You Make Me by Erin McCarthy review

You Make Me by Erin McCarthy  

Release Date: April 16, 2014

Link to review on Fresh Fiction website:  

http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=43270

Book description:
The guy she wants…

Growing up on the coast of Maine with a revolving door of foster siblings, Caitlyn Michaud spent one intense and passionate year falling in love with her foster brother, Heath. Then he left without a word.

Isn’t the guy she needs…

Determined to move on, in college Caitlyn has risen above her small town impoverished roots and has joined a sorority, reinvented her appearance, and landed the right boyfriend in frat president Ethan.

But the perfect world she tried so hard to attain is ripped apart when Heath appears one night out of nowhere. Out of the military, Heath is as brooding and intense as ever, and he is determined not only to win her back, but to exact revenge on everyone who kept him from her…

And when one love allows her to breathe, but the other feels as essential to her life as air, how does she choose between them?

Killer Physique by G.A. McKevett

 

 

Book review on the Fresh Fiction website:  http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=42679

 

SUMMARY

Plus-sized P.I. Savannah Reid gets a taste of the high life when she attends a Hollywood premiere on the arm of husband Dirk Coulter. Savannah may be a newlywed, but even she gets weak in the knees when she meets celebrity athlete-turned- movie-star Jason Tyrone. So imagine how she feels when the star's rock-hard body is found rock-hard dead...Though the autopsy reveals Jason may have gotten his killer body through doping, no one wants to believe the beloved athlete is a fraud, least of all Savannah. Soon she's deeply immersed in the dark world of body enhancing drugs, and wondering if the world-class gym where Jason worked out is really just a front for a lucrative drug ring. Was Jason's death the price he paid for threatening to expose other celebrities caught in the clutch of keeping a flawless image? Or was everyone's favourite hero a victim of his own desire to always be at the top of his game? No stranger to society's obsession with image, Savannah is determined to get to the truth. And for the voluptuous investigator, this time it's personal...

Full Throttle by Erin McCarthy

 

Book Description:

Easing into the turns…
As one of only two girls on the tween racing circuit, Shawn Hamby has always run with a fast crowd. But now at thirty-two, she doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone. And she definitely doesn’t need a man bossing her around off of the track…

Putting the pedal to the metal…

But after a silly girls’ night at a fetish club, Shawn can’t get Rhett Ford out of her mind. He’s younger than her, and he’s her best friend’s brother-in-law, which should be red flags. Rhett is looking for someone to lead in bed, but he can’t imagine that Shawn would ever submit to him. Boldly surrendering is more her style. And with Rhett behind the wheel, it’s going to be one wild ride…

Check out the review on the website Fresh Fiction:

http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=40928

Interview with author Manuela Cardiga, author of "Guilty Pleasures"

 

 

1. Can you start off by telling us a little about yourself?

I don’t really know where to begin. The first significant things that spring to mind? I’m a working mother of one (anyone who’s had more than one has my unending respect), I am compulsive writer, I am an unrelentingly cheerful and bouncy optimist (irritating). I love reading, I love music, I love cooking , I love to eat, I love my life. Oh autobiographical thingymmagig? I was born in Mozambique (East Africa); raised in South Africa and live in Europe. I wanted to be a writer and an archeologist; but ended up being a fashion designer/ graphic designer/illustrator/copywriter. Now I am a writer! (did I mention I talk a lot?)

 

2. Give us a brief overview of Guilty Pleasures:

Briefly: a red-hot narcissistic compulsively healthy-living control freak - Lance Packhard -  who happens to be a bankrupt sex-therapist (writing a book called “Sensual Secrets of a Sexual Surrogate”) gets hired to impregnate a woman who just loves food. Millie Deafly. She’s not interested in men, let alone someone like our hero. So in order to get close to her, he gets himself hired as an assistant to the Chef at Guilty Pleasures - a dinner club belonging to our heroine - and her partner, Serge. Serge used to be a prostitute in Istanbul, a fluffer in skin-flicks in Vegas and is now a Master Chef in London. He’s also a homosexual black dwarf with major personality/sensitivity issues. Every night a new set of crazy guests come to the Guilty Pleasures to pig out, and poor Lance (as his alter-ego, a geeky but sexy Will) finds himself sucked in to a riotous world of eccentricity and sensuality quite unlike anything he’s ever experienced. He suddenly finds himself falling madly in love with his “subject”… and about to be outed as an imposter! If you want to know how it ends, read the book! (It’s really funny) Every chapter opens with “advice” from Lance’s how-not-to book, and closes with excerpts from Millie’s diary. I had an obscene amount of fun writing this book. I hope my readers enjoy reading it.

