Pretty Reckless by Jodi Linton: Mini-Review & Giveaway

Pretty Reckless by Jodi Linton
Publisher: Entangled Ignite
Pub Date: 3/24

Genre: Romantic Suspense

My Mini-Review:
After thinking I was getting caught up, the week hit again and I'm behind as usual.  However I am over half-way through Pretty Reckless and really enjoying it. So here is my mini-review and stay tuned for a full-review.

I found Pretty Reckless to be a slightly different take on Romantic Suspense.  First the main character Laney, really doesn't have it together.  Think a Texas-version of Stephanie Plum in a way, but not exactly.  She thinks she set on her life, but then her already shaky world is rocked with her ex-boyfriend Gunner returns to town.  I like Laney, I like that she really doesn't have it all together.  But she's trying.  I also like Gunner, he's sexy, he's to-the-point, he's fun. He doesn't pull any punches and he lets Laney know he wants her back. A few problems are there though.  One their history, two her present.  Read and see exactly what I mean, but it makes it interesting.

Next comes the suspense, which is interesting and what brings Gunner, a Texas Ranger to town.  Who is trying to move Ketamine through Pistol Rock?  I think I know, but I won't be sure until I finish.  Either way it's a fun romantic suspense and enjoyable to get to know Laney, Gunner, Nathan and some of the rather eccentric townsfolk of Pistol Rock.

I look forward to finishing this tonight and if it continues like the first half has it will be a quick finish and a great read.  Looking for a fun romantic suspense?  Pretty Reckless is definitely your book!

Summary

Welcome to Pistol Rock, Texas where secrets last about as long as the sporadic west Texas rain showers.

Laney Briggs has long been considered reckless, but she’s turned herself around—she’s respectably engaged and she’s become a Pistol Rock deputy sheriff. Everything’s fine until a dead body turns up and her ex, Texas Ranger Gunner Wilson, decides to stick his boots into the town’s first murder case.

Laney will be damned if she lets Gunner trample all over her turf and her chance at a quiet, contented life. His seemingly endless ability to undermine her resolve and her libido is only outdone by her constant urge to butt heads with him. But when the bodies start to pile up, Laney has to ask the lethal bad boy for a hand—and a truce in exchange for his help.

Having an ex-boyfriend as an ally might not be the best idea, but Laney has always been pretty reckless…

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Author Biography

Jodi Linton grew up across the street from a cow pasture, where she was more likely to be seen selling Kool-Aid in a Dixie cup at ten cents a pop, or inviting neighbors over to watch one of her plays staged on her father’s Bass boat.  

In 2001, she traded in the rednecks, cowboys, and mesquite trees of her hometown to chase destiny out west. After a few years of mucking it around with the roughnecks, dust storms, and droughts, she decided to dust off her boots and head home. With a History degree in one hand and a marriage license in the other, she followed her husband in 2006 to central Texas the heartland, fabulous Austin.

After settling into the Texas Hill Country with her husband and two kids, she joined the Austin Romance Writers of America, and signed with The Belcastro Agency.  Today she can be found cozied up to the computer escaping into a quirky world of tall tales, sexy, tight jean wearing cowboys, and a protagonist with a sharp-tongue quick enough to hang any man out to dry.

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Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***I received this book from Pump Up Your Book for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  ***

Waiting on Wednesday - 4/2

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.  My pick for this week is:

Driving with the Top Down by Beth Harbison
Pub date: August 5, 2014

I found this one while searching through new books related to Nancy Thayer, Elin Hilderbrand, and some others. Funny enough I was looking at all of the books mentioned in Jill's Summer Beach Book Preview before I even saw it. So it sounds like we are all starting to think along the same line!  I am not familiar with the author, but it sounds like a great book.

Summary:

Dara, savvy in business but not so savvy in love, has unexpectedly found success running a monthly tag sale after losing her job and inheriting her uncle’s farmette in Maryland.  Colleen, feeling underappreciated and in a rut with her husband and kids, rents a stall at Dara’s tag sale, and now the two women are embarking on a two-week antiquing/thrift shopping roadtrip to Florida in the hopes of finding some diamonds in the rough to fix up and sell.  However, things take an unexpected turn when they meet Jonnie, a mousy woman down on her luck in a big way, at a North Carolina diner.  They offer her a ride with them to Florida, but they soon learn Jonnie has been hiding a few key facts:  Jonnie has poisoned her abusive husband, and now she’s on the run.  And Dara and Colleen are accessories after the fact…

Three women, two weeks, one truck: sometimes life doesn't take you in the direction you expect...in Driving with the Top Down by Beth Harbison.

 

What are you waiting on this week?

 

 

Pulled Beneath by Marni Mann: Blog Tour & Review

Pulled Beneath by Marni Mann
Publisher: Booktrope Editions
Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN:  9781620152195

Genre: New Adult
Bar Harbor Series #1
Paperback, 244 pages

My Rating: 5.0/5.0





 
My Review:

I was definitely pulled into Pulled Beneath from the very first page and I was held captivated until the last.  I like how this series pretty much ties up one couples' story with each book, or I assume that is the way it will be.  I know from reading the sneak peak at the end that Pulled Within will be Rae's story.  Yet it's still very much new adult with the struggles the characters face and the inherit darkness to the book.  I like having an ending yet knowing there is more to the story of the characters of Bar Harbor.

Pulled Beneath is the story of Drew and Saint (Justin).  It's a very interesting storyline that brings a Florida girl who loses her parents to her recently deceased grandparents' home in Bar Harbor, Maine.  The trick is she thought her grandparents were long dead and there are a lot of secrets that she hasn't learned yet.  With every turn in Bar Harbor she seems to be becoming more attached to her surrounding and finding more and more secrets.  It's fascinating and the premise really worked for me and kept me reading.

