Book Review: Lust, Money & Murder by Mike Wells

Lust, Money & Murder

by: Mike Wells

Audible Book Details

Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 10 hours and 10 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Mike Wells Books
Audible.com Release Date: November 22, 2013

Born in the worst suburb in Pittsburgh, Elaine Brogan is bright, beautiful and bold. When her father is falsely arrested for passing counterfeit $100 bills, Elaine vows become a Secret Service agent and track down the man responsible. After barely surviving the arduous Secret Service Training Academy in Laurel, Maryland, she is transferred to bleak and blustery Great Falls, Montana. But things do not go as planned, and Elaine soon finds herself betrayed and thrown into an adventure that takes her halfway around the world, from dark and mysterious Sofia, Bulgaria, to Moscow Russia, and finally, to Milan, Italy. In the end, will Elaine find the love and happiness she truly seeks...or will she turn to a life of obscene wealth, power and corruption?
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MY REVIEW

Lets start with the narrator: Sue Sharp. She was AMAZING. She was able to switch her voice all around to take on each character. She made the book fun because of how she could manipulate her voice. I look forward to more audiobooks with her narrating.

Books 1- Lust, Book 2- Money, Book 3- Murder: 
We meet a young Elaine Brogan and her father. Her father is in total love with his daughter and wants nothing but the best for her. Becoming a single dad, barely makes the ends meet, he picks up his bootstraps and gets his amazing daughter in a private school and provides emotional support and unconditional love. Elaine is crazy about her father, until the unthinkable happens and Elaine vows that she will set things right for her fathers name, and for her mental health. This is Elaine's only goal in life.

When Elaine becomes a Secret Service Agent her first assignment is Great Fall, Montana where she meets her superior and learns very fast that her mentor was right. You will work with individuals that will be challenging. Elaine gets transferred to Sofia, Bulgaria and this is where life starts changing. Elaine is in the land of counterfeit money and finds out that identifying this phoney money is her specialty. Her and her superior, Nick LaGrange begin the hunt for the person responsible for hundreds of thousands of phoney money being distributed. 

When a lead comes in that could lead them both to career success, a former teacher enters Elaine's life and offers a better opportunity. Elaine is again transferred, this time to DC. But before leaving, Elaine discovers something about herself. While in DC, her former teacher bury her deep in a project that changes her life. After the project is complete, Elaine finds out that life as a secret service agent is not what she had thought. 

Elaine begins a journey that there is no coming back from. This journey affects everyone in her life that she has come in contact with and will come in contact with. 

The author, Mike Wells, did a marvelous job telling such a story that has the reader on the edge of their seat with the heart racing. He gives such life to each character and gives the reader a back story that will make the reader more invested in the story, and the characters. The beauty of this book is that author Wells could have kept going and it would not have gotten dull and how it ended was just fantastic.

A great book, coupled with a great narrator. This book was without a doubt...

A HOT PAGE TURNER

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Wells is an American bestselling author of over 20 "unputdownable" thriller and suspense novels, including Lust, Money & Murder and Passion, Power & Sin. He is also known for his young adult books, such as The Mysterious Disappearance of Kurt Kramer, The Wrong Side of the Tracks, and Wild Child, which are used by English teachers in high schools and colleges worldwide. Formerly a screenwriter, Wells has a fast-paced, cinematic writing style. His work is often compared to that of the late Sidney Sheldon, with strong and inspiring female heroes, tightly-written scenes, engaging action/dialogue, and numerous plot twists. He currently lives in Europe and teaches part-time in the Creative Writing program at the University of Oxford.

CONNECT WITH AUTHOR

http://mikewellsblog.blogspot.com/

Book Blitz: Board Stiff by Anthony Pires and GIVEAWAY!!!!

Board Stiff

by: Anthony Pires

(Taken from Goodreads)

Paperback, 250 pages

Published:  January 6th 2014 by Premier Publishing (first published December 17th 2013)

ISBN  1624670865 (ISBN13: 9781624670862)

Be careful what you wish for...

