ARC Review: A Bloody Kingdom by JJ McAvoy

Title: A Bloody Kingdom
Author: JJ McAvoy
Series: Ruthless People #4
Genre: contemporary romance, crime

Liam and Mel.

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Blog Tour {ARC Review + Teaser}: Dominance Never Dies by Lexi Blake

Title: Dominance Never Dies
Author: Lexi Blake
Series: Masters & Mercenaries #11
Genre: bdsm, crime, romantic suspense

A loss he can’t forget

Since losing his twin brother, Theo, in the line of duty, Case Taggart has felt dead inside. The former Navy SEAL has dedicated himself to his family and their business but he can’t help but feel stuck as he watches everyone else move on with their lives. Only meeting the beautiful Mia brings Case out of his misery, until he discovered she was just a reporter looking for a story. Betrayed, he turned his back on her and never looked back.

An attraction she can’t deny

Mia Danvers can’t get Case Taggart out of her head. Though they hadn’t been lovers, she’d felt more for him than for any man she’d ever met. Growing up in the shadow of her over-protective, older brothers, she felt free when she was with Case and she longs to feel that way again. She knows that if she can find any trace of Theo Taggart, Case will be forced to let her back into his life. Months of searching have finally paid off and she knows this is her second chance.

A desperate search

Case and Mia follow the clues they hope will lead them to Theo and the villainous Hope McDonald, but the search becomes increasingly dangerous. From Dallas to South America and beyond, dark forces work against them and threaten their lives. With each step forward, Case and Mia are pulled closer together and forced to confront their mutual attraction. But when the truth about Theo is revealed, Case may have to make a choice between his brother and the only woman he’s ever loved.

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Review: Reap (Scarred Souls #2) by Tillie Cole

Title: Reap
Author: Tillie Cole
Series: Scarred Souls #2
Genre: dark, contemporary romance, suspense

Raised as a prototype for the Georgian Bratva's obedience drug, 221 fails to think, act, or live for himself; he's his master's perfectly-crafted killing puppet. Standing at six-foot-six, weighing two-hundred-and-fifty pounds, and unrivaled in to-the-death combat, 221 successfully secures business for the Georgian Mafiya Boss of NYC, who rules the dark world of the criminal underground. Until his enemies capture him.

Talia Tolstaia dreams to break from the heavy clutches of Bratva life. She dreams of another life--away from the stifling leash of her Russian Bratva Boss father and from the brutality of her work at The Dungeon, her criminal family's underground death-match enterprise. But when she stumbles upon her family's captive who is more monster than man, she starts to see the man underneath. A powerful, beautiful, damaged man whose heart calls to hers. But sacrifices must be made--blood for blood...life for life...souls for scarred souls...

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Blog Tour {ARC Review + Excerpt + Giveaway}: Sebring by Kristen Ashley

Title: Sebring
Author: Kristen Ashley
Series: Unfinsihed Hero #5
Genre: contemporary romance, erotica

Nick Sebring has issues. Born feeling like an outsider in his own family, growing up under the shadow of a brother who could do anything, Nick isn’t that great of a guy. But when this culminates with Nick lashing out to hurt his brother through the woman he loves, Nick turns inward and makes some decisions about the man he intends to be.

And as he does this, he falls in love and truly learns the man that he’s grown to be.

When his love is murdered right before Nick’s eyes, Nick knows he has to avenge her. He knows how he’s going to avenge her. And he has no qualms using Olivia Shade to exact that vengeance.

Olivia Shade has grown up on the outside of her family too. Her problem is that they don’t want her outside. They want her all the way in, right under their thumbs. She pays the price for seeking escape and learns her lesson—she’ll never see a dawn where she wakes up free.

Then she meets Nick Sebring, and even as she fights it, the hope that died years ago starts to blossom. She can find love. She can have a man of her own. She can be happy. She can be free.

Olivia hopes while Nick schemes.

However, as Nick peels back the layers of all that is Olivia Shade, he finds something surprising. He understands its fragility. He falls in love with its beauty. He seeks to protect it.

But he forgets to protect his Livvie from one thing: Nick Sebring.

