Double Header Book Reviews: The Traveling Man/The Traveling Woman by Jane Harvey-Berrick

Title: The Traveling Man (Traveling #1)
Author: Jane Harvey Berrick @jharveyberrick
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 292 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars

I was ordinary. Nice. He was extraordinary. And he wasn’t always nice.

Moody and difficult, brilliant and beautiful, Kes scared me and he protected me. He could be incredibly hurtful and incredibly thoughtful. He wasn’t perfect, but he was perfect for me. He challenged me, he took me out of my safe little box and showed me the world could be magnificent. He was everything I wasn’t.

Aimee Anderson is ten when the traveling carnival first comes to her nice little town. She doesn’t expect her world to change so completely. But meeting Kestrel Donohue puts her life on a different path.

Book Review: First Touch by Laurelin Paige

Title: First Touch (First and Last #1)
Author: @LaurelinPaige
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Length: 384 pages
Rating: 4 stars

When Emily Wayborn goes home to visit her mom while on hiatus from her hit TV show, she receives a voicemail from her former best friend, Amber. Though the two were once notorious party girls, they haven’t spoken in years. Although the message might sound benign to anyone else, Amber uses a safe word that Emily recognizes, a word they always used to get out of sticky situations during their wild days. And what’s more chilling than the voicemail: it turns out that Amber has gone missing.

Determined to track down her friend, Emily follows a chain of clues that lead her to the enigmatic billionaire Reeve Sallis, a hotelier known for his shady dealings and play boy reputation. Now, in order to find Amber, Emily must seduce Reeve to learn his secrets and discover the whereabouts of her friend. But as she finds herself more entangled with him, she finds she’s drawn to Reeve for more than just his connection to Amber, despite her growing fear that he may be the enemy. When she’s forced to choose where her loyalty lies, how will she decide between saving Amber and saving her heart?

Blog Tour (Book Review, Excerpt & Giveaway): The Last Round by Emmy L. Montes

Title: The Last Round
Author: Emmy L. Montes @EmmyMontes
Reviewer: Grace
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: December 28th
Rating: 3.5 stars

In the ring, I’m trained, powerful, and in control.

And that’s exactly how I built my legacy.

For years I’ve trained to fight, but no championship title in the world has prepared me for the most important fight of my life.

Out of the ring, I’m untamed and reckless.

Which is why my wife of nine years has filed for divorce.

I’m done with living up to the bad boy image my middleweight titles come with. Boxing is my life, but the money and the fame mean nothing to me without her by my side.

Book Review: Hung by Scott Hildreth

Title: Hung (Selected Sinners MC #4)
Author: Scott Hildreth @ScottDHildreth
Reviewer: Tammy @tammyvoiced
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 296 pages
Rating: 4 stars

Stand-alone. No cheating, no sex outside the relationship, no love triangles, no club whores, HEA, no cliffhanger.

Kat
Being raised by my asshole police officer father and my subservient mother, I went to college with a penchant for outlaw alpha males. I knew Dalton Biskette was in the Selected Sinners MC, and a bad boy; but the night he walked into my bar I had no idea how bad he really was. He was tall, covered in tattoos, had gauged ears, was muscular, and had awesome beard. Just watching him walk was enough to make my lady bits itch, but after our first night together I found out although he was a bad boy, he was really good at some things…

He was perfect in my eyes.

My police officer father disagrees…

And so does my former Marine ex-boyfriend who just got out of jail.

Biscuit
The license plate on my bike says it all – RFOF – Ride, Fuck, Or Fight.

Book Review: Happily Ever After by JA Huss

Title: Happily Ever After: The Day in the Life of the HEA (Rook & Ronin #3.5)
Author: @JAHuss
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 87 pages
Rating: 5 stars

Life in Rook & Ronin’s world has been bliss for fifteen years. Rook, Veronica, and Ashleigh are still BFF’s raising their kids together. Ronin, Spencer, and Ford have managed to go legit and stay out of trouble. And they have a pack of kids running around the eight thousand square foot Vail mansion they all share for the holidays–begging for gifts, and fun, and love.

