Apples Should be Red by Penny Watson

Apples Should be Red

 Recipe for Thanksgiving Dinner:

Start with 62-year old politically incorrect, chain-smoking, hard-cussing curmudgeon.

Add 59-year old sexually-repressed know-it-all in pearls.

Throw in a beer can-turkey, a battle for horticultural supremacy, and nudist next-door neighbor.

Serve on paper plates, garnished with garden gnome.

Tastes like happily ever after.
You know I have been talking about this book all over twitter and I have YET to write a post about it !!
I find this
not super shocking
HOWEVER
I will make this short
why? because there is something amazing happening to this fabulous book but I will get to that part in a minute

WHAT can I tell you
this is an unusual romance book because the lead couple is over 50!
Why will you enjoy it ?

Meet Tom
he is a curmudgeon a lovable one
he likes to garden he is practical and smart and just darling (but that opinion of him would annoy him so SHHHH)

Meet Bev

She is a little tightly wound

Everything in its place everything is proper everything just so
right down to the type of apples
Oh Tom has so much fun with her

just go buy it and read it and TRUST ME !! and if you think Im wrong come talk to me about it because I love talking books even we disagree!

NOW for the news
THIS fabulous story made it to dabwaha
(thats a what??)
it is a contest similar to the March Madness brackets
you vote and vote till one book is left
That this little Indie book with no street team , and no promo efforts beyond readers that love it


dabwaha <<< go vote

I'm so proud of Penny !

Apples Should be Red by Penny Watson

Unbound by Cara McKenna

Unbound

Cara McKenna

She set out to find herself, and discovered the darker side of desire.

I bought this book based on a rec through a friend in my twitter timeline
I saw her talking to Tiffany Reisz about this book
Tiffany (as you know writes The Original Sinners series) said
" one of the best examples of a male sub "
I am always skeptical when it comes to reading about male subs
and here is why
most tend to feel either too feminine
or too childish

not quite the image that fits the story but I like it anyways

For me both of those take the hotness out of the kink
I like my men manly
and what many people cannot express when it comes to a submissive is it is not weakness that drives a sub
it is an eagerness to please

or
a desire to be punished or to earn forgiveness for whatever transgression may be bothering them
I personally equate that desire to something like the feeling one gets after confession (for my non Catholic friends just trust me), It is cleansing to do this "penance"
please note  this is NOT the case for all subs just some, some subs just like the feeling if it is not your thing then it is not YOUR thing do not judge others for THEIR thing in this book she describes being Kinky as one would being gay it is just something you are born with a preference, it does not need to be fixed or loved out of you or therapied out of you it is a part of who you are and how you get off

AT ANY RATE
I have to agree with Tiffany
I have a new book boyfriend
I'm in love with
Rob
He is a man

a manly man a survivalist living on his own in the highlands
Through the story he matures and changes as we get to know him
His journey is neat one to read you find yourself as the reader wanting to hold him and hug him and make it all better knowing that would be the worst thing you could do for him he would reject it
and the message would never get across but he is just wonderful
I yelled out loud during the climax of his story (not a sexual climax you pervs)
If you chose to read this book you find out what Im talking about

Now for our female lead
You all know me I hate a weak female lead
I want my girls strong of mind and spirit
or to grow to find that strength inside them through their journey
What struck me most about Merry
was how far she had come before our story even begins
Merry went on a weight loss journey
some of you may know I am on a journey of my own to gain better health I have so far lost 60lbs
I really identify with everything she says about it
the numbers thing
calories in calories out
sodium content
sugar content
carbs counting
serving sizes
weighing measuring everything
number of steps etc
I have to be compulsive for health reasons
I have been successful too
and it does change the attitudes of others around you
I have yet to find anyone for me that has been negative or snarky about it
Merry has done what I can only dream of
she met her goal and goes on a one woman backpacking trip across

Scotland
Her goal is to find herself and find peace and celebrate her late mothers birthday in her birth city

