The Mistress (Original Sinners #4) by Tiffany Reisz

The final book in The Original Sinners Series - The Red Years.

There's punishment-and then there's vengeance.

Nora Sutherlin is being held, bound and naked. Under different circumstances, she would enjoy the situation immensely, but her captor isn't interested in play. Or pity.

As the reality of her impending peril unfolds, Nora becomes Scheherazade, buying each hour of her life with stories-sensual tales of Søren, Kingsley and Wesley, each of whom has tempted and tested and tortured her in his own way. This, Nora realizes, is her life: nothing so simple, so vanilla, as a mere love triangle for her. It's a knot in a silken cord, a tangled mass of longings of the body and the heart and the mind. And it may unravel at any moment.

But in Nora's world, no one is ever truly powerless-a cadre of her friends, protectors and lovers stands ready to do anything to save her, even when the only certainty seems to be sacrifice and heartbreak....

3.5 Stars

…And so the game continues. The pieces are in place; the board is set. Who will walk away intact and who won’t walk away at all?

How I felt when I got approved for the Mistress: Excited, ecstatic, deliriously happy, worried and scared shitless

How I felt when I finished the Mistress: Confused, bewildered, sad, happy, heartbroken and I-need-a-drink

The jumbled mess of feelings after re-reading the last 30% over again and reassessing: Brilliant writing, still incredible storytelling, still love Nora’s world of beautiful men, ignore and resolved

First and foremost, I have to give props to Tiffany for giving us this gift of a series. I have nothing but respect and awe for her. I will forever be a fan of stories. They get me so riled up (see my status updates for further details). You have to love it.

Okay. Fangirling aside, here I go. Are you ready?

So I’ve had a week to stew over my initial disappointment in the story. Then after a few days, I decided to reread the last third of the book and with a more open mind. Though not a whole lot of my initial feelings changed, I was able to see a few things in a newer light. Whatever I say in this review, please remember that these are my opinions and my feelings alone. 

Tell me. 

I think the majority of you who love the series will probably LOVE this installment, but alas, not I. I will probably be in the minority, but this wasn’t what I expected. Don’t get me wrong, there are still some scenes that made me smile, cry, squirm and made reading it so intriguing, but they were pretty few and far in-between. 

The King & The Queen

“What father doesn’t want his children to play nice together? Come…let’s go play nice.” ~ Kingsley to Nora 

Once again, I found myself loving Nora’s character. If I have to be honest, I loved when the chapter was going to feature her. Even though she’s being held captive, her wit and wicked smart tongue had me smirking and kept the darkest moments, a bit more tolerable. Her stories about Søren left my heart pounding and me speechless. The way she would talk about him, you just knew that he would always be the love of her life. However, her stories that had her, Søren & Kingsley…together **smirks** left me squirming. 

As for Kingsley…No words can describe how amazing he is. He’s one of the strongest characters I’ve ever come across. His love and his sacrifice knows no bounds. He continues to astound me. I love him. Plain and simple. 

The Knight: Oh, Wesley. What happened to you, my love? If you guys know me, you know I’m OBSESSED with this man. I would totally crazy stalk him if he actually existed. After the first three books, I thought he could do no wrong in my eyes, ever.

WRONG!

He broke me in this book. I have never been so angry and confused in all my life. Pardon my rant, but I’m going to lay it all out: So Nora’s been taken. The love of Wesley’s life has been kidnapped. You would think the man would be inconsolable; a wreck. Ask me now if that happened? Go ahead. Ask me…NOPE! He wasn’t. This version of Wes left me heartbroken. I didn’t know what alien crawled into his body, but this was NOT the Wesley I came to know and love. I won’t give away what happens, but he disappointed me most of all. You can’t just love someone with your whole heart, your whole being, then turn around and just fall for another…**snaps fingers** like that. After finishing this, I chose to ignore this version and erase this stranger from my heart. The Wesley of books one to three will always be the love of my life. The version in this book is dead to me. 

The Rook & The Pawn: Grace & Leila, respectively. I’ve spoken with a couple of reader friends of mine who have read this too, and they agree with me when I say: “Who the fuck are you and Why are you in this story?” Seriously? I did NOT know the point of having these two added characters joining in. They made minor appearances in the previous three books, but to make them essential in the storyline did NOT make any sense to me. 

