ARC Review: Maldeamores by Mara White

Maldeamores is the first book that I have ever read by Mara White. It is a standalone prequel to her Heightsbound series, and you do not need to have read the other books to understand this one. I have to admit that I am a sucker for taboo love stories. There is just something about the forbidden that makes romance books more juicy sometimes. So when I read the blurb for this book, I knew I had to read it. Let me warn you though, this book will not be for everyone. This book is about cousins who fall in love with each other. I won't give away much of the actual story so as not to spoil the book, but I think that this is one of those books that just needs to be experienced without knowing everything ahead of time. 

Belen and Luciano have loved each other since they were kids. They have always been inseparable, and they have only grown closer over the years. However their friendship has always felt like more to each of them, except they know that they shouldn't feel the way they do. Being cousins, they do everything that they can to fight what they know is wrong and yet you can't control who you fall in love with. 

I will say that I had a few issues with these characters. They were in a really tough situation, and I understand that they each must have been so confused and that they would struggle with their feelings. That being said, Belen got on my nerves a bit with her constant crying. Yes things were upsetting, but after awhile I began to wonder if she was capable of doing anything besides crying. Luciano ran a bit hot and cold, and it was easy to see why Belen would be confused. I liked Lucky though, and I really felt as though these two genuinely belonged together. I know that for a lot of people incest is a hard limit, and that might make reading this one difficult. But these two seemed to really be two people who loved each other and were perfect for one another that just so happened to be related. They were so close, and it was that way from the very start. They had clear chemistry and an undeniable connection. 

So without getting into the story too much, I loved about 90% of this book. Then the ending happened, and it pretty much wrecked me. This was not the way I had hoped for, and honestly it was very unsatisfying for me. I really had to take some time to get my thoughts together on this book before sitting down to write my review, because I felt pretty betrayed at the end of this book. But as I continued to think about Maldeamores, I thought about the book as a whole and I couldn't put it down. If it wasn't for the ending, I really think this would have been close to a five star read for me. So I decided to go with a 3 star rating since I did enjoy this book up until the end. This one was beautiful and heartbreaking, and filled with emotion and angst. I was drawn in right from the start and absolutely couldn't stop myself from finishing this book. I read it almost in one sitting, and would have finished it in one if real life hadn't demanded my attention. While I was unhappy with the ending, I can't deny that I loved Mara White's writing style, and I was captivated from the first page. I am really hoping that we end up getting more for Lucky and Belen. I would love to see something else down the line for these characters, and I hope that it might change how I felt at the end of this book.

**ARC Provided by Flirty Subs PR**

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Surf, Sand & Books Event with Samanthe Beck

Wine lover, sleep fanatic, and USA Today Bestselling Author of sexy contemporary romance novels, Samanthe Beck lives in Malibu, California, with her long-suffering but extremely adorable husband and their turbo-son, Hud. Throw in a furry ninja named Kitty and Bebe the trash talking Chihuahua and you get the whole, chaotic picture.

When not clinging to sanity by her fingernails or dreaming up fun, fan-your-cheeks sexy ways to get her characters to happily-ever-afters, she searches for the perfect cabernet to pair with Ambien.

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ARC Review: Repaired by Melissa Collins

Repaired was another really great read from Melissa Collins! She is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, especially when it comes to M/M books. Repaired was well written and emotional, and I really enjoyed this story. These characters were so easy to like, and I felt invested in their story right away. 

At 17 Liam Davis ran away from home, with a goal of starting over. His plan included getting away from his terrible past, and never letting anyone find out who he really was or what had happened to him. Ten years later things have worked out for Liam, and he has a satisfying life as a mechanic with a family he has made and friends who care about him, though none of them know the whole truth about him. When he meets Parker Ryan things begin to change for him, and he finds himself in danger of falling for someone. Parker is different from him in almost every way, being a successful lawyer with more money than Liam has ever dreamed of. But Liam and Parker quickly realize that opposites do in fact attract, and soon they are agreeing to see what is between them. But Liam's past suddenly returns and changes everything, leaving Liam and Parker to learn how to trust and support one another.

