ARC Review: Kane (Ghost Ops #4)

Kane (Ghost Ops #4)

Lynn Raye Harris

Blurb:

Dead to their pasts. Ghosts. No family ties. No connections.

Six men with a top-secret mission move to a small town where they have to navigate local life, protect their secret, and, above all, stay single.

Notorious charmer Kane “Demon” Fox learned the hard way that love is a liability. Since losing his wife, he's built walls no one can breach—keeping his focus on the mission and his team. Feelings are a risk he can't afford to take ever again.

Until a stranded beauty with haunted eyes makes him question everything.

Daphne Bryant thought Sutton's Creek was far enough to outrun her past. With forged papers and a fabricated history, she's desperate for a fresh start in a small town where people are decent and life is uncomplicated. She’s joined a book club, found friends, and landed a job working for six gorgeous men who run the local gun range.

She’s safe and thriving—until someone breaks into her apartment and leaves a calling card she recognizes all too well.

Trusting the wrong person could be fatal, but Daphne’s running out of time—and Kane is a friend, even if she wants him to be more. As danger circles closer, the attraction between them becomes impossible to deny. Vows break, hearts and bodies tangle, and secrets implode.

If Kane’s going to save the woman he desperately doesn’t want to love, he’ll have to realize that the past doesn’t control the future. Because some ghosts aren't meant to stay buried. And some hearts are worth fighting for.

Themes:  Contemporary

Rating: 4.5 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

Ok so I did NOT see that one coming… and I loved it! So let’s be honest we all knew that Kane and Daphne’s story was going to be explosive, because the passion between these two was just undeniable in every previous interaction, but I could not have imagined just where Ms. Harris was going to take this story or the paces she was going to be putting these lovers through before she finally let them have their fun. For any long-time fans of this series and its connected HOT series, I think you can agree with me that Ms. Harris always finds a new and interesting way to blow our minds when she sends us a new story, but sometimes even I am amazed with where she comes up with this stuff. We have all wondered about Daphne’s true past and what led her to the small town of Sutton’s Creek and the dire circumstances the Ghost Ops guys found her in, but the truth is truly stranger than fiction. When her past rears its ugly head, Daphne is in danger and while she knows she should run for safety, Kane and the guys might truly be the only ones that can protect her and keep her alive. I am dying for the next story in this series, because of course Lynn gave us just enough of a hint to blow our minds and now Ethan will have his chance to blow our minds and we have to wonder if he has met his match in a quiet and secretive librarian named Paisley that has arrived in their little town with a young daughter and a past inexplicably linked to Ethan’s in some way.  The wild adventure of the Ghost Ops team is only beginning I think and with two books still to go I predict we are in for a crazy ride.

Kane “Demon” Fox has a reputation as a womanizer of the first order, but his past and mad him leery of relationship and love, he refuses to allow himself to open his heart again. But the sweet receptionist for their gun range certainly pulls all the heartstrings he forgot he had, and the more he is around her the harder it is to deny that he wants her, despite the roadblocks he erects. Daphne Bryant is on the run from a past that not only shames her, it puts her life in danger ever moment she lives. She gave up her past in order to escape the truth of families dark business and when she landed in Sutton’s Creek she never meant to stay as long as she did, much less to make the connections she has. Now she has not only friends she loves, she has lost her heart to a man that doesn’t want it or her, but her past has come back to haunt her in a big way and she has to protect her new friends. When Kane learns she is in danger he immediately tried to protect her, despite her wanting to run, but she fears her past will be too much for him and will take away any chance she has to convince him to open his heart. Now Kane and the guys have to keep her alive because she holds the key to their latest investigation, but she also has to convince Kane and herself that their relationship is real and worth giving a chance so they might have a future—if they can survive the killers out to end her life.

