltdown in the girls’ room and came looking for me. We’d just taken seats outside on the stone wall surrounding the patio when Dee appeared at the far end.
“Dee.” Her name was a small noise escaping my lips, a sound not at all like Laurel’s secret sharing whisper-hiss, but more like choking. Dee was the last person I needed to see.
Laurel waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about her. You’re all pale. I’m going to get you some food.”
I nodded, then glanced back at Dee. But she’d already turned away, calling to a tall boy with dark hair standing at the edge of the woods that border the closest playing field.
Even with everything I was feeling, as the boy approached the patio, I was struck by his looks—he had that kind of face. Plus, he seemed familiar for some reason. But it wasn’t his face or the odd feeling of familiarity that got my attention. He was carrying a guitar case.
I watched him, watched Dee bum a cigarette. But when she started using it to gesticulate, jabbing it angrily in his direction as she spoke, he appeared to stop listening. His eyes flitted from face to face—Till they landed on mine.
One summer the Ridgeways took me to Montana, to a dude ranch called Triangle X where we rode horses all day. Out West the sky is somehow higher and wider, bluer.
Even from where I sat on the wall, I could see the boy’s blue eyes. They reminded me so much of that sky . . . I couldn’t look away.
Dee followed his gaze and shot me a cyanide smile, then tugged on his arm. But even as they were walking away, the dark-haired boy’s eyes held mine, his head swiveling to keep the connection. There was a slow-motion feel to everything as my head turned, too—
But then Laurel returned, plopping down on the wall, and time snapped back to its normal tempo. A minute later, I’d forgotten all about the boy. But maybe Dee hadn’t. She’s with Laurel now, but who knows. Maybe she had a thing with this guy.
I picture her jabbing her cigarette in his direction. Obviously, she knows him well.
So, right, I bet that’s what it is. Not the volleyball, the boy. Then again, Dee would find a way to hate me no matter what. No one has ever really hated me before, except . . . That night, the night David insisted on talking about. Wasn’t what happened just another kind of hate?
My left hand travels automatically up and down the fretboard, fingertips splayed like spider legs, running scales again and again. The fingers of my right hand dutifully hop from string to string— but these exercises don’t absorb me, not fully, not now.
Closing my eyes, I concentrate harder. Hammer-ons, pull-offs, be stiller than still. Classical musicians must not move, must not let our bodies express. The music expresses. We are merely the vehicles for the composers. For Saint Cecilia, for the Muses. Maybe, even, for God.
I do not play an instrument; I am the instrument. I serve.
My fingers move up and down the fretboard, skip, skip, skip across the strings . . .
Silently, a window in my attention span slides open. At first I notice nothing, too busy playing . . . But then a dark intruder—a recent memory—slips over the sill like vapor.

Author Bio:
Mimi Cross was born in Toronto, Canada. She received a master's degree from New York University and a bachelor's degree in music from Ithaca College. She has been a performer, a music educator, and a yoga instructor. During the course of her musical career, she's shared the bill with artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, and Sting. She resides in New Jersey.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by:

Review & Giveaway: The Dirt on Ninth Grave

The Dirt on Ninth Grave (Charley Davidson #9) by Darynda Jones

Publication Date: January 12th 2015 by St. Martin Press

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

About the book:

In a small village in New York lives Jane Doe, a girl with no memory of who she is or where she came from. So when she is working at a diner and slowly begins to realize she can see dead people, she's more than a little taken aback. Stranger still are the people entering her life. They seem to know things about her. Things they hide with lies and half-truths. Soon, she senses something far darker. A force that wants to cause her harm, she is sure of it. Her saving grace comes in the form of a new friend she feels she can confide in and the fry cook, a devastatingly handsome man whose smile is breathtaking and touch is scalding. He stays close, and she almost feels safe with him around.

But no one can outrun their past, and the more lies that swirl around her—even from her new and trusted friends—the more disoriented she becomes, until she is confronted by a man who claims to have been sent to kill her. Sent by the darkest force in the universe. A force that absolutely will not stop until she is dead. Thankfully, she has a Rottweiler. But that doesn't help in her quest to find her identity and recover what she's lost. That will take all her courage and a touch of the power she feels flowing like electricity through her veins. She almost feels sorry for him. The devil in blue jeans. The disarming fry cook who lies with every breath he takes. She will get to the bottom of what he knows if it kills her. Or him. Either way.

My Thoughts:

The Charley Davidson series is one of my favorite urban fantasy/paranormal romances out there.  Darynda Jones’ humor had me laughing out loud most of the book!  She writes Charley with a sort of slapstick humor and her sidekick, Cookie is on the same hilarious, A.D.D. wavelength!  The run of comedy has me snorting and giggling, enough to get some odd glances from anyone around, (something to keep in mind if you read in public) and so sometimes when things get very dire it’s almost a shock.  It does help temper the truly horrible things Charley has been through over the years, and I do admire her positive outlook and unwillingness to let anything get her down.  Her recklessness has always been a source of frustration for me, but at the heart of it is the complete self-sacrificing spirit she has for others.  While I am angry with Charley a lot (right along with Reyes) for her rash actions, her motivations come from a sincere love of other people, so I can never hold a grudge. 

From here on out, if you haven’t read the previous books in the series there will be some SPOILERS.  Proceed with caution.  If you haven’t read the other books, stop, run, and pick up the first book!

The Dirt on Ninth Grave was definitely different from the previous installments, and yet, also the same.  We had the same Charley at her core, even though she lost her memory and ended up on the other side of the country in Sleepy Hollow, New York.  All the regulars followed and played along so as not to traumatize Charley anymore. It was a little painful to see Charley and Reyes unsure of each other, but it was also kind of sweet watching them fall in love all over again, making it abundantly clear that nothing will stand in the way of their love.  Of course, there were hot and steamy scenes!  Anytime Reyes and Charley are together things turn hot and explosive!

There were several mysteries besides the continuing story arc of the series, as with the other installments.  I was moved by all but the Vandenberg mystery, and unfortunately, it seemed like it took up the most page time.  Plus, I’d scratch my head when Charley would be so worried about them and then get distracted by another conflict and forget.  I did enjoy Erin’s story and how it all turned out.  I wish more time was spent on Ian Jefferies’ past and the retired detective, Mr. Pettigrew. Don’t get me started on the bittersweet story of Lewis, Shayla, and Francie.   Not much plot progression on the continuing story arc because so much time was spent with Charley as “Janey” without her memory.  I wished that was resolved sooner in the story. 

Still, I enjoyed this story, like I said, this is one of my favorite series’, and with all the books and stories I almost feel like Charley and the gang are old friends.   I can hardly wait to hang with Charley and the gang in the next book!  

3.5-4 Suns

Connect with Darynda Jones:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

The lovely people of St. Martin's Press have generously provided TWO copies of The Dirt on Ninth Grave to giveaway to two Waves of Fiction followers!  The giveaway is open to US and Canadian Residents only.  Simply fill out the rafflecopter for a chance to win!