Working It Out by Rachael Anderson

Author: Rachael Anderson
Publisher: HEA Publishing
Date of publication: July 2013

A chance encounter . . . 

Grace Warren’s life is safe and predictable—exactly the way she likes it. But when she gets roped into going to an auction to help out a friend, everything changes. She meets Seth Tuttle—a guy who unexpectedly kisses her then disappears, leaving her flustered and upset. If she never sees him again, it will be too soon.

A chance for love . . . 

Weeks later, when Seth limps into Grace’s rehab clinic post surgery, she immediately recognizes him. Unfortunately, he’s every bit as frustrating and annoying as she remembered. Yet there’s something about him that makes her second-guess her carefully placed boundaries even though he’s everything she’s sure she doesn't want in a man. But maybe Seth is exactly what Grace has needed all along—assuming she’s willing to risk safe and predictable for a chance at love.

Working it Out is another really sweet romance from author Rachael Anderson.  It's also another sign that it is possible to write sigh-worthy clean romances.  Grace and Seth are two people who are so right for each other.  They both are able to bring out the best in each other.  I loved that the relationship built slowly.  They essentially became friends first and that made them stronger.  

I loved Seth and his outlook on life.  I could understand Grace's hesitation with Seth's daredevil tendencies.  Especially after we find out about what happened to her brother.  I think that fear would be something that would be hard to get past.  Their HEA was wonderful and the epilogue in the end was perfect! 

While I loved the side romance, I wish that we could have seen more behind the scenes of how they got together.  Lanna and Alec's story is definitely one I would want to read.   I look  forward to reading Ms. Anderson's next book!

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About the author:

Rachael Anderson is the author of five novels (Working It Out, The Reluctant Bachelorette,

Minor Adjustments, Luck of the Draw, and Divinely Designed) and two novellas (Twist of Fate, from the All I Want anthology and The Meltdown Match from The Timeless Romance Anthology: Summer Wedding Collection). She’s the mother of four and is pretty good at breaking up fights, or at least sending guilty parties to their rooms. She can’t sing, doesn’t dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating.

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Review & Interview: Dark Waters by Toni Anderson

Please welcome author Toni Anderson as she promotes her latest book: Dark Waters.  Enjoy our interview with her after my thoughts.

Publisher: Montlake Romance
Date of publication: August 2013

It may be summer, but schoolteacher Anna Silver’s trip to the coastal town of Bamfield is anything but a vacation. She’s on the run, desperate to stay one step ahead of her father’s

murderer and determined to track down the one man she’s been told to trust: her father’s old cell mate, Brent Carver. But when she finds him, she discovers not a kind, elderly artist but a dangerously hot alpha male with blood on his hands.

Loyal to the core, Brent would never turn away his friend’s daughter when she comes seeking help. He can’t deny Anna his protection…just as he can’t deny the instantaneous attraction he struggles to keep in check. But as their passion blazes out of control, a sadistic killer is on the hunt to stop Anna from uncovering his dark secrets.

My thoughts:

From the first page, Dark Waters takes off running and doesn't stop. I enjoyed the ride.  It's apparently a sequel to Dangerous Waters, but I didn't really feel like I was missing anything in reading this.  I just want to go back and read Finn and Holly's story now.   I loved Anna and Brent.  Because Brent got to know Anna through her letter, I didn't feel like their romance was rushed.  While there wasn't a lot of suspense, there were a couple of surprises in the end.  I definitely recommend the book.

Kari& Autumn: What inspired you to become a writer?

Toni: I was always a voracious reader. Growing up in the UK I devoured Fantasy novels and Mills & Boon. Then I moved to Canada in the nineties and discovered Nora Roberts and Catherine Coulter and Karen Robards et al. When I hit my mid-twenties I ran out of books to read (I now sympathize with authors who fret because it can take six months to write a book and a reader gets through it in a day!) and started thinking maybe I could try writing something. It took me five years to finish my first novel—I guess I learned my craft by constantly rewriting that story—but it was published and became my first release HER SANCTUARY. Nowadays, I write much faster.

