The Well, Marie Sexton

3.5 stars. Honestly, though, I had a really hard time rounding down on this one. For there being no romantic build or even an HEA, I usually round down but there was something sweet and anticipatory that kept me interested. Then there was the paranormal/suspense aspect. That was so well done that I pretty much overlooked the fact that I typically like a bit of romance and steam in a book categorized as part romance.

With one phone call Haven and Pierce reunite for the sake of the Hunter twins' TV show. But by recreating the seance that opened the tragedy that occurred 12 years prior they find more questions than answers. Collectively with all the male members of their little group, they piece together the information and insights of the present with feelings and clues of the past. When everything comes together, the answers are scarier and far closer to home than they could have imagined.

Marie is an incredible writer and kept the pacing steady. She mixed the past and present in a way that made sense, didn't feel confusing, and drew me in to the story completely.

I would have liked more for each character. Each one seemed quite superficial, meaning they didn't have a lot of depth beyond a shared past and similar careers in terms of subject matter. Outside of that, it was the possible ghost of Elsie that kept the story moving and kept the characters connected. Without that I don't know that there would be much to draw and keep them together. Because of that I am more okay with the idea of an HFN than an HEA. If it ended with the latter I would have absolutely dropped this down to three stars because there was little to no basis for a longer-lasting or believable future for Haven and Pierce. As it stands is better than fabricating something more. Would I have liked more? Absolutely! But that would require a longer book and more than what was already there.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC for review.

New Idea for Fridays...

So let's be honest here.  Fridays are awesome.  At least what I remember from when Friday was a distinctly different day than every other day.  When I was younger it meant no school the next day and I could hang out with my friends doing whatever we decided would be the most fun.  Later it was a reprieve from classes so I could sleep in and not run up a bajillion stairs because I was running late for my morning college classes.  After I graduated it became just another day because sometimes work doesn't care if it's the unofficial start to the weekend, you still have to work your shift.  And then I was fortunate enough to be able to stay at home with my girls and every day became variations of the same things, fun things, but still the same routines that are good for kids, you know?  I can usually count of the husby's work week ending with Friday unless it's tax season, then who knows when I actually get to see him during those three-month blocks.

Anyway, the point is, Friday is an awesome day for most of the world so I thought I'd start posting about a favorite book of mine on Fridays.  I'd like to say each week I'll post a new favorite book, but if you've read my first post, I'm kind of picky with my favorites.  It takes intimacy, hot sex, feels, humor, conflict, resolution, and a certain something extra that will keep me thinking about it for pretty much ever.  I'm sure you have those books where at random times you'll start thinking of a scene or while reading another book you start comparing.

For me, every book with dragon shifters is compared with and measured against What A Dragon Should Know by G.A. Aiken.

Honestly, this is the best book of the entire series.

Attraction that’s off the scale…

Only for those I love would I traipse into the merciless Northlands to risk life, limb, and my exquisite beauty. But do they appreciate it? Do they say, “Gwenvael the Handsome, you are the best among us—the most loved of all dragons?” No! For centuries my family has refused to acknowledge my magnificence as well as my innate humility. Yet for them, and because I am so chivalrous, I will brave the worst this land has to offer.


So here I stand, waiting to broker an alliance with the one the Northlanders call The Beast. A being so fearful, the greatest warriors will only whisper its name. Yet I, Gwenvael, will courageously face down this terrifying…woman? It turns out the Beast, a.k.a. Dagmar Reinholdt, is a woman—one with steel-gray eyes and a shocking disregard for my good looks. Beneath her plain robes and prim spectacles lies a sensual creature waiting to be unleashed. Who better than a dragon to thaw out that icy demeanor?

And who better than a beast to finally tame a mighty dragon’s heart?

So because I'm doing a post on this book it's safe to say I love it.  Plus, I did say I loved it.  This book is jut about everything I could hope for.  There's hilarious banter, a strong woman who doesn't really need a man, multi-faceted characters, awesome side characters, depth of intimacy, amazing steamy scenes, well-built world, logical progression, lots of humor, dragons, shifting, magic, a whole host of strong women, emotionally moving moments, honor, fidelity, loyalty, a man who doesn't deny tender feelings.  I could keep going and going and going...but I'm sure that's not so appealing to you.

