Pages

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The Story Guy by Mary Ann Rivers















Carrie West and Brian Newburgh's book



The Story Guy


By Mary Ann Rivers



Book Blurb:In this eBook original novella, Mary Ann Rivers introduces a soulful and sexy tale of courage, sacrifice, and love. I will meet you on Wednesdays at noon in Celebration Park. Kissing only. Carrie West is happy with her life . . . isn’t she?But when she sees this provocative online ad, the thirtysomething librarian can’t help but be tempted. After all, the photo of the anonymous poster is far too attractive to ignore. And when Wednesday finally arrives, it brings a first kiss that’s hotter than any she’s ever imagined.
Brian Newburgh is an attorney, but there’s more to his life . . . that he won't share with Carrie. Determined to have more than just Wednesdays, Carrie embarks on a quest to learn Brian’s story, certain that he will be worth the cost. But is she ready to gamble her heart on a man who just might be The One . . . even though she has no idea how their love story will end?




What an original story idea that author Mary Ann Rivers created. The Story Guy was highly recommended to me by a few of my romance book loving friends and I honestly had no idea what it was about. I'm actually glad that I didn't know the story behind The Story Guy. As such, the story continued to be a fresh new novella idea for me to experience...and I loved it. 

I don't want to give too much of the story away because I don't want to ruin the experience for anyone else. 

I loved the characters Carrie and Brian. First of all I loved their plain ordinary names. Having an everyday name brought an air of realism to this couple. I was also a fan that they each wore glasses. I know it is such a small thing but once again, I felt like Carrie and Brian were just regular people. I just fell in love with this idea of romance for these ordinary regular people. There wasn't a focus on an alpha man with abs of steel nor a spit fire heroine out to prove herself. That is not to say that Carrie nor Brian was unattractive but I was so wrapped up into this story, I rather forget how they were described otherwise. Their beauty was not the draw to this captivating novella. 

I also loved the title of the book. Soooo fitting. No spoilers I promise!




Thursday, August 22, 2013

Winner of Love Struck Blog Hop!

Congratulations to Denise Zaky for being the winner of a $15 Amazon Gift Card. Denise has been emailed and confirmed. Happy shopping Denise!

Enjoy!


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Love Struck Giveaway Hop



Welcome to Another Look Book's stop on the Love Struck Giveaway Hop. Thanks to one of my favourite blogs, "Under the Covers" for hosting. 
And thank you for visiting!

I know that you are all hopping and don't want to stay long :) but I do hope you'll stick around and check out some of my reviews or take a look my recent romance book inspired trip to Scotland & England blog posts. The blog posts are extra special if you are an Outlander fan. A trip of a lifetime!!

To see any of my book reviews just click on the "Books Reviewed" tab at the top and if you are interested in the romance book setting visits that I experienced in July while I was in the UK, click here and work backwards. 

In the meantime, happy hopping!


