Review: Olympian Passion

For this review, I chose Olympian Passion by Andrya Bailey.  This is my first book I read by this author.

I received a copy of the ebook for a honest review of this book.

Here is a brief description from Goodreads:
Olympian Passion is the first book in the Olympian trilogy, by romance author Andrya Bailey. 

Sabrina, a Classical Studies graduate student, is excited to be accepted for a summer internship at the Fine Arts Museum. When she meets stunning Greek archaeologist and scholar Nikos Soulis, who will spend two months overseeing the museum's new exhibit, she falls hopelessly in love with him. Even though the sexy professor seems to be dating a rich philanthropist and museum benefactor's daughter, he insists in helping Sabrina with her research project in Greek art. Can she avoid heartbreak when she is seduced by the hot Olympian god of her dreams? 

"Best romance I've read in a while! Couldn't put it down!"

I normally take some notes when I am reading a book that I need to review.  I want to make sure I remember every thought I have on the book I am reading, but this book I could not stop reading until the very end.  At first, I could not get into the story, but once I did, I could not stop reading.  Wow, a cliffhanger.  I need to read book #2 like NOW.  I need to know what happens.

I love the story about Sabrina and Nikos, but there were so many questions I had about Nikos.  Is he telling Sabrina the truth?  Is Maggie really his girlfriend or just possessive of him?  I can not wait until I read the next book.

We got to read this book with Sabrina's point of view.  I wonder what we would had learned from Niko's point of view!!

☆☆☆☆☆
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Would I recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!

Would I read more from this author? Yes!

Happy Reading!

Melissa 

Review coming next: Teacher by R.L. Merrill

FTC Disclosure: The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company has provided me with a copy of this book for review or I have purchased the book with my own funds.  The opinion I share about the story are mine and have not been influenced by the The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company if received for review.

Review: Bed of Roses

For this review, I chose Bed of Roses by Gemma Brocato.  This is Book #4 of the Five Senses Series.
Book #1- Cooking Up Love
Book #2- Hearts in Harmony
Book #3- Exposed to Passion

I received a copy of the ebook for a honest review of this book.

Here is a brief description from Goodreads:
With the right amount of nurturing, love will bloom.

This close to Valentine’s Day Malin Eckert’s flower shop is entering their busiest season. As if the added work isn’t enough, her father’s drinking has spiraled out of control and Mal discovers she’s been named guardian of a fifteen-year-old sibling she never knew about. To make matters worse, Mal’s crushing on a customer, a serial dater who drops by the shop with alarming regularity to send flowers to other women.

Gunnar Sims never had the best luck with women, a fact that doesn’t stop his growing attraction to his florist. His new business is losing money and he should be concentrating on that, but instead finds Mal an enticing distraction.

In spite of her best intentions to keep Gunnar firmly in the friend zone, Mal finds herself falling for the classically handsome gym owner. As her affection for Gunnar and her sister, Gabriella, grows, Mal’s heart hangs in the balance when it appears both could be taken away from her.

Content Warning: Hard bodies, spoiled princesses, and a levelheaded woman who knows how to smell the roses.

I love this book.  It is a must read book.  I love reading series.  Seeing a character from a previous book and learning more about them warms my heart.   We met Gunnar Sims when we first met his sister, Rikki, in Book # 3, Exposed to Passion.  I love seeing what Rikki and Sam are up to, but you must read the book to find out!!  Oh, you will want to read it to find out, too.  It is good!!

Malin Eckert has been through a lot.  Her mother, Harriett, left her and her dad when she was 12 years old.  I kept thinking how can a mother do this and not contact the child in the future.  I know I could never walk away from any of my children.  Mal's father, Ben, is an alcoholic.  I could not believe that she has received the news that she has a sister, Gabriella.  This was one fo the best part of the book.  Learning how 2 sisters are there for one another!

☆☆☆☆☆
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Would I recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!

Would I read more from this author? Yes!

Happy Reading!

Melissa 

Review coming next: Olympic Passion by Andrea Bailey

FTC Disclosure: The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company has provided me with a copy of this book for review or I have purchased the book with my own funds.  The opinion I share about the story are mine and have not been influenced by the The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company if received for review.

Review: Playing with Monsters

For this review, I chose Playing with Monsters by Layla Wolfe.  This is book #4 in the Bare Bones series, but it is also a stand alone book.

I received a copy of the ebook for a honest review of this book.

Here is a brief description from Goodreads:
Roman Serpico has abandoned a thriving rock star career to prospect for The Bare Bones MC. His goal: revenge on the cartel for his father’s murder. His black soul is a writhing mass of venom and rage, and joining the club fuels his ability to wreak havoc. His stepfather, the club’s lawyer Slushy, calls on him to save a stepsister Roman barely knows. Nurse’s assistant Gudrun McGill has fallen in with a bad crowd and needs an emergency extrication…now.