Along the way she gets ill the closest place is off in the distance
Robs cabin

no they do not jump in the sack right away
it builds not too slowly but believably
I like Merry I can see us being friends she is sweet, optimistic and  smart and intuitive
We get a glimpse of these two and their lives
just a piece I like that they are fleshed out and feel real

and what we have here is a fabulous story
that honestly would be good even if there was no sex
 and the sex
HOLY HOT
wow
yeahhhhhhh
and not in that overdone tab A slot B way
just beautiful

I hope you give this one a go I need people to talk about it
You will be cheering for them I got very invested in this one
I was sad to see it end

I am updating this post because like a moron I forgot to give it a rating
if you cannot tell I really liked this one and I would probably give it a re read
so I'm giving this one

Unbound by Cara McKenna

Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stacy

Exclusively Yours

Magazine writer Keri Daniels is asked to get an exclusive interview with the very private, famous author Joe Kowalski. Sounds like a dream come true, but for her it is a nightmare. Joe is her ex boyfriend from high school. No real pressure, right? Keri just has talk her ex into giving her an exclusive that he's refused everyone, when the career she left him for is on the line. Best of all, if he does not give it to her he gets to screw her over like she screwed him over.

I love a good book--make me giggle and I am yours! This start to a series about a quirky family is about as good as you going to get.

Joe had his heart broken by Keri when she left to chase her dreams of making it big in journalism. He'd dreamed of the two of them living in the town they grew up in, but he was disappointed..

closest body I could think of for Joe still not quite right

Now she's back and she wants him to save her career by giving her an interview.

He agrees on a few conditions:
1) She has to allow him to approve the questions;
2) No information that he does not approve goes into her article;
3) She has to go camping for two weeks with him and his entire family, and fully participate in ALL activities.

What follows is some of the sweetest, funniest, saddest, most awesome real-life drama, with a mature crowd of characters (all out of college and living real lives). I adore Joe. He is funny, smart, and not hell-bent on revenge (even though it seems that way at times).

Now I have to share a few comments:

Joe had a 78 Grenada

Mine was green

I had one, too. It was a great car--never complain about the Grenada that is one fine piece of machinery!
In my twisted fangirl mind, this is a sign that Joe and I were meant to be (sadly he is not real).

 I also have to comment on this piece of brilliance. It is a side story within this story, about Joe's sister, Terry, and her separation from her hubs, Evan:

Mom to Terry:
"It just makes me sad," she said quietly against Terry's cheek "that you wont fight for him. I know you love him."
And she did. But she didn't have the strength to drag Evan home and then spend the rest of her life wondering every single day if that would be the day he left her again.
"Sometimes love's not enough."

There are so many gems in this book just like that, things that will make you laugh, or cry, or just sigh with happiness.

just one of those camping family activities she has to do 

One more example, or I will just end up quoting the whole darn book !!

"He wanted to stop the world from spinning, to freeze time and hold on to this moment forever.
This was the life he wanted. It was the life that once upon a time he'd thought he'd have. Right now it was as if Keri had never left- as if she'd been a part of his family all along."

Taken out of context it looks cheesy but trust me, this one won't have you reaching for a Lactaid to handle it. It will have you saying AWWWWWWW.

You really root for these characters here, and I LOVE a story that makes me do that. I want to like them and honestly, you learn to love all of them. At least I did

Keri starts out as kinda stuffy, but time spent with a family she grew up with loosens her up.
The rest of the family is a well rounded group that are like real people.The descriptions and their interactions with the main characters flesh them out so well no one is caricature. They are just regular folks.

I hope you give this one a try and me know know what you think!

I really do not know how many stars to give this. I liked it a whole lot--so much so that I bought the next couple of books in the series and then requested another one on Net Galley. Since I liked it so much and I still think about it and rec it to people I think I'm going to have to go with 5 stars! It does not happen often, but I really enjoyed this one. 

Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stacy

Sue's review of The Prince by Tiffany Reisz

 The Prince is the highly anticipated third book in the Original Sinners series by Tiffany Reisz.
As many of you know, I am a bit of a fangirl about this series of books. I understand why some people do not like them and that is OK, but to me this stuff is chocolate (I can't call it crack because this is much more necessary to life than crack and this won't kill me).