I loved the intensity of both of these characters, each of them dealing with their own fears and baggage from their pasts that shaped their ability to love and connection with one another. Kane’s past is dark and painful, his marriage having ended in tragedy and treachery has left him unable and unwilling to open himself to the possibility of love, even when he feels deeply for Daphne. His protectiveness, intensity, passion, and determination all mixed together to confuse him more than once, pushing him to say and do hurtful things until he finally pulled his head out of his ass and admit how much he cared for Daphne. It was obvious to everyone else how different he was with Daphne, especially when she was in danger, but he continuously tried to keep her at arm’s length to protect his heart until she finally forced him to get over himself. Only once she finally came clean, offering up her past, her vulnerabilities, and her fears did he finally accept that she was the only woman he could ever love again and truly open his heart making him the hero we always knew he could be. Daphne was a fabulous character, brave, smart, sweet, and bold (as any good Irish redhead should be). She might have had a sketchy past, but she knew when she hit her own moral line that she needed to get the hell away from her family and build a new future for herself. Landing in Sutton’s Creek, with the One Shot guys, she knows she is safe and finally lets herself start to believe in a chance at life again. Her brash and take-charge ability to show the guys that she can run with the big dogs was powerful and I loved watching her show them that they underestimate her at their own risk more than once. It is easy to see that she plays for keeps, especially when it comes to her fight for her future and Kane’s heart, and once she is in the fight she won’t give up until she wins. Even when she is terrified she never loses her head and always stand up for the innocent, making it clear that no one is going to bring her low without a serious fight on their hands.

Kane is a story of two people that have lived through fire and find their way to one another, even as they fight their need for each other and try to deny their feelings. Kane’s past has led him to keep his heart encased in steel, refusing to allow another woman too close and get his heart broken. But Daphne has pulled at him from the very beginning, despite all the walls he’s tried to throw between them and when she is in trouble he will pull out all the stops to keep her safe, even if it means he loses his heart to the sassy redhead. Daphne never imagined she’d find her best friend, much less the love of her life while on the run from her past, having landed in a small town in rural Alabama. She is determined to protect that love, especially from the psychopathic monsters in her past when they come after her, but Kane is just as determined to protect her, so maybe the answer is that they need one another to survive. I loved the way both Kane and Daphne had push and pull moments with one another, the intensity of their chemistry moving between fighting and *ahem* loving equally as they came to terms with their needs. That fire they found for each other is once in a lifetime and once they accepted that, it made it so much easier for them to give into their hearts’ desires. I am dying for Ethan because that story is bound to be even more crazy as he and Paisley (re)connect and we hopefully get to see more of Ghost and Diana before their book as well. I truly don’t know how she does it, but once again Lynn Raye Harris has dazzled me and I am thrilled I got to read this story.

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.

ARC Review: Haze (Serpents of Chaos MC #2)

Haze (Serpents of Chaos MC #2)

Chantal Fernando

Blurb:

Running into my childhood crush after thirteen years and accidentally hitting on him isn't my finest moment.

But Hayden isn’t how I remember him.

Now he's Haze, the resident playboy of the Serpents of Chaos MC.

And the worst part?

I'm stuck with him protecting me.

I should distance myself before I get in too deep. Before I get hurt.

Hayden already broke my heart once, but Haze?

He just might ruin me.

Themes:  MC, Erotica

Rating: 3.75 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

Everyone loves a good secondar chance at love and we all know that sometimes the path to an HEA is rocky, but man this story was a rough one, filled with pain, drama and two people that didn’t seem to be able to get out of their own way in order to just admit they were in love with one another.  Chantal Fernando has a skill with her MC characters that makes her stories unforgettable and unmissable, and her new Serpents of Chaos MC is shaping up to be almost as awesome (I'm withholding my full love) as her other MCs. This second in the series picks up right at the ending of War and we even get a lovely bit of overlap so that we get to enjoy seeing Haze making an ass of himself as he tanks his chances at love again with his childhood dream girl. I felt so deeply the connection between Lu and Haze as we got to see their story develop and flashbacks to their past together, but I would have loved even more time for them to grow and change together.  I am dying for Lore’s story and can already tell that one is going to be explosive as hell because we just know that Lore’s manwhore ways are really going to bite him in the backside when he tries to settle down and find love. Chantal has another emerging masterpiece on her hands with the Serpents, even as she takes us into some dark and terrifying sides of humanity and never hides from the truth when she makes her couples confront life-changing topics.

