MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from CS Maxwell ~ Where's My Muse? 

Hope you all are cozied up with friends and family. Stay safe and God Bless. 

BOOK REVIEW ~ COVERT SEDUCTION BY CALLIE CROIX

Title:  Covert Seduction

Author:  Callie Croix

Expected Release Date: January 14, 2013

ARC provided by NetGalley

Navy SEAL Reid Galvin is back from hell and eager to find comfort in Becca Anderson's arms. He knows he hurt her when he cut contact during his deployment, so when his call interrupts her date with another man, he has only himself to blame. But he can't forget what she means to him—or the sexy email she sent him—and he won't miss this chance to claim her as his own.

It's been weeks since Becca heard from the man she thought she was involved with. So when Reid wants to take up where they left off as if nothing happened, she refuses. Then he rescues her from a first date gone very wrong, and she realizes she's not quite ready to let him go.

Reid and Becca have a lot to talk about, but since she's not listening, he's going to have to regain her trust another way—by bringing her most erotic fantasies to life. Making her surrender to pleasure just might be his most important mission.

Book Review

I became a fan of Croix's work since reading her book, Let Me In. She writes with such emotion and startling honesty. Her characters are flawed but full of heart and passion that steam up the pages. 

And Covert Seduction was everything that I hoped and expected. 

Reid and Becca met at a wedding and their relationship grew, blossomed, and then--Reid, a Navy SEAL, left for Afghanistan, with the promise that he would return to her. 

Six weeks later, Becca has given up on the man she thought she was falling in love with. Even though her heart is still emotionally attached to this perfect, wonderful man, she feels that it is time for her to move on. Obviously, she was wrong about the strong connection that they had shared. It must have meant way more to her than him. 

Reid has just returned state side after a military Chinook crashed, killing several SEALs and brothers-at-arms. All the while, he has thought about Becca--the woman who has stolen his heart and he's determined to keep his promise. When he calls her after weeks of silence, he's shocked to hear that she won't be home waiting for him. Instead, she's going on a date with another man.  

What is so obvious a story about a huge miscommunication between two lovers turns into a battle to save Becca's life. And while hiding Becca away, Reid must show her that she means everything to him.

Scorching, mind-blowing sex against a window with the possibility of discovery? Check
Highly intense and erotic love making in front of a mirror? Check
Reader fanning self to help release, er...relieve the heated flush of her checks? Uh...triple check.

Callie Croix writes some serious smexy times with an emotionally and compelling backdrop. I am now a loyal fan.

Click here to add books to Goodreads. 

BOOK REVIEW ~ EVENTIDE BY ELLE JASPER

Title: Eventide (The Dark Ink Chronicles, Book Three)

Author: Elle Jasper

Release Date: March 6, 2012 

Reviewer purchased own copy of book.

Newly-bitten tattoo artist Riley Poe feels herself changing in unimaginable ways. Eli Dupre, her vampire lover, has seen the change in her and fears for her humanity. His rival, Victorian, tells her she must see the patriarch of the vampire cult that attacked her to save her soul. In the vampire cult's fortress in Romania, Riley will face her worst fears-and the dark powers threatening to destroy her. And she'll have to do the one thing she's been determined not to do—put her trust in Eli.

I really wanted to enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed the first two in this series--but somehow along the way, the story lost its fizz and just can't stand up against the seductiveness of Afterlight and Everdark.  

Eventide starts off where Everdark ended:  Riley has been taken by the Russian strigoi vamp, Victorian, and she experiences haunting images/dreams. And worse, she is losing time--hours--where she doesn't remember what she has done, much less, how the hell she got there. 

Her doesn't-give-a-shit-attitude and her change of personality leaves her friends worried and wondering what the hell is going on. They all know Riley has the blood of two powerful strigoi vampires flowing through her veins, but this drastic change in her behavior makes them start to question whether Riley is strong enough to fight the darkness that threatens to consume her. 

Eli Dupre, her sexy vampire boyfriend, is determined to save her before its too late. And the only way to prevent Riley from completely changing, is to hand her over to the man who also wants Riley for himself--Victorian. 

This is the part of the book that I truly did enjoy. We get to see a softer side to Vic and my heart goes out to that emo-Russian vamp. He loves Riley. And knowing that Eli has her heart doesn't change that fact. He will always love her wait for her forever. Sniff....

Eventide reads so differently from the first books. The reader spends a lot of time wondering what the hell is going on. The missing chunks of time, the hallucinations, the strange dreams--all come from Riley's point of view and are very confusing. But I could almost handle that...almost. 

However, when Riley and Eli are in Russia, they met up with new characters who have their own stories to tell. We see these stories when Riley touches them and she is "flung" inside their heads--seeing what they have experienced--and the ride is all the more confusing to the reader. I felt a sensory overload coming on with the new names, plot twists, and none of it seemed to stick. 

It was a case of too much information in a little bit of time and left me skimming some of it. GASP! I loathe to skim, but frankly, I couldn't help it. There was nothing there to hold me to the story. And for me, that's just so sad. Especially since I know all this build-up will come into play with the next book in the series...

Overall, I was unimpressed with Eventide, but there were redeemable parts and I will continue to read this sometimes charming, sometimes dark, and always smexy series.  

