Tag: Book Review

Posted in Spicy Romance

Hot for Xmas

Posted on by Little Bee

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Hot for Xmas by Trinity Blacio

Goodreads Rating 4 stars

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. 

 

The title Hot for Xmas is very true to it’s title. This is a short story about a social worker (an author after my own heart)named Emily who receives a case about a mother and her three children being badly beaten by the husband/father. This case happens to be a supernatural case, and it is her first of this type of case. While at the family’s house, the local Alpha pack (National Alphas) came and it was instant chemistry, as Emily was their mate. I really liked Baas’ character, though Sam is my favorite wolf for sure 🙂

My major reason for deducting a star, is that it is sometimes hard to follow. There were also some typos and structural errors that can easily be edited. Also, the biggest reason is in my copy, the little girl’s name was Rain when Emily first went to the family’s home, but later she was called Betsey. Also, in the beginning the younger brother’s name is Duke, where he is called Tucker later in the story.

This story has a suspenseful element, which I liked. There are a lot of steamy sex scenes, which includes some light BDSM. I enjoyed the mating ceremony, though it was a little hard to follow at times. I especially LOVED the playroom/cabin scenes. I definitely went finished this story needing a cold shower!! At this time it is a standalone,(I asked), but I would love to have some closure on this group as Emily is pregnant. I would actually like that closure in a few of the books I have read by Trinity Blacio so maybe in later books this can happen 🙂

Posted in Spicy Romance

Frankenstein’s Submissive

Posted on by Little Bee

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Frankenstein’s Submissive by Trinity Blacio

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I was not paid for this review, these thoughts are my own.

This is a story about Frank Stein, a werewolf/vampire/human/machine that was created over 342 years ago (because the original Frankenstein story that we know is completely wrong per Frank). He is “the chosen one” (cue tiny aliens from Toy Story)

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He has a ragtag pack of other werewolf/vampire hybrids and they decide it is high time to challenge the pack leader in New York (I think it is in New York). During the beginning of an outing, a blue haired witch named Whitney is noticed being chased down the street by said pack leader’s minions. Frank and his pack save Whitney and bring her back to Frank’s condo. Whitney had been bitten by the alpha Frank is going to challenge and turns into a werewolf in 5 seconds of being in the condo. Frank and his pack believe she is the queen and the 4 of them are her mates. Together. And it is HOT. But let’s not get too far ahead. They all go to the home of Whitney’s parents, pick up them and Whitney’s son and head off to a mansion that Frank owns. Whitney’s family is super happy that Frank has stepped out of hiding. They did not expect it to be in their lifetime, and the fact that Frank and his pack has selected their daughter to be queen is even better. This is followed by sexy times, talking, and some more sexy times (I will get into a further breakdown soon). So…who are the other 2 wicked sisters that name this series? Marci is part human part gargoyle…who at Frank’s mansion meets 5 brothers that are gargoyles who become her mates. Allie is part Fae. At the start of the early battle, Maci and Allie flea thinking the fight was their fault (they opened the doors which allowed Whitney to be capture by 2 vampire minions of Alfred, the pack leader).

First, I want to start with why I knocked 1 star off. For the first 1/3 of the book, I was really lost and had to reread some parts over. This is a relatively short story, 74ish pages, so I know a lot of information has to be packed into the overall story. However! Some things went waaaay too fast and I couldn’t keep up, again, this was really during the first third of the book. For me, everything flowed much smoother once they got to Frank’s mansion. I also thought the fight scene did not last long enough. Like seriously. One and done kinda thing. I also did not like that some of the sexual scenes happened in front of Whitney’s parents!!! I am usually not mortified by open sex scenes or having people around watching…but her parents!!! And they didn’t care! Her dad said “she needs to learn her lesson” lmao!!!! I know in the sexy paranormal world anything goes, but her parents?!?! And then! Dad threw mom over his shoulder, smacked her ass, and said he needed to go remind her who is boss!!! LMAO! I did get a kick out of that one though. Finally, the last reason I only gave it 4 stars was because the title indicates “submissive.” But Whitney popped off her mouth often and there was really only one punishment. Also, if this was a D/s relationship, couldn’t tell. When I hear submissive, that is what I think of in erotica.  I just wished it had a higher element to that. The description of the book is “the one and only Frankenstein who is more than willing to protect her if she submits completely to him. Talk about Scary Sex!”—I was really expecting something further out there than what it was.

