Review: Goodnight My Angel (Angel Enterprises #2) by Sue Brown

Callum Ross has a tough decision to make. After years of working for the covert ops agency in the UK and owning his own security firm in the US, he’s forced to choose between the business he loves, and the new relationship with his partner, Josh Cooper.

A bottle of whiskey and Josh almost being killed helps Cal make the decision, and he moves to the UK with plans to set up his own security consultancy. Then the head of the covert ops agency where Josh now works asks Cal for help. Agency operatives and their families are being injured or killed, including Cal’s friends.
Cal is asked to investigate with Josh’s assistance.

As the number of victims increase, they’re aware either of them could be the next target for the killer.

Warning: this review may contain expletives. 

(It totally does.)

Aaaaaaaagggggghhhhhhh.

Guess what?

Yup.

This story ends in a fricking cliffhanger.

Fuck. My. Life.

I wouldn't care (I lie, I would) but I loved the book and wanted to know all the things and now I have to wait.

I know. I hear you. Patience is a virtue. Virtue is a grace. Grace is a little girl who didn't wash her face. Well today I have no patience, no virtue, no grace and a dir... okay, my face is clean, I have some pride.

God-damn you, Sue Brown. Don't leave a gal hanging like that. I want to know the why. WHY?????

And the who. I mean, okay, we found out the who, but not really the who because who is the who?????

Huh?

I've got to bloody wait until the next instalment of this series.

It's a good job I'm enjoying Cal and Josh and there assassin-y, protecting-y lifestyle. Or is it? If I hated this series I couldn't give two figs who and why. But I do care. I care too much. I have ragey issues with the not knowing and holy moly the next book I read had better be good or it's going to suffer. Dammit though, the book is well written, enjoyable; the mystery scenes are mysterious, the hot scenes are hot, the sweet scenes are sweet... get the drift? It's a gooooood book. BUT IT HAS A MOTHER-FUCKING cliffhanger ending. 

Fuck.

A.

Duck.

So, basically if you enjoy a bet of self-torture, are a self-confessed masochist, go ahead and read this book before the next one comes out. Go on, I dare you.

A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.
For more information see Goodreads.

Review: Stay by Alexa Milne

An act of kindness is never wasted.

Ben Harwood loves his grandmother. When he visits her in the hospital, another old lady, Ivy, expresses a longing for an orange, so Ben, who works in a supermarket, takes her oranges the next day.

Later, after attending his grandmother’s funeral, he discovers that Ivy has died too, and decides to pay his respects. There, he meets Ivy’s grandson, Martin Riley, and the attraction is instant. To his amazement, Ben finds he has become a bit of a hero to the Riley family, who have travelled over from America. For Martin, Ben breaks his three-date rule more than once. Is this simply a holiday romance with great sex, or can he and Martin build something more permanent?

Sometimes a sweet story (with some hot sexy times) just hits the spot. This was one of those times. I have a soft spot for MC's who look after the elderly - I have an even softer spot for elderly characters with a wicked sense of humour! This novel hit both those marks.

When Ivy, the elderly lady in the next bed of the hospital ward his grandmother is on, expresses a wish to taste a blood orange again, Ben doesn't hesitate to bring one back the next time he visits. A simple act of kindness for him, but an important moment for Ivy. Oranges were a reminder of her husband and their long, loving relationship.

This simple act means that Ben is embraced by Ivy's family when they realise who he is at her funeral. From there a relationship develops between Ben and Ivy's grandson - the grandson who is due to return to America any day.

The beauty of this story is in the butterfly effect of kindness. Ben carried out a basic task without expecting, or anticipating, anything in return. The universe, though, likes kindness!

I truly enjoyed this happy read, and it was happy, even if it did start with the deaths of two old ladies!

A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more at Goodreads.

Review: For a Rainy Afternoon by RJ Scott

Robbie MacIntyre manages a small post office in the old Station House on the outskirts of sleepy Barton Hartshourn northwest of London. He’s stunned when the owner, Maggie, a close friend, bequeaths him not only the post office, but also Station House.

The rest of her estate is left to an American writer, Jason Young, and when he moves to the village, Robbie is thrown by the attraction he has for the man who has more of a claim on the Station House than he does.