At the end of the second book in the series, The Angel, Soren lets his Eleanor (Nora) go with Wesley because he knows that without Wesley Nora is not completely free to be his "little one".

Wesley takes Nora back to his home on a Kentucky horse farm. Remember how we all thought he was this poor little college boy?

Guess who came from money?

Like, BIG money: he is called "The Prince of KY". Who knew?
 (I know where your mind went. Spank yourself for thinking naughty things about virginal Wes.)

What I like about this book (without too many spoilers):

1) I love the backstory of Soren and Kingsley in their youth. I love how their relationship at an all-boys school feels like a kinky high school love story, with all of the fumbling  and extreme feelings. It is a bittersweet feeling reading about it, because you know what they both become as adults. You cannot help but root for their affection for each other to survive, even knowing how they will turn out. You KNOW this is not going to be a fairytale; of course it is no fairy tale even during their affair. It is more like two different lost boys that find love.

2) Another thing I adore about these books is the different types of love that is explored in them, and no, I do not just mean in the kinky sense. Yes, these people are "damaged", but that damage is just a part of them. It is not some deep-seated flaw; it is just there, like eye color. Not something to be fixed or survived, just a part of who they are that they have learned to live with and incorporate into their persona. It does not define them, but it did help shape them and their perceptions (ohh that sounds so damn smart!).

Before I go off on another tangent, I have to talk about the line in this book that is just perfect.
It is perfectly perfect. It is so perfect, it is inspired writing. This is the hand that reaches into the writer and says, "Here, this is a gift for you."

" God closed his eyes "

I see this becoming a popular tattoo. It is a beautiful way to explain what happens. It is not graphic, it is simple and moving and perfect. Make certain when you read that line to tell me how it made you feel, because  I love it so much. I hope everyone melts when they read it the way I did
(I realize this is confusing because you have not read the book; HOWEVER once you get to that part of the book you will remember what I said and be all, "HOLY SHIT! Sue was right!")

yes this is what you find when you google God closed his eyes

These books have a lot of love in them, and unlike most romance novels that love tends to blur between various people. It is not the all-consuming, two leads in love and side characters being in love, with very definite lines drawn between who can and can't have physical contact, etc. Nora loves just about everyone. She has a big heart and has been 'with', in one way or another, just about everyone in this world. Tying her to one love is like trying to contain an element that is beautiful, necessary, and dangerous. What I adore about her is that I never know if she is the antagonist or the protagonist. I just never know about her: she is not evil, but she often does things for someone's own good that hurts, then it turns out for the best. Brutal honesty is what you get when you ask her a question. I guess Nora is right: sometimes there are questions we should not ask if we do not really want to know the answer.

OK, now that I have confused you I will let you guess what star rating I gave this. Take a minute. *taps toes and looks at watch*

Yes, you're right! This one got a 5 stars because it is so so intricate. Yes, you need to read The Siren and The Angel first so you can get to know the characters.

NOW what I did not like:
 I was mildly annoyed with the whole back and forth between the times thing. We would get one chapter in modern times with Soren and Kingsley then--cliffy. Turn the page and you end up reading about what is going on with Nora and Wes. The chapter ends and you are in the past, finding out what happened to Soren and Kingsley when they were in school together.

Here is why this annoyed me:
I am happily reading a long and BAM cliffhanger. I need the answer. I turn the page and I'm in another world. We basically have 3 stories all in one book. It is only because of Reisz' writing talent that it worked. She did a good job of tying the stories together at the end so

there really is no reason for this. Oh! TYING! Get it? lol

we get to see how these worlds are intertwined. 


To sum it all up, here is everything in a nutshell:

1. Great characters
2. great dialog
3. great mystery
4. great sex
5. laugh out loud lines
6. lines that will make you sigh
7. lines that will make you cry

Now for the promised MadLibs portion of our review! This is so that I can satisfy my need to tell you everything AND so I can satisfy the need to NOT to spoil the whole thing for you:

In the end of the book ______ and _____ were _____ in the ______, and then ____ _______ of ______, and she _______, and then he______ and _____ . Of course at this point ____ ______ and ____ . And as a reader I am all ______ because_____ and _____, and I screamed, "Tiffany you _______ ! How could you _____ to ______ and then ______ and just___ ___ ___ it ____ there???"

