One Wrong Move by Shannon McKenna Book Review & Giveaway!

Book Review: One Wrong Move

By: Shannon McKenna 

Publisher:  Kensington 

Release Date: September 25, 2012

Romantic Suspense 

3 Heart Review

Book Blurb: 

Alex Aaro has spent most of his life on the run from his Ukrainian mafia family. But when he learns that crazy Aunt Tonya, the only relative who ever gave a damn about him, is dying, he risks returning home to say goodbye. He’s prepared for anything except the call from his friend, Bruno Ranieri, that sends him on a wild and dangerous ride with a mysterious woman with a deadly secret and a white hot passion that binds them together.

 

Social worker Nina Moro knows her life is forfeit if she makes a wrong move and the ruthless syndicate hunting the terrified Ukranian prostitute she is hiding discovers her involvement. And so Nina avoids the inscrutable interpreter who suddenly appears on her doorstep. Until that six-foot-four rock hard slab of lean muscle is the only thing between her and certain death. Now Nina and Alex are in a race against time, death, and their desire for one another… 

What I enjoyed most about this book is that you are left without any doubt that the hero and heroine of this book totally belong together. While both Nina and Aaro are self-proclaimed "damaged goods" they find their perfect counterpart in each other. 

From the way Nina can laugh off all the extremely rude and crude sexual advances Aaro sends her way, to how he can get her past her paranoid craziness, they just work. That working together as characters means we readers get some insanely hot but graphic scenes and boy does Aaro have a dirty mouth!

What didn't work for me was the slight paranormal slant the story took on. It felt like an editor had suggested the author work that angle into the story to fit it into a certain category. I could have done without it and felt it took away from what could have been a very strong contemporary romantic suspense. 

If the book had stayed out of the paranormal realm, this could easily have been a 4 Heart Review, but it just threw me out of the story more than pulled me in. By the way, this book is part of a series of books by Shannon but I had no problem at all with reading it and not having read the rest of them.

Fast pacing, a hot, dirty-mouthed hero and a solid plot make this a book I can recommend to lovers of romantic suspense. I'll be excited to check out more books by Shannon and maybe I won't be as surprised by the paranormal aspects of her next story.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shannon McKenna is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of super-sexy, super-scary romantic thrillers. After a bizarre assortment of jobs, from singing cocktail waitress to medical secretary to strolling madrigal singer, she decided that writing hot romantic suspense suits her best. She lives with her husband and family in a small seaside town in southern Italy. Readers can visit her website at www.shannonmckenna.com.

Giveaway Info
Shannon is giving away TWO prizes, a copy of one of her books at each blog stop on her tour AND a grand prize giveaway of a Kindle Touch!!! There are several copies of One Wrong Move, Blood and Fire, Ultimate Weapon, and Fade to Midnight up for grabs!

1)    To win a book: leave a comment on this blog post to be entered to win a book. Be sure to leave your email address in the comments so we can contact you if you’re the lucky winner. This giveaway ends five days after the post goes live.
2)    To win a Kindle Touch: Click the link to go to Shannon’s website and enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom of the page. A winner will be selected on September 27th. Here’s Shannon’s Website.
 

Lori Foster's A Perfect Storm Blog Tour - Win a Copy!

Welcome to Lori Foster's A Perfect Storm Blog Tour! 

Your Excerpt From A Perfect Storm: 

“Oh, aren’t you the generous one?”

He sighed. “The sneer is unappealing. Just tell me what it is.”

The narrowing of her eyes emphasized their pale, bright blue color and the thickness of her long, inky lashes. She drew two deep breaths, making it tough for him to keep his attention off her chest.

“It’s my birthday.”

Huh. Of all the things he’d imagined, that wasn’t one of them. It wasn’t even one of the top fifty. “Your birthday?” he said stupidly.

“Yeah, you know, the day I was born. Not under a rock, in case you’re wondering.” When he stayed mute, she added, “I’m twenty-one now. A legal adult. Not a little girl, like you keep saying.”

Find your next excerpt of A Perfect Storm at http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/

Now, welcome Lori Foster to Cheeky Reads - Advice for Aspiring Romance Novelists: 

I suggest that budding romance writers write what excites them. Avoid the traps of trying to jump on the bandwagon, or emulate a successful author. If it’s not YOU, you won’t enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy it, why would anyone else?

Some writers prefer stand alone books. Some, like me, have characters that take over and show up again and again.  Some like writing sweet romances, and some like super-steamy and explicit. It is such an amazingly personal thing that you can’t, and should never try to, write for anyone but yourself.

I’ve had books that readers hated. Some that readers *really* hated. LOL. But I’m a realist. I know I can’t please all the readers all of the time. When disappointed readers write to me, I apologize. I AM sorry that they spent time on a book they didn’t enjoy. 

But will I change what I’m doing for them? I can’t.

What works for me is writing what I want, what I enjoy, the way that I want to write it, and the way that works for me. All writers should do the same.

