Entry- Level Mistress by Sabrina Darby

Entry- Level Mistress

By Sabrina Darby

Daniel Hartmann and Emily Anderson have every reason to hate each other. Her father destroyed the lives of his parents and he in turn sent her father to jail. Now Daniel’s thirty something year old successful billionaire and Emily is 19 year old sculptor who takes a job at his company the summer after high school graduation to find a way to ruin him.

It was unbelievable that Emily sees this man on her second day at work and at first sight, she is immediately is overwhelmed with lust for a guy that is 13 years older than her. At first, Emily seems to be this horny, naïve immature kid who's hero worship is being taken advantage of, when sleeps with Daniel by the third date. But, ironically she seems to be the sexual aggressor. She often pushing Daniel to continue their casual sex (often at work), and she goads Daniel into continuing their encounters together by saying that it's just for fun and games. (Sadly the love scenes were short and there was room for a lot of development.)

This book had a great description and I was expecting more. It just didn't stand out in any way. The relationship between Daniel and Emily was blasé and not very note-worthy. The "college girl dates a dominant millionaire" plot has been overdone in romance books lately. It's a trend that will end soon (thank God). If writers choose to use the exact same trend as lots of other writers, there needs to be something extra or something unique into the story to make it stand out.

Daniel Hartmann and Emily Anderson have every reason to hate each other. Her father destroyed the lives of his parents and he in turn sent her father to jail. Now Daniel’s thirty something year old successful billionaire and Emily is 19 year old sculptor who takes a job at his company the summer after high school graduation to find a way to ruin him.

It was unbelievable that Emily sees this man on her second day at work and at first sight, she immediately is overwhelmed with lust for a guy that is 13 years older than her. Emily seems to be this naïve kid who's hero worship is being taken advantage of. Emily sleeps with Daniel by the third date, and she seems to be the sexual aggressor pushing for more of their no strings casual sex (often at the office). When Daniel is reluctant she often convinces him to continue their meetings by reminding him that their quickies are "just fun and games". (Sadly the love scenes were short and there was room for a lot of development.)

While this just wasn't a book that would be my favorite, I am sure that I would read another of Sabina Darby's other books.
Find out Sabrina Darby's book tour schedule(s)  and get news of new releases at her web site.  give her a tweet on her Twitter page and/or like her on Facebook

Iris Johansen's --Forever Dream

 Iris Johansen's

 Forever Dream

(A Re-Print)

I  liked this book although I have to admit is isn't my favorite Iris Johansen read.  This is basically a re-print of a previous book and by the second chapter I started having deja vu moments by the third chapter I am pretty sure  that I read this book a couple of years ago.  That was ok, but just a surprise.

Jared Ryker is a gifted genetic scientist. But the brilliant recluse has never found anyone he can share his life with—until he meets Tania Orlinov, the incomparable prima ballerina and Soviet defector Tania has no interest in love, which only fuels Jared’s attraction, one that grows into an obsession.   Jared is a strong personality and he seems a bit cruel in his obsession with Tania at some places in the book. I liked Tania's character, but she seemed a bit wimpy and Jared was a bit too overpowering for me. I'm not sure if this is intentional because Johansen was trying to portray that  the dominant Russian male influence,  but after a certain point it became a bit frustrating.  Overall, I think this was a pretty good book.  There were steamy love scenes, but the interaction between characters began to take away from the plot and story flow. By the end of the book, I was a bit frustrated and it was a challenge to finish it.

Johansen is a well known award winning  American author of crime, fiction and romance novels who lives in Georgia.  You can find out more about her many books at her Goodreads author page.  You can join her mailing list/ fan club at her web site.

My Rating:

Heat Index:         *** (3 of 5 Stars)

Plot/ Story Line **** ( 4 of 5 Stars)

Overall:                *** ( 3 of 5 Stars)

Who Doesn't Love A Man In Uniform?

