Tuesday, 3 June 2014

Bee's review - Lost Dreams by Jude Ouvrard

Book: Lost Dreams
Author: Jude Ouvrard
Genre: Military Contemporary Romance


When Carter is killed in combat, he left behind his heartbroken wife, Avery and his shattered best friend Remy. Naturally these two, wounded souls gravitate together, irresistibly drawn by the loss of the one they both loved, as well as their deep friendship with each other. But when that friendship starts to turn into something more, new problems arise. Will Avery be able to move on after losing the love of her life?
Will Remy be able to fill the void left by the loss if his best friend? Or will this new chance at love cost them all they have left?
Jude lives in Montreal, Canada. She is the proud mother of a five year old son, and has spent the last twelve years with her partner, Cedric.
French is her native language, but she prefers to write in her second language, English.
Besides working full time in a law firm and being a mother, Jude has a passion for books, both reading and writing them.
She is currently working on Ophelia.

She got into her seat and drove us to I-didn’t-know-where-yet. The music was playing softly in the car. I was having difficulty with noises, they were making me irritable but the melody was nice so I was okay. We were getting closer to Avery’s house. At least I hoped we were going to her house, because I was frightened to be alone. I needed her, in more than one way. When she turned to the right, I knew we were going to her place because my house was over on the left. I bit the inside of my cheeks to subdue a smile. A few seconds later, Avery parked the car in her driveway. She undid my safety belt, then hers. She got out of the car to help me out, then grabbed my bag and arm-in-arm we walked to her door.
”Calm down, girl. I’m not dying, I’m okay. I can feel your body trembling.”
”I can’t calm down, Remy.” She unlocked the door and pushed it open. ”I lost Carter, okay? He’s gone,” she cried. ”And I came this close,” she showed me a tiny gap between her fingers, ”this close, to losing you too, and that tore me apart.” She put my bag on the table. ”When Megan told me what happened, I passed out, because I couldn’t believe I was going to have to go through this again. We waited twenty-four hours before we finally got the news that you were alive.”
I felt terrible. ”I’m sorry, girl, I’m so sorry.” I pulled her towards me and wrapped my arm around her. She cried and she sobbed against my t-shirt. Ave was in a terrible mess. ”I promised you I would come back, and I did.” I kissed her hair. ”I’m so sorry I had to come back in such a dramatic way.”
”You’re alive, Remy.” She almost never called me by my first name. ”It’s all that matters.”
”I know, Avery.”
We were silent for a moment, her sobs calming down and she regained control of herself. It broke my heart to see her like this, she’d seemed so strong at the hospital and I was just realizing it was a facade. In that instant, I knew we both needed rest and we both had a lot on our minds.
”I think I need to lay down, Ave, I’m getting a little dizzy. I’ll go to my room.” She squeezed me with all of her strength, one last time, before releasing me.
I got to the guest room. There was a bouquet of daisies on the night table. She’d changed the sheets and comforter on the bed for a navy blue one. I made it to the bed just in time, my vision had gone blurry. I sat on the corner of the bed and closed my eyes. The fact that she wanted me to stay here was great, but damn, this was fucked up. She still continued to ignore everything I’d said to her. It made me anxious and the best thing I could do was lie down and chill out. Being around her was even harder now. I put my arm over my eyes, to hide away from the light in the room. Turning it off required too much physical effort for now.
”Remy, are you okay?” Her voice was low.
”Can you turn the light off, please?”
She did and then removed my shoes. I shifted up on the bed and she placed my legs under the comforter. ”Do you feel any pain?”
”It’s not too bad, I can manage.” My head hurt constantly, no matter what I did. In my shoulder, the bullet had torn a muscle and damaged the bone severely. They had to screw the bone together in three different places. It would never be as strong as it used to be, but at least I was alive.
”Okay…” She stayed in the room looking at me. It had me confused, did she want to talk or something?
”Is everything OK, Ave?” I needed to know.
She nodded. ”It’s just good to have you here. I missed you.”
Okay, she was giving signs she wanted to talk, but I thought maybe she wasn’t ready just yet.
”I missed you too, girl.” I smiled.
She returned my smile with one of her own, she seemed suddenly shy and her cheeks flushed. ”I thought about what you said to me a lot. It scared me at first but then, I felt like I already knew about it. Things cleared up in my mind. How you were always looking after me, always making sure I was okay. I should have known, but I only had eyes for Carter. I still love and miss him every single day.” She took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. ”But… I felt things were different prior to your deployment and I understand now. I didn’t hate it, I liked it. Being closer to you makes me feel better. I need it, but I can’t promise you more than that.”
”What are you saying, exactly, Avery?” I could feel a wave of tingles rush through my body. What did she mean? It was so out of character for her to be so shy.
”I’m saying I still love Carter, I probably always will, but I also like you and need to be around you. I can’t promise you anything, but we could try and see if it would work out.”
”I’m not a consolation prize, Avery.”





