Book Review: Ever After by Jude Deveraux

Jude Deveraux never disappoints. One of my favorites, since I first started reading romance (15+ years ago) and still I get giddy when I pick up one of her books.
As always, her worlds are rich with culture, ripe with intrigue, and well developed when delivered. Many of my favorite writers tend to fall flat over time, but with Ever After, Jude Deveraux goes strong and continues to hold my interest.
I love that in her new contemporary romances, she has added the spice of paranormal and all of her previous characters continue to develop in her ongoing series. I also give props to her for making their lives ''real'. Real convicts, dramas, reactions. Her characters are never pop up characters, but fully developed individuals with issues, drives, wants. Reading Ever After, shows just how much. Five Stars for this newest book.

Motivation or lack thereof

Motivation can be an amazing thing. It gets you pumped, it gets you ready, it gets you willing.  If not given proper fuel to burn, it also leaves you hanging.  These last few weeks my motivational fires have burnt out, leaving me a charred shell of unwillingness to work for three weeks. Why? I don't quite know. Maybe I have too many irons in my pot of goals, or maybe I'm just lazy and don't follow through. I have been going through a lot this year and I am in charge of a business that makes me want to pull my hair out, but I don't feel like I have the right to use any of those for excuses. What I secretly think the culprit is, when it comes to my writing, is fear. Fear that I'm not a good enough writer, fear that there are too many steps to take to the end, fear that my stories are cliche, fear that they are boring. Lately, when working on my WIP's, I either come down with headaches from second guessing myself or become super duper sleepy (from boredom?). So I took a two week break. I'm not the type to force something until it breaks and yes, perhaps my fear controls and sucked the life from my motivation. This week though, I'm back on it's willing, ready, and pumped horse. This week, I'm back in the saddle and ready to do some real editing work so I can at least try to get my work out by the end of the month (if I'm lucky). Motivation comes and goes, this I understand and accept. It's up to me to keep it burning. 

Book Review: Cat's Lair by Christine Feehan

Cat Benoit has finally escaped the past—and the man who was the source of her nightmares. She’s off the grid, underground but watchful, and creating a new life for herself in Texas, far from the torrid dangers of her native New Orleans. She’s safe. He’ll never find her this time. Cat has to believe that. It’s the only thing keeping her sane.

Yet she can’t escape the attention of Ridley Cromer, the instructor at the martial arts dojo where Cat takes lessons. She arouses the animal in Ridley—and something feral comes to life when their body heat rises. Cat is in no position to let her guard down with anyone, especially someone who could be endangered by her past. But Ridley has secrets of his own—secrets only Cat would understand. If she dares to trust him.

Review Score: Three Stars out of Five

Let me be frank, I've adored Christine Feehan and her book worlds since I was sixteen. I can still remember where I was, who I was with, and what I was doing, when I first purchased the book Dark Prince. I've been a faithful fan of Feehan's every since and have ready every book she's put out. I love, love, love her. Okay, now that I've mention just how much I heart her, let me just say I winced when I decided on three stars. Her past few books I've read seemed forced maybe even rushed. This one included. 

To give you a better idea of my score. Let me lists the good verses the bad. 

The Good, Reason 1: Feehan can right a wonderful he-man wants woman story. I will confess I'm a HUGE lover of a dominating man. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. (Up to a point of course) Feehan has a glimmer of that ability in Cat's Lair with her characters. The male protagonist wants the female. Simple as that. Their circumstance, eh not so much. 

The Bad, Reason 1: A few points in Cat's Lair, the man is too dominating. So much so, that the protagonist negates his statements with actions. He'll say one thing but do another. I had whiplash sometimes. 

The Good, Reason 2: Feehan has a smooth flow with her writing. Even when the plot is lacking, her writing is done so well that a less than stellar novel is better than a large majority. She get's her emotions and actions across to the reader. It's not a forced read. 

