GRACE

I've been thinking a lot about Grace and opportunity. Are they separate or one in the same? Do you live your life day in and day out waiting for them? Or do you actively pursue them? Does ignoring them make you wasteful?


I believe in giving what I want to get. Sometimes it's a beautiful thing and then there are the days it bites me in the ass. But still I go on, giving love, respect and kindness. Waiting for them to find me in return. Don't get me wrong, that's not the reason I do it, it's not the prize at the end of the race. No, for me it's a way to sleep at night. To be able to look in mirror and concede that I am responsible for the day's actions and that I will accept whatever they may bring.


It's not easy or fun most days being the bigger person or the softer voice, but I try. I try to think of all the times that I've been disregarded and dismissed. Life is not easy or fun. It's a series of tasks, some enjoyable others atrocious, but at the end of the day you've survived. Survival can be splendid, especially when it's filled with laughter of children, big warm embraces and your favorite dessert. I'm not a doom and gloom kind of gal, but I like to be honest. I've realized that if I'm not honest with myself I tend to let my imagination take flight and I read more into things than necessary. And THAT is how I get bitten in the ass!


Sometimes when it's dark and lonely you get a spark of light. A spark of happiness, a gift of clear sight and the heavens part and it all comes together. A dream you never really believed would be anything more than that comes true. A person realizes that you really do things just because and not because you need repayment. Those are the days I live for, the days that make all the others fade away into hysterically unbelievable stories to tell over drinks.


I've had a few of those days lately, after a very long year with so few. I found Grace whispering my name on the wind and I cried tears of joy and utter relief. I cried because she hadn't forgotten me and because I still believed. I cried because it's been a long, hard winter and I finally see signs of spring. But mostly I cried because I was relieved to know that I hadn't given up, the darkness and desolation hadn't won and I still had a chance. A chance to make a choice each and every day to seek out the graceful path and create opportunities for myself.


So I'm a little lighter, floating a little higher and filled to bursting with the gratitude that I can still see and appreciate all that Grace and opportunity can bring. Take a look in the mirror and see what you find, you might just find a little yourself.

A WISH I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17935534-deviation
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/816090840"


 5 STARS
Deviation by Dani Morales

Utterly Beautiful
I made this purchase on a whim, new author, new read what could go wrong? Nothing and everything! This story was beautifully heartbreaking, the love and honesty showed through with each new page. The characters pulled at the heartstrings and gave an honest look at real life. Real, honest, dirty life. it's not pretty and we are our own worst enemies but there's always hope. Ms. Morales has written a story that is real and allows for belief in something greater. It is one of the best books I've come across in some time. I wish we had more, I would love to see the characters progress further.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/19592110-selinda">View all my reviews






https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20502138-christmas-salvation"
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/836441944"




 5 STARS
Christmas Salvation by Dani Morales


So Happily Ever After
OMG! I was so thrilled when Dani informed me that my thirst for more of Angel and Neveah would be quenched. I never thought that in such a short span she could once again completely fill my heart. They found each other and now have to believe in forever. I literally was in tears for the last half of this novella. It's such an empowering and hopeful story. These characters will always have a place in my heart. Fate, love and redemption 's. Morales is genius at them all.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/19592110-selinda">View all my reviews

SNOW DAY...

SNOW DAY....BRINGS HOT READS!


The Book Gods at NetGalley have once again brought me a yummy and deliciously naughty read.


4 LOGS ON THE FIRE to
ABLAZE (Fireside Series book 1)
by MORGAN BLACK


Sooo, what happens when you get trapped in the snow with your naughty dream man? That's the premise of this serial. It's a delicious dilemma for a girl to be in. A young woman trapped in a gilded cage by her family's status and her father's desire comes face to face with what freedom can feel like. She finally has the courage to make a choice for herself and what a decision it is.


A man with a shadowy past. Secrets surround him and only serve to make him all the more irresistible. Even though she's all he wants, will he take all that she has to offer? Sometimes your past can ruin your future. Ms. Black has written a wonderful introduction to what promises to be a sexy and smart series.


I'm not usually a fan of short serials (I'm a super greedy reader and ALWAYS want more!) but I can't help myself! ABLAZE paints a great beginning to a very addictive story. The cliffhanger at the end literally had me screaming WHAT THE F*** to my e-reader!! If that's not a good enough reason to pick up this read, then I really can't help you.


So come on my book people, join me on the journey to see what happens to Cheyenne and Luke. Can a spark really turn into a fire of love? By God I hope so, but we'll just have to see. 

