Maryse's Book Blog - Page 1223 of 1846 - Following my heart, one book at a time...

Suddenly Sunday Surprises – August 9th 2015

August 9, 2015 By Maryse 89 Comments

Wow… I haven’t posted one of these in awhile! Lately, Sunday’s have been pretty calm overall, but THREE hugely popular authors just released their books, so I could NOT stand by and wait until Tuesday to mention ’em, right? That would just be wrong… what if you were anxiously waiting ’em? I know many here loved Book #1, of one of these… 😉

<— MONDAY Aug 5th UDPATE!! Look what else JUST WENT LIVE!! Souls Unfractured (Hades Hangmen Book 3) by Tillie Cole (PLUS 3 more below!!)

Beneath Blood and Bone by Madeline Sheehan & Claire C. Riley is LIVE RIGHT NOW!! Ooooohhhh this one sounds like it wants to tear my heart out but in a goooood way! “Her name is Autumn, but she hasn’t said this name or much of anything else in the four years since the fall of civilization. A shell of her former self, living wild in a cave at the bottom of a ravine, Autumn is accustomed to being alone. She prefers it, actually, especially when her only options for company either try to kill her, or worse, to lock her up inside their walls.” And then… she ends up seeing him as her savior… P.S. I don’t know if they can both be read as standalones or not (I’m thinking yes, but just in case, book #1 in the series is on super-sale at a rock-bottom price right now!! Thicker than Blood) UPDATE!! YES!!! BOTH books in this series CAN be read as standalones!!!
Bury Me by Tara Sivec <— JUST WENT LIVE!! And it sounds tragic and crazy and kinda scary too! She’s barely got her memory… just flashes of images.. “Two days ago, everything changed. Two days ago, the people I should trust the most became strangers in my convoluted head. The dreams I have can’t be real. The fleeting memories that whisper through my mind are scary and wrong…they have to be. If they aren’t, I have something much worse to fear than my fractured mind. I need to find out the truth, even if it destroys me. I’ve been told my name is Ravenna Duskin. I’m eighteen years old and I live…“
Souls Unfractured (Hades Hangmen Book 3) by Tillie Cole – expected release date August 11th 2015 (and we’re still waiting… but I’m hoping considering our amazing book-luck today, that this one will be an early surprise, too!!) – AND JUST LIKE I thought… it did!! 😀
That Baby (That Boy Book 3) by Jillian Dodd <— UPDATE (MONDAY AUGUST 5th 2015) JUST WENT LIVE TODAY!!
Overtime (Assassins Series Book 7) by Toni Aleo <— UPDATE (MONDAY AUGUST 5th 2015) JUST WENT LIVE TODAY!!
The Arrangement 20 (The Ferro Family) by H.M. Ward <— UPDATE (MONDAY AUGUST 5th 2015) JUST WENT LIVE TODAY!!
From Dust by Freya Barker <— Wanna know what I’m reading? This one was on a recent new release post, and just recently it was suggested a few times as awesome. One reader even said it had a KA “Sweet Dreams” feel to it. So I sampled it, and sure enough… I had to one-click it. Very good so far, and I concur! She’s homeless and eating out of dumpsters behind restaurants, and a manager at a local resto-bar sees it… I’m enjoying the feel, the progression, being in her head… and I’m in! I’m still only in the first half though, but so far? It’s good!! :D!!!
Fallen Crest University (Fallen Crest Series Book 5) by Tijan <— And just for fun… don’t forget what’s coming out on August 25th! 😉 *glances and Tessa* I knooooowwwww I know Tessa. You have a fistful of peanuts. 😛

Tillie Cole – Hades Hangmen Series Reading Order

August 9, 2015 By Maryse 8 Comments

Much loved biker series and OMG I loved that premise!! A sheltered and abused girl in a strict religious commune escapes, right into the protection – or danger – of a biker club!!!! *whoooooo!!* 😀 And guess what?!! Book #3 is coming out it just a couple of days!!!

