Showing posts with label Leisa Rayven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leisa Rayven. Show all posts

January 6, 2019

Our Top 10 Books of 2018-#5



Melissa's Pick

Getting Schooled by Emma Chase

Head of the class...

Garrett Daniels has this whole life thing figured out.

The cocky, charismatic former high school star quarterback is an idolized football coach and "cool" teacher in the hometown where he's not just a golden boy — he's platinum. He has good friends, a great house on the lake, and the best damn sidekick a man could ask for: Snoopy, the albino beagle.

Then...Callie Carpenter comes home.

And knocks him right on his tight end zone.

Back to school...

Callie has a pretty sweet life herself...on the other side of the country. But circumstances — that she'd prefer to never speak of again — have brought her back home, helping out her parents and substitute teaching at her old high school.

Now she's facing bickering, raging hormones, constant gossip, awkward weirdness, and drama galore...and that's just the teachers.

Just like old times...

When Garrett offers to show his former high school sweetheart the secrets of his winning teacher ways, Callie jumps at the chance - and then has to stop herself from jumping him.

Good friends are all they can ever be.

Or...these teachers just might end up getting schooled — hard —by love.

What We Said About Getting Schooled



Laura's Pick

Professor Feelgood by Leisa Rayven

Ambitious book editor Asha Tate is a hopeless romantic. Despite her mediocre track record with men, she believes in swooning, sighing, and the everlasting love of true soul mates. Sure, sex is okay, but she's not someone who's ever been driven by her animal urges.

Until now.

When Asha stumbles upon the scorching hot Instagram feed of someone calling himself Professor Feelgood, she falls in lust for the first time. Not only is she left panting over photos of the professor's insane body, but his angst-filled poetry about losing his one true love speaks straight to her soul.

Desperately in need of a bestseller for her struggling publishing company, Asha knows the professor's potential to sell to his millions of loyal followers could be the lifeline her bosses need. However, the ink is barely dry on a book deal before she realizes she's made a terrible mistake. Sure, the professor is incredibly talented and sexier than any man has a right to be, but the man behind the persona isn't at all who she pictured. In real life, he's intense, arrogant and infuriating, and his uncanny ability to rub her the wrong way turns her dream project into a total nightmare.

Knowing that the professor is everything she doesn't want in a man should help Asha ignore her occasional urges to mount him, but she quickly learns that explosive, unwanted chemistry can make even smart people do stupid things.

What We Said About Professor Feelgood




September 23, 2018

PROFESSOR FEELGOOD BY LEISA RAYVEN-BLOG TOUR



What's a girl to do when a man who's countless shades of wrong feels oh-so-right?

Ambitious book editor Asha Tate is a hopeless romantic. Despite her mediocre track record with men, she believes in swooning, sighing, and the everlasting love of true soul mates. Sure, sex is okay, but she’s not someone who’s ever been driven by her animal urges.


Until now.


When Asha stumbles upon the scorching hot Instagram feed of someone calling himself Professor Feelgood, she falls in lust for the first time. Not only is she left panting over the professor’s insane body, but his angst-filled poetry about losing his one true love speaks straight to her soul. 


Desperately in need of a bestseller for her struggling publishing company, Asha knows the professor’s potential to sell to his millions of loyal followers could be the lifeline her bosses need. However, the ink is barely dry on a book deal before she realizes she’s made a terrible mistake. Sure, the professor is incredibly talented and sexier than any man has a right to be, but the man behind the persona isn’t at all who she pictured. In real life, he’s intense, arrogant and infuriating, and his uncanny ability to rub her the wrong way turns her dream project into a total nightmare.

Knowing that the professor is everything she doesn’t want in a man should help Asha ignore her occasional urges to mount him, but she quickly learns that explosive, unwanted chemistry can make even smart people do stupid things.

Don't miss this sexy new standalone from the international bestselling author of Bad Romeo and Broken Juliet.

 

I finished this book with tears running down my cheeks. 60% because of the ending, and how happy I was with the way this ended up for these characters, and 40% because, I think, I was just NOT ready to let these characters go.

