KCBR Blog

Revealing Us by Lisa Renee Jones

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. Spoiler-free. This book does not end with a cliffhanger. I *highly* recommend reading If I Were You (Inside Out #1) and Being Me (Inside Out #2)before reading Revealing Us (Inside Out#3). 5.0 stars!

I have a massive headache. Why you ask? Maybe because I stayed up all night reading Revealing Us - the third installment of Inside Out Trilogy by Lisa Renee Jones. Once again I devoured another one of her books like an addict. Jones is a master at building suspense, mystery and fogging up my Kindle screen (fanning self and taking my third Advil now).

Revealing Us picks up right where Being Me left off without missing a beat. Chris and Sara are in Paris after almost getting offed by psycho Ava. Sara is desperate to make her relationship with Chris work and uncover all of his dark secrets. She is hungry to understand and explore Chris’ ties to the BDSM world and his affinity to being whipped. While trying to unravel Chris, Sara has deal with a few obstacles including a couple of whip-wielding ex-partners and her missing friend.

I am completely satisfied that with the HEA conclusion of Chris and Sara‘s dysfunctional relationship. I know this series is supposed to be a trilogy…BUT there is an excellent opportunity to create another spin off tying off a few loose/new ends:
-We know who murdered Rebecca…no body/no crime? Will Ava or Mark really go down for it?
-What will happen with Ella? Where is her fiancé? How is Neuville/mafia billionaire involved?
-Amber’s past?

I hope we get another book or two out of this sinfully sexy page turning series. The Inside Out trilogy has been optioned by STARZ Network for a cable television show, to be produced by Suzanne Todd (Alice in Wonderland). I can’t wait to watch this…it might be one of the first times I put down a book to watch a show. This series and this book is total Kindle Crack.

This review appears on www.kindlecrack.net, www.facebook.com/Kindlecrack, Goodreads, Amazon and Twitter.

Author: Lisa Desrochers
Genre: New Adult
Release date: September 17th 2013 by HarperCollins
Hosted by: Love Between the Sheets
Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17786125-a-little-too-far?ac=1


SYNOPSIS –
Have you ever gone just a little too far?

Lexie Banks has.

Yep. She just had mind-blowing sex with her stepbrother. In her defense, she was on the rebound, and it’s more of a my-dad-happened-to-marry-a-woman-with-a-super-hot-son situation. But still, he’s been her best friend and confidant for the better part of the last few years … and is so off limits. It’s a good thing she’s leaving in two days for a year abroad in Rome.

But even thousands of miles away, Lexie can’t seem to escape trouble. Raised Catholic, she goes to confession in hopes of alleviating some of her guilt … and maybe not burning in hell. Instead, she stumbles out of the confessional and right into Alessandro Moretti, a young and very easy-on-the-eyes deacon … only eight months away from becoming a priest. Lexie and Alessandro grow closer, and when Alessandro’s signals start changing despite his vow of celibacy, she doesn’t know what to think. She’s torn between falling in love with the man she shouldn’t want and the man she can’t have. And she isn’t sure how she can live with herself either way.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR –
Lisa Desrochers lives in central California with her husband and two very busy daughters. There is never a time that she can be found without a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise.

Look for her New Adult novel, A LITTLE TOO FAR , courtesy of HarperCollins Sept 17, 2013, and companions, A LITTLE TOO MUCH (Nov 12, 2013), and A LITTLE TOO HOT (Jan 21, 2014). Also in stores is her YA PERSONAL DEMONS trilogy (Macmillan).

For more info, find me online at https://www.facebook.com/LisaDesroche..., or visit www.lisadwrites.com