The Bad, Reason 2: As mentioned before, this novel seemed as forced and perhaps rushed. While beautifully written, it lacks a certain luster that her first books held. 

The Good, Reason 3: Her Dark Carpathian/ Leopard worlds are awesome. She has a wonderful concepts with her series, taking old legends but melding them into something different and unique yet never cheesy. She pulls her settings of really well. As if they actually exist. 

The Bad, Reason 3: This world seemed more focused on sex. Now, don't get me wrong. I like sex scenes..up to a point. Sometimes I find they are needless. In Cat's Lair, there was a lot of needless. Enough that I skimmed over them. Give me meat, not bones people. 

Overall, this books was a decent read but only that simply because I KNOW Feehan can write better. For someone interested in the more steamy scenes, this would be a good book (Think Fifty Shades). For someone wanting more of a storyline, I would say maybe not so much. 

Book Review: Chosen by K.F. Breene

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It is said that when war threatens the world, one individual will be selected by prophecy to lead the Shadow Warriors out of the Land of Mist and reclaim the freedom which has been stolen.

Shanti has grown up under the constant threat of war. Since she helped her people defeat a raiding party by using a special power, she’s been a hunted woman. Carrying rare abilities and an uncanny fighting aptitude, Shanti is the only hope of salvation for her people. The problem is, she doesn’t believe in her own divinity, and when she flounders, she nearly fails in the duty hanging so heavy on her shoulders.

It seems like any other day when Sanders and his band of misfit boys find a foreign woman clinging to life in the wastelands. Oblivious to the weapon they now have in their possession, they are content to harbor the mysterious woman until she is well enough to continue her journey. 

But when the war spreads its arms and lands on her borrowed doorstep, Shanti has no choice but to reveal her secrets, plunging her saviors into danger. If they band with her, they will face certain death. But to trade her to Xandre, the warlord desperate to add her to his war machine, would be to give up their entire way of life.

Review Score: Five out of Five Stars. 

Surprisingly, I only like two series from K.F. Breene and this is one of them. Her more contemporary story lines just aren't my cup of tea but boy of boy is this one. Chosen has an original storyline that flows beautifully. It's details are rich, it's word building smooth, it's characters likable and multi faceted. Breene also bring to the forefront, a wonderful dash of humor that is mixed in with a sprinkle of romance, and heaps of actions. Cooked at a perfect temperature, Chosen makes for a wonderful series for any fantasy lover Naturally, I've already moved on to the sequel and let's just say it's shaping up to be just as great as book one. I recommend Chosen to anyone and everyone who loves visiting new worlds where the heroine knows her worth and the male knows it too. 

Authors I Love To Stalk: Amelia Hutchins

Welcome to my first installment of Authors I Love to Stalk. These posts will consist only of authors I majorly HEART and my reasons why. When I find an author I adore and worship, I fall hard. My husband often threatens to divorce me because I then refer to nothing but that author and their wonderful, beautiful worlds. It makes things awkward at my home to say the least.


So anyway, let us begin with segment one of Authors I Love to Stalk.


Currently, I'm on a hit of four authors I adore but for now I'm going to share the newest author that made it on my Stalking Radar. Amelia Hutchins.

When I came across this wonderful, talented author's work it was by accident. Amazon in it's wonderful wisdom had one of her books listed on possible matches. For the most part, I ignore Amazon's Matchmaking scheme but for some reason the cover art caught me. In a daze I clicked the image, read the blurb, and discovered that Amelia Hutchin's Fae Chronicles Book 1 was Free. So, i scratch my chin and though sure, why not? Seconds later this book was on my kindle and I was reading.
ting Destiny  Book 1 - The Fae Chronicles

Have you ever heard of the old Celtic legends of the Fae - beautiful, magical, deadly and a love of messing with humans just for kicks and giggles?
Welcome to my world.
What started out as a strange assignment, leads to one of the most gruesome murder mysteries of our times and my friends and I are set and determined to find out who is killing off Fae and Witches alike. 
Couple of problems in the way – I hate the Fae and the Prince of the Dark Fae is bound and determined that I work for him.
 He’s a rude, overbearing egotistical ass with a compulsive need to possess, dominate and control me.
Oh – did I mention that he is absolutely sex-on-a-stick gorgeous and he makes me feel things that I never ever wanted to feel for a Fae…every time he touches me or looks at me with those golden eyes seems to pull me further in under his spell, despite my better judgment.
My friends and I can’t trust anyone and nothing is as it seems on the surface – not even me.

