The Window Seat on a Rainy Day

Rock Chick

8:00 pm 24 January 2014

The Rock Chick series is Kristen Ashley’s eight book series about a group of women dubbed the Rock Chicks who meet through a series of traumatic events thus enlisting the help of a group of ridiculously amazing alpha men knows as the Hot Bunch. Set in Denver Colorado, the Rock Chick series introduced the craziness of KA into my life and has permanently etched her onto my literary fave shelf. It is through the trials and tribulations of eight amazing women and their insane courtships that I have embraced my inner crazy and secretly hoped for a wild ride on the Hot Bunch train.

Rock Chick, appropriately named for book one, begins the series with the tale of born to be wild Indy Savage and Lee Nightingale. Indy and Ally Nightingale have been lifelong friends, running wild, rocking out to whatever came their way. They were raised to be family living across from one another, yet Ally’s older bad boy brother Lee has been the object of Indy’s dreams since she was 5 yrs old. Lee has spent the majority of his time continually rejecting any moves from Indy pushing her to her limits of rejection. Now, Indy is all grown up and running a local used book shop, all while continuing her 10 year ignoring of Lee. Indy has given no more than cordial banter with every family event and encounter. However when one of Indy’s friends/employees gets mixed up in stolen diamond business, Indy finds herself in trouble and right in the arms of local security specialist and serious tough guy, Lee Nightingale.

For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/kristen-ashley-rock-chick.html

Dark Side of the Moon

8:00 pm 23 January 2014

Well, I finally broke down on a reread and read one of the Dark Hunter books that I missed in my glom last summer. Dark Side of the Moon never really interested me - I never saw the point of it. But as time with the series went on, I realized I was missing key points and that they all went back to this book, so I had to bite the bullet and give it a read.

Susan Michaels is a reporter in Seattle who is stuck reporting the wacky things - at an Inquirer type news magazine. After being a a serious and respected reporter, this is a huge blow to her ego. But it opens her up to experiences that no one else would believe. When she adopts a stray cat - even though she is allergic to cats - she is stunned to discover the cat is really a Were Hunter named Ravyn Kontis who is also a Dark Hunter. Before long, Susan is pulled into a world that even her readers would never believe as immortals, human animal shifters, Apollites, and demons become her life as she and Ravyn fight to protect Seattle from an attempted Daimon takeover.

For the full review, go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/sherrilyn-kenyon-dark-side-of-moon.html

Beautiful Addictions

8:00 pm 22 January 2014

Beautiful Addiction is a new adult romance with a backdrop of darkness and heartbreak. It is a second chance love story for two lifelong friends ripped apart by violence and circumstance that they were too young to comprehend.

Josie Banks is a street smart enigma with a natural art talent. She has spent her life in and out of foster homes after the death of her parents. She has little recall of her life other than she has a new identity and a host of friends on the streets that provide her with companionship, drugs, and meaningless sex. She has no past that she can recall other than images from her dreams that plaster her walls and many buildings in the city she resides. Her life has never been important to anyone, except her childhood love and best friend Tristan. Tristan is a bit of a genius whose life seems destined for greatness until he loses his other half at the age of fourteen propelling him to throw his bright future out the window. Wrong decisions and the wrong girl put him straight into a life of crime.

Fo the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/season-vining-beautiful-addictions.html

Demon Moon (The Guardians, Book 2)

8:00 pm 21 January 2014

And I thought the angst of the 800 year relationship in Demon Angel was bad... heck, compared to the next one, it was NOTHING! :)

Colin is a two hundred year old vampire with some quirks. For one thing, he is incredibly vain. His vanity and arrogance are hallmarks of who he is. Anyone who knows him knows that his looks are not only angelicly beautiful, they know HE knows it, too. Irony has forced on this vain man a curse to never see his own reflection in the mirror again (and no, it wasn't given BECAUSE of his vanity like you would think). But this vampire is also beyond unusual in strength. A childhood blood brother pact between him and his cousin lead to complications with his vampiric transformation. The sword used to make the pact had magical properties and as a result, Colin is unable to feed vampires without killing them or to ever transform a human to a vampire.
Enter, Savi. She is the adopted human sister of Hugh Castleford, the former Guardian that married a demon and who has a long history with Colin. She is a computer whiz and a young woman who many may think lacks... direction in her life. Though she has promised her grandmother she will marry within the year to a man of her grandmother's choosing, she has no hopes that the arranged marriage will be everything her parents had. Accepting this, she is more than willing to have a last fling with the sexy vampire that causes her heart to race and her palms to sweat. Though both go into things with little or no expectations of ANY kind of future, their feelings can't be denied. But Colin can't transform Savi and if Savi was otherwise transformed, he could never feed her. So their situation is ultimately doomed...

