Actually more like 4.5 stars. This was pretty flipping fantastic, especially the audio version with Jacob Morgan and Teddy Hamilton...absolute perfectActually more like 4.5 stars. This was pretty flipping fantastic, especially the audio version with Jacob Morgan and Teddy Hamilton...absolute perfection with those two in my ears (Yes Jack-Stone).
Story was well done, sexy & funny, lacking an antagonist or any real angst though as this is just about two guys falling in love. The ending is where I'm lowering my rating as we got epilogue after epilogue, after HEA, after yet another sweet epilogue. I get it, you're in love and rainbows follow your happily ever after for all eternity. I will definitely be giving this one a re-listen though....more
I enjoyed this a lot, except maybe for that ending. However in Ward's defense my Golden Retriever companion of 12 years died recently too, so I get itI enjoyed this a lot, except maybe for that ending. However in Ward's defense my Golden Retriever companion of 12 years died recently too, so I get it Ward, even if some of your readers don't. I get the pain, the emptiness, the loss that you were feeling regarding Writer Dog. I get your non traditional, non HEA ending.
We don't always get our loves for as long as we want....more
Opening Line: “You wanted me to catch you, didn’t you?”
Shooting Scars picks up right where Sins & Needles left me hanging over the cliff; with Ellie tOpening Line: “You wanted me to catch you, didn’t you?”
Shooting Scars picks up right where Sins & Needles left me hanging over the cliff; with Ellie taking a step backwards in her life and giving Camden a second chance at his. Ellie has of course just given herself over to her ex-boyfriend Javier, the man she’s been on the run from for 6 long years. She’s now his prisoner and her running days have officially come to a close. In her words she’s “trapped with a man who would either love me or kill me.”
Karina Halle once again drops us into the thick of things from the onset, as Camden’s little family reunion with his wife doesn’t go exactly as planned and Ellie finds herself on a yacht heading for Mexico after agreeing to assist bad boy Javier in murder. The excitement continues with car chases, gun fights, the shocking, anguished and unexpected.
One of the things I really liked about Shooting Scars (preferred actually) is that it’s been written using a dual POV. That’s right ladies we finally get into Camden’s head. Now I’m assuming she had to write it this way because Ellie and Camden actually spend most of the book apart. With Ellie slowly falling back under Javier’s spell and Camden chasing her down in a fixated rescue attempt.
I’m going to be completely honest now folks, that was the only thing I preferred about this book. Unlike Sins& Needles which I found fresh, exciting and unputdownable the magic was just missing for me here and the whole story fell flat.
Unlike tons of other reviewers I just don’t get the whole team Javier thing, I mean this is the man who cheated on her and killed her Uncle Jim in front of her plus I’m pretty sure he’s certifiably psycho. How is this suitable love triangle material? I was left stunned at the things Ellie did with him and not in a good way either. Quite honestly her whole character just confused me here and I never understood her emotions or reasoning.
Camden also lost me a bit. Gone was the mysterious, double crossing, and sexy antihero from the first book. This new Camden was living on one track (see obsessed) Must find Ellie, need more pain killers, must get to Ellie, going to Kill Javier, I love Ellie. Truthfully he began to annoy me after a while maybe that’s why I liked his travelling companion Gus so much. (Pretty sure I’m team Gus.)
I really wanted to love this as much as I did the first book and I’m in the minority with my rating so don’t take my word for it, this is super popular trilogy and it will probably work for you. Cheers.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) who provided a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Much like Christmas the BDB only comes around once a year and it's still my favorite book release of the year, even if I am starting to feel a little Much like Christmas the BDB only comes around once a year and it's still my favorite book release of the year, even if I am starting to feel a little too old to believe in "Santa" F-bombing it out in his leather pants.
Opening Line:“This will be the last time. I’ve said that before. I’ve said it a lot.”
Well this was different, different good, and a welcome change. AnOpening Line:“This will be the last time. I’ve said that before. I’ve said it a lot.”
Well this was different, different good, and a welcome change. And while I don't think I’m the age demographic this book was aiming at (not telling) I still couldn’t put it down. Right from the opening chapter that plunks you straight into the chaos that is con artist Ellie Watt’s life as a scam goes bad and she’s climbing out a seedy bar window, running to her stolen car and trying to figure out which one of her multiple fake identity’s to use next, I knew this was going to be something special. And that was even before I met Camden!