My Recommendation to anyone who has enjoyed any of Tiffany's stories is to preorder the book, get your friends together, read with them, and come back here to talk with me or find me on twitter and talk with me about it. I need more people to chat about this book with!

The BAD NEWS:
We will have to wait 'til Spring for the next book, called The Mistress.

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Sue's review of The Prince by Tiffany Reisz

Sue's Review of Ghostwriter by Lissa Bryan

Ghostwriter

by

 Lissa Bryan

After being laid off from the newspaper where she worked as a journalist, and losing her boyfriend in rapid succession, Sara Howell is looking to downsize before her dwindling savings run out. Things are finally starting to look up when she lands a job ghostwriting the biography of a popular politician and rents an isolated island house which turns out to have once been the home of her favorite author, Seth Fortner, who mysteriously disappeared in 1925.

But when strange things start happening, as objects break, or go missing, and terrifying visions appear, Sara begins to wonder if Seth ever left, or if she is losing her mind.

What happened to Seth is a secret closely guarded by the family to this day, a family that seems to exist under a terrible curse. Through an old trunk of letters she discovers in the attic, Sara unravels the mystery and becomes caught up in a tale of greed, lost love and the horrors of WWI.

When Sara realizes she is not going crazy and that Seth Fortner’s spirit still haunts her new home on the isolated island, she begins to draw him out of his shell bit by bit. She will discover what happened to the idealistic young writer who went to the battlefields of France to save lives, and to his beautiful bride to destroy the love between them, and what led Seth to make a terrible choice which would have consequences that would echo for generations.

They gradually fall in love in their world of dreams, dreams which swiftly become more attractive than reality, as Sara learns from a ghost how to truly live. Will she be the one to break the “Fortner Curse” by helping Seth conquer his demons, and heal both of their hearts in the process?

I give it 4 stars

Have you ever read a book and liked a character so much you wish he was real so you could look him up and find out more about him?

That is how I felt about Seth, the character that Lissa has created for this novel.

I even googled his name to see if he was real,
and why? Because the fascination of his own fangirl, Sara, was enough to make me want to be a fan as well.

All of this was before I even got to know him as a character--I was driven by the main character's obsession with this author and the mystery surrounding him!

This is a love story, but it is also a mystery / supernatural book. I have enjoyed Lissa's writing in the past, and this is no different. She is very descriptive and puts you right in the center of the world she creates.  I love how she take this isolated woman, who seems to be everyones doormat, and puts her on an island alone. This is where she is going to write the political autobiography she was hired to write. It's not something she wants to write, but she needs the paycheck.

Lissas choice as Seth--he is stunning

The time alone on this island gives her a chance to grow a backbone before she finds romance, before she falls in love with Seth (or rather, more in love with Seth).

The question eventually becomes, "What is real?" This girl is experiencing head aches, and she dreams of Seth. Is it her imagination? Is she actually talking with a man who has been dead for many years?

I enjoyed Lissa's writing style in fanfiction. I think that was a good way for her practice her story telling. She has a neat way of crafting a complicated story that is easy to read, and her images really stick with you.

In this book, I see Seth: I see his letters, I see him sitting on a sand dune waiting to talk to her, and then I wonder, is he real or is he part of her imagination?

That is what I love most about Lissa's work; there are images that stick with you. I had this happen with her fanfics as well, but to see her write an original story and find that her gift of crafting interesting characters has carried over is a gift.

Things I really liked about this book: yes, Seth is great and everything, but I really liked Sara. I like how she grew as a person. I like how she changed and got stronger emotionally. I like how I questioned her sanity. In many ways, parts of this book reminded me of the movie Somewhere in Time, where the main character goes into a dream to be with the person he loves

That sort of happens here. Seth is the ghost of an author that Sara admires. She can see and talk to him in her dreams, and he can appear to her in this plane (but it wears him out).

