Tag: Anna Edwards

Anna Edwards-Banishing Regrets

Ok, first, yeah, I still live. Life is still interesting in my section of Maine. I don’t think that will ever change. What can I say?

Anyway, let’s talk about Anna’s newest book, Banishing Regrets. This is the last book in the Glacial Blood series, and I’m so sad to see it go. I’ve fallen in love with all the characters and was intrigued by the story. Anna saved the best for last, and gave us Kas and Jane’s story. We’ve seen bits and pieces of the story over the series, but now we get the whole thing.

We open up in the past, with a younger Jane and Kas. We get to see bits of Kas training with his grandfather, who, as we know, is not a very nice guy. Evil grandfather doesn’t have the pack’s best interests at heart. When Kas is done with his grandfather, he walks out and meets Jane. He realizes that she’s his life mate, which would be all well and good, if she wasn’t already in a relationship with his best friend. Kas decides that he’s going to just never be with anyone if he can’t be with this woman that he’s supposed to be with.

Fast forward to the present time, Jane’s husband died years ago, saving their son. Kas killed his grandfather, also years ago. And Kas’ insane twin brother Nuka is working really hard to kill all the humans in the world.

Jane and Kas have decided that it’s finally their time, and they aren’t going to avoid being with each other anymore. Yes, their world may be ending, and terrible things might be happening, but they love each other, and they have waited for so long, and they’re done waiting.

While that’s happening, Nuka and Team Evil are doing all kinds of evil things, including leaving shifter bodies where they can be found. One body gets autopsied on TV, and the governments of the world have decided that they are going to isolate all the shifters to a place in Africa. I can really see a polar bear like Kas working well in Africa.

I have always liked Kas. He is a good man, and one who has done everything he can to take care of his people and to protect them. He’s been put into a place where he has to save not just his pack, but all the supernaturals in the world. He has so much pressure on his shoulders, and until now, he’s been doing it all on his own. He’s had to make some really hard decisions, and he has even more coming up.

Jane hasn’t had a bad life. She’s had her son, and Kas has always been there to help her, but she lost her husband, who was a good man. She’s seen her son be happy, and seen him be really stressed out. Their pack is as strong as it can be, even though there is so much stress and terrible stuff going on outside. She does what she can to make sure that the pack, especially her son, his wife, and Kas stay as strong as possible. I think that she’s a really strong character, and she is really a necessary part of the Glacial Blood pack, even if she isn’t a shifter or supernatural.

We get to see little glimpses into the lives of some of the other characters that we’ve come to know and love during the series. We get to see how they are handling the stress and what they think they should do. Those are pretty short chapters, and I think that they worked really well in the flow of the story.

Overall, I thought this was a great way to end this series, and I really am sad to see it go.

Anna Edwards-The Power of a Myth

I love Anna’s Glacial Blood series a whole lot. I’m all dragged into the series, and I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen with the next one, because dayum. But of all the books of the series I’ve read so far, The Power of a Myth is my favorite. It’s not very focused on the world as a whole, or even the fight that is ongoing, although there are bits and pieces of that through the book. Instead, it is laser focused on Hayden and Molly. All of the books focus on the couple in question, but never one as much as this one, I think. And I think that it works for this one in a way that it wouldn’t in other books.

So, we have Hayden and we have Molly. And we have the Vietnam War. Molly is a puma shifter from the Glacial Blood pack, and she has just finished training to be a nurse and has joined the military. And she’s just arrived at a base in Vietnam. She’s not even technically on duty yet, but when the sirens go off warning that there’s incoming wounded, she gets pulled into the OR. This is when she meets Hayden. He saved a friend and got injured. Molly helps work on his friend and then gets to talking to Hayden, and there’s just something there about him.

Hayden is just fascinated by Molly. They spend all the time together that they can. Then he sees her coming out of the jungle and loses it, because the only reason people go into the jungle around the base is to fuck. So, he confronts her, she gets mad and tells him that if he wants to know what she was doing, he should follow her. That’s where he finds out her secret and not just that she’s a puma, but that he’s also her mate. They swear to each other that after the war is over, they will be together, because he has to leave for a mission in the morning.

Can you guess where we are headed? Yeah. That’s where we’re going.

