Holly's Favorite Reads of 2014

(In no particular order)

DIRTY ANGELS (Dirty Angels #1)

by Karina Halle

***WARNING*** This book deals with drug cartels and as such it contains a lot of sex and violence and some violent sex. It can get pretty ugly, pretty dark and pretty crazy. There is drug use, abuse, a bit of torture and dubious consent. The hero is not a hero and the villains...well, they're even worse. If this sort

of thing bothers you, PLEASE DO NOT READ IT. This ain't no cupcake farting unicorn kind of book. If you are even a bit squeamish about violence, brutality and rape, this is your warning to stay away from a book that you certainly will not like (and why read books that you know you won't like?)***

Enough said, right??

AMAZON | Goodreads

THE STORY OF US (CARNAGE #1)

by Lesley Jones

ASTONISHING, BREATHTAKING, EXTRAORDINARY, BRILLIANT, INCREDIBLE, MAGNIFICENT....THESE ARE JUST A FEW WORDS THAT COME TO MIND WHEN I THINK ABOUT THIS STORY, AND I AM NOT KIDDING WHEN I TELL YOU I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT!!!

This was probably the BIGGEST book hangover of the year for me!! All I can say is READ IT!!

AMAZON | Goodreads

THE EVER TRILOGY

by Jasinda Wilder

O.M.G – The feels in this trilogy almost did me in!! I cried so much it was ridiculous! Loved every single minute of it!!

Forever & Always (#1) ~ AMAZON | Goodreads

After Forever (#2) ~ AMAZON | Goodreads

Saving Forever (#3) ~ AMAZON | Goodreads

BAD ROMEO (Starcrossed #1)

by Leisa Rayven

This was a random pic for me that just sounded good and I was RIGHT!! It was great! It was actually about 400 pages of foreplay with some smokin’ hot sex at the end!! Lots of fun and a hot read!

AMAZON | Goodreads

INSIDIOUS (Tales from the Dark Side #1)

by Aleatha Romig

I love ‘em dark and twisted and Oh Yeah! This one totally fits the bill. Aleatha Romig is a Queen of Mind Fuckery, and to that I say…THANK YOU!

AMAZON | Goodreads

CLIPPED WINGS & INKED ARMOR

by Helena Hunting

These came highly recommended to me by a dear friend who knows what a sucker I am for a tattooed, pierced bad boy and IT WAS FANTASTIC!!

Clipped Wings (#1) ~ AMAZON | Goodreads

Inked Armor (#2) ~ AMAZON | Goodreads

DEBT

by Nina G. Jones

OMFG!!! This one just soared to the top of my all time favorites list!!!! ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!

AMAZON | Goodreads

THE SAINT & THE KING

by Tiffany Reisz

Everything by Tiffany Reisz is PURE GOLD!!! The End!

The Saint (Original Sinners: The White Years #1) ~ AMAZON | Goodreads

The King (Original Sinners: The White Years #2) ~ AMAZON | Goodreads

ETERNALLY NORTH

by Tillie Cole

This was my very first Tillie Cole book and I was instantly in love!! Tudor North is delicious!!

AMAZON | Goodreads

IT AIN’T ME BABE (Hades Hangmen #1)

by Tillie Cole

What I love most about Tillie Cole is that she can write with such amazing diversity! She can write a beautifully sweet story like Eternally North and then this AWESOME biker/cult gem that was one of the best things I read all year!!

AMAZON | Goodreads

 

NINE MINUTES (Nine Minutes #1)

by Beth Flynn

This was a very different type of biker story, I think – but if you are a fan of the biker stories and you aren’t squeamish, then I highly recommend this one!

