BLOG TOUR REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Love Restored (The Gallagher Brothers #1)

Get your Carrie Ann Ryan fix with the first in a brand new series. Check out my review and enter the giveaway for a Kindle Fire!

Love Restored (The Gallagher Brothers #1), by Carrie Ann Ryan
Publish Date: September 13, 2016
Publisher: Pink Ink Books
Format: ARC, provided by the author and Inkslinger PR
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 4 STARS

(Synopsis) In the first of a Montgomery Ink spin-off series from NYT Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan, a broken man uncovers the truth of what it means to take a second chance with the most unexpected woman… 

Graham Gallagher has seen it all. And when tragedy struck, lost it all. He’s been the backbone of his brothers, the one they all rely on in their lives and business. And when it comes to falling in love and creating a life, he knows what it’s like to have it all and watch it crumble. He’s done with looking for another person to warm his bed, but apparently he didn’t learn his lesson because the new piercer at Montgomery Ink tempts him like no other.


Blake Brennen may have been born a trust fund baby, but she’s created a whole new life for herself in the world of ink, piercings, and freedom. Only the ties she’d thought she’d cut long ago aren’t as severed as she’d believed. When she finds Graham constantly in her path, she knows from first glance that he’s the wrong kind of guy for her. Except that Blake excels at making the wrong choice and Graham might be the ultimate temptation for the bad girl she’d thought long buried.

Love Restored is the first in a new series that is a spin-off from Carrie Ann Ryan's Montgomery Ink series. It follows the three remaining unattached Gallagher brothers, Graham, Owen and Murphy (fourth brother Jake already found love times two in the Montgomery Ink series book Ink Enduring). 

Oldest brother Graham is the most complicated of the three, but given his past, it's understandable that he would be. It's also understandable that he would have trouble getting involved with Blake Brennen, Montgomery Ink's new piercer, but the attraction he feels to her keeps overriding his caution. 

Graham isn't the only one exercising caution due to a complicated past. Blake's reticence to forming a relationship with Graham and tying herself permanently to the town that she's currently working and living in has to do with a clawing necessity to keep herself hidden from people who are out to hurt her, and Blake isn't willing to drag anyone else into her own personal drama - especially someone who seems to have enough of his own already. 

Love Restored does a great job setting up the rest of the series. While Graham and Blake were most definitely the stars of this book, we also had lots of chances to get to know Owen and Murphy, who will have their own stories soon. We see that, although there are many similarities between the brothers - mostly that they're all bearded, tatted, pierced and ridiculously hot and talented - it's also clear that they are all very different and have very different roles in their construction business because of their strengths. 

Graham is the biggest brother and the least sociable. So, he's perfect for the hands-on projects on their restoration gigs. Owen is the public face of the company. He's professional, buttoned-up and organized. So, he talks to vendors and peers and does the paperwork. Murphy is the lead architect and seems to be the bridge that is needed sometimes between Owen and Graham, who handle problems and jobs very differently. Murphy is the peacemaker, and together with Jake, they are the creative force behind Gallagher Brothers Construction. 

One thing that I can always count on Carrie Ann Ryan for is a crazy amount of heat. Graham and Blake dance around one another for awhile while they each deal with their own hang-ups about relationships. So, what that means for us is some wonderful sexual tension that just explodes when they finally decide to quit messing around. 

There's a lot more going on with both of these two than what appears on the surface. I loved all the time and attention devoted to seeing these things through to a satisfying conclusion. However in the wake of that, some of the peripheral details (like, the status of Blake's family house and what will happen to it when it's done being restored) were dropped. Having all those loose ends closed up would've made the book perfect. 

I'm very much looking forward to the next book in the series, and hopefully catching up on Graham and Blake. Mostly, I'm just excited to see put-together Owen lose it over a woman. It's going to be a fun series.

