Josh and Hannah

Josh and Hannah (Redwood Falls book 1)
Lynda Chance

Amazon Blurb -

Josh Turner wants Hannah more than life itself. She's perfect and new . . . but she's a McIntyre. She's from the richest family in the county, and he's a Turner, from the wrong side of the proverbial tracks. And to make matters worse, there's no love lost between their families. 

*****
Mama mia ladies *fanning self rapidly*  this lady CAN write!!!!  I loved this book, it's a very mature YA, but that Josh Taylor is all alpha, and ya'll know I'm ALL about the alpha, holy moly!  Let's get into it...

Hannah McIntyre is a beautiful 16 year old girl, also from the town's richest family.  Her mother and father are very overprotective of her and she is finally allowed to go to her first football game with just her friend Ava.  When school witch Rachel asks Ava if she wants to stay with her and her group Hannah tells Ava it's ok.  Unbeknownst to all of them, town bad boy and major hottie Josh Taylor watches the whole thing go down and decides to save sweet Hannah from this hurt.  Taking her by the hand kissing her for all to see, he leads her away.

Josh never expected to feel like he'd been shot with adrenalin just from kissing this girl.  Young innocent, and worse, she is  out of his reach.  The Taylor's and McIntyre's are like the Hatfield's and McCoy's, no way will this work.

Slowly but surely he comes to realize she is everything to him, and Hannah feels the same.  How will they ever be able to make it work?  Both from opposite sides of the track, Josh just knows her family won't let him near her.  Hannah can't bare to be away from him, he's like her air.  Can the two ever come together and be happy?  READ IT GIRLS!!!!

I was on the edge of my seat with this book!  Young love, angst, heartbreak, this book has it all.  I love the characters, and Lynda does an exquisite job conveying all these feelings.  A great writer, thoroughly enjoyed reading and highly recommend this it.

4 1/2 cannolis

Netgalley Review- Escaping Reality, The Sectet Life Of Amy Benson

Escaping Reality, The Secret Life of Amy Benson
Lisa Renee Jones
Netgalley Review












Amazon Blurb -

His touch spirals through me, warm and sweet, wicked and hot. I shouldn't trust him. I shouldn't tell him my secrets. But how do I not when he is the reason I breathe? He is what I need. At the young age of eighteen, tragedy and a dark secret force Lara to flee all she has known and loved to start a new life. Now years later, with a new identity as Amy, she's finally dared to believe she is forgotten-even if she cannot forget. But just when she lets her guard down, the ghosts of her past are quick to punish her, forcing her back on the run. On a plane, struggling to face the devastation of losing everything again and starting over, Amy meets Liam Stone, a darkly entrancing recluse billionaire, who is also a brilliant, and famous, prodigy architect. A man who knows what he wants and goes after it. And what he wants is Amy. Refusing to take "no" as an answer, he sweeps her into a passionate affair, pushing her to her erotic limits. He wants to possess her. He makes her want to be possessed. Liam demands everything from her, accepting nothing less. But what if she is too devastated by tragedy to know when he wants more than she should give? And what if there is more to Liam than meets the eyes?

*****

Amy Benson is hiding, she's been hiding for several years now.  Someone killed her family and her life as Lara along with it and they're trying to find her.  Her guardian angel who's identity is a mystery helped her get away.  Just when she thinks all is well, her angel leaves her a note taped to the bathroom mirror in the museum she works at in New York City telling her if I found you they will, you have to leave now.  There are explicit instructions in this note on where she's going and what she will do.  Amy is not happy.  Leaving her friend and job behind and ripping her life up again has her angry, afraid, and tired.  She jumps into a cab and heads for the airport armed with a key to a locker with all the info she'll need.

