Cruel North by JB Salsbury Review & Release Blitz!

Time has passed. But their chemistry remains.

Cruel North, an all-new surprise pregnancy, forced proximity contemporary romance with sizzling chemistry from New York Times bestselling author JB Salsbury is now available!

Cruel North is an angsty second-chance, enemies to lovers romance where the most hated man in the North Brothers world finally gets brought to his knees.

A teenage girl with my eyes and a familiar glare, strolls into my life and she’s calling me Dad.

Vanessa was my high school girlfriend and the smartest person I knew. She had a plan, a future, and she swore nothing would get in the way. Until she became pregnant. I thought we agreed on our plan. I sent her the money. Then she disappeared.

Her parents told me she was in South America for a year. They told me she needed space. I never heard from her again.

Seventeen years later and she’s back. I’m staring into those green eyes that used to tempt and taunt me. But it’s not just about us anymore. We have a daughter.

Wanting to get to know her, I convince them to move in with me for one month. I’m so angry with Vanessa and she seems to be equally upset. Every insult from her smart mouth invites me to engage. The brutal chemistry between us ignites old embers. I wish I could hate her. Instead, I want her.

But too much time has passed, and I fear some hurts run too deep to heal.

At the end of thirty days, I’ll have to let them go.

Unless I figure out a way to keep them.

Review:

Hayes freaking North. I have been waiting, not so patiently, for this man’s book for what feels like forever and let me tell you- it did not disappoint!! Hayes has been such an enigma through this North Brothers series. He’s easily always been the one you love to hate. Knowing myself though, I knew I would end up finding some redemption in a character that seemed unredeemable through earlier books. JB Salsbury has a way of making you feel so strongly against a character but also still search for that sliver of a soul on the inside. That was definitely the case with Hayes.

I’m so glad we finally got to hear more of his story. I loved learning about his childhood, his history, even though there are obvious parts we all wish we were different. I love what Vanessa was to him, then and now. I love that he has always encouraged her to be exactly who she should be. I hate the choice he made as a young, immature teen, but I also don’t ignore the fact that he had August as a father and that most certainly impacted Hayes and his decisions growing up. 

Hayes getting to meet and get to know Haven was everything. It made my heart hurt for all the time that was lost, but also made it happy to see him just jump in as best as he could figure out to do. I love his fatherly development in this story. I loved his emotional maturity as we watched it grow and unfold. I loved his fierce love of Vanessa as a person and how strong she is and how strong she raised their daughter to be. I love their fire. I LOVED the end of this book. There is just so much about this story that I love, it’s hard to put it all into words. Cruel North was another incredible installment in this series and I am so happy I had the chance to read this one early. Hayes and Vanessa’s story kept me locked in from page one and I hope to be able to read more one day! I also have to mention- I love the cameos of all the other characters I’ve fallen in love with in this series, thank you for that Mrs. Salsbury!! 

Grab your copy today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3dnW8IW

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/cruelnorth

Apple Books: http://bit.ly/3hIP0J3

Nook: https://bit.ly/3TE0VW8

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3VNBC5T

Add Cruel North to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3BO81ju

Start the Wild North Series of standalones now!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3a4T53v

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/WildNorth

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3s9EkCB

Nook: https://bit.ly/3eazOip

About JB Salsbury

JB Salsbury, New York Times Best Selling author of The Fighting Series, lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her husband and two kids. She spends the majority of her day lost in a world of battling alphas, budding romance, and impossible obstacles as stories claw away at her subconscious, begging to be released to the page.

Her love of good storytelling led her to earn a degree in Media Communications. With her journalistic background, writing has always been at the forefront, and her love of romance prompted her to write her first novel.

Since 2013 she has published six bestselling novels in The Fighting Series and won a RONE Award.

Connect with JB

Facebook: https://bit.ly/3stLCRV

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3mZRQaR

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3stsCms

Twitter: https://bit.ly/3dtpF0X

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3x7WCbh

Website: http://jbsalsbury.com/

Fashion Jungle by Kathy Ireland and Rachel Van Dyken Book Review!