Checkmate 

So there it is. The Red Years portion of Original Sinner Series is done. I had hoped it would end better, but don’t fret dear readers, the ending really wasn’t an ending. Though I wouldn’t really consider it a cliffhanger, it did leave me with gaping. Then I shrugged it off and told myself that only the brilliant Tiffany would leave it like that. It’s has been one crazy, crop-inflicted-pain journey she has taken us on, but there’s always room for more. I beg for more stories of this world. With that, I’m anxiously awaiting the beginning of the White Years portion of the series. 

Thank you Harlequin MIRA and NetGalley for providing me this ARC

Real Ugly (Hard Rock Roots #1) by C.M. Stunich

Turner Campbell is an asshole.

I f*cking hate him.

But I can't get enough either.

He sings like an angel and f*cks like a devil.

If I could, I'd run away and never look back because to tell you the truth, I think this man might be the death of me.

***

Naomi Knox is a bitch.

I can't f*cking stand her.

But I can't stop thinking about her either.

She looks like an angel and plays like a devil.

If I could, I'd f*ck her good and forget all about her, but to tell you the truth, I think this woman might be my last saving grace.

4.5 Stars

Real Ugly. That’s life. Fucking hideous and hateful and bloody. I wish I could see it otherwise. ~ Naomi 

Holy fucking shit. Well, you know a book is good when I start a review by swearing my mother fucking ass off. Don't be shocked when the rest of my review is more cursing vomit. 

What the fuck did I just read?

This was very different from any other rock star books I’ve read. It seemed more angsty and more dirty than normal. It’s far from pretty, or predictable. I’m not going to lie to you, but the title of this book really fits the story. It isn’t a pretty story, so far from it actually. This story, with its flawed characters and take-no-shit attitude created a very Ugly world full of angst, anger and raw vulnerability. I’m going to warn you right now, this book pissed me off, like a lot. No worries though, you’ll love every minute of it. 

All this time hating Turner, wishing him ill, wanting him dead, has built up into this angry sexual fervor that begs me to ride him until my heart explodes from my chest and my fingers draw blood from his back. 

The H/h in this book are prime examples of people walking the thin line between love and hate. They hate each other so much that I don’t think they could ever love anyone else but each other. Does that make sense? I know it’s confusing, but trust me, when you read this, you’ll understand. 

What is with this chick and who the hell does she think she is? Why doesn’t she worship me like everybody else? 

I don’t even know where to begin describing Naomi and Turner’s volatile relationship. A few words come to mind: Explosive, unstable, unpredictable, and hot-tempered. They are crazy fucked up. 

I have to remember that he’s not just a devil, but The Devil. 

No matter how angelic Turner is on stage, Naomi knows better. She and Turner have a past, but Turner doesn’t remember it. That is what pisses Naomi the most. He saved her, was there for her when she most needed it, but Turner is an asshole. In her mind, she was just one of his many nameless conquests. 

Something about her just pisses me off at the same time it gets me off. 

Turner is an asshole, plain and simple. I fucking hated him, but fucking loved him at the same time. Everytime Naomi stuck up for herself and knocked him down a peg, were joyous moments for me.

Turner cannot get Naomi off his mind. As the lead singer of Indecency, he’s had his share of women, still does actually. No woman has ever imbedded herself into his skin like she has. Unfortunately, she’s hard to avoid since her band is touring with his. There’s something vaguely familiar about her, but with his intermittent drug highs, he could be just hallucinating. Whatever the case may be, her supposed hatred and anger towards him just fuels his want for her. Naomi knows when Turner wants something, he’ll stop at nothing to get it. 

Fuck the past. The present’s all that matters anyway, right? 

So many things happened in the book. Along with fighting her feelings for Turner, there’s something, or someone, in Naomi’s past that is haunting her. Like I mentioned earlier, this story is NOT predictable. This story is far from the cookie-cutter rock star love stories out there. C.M. Stunich is so talented. I love her stories. They’re so full damaged characters that they always make for such interesting stories. This was no exception. However, before you decide to pick this up, I warn you now, this does end in a massive cliffhanger. Luckily, we don’t have to wait to long for the sequel. Can’t wait. 