I REALLY love the letters that Seth wrote to his wife while he was serving in WW1. Sara finds them and reads them, and that hooked me--there is nothing greater to me than a well-crafted letter (this site has tons of them they are fantastic to read).

Ghostwriter officially released today, 10/11/12, so go on out and give it a read and then come back and let me know what you think of Seth and Sara! 



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Sue's Review of Ghostwriter by Lissa Bryan

Sue's Review of the story Ember by Bettie Sharpe

Ember by Bettie Sharpe

Everyone loves Prince Charming. They have to—he’s cursed. Every man must respect him. Every woman must desire him. One look, and all is lost.

Ember would rather carve out a piece of her soul than be enslaved by passions not her own. She turns to the dark arts to save her heart and becomes the one woman in the kingdom able to resist the Prince’s Charm.

Poor girl. If Ember had spent less time studying magic and more time studying human nature, she might have guessed that a man who gets everything and everyone he wants will come to want the one woman he cannot have.

I love fairy tales! Any old story that has been passed down for generations as a moral tale--they just fascinate me. What is sad is that fairy tales have a very negative connotation now. They are cotton candy fluff, sold to us in Disney princess packages.

As you readers know, the real fairy tales were darker. The princesses tended to be selfish and spoiled, there was always a lesson to be learned, and pain to go through before you could earn your happily ever after 

Back in December of 2011, my friend Einfach_Mich (Jeanne) was tweeting about this story. I stalked her timeline and finally just asked her, "What are you reading? GIMME-GIMME now!" 

What followed was a fun evening of reading a well-written, delicious story.There are female characters you will LIKE--some you will LOVE--and a twist on a well known plot that just is not to be missed.

Ember is Cinderella. The wicked step-sisters and wicked step mother are not so wicked. Ember is not so innocent. Charming is not so charming.

There are bits that have stuck with me months later and are as vivid as if I had read it yesterday; for an absent minded person like me that does not happen often.

Things about this story you will love:
The magic.
The hot sex.
The banter (I love banter).
The snark.
The sense of humor.

This is not only a nice quickie read, this is one you will want to re-read.
BEST OF ALL-- 


IT IS FREE!
   
Who does not LOVE a good free read? If you cannot tell from my gushing in this post you have yet another 5 star rating here I really did love this one I hope you do too !

I really want to know what you think of this book, so here is what I want you to do:
 Leave a comment below!

Sue's Review of the story Ember by Bettie Sharpe

Sue's review of The Wicked West by Victoria Dahl writing as Holly Summers

 The Wicked West 

Victoria Dahl 

OH my goodness!
This short written by the fabulous Victoria Dahl is gonna get one of my rare 5 stars. I have to say this one really, really appealed to me.
We have the fabulous Sheriff, handsome loner, and a lovely new English lady in a western town. There are cattle rustlers and small town politics and--Oh gosh, lets see if I can make this coherent.

For those that do not like D/S sex or relationships DO NOT READ.
For those that do--come on in! This one is a good one!

I happen to find the whole psychology of the relationships fascinating how in a functional D/S relationship it is actually the sub who has the control over things. I think this short story novella explains that well.

She teases him.

She taunts him even by just lowering her eyes, and he does not understand why this woman is causing these feelings in him.

It is confusing because he feels wicked and perverted and wrong; he was raised to be a gentleman, to treat ladies as delicate breakable flowers.

Here is this little thing, obviously not used to hard work, an indoor girl, and she is challenging all of his desires.

I cannot tell you any more about this story because if I do I will give away far, far too much.

IF YOU TRUST ME, HERE IS MY OPINION:

I will read this a second time--probably tonight.
THIS IS HOT STUFF
The tension is fantastic.
The attraction between them just UMPH.
As I said on twitter, this story did not break ANY of my cliche hates.
I give this one a 5 stars. Be shocked--it wont happen often.
This was a great read. I recommend it to EVERYONE that likes a steamy quicky !