Asha is trying for a promotion at work and sees the next "big thing" in the Instagram feed of Professor Feelgood and his posts about life, the love he lost, and the lessons he learned from it. You connect with both of them, with her ambition to break out and really show people what she can do and with his desire to look at the past with regret and look at the things he wishes he did differently, while trying to find a way to move forward.

But, as life often does, the worlds collide and getting what you want, and learning how to put the past behind you, conflicts. This, I think, to me was the part of the book that really spoke to me, and that had me in tears. We reflect on our pasts, the things that changed us and shaped us. I think we all have regrets, some bigger than others, things that we wish had ended up differently, things we wish we'd said, things we regret doing.

So, what happens when that past is with us in the present and we are given the chance to right a wrong, to change a perception and to get another chance. Do we take it; or are we afraid that, if it doesn't work out, we will lose the chance to look back on that mistake and say "what if...."

I know this doesn't make a lot of sense to you, if you are reading this without reading the book. You see, there is not really a way to review this without spoilers. But, I didn't want to leave a review that said just that, and nothing else. I wanted to say something about it, to tell people why they need to read this book, and why Leisa Rayven is one of my favorite authors...without ruining it for others.

So, this review is about why it made ME cry, and why I connected with the characters, and why I would be ok if Ms. Rayven wrote another book (or 10) about them. And, it's me telling you to read it.

I loved and recommend this title.



Leisa Rayven is so talented and has such a way with words that I don't care how long she takes to write a book so long as she keeps writing them. This book drew me in from the start and I just didn't want it to end. While technically the second in the series it can absolutely be read and enjoyed as a standalone.

This is a book that's really difficult to review without spoiling. I would certainly never want to spoil a book, I want a reader to dive into this book. I can tell you it's unique, it's incredibly well written. There were moments that had me smiling and moments that I cried. I mean CRIED.

These aren't perfect characters. They bring those imperfections to the table and force you to look in the mirror and see how you relate. I loved these two and I love their journey.

The story itself was unique, as I said. It's well written and just flows. I didn't want to stop reading. I felt completely immersed in this world, and it's one I know I'll go back and revisit. I don't often highlight in books...but I definitely highlighted portions of this book. This is the type of book that will stick with you-and that is why I love this Author.

I truly enjoyed this book and absolutely recommend it.






December 29, 2017

Our #8 Picks of 2017


Melissa's Pick

Sex. Lust. Lies.
New York Times bestselling author, Emma Hart, brings the heat and heart in a brand-new series of sexy standalone novels, starting with SIN...

Damien Fox lived up to his name.
Cunning, sly, and dangerous, fifty percent of Vegas’ strip clubs were his.
Whatever he wanted, money, attention, women, he got.
And now he wanted to buy my bar, no matter the cost.
I wanted him to go to hell on a first-class ticket.
He played a dirty game, and I followed his rules. I let him think he would win.
Despite our differences, it was clear to see that we were no more than two broken hearts colliding in the darkness.
Closed off, sexy, and holding a pain that would crush a lesser man, he was the ultimate sin.
One I couldn’t deny myself, even though I knew better than to trust a fox...

(SIN is book one of the Vegas Nights series. Each book in this series is a standalone novel.)

                 What We Said About Sin!




Laura's Pick

Mister Romance by Leisa Rayven

 

Max Riley is the man of your dreams. Or at least he will be, for a price.

As his alter-ego Mister Romance, Max is a drop-dead gorgeous escort who makes romantic fantasies come to life. No sex, just swoon-worthy dates to die for, and the cream of New York's socialites can't get enough. Whether they want a dominating billionaire, bad boy with a heart of gold, hot geek, sexy biker, or best friend who loves them from afar, Max can make it all happen, but he's careful to keep his real identity a secret.

Enter investigative journalist Eden Tate. Having caught wind of the urban legend of Mister Romance from a lovestruck client, Eden is determined to publish a scathing expose on Max and his ability to swindle lonely society women out of their fortunes.

Desperate to protect his anonymity and his clients, Max challenges Eden to give him three dates. If she doesn't fall in love with him, she can run her story with his blessing. If she succumbs to his charms, the story dies.

