Jack Mulligan has one rule he lives by Qui n’avance pas, recule – who does not advance retreats. He is the Kingpin in New York – ruling over his territory ruthlessly. Jack has everyone he needs in his pocket and he doesn’t do anything without a favor in return.
When Justine Greene crosses paths with Mulligan – she is in dangerous territory. She knows how dangerous Mulligan can be, but still she is left with no choice but asking him for help in solving a case that she is working on on behalf of her charity. Mulligan is willing to help Justine, but he doesn’t offer his services freely and of course there will be a favor in return.
This favor is what starts the unusual relationship between “do-gooder” Justine and Kingpin Mulligan. When their dalliances with one another become more frequent and they begin to long for each other – will either of them stand a chance to be with one another?
I absolutely LOVED The Devil of Downtown. The chemistry between Mulligan and Justine was explosive from the moment they met with one another. The sexy times between the two were next level hot hot hot.
The way Justine was able to see underneath Jack’s tough exterior and not be judgmental about his upbringing said a lot about her character. But how long do they have with one another before they realize that their worlds do not align. How could a Kingpin possibly have a future with a woman who is set on doing good in the world.
There were quite a few times where this book brought me to tears. And I ached for both Jack and Justine. I wanted there to be a way that these two made it work and I was rooting for them until the very end.
I’ve read a quite a few historical romances and honestly this was one of the first ones that I have read that was set in America. I truly enjoyed learning about New York in the 1800’s and it was a refreshing change in scenery from typical historical romances that are set in London or Europe.
This was my first novel by Joanna Shupe, but most definitely won’t be my last! I can’t wait to go back and read the rest of the series!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author.
Isadora, a Conduit witch, is sweet and shy. She loves to use her healing powers to help anyone that she can. She doesn’t expect to be hit with a car while bicycling on her way home. Turns out that the person who ran into her is no one other than Stygorn vampire Devraj Kumar.
Where Isadora is sweet and shy, Devraj is the complete opposite. A Bollywood star and flashy vampire – he doesn’t shy away from the limelight. Devraj is immediately intrigued by Isadora and she in turn wants nothing to do with him.
But these two must work together to solve a mysterious case in the supernatural world taking place right in New Orleans. The closer they work together the tighter the sexual tension between the two of them become.
I really enjoyed Don’t Hex and Drive! The simmering sexual tension between Isadora and Devraj was palpable. Devraj was immediately smitten by Isadora, but still he wanted to get to know her better and I loved their friendship.
Isadora and Devraj were sweet and kind – both of them slowly peeling back each others layers and vulnerabilities. Both had their own fears, but the trust they had with one another was so sweet and pure. And the sexy scenes were HOT HOT HOTphew! Although I would classify Don’t Hex and Drive as a slow burn, Juliette Cross knows how to bring the heat!
I find it hard sometimes to connect with Indian characters, being South Asian/Indian myself, but I feel that Juliette Cross did a wonderful job nailing down Devraj’s character. And I truly enjoyed his backstory.
While reading both Don’t Hex and Drive and Wolf Gone Wild (book 1 in Stay a Spell), in my mind both of these books played out like movies. They had the perfect suspense that tied with romance. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in the Stay a Spell series!!
JULIETTE is a multi-published author of paranormal and fantasy romance & the co-host of the podcast Smart Women Read Romance. She is represented by Rachel Brooks at BookEnds Literary Agency. She is a native of Louisiana, living in the heart of Cajun land with her husband, four kids, black lab named Kona, and kitty, Betty. When she isn’t working on her next project, she enjoys binge-watching her favorite shows with her husband and a glass (or two) of red wine.
I received a complimentary audiobook copy of this book from the author.
Ryan sees a girl on the subway and immediately feels a connection with her. He decides he better make a move to talk to her, but before he gets his chance she’s gone. All her remembers are little details – a pink beanie and an English accent.
Ryan is determined to find her and even creates a website to find this mysterious Subway Girl. That’s how he ends up being contacted by a celebrity gossip website – to see if they can help Ryan find The Subway Girl.
I won’t reveal too much more of the plot, because I don’t want to spoil the book! But everyone in the story is vested in Ryan to find the Subway Girl. What we slowly come to understand are the motives why – and some of them definitely ended up surprising me.
I enjoyed the way Lisa was able to highlight both the wonderful aspects of social media/celebrity gossip as well as the pitfalls. Through Ryan’s journey, we are able to see what motivates the different characters in The Subway Girl and if their motivation is out of the goodness of their heart or something more sinister.
While the sexy times in The Subway Girl were hot (so hot), I wasn’t really invested in the main romance. I do feel like sometimes there were too many voices in the book and those took away from the romance for me.