Drew, Saint, Brady, Rae, Gianni, and Shane were all great characters.  Since this was about Drew and Saint, I will focus on them.  Drew was broken before her parents' death and it leaves her even more in a downward spiral.  It doesn't seem like it as much through her eyes, except for the fact she trudges through each day.  But when we see her through what Saint sees as well, we see that things are much worse than we thought.  Not that Saint doesn't have his own demons, which are revealed in time.  Saint is the town man-whore or at least he appears to be.  But he and Drew are drawn together.  Both characters came to life for me.  I felt their pain, their numbness, their joy and their concern.  I loved them.  Their attraction is electric and it comes through on the pages loud and clear.  The struggles, the love, the attraction and the secrets all make both characters really interesting and this story very intriguing.

If you are looking for a slightly more intriguing New Adult novel and series, then Pulled Beneath is just for you.  There are secrets galore, wonderful friendships, tentative new love, lots of struggles and anything else you expect in a great New Adult novel.  I could not put it down.  I had to know what would happen next and I was sad at the end because I have to wait for the next one.  As I mentioned before, this one pretty much ties itself up at the end, but I am now invested in these characters and can't wait to know more of the secondary characters when they become primary characters!  Great job Ms. Mann on crafting a wonderful heartfelt book!

Summary

What happens when you uncover years of secrets and find out everything you thought to be true was a lie?

Drew Stevens finds her world turned upside down when her parents are brutally murdered. Soon after, she learns she inherited a property in Bar Harbor, Maine from recently deceased grandparents that she believed had died when she was a baby.

Drew travels north to settle her grandparents’ estate, but finds more questions than answers as the truth starts unraveling. What she didn’t expect to find was Saint, whose reputation was as tumultuous as his past. But the very thing that brought them together was the same thing that kept them emotionally caged.

With Saint’s scars so deep and Drew’s so fresh, can the pair heal from their painful wounds or will they be pulled beneath the darkness of their pasts?

Buy Links

Author Biography

A New Englander at heart, Marni Mann is now a Floridian inspired by the sandy beaches and hot pink sunsets of Sarasota. She taps mainstream appeal and shakes worldwide taboos, taking her readers on a dark and breathtaking journey.

When she’s not nose deep in her laptop, she’s scouring for chocolate, traveling, reading, or walking her four-legged children. 

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***I received this book from the publicist for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  ***

Fix You by Christine Bell Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

"Fresh, sexy, and addicting--you won't want to put it down!"—New York Times Bestselling Author Jen McLaughlin

FIX YOU is part one in the new adult McDaniels Brothers serials from USA TODAY Bestselling Author, Christine Bell. Fans of Monica Murphy, Jen McLaughlin, and H.M. Ward will be seduced by Bash and Olivia's story and will look forward to a new installment in this ongoing family saga every month!

Want to learn more about FIX YOU? Be sure to check out this exclusive interview with Christine Bell!

Follow the tour and win some awesome prizes!

Fix You, Bash and Olivia Book 1 by Christine Bell

Series: The McDaniels Brothers

Publisher: Christine Bell

Pub Date: March 31, 2014

Genre: New Adult

My Rating: 5.0/5.0
My Review:
What a wonderful first installment in this series.  It reads quick, I became fully invested in the characters and I cannot wait to read Fix You, Bash and Olivia Book 2. 

I was taken in from the first page and from the first moment that Sebastian "Bash" and Olivia's lives collide on one fateful evening.  And then I was held captive until the last word.  Now I am eagerly awaiting to see how their story continues, especially after that ending!

Olivia and Bash came to life for me on the page.  The book is shorter so there seems to be not much time for development, but I felt I really got to know both characters even in the short number of pages and I am cheering for them to overcome the issues that are before them, even though they seem mountainous.

Ms. Bell has crafted a very interesting story that is easy to read in one sitting and will have you wanting more.  I cannot wait for the second installment.  That was not enough of Bash and Olivia, I need more!  But it is an excellent start to a series.


About the Book:

Olivia Beckett’s once-charmed life is falling apart. Her family is about to lose everything, and she has almost no chance of continuing her college education. She can't even seek solace from her high school sweetheart. He's changed. She doesn't recognize the boy she used to know— his violent behavior is escalating and it scares the hell out of her. Her whole world is crumbling, and she has no one to turn to……

Sebastian “Bash” McDaniels is an up and comer in the boxing world working nights at the local college bar until he can land the fight of his dreams that will get him the hell out of Boston and away from his family's tragic past. He’s weeks from his goal when Olivia Beckett comes tumbling into his life in a flash of silky dark hair and haunted eyes. When he saves her from a potentially brutal beating, they begin to grow close, but Olivia's ex isn’t ready to let her go so easily.

Bash can't bring himself to walk away, but fixing Olivia just might leave him broken…

About the Author:

Christine Bell is the USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romances, and one half of the happiest couple in the world. She doesn't like clowns or bugs (except ladybugs, on account of their cute outfits), but loves movies, football, and playing Texas Hold 'Em. Writing is her passion, but if she had to pick another occupation, she’d be a wizard. She loves writing fun, sexy romance and deep, emotional new adult novels, but also hopes to one day publish something her dad can read without wanting to dig his eyes out with rusty spoons.

Subscribe to Christine’s mailing list for exclusive content, ARCs, giveaways and more!

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Giveaway:
A $50 e-giftcard to Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winner’s choice, open internationally) and an opportunity to have a character named after the winner in serial #3 of The McDaniels Brothers series!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

***I received this book from the publicist for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  ***