Roman believes he’s killed Gudrun’s assailant, but the loathsome, murderous fugitive Riker has nine lives. He lives to traffic in human flesh another day, and Roman is hell-bent on tracking the bastard down. But The Bare Bones votes to place Gudrun into custody with her stepbrother as her bodyguard. Things heat up between them when they hide in plain sight in the ghost town that surrounds The Citadel, their clubhouse.

Roman has vowed celibacy to fixate on vengeance. Gudrun wants nothing to do with men after losing her husband in a horrific car crash.

The terror of their situation brings them too close for comfort. Walls must come down. Barriers must be broken. Taking risks is in the nature of their new MC family. Roman has to roll the dice, to hit fast against Riker and the Chinese cartel. To preserve his newfound family, he has to roll like thunder and be gone like smoke

All Roman wants to revenge for his father's death.  His heart is full of evil and blackness.  I do not know what I would do if I was Gudrun and having lost my husband.  I wanted to know about Roman and what he would do to revenge his father's death.  What lengths he would take?  I also wanted to know about Gundrun.  How does to recover from the death of her husband?  Will she be able to move on?  Will she be able to find love again?

This is not my usual type of reading, but I like to read a lot of books and I wondered how this book would end so I had to read it.  

☆☆☆☆
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Would I recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!

Would I read more from this author? Yes!

Happy Reading!

Melissa 

Review coming next: Bed of Roses by Gemma Brocato

FTC Disclosure: The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company has provided me with a copy of this book for review or I have purchased the book with my own funds.  The opinion I share about the story are mine and have not been influenced by the The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company if received for review.

Review: Bad to the Bones

For this review, I chose Bad to the Bones by Layla Wolf.  This is book #4 in the Bare Bones series, but it is also a stand alone book.

I received a copy of the ebook for a honest review of this book.

Here is a brief description from Goodreads:
Knoxie Hammett has been The Bare Bones' tattoo artist for years. He's just drifted through life, living it large and performing in their Triple Exposure films, recovering from a divorce he never wanted. Suddenly Knox has a reason to live and to Prospect for the outlaw motorcycle club.

He'll need their help to rescue the lovely Bellamy Jager from the jaws of the warped, cutthroat cult leader who has been holding her hostage for all her adult life. To the neglected, abused teenaged Bellamy, living in the desert canyons off stolen food and time, the sanctity of the ashram looked like a safe zone. But her haven turned to hell and she was drugged and abused, ignorant of any other way of life.

Knoxie will need every one of his Bare Bones brothers and every ounce of bravery he can muster. To save Bellamy and her white slave sisters from the twisted Swami, he’ll need to pull off the most daring heist of his life to prove to the club and the world that he’s…BAD TO THE BONES


I could not get into this book at first, but once I did, I could not put down it down.  I was curious about Knoxie and Bellamy.  Knoxie had his wife leave and take their children with her.  God, that is so hard to deal with.    I was lost at times, but that did not stop me from reading.

This is not my usual type of reading, but I like to read a lot of books and I wondered how this book would end so I had to read it.

☆☆☆☆
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Would I recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!

Would I read more from this author? Yes!

Happy Reading!

Melissa 

Review coming next: Playing with Monsters by Layla Wolfe

FTC Disclosure: The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company has provided me with a copy of this book for review or I have purchased the book with my own funds.  The opinion I share about the story are mine and have not been influenced by the The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company if received for review.

Review: Stay Vertical

For this review, I chose Stay Vertical by Layla Wolf.  This is book #2 in The Bare Bones MC series.

I received a copy of the ebook for a honest review of this book.

Here is a brief description from Goodreads:
One two three four five six seven. All good sinners go to heaven.

Peace Corps volunteer June Shellmound returns to Arizona to care for her dying mother. At the clubhouse of The Bare Bones motorcycle club, June is swept into the drama when half-breed Lytton Driving Hawk barges in and demands recognition as president Ford Illuminati’s half-brother.

Hot enough to melt steel, Lytton has forged a life apart from the reservation as a brilliant chemist, living the high times at his pot farm in the mountains. Lytton is no fortunate son, though, and the mortal secrets Ford’s been hiding about their father drive the last nail into their brotherly coffin.

Lytton turns his back on the Bare Bones and sweet bleeding heart June. Blinded by vengeance, Lytton becomes ruled by his own demons, raising hell alongside Ford’s mortal enemies, The Cutlasses. Alliances are torn apart within the club, loyalties are divided, and everyone’s true spirits are tested. When the dust clears, Lytton and June find themselves running for their lives just to…
STAY VERTICAL

Publisher’s Note: This is Book #2 in the Bare Bones series. This book is a stand-alone and can be read out of order. However, it is advised to read THE BARE BONES first to get a complete picture of the club’s background, storylines, and setting. 

Publisher’s note: This is not your mother’s contemporary romance. Daring readers will encounter sexual assault, violence against women, general violence among men, consensual BDSM, and a HEA. It is not for the faint of heart. It’s a full length novel of 65,000 words with no cliffhanger. Recommended 18+ due to mature content.