Kari& Autumn: Where do you come up with the ideas for your books?

Toni: Often two or three ideas collide and give me an idea for a book. I watch and read a lot of news articles and I’m curious about odd stuff—archeology, biology, war, aberrant behavior, the British SAS, law enforcement , environmental issues, history. I’ve discovered that whatever weird idea I come up with people have always done something stranger in real life.

Kari& Autumn: What exciting projects are waiting in the wings?

Toni: I’m working on a couple of things right now. The first is trying to self publish a much requested follow up to HER SANCTUARY featuring two of the secondary characters from that book. I’m also working on a new Romantic Suspense novel with a FBI heroine and a hero who’s an assassin. Then I want to write another British SAS hero to follow up THE KILLING GAME and I’m plotting a new trilogy featuring three cop brothers. Life’s busy.

Kari& Autumn: Who is your favorite literary character and why?

Toni: I’d love to say someone sophisticated and intellectual, but it’s probably Sam Starrett out of Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooters series. I love him because he’s honorable but makes mistakes and loves his woman the way a man is supposed to love a woman, with his soul. He’s not perfect but I want to know what’s going on with Sam. Always.

Kari& Autumn: Just for fun, if you could be any animal, what would it be and why?

Toni: Looking at my dog sleeping all day I’d say her :) But actually I think I’d like to be an eagle, soaring over the world, unafraid of heights unlike this pathetic human. They are spectacular creatures and always look so smart and beautiful.

Thanks so much for having me today!

Toni is giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card to one winner from all the different tour stops.Fill out the rafflecopter below to enter!

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About the author:

Toni Anderson is a bestselling author of Romantic Suspense. A former marine biologist, Anderson

traveled the world with her work. After living in five different countries, she finally settled down in the Canadian prairies with her husband and two children. Combining her love of travel with her love of romantic suspense, Anderson writes stories based in some of the places she has been fortunate enough to visit.

Toni donates 15% of her royalties from Edge of Survival to diabetes research--to find out why, read the book!

She is the author of several novels including Dangerous Waters, Storm Warning, and The Killing Game. Her next release is Dark Waters, August 2013.

Buy Links:

AMAZON.COM 

AMAZON.CA 

AMAZON.CO.UK 

AMAZON.DE

AMAZON.FR 

BAM! 

CHAPTERS-INDIGO 

BARNES & NOBLE 

Guest Post: Reflection by Elene Sallinger

Please welcome author Elene Sallinger who is promoting her book, Reflection.  Enjoy her post about when to use a pen name. Welcome, Elene!

Publisher: Excite Books

Date of publication: September 2013

Bridget Ross is a woman with a shameful secret. Despite a life full of success and close friends she denies herself her true desires in penance for the crimes she can't take back.

Connor Reynolds is a man without a purpose. His own tragic past prevents him from putting down roots and pursuing his dreams.
Reflection
Their paths collide forcing them to face the ultimate question … is their love worth confronting their deepest fears and insecurities?

To Use or Not to Use …

by Elene Sallinger

… a pen name that is. This seems like a simple decision, but in reality it's a deeply personal one. For some, they absolutely must use one or suffer the consequences. For others, it's a simple convenience.

There are definite advantages to using a pen name and few drawbacks.

I use a pen name out of necessity.

In my personal opinion, the climate here in America surrounding erotica is still such that you are taking a risk if you expose your legal identity. People are still losing jobs once they are discovered to be writing erotica in their personal time. While the post-50 Shades era is a bit more accepting, we also see Amazon and Barnes & Noble filtering out erotica in blatant acts of censorship. The overarching message is that erotica is bad and we must protect the masses from it. That makes me somehow wrong for writing it by default.

Bottom line, we still live in a culture that abhors admitting we all love sex. Even worse if you admit to liking kinky sex. Worse still if you proliferate the idea that sex and sensual exploration of all kinds are worth writing about and sharing.