Then there is a box that holds several rare first editions and a cookbook. Only when the secrets of the ingredients in a particular recipe are finally revealed does everything begin to make sense, and a love cut short seventy years earlier is finally discovered.

I have a love of books set in the English countryside. I don't care which part of England, actually I like books set in the countryside anywhere in the UK. There is something about the romance of books with rural villages as their setting that make my heart sing. They are purely indulgent for me and I enjoy them unashamedly. Gossipy knitting circles, the pub that is the heart of the village, families that have known each other for decades or longer, newcomers, village schools...whatever stereotype is involved it's pretty much guaranteed I'm going to love it. I don't care that I've pretty much always lived in small English villages and know many of it to be er, shall go with, not entirely accurate (these days) I still love it.

This book was no exception, like others of its ilk it warmed the cockles of my heart. Take one local dealing with the death of an elderly neighbour, friend and bequeath-er (is that a word??? it is now), throw in an un-met American relative, a little bit of old lady magic and watch the sparks fly. I can't say how much I enjoyed this little gem, it's the perfect Sunday afternoon book, whether it be read lazing in a sunny garden with a nice glass of wine or curled up in front of a roaring fire with a cup of tea.

As well as watching Robbie and Jason fall in love we learn about Maggie's own lost love from seventy years prior. RJ Scott does a wonderful job of weaving the threads together. I have to say Maggie is a wonderful character and I love how her meddling ways set up Robbie and Jason - even though she is no longer with them.

I would say that to anybody who enjoys a good old fashioned love story then this is a story for you. Warm, moving and romantic, it is a beautiful little read.

Review: Pluck and Play (With a Kick #5) by Clare London

Everyone knows Curtis Wilson around the Soho business scene: a hard-working, budding young entrepreneur, who can get you supplies of whatever you need, and always with a joke and a laugh. Only Curtis knows that’s a purely public persona. Secretly, he’s still licking his wounds after being beaten up by his ex-lover, and he’s not about to let his guard down again.

Handsome Riley Richmond was born to be a cowboy, on his father’s side at least. But after his parents’ deaths, he finds himself stranded this side of the Atlantic, an anachronism in the bustling capital, and without financial capital. His consolation is his music, albeit he’s not a very successful busker and he loses his only decent piano gig after standing up for Curtis against a homophobic bully.

After that, they keep meeting, partly by accident, partly by Riley’s design. He’s smitten, and doesn’t mind letting Curtis know. Their music brings them together – Riley’s guitar playing and Curtis’ sharp, sexy poetry are a powerful combination. But Curtis still has some unfinished business with his ex-lover that he’s struggling to handle on his own. Riley intends to be the man Curtis calls on for help, whether he likes it or not. He’ll do whatever it takes to show Curtis that people can still be trusted to be honest and caring – even if it means walking them both into danger.

I’ve read all three contributions by Clare London to the With a Kick series and I think this one is my favorite. Is it the strong American singing cowboy MC, the bourbon and chocolate over ice cream or the cluelessly charming, completely British MC? Ummmm, yes! Honestly, this story may have well been called Pluck and Play for Ann.

Riley was exactly the kind of cowboy, or just character in general that I swoon for. He’s charming and has a quiet strength that belies the passion underneath that Stetson. He’s deceptively wise and patient and he’ll protect those he loves, or even likes super hard, *ahem, Curtis, ahem* with no thought to his own well-being. Curtis is the character I want to hug and make everything better for, even though he would hate that. He’s kind and good by nature, he doesn’t even know how much positive influence his presence brings to his friends because he doesn’t know any other way to be.

So, these two charming cats meet and Curtis is coming out of an ugly relationship. He makes it clear to Riley that he’s not interested in anything with strings attached. Riley ‘agrees’ but Riley is not one to shy away from what he wants. Curtis is charmed and confuzzled by Riley’s insistent attraction and blatant honesty. Neither of them are forthcoming about their pasts and what has brought them to the point where they meet, but it was a perfect setup as they got to know one another. It didn’t feel secretive, it read naturally and I got to know them as they got to know each other.

I loved the banter between these two and the time spent together at Riley’s place. It was in turn adorable and hot. They were soooo meant to be together and they brought out the best in each other and made each other better men. I also appreciated how the author balanced out how they needed one another, but they still maintained their pride and independence. They were together because they wanted to be and there was no ridiculous angst or stubbornness that kept them apart.

