BOOK REVIEW ~ ROCK STAR BY GINGER VOIGHT

Title: Rock Star (Groupie, Book 2)

Author: Ginger Voight

Release Date: September 25, 2012 

Reviewer purchased own copy of eBook 

"Rock Star" is the highly anticipated sequel to Ginger Voight's Rock and Roll Rubenesque saga, which began with the sizzling debut of "Groupie." For those who have been anxious to see what has become of Andy, Vanni and Graham... buckle your seat belts. You're in for a thrilling new ride right through the dark underbelly of fame. 

In the second book in the series, readers get insight into the mind of the romantic hero, Giovanni Carnevale, as he reaches the pinnacle of success as a world wide rock star. Everyone wants a piece of him, but all he wants is the one thing he can't have. He's angry and he's entitled, with ample opportunity to make really bad decisions. The combination proves explosive.

Andy must watch from the sidelines as her beloved Vanni falls victim to grifters, scandals and alcoholism thanks to this self-destructive behavior. Things come to an emotional head when his estranged father comes on the scene just when Vanni thinks things can't get any worse.

Darkness shadows Graham Baxter as he begins his journey as a paraplegic. The powerful mogul bitterly handles this new vulnerability by lashing out at the people who could help him the most. He needs Andy more than ever, pulling her in yet another hopeless direction. Andy is put in the impossible situation of keeping the most important promise she has ever made, or saving the man that she can't help but love.

Author Ginger Voight turns up the scandals, secrets, passion and heartbreak to 11 in a very Jackie Collins type of way. Flawed characters face excess and all the pitfalls that entails. They fight as hard as they can to hold onto anything real in the fake world of celebrity.

Book Review

I fell in love with this series back in October 2011. The writing of Ginger Voight's book, Groupie, just sang to me. I couldn't stop reading the book and had to finish it! It was like watching a horrible train wreck or car accident. My eyes were wide open, devouring every word as fast as I could read them. Vanni and Andy's relationship was brutal. It was like a kick in the gut and made me curse aloud. 

Thank god there was a sequel! I had a huge WTF moment at the end of the first book. 

Rock Star takes place pretty much immediately where Groupie ended. Vanni returns to his home in L.A. He is hurt, angry, and turns to the bottle to drown his sorrows. He cannot believe that Andy has turned him down. He finally gave his heart to a woman and she decides to stay with another man. Unable to deal with his loss, he drinks his pain away and turns to several nameless women to help ease the ache. 

Andy sees things a bit differently. How can she leave Graham when he took a bullet for her? He's paralyzed and needs someone to be by his side. Guilt is the main culprit to why Andy stays, but she does love Graham. It's just not the all consuming passion that she has for Vanni. She views her time with Graham as temporary and hopes that Vannie will hold out and wait for her. 

Both Vannie and Andy have some major growing up to do and some heavy issues to solve. And along the way, some people are very determined to see that Andy and Vanni never get back together.

There are several new players in Rock Star that will become very important for different reasons:

(1.) Maggie, a nurse who specializes in treating paraplegics, shows up and pushes Graham to find the will to want to walk again. She ignores his threats to fire her (which he does numerous times) and and forms a bond with Andy--the two women become friends, despite the strangeness of their situation. Maggie has her own reasons for not giving up on Graham. Could one of them be that she is falling in love with him?

(2.) Holly, aka The Bitch, as I like to call her. She comes across as this sweet and innocent girl who wants nothing more than to help Vanni when he needs a good friend. Her brother, Julian, is the newest guitarist of Dreaming in Blue--Vanni's band--and her sickeningly sweet persona was about to make me puke a little in my mouth. You know she has a hidden agenda and you hope Vanni is too smart to fall for it. 

(3.) Leo --who is not actually new to the books, but he definitely has an important role in Rock Star.  I wanted to strangle the S.O.B. on several occasions. He is poison and he helps push Vanni over the edge in the wrong direction. 

The web of deceit in Rock Star is thick and tangled beyond belief. It seems like an insurmountable mountain that Vanni and Andy will never be able to surpass. There is much heart ache throughout for all and at the end, just when you think the pieces click in place--FINALLY--there is an evil waiting around the corner, just waiting to ruin the bit of happiness that Vanni and Andy have finally found. 

Mogul, the last book of the emotional trilogy is expected to be released February 5. And if you visit my website on February 15, I will have a spotlight/review of Mogul for your perusal. 

ARC BOOK REVIEW ~ KEPT BY SHAWNTELLE MADISON

Title: Kept ( Coveted, Book 2)

Author: Shawntelle Madison

Expected Release Date: November 27, 2012

Publisher: Ballentine Books

ARC provided by NetGalley

Fresh from defending her pack in battle, Natalya Stravinsky, a whip-smart werewolf with a lovable neurotic streak, wants a little rest and relaxation. Once an outcast, she’s now eager to rejoin the ranks of her New Jersey pack, and has even gotten a handle on her obsessive urge to hoard holiday ornaments. Yet Nat barely has time to revel in her progress before the next crisis comes howling at her door.

