REVIEW: Heiress Bride by Cynthia Woolf

Title: Heiress Bride
Series: Matchmaker & Co. Series #2
Author: Cynthia Woolf
Published Date: March 19, 2013
Publisher: self-published by author
Format: ebook
Pages: 250
ISBN: 9781938887
Copy provided by: Black Lion Book Tours
Genre: historical romance
Add to: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: Heiress Ella Davenport survived a carriage accident that killed her father. Her life saved in exchange for savage scars marring her beautiful face. Her friends, socialites, showed their true colors, casting Ella aside like damaged goods and leaving her a social pariah. Even her wealth can’t buy her the kind of marriage she wants. Desperate to find a husband who can accept her despite her scars and, without knowing about her money, she seeks to become a mail order bride. Matchmaker & Co. is her one chance to start over and leave the pain and betrayal far behind her.
Nathan Ravenclaw was run out of town by the father of the girl he was courting once he discovered Nathan’s Arapaho heritage. It didn’t matter that Nathan was a successful rancher, businessman, and a positive member of society. The white community suddenly saw only a half-breed. Even his money couldn’t buy him a wife. That was ten years ago. He moved and rebuilt everything that cold rancher once took from him. He has it all...except a wife. Matchmaker & Company promises to send him a woman willing to start a new life with him. But Nathan's battered heart lacks the ability to trust. He longs for children, not romance. His new bride, scarred and cast aside like himself, promises to be perfect for him. Until he meets his mail order bride. Fierce desire and an even more dangerous hope roar back to life within him. Two things he swore never to indulge in again. 

My Review: I'd like to thank Black Lion Book Tours and the author for letting me read this book for an honest review.

This was a really quick, mindless, enjoyable read that I needed after a supremely stressful week both at work and personally. I read it in one day, I truly enjoyed it, and would love to read the first one to see how the series started. I'd also like to see if the owner of Matchmaker &Co. finds her own man further in the series.

If you like western historical romances, you'll love this book. The only drawback to the story is that it's very cookie-cutter. Is there a recipe out there somewhere in writing romances, historical or otherwise? There must be, and if there isn't, here it is:

1. Main female character is beautiful and a virgin, could possibly have some emotional scarring somewhere along the line.

2. Main male character is drop-dead hot. Probably a warrior of some kind, definitely possessive, alpha male personality.

     Note: One or both are filthy rich.

3. Someone is out to kill/harm/maim the main female character, which then causes the main male character to realize how much he absolutely loves the main female character and provides suspense to carry the plot to the end.

4. 50% chance that pregnancy ensues, which further causes main male character's alpha male characteristics to come out even more.

5. Main characters survive and happily ever after happens.
 

This is just an observation from readng many romances throughout the years.

Now, I am not trashing the book at all. Instead, at this point, I needed this type of book and I really enjoyed it.

REVIEW: The Royal Flush by D.N. Simmons

Title: The Royal Flush
Series: #3 of the Knights of the Darkness Chronicles
Author: D.N. Simmons
Published Date: April 11, 2011
Published by: self published by author
Add to GoodReads
Buy it link from Amazon
Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: The Royal Flush is the third novel in the edgy, action-packed, sexually-charged, Knights of the Darkness Chronicles.In the third installment of this tale, the hunt is on! The coven, Pack and Pride must join forces to stop a group of big game hunters by any means necessary! Hold on to your seat as the Knights take you on yet another wild ride that will not let you go until the last word is read and the book is closed!

Original,sexy and gritty, the Knights of the Darkness Chronicles will suck you in and take you for a ride you won't forget!

Review: I'd like to thank Innovative Online Book Tours and the author for allowing me to read this book for review.

I love this book, I love this series. I love it more with each consecutive book. After the first book, I wasn't too crazy about the male on male sexual scenes, but as the series progressed, the sex scenes have been toned down and the books focus more on the story lines themselves.

During the last book, I enjoyed the introduction of the concept of both were wolves and were leopards. This time around, I've enjoyed the interaction between the wolves and the leopards. But there's so much more to the story than just the weres, there are vampires too!

The best part of the whole series is the growing relationship between Natasha the human and her lovers, Xavier and Darian, the vamps....the very strong vamps.

I can only hope the fourth book will become available for tour and review as well, because I've truly enjoyed being a host for these three books.

TOUR and GIVEAWAY: The Blasphemy Box by Mandy Behbehani

The Blasphemy Box

“You know that nightmare you’ve always had? The one where you wake up one day to find yourself fat, frumpy, fifty and alone? I’m living it.” Maddy Nelson has an idyllic existence: a handsome husband, great kids, a comfortable, affluent lifestyle. One morning soon after she turns fifty, however, she wakes up in her San Francisco home to find her husband Steven announcing that he’s leaving her for a woman half her age. And a third of her size. Ouch! Feeling totally unmoored and grieving for her married life and husband, Maddy finds herself thrust into an unfamiliar and uncomfortable world of middle-aged singledom. There, she must come to terms with her situation and embark on her new life: divorce proceedings, single parenting, internet dating, and trying to earn a living. It’s enough to drive her over the brink. To help her cope, she shares her struggles in a smart, wry blog named The Blasphemy Box, after her ex-husband’s obnoxious habit of having her drop a quarter into a wooden box every time she said something off color. Her madcap middle-aged adventures find her devoted readers who identify with her challenges. In time, Maddy recreates herself and finds happiness in the arms of a good man, and a fulfilling new career as a novelist.