Carrie Ann Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance. Her works include the Montgomery Ink, Redwood Pack, Talon Pack, and Gallagher Brothers series, which have sold over 2.0 million books worldwide. She started writing while in graduate school for her advanced degree in chemistry and hasn’t stopped since. Carrie Ann has written over fifty novels and novellas with more in the works. When she’s not writing about bearded tattooed men or alpha wolves that need to find their mates, she’s reading as much as she can and exploring the world of baking and gourmet cooking.

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BLOG TOUR REVIEW: Wicked Bond (The Wicked Horse #5)

It's a bitter sweet thing when a series you loves comes to a close, but WOW. Does Sawyer Bennett know how to close things out with a bang. Check out my review of WICKED BOND, which is Bridger's story - the one we've all been waiting for.

Wicked Bond (The Wicked Horse #5), by Sawyer Bennett
Publish Date: September 13, 2016
Publisher: self-published
Format: ARC, provided by the author
Genre: adult erotic romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 5 STARS

(Synopsis) Bridger Payne is an enigma that no one can figure out. Wise beyond his years, eerily intuitive and sexy as hell, every woman in The Silo wants him.None can have him.

Not the real man, anyway.

He might wield the lash for you if you ask prettily, but he’ll get no gratification from it. He’ll definitely make you scream, but he won’t think twice about you when he walks away.

Bridger carries the darkest of secrets. He’s filled with too much pain.

He’s utterly untouchable.

Until she came along.

If you’ve been following Sawyer Bennett’s Wicked Horse series even a little, you will be familiar with Bridger Payne, owner and proprietor of both the Wicked Horse bar and the secret super kinky sex club, The Silo, which resides behind it. This character is impossible to miss. He’s larger than life - hot, quiet, intense, complicated and aloof. Bridger is incredibly loyal to everyone he cares about, and he regularly uses his seemingly endless connections to help them. He also seems incredibly emotionally unavailable - heck, not just that, but at times it seems like he just doesn't have any emotions at all.

So, of course, his book is the last in the series, and the one we’ve all be dying to read. Bridger? Finding LOVE? I just knew this was going to be epic. And it SO was.

I already mentioned Bridger’s willingness to help the people important to him - that stems from a very sexy protective instinct that kicks in as soon as he meets Maggie, a woman who was beaten within an inch of her life by some super nasty people. In Maggie, he finds a woman with many of the same qualities as himself - loyal, brave, and selfless. And she has seemingly infinite patience when it comes to Bridger and his moods. She seems like the perfect match for him, except Bridger has a ton of baggage that stems from his truly horrific childhood. And, sometimes I found myself wondering if even the love of a good woman could drag him back from the hell he was living in every day.

I found myself thinking through most of the book that the bad guys were the people that tortured Maggie. And yes - they definitely qualified. But, really, the main “bad guy” was Bridger’s past and the fact that he has never let it go. It has shaped who he is now - a loner who spurns any and all intimacy with women.

The wait for Bridger’s story was a long one, but it was SO worth it. Seeing Bridger uncomfortable was new and exciting and I loved every second of it. Knowing that his discomfort was because of a woman was even better. The unflappable sexy club owner had finally met his match.

And, because Wicked Bond was the last book in Sawyer Bennett’s Wicked Horse series (say it isn’t so!!), we got to see all the previous four couples at different times during the book. If it all has to end, this was a great send-off.

*Note - Wicked Bond is out NOW! So, what are you waiting for? Go get it!!

Since the release of her debut contemporary romance novel, Off Sides, in January 2013, Sawyer Bennett has released more than 30 books and has been featured on both the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists on multiple occasions.

A reformed trial lawyer from North Carolina, Sawyer uses real life experience to create relatable, sexy stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From new adult to erotic contemporary romance, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.

Sawyer likes her Bloody Mary’s strong, her martinis dirty, and her heroes a combination of the two. When not bringing fictional romance to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to a very active toddler, as well as full-time servant to two adorably naughty dogs. She believes in the good of others, and that a bad day can be cured with a great work-out, cake, or a combination of the two.

Connect with Sawyer:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bennettbooks
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Since the release of her debut contemporary romance novel, Off Sides, in Janu

ary 2013, Sawyer Bennett

has released more than 30 books and has been featured on both the USA To

day and New York Times

bestseller lists on multiple occasions.

