Moira is a young woman that has gone through life the hard way, scraping for everything and every day she’s been given. She’s chronologically 22 but much wiser than her age reveals. She knows secrets and tells like a blackjack dealer knows a hot hand. It’s her superpower.
Four is a Guardian. He and his team rescue people from sex trafficking around the globe. She was a job, a rescue mission. That’s all she was ever supposed to be. He’s worked hard to maintain those professional boundaries while teaching her how to become a true survivor. She hasn’t made it easy for him but her strength and determination have always impressed him.
When she is taken, along with another girl from the Facility, the Guardians kick into high gear to find her and save her but in the meantime, she has to survive. She has to be wily, manipulative, and cold.
Can she do it? Will the team make it in time?
I liked Moira immensely. She’s hard, tough, and won’t die easy. She has a sarcastic streak a mile wide and a chip on her shoulder. She has survived on her strength and wits. She has no quit in her DNA. I love a strong heroine. She might trade on her looks but it’s all she’s been given in this life so she uses them to her advantage every time.
Four (Petty Alert) I didn’t love. Why? Because I didn’t like the look of the cover model for him. He isn’t the Four in my head and I had real trouble pushing the cover model out of my head long enough to like Four. I liked him, but it was hard. I loved his qualities. I loved his friends. I just couldn’t make the two pictures of him mesh in my head. I know!! That’s a stupid reason not to like an imaginary character! But I’m stupid that way!
Another very petty issue I had with this book was instalove. Oh, where have you been? Here, in this book, waiting for me! There is a year-long history with the two mains, but we didn’t get more than a few peeks and it ended up feeling rushed. Of course, this ISN’T book one and it’s possible they had appearances in the other books but I picked this one based on a recommendation. This is book three of a six book series so…maybe read them in order, if you’re curious. Each are however complete standalone books with various characters from the other books popping in.
Spoiler alert!!
The ending is so far out that the James Webb Telescope hasn’t seen it yet. Thinking that any reader could accept that this 22-year-old girl could make it into a well-oiled, fully functioning soldier in 2 weeks made me laugh out loud. Thank goodness it doesn’t come down to her somehow saving the day or this review would be completely different. Having said that, the author clearly states in her bio on the Amazon book page that she guarantees HEA’s in her books and really that’s the reason we read these things! We get our hearts broken nearly everyday by life, we don’t need it in our books too!
Okay, now for the juicy stuff.
The sexual tension is nicely handled but the actual sex? Meh. It’s unnecessarily acrobatic in at least one instance and it detracted from the story for me. The power balance was nice and that added enough spice and flair to keep me reading but I honestly worried about Four’s leg. I know! Call me crazy!
My rating? We started at 5 stars as always. I have to deduct a full star for the ending. I also have to deduct for the gymnastics that brought me out of the story; half a star. I have to add back half a star because I loved Moira. It’s hard to write a female heroine that isn’t weak-willed and falling all the time. I mean, it must be! Look at all the movies!
Final tally? ⭐⭐⭐⭐
In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
This year I made a conscious decision to tackle hurdles. Not on a football field but in my mind, those stumbling blocks that have prevented me from fully living. Doing all the things that I have always deemed too risky, too costly, too dumb, too mortifying, etc. like singing karaoke, skydiving, taking salsa lessons, etc. We all have those things, hangups that keep us from living the way we want to. Sometimes it might be harboring an ill feeling toward a colleague that makes work uncomfortable or an argument with our spouse that goes too far on a bad day but those change our perception of these people.
What does this have to do with this book? This is a book about discovering and forgiving yourself. Not the superficial you that looks back at you in the mirror or greets the clients during the workday. The real you. The base level of your soul, your true character. It takes some serious self-exploration to tackle but it’s a task worth doing. Why? Once you discover who you are, you can begin to heal all the broken pieces and find peace and forgiveness for yourself. Then, by extension, you begin to share that peace and more freely give forgiveness to the world around you.
Eckhart Aurelius Hughes has written this book in the hope that, if only a few, find that grace inside ourselves, we can send it out in waves that will radiate in ever-growing circles throughout the world. The spark that lights the match that catches the whole world on fire. As the title says In it Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All. I haven’t quite found the beauty in the struggle yet but one day I hope to.
This isn’t a book to read on a crowded plane or during your coffee break. You need time, some paper and pencil, and a clear mind to soak in the essence of what he says. I made numerous little notes to myself and bookmarked some especially eye-opening pages. I think you will too. The one that resonates with me, and one I will use on a near-daily basis, is that we are not our memories. That one simple line printed on a page doesn’t sound like it could change a person but let it sink in, and wash over you. It’s such a simple but amazingly complex and freeing thought!!