Book Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXawcQ7-OeM


a Rafflecopter giveaway


EXCERPT #1 - Lexie’s Confession
I breathe deep and pull myself to my feet, walking slowly to the open confessional. I hesitate at the door, but then remind myself that this is Italy … where they speak Italian. I can confess my worst of sins, and the priest probably won’t understand a word. I step in and close the door, then kneel in front of the thick red curtain separating the saint from the sinner.
“Nel nome del Padre, e del Figlio, e dello Spirito Santo. Amen,” a deep sandpaper voice says from the other side of the curtain.
I cross myself as the priest prays the Sign of the Cross, then bow my head and close my eyes. “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been … well … a whole lot of days since my last confession. Probably a year or more. I accuse myself of the following sins. I … used the Lord’s name in vain at least … oh, God—” Shit! My hands fly to my face. “Like that … I just don’t think about it, and it comes out of my mouth. I’ve done it thousands of times. Maybe a million. Twice just since I walked into this church.” I shake my head at myself. “I’m terrible. But that’s not the worst. I’ve stolen from my friends. There was this scarf I got for Sam for her birthday that I decided to keep … so I guess it’s not really stealing, but it felt like it, and there were the flip-flops that Katie loaned me that I never returned—I even brought them with me to Italy. And I swore at my stepmother when she wouldn’t let me go out with my boyfriend until I cleaned the bathroom, but I knew he had this big romantic thing planned for our three-year anniversary and I was pretty sure we were going to have sex … which I guess I also need to confess … I had a lot of sex with my boyfriend before he turned into a douche—pardon my French … or English, I guess—but that was almost a year ago … when I still had a boyfriend … and, what else … I sort of cheated on a history exam last semester because Drake Mulhollan left his book open where I could see it, and during finals I wished my roommate dead one day when she was having sex with her boyfriend all freakin’ day so I couldn’t get into my room to get my books—she didn’t die, by the way … I mean, my wish didn’t come true or anything like that … but I wished it, which I’m pretty sure is a sin. And then there was the time I lied to Dad about the dent in the car … and the baggie he found in my backpack wasn’t really oregano … which, oh yeah, there was the pot thing too, but it was just a phase so …” I trail off, recognizing the fact that I’m babbling on to avoid the actual reason I’m here. I breathe deep and wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans. “And I stole my stepbrother’s T-shirt …” I swallow hard, “after we had sex,” I blurt, then I’m running downhill again, words tumbling out of my mouth before I even think them, “and it was truly mind-blowing. It’s all I can think about, and I want to do it again and, oh God—shit! See, I just can’t stop myself from saying oh God. But my stepbrother is so …” I growl in frustration and grab fistfuls of my hair. “ … incredible. He’s just fucking incredible—pardon my French. I’ve never felt the things he made me feel, you know … and God, I think I might …” I yank my hair as I shake my head hard. “I don’t know. It was just sex, right? I mean … as much as he made me feel, it was just …” I bury my face in my hands. “He’s my stepbrother. Why can’t I stop wanting him?”
“That is a question you will have to answer for yourself,” the voice says from the other side of the curtain.
“Oh God!”
“That would now be a million and seven, by my count. I hope you brought your rosary to Italy as well as your friend’s flip-flops.”
“You speak English!”
“I do, child. Is there more you are in need of confessing?”
“Hell, no!”

Louder Than Love by Jessica Topper

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


ARC kindly provided by PENGUIN GROUP Berkley, NAL/Signet Romance, DAW in exchange for a fair and honest review. Expected publication date: September 17th, 2013 - Spoiler free review. This is a stand-alone book and does not end with a cliffhanger. 5- Stars!

Katrina (Kat) Lewis lost her husband Pete to a horrific accident. Life for Kat and her toddler daughter Abbey will never be the same. Kat is devastated from losing Pete and must face life raising her daughter alone. They leave their NYC apartment to return to Kat’s childhood house in the NY suburbs. While volunteering at a local library, Katrina decides to put together a children’s music program. Katrina hunts down Adrian Graves, the singer/song writer of her daughter’s favorite PBS cartoon, to see if he will perform. The sexy and weathered British rocker shows up at the library and captivates the children’s hearts as well as Kats'. The slightly inebriated kiddie show singer turned out to be Adrian "Digger" Graves. He was the front man for the chart-topping, heart-stopping, panty-dropping 80’s heavy metal band Corroded Corpse. Adrian led the rock and rock life of debauchery and excess…landing himself with a criminal record, substance abuse problem and a painful divorce. The heart wants what the heart wants, so inevitably Kat questions whether she is doing the right thing by letting him into her and Abbey’s life. The two start to date and slowly let each other into their complicated lives. Katrina starts to understand) the complicated rock star whose old posters still adorn her brothers’ bedroom wall. Adrian tries to break down Kat’s emotional barriers. Will misunderstandings, lies, addiction and ghosts of the past allow these two damaged people to live louder than love?

