Crush by Alan Jacobson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Title: Crush
Author: Alan Jacobson
Narrator: Tish Hicks
Length: 12 hours, 22 minutes
Publisher: Phoenix Audio
Published: September 1, 2009
Genres: Fiction; Suspense Fiction

Visit my review/blog HERE!

My Rating: ✮✮✮✮

Synopsis:
In his thriller The 7th Victim, Alan Jacobson established FBI profiler Karen Vail as one of the most exciting new protagonists in the genre. In Crush, Karen Vail returns to confront a serial killer unlike any she has seen before, the hunt for whom will call on all her skills--and shake her confidence to its core.

My Review:
Just like Book 1, The 7th Victim, this book did not disappoint, in true Karen Vail fashion! Alan Jacobson continued to capture the true essence of who Karen Vail is, which keeps you captivated throughout!

Karen Vail is such a complex but interesting character, and Book 2 takes us on vacation with Karen and lets us see her blooming relationship with Robby! It doesn't take long for Karen to be elbow deep in another murder investigation, and as usual, seeming to be up to her eyeballs in trouble! I think that is what makes Karen such an enjoyable character!

This book is full of different plots, twists, and turns, which keep you guessing throughout the whole book! As with book one, I did feel like the book was a little longer than necessary, but it didn't cause enough of a problem to make me not want to finish it! As a matter of a fact, with an ending like this book had, I can't wait to run out and get Book 3! The ending to Crush was the mac daddy of all cliffhangers!

The narrator did a wonderful job of portraying Karen Vail, and even though it wasn't the same narrator from Book 1, she tricked me into thinking that she was! She was able to distinctly portray each of the different characters, male and female, with ease! I enjoyed listening to Trish Hicks and think she has done a wonderful job throughout the entire book!

Overall, this has been a great series and I am certainly glad that I randomly came across it! I won't hesitate to recommend this series to all of my friends, as well as check out other titles of Jacobson's! This was definitely a thrilling ride!

View all my reviews

Finding Cinderella (Hopeless #2.5) by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Title: Finding Cinderella
Author: Colleen Hoover
Length: 105 pages
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: October 14, 2013
Genres: Fiction; Love Stories

Visit my review/blog HERE!

My Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

Synopsis:
This novella is a companion novel to the Hopeless series, but can be read as a standalone.

A chance encounter in the dark leads eighteen-year-old Daniel and the girl who stumbles across him to profess their love for each other. But this love comes with conditions: they agree it will only last one hour and it will only be make-believe.

When their hour is up and the girl rushes off like Cinderella, Daniel tries to convince himself that what happened between them only seemed perfect because they were pretending it was perfect. Moments like that with girls like her don’t happen outside of fairytales.

One year and one bad relationship later, his disbelief in insta-love is stripped away the day he meets Six: a girl with a strange name and an even stranger personality. Daniel soon realizes the way he pretended to feel about Cinderella and the way he really feels about Six may not be so different after all. Especially when the two loves of his life end up being one in the same.

Unfortunately for Daniel, finding Cinderella doesn’t guarantee their happily ever after…it only further threatens it.

My Review:
I have found that with many authors, it seems the more they write, the least interesting their books become, however, it is exactly the opposite with Colleen Hoover. The more that I read from her, the more I cannot live without her writing! I CRAVE MORE! Hoover has such a phenomenal gift in writing that I can't imagine her doing anything else! With each book that I read, I cannot believe the feelings that Hoover stirs up within me! Someone else said it perfectly..."I felt more in reading 100 pages of this novella than I have felt reading many other entire books!"

At first, I was quite skeptical on a book about Daniel. He was the odd cookie, that didn't necessarily appeal to me in the other books. Boy, did he shine in his own story! Who knew he could be such a romantic? Hoover has found her niche in being able to create the perfect characters that say and do all the right things! And it was good to learn more about the real Daniel and Six, where we only saw small bits and pieces of them in the books before!

You can't get any better with this story! There are not enough words of greatness to describe any of Hoover's books, Finding Cinderella included! At the end of all of Hoover's books, I find myself sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for the next book to be released, and this book was no different! This was such a quick and easy read that I couldn't help but want to savor!

Hoover has figured out what it takes to write a successful book, and adds all of the right touches to make each and every book she writes, the perfect book, and Finding Cinderella is no exception! I certainly hope that there is more to this story, because I just have to know more!

View all my reviews

Skeleton's Key by Stacy Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Title: Skeleton's Key
Author: Stacy Green
Length: 313 pages
Publisher: Misterio Press
Published: October 28, 2013
Genres: Fiction; Mystery/Romantic Suspense

Visit my review/blog HERE!

My Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

Synopsis:
Cage Foster can’t catch a break. The discovery of a dusty skeleton in the antebellum home he’s caring for is bad enough. But the unearthing of two fresh bodies, buried during his tenure at Ironwood Plantation, may land Cage on Mississippi’s death row. Even worse, the one person certain of his innocence is a pushy Yankee newcomer, a woman who talks too fast and still believes in the romance of the Old South.

A specialist in historical renovation, Dani Evans intends to restore Ironwood to its former glory while she rebuild]]of her mother. Death, hidden treasure, and falling in love with a murder suspect were not part of the plan. The lure of the infamous Ironwood treasure cache convinces Dani the skeleton is the key to unraveling the legend, and that the treasure itself is the motive for the murders.

Cage is certain an old grudge is setting him up for murder, but the evidence against him is mounting and time is running out. Dani believes she can find the truth before Cage is arrested, but her search for answers will uncover a descent into madness that should have stayed buried.

My Review:
I met Stacy Green on Goodreads and was fortunate enough to be able to read the first book in this series for her, Tin God, in return for my review, and let me tell you, I absolutely LOVED it from the very start! So when she asked if I would be interested in seeing Skeleton's Key, I jumped at the chance!!

So, I must say that when I first started reading this book, I was slightly disappointed to not go right back into Jayme's life, to see where she was at in her life after Tin God...however, that only lasted a quick moment, as I completely fell into Cage's story, and it was soon, Jayme who? I was surprised to see Jayme come in later, but still thrilled to get more involved with Cage.

Green does a superb job of providing such detailed descriptions that the reader can't help but imagine everything in all of it's glory...the heat and beauty of historic Roselea, Mississippi, the magnitude of the plantation homes, and the deep relationships of the characters involved.

With both books, I was amazed at the ease Green appears to have in writing a great mystery novel! This book was full of mystery and suspense, and just enough romance to spice up your life! Green has the perfect touch with romantic suspense! In no way was this book predictable, as I was blindsided when the real culprit was revealed. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book!

I couldn't help but fall even more in love with the characters of this quaint little town, due to Green's expertly written characters with real-life strengths and weaknesses.

I can't wait to continue to love and grow and meet all the characters that The Delta Crossroads has to offer! I couldn't be more thrilled with this book and as always, will anxiously await Green's next novel!

**This book was provided to me as an ARC from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review.**

View all my reviews