Feature and Giveaway: Ignite by Karen Erickson

Weston Gallagher is falling hard—for the wrong woman.

One night of passion has haunted him for years.

Now he’s got a second chance to get the girl of his dreams…but there’s just one problem:

She hates him.

Eight years after he stormed out of Wildwood, California, West has returned to his hometown as a firefighter. His friends and family are thrilled he’s back—with the exception of Harper Hill. His sister’s best friend is all grown up and in all the right ways. He knows she’s going to do everything she can to protect her heart and keep him at arm’s length, but West has other ideas.

He will win the girl that got away. No matter what it takes…

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Audiobook Review: Of Silk and Steam by Bec McMaster, Narrated by Alison Larkin

I heard so many great reviews about “Of Silk and Steam” by Bec MacMaster that I wanted to find out for myself how her stories were. Although this is the fifth book in this steampunk series and I had not read or heard any of the previous stories in the series, I really enjoyed it. McMaster had me hooked from the first line and even though it is a lengthy story I was never bored. I always wanted to know what would happen next and how the story would unfold.

The story had me hooked by the heroine- Lady Armina or Mina as she is known- being a kickass. She is a complete alpha woman! I was so impressed with her that she completely made me enjoy this story. Her rival is Leo Barrons. They have had a very antagonistic relationship for years. They were on opposite sides and Mina swore to kill Leo out of vengeance. Leo is a perfect match for Mina. He loves making her angry and endearingly calls her “Duchess” to make her angry at him. Aside from the sexual tension between them, Leo and Mina are on opposites sides of the Ivory Tower in London. There is a big secret that Leo has been carrying for years and inadvertently Mina exposes his big secret.

Mina is the right hand woman of the Queen. Although there are blue bloods and other such creatures that are half human and half machine, the Queen is entirely human. She sits on the thrown of the tower with the awful prince consort. As the prince consort tries to fend off rebellions in his kingdom Mina and Leo have to figure out if they can trust each other enough to over thrown him.

Aside from the tension between Mina and Leo is the tension of the rookeries and the rebels in Echelon. I have to confess that there were parts I was lost and the author named characters from the previous books. I would highly recommend hearing or reading the previous books in the series since the plots are a lead up to what finally happens in “Of Silk and Steam.” Nonetheless I was glued and riveted by the story.

A huge part of this enjoyable factor for me was Alison Larkin. I’ve reviewed books by her before and she is a great narrator. She knows when to draw a reader in with her character impersonations and when to step back and take the place of a narrator. I really enjoyed and recommend this audiobook and plan to read or hear the previous ones in the series.

**Audiobook Provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Ignite by Karen Erickson

Ignite is the first book in Karen Erickson's new Wildwood series and I couldn't wait to read about this sexy firefighter! There is just something about a sexy man in a uniform, and I enjoyed Weston's story quite a bit. There were a few things that kept me from loving this book even though I did like a lot here. 

Weston Gallagher couldn't get out of Wildwood fast enough, but now eight years later he is back in his hometown after accepting a promotion. While most of his family and friends are excited, not everyone is thrilled he is back. Right before he left, Weston shared a steamy night of kissing with Harper Hill, his sister's best friend. Though they had always liked one another, there were many things that kept them apart. But now that West is back and Harper is all grown up, he is ready to finally see what is between them. West has his work cut out for him though, as Harper is determined to keep him at arm's length after the way he was in the past. 

These characters while likable felt very immature at times. They were constantly doing or saying things that felt a lot younger to me than should be acceptable in an adult romance. I know that Karen Erickson/Monica Murphy writes a lot of NA books as well, and I think part of that bled into this book. I wanted them to get their acts together, and unfortunately I didn't see a lot of that here. West was looking for his return home to be temporary before he could get back out and at first he didn't want commitment or a relationship. Even though he was attracted to Harper, he had no intention of anything more. Then it was suddenly as if a switch had been flipped and he changed his mindset completely. Harper seemed to be protecting herself from being hurt at the beginning and knew she wanted to explore a bit of her wild side with West, knowing the score from the beginning. But as they grew closer, she grew more immature it seemed. There was one time here that it especially showed, and West was in the middle of doing his job after a fire and he had to return to work after checking to make sure that she was okay. She was really upset that he had to return to his serious self and do his job and didn't spend more time showing her how much he cared...it was ridiculous and honestly I wanted to shake her. 