Cynical Eden has no doubt she can resist his fake romance personas, but when the real Max admits he’s falling for her, she has to decide if the professional liar is telling the truth, or if the passionate man with the mysterious past is just one more character designed to con her out of her career-making story

What We Said About Mister Romance!



  Kobo


a Rafflecopter giveaway

April 30, 2017

MISTER ROMANCE BY LEISA RAYVEN-RELEASE BLITZ AND REVIEW



Max Riley is the man of your dreams. Or at least he will be, for a price.

As his alter-ego Mister Romance, Max is a drop-dead gorgeous escort who makes romantic fantasies come to life. No sex, just swoon-worthy dates to die for, and the cream of New York's socialites can't get enough. Whether they want a dominating billionaire, bad boy with a heart of gold, hot geek, sexy biker, or best friend who loves them from afar, Max can make it all happen, but he's careful to keep his real identity a secret.

Enter investigative journalist Eden Tate. Having caught wind of the urban legend of Mister Romance from a lovestruck client, Eden is determined to publish a scathing expose on Max and his ability to swindle lonely society women out of their fortunes.

Desperate to protect his anonymity and his clients, Max challenges Eden to give him three dates. If she doesn't fall in love with him, she can run her story with his blessing. If she succumbs to his charms, the story dies.

Cynical Eden has no doubt she can resist his fake romance personas, but when the real Max admits he’s falling for her, she has to decide if the professional liar is telling the truth, or if the passionate man with the mysterious past is just one more character designed to con her out of her career-making story.

Don’t miss this sizzling new standalone from the internationally best selling author of Bad Romeo, Broken Juliet, and Wicked Heart.




I need more than 5 stars. 11 or 12, maybe that would be enough. Possibly not though. It was really good, there were parts where I cheered, parts where my heart leapt, and places where my heart broke for the characters. One scene in particular, and a comment about the light in parallel to what is happening stuck with me. No spoilers, but it was so good.

Admittedly, Leisa Rayven is a favorite of mine, and every book has been a 5 star rating for me, so when I heard about this one, I wanted to read it before I knew what it was about. And, then there was a blurb, and I really wanted to read it.

But as it has been a little while since there was a new Leisa Rayven novel, what I forgot is how much fun her books are to read. They are well written, the dialog and the pacing are perfect. They are funny at times, but the humor really comes from the fact that her writing is so strong, the characters are human beings and the observations they make are amusing, as you know them as people.

There is a unique pleasure in reading a really good, well written book that is unlike anything else. This pleasure was definitely there for me with this one. I didn't want to put it down, and I didn't want it to end.

Max.

OMG Max.

Max is absolute perfection. And, at the same time he is flawed. You fall in love with him, in all of his forms, in all of characters. And, you see why he would succeed as "Mister Romance" because he is the guy who makes it work, who listens, who draws you in until you are seduced by him and by what he says. You believe him, because one of his real talents is truthful flattery. He finds the things about you that he admires, that he respects, that make you who you are, and that is what he focuses on. I love that he is a better person than he thinks he is.

Eden is also wonderful, and I love her strength, her willingness to get things done, to stand up against those who she thinks are being unfair, while staying true to herself and valuing those who are close to her. I love how willing she is to accept Max, to see him for who he is, and to see beyond the things that are driving him to be the person he is, and the reason for what he is doing.

Leisa Rayven has a special talent with the "I KNEW it" moments, and there is a good one in this, although she had me doubting for a second what I was positive I had put together. Well done, author. She also writes emotion, angst, passion and joy in such a way that it feels like it is coming off the page and wrapping you in the story.

A good book is a pleasure to read.

A great book is one that you think about when you put it down. It's one where you find yourself thinking about the characters when you have to pause in your reading.

An amazing book is one that keeps you up at night, that makes you ignore that you work in the morning, because you just can't put it down.

I was awake until 3am with Max and Eden. It was amazing.

I am sorry it is over, and I can't wait until the next one. I have an "All time favorites" book list, and the ones on this list are those that I am not going to forget, that I will read again, and that will stay with me. This one is on that list. There are fewer than 30 books on it.

I recommend this book.