The Master by Kresley Cole
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: February 2015

 

Catarina Marin needs money now. Enough money to start again on the other side of the country. A random sighting of her estranged husband has her on edge and ready to run. Forced to live under the radar and deal with aplenty of people willing to exploit her, she decides to escort to make some quick cash. Her first "client" is a “drop dead gorgeous” Russian billionaire with mafiya connections. The one problem is she is not the girl he requested from the agency. She doesn't even work for the agency and fulfilled her friend's booking.

Cat only has the most basic idea about escorting and would really be doing anything other than catering to snotty rich dude. Max did not get the woman he booked but decides to go outside his comfort zone.  When Max thinks Cat is trying to trap him, he goes full mafiya on her. Now that she has a husband hunting her and a billionaire mad at her, we get a little more of Cat's back story and see how she ended up in her current situation.  We also learn more about Max and his family and why he reacts to her the way he does.  Gradually, we see them growing on each other and realizing that they have feelings for each other.

The Master was an enjoyable read. It gets sexually explicit very fast. Even though the book is called The Master, it isn't really any bondage or BDSM - basically it's not a 50 shades clone.  Compared to the pacing of the rest of the book, the ending seemed a little rushed. Granted the main male character being a billionaire helped the action along as he would have money to get all the loose ends tied up quickly.

Just a note, this is actually the second book in The Game Maker series and has spoilers of the first book in the series. You might want to read the first book to avoid being spoiled and have a full scope of the series.  Although based on the snippet in the book, the first book seems like a pretty good story of its own.

This review copy was provided by the publisher.

Review: Too Many Cooks by Shirley Ann Wilder

 Too Many Cooks by Shirley Ann Wilder
 Publisher: Bouroughs Publishing Group







Bitter news leads a San Diego widow and widower to true love—and to a scheme to
marry off their adult children, a plan that goes deliciously awry.

Gaetano Lorenzo was the sweetest man that the widowed Estelle Bennett had
ever met. That morning began terribly, with awful news, but now the owner and
head chef of a local San Diego ristorante was offering up Italian delights: red wine,
delicious food, walks on the beach, laughter when she’d never thought she’d laugh
again…. Estelle felt twenty-five. She and Gaetano had found the recipe for love, and
a simple variation might just get their adult children to settle down, too. A scoop of
sugar, two ladlefuls of lust, a pinch of deception and a whole 24 oz.-can of danger—
Suddenly, ingredients were coming from everywhere! But kitchens are crazy places,
and variety is the spice of life. And for anything to get cooked, things have to get
hot.

 Too Many Cooks is was a quick read, to the point of being rushed.  It basically the story of a romance that develops between two middle-aged people who are scheming to get their children together.  The scenes between Gaetano and Estelle are especially sweet, while the scenes between Alex and Gina are kind of cliche.  I didn't like the fact that the parents were milking Estelle's alleged imminent death for so long to manipulate the kids, but all in all this was a cute if cliched story.  If you like brisk romance reads, this is a great book for you. 

From the time she could hold a pencil, Shirley Ann Wilder wrote stories. Being the youngest of six
children, she was overlooked many times but found wonder and magic in reading books. As a youngster
she was especially fond of horse books and read every one of Walter Farley’s Black Stallion books.That passion for horses carried over into her adult life and with her husband and four children, raised
Quarter Horses and German Shepherds. Shirley’s other passion was writing, but it was put on hold until the three sons and one daughter were in high school.After taking numerous writing classes and amassing many unfinished manuscripts, one of her writing instructors suggested she join Romance Writers of America. Taking that advice she also joined thelocal San Diego RWA chapter has since completed six novels. She served on the Executive Board as Co-President of RWA- San Diego for 2006 and 2007 and held several other chair positions. She credits her fellow writers for the support and encouragement that has kept her writing during recent difficult times.
**I received this book via Innovations Online Book Tours in exchange for my honest opinion.**

Spice Up Your Life with a little Romance

I've been gone for a while but I'm back posting consistently.  Seeing as this an all genre blog, I'll be delving into romance and other spicier reads.  Don't worry the blog will be SFW.  And as a treat I have a couple giveaways courtesy of Gallery Books.

FYI, these books have been marked down

is $2.99 until July 15.


is $2.99 until July 30.

Up for grabs are Deception by Kris Kennedy (in bookstores 7/31) and An Unsuitable Bride (in bookstores 7/24)

Deception by Kris Kennedy

From Amazon:

 

An Unsuitable Bride by Jane Feather

The Rules

* US Residents Only.

* You can only win 1 book.  Leave you choice along 

with your name and email in the comment.

* Contest runs till July 24.

From Amazon:
Long ago, young Viscount Bradley’s prudish family forbade him to marry his beloved. Now, the aging lord has plotted a subtle revenge. His three nephews can split his fortune, but only if each marries a fallen woman. Two have found brides who meet the terms . . . and all depends on the youngest, Peregrine Sullivan.

Review: Great-Aunt Sophia's Lessons for Bombshells by Lisa Cach

Great-Aunt Sophia's Lessons for Bombshells by Lisa Cach
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: June 19, 2012
Despite her misgivings, Grace Cavanaugh can't resist when her great-aunt asks for help with her hip surgery recovery.  It's pretty much an expense free vacation in California and she'll be able to write her dissertation for her Ph. D.  The misgivings return in full force when her great-aunts house turns out to be a mansion in Pebble Beach, fully staffed at that.  Grace and her friend Cat are barely in the door before sexy playboy Declan O'Brien who sends Grace aflutter.  Meeting fellow intellectual Dr. Andrew Pritchard sets Grace at ease.  Aunt Sophia's obvious distaste at Grace's field, Women's Studies, and her dissertation asserting that beauty is ruinous for women is seemingly shared by both Declan and Andrew.  This summer might not be such a slam dunk for her writing her dissertation.
Aunt Sophia somewhat viciously ridicules Grace's dissertation and her friend Catherine who supports it.  Sophia challenges Grace to a experiment that will either confirm or derail all of Grace's Ph. D. research.  Aunt Sophia's plan consists three intense months of diets, personal training, lessons in charm, and coquettish behavior.  Basically using your feminine wiles to accomplish your intellectual goals.  An immediate payoff of wild sex does much to affirm Grace's new plan of action.  As the month's go by Grace's rigid beliefs start to sway worrying her friends and family.  Using Great-Aunt Sophia's tips but keeping her core belief's changes Grace for the better and helps her realize bombshells aren't necessarily victimized anti-feminist bimbos.
Aunt Sophia's Lessons hits many of the romance novel cliches: headstrong heroine and two suitors, the socially awkward doctor and the playboy money man but manages not to be boring.  The difference is Aunt Sophia who essentially plays all of them masterfully against each other and still manages to drop several bombshells of her own.   Great-Aunt Sophia's Lessons for Bombshells is a great summer read.

** This was book was provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.**