FALLING FROM THE SKY (GRAVITY #2)

She's the woman he doesn't remember. He's the man she can't forget.

Bad boy Hank “Hazardous” Lazarus used to have everything: a gorgeous girlfriend, a career as a freestyle snowboarder and a spot on the US Olympic team. Nine months ago, after a bad crash in the half pipe, he woke up in the hospital, unable to move his legs. Now he’s landed there again, but gravity is not the culprit. With his family pressuring him to try a groundbreaking treatment, Hank self-medicates with too much tequila instead.

Doctor Callie Anders has the courage to restart a patient’s heart with a thousand volts of electricity, yet she’s afraid to risk her own. So she doesn’t confess to her newest patient they met just before the accident, an encounter that he doesn’t remember. Even as their friendship develops, she won’t admit that she regrets turning down his dinner invitation, or that her heart stutters every time those inked shoulders roll through the door of the therapy department.

With another Vermont winter coming again, Hank needs a hand out from under the avalanche of his disappointments. If only Callie were brave enough to take the job.

This book is a standalone novel, no cliffhangers, no prior experience necessary.

Audiobook Release date: August 23, 2017

Contemporary Romance

Gravity Series #2

Blunder Woman Productions

Narrated by: Tanya Eby & Aiden Snow

Liza's Review:

Falling From the Sky is the second book in the Gravity series, yet can totally be read as a stand-alone story if you missed reading the first book. You do meet Callie in the first book in the series, but as a secondary character.

I adored Callie in this book. She is at a crossroads in her life and isn't afraid to take chances with her career. She is a bit more hesitant with her personal life, but after being burned by her ex, I totally understood her needing to move at a slower pace. I have to admit she is one of my favorite characters in the series to date.

I openly admit I pretty much loved Hank from the first moment he appeared on the page. He was so cocky about his talent, with good reason, and I honestly thought he took his accident way better than most would have in the same situation. Yes he had a pity party for way longer than he should have, but he also seemed to realize when it was the right time to try something new. I loved that he a Callie had such a fast connection in the hospital, even if he didn't remember meeting her right before his accident. They totally clicked for me from the beginning. 

I even liked how they worked together to face the challenges of their relationship. I think Callie being a doctor did help Hank feel more open to talking to her about stuff he was uncomfortable with, but he also listened to others to head in the right direction as well. I adored them as a couple and found them to have super strong chemistry. 

I listened to the audiobook version of Falling From the Sky thanks to receiving a review copy from Blunder Woman Productions. I absolutely loved both Tanya Eby and Aiden Snow. If felt like their voices flowed seamlessly between change of character point of view. I thought both did an amazing job with the character of the opposite sex and would love to listen to more books from this pair in the future.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (A)

COMING IN FROM THE COLD

Alpine ski champion Dane “Danger” Hollister does not do relationships, though he has an excellent reason. No woman would ever say “I do” to a guy whose faulty DNA will eventually cost him everything: his spot on the US Ski team, his endorsements, and the ability to fly downhill at 90mph.

While Willow Reade moved to rural Vermont to get back to the land, that wasn’t meant to include a night stranded in her vehicle during a blizzard. Luckily, the hot ski racer she practically ran off the road has granola bars and a sleeping bag, and is happy to share. Maybe it’s the close quarters, maybe it’s the snow, but soon the two are sharing a lot more than conversation.

Yet neither can guess how their spontaneous passion will uncork Dane’s ugly secret and Willow’s tentative peace with her own choices. Only their mutual trust and bravery can end the pain and give Willow and Dane a shot at hard won happiness. 

Audiobook Release Date: August 10, 2017

Contemporary Romance

Gravity #1

Narrators: Joe Arden & Maxine Mitchell

Review copy provided by Blunder Woman Productions

Liza's Review:

Coming in from the Cold is the first book I've read from Sarina Bowen. I was offered a review copy of the audiobook and was excited to give a new-to-me author a try.

I adored Willow from the moment we met her. She has every right to be a super bitter person thanks to things going wrong in her life, yet she seems to maintain a pretty great attitude overall. Dane on the other hand pretty much has a pretty great life with the exception of his brother's illness, yet doesn't seem to look at life with a positive attitude. He is full of angst and honestly got on my nerves a good bit at times. He really was a complete and total ass to Willow on more than one occasion, and I did question if his character could actually be redeemed. 