Melinda: …another really good book is it ain’t me babe by tillie cole. I just loved it. So different from other books. It’s aBout a girl in a cult. She escapes, her beliefs and what she had to do. She escapes to a motorcycle gang. Really worth a read.

Lauren: It Ain’t Me Babe by Tillie Cole was EXCELLENT!!! Best I’ve read in a while.

Jean: Started last night and COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!! This is the exact kind of read I was looking for and so excited for everyone to read it!… I loved all of the characters, even Flame, and definitely want (need) more!

Shannon: I sure hope that there are more books after It Ain’t Me Babe – I really want to read more on some of the characters – specifically Flame! Good book!

Laura: I just read heart recaptured I really wanted flames book as well but it’s out in January.

Nancy: impatiently waiting for the release on Tuesday of Souls Unfractured by Author Tillie Cole.

About book #1:

A fortuitous encounter. A meeting that should never have happened.

Many years ago, two children from completely different worlds forged a connection, a fateful connection, an unbreakable bond that would change their lives forever…

Salome knows only one way to live—under Prophet David’s rule. In the commune she calls home, Salome knows nothing of life beyond her strict faith, nor of life beyond the Fence—the fence that cages her, keeps her trapped in an endless cycle of misery. A life she believes she is destined to always lead, until a horrific event sets her free.

Fleeing the absolute safety of all she has ever known, Salome is thrust into the world outside, a frightening world full of uncertainty and sin; into the protective arms of a person she believed she would never see again.

River ‘Styx’ Nash knows one thing for certain in life—he was born and bred to wear a cut. Raised in a turbulent world of sex, Harleys, and drugs, Styx, unexpectedly has the heavy burden of the Hades Hangmen gavel thrust upon him, and all at the ripe old age of twenty-six—much to his rivals’ delight.

Haunted by a crushing speech impediment, Styx quickly learns to deal with his haters. Powerful fists, an iron jaw and the skillful use of his treasured German blade has earned him a fearsome reputation as a man not to be messed with in the shadowy world of outlaw MC’s. A reputation that successfully keeps most people far, far away.

Styx has one rule in life—never let anyone get too close. It’s a plan that he has stuck to for years, that is, until a young woman is found injured on his lot… a woman who looks uncannily familiar, a woman who clearly does not belong in his world, yet a woman he feels reluctant to let go…

SERIES READING ORDER:

“You’ll Never Believe…” with Avery Flynn

August 9, 2015 By Maryse Leave a Comment

Welcome to the 44th installment of “You’ll Never Believe…”

For those that don’t know what these new featurettes will be about, here is the scoop! “You’ll Never Believe…” will feature the weirdest questions or encounters that authors have been asked/had. Might be about their books or random things, like meetings in a bathroom where someone asked what brand of toilet paper they normally use. Fun stuff and inside scoops that an author would not normally share.

Today’s “You’ll Never Believe…” celebrates the release of Avery Flynn’s latest book “Trouble on Tap (Sweet Salvation Brewery 3)”. Oh THIS BOOK SOUND SO GOOD!!! She’s an ex-supermodel that’s broke, and humiliated, and has to come back home, and HE’S an ex-marine now cop, with facial scars AND with a HUGE chip on his shoulder. Ohhhh I love bad-ass moody cops!!

In this installment of “You’ll Never Believe…”, the author tells us about how she found herself ankle deep in toilet water!

You’ll Never Believe – Family Edition By Avery Flynn

So I’m not the most graceful person in the world. In fact, I’m not even close. So it shouldn’t be a shock that the Flynn kids aren’t exactly known for expert coordination. That’s what brings me to the exploding toilet.

In our old house we had one of those toilets where you had to jiggle the handle to get it to stop running. Ugh. It was annoying, but jiggling was better than having to lift the tank lid, reach down into the cold water and tap the valve shut. Yuck.