Additionally, I am not a full-time writer. I have a regular day job for my state government designing training curricula. I also live in a conservative, traditionally “red” state.  Before moving to the Southwest, I lived in Alabama and before that Virginia. All red states. All conservative. And I've worked full-time jobs as an employee the entire time I've been writing. Long story short, it is not in my best interest to advertise that I write erotica. Especially erotica involving BDSM.

The climate of the areas in which I live and the employers I've had, means that I have to consider more than just my personal feelings about what I write. Left to my own devices, I'd use my legal name. I have no shame about what I write. But, I'm not an island, and my situation means I use a pen name.

All of that being said, there are definite benefits to using a pen name and even blockbuster authors have been known to do it. Steven King also wrote as Richard Bachman, Nora Roberts writes as J.D. Robb, even the prolific J.R. Ward has written under the pen name Jessica Bird. The benefits of using a pen name are pretty succinct.

First, it allows you to write outside of your genre without effecting the “brand” you've built. This is something I already do. The narrative non-fiction pieces I have out used a different name. The same holds true for the literary fiction pieces I have in the works, they won't be published under Elene Sallinger.

The converse of this is that should any disasters occur, – writing gods forbid – with the use of a pen name, you can simply abandon it and start fresh with a new name and all the bad mojo dissolves with the old name.

Lastly, there is the privacy element. Fans are wonderful, stalkers are scary. I've had an experience with an overzealous fan and the fact that my legal identity was protected was a huge relief.

So, in the end, the decision is a personal one based on each person's individual needs and requirements.  I use one, others don't. All that matters is that you're comfortable with your decision.

 ---------

Thank you for having me!

About the author:

Hailing from Washington, DC, Elene Sallinger first caught the writing bug in 2004 after writing and illustrating several stories for her then four-year-old daughter. Her writing career has encompassed two award-winning children's stories, a stint as a consumer-education advocate, as well as writing her debut novel, Awakening - a novel of erotic fiction that won the New Writing Competition at the Festival of Romance 2011. 

Website: http://elenesallinger.wordpress.com

Twitter: esallinger

Dead to You by Lisa McMann

by:  Lisa McMann
published by:  Simon Pulse
publish date:  February 7, 2012

Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family.

When Ethan was abducted it tore his family apart.  Now that he's back, it's tearing down every thing they build up.   Ethan, while glad to be home, is having a hard time adjusting to a life with rules and a life with a distrusting brother and a little sister that he calls "the replacement child".

This is a short book, it's only about 250 pages, but it packs a lot of story in those pages.   Ethan's brother is only 4 years old when he was abducted but apparently he remember the whole thing quite clearly.  He is very resentful of Ethan when he comes back.  He hates him for allowing himself to be abducted and he hates him for coming back.  This hatred between the brothers is what brings the book to its ultimate conclusion.

Personally, I kinda questioned whether or not a 4 year old could clearly remember such an event, but it's really neither here nor there.  It's just a story.  In the end it was an interesting story, it was a good story.   It was definitely one worth reading, just to make your mind question what if?  And has this happened?

Joint Review: Kiss Me First by Lottie Moggach

by:  Lottie Moggach
published by:  Doubleday
publish date:  July 9, 2013

When Leila discovers the Web site Red Pill, she feels she has finally found people who understand her. A sheltered young woman raised by her mother, Leila has often struggled to connect with the girls at school; but on Red Pill, a chat forum for ethical debate, Leila comes into her own, impressing the Web site's founder, a brilliant and elusive man named Adrian. Leila is thrilled when Adrian asks to meet her, flattered when he invites her to be part of "Project Tess." 

This was another one of those books being flaunted as this summer's Gone Girl so I approached it with a little wariness.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  I really found this book to be a very good, thought provoking mystery.  

The story is centered around Leila getting involved with the Red Pill website and right to die debates.  Her activities catch the attention of the founder and he asks her to help Tess with her suicide.  She doesn't want anyone to know that she has died, so Leila's job is to take over Tess' life online by updating Facebook statuses and answering email.  