 

3. So I love music almost as much as books.  Do you think your characters or books have theme songs?  What are they??

YES!!! I love music too! I had a struggle during editing, because I had included references and sometimes snippets of lyrics that I had to remove? Lance is a Neil Diamond fan, Millie is addicted to 80’s and 90’s music (Brit-pop), Hendricks is a Goth…There is music all through my book! Crazy thrash metal stars, pop singers, lascivious cello players, classical pianists…Serge is a blues and jazz man (modern and classical). He digs Charles Mingus “Moanin’”. Millie’s theme song? In my head it was “She’s a Star” by James (most of the book I could soundtrack from James); she evolves to Springsteen’s “Secret Garden”. (Lance goes from “Sweet Caroline” to “I’m a Creep”.)

 

4. Can you give me your top 3 favorite authors that you would go screaming fan over if introduced to?

That is so not fair! Only three? Living or dead?

Living…George R.R. Martin (major fan since a novel called Fevre Dream), R. Scott Bakker, China Miéville, David Eddings, Ursula Le Guin, Julian May, Dan Simmons (that’s more than 3 and I could give you a whole page)…Dead? Jane Austen, C.S. Lewis, Dickens, Shakespeare, Keats, D.H. Lawrence, Anis Nin, Agatha Christie…LOVE Agatha!

 

5. If you could compare yourself to any fictional character who would that be?

Me? In my own book or other people’s books? In mine, I think I’d be George: stubbornly romantic in the face of opposing evidence…In other people’s books? Maybe Viola in Twelfth Night. Or Eliza Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. I’m a tenacious survivor. I never give up. Funny, all the characters I relate to are defined by humour, and common sense (except George).

6. Talk us through the cover art of your novel.

That was a lot of fun! The Writers’ Coffee Shop attributed me a graphic designer: a lovely enormously talented Lady called Thaigger Tigger Lillie. She asked me what I wanted? So I said…you tell ME! Read the book, then knock yourself out, have fun! And she did. Isn’t it fabulous? The man is just sooo yummy…

7. Where did you get the inspiration from Lance Packhard’s character?

I didn’t…He just showed up: shaved chest, silk thong, hyper dedicated (you might say obsessed) with healthy food and the body-beautiful? I was horrified! I absolutely adore a man with a deliciously hairy chest -not TOO much, Chewbacca can stay home… Lance is so absolutely not my type of man. Yet, somehow, he grows into a good man. He has the one innate quality that is so very hard to find: a capacity for love, kindness, tenderness. He listens.

8. If you were planning your perfect aphrodisiac recipe, what would it be and why?

Let me tell you a secret…There are no “perfect aphrodisiac recipes”! The secret is eating with someone who awakens you in every way: your heart, your mind, your sensuality. So the perfect aphrodisiac recipe? The main ingredient is the guest…You can serve pizza, or baby quail stuffed with wild rice and pine-nuts in a port-wine chocolate and orange zest sauce. The intention is what spices the dish, tantalizes the palate and arouses desire! Serve what ever you serve with fire in your eye and a pout promising kisses.

For a review of Guilty Pleasures by Manuela Cardiga check out the website Fresh Fiction:

http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=40856

Blood Curse by Sharon Page

This is Book 7 in this author’s “Blood” series. This is a historical paranormal romance with strong gothic elements. Lady Ophelia has been kept in seclusion – even hidden from her family – by the enigmatic Mrs. Darkwell. She has been confined this way in order to protect the unsuspecting populous. Through no fault of her own, her touch is deadly. She sublimates her sexual urges by pursuing her appreciation of statues capturing the male form and ogling, and even caressing them when possible. It’s on one of these museum trips that she makes the acquaintance of the darkly handsome Mr. Ravenhunt. She is unaware that he is actually a vampire. She is also unaware that their frequent meetings are by design and are part of a plot to kidnap her. Ravenhunt is paid by some shady character to collect Lady Ophelia. He initially refused until his client revealed Ophelia’s curse in all its awfulness. However, after actually meeting her, he decides to pull a double-cross and keep her. Most of the obstacles in this romance are caused by external factors. There are more people after Ophelia than Ravenhunt’s mysterious client. The list of people after Ophelia and her power include Queen Jade – the powerful vampire who formerly controlled Ravenhunt, some evil-minded band of anti-vampire men are interested in experimenting on her, and miscellaneous paranormal types want the power. Despite the many times throughout the book when Ophelia doubts him, Ravenhunt always tries to prevent her from being hurt – even if it means his death. Our vampire hero finds out that undoing Ophelia’s curse involves some sex magic with the end goal being that they would fall in love with each other. I thought this was a little goofy, but toward the end of the book I was convinced that they were in love. Ravenhunt agonizes over the caveat that says they have to fall in love and is so earnest in trying to do anything to lift the curse, never realizing until later on, that he fell before he even realized it. The story itself really pulled me in and I loved the fast-paced action. The sex was kind of kinky with some bondage. This is nothing new for this author’s erotica. While I might not have found all of the sex acts in this book appealing – it was not so much a comment on the author’s writing, but rather just personal preference. What I did like about the sex scenes in this book is that it was consensual, the people involved enjoyed themselves, and it was never done for the wrong reasons – out of anger or some twisted pathology. I was happy to find that there was no third party involved romantically with the hero & heroine. The characters and story made this book for me. I found that I like Ravenhunt more as the book progressed. He has a lot of pressure put on him, including threats made against his sister by an evil vampire Queen, but never really breaks.