Bee's Review


My emotions were all over the place when reading this book. Jude did an amazing job in setting the tone and pulling the reader right inside the story . I’ve never really been one for reading books with a Solider element, only because I’m a wuss when it comes to the emotion in them.  I’m glad I snapped up the chance to read this little gem, though.  


It centers around three close friends, Avery, Carter and Remy. Carter and Avery are very much in love and are about to get married. They met in the army, but Avery has since left. Carter has to go back on tour with  Remy, shortly after the wedding.


The heart break begins when Carter is killed in action. When Remy returns he and Avery lean on each other to try and heal from the loss of Carter.


What follows is an emotional and beautiful love story. Remy has always loved Avery from the moment he met her, but knew Carter had been the one that captured her heart. Now, as they lean on each other, feelings begin to develop.


This book is told in a few different point of views, and I loved that.  You really get inside off the characters minds, and it only added to the emotion of this story.

Now, you know I’m not one for giving everything away, but if you like your stories emotional and beautifully told, grab a copy of Lost Dreams today. You won’t regret it.






Monday, 2 June 2014

Crossing The Line (Daniels Brothers #3) by Sherri Hayes

Crossing The Line (Daniels Brothers #3)





Summary

Detective Paul Daniels has spent four and a half years mourning the loss of his wife. He’s been doing his best to raise their daughter, Chloe, with the help of his in-laws. When they inform him right before Thanksgiving that they’re going to be moving over two hours away, Paul finds himself without anyone to watch Chloe—especially when he’s called out to a crime scene in the middle of the night. Little does he know that meeting his baby brother’s girlfriend and her sister, Megan, will change everything.

Megan Carson has taken a few wrong turns in her life, but she’s doing her best to get back on track. When she meets Chloe, the little girl swiftly worms her way into Megan’s heart. The opportunity to help Paul out and watch his daughter appears to be a blessing in disguise. She quickly volunteers to be Chloe’s live-in nanny.

Everything is working well until the three of them head back to Ohio for Chris and Elizabeth’s wedding. Paul has a little too much to drink during the reception, and he and Megan end up sharing a heated kiss. When he wakes up the next day, he has a pounding headache but remembers nothing.

Megan, however, isn’t willing to forget. Over the past few months since she’s been playing nanny, her feelings for Paul have changed. He is everything she never knew she wanted, and now that she knows there might be something there, she’s going after what she wants—Paul.


Sherri spent most of her childhood detesting English class. It was one of her least favorite subjects because she never seemed to fit into the standard mold. She wasn't good at spelling, or following grammar rules, and outlines made her head spin. For that reason, Sherri never imagined becoming an author.

At the age of thirty, all of that changed. After getting frustrated with the direction a television show was taking two of its characters, Sherri decided to try her hand at writing an alternate ending, and give the characters their happily ever after. By the time the story finished, it was one of the top ten read stories on the site, and her readers were encouraging her to write more.

Seven years later, Sherri is the author of seven full-length novels, and one short story. Writing has become a creative outlet for Sherri that allows her to explore a wide range of emotions, while having fun taking her characters through all the twists and turns she can create. She is most well known for her Finding Anna Series about a young woman rescued from being a sex slave by a wealthy Dominant. Sherri’s eighth novel, Crossing The Line, is scheduled to release September 2014.