Personally, I thought that was a pretty ingenious idea.  That'd be a great twist in a murder mystery to mess up the timeline.  While at times I found Leila to be somewhat immature, I liked her.  I think she's like a lot of people that spend too much time in front of a computer reading about things instead of actually going out and experiencing them and that's where her immaturity came from.  

I also really enjoyed Kiss Me First.  At first I thought it was weird  but as the story progressed, I started to really enjoy the book.  Not only is it a great mystery, it is an interesting premise. It really brought up some questions for me.  What would possess someone to agree to pretend to be another person so that that person could commit suicide?  How well do we really know someone?  How do we know that the person we "talk" to every day online is who they say they are?  

The story went very quickly for me.  I was really intrigued.  There are a few surprises for the reader.  I liked Leila. I thought she was very real and straight forward.  Her reasoning for what she did made sense to me.  I definitely recommend this one.  For me it was a fresh idea and a great debut book.  

Blog Tour: Marcie by Carly M. Duncan

Author: Carly M. Duncan
Publisher: CreateSpace
Date of publication: may 2013

When Kate's mother, Marcie, dies mysteriously she is forever tormented by the many questions surrounding her mother's death. In Marcie's absence Kate clings to her mother's husbands, searching for solace.

As family secrets are revealed Kate works to build her own life and family, but the mystery of her mother's death sidetracks her until she finally gets the answer she's always hoped for.

Marcie is a very quick read. Coming in at 136 pages, I was able to read it in an afternoon   I was really captivated by the synopsis and I was expecting a good mystery   Unfortunately, I did not get what I was hoping for.  The story was just OK.  I kept waiting for something to happen, but nothing really does. The "secrets" weren't all that exciting. I didn't care for the ending at all and felt cheated with the end. My actual reaction, was, "Wait, what?"  

I guess in the end I wanted more from the book. It felt more like an outline and needed more meat to the story.  The synopsis was very misleading.  Instead of a mystery,  I read a rambling story of a girl who is neglected by her parents but ends up with a pretty decent life in the end.  If you go into the book with that in mind, I think you will enjoy it more than I did.

Enjoy this book excerpt:

A call in the middle of the night can never bear good news. In fact, the sound of each ring sends a chill through me. Even the tiny hairs on my arm stand on edge.

A glance at the clock tells me two things; either there is an emergency, or the neighborhood middle school kids are having a prank hay day. The frequency of the latter enables me to calmly and patiently let the phone continue to ring a few more times.

I don’t have an answering machine, and there’s no reason I wouldn’t be home (asleep) at this hour, so whoever is dialing knows I’ll answer as long as they challenge me with the annoyance of each ring. I pretend that I’m dreaming, but by the seventh ring I can’t ignore reality. There is, after all, the small possibility that the call could be something important. I answer.

It’s my stepbrother, Terry, and there isn’t a greeting at all. Just, “Something’s happened to Marcie. I just got a call from Guam. Get to my house as soon as possible.”

Terry is six years older than I and is someone who entered my life when I was five years old. He is his father, Beau’s, clone in every way a son can and should be. He’s handsome, loud, bossy and, though I sense a lot of anger from the depths inside of him, he’s always laughing.

He lives nearby with his mother, so we see him often and he’s another protective, embarrassing older brother I could’ve done without. I imagine if I were to enter into a family that wasn’t my own, I might do so gradually and with care, but Terry immediately jumped into his role as big brother and was happy not only to have a brother to team up with, but a little sister to antagonize as well.

I’m nineteen and my brothers still insist on making fun of me. I figured it would die down once I exited junior high, then thought it would lose its charm once I turned eighteen, but it happens to be our family’s form of entertainment, so I laugh. I try to get my share of punches in on them. I remember that they jest out of love, and convince my normally overly sensitive side to giggle with them on occasion.

I am the perfect little sister because I make the jokes easy to come by (or perhaps simply being a little sister allows the jokes to flow freely.) Like when I enter the living room, ready for a date, and my big brothers say to me, “You’re not honestly going out like that, are you?!” My super jock-y, rule-the-school brothers are used to a hotter level of date, I guess. 

