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Review – Designed for Murder – Avery Flynn

09 Dec

designed for murderDesigned for Murder
Author: Avery Flynn
Series: #4 in the Killer Style series
Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Review Copy Provided by Author

Description:
Some fashion statements can kill…

Mika Ito combines her two favorite things in life—textile design and live-action role-playing (LARP)—by creating costumes for her fellow Magic Battledome gamers. Lately, someone’s been assaulting LARPers and stealing their costumes. Concerned for the safety of her friends, Mika hires Maltese Security…only to discover that the lead investigator is the super-hot stranger she just hooked up with.

Carlos Castillo is all too familiar with Magic Battledome. A former legend in role-playing circles, he was all about gaming, until things went very, very wrong for him. Now he’s forced to return to the game undercover—as Mika’s boyfriend—to find some answers. Only playing “boyfriend” with his gorgeous one-night stand is more temptation than a guy can withstand…

Someone wants the costumes enough to kill for them. And when it comes to murder, nothing is what it seems…

Review:
So this is my second attempt at writing a review for Designed for Murder because wordpress decided to eat my original one (and its still lost somewhere in cyberspace…I wonder if that is like a parallel dimension that is where missing socks and tupperware lids also end up?) But back to the adventure that was Designed for Murder. So being that this was the fourth book in the series, it was like coming back to visit a family – or rather, turning to a trusted company to help you out of scrape.

Anyways, when I finished the previous book in the series, I wondered if Carloes (or ‘los) was going to get his own book. He had had a pretty tumultuous ride in the previous books, ending it a pretty massive betrayal and making decisions that separated him from things that he loved and was known for. But then Mika, the heroine in Designed for Murder comes along and it is Carlos’ unique skills that she needs to help her solve the case of who is assaulting the members of her court. Yes, her court because the basis of Designed for Murder is LARP or live-action role-playing. I’ll admit that I know like next to nothing about it, but I love that non-traditional hobbies are starting to make more of an appear in genre fiction.

I found the mystery element of the story to be well-done and kept me guessing until not long before it was revealed. One of the things I enjoyed the most about the series was how looking back there were small clues, that I just completely missed in my initial read. But at the same time, that is one of the things I love about Avery’s writing – she always keeps me guessing until the very end. I gave Designed for Murder a solid 4 stars with Avery’s normally witty writing style and smexy scenes.

 
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Posted by on December 9, 2015 in Book Review

 

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Review – More than Water – Renee Erickson

31 Oct

more than waterMore than Water
Author: Renee Erickson
Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Description:
It doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t feel wrong. It just…feels.

EJ Cunning, an art history major, dates musicians. Foster Blake, a chemical engineering major, can’t sing a tune. They’re not each other’s type. They’re coworkers.

Then, one night leads to sex—sex between friends—which leads to an agreement. It all seems so simple—but nothing ever is.

Many layers build a person’s facade.

Look into the depths for what’s hidden within.

It’s more than water. It’s a story—a living and breathing substance beyond the reflective surface.

Review:
More than Water is one of those hidden gem romances that I probably never would have discovered if it wasn’t for someone raving about it on the amazon romance forum and it being available in Kindle Unlimited (I can safely save I’ve gotten my money’s worth over the last couple of months). Normally I’m not a huge fan of the new adult genre of romance because the vast majority of the books are overwhelming angst ridden, but this one hit all my sweet/happy spots. There was a bit of minor angst towards the end but overall, it was a genuine romance between two opposite personality people with a bit of geek love mixed in.

I loved that Foster was a chem engineering major, it is def. one that you don’t see often show up in book – it seems that the majority of the time, the majors that characters have lend themselves to more partying than actual studying; whereas in More than Water that is what drew me to Foster – how serious and down to earth he actually was, but at the same time, he could joke around like a normal guy (although I will say for the most part – there are exceptions, that isn’t my experience with engineering majors). And then there was EJ, who in defying her families wishes was pursuing a degree in art history. I loved how she was a rebel when compared to what her parents wanted her to do and yet, it made a really good story – More than Water wasn’t just a romance, it was about finding yourself in the world – who you are – are you going to be the water that follows the predetermined river, flowing smoothing over everything; or will you be the water that will eventually carve a new path and form a new river in the world…i don’t know about you, but I think I would prefer to be the latter over the former.