 Denver is her new destination.  While waiting to get on the plane, Amy's eyes fall upon a devastatingly handsome man who notices her as well. She drags her eyes away not wanting to be noticed, only to find out he's in the seat next to her.  And so begins Amy's adventure with Liam Stone, billionaire architect and very eligible bachelor.  He knows what he wants and boy does he want Amy.  He is a major alpha who does NOT take no for an answer.  He seduces Amy who is way over her head with Liam.  Her biggest concern is Liam being hurt by those who are after her.  He knows she's hiding something about her past, her fear is he will use his resources to find out her story.

Amy is tired of running  and not knowing what happened to her family or why.  She starts digging and wonders just who she can or can't trust, even Liam.

I really liked this book, the mystery had me really going wanting to get to the end to find out who is behind this whole thing...BUT, it was a cliffhanger, ggrrrrr!!!!!!  I hate cliffhangers especially when I'm enjoying a book so much.  Now I have to get book two!!  Amy was a great character, Liam was a hot alpha.  At first I thought, "oh no fifty shades"  but thankfully it wasn't.  A couple of times I wished she would've of been a bit more forceful with him, he could have used being put in his place.  Hot and steamy love scenes but nothing to make you feel it was too much.  I sure wish it was a stand alone, other than that, read this book as long as you have patience to wait for the next one :)

4 cannolis

Louder Than Love, Netgalley Review

         

        Louder Than Love

        Jessica Topper  

     

Amazon Blurb -
In this powerful debut novel, a young librarian grieves the loss of her husband...and discovers a love that defies classification.

It's been over three years since a train accident made a widow of Katrina Lewis, sending her and her young daughter Abbey back to the suburban town of her youth...the only place that still makes sense. Lauder Lake is the perfect place to hide and heal.

Recluse rocker Adrian "Digger" Graves survived the implosion of his music career, but his muse has long lain dormant. Until Kat hires him to play at her library—not on the basis of his hard rock credentials but rather, because of the obscure kids' TV jingle he wrote years ago. In a case of mistaken identity, Adrian stumbles into the lives of Kat and her comically lovable daughter.

Using tattoos as a timeline, Adrian unfurls his life for Kat. But as the courtship intensifies, it's unclear whose past looms larger: the widow's or the rocker's. Will their demons ever rest, or will they break these soul mates apart? 

*****

Break out the tissues girls, this story will have you laughing and crying!  A great story crafted with vibrant characters that you can't help but love.

Katrina and Pete are living a wonderful life.  New parents residing in Manhattan, assessing themselves to all the culture this wonderful city has to offer with their daughter Abbey.  A fairytale till a train wreck leaves Katrina a widow with her barely year old daugnter.  Deciding to move back to her childhood home Lauder Lake N.Y. with her parents, she is surrounded by her best friends from growing up.  Her parents leave her the house and fly south to be Floridians.

Fast forward four years and Abbey is a funny sweet little girl who has a love for PBS character Maxwell MacGillikitty cat sleuth.  Katrina goes on a sleuthing mission of her own to find Adrian Graves,the man who sings the show's jingle to see if he'll sing for the kids at the town's library.

Not only does he agree, this older tattooed Brittish rocker knocks her off her feet and the two start a relationship.  Kat, as Adrian likes to call her, is falling head over heals for this man and the feeling is mutual.  Her best friends Marissa, Liz, and Leanna wait with baited breath after each outing to learn how it went.  They are excited yet a bit nervous for their friend, not wanting her to be hurt again.  What an exciting ride to travel this road back to life with Katrina.  It's like you're right there with her feeling all her nerves, worries, and elation as she starts to fall in love with him.

I loved experiencing her excitement, sorrow, happiness and anger.  This book was such a joy.  From her best friends, to her high school sweetheart Grant who was a jerk with a capital J, to Adrian fighting the feeling of competing with a ghost.

If there was only one thing that I had a hard time with, it was the description of Adrian.  For some reason I couldn't get Rod Stewart out of my head.  I kept pushing that image away.  Read this book, you will laugh, cry, get angry and feel good.  Jessica Topper writes with such ease it's like a lucsious vanilla custard, simple yet so devine.  She is able to make you coast through the book feeling like you're right there with all of them!

