Monday, October 6, 2014

Feasted On: A Little Christmas Jingle by Michele Dunaway

- This is an ARC book - Available Formats through Amazon.com: Kindle Edition - File Size: 1541 | Expected Release Date: October 7, 2014 | Publisher: St. Martin's Press : Paperbacks | Obtained: NetGalley

"A Little Christmas Jingle" by Michele Dunaway

Author's Book Description : Women, men, stray dogs—everyone's looking for love this holiday season. Sometimes all it takes is a LITTLE CHRISTMAS JINGLE to get into the spirit. . .

Kat Saunders needs a Christmas miracle. She’s expanded her vet practice to include a no-kill shelter, and she forgot to get the required permits. Now that a few neighbors have complained and she’s been summoned to court, she could lose everything she has worked for. When a gorgeous detective comes to her with an abused pit-bull, she does everything she can to save the puppy and soon realizes that brooding Jack Donovan might just be the answer to her legal woes.

Jack, or Mr. December to fans of the Sexy Public Servants Charity Calendar, hates Christmas. As head of St. Louis’s first Animal Cruelty Task Force, Jack has seen the worst in people, especially around the holidays. But one sexy vet is getting under his skin with her tireless holiday cheer, intent on proving to him that there is Christmas magic in the air...

My Book Review : 4.5 out of 5 stars! Jack meets Katherine (Kat) at a ball they both attend, while there they share a mistletoe kiss and loose each other in the middle of everything going on. A while later they meet up again after Jack bring an terribly abused puppy (Jingle) to Kat's clinic for help, from there a relationship begins that will shake up their lives for the better.

Kat and Jack's romance is one that would put a good Hallmark Christmas movie a run for its money. It was sweet, fun, with just enough drama to keep the reader enraptured! I especially loved how after their "big crisis" Jack won Kat back, as it was very romantic! Plus, I liked all the animals that were in this novel since it gave it more personality! Poor Jingle, though, I wish I could cuddle that little guy. Even though I know Jingle isn't real, his story is a common one (sad to say) and I liked how Ms. Dunaway handles the subject.

I recommend this novel to those who like contemporary holiday romances!!

Purchase This Book Here :

Author's Novel Extras : A Little Christmas Jingle - Overview

Book Teaser(s) :
"Oh, please. You mean to tell me you weren't flattered by all those women vying for attention at the ball?"
"You mean my stalkers?"
"Fan club?"
"Stalkers. Or overzealous attention seekers? Calendar groupies? Those better terms?" ~ within Chapter 3

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

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Made the Grade: Whiskey Creek Series, Book 3

- This is an ARC book - Available Formats through Amazon.com: Hardcover - Pages: 400; Paperback - Pages: 400; Kindle Edition - File Size: 508 | Expected Release Date: January 29, 2013 | Publisher: Harlequin : MIRA Books | Obtained: NetGalley

"When Summer Comes" [Whiskey Creek Series, Book 3] by Brenda Novak

Author's Book Description : One day, Callie Vanetta receives devastating news. . .

She needs a liver transplant. But her doctors warn that, in her case, the chances of finding a compatible donor aren’t good.

Determined to spend whatever time she has left on her own terms, she keeps the diagnosis to herself and moves out to her late grandparents’ farm. She’s always wanted to live there. But the farm hasn’t been worked in years and she begins to fear it’s too much, she’ll have to return to town.

One night, a stranger comes knocking at her door...

He’s an attractive and mysterious drifter by the name of Levi McCloud who offers to trade work for a few nights’ shelter. Callie figures she doesn’t have anything to lose. He needs a place to stay until he can fix his motorcycle; she needs an extra pair of hands. The arrangement seems ideal until what was supposed to be temporary starts to look more and more permanent. Then she realizes she does have something to lose — her heart. And, although he doesn’t yet know it, Levi stands to lose even more.

My Book Review : 3.5 out of 5 stars! An Army vet, who's on the run, stumbles onto Callie's front door and into her life after being attacked by dogs seeking help. Little does Callie know that Levi will give her the hope that she needs to keep fighting for her life, if only they both are willing to sacrifice their hearts for one another.

