VBB Weekly – 07/27/2015
I’m obsessed… I’m so obsessed… on such a high after reading The Wrath and the Dawn this week. This is the uber-impressive debut novel by Renee Ahdieh and I can’t say enough wonderful things about it. Imaginative. Lush. Vivid. Suspenseful. Romantic. Scintillating. Magical. Captivating. So. Many. Things. The story is inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, about a King who marries each night, only to kill his new wife every dawn. Secrets are well woven through the story, as is magic. I couldn’t put it down and it’s the kind of book I love finding… different, exciting and compelling. Read it! Check out my 6-star review here.
The Wrath and the Dawn is the first in a duology.
Last night, I also started and finished Nine Minutes by Beth Flynn. This is a book that multiple friends and followers recommended, so I snuck it in and devoured it. It’s the story about a girl abducted by a motorcycle gang and her life as a part of it. It’s not dark, necessarily. It’s not erotic. The story is just compelling and twisted and fascinating. Suspenseful too. The second book, Out of Time, just released last week.
This coming week, I’m back on schedule and can’t wait to chat about the books that are coming early August… plus… we also finally find out who Layla will end up with in Every Last Breath by Jennifer L. Armentrout!!! TEAM ROTH!!! Make sure to pick up The Bourbon Kings by J.R. Ward too… I loved it!
Happy reading! ♥
Highlights
- Exclusive Synopsis Reveal: The Allure of Dean Harper by R.S. Grey
- Exclusive Excerpt: Hollywood Witch Hunter by Valerie Tejeda
- New to Pre-order ($0.99): The Paper Swan by Leylah Attar (review to come – loved this book!)
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Release Recap
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Releasing This Week
The One That I Want (Mirabelle Harbor) by Marilyn Brant (Available Now)
The summer after her beloved husband died in a car accident, Julia Meriwether Crane is still picking up the pieces of her life in Mirabelle Harbor and trying to help her ten-year-old daughter adjust to this difficult new reality.
After her best friend Sharlene—one of the well-connected Michaelsen siblings—talks her into finally going out on the town again, Julia finds herself stunned to be the object of interest of several different men: The boy who’d broken her heart back in high school. The college ex she’d left behind. And most surprising of all, the movie actor she’d always fantasized about but had never met in person…until now. Can one woman have more than one “great love” in the same lifetime? And, if so, how can she be sure which man that’ll be?
Sometimes the person you think will be best for you isn’t the one you really want. THE ONE THAT I WANT, a Mirabelle Harbor story.
Second book in a series, but can be read as standalone.
Reading Order: Take A Chance On Me ($0.99) | The One That I Want
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Racing the Sun by Karina Halle (Jul 28) – Read an excerpt
From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Where Sea Meets Sky comes a new adult novel about a young woman who becomes a nanny in Capri and falls for her charges’ bad-boy brother.
It’s time for twenty-four-year-old Amber MacLean to face the music. After a frivolous six months of backpacking through New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia, she finds herself broke on the Mediterranean without enough money for a plane ticket home to California. There are worse places to be stuck than the gorgeous coastline of southern Italy, but the only job she manages to secure involves teaching English to two of the brattiest children she’s ever met.
It doesn’t help that the children are under the care of their brooding older brother, Italian ex-motorcycle racer Desiderio Larosa. Darkly handsome and oh-so-mysterious, Derio tests Amber’s patience and will at every turn—not to mention her hormones.
But when her position as teacher turns into one as full-time nanny at the crumbling old villa, Amber finds herself growing closer to the enigmatic recluse and soon has to choose between the safety of her life back in the States and the uncertainty of Derio’s closely guarded heart.
Can be read as standalone.
Reading Order: Where Sea Meets Sky | Racing the Sun
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The Bourbon Kings by J.R. Ward (Jul 28)
★ VBB Recommendation ★
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood delivers the first novel in an enthralling new series set amid the shifting dynamics of a Southern family defined by wealth and privilege—and compromised by secrets, deceit, and scandal….
For generations, the Bradford family has worn the mantle of kings of the bourbon capital of the world. Their sustained wealth has afforded them prestige and privilege—as well as a hard-won division of class on their sprawling estate, Easterly. Upstairs, a dynasty that by all appearances plays by the rules of good fortune and good taste. Downstairs, the staff who work tirelessly to maintain the impeccable Bradford facade. And never the twain shall meet.
For Lizzie King, Easterly’s head gardener, crossing that divide nearly ruined her life. Falling in love with Tulane, the prodigal son of the bourbon dynasty, was nothing that she intended or wanted—and their bitter breakup only served to prove her instincts were right. Now, after two years of staying away, Tulane is finally coming home again, and he is bringing the past with him. No one will be left unmarked: not Tulane’s beautiful and ruthless wife; not his older brother, whose bitterness and bad blood know no bounds; and especially not the ironfisted Bradford patriarch, a man with few morals, fewer scruples, and many, many terrible secrets.