Gwenvael is handsome, seemingly narcissistic and vain, arrogant (as all dragons must be), and does most of his thinking with his other head.  But beneath that, and not all that far down, is compassion, wicked intelligence, a sincere desire to please, extreme loyalty to family, perseverance, and humility that allows him to see the truth of things.  He's incredibly manipulative...but in the very best ways.  but so is the Beast.

Dagmar is small, plain, focused, cold, calculating, and a liar.  Her motivation is gain, but not gain for only herself, but for her family.  She's fiercely loyal to reason and intelligence.  Finding her match in the ridiculous Gwenvael is both unexpected and utterly perfect.

Together they face all kinds of difficulties and are part of a much larger story involving gods, dragons, war, and religion/culture.  All of those elements are building to something very, very large and that will cross over all pantheons that exist.  The world is built incredibly well with regions, landscapes, cultures, codes, religions, species, relations between the species, governments, relationships, war practices, organization...I feel like this place is impeccably described, that it could actually exist.

Of all the books in this series, and I've read each and every one of them multiple times, these MC's are by far the best to me.  Second to them would be Vigholf the Abhorrent and Rhona the Fearless, third is Braith of the Darkness and Addolgar the Cheerful.  I've read these three books at least 5 times each.

Out of every book I've ever read I think this book is the one I've read more than any other.  It never gets old for me.  This is a solidly amazing book and would love to know if anyone feels the same way about it as I do.

Quick Reads and Quick Reviews 1

Sometimes I read so quickly that writing anywhere from 2-4+ blog posts a day is too much.  Too much for me and for anyone following my blog.  And would you really want to read a blog post that's just a paragraph-long review?  Yeah, I didn't think so.  So from here on out when I read a bunch at a time or have short reviews I'll put a few together to make a longer post.

For today I'll be including:

• Triton by Alana Albertson
• Drilled by Brill Harper
• 12 Days at Bleakly Manor by Michelle Griep

Erik was more than arrogant, he was dismissive and rude. Aria was determined and extremely vulnerable. Together they were passionate in the bedroom, against the wall, in the ocean...you get the idea...but aside from being driven and excited about the accomplishments they don't seem like more than a passionate relationship that might fizzle in the future. I don't see a lot of bonding or discussion or even healing, especially for Aria. There's quite a few things that are left unresolved and most of the story is a flashback to the start of their relationship. Erik is incredibly harsh and not as willing to see things from Aria's perspective, Aria is more secretive than she needs to be, and both of them allow miscommunication and secrecy lead their relationship. It wasn't a bad story and there were some sweet confessions and triumphant victories of mental blocks, but that didn't really make it a great story.  2.5 stars.

Trope soup, she calls it. Definitely accurate. I usually love tropes for the simple fact that they're very uncomplicated and they always fill the brief. In this case, it definitely did. I found Rebecca a bit too simple for me. She read like she was five years younger than she was and I didn't really like that. I often enjoy girls unaware of how physically tempting they are and even a bit of insecurity because they've had no one to help them see beyond all the critics and this story had that in spades. I think that she overreacted to the revelation via checkbook because she didn't use her brain to put everything into perspective. The drama was a bit too forced and over-the-top for what was going on.

I also often enjoy big, bad, sexy men who make it their sole purpose to make their woman know just how amazing they are sexually and in every other way too. Graden was definitely the man for this job. He had a big complex because of his past which isn't really discussed or explained, but in a book this short I suppose brief and vague is the best we get. Rebecca's love and compassion went a long way to soothing his past aches no matter how much we learn about why they're there in the first place.

Overall, this was a good book, a quick read and was a satisfactory continuation of the Blue Collar Bad Boys series.  3 stars.

This was a really sweet book with moments of apprehension, drama, and excitement. It was well written and despite its short length, was very complete having characters with depth, background, and motivation as well as a satisfying conclusion. Ben and Clara were sweet and mature enough to desire a conclusion that wasn't petty and full of revenge for one another or others that might be having a hand in their misfortune, both past and present.  4 stars.

