More Than Fashion - Book Review by Voodoo Bride

More Than Fashion (Chasing the Dream #3)
by Elizabeth Briggs

What is it about:
They’re enemies who will do anything to win...including each other.

When Julie Hong wins a spot on a fashion design reality TV show, she celebrates by picking up a hot English guy in a hotel bar. But too many drinks leads to a night of embarrassment and a major hangover, and wow is she glad she’ll never see him again. Until the show starts, and he’s on it too.

Julie quickly realizes she’s out of her league among the other designers, and Gavin Bennett, with his cocky grin and sexy accent, is her biggest competition. Julie can't decide if she wants to kiss him or kill him. Or both.

After she’s almost kicked off, Julie convinces Gavin to pretend they’re sleeping together for the camera. The ploy works, but as they get closer to the show’s finale their fake relationship starts to become too real. But only one of them can win the show—and they might both end up heartbroken.

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
I've been very much enjoying the first books in this series, so I eagerly picked this one up.

And it's such a fun and yummy read!

Hector from More Than Comics is still my favorite hero so far, but Gavin is a really close second. I loved the interaction and chemistry between Julie and Gavin. Their romance is hot and full of delicious tension.

I loved the reality show set up in the first book, but wasn't a fan of the hero. Here I got the reality show set up again, this time with a hero I really rooted for. I was hooked from the start and only put the book down when I absolutely had to.

The story is really fun with all the fashion challenges, and there were some cool contestants as well. I like how Briggs doesn't make things an easy stroll for the hero and heroine in her books. I really was wondering how the show would end and how Julie and Gavin would get their Happy End with them competing.

Of course this is a romance so things do turn out well, but the journey to their HEA was a treat to read. I'm already looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Why should you read it:
It's a delicious Contemporary Romance


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On McPig's Radar - The Dragon's Playlist

You bet I pre-ordered this as soon as I heard about it. And I think you should pre-order as well.


The Dragon's Playlist
by Laura Bickle

From the author of THE HALLOWED ONES and NINE OF STARS comes a new novel blending the magical and the real…

“This is war,” the dragon said. And she believed him.

Di fled rural West Virginia to study music and pursue a bright future as a violinist. But when a mining accident nearly kills her father, she is summoned back home to support her family. Old ghosts and an old flame emerge from the past. When Di gets a job as a bookkeeper at the same mine where her father worked, she is drawn into a conflict pitting neighbor against neighbor as the mine plans an expansion to an untouched mountain.

If the mining company’s operation goes forward, there will be more at stake than livelihoods or the pollution of the land: Di has discovered a dragon lives deep within Sawtooth Mountain, and he is not happy with this encroachment upon his lair. When catastrophe strikes, Di must choose between her family’s best interests and protecting the dragon – the last surviving bit of magic in Di’s shrinking world.

In every fight, sides are chosen. And there can be no yearning for what has been left behind.


PUBLICATION DATE: JUNE 1, 2017

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Teaser Tuesdays - It Takes a Witch

I tipped my head. "If youve married mortals, how come you still have your power to grant wishes? I thought all Crafters lost their gift if they married a mortal."

(page 111, It Takes a Witch by Heather Blake)


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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Don of the Dead - Book Review

Don of the Dead (Pepper Martin #1)
by Casey Daniels

What is it about:
Beautiful, smart, and chic, Pepper Martin never had to work a day in her life -- until her surgeon daddy was convicted of fraud, her wealthy fiancé took a powder, and the family fortune ran bone dry.

Suddenly desperate, the inexperienced ex-rich girl was forced to take the only job she could get: as a tour guide in a cemetery. But a grave situation took a turn for the worse when a head-on collision with a headstone left her with an unwanted ability to communicate with the disgruntled deceased . . . and now Pepper has a whacked Mafia don demanding that she hunt down his killers -- and threatening to haunt her until she does.

What did I think of it:
This is a fun read.

Pepper might be down on her luck, but she's resourceful and persistent. Even an annoying dead Mafia boss doesn't faze her. As she's both trying to find out if she's hallucinating and who killed Gus she gets herself into some humorous and sticky situations.

I really liked the writing style and the story. Even with a couple of close calls with bad guys, the story is light and fun overall, while still the mystery is intriguing enough to want to read on to see if Pepper figures things out.

All in all a quick and very entertaining read. I will most certainly get my trotters on the next book sometime.

Why should you read it:
It's a fun Paranormal Mystery.



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Where Silence Gathers - Book Review

Where Silence Gathers (Some Quiet Place #2)
by Kelsey Sutton

What is it about:
For as long as she can remember, Alexandra Tate has been able to see personified Emotions, and she's found a best friend in Revenge. He's her constant companion as she waits outside Nate Foster's house, clutching a gun. Every night since Nate's release from prison, Alex has tried to work up the courage to exact her own justice on him for the drunk driving accident that killed her family.