Now! On to the good stuff– I really did enjoy the sex scenes that were in the book. I really like the chemistry between Frank, Cruse, Dana, Theodore, and Whitney. Also, Cruse can spank my ass any day! I liked Frank, but Cruse is def my fave. I also liked the characters as a whole. Though you do not get to fully know all of the characters, what you do get from them in the book makes you want to know more. I bought book 2 (Maci and her delish gargoyles) right after I finished this book because the author leaves you wanting more. Which, I love!!! I cannot wait to see what happens next! Aside from I mention before about not knowing what was going on for a while, I did like the author’s style. I like her creativity and imagination. Even though this is a smut filled erotic adventure, she also takes what we know from literature and gives them a sexy spin. I like that. I look forward to reading more of her works in the future.

If you want a quick, sexy, fix…I really do suggest this book. There are few typos, but I really did enjoy the book overall.

Posted in Spicy Romance

The Erotic Adventures of Amy and Troy

Posted on by Little Bee

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The Erotic Adventures of Amy and Troy by Red Phoenix

Goodreads Rating: 3 stars

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

 

I want to start out by saying I LOVE Red Phoenix. If you want a great, erotic read, I ALWAYS recommend Red Phoenix. I believe The Erotic Adventures of Amy and Troy may be among her first novelettes (I read them all together in one book). Being a lover of Red Phoenix, it is easy to tell this is some of her earlier work.

When I first purchased this book, I was under the impression that it would be Amy and Troy’s erotic adventures together much like Brie and Sir’s adventures, however, I was disappointed to learn that it was actually about to people who love each other, but life seems to prevent them from being together. The Erotic Adventures are Amy and Troy’s separate adventures with various partners and the occasional chapter of Amy and Troy together.

Many of Amy’s erotic adventures left me needing a cold shower to cool down! They were spicy and erotic for sure. I wish the sexual relationship between Amy and Troy were as hot as their exploits. You can love someone passionately and have some heat in the bedroom. My other major complaint is that on the back of the cover it states “Can love survive the day Amy loses all her memories of her longtime love Troy Dawson?” The last 40 pages (of 267 pages) were about the incident which caused Amy to lose her memories. I felt that the scenes with Brad and New Troy were rushed but it was also easy to tell they were being deceptive in their information they were giving. It could have been made more clear that they were trying to win her over in her current state. And while I am at it, shame on them for doing that to Amy!!! I was excited to get a glimpse into the early Brad Anderson, and he was delicious in this story as he is in the Submission series. I do wish that he had bigger roles, or longer part in the story. For as much sex and story line as there was, some of the relationships were not as developed and it could be confusing. Especially feelings that were being tossed around.

At the end of the day, I did enjoy this book and read it fairly quickly. There were parts that made me smile, happy, wanted to punch someone, and again happy. My biggest wish is that it focused more on Amy and Troy together and not separate.

Posted in YA Book Reviews

Lock and Mori

Posted on by Little Bee

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Lock and Mori by Heather W. Petty

Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars

 

I started reading this book in March, and finally finished today, October 1, 2016. I had a lot of hopes for this book, and have been wanting to read it for a while. The story was slow for more than 100 pages out of a 245 page book. The last 100 pages of the book really sucked me in though, and that is why I gave this book 3 stars overall for the rating.

Sherlock and Mori are in high school, and they meet for the first time at a crime scene in Regent’s Park. From there, they go on an adventure trying to solve the murder, which turns into a string of murders. On this adventure, Mori learns the history of her mother’s past while trying to deal with an abusive father who is a DS on the police force in London.

I wasn’t a fan of Mori’s character, but I LOVED Sherlock. I thought his character sketch was well written. Mori was very secretive, and tried to keep everyone, especially Sherlock, out of knowing her life and what was going on. She was very sneaky, and tried to do things that she could have gotten hurt or killed

I loved the last 100 pages of the book. They were fast paced, gripping, and heart wrenching. If you pick this book up, just hang in there. The first half of the story is really slow but gets better.

Posted in Book Reviews

The Book Of Lost Things

Posted on by Little Bee

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The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly, Narrated by Steven Crossely

Goodreads rating: 4 stars

Narrator Rating: 5 stars

 

When I first started to read this book, I found I couldn’t get into it; so I went off and got the audiobook in hopes that maybe I could listen to it better. I was right. It still took a little time to get into the book as a whole, but I ended up really enjoying it.