About the author:

Carly M. Duncan is a television producer by day and a writer whenever there is time. She loves baking, scripted television and is working on easing her addiction to her too-smart-phone. She lives with her husband, two daughters and beloved Westie in Brooklyn, New York.

Pay Carly a visit at her website at www.carlymduncan.com.

Blog Tour: Mystery Girl by David Gordon

Author: David Gordon
Publisher: New Harvest
Date of publication: July 2013

When Sam Kornberg’s wife, Lala, walks out on him, he’s an unemployed used-book store clerk and failed experimental novelist with a broken heart. Desperate to win her back, he takes a job as assistant detective to the enigmatic Solar Lonsky, a private eye who might be an eccentric and morbid genius or just a morbidly obese madman.

It’s a simple tail job, following a beautiful and mysterious lady around L.A., but Sam soon finds himself helplessly falling for his quarry and hopelessly entangled in a murder case involving Satanists, succubi, underground filmmakers, Hollywood bigshots, Mexican shootouts, video-store geekery, and sexy doppelgangers from beyond the grave. A case that highlights the risks of hardcore reading and mourns the death of the novel—or perhaps just the decline of Western Civilization.

Mystery Girl is a thriller about the dangers of marriage and a detective story about the unsolvable mysteries of love, art, and other people.

In Mystery Girl, Sam Kronberg's wife leaves him because he has no job.  He writes books that no one would want to read.  In an attempt to get her back, he takes a job as an assistant to a detective.  This takes him on a crazy journey to find out about the woman he initially followed, the slept with and watched commit suicide. It turns out, this woman was the love interest of Sam's boss, Solar Lonsky.   I was following the story pretty well up to that point, but then I started to get bored with the story.

Followers of the blog know that I'm always up for something new.  I like a good mystery and I was hoping for this book to be a good one.   The book did drag in places and was a bit on the dull side.  I found myself skimming in places.  I also really couldn't connect with any of the characters.   I did like the solution to the mystery, it just took too long to get there. The book had a film noir feel to me.  I think fans of this type of book will devour it. 

 Check out what other people on the tour are saying:

Tuesday, August 6th:  Unabridged Chick

Wednesday, August 7th:  Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile

Thursday, August 8th:  5 Minutes for Books

Monday, August 12th:  Must. Read. Faster

Wednesday, August 14th:  Luxury Reading

Thursday August 15th:  From the TBR Pile

Monday, August 19th:  Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Tuesday, August 20th:  The Best Books Ever

Wednesday, August 21st:  The Picky Girl

Thursday, August 22nd:  No More Grumpy Bookseller

Monday, August 26th:  Conceptual Reception

Tuesday, August 27th:  Between the Covers

Wednesday, August 28th:  Wordsmithonia

Thursday, August 29th:  Man of La Book

Tuesday, September 3rd:  Book Dilettante

Thursday, September 5th:  Tiffany’s Bookshelf

About the author:

David Gordon was born in New York City. He attended Sarah Lawrence College and holds an MA in English and Comparative Literature and an MFA in Writing, both from Columbia University, and has worked in film, fashion, publishing, and pornography. His first novel, The Serialist, won the VCU/Cabell First Novel Award and was a finalist for an Edgar Award. His work has also appeared in The Paris Review, Purple, and Fence among other publications.

Amazon.com:  http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Girl-Novel-David-Gordon/dp/0544028589

David's website:  http://davidgordonx.blogspot.com

Throwback Thursday: Understood by Maya Banks

Author: Maya banks
First published in 2006 by Samhain Publishing

When she breaks free from the bondage of her past, he'll be waiting.

Jake Turner committed the ultimate mistake of falling in love with his best friend's wife. The distance he puts between them costs both him and Ellie Matthews dearly. Jake will never forgive himself for not seeing what a bastard his friend was. Now that Ellie is free from her nightmare, Jake waits, needing and wanting. He'll be there when Ellie is ready to spread her wings.

Understood became available on my library's audio site and it looked perfect for Throwback Thursday.  It's more like a novella, since it was only 2 discs.  I was able to finish listening to it during my commute to and from work in one day.  