"I'm actually a smart girl who would make any man an excellent wife. But no man sees that. No man is interested in my mind or personality, just my whatevers. So here is my wish: I'm board stiff. I want Adventure, Excitement, and Romance.”

So begins Piers Anthony's 38th Xanth novel, in which Irrelevant Candy, looks at her reflection in the water of the shallow well and sees luxuriant midnight black hair to her breathtakingly slender waist, matching dark eyes in a lovely face. A torso coming yea-close to absolute perfection. She was man's desire. That was part of the problem.

And in the shallow magic of a wishing well, she asks her wish to be granted. Something happens. A sudden whirlwind surrounds her, lifting her up and ripping off her clothing. She is changing, somehow. Then she falls flat on the ground.

Literally. She has been transformed into a flat, stiff board with two knotholes for eyes.

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Though he spent the first four years of his life in England, Piers never returned to live in his country of birth after moving to Spain and immigrated to America at age six. After graduating with a B.A. from Goddard College, he married one of his fellow students and and spent fifteen years in an assortment of professions before he began writing fiction full-time.

Piers is a self-proclaimed environmentalist and lives on a tree farm in Florida with his wife. They have two grown daughters. 

Website: www.worldofxanth.com

Twitter username: PiersAnthony

THE GIVEAWAY 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Bloodmark by Aurora Whittet

Bloodmark

by Aurora Whittet

ABOUT THE BOOK

(Book synopsis from Goodreads)

Hardcover, First Edition, 333 pages

Published November 1st 2013 by Wise Ink Creative Publishing (first published October 27th 2013)

ISBN1940014018 (ISBN13: 9781940014012)

series Bloodmark Saga #1

Sixteen-year-old werewolf princess Ashling Boru is different from other wolves—she was able to shift to wolf form at birth. Rather than bringing pride to her family, it brings fear, and as a result, she is forced to live in seclusion in Ireland’s countryside. Ashling’s reputation is further blackened when she refuses her betrothed and defies the ancient laws. When her pack’s oldest rivals begin hunting her, she finds herself in the small town of York Harbor, Maine—far from everything she’s ever known.

In Maine, she crosses paths with the dark and rebellious Grey Donavan, and something ignites within her soul. There’s just one problem: Grey is human. Their instant connection turns into a passionate romance, and Ashling begins to believe she can create her own life outside of wolf laws. When she begins to uncover long-buried pack secrets—secrets that threaten to destroy all she holds dear—Ashling’s courage and tenacity are tested. Will she choose her deep and enduring love for Grey, or will she follow Old Mother’s path to her destiny? 

My Review

Cover: The cover's color is beautiful, in shades of burgundy. A symbol of two wolves facing opposite directions with a knotted type of body. Its very clean and simple, yet elegant. Defiantly an eye catcher.

The Book Review: I can first say that I am excited that this will be a series because there is so much to learn and so much that can happen that the notion of more to come, is very exhilarating. Author Aurora Whittet introduces the sweetest ginger, Ashling Boru who is a young wolf who has learned her father has betrothed her to another pack. The poor young wolf is saddened that her father would do such a thing. But wolf laws are wolf laws, and Ashling is a rebellous teen wolf, which equals some fun adventure.

All things change for this young wolf when she finds out that she is wanted by an enemy pack of her family, and her family sends her into hiding. She is transported from Ireland to the United States. When she gets to the US and starts learning the ways, she meets this mysterious young man, Grey Donavan and there is just something about him that she is drawn to, and the clincher is that he is human. But that is where her life begins anew.

Author Aurora Whittet writing style draws the reader in and traps them in the world of Ashling and her journey. The reader can easily visualize exactly what is going on and become part of the book. Isn't that the ingredients of a great book. 

If you enjoyed the Twilight Saga (which I did of course!), then I would say this is a must read for you. 

This book was a HOT PAGE TURNER!