Check Out Sherri’s Other Titles







Sunday, 1 June 2014

Andrea's Review of You Killed My Brother by Keith Rommel

Book Title: You Killed My Brother
Author: Keith Rommel 
Release Date: May 21st
Genre: Mystery/Suspense 
Publisher: GMTA Publishing LLC
Presented by: Enigma Press



Synopsis:

How far would you go to make someone pay for hurting a loved one?

Rainer is a successful doctor and father of two. He's a celebrated member of the community for his exceptional care and charity work. Brick is a local street thug that can't keep his nose clean. When fate brings the two together through tragedy, the life of Rainer is changed dramatically, setting into motion events that change communities.

Glenn is a seasoned cop and Rainer's younger brother. Trusting the justice system, he keeps his desire for revenge in check as Brick is brought to trial. But when the jury hands Brick a lean sentence, Glenn sets out to avenge his family's suffering. But what he forgets in his rage is that for every action, there is a reaction.

Andrea's Review: 


Never has a single title of a book expressed so much. I was immediately drawn into a world unlike any I have known. Lines are drawn, but not just by income and status but by pride and commitment.

You Killed My Brother is a roller coaster of a ride. An underlying theme of brotherhood told from multiple perspectives, this is a complicated and enthralling thriller. I found myself shocked at the hatred and anger so easily conveyed through words. The storytelling of Keith Rommel is complicated but in the simplest of ways.

He shows us the natural bond that brothers Rainer and Glenn Bebout share. He expresses how individuals lost and lonely in the world can come together and form a bond that is equally as natural to them as those that share blood. It is through this complicated story telling we find that sometimes the lost and lonely turn those emotions to hatred and hurt.  Hatred and hurt can come in so many forms -- through words, lack of touch, lack of sympathy, violence and even death.

While this story begins with a single action. A single moment in a day. The chain of events that single event sets off is one that leaves a community broken, a family dismembered and a lives forever changed.

Rating:





Excerpt:

Chapter One

If murder were legal, there would be dozens of bodies left in Jennifer’s wake.

“Damn it,” she whispered, and heaved a sigh. She stared at the caravan of cars that inched forward and squeezed the steering wheel. They went on as far as the eye could see, hardly moving. She rested her elbow on the armrest and pushed taut fingers through her hair.

“Mom?”

Jennifer looked into the rearview mirror and both Emily and Hannah stared back.

“Yes?” Jennifer said with the most patient voice she could muster.

“You shouldn’t say words like that mommy,” Emily said.

“You’re right, I shouldn’t. I’m sorry.”

“Do you think we’re going to be late, is that why you’re mad?” Emily said.

The clock on the car radio read 4:00.

“I hope not,” Jennifer said, but deep down inside she didn’t think their tardiness was avoidable. She clamped her eyes shut and tried to ignore a deep pain that pulsed and hid tactfully behind her eyes.

“Are you not feeling well, mommy?” Hannah said.

“Mommy’s fine,” she said. “I am just worried that we are going to be late and that will make me and your daddy late for the event.”

“It’s okay,” Hannah said and looked out the side window. “You shouldn’t worry so much. Daddy is the star and they can’t do anything without him.”

Jennifer laughed. “I suppose you’re right.” She watched a car that rode the shoulder all the way to the next exit.

“Mommy, you should follow him,” Emily said, and pointed at the car that Jennifer watched. “He’s going fast!”

“I . . . ” Jennifer thought to protest the suggestion, but knew it was the only way. The risk of getting a ticket was worth the time she could save. She cut the wheel hard right and stepped on the gas. The powerful car raced up the shoulder and approached another long line of cars that led to a blinking traffic light. She pressed the brake pedal hard and stopped the car just short of the vehicle in front of her. The force of the abrupt halt pushed everyone forward in their seats and snapped them back.

“I’m sorry,” Jennifer said. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“You don’t think daddy will leave without you, do you?” Hannah said, her eyes wide with the question.

Jennifer laughed. “No, I don’t suppose he would.”

The vehicles ahead of her managed to merge their way into traffic quicker than she anticipated.

“I know that because he loves you too much to do that,” Hannah said. “He tells you that all the time.”

“You are very smart,” Jennifer smiled.