It wasn’t the greatest system but it worked—right up until the day Flynn Kid 2 (who was six at the time) thought he was strong enough to lift the heavy toilet tank lid and push down the valve. Turned out, his mini-muscles weren’t ready and he dropped the tank lid…right onto the edge of the tank. The tank broke and water came gushing out—and when I say gushing I mean there’s a break in the levy rush of water.

Lucky for me, I grew up in rental housing and have learned a thing or twenty about emergency plumbing. I dove in and turned off the water to the toilet, turned around and realized there was water (fresh water thank God) up to my ankles.

It took about a billion towels and a dozen trips down to the laundry room to wash them, but we got it all cleaned up.

While it wasn’t funny at the time, we all laugh about it with Flynn Kid 2. Of course, he’s still not allowed to mess with the toilet tank lid. 😉

I promise there’s no toilet trouble in Trouble on Tap, but there is sassy, sexy fun and a romance that will make your heart speed up. 🙂

Tee hee!!! Flooding and plumbing scare me bad! I’ve had my own mishap or two myself. Like the time, on my BIRTHDAY, waiting to go out for dinner, when my washing machine filled up… and never stopped.

UGHHHHH. LOL!!! 😛

About Avery Flynn:

Avery Flynn has three slightly-wild children, loves a hockey-addicted husband and is desperately hoping someone invents the coffee IV drip.

She fell in love with romance while reading Johanna Lindsey’s Mallory books. It wasn’t long before Avery had read through all the romance offerings at her local library. Needing a romance fix, she turned to Harlequin’s four books a month home delivery service to ease the withdrawal symptoms. That worked for a short time, but it wasn’t long before the local book stores’ staffs knew her by name.

Avery was a reader before she was a writer and hopes to always be both. She loves to write about smartass alpha heroes who are as good with a quip as they are with their *ahem* other God-given talents. Her heroines are feisty, fierce and fantastic. Brainy and brave, these ladies know how to stand on their own two feet and knock the bad guys off theirs.

Reader Favorites – Cheryl’s Top Favorite Books List:

August 8, 2015 By Maryse 41 Comments

It’s Saturday and you know what that means! It’s time for the latest Reader Favorite’s List, and Cheryl is up next! Looking over her list, I see a lot of my own favorites, but there are plenty of “new-to-mes” on here, too! YAY ME!! YAY US!!!

Cheryl’s been with us since 2012!!! And she’s got 60 pages worth of comments from her alone, on the blog! LOL!!! So you know she’s been one-of-us (and a little crazy, too!) for ages now. Let’s get to know her, shall we? A little blast from her comment past… 😛

She’s NOT a cliffhanger fan. LOL!! “A CH, well that decides it for me. Nope, not going to read it until it is complete…“
She’s a team-player/dark-read chicken! Buddy-reading is favored. LOL! “…if you want to hold my hand, *cough* I mean buddy read Captive In the Dark I’m in…“
She loves her flowers… fermented. *snort* ““Hibiscus vodka”…OMG going to liquor store tomorrow…that will be my new favorite summer drink!!!“
She’s okay with somewhat open-ended endings: “I will say I think maybe for me it was good that not all my questions were answered so that in my mind I could think something ended a way that I liked. “
She loves a good book-cry and and angsty romance! “Bring on the angsty list!! “
She loves sports themed romance books! “I just can’t resist a sports theme story.“
Here’s a little about “how” she reads: “When I’m reading I picture the H as described, but it’s a vague picture, if that makes sense. Hair color, build and good looking, but not an exact picture. I don’t picture myself as the h, but if it’s a good book I feel what’s she’s feeling.“
She’s supportive! “WOW, this is great!! Bookmarked this page!! Thanks Maryse!” <— awwwww. 😀 <3
She’s a child of the 80’s! “Omg, I remember all that from the 80′s. Big earrings, and even bigger hair…thanks to a lot of aqua net. How did I not know that about Adidas!! Guess I wasn’t one of the cool kids!!! “

And now she’s sent us her TOP 18 (plus some, ’cause you know there are always extras!!)