Camden McQueen, what can I say… he is the ultimate beta antihero, written in such a way that you can’t help but lust after his hot inked up bod. With ongoing descriptions of his tattoos, piercings, spikey hair, nerd glasses, muscular arms and ripped abs this former high school reject has a lot going for him these days. After a stint in LA he’s now the owner and proprietor of Sins & Ink, he also plays in a band and has girls (and I’m sure some boys) salivating after him and his talented tattoo gun.
Both main characters here are flawed, damaged and charming, so that as much as you like them there are also times where you just don’t and can’t believe the way they’re using and hurting each other. That’s also what makes this awesome though, I was constantly surprised.
Ellie Watt is on the run again. The daughter of a grifting team she grew up on the make, often used by her parents in whatever their latest scam might be. As an adult she has excelled in making this her chosen profession, changing her name and appearance on a whim while leading a life on the run. But this last close call has made her rethink her choices and why she’s going back to California and pulling out the one identity she hasn’t touched in years. Her own.
Told from a first person POV Ellie alternates between “now” and “then” slowly aging Ellie through the “then” chapters, revealing her shocking past and history with Camden. I have to say I loved how everything wasn’t exposed all at once, sure it was frustrating (what happened to your leg!?) but it also helped me gain a level of understanding and sympathy for both characters I otherwise wouldn’t have had.
So now that Ellie’s gone straight she needs a legit job, which let’s be honest, is going to suck. Luckily on one of her first days back she runs into Camden and damn the years he spent in LA have been good to him. No longer the high school freak, he’s, well he’s freakin hot. So in about a minute they’re chatting each other up and then going to a gig together and then Ellie’s back at his place and try as she might temptation rears its ugly head in the form of a cash register and safe full of cash. Is she really going to rob the one person who actually knows her?
The romance here is more cat and mouse than true love story and something about the chemistry was just off for me somehow. I’m not sure what it was exactly because their scenes together are smoking hot (the one on the hood of the car in the middle of the desert when he rips her designer dress off… Jesus!)
So in the end this was a great read however I could have done without the cliff-hanger ending. Guess I’ll be reading (Shooting Scars) next. Cheers 388jb4
A couple of my favourite quotes; “Some of the best laid plans are foiled by wine. Though perhaps in our case they were made better.”
“Good morning” he said as if we were old friends. Old friends that didn’t want to kill each other. I glared at him. “Is the gun really necessary?” “No" he admitted. "It’s just fun to have one” “Like an extra penis” I mused. He smiled unkindly. “Something like that.”...more
Opening Line: Grave. And not as in serious. As in headstone and freshly disturbed earth, as in body down under, as in ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
I’Opening Line: Grave. And not as in serious. As in headstone and freshly disturbed earth, as in body down under, as in ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
I’m one of those obsessive JR Ward fans that knows the release date of her latest book about a year in advance and plans accordingly, rearranging my work schedule and blocking off several uninterrupted days to read it. If I’m honest though her Fallen Angels have never quite made it to the same level as her BDB boys however I did feel (at least with the last book (Envy) Ward had turned a corner with the series, as it was a fantastic read and really got me excited about what was to come. Unfortunately with this installment it just feels like we`ve gone back to square one because in the end I came away feeling underwhelmed and disappointed.
Don't get me wrong, it’s still ‘new’ Ward so it’s still all kinds of awesome but Rapture took me over a week to finish with sections where my mind wandered or I just felt like I’d read it all before. There wasn’t really anything new here with characters, traits and events that felt rehashed and a little too familiar along with a slow moving storyline and not a whole lot going on in the romance department. I also don`t feel like this book moved things forward; in fact I would go as far as to say that Rapture stalled, essentially taking the series nowhere.
Okay now that that’s out of the way. Rapture is book 4 in the Fallen Angels series following our angel Jim Heron as he battles the devil in the ultimate endgame of good vs evil. Jim has been chosen (by like GOD himself) to rescue the souls of seven people from one of seven deadly sins. If he fails so does all of humanity, so the stakes are pretty high. Currently he stands at a win of 2 to 1 with events in the last book hitting him hard as Devina (the devil) took out one of his team *sigh* Well and then there`s that little issue of him having sex with her, and oh that whole Sissy trapped in hell situation. Anyways.
