Made the Grade: Runaway Train Series, Book 1

Format: Kindle Edition | File Size: 535 KB | Release Date: March 24, 2013 | Publisher: Self-Published | Obtained: Amazon.com

"Music of the Heart" [Runaway Train Series, Book 1] by Katie Ashley

Author's Book Description : For Abby Renard, the plan was supposed to be simple—join her brothers’ band on the last leg of their summer tour and decide if she’s finally ready for the limelight by becoming its fourth member. Of course, she never imagined stumbling onto the wrong tour bus at Rock Nation would accidentally land her in the bed of Jake Slater, the notorious womanizing lead singer of Runaway Train. When he mistakes her for one of his groupie’s, Abby quickly lets him know she sure as hell isn't in his bed on purpose.

Jake Slater never imagined the angel who fell into his bed would resist his charms by promptly kneeing him in the balls. Of course, the fact she seems like a prissy choir girl makes her anything but his type. So he is more than surprised when after betting Abby she wouldn't last a week on their tour bus, she is more than willing to prove him wrong. But as Jake’s personal life begins to implode around him, he finds an unlikely ally in Abby. He’s never met a woman he can talk to, joke with, or most importantly make music with.

As the week starts comes to a close, neither Abby nor Jake is ready to let go. Can a sweetheart Country songstress and a bad boy of Rock N Roll actually have a future together?

My Book Review : 3.5 out of 5 stars! It's a cute novel about a very good girl meeting a bad boy rocker in unusual circumstances and their lives intertwining. It has a great beginning that leads up to some entertaining and harsh events that set an intriguing tone for this novel.

However, not long after Jake bails on Abby, in the hotel while babysitting, my respect for him plummeted and coincidentally I found that from then on the plot/story line didn't get much better. Especially since Jake seems to be the one step forward and two steps back kind of guy. He also had a knack that if bad things weren't happening to him already then he would make trouble for himself and after a while I couldn't put up with it.

Yet, with all my complaining about Jake I still read the whole novel. I finished it mostly to see what would happen next and because, even though I might have not completely liked Jake, I did like how he and Abby were together when things were good between them. In addition, it helped that the other guys in Jake's band were a riot. =0)

Overall, I think it was an interesting beginning to this series. So, I do recommend it to those who like rock star romances, especially if you don't mind reading about the hero being a big jerk sometimes.

Purchase This Book and/or The Other Books From It's Series Here :

Author's Novel Extras : Music of the Heart - Overview & Trailers | Pinterest: Music of the Heart | A Compilation of all things Music of the Heart | The Essential Music of the Heart Playlist Part #1 | The Essential Music of the Heart Playlist #2 | Happy One Year Anniversary of Music of the Heart & Giveaway


Author's Series Extras : Beat of the Heart - Overview | Pinterest: Beat of the Heart | Pinterest: Music of the Soul | Pinterest: Strings of the Heart | Smexy Saturday Post and AJ's Muse | Teaser Tuesday: AJ and Mia do the Rumba | Valentine's with Jake and Abby from Music of the Heart and Soul

Author's Book Trailer :

Author's Teaser Video(s) :



Book Teaser(s) :

“Did I say something embarrassing to you before I puked and passed out?”
“Jake—”
His blue eyes blazed with emotion when he finally met my gaze. “I remember some of it. I know I said I wanted to fuck you, but didn’t I say something else? Something more...heartfelt, I hope?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“What was it?” he prompted.
Somehow I remembered everything he had told me verbatim, so I repeated it. Jake’s eyes widened, and he sucked in a sharp breath. “But don’t worry about the wanting someone-like-me-to-love-you part. I mean, I know you were drunk,” I quickly added. I popped out of my seat like a Jack-In-The-Box and grabbed his bowl. After hustling over to the kitchen, I put it in the sink and turned on the water.
I gasped when Jake’s body pressed into my back. “Angel,” he murmured, his breath hot against my neck. I shivered in spite of the heat. “I meant every word of what I said—the good and the bad.”
Spinning around, I stared into his eyes. When I saw the sincerity in them, my heartbeat accelerated. “You did?”
“Yes, I really want to have sex while you’re wearing cowboy boots,” he deadpanned.
I laughed in spite of myself. I knew for someone like Jake, all the feelings stuff was getting too intense for him, and he needed to lighten it. “That’s good to know, but sadly, I don’t see it happening any time soon.”
“Bummer,” he replied. He reached over to sweep a lock of hair out of my face. Once he pinned it behind my ear, he smiled. ~ within Chapter 9 - titled 'Abby'