When deciding on my favorites list, I choose books that stuck with me either because I can remember the characters, the events that happened, the overall “feel” that the book evoked in me, or were chosen after looking at the books I’ve read list and then recalling what I loved about the book. I can’t say Fifty Shades is on my favorites list, but it did get me started reading again, so it deserves an honorable mention. Also, I used to read a lot of Twilight Fan-fiction (hey it’s free) so I have to give a shout-out (aka Amy-style cheat) to my favorite FF stories that were published. Beautiful Bastard, Wallbanger, PUCKED and The Plan.

Looking at my list it’s easy to see that I am a sucker for a good rock-star or sports-theme story.

Thoughtless by S.C. Stephens- Kellan Kyle, need I say more.
Infinity Series Series by Layne Harper – favorite sports theme series.
Outlander – Jamie is one of my favorite book boyfriends and Diana Gabaldon is the only author I have met in person. *bonus*
The Fae Chronicles by Amelia Hutchins. Was a tie between this one and The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning for favorite PNR series. Honestly I never would have read either of these, since I’m not a big PNR reader, if Maryse and my fellow readers had not recommended them.
The Mighty Storm by Samantha Towle. Favorite bad-boy rockstar.
The Groupie Trilogy by Ginger Voight. ANGSTY rock-star story. No lie my stomach was in knots the entire trilogy.
The Sweet Gum Tree by Katherine Allred- sweet angst, second chance love story.
The Opportunist/Love Me With Lies Series by Tarryn Fisher. Kill me with Angst!! HATED Leah. Ripped my heart out.
Mud Vein by Tarryn Fisher. I think I have PTSD from this book, I still remember how much of a mind-f*ck this book did to me.
Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan. My sweet Archer- so beautifully broken.
Black Lies by Alessandra Torre. What, what, wtf?!!
The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen. Loved reading a positive story about less than perfect characters, since my daughter has a physical disability.
Tristan & Danika Series by R. K. Lilley. Chewed up my heart and twisted my gut.
The Driven Series by K. Bromberg. Wanted to simultaneously hug and crotch punch Colton.
That Boy Series by Jillian Dodd. Funniest, best books to listen to.
After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Still gets me every time I think of the line, “I’ve met someone.”
Bright Side by Kim Holden. I’m shocking myself by listing this book, because I hated it- probably my worst ugly cry, BUT it was so good.
Experiment in Terror Series/The Artists Trilogy/Love, in English by Karina Halle. Just love this author.

Well, there you have it. Could also add The Off-Campus Series by Elle Kennedy and Beat And Throb by Vi Keeland are my newest favorites. I’m looking forward to more by these authors.
*group hug*

Book Review – The Paper Swan by Leylah Attar

August 8, 2015 By Maryse 25 Comments

The Paper Swan
Oh wow… you guys!!!! READ THIS NOW!! Absolute intensity from start to finish, but different kinds of “intensity” throughout. Chilling, thrilling, devastating, relievingly funny, passionate and tender, and yet, best of all, emotionally healing. For all involved. Even the reader. Especially the reader.

Yep. I absolutely love this author!!! Her unique, yet “real-feel” real-people romances, her polished writing, and her attention to scene-setting detail, hooked me from the very start!

Maryse: Okay… just an update (I’ve been gone readin’ my stories) tee hee!!! But so far? Paper Swans is OMG FREAKING AWESOME. The writing and the story YES!!!!! YES YES YES FOR ME!!!! And I’m WAY early in and was IN right from the first page, and at 14% I was reading happily and then OMG!!!! Jaw dropped. Good times. I LOVE READING!

Cheryl: Oh dear God, I started The Paper Swan and the first paragraph has me. Thanks Maryse!!

paper-swan-video — Click to watch my video reactions while reading “The Paper Swan”

My fondness for her was already cinched when I devoured her other book, 53 Letters For My Lover. I read it last year and it had tons of angsty forbidden romance all wrapped up in her stunning writing, so it was a given that I wanted to read this new standalone (especially after THAT intense blurb).