Luella is currently trapped in the last place she wants to be, the Serpents of Chaos MC clubhouse, because one of their enemies has burned down her Bakery and her life is danger.  Unfortunately, this puts her directly into the path of the only man to ever tear her heart out and Hayden/Haze is determined to drive her insane.  Haze was surprised when Luella reappeared in his life and didn’t handle it well at all, but now that she is back, he is determined to make her his woman, if only life wasn’t so complicated, and she wasn’t so stubborn.  With their past between them and others trying to keep them apart, Lu and Haze have to decide if their chemistry and connection is worth the drama and possible pain in order to have a future together.  And then once they do find their way into a relationship, they have to decide in they trust one another enough to have a future together or if their past mistakes will tear them apart again.  Can two stubborn people that seemingly want different things, really find a happy future together, or are they destined to lose their second chance at love?

When you imagine two characters made for one another your brain probably doesn’t jump to a sweet bakery owner and a sexy biker/musician, but from the beginning it’s obvious that Lu and Haze are made for one another.  Haze has spent his entire life looking after and protecting those he loves, including sacrificing his own happiness, but being with Lu is the one thing that truly makes his heart whole. His protectiveness, caring, love, and determination to care for those he loves, show how willing he is to give his all to Luella and prove to her that she is the most important person in his life.  He has made so many mistakes when it comes to Lu but the one thing we never doubt is how much he wants her and how much she means to him, even when life and those mistakes are against him. Luella has never been able to give her heart to another man, once Hayden broke her as a teenager, and when he comes back into her life, she isn’t sure she can risk the pain again.  She never stopped loving Haze, but he has changed so much and he is not continues to break her in little ways each day, but she is strong enough to stand up for herself, knowing that the only way she will ever be able to look herself in the mirror is if she demands everything from him. She is sweet, strong, courageous, and knows that if she ever gives into Haze and he breaks her trust or heart she will not recover, but if you don’t take a chance, you will never be able to move forward.  Together Haze and Lu could have the most beautiful life, but only if they each come to terms with their past and their fears and accept that despite their mistakes, they were always meant to be together.

Haze is one of those stories that is so filled with heat, passion, chemistry and sensuality that you might be tempted to skip past the heart, emotion and love that develops between these two but if you look past the eroticism of their physical reconnection you will understand just why these two were destined. Luella has had a lot of let-downs in her life, from crappy parents, to losing those she loved and being abandoned by friends and lovers, but she has finally found her place in life with her girl-squad and the MC that has taken her in.  Now she just needs to accept that the man she never forgot is back in her life and determined to claim her, no matter what he has to do to earn her forgiveness and what hurdle she makes him jump to reach her heart again.  Haze never forgot the girl that captured his heart at sixteen, but when she roars back into his life, he has to work to prove to her that nothing and no one will ever be more important than her in his life. With forces around them trying to keep them apart, mistakes and misunderstandings leading to fights, and passionate drama leading to explosive encounters, neither Luella nor Haze are truly prepared for the changes coming to their lives.  The fire and chemistry between them are undeniable and despite the fighting (or maybe because of it) their sensuality is at peak almost every moment they are together. I loved their story, even the sad moments because i was positive they would find their way into an HEA and a future filled with love and laughter.  I cannot wait for Lore’s story because the little glimpse we got tells me that it's going to be just as crazy explosive and filled with mystery as Haze’s was, and i can only hope Chantal gets it too us quickly.

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.