“I look like a real gentleman, don’t I?”
She grinned. “I think even my dad would approve of you tonight.”
Part of her comment stung, but I covered up my feelings by giving her a cocky smirk. “Yeah, well, what would he have to say about his daughter’s attire tonight?”
She glanced down at her dress. “You like it?”
Considering it had flimsy little straps, showed off her fabulous rack and was almost backless, hell yes, I liked it. “I love it. You look absolutely breathtaking tonight.”
Abby’s cheeks warmed with my compliments. She leaned up to kiss my lips. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
AJ strolled up to us. At Abby’s attire, his eyes widened. “Oh my God, Angel! That is just like the dress Sookie wore in the Season Two finale of True Blood!”
Abby rolled her eyes. “AJ, you’ve got a True Blood fetish.”
He grinned. “Dude, it’s basically vamp porn!”
She laughed. “You’re impossible.” ~ within Chapter 13 - titled 'JAKE'

For more information on this book, series, and/or any other books by Katie, then please check out her website.

Disappointmentville: Happily Ever After, Inc. Series, Book 1

- This is an ARC book - Available Formats through Amazon.com: Paperback - Pages: 192; Kindle Edition - File Size: 365 KB | Expected Release Date: April 29, 2014 | Publisher: Harlequin Desire | Obtained: NetGalley

"Matched to a Billionaire" [Happily Ever After, Inc. Series, Book 1] by Kat Cantrell

Author's Book Description : Wanted: one convenient wife

Venture capitalist Leo Reynolds is married to his work, but now he needs a wife. Someone to run his home, host his parties—and accept a marriage that’s strictly business. His one rule: love will play no part in their union. At least that’s the lie he tells himself, until he meets his match....

Enter Daniella White—handpicked by the matchmaker as the perfect wife. Marriage to Leo means security, and she’s willing to give up passion for friendship. But the moment they meet, sparks fly. And now temptation—and Leo’s own heart—have the billionaire ready to change all the rules.

My Book Review : 2.5 out of 5 stars. A Cinderella-esque type of romance novel where a match making service sets up the hero and heroine and they have strong feelings when it comes to staying married no matter what. Together Leo & Dannie match up perfectly; it just takes a while for them both to believe it.

Overall, I feel this novel was a great beginning for this series. As I can't wait to see, where it'll go next!

My only wish, however, was that I liked Leo as a character more and the novel wasn't so slow that, at times, I didn't have to force myself to keep reading.

Nevertheless, I do recommend this novel and series to those who love fairy tale style romances!

- On a side note -
Tommy was my favorite character in this novel!! So I hope he'll be in this series more and/or have a novel of his own at some point.

Purchase This Book and/or The Other Books From It's Series Here :

My Previous Review(s) for this Author : Mindlink

My Previous Mention(s) of this Author's Books/Characters : Best Book Couples -- Happy Valentine's Day 2014

Author's Novel Extras : Matched To A Billionaire - Overview

Author's Series Extras : Happily Ever After, Inc. Series - Overview | Matched To A Prince - Overview | Matched To Her Rival - Overview | Matched to a Billionaire is up on Netgalley

Book Teaser(s) :

Leo Reynolds wished he could marry his admin. It would make life so much simpler.
Unfortunately, she was already married and nearly twice his age. ~ within Chapter 1

Oh, dear God. She should be negotiating his contracts, not his lawyer.
"You're driving me bananas. No. Worse than that." He squeezed the top of his head but his brain still felt as though she'd twirled it with a spaghetti fork. "What's worse than bananas?"
"Pomegranates," she said decisively. "They're harder to eat and don't taste as good."
He bit back a laugh. Yes, exactly. His incredibly perceptive wife drove him pomegranates. "That about covers it." ~ within Chapter 7

For more information on this book, series, and/or any other books by Jacquelyn, then please check out her website.

Idolizing In: Stage Dive Series, Book 2

Format: Kindle Edition | File Size: 1814 KB | Release Date: March 25, 2014 | Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin | Obtained: Amazon.com

"Play" [Stage Dive Series, Book 2] by Kylie Scott

Author's Book Description : Kylie Scott returns with the highly anticipated follow-up to international bestseller "Lick."

