Review: Midnight Sacrifice by Melinda Leigh

Midnight Sacrifice
(Midnight, #2)
By: Melinda Leigh
Publisher: Montlake Publishing
Published: April 16, 2013
Genre: Romantic Suspense

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One by one, people are mysteriously disappearing from a small Maine town. Four months ago, a ruthless murderer killed two people and kidnapped three more, including Danny Sullivan's sister, who barely escaped. Unfortunately so did the killer, vanishing without a trace into the vast wilderness. When the police fail to find his sister's captor, Danny returns to Maine to hunt him down. He begins his search with another survivor, bed-and-breakfast owner Mandy Brown, but her refusal to cooperate raises Danny's suspicions. What is the beautiful innkeeper hiding? Mandy Brown has a secret. But sexy Danny Sullivan, his relentless questions, and the desire that simmers between them threaten to expose the truth ? a revelation that puts her family in danger. As more people disappear, it becomes clear the killer is planning another ritual?and that he's circling in on Mandy.

This story is sort of a continuation of the last book (Midnight Exposure) but focuses on a couple of the background characters. Parts of this review will have spoilers for the previous book.
 
In the last book we met Jayne and Reed. Jayne is Danny's sister who was kidnapped by the homicidal Druid. Mandy was the homicidal Druid's booty call. No one knew that they were shacking up since he was her employer at the diner she worked at, as well as the towns Mayor. In the end of the last book, Nathan (the homicidal Druid) tried to kidnap Mandy during his escape and Danny, who was looking for his sister Jayne, stumbled across the altercation and saved Mandy. So... needless to say, you kind of need to read the first book in order to really connect with not only the murderer, two main characters, but the story as a whole.

With that being said, I didn't find myself gravitating to their story like I was with Reed and Jayne. Maybe because I already knew who the killer was? Although the author did add another player into the mix to help spice things up. I think I may have just not enjoyed the main characters in general? I really don't know.

I will say this, the suspense was intense just like the last book. Nathan get's his hands on more unsuspecting victims and with seeing it through the eyes of both the victims and Nathan's perspective really put a chill in the air.

Even though I enjoyed the first book more, I still enjoyed this story. I think I just connected more with Jayne and Reed than Mandy and Danny. Either way, if the author continues this story line, I will definitely be picking it up.

This just shows how intense parts of the book are.

"The shaking started in his hands and spread until his entire body quaked. Tears socked Hunter's hair as Kevin contemplated whether he's have the strength to strangle his son before the flames burned them alive."



Previous reviews from Midnight
Midnight Exposure

Review & Giveaway: Barbie World by Heidi Acosta

Barbie World
(Baby Doll, #2)
By: Heidi Acosta
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: ? Summer 2013
Genre: YA
Rating:


Goodreads

“One Night is all it took to change everything between Barbie and me. One night to potentially lose the girl of my dreams forever. How do I prove to her that she can trust me? That all I want to do is protect her carefully guarded heart. I need to prove to her that I want to be a part of her world. But How? ”
 
Dylan lost Barbie once before, now he is determined more than ever to win her heart and trust back. Easier said than done, especially with the new hot guy in town who is in a rock band and is the complete opposite of Dylan.
 
Barbie has been hurt beyond repair or so she thinks. It would be easier for heart to decide if she didn’t have to protect her little brother. And if Dylan would just put on a shirt! Dylan is not making this easy on her. It helps to have the distraction of the new guy in town cute bad boy Kai. But even though her heart is damaged it still knows what it wants.
 
When Barbie learns she has a family and with the help of Roxie and Kai, oh and Third and Dylan. They embark on a journey to help bring Barbie closer to a past she never knew existed.
Heidi Acosta brings you the heart felt story of friendship, love and heartbreak in the second book in of the Baby doll series Barbie World.

We pick up shortly where Barbie Girl ends. Barbie is now under the Guardianship of Dylan's parents. She's moving on with her life and trying to forget about Dylan, which is kind of hard since they live under the same roof. Dylan on the other hand is hell bent on winning Barbie back, regardless of the fact that he has a girlfriend.

I fell in love with these characters in Barbie Girl. I liked the rawness of Barbie and how she opened up Dylan's eyes as far as not always fitting in the mold when it comes to the cliques at school. So I was really disappointed in Dylan for going after Barbie while he has a girl friend. He would grab Barbie and start making out with her while his girl friend was in the next room. It just left a sour taste in my mouth. He hated being around his girl friend. Made fun of her and her friends when with Third and really didn't care for her feelings. He kept asking Barbie what he had to do to get her back. However, he wouldn't break up with his girl friend because 1) his parent's liked her and expected him to date someone like her and 2) he wasn't sure if Barbie would take him back. How about this Dylan? You do the right thing, and break up with the girl that you're stringing along and then maybe approach Barbie! The fact that this takes place throughout the entirety of the story really drove me nuts.