A reformed trial lawyer from North Carolina, Sawyer uses real life experience to create rel

atable, sexy

stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From new adult to erotic contem

porary romance, Sawyer

writes something for just about everyone.

Sawyer likes her Bloody Mary

’

s strong, her martinis dirty, and her heroes a combination of the two.

When not bringing fictional romance to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, styli

st, chef, maid, and personal

assistant to a very active toddler, as well as full-time servant to two ado

rably naughty dogs. She believes

in the good of others, and that a bad day can be cured with a great wor

k-out, cake, or a combination of

the two.

REVIEW: Rookie Move (Brooklyn Bruisers #1)

Rookie Move (Brooklyn Bruisers #1), by Sarina Bowen
Publish Date: September 6, 2016
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Format: ARC, provided by the publisher
Genre: new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 4.5 STARS

(Synopsis) Hockey player Leo Trevi has spent the last six years trying to do two things: get over the girl who broke his heart, and succeed in the NHL. But on the first day he’s called up to the newly franchised Brooklyn Bruisers, Leo gets checked on both sides, first by the team’s coach—who has a long simmering grudge, and then by the Bruisers’ sexy, icy publicist—his former girlfriend Georgia Worthington.

Saying goodbye to Leo was one of the hardest things Georgia ever had to do—and saying hello again isn’t much easier. Georgia is determined to keep their relationship strictly professional, but when a press conference microphone catches Leo declaring his feelings for her, things get really personal, really fast....

I love a good second chance romance story. Reading about two people separated by time and/or logistics, who now have the ability to reconnect for a potentially better future than they could've dreamed the first time around just makes all my feels happy. But, I've come to realize that there's one inherent flaw in this particular trope that you just can't get around. 

In nearly all cases, someone was a dumbass. Hence - the initial breakup. 

Now, the dumbassery is sometimes intentional, and other times it just can't be helped. But, in every case, it befalls our main couple because they couldn't just freaking talk to each other when it counted. 

Case in point - Leo and Georgia. 

You know what happens when you make assumptions? Yeah, well, when Leo and Georgia were 18, everyone made assumptions without hearing the truth, and as a result, they broke up and have spent the past six years in closeted misery. But the BEST part of the second chance romance trope is when the planets align and the two star-crossed lovers are thrust in each others' orbits once again, forcing them to finally do what they should've done all those years before. TALK. (Okay - and have lots of lets-get-reacquainted sex)

So, when Leo is brought up to play on the NHL team for which Georgia is the head publicist and her father is the head coach, things get really uncomfortable really quickly. Leo has never stopped loving Georgia, despite the fact that she broke his heart. So, he sees this as a sign that he's being given a second chance. Leo is an amazing man. He's sweet and determined and really only wants to see Georgia happy. And he is not willing to let her go this time, despite her efforts to the contrary.

I wanted to yell at Georgia so many times. This amazing man wants her. STILL. And, yet, she continues to find ways and reasons to keep her barriers up and shut him out. On top of that, it always frustrated me when she saw her father treating Leo like crap, and she did nothing about it. She mused about it - wondered why her father had it out for him. And, yet, she never pressed the issue, even though it obviously had to do with her and their past. How could it not? 

As someone with a degree in public relations, I loved the peek inside that part of a professional sports team. It sounds like an incredibly challenging position, and I thought Sarina Bowen did a great job balancing that side with the players' side. Hockey fans will love this book. Heck - I loved this book, and I don't follow hockey at all. 

Rookie Move was a fantastic start to this new series. Sarina Bowen treats her side characters with the same care as her main characters - they're colorful and multi-faceted and they all caught my interest. Which is great, since I'm assuming these characters, who are only peripheral ones in this book, will eventually get their own books. It makes me excited and anxious for the rest of their stories. 

Regardless of whether you love hockey, if you love a hot romance with plenty of feels on the side, Rookie Move should find a home on your bookshelf.