The tone throughout the book is scholarly with hints of humor. I know so many people have spent the last 2 years doing some self-improvement work and could benefit from this book but I worry that it will go over the heads of many. He has made it as reader-friendly as he could but it’s not a starting point on a healing journey. It’s not the first book I would recommend. If you’ve spent some time with a therapist or doing some real self-reflection, this book could be the next logical step.
My rating? 3 out of 4 stars. Three very solid stars. I would go as high as four but the overall tone makes it less user-friendly to self-help newcomers. It’s a polished, well-planned, thoughtfully written addition to the self-help niche that I believe can help a lot of people find grace for themselves and eventually for others.
No One Crosses the Wolf by Lisa Nikolidakis
This is a memoir about a troubled childhood full of abuse and neglect. It’s not an easy read and I wasn’t looking for one. It follows her growing up years with her brother and parents and all the trauma you can imagine.
Her father is a piece of crap, to put it lightly. He is an alcoholic that spends most of his at-home hours terrorizing his family. When he isn’t home, they dread his coming home so they are never truly free of him. After reading her recollections of him, I can understand that fear.
And her mother isn’t much better in comparison. She doesn’t abuse the kids but she doesn’t stop the abuse either. She puts her head in the clouds and pretends that everything is just fine. Domestic violence doesn’t go away because you want it to, you have to stop it! Her mother failed them all.
When her father finally snaps, I expected more somehow. More untangling the emotional threads of her life. More in-depth onion peeling. I wanted to see her do the hard work to undo all the lessons that her upbringing taught at such high prices. But she did none of it. She drank, slept around, and went to Greece. I’m healed!!! The end. What?? Yeah, I’m confused too.
My first inclination was to give this a 2-star review. I mulled it over though, for several days I might add. Three is as high as I can go. She writes well. She knows how to create an atmosphere and add texture and shade to a story but in the end, there’s no story. There’s no healing final chapter. There’s no Oprah “Aha!” moment. And that is a true letdown.
⭐⭐⭐ /⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
On Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service From the Arab World to the Berlin Wall by Michael Burton
This is a must read for fans of history, the British Monarchy, wars of the last century, or those that are infinitely curious about life behind the scenes. He opens the door to the private world we see little of and hear even less of in the media. We are simply addicted to scandal and gossip mongering but the real secrets lie just beyond our reach. Mr. Burton reveals them in conversational anecdotes with some photos included.
He tells of how he came to become a diplomat. I never knew how that occured so that was of particular interest to me. I guess I believed you had to first be an ambassador or a spy or something. That’s an American education for you. We learn very little about other places and even less about our own.
He tells of adventures and almost misadventures in far flung places like Khartoum. He knows all the players and their playbooks; Margaret Thatcher, Osama Bin Laden, how the reunification of Germany came about and of course, the Queen.
He also gives us some of what makes him tick. He tells us how he felt in doing his time in the National Service. He speaks candidly of how he met and came to marry his wife, how they survived the loss of a child, the constant upheaval of moving for his job, etc.
The backdoor maneuvering, the hasty meetings, it’s all fascinating. If you want to read about recent history, grab any old book. If you want to experience it as if you were in the room, buy this book.
Given the death of Queen Elizabeth in the past week, this book is quite timely. Her reign and State sponsored functions are spoken of and both color and black and white photos are provided. I particularly enjoyed seeing those when combined with the backstory humanizes her and the Royal Family.
My only complaint – and it is absolutely minor to be sure – is that his sentences run a bit long. They are, without a doubt, proper but a bit droning. I cannot in good conscience deduct a full star off my rating for such a personal pet peeve.
This should be on the gift list of every history lover this Christmas. I highly recommend it. I also think it would make a very pretty coffee table book. You can buy it on Amazon at the link provided.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
On Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service: From The Arab World To The Berlin Wall https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BF2Q1XB6/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_1M1YJQHDKGPD2XCDKP0G
Maverick (Grim Sinners MC Originals) Book 2 by LeAnn Ashers
Maverick is a member of the Grim Sinners, an MC that isn’t afraid to handle the dirty business but that also tends to look out for those that society doesn’t. He lives hard, fights dirty and has a heart of gold. He protects his family at any cost and Bell has never known that life. He won’t let her forget that when trouble comes knocking, he answers the door.
Bell was married to a brutal man at fourteen because her parents decided that it was to be done. She had no say. That was life in the religious cult they were a part of and she knew that arguing or defying them would get her nowhere. Life with them was no bed of roses but sometimes it’s better the devil you know. Her circumstances only grew worse and worse. When Fate steps in and gives her a way out, she steps into freedom and finds Maverick.