However, I still really enjoyed Barbie's character. She's really torn up over everything that took place in the previous book. The person she though she could trust, broke that trust and continues to hurt her every day. Not to mention the new situation she's in with living with a family who actually cares about her well being.

"I know that this is a fake sense of security that I am in. I'm not going to fall for it anymore. No one loves me. I was abandoned by my mother. The one boy I loved never really loved me back."

We also get more time with Roxie and Third. Third really steps it up in this book. He seems to take Barbie's side in the whole matter (as he should) and is there to protect her but at the same time, if there is a chance he can help Dylan out, he does. Aside from Dylan, the other characters in this book were a pleasure to read. Not to mention the added bonus of Kai which is a potential love interest for Barbie.

One other thing that detracted a point for me was the ending. It seems a bit rushed and then the epilogue comes at you out of left field. I felt like a lot of the back and forth between Barbie and Dylan could have been cut out to make room for the ending.

All in all, Barbie's story was a good one. She fought her way through life and survived.

"I want to see girls in bikinis just as bad as you, but while you are only lugging around a six pack, I have a whole keg to get up this hill." -Third



Previous reviews from Baby Doll series
Barbie Girl

 Heidi Acosta was born on Long Island, New York. Moving around a lot when she was younger, she has lived in New York, Arizona, New York (again), Washington, Georgia, and Florida, in that order. Each place offered her something special, but she will always consider New York her home.

Heidi started writing as soon as she could spell. When she was three, Heidi’s mother gave her a copy of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods; thus beginning her lifelong love affair with literature.

Writing soon also became a form of therapy for Heidi, when she realized that no matter what was happening in her life, she could find emotional escape while writing. Some of her earliest stories featured her as a princess who explored new worlds with her horse Buttercup. If it sounds romantic, it wasn’t, there was no prince charming in those fairy lands (boys where yucky).

Heidi now resides in Florida with her husband, very active daughter, one hyper Chihuahua, two sweet cats, and one very fat moody cat.

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Review: Left Drowning by Jessica Park

Left Drowning
By: Jessica Park
Publisher: Skyscape
Published: July 16, 2013
Genre: New Adult Romance
Rating:

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Weighted down by the loss of her parents, Blythe McGuire struggles to keep her head above water as she trudges through her last year at Matthews College. Then a chance meeting sends Blythe crashing into something she doesn’t expect—an undeniable attraction to a dark-haired senior named Chris Shepherd, whose past may be even more complicated than her own. As their relationship deepens, Chris pulls Blythe out of the stupor she’s been in since the night a fire took half her family. She begins to heal, and even, haltingly, to love this guy who helps her find new paths to pleasure and self-discovery. But as Blythe moves into calmer waters, she realizes Chris is the one still strangled by his family’s traumatic history. As dark currents threaten to pull him under, Blythe may be the only person who can keep him from drowning.

 

 

 

Blythe's parents have been dead for four years but she still blames herself for her parents deaths. She's been in a drunken stupor since then and finds that the alcohol makes the pain go away. However, that all changes when she meets a strange guy in a coffee shop. He drinks her coffee, talks circles around her until she's confused and then invites her to his play. Then right after that she goes to the beach and bumps into a hot guy skipping stones on the water. After hours hanging out on the beach she blurts out how her parents are dead and he responds with the fact that his mother is dead as well. This is where the beautiful romance begins.

I liked the idea of the story but unfortunately, some parts were way to fast paced while others were drawn out. For instance, I feel like Blythe's darkness wasn't portrayed enough. The story starts with her stumbling up to her dorm room plastered out of her mind. She calls her brother who is clearly not surprised by his sisters behavior and even seems to dislike her to a degree. So you get the sense that she is a train wreck and has some deep issues. However, the next morning she wakes up, meets these two guys, goes to a play and totally does a 180. She went from having no friends except for a bottle of vodka to a group of friends within a day. It's as if the beginning never happened. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of the dark Blythe with a slower transition into the happy Blythe.

The Shepherd characters were engaging if not a little bizarre... okay a lot bizarre. Their mannerisms, the way they interact with each other and pretty much everything about them was not normal. However, when you get towards the end of the book and you are caught up with their full background, and then you start to understand their personalities a bit better.