ARC Review: Shelter from the Storm (Perfect Storm #2)

Shelter from the Storm (Perfect Storm #2)

Mari Carr

Blurb:

A storm never felt so safe.

Desperate for a new life, Gretchen escapes her abusive ex and finds refuge in the small town of Gracemont. Her plan is lay low. But when she meets Theo Storm, her sexy new boss, everything changes. Drawn into the warmth of his world, Gretchen discovers the possibility of happiness, love, and family—things she thought were out of her reach.

For Theo, it’s love at first touch. From the moment he takes Gretchen’s trembling hand, he knows he’s found someone worth fighting for. Though he senses she’s hiding something, he’s determined to help her overcome her painful past.

When old demons come knocking, Theo calls on his family to help protect the woman who’s quickly claimed his heart. The Storms are a force of nature, and they quickly step up, ready to defend their own at any cost.

Will they succeed in keeping Gretchen safe, or will her dangerous past tear her and Theo apart?

Themes:  Contemporary

Rating: 4.25 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

I always love to read a story of a woman finally getting a chance to take back her independence and find her freedom, even if she has to do it the tiniest bit at a time and with the help of many new friends—and with luck the love of a good man. Mari Carr takes us on the heartbreaking journey of a woman that has lived through hell and is finally taking a chance on life again as she clutches her freedom in a fragile grip and taking a chance on a new life.  I have been looking forward to Theo’s story ever since we first met him, knowing he was going to be a sweet heartbreaker, he just seemed to be one of those heroes that was going to grab your heart and not let you go, and I was correct in my assessment.  Gretchen and Theo’s story might be difficult for a lot of people to read, either because they have lived through something similar or because they cannot understand the depths of pain Gretchen had to dig through in order to escape her past because they havent had to live through it, but either way I hope they can appreciate the beauty of their love and the skill with which their story is written.  I cannot wait for more of this series, and I really look forward to whatever Mari does next with this series because I imagine it is only going to get so much better as each of the Storms find love and loss in their own unique adventure.

Gretchen Banks is starting over, leaving behind the past and hopefully the abuse of the relationship that has left her a ghost in her own life, but the fear is never-ending, even as she looks for to the future as Storm Farms. Theo Storm was drawn to the beautiful and vulnerable Gretchen from the moment he saw her picture, but from the first moment they touch he knows she is his future.  The woman is in no way ready for the passion she ignites in him, not to mention she is his employee, but Theo cannot resist spending time with her and becoming her friend, protector, and ultimately learning everything he can about his new employee.  But soon the attraction between them becomes too much for either of them to resist and Theo and Gretchen have to take a chance on their connection and chemistry. But Gretchen’s past is not ready to let her go, soon coming back to try to steal her from her new life, leaving Theo and the Storms having to step up to protect the newest member of their family.  Can this once broken woman have finally found her place safe from the storms of life or will the danger stalking her take her from her new beautiful life?

For those that have never dealt with a narcissistic personality, one that can completely rearrange your thinking about yourself over the years, it might be difficult to understand how a strong woman like Gretchen accepted the abuse from her first “husband” for so long, but to be perfectly honest I understand perfectly.   The emotional and mental abuse, training you to look at yourself as less than them, is much more damaging and long-lasting that any physical abuse anyone, especially someone that is supposed to love you, could ever inflict.  Gretchen finally takes a stand and takes the smartest steps to get away from her abuser, knowing that sooner or later she might have to face him again, but thankfully when that happens, she has her new friends—family really—at her back, because the Storms have pulled her into their clan.  She is smart, sweet, resourceful, calm under fire, and brave as she takes back her autonomy and when she finds love with Theo, she doesn’t allow her past to keep her from claiming her man.  Theo is a protector at heart, so knowing that Gretchen is scared and in trouble obviously hurts him, but he knows that being her friend is an important first step, so he gives her exactly what she needs, and that giving nature is what makes him such a great character.  He is strong, loving, intelligent, crafty, and passionate, but most importantly his love of family and faith in them always being at his back give him the foundation needed to love Gretchen the way she needed.  At any point Theo could have given up, deciding that Gretchen was too much work or too broken, to have a relationship, but instead he is patient and gives her the love and friendship she needs to trust him and understand he will never hurt her, never left her down, and never abuse her.  Then when the chips are down, she has that foundation of love and faith to standup to her abuser knowing that Theo and the Storms are at her back.

