Saturday, March 25, 2017

Canvas of the Heart


Canvas of the Heart
by Melissa Taggart



This is a touching read about a girl with cerebral palsy, it covers many years with lots of things changing in their lives. Lindsey and Jason hit it off from the start it was like he could almost read her mind. Jason made her feel comfortable in her own skin, he was easy to talk to they grew very close. The story moves on through the years pretty fast until the day they admit how they feel about each other. It moves on from there to their love growing and being a couple. There are a few small twists along the way which are interesting. There are some normal issues that couples have and some that is caused by her illness.

It is a heartwarming story that does pull on your heartstrings. I just felt like there was too much filler used and not enough insight on issues I would have liked to know more about. I didn’t feel very much chemistry between Jason and Lindsey I didn’t feel the passion. To me they seemed more like friends than lovers. It isn’t a story that pulled me in just when I thought it was going to take off and  I couldn’t put down it went sideways leaving me feeling like something was lacking. Don’t get me wrong there was some very good writing here but for me to much fillers. Becky and Lindsey relationship was so close and then not, her one day gone the next with no real explaining making us wonder what happen. The same with Becky and Jason’s relationship. I felt when detail should have been given it wasn’t and sometimes when it was it should not have been.

I felt it was good for a debut story but with some work it would have been great. Needs more spice more drama and more passion. I had a hard time getting into this and found it lacking in areas. I am not sorry I read it just wish there was more conflict as well as more about her dealing with cerebral palsy. I felt like someone was setting beside me telling me parts of their life leaving out parts as we all do when telling our life story.  It wasn’t a great but a good fit for me it might be just what you are looking for.

Buy Links
Amazon

B&N

Summary
Canvas of the Heart is romantic novel about a young woman with cerebral palsy, and how she rises above the term disability through her relationship with friends, family, and above all, the man who becomes her husband.

Funny, sexy and inspirational, the book focuses on Lindsey’s insights, struggles and triumphs, teaching us that those with disabilities can also lead rich, full lives.

The Black Sheep's Secret Child

The Black Sheep's Secret Child (Billionaires and Babies #74)
by Cat Schield
 
 
What an emotional rollercoaster ride hoping you make the right choice knowing what must be done but with so many emotions it is hard to do what is right. If I was in the same shoe as Savannah I most likely would have made these same choices. Knowing someone doesn’t want a child and wanting what is best for them giving them all you never had why put the child in a mess with a father who most likely wouldn’t be in his life. Giving him a father that you think will be there and love him it is very easy to take the easy road. Not saying that is the right one but it is hard when you are an emotional mess to make the correct choices.

I really can’t put down any of these characters each did what they did at the time thinking what is best for their selves and the child. Trent’s brother at first I didn’t care too much for him but he has his reasons and it is hard to always be the son your father wants. Now how he did it doesn’t do him any favors but it is understandable. So wrong but understandable. Has she come clean to start with Trent might have changed his mind and things might have been ok but the unknown is scary and the easy way always seems the best way at the time.  Savannah made some hard choices and in doing so found out a few things she really wish she had not, but she made her bed and lay in it she did. I do agree she should have told Trent but then we wouldn’t have this story. Siggy now that is a different story he has some major issues and bites his nose off at every turn. I didn’t care for him at all how can one when he puts brother against brother making them both feel they must give more to be good enough for him. One does everything that is asked of him even finding a son to please his father. The other said the hell with it and goes on his own. This is one man that has missed out on the most life has to give and will miss out on so much more as grandchildren are born he is going to be one lonely hateful old man.

I liked how it started but was a little put off by how fast they had sex, I just do not see this happening in real life note with all the issues going on but I could be wrong. The rest of the story is very believable. I really liked how the author does the buildup of Trent and his son getting to know each other and having Tent with mixed emotions over him. I would have loved to have seen how Siggy took the news that the boy was his true grandson and how he took the news of the music business turned out. All in all I thought this was a good read that had a nice pace to it with true emotions that pulled you in. It was painful but heartwarming keeping the read entertained.




Buy Links
Amazon

B&N

Kobo

Google Play

Summary
A second chance with her son's secret father! 
Widow Savannah Caldwell faces the challenge of her life: begging Trent Caldwell—her former fling and late husband's brother—to save the family's ailing music business. That she's still attracted to Trent makes things hard; that Trent is her son's secret father makes things impossible!
Trent is fiercely proud of making his own fortune, despite his controlling father. And he's always believed his brother got the girl who should have been Trent's. Now he'll have the family business, and his brother's widow in the bargain. But will their romantic reunion be waylaid by Savannah's shocking baby secret?