Audiobook:
Story: 3 Narration: 4 Overall: 3
I’m a big fan of Erin Mallon and I think she did a wonderful job narrating the various characters in The Subway Girl. I could always fell the different emotions that a character was going through.
I enjoyed the audiobook of The Subway Girl! Mystery, romance and a bit of reality TV all combined for an entertaining romance.
I read 9 books in August and that’s probably the most I’ve read the past few months! I read a few books that were amazing and had sequels that hooked me in as well. I am hopeful that September will be a good reading month.
I read some fantasy this month and I ended up loving it. It got me out of my book slump – probably because it was a change in pace from contemporary romance (what I normally read). I’m still in love with the A Court of Thorns and Roses series and am currently reading A Court of Wings and Ruin.
Kailyn and Daxton literally run into each other the first time they meet in law school. Daxton Hughes was a teen hearthrob when he was acting and one of his biggest fans was Kailyn. So when she fangirls over Daxton when they first meet, she’s a bit mortified.
Fast forward to a few years later when Daxton and Kailyn run into each other again (although not literally this time). Kailyn doesn’t really care for Daxton, especially since she believes that he betrayed her in law school. Circumstances have Daxton asking Kailyn to help him in a legal matter. Turns out Dax is guardian of his teenage sister and he’s at a loss of how to gain full custody of her.
Kailyn decides to step in and help Dax with his sister Emme as much as she can. What Kailyn doesn’t expect is to develop a close relationship with not only Emme, but Dax as well. But what is at stake if Kailyn and Dax decide to pursue a romantic relationship? Ultimately who will it harm and will the relationship be worth it?
I love Helena Hunting’s writing, but Meet Cute is not a lighthearted romantic comedy as the cover may suggest. There are serious issues being discussed in this book including grief and loss of a loved one. I do feel that Helena did a wonderful job navigating these issues and you could feel how desperate Daxton felt at times with having to be a guardian to a teenager.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Daxton and Kailyn. These two had great chemistry and I loved their banter. Helena always brings the heat and I loved the slow sensual burn between Dax and Kailyn. I appreciate the fact that Dax and Kailyn went slow with their relationship – especially since they were both career driven and both wanted what was best for Emme.
Audiobook:
Story: 4 Overall: 4 Narration: 5
I am such a huge fan of Teddy Hamilton and I think he did such a wonderful job narrating Daxton and the other cast in Meet Cute! I could always feel the various emotions that each character is portraying through his narration. Holly Warren was such a great choice to narrate Kailyn. I could immediately feel the distrust that Kailyn had with Dax when she first met him again. But I also felt how much she cared for Dax and Emme when she got to know both of them. This was a great audiobook and I really enjoyed listening to Meet Cute!
**As well as listening to the audiobook of Meet Cute I simultaneously read an ARC of Meet Cute that was given to a friend from the publisher.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher
Lady Lucie has decided that her suffragists need to stage a coup against Parliament! One way to accomplish that is to buy a publishing house and Lucie does just that. What Lucie doesn’t anticipate is that Lord Tristan Ballentine owns half of the publishing house. Lord Ballentine would gladly give over reign to Lucie on one condition – a night in his bed.
From the beginning I enjoyed the banter between Lucie and Tristan. There was such great chemistry every time they were on the same page. I love how strong and confident Lucie was and that she didn’t back away from a challenge – especially not one put forth by Tristan.
Both Tristan and Lucie have such deep hurts inflicted upon them. They both seem in charge and in control, but they’ve been hurt badly in their past from people that were supposed to love them unconditionally. When Lucie and Tristan show their vulnerabilities to one another – I loved them even more!
While I did enjoy the romance aspect of A Rogue of One’s Own I do feel like it was a very slow start to their relationship. I understand that Lucie is a suffragist and working on her movement is very important to her, but I still felt like there was a lot of inner monologue from both her and Tristan. While I enjoyed the romantic aspect of the book – enemies-to-lovers is definitely my favorite trope – there were some aspects of the book that did’t work for me and felt off.
A few notes from my perspective on the book –
There were a few scenes that implied and hinted at characters being bisexual or gay that I’m not sure really added to the story. Either way it shed these characters in an unfavorable light. Perhaps they will be discussed in the next book?
Colonial India and the Hindu religion were discussed in a way that certain readers (South Asian/Indian) may take offense. As an own voices, South Asian reader this topic felt off and I’m not quite sure it was really needed in the book? A Colonial India that is romanticized doesn’t align with the history that I was taught growing up.