Mal Ericson, drummer for the world famous rock band Stage Dive, needs to clean up his image fast—at least for a little while. Having a good girl on his arm should do the job just fine. Mal doesn’t plan on this temporary fix becoming permanent, but he didn’t count on finding the one right girl. Anne Rollins never thought she’d ever meet the rock god who plastered her teenage bedroom walls—especially not under these circumstances. Anne has money problems. Big ones. But being paid to play the pretend girlfriend to a wild life-of-the-party drummer couldn’t end well. No matter how hot he is. Or could it?

My Book Review : 5 out of 5 stars!! Wow! It had been a while since I read "Lick," book 1 of this series, that I completely forgot how much I LOVE Malcolm!!! So much so, that I finished reading this almost 300 page book in one day, which is usually hard for me to do while still looking after my 5 month old and 3 year old children. Basically, this novel had me enthralled from the beginning. Also, even though I had guessed what Mal's major issue was before the reader was told that didn't stop me from becoming so into this novel, and Mal & Anne's relationship, that I really didn't want it to end.

Mal & Anne are a unique couple that seems to roll with the punches that are thrown their way while sticking together through thick and thin. I loved that Ms. Scott found/wrote Anne for Mal, since like Mal says it might not make since for them to be together but fate stepped in and wouldn't let go. They are quite the pair!

I HIGHLY recommend this series and novel to those who love contemporary romances about rock stars!

- On a side note -
There are SOO many great parts to this novel that I kept on wanting to share more and more teasers (I believe I bookmarked about 15 pages of them) at the bottom of this review but I stopped myself at three. =0)

Purchase This Book and/or The Other Books From It's Series Here :

My Previous Review(s) for this Series : Book 1

My Previous Mention(s) of this Author's Books/Characters : Best Book Couples -- Happy Valentine's Day 2014

Author's Series Extras : Lick - Overview & Excerpt | Weekend Writing Warriors... Lick. | Weekend Writing Warriors... Lick | Weekend Writing Warriors... Lick | Weekend Writing Warriors... LICK | Weekend Writing Warriors ... LICK | Weekend Writing Warrior ... Lick | Weekend Writing Warriors... LICK | Weekend Writing Warriors... LICK | Another Sunday snippet from LICK. | A smutty snippet from LICK for your Sunday pleasure.


Book Teaser(s) :

Drummer’s arms. They were certainly nice as body parts went, covered in ink and bulging in all the right ways. I bet they felt good, too.
And I was so obviously checking him out someone should slap me.
If I kept this up, I would slap me. Hard.
“What’s your name?” he asked, joining me at the railing. God, even his voice felt good. The little hairs on the back of my neck stood on end with delight.
“My name?”
He stood close enough that our elbows bumped. His bare elbow, since he wore only jeans, a pair of Chucks, and a fitted “Queens of the Stone Age” T-shirt. Mal Ericson had touched me. I’d never wash again.
“Yeeeah, your name,” he drawled. “The point of me telling you my name, even when you already knew it, was so you’d give me yours. That’s how these things go.”
“You knew I knew?”
“The crazy eyes kinda gave it away.”
“Oh.”
A moment later, he groaned. “Never mind, this is taking too long. I’ll just make one up for you.”
“Anne.”
“Anne what?”
“Anne Rollins.”
A brilliant grin lit his face. “Anne Rollins. See, that wasn’t so tough.”
I gritted my teeth and tried to smile. Most likely I resembled a lunatic. One that had spent way too much time imagining him naked. Good god, the shame.
Gently, he tapped his bottle of beer against mine. “Cheers, Anne. Nice to meet you.” ~ within Chapter 2

Mal: Bored. Ben’s late
Mal: Let’s get a dog
Anne: Apartment has no pets rule
Mal: Nice green lace bra
Anne: Get out of my drawers, Mal.
Mal: Matching panties?
Anne: GET OUT NOW.
Mal: :)
Mal: Sext me
Mal: Come on it’ll be funny
Mal: Plz?
Mal: High level of unhealthy codependency traits exhibited by both parties relationship possibly bordering on toxic
Anne: WTF?
Mal: Did magazine quiz. We need help. Especially you
Anne: ...
Mal: Booking us couples counseling. Tues 4:15 alright?
Anne: We are not going to counseling.
Mal: What’s wrong? Don’t you love me anymore?
Anne: Turning phone off now. ~ within Chapter 6

“Pumpkin, am I in hell?” Mal walked in, sat on the edge of my bed.
“Yes. Yes, you are. I’m sorry. This is the first and worst level of all, the one where you can hear your neighbors fucking through paper-thin walls.”
Lauren made some screechy noise she was particularly prone to during such encounters. I cringed.
“Make it stop,” Mal whispered, mouth opened wide in horror. “Oh, fuck no. This is horrible.” ~ within Chapter 11

For more information on this book, series, and/or any other books by Kylie, then please check out her website.

