Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Sweetest Taboo

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Title: Sweetest Taboo
Author: Eva Marquez
Release date: October 1, 2012
 Genre and Age Group: *Mature* YA Adult Contemporary Romance/Ages 16+/Females
Event organized by: AToMR Tours
Isabel Cruz was fifteen years old when she met Tom Stevens. She was 15 when they started dating, and 16 when she lost her virginity to him. By the time she turned 18 and went to college, everything had fallen apart. This hadn’t been an ordinary love, though. Not a love between two dear friends, or even high school sweethearts. This had been the most taboo sort of love there was: a relationship between a student and her teacher. Isabel started her high school career as a normal student, but set her sights on Tom Stevens as soon as she met him, and pursued him with an intense – and sometimes reckless – fascination. When he finally approached her after swim practice and told her that he shared her feelings, it was the start of a forbidden and dangerous relationship.
Links: Amazon Barnes and Noble Goodreads Facebook




Excerpt (Chapter 1)

 “You’re my sweetheart," he told me, his voice sad. "I can’t imagine life without you. I don’t want to have to imagine life without you.”
Tom rarely used terms of endearment with me, these days. When he did – in these rare moments when he called me his sweetheart – my heart melted. All of the turmoil, the sleepless nights, the protracted nature of our relationship, became nothing more than a passing inconvenience and very worthwhile. Tonight, though, I knew that the word came with drawbacks. They gave me the courage I needed to say the words I’d been dreading.
“My graduation won’t affect our relationship, you know that," I told him. "Look at how much we’ve been through together. If we made it through all of that, we can make it through anything. Tom, I want to be with you always, no matter where life takes me after graduation.”
I spoke passionately, fully believing in what I said. I was absolutely devoted to this man. But somewhere deep inside, I knew I was being dishonest. Neither of us wanted our relationship to change, but it was clear that things were going to change, and soon. I had just been offered a place at a small, private liberal arts college on the East Coast. The choice had been difficult because although I wanted to stay close to Tom, I also wanted to move forward with my life. In the end, I accepted the offer. Tom hadn’t really reacted when I told him. It hadn’t affected our relationship. Now, though, the cracks were starting to show.
“I want to believe that,” Tom answered quietly. “I loved the last letter you wrote me. Every time I read your letters, I feel like I’m sixteen again. I feel like I’ve come out of a deep sleep." A
pause, and then, "I can’t lose you, Isabel. You’re the reason I wake up in the morning; I can’t love anyone more than I love–”
Suddenly I heard a distinct click on the line. My heart plummeted.
“Did you hear that?" Tom snapped, his tone suddenly terse. "Did someone pick up the phone at your house?”
“Hold on a minute, let me check inside.” I slipped back inside and listened, but the house was completely quiet. The kitchen phone was on the counter, my mom’s office was dark, and I was holding the only other phone in the house.
"Who picked up the phone?” Tom repeated, worry coloring his voice.
The click had not originated on my end of the line. I should've been relieved, but my panic rose even more.
“Tom," I whispered into the receiver. "It wasn’t here, everyone’s asleep..."
“I have to go," Tom interrupted abruptly. "Danielle's coming.”
There was another click, and the line went dead.


Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, daughter of European immigrants, Eva Márquez has spent most of her life outside of her home country. At the age of five, Eva accompanied her parents to the United States, where the family settled permanently. After graduating from university, she went on to complete graduate studies in International Relations in Spain. Eva received her Master of International Studies degree from the University of Sydney and went on to work in the global health field in Sub Saharan Africa and South East Asia. Eva currently resides in Southern Africa.
 Visit Eva’s Amazon Authors Central Page

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Wild Card 18+

The following review is for 18+ readers.
Wild Card (Elite Ops, #1)
4 of 5 stars false
It was supposed to be simple. All Navy SEAL Nathan Malone had to do was rescue three young girls from a Colombia drug cartel, then allow himself to be captured just long enough to draw out a government spy. That was before his mission went disastrously wrong…and before his wife, Bella, was told that Nathan was never coming home.
Bella’s mourned her husband’s death for three long years. But she has no idea he’s still alive. Forced to assume a new identity, the man Nathan was is now dead. If he can get back to his wife, can he keep the secret of who he really is…even as desire threatens to consume them? And as danger threatens to tear Bella from Nathan’s arms once more?