Louder Than Love happens to be Jessica Topper’s first book. Truth be told I was surprised because her writing was flawless. This woman’s writing style and storytelling ability has that special “it” factor that does not happen in every book. Topper carefully crafted each character’s emotions and dialogue with such precision that the story felt as if it was non-fiction. Louder Than Love captivated me from the first to the last page. Topper took her time developing the emotional balance and energy between Kat and Adrian. Louder Than Love was a breath of fresh air. Topper changed up the whole rock star love story formula. This story isn’t one of those “insta-love” stories where the girl falls head-over-heels for a banged up rock star, nor one where they have the best sex/chemistry and everything is perfect. There are a lot of hot rocker romance books out there…and I have probably read and loved most of them. This isn’t a super smutastic book because there is a rock star in it. It’s an emotional journey of two very fractured souls…who might have a second chance at love.

Jessica Topper is a writer to watch. Five Metallica sized rock stars for Louder Than Love. This is some fine emotional driven heavy metal Kindle Crack. Rock on and add this book to your TBR list!

This review appears on www.kindlecrack.net, www.facebook.com/Kindlecrack, Goodreads, Amazon and Twitter.

PRE ORDER LINKS:
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Louder-Than-Love-ebook/dp/B00AR49H2Q
BN.com - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/louder-than-love-jessica-topper/1114275241
iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/jessica-topper/id589636488?mt=11
Google Books - http://books.google.com/books/about/Louder_Than_Love.html?id=laKBDBMmUWwC


AUTHOR BIO:
Jessica Topper is an ex-librarian turned rock n' roll number cruncher. She can trace her love for the written word back to age three, when she memorized Maurice Sendak's Chicken Soup with Rice in its entirety.After her daughter was born in 2001, Jessica left the Manhattan library world and began working for her husband's music management company. He offered her a part-time bookkeeping job so she could “stay home for the baby's first year” and pursue her dream of writing. The baby is now eleven, and Jessica has been working her “full-time, sold-her-soul-for-rock-n-roll job” as Office Manager for veteran jam band moe. ever since. She may have traded in books for bookkeeping, but the written word is never far from her mind, or her heart. Jessica is a PRO member of the Romance Writers of America, and belongs to their Western NY and Women's Fiction chapters. She lives in Buffalo, New York with her husband, daughter and one ancient cat.

SOCIAL NETWORKING CONTACTS:
Web Site - www.jessicatopper.com
Facebook Page - www.facebook.com/JessicaTopperAuthor
Twitter - @jesstopper
Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18068436-louder-than-love

EXCERPT:
“I’m Katrina Lewis, thanks for coming.”

“Lew?”

“No, Lewis.”

“No, I mean . . . do you ’ave a loo?” His watery blue eyes widened to stress the urgency of the situation. “I’m afraid I’ll burst if I don’t go for a slash.”

“Oh . . . yeah, down that hall.” It took me a moment to register his accent and his slang, yet my embarrassment over the situation was fairly immediate. I stood rooted to the spot after he thrust his guitar into my hands and rushed off. Leanna was still standing there, a witness to the whole encounter. “He’s . . . um . . .” I searched for the right words.

“Old? British? Drunk? Or D) all of the above?”

“He’s older . . . but he’s kinda cute,” I admitted, surprising myself. “Come on, drunk? It’s four in the afternoon at the public library! Please. Go get a seat. I’ll be in there in a minute.”

I waited at the end of the hall for my charge. After a moment, he came out of the bathroom, swaying slightly into the wall as he pulled a tin of mints out of his pocket. “Altoid?” he offered. The smell of Jack Daniel’s and his peppery cologne, which was somehow subtle and intense all at once, were noticeably foreign to the hallowed halls of my local library. I got the feeling this was not the sort of creature who normally frequented places with drop ceilings and fluorescent lighting; perhaps not even the sort who functioned much before sundown.

“You are drunk.”

“And you”—he popped two of the curiously strong mints into his mouth—“are beautiful.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“I’ll sober up soon . . . and hopefully, you will still be beautiful.” He grabbed back his guitar with a smile. “Are the throngs of screaming adoring masses here yet?”

Once again Willow Aster knocked it out of the park and In The Fields. In The Fields by Willow Aster is LIVE on Amazon, B&N and Create Space. I was lucky to read an advanced copy of her second book and LOVED it. Five stars…review to follow.

In the Fields by Willow Aster

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Willow Aster is effing amazing! Review to follow.