As usual going in Jim (and the reader) don’t know whose soul is going to need saving. I have to say I was a little surprised to learn that previous bad boy Matthias was being resurrected here as the latest hero. Can’t say I liked him much before, but I wasn`t supposed to. Of course through clever writing Ward manages to transform him into, if not swoon-worthy at least redeemable enough that I felt for his plight.
We join Matthias as he wakes up naked on top of a grave (Jim’s) He has no memories of how he got there, in fact he has no memories at all which might actually be a good thing considering the type of life he lead before his little trip to hell. As the leader of XOps (a covert group of assassins) he was a bit of a monster and his body still has the scars to prove it.
So Matthias stumbles around the graveyard, getting used to his dysfunctional legs before wandering onto the road and getting hit by a car. Say hello to Mels Carmichael; reporter for the Caldwell Courier Journal, user of Beth’s coffee mug and romantic lead. Mels is your standard Ward heroine; little bit Jane, a dash of Griers, entirely forgettable but perfect for Matthias. And while their romance was fine it was nothing special, they did however seem to spend an exorbitant amount of time in hotels and restaurants or eating in general.
All the Wardisms are here, yup Ward's unique brand of slang and riddelesque product placement is in full bloom, which sometimes makes me laugh but also gets to be a bit much particularly in this series. “He’d come to the land of Lysol, piss-green tiles, and scales that were used to weigh brains and livers” -Um, couldn`t you just say morgue?
I’m surprisingly becoming a big fan of Devina, what with her ongoing therapy sessions, OCD, hoarding issues and school girl crush on Jim her POV`s are always a blast to read.
I also just have to mention Adrian; the sacrifice he makes here is so well... moving, it had me way more invested then the whole crossroads climax that we had supposedly been waiting all book for. That was kind of meh, what did he do that for? Whereas Adrian, he broke me. Cheers peeps. ~3.5~ 329jb35...more
Opening Line: "I didna kill anyone." Connor Mackinnon glared at his two brothers, heavy fetters biting into has wrists and ankles, the iron cold and hOpening Line: "I didna kill anyone." Connor Mackinnon glared at his two brothers, heavy fetters biting into has wrists and ankles, the iron cold and hard."
Guess who was waiting for me in my mailbox tonight when I got home??? CONNOR!! (I wish it was him literally but) damn he is looking good. Can't wait to dive in...
Dove in, swam the river, traipsed through the forest, braved the bad guys, -hello forced marriage, shudder, I wish! High anxiety (how are they going to get out of this?) Cried a bit, fell in love a lot, Joseph sigh, Connor big sigh, 1000 lashes, are you freakin kidding me!? -and I thought Iain had it bad! And then surprisingly in the end Wentworth grows worthy of a sigh too and all's well at the Mackinnon farm. Big contented smile :) Buggy is happy.
Opening Line: “Major Morgan Mackinnon lay on his belly, looking down from the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain to the French fort at Ticonderoga below.”Opening Line: “Major Morgan Mackinnon lay on his belly, looking down from the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain to the French fort at Ticonderoga below.”
Och lassies, Pamela Clare has done it again. Tis no fair, I dinnae ken i twas possible for her to top the sheer bonnie-ness of Surrender (I’ll stop now) or that she could possibly create another hero capable of capturing my heart the way Iain did (yes Iain of the hundred lashes Iain) but then I hadn’t properly met his brother Morgan yet either and damn if this brave, sexy Mackinnon brother hasn’t also stolen my heart.
Yes, Untamed is equally as good as the first book and in some ways I suppose even better because I’m now more familiar with the Scottish brogue and also have a better understanding of the French/British war being fought in the Colonies of 1759. This book was also interesting on a personal level because I have family in French Canada so I enjoyed reading the heroine Amalie's Français and some of the history as to why my country is bilingual. As others have mentioned this also sent me on a historical search (which a romance novel has never done before) to learn more about the battle of Trois Rivières and the time period in general.