Sue's review of The Wicked West by Victoria Dahl writing as Holly Summers

Review of The Angel by Tiffany Reisz

The Angel

 Tiffany Reisz

THERE will be spoilers ahead! If you do not wish to be spoiled by my fangirling over this amazing book then stop reading and just buy it--you will not be sorry I promise you that !

I will wait patiently here while those who do not wish to be spoiled leave the blog.

OK are they gone?
Oh, good!

Lets talk about The Angel:

If you read Tiffany Reisz's The Siren, we are back in Nora's world. She is now with Soren. Zach is back home in England with his Grace, and Michael, the sad young man we met in The Siren, is doing better. Wesley went home.

Sounds like an HEA if ever I heard one..

BUT NOOOOOOOO!






Those nasty powers that be want to possibly promote Soren  to Bishop! An investigative reporter, a real hound dog, gets an anon tip and now the mystery and fun begins. Soren orders Nora to take Michael and leave, to go stay with a friend up state. The friend is none other than that lovely little playboy, Griffin.

What happens for the rest of the story is just a marvelous, slow, delicious reveal of personalities and circumstances that lead us to this point.(how's that for vague?)

What I adore about Tiffany's books is the slow, easy way things are shown to us instead of a massive narrative that feels like we are being preached at or beat over the head with plot and intent. We are given glimpses of these people. We get to know more about them through their actions and flashbacks, and using the investigative reporter to find out more details works beautifully.

Another thing I love about her stories is that while the sex is VERY hot and tasty, it is not the main focus of the story.

Yes, she is switch, living life as a sub to a dom priest /lover.

Yes, Griffin is a bi-sexual playboy Dom who has a taste for--well, everything.

But the main thrust (see what I did there?) of the story is not the sex; these characters are just humans who like to have sex.

NOW let us talk about young Micheal--this is his story after all. He is The Angel. A boy who came from a broken home who thinks it is his fault (like many children do), he thinks he is a pervert because of the way society views the things he is attracted: to he likes men, he likes women, and he is a sub.

Part of me says maybe this is one of those teenage phases like purple hair or wearing those god awful dirty ripped tee shirts and baggy pants (I'm in the midwest--those are still fashionable here), but then again this might just be who he is and my heart breaks for this kid who, like many teens, feels misunderstood by most of the adults around him. As a mom, I'm not thrilled at the idea of him going off with these people; however, better for him to get attention from people who care about him than indifference and being ignored or insulted by his own family.

Poor Micheal needs someone to love him, who wants to build him up and care for him, and he does indeed find that. Despite his being seventeen (almost eighteen ) I am OK with it mostly because I remember (vaguely) being that age.

Micheal needs this love to gain strength and be his own man. I know there are people who do not understand the whole D/s relationship, don't understand that it is a mutual thing. There will be people who will say, "Oh, he is so young to be making these choices..." blah blah blah

To that I give you this: a boy seventeen and a half, finishing up high school, can't afford to go to college, willingly signs the papers with a recruiter to say he will dedicate his time to service. Is he too young to make that choice and that decision?  Many young people that age chose those things. It is dangerous; it could affect him for the rest of his life; it could cause harm--many choices can cause harm--and I'm sounding preachy, so I must stop defending this imaginary boy. 

So, if you loved The Siren and want to learn more about this universe and the people that are in it, you will also love this one.

BE WARNED: the ending to this one will leave you craving the third installment. I know I got to the end and I was all, "WTF?? WHAT HAPPENS NOW??"

What happens now is that I have to wait till the end of November for the release of The Prince!

In the mean time, I will entertain myself with my silly fan blog dedicated to this world and I will read the works of many other fabulous authors--I hope to bring you more soon.

All in all, I give this book a 5 stars, and if you know me you know 5 stars does NOT happen often.

We at SYTYCW will be doing a Read-A-Long of this book.

October 5th and October 6th--2 nights of fun tweeting and give aways. Pay attention to main page of SYTYCW. You will see our October Read a Long tab go up in a couple weeks. When you click on that, it will give you the details about the contests and the read a long 

Review of The Angel by Tiffany Reisz