My Secret Romance Book Reviews

Review: Run Wild With Me by Sandra Chastain

2013-05-20T02:00:00.000-04:00

Run Wild with Me is the sweet story of a drifter looking for a place to call home. Sam Farley has been drifting around the world and through his life. No one place has been home to Sam for long. When he finds out his Grandmother’s house is to be sold for back taxes, he heads to Arcadia, Georgia to see the house before it’s gone. Once he gets there he meets, Andrea.

Andrea and Sam embark on a whirlwind romance. Sam is learning to trust small towns and how to properly court a woman. Andrea is learning that some outsiders can be trusted.

While I enjoyed reading this story, I found it lacked any real conflict or passion. It was sweet story about learning to trust again. I really wanted more conflict. There was room for that conflict in the story, but Sandra Chastain didn’t take advantage of that opportunity.

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Blog Tour & Giveaway: ALLURE by Nina Lane

2013-05-18T00:00:00.000-04:00

“We both want this so badly. I can feel it resonating between us like the hot pull of our first attraction, tangible and intense.”

After lies and betrayal almost destroy their marriage, Dean and Olivia West reignite their blissful passion. The medieval history professor and his lovely wife are determined to fix their mistakes, and Liv’s unexpected pregnancy intensifies their desire to fall madly in love all over again.

Then a family crisis forces Dean back into a feud with his parents and siblings, dredging up guilt over a painful family secret. Dean fights to shield Liv from the hostility, but for the first time, Liv resists her white knight’s defense. Her newfound resolve clashes with Dean’s desperate need to protect her.

Liv and Dean have battled obstacles together before, but bitter family conflicts now endanger their fragile intimacy. And when Dean’s career is suddenly threatened, he and Liv must struggle with events that could damage them in ways they had never imagined.

TRUST. FEAR. RESPECT. Real problems beautifully and heart breakingly dealt with, while making you feel like truelove exists.

Nina has done it again! No sophomore slump here! Halfway through this book I realized that I had to take everything that I thought this book would be, and throw it out the window. EVERY. SINGLE. THING. The storyline was great and lent to the characters' growth and development. That is what makes these books stand out for me. The reason that the characters feel so real, is that actions and reactions are measured so well. It takes an insightful writer to combine it all together to have a greater meaning as a whole. The results feel kismet, and no matter if they break your heart at times, you can acknowledge it is for the greater good. Interwoven like Dean's little string designs, it all comes together create the big picture.

In this book Dean's family make an entrance, and open up so much insight into what makes Dean tick. Dean's family dynamic is something else, and a whole other story of it's own. You'll find Liv in this book is standing tall and has committed herself to be strong for her husband in his time of family stress. Dean's has had her back, and she's going to return the favor, no matter how uncomfortable it may be for her.

I have to say that I love how confident Liv is about Dean's love for her. Running into Dean's highly successful ex, doesn't make her question Dean's love for her, just maybe her own confidence in how the rest of the world views her. Some of the situations that she is put into, she behaves like a class act. Liv's maturity and confidence, in her and Dean as a couple, really shine in this book.

Expect to see some of the old fears resurface about trust, respect, and fear. As a reader, I just know they belong together and can work it out. It is a combination of all their history, good and bad. Reading this book it breaks my heart a little when Liv gets frustrated with Dean. Can Liv be who she wants to be as an individual, while being in a relationship with Dean? Can Dean make changes to accommodate what Liv needs, and still feel needed in her life? I feel sympathy for Dean who is scared to lose to Liv and doesn't know how to "fix" things and give her what she needs. They are both so scared, and damn, haven't we all at one point or another?

But god, when they are good, are they good. I'm just going to say it. They are dorks. Ridiculously cute and in love dorks. And I like that. Dean has moments of giving her a hard time and teasing her. It's cute and real. Liv embarrasses him about the "locker room incident" and shamelessly makes fun of this cute artwork on love notes that he leaves for her.

***I'm over here swooning as Kelsey rolls her eyes...***

This story has a TON of heart and emotion. You'll get more of Dean's POV in this book, which I'm always game for. LIV'S MANIFESTO. I **HEART** this big time. The manifesto is funny and heartbreaking at the same time. I won't spoil it for you, but look forward to enjoying every entry she makes. I said it in my last review, and I will double down on it, THESE TWO ARE MY FAVORITE BOOK COUPLE. I have an empty box of tissues to prove it. I will be crushed when this crazy, beautiful ride is over. I can dream there could be a fourth book, right??? The third in this series is set for a summer of 2013 release, and god I can't wait to see where the story goes next.