There was something about Ms Erickson’s writing that just drew me in – I started reading More than Water around 1pm on a Saturday afternoon, with the plan to only read a couple of chapters before going to do typical weekend shenanigans…and before I knew it, it was 4pm, i hadn’t accomplishing anything all day, with the exception of finishing up More than Water (yes, i read it all in one sitting – I can’t remember the last time a YA or NA book sucked me in like that). I think one of my favorite parts (aside from the romance that is) was the descriptions of EJ’s various pieces of artwork and how they suited the different parts of the story. I could tell from reading that the author had obviously done her homework into different forms of both art and chemistry and how they intermixed with each other.

Honestly, I could continue to fan girl about More Than Water and Ms Erickson for a while, but I’m looking forward to reading more books by her in the future. I gave More Than Water 4 stars and recommend it to people who like sweet and slightly sexy new adult romances that are light on the angst.

 
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Posted by on October 31, 2015 in Book Review

 

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Review – Asking for Trouble – Rosalind James

22 Feb

asking for troubleAsking for Trouble
Author: Rosalind James
Series: #3 in the Kincaids series

Review Copy Provided by Author

Description:
Sometimes you go looking for trouble. And sometimes, trouble finds you.

Alyssa Kincaid knows she needs to make some big changes. A move to San Francisco is the first step, and now it’s time to get serious, and to get the rest of her life on track. If only her messy life would cooperate. And if only it had Joe Hartman in it.

Joe knows one thing for sure: Making a move on his best friend’s little sister, the beloved youngest sibling in the closest thing to a family he’s got, would just be asking for trouble. Unfortunately, Alyssa always does seem to be asking for trouble. And it’s getting harder and harder for Joe to resist answering.

Review:
Ok, i’ll admit to being a huge Rosalind James fan – I stalk her on Twitter to find out what new stuff she has coming out, so when I saw Asking for Trouble mentioned, I jumped on it and asked her oh so nicely, if she would let me review a copy. Thankfully, she agreed (although, I would have bought it if she had said no). But as things go, sooo many books, too little time – so it started at me from my kindle for a good couple of weeks before I managed to get to it (but if you ask me, I was saving it for when I needed a pick me up!)

Anyways, back to the book – this was Alyssa and Joe’s story. Alyssa is the youngest sister of Gabe and Alec who feature in the first two books in the series and Joe is Alec’s best friend and business partner who we met in the second book – although, there is some history to the pairing. I will admit that the brothers best friend/little sister story line often gives me some squick moments because it always seems like there are huge age differences between the two, but thankfully, there is only 4 years between Joe and Alyssa – that made it seem much more believable/workable to me.

I loved Joe – there is something about the tough guy that I love, especially a tough guy with a shaved head – its totally sexy. I will admit that there were a few times that Alyssa drove me a bit nuts, but it was kind of nice seeing her come into her own – especially seeing her tell her brother off – that whole scene made me laugh out loud – i’m sure the people at the bus stop were looking at me like I was nuts. But don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t your mom’s sweet romance – it was hot and sexy and there were a couple of scenes with some lite bondage (since I know not everyone is a fan of that, so this is a warning).

At the end of the book, I that feeling feeling of book depression – you know, when you finish a good book and not sure what you are going to read next. Of course, as soon as I was done, I was bugging the author on what she was going to be releasing next – what can I say…lol! Overall, I gave Asking for Trouble 4 stars and it is probably one of my favorite books by her so far.

 
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Posted by on February 22, 2014 in Book Review

 

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