Nat’s father has suddenly gone missing, captured by the Russian werewolf mafia. And as Nat steps up to save her dad from a mob boss’s deadly game, two men step in to play another round for her heart: her gorgeous alpha ex-boyfriend, Thorn, and her new flame, the sweetly sensitive wizard Nick. With her life growing more harried by the minute, Nat must stay cool, calm, and collected . . . or else risk losing everything.

 

I swear when I picked this book, I had no clue it was the second book of a series. That said, I did not feel lost in the story that began with Coveted. 

Nat Stravinsky is a snarky werewolf with a bad case of OCD. How she handles it in this book is amusing and provides some humorous dialogue.  She has recently lost face in her family, but when her father has been kidnapped, she has the opportunity to finally prove herself.

She is left with the task to drive a beat-up truck and deliver it to a waiting pack of Weres in Maine--all in twenty four hours. Easy Peasy...until she finds herself fighting for her life against some really dangerous creatures along the way.

To top it off, Nat finds herself trying to decide between two sexy men--Nick, a wizard who makes it no secret that he loves and adores her, is determined to win her heart. Then there is Thorn, her ex-boyfriend, who she still cannot forget. One owns her heart, the other her soul.

What I love about Nat is her loyalty to her family, despite their difficulties in the past. Also, she never stands down for what she believes in, no matter how the deck is stacked against her. She has an unwavering drive and ambition that makes her such a strong heroine.

Kept is a delicious treat for fans of the paranormal genre--Weres especially--and the story delivers great pacing with an action-packed adventure to help turn the pages to see what happens next.

ARC BOOK REVIEW ~ SOMETHING WITCHY THIS WAY COMES BY H.P. MALLORY

Blurb from Goodreads

ARC provided by NetGalley



Expected Release Date: September 25, 2012



A witch’s work is never done, and in bestselling author H. P. Mallory’s mesmerizing new novel, Jolie Wilkins finds that the real magic is only just beginning.

For smart and sexy witch Jolie Wilkins, being Queen of the Underworld is a royal pain. Back from a round of time travel, Jolie must now protect her realm from the sinister Lurkers—a powerful breed of half-humans bent on conquering the undead. And if there’s one thing she knows, it’s that the supernatural never go down without a fight.

At least Jolie has her soul mate (and finally official boyfriend), warlock Rand Balfour, by her side. Honorable, brave, and unbelievably handsome, Rand is everything Jolie wants in a man. So why can’t she forget the dangerously alluring vampire, Sinjin Sinclair? With her private life heating up and a battle boiling over, Jolie sets out to prove that in matters of love and war, the fairer hex has its own set of charms.  

Caution: This review may contain a major spoiler--don't read if you want to be surprised.

I have been on the Joli/Rand/Sinjin love triangle train since the beginning. And man, has it been a ride.

The Jolie Wilkins series started out in small tarot shop where Jolie worked along side her bff, Christa.  In walks the sexy, dark haired Brit, Rand Balfour, who tells her not only is he a powerful warlock, but that Jolie is a witch. I was instanly hooked on this series, and I fell hard for that sexy man, Rand.

These two characters have been on one emotional roller coaster ride that I have loved and enjoyed immensely. Although I hoped that Jolie and Rand would end up together and have a beautiful HEA, I must admit that Sinjin made this decision rather difficult. That smexy vamp with the snarky mouth and incredible sexual chemistry between he and Jolie had me questioning my loyalty to Rand. He was just THAT sexy.

Books one and two ( Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble and Toil and Trouble) were a super fantastic read that had me on the edge of my seat. And I was (and still am) supremely stoked that H.P. got a major publishing deal for her books. She rocked my girly bits and did some serious vag blocking with Jolie and Rand. I mentally cursed and praised the woman for her teasing game.

What has me sadly disappointed is that I don't think this series lived up to its full potential--at least for me. I was foaming at the mouth when H.P. left the readers hanging on the proverbial cliff, when Sinjin traveled back in time (Book 4, The Witch Is Back) to win Jolie's heart. Yes, we know that isn't what he tells her, but that vamp has fallen hard. He just can't admit it.

And Something Witchy This Way Comes left me feeling slightly empty and wondering what happened to my beautiful characters.

After "returning" to the present, Jolie faces the hard decision of how she should punish Sinjin for his trickery. She flip flops back and forth until my head is literally spinning. The inner dialogue is a bit repetitive and Jolie never seems to truly make up her mind about anything--other than the fact that Rand is her soul mate, her love, and that they are truly bonded. 

The Lurkers are also in the forefront in this final book. And the ending isn't truly an ending-nothing is really 'wrapped up'. I know that according to H.P. Mallory's web page, she will be doing a spin-off of this series, so hopefully some questions that are never answered may be set to rights.

I hate to give spoilers in reviews, but some of the plot developments here were weak for me. And an epilogue would have been fantastic considering that Jolie has a certain sitch going on that will not be mentioned here **zips lips**.

I missed the quirky and sometimes laugh-out-loud moments that I had in books one and two. Overall, SWTWC left  me wanting something more.

Will I stop reading H.P.? Meh...I don't think so. She hooked me once, I'm sure she can do it again. I am looking forward to how she develops the spin-off to this witchy-entertaining series.