Sometimes when life kicks us repeatedly, all we need is the love of a good man in order to find true Shelter from the Storm and Gretchen learns that better than most when she falls in love with Theo Storm.  Mari Carr takes us back to the hills of northern Virginia and Stormy Farms as we watch a woman that has lived through hell escape her hell and find a peace and happiness in the arms of a protector and loving hero.  Gretchen has lived through a past that no woman should ever have to face, but she is finally free and is determined to stay that way as she begins her new life. However, she never imagined that starting that new life would mean she found the love of an amazing man that wants to begin a life with her, and she is determined to show him that she moves beyond her past and be the woman he needs and deserves.  Theo fell in love with Gretchen the first time he touched her, and he is determined that she will be his, even if he has to take things slowly by becoming her friend and confidant first.  But soon he cannot resist his feelings and has to make her his, even though there is danger around them and her fears have to be overcome slowly, nothing stops a Storm from claiming the love of their life.  I loved the passion between Gretchen and Theo, even though it began as a slow burn as they became friends, but once they unleashed themselves that fire burned hot enough to light their mountain on fire.  This story was one that reminds us that even though we often have a lot of trauma and pain to overcome, with the right partner and patience, love can always overcome anything in our past and lead us to a happiness that changes our worlds.  I am looking forward to the next story in the series (Caught in a Storm)and cannot wait to see what trouble the rest of these Storms find themselves getting up to, because I have no doubt that Mari is going to be up to her tricks soon!

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.

ARC Review: An Unexpected Everything (The Cage Family #2)

An Unexpected Everything (The Cage Family #2)

Carrie Ann Ryan

Blurb:

He left me with a note.

Weston Caldwell and I had two months together. Two months of intense heat and plans for our future. Then one day he left me sleeping with a note and never turned back. I closed off my heart and my dreams after he left and promised to take care of my family, never trusting love again.

So when I am forced to head to my family’s small town for protection, I never expect to turn around and see the man I loved.

I want to walk away and never look back, but when I find out he left for a heartbreaking reason, I’m not sure what to think. The chemistry between us hasn’t gone away—if anything it burns even brighter.

But my life is in the city and his is in this small town that draws me. Between his siblings, the town itself, and my new found family, walking away might break me.

Only Weston isn’t the only secret from my past. And it turns out, if Weston and I aren’t careful, we could lose everything before we find our second chance.

An Unexpected Everything is a second chance, right person, wrong time, single “dad,” contemporary romantic suspense in the Cage Family series featuring Weston and Isabella. Each book can be read as a complete standalone. An HEA is guaranteed!**

Themes:  Contemporary

Rating:  4.25 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

 Everybody loves a good second chance romance, even when you think there is no way that the lovers are going to be able to get past their anger and find a way to find love together again. As always Carrie Ann Ryan kicks off her story with a heart wrenching and terrifying reunion between two former lovers, two people that obviously once meant everything to one another but lost their way. This one was a journey through pain and loss as both Weston and Isabella have to face changes in their lives and learn a lot about both their pasts and their present in order to find a way into the future. I loved the drama and growth that Ryan led us through as she reminded these lovers that while sometimes you are forced to make terrifying decisions, love and honesty is always the best decision you can make to have a truly fulfilled and happy life. I am looking forward to more of the Cages and seeing when Ryan takes this crazy large and dysfunctional family as she teaches them how to love and depend on one another while healing from the pain their parents inflicted on them.

