Ramblings From This Chick

Monday, April 11, 2016

RFTC I've Got a Secret Event with Author Cynthia Eden

Award-winning author Cynthia Eden writes dark tales of paranormal romance and romantic suspense. She is a New York Times, USA Today, Digital Book World, and IndieReader best-seller. Cynthia is also a three-time finalist for the prestigious RITA® award. Since she began writing full-time in 2005, Cynthia has written over fifty novels and novellas.

Cynthia lives along the Alabama Gulf Coast. She loves romance novels, horror movies, and chocolate. Her favorite hobbies including hiking in the mountains (searching for waterfalls) and spelunking.

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Sunday, April 10, 2016

ARC Review: Resist by Missy Johnson

Resist is my first book by this author. I picked this book up because the summary was intriguing. There was a lot of potential but sadly by the time I got to the end of the book I had the feeling that the story didn't quite live up to its potential.

I think the main issue for me in this book was the character inconsistency. It was hard to determine exactly who Char and Jaxon were. Char is in part depicted as this innocent young woman who is terrified of Jaxon and just trying to start her career as a reporter. Jaxon is portrayed as this super kinky heartless man who is probably capable of murder and probably incapable of genuine affection. My issue is that despite Char's fear of Jaxon, she somehow manages to be totally fearless. She pushes all of his buttons and says whatever she wants to say whenever the words pop into her heads. This is always followed by intense regret and concern about how he might react but the cycle repeats frequently during the story. Jaxon is just totally not the super bad guy he seems to be for a couple of pages. I'm ok with dark characters and a cold hero but that is not Jaxon. By the end of the book, Jaxon seems much more like spoiled teenager than a grown man with a coherent revenge plan.

Speaking of revenge, the thing that Jaxon is bent on getting revenge for makes no sense. I don't want to give away what the whole revenge sub-plot is about but it really fell short in terms of the reason for it and the way that Jaxon tried to carry it out. I particularly didn't like the involvement of Kasey in the revenge. It made Jaxon seem super petty and when the whole thing played out, it was just kind of dumb. When an author sets up a revenge plot, I've come to expect many more layers and a logical resolution. That just didn't happen here. In fact, I'm still trying to figure out why Char became a part of Jaxon's plot. Jaxon had like 5 other girls in his harem but swore he needed Char for his plot. First, I didn't like all the other girls and second I couldn't understand why one of them would not be suitable to the revenge plot.

Last, based on the description and cover of this book it seems like you are going to get some super kinky steam. It didn't happen. Jaxon keeps talking about how dirty he likes it but it NEVER comes across in the story. The sex between Char and Jaxon is like 1 step above vanilla and that's being generous.

In closing, there was more potential in this book than there was a good book. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of my favorite reads.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: The Matchmaker's Playbook by Rachel Van Dyken

The Matchmaker's Playbook is the first book in Rachel Van Dyken's new Wingmen Inc. Series and I couldn't wait to read this book! Not only am I a huge fan of Rachel's, but i loved the sound of this book from the blurb! It was such a fun read and I really enjoyed it from start to finish. I am already anxious for the next book in this series!

Suffering a career ending injury in the NFL, Ian Hunter returned to school and started a business with his best friend. Having been a player both on and off the field, he knew that his expertise could help women gain the knowledge and skills they needed to win over the men of their dreams. But when his best friend's new roommate requests their services, Ian knows that he has his work cut out for him. Blake Olson may be his toughest job yet, with her baggy and shapeless clothing as well as her horrible choice in footwear. But as Ian begins to transform Blake into the best version of herself, he begins to feel things he never has before. Now Ian has to figure out how to help Blake's match successful without breaking any of his rules as he finds himself increasingly drawn to her.

I really loved Ian and Blake. Ian was cocky and confident, but I couldn't get enough of him. He might come across as a bit of a jerk at times, but honestly he was charming and irresistible in this completely endearing way. He just had a way of drawing everyone around him in, and I just loved him. Blake was such a mess at first, but she was also likable and endearing. I loved her interactions with Blake right from the start, and I really enjoyed seeing their banter. These two had so much chemistry right from the start, and I loved the slow burn they had going. Their connection just continued to grow as the book progressed and I couldn't wait for things to ignite between these two with all the sparks flying here.

Overall, this was another really great book from Rachel Van Dyken. I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish and I loved all the characters! I can't wait for the next book in this series, and I loved how Rachel set things up here. I just know the next one is going to be interesting seeing how things were here, and I think that this book is one that a lot of readers will love. It was sexy and emotional, and had just enough of Rachel's signature humor to keep me flipping the pages. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for something fun as well as steamy!

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

RFTC I've Got a Secret Event with Author Daisy Prescott

USA Today Bestselling author Daisy Prescott has published five novels and five Modern Love Story Shorts. Her lucky number also happens to be five. She lives in a real life Stars Hollow in the Boston suburbs with her husband and their imaginary house goats. When not in her writing cave, she can be found traveling, gardening, baking, and talking about herself in the third person.