Fighting Fate by JB Salsbury

JB Salsbury has hit it out of the mother #$%@! park once again!

Fighting Fate holds it's own as the sixth installment in the Fighting Series, which introduces us to Axelle and Killian. Now if you've read the other books in this series, these two should be familiar to you, they're both introduced in Fighting to Forgive. The story of Axelle and Killian's friendship turned lovers turned big, confusing hot mess, is heartbreaking. There were times throughout this book that I wanted to straight up throw my Kindle at the wall and other times I wanted to curl up in a ball and just weep. JB knows how to write a story and even better, she knows how to write amazing characters that you'll never forget.

Axelle is your typical college student who likes to party, drink too much and has one really douchey boyfriend! Killian reminds me of poor Dawson in Dawson's Creek, always the friend, never the boyfriend. But when Axelle starts to realize what's right in front of her, she realizes that her feelings go much deeper than friendship when it comes to Killian.

Killian is they guy everyone loves. He's loyal, friendly and would give the shirt off his back to someone in need. He's had feelings for Axelle since he laid eyes on her but has always felt he held the dreaded friends only card. When they both realize their feelings go beyond their friendship, their love blossoms into something wonderful.

But as we all know JB Salsbury is going to sideswipe you with a situation that will leave you saying "whooooaaaaaaa!"

Without giving anything away, Axelle makes a decision to let Killian go because he has the opportunity of a lifetime to train and fight in London and she refuses to hold him back because she needs help. Killian is heartbroken. He's confused and doesn't understand why Axelle would just push him away when she desperately needs him. So the question is, if you really do let love go, will it find its way back if it's meant to be?

Thank you JB for another incredible story!

Call Sign Karma by Jamie Rae

Okay so after reading all the great reviews on this book I decided to give it a go. All I can say is *face palm*. I don't even know where to begin *sigh*. I love bad ass female characters but I expected sooooooooooooo much more from Tinklee. I mean she's a flippin' female fighter pilot not a kindergarten teacher! And I won't even go into that name, Tinklee...I mean Really?!?!

Here are some things I just had problems with....

1.The emotional baggage Tinklee carried concerning the death of her brother was just unbelievable. It just didn't make sense to me. I mean the loss of a loved one is definitely hard but it was done so over the top it made it very hard for me to emotionally connect.

2. For a 22 year old who was on her way to being a bad ass fighter pilot in the Air Force, Tinklee sometimes acted like she was an immature 16 year old girl who couldn't handle her emotions. And the way she was always running into things and tripping and falling and bumping her head, it was just so juvenile to me. I honestly couldn't take her seriously.

3. Locke, the leading man and Tinklee's instructor and taboo lover, could have been so awesome! I didn't get "alpha male" from him at all. I liked his character and his admiration for Tinklee but them together was like watching a bad soap opera....in another language! They were lacking major "feels" for me. And Ash's character could have been so much more as well. I mean the guy was in the Special Forces yet acted like an immature high schooler. He was witty, I'll give him that but other than the quick thinking, he just presented himself to be very childish.

I'm sorry I wanted to love this book...I really, really did!! I just could not connect with the characters and the story was all over the place. Some scenes were not in depth enough and others were so rushed that I almost forgot what I was reading about. I get it's a NA book but if you're gonna write about a bad ass female fighter pilot, then make her BAD ASS! And if you want a relationship to be believable, give us a little steam. I don't need full on erotic scenes but give me a little something not just "they kissed and groped and headed for the bedroom and closed the door....next chapter." Ughhh I need to feel a little something, a connection, the emotion. Like I said I don't need full on naughty scenes but there should have been a little more so the characters could draw you in and make you believe their need, want and love for each other.

Oh well....on to the next book in my never ending Kindle library!

Up in Smoke by Tessa Bailey - Review

I don't even know where to begin when it comes to reviewing a Tessa Bailey book! Everything she writes, I swear turns to freakin gold! She is a genius when it comes to writing sexy-tough-foul mouthed-alpha males that will have your panties dissipating into thin air and Up In Smoke doesn't disappoint!

Erin O'Dea has to be my favorite female character Tessa has ever written. She's sex kitten, girl next door and devil's advocate all wrapped in one! Oh and did I mention she's an arsonist and professional escape artist?!?! Who doesn't love a girl who sets shit on fire?!?!

Then there's, sexy, dominating former Navy Seal turned criminal, Connor Bannon. Once again, Tessa doesn't disappoint with her male characters. Connor knows what he wants and usually get's it by dominating and demanding but with Erin, it's not that simple because she herself likes to dominate!

 If you've not read a Tessa Bailey book....WTF are you waiting for?!?!?!

Touching Scars by Stacy Borel Review

"With you, there's no such thing as imperfection. If I closed my eyes right now, my memories wouldn't do you justice."  - Stacy Borel

 I read this book because Stacy Borel is one of my new favorite authors. I read her book Bender (see review) and I wanted to read something else by this author. That's when I came across Touching Scars...WOW just WOW....this book is so emotionally charged, it drags you through each of the hells the characters are experiencing and doesn't let go. The only complaint....I wanted a little more on Kat's back story and what lead up to the nightmare she's hiding.

