TARGET ON OUR BACKS by J.M. Darhower Review

Target on Our Backs

(Monster in His Eyes #3)

USA Today Bestselling Author

J.M. Darhower

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Release Date: February 23, 2016

http://amzn.to/1Q89ssL
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AXNKOHW
http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01AXNKOHW
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01AXNKOHW
http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B01AXNKOHW
http://www.amazon.de/dp/B01AXNKOHW
http://www.amazon.it/dp/B01AXNKOHW
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/target-on-our-backs
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/target-on-our-backs/id1086800584
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/target-on-our-backs/id1086800584

The best way to keep your word is never to give it.

Not long ago, in a chapel in Vegas, I swore to love Karissa for the rest of my days. But nobody's promised an infinite number of tomorrows. Nobody's promised forever. Sometimes, all we have left is today.

Carpe Diem

Seize the day.

It should've been over, we should've been happy, but people are making it hard for me to live in peace. I've got so much blood on my hands they'll never be clean, and somebody out there seems to want me to pay for it. Happily Ever After always comes at a cost, one any real man would be willing to pay. But that doesn't mean I'm just going to roll over and accept these consequences.

Because when it comes to the woman I love? The life I've fought for?

Nobody is safe.

REVIEW

Target on Our Backs by J.M. Darhower

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We all know the type of man Ignazio is. He knows. Karissa knows. Everyone knows. He makes no apologies for his past, but he is trying to lead a different life now for Karissa's sake. The problem is that the other players don't want to let him go.

Target on Our Backs isn't full of unexpected or shocking moments, but so much is life-changing or life-threatening. Naz and Karissa know how serious everything is, but the vibe surrounding them is subdued. They're so strong and practical, the perfect matches for each other.

This author is a master at delivering a powerful, stoic male lead. The fearlessness isn't bravado. He knows he isn't invincible. He has nothing to prove. He isn't afraid to die even. The only thing that concerns him is the woman he loves.

I enjoyed seeing a different side of Naz, the subtle exchanges that mean so much between him and Karissa. Getting to know Giuseppe a little more is a special treat. Some new characters from Naz's past also pop up.

I was not expecting a third book. I thought the story was over. I didn't think I wanted more, but I was wrong. I needed this book. It gave me that consumed feeling that I haven't had in awhile. Even days later it's still heavy on my mind. I loved it, and the ending is perfect.

***copy given in exchange for an honest review***

FGMAMTC 

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents 

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LUKAS by Carian Cole Blog Tour Review

Book Title: Lukas (Ashes & Embers #3)

Author: Carian Cole

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: July 30, 2015

Hosted by: Book Fancy

Storm’s younger cousin. Vandal’s little brother. You’ve met him in the background. The sweet one. The nice one. The one they can all rely on. The good one. He’s a tattoo artist. He plays metal and classical music - on the violin. He’s got a body built for sin. He’s 24. In comes Ivy. She’s a 36 year old single mom who hasn’t dated in 18 years. All she wanted was a tattoo. She got a helluva lot more :) Being good has never been so bad.

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1Ua9Lqw

iTunes:  http://bit.ly/lukas-itunes

Kobo:  https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/lukas-2

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lukas-carian-cole/1122419789?ean=2940152296891

Storm (Ashes & Embers #1) Buy Links:

Amazon

Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble Nook

Kobo

iTunes

Vandal (Ashes & Embers #2) Buy Links:

Amazon

Amazon UK

Barnes & Noble Nook

Google Play

iTunes

I have a passion for the bad boys, those covered in tattoos, sexy smirks, ripped jeans, fast cars, motorcycles and of course, the sweet girls that try to tame them and win their hearts. My debut series, Ashes & Embers, follows the lives of rock band members as they find, and sometimes lose, the loves of their lives.

My first novel in the Ashes & Embers series, Storm, was published in September of 2014 and book 2, Vandal, was published in February 2015 with several more of this series planned throughout 2015.