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Review: Raze (Scarred Souls #1) by Tillie Cole

Title: Raze
Author: Tillie Cole
Series: Scarred Souls #1
Genre: contemporary romance, dark, crime

To take back life, one must first face death...

One man stripped of his freedom, his morals...his life.

Conditioned in captivity to maim, to kill and to slaughter, prisoner 818 becomes an unremorseful, unrivaled and unstoppable fighter in the ring. Violence is all he knows. Death and brutality are the masters of his fate.

After years of incarceration in an underground hell, only one thought occupies his mind: revenge...bloody, slow and violent revenge.

Revenge on the man who lied.

Revenge on the man who wronged him.

Revenge on the man who condemned him and turned him into this: a rage-fueled killing machine. A monster void of humanity; a monster filled with hate.

And no one will stand in the way of getting what he wants.

One woman stripped of her freedom, her morals...her life.

Kisa Volkova is the only daughter of Kirill ‘The Silencer’ Volkov, head of the infamous ‘Triad’ bosses of New York's Russian Bratva. Her life is protected. In reality, it’s a virtual prison. Her father’s savage treatment of his rivals and his lucrative and coveted underground gambling ring—The Dungeon—ensures too many enemies lurk at their door.

She dreams to be set free.

Kisa has known only cruelty and loss in her short life. As manager of her father’s death match enterprise, only grief and pain fill her days. Her mafia boss father, in her world, rules absolute. And her fiancé, Alik Durov, is no better; the Dungeon’s five-time champion, a stone-cold killer, the treasured son of her father’s best friend, and her very own—and much resented—personal guard. Unrivaled in both strength and social standing, Alik controls every facet of Kisa’s life, dominates her every move; keeps her subdued and dead inside...then one night changes everything.

While working for her church—the only reprieve in her constant surveillance—Kisa stumbles across a tattooed, scarred, but stunningly beautiful homeless man on the streets. Something about him stirs feelings deep within her; familiar yet impossibly forbidden desires. He doesn’t talk. Doesn’t communicate with anyone. He’s a man beyond saving, and a man she must quickly forget...for both their sakes.

But when weeks later, out of the blue and to her complete surprise, he’s announced as the replacement fighter in The Dungeon, Kisa knows she’s in a whole lot of trouble. He’s built, ripped and lethally unforgiving to his opponents, leaving fear in his wake and the look of death in his eyes.

Kisa becomes obsessed with him. Yearns for him. Craves his touch. Needs to possess this mysterious man...this man they call Raze.

Dark Contemporary Romance. Contains explicit sexual situations, excessive violence, disturbingly sensitive and taboo subjects, offensive language and mature topics. Recommended for age 18 years and up.

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Review: Transparent (Luminous #2) by Erin Noelle

Title:Transparent
Author: Erin Noelle
Series: Luminous #2
Genre: new adult, contemporary romance

Her elusive past didn’t worry me,

Her heartbreaking scars never made me cringe,

And her haunting demons only made me a stronger man.

But the day Blake Martin was stolen from me,

I was scared to death.

Prepared to do anything necessary to get her back,

Little did I know it just might cost me my life.

My name is Madden Decker, and this is my story.

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Release Blitz {ARC Review + Giveaway}: The Starkest Truth by Courtney Lane

Title: The Starkest Truth
Author: Courtney Lane
Series: Breaking Insanity #2
Genre: dark, abuse, psychological thriller

This is not a romance.

After her recent nuptials, Nikki Brenton is quickly thrust into a world she once avoided. Unable to adjust, her unhealthy addictions begin to tempt her and threaten to poison more than her sanity.

Nothing has ever been peaceful for Eric Brenton, and his life with Nikki is no exception. The past he suppressed has returned to wreak havoc on his life. He quickly discovers he can’t avoid his past, because it’s ready to attack him where he is most vulnerable.

When the truth is as subjective as reality, the line between trust and doubt is tested; for Nikki and Eric the line may come dangerously close to disintegrating.

Content contains descriptive violence, graphic sex, coarse language, and scenes that some readers may find objectionable. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

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Review: Motorcycle Man (Dream Man #4) by Kristen Ashley

Title: Motorcycle Man
Author: Kristen Ashley
Series: Dream Man #4
Genre: contemporary romance

Get ready to ride . . .