A RARE GIFT

It's been quite some time...I know, but sometimes life happens and blindsides you. It leaves you gasping for air and trying to find something, somewhere to ground you. That has been my life, a search for my new stable ground. Each day another unsteady trek into the unknown. But, sometimes someone cracks open a door and allows a sliver of light to illuminate a way forward. The Book Gods at NetGally have provided that sliver of light to me lately, so I must shout from the rooftops and let all know that I have found a true piece of beauty and it's name is....


5 STARS to BOOK LOVERS
Stories Edited by Shawna Kenney


Never in all my years of reading, and they are many have I encountered someone who I felt understood the power of an authors words on my soul. Each writer's key or pen stroke can be a caress or violent strike to the reader. Each reader's response different and yet the same. It has plauged me forever; how does one really explain the triumph or desolation that a story has provoked? How can you possibly make someone else understand that in a mere few words this faceless person has destroyed you?


It's a constant arguement that my Book Girls and I have. One that none of us can explain, one that none of us would change because that is the power of a book. It lifts humanity highlighting all the wonder and possibility while punishing by pointing out all of our short comings. A book breaks your heart and allows you to hope that one day it will be filled again. I know...I know I'm rambling, but this is me. This is the road my mind wanders when I lose focus on the everyday insanity. This is what rattles around in my brain when I'm bursting at the seams wanting to share some intense moment from my latest read or when I've a character breakthrough of my own.


Never, until now have I felt heard or understood. never have I shouted out loud "YES" at nothing more than the introduction to a book. I should have known never to never...because finally I found it...found them. Shawna Kenney has collected a series of erotic shorts that are phenominal! Each story is a carress to the mind, a whisper to the heart and a jolt to the senses. They run the gamit of scenerios; a little of something for all, but none of that matters.


It's the tone, the language, the scenarios that all blend together into a perfect storm. Each just enough of a tease to jumpstart your heart and mind. Each boiled down to the true essence of what you as a reader really wants when cracking open the pages of a tale. The words are feather light and land impossibly deep. I love to quote a great story, love to share the authors words that so move me. But to do so here would be a disservice.


You have to immurs yourself in each tiny tale and feel the weight of the words. It's what every reader wants...isn't it? To float in a sea of words, in a world created just for your enjoyment. To read about finding the 1 person who finally sees "all your colors". I am completely obsessed and utterly enraptured by this collection. It is now and forever will be close at hand and continually reread.

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE...

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS AROUND HERE...ESPECIALLY ON MY E-READER!!! So to help everyone get in the mood here are a couple new holiday reads that have warmed my heart...and other things too!

*4 Stars to....NAUGHTY NICKS
                    by CHRISTINE d'ABO

Well this is how to warm up the holidays! Ms. d'Abo has given us a spicy, steamy, fun Christmas gift with NAUGHTY NICKS. A Santa stripper service...why have I never thought of that and where the heck is the number to where I can order a human labradoodle to dance? This novella was fun and fast from page one.

Blake is just an amazing character, we find him broken and unsure at the beginning and watch him battle himself until he finally finds his alpha status. Kim is everything I want to be...she's forward, fun and intelligent. Confidence and sex appeal in a small but amazing package. After what should have been only a one-night stand, a friendship is formed that neither of them would ever have expected. A friendship that neither knew was exactly what they needed.

So what happens when their friendship is tested by the heat that continues to grow between them. If your Kim you fight for a chance at more, if your Blake you try running from the only think that has ever felt right. Between the encounters with these two and the assorted secondary cast I literally had a smile on my face the entire time. Hot and sweet that's what this tale is. I absolutely love, love, loved this story. Best Christmas Gift this year...and I didn't even have to wait to unwrap it! Thanks to my friends at NetGalley for the opportunity to read/review this sexy read!


*4 Stars to.....WISHING FOR A COWBOY (A Compilation)
                     From PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS

Wonderful...just wonderful.  NetGalley has once again gifted me the opportunity to read/review a lovely book. This is a period compilation of wonderful western romance tales. Each of the eight short stories brings a bit of hope, love and a helping of forgiveness. In a time where everything seems unsteady and you're left feeling ungrounded WISHING FOR A COWBOY is a feel-good pick me up.

