Aspen
I gave my heart to a Navy SEAL.
He took it with him to his grave.
Eleven years later, ignoring the yawning void is as automatic as breathing. Working brutal hours, dating a comfortably commitment-phobic guy, hanging with my best friends. Anything until exhaustion—or an extra glass of wine—claims my consciousness.
My neighbor’s handsome, enigmatic son invades my comfort zone.
He says he’s a tattoo artist. But Anderson Hawkins’ piercing green eyes, mastery of the short answer, weird schedule, and military ink tell a different story.
His touch ignites a long-dead flame inside me. A flame I’m afraid to examine too closely, even as I’m drawn to its heat.
Anderson
I retired from Delta Force
Now I work at a high-intelligence security agency
But working undercover isn’t the adrenaline rush it used to be.
For one thing, my Mom’s illness shifted my priorities to finding a way to save her. For another, her neighbor next door, whose prickly defenses belie the unflinchingly caring heart underneath, has slipped under my skin. Now my mission is to convince her it’s safe to unlock her heart. Because I’m ready to give her mine.
Title: Until I Fall
Series:
Author: Claudia Y. Burgoa
Publisher: Unknown
Edition: Kindle
Amount of Pages: 278
Genre: Military, Romance
Cliffhanger: [ No (hide spoiler)]
HEA/HFN: [ HEA (hide spoiler)]
Cheating: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Triggerwarnings: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Love Triangle: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Insta Love/ Insta Lust: No [ (hide spoiler)]
Single Parent/Kids/Pregnancy: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Date Read: 16-02-2020 - 17-02-2020
Favorite Quote: "Among seven billion I’ll always find you."
Review:
I had high expectation for this book. I really looked forward to reading this one. The synopsis sounded really good and it sounded like it could be my kind of read. Sadly it disappointing me. The story didn't drag me in, I couldn't connect with the characters. For me it was the writing style that didn't work for me. It felt like I was working my way through a 500 page novel while it's only 278 pages. Nothing really happend and it felt like the story didn't come across well on paper. Some things just didn't work well and the story just didn't flow that well. I hope that makes sense.
What is this book about:
Aspen lost her fiance and since then she closed her self of from most things in her live. She is all about work, sleep, drink and repeat. She is still alive but she isn't living. That is until she met her neighbors son Anderson, he brought something back to live in her she buried long ago. She doesn't want to start feeling again, she doesn't want to let someone in only to lose them. But Anderson isn't one to easily give up.
What did I like/love:
Can't think of anything I really liked or loved. It was all quite bland for me. I really wanted to love it but the story fell flat.
What did I dislike/hate:
Sadly I didn't like the writing style. It felt like the author kept adding details later on as an after thought. And it just didn't work. The story could have been allot shorter and it didn't have that many pages to begin with. It felt like the book was like 500 pages but it wasn't. Nothing really happend. The story dragged allot. I'm sorry to say that the book didn't meet my expectations. I was expecting a different kind of story I suppose.
Rating:
2 it was boring stars
Pain.
That’s a word Bailey Winsor knows well, having endured it since she was a child from the people that were supposed to protect her. Just when her life appears normal, something Bailey has never experienced, she meets a man and falls in love.
Love can be deceiving.
Bailey jumps from the frying pan that was her childhood and into the burning bowels of hell, which is her sick and twisted husband. It’s hopeless. Suffering more years of abuse, Bailey eventually realizes that she has no choice but to run.
Forced to stop in a small town in Ohio, Bailey encounters a town full of people that welcome her with open arms, especially Jaxon Walker, the tattooed and pierced local bar owner. Bailey has secrets she’s unwilling to reveal. Jaxon senses her fear and refuses to give up trying to discover them.
Will Bailey be brave enough and learn to trust Jaxon with her deepest secrets? Will Jaxon be strong enough to protect Bailey when her past comes knocking at her door?
