Taming Vegas by Nadene Seiters

DESCRIPTION AS ON AMAZON:

A one night stand in Vegas can lead to much more than just jumbled memories. 

Melanie Ingles finds herself married after spending the night with Alexander Pope, but she’s too embarrassed to do anything about it the day after. Two years later, she finds herself in a sketchy engagement with an upscale, soon to be lawyer in New York. She’s intent upon going through with the wedding, but one thing stands in the way. A trip to Vegas for a divorce is imperative. 

Alexander Pope has spent the past two years fornicating with anything he can get his hands on to forget the scent of lavender in the morning. His biggest regret in life is letting go of Melanie Ingles when he had the chance to ask her to stay forever. He’s a successful business owner rather than just a bouncer at a club, but he’s soon going to face the wrath of the real business owners in Vegas. The mob. 

Brutality, violence, and love all get tangled up in Vegas. Will a one night stand lead to love? Can Alexander escape the grasp of his enemies? And will Melanie make the biggest mistake of her life? 
This is the first installment of the Vegas series. Keep an eye out for Leaving Vegas in December!


MY REVIEW:

As others have said - the cover is very appealing. The story had a few twists. The main character's lives intertwined in more than one surprising way but I won't explain because it will spoil it for you when you are reading. The couple had chemistry and the idea that he still remembered her lavender scent after so much time, the longing he felt for her, was a good draw. The debacle with Melanie's current fiance was an interesting curve. Their families were infuriating.
The ideas were good. However, the thought was sometimes a bit muddled and I couldn't understand if Alexander remembered getting married ... at some point it said he did, and then later said he didn't. Or, that was the way I read it. There were many editing issues, which sometimes detracted from the story. There wasn't as much "romance" as I thought there'd be for a romance novel.
I was given a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. It had its entertaining points, but I was left wanting more.

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The Sting by Mandy Brown

DESCRIPTION AS ON AMAZON:

Pregnant with her second child and staring into her mother's grave, Emma is filled with regret and grief over the grudge she held against her mother. Fate offers Emma redemption when she befriends Delilah, another mother suffering from the resentment of a distant daughter. But as Emma contrives of ways to bring mother and daughter together again, she ignores the warnings of others only to find herself in over her head by dangerous proportions.


MY REVIEW:

This was an enjoyable short story. I could sympathize with Emma having lost her mother when there were unresolved differences between them - and so I could understand why she placed herself so deeply in the middle of Delilah's problems with her daughter. The ending was predictable, especially once Delilah's daughter spoke her mind. I still read it in one sitting because it moved along at a good pace and held my interest.

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Murder At Cold Creek College by Christa Nardi

DESCRIPTION ON AMAZON:

Sheridan Hendley is a professor and psychologist, not a sleuth. When her colleague at Cold Creek College, Adam Millberg, is murdered, she is charged with helping the Detective assigned to the case. Immediately, her good friend becomes the prime suspect and Sheridan is motivated to help solve the case and prove Kim isn’t guilty. It also becomes apparent that Sheridan is attracted to the handsome Detective. As Sheridan tries to implement the crisis plan on campus and connect all the people in Adam’s life, she finds out that many women have a motive for Adam’s murder. Slashed tires are the first indication that Sheridan’s involvement is obviously making someone nervous.

MY REVIEW:

This book started slow for me. There was a murder, obviously, right at the beginning but it seemed like nothing more really happened for the first 50% of the book. There were lots.. and lots.. and lots.. of details about the main character's day to day activities and the many members of her faculty. There was a light romance angle and after the first half of the book the mystery did pick up a bit. The story came together. There were many reasons and many people who could have committed the crime. I was strongly convinced I knew who had something to do with it because of things pointed out in the story by the main character, and it turned out I was right. The how and why came out at the very end, and it fit well.
I was given a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

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The Darkness of Light by Tammy Farrell

DESCRIPTION FROM AMAZON:

The world has long forgotten them, but their descendants live on, not wholly mortal or god, but something in between…
At the dawn of the sixth century, in the aftermath of her mother’s brutal execution, Mara Black is forced to flee the only life she has ever known.

