Silk & Spurs by Cheyenne McCray

Description via Goodreads:

Jessica Porter finds herself in southern Arizona on the Cameron’s Bar C Ranch ready to photograph the ranch and the oldest Cameron’s wedding. When Jessie meets Zane Cameron, she finds herself wishing the tall, dark, and gorgeous cowboy was free.

Lately, Zane has had the feeling that things aren’t as they seem with his fiancée. When she shows her true colors, he calls off the wedding.

Zane feels it’s too soon to fall for another woman, but when he meets Jessie, he just can’t get enough of being around her. It’s not long before the pair gets together and it grows hotter between them than an Arizona summer.

But Zane’s ex-fiancée threatens Jessie and everything takes a dangerous turn…a turn that could mean Jessie’s life.

Zane must find Jessie and save her…before it’s too late.

Miss McCray delivers...AGAIN!
Silk & Spurs isn't a normal length story. It is one of Miss McCray's novella's, a shorter story. One for someone who either doesn't have the time or inclination for a full length book.
Miss McCray develops her characters with the ease of an old friend. Her characters jump off the paper making the reader feel like they've known them for years.
Her story line is well thought out and flows with ease. The reader easily gets lost in the story, forgetting everything that is going on around them. The romance and sex is a natural progression to the heat that develops between the main characters. Miss McCray's writing is so wonderfully descriptive, it is like a hot movie is playing in your head.
Miss McCray's description of the area is spot on. The way she describes the beauty of Southeastern AZ (Bisbee, Sierra Vista, Sonoita, etc.) is spot on. Her love of the area is plain to see in her writing.

When you read Miss McCray's novella, Silk & Spurs, make sure you have nothing important to do, like cook dinner for the family. Why? Because, the family won't get fed.

Happy Reading!!

Memory Zero by Keri Arthur

Vampires, Shapeshifters, Kites, a secret organization in the police department, a state police officer with no memory of her life before the age of 14, and a police partner who tries to kill her.

First of all, who hasn't heard of Keri Arthur, New York Times bestselling author of Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy? What a talented writer!

Memory Zero:The Spook Squad book 1 is one book that will keep you up all night because you HAVE to know what happens next!

Sam, a state police officer is almost killed by her partner and then charged with his murder and suspended by the force. She then accepts help from a shapeshifter named Gabriel, but doesn't know he is a shapeshifter. But Gabriel has secrets.

As she digs into her partner's death, she finds he is very much alive and part of an organization that plans a war with the human race. And someone knows about her past, the past she can't remember, As she learns more about her partner, things get very dangerous for Sam, Someone is very determined that she die before learning the truth. But, she is learning that the key to surviving is learning about her past-not only who she is, but what she is. (don't worry, I didn't give anything away!)

Miss Arthur keeps you guessing throughout the book. The twists and turns she takes you through provide a ride of intrigue, excitement, and adventure. The way she weaves the paranormal characters in with the "normal" characters is so flawless and natural. Her whole story is a natural flow of excitement and suspense. How will they deal with this? Who really did that? Will that character survive? Will they admit their attraction?

This story is a clear example of why Miss Arthur is a New York Times bestselling author. She is one of the ultimate storytellers of our day. Her books will be found in archives of the future!

Blurb via Miss Arthur's Website:

For Sam Ryan, life began at the age of fourteen. She has no memory of her parents or her past. All she has is a crayon drawing of a woman with the word “Mommy” scrawled underneath in childish handwriting.

For the ten years Sam’s been with the State Police, she’s used their resources to search for any clues to her identity. But it’s as if all mention of her family has been deliberately wiped off the system, and no one seems to know why.

Everything changes the night she agrees to meet her missing partner, Jack, and barely survives his attempt to kill her. Charged with his murder and suspended from the force, Sam finds herself accepting help from Gabriel Stern–a shapeshifter with secrets of his own.

As Sam delves into her partner’s death, she discovers more than she ever bargained for. Because not only is her partner very much alive, but he’s involved in an organization that plans a war on the human race. Worse, someone knows the truth about Sam’s past, and it appears that they’d rather see her dead than have her uncover it.

The deeper she digs, the more the danger grows. It soon becomes clear that the key to surviving the present lies in unravelling the threads of her past–and in discovering not just who she is, but what she is…

I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Miss Arthur and Random House Publishing Group-Bantam Dell.

Broken by Lauren Layne

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Miss Layne and Random House for this opportunity.

Synopisis via Goodreads:

When Olivia Middleton abandons the glamour of Park Avenue for a remote, coastal town in Maine, everyone assumes she’s being the kind do-gooder she’s always been. But Olivia has a secret: helping an injured war veteran reenter society isn’t about charity—it’s about penance. Only, Olivia’s client isn’t the grateful elderly man she’s expecting. Instead, he’s a brooding twenty-four-year-old who has no intention of being Olivia’s path to redemption . . . and whose smoldering gaze and forbidden touch might be her undoing.

Paul Langdon doesn’t need a mirror to show him he’s no longer the hotshot quarterback he was before the war. He knows he’s ugly—inside and out. He’ll do anything to stay in self-imposed exile, even accept his father’s ultimatum that Paul tolerate the newest caretaker for three months or lose his inheritance. But Paul doesn’t count on the beautiful twenty-two-year-old who makes him long for things that he can never have. And the more she slips past his defenses, the more keeping his distance is impossible.

Now Paul and Olivia have to decide: Will they help each other heal? Or are they forever broken?

I have to admit that I am a sucker for a soldier story. But even more so for a Wounded Warrior.
I was very impressed with Miss Layne's writing. Paul was very realistic and believable. There were a few things about Olivia I wasn't too sure about, but that did not stop me from becoming engrossed with the story and quickly falling in love with Paul and Olivia.

Paul and Olivia, two spoiled rich kids. Paul, a rich, spoiled boy who decides to serve his country. His reality check comes in the form of war. A war where he loses all of his friends and he is left with the scars of battle and survivor's guilt. A rich kid who has the benefit of daddy's money to come home and hide from the world as well as himself.
And then there is Olivia, another rich kid. She has a different kind of guilt to contend with. She has hurt someone very close to her. So she decides the only way to run away is to help someone else. With daddy's help, she lands a job helping an injured war vet-in luxury just like it would be if she were living at home.
Of course Paul doesn't want help, He would rather suffer by himself and never venture back out into the world, living in his bubble of self-exile.  After all, isn't that what daddy's money is for? And Olivia, she feels that if she can help someone else in need it will erase the hurt she has caused-a little unrealistic on her part don't you think? Of course, isn't that what most of us think about rich kids? They don't know what reality is really like, that they live in their glass towers and eat their caviar and the real world is beneath them?
Well, actually, Miss Layne has done a wonderful job of bringing these two "caviar kids" (as I call them) into the real world.
Paul and Olivia are exactly what the other needs. They are straight forward and brutally honest with each other. They begin to see that their pain isn't the only pain being felt in this great big world. Their time together teaches them to start worrying about how another person feels. Their romance grows, but like real world relationships, has a few stumbles.
I found myself rooting for Paul and Olivia, hoping that they would each open their own little world up and let hope and sunshine in.The plot is not a simple he has problems, she has problems, they get together and BOOM! Happily-ever-after happens. Miss Layne takes you on a few twists and turns and makes you wonder what will happen between them next. While not a suspense, it isn't a mindless story either.
Miss Layne delivers a wonderful happily-ever-after with characters that the reader can't help but fall in love with. So, as I see it, she has lived up to her "serious weakness for happily-ever-afters".
Check out BROKEN. It is worth your time.

Happy Reading