They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. They lie. For 21 days she held on. But on Day 22, she would have given anything for the sweet slumber of death. Because on Day 22, she realizes that her only way out means certain death for one of the two men she loves.

P.S. It’s not a love triangle, but OMG does that blurb ever make sense, now.

Julie: Ok Maryse! You talked me into it. I’m going to dive into Paper Swan. The blurb scares me but I hear it is best to go in blind!

I knew I’d been in for emotional depth (realizing that not all of my emotions would be happy or peaceful ones). Nevertheless, I was in for an amazing, fulfilling journey. A complete story, and boy did I get it. But it’s not all “daisies and sunshine”. This author can throw in some turmoil like no other, yet as bad as it gets, it’s never overwhelming to the reader. I think it’s her magical prose that keeps the reader grounded and secure, even when all hell is turning loose. And some were feeling the fear, big time (as was I…)

Julie: I’m at 21% of Paper Swan. I can’t stop reading it even though it is a bit out of my comfort zone. And, I keep trying to guess where it is going and I’m pretty sure everything idea I think up will be wrong!

MichelleS: I am reading Paper Swans now – I went in blind so this is definitely NOT what I was expecting….. and there are already things that can’t be undone or forgiven, so this better all work out, that’s all I’m sayin’

JenC: I agree, MichelleS – I’m reading The Paper Swan at the moment and it’s not what I was expecting at all but in a good way. Really enjoying it. And that cover is gorgeous!

Jean: Thinking I have to read The Paper Swan next because my girlfriend at work is freaking out about it and she usually doesn’t read a book before I do, so yeah, I’m kinda jealous of her jumping into it before me and her reaction….lol!

Stella: I was going to start Paper Swans a few days ago. I read the first page and then stopped and didn’t go any further. I was thinking the same thing, that all of this better work itself out or I won’t be pleased. I didn’t continue because I was hoping to hear what other people’s thoughts were before I picked it up again.

Andrea: I just finished the sample and don’t know to buy or not. The hair cut thing is yikes!

Sarah: Do it…i loved it!

Maryse: *grins* Tee hee!!!! 😛 PICK. IT. BACK. UP!!!! LOL!!! You are all in for ALL SORTS of emotions…

Judie: I read this book this weekend (actually while doing other stuff) – I Loved It!! I am taking a chance and recommending it – it’s not for the weak of heart – but it was exactly what I needed right now.

Amy: Seriously ladies, if you are wavering on Paper Swan…STOP!! Just pick it up and start reading it. I’m going to be up until the early hours of the morning finishing this one. It’s. Just. That. Great.

You guys… keep reading! DO IT!! This book will take you through a wide gamut of emotions, situations, realizations and reveals and will have you gasping and sighing all the way through. You will feel ALL of it.

And I’m not the only one in love with this story. Just look at this enthusiasm. This just may be the best book of the year, or darn close to it, my friends. It’s reaching a reader-love of epic proportions!

Amy: The Paper Swan…*sigh* Finished it and loved it. LOVED it. It ended on a different tone from where it started, but for me it worked. I know I keep going on about her writing but something about it just makes it so easy to slip into the story, no adjusting or adapting to it necessary. Kind of like slipping into a warm bubble bath with a glass of wine. Weird analogy? Whatever…it’s the best I’ve got.

Rebecca: Finished it last night- crazy good. Her words are just amazingly beautiful~ I have to read some things again to let them seep in fully~ so beautiful.

Val: I loved this book. I finished it a couple days ago and it’s still all I think about. Such beautiful words.

Maryse: I know… my very last thought was… wow… it’s like… she wrote a miracle of beautifulness. LOL!!!

Trisha: RIGHT!! 🙂 I’m in awe of her.

Amanda: I read it yesterday. I couldn’t put it down. Great recommendation!!

Melania: I finished reading this book. OMG … this is the Best Book of 2015! Thanks again for recommending Leylah Attar. She is an amazing author. I came across her name from one of your FB feed & loving those 2 books.

Heather: Loved this book HARD!! Favorite read this year!