18 & OLDER BOOK BLOGGER FOLLOW

18 & Over Book Blogger Follow is a weekly feature that begins on Fridays and runs through the weekend, hosted by Crystal from Reading Between the Wines. This is a Friday blog hop with the objective to find and visit other book blogs that share the same interest as you, namely books geared towards the 18 & over crowd, and make some new friends!




How to join in:
-You should run a book blog that features and reviews mostly adult reads.  Some Y.A.’s are okay but 18 & over adult reads should be your majority.
-Make a separate post for the 18 & Over Book Blogger Follow on your blog.
-Copy the button above and place it at the top of your post.
-List & answer the ‘Question of the Week.’
-Place your name and blog title in the linky over at RBtW's blog post and the url for a direct link to your post
-Visit the other blogs on the list and say 'Hi!' Following each blog is not mandatory but I know it is always appreciated, and if someone comments saying they’re a new follower it’s polite to follow back. J It’s always nice to spread the 18 & Over Book Blogging love!
-Contact me (readingbetweenthewines10 at gmail dot com) with any questions!

Question of the Week: What book(s) are on your Christmas or Holiday wish - list?

Unfortunately, I have to wait AFTER Christmas to get the books that I really want on my list: (They release December 31, 2012).

So, if you're my Secret Santa? Yeah, a GC would be the way to go!  Just sayin'.

Merry Christmas! 

SUPER BOOK BLAST ~ THE CHRISTMAS DARE BY JOAN CHANDLER

The Christmas Dare

by Joan Chandler

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Self-professed Christmas addict Gia Dixon, and by-the-book Ethan Castle have been best friends all their lives. When tragedy strikes Ethan’s family, Gia’s the rock he depends on to pull him through the darkest days. Then, a shared, long-forgotten memory leads to an unexpected yet tender kiss.  Can a simple Christmas dare help them find true love?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joan will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card, winner's choice, to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a $10 gift card to Bath & Body Works to a randomly drawn host.  Please be sure to leave a comment below.

Tour dates can be found here.  

Excerpt:

Funny how times had changed, Gia thought to herself. How was it possible to have gone all these years and not have thought of him romantically? Yet now all she wanted to do was steal a minute alone to kiss him again. Or more.

She saw headlights coming down the road and opened the door, preparing to walk out to meet him.

“No, ma’am,” she heard Ethan call out. He was already getting out of his Jeep and motioned for her to turn around and go back inside.

She was unsure what to make of it, but did as he asked. Then she heard the doorbell ring.  Slowly she opened the door, and saw his smiling face. She backed up a step to allow him to walk inside.

“We may be taking things slow, but I’m still going to do it the right way. When I ask you out on a date, I’ll park and come to your door. If this were seven years ago and you were living at home, your dad would have kicked my ass if he ever caught me letting you just walk out to the curb to get in my car.”

Gia could easily recall the many times her father had complained about that when other boys had done it to her.

“How right you are. My mistake.” She laughed. “From now on I’ll expect to be courted properly according to the Henry Dixon Dating Manual.”

“Besides, stealing a quick moment alone behind closed doors gives me the opportunity to do this.” He pulled her into his embrace to softly kiss her.

When their lips parted, she commented, “I don’t think Daddy had that in mind when he made up that particular rule. But you score extra points for showing initiative.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Joan Chandler is a Florida native who has lived in the Deep South all of her life. She is married with two children who are her pride and joy. She lives a double life of sorts, holding down a nine-to-five job during the day, and writing steamy romance at night—often with her black cat curled up in her arms as she types.

When she’s not spending her spare time working on her next novel, she loves to go camping, sharing girls’ night out with her friends, walking her two dogs, and watching football.

Blog / Twitter 

Book Links:

Bookstrand / Amazon / B&N

WINNER OF ONE NIGHT WITH A HERO BY LAURA KAYE

Congratulations--Mary Preston--You won an eBook copy of Laura Kaye's One Night With A Hero. 
You should be hearing from Laura soon. 

Thank you to all that stopped by my blog and left a comment. 

SEXY SNIPPETS ~ FURY OF ICE BY COREENE CALLAHAN

Tuesdays have never been so sexy! Sexy Snippets is a weekly feature hosted by Reading Between the Wines for the 18+ crowd. To join in just grab the button, post a sexy paragraph or two from your current read and share the author & title so other participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like. Then add your post to the linky over at RBtW's blog post so that everyone can follow along. Have a sexy good time!





Here is my sexy snippet for this week:

"Rikar?""Sweet angel...you're killing me.""Then get ready to die happy, gorgeous. I'm going down.:"No...don't," he rasped, making a grab for her bare shoulders. Too late. She was already on her knees between his legs, her hot mouth on his shaft. Without mercy, she lollipopped him from root to tip. A wet flick. A soft swirling suck and --"Holy fuck...Jesus Christ!"She swallowed him whole. Took him deep. Tortured him. Enslaved him with each devastating stroke of her tongue. And Rikar surrendered, becoming slave to her master. 

I just finished this book like two days ago, and LURVED it. I have to admit that dragon shifters usually ain't my thang, lol. But the way Coreene writes her sexy Alpha dragons? 
Well, let's just say that this is fast becoming one of my favorite series. 

Now it's your turn to show me your sexy!