To The Limit  (Uniformly Hot Series)

by Jo Leigh

(A Harlequin Blaze)

Wow!  Hot and sexy doesn't even begin to describe Air Force fighter Pilot Sam Brody is not excited about his newest assignment to be in a classroom until he realizes that he will be in the same town as Emma Lockwood. He takes control of his life and tries to win back his old flame (and the love of his life) who was married to his old friend. This is a great realistic story with a pilot who wants to make you enlist Who can resist a man uniform? Jo Leigh gets my kudos for this one. I have read her books before, but this is the first of her Harlequin Blaze books for me. I can't wait to read more of her stories. This book is part of the Uniformly Hot series, and it has definitely got my salute!

Jo Leigh lives an exciting life when she is writing books and even when she isn't.
She began her career in 1975 as a reader in the Comedy Development department for 20th-Century Fox. She left Fox in 1977 to go on location with THE DEER HUNTER. She then worked as an auditor, associate producer and producer.  Jo teaches writing at workshops across the country and on-line, and is a frequent guest speaker at writing conferences. Her tape on Advanced Plotting from the Dallas Romance Writers of America conference is the best selling tape in RWA’s history.

You can join her fan club or just find out more about her next movie or novel at her web site.  You can also read her biography at .her author's page on Goodreads.

My Review:

Story:****(4 Start)

Heat Index:  *** (4 Stars)

Overall Rating: **** (4 Stars)

What's the big idea with the little novels?

My last post was about  my disappointment with the new trend  of " "teaser" novellas that have shrunk down so much that they aren't enough to even catch the readers interest.  Then- Lo and behold, I opened up Virna De Paul's new fantasy romance book A Vampire's Salvation  and I was shocked to find out that it was only 77 pages long.   

 Steam immediately  began to pour out of my ears. I had my mind set on a full novel   and  I'm tired of being frustrated by half stories!   Can't a girl get a full length novel any more?   After breathing myself through what was potentially a full soap box rant, I decided to give this "novel" the benefit of the doubt.   De Paul's books have been pretty good so far.   Maybe she has the "chops" to pull this off.  Will give you the scoop on it in a day or two.  😳

Bound - By Marina Anderson -- A Big Dissappointment In A VERY Little Book.

Bound

by Marina Anderson

I felt like someone jumped off a cliff and was suspended in mid air. There is no resolution unless you buy the next "book".....Uuugh! 

This book is what I would call a "teaser" or "come on".  It gets you started  into a story and then leaves you hanging unless you buy the next book.  The problem with this particular teaser is that even though it is 35 pages long, it's content is so little that it isn't even enough to really get you to where a full teaser would stop.  It wasn't enough story tin this "book" to get me interested enough to pay the money for the next  REAL book (which I admit I have done in the past and been quite satisfied with the  teaser and the book I purchased.)     In this case, I it was more like someone giving you food and letting you chew for 2 seconds then telling you to stop.  I didn't really get enough from this quick read to be able to tell if it was good or not.  So I guess my review is to tell you...I just don't know enough about this book to give a real opinion one way or another.  Unfortunately for the author this means that I won't be spending my hard earned book money to find out whether the next "book" will have enough pages so I can get a real taste of this author's writing ability.

I can only use this opportunity to let publishers and authors a message.  While I understand the marketing principle that leads sellers to offer these "teaser" novellas, there is a great risk involved in them too if they are not done correctly.  ( I would say that only 1 out of 3 really is done well enough not to have negative effects.  I cannot tell you how many customer reviews I have read by angry readers who feel you have cheated them and wasted their time.   These reviews and comments can hurt you much more than the few dollars and small amount of mercy good reviews that some will leave. 

This This  book should have been labeled a novella  and their should be disclaimers in the description about how many pages it is and the book it leads to.  Unfortunately the way it is currently presented will be  loosing potential fans and discrediting the authors other books which may be longer and quite good.   It's sad many readers will write the author off and won't bother to find the real books you may write.  You may have gotten much more positive press and future sales if you simply gave it away for free. Even though I received a complimentary copy of this book, I still was angry because I felt like it was a waste of my time.  I can only imagine how much more angry I would have been if I had spent my "book money" that I have to scrape out of our families  budget.

My Review Scores:

Story  * (1 out of 5 Stars)
Heat Index         (0 out of 5 Starts)
Overall Rating * (1 Star)

(Yes- it's hard to believe but scores like this really happen!!)