Tyra Masters has had enough drama to last a lifetime. Now, she's back on track and looking forward to her new, quiet life. Until she meets the man of her dreams. The tattooed, muscled biker plies her with tequila-and the best sex of her life. She knows it isn't the tequila and hot sex talking. He's the kind of man she's always wanted. Unfortunately, he's also her new boss . . .

Kane "Tack" Allen has a rule. He doesn't employ someone he's slept with. So when he learns he spent last night in bed with his new office manager, he quickly fires Tyra. Yet when Tyra stands up to him and fights for her job, Tack is intrigued. He tells her she can keep her job on one condition: no more sex. Ever. But as things heat up between them, Tack finds that he'll be the one breaking all the rules...

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Review: Reviving Izabel (In the Company of Killers #2) by J.A. Redmerski

Title: Reviving Izabel
Author: J.A. Redmerski
Series: In the Company of Killers #2
Genre: romantic suspense, crime, mystery, thriller, dark

Determined to live a dark life in the company of the assassin who freed her from bondage, Sarai sets out on her own to settle a score with an evil sadist. Unskilled and untrained in the art of killing, the events that unfold leave her hanging precariously on the edge of death when nothing goes as planned.

Sarai’s reckless choices send her on a path she knows she can never turn back from and so she presents Victor with an ultimatum: help her become more like him and give her a fighting chance, or she’ll do it alone no matter the consequences. Knowing that Sarai cannot become what she wants to be overnight, Victor begins to train her and inevitably their complicated relationship heats up.

As Arthur Hamburg’s right-hand man, Willem Stephens, closes in on his crusade to destroy Sarai, she is left with the crushing realization that she may have bitten off more than she can chew. But Sarai, taking on the new and improved role of Izabel Seyfried, still has a set of deadly skills of her own that will prove to be all she needs to secure her place beside Victor.

But there is one test that Izabel must face that has the potential to destroy everything she is working so hard to achieve. One final test that will not only make her question her decision to want this dangerous life, but will make her question everything she has come to trust about Victor Faust.

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Review: Killing Sarai (In the Company of Killers #1) by J.A. Redmerski

Title: Killing Sarai
Author: J.A. Redmerski
Series: In the Company of Killers #1
Genre: romantic suspense, abuse, crime, thriller, new adult, contemporary romance

From New York Times, USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author J.A. Redmerski, comes a dangerous and boundary-pushing new crime and suspense series, In the Company of Killers. ---

-Reading Order-

#1 - KILLING SARAI #2 - REVIVING IZABEL #3 - THE SWAN & THE JACKAL #4 - SEEDS OF INIQUITY #5 - THE BLACK WOLF

---

Sarai was only fourteen when her mother uprooted her to live in Mexico with a notorious drug lord. Over time she forgot what it was like to live a normal life, but she never let go of her hope to escape the compound where she has been held for the past nine years.

Victor is a cold-blooded assassin who, like Sarai, has known only death and violence since he was a young boy. When Victor arrives at the compound to collect details and payment for a hit, Sarai sees him as her only opportunity for escape. But things don’t go as planned and instead of finding transport back to Tucson, she finds herself free from one dangerous man and caught in the clutches of another.

While on the run, Victor strays from his primal nature as he succumbs to his conscience and resolves to help Sarai. As they grow closer, he finds himself willing to risk everything to keep her alive; even his relationship with his devoted brother and liaison, Niklas, who now like everyone else wants Sarai dead.

As Victor and Sarai slowly build a trust, the differences between them seem to lessen, and an unlikely attraction intensifies. But Victor’s brutal skills and experience may not be enough in the end to save her, as the power she unknowingly holds over him may ultimately be what gets her killed.

This is their story…

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Review: Hold On (The 'Burg #6) by Kristen Ashley

Title: Hold On
Author: Kristen Ashley
Series: The 'Burg #6
Genre: conetmporary romance, romantic suspense

Since she was young, Cher Rivers knew she was not the kind of girl who got what she wanted. A girl who could hope. A girl who could dream. She knew a happily ever after just wasn't in the cards for her.