Wow, June is very different than her sister, Madison, and her twin brother.  I wanted to know more about June.  She had a good heart.  This was not what I normally read, but I was so curious about June and Lytton.  Lytton found out the man who he thought was his father was not, but his dad is Cropper and he has a half brother, Ford. 

How would that feel if your father that you thought as turned out not to be your dad, but someone else?  He can not even talk to his dad now.  

June was good for Lytton.  I could not stop reading this book.

☆☆☆☆
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Would I recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!

Would I read more from this author? Yes!

Happy Reading!

Melissa 

Review coming next: Bad to the Bones by Layla Wolf

FTC Disclosure: The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company has provided me with a copy of this book for review or I have purchased the book with my own funds.  The opinion I share about the story are mine and have not been influenced by the The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company if received for review.

Review: The Bare Bone

For this review, I chose The Bare Bone by Layla Wolf, which is my first book I read by this author.

I received a copy of the ebook for a honest review of this book.

Here is a brief description from Goodreads:
If you ain’t living on the edge, you’re taking up too much room.

The rose-colored illusion of Madison Shellmound’s girlish crush on biker Ford Illuminati is stomped into smithereens by his crude, perverse father Cropper, Bare Bones club President. Fearing Ford will kill Cropper if he finds out, Madison flees town, becoming an upstanding cardiology nurse.

Madison and Ford have an ill-fated, star-crossed love that will last their lifetimes. Ford is a lifer in a different sort of enterprise, the gritty full-throttle club of guns, blood, and allegiance to his brothers.

Twelve years and several tours of SEAL duty later, Ford is thrust back into Madison’s arms on the worst day of his life. Madison’s prospect brother Speed has screwed up big-time and owes the club his life. She offers herself to Cropper as a sacrificial lamb to save Speed.

But how long until the fiery, full-on outlaw Ford discovers that the woman he loves was treated like a degraded slave by his own father? Well, meet the new boss. He’s not the same as the old boss

This book is not what I normally read, but I was hooked.  I wanted to know more about Madison and Ford.  Most of the time I could not follow what I was reading, but that did not stop me.  I had to know more about Madison.  She wanted out of her mother's house so badly for how she was being treated and other reasons.  Ford was so taken with Madison, but wanted to protect her from his father.

☆☆☆☆
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Would I recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!

Would I read more from this author? Yes!

Happy Reading!

Melissa 

Review coming next: Stay Vertical by Layla Wolf

FTC Disclosure: The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company has provided me with a copy of this book for review or I have purchased the book with my own funds.  The opinion I share about the story are mine and have not been influenced by the The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company if received for review.

Review: Buddy Carruthers, Wide Receiver

For this review, I chose Buddy Carruthers, Wide Receiver by Jean C. Joachim.  Book #2 of the First and Ten Series.  Book #1 is called Griff Montgomery, Quarterback, which I have not read, but plan to.

I received a copy of the ebook for a honest review of this book.

Here is a brief description from Goodreads:
Known for his record-breaking stats and womanizing ways, wide receiver, Buddy Carruthers, would give it all up for one chance to win the only woman he ever wanted, Emmy Meacham. Hard-won games, and traveling half the season kept Buddy from pursuing his secret passion. Even if he managed to corner her for a moment, would she still care?
Now a rock star known as Emerald, Emmy lived her life on the road with no time for love. In her dreams, she longed to turn back the clock and spend another night with Buddy. But lies and deceit had kept them apart for five years. Would a chance meeting wash away those years or cause old wounds to resurface? Could two lives traveling in opposite directions make room for love or would they continue to spin, out of sync, and always alone?
Caution: Locker room language
A snippet from the book:
“Wow. That was worth every penny.”
“Knew you’d like it.” She strutted back and forth in front of him.
“I love it. Now take it off.”
Emmy crawled up the mattress like a panther. “You take it off.”
Buddy let out a low growl and reached for her. 

I love Jean Joachim's books.  I really loved this book.  It is a sweet romance with challenges to overcome with both Buddy and Emmy.  

Emmy has always wanted to be a rock star, but she feels like something is missing.  I love these 2 quotes from the book below.  What would you do for your one true love?  Would you leave behind something you have wanted your entire life (ie career) or do you just go for it?  
"Still, she hungered for something else.  Something more." (Ebook page 85)
"He was the symbol of what she was missing, her one true love."

There was something that did not sit with me about Stash.  I am not sure what it is.  But, I think he was too possessive of Emmy.

I would definitely read more by Jean!!

☆☆☆☆☆
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Would I recommend this book? Yes! Author? Yes!

Would I read more from this author? Yes!

Happy Reading!

Melissa 

Review coming next: The Bare Bones by Layla Wolf

FTC Disclosure: The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company has provided me with a copy of this book for review or I have purchased the book with my own funds.  The opinion I share about the story are mine and have not been influenced by the The Publisher/Author/Book Tour Company if received for review.