Title: Shatter Me
Series: The Jades Series #1
Author: Alex Grayson
Publisher: Alex Grayson
Edition: Kindle
Amount of Pages: 241
Genre: Dark, Romance, Suspense
SPOILERS
Cliffhanger: [ No (hide spoiler)]
HEA/HFN: [ HEA (hide spoiler)]
Cheating: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Triggerwarnings: [ Rape, Sodomy, Abuse, Still born child (well it was basically child murder, Baileys husband throws her down the stairs and beats her when she is 8 months pregnant), Miscarriages (caused by her husband by beating her etc.), Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, child abuse, Most of this happened to Bailey in the past but she relives it in vivid detail. She and her friend Anna do get raped and beaten in the 'current time' as well. Anna dies because of the injuries inflicted to her during her captivity.
Bailey was sexually assaulted when she was a child, it happend more than once. Her parents where drug addicts that did nothing to protect her and if I recall correctly they got off watching people assault her. (hide spoiler)]
Love Triangle: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Insta Love/ Insta Lust: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Single Parent/Kids/Pregnancy: [ There is a pregnancy in the epilogue. (hide spoiler)]
END SPOILERS
Date Read: 11-02-2020
Favorite Quote: “Each story needs to be heard."
Review:
This book was intense. You definitely need to be in the mood to read this. And you have to be mentally prepared for this book. I felt so bad for Bailey reading what happend to her. And the thought that this happens to so many women out there is, well it gets you to think.
This book handled terrible issues so well. It shows that problems don't go away in a heartbeat and that it takes time to overcome trauma.
What is this book about:
Bailey didn't have it easy growing up. Her drug addicted parents never cared for her and certainly didn't look after her or love her. She thought things would get better for her when she met her husband at collage. She hoped she'd get the love she always hoped for. But she is mistaken. After they got married he started to change. His behavior started to get worse and worse. See the trigger warning spoiler if you want more details. It is terrible what happend to her. After one terrible event she got the courage to get out with the help of her friend. She ran away from him.
On one of her stops, she gets a bar tending job in order to get some money so she can move on. She didn't count on staying in this small town. She didn't count on meeting people that would grow to become her friends and family, and she certainly didn't count on the hot, charming, and protective owner of the bar, Jaxon, to be interested in her. But more importantly she didn't count on being interested in him as well? She didn't know what it could feel like to be loved and respected and not be afraid of a man.
Sadly, the dark cloud that is her husband is still hanging over her, she knows with his connections it's only a matter of time that he will find her and this time she won't get out of it alive.
What did I like/love:
I loved Jackson, he was such a perfect man. He was respectful and respective and protective of the people he loved. He has been through his own fair share of pain in the past but it made him who he is. And the way he is with Bailey is just perfect.
I loved Bailey as well, she went through so much and my heart went out for her, I wished I could have jumped in the book and help her.
The supporting characters where great as well. I really want to learn their stories was well.
What did I dislike/hate:
/
Rating:
5 Intensely amazing stars
Alabama didn’t have a good start to life. Emotionally and physically abused by her mama, Alabama spent her high school years in foster care. People let her down, time after time, and she’d learned to rely on only herself.
Christopher “Abe” Powers earned his nickname because he tolerated nothing less than absolute honesty from the people around him. Finding the bar scene stale and having watched his friend and teammate, Wolf, find the woman of his dreams, Abe was determined to find someone to share his life with too.
Alabama and Abe had no idea their paths would cross and their prayers would be answered, but like most things in life, nothing is ever as easy as it seems at first. Two words would change both their lives and they’d have to fight hard for their happy ever after.
Title: Protecting Alabama
Series: SEAL of Protection #2
Author: Susan Stoker
Publisher: Susan Stoker
Edition: Kindle
Amount of Pages: 258
Genre: Military, Romance
Cliffhanger: [ No (hide spoiler)]
HEA/HFN: [ HFN (hide spoiler)]
Cheating: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Triggerwarnings: [ Alabama was abused and beaten badly as a child by her mother. Abe uses one of her triggers against her. She ends up being framed and spends a few days on the streets. (hide spoiler)]
Love Triangle: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Insta Love/ Insta Lust: [ Not really. (hide spoiler)]
Single Parent/Kids/Pregnancy: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Date Read: 10-02-2020
Favorite Quote: " I’ve told this before, but you’re safe with me. I promise."