Kat is a tough gal who is dealing with the demons of her past or more like hiding from them. She's a bartender who is trying to make something of her life and loves tattoos. Then you have Timber, the man dealing with his own demons after losing his entire squadron in Afghanistan. My heart broke for Timber...I mean literally broke. Both are trying to fight their issues on their own but what they don't know, is that they need each other to survive and conquer the demons.

Kat and Timber know each other from high school but their paths only crossed once, yet that's all it took. Their paths cross again when Timber moves to a small town in Texas to find work at an oil rig. Kat lives in the same town and works as a bartender in the only bar around. It doesn't take long for Timber and Kat to reunite but both have issues that neither one is ready to let the other know about.

I loved Kat and Timber's story and the build up to their love for one another. The way they both rescued one another stole my breath! I think the part of the book that almost gave me a heart attack was when Timber walked into the bar with "the creep"!!!! I was like WHAAAAATTT?!?!?

Stacy Borel is really becoming quit the author and I will read anything she writes so if you want a great love story with some action and heartache mixed together, read Touching Scars!

Fall From Grace by Christine Zolendz - Review

Okay I had to mentally prepare myself to write this review because honestly *gag, choke, gag* I absolutely despised this book. I would rather have dental work done by Edward Scissors Hands! Ughhhh this book has 5 star reviews and great ratings and I'm sitting here going "WTF?? Did I miss out on the group koolaide session or what?" Because this book was torture to get through!!

I will keep this review as brief as I can, although I could go on all day about the ridiculousness of how it's written. Don't get me wrong, the storyline could have gone leaps and bounds, instead it face planted, right into a brick wall.

So the book starts off with Grace, our main character, saying goodbye to her dying brother Jacob. Literally within the first pages her brother dies from cancer and you learn she has no other family as they died in a car accident years ago. So she leaves the hospital/hospice place that she's been holed up in since her brother got sick and is headed, like a freakin maniac, back to New York where she was previously living with her best friend Lea.

Okay just so you know, this is a paranormal book, yet you don't know that until halfway through the book. Grace keeps rambling incoherently about things that make no sense yet gives you an inkling that it's "paranormal" related.

 Anyways....so this book just nose dives into oblivion once Grace gets back to New York. She's not back for more than five freakin minutes and she's getting ready to hit the bar and get drunk with her best friend. The amount of alcohol that was consumed in this book made ME feel like I needed to go to an AA meeting! It was soooooo over done. My God, every second someone is downing enough Tequila to make a frat house look like the Catholic church.

Moving forward...so at said bar, we meet Shane. Now I kinda like Shane! He's all hardcore, rocker, bad boy and has taken a liking to Grace. She on the other hand constantly pushes him away like a little bitch because she's looking for some long lost love, yeah I don't know! We also meet Lea's boyfriend, Conner as well as friends Ethan, Bryden. Alex, Tucker and there are a few others I can't recall.

The banter between Grace and Shane was so damn annoying at times, I almost died from perpetual eye rolling. I cannot write this review without giving some quotes from this book so I can share the ridiculousness I had to submit myself to....

Without saying another word to me, he delicately took my arm and sprinkled a small pinch of salt on the soft skin of my inner wrist. He raised my arm to his mouth and I watched him lightly press his tongue against my skin...."God Grace. You do taste like heaven," he whispered breathlessly. I felt a delicious heat rise all over my body. "I think I should go home now. I'm...really...tired." I whirled around and practically ran towards the bathroom.

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!!!!!! WTF?!?!?! A HOT ROCKER/BAD BOY JUST LICKED SALT OFF YOUR WRIST AND YOU "SHOULD GO HOME" BECAUSE YOU'RE TIRED?!?!?!?!?! UGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Okay rant over....at this point my poor Kindle was getting a verbal beating from me.

But it just keeps getting better....

We ordered pizza and we all sat around and colored flyers for the auditions. We looked like a group of five year olds on a play date.When I mentioned that out loud, all hell broke loose.

(All hell broke loose? Really, because I swear we were getting reading to dive into the next chapter of the freakin' Babysitters Club book!!!!!!!Ughh)

Alex's face scrunched up and he shouted, "Bryden picks his nose and eats it!"

Almost choking on a bite of pizza, Bryden shouted, "Alex has got the cooties!"

"So we look like five year olds, huh?" Ethan asked coming up behind me. He grabbed me in a gentle headlock and gave me noogies on my head."

(Are you shitting me right now? Noogies? God Bless America.....)

I screamed and ran for my water bottle, and poured it all over Ethan's head. "Oh no," I teased. "Ethan just wet himself!"

I tried to move again, electricity shooting up through my body. Oh my! I grabbed the only thing I could, my slice of pizza, and smashed it in his face laughing. He rolled off me laughing just as hard.

(Who the hell does that?!?!?!?)

I will say that this book did get pretty good at about the 99% done point, only because it leaves you with one big fat cliffhanger that has you screaming:

If you want to read this book then I say go for it but you've been warned. Again, the storyline with the paranormal, angel, bad angels or whatever, could have been awesome but it just spiraled into eye rolling and WTF moments for me. The paranormal part was just allover the place and too damn confusing to grasp onto.
 And no, I will NOT be reading the second book. Cliffhanger or not, I will not put myself through the torture again. I can't stomach it!