Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Review - Club Deception by Sarah Skilton


Publisher: Grand Central Pub
Pub. Date: July 25, 2017
Genre: Mystery
Source: Print ARC
Rating: 4


Blurb:
A glamorous romp through the scandals and secrets of LA's most exclusive fictional magician's society, CLUB DECEPTION.

Claire Fredericksson is the beating heart of CLUB DECEPTION, LA's most exclusive magician's society. She's the Queen Bee of Magician WAGs (Wives and Girlfriends), and the genius behind her philandering husband Jonathan's award-winning magic show. Claire's life is upended by the arrival of two new women to the closed group of wives-Jessica, a young trophy wife with a secret, and Kaimi, an art expert looking for the long-lost Erdnase papers by posing as a girlfriend. When a magician rivalry erupts into murder, the women must uncover the truth and set things right for the men they love. With a cast of endurance experts, Vegas stage stars, and close-up card handlers, this novel weaves a tale of murder, fame, and many, many illusions.


Review:
Club Deception was a great mystery that kept me on my toes. I didn't know what to expect when I first started reading but I needn't have worried because what I got was girl power to the max. The women of the story were amazing and I was glad to see them painted in such a strong light. Fortunately, my hopeless romantic-self was presented with some romance to keep me tied over. 

We follow the POVs of four different characters; Claire, Jessica, Kaimi, and Felix. Each one brings the story close together and ties it up with a big pretty bow in the end. There was so much happening at times that my head would spin. That being said, it started off a little slow for my taste in the beginning. Luckily, that didn't last long. 

Claire is beautiful and intelligent. Jessica is the young and hot new wife of magician, Cal. Kaimi's character is a little more complex but amazing all the same. I wish we had more scenes with her in them. Felix is a magician in training. All these characters have so much depth and I enjoyed reading their stories. 

Now as you know, this book is about magicians (really the wives and girlfriends of them.) We get a a glimpse into the behind the scenes ways of what one does when entertaining people with illusionary tricks. I know nothing of magic shows or anything like that. But it sounds like it would be a lot of fun. I always wished that I knew how to do tricks. Anyways, Club Deception is the exclusive club of, you guessed it, magicians and their wives/girlfriends. It got me thinking about secret little societies in our world now. Guess they wouldn't be so secret if we all knew about them. 
 
Overall, I liked the book. It's one filled with betrayal, lies, and all the goodness of high drama. Oh, and then there's a murder. What more could one want? 

*Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

BUY

About the Author:
Coming in Summer 2017: Sarah's first book for adults, CLUB DECEPTION (Grand Central), about the magicians who belong to an exclusive underground magic club in Los Angeles, and the women who love, inspire, or control them.

Sarah is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, a fact that came in handy while writing her martial arts-themed debut YA novel, BRUISED (Amulet Books), which received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and which the Horn Book called "nuanced and honest." Her second YA novel, HIGH AND DRY (Amulet Books), was called "A dark, well-constructed mystery with a strong voice" by Kirkus.

Sarah and her husband, a magician, live in Southern California with their toddler son. She's never been sawed in half, but there's still time. She loves to read coming-of-age novels, effed up memoirs, and edgy non-fiction. Find her on twitter: @Sarah_Skilton
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Monday, July 24, 2017

Blog Tour Review ft Giveaway - KISS MY BOOTS (Coming Home #2) by Harper Sloan


About the book:
KISS MY BOOTS
Harper Sloan
Book 2 in The Coming Home Series
Pocket Books
$7.99

About the book:
Hang on to your Stetsons this summer, because you’re in for one wild ride! Get lost in the second installment ofNew York Times bestselling author Harper Sloan’s Coming Home series, KISS MY BOOTS. In the second installment, the wildest Davis of them all is looking for love…maybe.

Quinn Davis prefers to live her life quietly. She’s the stereotypical tomboy with two overprotective big brothers who have always looked out for her. Of course, it doesn’t help that her heart has already been hardened when it comes to devilishly handsome cowboys with silver tongues. That is, until Tate Montgomery comes riding back into town. Their first meeting, however, is far from something out of a fairy tale and only further convinces Quinn that men aren’t worth her time.