After reading "When Lightning Strikes" I found I wasn't a fan of Callie (at least from how she acted in that novel), therefore I was delighted to find that I enjoyed her as a heroine in this novel. She is a strong woman who doesn't know how to inform her friends and family about her illness. When Levi comes into her life he gives her an unknowing reprieve to forget about her own fears, a chance take care of someone else for a change, and a way to come to terms about what she really wants out of her life no matter how little she might have left of it.

I found Levi and Callie's romance to be heartwarming and fun. I liked how Levi held his previous love in such high regard that it took him a while to come to terms with his own feelings for Callie. Together they found a way to lighten each other’s burdens and create prospective futures for themselves, if they are willing to get over their pasts and fight for what they want.

The only reason I didn't give this novel a higher score was because of how long it took Callie to inform her friends, family, and Levi about her illness. I understand she was under a lot of stress and liked to pretend everything was normal for her but it was very annoying how long she waits and then the way she just throws the results out there for them was terrible too.

Nevertheless, I liked how this novel wraps up, how Levi steps up, and the epilogue. In addition, I liked how this one was written in a multi-POV way and updated us more on Kyle's divorce along with a bit about Olivia and Brandon's relationship.

I recommend this novel to anyone who likes contemporary romances that deal with intense situations.

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

My Previous Review(s) for this Series : Book 0.5 (Prequel) | Book 1

My Previous Review(s) for this Author : The Bastard / Honor Bound | Coulda Been A Cowboy

My Previous Mention(s) of this Author's Books/Characters : Best Book Couples -- Happy Valentine's Day 2013

Author's Novel Extras : WHEN SUMMER COMES - Overview & Excerpt | When Summer Comes Hit USA Today’s Top 100! | WHEN SUMMER COMES & THROUGH THE SMOKE are NRCA Finalists!

Author's Series Extras : Whiskey Creek Series - Overview | WHEN WE TOUCH - Overview & Excerpt | WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES - Overview & Excerpt | WHEN SNOW FALLS - Overview & Excerpt | HOME TO WHISKEY CREEK - Overview & Excerpt | TAKE ME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS - Overview & Excerpt | COME HOME TO ME - Overview & Excerpt | THE HEART OF CHRISTMAS - Overview & Excerpt | THIS HEART OF MINE - Overview & Excerpt | Whiskey Creek Store | WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES is a 2012 NRCA Finalist! | WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES is a 2013 finalist in the Booksellers Best! | WHEN SNOW FALLS is a Golden Quill Finalist | WHEN SNOW FALLS Named Best Contemporary of 2012 by RT Book Reviews! | Next up on the Whiskey Creek Series... | HOME TO WHISKEY CREEK is a RITA Finalist! | HOME TO WHISKEY CREEK is a Booksellers Best Award Nominee!

Book Teaser(s) :
The hair rose on Callie's arms. Her dog meant business. She'd never seen him like this. What had him so upset? And what should she do about it? She'd watched too many true-crime shows not to realize what could happen. But, given her health, getting murdered would be too ironic. Surely, this couldn't be leading there. ~ within Chapter 1
"We're going over approved content for when we're making love."
She smiled at his playful expression. "I see. How about 'just shut up and kiss me'?"
"Not bad. I've used that one myself," he said, his mouth so close to hers they exchanged breath.
"Do you have a list?" she asked.
"Just some suggestions."
"Like..."
"'Give me more' is fine. 'God, that feels good' is even better. And 'Ah, yes, fuck me' in broken gasps is pretty much my favorite. But I'm in a precarious state when it comes to control, so you might not want to use that one too soon."
She laughed; she'd never seen this side of him. He'd always been so serious. "What about 'nice ass'?"
He nipped at her lips. "I give you 'fuck' and you give me 'ass'? That's grade school stuff." ~ within Chapter 20
For more information on this book, series, and/or any other books by Brenda, then please check out her website.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Made the Grade: Whiskey Creek Series, Book 1

- This is an ARC book - Available Formats through Amazon.com: Hardcover - Pages: 448; Paperback - Pages: 448; Kindle Edition - File Size: 533 | Expected Release Date: August 28, 2012 | Publisher: Harlequin : MIRA Books | Obtained: NetGalley

"When Lightning Strikes" [Whiskey Creek Series, Book 1] by Brenda Novak

Author's Book Description : Simon O’Neal’s causing trouble again. And it’s up to Gail DeMarco to stop him.