    Let me just state, WOW. Normally, I don't fall in love with new series. I horde my adoration and awe unless another author recommends. In this case, I was glad to go out on a limb. With my adventurous decision, I found a new fav. author. YAY! Needless to say, I finished this series current available books in three days. Yes, three. Then I started in on her Guardian Series, which was not quiet as good as her Fae world but not far behind. 

So let me lists the reasons I started staking Amelia Hutchins (and by stalk I mean, foam at the mouth while searching the web for anything new or some information of anything about to be new). 

1. Her book worlds are the shit. Beautifully descriptive, easily believable. I can picture myself in the settings Amelia describes. 

2. I like her characters. All of them. Somehow, Amelia Hutchins' makes me invest emotionally with her fictional peeps. None of them are two dimensional, each having for reals hopes, dreams, passions, plans, life long goals, hates, personality issues. Their realness makes me think that perhaps Amelia has a psychology degree somewhere in her belt. Or they are all based off of real live people. 

3. She has lots of sass. Amelia writes with a humor that makes me laugh out loud. That's kind of awkward when my hubby is sleeping next to me and I wake him up with cackling. Another reason for a possible divorce. 

4. My penis is bigger than yours. What does that mean, huh? Well, I'm the type of gal who loves certain aspects in her books. A domineering man (Check), sassy female (Check), intricate storyline (Check), and every time the protagonist head off on some enemy showdown there is a fantastical show of whose penis is bigger, or rather whose the biggest baddest person in the room. I love that Amelia's characters always are, even when it looks like they aren't. I also enjoy how it's always done with sass. Like a snap in the face, followed by big letters that ran down around you and read, BOOM!

5. Her men are domineering and sexy. I know I mentioned this in number four briefly but do I need to explain further? I really love a man, who is just that A MAN. 

6. Her Story lines are intricate but well thought out. They make sense people. When she adds a plot changer, she does it smoothly. As if she was some great mastermind, everything flows and adds up. She leaves no unanswered questions. 

7. She builds relationships really well. Read her work and you'll see what I mean. She does have a lot of naughty grown up scenes. ALOT of them that sometimes I just skip, because I'm all about the romance not the loving, but let me assure you it takes nothing away from her books themselves. 

So there you go, Seven reason why I Love to Stalk Amelia Hutchins and her books. I suggest you go out and try her first book, Fighting Destiny and give her a try. You might just luck out and find a new fav. author like I did. 

Teaser: The Abandoned One

So, today I wanted to share a snippet of my debut novel The Abandoned One with you soo you could better have an idea of my writing. Let me know what you think. Since I'm in the current rework stage, now's the best time for any feedback. FYI, this scene is in a haunted house setting during October. Thanks! 

On hands and knees, I crawled through a foggy hearse, Maddie's form ahead was almost impossible to see as I rounded a realistic looking casket. I had to hand it to the place, though the front was cheesy, the actual attractions themselves were pretty good. The Gatehouse had stepped up their game. I don't recall a time I had screamed or laughed as much. Feeling a hand on my leg, I looked back into the face of a ghoul and screamed as its eyeball hung from its socket. 