As a reader who has followed this series in previous books, I was happy to see a resolution in the Guidon/Mrs. Darkwell storyline. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Twas the Night Before Mischief by Nina Rowan

 

 

This novella comes after Book 2 in this author’s “Daring Hearts” series. The prologue introduces the two main characters, Penelope Darlington and Darius Hall, when she is 12 and he is 20. Penelope is the daughter of successful confectionary shop owner Henry Darlington, while Darius is the third son of the Earl of Rushton. 12yr. old Penelope is very upset due to getting some surprising news and takes off to regroup. She has always disliked Christmas because her mother died around Christmas time. Penelope’s father has recently returned from out of town (around Christmas time) with a new wife in tow and Penelope is devastated. It’s not that she finds the new wife in any way intrinsically objectionable, it’s that her father got married without telling her, or even giving her any clue that he was thinking of remarrying. It’s while she’s in this frame of mind, that Darius finds her. In his quiet way, he listens to Penelope vent. It’s a sweet little moment that sets up the rest of the book. The rest of the story takes place seven years after the prologue. Darius and Penelope meet up again at Lady Wentworth’s soiree. Even though Penelope is content to be pursued by Scotsman Simon Wilkie, she and Darius share an impromptu kiss. That might have been the beginning and end of their romance, had things not taken a dramatic turn. Penelope agrees to elope with Wilkie and head to his home in the Scottish Highlands. Darius catches wind of it and takes off after the two, not only out of loyalty and affection for the Darlington family, but because he doesn’t believe she will be happy with Wilkie. I love the way Darius and Penelope’s relationship develops over the short period of time they are thrown together. Penelope is able to open up with him about her feelings for her family and her current situation. She feels like Darius “gets” her. The romantic tension is fabulous. Even though Darius “possessed a scientific, mechanical mind”, Penelope brought out the poet in him without his sounding trite. I loved the romantic game they played defining words. When he explains why he compared her to the earth’s atmosphere, I melted. This was the first thing I’ve read by this author but I look forward to reading more. I was able to enjoy this story, even though I hadn’t read the previous books in this series.

A Groom for Christmas by Cara Marsi

You either love “fake fiancé” storylines or you don’t. I love them, and I enjoyed this story. Graceann is looking for a fake fiancé to bring home for the holidays to take some family pressure off her. She has had a very bad experience in her romantic past that burned her and turned her off marriage completely. So, as she explains “My family feels sorry for me. They, especially my mother, won’t rest until I’m safely married.” In response to questions about how her family will react when she is no longer part of a couple, she says “If they think I broke with you, they’ll stop feeling sorry for me because they’ll know I’m in control of my life and perfectly happy on my own.” Typical “fake fiancé” logic. It just so happens that while Graceann is discussing her situation with her friend at the beginning of the book, her friend spots Jake Falco nearby. Better known in his high school days as “The Falcon”, Jake had a bad boy reputation. The friend suggests that she ask Jake to fill in as her fake fiancé, since her male friend couldn’t do it at the last minute. The chemistry between Jake and Graceann make for some very steamy scenes. In spite of his reputation when he was a teenager, Jake is a good sport about everything, and treats Graceann and her family with respect. He is very charming and easy to fall for. Even though Graceann’s mother surprises her by inviting a former romantic interest, Jake proves to be the better man. This story was a lot of fun. I liked the epilogue and thought it wrapped things up nicely. This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but after reading this story, I look forward to reading others.