Waiting on Wednesday #68 : The Storm King by Brendan Duffy

Publisher: Ballantine Books Release Date: February 6, 2018 Why it’s my WoW: Once again, it was the cover the grabbed me and the synopsis that pulled me in. I’m always looking for an enthralling thriller and this one sounds like it might be my cuppa tea.  

Burying the past only gives it strength—and fury.

 Nate McHale has assembled the kind of life most people would envy. After a tumultuous youth marked by his inexplicable survival of a devastating tragedy, Nate left his Adirondack hometown of Greystone Lake and never looked back.  Fourteen years later, he’s become a respected New York City surgeon, devoted husband, and loving father.

  

 Then a body is discovered deep in the forests that surround Greystone Lake.

  

 This disturbing news finally draws Nate home. While navigating a tense landscape of secrets and suspicion, resentments and guilt, Nate reconnects with estranged friends and old enemies, and encounters strangers who seem to know impossible things about him. Haunting every moment is the Lake’s  sinister history and the memory of wild, beautiful Lucy Bennett, with whom Nate is forever linked by shattering loss and youthful passion.

 

 As a massive hurricane bears down on the Northeast, the air becomes electric, the clouds grow dark, and escalating acts of violence echo events from Nate’s own past. Without a doubt, a reckoning is coming—one that will lay bare the lies that lifelong friends have told themselves and unleash a vengeance that may consume them all.

 

What are you lovelies waiting on?

 

 

 

   

Waiting on Wednesday #67: The Darkling Bride by Laura Andersen

Release Date: April 17, 2018
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Why it’s my WoW: The cover caught my eye with it’s broody looking castle but the synopsis grabbed my attention. Now I’m itching to discover what secrets Deeprath Castle holds.

The Gallagher family has called Deeprath Castle home for seven hundred years. Nestled in the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland, the estate is now slated to become a public trust, and book lover and scholar Carragh Ryan is hired to take inventory of its historic library. But after meeting Aidan, the current Viscount Gallagher, and his enigmatic family, Carragh knows that her task will be more challenging than she’d thought.

 Two decades before, Aidan’s parents died violently at Deeprath. The case, which was never closed, has recently been taken up by a new detective determined to find the truth. The couple’s unusual deaths harken back a century, when twenty-three-year-old Lady Jenny Gallagher also died at Deeprath under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind an infant son and her husband, a renowned writer who never published again. These incidents only fueled fantastical theories about the Darkling Bride, a local legend of a sultry and dangerous woman from long ago whose wrath continues to haunt the castle.

 The past catches up to the present, and odd clues in the house soon have Carragh wondering if there are unseen forces stalking the Gallagher family. As secrets emerge from the shadows and Carragh gets closer to answers—and to Aidan—could she be the Darkling Bride’s next victim?

What are you lovelies waiting on?

 

 

 

   

Waiting on Wednesday #66: Seducing the Defendant by Chantal Fernando

Release Date: November 14, 2017
Publisher: Gallery Books
Why it’s my WoW: Not only am I massively addicted to Chantal Fernando’s writing, since devouring Breaching the Contract (my review), I’ve been eager to know more about what Jaxon’s been up to and there’s promise of something Wind Dragon’s MC related! Yay!

 

Jaxon Bentley is a hardnosed criminal lawyer whose entire life revolves around his work. He’s been asked to represent Scarlett Reyes, a woman accused of murdering her police officer husband in cold blood. All the evidence points to Scarlett being guilty and Jaxon is sure it’s an open and shut case.

 

But when he meets his client, he can’t help but feel that she’s innocent and that there’s more to the story than meets the eye. With a bit of digging, he uncovers a connection to the notorious Wind Dragons Motorcycle Club and realizes that Scarlett’s case is a complicated and difficult one. It certainly doesn’t help that the two share an immediate and passionate attraction. Will Jaxon be able to prove Scarlett’s innocence or are the two doomed to fail both in court and as a couple?

 

 

What are you lovelies waiting on?

 

 

   

Escape to You by Jennifer Ryan

He discovered her during a Montana blizzard, freezing cold, impossibly vulnerable, a little boy by her side. Undercover DEA Agent Beck “Trigger” Cooke is astonished to recognize Ashley Swan—award-winning actress, famous beauty—and missing for over a year. To keep her and the child hidden from a sadistic madman, he secrets the pair away to his isolated home.

No longer a prisoner, and protected at Hope Ranch, Ashley recovers and learns the tall, tempting federal agent may have a dark past, but it hasn’t destroyed his sense of honor.

As they shed past roles and find common ground, Ashley and Trigger can’t help but fall slowly, carefully, in love. But danger still lurks outside the boundaries of Hope Ranch, for until her crazed captor is brought to justice, and Trigger’s undercover past is laid to rest, none of them will ever be truly safe…

 

Series: Montana Heat #1| Publisher: Avon | Genre: Contemporary Romance/Suspense | Source: Publisher | Rating: 4.5 Cups

This one was dark and intense yet it was filled with so much hope, love, passion, and healing

 

So, Beck’s been an undercover DEA agent for so long—and he’s done some dirty deeds in the process—that he doesn’t know where he starts and Trigger begins. He’s wounded, weary, and his soul is in need of repair. He’s definitely damaged and he’s not sure if he can be saved but when he discovers Ashley clinging to life with a little boy guarding her, he knows that, despite what he’s going through, he has to save her and Adam.

 

Ashley was held captive for a year by a sadistic madman she once thought of as a friend so she’s been through hell and back but she never gave up hope. She’s determined and a fighter. She’s a bit leery of Beck, even though he rescued her, but she also sees the wounded man inside of him that needs healing and she’s able to connect with him on the level.