While Willow's and Dane's relationship if you will started out a bit fast, it initially ended pretty fast too. I think this was when Dane was the biggest asshat in the book, and I wasn't sure if I really wanted Willow to give him a second chance. I did like that Willow's friend Callie, who is a doctor who gets Dane medical results he needs, helped him start to act less like an asshat. I understood his worry over his possible health issues, but hated he was such a jerk to Willow without giving her the reason for his actions or fears in the beginning. I did end up really enjoying this story once Dane got his head out of his ass.

There was dual narration for Coming In From the Cold. It always takes me a minute to get used to 2 different voices, especially as they sound a bit different when they voice the character of the opposite sex. I think both Ms. Mitchell and Mr. Arden did a good job, though I did find Mr. Arden's cadence a bit slower at times. However, once I moved the speed to 1.50, it fixed the issue and I was able to enjoy both narrators equally.

The Gravity series is the first books I've read from Sarina Bowen and I found myself loving her voice even when I didn't love the characters at times. I've already listened to book 2 and can't wait to listen to/read more books in the future.

Rating: 4 Stars (B)

LOVE SO HOT (LAWSON BROTHERS #1)

Bank Teller and all around good girl, Sydney McKnight, is tired of being the girl all the guys want to have as a friend. Who better to help unleash her inner vixen than her best friend and secret crush, Brody Lawson? Only, Sydney has no idea how to ask him, without their friendship going up in flames, until that is, the town of Jessamine's annual Firemen's Auction gives her the perfect excuse to set her plan into motion.

Fire Captain Brody Lawson has been in love with his best friend, Sydney, for years, but he would never risk their friendship by confessing his feelings to her. So, when Sydney beats out the competition to buy his time at the annual Firemen's Auction, Brody can hardly believe his luck until she asks him to teach her how to seduce a fellow fireman. 

Now, it’s up to Brody to show Sydney how perfect she already is and convince her that the only man for her is him, because if Sydney is going to seduce any man, it’s going to be him. And once he has her in his bed, he’s not letting her go.

Release Date: January 15, 2015

Valentine Publishing, LLC

Lawson Brothers #1

Kindle copy personally purchased

Audiobook copy provided for review

Audiobook narrated by Piper Goodeve

Liza’s Review:

I'm a huge fan of Marquita Valentine and pretty much devour her books as soon as they hit my kindle...usually. Somehow Love So Hot was still sitting on my kindle waiting to be read. When I was offered the opportunity to review the audiobook, I jumped at the chance.

Love So Hot was an awesome story! I love the friends-to-lovers troupe and it was done absolutely perfectly in my opinion. I will say the fact that Cherry, Brody's ex and Sydney's new friend, was the one to help Sydney made me laugh out loud more than once. Add in sexy young firefighter Kyle, who is diligently pursuing Sydney and asking Brody for advise, and the Sydney/Brody/Kyle triangle was perfect.

I adored both Brody and Sydney from the moment they each appeared on the page. I loved they both had feelings for one another beyond friendship, but were afraid of acting on it and messing up their lifelong friendship. However, from the moment they shared their very first kiss, I knew there was no going back for either of them. I loved them as a couple and adored they were friends first. They had amazing chemistry and seriously couldn't keep their hands off one another once they finally took that step. 

I have to say some of Cherry's advise to Sydney totally had me laughing out loud at times. Add in Kyle and his constant questions to Brody on how to win over Sydney and I couldn't stop laughing. Love So Hot was a winner for me from the very beginning. I decided to listen to the audiobook since I was so far behind in my TBR list, and I'm so glad I did. Piper Goodeve is a new to me narrator, and I felt like she did an amazing job bringing all the characters to life. Her voices were spot-on for each character. I not only highly recommend the book Love So Hot, but I highly recommend the audiobook as well. I loved it so much, I bought the next 3 books in the series in audio as soon as I finished listening to book 1.

Marquita Valentine gives her readers an absolutely perfect friends-to-lovers story with Love So Hot. She also made me fall in love with many of the Lawson brothers and I absolutely couldn't stop with just Love So Hot. I've now listened to the first 4 books and can't wait to get book 5 in January.

The Shadows Audiobook Review

Two brothers bound by more than blood fight to change a brutal destiny in the heart-wrenching new novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by #1 New York Times bestselling author J. R. Ward.