Another tip for new writers – stay away from critique groups. It’s YOUR book, not a book by committee. Just because your critique partner doesn’t like it, just because she thinks it’s awkward, doesn’t mean you need to change it. The only opinions that matter are #1) yours, and #2) the editor’s.  Your critique partner cannot buy your book. All she can really do is point out typos, which is great, discourage you with criticism, which is self-defeating, or bolster you with praise, which may or may not jive with an editor’s opinion.

So avoid it.

Contests can also be a catch 22. Sure, you get immediate feedback and sometimes you get a connection with an editor or agent. But you also get immediate gratification – something you should get after you’ve _finished the book!_ NOT because you’ve written one to three chapters.

I’ve know unpubs who’ve polished that first chapter a dozen times. It’s been submitted in at least that many contests. It’s even placed in a few, or won in some. But the whole book? Why finish a book when you can send just one chapter in to win another contest?

Contests make it so easy to lose sight of the end goal – which is publication. 

New writers – keep your eye on that end goal! As soon as you finish a book and get it mailed off, start another. And another.


Thanks Lori! 

Don't forget to keep following the blog tour! Check out this link for all the information:  http://booktrib.com/blog-tour-a-perfect-storm-by-lori-foster/

Giveaway: The awesome team at Media Muscle is allowing me to giveaway 1 copy of A Perfect Storm to a lucky reader! Tell me what you love the most about romantic suspense and high-octane heroes and you'll be entered to win! 


Open in the US and Canada, a winner will be randomly selected on Friday April 20th. So leave a comment and include your email so I can forward your information to Media Muscle! 

Book Review: Legacy of the Highlands by Harriet Schultz

Book Review: Legacy of the Highlands
By: Harriet Schultz
Self-Published - Available at Amazon & Smashwords
Contemporary Romantic Suspense
2.5/3 Heart Review

Book Blurb:

When Will Cameron’s body is discovered in a Boston alley, the only clue to the thirty-four-year-old man’s murder is a pristine Scottish sgian dubh dagger left beside it. His devastated widow, Alexandra, flees Boston to find refuge in the Miami villa of Will’s best friend, Diego Navarro, who has the means, power and temperament to solve the puzzle and to avenge the senseless killing.

Diego, a handsome and wealthy Argentine, is equally determined to win the grieving widow’s heart. The growing attraction to each other becomes hard to resist as Alex and Diego follow leads that take them from Miami to Buenos Aires and Scotland, unraveling the Cameron family’s secrets and the Legacy of the Highlands.

Most of my blog and twitter followers know that I love a good romantic suspense.  I love the heightened emotions and truly I love to read about the villain getting his. I'm also a fan of historical fiction and so I was very excited to read this book by Harriet.

Let me start with the parts of the book I thought were done well, the historical research and the suspense.  The history included in this book is fascinating and I loved how it was presented. When the story was done, I immediately wanted to look up some of the things Harriet mentioned to see how much was creativity on her part and how much of it was real history. It's really amazing stuff! 

I also thought she created a compelling suspense story and the characters she created to move the suspense forward were interesting. She plotted the suspense portion of this story extremely well and it's not only fast paced, but you do keep trying to guess how this can come to a end, especially in light of the historical aspects of the story. 

What didn't work for me was the romance. Honestly, this book would have been so much better for me if it was a straight up suspense without the romance included. This might not be true for everyone as the reasons I have for the romance not working might not bother another reader. I can't go into too much detail in order not to let out any spoilers, but I just never bought into the romance situation or time-frame that it occurs in.

Likewise, the heroine is so different seeming between her suspense scenes vs. her romantic scenes it was to follow her story and believe in her romantic actions. It was hard to connect with the heroine since I didn't agree with what was going on romantically, which disappointed me since based on the first few chapters I really wanted to cheer for this character.

Style wise, the story set-up and flow were very well done but there were a few scenes that head-hopping pulled me out of the action sometimes. Mostly though, I was really into the historical story and also the suspense storyline and found that it propelled me along even if I wanted to forget the romantic plot that just didn't jive for me. It seemed almost as if the romance had been added to the story later to fit around the suspense.

Again, this would have made an excellent straight suspense story and the Scottish history alone is fascinating and worth the read.  Harriet moves a story along very well and her story was very entertaining. The romance just went into territory I couldn't buy in to so that didn't work, but it might for other readers. If you like Scottish history and suspense I think you'll enjoy this book for those alone!

Happy Reading! 

Cheeky Girl Sabrina 

5 Heart Book Review: Dangerous Desires by Dee Davis

Book Review: Dangerous Desires
By: Dee Davis
Romantic Suspense
Grand Central Publishing
5 Heart Review

As the extractions expert for A-Tac, and elite CIA black ops unit masquerading as faculty at an Ivy League college, Drake Flynn knows how to survive behind enemy lines.  But he’s about to meet one adversary he can’t subdue…or resist.