Review:
I was so excited about this book! I liked the first book and I liked abe in that one. I liked the summary of this book as well. I am a sucker for a character with a tortured past. I love watching them grow and overcoming their trauma.
Sadly this book didn't deliver what I expected. I am really disappointing with how Abe acted, I honestly expected more from him. And I wish that Alabama made him grovel a bit more. He got of easy, and for everyone to push them back together. And push her to forgive him was a bit disappointing.
I was hoping for a bit more suspense in the story, like we had with the first one. And there was a little in the beginning, I remember thinking that the story got of a great start but after that nothing much happened for a while.
I felt like the author had a chance to really show growth and healing in a character with great trauma but only if she took a bit more time with it. Not have Alabama get over het trauma in no time, or so it almost seemed.
It wasn't a terrible book but I was a bit disappointing.
What is this book about:
This book is about Alabama and Christopher or Abe as he is called by his team. They meet on a party for Christophers (then) girlfriends company. The party doesn't go as planned when the office catches fire. Alabama helps Abe and helps save lots of people when guiding them to a different exit. After that Abe breaks up with his then girlfriend, something he was planning to do for a while, and pursues Alabama. He never had to work so hard persuading a woman to go out with him and it's refreshing. Slowly Alabama opens up bit by bit but just when things seem to be going great, live gets in the way. This is the time for Abe to prove to Alabama that people do care about her, but can he do it.
What did I like/love:
I did like the setting and the world building. It was fun seeing Mathew (wolf) and Caroline again.
I liked the beginning of the book, it gotten of from a great start. I liked Alabama just fine, I really felt for her. I wish she had a bit more backbone and stood her ground a bit longer. I really felt angry on her behalf and I wished she was a well.
I love that the team wanted to help Alabama and took her in as their own.
What did I dislike/hate:
I am so mad at Abe. I liked him in the beginning but her really crossed a line. The way he talked in the beginning wasn't to my liking either but he made up for it later or so I thought.
I didn't like his crappy excuse and that people pushed Alabama to forgive him. I didn't like that she ended up forgiving him so quickly. He really deserved to grovel a lot more.
Abe went on and on that he wanted to dump his then girlfriend but it wasn't the time and place for it, that he would still be respectful and stuff till there was a right time to break it off. But then picked a terrible time to break it off anyway.
Rating:
2 it was decent stars
Matthew “Wolf” Steel hated flying commercial. Luckily his job as a Navy SEAL meant he didn’t have to do it very often. He’d been unlucky enough to be assigned a middle seat on the cramped jet, but fortunately for him, the woman next to him was willing to switch seats with him. Hoping for a relaxing flight, Wolf was pleasantly surprised at the good conversation and sense of humor the woman had as they flew 36,000 feet over the countryside.
When Caroline boarded the plane to Virginia to move across the country for her new job she never expected to be seated next to the hottest guy she’d ever seen. She also never expected he’d be so easy to talk to. She knew he’d never be interested in talking to her if he hadn’t been trapped in the seat next to her, but it was a nice way to spend a long plane ride.
Neither Wolf nor Caroline were prepared for a terrorist hijacking of their plane, but if Caroline thought that would be the last time she’d see, or need, Wolf, she’d be sorely mistaken.
Title: Protecting Caroline
Series: SEAL of Protection #1
Author: Susan Stoker
Publisher: Susan Stoker
Edition: Kindle
Amount of Pages: 282
Genre: Military, Romance, Suspense
Cliffhanger: [ No (hide spoiler)]
HEA/HFN: [ HFN (hide spoiler)]
Cheating: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Triggerwarnings: [ Caroline gets kidnapped and beaten really badly. She almost drowned. The kidnapper threatened to rape her but she didn't get raped. (hide spoiler)]
Love Triangle: [ (hide spoiler)]
Insta Love/ Insta Lust: [ No, well maybe. I couldn't really tell what the timeline was. It felt like it wasn't to quick. (hide spoiler)]
Single Parent/Kids/Pregnancy: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Date Read: 09-02-2020
Favorite Quote: "He loved her, Caroline was his everything"
Review:
I liked this book. I was hesitant to read it because I tried to read another book by the author and couldn't get into it because the main character just wouldn't stop talking. Anyhow, I liked it. I took me a bit to get used to the writing because the character had very long monologues. But when the action started I got stuck in the story. I read it in one sitting.