Thank you C.M. Stunich for providing me this ARC

Good Vibrations (Welcome to Paradise #1) by S.L. Scott

I grab her exploring finger just as it reaches my happy trail—a trail that if I let her wander down further will lead us to do things we can’t take back. Things like three-word phrases being confessed that would end me if I was rejected. Things like selfishly wanting to own her body and doing things to her that would make my fantasies blush. And things like making her promises too soon that won’t do either of us any good. She makes me want a future that’s not possible, and one I don’t deserve.

Listening to my ego got me into this situation. Will listening to my heart get me out?

 

Four Stars

Welcome to Paradise!

College student Mallory Wray is all set for an awesome summer. She's living with her best friend in beautiful Hawaii for 2 months. Sounds lovely, right? Well, what she wasn't expecting was meeting super hot Evan. Mmmm, how shall I best describe Evan? He may be one cocky and arrogant surfer dude, but what I love is that he is honest with Mallory right from the start that he's a no relationship kind of guy.

Although things heat up pretty quickly for these two early on, it took a while for their emotions to catch up. These two make assumptions and frustrate one another so much that I just wanted them to sit down and talk already. However, I promise you that it's worth getting to the point when they finally open up to each other. They're playful and just so darn adorable together! I also love how their friends become a big part of the story, too.

“Desire bubbles inside of me. I haven't desired anyone in years. I've lusted and I've always gotten what I lusted after. But desire, desire feels like an old friend that I didn't know I missed until it returned. I desire this girl.” --Evan

Oh...Swoon! Ladies, you have got to let Evan welcome you to paradise!

Good Vibrations ends on a good note, so no cliffhanger, but there are issues left open. I'm curious to see where Evan and Mallory's story goes. S.L. Scott did a superb job with the setting. I truly felt like I was escaping to the tropical beaches of Hawaii, the land of gorgeous surfers and juicy pineapple. I wanted to book an island getaway right away!

Good Vibrations is definitely a great choice if you're looking for something easy to read for the long, hot summer days at the beach or pool. It's one fun-in-the-sun, steamy-licious and romantic read. Just be sure to have your ice cold drink on hand, because you're going to need it to cool off afterward for sure. Aloha!

Beautiful Broken Rules (Broken #1) by Kimberly Lauren

What happens when you create rules to keep others out?

One thing Emerson Moore has come to terms with is that she is the school slut. She knows her way around a frat house and how to get what she wants. She doesn’t make any excuses for her actions and she doesn’t pretend to be anything different. She is who she is and with that she knows how to have a good time. She’s made rules to keep relationships at bay and avoid the demons of her past.

When her best friend, Cole has his two friends from back home move in with him she begins to think she has met her match with Jaxon Riley. Jax is the perfect mixture of tattooed muscle and a sweet-talking mouth. With “hand” written notes, a voice that exudes sex and knowing just how to get under her skin, Jaxon learns how to break all the rules. But will he just end up breaking her heart anyway?

New Adult/Adult Contemporary Romance - recommended for ages 18 and up.

Four Stars

I just met you and I’m amazed by you already 

Jaxon Le Sigh…

I slowly uncurled them to read his message, which was written boldly across the expanse of my palm. One word that screamed a whole lot more.

MINE

I lifted my eyes up to his and nodded. 

Not really sure how to begin this review. First and foremost, I liked it. I really did. This was a bit of an angsty read, but that was okay, it was what I was in the mood for. This story is a little different from the usual fare of the player Hero falling for the girl. In this story, our Hero is trying to change the ways of a very promiscuous heroine. Don’t get me wrong, Jaxon is no saint either; he’s a sexy football player who constantly has wiling women fighting for his attention, but as soon as he meets Emerson, he knew he was willing to do what it took to make her his. Oh yea. Jaxon is definitely swoon-worthy ;)

Jaxon and Emerson had an immediate lust connection. The way they met is pretty unforgettable. After hooking up at a fraternity party, Emerson was caught doing the walk of shame by her BFF Cole and his best friend, Jaxon, who was just starting the semester. She definitely made an impression on Jaxon considering she was just in her skimpy undies. Emerson of course knew it was only a matter of time until she had a taste of Jaxon. She was definitely looking forward to those three times with him. After all, no one can come in between her and her rules. 

I have three rules: 

Never sleep with someone that a friend has feelings for

Never sleep with someone who is in a known relationship

Never sleep with someone more than three times. 

**Shakes head** Oh Emerson and her fucked up rules. I wanted her to take those rules and shove ‘em up her … Okay. I understand her need for it, really, I do. But seriously, there came a point in the book where enough was enough. That point came pretty early in the book, too. So needless to say, I was feeling a little annoyed with Emerson for the majority of the book. 