There weren't a lot of surprises in this one for me. I pretty much knew what was going on towards the beginning. The only thing that was different from normal new adult (broken h/H, H who isn't "boyfriend material", lots of sex) is that the secondary characters were a crazy (in a coo-coo way) bunch. Other then that, this book follows what now seems to be the new adult pattern. I wish there was more to it than that, but after Blythe masturbates to the memory of Chris a couple of times and they lock themselves in a hotel room for 5 straight days to boink, the only thing I could think of was "she must have a vagina of steel". There is no way I could do the horizontal tango multiple times in a day on the day I toss my "V card" out the window. It makes my hoo-ha hurt just thinking about it.

Aside from the predictability, the new adult "color in the lines" plot and all the sex that a prostitute can handle, the story was good. I would have liked more depth to the story but in the end it was still an enjoyable read.

"Rum. I hate rum. Nobody should like rum. The only time rum should be consumed is at a tropical resort. And then you have to have those asshole little umbrellas and mini plastic swords that hold fucking fruit chunks."

 

Review: Wilde Nights in Paradise by Tonya Burrows

Wilde Nights in Paradise
(A Wilde Security, #1)
By: Tonya Burrows
Publisher: Brazen
Published; June 10, 2013
Genre: Romance
Rating:



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He’ll guard her body all night long.

Former Marine Jude Wilde’s motto has always been “burn bridges and never look back,” so nobody is more surprised when Wilde Security is hired to protect assistant district attorney Libby Pruitt, the woman he loved and left. Although she makes it clear she wants nothing to do with Jude, they’re forced to fake a relationship for her safety. He can’t ignore the heat still simmering between them, and when her stalker’s threats escalate to attempted murder, he’s left with no choice but to whisk her away to a friend’s safe house in Key West, FL.

Cooped up in paradise together, Jude begins to chip away at Libby’s resolve to hate him. But even as she gives in to his proximity and her body’s demands for his, she refuses to fall for his charms again. Maybe a torrid affair in the sun is exactly what she needs to get him out of her system. But when her stalker tracks them down, can they escape the steamy Key West night without anyone getting hurt? 

Jude's been tasked with the job of protecting his ex-fiancee. The woman who's heart he broke 8 years ago. But if he's being honest with himself, he's thought about her every moment since. Since his parents passed away when he was a kid, he's felt guilt over their death and has been unconsciously sabotaging every good thing that's ever happened to him. Especially his relationship with Libby.

"But part of him in the deepest, darkest pit in his soul wondered how long he could keep smiling."

Now he has to put the past behind him and do his job, but that's kind of hard to do when Libby wants one night together to get him out of her system. Once he's had a taste, one night will never be enough.

I liked the idea behind this story. The fact that you have a independent career driven woman who isn't afraid of some stalker. She's not about to let some guy scare her away from doing her job as an attorney. So in steps her ex-fiance, the one who cheated on her and broke her heart. Not only is he her new bodyguard but when the threats escalate and her life is put in danger, she's whisked away to a private estate to live with Jude until the person behind the threats is caught.

Of course there is a lot of sexual tension throughout the entire story. Even after they knock boots, Libby decides to keep her distance from Jude. However, no matter what, they find themselves rediscovering each other regardless of how hard they try to stay away.

There wasn't a lot of suspense since a lot of the time the story revolves around the two of them hiding out. I would have liked to have had more suspense since Libby was supposed to be in danger but once they hide out at Jude's friends house, the danger is all but forgotten. I still thought this was a good read and liked the whole second chance theme to it.

"There are so many ugly places and people in this world, I've learned you have to grab hold of the places like this, the moments like this, and cherish them."

Review & Giveaway: Act Like You Love Me by Cindi Madsen

Act Like You Love Me
(Accidentally In Love, #2)
By: Cindi Madsen
Publisher: Bliss
Published: June 10, 2013
Genre: Romance
Rating:


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What would you do for a second chance with your first crush?

 Brynn McAdams isn’t the awkward drama geek she was in high school—she’s grown up and confident, or at least she likes to think so. But when her old crush, the impossibly handsome and impossibly unattainable Sawyer Raines, comes back to town to direct her community play, Brynn finds herself determined to be someone other than the girl he doesn’t even recognize. Good thing she’s an excellent actress.

After his bad breakup in NYC, the last thing Sawyer wants is to get involved with another actress. But the glamorous and beautiful Brynn draws him in, even though as her director, he knows she’s off-limits. There’s just something about the woman that feels…familiar. Like home.