A Miracle in Hawaii, Fiona Miers

This was a short, sweet book that had a lot of what I liked.  A strong female who knew what she wanted, was a hard worker, didn't play her looks against her business talents, and confident in who she was.  Romance with a clueless dude that had a past of hurt is never easy and Samara had an even more difficult time because not only was she dealing with his trust issues, she also had physical difficulties that made for more stress on her own without Julian's trouble.  The way that they came together was in turns frustrating and sweet.  I'm glad Julian finally figured out what was truly important.

A lot of drama was excluded from the story that wasn't pertinent to the core of Julian and Samara's relationship.  Family stuff was addressed but mainly glossed over, location and profession was dealt with by having it be a non-issue, and having trust be the only thing to overcome kept the story from having too many issues without a lot of page time to do them justice.  Everything was resolved cleanly and sweetly and their passion for one another didn't wane.  Overall, this was a sweet and sexy story that had two strong people finding love and healing with one another.

I read and willingly reviewed this for the author, Fiona Miers.

The Rebel, Alice Ward

LOVED IT!!  I couldn't put it down once I started.  All the fears I had for added drama like the MC club, other women, manwhore stuff, saying awful things out of fear or hurt feelings, Zach's shenanigans, etc...none of it happened.  Is that good?  Yes!  Was it boring for lack of drama?  Absolutely not!!!  The way Alice pulled everything together was believable, touching, sweet and tender, amazingly hot, real, and absolutely wonderful to read.

Honestly, there are so many good things to say about this book that I almost fear it'll be a crap review because it's only praise so I'll try to be as specific as possible without giving too much away.  Here goes...

Sean is broody, frustrated, lonely, and tempted to fall back into what he was doing before.  He does, however, have a great ability to look at what he wants and the consequences of what he's tempted to do so that he can make a better decision.  His life has taken him in a direction that makes that intelligence a necessity.  Not everything has gone according to plan and he's allowed life to roll him for far too long.  When Claire comes back into his life he's reminded of not just responsibility, but of his heart even if it's filled with negativity for the moment.  Then comes the biggest shock of all when he finds out that Paisley, his 8 year old daughter, needs him now more than ever.  How to cope?  What do do?  Well, whatever he's going to do, he's going to give it everything he has because, for once, there's someone who truly needs him.

Taylor is driven, focused, and enthusiastic.  She's determined to make a success of the business she loves even if she's not family and not in a position of power.  Her mind is quick and despite the struggles she has with Zach, she knows what she needs to do and goes for it.  When Sean quickly becomes an answer to the company's problems she throws herself into the deep end to see it through to success.  Now to just get Sean on board...

I was worried that Ray and Zach would make her train Sean to be her boss, that she would be overlooked in a testosterone driven field, but that was not the case.  It was quite unexpected, his role, and the way things progressed in the business was unpredictable and fun to see.  There was immediate connection and the interplay between them was genuine and passionate.  Then another fear was hoping Zach wouldn't come between them.  He did, just not in a way that I thought he would.  All in all, there were so many surprises with how things progressed in the business and romantically that I was engaged from the word go.  I fell in love with Sean, Taylor, and Paisley just as much as they all fell for one another.

The romance wasn't contrived, forced, or awkward at all.  There was intense passion, overwhelming feelings, and a great sense of rightness.  Humanity and genuine affection between everyone was always present and I respected them for how things proceeded.  With the synopsis I was expecting a manwhore that screwed any woman that came along and had a sexist, arrogant attitude.  I was honestly expecting to not like him very much.  What I found instead was a man who had a heart, who kept control of himself, and aside from a sexy fantasy and lustful thoughts, he didn't talk the whole time about her body.  He was much more interested in who she was, how she made him feel, her importance in his life.  Not that there weren't fireworks in the bedroom, there most definitely were, it just wasn't only about how they connected physically.  He was supportive of Taylor's professional ambition and he made her feel important, gave her a place to call home in each aspect of her life that was important to her.  Taylor in turn gave him confidence, the encouragement and support, and the push he needed to fulfill his potential.  She didn't try to mold him into a corporate suit, she let him be himself.  They were a powerful couple that were utterly perfect together.

Overall, I am so very in love with this book.  This is probably my favorite book by Alice so far.  Reading and reviewing her books is an absolute pleasure.