I really liked Maverick. He was very likeable from the first word. He was supportive, funny, and protective. What’s not to love?
Bell? Meh. She was simpering, a little bit wishy washy and I just never liked her. I have been sexually assaulted and you don’t go to therapy for a few weeks and voila; you’re healed and sleeping with a guy you just moved in with. Imagine a lifetime of trauma, (over 35 years!!) and a few weeks of talking to a therapist and you suddenly have no hang ups and are ready to strip down to your skivvies with a man in the back of beyond all alone. And it’s the second time you’ve spent time together? So many of those things just didn’t help me like her. It was an affront to victims everywhere.
Plus, I found issues with the writing. Nothing major most of the time but still aggravating. Missed punctuation, no capital letters at the start of sentences, but some in the middle of sentences. I said most of the time. I found a couple of instances that made me say wtf!? I’ll detail a few below.
First instance: her daughters have found her and they all meet for the first time and they stop to ask her name. Huh? How did they find her if they didn’t know her name? I’m pretty sure that’s a vital piece of information to have when searching for a birth parent.
Second issue: She and Maverick are making out like crazy and she falls asleep under him? This goes back to the land of unbelievability for me. I’ve been extremely tired and extremely aroused. Those are opposite ends of the spectrum so I can’t see this happening.
For me, this book was a lot shoved into a small book. A cult, a motorcycle gang, a ruthless husband, kidnapping, babies being sold, pregnancies, and so much more. It’s novella length but could’ve been so much better with a little less drama and more backstory. I’m not upset about it but I do wish I had gotten to know the characters better.
Overall, this book was a quick read. I don’t know if I will read the others in this series. I’m on the fence but I did love Maverick! I can only give three stars while being honest. I wish I could give more.
⭐⭐⭐
Protector: Watchdogs MC #1 by Kate Stone
I knew this was going to be a quick read. I check those things before buying. I don’t gush about those books typically but everyone needs a book to fill a gap of time ie. sitting in the exam room of the doctor’s office or whatever. I read this one cover to cover in 25 minutes!! It takes longer for Rose Nylund to get a story off the ground! (You’re more than welcome for the totally gratuitous GG reference.)
Neither character jumped off the page. There was no story in the…uh…story. Boy meets girl, flirting happens, boy rescues girl and The End. What???
We didn’t learn anything about the backstory of either character. We didn’t learn anything more than the most superficial crap about the present. We didn’t get any real drama. It wasn’t even hot.
Two stars is charitable. Seriously.
⭐⭐
Filthy Marcellos: Lucian by Bethany-Kris
I finished this book yesterday and I’ve still been fence sitting about it. I can’t say I loved it but I didn’t hate it, and that’s all I can say.
Lucian has a very complex past. It got confusing and tiresome. His dad is really his uncle or something. His aunt is really his dad’s wife? I’m from Appalachia and I had trouble following this. That shouldn’t happen since my region is known for incest. (Look up the blue people of Kentucky.)
I loved and completely adored his family though. If for no other reason, I would have finished this book. They each have traits that make you fall in love with them. Read it and tell me differently.
Jordyn was, by turns, both brave and incredibly stupid. That wore me down quickly. She fails to make a decision, which is in itself a decision and then suffers the consequences, but I felt like she never owned that her own inability to make a decision is what caused it. She just seemed to gloss over it. She was also naive in ways that someone with her backstory shouldn’t be. She had grown up rough and should’ve had a better understanding of the world.
The writing! Most of it is fine. Some of it is distracting, aggravating and…I had to put the book down and walk away. She chooses words that while technically correct aren’t the common variation and it pulls you out of the story. Or at least that happened to me over and over. Your mileage may vary. I could list them here but honestly, read the book. You might not find a single example, but I found several. Also, her sentences sometimes ramble to the point of being nearly unintelligible. If I have to read something three times to figure out what might be being said, I’m over it.
The length of the story was okayish. Some of it needed to be edited for clarity and some just needed to be edited. For instance, when Lucian is completely obtuse in a conversation and it doesn’t sink in until later, and sometimes much later. Hello? How old are you again? Ten? No, twenty eight. Really?
The villain in the book, and their reasons for being the villain, at least as far as Lucian is concerned was so obvious. I wanted to slap every one of them. It was something Jessica Fletcher would have known before Colombo could’ve asked one more question. These people need to watch more 80’s TV.
The names of the characters. If she would’ve changed the name of his mom to Carmella this would have been the Sopranos. Antony, Paulie and Cecelia? In New York and the Mob? Mmmm almost!!