As Brynn’s lies start to snowball, she struggles to stop acting and come clean. But what if Sawyer is already falling for the fake Brynn, not the Brynn she truly is?  

We've all had a crush on someone in our life and Brynn is no exception. She was awkward in her high school days and of course found herself crushing on the football player who didn't even look her way. So when she finally got the nerve to talk to him and ask him to prom she's crushed when he blows her off. Almost a decade later and not only is Sawyer back in town but he's now the director of the play she's in. He has no idea who she is and not wanting to be that girl anymore she decides to pretend to be someone else. Pretty soon Brynn finds herself caught in her web of lies.

I really liked Falling For Her Fiancee and was really excited to start this one but I wasn't able to fully immerse myself in the story. I found Brynn's character really immature. Instead of confessing who she is, she plays along that she's some actress from Los Angeles. She then decides to practice her flirting on Sawyer. Meanwhile, she's cursing him in her head for the way he ignored her in high school. I just felt like she held her grudge against him a bit too long. Not only that but she ran so hot and cold when it came to him that I just couldn't keep track.

I did like Sawyer's character though. It wasn't that he was outright rude to Brynn as a teen. He just didn't pay her any mind. At the time his father was dying and he was dealing with a lot of stuff at home that he sort of wasn't really that into all the high school stuff.

I liked that they lived in a small town. So everyone knows everyone. It was hard for Brynn to keep her secret around Sawyer but somehow she managed to keep her real life separate. If Brynn didn't hold such a grudge against Sawyer throughout the entire book, I think I would've enjoyed this story a bit much but I just wasn't a fan of the main character.

"Guys are like fish. You wave something shiny at them and then once you get your hook in, you yank real hard and reel him in."

Cindi Madsen sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a new pretty pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music, dancing, and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband and three children.

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Previous reviews from Accidentally In Love
Falling For Her Fiance


 

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Review: Waffles by Tara Duggan

Waffles
Fun recipes for every meal
By: Tara Duggan
Publisher: Weldon Owen
Published: March 13, 2012
Genre: Cookbook
Rating:


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A collection of 40 recipes that show waffles can be part of any meal. With classic as well as creative options, such as chicken & waffles, waffle sandwiches, and waffle sundaes, this new, beautifully designed and deliciously photographed title proves that waffles aren’t just for breakfast anymore.Who can resist the aroma of freshly baked waffles in the morning? Watching with anticipation as thick pats of butter melt into the indentations, before pouring sticky-sweet maple syrup over the top? Or the moment your fork sinks into a stack of waffles, dripping with goodness, and you taste the first bite? With this book, you can re-create these delicious moments and dozens more.

Breakfast isn’t the only time to make good use of your waffle iron. With the recipes to prove it, this book shows just how easy it is to serve waffles for brunch, lunch, dinner—even dessert. Savory waffle sandwiches for a midday meal are a unique spin on classics like PB&J and BLTs. Or, try waffles studded with cheese and spinach or sweet corn and roasted red peppers for dinner. And for dessert, satisfy your sweet tooth with decadent chocolate or fruit-filled waffles topped with scoops of ice cream, toasted nuts, and more. The possibilities are endless.

Each recipe includes easy instructions for standard or Belgian waffle makers; some can even be made in a stove top Hong Kong–style waffle maker with delicious results. Filled with tempting full-color photography and lots of batters and toppings to mix and match, you’ll have plenty of inspiration for every occasion.

I'm a huge waffle fan. There's just something about those pockets that hold your syrup perfectly that I just love. I would even make brownies in my waffle maker. So when I saw this book was available on NetGalley for review I was quick to jump on it. I mean, I hadn't really tried a lot of waffle combinations and I was really looking forward to trying a bunch of new recipes.

Unfortunetly this book didn't have the crazy combinations that I was hoping for. For instance the Smore's recipe was just a plain waffle with chocolate chips and marshmallows on top. I was thinking something different. There were a few interesting recipes that had lettuce on top, so it did have a few creative recipes.

I liked that there were full size pictures to go along with some of the recipes. I'm a very visual person, so whenever a cookbook has pictures, it gets two thumbs up from me.

I did get a chance to try a couple of the recipes. One of which was the cranberry ginger orange waffle. That one was really good. You got the sweet orange taste when you bit into a cranberry and the ginger really helped balance everything out. I think this was my favorite recipe from the book.

I also tried the lemon poppy seed which tasted like the muffins but in waffle form. I wasn't overly sure if maple syrup would go with it so instead I spread some butter on it and sprinkled it with powdered sugar.