For US or CAD Amazon



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lovestruck Giveaway Hop

1. Ali@GingerRead (INT)  40. Kiru Taye (INT)  79. Sharon Cummin  
2. Hot Listens (INT)  41. Natasha Blackthorne  80. Love Saves the World (INT)  
3. Holley Trent (INT)  42. Adria @ Adria's Romance Reviews (INT)  81. Waves of Fiction  
4. Under the Covers (Host)  43. Malia Mallory  82. Mary's Cup of Tea (US)  
5. Another Look Book Reviews CAN/US  44. Minding Spot  83. Mariana @ Book Travels  
6. K.E. Saxon  45. Sexy Erotic Xciting (USA)  84. Eliza Gayle  
7. Books of Love  46. Mary Abshire - Paranormal Romance Author  85. Alexandra Anthony  
8. Book Lovin' Mamas (US/Canada)  47. Diane Thorne - Erotic Romance Author  86. Tory Richards  
9. CS Maxwell ~ Where's My Muse? - US  48. Passionate Encounters  87. Lisa Chalmers (INT)  
10. Hesperia LovesBooks  49. Dianne Hartsock (int)  88. DC Juris  
11. MYTHICAL BOOKS (INT)  50. Laurie @Reader Girls (INT)  89. Rhonda Lee Carver  
12. LENA HART  51. The Darkside of Romance  90. Book Sniffers Anonymous (US only)  
13. Readers Confession (INT)  52. Romance Book Club (USA)  91. Kathryn Edgar  
14. Guilty Pleasures  53. Cari Silverwood, (INT)  92. Kelly Gendron ~ Erotic Romance  
15. Romance At Random US  54. Wendi Zwaduk  93. Krystal Shannan (INT)  
16. Romancing the Dark Side (INT)  55. Felicity Heaton, PNR author (INT)  94. Zoe Forward  
17. Demons do it Better  56. Cindy Jacks  95. Dariel Raye  
18. Lea Barrymire (INT)  57. Cocktails and Books (INT)  96. Booked & Loaded  
19. K.M. Scott Contemporary Romance  58. P. L. Parker (INT)  97. Syreeta & Erica@ Hardback Book Hotties  
20. Mary @SweepingMe (Int)  59. Kaitlin Bevis  98. Nancy Gideon...Romance by Any Other Name (INT)  
21. Dani Harper, PNR Author, International  60. Christina Jenny  99. Sizzling Book Blog Author Chelsea O'Neal (US)  
22. I Smell Sheep  61. Amanda J. Greene (INT)  100. Tempting Reads  
23. June Kramin (INT)  62. Naomi Bellina, Adventurous Erotic Romance (INT)  101. The Consummate Reader (US/CA)  
24. My Devotional Thoughts (WW)  63. Melinda Dozier (INT)  102. Ally Thomas  
25. Tara Rose  64. Justus Roux  103. Sarah Castille  
26. KyAnn Waters (INT)  65. Finally Ever After (int)  104. Sarah Castille (US/Can)  
27. Addicted 2 Heroines (INT)  66. The Wiccan Haus (INT)  105. Ellen Dominick  
28. LilyElement  67. Erykah Wyck (int)  106. Dee Tenorio  
29. Rebecca Hart  68. Bookswagger  107. Randi Fang (Erotic Vampire Confessions)  
30. Jennifer Lane Books (INT)  69. Rule Breaker - Susan Arden  108. Clever Girls Read (US)  
31. Cassandra Carr (INT)  70. Literal Hotties Naughty Book Reviews  109. Reading Reality  
32. Mari Carr  71. Draven St. James  110. Hennessee Andrews  
33. A Little Bit of Spice (US/CAN)  72. Madison Montgomery  111. Natalie-Nicole Bates  
34. Lily Graison [INT]  73. Blackraven's Erotic Cafe (INT)  112. Siobhan Muir (INT)  
35. Paige Tyler - Hunky Heroes & Kickbutt Heroines  74. Blackraven's Reviews (INT)  113. Georgia Lyn Hunter (INT)  
36. Froggarita's Bookcase  75. AJ's Reading Nook (INT)  114. Regina May Ross's  
37. Desiree Holte  76. The Readers Roundtable (INT)  115. Robin Peacock  
38. Susan Hayes  77. Dark Divas Reviews  116. FOR THE LOVE OF READING  
39. Simply Ali (US & INT)  78. The Jeep Diva (US & Int)  

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon














Kyrian of Thrace and Amanda Deveraux's book




Night Pleasures (Dark-Hunter book 2)

By Sherrilyn Kenyon


Book Blurb:He is solitude. He is darkness. He is the ruler of the night. Yet Kyrian of Thrace has just woken up handcuffed to his worst nightmare: An accountant. Worse, she's being hunted by one of the most lethal vampires out there. And if Amanda Devereaux goes down, then he does too. But it's not just their lives that are hanging in the balance.  Kyrian and Amanda are all that stands between humanity and oblivion. Let's hope they win.




What the heck am I missing? I am not enjoying this Dark-Hunter series at all. It took me almost an entire week to get through this second book when I usually devour a book every two days. I just didn't want to give up because I am confused on why this series is so beloved by so many readers/bloggers.

Just like the first book, Fantasy Lover, the characters are over the top with their emotions and actions. Everything is to the extreme. If Amanda is startled, she screams! Kyrian is thousands of years old yet in all his life he has never experienced the feelings he has for Amanda. Why? What is so great about Amanda? It is never explained. Kyrian changes mood faster than a hormonal teenager. (No offense to teens but I do have 3 of my own) 
One moment he can't live without her and in the next moment, he is asking her to leave. Kyrian is a total drama queen and I could not stand to read about him. As I said, I am having a serious disconnect with the characters. 

Amanda drives me nuts too. I cannot stand when an author makes their female character do the dumbest choices. She knows she is being hunted by the villain in the story yet when her creepy ex-finance calls her looking for sympathy, she leaves to go to his house. So frustrating! 

The villain of the story is vicious and I was actually thankful for an interesting character. He is completely despicable and as much as I disliked him, I was grateful for the story-line. 

So I have every single book in the series. I think it is time to sell them. Unless anyone can convince me that they get really better as I read on, I think I am going to pass. 

Teasers: handcuff beginning, horrific Roman torture, introduction to more Dark-Hunters, SUPER rich Kyrian