It took me a while to determine if this is a retelling, and I have decided that yes, it definitely is a retelling. In this story the reader will enjoy interactions with the Woodsman and the Wolves (Red Riding Hood), Snow White and the Dwarves (but we won’t talk about Comrade Number 7, the traitor), Sleeping Beauty, Roland (The Song of Roland), and The Crooked Man (Rumpelstiltskin… I have to say, I was most excited when this connection occurred).

David is a child when his mother dies. His father soon remarries and a half brother comes along. This causes a lot of unrest for David, and he starts seeing shadows of The Crooked Man around the house, which scares David. Eventually, David starts hearing his mom call for him to save her. He enters into a special passageway which brings him into another land, where he meets the Woodsman. From there, David goes on an epic adventure and goes from an angry, selfish, afraid, child to a strong, understanding, and confident young man.

There were parts of this book that really did feel like it took forever. And to be honest, for an 11 hour book, it felt like ages to get through. With that being said, I am glad I read this and recommend it to anyone. It is a bit dark. There is a lot of blood, and gore…but let’s face it, all the best fairy tales are 😉

 

Spoiler ahead!! I loved this scene:

“I came back,” said David.

“Most people do,” said the Woodsman.

“Come on, we’ve been waiting for you,” said the Woodsman.

Posted in YA Book Reviews

Everland

Posted on by Little Bee

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Goodreads Rating: 2 stars

I received a copy of Everland in the May Owl Crate. This story is a steampunk retelling of Peter Pan. I started reading it in May, and literally finished it on September 22nd. This story held so much promise. I love the story of Peter Pan, and this story fell short and could not keep my interest peaked.

Captain Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer (Captain Hook) is ordered by his mother, Queen of Germany, to bomb London, providing specific locations to drop the bombs. In doing so, a deadly virus call the Hologia Virus is released killing almost all of the adult population, and almost all of the female child population. There is one girl who is immune, Gwen Darling, who has been taking care of her two siblings, Joanna and Michael Darling. One night, Joanna is kidnapped by Hook and his men to bring to the Professor in hopes of creating a cure. Gwen and Mikey meet Peter, and the spunky Bella (who has mechanical wings) and are brought back to the Lost City where the rest of the Lost Boys are held. Peter, Gwen, and a few other Lost Boys prepare to go into Buckingham Palace in order to find Joanna, but there are a few twists and turns along the way.

This story seems like it would be interesting, however, execution fell short and the majority of the story was spent in the Lost City with minimal milestones accomplished. As far as Steampunk, aside for a few elements, I didn’t feel it really qualified as a steampunk novel. It had the wings Bella wore, clockwork tattoo on Peter, and some airships, but other than that, there just wasn’t much. I wished there was more clockwork, and it may have come across stronger if the description had been more detailed.

I still gave it 2 stars for the rating because it was original and I haven’t come across many retellings of Peter Pan. I just wished it was stronger.

Posted in Spicy Romance, Uncategorized

Dominated by Two Dragons

Posted on by Little Bee

Dominated by two dragons

Dominated by Two Dragons by Cynthia Mendoza, Narrated by Melissa Barr

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

I received this audiobook through Audiobook Boom in exchange for my honest review.

I really like dragon shifter romance/erotica. Not sure why, I have never really liked Dragons in general. I was pretty excited to listen to this book, but it was too short!!!!

I do enjoy short stories, really, but I like when there are multiple parts, or like a mini series. This was not that. I have looked, so maybe I am wrong, but the book was just too short! 😦 I felt it could have been a little longer in order for the reader/listener to understand and fully appreciate the base of the story. I also felt the sex scene wasn’t as fantastic as it could have been.

I did find it entertaining when the brothers went to the dragon club. I thought the scene when the possible “entertainment” for the night, found out he was one of the twins and backed up and ran out!

I will definitely give more of Mendoza’s books a go, she definitely piqued my interest!

Posted in Children Books

Scary School

Posted on by Little Bee

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Goodreads Rating: 3 stars

Narrator Rating: 3 stars

 

I received a copy of this book through Audiobook Boom for free in exchange for my honest review. I was not paid or bribed for this review.

I found this story to be different. I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. There were parts that were really annoying (“more about that in book 2”, “more about that in another book”…).

A quick synopsis: This story takes place at an elementary school for human kids and scary kids (werewolves, sasquatch, zombies, vampires) are taught by dragons, t-rex, giants, vampires, and other scary individuals. This particular story hosts the Ghoul Games in which scary kids from other scary schools come to Scary School to compete in various games (jump rope, playing dead, checkers, etc).  The book is written by a “kid” who was killed during a fear gas fire and turned into a ghost, named Derek.  The book is also narrated by Derek the Ghost.