The recipes that I tried turned out delicious and I wish I had had more time to try more. If you are looking for recipes for your waffle iron this is a good book to get since it goes over the basic waffle recipe and then adds some variations to it. However, if you're like me and are looking for some whacky waffle recipes that aren't your usual maple syrup and fork variety, then this may not be the book for you. Like I said, it's got a lot of good recipes but I was looking for something a bit more out there.

Review: Rapture's Edge by J.T. Geissinger

Rapture's Edge
(Night Prowler, #3)
By: J.T. Geissinger
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Release Date: June 18, 2013
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating:


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SECRETS…In the hidden world that exists beside our own, a mirror world of ancient magic and elegant deceptions, a world of people who are so much more than they first appear, a war is brewing. Most of these Gifted people—the Ikati, a savage, sensual race of lethal predators—are content to hide behind human smiles, disguising their splendor in order to survive. But others are discontent. And they will hide no longer.

BETRAYALS…Eliana lives for two things only: vengeance on the man who killed her father and seeing her father’s dream of living in the open with humans come to pass. But that dream is far too dangerous for The Hunt, a group of elite Ikati assassins with one objective: eliminate her before she can expose their secrets to the world.

SEDUCTION…Demetrius is haunted by the memory of the woman he once loved. He will risk everything to save her from the killers on her tail…and convince her, before the ancient walls between two worlds crumble, that only together can they defeat their real enemy, a brilliant, cunning traitor far more deadly than either of them can guess.

3 Years after Edge of Oblivion, Princess Eliana is in hiding with her people. She's no longer the naive little girl that we first met, okay well maybe she's still a little naive. She's hardened herself to the world and has become quite the skilled fighter. She earns money for her colony by fighting in rings and stealing priceless artifacts and she's quite good at it too. Only, there is an unknown organization who have been secretly monitoring her and it isn't until her latest heist that they finally catch her in the act. They know that she's not human but with a little bit of testing, they are hopeful that they can figure out exactly what she is.

Demetrius has been searching for Eliana since she ran away with her people 3 years ago. He has never forgotten the young princess who stole his heart but she thinks that he killed her father and has pretty much disappeared on him. However, one day while out, the news is broadcasting that the infamous thief has been captured and it's none other than his princess. He knows that with her face being broadcasted all over that The Hunt, assassins who carry out any punishment for all ikati, now know where their target is and will be on their way to her. D only hopes that he can get to her before they do because if not, the Hunt will surely kill her for her father's sins.

In Edge of Oblivion I really liked these two characters. After all, Demetrius was the king's security detail and Eliana was the princess. However, for the first 100 pages the two of them don't even meet up. We read about how the two have been doing over the past 3 years and how they've been suffering. Once they do get together there seems to always be something tearing them apart. With the way these two characters were before, I was expecting more romance but there just wasn't much of that in this story.

I liked that the author wrote the characters in a way that the reader never forgets that the main characters are not human. Just by the way they move and their transformations to mist and panther. There was one scene in the book where Demetrius becomes mist and uses the air current to take him over the English Channel. At no point did I forget how lethal and foreign these characters were.

"Demetrius looked down at her with such savage fury in his expression it froze her in place like a mouse staring into the jaws of a snake. He crouched as if to spring, but then his head snapped up, his eyes focused on something behind her, and a hair-raising growl rumbled through his chest."

Eliana has grown so much since we last saw her. She's no longer the spoiled princess and is instead more of an equal among her people. She is very protective of them and will fight until the death to keep their location a secret to those who wish to harm them. Demetrius is the same way when it comes to Eliana. He risks the wrath of his brothers and ultimately puts his life in jeopardy to try to keep Eliana safe.

I am a fan of the author's writing style and the way she describes not only her world but her characters as well.

"Dressed in a black pair of men's boxer shorts rolled over at the waist so they didn't sag down her legs and a white men's undershirt she must have found in one of the dresser drawers, with her choppy blue hair sticking up in every direction and her wild, glittering eyes, she looked like an insane, cross-dressing pixie."

The story had a lot of action going on between the scheduled fights, heists and fighting amongst each other that there was never a dull moment to the story. We also meet up with some new characters as well as characters that we may have bumped into before but are now brought to the forefront. I wish I had connected with the main characters a bit more since I was really looking forward to their story but it was still a fun read. This is a series that I will keep up with.

"A nice rack can topple empires, princess. It's just the way we're build." -Gregor



Previous reviews from Night Prowler
Shadow's Edge
Edge of Oblivion