But there's one problem: Forgiveness. When he appears, Alex is faced with a choice—moving on or getting even. It's impossible to decide with Forgiveness whispering in one ear . . . and Revenge whispering in the other.

What did I think of it:
I fell in love with Some Quiet Place so had to get my trotters on this book, which is not so much the sequel as a companion novel.

And this book is just as beautiful. I was engrossed in the story from the start. Sutton has a beautiful writing style that helps set the atmosphere of this story.

I really could understand how Alex can't let go of her grief, and her hate for the man who she hold responsible for the death of her family. When Forgiveness shows up Alex is forced to look closer at her own feelings and even to look into her past.

The story is not only about choosing revenge or forgiveness. It's about how you deal with life in total, with friends and family, and it's about Alex discovering why she is different and how that has shaped her life.

I've had a hard time concentrating on reading lately, but once I started on this book I was so eager to find out what choice Alex would make, what secrets she would uncover, that I finished this book in a day. You bet this one goes on my keeper shelves, right next to its companion.

Why should you read it:
It's a beautiful and touching Paranormal YA read.


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On McPig's Radar - World Tree Girl

I love Dead Before Dying, so you bet I pre-ordered World Tree Girl as soon as I could.


World Tree Girl
by Kerry Schafer

Shadow Valley, a retirement home that Maureen Keslyn both owns and resides in, hasn't quite recovered from its last battle with the supernatural. Nor have the members of Maureen's team. Jake, the sheriff who has come to believe in powers beyond what he can see, nevertheless remains skeptical on how to deal with those powers when they become malevolent. Matt, the cook at the manor, as well as a federal agent, finds his loyalties fraying in all directions. And then there is Sophronia, the youngest member, a girl who has abilities beyond what she can control, and fears of how powerful she can become.

Into this powderkeg walks Jillian, the daughter of Maureen's former partner. Jillian once tried to stab Maureen, and her presence isn't likely to end more pleasantly this time around. She's up to something, and Maureen needs to find out what.

Maureen and Jake are called upon to investigate a suicide that looks like anything but, and their search through the history of their town turns up unsolved murders, and an evil that has been lurking for decades. To bring the fight to Shadow Valley gives them their best chance at overcoming a demon more powerful than any they have ever encountered--but it also puts everyone at the greatest risk. And when Sophronia disappears, the clock is ticking to find her safe, before she becomes the latest victim.



Expected publication: August 8th 2017

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The Warlord Wants Forever - Book Review by Voodoo Bride

The Warlord Wants Forever (Immortals After Dark #1)
by Kresley Cole

What is it about:
The Warlord
Nikolai Wroth, a ruthless vampire general, will stop at nothing to find his Bride, the one woman who can “blood” him, making his heart beat and filling him with strength. Coldly interested only in the power his Bride will bring, he can hardly believe when Myst the Coveted awakens him body—and soul.

The Seductress
Famed throughout the world as the most beautiful Valkyrie, Myst has devoted her life to protecting a magical jewel and to fighting the vampires.Wroth provides her with the perfect opportunity to torment her sworn enemy—for with his new heartbeat comes a consuming sexual desire that can only be slaked by her. Denying him, she flees, struggling to forget his searing, possessive kiss.

The Hunt is on…
She eludes him for five years, but he has finally chased her to ground and stolen her enchanted jewel, giving him absolute power over her. Now that she’s his for the taking, he intends to make her experience first-hand the agonizing, unending lust she subjected him to for half a decade. Yet when Nikolai realizes he wants far more than vengeance from Myst and frees her, will she come back to him?

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
I liked Poison Princess so I wanted to try one of Cole's PNRs. I decided to start with the novella that started her Immortals After Dark series.

I will confess I thought the story felt a bit anachronistic. First I thought it was set in the Middle Ages, and then suddenly the heroine reveals a lacy bra and takes a shower... There were more things that made it difficult for me to set the story in the right time. I switched back and forth from feeling like it was set in the past and thinking it might be the present.

Then there was the... romance between Nikolai and Myst. While I will confess there were some really steamy scenes, I had a hard time believing these two were falling for each other. If a man ever treats me like Nikolai treats Myst I'll be running for the hills screaming bloody murder. And Myst wasn't much better when it came to romance.

Still, I liked the mythology, and even though I didn't think this was in any way a romantic PNR, I did find the story entertaining. As this is a novella it just might be the reason why the romance wasn't much of a romance but instalust parading as romance. So I might give other books in the series a try.

Why should you read it:
It's an entertaining and steamy read.


Buy Blood Red Kiss (which contains this novella among others) from bookdepository