For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/meljean-brook-demon-moon.html

At Peace (The 'Burg, #2)

8:00 pm 19 January 2014

Back in Brownsburg Indiana for Kristen Ashley’s The 'Burg series and I will say this book is one of my all-time favorite Ashley books from the storyline to the incredible characters. I have grown to love Ashley's writing style and all the craziness that is present, but I have come to most appreciate her ability to write the hell of out of alpha male, most noticeable Joe Callahan.

At the heart of the story of At Peace is Violet Winters, a single mom, whose cop husband was killed by a psychopathic stalker determined to make Violet his own. She has settled in this small town with hopes to find peace and safety for her and her two girls. After a year of stability she is rocked by a late night encounter with her very rude, very large, and oh so sexy neighbor - Joe Callahan. The mysterious Mr. Callahan is a part-time neighbor working as a security specialist and his sudden presence has Violet’s heat beating and libido bouncing. She is cautious yet completely willing to give into his every command for a chance to feel alive again, or to possibly love. What she doesn’t know is the depth to which Joe has been deadened inside. Even though he wants everything from her, he is resolved to live a life of solitude repeatedly pushing her away after getting what he wants which takes its toll on both Violet and her daughter’s hearts.

For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/kristen-ashley-at-peace.html

Live (The Burnside Series)

8:00 pm 17 January 2014

I loved this book from beginning to end…and I mean really loved it. While I loved the story of Destiny and Hefin, I really can’t wait to read about the rest of the Burnside siblings. Mary Ann Rivers really delivered a compelling start to a series that I can tell is going to only get better with each book.

Destiny Burnside is down on her luck. She has lost her father, job, and what is left of her family is falling apart at the seams. She is doing her best to hold on by going to the library every day, to search for a job. The only highlight of her day is to check out the hottie wood-carver who is restoring the library building. When she gets yet another rejection letter and she ends up breaking down in the library, the wood carver becomes a shoulder to cry on. Hefin Thomas is attracted to Destiny and her perseverance in not giving up on finding a job. When he spots her crying he makes the decision to help her out. Hefin has his own demons in his past to deal with and he is heading back to his home country of Wales in two months. All he wants to do is take Destiny with him but her roots run deep, in her home town of Lakefield, OH, and she is the glue that holds her fractured family together. Destiny and Hefin both need to let go in different ways and find love together.

For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/mary-ann-rivers-live.html

Trouble

8:00 pm 17 January 2014

Trouble is Samantha Towle’s new standalone contemporary romance featuring the resilient Mia Monroe and her out of control life on the run. It is her goal of survival and her escape that leads her to unexpected goodness, Jordan Matthews. Their story is not a beautiful love story bursting to hearts and flowers. Instead this is a read filled with enormous hurt and pain with hope and light intricately weaved throughout the journey.

Mia Monroe has led a life of pure pain and torture both physically and mentally. She spent her childhood under the constant abuse of her father. With no mother offering protection, she barely lives, only finding her first true breath when he unexpectedly dies. Her life should finally begin, however growing up in a cycle of abuse leads her straight into the arms of the first man who offers affection. Mia finds herself again a prisoner to a powerful man whose idea of love is shown through a backhand and multiple affairs. After being pushed to her limit of abuse tolerance, Mia runs and never stops until landing some three thousand miles out of Boston.

For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/samantha-towle-trouble.html

Untitled 2

8:00 pm 14 January 2014

The Professional truly is one book that has been broken into three separate parts, each read around 120 to 150 pages. This is the second installment of Kresely Cole’s Game Maker erotic series, and it is here that she has turned up the intensity and the heat that was lingering in the first part.