That being said, I did still enjoy the relationship between Lucie and Tristan very much and the last quarter of the book had a few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.
Dr. Charlotte North has a good life in New York. She’s a physician with a good practice and loves the city life. But when her grandmother injures herself, Charlotte is on the first plane back to California to help her recover.
Ben Callahan has been a bit reckless in the past few months. He had a health scare a few months ago and has been living reckless and free. He decides it’s time to make a change with his life and that change just happens to coincide right when his ex-fling is back in town – Charlotte North or Doc as he affectionately calls her.
What starts off as Ben and Charlotte becoming friends, turns into a fake relationship with real feelings involved. With the two of them destined to be on opposite sides of the country – how will they make this “fake” relationship work if it ever turned real?
I enjoyed the second chance love story between Ben and Charlotte. I do wish I would have felt more of a connection between these two and maybe I’m missing out on a bit, because I jumped into Make Mine a Cowboy without having read the previous book first.
I always love a fake relationship and loved how Charlotte and Ben just kept on having to make excuses to lock lips with one another ;). The inner monologue for both did get to be a bit repetitive at times and there was no real angst or conflict to get over.
Overall, I enjoyed Make Mine a Cowboy and wouldn’t hesitate to pick up another book by A.J. Pine. I would give Make Mine a Cowboy 3.5 stars.
If you’re new to book blogging or bookstagram (Instagram mainly used for books) you may be wondering how bloggers are getting access to Advanced Reviewer Copies aka ARCs.
After posting my recent blog post about starting bookstagramming, a lot of friends were asking me how to email publishers and what I include in e-mails to publishers. I am by no means an expert, but thought I’d share my process with you – and hope that it helps! Here are a few follow up questions I had from that post and an example of an e-mail template!
How do you access ARCs?
There are various different ways to access ARCs. Possibly one of the best or easiest ways to get access to ARCs are digitally via NetGalley.
NetGalley is free to sign up and it is a great way to request and download thousands of books across many different genres. NetGalley was discussed in a previous post and you can read about it here if you’d like: How To Start Your Own Bookstagram
On some occasions book bloggers will also have access to physical ARCs. When I first started my bookstagramming/book blogging journey, I knew that bloggers could get access to e-ARCs via NetGalley, but I didn’t even know that publishing houses would send physical ARCs to book bloggers too!
Of course physical books look nice and take better pictures, but it isn’t always easy to acquire physical them. More time and therefore more money goes into producing a physical ARC. A lot of times these physical galleys are also limited and therefore publishers and publicists have a very limited reach on who has access to them.
How can I increase my chance of getting approval of ARCs?
Your best chances of getting approved of any kind of ARC, whether that’s an e-ARC or a physical ARC is if you try to cultivate a relationship with the publisher. Building relationships take time and the more time you put into a relationship, the higher your chances are of receiving an ARC you really want to read. Publishers like to see that you have been consistent with leaving reviews across social media and that you are active on your account.
As a book blogger/bookstagrammer/influencer you are providing publicity for a book and generating buzz! What are you doing that will help the publisher in getting other reviewers/book readers to pick up the book? These are the statistics/information that you should be adding into your e-mail request!
Your analytics and numbers as they relate to your blog or bookstagram are important, but so is how you showcase the ARC. As a book blogger, you are providing publicity for a book that you are reading. Are you leaving your reviews on as many platforms as possible ie: Blog, GoodReads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BookBub? If not, then you should probably start doing that and sending review links to publishers/publicists once you’ve done so!
How long have you been book blogging? The longer that you have been blogging and the stronger your relationship with a publisher – the chances of you getting access to ARCs is typically higher.
What to include in an e-mail request to the publisher for an ARC?
Okay, so you’ve been doing this a while and have been consistent and actively book blogging. You’re ready to e-mail a publisher and ask for an ARC. What’s your next step?
I always start with finding out what the publicity e-mail is for the publishing house. There are many different e-mails and usually different e-mails for different imprints. So try to find out what imprint is publishing the book and then look for that e-mail address.
If you google “how to request an ARC” there are so many great and wonderful articles that are out there. I will leave you an example of what I generally put in my e-mails and you can add or take away from it to make it your own! The best part about it is that no two e-mails will be the same.
Example of an e-mail request:
Hi!
My name is [NAME] and I read and review [GENRE OF BOOKS YOU READ ie Romance, Thrillers, Historical Fiction] on my book blog – [NAME OF YOUR BLOG IF YOU HAVE ONE] as well as on [OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS IE: INSTAGRAM, GOODREADS]
I would like to request a copy of [INSERT BOOK] ISBN [NUMBER]. I have been a fan of [AUTHOR] for a number of years and would love to be given the opportunity to read an ARC of [INSERT BOOK].