While I liked them together and they had obvious chemistry, it was hard to get over everything that they did. Their actions just felt too childish for me to really believe that they had a chance at working out long term, especially with how high risk his job was. If she reacted that way this early on, I just didn't have much faith that she would be able to accept it as they got more serious. I also have to say that things felt a bit incestuous here (not as in actually related or anything!) but Harper was best friends with West's sister Wren and his ex-girlfriend Delilah. Delilah was over West and was now interested in West's brother Lane. Though West had never had sex with Delilah and there were no feelings there, it was just a bit weird and kind of gave me a bit of an icky feeling as I read about Delilah not only discussing Harper and West's sex life, but also asking for details. It just didn't really work for me, and as much as I wanted to be able to leave it all in the past it felt like it was all still very present here. I think that this story had a ton of potential, and I think that there are a lot of readers that will enjoy this book. There were just some things that bothered me personally and that made this book one that I didn't love. Lane and Delilah's story is up next in this series with Smolder expected to release in June 2016.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

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Feature and Giveaway: Where Lightning Strikes by A.L. Jackson

Do you know what it feels like right before lightning strikes? How you can feel the current running through your veins? The trembles of warning that ripple through the air? It was a thrill Tamar King chased all her life until it became the very thing she had to escape.

For the last four years, Tamar King has hidden herself in an isolated world she created. She was safe. No one could touch her. Until Lyrik West walked through her door.

He’s the lead guitarist for Sunder and everything she can never have. The dark and beautiful rock star becomes everything she craves.

Lyrik’s life has been devoted to his band and that success has cost him. Bitter, hard, and filled with regret, he refuses to lose himself again, but from the moment he sees her, he wants one night with Tamar King.

The gorgeous bartender is more than he bargained for. Their attraction is consuming. Their desire overpowering. With one touch, they ignite.

But is it worth the cost of getting burned?

She’s a gorgeous nightmare and he’s a wicked dream…

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ARC Review: Beauty and the Bull Rider by Victoria Vane

The third installment in the Hotel Rodeo Series left me wanting more. This book was full of wonder from start to finish. While I absolutely loved Ty and Monica from the first two with their explosive chemistry, Delaney and Zac are so sweet they made me ache! Zac, whom we know as Ty’s oldest friend (despite a fallout, until recently in the previous book), is at the end of his Bull Riding days. He is back in Oklahoma as the head of the Circle B Ranch, and he is ready to fight for Delaney.

She is stubborn, beautiful, and innocent with an independence that I found truly loveable. She is also obsessed with having a baby, but what she doesn’t realize is that she is also in need of the right man to help her achieve it. Prior to this, Zac became aware of Delaney’s dilemma, and her attempt at gaining Ty as a sperm donor. Fear of losing her heart to another man, and being left by one, caused her to close herself off from romance. Ty broke her, and Zac wants to fix her.

Victoria did an amazing job as painting Delaney as a troublemaker in the previous books, but it was obvious that there was more to her story. Due to the way she so wonderfully weaves her tales, it was easy to be intrigued with the Delaney we thought we knew, and the Delaney that could be known to us. I enjoyed her so very much! This is just one more reason I love reading Victoria’s books: Her female leads are always kick-ass, and her heroes always take my heart with them on the journey from start to finish.

Like the all or nothing man Zac is, he’s betting on making a baby with Delaney. What he doesn’t count on, however, is that Delaney only wants his little swimmers. He may have been warned, but he is bound and determined to convince her they’d be better together than she would be alone. She wants artificial insemination, he wants old fashioned. They collide, but Zac goes all the way, showing Delaney that he is in for the long haul, and that she needs more than just a baby to fill the hole in her heart.

Zac fulfills every promise to her. Though he has been waiting for a chance at her for eight years, he has no idea just how much he’ll risk. This book was funny, sweet, romantic, and beautiful. There were scenes that made me laugh, and I learned interesting facts about bulls, breeding, and the like between what happens in a fertility clinic. I love the passion with which Victoria writes. She researches quite a bit, and I’m always learning neat facts while also enjoying the chemistry between her characters as the plotline unfolds.

When these two get together, they become partners in everything. They learn how to cooperate and how to take a chance on one another. Delaney learns that leaning on someone for support doesn’t make you weak, it makes you human. Zac realizes that love encompasses everything and that one has to believe in the possibility of dreams. From beginning to end, Zac and Delaney brought me a smile. They are going to help ensure that the Hotel Rodeo is brought back to life with a vengeance, and that they have their prime stock in Delaney’s own venture. Furthermore, I bet they’ll have adorable little babies in the future.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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