One to Protect (One to Hold #3) by Tia Louise #Review

WARNING: Recommended for adult readers (18+) only. Mature themes, strong language, and sexual content.

One scar.

One betrayal.

No escape.

When Melissa's ex-husband Sloan beats criminal charges, she stops believing he will ever pay for what he did to her. Derek Alexander can’t accept that--a tiny silver scar won't let him forget, and he is determined to get the man who hurt his fiancee.

Then a face from the past turns up dead.

After exhausting all legal options, Derek is ready to do whatever it takes to protect his family... until his partner Patrick devises a trap that changes everything.

Note: Standalone, M/F, HEA.

Oh my beautiful Derek & Mel, how I have missed you and your delicious passion!!! Enjoying them now! Thank you Tia xo

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!! The End! Nooooo, just kidding!

Ok, so those of you who have read my reviews of Tia's yummy OTH series know how crazy in love I am with Derek & Melissa!! They stayed with me for days after reading their story and I wanted more, more, more!! Thankfully, Tia being the goddess that she is must have heard my whining and gave me more!! See how I'm taking all the credit there?) Ok, so maybe it wasn't me that made her tell more of their story, but lets go with that :)

When we left Derek & Mel they were madly in love, having a baby, but couldn't decide who would give up their home town to move in with the other. So we find them still commuting - a really freakin' long way, mind you - to be together!! When Mel gets a text from Nikki that something has got Derek super stressed, she makes an unexpected visit to help, well, relax him...if you get my drift! :)

Little does she know at the time that Derek's stress is all due to the fact that her abusive bastard of an ex-husband is walking free and Derek DOES NOT LIKE THAT!! Can you blame him??? No worries though, Derek has got this!! I absolutely love the moral of this story, which I believe is to show just how far we will go to protect the ones we love and keep them safe.

All I can say is why would anyone think it wise to fuck with Derek Alexander, my delicious hunk of yummy Marine man meat!??! Big Mistake!!

If you love this series this is a must read, I am hoping we get little snippets of Derek & Mel for a long time to come, yeah, that's my inner voyeur talkin' - can't help it, she's a greedy bitch and I think I mentioned my slightly obsessive love for these characters!!

Oh, and if you have not read any of the books in this super sexy series, get on it! I really have no idea what you could be waiting for!!!

Blog Tour #Review & #Giveaway ~ Number Thirteen by Bella Jewel

**AUTHOR NOTE - This is NOT a BDSM Romance**

We're thirteen girls, captive, slave to our master.

A master we've never seen.

Obedience will become all we know in our shallow existence. It is the only emotion we're permitted to feel.

When we're bad, we're punished. When we're good, we're rewarded.

Our scars run deep. Yet we survive, because we have to...

because HE teaches us to.

All of us are special, we feel it with everything we are.

He has us for a reason, but it's a reason we don't know.

We've never seen his face, but we know that something deeply broken lies beneath the darkness. With every touch, with every punishment, we know it.

Then something changed.

He showed me who he truly is.

Now I want him.

I'll go against everything I know to be with him.

A monster.

My monster.

Loving him is a sin, but a sinner I am. I won't stop until I see every part of him. Even the parts he keeps locked deep down inside.

I am Number Thirteen, and this is my story.

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About the Author

Bella Jewel is an Aussie girl through and through. She spent her life in Western Australia, growing up in many different areas of the state. She now currently lives in Perth with her husband, children and mass amounts of pets. She's crazy, fun, outgoing and friendly. Writing is her passion, she started at the young age of 18 but finally got the courage up to publish, and her first novel Hell's Knights was released in August 2013.

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3.5 Stars

Loving him is a sin; of that I’m fully aware. But a sinner I am.

Whatever preconceptions you have about this book, throw it out the window.

This is not dark erotica.

This is not a BDSM novel.

This did not contain those dark elements I was expecting.

I’ve had a little bit of time to process this story and the more I think about it, the more disjointed I feel. It’s not necessarily bad or anything. I just think it could’ve been more.

No one deserves to die.

But I did die, that day.

And in my place, a monster was born.

We immediately learn the cruelty that William had to endure when he was only thirteen. He was targeted and tormented by bullies. Not only was there emotional abuse, but those bullies also changed him physically. He was not the same after that traumatizing encounter.

“I do not trust, nor do I give myself to anyone. I am a simple few elements, Number Thirteen. I am determination, I am control, and I am power. I do not mix, I do not remove, and I do not add. I will care for you as my lover; I’ll give you everything you need, but asking for more is pointless and a waste of both our time.”