AMAZON | Goodreads

UNDERESTIMATED & UNDERESTIMATED TOO

by Jettie Woodruff

This was my first book(s) by Ms Woodruff and HOLY SHIT did I have massive book hangover!! These books are dark, twisted and have several ‘Oh Hell No!’ moments! I mean seriously, how can you resist a warning like this….Warning! This is not your everyday fall in love romance. This book contains disturbing situations, strong language, graphic, sexual content - some forced, some not. If it's a happily ever after love story that you are looking for, you should probably move on. If you are up for the ride, stick around and it may just turn into a love story after all.

Underestimated ~ AMAZON | Goodreads

Underestimated Too ~ AMAZON | Goodreads

PUDDLE JUMPING

by Amber L Johnson

“I don’t believe there’s such a thing as conventional love. Love is bending. Love is breaking. Love is constantly learning about the other person until you go crazy because it will never be perfect, but there’s no fault in trying. I’ve loved a boy who was extraordinary beyond words, in my eyes.” I FUCKING LOVED THIS BEAUTIFUL BOOK!! HARD!!

AMAZON | Goodreads

THERAPY

by Kathryn Perez

Accepting the ugly shit in life is just part of living. Pain tells us we are still here; it lets us know we've survived. Phenomenal story! Some parts were a little hard to read but excellent and incredibly emotional!

AMAZON | Goodreads

PUSH (Push #1)

by Claire Wallis

I wasn’t really sure what to make of this book when I finished it, I just kind of sat there for awhile letting it all soak in. I’m still not sure I can accurately describe my feelings for this story other than to tell you that it gave me almost a week-long book hangover! Oh, and that I can’t wait for book two.

AMAZON | Goodreads

TRANSCENDENCE

by Shay Savage

This book has the award for most unique – I had my doubts about a story about a caveman but it was FANTASTICALLY AMAZING and caused another major book hangover.

AMAZON | Goodreads

SOCIOPATH

by Lime Craven

I truly love me a great anti-hero and that is exactly what you get with Aeron Lore! I loved him, loved the writing and can honestly say this book alone has made Lime Craven and auto buy author for me!

AMAZON | Goodreads

#Review ~ Underestimated Too (Underestimated #2) by Jettie Woodruff

WARNING. This book contains: explicit sex scenes (some forced, some not), intense situations not meant for the faint of heart, abuse, adult language and content.

Money is not the most important thing in the world; love is - so they say anyway. Fortunately, Drew loves money. He wasn’t capable of loving anything else. The more money he made, the more he needed to make. Always chasing a deal, that was the most important thing in the world to him.

You rode Morgan’s side of the tracks. Now ride Drew’s. You know the things she went through, things nobody should go through. Is Drew sorry for his part in that? Probably not. He’s not sure things would have turned out the way they did had he been the cute little husband the critics expected him to be. He did do things that hurt her and regretted a lot of his choices, but he tortured himself, wanting to do them still.

You think you know Drew? You don’t know squat. You know what his wife has told you. She couldn’t tell you more than that, she doesn’t know that part of Drew. You want a sappy cliché romance? Move on, this isn’t the story for you. You want all the gruesome details? Stick around, and then you can judge Drew.

Ok, I just finished my review for book one but I have more to say! I finished book one at midnight a few nights ago and went right on to this one because I simply couldn't get enough of Drew and Morgan(I finally had to quit for the night at 1:30am because my eyes we crossing) and I wanted to see where this book was going to take their story!

***If you have not read book one please don't continue on, as I don't want to end up giving spoilers.***

When we left Drew and Morgan at the end of book Drew had become a completely different man. He and Morgan we madly in love. He was still a tad controlling and dominating, but that was what Morgan wanted and needed so it's all good. They are living their lives together with their beautiful baby boy, Nicholas and all in all, life is good - on the surface anyway.

I will admit I was shocked as shit when I read the first scene where Drew backhanded Morgan across the face, I actually read it a couple times thinking I was reading it wrong or it was a flashback or something. Nope, that motherfucker was at it again!!