                         (The Hotties are on a 4 flame rating scale. Click here to learn more of the rating scale)

 

The Author 

(taken from Goodreads)

 Aurora Whittet started out as a wild red-haired child in Minnesota dreaming up stories for her friends to read. Today, she has completed the first of three novels in the Bloodmark Saga. She is a national award-winning graphic designer in her day job. Aurora lives with her husband and son in Minnesota

Connect and find out more about Aurora Whittet

aurorawhittet.com | bloodmarksaga.com

Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

Blog Tour: Draw Me In, by Megan Squires

Draw Me In

by Megan Squires

Book & Author details:

Draw Me In by Megan Squires
Publication date: January 7th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

He’s a young, up and coming businessman with the keys to his family’s Italian wine enterprise.

I’m a fine arts student, navigating life in the Big Apple, my pencil and sketchpad in hand.

We meet. We fall in love.

But it’s not that story.

Sometimes, by a rare gift of fate, two lives cross paths. And hey, if that happens to occur when staring at Michelangelo’s naked masterpiece, even better. We can tell our future children how a seventeen-foot tall marble guy named David brought us together.

But there’s always more to a relationship than its beginning and ever after. In life, there’s a whole lot of backstory. There are ex-fiancés and hot roommates and family members whose advice continues, even beyond the grave.

When you say you love someone, it’s never just that one person you’re saying it to. And it’s never just that one moment that sets everything in motion.

There is always more that draws you in.


Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18817750-draw-me-in

Purchase: 

--Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=megan+squires+draw+me+in

--B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/megan-squires

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My Review:

Well normally I start with the cover, but for this review, I want to start with the book synopsis, and what literally drew me in, (yes I mean't that pun). What made me do a double take and what made me have a pure need to read this book were TWO SENTENCES, that were with-in the synopsis: "But it's not that story." and "There is always more that draws you in." both sentences were so very true. I wanted to read that other story, that not your usual love story, or rather the usual love story,but with some of the sweet center that is part of the usual love story. I had to see what this book was all about.

Now to the cover. Umm.. Hot, real hot guy on the cover. Under him is a very light drawing of the Vitruvian Man, which is absolutely one of my favorite Leonardo Di Vinci's drawings. I give a slight nod to Author Megan Squires for that cute addition.  But what is most inviting is without a doubt, the real hot man looking at you.

This book produces all the emotions a reader will ever want. From the cute "aww" moments, to the wiping tears away from laughing so hard moments, to the "No he didn't moments" all the way to the grabbing the tissue and having those soft hiccup moments. Every emotion the reader can want, Author Squires provides beautifully.

She introduces the reader to the most quirkiest young lady, we read the funny and emotional dialog that her brain and mouth battle with on a daily basis. A lot of which most readers, like myself, can identify with.  Those word-vomit phases in life to even those unbearable and unforgettable embarrassing moments in life. You cannot but help to fall in love with her and her room-mate. Not to mention, crack up all the time with the brain and mouth banter.

And just like most love story's, queue in the extra dreamy and hot male that with cloud judgments and thoughts with only hormones running the show. But remember what the author says, "But it's not that story."

The author takes the reader on a journey that most beautiful, fiction love stories leave out, not just the journey from the eyes first meeting, to that happily ever after ending. The part of the love story mostly remembered in real-life love stories, the stories that you tell over and over at parties, or those stories that you keep to tell to your children. That story.

Author Megan Squires masterfully told that in between love story, all the characters were lovable and charming. There were some moments that the words were so profound in what they truly meant, the reader is left speechless and full of emotion. And the love story, which has the elements of all fiction love stories, takes on a whole different dimension, and this particular novel gives a new breath of life to that classic fiction love story, ( a nod to the author). 

All in all, it is a really weird feeling to want more from a story that really provides it all. But it is the truth. I would love more of this story. I was left reflecting on the story as well as the authors story at the end as well.

This book was... BLAZING HOT!!!!

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AUTHOR BIO

Megan Squires lives with her husband and two children just outside of Sacramento, California. A graduate from the University of California, Davis, Megan is now a full-time mother, wife, and dreamer—though her characters don’t often give her much opportunity to sleep.
Visit www.theoutlierchronicles.com to learn more about her latest young adult series.


Author links:
Website: http://megansquiresauthor.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6547282.Megan_Squires
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeganSquiresAuthor

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GIVEAWAY

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