Thirteen women have been taken. We don’t know the circumstances to which they lived their lives before the abduction. Why were they taken? Where are they headed? Do these thirteen women have a commonality? What is their purpose?

When we first meet these women, they are only known by the number in which they have been assigned. The women were ultimately divided up in four groups; each assigned a different task to the household – cook, clean, chores, or whatever the Master William desires.

This is Number Thirteen’s story. As the story progresses, we watch her internal struggle to find out who she was and why exactly she was chosen, especially since her group is to serve the Master, whatever that may mean. She initially has a hard time adjusting to her situation and often finds herself being punished for her defiance. What she slowly learns is that Master William has an agenda for her and for these women. He is not what he seems.

It’s in that moment I just see him for what he is: a jagged piece of glass that can never be glued back into its spot because it’s not perfect. It has rough edges, even though the middle is still stunning.

I’m a piece of gagged glass, too. Maybe together we can find a way to fit.

This story was a bit…confusing at times. I hate to admit it, but I struggled a little bit with this story. I kept trying to keep tabs of each girl – their look, their mannerisms – trying to figure out what William’s ultimate goal was. It got a bit distracting and it took a bit of time to find out what exactly he wanted. Once I (kind of) got the gist of it, it made a little sense, but by that time it felt a little too late, if that makes any sense. However, there were some bright spots in the story; there were even some fist pump moments – especially when Number Thirteen put William’s father in his place. Plus the moments when William was finally showing his true self, not only to Number Thirteen, but also to the rest of the women, were such a heart warming moments. And that ending? Yea. It made me melt.

So if you’re going to give this a shot, heed my warnings above and try not to focus on each individual girl --- just go with it. Like I said, this had so much more potential, but the story fell a little short.

Oh, on a side note (and I apologize if this is spoilerish), but I was a little taken aback that no justice was done to these bullies. I felt a little cheated. Just sayin.

**Complimentary advanced copy was provided by author in exchange for an honest review**

Giveaway

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#Review ~ How to say Goodbye by Amber Lin

Amy has a secret: no one’s ever held her hand. She doesn’t even know how to hug. Everyone thinks she’s smart, but straight A's are way easier than making friends. Then she meets Dane, a golden-haired surfer whose easy charm and hot touch teach her what she longs to know.

Dane lives for the salty breeze and a sweet wave, because that’s all he has. He’s been on the streets since he was fourteen. A drifter. Homeless. Then he meets Amy. Smart and accomplished, she’s everything he’s not. He wants to be the sort of man who deserves her.

Except that means facing down his past—and that past might very well swallow them both.

 

3.5-3.75 Stars

She wouldn’t see him again, because she didn’t know how to be close to another human being. No textbook had ever taught her.

The premise of this story was very intriguing to me. This sounded different and the H/h were definitely out of the box: A heroine who has never neither hugged nor held hands paired with a homeless Hero. I wanted to know exactly why these characters were the way they were, like what made them this way and what exactly brought them together. How will their relationship work?

“No,” she said and then kissed him back, firmer now. This was falling and floundering, gasping for air and finding nothing but him. Only him. She never wanted to be okay again.

Amy was abandoned by her mother and was raised by her Uncle. Physical interaction was very lacking in her life - at home, at school – even her interaction with her mother was only through the phone. It’s no wonder all her focus was in succeeding academically.

As mysterious as Amy was, she was nothing compared to Dane. First off, I loved Dane. I didn’t care if he was homeless – he was such a great guy. He was sweet, caring and unbelievably tender. Though he struggled to come to terms with what a man like him in his situation can really offer a girl like Amy, he still treated her delicately and respectfully; he made me melt.

He groaned, his eyes closing. “Why do you put up with me?”

She could turn him away and find someone more stable to be with. But she’d always preferred the mysterious beauty of the sky to the ground she walked every day. If there was ever anyone prepared to wait for him, she was. She’d waited her whole life for someone to love her. She could wait for him too.

“Because there’s nothing else I’d rather do.”

I couldn’t really give this story a full four stars simply because it took a while for the story to get going. Not only that, but I wanted more development of Amy and Dane’s relationship. Not that it was rushed or anything, but I think it needed a little more something. However, I cannot stress how much I loved Dane. I understood his hesitance and his reluctance, but I admired at how much he respected her enough to want to become more for her.

