Dog-Eared Daydreams

Note: This ARC was provided by 47North via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. "You made me love you!" he says harshly. "You're not allowed to give up, do you understand? No surrender to death. Whatever happens, you have to survive it." "But what if things get really, really bad?" I ask. "Then you fight, like you always do, and we'll pick up the pieces of us later." "We will?" I ask. "Yes," he says without a hit of doubt. I exhale a deep breath. "Okay." Fay Kricket Hollowell is a coriness of Rafe and priestess of Alameeda but she simply wants to be Kricket Hollowell, ordinary citizen of Rafe and soon-to-be consort of Trey Allairis. But life has never been simple for Kricket. Even as she pledges her allegiance to the Rafe clan, she's looked upon as a spy for the Alameeda clan and suspicion follows her wherever she goes. In the process, she and Trey are arrested, a

"You cannot thrive under the wrong stars, Kricket," Trey says in a calm, soothing voice. "The stars here are in opposition to you...can't you feel it? You are foreign to them. You have no ancestry here--no lineage. Let us take you home." Kricket Hollowell makes a one-worded wish: "Home." The stars have never aligned for her, losing her parents and then living her life in the foster care system she's now running from, seventeen-year-old Kricket has learned to be independent in the city of Chicago because she was left with no other choice. When her wish comes true in the form of two separate says of three young men telling her she's to return with them back home, the world as Kricket has known it changes forever, whether she wants it to or not. Trey Allairis is on Earth on a mission: to apprehend Kricket and return her to the Rafe clan on Ethar. He realizes quickly enough she's nothing like he expected. She questions his authority

"I promise to love you until I die." ~ Zane "I promise to never leave you alone in the dark." ~ Ty It's been five years since Beaumont Tyler Grady and Zane Zachary Garrett were first partnered together by their boss in the FBI, Richard Burns. Now, Ty's retired and Zane's been promoted as the Special Agent-in-Charge. Unfortunately, Ty isn't really taking to retirement very well and Zane can't fully enjoy the perks of being the head honcho since they're still after the mole they suspect is lurking around. They're constantly on the look out for bugs and other monitoring devices around the office and the row house. But when Ty's best friend and fellow Sidewinder Nick O'Flaherty shows up bloodied on their front stoop, things begin to spin quickly out of control. Ty and Zane are being hunted down by more than one group and it's difficult to tell who truly are the good guys and who aren't. With their ragtag team co

Note: This ARC was provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Tabatha "Tabby" Rogers is thrilled to be able to work as a make-up artist on the set of a movie in New Zealand. She may have only stepped in as a replacement for the original lead make-up artist who had to leave the production due to an accident but she's well aware of the opportunity that's been presented to her. She'll be working for a month and the experience will be a definite highlight on her portfolio. Then, she'll be off to London to check out the city before beginning her scholarship at a known make-up school.  Elijah "Eli" Black is good at his job as a stuntman and the movie he's currently working on in his home country of New Zealand is wrapping up in a month or so. His end goal has always been to keep his promise to his late brother Charlie and head to LA to break into Hollywood. After his last relationship ended because his

Note: This ARC was provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Lucy Flint has made her way back home to Willow Park, Illinois after having run away from her family, friends, and the only man she's ever loved nine years ago. She tells whoever asks that she's back to help her mother take care of her sick father, but the truth is, Lucy's return is her opportunity to face the people she hurt and abandoned and to apologize. It's part of her twelve steps to recovery as an alcoholic and with the support of her sponsor back in Seattle, she's ready to bite the the bullet and try to make her amends. She's not surprised that there are still those who are very angry with her and at the top of that list is Richard Hunter, her ex-boyfriend and the man she stole from her best friend and now Richard's estranged wife Ashley. He's never understood why she left and why she had to steal yet another girl's boyfriend and leave

Note: This ARC was provided by St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Ben Nicholson is twenty-six and likes his life. Yes, he's a world famous bassist for the popular rock band Stage Dive but he likes to keep things simple. He does what he loves the most--creating music--and gets to do it with his friends and parties after concerts and the like. He doesn't own a mansion or drive a fancy car but he's content with the way things are: uncomplicated. Then he meets a girl he knows is off-limits but he can't seem to help himself. A friendship begins but one night together changes everything for them both. Lizzy Rollins is twenty and likes her life. She's in college studying for her degree in Psychology and enjoys a close relationship with her sister Anne, who just happens to be married to Mal Ericson, drummer for world-renowned group Stage Dive. She's not looking to complicate her life but when she meets Stage Dive's qu