Born and raised a Jersey girl, I now reside in beautiful New Hampshire with my husband and our multitude of furry pets and spend most of my time writing, reading, and vacuuming.

REVIEW

Lukas by Carian Cole

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars

This is definitely my favorite book of the series. The men in this family are similar in some ways, but they are so very different. Storm is a confident manly guy, and his book is pretty contemporary. Vandal is the broken bad boy, and his book is BDSM-ish. Lukas is a total renaissance man with an old soul, and his book is complete romance (mostly, of course it has it's drama bits).

Lukas is the baby of the family, on 24. Don't let his age fool you. He's absolutely ready to settle down. For so much of the storyline, Lukas just had me swooning. He is always ready with a romantic gesture and never afraid to tell how he feels.

Ivy is a 36 year old mother of two. Her husband recently left her for another woman after 20 years together so her life has pretty much been turned upside down. I identified with being a 30 something single mother of two. So when a ink & piercing covered younger guy who is an artist, business owner, violin player and great cook came after her hard, I fell for it.

Some of this story happened at the same time as what happened in the previous two books so the reader gets a better understanding of the whole family dynamic. Vandal's situation hit me harder in this book than in his own. Also I now see a pattern of Asher being the man that kind of moves things along. He's mysterious. Lukas seems to be the mature one under pressure. It's really neat how they all fit together. This book did leave some questions about the future for some of the guys. I'm looking forward to more.

***copy given in exchange for an honest review***


toni

FangirlMoments and My Two Cents

View all my reviews

Beneath Blood and Bone by Madeline Sheehan and Claire C. Riley Blog Tour Review + Interview

SYNPOSIS

It is the end of the world.

They call him Eagle, like the grand and beautiful bird that symbolizes freedom. During these dark times, when humanity is experiencing nothing but suffering, a man with such a powerful name should be a beacon of hope, yet he is anything but.

Her name is Autumn, but she hasn’t said this name or much of anything else in the four years since the fall of civilization. A shell of her former self, living wild in a cave at the bottom of a ravine, Autumn is accustomed to being alone. She prefers it, actually, especially when her only options for company either try to kill her, or worse, to lock her up inside their walls.

Captured by Eagle’s people, Autumn is suddenly thrust back into the land of the living, but she would hardly call it living. The community of Purgatory is full of sinners, the most evil of whom seem to have set their sights on her.

In an act born of anger and defiance, Eagle becomes Autumn’s unexpected savior, forcing these two solitary people into each other’s broken worlds. Neither knows quite what to make of the other, but one thing is certain. To survive Purgatory, they must learn how to rely on each other, a feat that could possibly teach them both how to live again.

EXCERPT

"My wet reflection glared back at me—dark brown, nearly black eyes rimmed in red and encased in shadowed, hollowed circles sitting high on an angry, angular face that was framed in a heavy beard almost as black as my hair.

I was a fearful fucking sight. The people here were right to be afraid of me. The things I was capable of, the things I’d done . . . There were times I even feared myself."

- Beneath Blood and Bone

BUY LINKS

BENEATH BLOOD AND BONE 

AMZN US: http://bit.ly/BeneathBloodAndBoneUSA

AMZN UK: http://bit.ly/BeneathBloodAndBoneUk 

BN: http://bit.ly/1Pf9KPg 

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1OZLhwB 

SW: http://bit.ly/1hs6RPP 

THICKER THAN BLOOD 

AMZN US: http://amzn.to/1Mj52S4

Fantastical realm dweller Madeline Sheehan is the USA Today bestselling author of the Holy Trinity Trilogy and Undeniable Series.  

A Social Distortion enthusiast, lover of mud and anything deemed socially inappropriate, Madeline was homegrown in Buffalo, New York, where she can be found engaging in food fights and video game marathons with her husband and son.

A reader and writer of dark paranormal romances and zombie horror, plus a ton of other things to give you chills! 

She lives in the United Kingdom with her three young daughters, husband and one scruffy dog!