"Sometimes, men have no choice but to become monsters to protect those they love from the darkness in this world. Monster fighting monster is better than monster fighting man." Kathy Ireland and Rachel Van Dyken, Fashion Jungle

This book was a 5 star read for me! If I had to describe Fashion Jungle in one way for some reason it made me feel like it was a mix of Project Runway and Sex and the City in the very best way (plus those are 2 of my favorite shows so if it makes me think of them, that's a great thing)!  It made me excited about the clothes and the behind the scenes perspectives of the designers and models. I used to love when Project Runway really followed both the designer and the models and both would end up winning prizes. 

The Sex and the City reference is for many things. Of course there's the hot and steamy parts of this book, the romance relationships, but even more than that, what I loved about Sex and the City and what I adored about Fashion Jungle was the friendships, the sisterhood created by the four main lead female characters. 

Side note- also LOVE that the main characters in this book are mostly FEMALE! Of course I loved their relationships and there's one guy in particular that fascinated me (looking at you, Dane), but overall... the girls were just kick ass to me! 

I wanted to be their friend. I wanted to be a part of the group. Maybe not some of the things they all went through early on in their careers and we didn't really get to know one of the girls too much for reasons you'll find out in the book, but the bond they've created through their experiences is amazing. 

While the female characters definitely stood out, I'd be remiss to not mention Dane or Oliver. I adored both for two very reasons. Dane is the type of guy that you strive to stay on his good side. Being in his orbit can be a really good thing or a really bad one. I love the love he has for Zoe. He is so fiercely in love and dedicated to her. I know he's described as a monster as the quote above mentions, but he's the type of monster I'd want by my side. It's clear, if he loves you- he will fight to the death for you. Swoon.

Speaking of swooning...enter Oliver. Hot, dreamy doctor... Sound familiar anyone??

Truth be told, he sounds like the dream male character. He is smart, he is gracious, he is forgiving, and he is loving. He's the type of guy that makes you believe in love and continue to hope for it, even when your heart has been broken. I loved both he and Dane's characters and thought they were incredibly well written.

I love the real life experience that I know Kathy Ireland had to bring to this book. I love that what she brought to the table mixed SO well with Rachel Van Dyken's incredible writing story. There's nothing Rachel has written that I haven't absorbed within days of starting. She's excellent at her craft and this book was on par with all of her others for me. 

Overall, I really encourage you to check this book out. Again, it was a 5 star read for me! It was something different than a lot of the current romance books out on the market right now that I also know and love. This brought a new, fresh element and I really enjoyed it! 

Until next time,

Happy Reading! 

Amazon

Goodreads

Love the Way You Lie (Stripped #1) by Skye Warren

 This was the first book I've read by Skye Warren and let me tell you, it won't be the last! I will warn you....the way this author writes is NOT for everyone. This series is considered "dark erotica." It's intense, it's dark and it's not for the faint of heart. I suggest you be at least 18 years old to read this story. You've been warned!

Honor "Honey" Moretti is a stripper who showcases and sells her body for money. She's the daughter of a mob boss and the fiancee to a sadistic man who can't wait to take the reins in the family business. Honor has lived under her fathers will for years and when she can't take being a puppet in their cruel world anymore, Honey escapes taking her 16 year old sister Clare with her.

Honor possess a strength that is truly courageous. She knows what she's up against yet she does what she has to to survive and make sure that her little sister doesn't have to endure the same life she has. Honor's "past life" had me truly sick to my stomach. The office scene that Honor refers back to in a memory left me completely mind f***ed. I had no coherent thoughts.

All that Honor has worked for to hide starts to crumble once she meets Kip. At first you think he's just a paying customer but you learn VERY quickly that he's more than that. Honor has her suspicions and every warning signal is going off that he's a cop and she shouldn't trust him but she's lured to him like a moth to a flame. I wanted to hate Kip, I truly did! I knew he was bad news and he wasn't shy in telling Honor that he was a "bastard." You want so badly to know who he is, why he's sticking around and what the hell does he want with Honor? Things just did not add up with him and he kept you guessing on who he was and what his purpose was for sticking around. I quickly fell in love with Kip and his dirty mouth and alpha ways! He was very intriguing to say the least!

This book will sink it's claws in you and not let up until the end. I wanted so badly to reach through the book and beat the living shit out of Honor's fiance. He was one sick bastard who deserved to be tortured in every way possible. I really loved this book, even with it's dark theme, it was unlike anything I've ever read. It's definitely not for everyone. I cannot wait to read more of Skye Warren's books!

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!