4 cannolis

A Dangerous Fiction

A Dangerous Fiction

Barbara Rogan

Read by request in return for review

Amazon Blurb -

Jo Donovan always manages to come out on top. From the backwoods of Appalachia, she forged a hard path to life among the literati in New York City. At thirty-five, she’s the widow of the renowned author Hugo Donovan and the owner of one of the best literary agencies in town. Jo is living the life she dreamed of but it’s all about to fall apart.

When a would-be client turns stalker, Jo is more angry than shaken until her clients come under attack. Meanwhile, a biography of Hugo Donovan is in the works and the author’s digging threatens to destroy the foundations of Jo’s carefully constructed life. As the web of suspicion grows wider and her stalker ups the ante, she’s persuaded by her client and friend—FBI profiler-turned-bestselling-thriller writer—to go to the police. There Jo finds herself face-to-face with an old flame: the handsome Tommy Cullen, now NYPD detective.

*****

Jo Donovan is the successful head of  a literary agency in New York City.  She is the widow of renowned author Hugo Donovan and is fiercely protective of their life together.  She leads what some would consider a charmed life, respected in her field, attractive, financially secure.

After leaving work on her way to one of her best author's launch party, she's surprised by a stranger who tries to push his manuscript on her.  Trying to politely tell him no, his persistence starts to frighten her as he gets overbearing.  Luckily co-worker Jean-Paul comes to her rescue.

From that point forward "Sam Spade" as he's been dubbed begins stalking her. Jo's life is in an upheaval as two of her friends are murdered and the police are looking at her with a suspicious eye. Her ally on the force is old flame Tommy Cullen.  Still handsome, Jo tries to ignore her attraction in the midst of all the madness surrounding her.  She has to wonder if she'll be next, or if she'll wind up framed for the killings.

I enjoyed this book immensely.  It was a bit slow at first, but then took off.  Jo was a decent character I had a bit of a hard time warming to her.  The supporting cast was fantastic.  I loved Molly and Max.   A true who dunnit to the end! Barbara Rogan's writing is as smooth as silk. The pages just flow effortlessly. I highly recommend this book if  you love the thrill of thrillers ;)

4 cannolis

The Edge of Never

The Edge of Never
J.A. Redmerski
Netgalley Review













Amazon Blurb -

Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett thought she knew exactly where her life was going. But after a wild night at the hottest club in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, she shocks everyone-including herself-when she decides to leave the only life she's ever known and set out on her own. Grabbing her purse and her cell phone, Camryn boards a Greyhound bus ready to find herself. Instead, she finds Andrew Parrish.

Sexy and exciting, Andrew lives life like there is no tomorrow. He persuades Camryn to do things she never thought she would and shows her how to give in to her deepest, most forbidden desires. Soon he becomes the center of her daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But there is more to Andrew than Camryn realizes. Will his secret push them inseparably together-or destroy them forever?
*****

Camryn feels choked, she doens't know how to tell those around her how she feels, or what she really  wants.  One day she just decides to jump on a Greyhound and go for a trip.  While on her little adventure she meets Andrew, and so begins a real adventure she never expected.

Andrew wasn't looking for love, he certainly never thought he'd find it in a spunky girl riding the bus.  Camryn sparks something in him he's never felt and showing her how to say what she wants and how she feels is givnig him more pleasure than he thought he'd imagined.  

Together they begin a journey that sparks passion, laughter, and fun.  Thing is, Andrew wasn't looking for a relationship and he doesn't know if he can keep this up with what is happening in his own life.  Camryn may have bit off more than she can handle.

This was a decent book.  It didn't bore me and the characters were good.  At times it got a bit predictable and it seemed the author was trying to go the dom/sub route which some seem to think is all the rage, and it just seemed forced to me, not necessary at all.

3 cannolis