Claire C Riley’s work is best described as the modernization of classic, old-school horror. She fuses multi-genre elements to develop storylines that pay homage to cult-classics while still feeling fresh and cutting-edge. She writes characters that are realistic and kills them without mercy.

How was writing Beneath Blood and Bone different from Thicker Than Blood? You've now published 3 books together right? Can we expect many more?

Madeline - well, it was a little more difficult in the sense that sequels are always a bit more work than their predecessors and secondly the entire story has a vastly different meaning than Thicker Than Blood. Beneath Blood and Bone is ultimately a romance where as Thicker Than Blood was a love story of a different kind, one of friendship.

Yes, Claire and I have three books together now: Thicker Than Blood, Beneath Blood and Bone, and Shut Up and Kiss Me. And you can expect at least one or two more books from us.

Claire - this time was a lot more difficult. We both had our own projects to be working on and knew that they needed to be done, yet THIS book was the one that kept on calling us back to it.

Plus, as Madeline said, sequels are a lot more difficult to write for several reasons. The world building is way more intense for one, and this was a completely different storyline from book one.

As for more books, it's been an intense year for us, I'd like to think we had one or two more in us at some point.

Did you know how you wanted E's book to end before you started writing it?

Madeline - Yes and no. Claire and I had a good idea of where we wanted the story to ultimately go but there were some kinks that needed working out along the way in order to obtain our goal.

Claire - what she said ^^^ we had an idea but you never truly know until you start writing and the story progresses. There were times when we'd each send back our chapters to the other and then be like 'what now?' Because we also tried to go with the flow of things.

Which character from the series is most similar to how you would be in a zombie apocalypse? Explain.

Madeline - Ah, that's a hard one. I have no real way of knowing what kind of person I would be if I lost everything. I don't think anyone really knows the answer to that until -God forbid- it happens to them. Honestly, I can see a bit of myself in all of our characters and that's about all the answer I can give you until the zombie apocalypse actually occurs.

Claire - the person I'm likely to be is vastly different to who I'd like to think I'd be. I mean, I would want to be someone like Evelyn or Leisel (Thicker than Blood) but in reality, I'm more likely to be one-legged and covered in my own shit.

REVIEW

Beneath Blood and Bone by Claire C. Riley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are so many things I like about this series. The reader never knows what to expect. The storylines follow no patterns, and the books thus far are very different. Even though it's fiction, it's real. The decay and stench of life at it lowest are in vivid technicolor and jumping off the page at the reader's senses. At the same time, sparks of humanity that can't be snuffed out always shine through.

In the first book, E was not the hero, and he still isn't. He's the antihero. He's been through hell (the reader learns of this in flashbacks) and came out the other side. Life has no meaning for him anymore. Full of hate, he's only a shell surviving out of habit.

We don't really know anything about Autumn going into Beneath Blood and Bone. She pretty much appears to be cuckoo for cocoa puffs. Full of fear, she's regressed to a snarling animal surviving on instinct.

Most of the plot in this book takes place in the camp called Purgatory (so many things can be read into that name). It's a place without joy. Day to day survival is how it breaks down. The bold lord over the meek. Liv is the queen bitch. She wants to control everything with E being at the top of the list. It doesn't go over well when he takes an interest in Autumn.

I didn't hate E in the first book. He wasn't a good guy at all, but I still couldn't raise up feelings to hate level for him. Although E compares his likeness to Liv's more than once in this book, I was prepared to slit her throat myself.

Overall, it's a story about the human condition. When is enough, enough? What is the point of living? How far gone can someone come back from? I loved it, muy mucho, and I'm looking forward to more from these authors.

P.S. E did win me over. I don't excuse him for the bad things, but I still can't help loving him either. And that's the way love goes.

***copy given in exchange for an honest review***


toni

FangirlMoments and My Two Cents

View all my reviews

Murphy by Bey Deckard Review

Novellette (17,853 words)
Genre(s): Science Fiction, Erotica, Military, BDSM, Gay

Sometimes when it seems like it’s too late, the right person comes along and opens your eyes… 

Murphy is the continuing story of a D/s relationship between two Space Marines who found each other in the midst of hopelessness and misfortune.