>>Insert all relevant statistics from your social media platforms next ie: Blog, Instagram, GoodReads, Twitter, Pinterest or any other social media platforms that you may use.
>>Also include links to all of these platforms, so that publishers may verify how active you are on your social media accounts.
If you consider me for this opportunity, my NetGalley email address is [INSERT EMAIL]
My mailing address is as follows: [INSERT YOUR ADDRESS]
Thank you for taking the time to read this email!
[SIGNATURE]
A few things to consider
You may at one point be requesting an ARC because it’s a favorite author, or the premise sounds so interesting to you, or you may be an own voices reviewer wanting to read a book that you identify with. Whatever your reasons are – try to incorporate them as much as possible within your e-mail request! This shows a genuine reason for wanting to read a book.
Always try to include as much relevant information as possible. If you prefer to read only physical ARCs and not NetGalley, then omit the NetGalley e-mail. I typically include my mailing address so that the publisher can have it on file.
Play around with your template and see what works best for you. I have formatted mine on many occasions based on how I feel the letter represents me.
The subject line in my e-mail request usually looks like this: [NAME OF BOOK] ARC REQUEST
Try to remember to be courteous and professional. After you’ve sent off your e-mail, you may not ever hear back from the publisher. Publicists are extremely busy and don’t always have a chance to e-mail you back. You may get an approval from NetGalley or the physical book may just end up being delivered to your doorstep.
If you’ve e-mailed the publisher and haven’t heard a response back, try to be patient and not send more than one request. Chances are that the publisher has seen your e-mail and either determined that they will send you the book or that for whatever reason you don’t qualify for a galley at this time.
Don’t be disheartened if you don’t hear anything back or get denied an ARC. Try for another book in a few months when you’ve had a chance to grow your account. Perhaps by that point you will have made more contacts as well.
What to do if you get the ARC you requested?
You have e-mailed the publisher and got a response back and are approved an ARC (yay!) – what are the next steps?
The publisher has taken time to approve you for an ARC (either an e-ARC or a physical ARC), so it would only be professional to read the book before the publishing date and leave reviews for the book.
It’s completely understandable if life happens and you aren’t able to read and review before publishing date, but any buzz that you can generate is usually appreciated.
Some publishers tell you exactly when they’d like for you to post on your social media – typically within a month or a few weeks before the book is published. Others leave it up to you and your discretion.
After reading and reviewing, I find it very important to always e-mail the publisher with review links. A lot of times they can forward these links to the author or use them as publicity for the book.
What happens if you requested an ARC, but it’s not what you expected?
It’s not a great feeling when you’re really excited to read a book you’ve been anticipating and then it’s totally not what you were expecting.
If it’s a book I have requested on NetGalley I will leave my honest feedback. I usually discuss at what point the book stopped working for me and my reason for discontinuing.
If it was a book that the publicist sent you directly, I definitely make it a point to e-mail them back. I inform them why the book wasn’t working for me.
Whatever your reasons – I always try to be upfront and honest. You will not love every single book that you read and that’s okay! Try your best to be professional and courteous when you discuss your reasons for not continuing with a book.
I hope that this post is helpful if you are trying to contact a publisher to request an ARC. Please let me know if you have any tips or if you have any questions!
An emotionally riveting story about a man who has lost it all and carries a torturous secret, a divorced single mother who has everything to lose, and the little girl who helps them heal. Enjoy heart-meltingly beautiful and toe-curlingly sexy romance in TEMPTED BY LOVE, the first in the ALL-NEW Steeles at Silver Island romance series by NYT bestseller, Melissa Foster. Pre-order today!
Years ago, bestselling author Jack “Jock” Steele lost his girlfriend and baby in a horrific accident that drove a wedge between Jock and his family, keeping him from sharing a devastating secret. An aging philanthropist saved him from the brink of despair, and for a decade Jock cared for his ailing friend who became his family. Now his friend has passed away and left him a fortune—on the condition that he publishes another book. Jock is floundering, unsure how to rebuild the life he’d walked away from, much less find his muse, have another relationship with a woman, or even think about having a family of his own. But he can’t get his sweet, sexy new friend, single-mother Daphne Zablonski out of his head, and her adorable toddler must know something he doesn’t, because she wraps her tiny fingers around his heart and won’t let go.
Daphne has been through the wringer with her ex-husband and doesn’t believe true love is in the cards for her. Friends she can handle, but letting a man see her mom bod naked? Especially someone as strikingly handsome and unbelievably sexy as Jock? No, thank you. Besides, she has a toddler to chase after and enough fictional boyfriends to fill her lonely nights. If only her book boyfriends could make her body tingle the way one look from her mysterious neighbor does.