In love for years with the last bastion of the 'burg's eligible bachelors, Garrett Merrick, Cher worked hard at making him laugh. Being one of the guys. Having him in her life the only way she could. All this knowing he was in love with another woman.

The Merrick Family is known for loving deep. So when Cecelia Merrick was murdered, it marked the Merricks in a way none of them recovered. Both Cecelia's children found love. Both turned their backs on it. But Garrett "Merry" Merrick knew in his soul the woman he divorced years ago was the one for him.

Until the night when Cher took Garrett's back and things changed. The Merrick family loves deep. They also protect fiercely. And with his eyes finally open, Garrett sees the woman who truly is for him and he goes after her.

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Review: King (King #1) by T.M. Frazier

Title: King
Author: T.M. Frazier
Series: King #1
Genre: contemporary romance, dark

Homeless. Hungry. Desperate.

Doe has no memories of who she is or where she comes from.

A notorious career criminal just released from prison, King is someone you don’t want to cross unless you’re prepared to pay him back in blood, sweat, pu$$y or a combination of all three.

King’s future hangs in the balance. Doe’s is written in her past. When they come crashing together, they will have to learn that sometimes in order to hold on, you have to first let go.

Warning: This book contains graphic violence, consensual and nonconsensual sex, drug use, abuse, and other taboo subjects and adult subject matter. Although originally slated to be a standalone, KING is now a two part series.

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Short Review: Declan + Coraline (Ruthless People #0.5) by J.J. McAvoy

Title: Declan + Corlaine
Author: J.J. McAvoy
Series: Ruthless People #0.5
Genre: contemporary romance

You Don’t Find Love, It Finds You.

Declan + Coraline takes place two years before the start of the Ruthless People. Twenty-three-year-old Coraline Wilson is fresh out of college and just wants to experience life to the fullest for the first time. On her journey towards self-discovery, she ends up meeting twenty-seven-year-old Declan Callahan. They fall for each other hard and fast…but their families may prove to be problematic…

A Ruthless People Prequel Novella (about 46,000 words)

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Review: Rock Chick (Rock Chick Series #1) by Kristen Ashley

Title: Rock Chick
Author: Kristen Ashley
Series: Rock Chick #1
Genre: contemporary romance, adult

Indy Savage, cop's daughter, rock chick and used bookstore owner, has been in love with Lee Nightingale, once bad boy, now the man behind Nightingale Investigations, since she was five years old. No matter what ingenious schemes Indy used to capture his attention, Lee never showed an interest and Indy finally gave up. Now Indy's employee, Rosie, has lost a bag of diamonds and bad guys are shooting at him. When Indy gets involved, Lee is forced to help. Complicating matters, Lee has decided he's interested, Indy's decided she's not. But she can't seem to keep Lee out of her life when she's repeatedly stun gunned, kidnapped and there are car bombs exploding (not to mention she's finding dead bodies).

Indy's best bet is to solve the mystery of the diamonds before Lee. Lee's challenge is to keep Indy alive and, at the same time, win back her heart.

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Review: Extreme Exposure (I-Team #1) by Pamela Clare

Title: Extreme Exposure
Author: Pamela Clare
Series: I-Team #1
Genre: contemporary romance, mystery, suspense

Novels such as Carnal Gift and Sweet Release made Pamela Clare's rising star shine. Now, she turns her "impressive" talents to a novel of modern romance - and breathless intrigue...

It's been years since her child's father dumped her, and since then Kara McMillan has kept men at bay - although every day she aches more for a lover's touch. But to get that, the hard-boiled journalist must become vulnerable - a feeling she vowed never to have again.

With his dangerous good looks, charm, and power, Senator Reece Sheridan could have just about any woman he sets his piercing eyes on. But he's intrigued by only one. This Kara, this gutsy investigative reporter, has a sensuality that arouses him to no end. If she's a firebrand in print, he guesses, she must be just as fiery in bed...

But this is no fling. A sudden political scandal - and attempts on Kara's life - could very well drive them apart. Or maybe, just maybe, adversity could draw them into a bond even more intense than their steamy sexual embraces.