Weston Caldwell was just looking for a break from his life when he went on a walk along Cage Lake, he never thought that he would find himself pulling a woman from the crumbling ledge of the hill—much less that it would be the woman he once left behind. Isabella Cage Dixon never wanted to travel to the small town her “new” brothers own, and she certainly never though the town would try to kill her, but when she is rescued by the man that left her heart shattered a decade earlier she is done. Thrown together in the small town, full of well-meaning busy-bodies, Isabella soon learns the hard truth of Weston’s defection and her heart is even more conflicted, especially when he keeps putting himself in her path as her protector. Soon they are unable to resist rekindling their relationship, even though neither of them truly believes they have a chance at a future, but the draw is too much to resist. But if they aren’t careful the danger stalking Isabella will ensure they never have a chance to find out if they ever could have gotten past their fears, because someone wants her gone for good, and if Weston doesn’t keep her safe he’ll utterly lose her this time.

I cried so much with this story, seeing Isabella coming to learn why she lost the man she loved a decade ago and having to accept that, while she doesn’t agree with his decisions, she understands why he felt he had to make them. She understands the love he has for his siblings, and the responsibility he felt when their parents passed, meaning he needed to step up and care for them, giving up his dreams. When she finally begins to accept the past, she opens her heart again, beginning to love again and become the woman that she once was before she closed off her heart to the pain. She is sweet, intelligent, caring, sassy and brave, but most of all she understands the way that Weston cares for his siblings, becoming a defacto single father has changed him and loves him despite those changes. Weston made the terrible decision to give up not only his dreams for freedom, but the love of his life when he returned to Cage Lake to become guardian to his siblings, but he never forgot the woman that held his heart. He is strong, loving, enthusiastic, fearless, and willing to do whatever he needs to when it comes to giving those he loves a chance to grow and thrive. Getting a second chance with Isabella was never something he imagined, but when she is in his arms again he cannot let her escape again. I loved that he had the strength to demand that she give him a chance, even though he feared it would be a disaster and he was determined to keep her safe. The love he has for his family and for Isabella is extraordinary, and the obvious affection he has for his friends and annoying neighbors is sweet as well.

The love between two people that were once ripped apart but are now given a second chance truly is An Unexpected Everything, guaranteed to redeem your faith in love and reconcile your belief in forgiveness. Isabella Cage Dixon has had her entire foundation rocked repeatedly recently, with secret family becoming known, a  stalker after her, and now the only man she ever loved –who left her high and dry—is back and everything is changing again. There is only so much a girl can fight when the man she’s never stopped loving pushed back into her life, heart, and bed, and truly why shouldn’t she give herself a second chance to be happy, especially when a killer is out to end her life before she ever gets to enjoy it. Isabella is strong enough to fight for what she wants, but is she strong enough to fight against the pain and fear of losing Weston again? Weston changed his entire life a decade ago, giving up Bella in order to come home and care for his siblings, but now that she is back and in danger, nothing will stop him from being there for her, and if she is going to give him another chance he’ll grab it with both hands. But the fear of losing her again and giving up the life he has made for himself in order to be with Bella is very real, can he find a way for them to be together, and can he protect her from the danger  stalking her? The passion that sparks between Isabella and Weston is there in every second of the tension and pain these two throw at one another, but once they finally accept their past and embrace their present, the heat is  blazing for sure. I loved seeing these two work through their past and present in order to come to terms with their lives and find a way to overcome their differences and have a future together, not to mention the way they kicked ass when faced with a psycho. I am looking forward to the rest of the series, though I can’t lie, book #4 is the one that I know is REALLY going to be my favorite, but I will be patient and enjoy Dorian and Harper’s story first (If You Were Mine). This series is shaping up to be as fascinating as the Montgomerys, though obviously it’ll never be as LARGE and I am proud to say I was here from the very beginning. Kick-ass, as usual Carrie Ann!

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.