As family tensions—professional and intimately private—ignite, Easterly and all its inhabitants are thrown into the grips of an irrevocable transformation, and only the cunning will survive.
First in a series, but does not end with cliffhanger.
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Every Last Breath (#3, The Dark Elements) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Jul 28)
★ VBB Recommendation ★
Some loves will last ’til your dying breath
Every choice has consequences—but seventeen-year-old Layla faces tougher choices than most. Light or darkness. Wickedly sexy demon prince Roth, or Zayne, the gorgeous, protective Warden she never thought could be hers. Hardest of all, Layla has to decide which side of herself to trust.
Layla has a new problem, too. A Lilin—the deadliest of demons—has been unleashed, wreaking havoc on those around her…including her best friend. To keep Sam from a fate much, much worse than death, Layla must strike a deal with the enemy while saving her city—and her race—from destruction.
Torn between two worlds and two different boys, Layla has no certainties, least of all survival, especially when an old bargain comes back to haunt them all. But sometimes, when secrets are everywhere and the truth seems unknowable, you have to listen to your heart, pick a side—and then fight like hell…
Final book in the series.
Reading Order: Bitter Sweet Love (prequel novella) (Review) | White Hot Kiss (Review) | Stone Cold Touch (Review)| Every Last Breath
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The Hotter You Burn by Gena Showalter (Jul 28)
New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter is back with a sizzling Original Heartbreakers story featuring a troubled playboy and the woman he can’t resist…
Beck O’ckley is ruthless in the boardroom…and the bedroom. He’s never been with the same woman twice, and vows he never will. With a past as twisted as his, meaningless sex keeps the demons at bay. His motto: One and done. No harm, no foul.
Harlow Glass is the most hated girl in town. The beautiful artist is penniless, jobless and homeless. When she sneaks into Beck’s home—her ancestral estate—for food, she’s shocked by his early return…and her immediate, sizzling and intense attraction to him.
For the first time in Beck’s life, he can’t get a woman out of his mind. All too soon, friendship blooms into obsession and he’ll have to break her heart…or surrender his own.
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Oblivion (#3, Nevermore) by Kelly Creagh (Jul 28)
This electrifying conclusion to the Nevermore trilogy takes one last trip to the dream world of Edgar Allan Poe to reveal the intertwined fates of Isobel and Varen.
The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins? —Edgar Allan Poe
The fine line between life and death blurred long ago for Isobel Lanley. After a deadly confrontation with Varen in the dreamworld, she’s terrified to return to that desolate and dangerous place. But when her nightmares resume, bleeding into reality, she is left with no choice. Varen’s darkness is catching up to her. To everything. Threatening to devour it all.
Isobel fears for her world. For her sanity and Varen’s—especially after a fresh and devastating loss. To make matters worse, the ghostly demon Lilith wants Varen for her own, and she will do anything to keep him in her grasp—anything.
Can Isobel ever find her happy ending? Worlds collide and fates are sealed in this breathtaking finale to the Nevermore trilogy.
Final book in series.
Reading Order: Nevermore | Enshadowed | Oblivion
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Heart of Tin (#4, Dorothy Must Die) by Danielle Paige (Jul 28)
Everyone knows the Tin Woodman as Dorothy’s lovable sidekick, the tin man who longed for a real heart to beat inside his tin chest. This digital original novella is the fourth installment in the prequel arc to the edgy and thrilling New York Times bestsellers Dorothy Must Die and The Wicked Will Rise, and tells what happened to the Tin Woodman after he got his wish.
In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Wizard gave the Tin Woodman a heart, and all lived happily ever after—or so the story goes. But in Heart of Tin, the heart wants what the heart wants—and the Tin Woodman’s heart pines for Dorothy. The gift that the Wizard once bestowed on him turns twisted with longing. And when Dorothy returns to Oz with her own dark agenda, the Tin Woodman will do whatever it takes to help her rise to power—and to make her his.
Heart of Tin by Danielle Paige is a dark and compelling reimagining of a beloved classic and is perfect for fans of Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Beastly by Alex Flinn, and Wicked by Gregory Maguire.
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All We Have is Now by Lisa Schroeder (Jul 28)
From the author of THE BRIDGE FROM ME TO YOU, a groundbreaking novel about what matters most — when time is running out.
What do you do with your last day on earth?
