Red Card by Liz Crowe
The Blackjack Genlemen, #2
Romance Contemporary/Sports
Rating: D

I picked up Red Card because I enjoy sports romances and I had seen some good reviews for the first book in the series. Red Card starts off interestingly enough. An international male soccer star falls hard for a semi pro women’s soccer player. Insta love prevails and I enjoyed seeing how emotionally vocal the hero was in his feeling for the heroine. However my pleasure soon morphed into horror as I got to know the heroine and her sister. Irrational behavior ahoy, these women are crazy. And not in an amusing way. Manipulative and abusive, the heroine and her sister had to be two of the most unlikable characters I’ve come across. The author offers explanations behind their behavior but I felt the reasons were pale and not good enough. They both treated the hero and other important people in their lives horribly. We see the heroine attack the hero physically twice, causing injury, but it is not addressed nor condemned. The heroine’s sister is just as bad with her verbal abuse of her family and the hero. The author attempts to redeem the heroine’s sister in a second chance romance; using grief to force her to change, only for me it wasn’t even enough to consider.
From Russia With Claws by Jacey Conrad and Gia Corona
PNR
RATING: C+

I was super excited when Molly Harper told me at CMC2015 she was co authoring a new pnr series based on a Russian mob family who just happen to be wolf shifters. So I stalked her until I got a copy. GO ME! A strong, intelligent, sexually free alpha heroine takes the stage front and center as she fights to save the family business from her insane brother and her right to live and love on her own terms in a world where women are nothing more than pretty decorations. Humor and horror go hand in hand as Conrad and Corona build an engaging world that straddles the line between the mundane and the supernatural. Dynamic characters and witty dialogue keep the story moving along at a steady pace. Overall, I enjoyed though there were issues that stood out for me. A bit too much repetition (heroine constantly repeats that she can’t be with the hero due to his family) and there are some plot holes that defied explanation. Regardless, I look forward to reading more of this world.

Falling Under by Lauren Dane
Ink and Chrome, #2
Erotic Romance
Rating: C+

I loved the first book in this series and was pleasantly surprised when I won a copy of this one. Dane is an exceptional writer whose ability to sink beneath the surface and drag forth all the emotions and while I enjoyed the book overall, this one left me a little underwhelmed. I found the main conflict didn’t differ much from book one. Heroine has issues with a parent and has to learn to let go. There was a curious lack of friction that always seems to exist  between the couple in the beginning. They are very compatible with one another. Having known each other for quite awhile, we don’t really get to see that initial meeting and flush of attraction. The dance has already been done off scene and we reap the benefits in here. A few rough patches occur; Duke is a wee bit quick to judge and Camilla doesn’t suffer fools lightly. Fun and invigorating sexual scenes dot the landscape, assuring us that in this instance, our couple has no issues. The ending is a bit abrupt and while the heroine’s conflict is resolved, the hero’s conflict seemed a bit rushed and unnecessary. An engaging book all in all, it did seem to lack the spark I associate with Dane.

Execution Style by Lani Lynn Vale
Code 11-KDP Swat, #4
Romance Suspense
RATING: C

Lani Lynn Vale is crack read for me with her alpha caveman chest beating alphas and snarky, funny, do what they want to do heroines that they fall in love with. Execution Style is a spin off of  the SWAT team of Kilgore. The usual laughs and outrageous situations dot the landscape when Miller, a swat team member, saves and falls in love with Mercy, a crime victim her helps save. though the romance seemed to develop overnight and out of sight. This one didn’t resonate with me as usual. The romance comes across weak as it mainly develops off scene and the time jumps don’t help. Some actions taken by the couple also caused concern. One being sleeping together to try to thwart the possibility of heroine being pregnant by her rapist. An eyebrow raising somewhat convoluted mystery keeps the story moving at a fast clip though even for Vale, this one jumps shark quite a bit.

Love Lies Beneath by Ellen Hopkins
Psychological Thriller
RATING: C

I’ve been a fan of Hopkins’s since reading her duology Burned series. She takes a bit of a turn in this series with a retreat from her usual teen angst, lyrical writing style, and underdog characterization. Shelved as a psychological thriller, Hopkins’s ventures into unseen territory with a crowd of unlikable protagonists, racy love scenes, and a story that twists and turns only to leave us sitting on the edge of the abyss unsure exactly what just happened. Told from the heroine’s point of view, you are told a story of a wealthy older woman whose abrasive and vindictive personality garners her some hard knocks. When she meets the man of her dreams after a skiing accident, her insecurities rear their  heads as she begins to wonder if this paragon really loves her…or all her money. Various side characters add their two cents, only adding to the mystery and psychological atmosphere, keeping readers wondering what’s real and what’s all in the heroine’s head. It’s only at the end do you realise just how wrong everything and everyone was. Though probably not a book for everyone as the romance is but a small voice in this kaleidoscope of a story and the characters retain too strong of a teen voice for their age,  I was hooked enough with this new venture of Hopkins’s to hope that she continues the series so we can get the answers to the questions we are left with.