Trez “Latimer” doesn’t really exist. And not just because the identity was created so that a Shadow could function in the underbelly of the human world. Sold by his parents to the Queen of the S’Hisbe as a child, Trez escaped the Territory and has been a pimp and an enforcer in Caldwell, NY for years- all the while on the run from a destiny of sexual servitude. He’s never had anyone he could totally rely on... except for his brother, iAm.

iAm’s sole goal has always been to keep his brother from self-destructing- and he knows he’s failed. It’s not until the Chosen Serena enters Trez’s life that the male begins to turn things around... but by then it’s too late. The pledge to mate the Queen’s daughter comes due and there is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and no negotiating.

Trapped between his heart and a fate he never volunteered for, Trez must decide whether to endanger himself and others- or forever leave behind the female he’s in love with. But then an unimaginable tragedy strikes and changes everything. Staring out over an emotional abyss, Trez must find a reason to go on or risk losing himself and his soul forever. And iAm, in the name of brotherly love, is faced with making the ultimate sacrifice... 

Release Date March 31, 2015

Black Dagger Brotherhood #13

Penguin Random House Audio

Narrated by: Jim Frangione

22 Hours 8 Minutes

I'm a huge fan of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books by JR Ward. I was lucky enough to get a review copy of the audiobook for The Shadows. I am an equally big fan of listening to audiobooks, so I was super excited to get started with The Shadows.

First of all, I believe this is some of Jim Frangione's best work with the audiobooks in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. The names were all pronounced as I've heard Ward pronounce them at her Q&A sessions each year. He pulled every single emotion from me as I listened to him read The Shadows.

I honestly liked The Shadows better than the last few books. I openly admit the Black Dagger Brotherhood books are like crack to me and even when I have issues with them, I won't give them up. That being said, I loved that with The Shadows Ward went back to her earlier format of the story. Yes there are multiple story lines in The Shadows, but unlike in The King, I didn't feel like I had ADD trying to keep up with 500 different point-of-views.

I loved that Ward included the romance for both Trez and iAm in one book. As I've always kind of seen the 2 characters as a team, it only made sense to me that they would share a book. Trez and Selena are one of the sweetest couples in the series. Yes there is much drama surrounding their relationship, but I sighed so many times when they were together. They also had some pretty hot sex scenes along the way. Selena showed me she was one of the strongest characters in this series during this book. I won't even lie and say this isn't an emotional read. I cried so hard at one point I had to turn off the audio as I couldn't pay attention to what was being said. However, the emotions The Shadows wrung out of me are part of the reason it was such an amazing story. I also felt like Ward gave enough "it's fate" clues to make it easier to handle what happens, and I completely agree with how she wrote the story.

iAm's romance while not as emotional for me as Trez and Selena's was every bit as satisfying. Since iAm has always been the more in the background of the two brothers, I was glad he had the focus on him finally. I really loved his mate once we really got to know her and loved how hard she worked to right a wrong in the s'Hisbe. 

There was some Layla, Qhuinn and Blaylock time in The Shadows. I still love how this group of characters have become their own little family. We also got to spend time with Layla and Xcor, though she is still keeping their time together a secret. I will be interested to see what happens between Layla and Xcor after she gives birth. 

We also got to spend time with the Band of Bastards and even got to know a little bit more about the dynamics with that group. I have to say the Band of Bastards story line, Assail's story line, and Abalone's daugther's Paradise's story lines added rather than detracted from the current book. I'm especially excited to get Paradise's story with Blood Kiss, the first book in the Black Dagger Legacy books in December. Things are shaking up in Caldwell and we see it with various events in The Shadows.

While I enjoyed the romances in The Shadows, I have to say part of what made it such a great book was the time we were able to spend with the original brothers. That's right, we had time with the brothers and it was like the books from the beginning of the series. I honestly think that dynamic is what has been missing from the last several books and I hope Ward continues to give us time with the brothers in the future Black Dagger Brotherhood books. The brothers are the reason I love this series and continue to read the books. 

The Shadows renewed my faith in this series and has me chomping at the bit for the next Black Dagger Brotherhood book. Sadly we will have to wait a year for it, but are lucky enough to have a Black Dagger Legacy book to help get us through until the next release.