Mara can tell she’s different, but isn’t sure why. After she encounters two mysterious strangers, she discovers her secret is but a drop in an ocean of many. She is a Dia, a descendant of ancient gods, and her mother sacrificed herself to protect Mara from their past.

Summoned by an uncle she didn’t know existed, Mara thinks she’s found the family she’s always wanted, and Corbin, a love she never thought possible. But not everything is as it seems. Her uncle has other motives for protecting her, and her mentor, Malcolm, becomes so jealous, he’ll do anything to get what he wants. When tragedy strikes, and the true darkness among them comes to light, Mara discovers that sometimes love can give you everything, and obsession can take it all away. With her powers gone, and destiny calling, she has to look deep within to find the courage to save herself. Mara, along with Corbin and her newfound family, must fight to get back what was taken, or die trying.


MY REVIEW:


This review was originally a guest post for The Bookie Monster.

Mara was a pretty tough cookie, considering she had no idea who she really was until her mother was killed - persecuted for being a witch. Mara is sent off into the forest all on her own to try to escape the villainous sheriff with only a dagger to protect herself. Luckily, her uncle sent men to locate her and bring her back to Valenia where she would be safe. But was there more danger inside the fortress than out?

There were a lot of plot twists but the characters' emotions weren't as moving as they could have been. For example, Mara didn't seem to have a very strong reaction to her mother being burned alive, but then went totally ballistic when confronting the person responsible and getting her revenge. There weren't many scenes in the book that struck deep chords, even though some terrible things occurred, but that isn't always a bad thing. It wasn't emotionally exhausting. It moved delicately over tragedy and despicable deeds but kept you engaged enough to continue reading. I wanted to find out what would happen to Malcolm- I loved to hate him.

The scenery described was beautiful, and I could picture Valenia in my mind. The setting was real and the powers of the light were fascinating. Either you controlled it, or it controlled you. I followed along and enjoyed the story waiting to find out if Malcolm would win or if Corbin and Mara would find a happy ending. Mara and Corbin think they finally have Malcolm under control, but do they?

I was drawn to the beautiful cover of this book. It is outside the realm of what I generally read but it held my attention. I was swaying a little bit over the rating but was won over with the ending - the reappearance of Malcolm's mother - and what she had to teach him makes you wonder what's next for the dias and so I give it four stars.


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Magic Most Deadly by E.L. Bates

DESCRIPTION FROM AMAZON:

For Maia Whitney, life after the Great War is dull, monotonous, and drab. Nursing soldiers in the bloody fields of France hadn’t been easy, but it was better than life at home, standing in her sisters’ shadows. There seems no chance for a change until the night she witnesses a murder in the woods.

The last thing Magic Intelligence Agent Lennox Davies needs is this outspoken, independent lady crashing his investigation. Bad enough that a murder happened on his watch; much less that she had to see it happen. He works alone, and he does not have time for Miss Maia Whitney’s interference.

But as Maia’s own magical talent blossoms and danger thickens around the two with every step they take, before long Len and Maia must rely on each other in a fashion neither has ever done before. If they can’t learn to work together, England itself might topple. Even worse, if Maia doesn’t learn to control her magic soon, she might do more to destroy them even than their shadowy enemy.

Can they set aside their stubbornness and self-reliance in time to save themselves—and all England?

MY REVIEW:

This book took me a while to really get into. It seemed slow moving in the beginning, even though the characters were well rounded and believable. Once Aunt Amelia arrived and the magic element was introduced into the story it picked up and became more interesting. The settings and themes were well crafted and I liked following along as Maia and Len's respect for each other turned into more while she learned more about her abilities and strived to help him save the world.


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