I was surprised that there wasn't any sex? Or I missed it and that says enough as well. There was some build up for it but I don't recall it ever getting to it.
Even though it didn't feel like a insta love book, the characters did grow attached to each other really quickly.
What is this book about:
Caroline is a chemist. She is on her way to a new job, she wanted a change of change of scenery after her parents died. On the flight over she meets Mathew or known by his team mates 'wolf'. Caroline offers to switch seat with him so he can have some extra leg room.
They chatted a little bit but things where about to change. The actions of one set allot of things in motion. The terrorist that tried to take over the plane was only the beginning....
What did I like/love:
Caroline was really resilient. She did more than most people would have done when in similar situations. She didn't thought highly of herself but she did great.
I liked Wolf, he was a good man and really wanted to do right by the people he loved.
I really liked wolf's group of friends, teammates as well. They are a fun group and very loyal.
What did I dislike/hate:
Nothing really.
Rating:
4 I liked it stars
I'm naturally gifted on the field and between the sheets. With flashy cars and enough media attention to put the Royal Family to shame, I’m the definition of Most Eligible Bachelor.
Every man wants to be me and every woman wants to tame me. Until Camila.
The moment I lay eyes on her, I know I have to have her.
She wants to keep me at arm's length.
I want her naked in my bed.
She thinks our worlds are too different.
All I want her to think about is screaming my name.
She says I’m bad news.
I have three weeks to prove her wrong.
Title: The Player
Series:
Author: Claire Contreras
Publisher:
Edition: Kindle
Amount of Pages: 320
Genre: Sports, Romance
Cliffhanger: [No (hide spoiler)]
HEA/HFN: [HEA (hide spoiler)]
Cheating: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Triggerwarnings: [No (hide spoiler)]
Love Triangle: [No (hide spoiler)]
Insta Love/ Insta Lust: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Single Parent/Kids/Pregnancy: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Date Read: 07-02-2020
Favorite Quote: “Life is short. We’re only here to chase moments. I’d rather make those moments worthwhile.”
Review:
If I had to pick one word to describe this book, it sadly would be boring. Everything was just meh for me. Nothing really stood out. The characters conversations felt very monotone. It didn't evoke any emotion. Everything was so..descriptive, if that makes sense.
I think this book could have been a hell of allot shorter and still get the point across.
Don't get me wrong, it's not that it was a bad book or a bad story. It just didn't do anything for me.
What is this book about:
When football (soccer ) player Warren meets Camilla he knows instantly he wants her. He is so used to woman wanting him, he didn't expect Camilla to turn him down. That only made him want her more. Warren is only in the US for a short period of time and he is determined to have her.
Camilla is sure that Warren only wants her because she said no. She is sure that they have nothing in common and that they would never work. But the more he tries, the more time they spend together, the more she finds herself falling for him. Will Warren prove Camilla wrong or will their story end with a broken heart
What did I like/love:
Sadly nothing really. Nothing really stood out for me to love.
What did I dislike/hate:
Didn't hate or dislike anything either
Rating:
2 meh stars
Three knocks can change everything…
"She knew. That’s why Mom hadn’t opened the door. She knew he was dead."
Twenty years as an army brat and Ember Howard knew, too. The soldiers at the door meant her dad was never coming home. What she didn’t know was how she would find the strength to singlehandedly care for her crumbling family when her mom falls apart.
Then Josh Walker enters her life. Hockey star, her new next-door neighbor, and not to mention the most delicious hands that insist on saving her over and over again. He has a way of erasing the pain with a single look, a single touch. As much as she wants to turn off her feelings and endure the heartache on her own, she can’t deny their intense attraction.
Until Josh’s secret shatters their world. And Ember must decide if he’s worth the risk that comes with loving a man who could strip her bare.