Note: This ARC was provided by St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. DEA Agent Scott Lucca knows the sacrifices one has to make when they go undercover for a case. He lost the one person he loved most--his wife Nikki--when she caught him in a very public compromising position while undercover. They've been divorced for a couple of years yet no one's ever replaced her in his heart or mind. The only thing that keeps him busy is his work with his canine partner Izzy. When he's made the leader of a task force to gather evidence and take down an illegal drug ring using puppies to smuggle their wares, he recommends the best person possible for the job--his ex-wife. K-9 police officer Nicole "Cole" Jamieson and her furry, four-legged partner Hugo are a formidable team, so when she's asked to join a task force to put a stop to the illegal distribution of drugs with puppies as drug mules, she's excited...until she finds

Shay Appleton is trying to move on from her last relationship, a relationship that she ended but it appears that her ex hasn't received the memo. He's stalking her--sending notes, text messages, flowers--and now he's followed her to her cabin. Thankfully, she's got Prince by her side, a dog she decided to personally take in after he was abandoned at a no-kill shelter. Their bond was instantaneous and she wouldn't know what she would do without him. James Cannon hasn't been able to move on ever since his canine partner Bogart disappeared. He refuses to even consider that his four-legged best friend is dead. Then he receives word that Bogart's been spotted and James goes to the location to check. What he finds is, indeed, Bogart, but when he confronts the woman who he believes dognapped his partner, she tells him that the dog is hers after she adopted him from the shelter he was found at. Both Shay and James don't trust each other but one thing

Boots and Philip have a one-night stand that turns out to be far memorable than anything else they've recently experienced with anyone else. But Boots isn't Boots. Boots is renowned photographer Georgiana "Georgie" Flynn and while at a shoot involving service dogs and their handlers, she meets Philip Dexter, a firefighter with his canine partner Zander. She isn't the type to engage in one-night stands but Philip is difficult to resist and she invites him home. They go their separate ways the morning after. Life goes on.  Two months later, Georgie's apartment is burglarized and her camera equipment and computer are the only things stolen. What shocks her even more is the sudden appearance of FBI agents treating her with suspicion. Told that she may be have caught a would-be bomber on film and her apartment needs to be searched for bomb residue by a K-9 team, she comes face to face yet again with Philip and Zander. But Philip isn't Philip. It turns

Marius Briggs was the last of Daniel's three imprisoned sons to escape he still isn't free from the feeling of guilt and sense of responsibility that he's carried with him far longer than the year he spent in the hellhole where he and his brothers were tortured incessantly. Now, he's trying to focus his energy on putting an end to his father and everything that he stands for plus finding yet another extinction weapon that Daniel is after. The thing is, in order to track the extinction weapon, he's going to need the help of a human. Shayna Prentiss is getting read to head over to Malaysia as part of her anthropological studies, but when a vampire abducts her and takes her back to his world to help him on his mission that will save not just vampires but humans as well, Shayna's plans change. Her curious nature sees how fascinating the world of vampires is but her curiosity appears to be most piqued by the one she's now bound to with blood chains. The

Lucian Briggs has been freed from the prison and chains that held him for a year along with his brothers Adrien and Marius by a human named Claire Turner. She's been told that Lucian will be able to help her find her friend Zoey, who's been sold into sex slavery. They'll both be required to don blood chains to fortify their partnership as a tracking team. In return for helping to locate Zoey, Claire will help Lucian find another extinction weapon that is reported to be hidden somewhere different from where the first weapon was located by his brother Adrien and Adrien's partner Lily. Even prior to his imprisonment, Lucian has suffered tremendously at the hands of his father Daniel, an evil vampire bent on taking over the entire vampire world. Daniel has also murdered Marius and tortured Zoey to death, making Lucian and Claire even more determined to rid the world of both the second extinction weapon and Daniel himself. Aside from their task as tracking partners,