As Jock and Daphne’s friendship turns to something too tempting to deny, their lives take an unexpected turn. Can a man who has lost everything find redemption with a woman who has everything to lose? And then there’s that secret…
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.
Avery Flynn’s books always make me laugh while bringing the heat! I can not wait to pick up my copy of The Wedding Date Disaster! Read on for the synopsis and an excerpt!
I can’t believe I have to go home to Nebraska for my sister’s wedding. I’m gonna need a wingman and a whole lot of vodka for this level of family interaction. At least my bestie agreed he’d man up and help. Too bad he had to catch a different flight than me. Then his plane got delayed. And finally—because bad things always happen in threes—instead of my best friend, his evil twin strolls out of the airport.
If you looked up doesn’t-deserve-to-be-that-confident, way-too-hot-for-his-own-good billionaire in the dictionary, you’d find a picture of Will Holt. He’s awful. Horrible. The worst—even if his butt looks phenomenal in those jeans.
Ten times worse? My buffer was supposed to be there to keep me away from the million and one family events. But Satan’s spawn just grins and signs us up for every. Single. Thing.
Fine. “Cutthroat” Scrabble? I’m in. I can’t wait to take this guy down a notch.
But somewhere between Pictionary and the teasing glint in his eyes, our bickering starts to feel like more than just a game…
Wedding Date Disaster Excerpt
“Will. It’s good to have you here for this special occasion.”
“Thanks for having me, and please let me know what I can do to help.” The polite words came out almost as a reflex, because the answer was always no when it came to big events that were always catered and planned by professionals.
“Don’t suppose you can cook?” Sharon asked.
Considering she probably didn’t want her entire family slightly poisoned by undercooked chicken, there was only one answer he could give. “No, but I can wash dishes like you wouldn’t believe.”
“Good.” She gave him a real smile this time that had the corners of her eyes crinkling. “You’ve got a job.”
As everyone started to walk inside, Hadley pulled him back half a step. “Do you even know how to wash dishes?”
“I can load a dishwasher.” Occasionally he even did it. Usually, though, the cleaning crew took care of all that at his Harbor City penthouse.
“But have you ever actually done that?” She took a step closer, looking up at him with a knowing little smirk—the one that told him she knew just how full of shit he was. “Have you ever washed dishes by hand?”
“I’m not a complete spoiled jerk,” he said, sounding exactly like one even to his own ears.
She just lifted an eyebrow.
God, she was pushy—something that should have been annoying. Really, it was annoying. Completely. Utterly. Without a doubt. That was the only reason why he couldn’t drag his attention away from that smart mouth of hers because he couldn’t believe what words came out of it.
“Okay, fine.” He closed the distance between them, using the advantage of his height to look down at her. “No. I haven’t, but I’m sure I won’t have a problem excelling at it just like I do every- thing else.”
“Oh really?” she asked, not giving an inch. “I suppose you can also excel at all the ranching chores, like help check the fencing and gather eggs and muck the stalls, too.”
“Of course,” he said, his mouth running without his brain because all he could think about was how badly he wanted to kiss that knowing grin off her face right now. “By the end of the week, your relatives will be thinking of me like I’m just another cowboy in the family. They’re gonna love me.”
Hadley scoffed. “No. Fucking. Way.”
“Wanna bet?”
He had no idea why he was doing this. Proving
her wrong about his abilities to wash dishes or muck fences or mend stalls or be a beloved member of her family wasn’t on his agenda. He was here for one reason: to convince her to take her gold-digger hooks out of his brother. She was priming Web, softening him up for the taking. He’d seen it before—lived it—and the pattern was the same as what Mia had done to him. Start with friendship, add in some damsel-in-distress bullshit like her I-really-need-you-to-go-to-my-sister’s- wedding ploy, and then go in for the multimillion- dollar kill.
“So do we have a bet or not?” he asked.
“Bet on what?” she asked as she pantomimed pulling finger guns from a holster on each side of her round hips and shooting them into the air like a trick shot. “That you can become a rootin’ tootin’ city slicker cowboy much beloved by my family in a week? It’ll never happen.”
Oh, it was definitely happening now. Winning was his specialty. There was no way he’d lose to her. “If you lose, you leave my brother alone. If I lose—which isn’t going to happen—I’ll never mention you being a gold digger again, and I’ll get out from between you and my brother.”
Hadley released a dramatic sigh and pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. “Oh no, all my plans to marry a billionaire are in jeopardy.”
Readaholic Book Reviews 