Liam and Parker were both really great characters, and I loved how different they were. Liam had a tough childhood, and had given up what little he had in order to escape his past. He was used to having nothing, and had been willing to risk everything for a chance at a better life. He was willing to do whatever it took, and he was a hard worker. I loved the friendships he had made, and I was glad that he was able to find people that were good and cared about him for who he was. Parker had grown up with money and a lot of expectations, and at first glance he had it all. But he also had a father who was never happy with anything he did, and his father hated the fact that Parker was gay. I felt bad for Parker, because it was clear that he wanted his father to care about him and nothing he did would ever be good enough for him. I was glad that he had found Liam and was able to surround himself with people that didn't care who he loved, but that loved him for being the good guy he was. He had a big heart, and he wanted to use his power and money to help others. Liam and Parker had chemistry from the start, and there was never a shortage of steam between them. I loved seeing them get to know one another and let each other in though, and I thought that they were a great source of love and support for each other. 

Overall, I really loved Liam and Parker together. They were sweet and sexy, and they fit together perfectly. I also really liked the secondary characters in this book, and I thought that each of them added so much to this story. This book was emotional and dealt with some tough subjects, but I thought that Melissa Collins did a great job tackling those and giving them the respect that they deserved. This book was a great example that even when horrible things happen, there is always hope for a better life. I would definitely recommend this to fans of the M/M genre, and I think it is a great contemporary romance. I know I will read more from Melissa Collins in the future, and I look forward to seeing what she writes next!

**ARC Provided by TRSOR Promotions**

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Surf, Sand & Books Event with Jessica Ruddick

Jessica Ruddick is a 2014 Golden Heart finalist for her new adult novel, Letting Go, which was inspired by her own college experiences. She lives in Virginia and is married to her college sweetheart—their first date was a fraternity toga party (and nothing inspires love like a toga, right?). When she doesn’t have her nose in a book or her hands on a keyboard, she can be found wrangling her two rambunctious sons, taming two rowdy but lovable rescue dogs, and battling the herd of dust bunnies that has taken up residence in her home. To learn more about Jessica, please visit her website at www.jessicaruddick.com.

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ARC Review: Beyond the Night by Joss Ware

For a post-apocalyptic romance/adventure, you might want to check out Beyond the Night by Joss Ware. This first book in Ms. Ware's series The Envy Chronicles, was originally published in 2010. The entire series has now been repackaged with new covers.

After sleeping for 50 years, Elliot Drake and his friends awake to an unfamiliar world. Everything has changed and they missed the main event. Wondering around for months they meet few people and learn very little about what actually happened. Eventually, the friends make their way to the city of Envy, where they start to piece together the events of 50 years ago. Problem is, there are very few survivors of the catastrophic event that destroyed most of the earth's population.

There are actually quite a few things going on in this story. You can tell that it is the first in a series. There are several elements that are classic series identifiers. First, there is the Elliot Brigade, i.e. those men that slept through the apocalypse. In them, we have a core group of hunks from which the heroes of the stories can be drawn. The descendants of the survivors will provide the heroines. In addition, there is a conspiracy theory about what caused the world destruction which is never really fully understood or proven. There is a group of Strangers, humanoid beings that seem to have super abilities as well as tyrannical methods and a devious plan.

After reading Beyond the Night, I know a little of the conspiracy and some interesting details about the Strangers. But there is so much more to the story to be told in subsequent books.

All of these series elements I mentioned make for a potentially fascinating story when the Elliot Brigade meets the people of Envy. Nevertheless, I did not really tune into this story much, probably because the characters came across as a bit one-dimensional. Jade, resident of Envy and love interest for Elliot, comes across as very young, despite the fact that she has more of a past than other characters. Elliot is a doctor and that is about all we find out about his background.

I found the most interesting characters to be the Waxnicki brothers who actually lived through the apocalypse and helped to rebuild the world. Many of the chapters start out with Lou Waxnicki's journal entries from the first days and months of the post-apocalyptic period. In Beyond the Night, the Waxnickis are secondary characters though. Hopefully they will get a bigger role in subsequent books.

There are 6 books plus a novella in the Envy Chronicles, so my educated guess is that the characters grew and deepened with the series. I have read more than one series where the first book was the weakest. Final verdict for Beyond the Night - it had potential to be a thrilling first book in the Envy Series, but it fell a bit flat with a weak cast of characters.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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