Wrong Brother, Right Match

Wrong Brother, Right Match (Anyone But You #3)
by Jennifer Shirk



What a fun read full of drama, mixed emotions, family love, what is important and putting others first. Kennedy has a lot to learn about relationships she is sure she knows what it takes to make the perfect match after all it worked on her. What she finds is sometimes being so much alike might not be the right match. This is a story about getting to know yourself what you need, want and expect from your mate as well as finding the perfect match not only for yourself but for others. Yes her program works but programs can only be so right they don’t add in emotions and feelings. For Kennedy she will have a hard long road to find out which man is her perfect match as emotions and hearts battle will the perfect man please stand up.

Kennedy was a character you could relate to easy she has had a hard life growing up and doesn’t want to have the relationships her mother had. She wants her children to have everything she did not and Justin looks like the perfect fit until one chance meeting, an elevator add a bottle of champagne with a hot man and tongues let lose in more ways than one has her rethinking everything in her life.
Matt always does what is expected everyone leans on him and he takes care of all issues putting his life on the back burn. He is ok with this, loves his life that all changed with one kiss now he wants more. He does his best to put his family first even when he finds the perfect women for him at his home with his brother. The lady from the elevator is right before his eyes hanging on his brother lord can things get any worse.

I thought this was a cute read that really pulls you in. Each try their best to keep things light but Justin just isn’t making things easy. I really didn’t want to like Justin but it is hard not to with all the emotional baggage he is carrying around after his father’s death he needs to rethink his life and put others before his self before he loses the women he loves. Matt tries so hard to walk away but it is just too hard with her being there at every turn. Kennedy has way too much on the line to even thing about changing men at this time. She can’t afford to be wrong or her business will go down the drain. I really felt for all these characters. No matter which ways she goes she loses putting a family at each other. What an emotional mess.

I thought this was well written, believable, I had to trouble believing this could really happen. It was a cute fun read, at times I chuckled and other times I held my breath just waiting for the worse to happen. Kennedy’s speech really got to me as it did so many others. It was from the heart, painful but honest. I loved the supporting characters the family was just a delight. I love the humor between family members which reminds me so much of my own. There is no doubt this has a very emotional pull and leaves your torn at times. I am looking forward to see what else this author comes up with.


Buy Links
Amazon

B&N

Kobo

Google Play

Summary
Matchmaking guru Kennedy Pepperdine’s life is perfect. Perfect job. Perfect friends. Perfect boyfriend. Except...when she gets trapped in an elevator with a handsome stranger, she accidentally confesses a secret: maybe her perfect boyfriend, Justin, isn’t so perfect for her after all. But a matchmaker should be able to successfully match herself, right? Thankfully, she’ll never see the handsome stranger again. Until she heads home with Justin for the holidays and learns that the sexy stranger is none other than Justin’s older brother, Matt.

Matt Ellis is trying to be on his best behavior for his mother—it is Christmas, after all. But when he recognizes the beautiful woman from the elevator—the one he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about for months—his best behavior is being held by a thread. Matt’s always sacrificed for his family, and nothing is more important than their happiness, but the more time he spends around Kennedy, the more he wonders if her supposed "right match" might just be the wrong brother.

Friday, March 24, 2017

Forbidden Prescription:


Forbidden Prescription: A Stepbrother Romance

Written by: Stephanie Brother
Narrated by: Meghan Kelly
Length: 3 hrs and 56 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:03-02-17
Publisher: Stephanie Brother 




This is not your normal stepbrother romance I know what I expected but it sure wasn’t what I got. I really love this narrator and wanted to give this a listen. What I expect was some very dirty story line about hooking up and not much else. This was a refreshing story line after the fact, they hooked up before they found out they were related which really adds to the story. There are some very hot and heavy sex scenes which adds heat to the read but it isn’t done in a dirty way that makes it more porn..it is wrote in a way that really blends well with the story of two people who are attracted to each other with a strong pull and them working out how they feel and what they want in a career that can be trying for a relationship. It has a great plot, wonderful sex scenes that really have meaning pulling the reader in with some very hard trying times and issues.