** Complimentary Copy provided by author in exchange for honest review**

#Review ~ Rock Bottom (Tristan & Danika #2) by R.K. Lilley

Their love had the power of a runaway freight train, and the potential to be just as destructive.

The tempestuous sequel to Bad Things picks up where the first book left off. Reeling from a profound loss, Tristan and Danika struggle to pick up the pieces and build a life together, but the hard habits of a lifetime are not so easy to escape.

Rock Bottom takes us on a dual point of view journey through addiction and desire, through love and agony, and answers the question we’ve been asking since these characters were introduced in Grounded: “What happened between Tristan and Danika?”

DANIKA

Even love couldn’t cushion a fall like ours. My love for Tristan was so big that I felt consumed by it, and even so, it was not enough to overpower our combined demons.

I struggled. I yelled and screamed. I scratched and kicked.

I fought like hell, but even the most determined fighters have to stop before they break.

No one could say I didn’t fight for him.

“I love you,” I spoke softly into his ear.

He gripped me harder. “I can’t ever lose you, Danika. I’m not sure I’d survive it.”

“You’ve got me. And I’m not going anywhere. Not ever.”

I meant the words when I said them, but life had other plans for us.

I’d have given my life for that fight. In fact, I very nearly did.

TRISTAN

She was the one.

If I’d ever had a doubt, I didn’t now. She was the one I’d be thinking about, longing for, until I took my last breath. If I lost her tomorrow, I’d pine for her like a lovesick fool.

This was the kind of love that only hit you once in your life.

This book is intended for readers 18 and up.

 

4.5 Stars

**Possible spoilers for those of you who haven’t read Bad Things (book #1)**

Every misstep that led us down the path to our destruction was our own doing

That above quote, my dear friends, is how the prologue ended. Very ominous isn’t it? To say I was freaking out was an understatement. After reading book one, I immediately jumped to this book. I wanted more of Tristan and Danika’s story. They were addictive.

Addictive. Hmmm…

Funny. That word holds a lot of meaning, especially in this second book. This book had such a different vibe from book one. This one had me worried from the very beginning. It felt like I was walking on eggshells the entire time; waiting for the axe to fall and destroy this couple’s already fragile and combustible relationship.

I was, by nature, a fighter, and no one could say I didn’t fight for us.

I’d have given my life for that fight.

In fact, I very nearly did.

Danika and Tristan’s relationship is as intense as they come. They need each other like they need air, but they’re relationship is about to get tested even more. Tristan’s band has been signed to a record deal, which means time away from Danika. From Vegas to L.A., they try to make it work, but insecurities and obsession start to reel its ugly head – from both sides of the relationship.

Danika is missing Tristan like crazy, but she wanted to support Tristan’s opportunity to make it big in the music world. However this scenario is just asking for trouble. The constant flow of drugs and Tristan’s man-whore past are always at the forefront of her mind. I couldn’t really fault her for this considering there was Dean, bandmate and friend of Tristan, who constantly plotted to break them apart. Oh hell, yes, I would be worried, too.

I lay awake for a long time, stroking his hair, watching him sleep, like a mama bear with a cub, knowing he was slipping away, knowing he was on the wrong path, a path that was bad for him and agonizing over what I could do to help him.

Tristan is more possessive and protective over Danika. He’s been through so much loss already and spending days away from her makes his coping capabilities practically non-existent. He tends to turn to alcohol and drugs to cope. He becomes more volatile by the minute. The strain in their relationship slowly stretches out throughout this story until it snapped and all that was left was broken and damaged beyond repair.

The contrast unraveled me faster. What I’d left behind, the constant using, the highs followed by the strung out lows, only the lows were more unbearable than ever. I couldn’t exist as me, couldn’t stand how that felt.

Not without her.

I almost gave up and said, “fuck it.” I almost just jumped to book three because I didn’t want to see this couple fall. However, my friend encouraged me to not skip this book. As much as I’m glad I didn’t. Yes, this was intense. Both Tristan and Danika broke my heart. They loved each other so much, but fate had different ideas for them. This was an emotional rollercoaster and it shook me to the point where I was spent and tearing up after this ended.

This was not a pretty read, but as I look back I realized that this part of their story was essential to tell; their relationship wouldn’t have made the impact on me if it was left out. I wholeheartedly cherished their beautiful and steamy moments together, which were PLENTY. I was consumed by their all-consuming love, but I knew where this was headed and I was bracing for the crash.

Crash. Hmmm…

Another word that hold more meaning. I’m just so relieved that book three is out so I have a chance to finally breathe. Wow. What a ride so far.