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Review: Twisted (Blood & Roses #5) by Callie Hart

Sloane

How many times can a person fall down and still get back up? How many times can things go wrong before you just give up?

I’ve lost everything. My home, my job, my purpose in life—everything has been turned upside down. But while life hasn’t exactly turned out the way I would have liked it to, I wouldn’t change a thing. If things were different, I wouldn’t have Lacey. I wouldn’t have Michael.

But most importantly, I wouldn’t have him.

I’ve realized what I feel. He knew it before I did. Only one question remains:

Is he capable of feeling the same way?

Zeth

Secrets are a prison, and I have been behind bars for years. Sloane Romera has been turning keys in all of my locks, throwing light on corners of my mind that I thought would forever be shrouded in darkness. Or at least I had hoped would be.

I have done so many wrongs in this life, and yet this woman has forgiven me. She’s done something I never thought possible—she has learned to understand me, and she hasn’t run. She’s amazed me. She’s saved me. She’s fallen in love with me.

If it’s within my power, I’m about to do the same for her.

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Review: Fallen (Blood & Roses #4) by Callie Hart

Sloane

For over two years, Sloane Romera has pinned everything on finding Alexis. Life was going to get better. Easier. Happier. The nightmare of having a missing sister was supposed to end, and everything was supposed to go back to normal.

However, now that she’s found her sister, Sloane is discovering that life has a way of ridiculing what we expect of it.

Nothing is easier.

And ‘normal’ is falling for a man who might never be able to feel the same way.

***

Zeth

A lengthy history of breaking things with his fists has given Zeth Mayfair a fairly good idea of how to get his own way. But when his goal, the one, single woman on the face of the planet that he’s truly ever wanted, can only be obtained by fixing things instead of destroying them, how can he adjust a lifetime of violence in order to make her his once and for all? And how can he make sure that she is safe?

The first part is going to take time. But the second part…

The second part is easy.

He must kill Charlie Holsan.

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Blog Tour, ARC Review + Giveaway: American Savages by J.J. McAvoy

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: American Savages 

Author: J.J. McAvoy

Release Date: March 19, 2015

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Suspense, Thriller

The final book in the Ruthless People series is here...

“Villains by Choice."

Betrayed. Melody is nowhere to be found, Liam is in jail, and the Callahan family is cracking, just as Avian Doers, the FBI Director and puppet master behind their downfall, planned.
But just because they’re down doesn't mean they’re out. To fight back, Liam and Melody will have to put everything on the line. The kid gloves are coming off, and no one is getting out alive. Nothing will compare to the reign of terror that is about to envelope the entire country. First they were Ruthless, now they are pure Savages. The end is here, and no one is safe…

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Review: Fracture (Blood & Roses #2) by Callie Hart

Zeth Mayfair is pretty much the very last thing I need in my life. And yet with every breath I take he becomes more engrained in every aspect of it:

He has a key to my house.

He knows where I work.

He dumped his strange, mentally traumatized housemate on my doorstep and has driven off into the sunset in search of my missing sister.

I want to forget him. Want to change the locks and blot out his face, scourge his very name from my memory. The problem is that I also need him. I need him more than I need air to breath, and I can’t be without him now.

He owns me.

He torments me.

He’s fractured me.

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Review: Ruin by C.D. Reiss

Antonio is a killer. He's beautiful, educated, a prodigy of a thief and as violent a motherfucker as ever came of the boat from Napoli.

Theresa knows it, but that doesn't stop her from getting emotionally and physically entangled with him, and this is how, maybe, she got it in her head that she can protect him.

But it's not her job to save him, and she's just not getting that. Every time she tries to protect him, she practically gets him killed, and the tighter he grips her, the more dangerous she becomes.

It's almost as if...well, he'd never admit this....but it's almost as if protecting her the way he does is the one thing he should stop. As if the only way he's ever going to find a moment's peace is to just embrace her as a partner, rather than a defenseless creature.

But he'd never do that. Not this violent motherfucker.

WARNING: This book contains delicious sex scenes with a hot man dirty-talking in Italian; women handling firearms and explosives; and scenes of violence with a crystal Virgin Mary cigarette lighter.

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