Note: This ARC was provided by St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Brogan Reyes is on a one-vampire mission to put a permanent stop to the sex slavery ring known as the Starlin Group. He's been working for years to build his reputation and his financial status as a slaver worthy enough to be invited to the group. Nothing sickens him more than to see how the slaves are abducted, tortured, raped, and then sold to the highest bidder only to suffer even worse treatment. For a vampire like him to have endured and survived is one thing; it's the human slaves that have expiry dates because they simply aren't equipped to sustain such brutality in every single way imaginable. When he finally gains access to the group and attends his first auction, everything appears to be going to plan...until he comes across one of the humans up for bidding: a young woman named Angelica. He knows who she is, having noticed her countless times before i

Lily Haven thought she had lost her entire family after her husband, son, and daughter were brutally murdered by a band of vampires. Two years later, she discovers that her son Josh, now ten years old, was actually abducted and is being held captive. In order to get him back, Lily is told that she must form a tracking pair with one particular vampire by binding him to her with blood chains. She isn't allowed to tell anyone about the motivation for her actions and must merely work on finding a much feared object called an extinction weapon as soon as they can, a mission that will prove easier said than done. Adrien Briggs has been imprisoned by the most powerful and corrupt vampire in their world for the past year. He and his two brothers, Lucian and Marius, have suffered unimaginable torture at the hands of Daniel and his followers. When a human pulls him out of the prison and places blood chains around his neck, Adrien is none too happy because doing what is required of t

Note: This ARC was provided by The Hype PR via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Marleigh Anderson and Gunnison "GC" del Valle meet in their junior year of high school while on spring break in Garden City, South Carolina. In that one week, they fall in love and believe that the fact that they plan on going to the same college as a sign that they're meant to be together. Once they return to their respective lives, his in Pennsylvania and hers in elsewhere in South Carolina, they try their best to stay in touch, but when Marleigh unexpectedly puts an end to their young love affair, GC is devastated. Three years later and while GC has never forgotten Marleigh or loved anyone after her, his life has gone on. He's in college and playing basketball and he's had an on and off relationship with one particular girl. When he realizes that Marleigh is now studying at the very same college, he knows that his feelings for her are still very much alive bu

Note: This ARC was provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Camilla Winthrop and Sam Flanagan spent two memorable weeks in Las Vegas together five years ago but went their separate ways after Sam abruptly pushed Camilla away. Now, she needs his help. Camilla needs Sam to marry her as soon as possible in order to protect her son JD from being taken away from her by her late husband's estranged parents. She has one ace up her sleeve, hoping Sam won't be able to refuse her once she tells him that little JD is actually his biological son. Sam is beyond shocked to discover he has a son and he's furious with Camilla from keeping it from him. He agrees to marry Camilla for the sake of his son, but he's formulating a plan to make sure that he will have sole custody of the boy once he and Camilla divorce after the agreed upon one-year mark of their marriage. Sam has all these preconceived notions of Camilla in his head but wil

One of my favorite reads this year was SJ Hooks' debut novel,  Absolute Beginners , whose five-star review you can check out here , and while we're all patiently waiting for the release of the book's sequel, I'm happy to share some good news with all of you! We've got a cover for book two, Absolute Lovers AND the book can be pre-ordered as of today! Woohoo!   Absolute Lovers by SJ Hooks   Expected publication: 24 June 2015   Professor Stephen Worthington has been schooled in the bedroom by free-spirited student Julia Wilde. But what started as a casual arrangement has turned into so much more—at least for Stephen.  Head over heels, Stephen is tired of being just “sex buddies.” Julia’s resisting, but her blithe attitude towards keeping it casual may just be a front. Can he prove to her that their amazing sexual chemistry can mix with romance and ultimately win her heart?  In this eagerly awaited sequel to SJ Hooks’ successful first nov

Note: This ARC was provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Todd Camford feels at home in Seaside, Florida. His surf shop is doing well and he's got a nice house with his dog by his side. He's also got family and friends who love and support him, even though most of them aren't in Florida. His engagement may have come to an end a few months ago but he knows it was for the best. His days as a former Marine sniper and one-time nine-to-fiver are in the past and life is much simpler now. And then rock star Abigail Kelly enters his surf shop... Crossing Abby Road by Ophelia London is the companion novel to Abby Road and is told from Todd's point of view. This will be a fun read for previous readers of the first book, especially because it allows us to see things from Todd's perspective. I would recommend that book one be read first before tackling this one because this only covers the day that Todd and Abby met. Knowin