Jaxon remained a patient man, even after she told him her rules, he still held some hope. Even after seeing Emerson take off with one guy after another, he never gave up No worries. She couldn’t really do anything with those boys, because, well…you know why. She doesn’t want anyone but Jaxon. She’s just too stubborn to admit it. 

Be silly, be honest, and be kind. 

I finished this in one day, so I couldn’t deny that it was good. I loved Jaxon’s character. He’s possessive, protective, so sweet and so very sexy (oh, did I mention he had tattoos? **smirks**). He never judged her. She on the other hand really pushed my patience. To be honest, her reasoning behind her rules wasn’t strong enough for me. After losing her parents, she made the rules up to prevent from getting hurt, but that is NOT the way to live. Plus, when she fucked up, she fucked up royally. It was hard to sympathize with her after constantly running away from Jaxon. Why couldn’t she just open up to him? Ugh. So frustrating. I’m just happy Jaxon never gave up on her and they did end up with her their HEA :)

There is No Light in Darkness (Darkness #1) by Claire Contreras

A past hidden in darkness. Her present cloaked in secrets. The future holds the only truth that cannot be escaped.

After the mysterious and violent death of her parents, Blake Brennan finds comfort with an unconventional family. As the dramatic loss of her parents continues to haunt her—and hinders her from reciprocating love that others give freely—Blake embarks on a harrowing journey in search for the truth.

Living in a constant state of fear and need for control, vivid nightmares reveal details that lead to perilous situations. The past begins to collide with the present, and Blake must decide if the truth is worth losing the ones she loves. 

Can love conquer all as her past comes to light? Or will Blake realize that there is no light in darkness?

Book contains: Explicit language & sexual content

FIVE HUGE STARS

Cole Murphy, I love you to the moon and back.

If it weren’t for love, the suffering we experience wouldn’t be worth it.

Definitely one of my top reads of the year; no question about it. I couldn’t put it down. My chores were put on hold, my dishes were stacking up; I didn’t want to stop reading. I fell in love and have a new addition to my ultimate book boyfriend shelf. Cole is AMAZING. He’s everything I love in my Heroes: Super sexy, smart, protective, possessive, persistent, and so full of love. Blake is one lucky woman. 

I never let them get attached to me, and I don’t attach myself to anyone. 

Blake’s life is complicated. Her past constantly haunts her. One night, she awakens to some gunshots and the next thing she knows, she sees her mother laying on the floor and her dad being hauled away by someone. Her memories of the people involved in that night are very vague at best. She was taken immediately by one of the strangers to live with her Aunt. After her passing, she was taken to live with a foster family. There she meets the people who will forever be part of her life, including Cole Murphy. 

“I’m in love with you, Blake. I’ve been in love with you from the moment I saw you. I’ve been in love with you from the day I was born and possibly even before then. I belong to you. My body belongs to you. My heart belongs to you.” 

I LOVE YOU, COLE!!!!!!!!!

He is such an amazing man. He has loved Blake ever since she moved in with him and his foster family. They share a connection that no one could ever break, and Cole refuses to have anyone but Blake. Relationships have come and gone; people have tried and tried to come between them, including Blake herself, but Cole refuses to give up. He loves Blake with every fiber of his being. Le Sigh…. OMG. No matter the darkness surrounded Blake, he was determined to be her light, her one true constant. God, he makes my heart beat so fast. LOVED HIM!

“Why are you so adamant about getting rid of me?” he whispered into my hair. “I fucking love you, I care about you. I want to take care of you. Let me.” 

There were times I wanted to shake some sense into Blake. Ever since what happened to her parents, Blake refuses to acknowledge love; not to her close friends, her foster mother and especially not to Blake. She believes that saying she loves someone is like signing his or her death warrant. But even though she doesn’t outright say the words, her friends know where she stands. I LOVE everyone them: Aubry, Becky, Greg, Aimee, Maggie and especially Cole. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

This book was AMAZING! I cannot recommend it enough. The writing was flawless, the characters were all unforgettable, and the story was very moving. It had some mystery, lots of love, and TONS of swoon worthy moments with Cole. I’m so happy book two is out so I can dive in. Thank you, Trish, for pushing me to read this. It was fucking awesome.