Kacey Hammell

Andy cannot forgive herself for the deaths of her husband and child. A year after their deaths she returns to Club Splendor where she and her late husband went a lot. This time she participates rather than watches. When Hunter, the club owner, finds out he is furious. He has loved Andy since he met her. It is he that takes the steps to bring her out of her grief. When she begins to let go of her grief she realizes her life was not the only one upset by the deaths. She begins healing along with Hunter.

I loved this story. I loved Hunter. He was so gentle with Andy but let her have it when she needed it. He started her seeing that there is not always only one love per person. Andy is so caught up in her grief that she feels she needs punished and Hunter puts an end to her randomly hooking up. As they both heal there is a lot of living and loving in the world for them.

I'm hoping there are more in this series.… (más)

Bridget is on her last night of employment at Club Splendor. As she is finishing her duties, Zander, the assistant manager returns from vacation upset that Bridget is leaving and did not tell him. She explains that she would have. As they talk they start letting their feelings out leading to some hot loving.

I enjoyed this story. I liked Bridget and Zander. They were equals and enjoyed each other's friendship. I liked they did not hide their feelings and they were hot.

I'm hoping there are more in this series.… (más)

A quickly paced, fast moving book, the emotionally charged story-line starts with a beaten woman and climaxes with another incident with the perpetrator, with lots of action in between. Readers should be warned that although the references that involve abuse and beating are not specific or greatly detailed, the plot essentially rests on one woman’s inability to come to terms with her own loss of faith in humanity after her own traumatic event.

The writing is smooth and tightly interweaves the action with the emotionally charged reactions of the characters, from anger to abject terror, guilt, frustration and feelings of inadequacy. This is not a ‘typical’ cop story – the characters are both well-defined and completely relatable as human beings with fears, concerns and emotions that are affected by what they see on the job. As the second in this In The Arms of The Law series, this book stands alone without great difficulty, as the author has provided background throughout the story, and this helps to fill in the gaps.

The main characters, Alicia and Cole, are engaged in a dance that is rife with insecurities, guilt, longing and the effects of Alicia’s past; although they do manage to overcome these difficulties when they let their all too apparent sexual chemistry take the lead. And there is sex: hot and steamy – this is not a book that is geared to the under 18 crowd. The scenes are graphically written, with an emotional undertone that balances the very steamy action. My only real complaint with the storyline is the all-too tired line used by the hero when the discussion of condoms makes an appearance early in the story. Although, I will give the author a nod for making it a discussion at all: the realistic portrayal of the storyline and characters requires that real world sexual concerns enter the picture; in this day and age that does mean protection for both parties.

Although this was a book that brought forward a series of issues that are all too common in the world we live in, the author has done a wonderful job of displaying an understanding of the emotional impact and damage that happens to all involved: not just victims. I certainly would not hesitate to read other books by this author.

I received an eBook copy from author for review for Full Moon Bites tours. I was not compensated for this review, and all conclusions are my own responsibility.
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The review that follows is a partial review. To view the full text, please visit:
http://tbqspersonalbookpalace.blogspot.com/2012/03/blog-tour-review-illusions.ht...
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Isabella Knowles has more or less followed into the family business of putting away the scum bags of the city. She's tough and believes that she can be Superwoman, defending the innocent all by herself. She doesn't believe in love—or at least doesn't want to ever be in love. To her, love means pain and loneliness should something happen to dissolve a HEA. And as a cop, she's not guaranteed a HEA. So all her relationships are purely for one thing—to scratch an itch. No strings attached, no deep emotions, nothing. Should be every guy's dream woman, right?


Not for Brady Jacobs, fellow P.I.. Oh, sure, at first the thought of friends with benefits was the best news he'd ever had. But now... well, his heart has become involved, and not only does Isabella not want emotional ties, but what man wants to admit to having them? The sex is great—spectacular even—but he finds himself wanting more from their relationship.


When a murder/rape case comes up, and a character close to both of them becomes involved, Brady tries to protect Isabella. But in the end, will his lies lead to her never forgiving him? Or even worse, will it lead to his own death—before he can tell her how he feels?


I liked Illusions, it was a pretty good (and steamy) novella. But it had a few flaws that kept it from reaching book perfection.

First, it seemed like a lot of details were missing—I'd come across something in the book and had no idea where it came from. It made for a bit of a rough story, one that could have been smoothed off a bit more to make it an easier journey.


Although Brady and Isabella both seemed like nice enough characters, I didn't get much from them, especially Brady. In fact, other than his visions, I can't tell you one thing about him, his personality, or any quirks he had. Isabella was much the same, a bit too flat for a main character. I need more than what I got to fall in love with a character.


I also wanted to hear more about the paranormal element to the book. In fact, it was so minute, I pretty much wrote it off. Brady's visions are mentioned only a few times, briefly, and not in great detail. For all intensive purposes, this was basically a straight contemporary—and again, I was left wanting more.


The sex was definitely there, and quiet steamy, but even great sex isn't enough by itself to make a book a top pick.

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This review is property of The_Book_Queen (TBQ's Book Palace)… (más)