Each tale is set out in the western wilds. In parts of the country that are uninhabited by many and where living is hard eight men are brought to their knees by the love and grace of eight extraordinary women. As I read; curled up on my couch I could just feel the bite from the winds blowing across the plains, the kiss of snow falling on my face and the warmth of the fire burning in the little houses. Although I am not normally a fan of period pieces, I adored these tales of love found and chances taken.

If you want to gift yourself a little pick me up or a reward for all you're about to do for the holidays...give yourself WISHING FOR A COWBOY,  and curl up and escape for a little bit.

HOLD ON!

SHE'S DONE IT AGAIN!!!

*5 STARS to

MINE TO HOLD
by CYNTHIA EDEN

First off...I luv you! I mean seriously Ms. Eden you are phenomenal! I want to be your bestie, I want to see how that wonderfully wicked mind really works. That being said, I digress to the reason for my ranting...MINE TO HOLD; the latest installment in her "MINE" series.

We pick up a short while after the end of MINE TO KEEP, now in New York. Specifically York Tower in New York. This installment is the story of Noah York and Claire Kramer and boy oh boy is this a hot one.  Claire has run out of options and has decided to turn to Noah for help. A wounded woman, who has been broken and is out of faith and belief in the world has found her match. A man with a past that holds more blood and death than anyone could imagine has just found the only person who unnerves him. It's the perfect set up in a perfectly sinful series.

Claire has suffered at the hands of someone she once believed loved her. But love and obsession are two sides of the same coin, and obsession can drive someone already on the edge completely insane. She no longer trusts her judgement and has lost the last of her family to another deranged individual.  That awful encounter was what brought Noah into her life. Since then she has not been able to drive him from her mind and this terrifies and inflames her.

"Mine or dead, Claire. Mine. Or. Dead."
"It's a pity, because I think that I could enjoy touching you."

Noah...oh Noah. Now here is a man, no a machine; he allows the world to see only what he wishes. He has survived his past and seems to be living his days paying the penance for his actions. Never letting anyone too close, never staying with anyone woman for too long. No one has ever made him question existence in any other form...until that day in the alley. Until Claire came bounding, fighting her way into his life...his thoughts...his heart. Noah York is a man in control, wound tightly, keeping always keeping slightly apart from the world. Everyone who knows him, knows how important that control is. How necessary it is. But what happens when a woman, a single person shatters that control without intent or knowledge?

"I want you every f***ing time I see you."
"But I'm trying to give you what you want."
"You have to ask, remember? Just ask."

As in the previous two books in the "MINE" series; MINE TO HOLD is a roller coaster ride from page 1. The familiar cast is there as well as some new, but not wanted additions. Ms. Eden writes a damn fine romantic suspense story. each page drives the anxiety higher and stokes the fire of need growing in your belly. Her Alpha male is superbly written, both extremely forward and heartbreakingly broken at the same time. Noah is larger than life and a in need of someone to hold him in the space of a single chapter.  I ached for his loss, for his pain, for his need to finally have something/someone all his own to love and keep.

"I want you with me. In my bed. Screaming my name again. One night wasn't enough for me."
"Your choice, baby. Always yours. Stay or go, but you won't get to cut out on me in the middle of the night again. If you stay, then you're mine."

This story is scorching hot! From the sexy and needy Alpha; Noah, to the broken but definitely not out female; Claire. She has seen the worst in men, been through the worst that anyone including herself can do to you and still she finds the ability to love and to be loved. The story of Noah and Claire isn't a jog through the park, NO their story is a marathon of hurt, hope and karma. Sometimes, just sometimes you actually do get what you deserve in life.

Heart-pounding, palm-sweating, pulse-throbbing, panty-soaking deliciousness is what MINE TO HOLD is. It is a satisfying tale of love, anger and pain that just grabs you by the heart and doesn't let go until everyone has found their HEA. I was extremely happy to see Drake Archer again. The very cantankerous, disillusioned and loveable man has needled his way into my heart and I'm now hooked. So this is my plea for Drake's story. I want, no I need for him to be loved even if he doesn't want it. I need for him to be broken by a GOOD woman, a woman who sees what's really inside that stony heart.

THANK YOU AGAIN AND AGAIN to NetGalley and CYNTHIA EDEN. You create characters that I obsess over and worlds that I long to play in. I wait with baited breath and a greedy heart for the next great adventure.

WICKEDNESS CONTINUED...

Marina Anderson has done it again and again...
My thanks once again to my friends at NetGalley for the chance to read and review such wonderful works as these!