Check it out on Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/In-the-Field-ebook/dp/B00F2L2P6O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378764755&sr=8-1&keywords=in+the+fields+willow+aster

Release Date: September 9th, 2013
Genre: Dark New Adult Romance
Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18134894-tears-of-tess
Video Link: http://youtu.be/ZI1azW2ydUo
Cover Design by Cover It Designs : http://www.coveritdesigns.net/

Blurb:
A New Adult Dark Contemporary Romance, not suitable for people sensitive to grief, slavery, and nonconsensual sex. A story about finding love in the strangest of places, a will of iron that grows from necessity, and forgiveness that may not be enough.

“My life was complete. Happy, content, everything neat and perfect.Then it all changed. I was sold.”

Tess Snow has everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility.

For their two year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world.

But lusty paradise is shattered.

Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen. Tess is forced into a world full of darkness and terror.

Captive and alone with no savior, no lover, no faith, no future, Tess evolves from terrified girl to fierce fighter. But no matter her strength, it can’t save her from the horror of being sold.

Can Brax find Tess before she’s broken and ruined, or will Tess’s new owner change her life forever?

Author Bio:
Writer, reader, sometimes wife. An avid devourer of sexy romance and angsty New Adult. Nothing beats lolling in a bubble bath with her array of book boyfriends, and plotting torturous stories to put her characters through.
Living Down Under means she writes in the Queen’s English, not Obama’s, and aims to have an entire catalogue of sexy books that keep you wanting more. Oh, and she may or may not be in love with Q from Tears of Tess.

Author Links:
Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Pepper-Winters/539976006062848
Goodreads Profile Link: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7151973.Pepper_Winters
Website Link: http://pepperwinters.wordpress.com/
Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/PepperWinters

My Review:
Tears of Tess by Pepper Winters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. Spoiler-free 3.50-4.00 painful stars!

“If you didn’t know yet, this book has sex. Lots of it. It dances with grief, slavery, and has a whole bunch of mind-fuckery. If you’re looking for a sweet, Young Adult romance, delete immediately, this will make your eyeballs bleed.” Pepper Winters. I love Pepper Winters.  She puts it all out there.

My first impression after finishing Tears of Tess:
Wow...there is effed up...and then there is Q and Tess's story in Tears of Tess by Pepper Winters. I just finished reading an arc of this soon to be released dark infused, crazy, super twisted love story. Tess & Q are two uber dysfunctional whackadoos who need pleasure and pain like I crave books, wine, coffee and chocolate. Its official...my daughter will never go to Cancun. My full review to follow closer to publication date :)

I let TOT marinate in my head for a while - Final review:
A few weeks after I digested this story I found myself thinking about all of the ONWTF (Oh No What The Fuck) moments I had while reading this book.   Tears of Tess has been stirring up a little controversy. The author is 100% upfront about the subject matter. She doesn’t sugar coat what this book is about.  I know many people have compared TOT to CJ Roberts Captive series – it’s nothing like it.  TOT is a different kind of dark/captive/romance story.  Holy shit…when did I start reading so many taboo/Stockholm/captive/romance stories that I can compare? Ha.

Here is my TOT 101 breakdown without spoiling it for you:
-Tess yearns for something different than the vanilla sex she has been having with her adoring boyfriend. He isn't into doing anything adventurous with her sexually.
-Tess is kidnapped while on a vacation in Cancun, raped, drugged, beaten and forced into slavery. She is a fighter and she isn’t backing down. She won’t let them take her spirit.
-She is sold off to some rich guy and she learns her Master has some deep-seeded super-sized issues.  These two fractured souls come together and find themselves.  Their once suppressed desires are finally able to come to life. He wants to inflict pain and Tess wants it. Different strokes for different folks?  Win Win situation for them?  Not so much.  She is a kidnapped and her boyfriend is still looking for her.
-Tess’ freaky French slave Master really isn’t a heartless monster.
-His name is Q and this is all I am going to tell you.

TOT is not for everyone – really, it’s not. This story is disturbing on so many levels. There were so many times I wanted to reach into my Kindle and smack the crap out of the heroine. There would be no point…she would like it to much ;)   Pepper’s writing style was great.  This story was insane.  Tears of Tess held me hostage. I couldn’t put this book down if I tried. Pepper’s next book Quintessentially Q (Tears of Tess #2) should be out soon and I can’t wait to read it.  If you want to read some twisted Kindle Crack - this book is for you. Four Painful Stars.  Enjoy.

This review appears on www.kindlecrack.net, www.facebook.com/Kindlecrack, Goodreads, Amazon and Twitter.



Giveaway:
Tears of Tess Blog Tour Giveaway