Gail DeMarco left Whiskey Creek, California, to make a name for herself in Los Angeles. Her PR firm has accumulated a roster of A-list clients, including the biggest box office hit of all — sexy and unpredictable Simon O’Neal. But Simon, who’s just been through a turbulent divorce, is so busy self-destructing he won’t listen to anything she says. She drops him from her list — and he retaliates by taking the rest of her clients with him. Desperate to save her company, Gail has to humble herself by making a deal with Simon. The one thing he wants is custody of his son, but that’s going to require a whole new image. He needs to marry some squeaky-clean girl who’ll drag him off to some small, obscure place like Whiskey Creek. . . Gail’s the only one he can trust. She agrees to become his wife — reluctantly. But she isn’t reluctant because he’s too hard to like. It’s because he’s too hard not to love!

My Book Review : 3 out of 5 stars, a woman agrees to marry her ex-client as a way to help out his image and get custody of his son while getting her company back on better footing. What neither of them expect is to loose their hearts along the way to achieving their goals.

This novel was not what I expected, as I had hoped for it to be a bit lighter and fun then it was. Even though, I did like its plot, at times it was hard to read the amount of Gail protesting about her feelings for Simon or how much she discredited his feelings. After a while, I found Gail a bit annoying and had to force my way through the novel to the end. Nevertheless, I am happy I finished it as I feel it really redeemed Simon and proved how much their relationship was beginning to mean to both of them.

I will say I liked them together, once they put all of their insecurities to the side, they seemed like they could be a good couple.

Overall, I do recommend this novel to those who are fans of this series, fans of Ms. Novak, and/or those who like contemporary romances!

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

My Previous Review(s) for this Series : Book 0.5 (Prequel) | Book 3

My Previous Review(s) for this Author : The Bastard / Honor Bound | Coulda Been A Cowboy

My Previous Mention(s) of this Author's Books/Characters : Best Book Couples -- Happy Valentine's Day 2013

Author's Novel Extras : WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES - Overview & Excerpt | WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES is a 2012 NRCA Finalist! | WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES is a 2013 finalist in the Booksellers Best!

Author's Series Extras : Whiskey Creek Series - Overview | WHEN WE TOUCH - Overview & Excerpt | WHEN SNOW FALLS - Overview & Excerpt | WHEN SUMMER COMES - Overview & Excerpt | HOME TO WHISKEY CREEK - Overview & Excerpt | TAKE ME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS - Overview & Excerpt | COME HOME TO ME - Overview & Excerpt | THE HEART OF CHRISTMAS - Overview & Excerpt | THIS HEART OF MINE - Overview & Excerpt | Whiskey Creek Store | When Summer Comes Hit USA Today’s Top 100! | WHEN SNOW FALLS is a Golden Quill Finalist | WHEN SNOW FALLS Named Best Contemporary of 2012 by RT Book Reviews! | Next up on the Whiskey Creek Series... | HOME TO WHISKEY CREEK is a RITA Finalist! | WHEN SUMMER COMES & THROUGH THE SMOKE are NRCA Finalists! | HOME TO WHISKEY CREEK is a Booksellers Best Award Nominee!

Book Teaser(s) :
"Something wrong?" he asked when she couldn't get comfortable.
He hadn't moved in some time. She'd assumed he was asleep. "No, why?"
"I thought you didn't want to watch Here Comes Pussy."
She could hear the laughter in his voice and felt a certain amount of embarrassment. "I didn't really watch it. I was just...surfing around."
"Sure you were."
He'd caught her and he knew it. "It was your fault!" She threw a pillow at him, which he batted away.
"You were in charge of the remote." ~ within Chapter 11
For more information on this book, series, and/or any other books by Brenda, then please check out her website.
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