The sex. These two were bunnies on Viagra. Angry? Sex. Lonely? Sex. Hungry? Sex. I swear I don’t know why they bothered to wear clothes at all. And they had sex while they were both seriously injured in such a way that their libidinous impulses should have been dead for a few days or heck, even hours. But nope. They didn’t let anything stop them from acting like two adult movie stars.
In the end, three stars. I want to read Dante’s story but I just don’t know if I can go through with it.
⭐⭐⭐
Stealing Iris by Sahara Roberts
Iris isn’t exactly living on Easy Street, but she’s making the best of her situation. She works in her father’s grocery store and has a good friend. Unfortunately she also has two people in her life that want to bring her down and are slowly winning that fight. Her past has made her strong and resilient and she will need that everyday.
Dante has his hands full running what appears to be a criminal enterprise. He has a team of people at his beck and call but no one special to share his life and bed. One look at Iris and his mind dreams up all kinds of filthy scenarios and he soon acts on them. When trouble comes knocking he will need his team and their special skill set.
Fate and literal pain brings them together when Iris needs him most. Things have gotten continually worse and now it looks like the end of the road. She has known that it would happen and is resigned to her fate. Will Dante be able to save her in time? Will he want to?
The romance isn’t a slow build up; it’s a surprise threesome in a hotel room. That pulled me out of the book and made me rethink reading it. I soldiered on, hoping for more meat on the bones. Instead, she had his meat in her mouth and another one in her ass. Speaking of the sausage, his is huge of course. It even causes the other participant to comment. She deep throats even though she’s apparently never done this. An innate sex goddess apparently.
From there, Iris gets a better backstory. Dante never does and the story lacks for it. It feels uneven in the end. One or two pages compared to her 100 feels heavy handed. Maybe we get more of his story in the next installment? The constant cryptic hints at the exact nature of his business did start to get wearing but I held on because the writing flowed well.
The sex scenes happen throughout the book but they aren’t breeding like bunnies. The actual scenes could be spicier and a bit more well described. Sometimes trying to picture it got jumbled with positions of hands and naughty bits. As is, they are vanilla in a bowl, lacking jalapeno but fine. Hot sauce isn’t for everyone and I feel like this author kept it tame to appeal to a broader audience.
The action is short lived but the drama isn’t. There is plenty to keep a reader flipping pages if only to see how it wraps up in the end. Just in time for Christmas, there is a dead mother, a missing father, a slutty girlfriend, and a sleazy wannabe. Add in a partridge in a pear tree and it could be the new Christmas story. Now that I think about it, she does kind of resemble the character Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol. Her best friend is named Carol…? Coincidence? You be the judge!
Overall, a decent time passer on a rainy day. I’m not usually a huge fan of novella length books but I would buy the next book. It’s his bodyguard’s story and I really liked him in this book. He was so human and protective! I actually adored him and want the next book immediately. Yummy!!
The author will be publishing a third in the series next year so stay tuned for another review. I received this one for an honest review and my opinion is my own.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Brothers Best Friend by Natasha L. Black
ARC REVIEW
Cole left behind his family money and became a self made man. He worked hard and established his own good name. He started two businesses and rehabbed a old Victorian. He has a loyal best friend and life is good good for him until…
His sister Susie chose a different path and it took her down some dark corridors. Her decisions didn’t just affect her though. She had a darling little girl named Millie. Unfortunately she dragged her along in her more perilous pursuits. When Cole is forced to stand in as a parent, life changes fast for everyone involved.
Millie might be a little girl but she’s seen more than most and bears the scars. She bursts on the scene and wraps everyone around her little finger in record time. She’s a big personality stuffed into a tiny body and makes her presence felt on nearly every page.
Layla has a cozy life with her students and her dog. She’s close to her family and has good friends. Her life is a perfect except that she hasn’t moved on from a personal tragedy. She’s moving forward but not really. Her best friend thinks she knows why, but does Layla?
Lance is Layla’s older brother and best friends with Cole. They are as close as he is with Layla. They have always been there for each other through everything. As adults, that hasn’t changed. He steps up to the plate when Cole needs him but is shocked when Lance reveals something that will change the dynamics of their relationship to each other and to Layla.
This is an ARC so even though I found some minor errors I won’t be detracting points or detailing them here. It will be further polished before publishing I’m sure. I did find some other issues however and will be discussing them below.
The story starts off a bit slow but rolls along in a pleasurable enough way to keep reading. There isn’t a ton of angst and drama so you really shouldn’t read it for that. It’s a lighthearted read despite some of the heavier stuff in the book.
It has broad appeal. I mean, a sexy man, a cute little girl, an overprotective brother, a somewhat clueless woman, a meddling family and two Dachshunds. What more can you ask for in a book?