There are 27 hours and fifteen minutes left until an asteroid strikes North America, and, for Emerson and everyone else who didn’t leave, the world will end. But Emerson’s world already ended when she ran away from home last year. Since then she has lived on the streets, relying on her wits and her friend Vince to help her find places to sleep and food to eat.
The city’s quieter now that most people are gone, and no one seems to know what to do as the end approaches. But then Emerson and Vince meet Carl, who tells them that he has been granting people’s wishes. He gave his car away so a woman could take her son to see the ocean for the first time, and he gives Emerson and Vince all the money he has in his wallet.
Suddenly this last day seems full of possibility. Emerson and Vince can grant a lot of wishes in 27 hours — maybe even their own.
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Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica (Jul 28)
A chance encounter sparks an unrelenting web of lies in this stunning new psychological thriller from the national bestselling author of The Good Girl, Mary Kubica
She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can’t get the girl out of her head…
Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. But despite her family’s objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home.
Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow’s past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she’s willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated.
Don’t miss this thrilling follow-up to The Good Girl by master of suspense, Mary Kubica.
Reading Order: The Good Girl | Pretty Baby
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Him by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen (Jul 28)
They don’t play for the same team. Or do they?
Jamie Canning has never been able to figure out how he lost his closest friend. Four years ago, his tattooed, wise-cracking, rule-breaking roommate cut him off without an explanation. So what if things got a little weird on the last night of hockey camp the summer they were eighteen? It was just a little drunken foolishness. Nobody died.
Ryan Wesley’s biggest regret is coaxing his very straight friend into a bet that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. Now, with their college teams set to face off at the national championship, he’ll finally get a chance to apologize. But all it takes is one look at his longtime crush, and the ache is stronger than ever.
Jamie has waited a long time for answers, but walks away with only more questions—
can one night of sex ruin a friendship? If not, how about six more weeks of it? When Wesley turns up to coach alongside Jamie for one more hot summer at camp, Jamie has a few things to discover about his old friend…and a big one to learn about himself.
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Secret Sister by Brenda Novak (Jul 28)
Did she once have a sister? Has her mother lied all these years? Why?
After a painful divorce, Maisey Lazarow returns to Fairham, the small island off the South Carolina coast where she grew up. She goes there to heal—and to help her brother, Keith, a deeply troubled man who’s asked her to come home. But she refuses to stay in the family house. The last person she wants to see is the wealthy, controlling mother she escaped years ago.
Instead, she finds herself living next door to someone else she’d prefer to avoid—Rafe Romero, the wild, reckless boy to whom she lost her virginity at sixteen. He’s back on the island, and to her surprise, he’s raising a young daughter alone. Maisey’s still attracted to him, but her heart’s too broken to risk…
Then something even more disturbing happens. She discovers a box of photographs that evoke distant memories of a little girl, a child Keith remembers, too. Maisey believes the girl must’ve been their sister, but their mother claims there was no sister.
Maisey’s convinced that child existed. So where is she now?
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Tangled Bond (#2, Holly Woods Files) by Emma Hart (Jul 30)
One date with the sexier-than-sin Detective Drake Nash. Simple.
Until you take into account that my brother finally proposed to his girlfriend, so Nonna is on a warpath—and the crazy old bat has Cupid by the balls.
The upcoming mayoral elections has everyone running on full speed, and while I couldn’t give any less craps about the corrupt Holly Woods mayor’s office, a dead body in the middle of a campaign speech has me thrown right into the middle of it. The victim is close to the mayor, but all he cares about is minimizing the damage to his campaign, so he hires me to work alongside Drake to close the case as quickly as possible.
Bad news for our tentative relationship.
We disagree far more than we agree, but being at loggerheads won’t get this murder solved… Or deal with the arrival of someone from his past.
The mysteries behind the murder aren’t the only things unraveling, and despite being knee-deep in lies and corruption and bonds so tangled they’re almost indecipherable, I have to figure out if I’m willing to fight for Drake the way I do justice…
Or if he’ll be my one who gets away.
Reading Order: Twisted Bond | Tangled Bond
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New Reviews
- The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
- The Bourbon Kings by J.R. Ward
- A Pound of Flesh by Sophie Jackson
★ Visit THIS PAGE for the full list of reviews ★
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Pre-Orders
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★ Visit THIS PAGE for the full list of releases ★
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Current sales list for Amazon U.S. Click on image to purchase; click here to search my reviews.
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Heather Hicks said:
Too many books!!! How can I possibly keep up with reading them all! I will give it a try though for sure! I am finishing up the Alexandra’s Order series by Emilia Rutigliano. It’s been my summer read and it’s been so very good! alexandrasorder.com is the book site. Apparently I need to read faster to get through it and onto all these others!!