I can't say I liked this story all that much. I had a hard time believing that Ellie could go through all that she did with her ex-husband and suddenly be OK to jump into bed with Jake.  I think I would have believed it more had she gone into some counseling.  Also, after she was beaten by her husband and Jake rescued her, why didn't they call the police?  I know that the police hadn't believed her before, but Jake had friends on the force who he could have called.  Not to mention she was bleeding, beaten and had been raped.  Who wouldn't believe that? 

I thought the writing was repetitive.  I was almost tempted to re-listen to count how many time Ellie bit her lower lip or Jake lifted her chin with his fingers.  I only know that I started rolling my eyes after the 3rd or 4th time.   It was also way too short.  There should have been more character/story development.  I also wanted to understand the change of heart her ex had after his interview.  What made him suddenly change his mind?

I know Ms. Banks has better books out there.  I'd say you could skip this one unless you have 2 hours in the car to waste.

Blog Tour: Something Pretty Something Beautiful by Eric Barnes

Author: Eric Barnes
Publisher: Outpost 19
Date of Publication: June 2013

In Tacoma, a circle of friends finds their leader in Will Wilson. Together, they drink, they get high, they take girls to the woods-but Will Wilson keeps pushing toward darker extremes. As the descent gets steeper, there is a way out: another friend's fishing boat off the coast of Alaska. There is life after Tacoma. But the choice has to be made, and some friendships feel more than inevitable. 

This book should have been titled, "Something Pretty, Something Dark".  This book is definitely not a light read. While it was fairly quick to read, there is a lot of heavy content. I would probably compare this to the feeling one would get if you came upon a disturbing car accident.  You may feel uncomfortable looking, but you can't seem to tear your eyes from the scene.  I felt this way reading this book. While I felt icky in parts, I couldn't put it down.  I knew where the overall story was headed, but I felt compelled to take the journey with Brian Porter, the narrator.  At the end, I was disturbed, but ultimately, I liked the book and I do recommend it.

The book is told in 6 parts.  Each part is broken down into the same 5 sections.  It's not told in a linear timeline and it took a bit getting used to the rhythm of the story.  Basically, Brian Porter takes you on a trip through his childhood in the 70s in Tacoma. You get to see where he grew up and how he easily was taken in by Will Wilson. Along with Will and 2 other boys, they basically create chaos in the town on a daily basis.  Underage drinking, underage driving, unprotected and sometimes forced sex, and drugs are just the short list.  Will Wilson seems to have an evil streak that no one picks up on until it is too late.  In contrast to that, Brian also shows us his very different friendship with Kyle, the boy who offers him a different life in Alaska.  Honestly, he is the only character I liked in the whole book!

The book is also a great and relevant commentary on society, even for today  When we look the other way and don't intervene, things can go horribly wrong.  Brian and his friends are pretty much ignored by their parents and are given free reign. Sadly, it didn't end the way I was hoping it would. But, then life is like, that, right?  I was still left with some questions in the end.  While this tends to bother me, I was OK with it in this book.  I think that getting all of the answers wasn't the point of the book.  We don't always get answers, and, sometimes, we just have to forget them and move on.

About the author:

Eric Barnes is the writer of the novels Something Pretty, Something Beautiful, from Outpost19, called "the most harrowing portrait of American boys careening into manhood that I've ever read, by the writer Benjamin Whitmer. He is also the writer of the novel Shimmer, an IndieNext pick from Unbridled Books that reviewers likened to the work of Don Delillo, David Foster-Wallace, and William Gibson. Eric has published numerous short stories in Prairie Schooner, The Literary Review, Best American Mystery Stories, and other publications.

He is the publisher of The Daily News, The Memphis News and The Nashville Ledger, local publications covering business and politics in Memphis and Nashville. He is also host of Behind the Headlines on WKNO.