My major complaint is simple. I haven’t verified this by going back to the book but I would say up to about 60% of the book Layla comes off almost prudish. (You’d expect that from a schoolteacher of small children so cool, right?) After that point she becomes some sort of a femme fatale and is like a foul mouthed bombshell. (She’s had two chaste kisses and suddenly she’s asking for shower sex as a first time between them?) It felt rushed, and very uncharacteristic and threw me out of the story.
I never really bought this new side of her character so I enjoyed the last part of the book less than the beginning. The whole thing with Holly and all that follows just made me read it to get done, not because I was actually rooting for them anymore. That honestly breaks my heart. (Yes, I have one!)
As for the sex. it wasn’t unnecessarily acrobatic and it didn’t make me giggle but it definitely didn’t make my Kindle catch on fire either. More’s the pity.
Can I recommend this book? My first inclination was three stars. However, after some thought as to the subject matter and careful consideration of the whole story, I had to give it four.
Remember #PleaseReview. Authors love feedback.
Untouchable by Sam Mariano
TRIGGER WARNING!!!
This review will contain spoilers!!
Carter is the quarterback of his high school team in Texas where football is a required religion. He also happens to be rich and good looking (of course) but as if that isn’t enough he is also a complete sociopath. A narcissist that manipulates everyone around him like pieces on a chess board. He gets off on power and control and no one in the whole town will take an ounce of it away from him.
Zoey is a bit of a loner, smart and confident. She has a long term goal in mind and will stop at nothing to achieve it. She wants out of Texas and out of small town life and knows that college paves her way. She also knows that unwanted attention needs to be reported. When another football player begins to harass her, she stands up for herself. This triggers the wrath of Carter.
It’s at this point that a very run of the mill YA story goes off the rails for me. This isn’t a genre I generally enjoy but I heard such glowing reviews from friends that I gave it a try. I ended up reading it in a desperate attempt to find some redeeming value in either character and failed.
Zoey comes off very strong and independent in the beginning. She is level headed and logical. She sees to know her worth and willing to sacrifice for it. I could understand her and her motivations. After Carter, that understanding becomes anger. She becomes his sexual toy and doormat. I wanted to strangle her so many times!
Carter never changes. He doesn’t mature. He doesn’t suddenly have an epiphany about his treatment of Zoey might affect her. He is a man-child and has no reason whatsoever to grow up. Zoey, of course, sees nothing wrong with this. She is convinced that he is either fixable or that whatever he does to her, she really wanted it anyway. Give me a break!
The author warns any potential reader in a very up front fashion that this is a bully romance. She goes further and mentions that it gets pretty dark and even includes trigger warnings. I read it anyway, thinking that I knew what to expect. I didn’t.
Carter doesn’t intimidate her before finally growing up and realizing that he’s been a huge ass. No, he sexually assaults her as his introduction to the book. He doesn’t do it quietly, or allow her to go on with her life. No, he does it in front of witnesses and threatens her. Does she run to report this violent assault? No, she starts dating him!
I don’t kinkshame. I am absolutely aware that rape fantasies exist. As long as what happens is between two consenting adults, it’s all good. I also know that in the BDSM lifestyle that sometimes the act is made better by forcing coercion but the submissive always has a safe word, a way out when things go too far. This book didn’t have those safeguards in place.
This read like a court document written by a very young adult that was trying to justify in her own mind why she didn’t report him to the authorities right away. This is how domestic violence starts. This is how abusers groom their victims in the beginning. The abuse and torment doesn’t begin and end with her. He threatens her friends, steals from one of them, and tells people that she’s pregnant to ensure that no one else will touch her and she will be socially isolated and thus a better target.
Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t terribly written with typos and bad sentence structure. I only saw a couple of easily overlooked typos. The author can clearly write but this book is only for an older audience. I wouldn’t want a younger person to read this and think that this is typical of an intimate relationship.
I’ve struggled with my rating. I want to be fair and honest. My first inclination was, if I’m being honest, was to give it one star. However, I never write a review just after finishing a book. I mull, sometimes for several days. I make so many notes and I take everything into consideration. I do it with every book, this one included. In the end, I finally settled on a number.
Normally, I consider a three a neutral rating. I hate that! In this instance, it’s deserved. The book is well written from a technical standpoint but the characters are so flawed that they teeter on the verge of being bad enough to cause me to DNF. I muddled through but only because I was hoping for a really good ending. That was lacking, in my opinion.
Remember #PleaseReview. Authors love feedback.
Nutbarn Reads, Reviews & Rambles 
You must be logged in to post a comment.