About the Author:
Marina Anderson is the pseudonym of British author Margaret Bingley, whose novels have been published all over the world. Margaret uses this pseudonym for her series of erotica novels. She also publishes erotica for women under the pseudonym Fredrica Alleyn.  As of the date of this review, I couldn't find her web site, however her books are published by Forever; a  romance publishing division of Grand Central Publishing.  If you click this link, I'm sure you can find more information about her and the books she has written.

WOW--A Two Book Weekend

This weekend I cleaned my house, put together the new storage cabinet I have really been needing (it finally went on sale), and still managed to get in two new books.      

                                     

As always, I've got to share them with you guys:

 

Darkness Rises  (Immortal Guardians)   

  By Dianne Duvall                                    

  My Rating:           

 Overall Story:  **** 3 out of 5 Stars

 Heat Index:      ****3 out of 5 Stars

 

Krysta Linz is a mortal who hunts vampires with her brother's help.  She has always worked alone and somehow she has managed to survive.  Etienne is an Immortal Guardian who is amazed with Krista's hunting skill and her body.   He knows she is meant for him, but  convincing a mortal to join the Guardians is almost as difficult as having his group accept a moral and her brother.
This was a story that never got dull.  Both Krysta and Etienne are strong willed characters, and just their natures made it interesting from start to finish.

Dianne Duvall has really started a great story, that only starts to let us get to know the Immortal Guardians.  It leaves you wanting to read more.  I 'm sure this book will  be the start of a great series. She is a fairly new writer with only about 4 books available at major stores. Although she is new, she is off to a great start and I know that I will be reading and reviewing more of her books.  Dianne loves writing Romance, Paranormal Romance and Vampire Romance books (my kind of writer).  She credits Stephen King as a strong influence along with "too many other writers to name".  You can join her "Street Team" (fan club) on Facebook. and find lots of contests and give-aways at her her blog  or find out more about her book tours at her web site.

 

 

You can get your copy of  Darkness Rises at Barnes & Noble the paperback lists for about new and about $7.99 used.  The Nook ebook sells for $4.99.  The Kindle ebook (at Amazon) sells for 3.99 while the paperback sells for $7.19 new.

 

 

Fatal Strike (McClouds & Friends Book #10)

                                    By Shannon McKenna

                                    My Rating:

                                           Story:  **** 4 of 5 Stars

                                           Heat Index:  ***3 of 5 Stars

                                           Overall:  **** 4 of 5 Stars

                                  When Lara Kirk was abducted months ago, Miles Davenport                 vowed he'd bring her home. Miles is recovering himself when he b                                                         begins to see her in his head, and at first he thinks that he  is                                                        loosing his mind.  He has become totally obsessed; he                                                      He thinks that  he can  hear Lara pleading for him to save her.
                                                          Finally her realizes that she may be real, but finding her after all this time will be next to impossible and he wants to do it alone.
 

Shannon McKenna comes right up to snuff with this book!! This is You can count on her for a great story and lots of intrigue and action and best of all the hot guys and hot romance. I can't wait to read more of the McClouds series.

Krysta is a mortal who hunts vampires with her brother's help.  She has always worked alone and somehow she has managed to survive.  Etienne is an Immortal Guardian who is amazed with Krista's hunting skill and her body.   He knows she is meant for him, but  convincing a mortal to join the Guardians is almost as difficult as having his group accept a moral and her brother.
This was a story that never got dull.  Both Krysta and Etienne are strong willed characters, and just their natures made it interesting from start to finish.
Dianne Duvall has really started a great story, that only starts to let us get to know the Immortal Guardians.  It leaves you wanting to read more.  I fully expect this book to be the start of a great series.

 Shannon Mc.Kenna is a writer of romance, mystery and thrillers.  You can read more about her at her web page.  Her books do come with a hefty price tag.  At Barnes & Noble the paperback lists for about $11.99 new and about $7.39 used.  The Nook ebook sells for $9.99.   The Kindle ebook (at Amazon) sells for $9.39.