Disappointmentville: Eternal Mates Series, Book 1

Format: Kindle Edition | File Size: 1981 KB | Release Date: November 19, 2013 | Publisher: Self-Published | Obtained: Amazon.com

"Kissed by a Dark Prince" [Eternal Mates Series, Book 1] by Felicity Heaton

Author's Book Description : Olivia thinks it’s her lucky night when a dangerously handsome unconscious fae ends up on her inspection table. He’s her chance to redeem herself with her employer, the demon-hunting organisation, Archangel. But when the tall, dark and deadly immortal warrior awakes, she gets much more than she bargained for…

Attacked by his enemy in the elf kingdom, the last thing Prince Loren expects when he comes around is a beautiful angel watching over him and medical technology of the mortal realm. Hazy from his injuries, all he can focus on is the pulse ticking in her throat and the sweet allure of her blood.

One single bite reveals she is his eternal mate, triggering a bond between them that will leave him weakened until it is completed… or broken, and pulling Olivia into the crossfire of his ancient feud.

To protect his people and his mate from the machinations of a madman, Loren must risk everything by working with Olivia at Archangel to find a way to break the bond blossoming between them.

But will Loren be strong enough to place duty before desire and give up the one thing he has waited millennia for and craves above all others—his eternal mate? And will Olivia be able to resist the incredible heat that burns between them and the temptation of her dark prince’s kiss?

My Book Review : 2.5 out of 5 stars. Even though I enjoyed how Ms. Heaton setup this novel as an intriguing start for this series, I didn't like this novel as much I'd have liked too. I most felt this way because I didn't like Olivia, the heroine, she was so annoying when it came to her relationship with Leron. I mean I understand her reservations, yet she kept them up even after she learned that Loren wasn't anything like her ex. *shakes head*

I see potential for this series; therefore I only recommend it to those who love reading paranormal romances!

Purchase This Book and/or The Other Books From It's Series Here :

Author's Novel Extras : Kissed by a Dark Prince - Overview & Excerpt | Character Biography & Interview - Loren | Character Biography & Interview - Olivia

Author's Series Extras : Eternal Mates Series - Overview | Claimed by a Demon King - Overview & Excerpt | Tempted by a Rogue Prince - Overview | Character Biography & Interview - Thorne | Character Biography & Interview - Sable


Book Teaser(s) :

He wheeled around to his right and her eyes shot to the arched door near the other end of the room, close to a low long cabinet.
It was one of the men from the other night. The one who had spoken. She recognised his face. He still wore his suit of armour, but his helmet was gone, revealing black-blue overlong wild hair. Did all of their species have the same hair and eye colour? He stared at her, purple eyes dark and cold, but laced with a touch of surprise.
“I sensed your agitation.” He switched his focus to the man who had bitten and kidnapped her. “Is everything well, my prince?”
Prince. Oh my. She had been right on the money. Her kidnapper was a prince. A prince of what though?
The other male’s eerie gaze slid back to her and narrowed, and Olivia had the dreadful feeling that he would be all too willing to kill her if she was upsetting the man he had referred to as his prince.
The prince in question shook his head and waved regally, dismissing the male. “That action will not be necessary, Bleu. The female is not a threat to me.”
Olivia bristled at that. She could have killed him when she’d had him unconscious on her inspection table. Not a threat her ass.
Both men slid deadly looks her way and Olivia realised she had said it all aloud. She shrank back, trying to make herself look as small and nonthreatening as possible. ~ within Chapter 3

For more information on this book, series, and/or any other books by Felicity, then please check out her website.

Feasted On: Baby, Oh Baby! by Robin Wells

Format: Kindle Edition | File Size: 468 KB | Release Date: November 4, 2012 | Publisher: Self-Published | Obtained: Amazon.com

"Baby, Oh Baby!" by Robin Wells

Author's Book Description : This time its all mixed up...

Cynical, jaded, practical-minded attorney Jake Chastaine is still grieving his late wife two years after her death when he discovers that due to a mistake at a fertility center where she received treatment, a woman he's never met has had his baby. Jake is determined to play a role in his child's life. He's chagrined to discover, however, that the mother of his child is as appealing as she is impractical. A gorgeous redhead, Annie is a free spirit who raises llamas, reads tea leaves and believes her dead grandfather talks to her through highway billboards. Worst of all, she makes his body temperature soar in a most illogical manner.

