Kick, Holly S. Roberts.

 

Kick, Holly S. Roberts.
Review from jeannie zelos book reviews
I wasn’t sure about this book, I’ve read some sports related novels that were great, and others …well, let’s just say – they were a bad choice, so I was somewhat tentative on starting. I need not have worried though – it was a great read, with a perfect balance of sport, sex and romantic story – and as a non sports fan I too was caught up in the cameraderie and atmosphere of the match ( I nearly wrote game…or is it the other way round..damn, i’ve forgotten now!)
I felt for Cami, school bullying has long lasting after effects, ( been there, done that) and I understood perfectly why she was so shy, and tried to keep hidden. It’s a tough world when you have to think through every action and scenario, and plan just what to say, when and where….I was puzzled by the “look up” instruction she kept giving herself at the beginning, til I got to the bullying part – poor Cami, she was really let down by the few jocks in her life.
She’s got a thing for muscles though…and has been sent on tour with a Rugby team…lots of muscles there and she tries hard to keep away. But there’s bad boy but charming Van, and his gorgeous but someone daunting brother Joel. Somehow Cami ends up caught between the two, wrapped up in their attraction, and still struggling to make sense of the sport and her assignment.
The team and the town are a very united front, and they take Cami to heart. She’s a sweet girl and they appreciate that she’s trying hard in a world where she’s lost, and she gets lots of help from all directions. She comes to love the sport, and her editor loves what she’s written, but as time goes on the struggle with the brothers takes its toll.
There’s some hot, sensual sex, lots of touches and glances, shared moments, those little things that build a relationship and are so important at the start. It all makes for a beautiful romance, with a perfect ending, all wrapped up in a tale that entrances and pulls the reader into a world which they may know nothing of ( me!). I really felt part of the story, wondered what Cami would do, felt for her when she made mistakes, when she got too caught up in wild Cami and the muscles and sensible Cami had to pay the price. The brothers too – yes Van’s a Bad Boy, a man-whore, but he’s got that charm, that smile and confidence, and we see a bit more of his personality as time goes on. Joel, he appeared really surly at first, but as he opened up and his charm came out Cami got caught up in his spell too – torn between two brothers, and to begin it certainly kept me guessing which way the story would go. I loved the way the romance was just part of the story, how we met other characters from the town, how the sport was explained and made me feel I was there. Not just the sport but the celebrations around it, how the town lives for it, how the local kids get into the sport so young. It has a real family feel about it.
Stars: Five, I really enjoyed this story.
ARC supplied via Netgalley

Avenge Me, Fifth Avenue, book 1, Maisey Yates

 

 

Avenge Me, Fifth Avenue, book 1, Maisey Yates
Review from Jeannie Zelos Book reviews.
I really wanted to like this book, its got all the elements I love but….I just didn’t feel the chemistry between Austin and Katy. Somehow when they were together they had some scorching sex but Austin’s constant whining “oh poor me – I must be like my father if I enjoy sex like this” got wearying after a while. Katy kept saying she was a willing partner and yet he still kept harking in it – even though he was more than happy to go for round two, three and more…The on-off nature of the couple too just didn’t seem right. Austin was a real jerk, having got her jobless and homeless and then just letting her go in petulance after finding out she was a virgin and knowing she’s nowhere to go to. That more than the sex side made him a callous burk for me. Apart from the fact he helped women achieve justice, and was finally determined to bring his fathers’ atrocities to an end he wasn’t really a likeable character to me.
Katy – at 26 was a virgin, and then in one fell swoop went off with a total stranger for a session of passion. If she was cautious enough to wait that long it didn’t feel right that she’d just jump onto whatever Austin said and did. Usually when there’s some BDSM link, as there was here, there’s a bit more about why the characters want/need/enjoy sex this way but I didn’t seem to find it here.
Its a good story, lots of potential and maybe its just that being the first book in the trilogy it had too much to do, and my expectations were too high. I think I wanted more insight into the personalities, more knowledge about exactly how his dad was getting away with the crimes. Still, I’ve the second book on my kindle and hopefully I’ll get more of the story there. It may be one of those trilogies where I get more from a second reading, knowing the back-story and more about the characters, that’s happened to me before.
Stars: three – I’m hoping book two will reveal more and then if I re read this I’ll get more from it.
ARC supplied by Netgalley

Enslaved By the Others, Jess Haines

 

 

Enslaved By the Others, Jess Haines
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
I mentioned in the review of the last book how this series was one of the first fantasy reads for me, and I’d not really got “with it” with book one, but then read the fourth and loved it – except for that dammed cliff-hanger. I HATE those..but finally we’ve the next book and we dive straight in with Shiarra being a captive in Max’ home.
I like Shiarra, and that’s important to me to like the main characters. Its mostly her in this book, trying to escape Max and get back to Royce. She’s pretty inventive and has several attempts which annoy and frustrate Max intensely. He’s hoping to bring her to his side, but vastly underestimates her determination.
Its a riveting read, full of Others, action, battles and slayings. Shiarra meets some new Others who are Max’ captives, and as usual promises to help them too even when she doesn’t know if she can trust them. That’s here nature, if she sees an injustice she has to step in – its why Royce loves her and she brings a bit of morality to his life. Others live such long lives that its a common thread through the genre that they lose their sense of morality over time, and view humans and anyone different to themselves as unimportant. I love Nalini Singh Angel series, and that’s one of the things Raphael says about Elena, he’s very, very old and she brings back some of his sense of morality – I think he says something like “you make me a little more mortal” though he’s talking about physically as well as morally. Royce looks at things differently since he met Shiarra too.
I was interested in meeting the new Others, and finding out what they could do. Like Shiarra was feeling I was aware that there’s that sense of how far can they be trusted, will they really help when push comes to shove, or will they just take the best option for themselves and double deal her? There’s lots of surprise for and about Shiarra in this book. I was sad we didn’t see more of Royce – he’s such a great lead, and hopefully the next book might feature him more though we did get a hot and sexy up-close interlude at the end 🙂
Overall a great read, one for keepers, ties up last book neatly and no damn cliffhangers!
Stars: Five, great read, full of surprises and one to keep and a series that I’d happily re read.
ARC supplied via Netgalley.