I admit, I was so fucking angry at this, especially when Morgan excused his behavior and made excuses for him!! I was livid!! But then.... I kept reading and although a lot of things in this story bothered me, maybe even more than the first book because I felt like Morgan was just ok with it all, I tried to understand and not be judgy(not sure if that's actually a word, but who cares) - They were going to counseling and working on the root of the issues, which is basically the story here. In this book we get to really know Drew and discover why he is such a fucked up bastard. I grew to love Drew, but I also spent chunks of the story hating him too!!!

Read it! You will know exactly what I mean!!

The bottom line is Morgan and Drew are madly in love, they have specific sexual tastes, and that's ok, they aren't always hearts and flowers and that's ok too. Don't get me wrong, there are HUGE parts of things that go on between them that are NOT OK, but they are a work in progress.

"I'm an imperfect man, and I've made my wife an imperfect woman. We're just two imperfect people who refuse to give up on each other. She will forever be my always."

This book eventually gets it (sorta) HEA as well and I think you will end up loving Drew, even in all his fucked-up-ness whether you want to or not!! Either way I will say again, if you can handle a story depicting the sometimes ugly side of love and relationships and keep an open mind and not judge you are in for a story that will stay with you for a long time after you finish!!

This girl for one hopes we get to visit Drew and Morgan again down the road!! I'm not ready to give them up yet!! :)

#Review ~ Underestimated (Underestimated #1) by Jettie Woodruff

Morgan starts her life in a bad situation, she doesn't really know what she wants out of life. She's never had anyone to look up to or help guide her in the right direction. She had it rough and never dreamed that it could get worse. However, she finds that it can and it does.

She learns what real hell is when she meets the husband that she doesn't want to marry but isn't given a choice.

Can she escape? She can and does, only to wake up and find herself right back at square one.

_____________

Warning! This is not your everyday fall in love romance. This book contains disturbing situations, strong language, graphic, sexual content - some forced, some not. If it's a happily ever after love story that you are looking for, you should probably move on. If you are up for the ride, stick around and it may just turn into a love story after all.

I'm not sure I can even begin to describe how much I LOVED this book, but I'm damn sure gonna try!!

Warning! This is not your everyday fall in love romance. This book contains disturbing situations, strong language, graphic, sexual content - some forced, some not. If it's a happily ever after love story that you are looking for, you should probably move on. If you are up for the ride, stick around and it may just turn into a love story after all.

That describes this story perfectly and I loved every second. I love nothing more than a good story that fucks with my head and HOLY SHIT does this one do that!!

We spend the first part of the story living Morgan's nightmare life with her. Her shitty childhood, her awful wedding to Drew and her horrendous six years of marriage with him. Let me introduce Drew, he is a horrible, fucked up, piece of shit! You will hate him with such a fiery passion that it's almost to much to bear. He is abusive, both physical and sexual and sadistic, both physical and sexual and when Morgan escapes him I literally did a fist pump while reading!

With a little help, Morgan runs and she starts her life over in a small town in Maine. Here she comes alive, makes new friends and even falls in love. Her life is wonderful for a couple years. That is until she finds herself back in Las Vegas and gets into a car accident that steals her memory. Of course Drew is there playing attentive husband and takes her home.

We now meet a completely different Drew than the one we knew. This one is attentive and loving and Morgan is different too, she isn't afraid, she does what she wants and they actually begin to fall in love, for real!! That is until she remembers everything!! But this time she isn't afraid and she is in love with this monster man so she has to figure out what she wants.

"Do you think it's still Stockholm syndrome when you fall in love with the Drew that you didn't know?"

There are a lot emotions in this book and I don't even understand why I feel the way I do about some of it. Your feelings and emotions will fly all over the map and back again - yeah, it's that good!!

There is a somewhat HEA but I will say again, if you can't handle the ugly side of love and relationships and you have a problem reading about abuse, you should really move on right now. This is not for you, but if you are looking for a great story that will leave you begging for more then I can't recommend this enough!! Jettie Woodruff has just become an auto-buy for me!!!