The caper-y shenanigans at the end were perfect fun and I loved seeing the characters from the previous installments. And all these folks coming together for Curtis was just what he needed.

I could definitely read more about Riley and Curtis, maybe a trip home to the ranch? Also, Lee and Patrick? They are killing me to death. Holy hell I need to know all the things. Lee is breaking my heart and I know there is so much story to tell for Patrick. Did I mention that I need to know? Please Clare, give me some Lee and Patrick. With more Riley and Curtis too. On the ranch.

Ok, I’m done.

Sorry, I don’t mean to be pushy.

#notsorry.


For more info on Pluck and Play, check it out on Goodreads.

**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**

Review: Nevada Highlander by Erin O'Quinn

For some men, love comes hard. But deceit comes even harder.

A Scottish castle laird decides to attend a big game hunt in the mountains of Eastern Nevada. His covert, and reluctant, babysitter is a governor-appointed state trooper.

The exuberant Rory Drummond needs no protector. He is a trained hunter, in addition to having several other entertaining skills. The state trooper Alex Dominguez is reserved, shrouding his past—even from himself—out of a need to seal off old memories.

Inevitably, the men find each other irresistible, and soon certain sparks begin to affect both of them. As the attraction between them grows, so does their sense of commitment to each other. Only one thing stands in the way of a mature relationship … Alex’s fear of telling Rory his secret assignment. The tension between his sense of duty and his newfound passion is a factor which threatens to tear them apart once the truth is known.

And the facts must eventually come out.

What will happen when the hunter finds he's being spied on, thousands of miles from home?

And what will the trooper do when his cover is, ah, blown?

(2.75 hearts rounded up)

So Nevada Highlander.....

I loved the blurb, it was so promising - however at times I did feel disappointed. I've not read any Erin O'Quinn before and generally I liked her style of writing, it was well formulated and easy to read. Characters were well defined and likeable and the setting was gorgeous. Rory our Scottish laird was feisty and manly (yum) and Alex our state trooper was considerate and manly (double yum). They were hot together, they had sex within hours of meeting and continued having sex, lots and lots of sex....The Nevada landscape in which it was mostly set was beautiful, Erin clearly has a love of this area that comes across in her writing, I would love to visit this part of the world on the strength of this alone. So why aren't I falling over myself raving about it?

Well firstly I have to say that I was stopped at 26% and this was my status update;

"Epic fail. They've known each other for a few hours and gone bare-back. No, just no."

Quite honestly in this day and age I really don't expect to read this. I love bare-back if it's made clear that both characters know they are disease free - and this doesn't just go for M/M writing but F/M as well. If the scene is a sex scene and it's a detailed sex scene than I want to know about protection, however hot it is without. If it's virgins, an other world story or so on and so forth I don't care about it, but in this world, in the current day and by two MC's who have a sexual past I want to either know about clean tests or condoms. End of. The fact that these two were strangers and not using condoms actually meant I put the book down and it took me some time to resume reading. Anyway now I've got that off my chest....

Then just 10% later I was at it again with the updates, this time it was;

"We, yeah, I'm pretty sure they know what jeans are in Scotland. I'm pretty sure my mum would have known what they were when she was growing up in Scotland 40+ years ago. I'm also pretty sure not all Scotsmen wear kilts on a daily basis, pretty much as sure as I am that Frenchmen, in the main, don't wear striped tops, berets and ride around on bicycles with onions round their necks. #stereotyping

So yeah, it's be fair to say some of the Scottish things annoyed me. Also the constant use of the word foogin' as opposed to fucking, (I guess). Sometimes writing an accent works...sometimes it doesn't. Many years ago I read Trainspotting and the whole thing is written in 'Scottish' -  that's to say it's written as the Scots speak, it took a few pages to get into but it worked, unfortunately for me it didn't in Nevada Highlander, I just got annoyed with it.

The other thing for me was I just found it a bit boring. I'm so sorry and I hate saying that, as I said the characters and setting were lovely but the plot line was a bit blah. It held the promise of being interesting but it just wasn't.

As always I will say that reading is a truly individual thing and what I might find boring someone else might love. There was nothing wrong with the actual writing itself, it was just for me the storyline.