Sarge and his newly minted squad travel across the galaxy on a top-secret mission that could help win the war. However, to Murphy something about the mission stinks, and it’s not just the planet they’ve landed on.

GUEST POST

On Writing Sarge and Murphy

It won’t come as a surprise to anyone reading my books that I really enjoy character studies. As a reader, if the characters are well drawn, plot becomes secondary to me. I sit there, fascinated, as the words become three-dimensional beings. What’s even more interesting, is that there are countless ways to achieve this. I read fantasy and sci fi (mostly), and the writing styles cover a large part of the spectrum… yet, there they are, these living, breathing individuals created out of words. Fantastic.

As a writer, I try to inject as much life into my characters as I can. One way to do this, of course, is to borrow from other sources: a dab of someone you know, a soupçon of that character you love from that movie, a splash of inspiration from a story your buddies tell. Sergeant Wilkes is a cross between an old friend’s dad (a decorated US Army vet with an extremely colourful vocabulary), General “Buck” Turgidson from Dr. Strangelove, and the drill sergeant that my old roommates used to do impressions of. But Sarge isn’t just that, he’s so much more, and even though the writing style of the F.I.S.T.S. books is very pared down, I try to bring that emotionally impaired, cranky old bastard to life on every page… and I do that, of course, with the help of Murphy. 

Now… Murphy’s a little more complicated to explain. Yes, he’s actually named after my dog, which, given the erotic content of the books, might seem a little weird. The first chapter of Sarge is a dream I had, and in the dream the big guy was named Murphy… so I stuck with it. After all, my dog is muscular, loyal, and a big ol’ sub. However, Andrew Murphy (the Space Marine) doesn’t share Murphy (the dog)’s love of climbing onto strangers’ laps of course. *laughs* No… the rest of him is modelled closely on the character in my dream, and his kinks are those that I personally appreciate. 

With this second instalment of the F.I.S.T.S. books, I added a few more secondary characters to the ones I wanted to keep from the first book, but left their involvement in the story light… I’ll delve into more about them in the next instalment, hopefully a full-length novel, as the story continues.

Artist, Writer, Dog Lover.

Born and raised in a small coastal town in northern Québec, Bey spent his early summers on his uncle’s boat and running wild on the beaches of the surrounding islands, lighting fires and building huts out of driftwood and fishermen’s nets. As an adult, he eventually made his way to university and earned a degree in Art History with a strong focus on Anthropology. Primarily a portrait painter and graphic artist, Bey sat down one day and decided to write about the two things that he felt most passionate about: sex and the sea.

Bey currently lives in the wilds of Montréal with his best buddy, a spotty pit bull named Murphy. Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas is his first novel.

Murphy by Bey Deckard

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a multi-layer tale. It's skeleton is military life. Military lingo and structure are very present. The outer is the sci-fi aspect. An alien war is taking place. Also genetic manipulation is possible. Many have bionic body parts. It's futuristic so the weapons, planets, aircraft, medicine—most everything is beyond the reader's normal. The inner is about a D/s relationship between to male soldiers growing into love. Yes, for the romance lovers, it even has heart, a hard-ass soldiers' version of it.

Sarge is a grizzly, hot head, aged officer with more fighting experience than anyone. Murphy is his beastly huge, soft-spoken, intelligent partner in every way. (I love Murphy!) Together they make quite a formidable team. In this installment, they are sent on a mission where they soon discover that everything is not what it appears.

This author really has a way of making you fall in love (he kinda sneaks it on you) with his book characters while weaving an interesting fantasy world. If you like gay fiction, sci-fi, war themes, age-gap romances or D/s stories this may be for you. I really enjoyed it and look forward to more.

***copy given in exchange for an honest review***


toni

FangirlMoments and My Two Cents

View all my reviews