I requested a review copy because I work with children, and I am always on the lookout for great books that my clients would like to listen to whenever we are on a long car ride. I think for the age group this book targets, it is enjoyable. My big qualm with it is that it just didn’t feel like much happened. I started listening to it, and before I knew it, the whole story was finished but nothing much happened. It had a climax, as books do, but I just expected more. I felt that this book had promise and it could have really delivered, but missed out somewhere. I wish that this book had more about the Ghoul Games in it. I felt that section of the book was too short. Most of the book is focused on various events leading up to the particular games, but falls short once it is the time for Ghoul Games to begin.

If my clients would like to listen, I would let them. It was clean, good, fun for kids. I will probably listen to all of the books, just because I have that tendency when there are multiples.

There is also a website: Scary School

 

Posted in Spicy Romance

Crave

Posted on by Little Bee

Crave

Crave by Erzabet Bishop

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

 

I was given a copy of Crave by the author for my honest review. I was really excited to start reading Erzabet Bishop’s books. I started with Crave first. I never read the preview of the book on Goodreads, so the story line was an honest surprise.

Overall, I liked it. I liked that it was erotic, bdsm, and a suspense/crime story all in one. Linnett starts out as a sub of an apparently gorgeous Dom. One evening while waiting for her Dom to show up to their favorite BDSM club, Crave, Linnett was forced into interacting with a visiting Dom. This Dom hurt Linnett and once she was released from the hospital, she disappeared, became a cop, and then became a Domme that visited Crave masked and hidden from any of her friends. Over the 7 year period from the incident up to current, the Dom that hurt Linnett got away. Every year around that date, this Dom went to random BDSM clubs and killed a woman who looked similar to Linnett. Linnett became a police officer after the event and eventually was put on this case because she lives the lifestyle and could understand the crime scenes better than the coworkers currently working the murders.

As a mini spoiler, I ALWAYS take a star when an animal dies in the story, especially if the animal was MURDERED. When the pet is a predominant character, I deduct more stars (here’s looking at you Patrick Ness!!!!). So, I almost stopped reading when Linnett’s cat was murdered by a serial killer out searching for Linnett. Not okay.

Other than that, I really enjoyed this story. I liked the bedroom scenes, I liked the overall character sketches of each character. I am very glad of how it ended. I look forward to reading more from Erzabet Bishop!

Posted in YA Book Reviews

The Last Boy and Girl in the World

Posted on by Little Bee

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The Last Boy and Girl in the World by Siobhan Vivian, narrated by Jorjeana Marie

Goodreads Rating: 2 stars

Narrator Rating: 5 stars

 

I semi enjoyed  The List by Siobhan Vivian, so when this book came out, I decided to give it a go. I was severely disappointed for all the same reasons I was bummed by The List.

The narrator brought to life Keely’s massive annoying character sketch. The story ended much the same way The List did, and seemed to have all the same issues. This story is supposed to be about a city that is about to be flooded out, and these group of friends having the times of their lives before everyone goes a separate way. The way the story starts, at the end, made me think other events were going to happen. I didn’t expect who the Last Boy would be.

Every group of friends in high school had the Keely and Jesse type. The types that jokes too much because they don’t want to have anything other than superficial conversation. Keely just really made the whole book horrible. This book had a lot of promise and intrigue, and it did not deliver. I had to force myself to listen and finish the book.

Jorjeana Marie’s narration style really elevated this book. She really, truly, brought to life Keely’s annoying personality and quirks. I actually felt bad for Keely. Not because of everything that happened, but because she was totally oblivious to how her personality was being perceived.

Overall, The Last Boy and Girl in the World has the typical story-line that you find in YA, only it really falls short. I had to force myself to finish. I typically will not finish a book if I have to force myself. I was really disappointed. I felt like I was truly back in high school, but not any of the pleasant feelings associated with it.

In playing devil’s advocate, I know that every story is supposed to have struggle for the main character. This story has plenty of struggle, however, it took too long to get to the point, the end seemed to take longer than was necessary, and Keely was too whiny and annoying. This is not a book i would recommend. At all. i do, however, recommend the narrator. i have heard her in other stories and she is fantastic. I am just sorry she was connected to a book that failed the way it did.