Title: Full Measures
Series: Flight & Glory #1
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Publisher: Entangled Embrace
Edition: Kindle
Amount of Pages: 374
Genre: Military, New Adult, Romance
Cliffhanger: [ No (hide spoiler)]
HEA/HFN: [ HFN (hide spoiler)]
Cheating: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Triggerwarnings: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Love Triangle: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Insta Love/ Insta Lust: [Not Really (hide spoiler)]
Single Parent/Kids/Pregnancy: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Date Read: 06-02-2020
Favorite Quote: “We’re taking it slow until you say so, because I can’t bear to hear a ‘no’ from you. But here’s your only warning: I’m going to chase the fuck out of you.”
Review:
For some reason I was hesitant to read this book. Don't know why. But I'm glad I finally picked it up. Once I started I wasn't able to put it down. Some of the 'surprises' where a bit predictable to me but the author waited till the last second to reveal it so it had me doubting at some point.
There where some things that I wish where explained a bit better, like why Ember and Josh liked each other in high school while they had zero interaction with each other. I think that if that was established a bit better then their current relationship would feel less insta loveish. It wasn't really insta love, but it was intense from the start without really explaining how come. To me atleast.
The romance was a bit sappy sometimes, bordering on unrealistic at times.
But overall I really enjoyed this book and I bought the other books in the series. I'm really looking forward to Jaggers book, I liked him.
What is this book about:
This book is about December, or Ember as she is called by everyone. She is a 20 year old college student who's father is in the military. The book starts with her entire world falling apart by three simple knocks. It's something that every military familie hopes never happens but sadly happens to often. It (often) means that a loved one isn't coming home. This is the case with Embers father. It changed everything for her.
But not everything changes for the worse, it caused her to meet/reconnect with her old crush Josh. Ember is the person that tries to help everyone, that is trying to carry her entire family and keep them going. But who is helping her? That is what Josh is willing to do. He is willing to be her whatever.
What did I like/love:
I loved that, and it may sound weird, this book dealt with such heavy and real emotions. Loss is a difficult thing and everyone deals with it differently.
I also loved Josh, he was almost to good to be true. Somethings he said where a bit sappy, never heard a man speak like that, but I liked it.
What did I dislike/hate:
Nothing I really disliked or hated. Just some things that I wished where developed a bit more to make it a bit more believable. Like the connection Josh and Ember had with each other. I got why Ember was taken with Josh, but why was he so willing to do everything for her.
Rating:
4 I really liked it Stars
Jayla “Fox” McFadden 'MacGyvered' her way through college and right onto the radar of the CIA. Instead of getting busted, she got offered a job. She's a chemist by day, but moonlights on special missions utilizing her unique talents when needed, everything from bomb building to booby traps. She's fought tooth and black-polished nail to make her way in the world and prove she's more than a set of tits. From her thick, black eyeliner to her Doc Martens with leather mini-skirts, she stands out, and likes it that way.
Noah “Hound” Kendrick is the best tracker on his SEAL team. Haunted by the fact that he got his mother killed, he put his body, mind, and soul into the SEALs in retribution, trying to make the world a better place. They are his duty and family now, nothing gets in the way. Especially love, as he refuses to open up his heart and lose someone at his expense ever again.
Jayla's latest mission is to retrieve a list of buyers from an arms dealer. She's teamed with the SEALs who must take out a bunker hidden offshore near the dealer's private island. But a squall line from an impending hurricane throws off their plans as Jayla and Noah get separated from the team, washing up on a deserted air force base in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Now the Fox and the Hound must survive the elements and each other, as they ride out the physical and emotional storm heading their way.
Title: The Fox and the Hound
Series:Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Breaking the SEAL #1
Author: Wren Michaels
Publisher: Kindle Worlds
Edition: Kindle
Amount of Pages: 206
Genre: Romance, Military
Cliffhanger: Not really a cliffhanger but things are left open for the next book
HEA/HFN: HFN
Cheating: No
Triggerwarnings: No
Love Triangle: No
Insta Love/ Insta Lust: Yes
Single Parent/Kids/Pregnancy: No
Date Read: 05-02-2020
Favorite Quote:
Review:
I expected a kick ass story about a Navy SEAL and a CIA officer. We got the SEAL and the CIA officer but the story fell flat.