She had tried to organize the events of this day in advance and believed she had given herself plenty of time to complete her tasks and ready the children before her husband arrived home. She had intended to have everyone ready for the evening’s event prior to the babysitter’s arrival. That way there would be no stress and the perfect tone would be set for the night.

“Something going perfectly, imagine that . . . ” she whispered and chuckled at the thought.

“Mommy, what did you say?” Emily said.

“Nothing, honey. I’m just talking to myself.”

Her day had started off with a routine checkup at the dentist’s office. From there she had gone directly to the woman’s health clinic because she hadn’t been feeling well the last few weeks and her appetite had grown substantially.

“I just knew it,” she said, and rubbed her belly.

She couldn’t wait to share the news with her husband, Rainer, but had already decided that she would wait until tomorrow to do that. This was his day and he deserved the attention without anything taking away from it. He worked hard and gave so much of himself to everyone.

Jennifer inched the car to the blinking light and she looked left and then to the right. A steady flow of cars came from both directions.

“Mommy?”

Jennifer looked in the rearview mirror. Emily had unbuckled her harness and had climbed out of her booster seat. She was standing between the driver and passenger seats.

“Emily!” Jennifer said, and quickly turned and faced her daughter. “Get back in your seat!”

“But mom!”

“Now!”

“But . . .”

“No buts, Emily. Do what I’m telling you to. Do it right now!”

Jennifer put the car in park and grabbed Emily by the arm and forced her into her seat.

“I’ve told you never to do this!”

“You hurt my arm!”

“It’s better than you going flying through the windshield! I told you getting out of your seat is dangerous and you can get hurt!”

Emily’s face reddened and her eyes welled with tears. Her bottom lip curled and her expression contorted into something horrible.

“You hurt me mom!”

“Why can’t you stay in your seat like your sister?”

Honk.

“Why?” Jennifer said, her frustration turning to anger.

Emily looked at her twin sister and she was buckled in her seat. She looked at her mother with a blank stare. She rubbed her arm.

“Do you want a policeman to come and take you away from me?”

Emily shook her head and began to pout. “Uncle Glenn wouldn’t do that to me.”

“He would if he found out what you were doing.”

Honk.

“Stop beeping your damn horn!” Jennifer yelled, staring out the back window.

Emily folded her arms across her chest. “No, he wouldn’t!”

“Yes, he would.”

Emily kicked the back of her mother’s seat. “And I said he wouldn’t!”

Honk.

Jennifer glared at her daughter. “Don’t you dare talk back to your mother like that. I’ll take the television away from you for a week.”

“I don’t care!”

Jennifer swiped an open hand across Emily’s cheek.

A boiling wail erupted from Emily. Hannah looked at her sister and she started to cry. A chorus of shouts filled the vehicle and brought Jennifer’s headache to a whole new level.

“I’m telling daddy you hit me!”

“And I’m not going to tell you again. Don’t you dare get out of that seat!”

Jennifer buckled her in and sharply turned her attention to Hannah. “And you have nothing to be crying about.”

Jennifer faced forward and stomped the gas pedal and the car lurched into the middle of the intersection. In a moment of clarity, Jennifer noticed a bluish colored car that skidded towards her and she started to scream. It approached at a speed and angle that seemed impossible to avoid.


Author Recommendations: 
I was immediately drawn into the characters in Keith Rommel's well written & absorbing book, "You Killed My Brother". Every act of friendship & brotherly love, evidence of family bond, courage, desperation, revenge & chaos, has created an emotional & exciting plot. The surprises just keep coming and this reader could not put it down! Well done, Keith, Well done.

~~Janet Van Mol

About the Author:

Keith Rommel is a native of Long Island, New York and currently lives with his family in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. Keith is a retail manager and has enjoyed collecting comic books since he was a child (a hobby inspired by a teacher in grade school to help overcome a reading comprehension disability). Keith Rommel is the author of the critically acclaimed dark suspense Thanatology Series entitled The Cursed Man and the Lurking Man. His newest novel: You Killed My Brother is a fast-paced suspense thriller with crime and some rather unorthodox police work. Keith has had several writer how-to articles published and has appeared on numerous radio shows and at many signing events. Keith is currently hard at work on the third novel in the Thanatology Series due out summer 2013.