4 STARS to

CARESS (Part 6)

The plot continues to roil and boil in part 6 of the DINING CLUB SERIES. With the members of the club circling Grace is beginning to feel the pressure. The feelings of insecurity and doubt are growing within Grace and she has no one to share them with. In this entry of the series we really begin to see and feel the turmoil within Grace. Within this highly erotic and vividly sensual series it has been quite easy to lose touch with the individuals, as the series grows to its close we are in touch with them.

The gift of touch seems harmless enough, but anything and everything can be too good of a thing. It's a lesson well learned at the Dining Club, a lesson deliciously served and enjoyed. In CARESS, the next trial in Grace's future is looming and not everyone is excited by the prospect of her passing another level. But, what's the expression...a wolf in sheep's clothing? The wolf in question is none other than Andrew. I have to admit that I've had mixed feelings about the "staff" of the Dining Club, but this entry really grated my nerves.

Things are not all what they seem and everyone is not the happy, sexy family they have portrayed up to this point. I love the drama and conflict, but I really dislike certain hostesses at this club! These people are all too sexed up if you ask me. You would think that being that satisfied would make them happier. This is a turning point in Grace's journey and she clearly chooses her path regardless of the consequences. It is a delicious read and I'm anxious for the next "meal"!


SUBMIT (Part 7)

The plot thickens and so does the sexual and emotional tension. Can she really do it? Can Grace really pull off passing all of the trials at the Dining Club? More importantly...will she be allowed to pass them? In this latest entry into the series we clearly see that Grace's success is not in every one's best interest. What's worse is that we are left unsure of David's feelings on the matter.

What would you do if you risked everything to prove your love for someone and they are ambivalent to it? how many hoops..."trials" must you pass before you are worthy? The deeply erotic tale of Grace's sexual awakening has taken a deeply emotional tale. SUBMIT is the deepest and darkest of the series. It looks at the darker side of David's sexual appetite. I felt the terror and uncertainty in Grace's trial, but more importantly I felt her questions.

Grace is questioning herself and her choice. David is no help at all and I have to be honest, I am not at all happy with him! His childish feelings, his inability to have an adult relationship without his ridiculous terms is so frustrating! I have felt and enjoyed the hot, sensual encounters that have occurred within this story. I have drooled over the idea of a tall, dark, rich and handsome man wanting to teach me all sorts of new things, but this...this is just insane.

In between being all hot and bothered with the scenes painted in this story, I have been very uneasy with the status or lack there of David and Grace's relationship. Grace is blooming with every encounter and is willing to do what is necessary to cement her place in his life, while he just...well he just doesn't seem to be as certain. He has his reasons, but they are not in my opinion worthwhile.

Her final trial is here and with little support or compassion from David, Grace faces it as usual head-on. It's her quiet strength and courage that really are the back bone of this tale. The final trial is quite a doozy and quite apparent why most don't pass it. What happens next is the best part. What does the future hold for them if she passes? What if she fails? You'll have to read it and see!


SURRENDER (Part 8)

She passes!!! Holy cow, Grace uses every ounce of courage and will to pass David's final trial. Is the glory of the win all it was supposed to be? Can passing all of the tests placed before her bring her what she wants most in life? Can David really love her? Can he really allow her into his life completely? We don't get all the answers we've been waiting for.

It has been very frustrating to be left unfulfilled. Yes she passed, yes she has done all he's asked, but has she really won anything? After all that she's done, all that she's exposed of herself what is it that she really has won? Grace's journey of self discovery has been addictive to me as a reader. She has power now and the understanding that goes with it. But is David the man who deserves it? I'm still on the fence. For such a dominant man, he has been very unsure in the handing of her.

This is supremely clear when she learns of Table 5. Table 5...Amber's table and the final, ultimate level at the Dining Club. Does Grace really want to be in charge?  Will running the Dining Club really make David love her completely? It's so insane, it's so desperate, I just couldn't put the damn book down. Table 5's trial is to be undertaken by both women. This leads to a one on one battle between Grace and Amber. It's the perfect culmination between the two advisories.

Dark, delicious and highly erotic. That's all I can say about the final trial. It puts both women at the mercy of all the high ranking male members of the Dining Club. It's a test and only one of these women are truly suited to be the victor. It was the best trial of the series. I trembled with excitement from beginning to end. A winner is chosen, but I don't think that that's the final word on this group. Ms. Anderson left us all with an opening into another chapter into this series that I sincerely hope she takes. I have enjoyed all the naughty fun and frustrating moments found in this series and hope to see move into the life between Grace and David outside the club.