Review

We start off this book with heartbreaking scenes of a couple madly in love and then ripped apart when a mission goes wrong; Bella is told that her husband, Nathan "wild card" Malone is dead.
Truthfully in the beginning this is what everyone believes until Nathan is rescued after 19 months of torture.
In the seedy hole where he was kept, drugged, abused, the only thing that kept Nathan from bowing down to the demands of his captors was his vows to his wife. But in the end, Nathan feels that he is not the man he used to be and wants his wife to be kept in the dark to his rescue. Nathan Malone is "dead", Noah Blake has been created.
Six years go by and both Noah and Bella are living a bleak existence, until Noah is told that his next mission is in his home town and one of his objectives is to infiltrate his way into his old workplace and to keep his wife out of danger.
To me Lora Leigh will always be the "Queen of Steam", her books are my go to if I am after something raunchy, and she always delivers.
However, her storylines are in depth, the suspense and mystery in this novel kept me interested right up until the end and although I had my suspicions, the bad guys still managed to surprise me with just how bad they were. What I am trying to say is that these books are very steamy, I am fanning myself just thinking about it,but it is not all consuming, the story is solid enough and the sexy times do not take over.
This is a great start to the new Elite Ops series. It was an emotional roller coaster, but that just got my blood pumping more. The tension of what was going to happen, kept me right on the edge of my seat and I was very happy with the end outcome.
If you are a fan of the romantic suspense genre I would recommend this book, give it ago.     



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Lush 18+

The following review is for 18+ readers.
Lush (Delicious, #3)   
4 of 5 stars false 

Mary Whaley has her hands full running a successful catering company and overseeing her supper club. She has everything she ever wanted—or so she thought. When she meets ridiculously hot and very dirty rock star Damien Hurley at her friend’s engagement party, the attraction she feels is overpowering—and she isn’t about to deny herself.
Damien is used to a hard and fast life. He and two of his brothers started a band when they were fresh out of high school—then they hit the big time and stayed there. He’s also a legendary madman on the stage and in the bedroom. But when he meets Mary, something clicks, and the bad boy starts thinking he may have finally found something good.
What begins as a series of fleeting trysts soon gets much more complicated. Damien can’t figure out why Mary doesn’t want more from him. And before long, it’s Damien who wants more from Mary. But it turns out Mary is no stranger to celebrity news, and he’s got a very big job ahead of him: proving that he’s worth more than a one-night stand.

Review

*****Netgalley provided this book for me in exchange for my honest review.*****
Mary is a catering with an exploding career she knows what she wants and does not have time for a serious relationship. Damien is a bad boy rocker; he lives hard and has a new woman almost every night. They meet at a mutual friend’s engagement party and sparks fly, what was supposed to be a one night stand turns into multiple meetings. Damien has to show Mary that he can be faithful and being with him is worth living in the limelight. Mary is a strong woman, she has her own life, and she doesn't need a man to take care of her. She does not want to have something with Damien because she has seen the problems her friend had because she loved a celebrity. Damien lived hard and played hard, all that changed when he decided he wanted something more with Mary. He was sweet, understanding and off the charts hot, he has more patients than a saint at times. This book started out as another boy meets girl, they have sex and start seeing each other. I was really surprised when things started to change, the mood of the book subtly shifted from erotica to a sweet romance. There were still plenty of steamy sex scenes; however the difference in the characters actions and attitudes was huge. The changes added a new depth to the characters that was missing in the beginning, the characters started to matter to me and I was rooting for their happily ever after. The writing was good, the storyline was interesting and the sex scenes were hot. I really liked this book and will be picking up the other books in the series.

Secrets of The Apple

Secrets of the Apple  
Ryoki is comfortable is his custom-built hell, making money with both hands and slashing his path through the world of men. But there's something about Kate, something important dangling just at the edge of his consciousness. She can't read a map, she falls off her heels, and yet she saves his life with a button and a bit of thread. Terrified she's privately plotting to marry him, he studies her with hooded eyes, attempting to discover her secrets for himself. But understanding Kate will challenge everything he thought he knew. Why exactly did Eve hand over her apple? 

Review

****Netgalley provided me with a copy of this book for my honest review****
 Ryoki is an executive with a tendency to care more about work than people. He has to be in control of things, he works all the time and when he does have an off day he spends it drinking and sleeping with meaningless women. He meets Kate who is his temporary assistant, he starts to see things differently. This book was a slow love story, it focused on the importance of family. This book was well written, the characters had layers that were slowly exposed through out the book. The meetings of old customs and new ideas was  interesting to read about. This book had a lot going for it and I am sure there are a lot of people who will enjoy it. However, I don't feel that I can accurately rate it, I don't think it would be fair to author to give it a one star just because it was it was not my personal taste. I also can't give it anything higher because I can't see past my dislike. 

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