Sarah: Finished this last night and loved it. First book for me by this author…now going to download 53 letters!!!

So what’s it about? This is where I need to be exceptionally careful, because I don’t want to accidentally lead you into putting things together, that you shouldn’t. Or that you should, but nor pre-maturely. You know? There’s a journey to experience, a thought process to go through, and everything happens for a reason. Everything is revealed when it needs to be. So I’m going to be extremely vague. After all… you can’t get more intriguing yet vague with that blurb, so it’s not up to me to give away more.

Skye has been raised “wealthy” and is your typical, pretty, outgoing and successful socialite. She has everything going for her. Love and support, her life is almost… perfect. But her world completely changes, as she knows it, on her birthday. When she awakens and finds herself bound and gagged, bag over her head and the muzzle of a gun against her skull.

My life was set to be a series of standing ovations: graduation, wedding, a house worthy of being showcased in a slick magazine, two perfect kids. Yet here I was, on my knees, a sack over my head, the cold barrel of a gun against the base of my skull. And the worst part? Not knowing why this was happening, not knowing why I was going to die. Then again, since when did these things make sense?

And as she tries to figure out what is happening, tries to keep calm, and delay the inevitable…

It was just starting to sink in. This was happening. This was real. When you’ve led a charmed life, something kicks in to insulate you from the shock—a sense of entitlement, as if this too, would be looked after. Holding on to that gave me a sense of bravado, of flippancy. I was loved, valued, important. Surely, someone was going to swoop in and save the day. Right? Right?

…she asks for one thing. That he allow her to see the night sky, one last time.

And she begins to pray.

Suddenly, instead of being shot dead that night, she is taken, stuffed into a wooden crate, and taken on a small yacht. And the story begins. From abuse and terror, hate and resistance,

I was reduced to nothing but hunger and thirst and bodily functions. And I was totally dependent on him. ‘Please’ and ‘thank you’ come automatically when you are at someone’s mercy. Even if you hate their guts.

to moments of sweet relief, connecting with her captor… from victim to friend and back again,

I got what he was doing—rewarding my good behavior with kindness, soothing the wounds he’d inflicted upon me. I was supposed to feel grateful, dependent, to bond with him over small mercies, but that whole Stockholm syndrome thing? Yeah, I really wasn’t feeling it. If I ever found where he’d stashed my spiked heels, I was going to nail his black heart to the mast of his f**king boat.

…living this terror with her affords the reader all sorts of introspection, and even funny, laugh-out-loud moments that have even us, connecting with the bad guy.

Maryse: LOL!! One of my fav parts… (so many – this book is highlighted like CRAZY) but I always love the “Stockholm Syndrome” part of the book-terror… when they start caring for each other. She makes HIM food…

“It was the most vile, putrid, goopy thing in the world. It tasted of bile and rotten tomatoes and Bart Simpson’s butt.

I spit it out, but Damian kept going, bite after foul, rancid bite, until it was all gone. When he was done, he leaned back, holding his tummy like he was trying to keep it all down.

“Wha—?” I stared at him. “Why did you finish it?”

“Because you made it,” he replied. “Don’t make it again.”

Tee hee!!! 😛 Who knows where this is going, but by the reactions, this is gonna be a 5-star for sure!

And oh boy, does the story keeps changing. Please don’t think it’s your usual “dark kidnap romance/psych thriller”, because it is SO MUCH MORE. There is a WHOLE story here. The mood, the setting, the motivation of it all, as our journey takes us from her childhood, and into her ever-changing present… the reveals are absolute gasp-worthy!

How deluded we become when we start believing that everything in the world is about us. How hard we work to make things fit into our made-up theories. How blindly we follow our worked-up emotions, the good, the bad and the ugly.

WOW. Just… wow. SO MUCH WOW!!!!

I loved it all. The introspection, the interaction, the dialogue, the connections, the life altering realizations, the struggles to get there, and the heartwarming feeling of fulfillment. This book is NOT to be missed. None of it is easy, but it is so worth every single moment. This book is just… everything.