Purchase Kindle / Paperback

About Author Mandy Behbehani

Mandy Behbehani grew up in England and now lives in California. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and is a professional journalist whose work has appeared in a variety of publications from the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle to W magazine, Town & Country magazine and Travel & Leisure magazine. Follow Mandy Behbehani: Blog | Facebook | Twitter Follow the Tour! The author is offering a signed paperback book, and a Swarovski crystal bracelet that is part of her jewelry line for a tour prize. Fill out the form below to Enter! a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR and GIVEAWAY: Fall of Sky City by S.M. Blooding

Fall of Sky City

Genre: New Adult Fantasy, Steampunk Adventure In a world governed by the opposing forces of the mystical House of Tarot and the tribal Great Families, Synn is caught in the crossfire. He witnesses the slaughter of innocent people, and the devastating murder of his father. This act awakens his Mark of power, a Mark greater than any the world has seen in a very long time. Queen Nix thought she won a great prize when she destroyed Synn’s father, the leader of the strongest Great Families. She had no idea she’d be doubly blessed by capturing his son. However, before Synn can become her treasured weapon, before she can use him to bring the rest of the world to its knees, she must break him and bind his soul to hers. She does her job with brutal brilliance. Synn’s mind is broken and his soul is seared to hers in an unbreakable bond. That doesn’t stop him from wanting to be free. She may have broken his mind and claimed his soul, but he will find a way to destroy her. Experience a world of ships that sail the clouds and cites buried beneath the ocean, and survive the fiery battle brought forth by those who control the forces of nature!

Buy the E-Book: At Amazon and the paperback: At Amazon

About Author SM Blooding

SM Blooding lives in Colorado with her pet rock, Rockie, Ms. Bird, the Chicken and SistaPITA. It's quite the zoo. She’s taken a break from the piano, which Ms, Bird is quite happy about, and now knows more than one word in Arabic. Basically, she can say hello, good-bye, give it to me, and hurry up! She’s dated vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, weapons smugglers and US Government assassins. Yes. She has stories.

Follow SM Blooding: Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads Follow the Tour! The Author is giving away a $50 Amazon GC. Fill out the form below to Enter! a Rafflecopter giveaway

GIVEAWAY: Heiress Bride by Cynthia Woolf

TOUR WIDE GIVEAWAY: 

PRIZE: $50 Amazon Gift Card.

Rafflecopter Code: a Rafflecopter giveaway

REVIEW: The Never by Kristina Circelli

Title: The Never
Series: none
Author: Kristina Circelli
Published Date:
Publisher:
Format: ebook
Pages: 
ASIN:
Copy provided by: Promotional Book Tours
Genre: fantasy
Add to: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: “Out of nothing, we create something.” Arianna has spent her entire life being called a dreamer, an artist who created a world no one else can see. And for her entire life, she has taken the medication that keeps that world – and the one who brought her there – at bay. Now an adult, Arianna reawakens that part of herself kept locked away in the darkest corners of her mind. When she hides her medicine from her fiancé’s ever-watchful eye, he returns – the shadow in the night who collects her for an adventure known only in her fantasies. But something is different about this world called The Never. It is no longer the cheerful place filled with light and laughter that she knew as a child. Now, the sea creatures drag their visitors into the depths of murky waters. The natives battle to the death against the tribe of children. And the pirates, led by the feared captain called The Hunter, seek out Arianna for their own sinister plans. As Arianna goes deeper into The Never, she discovers just what her connection to the land means – and must choose between her life rooted in reality, and the world where anything is possible.

My Review: I'd like to thank the author and Promotional Book Tours for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
What an awesome book. I can't say enough about it. The twist on the original story was amazing. I have to say, I kept waiting for Tinkerbell to make her official appearance, and at one point I thought she had. The story itself was great, and emotional for me at the end. I really needed a book to pull me out of my funk after the Boston Marathon bombing, and get me back into reading. This was just the book.
The only thing I didn't like was the second half of the book, where John was completely dropped from the story line till the very end. What the heck? With everything that happened before to him, I would have expected more of the same, if not even worse. As I was reading it, my mind kept wandering back to him and what should have been happening to him that we never got to see.
Overall though, it was really really good.

REVIEW: Through the Valley Love Endures by Eddie David Santiago

Title: Through the Valley Love Endures
Series: none
Author: Eddie David Santiago
Published Date: April 2013
Publisher: Hayson Publishing
Format: ebook
Pages: 360
ISBN: 1484005902
Copy provided by: Promotional Book Tours
Genre: spirituality
Add to: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: Forced to face his own mortality, Eddie Santiago fought to stay alive in a broken world. His incredible journey through heartbreak, abuse, and adversity left him with one truth: every life makes a difference. This is the true and compelling story of his supernatural quest through the valley of death, doubt, and darkness. Eddie provides a passionate story that will capture the attention of even the toughest skeptics. Angels, demons, heaven, hell, Jesus and the devil: are they fiction, or are they more real than anything else in the world?

My Review: I'd like to thank the author and Promotional Book Tours for the chance to read this book for review.
I have to say, at the very beginning of this book, I thought it was a bunch of crap. As the book progressed though, it became more believable. At the very end, I found myself wanting to believe that this sort of God exists. 
In my day job, I'm a scientist, I believe in numbers and facts and figures, so faith for me without seeing (which is the very definition of faith), is damned near impossible. I want proof, I want to see it and touch it, and see it interact with other things. Once that happens then I know its true. 
So, reading this book while in a spiritual crisis myself, was difficult. However, that didn't detract from the book itself. The book was well-written, though it felt a little strained at the beginning, almost stumbling. The pace evened out after the first few chapters and it became an interesting read for me.
I have to admit, the first few nights after reading this book, I did ask God to show Him/Her self to me in my dreams. The results? I got nothing. So, the spiritual crisis is still fully functional.