When his law partner and former father-in-law threatens to ruin Annie in a misguided attempt to help him acquire custody of the child, Jake decides that the best way to handle the situation is to enter into a short-term marriage of convenience. They both get far more than they bargained for, and learn a life-changing lesson about the power of love.

My Book Review : 4.5 out of 5 stars!! SO SWEET!!! A man and woman's lives join when their baby is born but even more so for Jake and Annie, two people who conceived a child because of a sperm bank mix-up, who are complete opposites yet plan to do everything in their power to make a good life/family for their child. Even if that means accidentally falling in love!

Together they balance each other out. While Jake proves to Annie he's the big-hearted man she's been hoping for, Annie shows Jake what it's like to be your true self and that love isn't black and white.

I really think they made a great pair! Plus, Madeline was so cute!

Along with reading about Jake dealing with his grief over his wife's passing, you read about her parent's -- who Jake is still close to -- dealing with their grief too. I thought it was a unique take that was both funny, sweet, and sad at times but brought a lot of heart to this novel.

I especially enjoyed how this novel was wrapped up at the end. Yet I was hopping their would be an epilogue with Annie being pregnant or having another baby to bring them together even more. I mostly wished this because how Jake keeps talking about how much he missed and how you can tell even though the timing would have been bad he wanted to have been there.

I recommend this novel to anyone to likes contemporary romances!

Purchase This Book Here :

Author's Novel Extras : Baby, Oh Baby! - Overview & Excerpt | Baby, Oh Baby!

Book Teaser(s) :

Her voice broke off. “Oh, my! Your baby’s gotten ahold of something.”
Jake whipped his head around to see Madeline sitting under a chair, merrily sucking on a shiny object. He sprang to his feet, bolted across the room, and hauled the baby out into the open floor. The lower part of her face was smeared black, and her lips seemed to have disappeared. Jake yanked the object out of her mouth. It was a large felt-tip marker.
“Oh, hell.” Jake grabbed his shirttail again, and once more tried to swab out the baby’s mouth: As before, the child screamed at an eardrum-piercing volume.
For all of his efforts, Jake wasn’t making any progress. His shirt was gaining additional grime, but he didn’t see any lessening of the blackness in the baby’s mouth. It was black as pitch, and the blackness stretched all the way to the back of her tonsils—which she was showing to advantage as she yelped at full volume.
Alarm raced through Jake. “Hey—does anyone know if ink is poisonous?”
The pink-haired teenager squatted beside him and picked up the marker. “It says right here it’s nontoxic.”
Relief gushed through Jake. “Thank God.”
Yanking away from Jake, Madeline threw herself at the teenager as if he were a life raft on a storm-tossed sea. Her crying stopped as she crawled onto his lap. She grinned up engagingly, her mouth looking like a coal mine at night.
The boy’s eyes grew wide with alarm. “Hey! What’s she doin’?”
“Sitting on your lap. She likes you,” Lilly proclaimed.
The baby continued to grin. Despite himself, the boy smiled back. “Ya know, she looks kinda cool,” he said. “She’s kinda got a Goth look goin’.”
“She’s a sight, that’s for sure,” Lilly agreed. ~ within Chapter 6

She turned toward him. She wasn’t angry, he realized with relief. She was cracking up with laughter. She leaned against him, laughing until tears ran down her face.
She finally drew a breath and wiped her eyes. “Well, you get points for coming clean about it.”
He looked at her accusingly. “You knew.”
The remark set off a fresh round of giggles. Annie looked at Madeline, who was holding the stubs of two snack cakes in her fists, her cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk’s. “Madeline gave it away. She went nuts when I found the Twinkie boxes in the pantry.”
Jake rubbed his head, feeling like an idiot. “I should have told you,” he admitted. “It was just such a stupid thing to do....”
Annie’s eyes danced. “It would have been stupider if you’d sat there and actually eaten six of them to keep me from finding out.”
Jake grinned back. “You would have let me do that, too, wouldn’t you?”
“I would have. But I don’t think Madeline would.”
He laughed and gazed into her eyes—into her laughing, impish, blue eyes— and felt an almost overwhelming surge of attraction.
‘So she thinks your name is Twinkie.” Annie cocked her head as she said the word, as if she were testing it on her tongue. “That’s kind of cute. I think I’ll start calling you that, too.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“I just might, just to see what you’ll do.” ~ within Chapter 15

For more information on this book and/or any other books by Robin, then please check out her website.