In quick recap, PhD student Natalie Porter has found herself in the lap of luxury as the long lost daughter of a Russian mafiya lord. She has been introduced into the world after being taken overseas by the ever sexy and dark Aleksandr “The Siberian” Sevastyan. There is immediate attraction between the two characters, but Natalie is still sexually naïve and Sevastyan’s sexual proclivities are far from vanilla. They have engaged in the slightest of teasing, a foreshadowing of the erotica to come, but they danced around their attraction as outside threats to her father and a potential war had everyone on guard.

For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/kresley-cole-professional-part-ii.html

Believe: (Intermix) (True Believers)

8:00 pm 13 January 2014

Believe is book three in the new adult romance series True Believers. It is a read with a rough undertone and hard characters pushing through life and whatever comes their way. Books one and two introduced the Mann brothers, Tyler and Riley, whose upbringing was less than stellar, yet they landed good girls and promising futures. Believe presents new unlikely couple to the mix with the spotlight falling on Mann cousin Phoenix and ultra-party girl Robin.

Robin has spent the majority of college partying hard and loose. She has lived life to the fullest of collegiate stereotypes unabashed to her actions. When she wakes up from a night filled with Vodka she is shocked to find herself naked and in her BFF Kylie’s boyfriend’s bed. Vowing to never let this happen again she boards the guilt train and stops living. She is now sober, unkempt, and doing anything she can to get out of the apartment she shares with Kylie. Everyone surrounding her is pouring on the concern and pushing for answers.

For the full review, go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/erin-mccarthy-believe.html

Blaze of Memory (Psy-Changelings, Book 7)

8:00 pm 12 January 2014

Overall, I love the Psy-Changeling books, but not all of them have been sure fire winners for me. In fact, the two "middle books" as I like to call them, that deal with the two heroes not of the Psy, the Wolf, or Cat packs, never really compelled me too much. But, I wanted to take this opportunity to mention something I do love and that is the audio versions of these books!

In Blaze of Memory, we get the story of the mysterious leader of the Forgotten - Dev Santos - that was introduced in Mine to Possess. The Forgotten are the forgotten Psy that branched away from the Psy when they went Silent and they never gave up their emotions. Yet, they have the powers of their ancestors. In fact, in some of them, the interbreeding with Humans and Changelings have created new and unheard of powers. The Shine Foundation, which Santos runs, is tasked with protecting and guiding these Forgotten Psy and keeping their powers in check.

For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/nalini-singh-blaze-of-memory-audio.html

Big Sky Secrets (Hqn)

8:00 pm 10 January 2014

Well, I think it comes time when a reader has moved on from a once favored author and that time has come for me with Linda Lael Miller. I have been disappointed with the Parable Montana series and while book six was better than book five, it did nothing to pull me back into loving the Linda Lael Miller of past series.

Landry Sutton, a self-made business mogul heads to Hangman Bend’s Ranch to sell his share of the ranch over to his brother Zane, our hero from book five. He plans to sell ASAP and get back to his city life. Once he takes a look at the ranch and Ria Manning he decides he isn’t going anywhere. Ria, a widow, is starting a new life in Montana. However, a buffalo keeps tramping on her land and she is afraid to lose her heart to a man as potent as Landry.

For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/linda-lael-miller-big-sky-secrets.html

The Certainty of Us (The Coincidence, #3)

8:00 pm 9 January 2014

For those familiar with Jessica Sorensen’s Coincidence of Callie and Kayden, then you should recognize Violet and Luke as secondary characters who have found their way into the spotlight. Both characters were fundamental in Callie and Kayden’s journey and now their dark pasts are brought to light to reveal a rough journey.

Luke is the closed off roommate and longtime bff of Kayden. He has always been available for his friends yet emotionally cut off. There have always been hints of trouble from his past, especially after the learning details of his sister’s tragic suicide in book 2. There is also an underlying mystery and unease with his relationship with his mother that is brought to the forefront in this read, thus ultimately shaping Luke into the man he has become. Immersed into a life of drugs and alcohol as a child, he was forced him to grow up way before his time, therefore Luke now operates on his own time and does anything he can to keep control over his life.