Ms. Kelly’s narration is outstanding she really pulls you in with her tones and voices with real emotions. There are no repeats of words, no place where the volume is higher or lower than any other place in the audio. The character voices are good, tones are great, and you have no trouble knowing who is talking or what they are feeling. The male voices are just as good as the female ones. Ms. Kelly’s performance is great with a very pleasant voice. There was no background noise or any echo’s all you get is a rich even tone audio that delivers a wonderful listen. She really hooks me from the start to finish.

What I really liked about this was it was not your normal stepbrother story. The sexy was hot but not over baring. Isabella was an ok character but I thought at times a little whinny. I thought with the way the story was written she made too much of a big deal over the stepbrother issues.  I loved James and the supporting characters I thought they brought a lot to the story. I thought the ending was rushed and left out some things that would have made it more interesting. It kind of left me hanging did they work or not, I know they are for now but what about years down the road. All in all it was a good read that I honestly enjoyed.

Buy Links
Audible

Amazon

Summary
Doctor, can you write me a prescription for you, twice daily?

Off. Limits.

Things between James and Isabella are already complicated enough. He’s the guiding force, meant to help her through her intern year at the hospital. He’s not supposed to want to drag her into the nearest storage closet and take her. The attending/intern relationship is off limits, and now, to make matters worse, he’s not only her mentor…he’s about to be become her stepbrother!

Will they be able to fight their attraction, or will they give in and fill this FORBIDDEN PRESCRIPTION?

This is a romance novel with NO cliffhangers, NO cheating, and a guaranteed happy ending!

Includes Taste: A Stepbrother Romance, Urge: A Stepbrother Romance, and Greed: A Stepbrother Romance, all by Stephanie Brother, but ONLY for a limited time

Guitar Woman


Guitar Woman

Written by: Denise Kahn
Narrated by: Denise Kahn
Length: 2 hrs and 3 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:08-16-16




This has a great plot that you get lost in long with some wonderful character narration. A short and two the point read/listen with no fillers. I thought it was exciting, thrilling and a little chilling at times. My heart broke when they were attacked and left for dead. At one place I was unsure if Cassie had died my heart just broke. With the next few chapters your heart breaks even more for all these two have to go through.

I have mixed feeling about this narration, while listening with headsets or through my car radio there is an echo that really takes away from the audio. When I got home and was working around the house I plugged into my speakers and did not hear the echo. I am unsure if it was the system I was using or if the narrator worked it out. I really think it needs more of a filter to take away from that noise. This was the only issue I found everything else was wonderful. I loved Ms. Kahn many different character voices they are totally wonderful and filled with emotions. You are never left guessing what each one is feeling or just how much their heart is breaking. The joy they find in each other is totally wonderful and show in the narrators voice. Her accents are outstanding, she has no trouble carrying off a male voice that sound authentic and very manly. I had no trouble picturing the scenes unfold in my mind like a movie. The performance was great excepted for the echo which really took away from the audio. The music used was soft and not over powering that you enjoy. I usually do not care for it throughout the audio but I didn’t mind this at all. I even thought it added something to the audio.
                               
I really enjoy the story line it really pulls you in and making you a part of the story. There is danger, excitement, heartache, pain along with so much love, thrills as these two come together with love at first sight. The love scene are not over sexed but blends well, you know what is happening but you do not have it thrown at you with lots of descriptions. I do have to say I missed so much in the store why shopping I had to cut the volume down to get rid of the echo that with the noise going on around me it was hard to hear the audio. I do feel the character voice do make up for that and will give the performance a 4. I would have liked for the story to go on a little longer to see how their life turned out. The ending was very good, I really love the supporting characters. The old women just broke my heart with her story. I think she took great pleasure living through Alex’s and Cassie’s story. It was a very emotional, touching and lovely story that I truly enjoyed. 

Buy Links
Audible

Amazon

B&N

Summary
GUITAR WOMAN IS FILLED WITH ROMANCE, SUSPENSE AND PASSION, SET IN BEAUTIFUL GREEK LOCATIONS.

Alex Kouros’ passions are making exquisite guitars and producing Greece’s premier beer. At a prestigious art gallery he meets artist Cassandra Beckham. A whirlwind romance ensues, but is cut short when malicious kidnappers board the yacht they are sailing on in the turquoise waters of the Aegean. As they struggle with the malefactors Alex is shot and Cassie falls into the sea with a blow to her head. They are left for dead, and although they survive they both think the other died.
Alex blames himself and tries to drown his sorrows with his brew. Cassie washes up on a deserted beach of a tiny island.
Will they be destined to find each other again?