 

There an amazing chemistry between Ashley and Beck but there’s also this amazing bond. They’ve both been through harrowing ordeals, they needed each other to be able to heal and it was such an amazing process. The romance felt real and not rushed.

 

So, this was an intense read. The things Ashley went through was horrifying and the mindset of the madman was intense—I was never sure what he was going to do next—, plus Beck has his own things going on so, while this was an amazing read, it was one that I had to take a breather from every now and again.

 

Overall, this was an outstanding read. It was so full of intense emotion. This is by far the best book from Jennifer Ryan that I’ve read. I’m eager to see what comes next in the Montana Heat series.

 

Montana Heat Series

Protected by Love #0.5 

Escape to You

 

 

   

From Scotland with Love by Kelli Ireland

After her boyfriend runs off to a Buddhist monastery, Molly is stuck with an extra ticket for a bed-and-breakfast trip through the Scottish Highlands. Not wanting to waste the fare, she sells it in an online auction...where it's bought by a man from her past. Now she's stuck rooming with the guy who broke her heart - someone she's never been able to forget.

 

When Alex arrives in Scotland and discovers that he unknowingly purchased a romantic getaway with his ex-girlfriend, he knows he should walk away. Spending two weeks at a bed-and-breakfast in the Scottish Highlands with his beautiful, spirited ex is a terrible idea. He came to Scotland with one goal in mind - to win an elite photojournalism competition - and Molly is a distraction he can't afford.

 

But as the stunning Scottish Highlands weaves its magic, Alex's and Molly's hearts begin to open once again. Can they let go of their past for the second shot of a lifetime?

 

Publisher: Audible Studios | Narrator: Ava Erickson | Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins | Genre: Contemporary Romance | Source: Publisher | Ratings: 3.5 Cups

A funny and heartfelt second chance romance set in Scotland? Yes, please, and thank you!

 

Here’s what’s going on. When Molly’s boyfriend up and sells off the contents of their flat, dons a curtain panel and runs off to become a monk, Molly is desperate to find someone willing to buy the other half of her trip to the Scottish Highlands. So desperate, in fact, she sells the other half of her trip on an online auction. And because the universe has a wicked sense of humor, it’s purchased by Alex, the guy who broke her heart.

 

While Alex isn’t thrilled to learn he’s going to be spending the next two weeks with his ex-girlfriend, he doesn’t really have a choice. He needs to win the photojournalism competition and to do so he’s going to have to convince Molly to partner with him. The problem is, he professionally betrayed her in the past and ended up breaking her heart in the process. If he could convince her that he’s a changed man who regrets what he did maybe he’ll have another shot both professionally and personally.

 

Okay, so the title of this one grabbed me but I nearly passed over it because both characters are journalist/photojournalist and I normally can’t get behind characters with that profession but I’m so glad I gave this one a go.

 

I really liked both Molly and Alex. They are both these amazing people who are better together rather than apart. Alex did do a very wanker-ish thing in the past but he’s truly regretful and has since changed his ways. He’s a good guy who made a bad choice. Molly’s career imploded after the fallout with Alex but she’s doing her best to claw her way back up and still has a fiery passion that hasn’t been extinguished. While she’s leery of letting Alex back in, she doesn’t throw the past up in his face.

 

The romance between Molly and Alex was so believable. The chemistry and attraction was still there but there was also an air of caution. One of the things that sold me on this one was the fact that rather than having them falling back into bed, they took their time getting to know—and trust—each other again.

 

While this one definitely had all the feels, it had amazing humor in it. I found myself cracking up several times as Molly got herself into some funny situations.

 

Another thing that I loved about this one was the secondary characters. They brought the Scottish Highlands to life and added an extra something to this book.

 

I did have a bit of a problem with this one near the end. Something happens with Alex and I was a little put off by Molly’s actions—or lack thereof. I just found the way she handled it odd. I think someone in that situation would do more to find out what happened.

 

This was my first time listening to Ava Erickson and she took a bit of getting used to. She’s a bit robotic at the start. I’m not sure if she evened out as the story progressed or if I just got used to the robotic style. There was also a bit of a problem with her Scottish accent—it came off more Irish, which was a bit of a letdown. She wasn’t one of my favorite narrators but I was able to get through the story, which was good seeing as this one is only available as an audiobook at the moment.

 

Overall, this one was such a fun story. It’s a bit short—and it goes by in the blink of an eye—but it was a worthy listen with the right amount of heat, fluff, heart, and humor that had me smiling.

     

Do you like audiobooks?

         

Waiting on Wednesday #65: Bloodstains with Bronte by Katherine Bolger Hyde

Release Date: December 12, 2017
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Why it’s my WoW: A modern cozy mystery that combines Jane Eyre and Wuthering Height? Oh yes, please!

 

Classic novels and crime solving intertwine in Katherine Bolger Hyde's charming series. Bloodstains with Bronte is the second in a series that will puzzle and please fans of mystery and masterpieces alike.

Windy Corner is being remodeled into a writers' retreat. Two of the young workers, Jake and Roman, are showing too much of the wrong kind of interest in Katie, Emily's young single-mother housekeeper.

It's a stormy autumn and Emily is reading Wuthering Heights. Roman, a dark and brooding type, reminds her of Heathcliff. At a Halloween murder mystery fundraiser at Windy Corner, someone is found stabbed to death. Windy Corner's very own detective, Luke, is reluctantly forced to investigate Katie.

Luke digs into the background of the contractor, Jeremiah Edwards, and Emily, now reading Jane Eyre, realizes Jeremiah resembles St. John Rivers in his obsessive, tormented piety. Will Luke figure out who the murderer is before Katie ends up in jail or someone else is killed?

 

What are you waiting on?