For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/jessica-sorenson-destiny-of-violet-and.html

Dark Bites: A Short Story Collection (Dark-Hunter)

8:00 pm 8 January 2014

What is better than a collection of Sherrilyn Kenyon Dark Hunter short stories? Not much that I can think of! In this anthology, I think all the Dark Hunter shorts (or most) are included. The stories included are: "House of the Rising Son", "Phantom Lover", "Winter Born", "A Dark Hunter Christmas", "Until Death Do We Part", "A Hard Day's Night Searcher", "Shadow of the Moon", "Fear the Darkness", "Where Angels Fear to Tread", "Love Bytes", "Santa Wears Spurs", and "Redemption".

Now, for many Kenyon fans, there is only one "new" story in all of these and that is the "prequel" to Styxx. That story is "House of the Rising Son" and it tells the story of Styxx and Bethany as Aricles and Bathymaas. And that story alone is well worth the book! :) As we already know, Styxx and Bethany had a destiny because they first met and fell in love as Aricles and Bathymaas. But as often happens, the gods (specifically Apollo) got involved and they tried to destroy the happiness that Bathymaas and Aricles found together. But the two had a true love. We know that because the love story continues in Styxx. This story doesn't hold any surprises, but it does fill in the gaps and the whole time I was reading it I felt like light bulbs were going on! OH, so THAT explains.... :) It was like a giant puzzle kept coming together.

For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/sherrilyn-kenyon-dark-bites.html

Rome (Marked Men, #3)

8:00 pm 8 January 2014

Rome is book three in Jay Crownover’s Marked Men series. Although it is a stand- alone book, the first two books provide important back history and allow for a better understanding of the supporting characters.

Rome Archer is the eldest of the Archer siblings. He was the consummate protector of his twin siblings Remy and Rule and their female constant Shaw. He was the rock of the family and the ultimate fighter for all that was needed. Rome went off to war and carried on his fierce persona as a field leader in the Army. When tragedy strikes at home and Remy is killed, exposing many hidden secrets within the family, he begins to unravel a bit. This is further perpetuated when he is wounded by an IED and sent home to heal. Rome is no longer a military man and he is struggling to come to grips with civilian life . He is especially struggling with finding the meaning in the tragedies surrounding him as well as his overall purpose in the world. His daily struggle is making him a shell of a man whose constant raw angry attitude is beginning to wear thin on the people who love him.

For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/jay-crownover-rome.html

Untitled (Fantasyland, #4)

8:00 pm 6 January 2014

Quite a few of us here at The Window Seat are Kristen Ashley fans. However, given our different genre preferences, we all have a favorite Ashley series! Her Fantasyland series has always been my Ashley crack fix and recently, Kelli joined in and glommed the series. With the release of the most recent book, Broken Dove, we had slightly different takes on the book and we thought a book chat might be a neat change of pace. Beware, this is a book chat rather than a review. Because of that, this is a SPOILER WARNING. Though we will use vagueness to discuss the story, it is possible that you will learn plot points. Read at your own risk! :)

For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/kristen-ashley-broken-dove-book-chat.html

Archangel's Blade (Guild Hunter)

8:00 pm 3 January 2014

After a disappointing introduction to the Guild Hunters, for me, I decided to go to one of the books that didn't involve Elena and Raphael, and it was a decision I could not have been more pleased with.

Dmitri is a member of Raphael the Archangel of New York's elite Seven. He is completely loyal to the man that helped him after he had first been Made into a vampire against his will and the friendship between them is iron clad. While Raphael is out of town, Dmitri's duty is to protect his comrade's power base. But when bodies start showing up, Dmitri needs an expert opinion from a member of the Guild. He could never guess that the hunter that would be assigned would be Honor, a woman who was held captive and tortured by rogue vampires. As one of the coldest and deadliest of his breed, Dmitri is hardly the first vampire that should come into contact with one as vulnerable and fragile as Hunter, but the two are thrust together.

For the full review, please go to http://www.thewindowseat13.com/2014/01/nalini-singh-archangels-blade.html