Katie AshleyReseñas

I read SIncerely, Dane by Ilsa Madden Mills and this short story was such a sweet read.

This is a cute and fun novella that is part of anthology and I hope will eventually be a full length story. Dane and Piper went to school together from high school on and now that Dane’s twin bother is married to Piper’s best friend they end up spending a lot of time together. Piper has always crushed on Dane but believes he has her firmly placed in the friend zone that she just accepts their relationship as is until one night a text makes her think about more. Dane hasn’t had it easy in life, he derailed at one point, and his relationship with Ari fizzled out because deep down I truly believe he’s always felt like Piper was his. In this story Dane comes to Piper’s apartment dressed as a werewolves and so the chaos ensues. He recruits her to help with a scavenger hunt that ends with an epic ending/beginning. The tension between them was tangible, the chemistry off the charts, and the can they will they flowed off the pages. I rally hope we get more of their story!!

This was my least favorite in the series. I thought I was going to love it but Emma was so over the top unwilling to forgive Aidan which got OLD! She was even cruel to Pesh and Aidan because she couldn't make a decision to save her life. She actually invites Pesh over to Aidan's home to eat dinner with her then agrees to go on a date with Pesh picking her up at Aidan's?? She was only supposed to be there for 2 weeks so my question is why couldn't she wait until she went home? How damn inconsiderate could somebody be? She wasn't even smart enough to realize it was wrong. I came so close to just DNF'ing this book! The last 40% was the only reason I gave it 2 stars and the fact I'm intrigued with Pesh so want to read his story now. I'm just hoping it's not a mistake.

Now were talking....I loved Pesh and Megan's story. This was really enjoyable.

The plot of these books sound so good....but, they just don't quite get there for me. I felt this reading the first one but saw all the reviews saying it was better.....so, I gave it a try. It fell short too for me. Mia was the big problem! I can handle when the heroine has issues if she is smart enough to over come them. Unfortunately, she was selfish/stupid the entire book! She made all the bad decisions then tortured him with her insecurities. I wish he had told her to take a hike! I found it easy to put the book down to do laundry/dishes...not a good sign. I pretty much just skimmed the last 25%.

Two More Days

*A note before you slog through all of this. 1) I only listened to some of the stories. I skipped unfamiliar authors due to time constraints. B) I'm leaving this long mostly blank list as I had a hard time finding a list of the story names and authors so hopefully, I can save someone else a little time.

Tequila Mate - Author - Stars - Character Names - Review/Thoughts.

Always Cake - Max Monroe - 3 Stars - Emily, Austin - Two best friends born on the same day. They celebrate their birthdays together every year and on their 24th the night goes further than planned. Now it’s their 35th birthday and they have decided to honor the pact they made when they turned.

Confessions - Lora Richardson - Stars - Character Names - Review/Thoughts

Heels Over Head in Love - Willow Aster - Stars - Character Names - Review/Thoughts.

Second Summer - Laurelin Paige - Stars - Character Names - Thoughts/Review

Protected - Dr. Rebecca Sharp - Stars - Characters - Review/Thoughts.

The Vanished - Jennifer Wilson - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

The Shelby - Jewel E. Ann - 3 Stars - The issue with this being an audiobook is I forget names quickly - I wasn’t expecting his tale of revenge. It was indeed sweet.

Sunshine Rae - Kandi Steiner - 2.5 Stars - Parker and ? - Just an okay story. Nothing mind blowing, just angst about being in love with your best friend who is about to propose to his girlfriend. It’s been done before and done better. Also, I didn’t really like the narrator as she sounded very juvenile.

From Friends to This - SERIES INFO - Dominique Laura - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

The Kiss - SERIES INFO - M. Robinson - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Stone Heart - SERIES INFO - S. J. West - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Without Yesterday - Lexi Ryan - 2.5 Stars - James Cooper, Krystal aka Kris, - Honestly this I’m in a relationship but super attracted to someone else bit is not my thing. It was well written and there was no cheating, but I didn’t like the vibe.