Eric was once COO (and, before that, Publisher and Managing Editor) of Towery Publishing, a publisher of city guides, books, maps, city sites and business directories for cities around the country. Towery went under in 2003, a sad and endless and unforgettable experience that culminated in the purchase of a few cases of beer for the remaining staff at one final staff meeting at Union and Mclean.

Prior to that, Eric was managing editor of a business magazine in New York City, was a reporter in small-town Connecticut, worked construction on Puget Sound and drove a forklift in Kenai, Alaska.

Eric lives in Memphis. Previously he lived in New York, and before that in New London, Connecticut. He grew up in Tacoma, Washington, and Juneau, Alaska. He attended the Columbia University School of the Arts, Connecticut College, and Woodrow Wilson High School.

Eric is the father of Reed, Mackenzie, Andrew and Lucy, and husband to Elizabeth, a wonderful person and incredible teacher at Memphis University School.

Twitter: ericbarnes2

Other tour dates:

Review: Bare It All by Lori Foster

Author: Lori Foster
Publisher:  Harlequin (MIRA)
Date of Publication: April 2013

As the person responsible for taking down a brutal human trafficker, Alice Appleton fears retaliation at every turn. No one knows about her past, which is exactly how she prefers it...until the sexy cop next door comes knocking. 

Detective Reese Bareden thinks he knows what makes women tick, but his ever-elusive neighbor keeps him guessing like no other. Is his goal to unmask Alice's secrets? Or protect her from a dangerous new threat? One thing is certain: their chemistry is a time bomb waiting to explode. And with no one to trust but each other, Reese and Alice are soon drawn into a deadly maze of corruption, intrigue and desire-and into the line of fire....

Bare it All is the second in the Love Undercover series by Ms. Foster.  If you are a fan of hers, you know she writes great alpha males and strong females.  This book doesn't disappoint.  Reese and Alice live in the same building.  From the first time he saw her, Alice has intrigued him.  This book pretty much picks up the morning after the events of the previous book, Run the Risk.  

Alice has been through a major ordeal and made it so that she doesn't have to interact with anyone..  Through Reese, she gains more than just a love interest.  She is able to learn to let go of her past and reach out to other people.  The book has some great LOL moments between Alice and Reese. Her honesty was refreshing and definitely threw Reese for a loop.  They were great together.  There is also a cameo appearance from Trace Rivers.  (He was in Trace of Fever, Harlequin 2012)  I will admit that the suspense part of the book was a little anti-climatic, but the overall story makes up for it.

I loved the developing friendship between Alice and Pepper.  Their conversation in the police station was priceless.  I am also intrigued by the growing relationship between Rowdy and Avery as well as the hint of what is to come with Dash and Lieutenant Peterson. I can't wait for their stories!

The Bat by Jo Nesbo

by:  Jo Nesbo
published by:  Knopf
publish date:  July 2, 2013

A young woman, twenty-three years old and a minor television celebrity in her native Norway, has been murdered in Australia. Inspector Harry Hole of the Oslo Crime Squad is dispatched to Sydney to observe the case and offer assistance when possible-and to take a break from his troubles with alcohol and the aftermath of a deadly accident. The Sydney team discovers that this case is only the latest in a string of unsolved murders, and the pattern points to a serial killer.

In case you aren't aware, the Harry Hole books weren't release in order in the US.  The first book to come out in the US was actually the third book in the series.  Initially, that drove me crazy, because I'm a little OCD when it comes to reading book series in order.  However, whoever made the decision to get all the Americans hooked on Harry Hole made a good decision to start with book 3.  I don't know that I would have stuck with the series based on this book.

This is the story that gets referenced back in a lot of his other books, the case that put Harry Hole on the map and made him a famous detective back in Norway.  He goes to Australia to observe the investigation of a murdered minor Norwegian celebrity.  Harry assists the Australian police in putting together the clues to catch a serial killer.

The story wasn't bad, but it wasn't the traditional Harry that we all know and love.  It didn't seem so angsty I guess.  As much as I don't like her, Harry dealing with Rakel makes a much better story.  While this wasn't my favorite book in the Harry Hole series, it's worth the read to go find out where the whole thing got started.