But every HEA has problems.

Five is fifteen and getting ready to go off to college. He’s put it off as long as he could in order to stay close to Princess Shrike, but his stay of execution is over and in three weeks he’s off to Oxford. But Five can’t leave until he gets the only thing he’s ever wanted. The heart of his Princess.

Ford and Ashleigh never had any more children after Five. And now that Kate is sixteen, Ashleigh is out of her head with desire for just one more chance to have a baby in the house.

Rook and Ronin have two beautiful daughters, but Sparrow is growing up too. And she just got a job offer that has Ronin crazed with paternal worry.

2015 Shortie Awards: Reader’s Poll Winners

And the winners of our 2nd annual Shortie Awards are . . .

@SylDay @colleenhoover @JAHuss @CDReisswriter @HelenaHunting @PenelopeAuthor @ViKeeland @JanaAston

Best new author?
Winner: Jana Aston

Best sports romance?
Winner: Pucked by Helena Hunting

2015 Shortie Awards: Michelle’s Favorite Books

My Final “Best” for 2015 – @Michelle6803

Wow, I cannot believe this is my second year After Dark and that we added more shorties to the mix. 2015 was a great reading year for me. I was again to some new authors and some not so new to you but to me. Some series came to an end and some new ones are getting better. So without further ado, here are my Best of 2015.

Best Erotica – The Blindfold Series– Nikki Sloane.
In Three Simple Rules, I read the best written threesome ever.  Nikki wrote it tastefully and it was so hot.  The entire series was so well done, and I loved all three books (including the novella).

 

Blog Tour (Book Review, Excerpt & Giveaway): Subordination by Katie Ashley

Title: Subordination
Author: Katie Ashley @katieashleyluv
Reviewer: Michelle @Michelle6803
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 253 pages
Rating: 4 stars

Are you ready to submit in Subordination by Katie Ashley!

NOW AVAILABLE

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1mpQbuS

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1NrvMOW

When Sophie Jameson first became a domme at Club 1740, it was more out of financial necessity than it was for personal pleasure and sexual exploration. But over the years as she rocked her leather corsets and boots while wielding every crop and flogger imaginable, she grew to love the thrill and adulation that her clients brought her. But all along, her path in life and her heart was with a different profession—one she was planning to embark on at the summer’s end.

And then he changed everything. Tall, dark, impossibly built—William was the complete opposite of whatever image a male sub conjured up. After all the subs, Sophie finally felt true lust and desire. Although he was the proud stallion who needed breaking, he became the one to make her break all her rules and let down all her walls.

But it was just supposed to be for that one night, but an accidental encounter days later outside Club 1740’s protected walls had the two seeing each other in a different light—as simply Sophie and William, not Domme and sub. While they should have parted ways, they couldn’t. While they should never have gone back to her place, they did.

And that simple mistake has a serious price for both of them.

2015 Shortie Awards: Yaya’s Favorite Books

My Final “Best” for 2015 – @MrsJCintron

Female of the Year: Fionna- Forbidden by CD Reiss

Amazon US

2015 Shortie Awards: Grace’s Favorite Books

My Final “Best” for 2015 – Grace

I felt like this year was a last minute scramble to the finish.  So many amazing books were released the last two months of the year, that I had to keep revising my list.  This year stood out for me, with authors taking chances on new genres, throwing in some shocking twists (I’m looking at you K. Larsen), and leaving me with massive book hangovers.

Biggest Book Hangover
Jezebel by K. Larsen – If you saw my review or FB posts, the ending of this book floored me.  My hangover was made even worse given that I had an ARC and very few people to vent with.

Review of Jezebel

Amazon US

Best Series Finale
The Queen by Tiffany Reisz – simply the most beautiful and perfect way to end one of my All-Time favorite series’.