There isn’t a whole lot I can add about this amazing series as I’m a little late to the party and there are already so many great reviews out there. All the praise is worthy though; Pamela Clare is simply an amazing writer, giving us characters that you won’t be able to let go of. The romance here is just perfect; sweet, passionate (hello waterfall sex), tear jerking and sighworthy. What a fantastic couple. In fact I loved everything about this; the suspense, the humour, the language, the history, the secondary characters (Joseph, Connor, Iain & Annie, the Rangers and even William) I was also never certain where this story was going to go, jeez the choices Morgan was forced to make, eventually becoming the enemy of both the French and the English.
Untamed starts shorty after Surrender and sees Scottish warrior Morgan MacKinnon still reluctantly fighting for the English. Upon his brother’s release Morgan is now in command of the Rangers and in the opening chapter we join him in the midst of a horrific battle, which see’s our boy gravely wounded and taken hostage by the French. His loyal Rangers assume he’s dead (or soon will be) and are so moved by his final heroics that they write a ballad in his honor (Loved it)
Incapacitated, Morgan is shackled to a bed where the French plan to interrogate him before turning him over to the Abenaki -who will then burn him alive for crimes against their people. It’s not looking very good for ole Morgan. Bearing two festering musket holes he wills himself to die rather then turn traitor on his men or burn at the stake, but it’s not going to be that easy. Enter his nursemaid, sweet, innocent, young and beautiful Amalie. Raised in a convent and now upon the death of her father (at the hands of British) the ward of Chevalier de Bourlamaque who will either see her returning to the nunnery and marrying god or one of his chosen French officers. Amalie however has other plans and has decided that this man must live.
“Morgan fought the urge to touch her, crossed his arms over his chest. “You have no’ answered my question, lass. Why are you here? And dinnae tell me it’s the summer heat that brings you, for ‘tis hot in my bed too.” She looked away again, distress on her face. ”I…I needed…” “Needed what?” He knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from her. When she spoke, her words were but a whisper “I needed to be…near you.”
Just noticed that this series is switching to a hardcover release!
Which pisses me off. I'm not sure I'm invested enough in Ward's angels to shell outJust noticed that this series is switching to a hardcover release!
Which pisses me off. I'm not sure I'm invested enough in Ward's angels to shell out the $$ for hardcover especially when I'll just end up replacing it in PB so my series is all matchy, matchy. (Yeah I know) Damn I hate when publishers do this.
So far this series isn't up to BDB standards, and what I mean by that is that I've yet to reread any of the books whereas my BDB's are trashed, I've reread them several, several times so it doesn't hurt so much having 2 copies.
Ah Caden, my new literary boyfriend, how I would love to get stuck in an elevator with you. Pierced, tOpening Line: " Wait! Can you please hold that?"
Ah Caden, my new literary boyfriend, how I would love to get stuck in an elevator with you. Pierced, tattooed, skull trimmed and hitting all my Zsadist fantasy buttons (gah) this bad boy had me in bits from page one. He’s also kind, insecure, lonely and somewhat tortured. Yup he's delicious.
Wow, this was a fantastic little read that I can see myself coming back to again soon. Short, sexy and just oh so good. The only thing that could have made this any better would have been a couple hundred more pages. Although in saying that this is perfectly complete in terms of story and unlike most novellas I never felt that our couple’s sexy time was contrived or rushed. I just enjoyed them so much I wanted more. Always the sign of a great story.
Makenna as our lucky heroine wasn’t quite what I was expecting; despite her polished appearance and upper class job she had just as many insecurities as Caden did. Will he like what I look like? Will he think I’m homely? Will he want to see me again? This is what every girl thinks and made her relatable and much easier to insert myself into her psyche for fantasy purposes later on.
One of the things I really enjoyed here was how the author gave us the exact same moment from both POV’s. Backtracking a conversation or action so that we could get the other persons internal thoughts and reactions to it. I’ve rarely seen this done before and it was awesome to get both sides. I mean how often are you left wondering how he/she feels and you’re stuck in the wrong head?
One of my other favourite moments (and this is spoilery) is when Makenna finally gets to see Caden. She exclaims “You’re freaking gorgeous.” I loved this because up until the lights went on we (the readers) didn’t really know what he looked like either. Of course looks are always subjective but I had thought this was going to be beauty and the beast type story, whereas it was more like if The Voice did a dating show. (LOL that made me laugh)Cheers
“Tell me, Red, you gotta say it out loud. I can’t see your face or your eyes, and I don’t want to make any mistakes here.”
-Thanks for the recommendation Tamster 290jb5...more