A copy of this book was given to BMBR for an honest review.

Review: Upstaged; Opening Act by S.L. Danielson & Nephylim.

Wannabe singer and band front man Erik Von Nordgren hates snarky brit Asher Berkley with a passion. From the moment he turns up at practice with his twin sister Daisy, who is one of the band the two have hated each other.

Through a series of 'tit for tat' incidents they annoy, frustrate and exasperated each other. The die hard goth with purple eyes and the hard core rocker with dreams of the big time have nothing in common and no need to cross paths. Except to wind each other up.

Until the day that Erik throws Asher in the school pool, when everything begins to change. Erik is so far in closet he's in Narnia and Asher has a dark past and trust issues that stand in the way of any relationship, let alone one with the brash American who hurts him every time they try to get together.

A relationship doomed from the start, or so you'd think.

So a YA angst fest of a hate to love relationship is what I anticipated when I started this book, and to be fair it is what I got - yet somehow it just didn't rock my world, not even a little bit. While the premise held promise the writing just didn't follow through. I've given this a lot of thought, how do I want to review it,I'm not keen on negative reviews, either writing them or reading them, yet I owe to it blog readers to be as honest as I can about my opinion of the book.

Firstly, one major thing this book had in it's favour is the differentiation of the characters, I didn't feel I was reading one character in duplicate - and this isn't just because (of the two MC's) one was a Brit and one was an American. They had their own personalities, their own styles and this did come through, maybe it is a result of two different authors writing the book, I'm not sure but it worked.

As I said I liked the idea of the story-line, though friends to lovers is my bag I also enjoy the spark and kindle of a romance between two sworn enemies. The angst was there, the mutual dislike, I could see the fire that would eventually turn the relationship around but.....but.....it just didn't quite work.

"The die hard goth with purple eyes and the hard core rocker with dreams of the big time have nothing in common and no need to cross paths. Except to wind each other up."

It was a story that made me dizzy, it kinda felt like the authors had decided on the storyline and tried to cram as much into 259 pages as possible. All good right? Well no, not when it means the main characters don't just go from hate to love but instead went hate/love/hate/love/hate/love.....I lost track of how many times. Teens are fickle, I know I was one (too long ago to think about but still I was one), but these two made Vicky Pollard look as though she has deep and meaningful relationships.

I don't want this to turn into a bitchy review so I'll just say the relationship is more than on again/off again, it skirts round the same issues without ever resolving them. Erik hurts Ash by refusing to let the relationship become known beyond his band-mates. Fine, I think coming out is (unfortunately) a very hard thing for a lot of teenagers to deal with. But I felt that the authors weren't actually addressing this issue, they weren't tackling Erik's anxieties of letting people know he was gay, it seemed it was purely there to add a convenient conflict. And Ash - ever heard the phrase fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me? Once Erik had broken the same promise several times don't go back for more, not unless you're willing to change your expectations, cos it just ain't going to work.

So Ash, hurt by Erik goes and sleeps with a fellow fan of the band Vince, and by the next day they are boyfriends, devoted to each other. Until (a couple of hours later) Vince tells Ash he loves him and Ash has some kind of break-down. His terrible past is hinted at throughout the story, yet it's never fully resolved exactly what happened. We know some of it but I never could quite work out who James was, what he did and why the words I love you were so difficult for Ash to hear.

To complicate matters even more Erik's best friend Billy is also in love with Erik - something happened once upon a time and he's carried an unrequited love for him ever since. But then Billy takes on comforting Vince after Ash so cruelly dumps him and, wow, yep they manage to fall in love and get their shit together before Ash and Erik. Every two minutes someone was falling in or out of love. I don't want insta-love, insta-angst - I want good, solid reasons for it. I want to feel the change happen, understand why enemies are starting to like each other. Or not. I don't want it there just because it's convenient. And I certainly don't want to get tennis-spectator neck from the changes that happen so damn fast. All this and I've not even touched on the head hopping that happened at times.

In my opinion (don't ya just hate that phrase, but it's true) this story could have done with being put in a drawer for a few months and then attacked with an editors eye and fat red felt-tipped pen. Erik and Ash were potentially great characters, with a great romance and story to tell, I just felt let down by the execution of it all.

This book was given to us in exchange for an honest review.