Friday, January 30, 2015

Release Day Cowboy Passion by Helen Hardt







Book: Cowboy Passion — Bakersville Saga 5 & 6
Author: Helen Hardt
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Cowboy

Synopsis:
Treasuring Amber
Kissing handsome rancher Harper Bay to avoid a confrontation with her past isn’t on Amber Cross’s "to do" list, but sometimes a situation calls for desperate measures. She doesn’t expect the kiss to leave her breathless.
Amber is the hottest thing walking but clearly not Harper’s type. Nope, he’s not looking for a platinum blonde manicurist from the city, even if she is Bakersville’s reigning rodeo queen. After her surprising kiss leaves him panting, he changes his mind and decides to get to know her. Chemistry sizzles between them, but this gorgeous woman has a past that could get them both killed.
Trusting Sydney
Sam O’Donovan is bored with his stale life in Montana. When his brother-in-law offers him a great job and a cut of the McCray Ranch in Bakersville, Colorado, he’s ecstatic. This is the change he needs. As for beautiful Sydney Buchanan resurfacing? That’s icing on the cake.
Sydney’s back in Bakersville for one reason and one reason only. She needs to win as many large rodeo purses as she can to help her parents run their struggling ranch in Nevada. She doesn’t bank on running into Sam O’Donovan. All the sparks they shared five years earlier are still there, but so much else has changed. If only Sam could understand the decisions she made during their time apart…and trust her.                                           Buy The Book *****INSERT BUY LINKS WHEN AVAILABLE *****
Author Bio
Helen Hardt is an attorney and stay-at-home mom turned award-winning romance author and freelance fiction editor. She writes contemporary, historical, paranormal, and erotic romance from her home in Colorado. She’s a mother, a black belt in Taekwondo, a grammar geek, an avid fan of opera and football (as long as her older son and younger son are performing/playing, respectively), and a lover of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.
Social Links 
Praise for Helen Hardt:
Helen Hardt writes as smooth as a hot knife cutting through butter. Her
words take you away and you feel like you are watching the story play out
right in front of you.

~Delightfully Dirty Reads~
Ms. Hardt has a way of writing that makes me forget I’m reading a book.
It’s more like slipping into a world she created and getting lost for a while.
~Whipped Cream Reviews~
Flawlessly written and in my opinion a work of art…
~Girly Girl Book Reviews~
Other Books in the Series
Cowboy Heat – Bakersville Saga 1 & 2

Cowboy Lust – Bakersville Saga 1 & 2

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Saturday, January 24, 2015

Release Day Review - Since You've Been Gone

Since You've Been Gone
by Mary Jennifer Payne


Synopsis:

Is it possible to outrun your past? Fifteen-year-old Edie Fraser and her mother, Sydney, have been trying to do just that for five years. Now, things have gone from bad to worse. Not only has Edie had to move to another new school she's in a different country.
Sydney promises her that this is their chance at a fresh start, and Edie does her best to adjust to life in London, England, despite being targeted by the school bully. But when Sydney goes out to work the night shift and doesn't come home, Edie is terrified that the past has finally caught up with them.
Alone in a strange country, Edie is afraid to call the police for fear that she ll be sent back to her abusive father. Determined to find her mother, but with no idea where to start, she must now face the most difficult decision of her life.

Rating:  3/5 Stars

Review:

This was an interesting read that I feel has very high potential to be great.  Edie has been on the run with her mother for several years, trying their best to hide from Edie's abusive father.  The duo traveled all over Canada, always eventually being found, causing them to run away again.  After being caught for the last time in Canada, Edi's mother goes to the extreme and takes her daughter to London, hoping to shake her ex-husband once and for all.

Once in London, Edi's mother gets an under the table job cleaning posh buildings in downtown London.  After her first overnight shift, Edie's mother never returns home from work, causing Edie to tumble down a rabbit hole of theft and running from community enforcement.  She quickly pairs up with Jermaine, the boy that is taking the blame for her theft.  The pair works together to try to solve Edi's mother's disappearance as quickly as possible.

Although I did enjoy this story, I felt that it could have been a little bit more fleshed out.  I found that the characters were fairly flat, they needed just a bit more oomph to get me really into the story.  I feel that with a little bit more details, this story could have easily been a five star book.  As is it, I feel that it reads a bit like a rough draft; enough story to get the plot down, but needing more details to bring it to life.

Although I found the story in need of some work, I feel that this author shows a great deal of promise and I will definitely read more from her in the future.