ARC Review: Escort by Skye Warren

I have read a few books by Skye Warren now because her covers and blurbs usually draw me in. Unfortunately, I usually have a hard time connecting with the characters and story and that was the case here with Escort. While the premise of the story was interesting and had a lot of promise, I just couldn't get into this one and ended up finishing just to see what happened. 

Escort is Bea and Hugo's story. Hugo is an escort that doesn't get attached and is all alpha. Bea is a shy virgin that you would never expect to hire an escort. While these two first seem like complete opposites though, you quickly learn that they have a lot more they can connect to with each other than originally meets the eye. 

I think the biggest problem for me is just the way in which Skye's books are written. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, there is just something about it that doesn't work for me personally. I have noticed this in everything I have read from her, and again I think it is just something that doesn't click for me. Often I find the wording to be a bit off or unusual, with the dialogue coming off as a bit stiff and clunky. It just doesn't flow for me, and that really takes me out of the story. So while I wanted to like Bea and Hugo, I just couldn't really get into their story or feel invested in their relationship. 

I did make it through this one. But unfortunately that was about all I can say. It didn't leave a lasting impression and I won't remember it in the long run. It wasn't a bad book, but to me it wasn't anything that I would really recommend either. I do think that there are readers that might enjoy this one. So if it sounds like one you might like, give it a shot.

**ARC Provided by IndieSage PR**

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N | iTunes | 

ARC Review: Glamour: Contemporary Fairytale Retellings Anthology

I have a love/hate relationship with anthologies, but when I saw the list of authors attached to Glamour: Contemporary Fairytale Retellings, I knew I had to read it. I am so glad that I took a chance on this one as it was one of the best anthologies I have ever read. Each story was one I enjoyed, without a single disappointment in the bunch. 

Glamour includes novellas based on classic fairytales, including the following stories: 

Knot by Lili St. Germain (Rapunzel) 

Red Hot Pursuite by A.L. Jackson (Little Red Riding Hood) 

Ripples by Aleatha Romig (Prince and the Pauper) 

In A Stranger's Bed by Sophie Jordan (Goldilocks) 

Bedtime Story by Skye Warren (Sleeping Beauty) 

Royal Mattress by Nicola Rendell (Princess and the Pea) 

Music Box Girl by Sierra Simone (Twelve Dancing Princesses) 

Broken Harp by Nora Flite (Jack and the Beanstalk) 

Each one of this was quick and sexy, and just what I was looking for. These are the perfect quick bits steam for those that don't have time to sit down and read a full novel. I loved that they were modern retellings, taking what we have grown up loving about classic fairytales and putting their own modern twists on them. While I enjoyed all of these and would recommend this to readers, my absolute favorite here was Music Box Girl by Sierra Simone. I loved each story, and I think fans of Erotica as well as fans of fairytales will definitely want to check this one out.

**ARC Provided by Enticing Journey Book Promotions**

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Feature and Giveaway: Hold You Against Me by Skye Warren

From New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren comes a sexy new standalone in the Stripped series...

Once upon a time the daughter of a mafia king fell in love with a foot soldier.

This fairy tale didn't have a happy ending.

My sister and I barely managed to escape alive, and we've lived in relative hiding ever since. I'm safe now, but I can never forget the boy who gave his life to save mine.

Except there are whispers that he's still alive. And he's fighting a war.

Even knowing the risks, I have to find him. I have to find some way to protect him, the way he protected me. But he isn't the boy I left behind. He's a violent man. A criminal. And he's been waiting for me--the final pawn in a dark game of survival and love.

Purchase: | Amazon | B&N | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo |

Audiobook Review: Wanderlust by Skye Warren, Narrated by Lucy James

Over the past year or so I have become a huge fan of dark romance. I love the break from the norm, and there is something to be said for a story that is able to draw a reader out of the real world and into something that is nothing like my day to day life. So I was really excited when given the opportunity to listen to Wanderlust by Skye Warren, narrated by Lucy James. Unfortunately this one wasn't for me, and I had several problems with this one. At this point I am no stranger to a kidnapping victim falling for her captor and that isn't what I had issues with. I had issues with the story itself, the characters and the narrator chosen for this audiobook. 

Evie had always dreamed of seeing the world, despite all the warnings her mother gave her. When she gets the chance to take off, she sets out on her own. But what started as her dream quickly becomes a nightmare when a trucker kidnaps her. As Evie travels across the country in his truck, she plots her escape from Hunter. But the more time they spend together, the more she begins to wonder if what she has been looking for is the man sitting right next to her.

I had issues with both of the characters. Evie was hard to get behind or relate to for me. She was extremely naive at times, and it was something that I didn't like even though I understood some of it. She had been sheltered at home and was in the real world for the first time, and yet there were some things that she did and said that I just didn't buy despite her upbringing. To me, when I read a dark romance I need to find some redeeming quality when it comes to the man. But unfortunately, I just didn't see one here with Hunter. He was a jerk, he never came around, and you would have thought that given what we learned about him he would have been different. But he just never did, and therefore I just couldn't ever get why Evie would fall for him. I need to see a connection to get behind a romance such as this one, and I just wasn't able to here. Things felt more forced than consensual here, and that didn't seem to change as the story progressed. There were a few parts that definitely had me feeling uncomfortable, and that is saying something with some of the books that I have read.

My other problem besides the story and the characters, was that I just didn't care for the narrator of this story. At the beginning of each chapter, there was a voice that was done that was just weird to me. I didn't like it, and I can't really put my finger on what it was that I didn't care for other than I just didn't. The narrator's voice here came off as very young, childish and whiny. It made me not want to finish the book just so I didn't have to hear her speak. Besides the fact that the story itself felt slow and long, despite being a novella, the narration seemed to slow the book down even more. I got lost in how much the story was dragging and just lost interest. Unfortunately for me, this one was a miss all around. I think that there are those that will enjoy this story, and it very well might be that this is just one that didn't work for me. If it sounds like something that you might enjoy, give it a shot.

**Audiobook Provided by Author**

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