Good Girl Gone Bad - SERIES INFO - R. K. Lilley - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Of Potions and Poison - SERIES INFO - Chanda Hahn - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Breaking the Rules - SERIES INFO - Charleigh Rose - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Stray - SERIES INFO - Jessica Hawkins - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

A Home for Hobgoblins - SERIES INFO - Eric R. Asher - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Falling for my Stepbrother - SERIES INFO - Kelsie Stelting - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

When Fire Strikes - SERIES INFO - Marni Mann - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Armageddon, Again - SERIES INFO - Aileen Erin - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Strike One - SERIES INFO - Meagan Brandy - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Office Hours - SERIES INFO - Alessandra Torre - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Pineapple - SERIES INFO - Leia Stone - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

Sincerely, Dane - Ilsa Madden-Mills - 3 Stars - Dane and Ava - A cute story. I loved the scavenger hunt and how it didn’t end the way I expected it to end.

Dark Eyes - Karina Halle - 3 Stars - Amethyst, Wolf, Shannon, Ezra - It was nice to see a PNR twist in the middle of all the contemporary stories in this anthology. This was an interesting examination of who the real monsters are. This world shows me more and more of that every day.

What If… - K. Bromberg - 3 Stars - Shiloh ”Shy”, Jake - I liked the set-up of this second chance even if it involved one leaving their fiancé (who we could all tell was wrong for her)

When It Happens - SERIES INFO - Micaela Smeltzer - Stars - CHARACTER NAMES HERE - REVIEW/THOUGHTS HERE

F*ck - Tijan - 3 Stars - Tysan Koda, Kase Crow, Aiden - Why did I find this story so hot. At first, I was disenchanted by the thought of another jerk hero but that somehow melted away.

The Dress - Colleen Hoover - 3 Stars - Can’t Remember the Names - A woman chooses herself over a superficial man. It was okay. I think I am fatigued from all of these stories.

This was awfully fluffy for a book that deals with sex slavery/trafficking.

It wasn't completely terrible and I did like how the author included a diverse lead hero but nevertheless it was still mediocre at best and I wasn't completely won over. With that being said, I'm not sure if it's just me or not but the smartypants romances just weren't cutting it and it's become more than a struggle to find anything remotely likable about them. Is it just me or…?

Fun little contemporary romance.

Lighthearted romance, with a flimsy plot. However, I was entertained, so three stars it is.

I can't believe I almost missed recording this one, and to make up for it I'm giving it an extra half star, as this was memorable.

Emma is tender-hearted; his heart is damaged and closed tight, and he's a player to cover it up.

It's got great banter between Aidan and Emma. Because they have their arrangement (the proposition), they are candid and just about honest with each other. He can be frank because she's in the know about his being a player. The way he studies up how he can be more fertile is sweet and touching!

Didn't much like sound of the narrator's voice, though it fit well for Emma and her tone for Aidan is great - Justine O. Keef.

The novel has an unusual ending for a romance, but the smack on the cheek of the HEA works well!½

For the first 1.5 hours of this short audiobook, there is a pre-wedding party followed by a wedding the next day. It all goes beautifully and is full of love and passion and dreams come true ... The listener is just waiting for the fall from perfection. We don't have to wait long, but I found the cause of their argument quite real and absorbed me, that was pretty brief. I didn't identify with the story or characters, though singers Jake and Abby had the allure of 'beautiful people'.

After Finley catches her husband cheating with her personal trainer (ouch!) she decides to move in with her grandmother and great aunts in Green Valley and start over as a librarian. Of course she runs into Zeke, from Seattle, who is working as an IT specialist at the library and they have a steamy relationship. This one was lots of fun as Finley finds her passion for life again!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.

4.4 stars

I love anthologies. This one was really unique because of how each story started. It was interesting to see them all take a different approach to their story that fit into a plethora of romance subgenres.

Vicious Cycle is the first book in a new MC romance series. The first part of the book lived up to all my expectations - MC setting with violent characters and two protagonists that were complete opposites but were deeply attracted to one another. It was the perfect set up for lots of fireworks and emotional confrontations. Unfortunately, as the book went on, more and more things popped up that made the book difficult for me to enjoy. The two main characters, Deacon and Alex, fell in love with each other much too quickly, and their differences and the problems they might cause weren't even taken into consideration as they began a relationship. After that, the rest of the book fell into a melodramatic miasma. The ending was beyond belief and left me feeling as though I had been treated to the beginning of a great story that was never completed.