Growing up, the one time Tate ever truly felt at home was during the long, sweltering summer months he spent at his gram and paw’s farm in Pine Oak, Texas. Now, Tate has returned to his childhood sanctuary seeking a fresh start—but if he’s being entirely honest, he’s not just back for the Wranglers and Stetsons. During those summers, Quinn was a friend turned young love who Tate lost when life threw him a curveball and he cut all ties to his past, but all it takes is one glance at the raven-haired beauty, who he did his best to forget, for him to realize just how much he’s been missing…

Can two people who have stopped believing in love take a chance to find it in each other again? Or will the pain of the past prove too great a hurdle to conquer?

KISS MY BOOTS is the second go-round in this Texas-set series filled with sizzle, heart, and plenty of cowboys!

Praise for Kiss My Boots, Book 2:
“[A] steamy book for your summer reading list…Modern Cliterature...Enjoy [this] lusty [passage] adapted from summer’s raciest reads…”
Cosmopolitan, July 2017

Praise for Lost Rider, Book 1:
“Sloan hits it out of the park with her first Coming Home contemporary western romance…Maverick is a perfect hero: multilayered, complicated, deeply damaged, yet blooming with the new promise of love. Leighton is appealing and real, as are a strong supporting cast of characters whom readers will be glad to follow into sequels. Sloan enhances the gripping story with country songs that open each chapter. This absolutely spectacular effort catapults Sloan to the top of her genre.”
—Publishers Weekly (STARRED REVIEW)


“The first book in Sloan’s Coming Home series is a supersexy second-chance read with a handsome ex-rodeo cowboy hero and the girl he left behind. The characters are well written and the bedroom scenes are hot…Sloan does a wonderful job with portraying the secondary characters, and it looks like Quinn’s story, which is next up, is going to be a good one.”
RT VIP Salon

“Sloan brings plenty of heat to this otherwise very thoughtful, building love story, the first in her Coming Home series…Maverick’s pursuit of Leighton and her slow acceptance ignites the vivid ranch and small-town settings. Contemporary western romances are challenging to write, and Sloan makes it fun to read about realistic ways cowboys can fit into modern society. Readers will look forward to learning how the uncovered family secrets affect siblings Clay and Quinn in future books.”
—Booklist

“Sloan begins a new Western series with engaging characters and an appealing small-town setting; her second-chance-at-love romance resonates emotionally…Sloan knows her way around sexual tension and emotional intensity.”

—Kirkus

Review:


Quinn's story is the one I didn't know I wanted or needed. Of course, I loved her in the first book, Lost Rider. The story of Tate and her pulled at my heartstrings and made me fall in love. The two of them had a childhood romance and while Tate was always leaving for college, he makes promises that they'll always stay in touch and eventually be together. But it was all lies. 

Now nine years later, Quinn is a shell of a woman she used to be. She used to be in love, she believed in it and she lived it. Ever since Tate left and never came back, she hasn't let any man close enough to be let in all the way. As fate would have it though, Tate is back and he's back for good. He's got his eyes set of the beautiful woman he's let get away. 

“There wouldn’t ever be."
“There wouldn’t ever be what?”
“Anyone that could ever come close to the woman you are.

I loved Tate. I loved how he didn't play games and told Quinn straight up that he was going to fight for her. He knows what he wants and nothing was going to stand in the way of anything stopping that. It goes without saying that Quinn is amazing. How Tate stayed away from her all those years, I don't even know. But I was definitely rooting for him from the beginning!

Overall, this is one for the books, literally. I loved ever second of the book and Quinn is a force to be reckoned with. I have to admit though, I'm excited for Clay's book. I have been since we first met him in Lost Rider. He's just so...sexy and mysterious. Ah...I need that book now!! Please and start the first one of the trilogy if you haven't already. You will not regret it!

*Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Buy:

About the Author:
Harper Sloan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Corps Security and Hope Town series. She started writing as a way to unwind when the house went to sleep at night. Harper lives in Georgia with her family. Visit her at 
AuthorHarperSloan.com or Facebook.com/HarperSloanBooks.

Giveaway:
We are giving away one review copy of Book 1, Lost Rider! Be sure to check out all participating sites on the blog tour for more Giveaways. Please note, you can only win once and must have a U.S. address. Please comment on our Facebook post HERE to win physical books!

Kiss My Boots blog tour:

July 18

July 19

July 20

July 21

July 22

July 24

July 25

July 26

July 28

July 29

July 31

August 1
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