Stranded in the Colombian jungle after a mission goes bad, Drake has only one objective: evade the mercenaries hot on his trail and deliver “the package” to US officials.  But “the package” has a mind of her own, and she has no intention of trading one set of captors for another.  Madeline Reynard is beautiful, headstrong, and hell-bent on escape after years as a crime lord’s pawn.  She’ll risk everything for freedom, even if it means deceiving the dark, handsome operative who now holds her life in his hands.

Drake has been burned too many times to let a woman manipulate him, especially a secretive one like Madeline.  Even so, they cannot deny the attraction between them.  Now as enemy forces close in, Drake and Madeline must trust each other with their lives – or face certain death.

It was immediately obvious to me that this book is part of a series, one of which I haven’t read.  That being said – I was surprised that I didn’t get lost or feel like I didn’t get to know the characters.  Sometimes with a series, the author relies on previous books to do the character building and doesn’t give enough in the current book for the story to really click with a reader who hasn’t read the previous book…kudos to Dee Davis for keeping this one a stand-alone within a series.

I loved Madeline and Drake…and I especially loved them together.  There is nothing that draws me in more than two very strong characters.  Madeline is one tough cookie.  She doesn’t give in to anything that has happened in her life – and let’s just say she hasn’t exactly gotten it easy.  She is a true survivor, doing whatever it takes and dealing with the emotional backfire later. 

Strong women need strong men – and Drake is all that and more.  His attitude towards women is a bit suspicious at first, but the man has his reasons and he’s about to get a reality check on the integrity of the opposite sex.  For such a tough guy, Drake has a sensitive side that is endearing and adds to the complexity of his character.  He isn’t perfect, but neither is Madeline.

As for the rest of the A-Tac team, the term “adrenaline junkie” comes up a lot, and I have a feeling this is a recurring theme throughout the books.  Dee doesn’t delve into each character as thoroughly as I would expect from a stand-alone book, but since this is a series, the glimpses of each character’s personality makes me want to read more about each one.  I haven’t yet looked up the first book in the series (this is the second), but I don’t think it would take you long to figure out which characters were the main ones.  But that’s what I love about series, you get to visit the characters you fell in love with after their “happy ending” and see the continuation of their lives. 

The “bad guys” in this book are cunning, ruthless, and surprising.  While Madeline and Drake are battling their own enemies, there is a much larger villain that appears to operate throughout the books.   I’m a sucker for undercover operatives – give me a SEAL, or in this case CIA agent, any day and I’m a happy reader. 

If you’re looking for a hot romance with lots of action and intrigue, don’t hesitate to grab Dangerous Desires.  If you can’t wait to read this one, but like to start from the beginning, go ahead and do what I’m about to do – check out Dark Deceptions for the first book of the series.  Either way, you won’t be disappointed with this Dee Davis book.  I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of this series has to offer.

Happy Reading!
Cheeky Girl L.A.

Book Review: Risk No Secrets by Cindy Gerard

Risk No Secrets - A Black Ops, Inc. Novel
By Cindy Gerard
Pocket Books Romance
4 Heart Review

A Red-Hot Attraction...

Twelve years of chasing bad guys didn't erase beautiful Sophie Baylor from Wyatt Savage's memory. If he had another chance, he'd never let her leave. So when she tracks him down from El Salvador and begs for help, he doesn't ask questions - he just goes. 

Starts With A Terrifying Threat...

Sophie is grateful her daughter survived a kidnapping attempt, but she won't forgive herself until the girl who was mistakenly abducted is safe. Wyatt is the only man brave enough to take on the mysterious terrorists behind the crime - and the one irresistible man she wishes she had never let go. 

...And Unleashes An Unforgettable Adventure.

Sophie knows Central America's steamy jungles and sticky politics better than anyone. Yet she refuses to hide in fear. Then she becomes the enemy's number one target. Wyatt lost her once, and he won't lose her again - even if he has to fight, kill or die to save her.

That sound you just heard? That was me sighing in satisfaction after finishing this book. There is something so satisfying about really good Romantic Suspense and Cindy Gerard does it very, very well. Her Black Ops, Inc. books are so much fun to read and I love reading the mix of steam and suspense in a well-paced book.

The absolute only issue I had with this book was that I had a hard time understanding and connecting with why Sophie had chosen Hugh over Wyatt those 12 years before. That was the only thing keeping this from being a 5 Heart Review for me. I guess I needed some more depth to that back story in order to understand Sophie's choice. Instead, I felt like she just married Hugh because he was the one who asked.

Both Sophie and Wyatt were engaging characters and I absolutely loved seeing a little bit into the other Black Ops, Inc. members falling in love or seeing them happy after their own books HEA.

I love this series and if you are a fan of romantic suspense, or want to add some suspense to your life, give Cindy's books a try. You can easily pick up anywhere in the series without missing anything. Each book stands on it's own completely, but with visits from past and future characters.