When Annabel is kidnapped and taken to Mexico to a local drug cartel, she is tortured and raped repeatedly until Rev and his brother, Bishop of the Hell's Raiders MC stumble on her while trying to find the daughter of one of their members who was also taken. Annabel is told that she can't go back to her previous life because the leader of the drug cartel will come after her, so to be safe, she must go home to her overbearing parents in Virginia. When Annabel refuses to go back, Rev sees no other alternative but to take her back to their club in Georgia where she will be safe.
There are parts of this story where emotions run high, but generally they overflow into melodrama. For a smart girl who lives on her own, Annabel is incredibly naive and makes choices that put her in danger. After being rescued from her ordeal, she is extremely upbeat and happy, stretching believability to the limit. The dialogue was unrealistic and the characters stereotypical. Overall, I didn't enjoy this story and wouldn't recommend it.

I just can't. Between the multiple references to sissified city boys or having man cards revoked or pansies and the utterly unlikable characters, I hated this book. I'll try another one of the author's books in the future but man oh man did this book make me angry.

Sweet story.
Honourable Hero, non man-whore.
Heroine gets a divorce at the start of the book.
Bit slow burn.
Small ex drama from his ex.
No intimate scenes other than the Hero and heroine.
Secondary characters and previous characters and couples feature.
HEA.
Epilogue.

Didn't draw me in as much as her books usually do. Still a good read.

Fuck you Aidan.

I love the idea within this book, and I would love to see it done better and differently. I love the idea of this man agreeing to father this random lady's child.

...I don't like a lot of things that happened though. Especially the ending. FUCK YOU AIDAN! AAARGH

AND THEN THERE IS A CLIFFHANGER. I'M GOING TO SLAY SOMEONE!!!

The writing isn't the best, but the audiobook narrator actually somehow manages to make it worse. I was totally turned off by pretty much every single sex scene in the book because of her.

This book has really..done something to me. Can't describe exactly what, but something.

It's like a slow moving trainwreck. You just cannot look away. This is the resolution to the cliffhanger in the previous book, with a severely ethically in the wrong doctor thrown into the mix. I just..cannot even deal with my emotions regarding this book.

Not the best, not the worst. Just kind of adequate.

The characters are paper-thin. Barrett's entire personality is that he likes sex. Like no joke. He has nothing else going for him except the desire to have sex. And being a pushover, I guess, because he goes along with this fake fiance scheme without a fight - except momentarily when he gets upset that he can't have sex for 9 months.

Addison's personality is slightly thicker, but not much. I can't even give you details about what she is like as a person though because it is just not the priority of the book. The priority of the book is making sure Addison makes as many mistakes as possible. Which in turn makes Barrett fall for her I guess?

And then there is the running gag of the book. I swear to god this book was written to make one joke, and then one joke only. Repeatedly.

Here's a series of quote:

He accidentally got photographed naked by reporters:

That led to the press’s second nickname at my expense. I became Bear Callahan, or the Bare Bear, because I was apparently hung like a bear. Truthfully, I really got off on the Bear Callahan one.

Barrett's Bear got brought up.. a lot.

“But that won’t matter, will it? Addison’s probably made it abundantly clear that she isn’t letting the Bear anywhere near her cave.”

“Hey Bare, how’s the Bear?” Her voice had taken on a husky tone, which I wanted to believe was from the all the coughing she’d been doing and not from coming on to me.

The first time they have sex, it was in the Teddy Bear Motel.
I'm not making this shit up.

"Well, I'm serious. Give the Bear a few minutes of hibernation, and he'll be raring to go."

Barrett's "Bear" or "Bare" came up in this book 47 times. By name. In a book that's only about 80k words long. Who knows how many times his dick came up otherwise. Lots. Lots and lots.

I really wanted to like this book. There are some fellow readers who absolutely loved the story. I couldn't for several reasons. The biggest stand out for me was lack of connection to either leads. For me to like or love a story, I have to have a connection. It didn't occur and I'm going to chalk this up to reader preference. Details in the spoilers on my personal thoughts.
There isn't anything I can complain about dual plot lines or editing. Clearly this story just wasn't meant for me to read. Not everything I choose will hit the cord with me. In this case, I found I couldn't connect. However, you may be able. Please read other reviews before you make a decision. This just wasn't the read I was looking for.