Nina Lane is a multi-published author of elegant, romantic and often raunchy erotica. Her recent release AROUSE is the first book in the Spiral of Bliss series, and her novel THE EROTIC DARK is a #1 Amazon erotica bestseller.Nina used to write novels under the name Natasha Rostova and has published stories in anthologies such as “Best Women’s Erotica” and “Erotic Travel Tales.” Her work has been translated into both German and Japanese. In addition to writing, she's an avid reader who loves popcorn and has recently joined a workout boot-camp that is kicking her rear end.
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Cover Reveal: Following Me by K.A. Linde

2013-05-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

“I knew you were running the first time I saw you…"

Devon didn’t have a game plan when she decided to leave St. Louis on a Chicago-bound train for the summer. Just a reason. One she couldn’t share with anyone.

Not Hadley, her best friend from college, who lets her stay in the guest bedroom; no questions asked. Or Brennan, the bartender at the local restaurant they frequent, who she actively tries to avoid. Or Garrett, Hadley’s boyfriend, who befriends her when she has no one else to turn to.

"I just didn’t know what you were running from...."

Desperate to hide at all costs, Devon plunges into her new life in the city. Everyone around her starts to reveal sides of themselves Devon never expected. And just when she starts to get comfortable, her world flips upside down…

"...but I think all along you were running toward me."

4 lives.
All connected.
All with secrets that just keep following them.

EXCERPT:
Sweat beaded on Devon’s temple, and she wiped it off her forehead and out of her eyes. The party had been going all night, and it was nice to loosen up and get lost in the music and dancing. She hadn’t partied in so long, and she couldn’t resist when Amy had actually invited her out. Either she was getting over her hatred for the new girl, or Devon had just been there long enough that she wasn’t considered the new girl any longer.

People were packed into the club shoulder to shoulder, many even closer than that. The music was ear-splittingly loud. Crazy lights traversed the warehouse-sized room, and they alternated to strobes slowing everything down to slow motion. She hadn’t had much to drink, but she was dizzy with dehydration and the energy in the room. Her tank top was sticking to her back, and she had long since pulled her hair up off of her neck into a ponytail.

God, I need another drink, she thought.

Her eyes moved around the room taking in as much as she could from her vantage point. It really only ended up being the two feet encircling her. Amy had to be somewhere inside the building. How had she lost track of her?

Well, she knew how. There were too many damn people in the place. It was easy to lose track of one person, especially when that person was as short as Amy. Still, she should have done better. She didn’t like being alone in dark places. Whether she was surrounded by people or in a back alleyway at night, she was still alone.

She craned her head to look for her, but was having no luck. It felt like more and more people were being crushed into the space. How was this in line with fire code? Surely the place would be shut down soon.

Walking in the direction of the bar, Devon tried to find Amy in the crowd. Seriously it was getting harder and harder to maneuver through. She was literally having to elbow people out of the way. This wasn’t okay, and it wasn’t fun. They shouldn’t let any more people in. Things could get out of control.

Devon looked up over the heads of people in front of her and sighed. It felt like she was never going to reach the bar, and there was a huge line anyway. She thought maybe the bathroom would be a better alternative…at least there she would have some privacy.

She turned to walk the other direction and slammed right into a meaty guy in front of her, who glared at her as she lost her balance and tumbled to the floor. Someone stepped on her hand as she tried to get up. Devon swore and hissed pulling her hand away from the ground where someone else could do the same thing. She stood as best she could, cradling her aching hand. It wasn’t easy pushing through people with one hand pressed between her breasts to keep from someone else smashing into it. All it did was cause people to unknowingly smash into other parts of her. She hadn’t made it more than a few feet toward the bathroom, and she had already been elbowed in the arm, gotten her foot stepped on, and been drunkenly body slammed knocking the breath out of her. The club was getting dangerous. A space opened in the crowd, and she took advantage, rushing forward through the throng of people. It took her closer to the bathroom but not close enough. Then she felt it. Eyes on the back of her head. She didn’t even know how it was possible. There were hundreds of people in the place. No one could be focusing that intently on her, but she could swear that someone was watching her.

Bio:

K.A. Linde graduated with her Masters in political science from the University of Georgia in 2012. She also has a bachelors in political science and philosophy. She wrote the Avoiding Series while struggling through advanced statistical modeling and writing her thesis. She enjoys dancing and writing novels that keep you guessing until the very end.

She currently resides in Georgia with her boyfriend and two puppies, Lucy and Riker.