“You sick fucker!” I cried out, when it began to snicker, obviously having enjoyed the sneak attack it gave me.The eyeball shook with the force of it's laughter and I had to join in. “You’re good.” I told him, wagging a finger at him, before hurrying to catch up with my friends. It's grey face tracked my moments as I backed away towards the back of the hearse and the exit. I had to admit, even with all the terror I was having a pretty good time. There wasn't much room for talking within the group and with Brent up front, I hadn't had to put up with too much assholery. So great was my haste to catch up, I actually fell out of the vehicle and onto a sand ground. Glancing around me, I was surprised to find myself outside the building in a cemetery maze.  Though I could hear screaming and laughter still ahead of me, I couldn't see anybody. Had my friends left me? Hurrying forward, I made a few turns and still no sign of my friends or anybody else. What the hell? 

A bit peeved that they hadn't even thought to keep the group together, I continued through with quick strides. All fun and games were over, because I was not about to be abandoned here of all places.  Quickly I turned a corner and ended up in yet another aspect of The Gatehouse, a dark room with just a couch and a television facing away from me. At first, I thought this area was also empty of life until I noticed the body of a man sitting on the couch. He was so still, I wondered if he was mannequin perhaps. With the room's dim lighting,  the only detail I could take in was that he had dark hair that curled slight around his nape. 

Shifting, I looked around for a exit to the next part of this place. The sound of movement had the stranger whip his dark head around, leaving me blinking in astonishment. All evening I had been jumped at and surprised by people dressed up to be monstrous and scary and perhaps thats why seeing the stranger was such a shock. He certainly wasn't scary. That wasn't my problem. The man was gorgeous. Simply, out right one of the yummiest men to have ever been in my presence. I had to mentally slap myself. Down Girl. 

One thing was certain; he was out of place in the haunted house of creeps and ghouls. He didn't belong here and he was still staring at me. Fixated solely on me, I could see that his eyes were the color of mercury. So liquidly, they seemed to form depths no one could possibly fathom. Framing those beautiful mirror like eyes were two perfectly black angled brows, which were currently hiked up high into his forehead as if surprised. His chin was strong, showing he was a dominating type of man but his  cupid bow lips saved him from looking cruel. He was a very drool worthy specimen. I swiped a hand over my face just in case I was acting like toddler. 

Seconds later, his lips moved, “Alexandria.” His voice had been soft, and strangely familiar. Chills raced up my spine and down to my arms in response. My blood ran cold as my senses came back to me in force. My mind screamed stranger, danger. 

I am not ashamed to admit that I ran. I ran from the stranger who knew my name and shouldn't.

WIP: The Abandoned One

So I'm currently in the critique stages of my first book. This current work in process that I'm editing is titled The Abandoned One and is a YA/Paranormal/Romance. Yay! I'm so super excited about this.
I actually wrote this book back in 2009 and had it posted to fictionpress.com. It wasn't great but a few of my friends thought it was decent enough for publication back then. They were wrong though and thankfully, I knew it. It wasn't ready then because, let's face it, no first draft is ever really good enough to be published. Rereading my work, there are parts that I cringe and think 'I wrote this mushy stuff? There isn't any substance.' and then I continue reading and I find a decent part. So, I admit right now, I'm reworking the foundation and making the story stronger. I'm so excited to say, I'm half way through. I'm planning to be completed with reworks and edits by the end of April and if all goes well I'll be working on formatting and covers in May. Sooo...I'm shooting for a publication date of June.


So what's my work about? 

Well, it follows nineteen year old, Alex Mire, whose life takes a turn into strangeville when she runs into the mysterious, Nico Vlarinsky. This stranger isn't exactly a stranger and basically turns Alex's whole sedated and normal life upside down. Her family starts acting strange and then her town's people. But why? Who is Nico and what does he have to do with the sudden wolf sightings and attacks nearby? One thing is for certain, Nico doesn't play by the rules. Sometimes he's a real dog. 


Sounds good? Sounds bad? Sounds boring? Let me know. In the meantime, I leave you with a song that I've fallen in love with and is part of my playlist for this book. Elastic Heart is by Sia.



- L.J. Out!