First, up to 46% into the book was the 'scenes' between Sophie and William. I will confess that female Domme stories are not my thing. But the reviews I read had me wondering if I'd change my mind. Nope. Still not my thing. The scenes weren't always appealing so I didn't enjoy. However, as long as we have a good relationship story, I can get past my preference. That's where the second plot line failed for me. I didn't feel like I had a good relationship story. Their time together felt rushed in a few paragraphs in order to get to the twist which I felt like was telegraphed and not new or different plot twist.

Surprise - William is Sophie's boss. Surprise - William and Sophie get outted as it is his 33rd birthday. And Surprise - Sophie pushes him away yet to regret it. I'm being a grade A smart ass. I wasn't surprised. None of the storyline plot twists caught me off guard. Sophie keeps talking like she isn't into the D/s lifestyle. However professional or lifestyle, some of it has to appeal to the character to be believable. Think about actors on the big screen. Yet, she likes the attentiveness of William's "s "behavior so she does D behaviors anyhow all the while protesting her need for the lifestyle. Confusing and not clear what she wants. No, he didn't come off as a submissive to me; he just came off as a really nice guy. I never really understood why he need the pain for pleasure. Maybe I'm supposed to not know. William came off as a doormat which I hate in any character. Then she pushes William aside to suddenly realize she loves him. Okay, she's closed off to EVERYONE in her life: Father, Brother and William. Am I surprised? Nope. She just came off as cold hearted person to me.

There you have it - the first half didn't appeal in the erotic nature and second half relationship left me cold.

Finley Granger returns to Green Valley after she catches her husband cheating on her to live with her GranBea and two elderly friends (think Golden Girls). She gets a job at the library where hunky Zeke Masters is volunteering at updating the library's computer systems.
This book just didn't do it for me. I'm not a fan of slapstick, and much of the humor here was the written form of pratfalls. You could see the setups coming a million miles away. I prefer humor where a sentence catches me by surprise, real nose-snorting laughs. I can't even with the Ben-wa balls. #obvious
I never warmed up to Finley. She seemed to get over the whole husband cheating too fast for someone who had just been planning a pregnancy with him. I found it weird that over the course of the book she became coarser in her speech - not because I care about some swearing, but because she's living with three old church-going Southern ladies. By the end of the book, she sounded like she was hanging out with the Iron Wraiths.
Zeke seemed like a nice guy but since the whole story is in Findley's POV, he's more of a cipher. The big mystery wasn't all that secret (spoiler: you just had to ask him).
Also, and this was a big no-no for me. You don't put something like Jenn is coming to a party and Cletus is going to play there and NEVER HAVE THEM EVEN SHOW UP! I mean, just a scene where Jenn brings a banana cake or Cletus imparts some pearls of wisdom. I mean, come on.
I've enjoyed most of the Smartypants Romance books, but this is one of the few misses.

Jacob's Ladder: Gabe (Jacob's Ladder) by Katie Ashley  
He's a rock star, with the world at his feet.  She's a single mother and business owner working to make ends meet.  Gabe and Rae come from different worlds, but they have one thing in common.  Responsibility.  He has a band that counts on his talent with words to keep the fans happy and the money coming in.  She has a family relying on her to keep the business in the red.  Neither has the time for romance, but a chance meeting strikes a chord to the heart.  I love a good fairy tale and Ms. Ashley delivered a bit of that with Gabe and Rae.  She also went beyond the superficial by giving both characters a depth that is sometimes lacking in romance.  
 

Tragedy is the beginning. What began as a shoulder to cry on after a devastating loss, takes a long standing friendship in a surprising direction. Katie Ashley finds inspiration within the most heartbreaking of circumstances. Emersyn and Eli are soulmates. Friendship has created a bond not easily broken, but emotionally draining. When life gets in the way, fate has a way of coming full circle. Eli is a gateway to second chances. It's a heartbreaking, uplifting, fine tuned love song that began as a solo, but was destined to be a duet.