Have No Fear, I'm Still Here!!! ♥

Hey All!

I know it's been a minute, (okay, maybe like 3 months), but I promise I'm still here! This semester was my student teaching semester for college and so that has been my main focus. However, graduation has come and gone and so I'm switching my focus! Here are a few things I hope to accomplish this summer:

1. Push out at least two reviews a week. 
1. I mean it when I say I've been reading some awesome stuff and as you all know, I always have an opinion to give. ;)
2. Promote the new Young Adult blog Shelly has started. 
1. Because Shelly and I are both going to be teachers, we wanted to create a resource that would be beneficial to both our followers and our students. So, a YA blog is in the works!
3. Keep a monthly update on both Shelly and I's progress!
1. I know I've been absent and it's time to fix that! 

Again, we love to hear from our readers and keep up-to-date with everyone! Please feel free to hit either Shelly or I up on social media or here on the page. And of course as always, keep reading! ♥

Victoria ♥

Blog Tour Review | Mobster's Bones by Amy Rachiele

Mobster’s Bones by Amy Rachiele

Young Adult Organized Crime Romance published June 30, 2015 (first published June 28, 2015)
self-published eBook

Author's Website | Buy the Book on Amazon | Goodreads

Synopsis from Goodreads:

How can things you only glimpse for a moment sear themselves into your memory?

~Alessandra, Mobster’s Bones

Alessandra has a problem. It's not that the Mafia is the only life she knows, her father and best friend being members.

She's being followed. Her stalker destroys the one thing Alessandra thought they could never touch. She's now forced to flee the only home she's known, Palmetto.

How can someone be so beautiful? The morning sunlight is coming through the blinds on my window casting a glow around Alessandra. She has been here for a week, and we have fallen into a routine. It is sort of like she has always been here. Imagining her leaving, gives me an unwanted stone in my stomach.

~ Troy, Mobster’s Bones

Troy has his life planned out perfectly; graduate from Notre Dame with honors, get married, live a quiet life with his wife and kids in the suburbs. Just like his parents and their parents before them.

Things don’t work out according to plan - the scaffolding of his life is crumbling before his eyes. Troy’s plans didn’t include the daughter of a mob enforcer showing up at his door and sleeping in his bed. Are Alessandra and her mafia family worth throwing away the life Troy has always wanted?

What I Think….

Even though I'd never read anything previous from Amy Rachiele, I felt like Mobster’s Bones was a fast, clean read and easy to understand!  However, though the novel was simple, I really couldn't get in to it.  I will say though, Rachiele does a great job with the content of the novel. There were some fantastic scenarios that were full of suspense and kept me on my toes! I cannot imagine how much time and research would have to be done in order to create such accurate images. 

Alessandra and Troy create a unique bond when Alessandra is forced into Troy’s care due to an attack on her family. Someone is stalking her and is sparing no cost to make her life unbearable. After a shocking confrontation in her kitchen, Alessandra goes into hiding until the stalker can be found and dealt with. Did I mention she is connected to the Mob? Not only does Troy know this, but he is beyond intimidated by the information. He has never dealt with the Mob directly and doesn't plan to anytime soon. But, when a friend of the family needs a favor, Troy can't say no. It isn't Alessandra's fault this happened to her. But when someone makes an attempt on both of their lives, the duo has to figure out who they can trust and in a hurry. Among all the chaos, Alessandra and Troy find a way to look past the bad and into the good blooming between them.

Now, there were a few things that I found I wasn’t a fan of while reading. Some of the encounters between characters threw me off due to the lack of background information provided. By background information I just mean information that would have been pulled from the rest of the series. Because of this, I questioned their relevance to the story as a whole.  I also thought that the sentences lacked extra detail. They stated the main point, but seemed short and choppy to me. Also, I felt like the novel was rushed. There are some major moments in this novel that happen back to back, but have little explanation. There wasn’t really one big climax, more like a bunch of little ones with no real recess. 

I have to say, I don't think this should be considered a New Adult Romance, but more like a Young Adult fiction. The novel is extremely clean, with little vulgar language or brief sexual circumstances. I also do not think this should be read as a stand alone story. There just isn't enough information found in the rest of the series to prepare the reader, making it a hard read coming in new. I think I would have enjoyed this novel more, had I been better prepared for the the correct genre and been able to connect with the characters better. I will say, this novel does have great potential for the right reader. I think that the teenage generation would enjoy this immensely. 

[The reviewer was given an ARC for an honest review.]

Victoria ♥

Review | Taboo Unchained by C.M. Stunich

Taboo Unchained by C.M. Stunich
Published October 6, 2014 
Sarian Royal
Author's Website | Goodreads | Buy the Book on Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The taboo turns me on.

The dirty. The filthy. The nasty.

The man your mother f*cking warned you about – is me.

Hold onto your panties, ladies.

Lucas Carter is here to show you the dark side of the sheets.

***WARNING: This is a dark romance erotica – meaning lots of violence, sex, and emotionally disturbing inner dialogue. The main character does not, however, kidnap or force himself on women. The entire book is told in his point of view. This story does contain murder, tough choices, and strange sex.

***This book is entirely fictional, and the sexual techniques described within can be extremely dangerous. Read Lucas' story to spice up your sex life, have a little fun, and watch a man consumed by darkness grow into a different person. Please don't take any of the acts described within as instructional and always remember, safety first.

What I Think....*long review*

Goodness....where do I start? I have SO much I want to talk about, but it would probably come out in a whirlwind of broken words, so I'll start slowly. One minute I was connecting with the characters and moving right along in the story, then the next minute I wasn't. I played a game of back and forth during the whole novel! After taking a night to really mull over my feelings, I think I pinpointed my problem. I'm just not used to a novel being written in a male point of view! It threw me off my game for a bit, but once I got that kink worked out *hehe* I felt better about everything. It still blew my mind, that's for sure.