What is this book about:
This story is about Noah and Jayla. Noah is a navy seal and Jayla is a CIA officer. They meet at a mutual friends barbeque and they where attracted to each other but they didnt left things on good terms.
They didn't expect to see each other again so soon, and definitely not in the circumstances they find themselves in. You see Noah (aka the hound ) and Layla (the fox) have to work together to bring down a weapon dealer.
What did I like/love:
I liked the idea of the story. The side characters where oke. And I liked Noah. But thats about it.
What did I dislike/hate:
I really didn't like Jayla. She was so extra and borderline rude. It felt like she was trying to hard and her actions came across as forced.
Her actions on the mission really made me think why anyone would think she would make a good officer. She made some really stupid decisions.
For someone that hated that people judged her or made assumptions, she did it herself a whole lot.
The story fell flat for me. I expected more from the book and sadly it didn't deliver.
Rating:
1 1/2 I didn't like it stars
After a devastating war decimated most of the world, Hudson Lane has only known the oppressive life under her own father’s tyranny. She finally escapes, branding herself an outlaw and hunted by the Enforcers. Her best chance at survival is Connor Mackenzie, an aggressively sensual fugitive who opens her eyes to the wicked possibilities of a world without rules.
As the leader of a band of outlaw fighters, Connor can’t resist the beautiful stranger who asks for his protection. Despite his reservations, he agrees to introduce her to a whole new way of life. But when Connor discovers Hudson’s connection to the enemies of liberty, he wonders how far he can trust the woman who has abandoned all inhibitions to challenge every forbidden desire.
Title: Claimed
Series: Outlaws #1
Author: Elle Kennedy
Publisher: Signet
Edition: Kindle
Amount of Pages: 370
Genre: Dystopia, New Adult, Romance.
Cliffhanger: [ No (hide spoiler)]
HEA/HFN: [ HFN (hide spoiler)]
Cheating: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Triggerwarnings: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Love Triangle: [No (hide spoiler)]
Insta Love/ Insta Lust: [ Insta lust (hide spoiler)]
Single Parent/Kids/Pregnancy: [ No (hide spoiler)]
Date Read: 05-02-2020
Favorite Quote: “Freedom was a drug, one that grabbed hold of you the second it entered your bloodstream. It made you giddy and reckless if you didn’t know how to channel it.”
Review:
I was really excited about this book. I'm a bit in a dystopia/apocalypse kind of mood so I wanted to read this book. That and I know if it's an Elle Kennedy book then there will be some really hot scene. And I'm not afraid to say that I looked forward to that as well.
What is this book about:
The world has had terrible wars and one finally took it's toll. As a result the survives decided to create new rules for society. Everyone is one and the same. If you get sick, you are screwed. Natural selection all the way. The rulers decide who gets to reproduce and who doesn't. Fear is the way to rule and for some it works. For others not so much.
Being an outlaw in todays world is dangerous but it's a price many are willing to pay for freedom.
Hudson knows that all to well. After her father died she found out that he arranged for her to marry a psychopath. So at the first opportunity she ran. When trying to find a save place to stay and hide out she meets Connor. She is immediately taken by him but he is a hard man to crack. He reluctantly, after being guilt tripped by his friends, allows her to stay but only for one night. It now became Hudson's mission to make sure that invitation gets expanded to permanent.
What did I like/love:
Oke I have to say this but I loved the sex scenes haha. There where a few really hot ones, and also a few very hot oral scenes. They where really hot.
I also liked the concept of the story but I would have liked a little more background. Like we know what happened but I would have liked some more info. It not really necessary but it would have been nice.
The story was left open and I really hope that it will be picked up in the next books.
Not only did I liked the main characters, I really love the side characters as well. Especially Rylan. Loved that guy. I hope all of them got books of their own.
Overall I enjoyed this book. It wasn't my favorite by Elle Kennedy but I still enjoyed it.
What did I dislike/hate:
/
Rating:
4 i enjoyed it stars