My heart broke for Molly. She lost her mate and had no body to grieve over. She’s spent the last fifty years since she saw him last living alone, being alone. She lives as part of the Glacial Blood Pack, and has helped to train Kas and other members of the pack, but she lives a part from them, in her cave. Her very nice cave, to be sure, but in her cave. She’s fiercely independent, but now in her 70s, she’s finding life harder, so she’s now headed to the mansion. Issue is, she’s not the only one. I think that she’s really strong, and it isn’t even that she learned to be strong during those years, but that’s just who she is all the time. There’s just this spine of steel. She’s also very caring, because she loves her pack and she helps her pack. I really like her a lot.

I think that for as much as Molly broke my heart, Hayden hurt it even worse. Hayden had to willingly and knowingly make the sacrifice that he did. He knew what he was getting into. I think that he even knew, in his heart of hearts, that it was going to be sch a long time before he’s able to lay down his burden. Not only has he made the sacrifice, he keeps track of Molly through people who know them both, so he’s got that little self-torture going on. So yeah, that’s why I think that he hurt my heart worse.

Hayden is a damned honorable warrior though. He made his choice willingly, he could’ve run away, but he looked at what was being told him and he weighed the options and did what he saw as the right thing, even if it’s the thing he didn’t want to do.

I love a second chance kind of romance, and this is definitely in that second chance category, but it’s more than that to me. It’s kind of like an extended chance versus a second chance. It’s not like their relationship truly ended in a break up, sooo… I dunno. Do you see where I’m going with my thoughts? I hope so, because I’m not 100% sure that I do.

Anyway, nothing under the picture today. Go check it out!

Off topic: I have a gift exchange set up for my FB group, if you like to send out gifts to random people and get gifts sent to you, check it out! My theory is that it has been a shitty year, and we can spread a little sunshine. The budget is just $10, so it’s pretty inexpensive.

Anna Edwards-A Deadly Affair

Anna is back with the latest book in her Glacial Blood pack books. A Deadly Affair is #7, and I think we are coming to the final book soon. I know that there is at least one more, because I’m already signed up for it. And after the events in this book, I can’t wait to see what is going to happen.

So, Nuka and Ciaran are up to no good, which of course they aren’t. In fact, they are so up to no good that there isn’t anyone who can practice more dark magic than Ciaran now, and he’s about to prove it, in the worst of ways. The first thing he does is separate Nuka’s dead grandfather from the body of Samuel, where he has been living. Then he, Nuka, dead grandfather, and demon Samuel go on the attack.

Back in Montana, we have the Glacial Blood Pack’s witch, Jessica Raven, who is also Ciaran’s former student and lover. He hurt her, badly, and she’s still dealing with the aftermath. Then there’s Ethern, who is a multi-shifter, who has definite feelings for her. She has feelings for Ethern too, but she doesn’t want to have them, because of the walls that she has had to build up because of what Ciaran did to her.

The thing is that no matter how much Ethern cares for her or she cares for Ethern, there are things that he’s not telling her. You see, multi-shifters like Ethern know all kinds of things. And some of the things he knows he really doesn’t want to know. He tells Jessica that he’ll always be there for her, and encourages her to tell him what she knows about Ciaran.

I admire Jessica. She’s not in an easy position at all, and she knows it, but she still does everything she can to help her pack. She’s wicked powerful, but she’s even more responsible in how she uses her power. She really wants to help people and save the world. She has a truly loving heart, even with what that asshole did to her. And frankly Ciaran can just go burn in hell.

I’ve always liked Ethern. He’s a good man. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders, but I think that he can mostly handle it, or at least the part of it that he can do anything about. He’s set up the things that he needs to set up in the way in which he needs them to be done, but even he can only do so much, especially if there are things that are set in stone.

I can’t wait for the upcoming book.

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Every time I think that Nuka and Ciaran can’t get any worse, they do. But this time. maybe at least one of them is stopped. Maybe. We’ll have to see.

OK, that’s all for this one. Go check them all out! Happy reading!

 

Anna Edwards-Sing With Me

Anna has started a new series, and it’s not a dark series. There are a few moments that deal with some difficult topics, but overall, it’s relatively light, especially when compared to some of Anna’s other books. That doesn’t mean I that I didn’t like Sing With Me. Just because I love the dark doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy lighter stuff, because I do.

Zoey is taking care of her alcoholic mother while she’s trying to make enough money to keep all their utilities on and a roof over their head, no matter what her mother does. She works for a publicist who manages rock bands, including one name Saving Tate, which is a huge success and getting ready to go on tour. That’s when her boss tells her that he has a new job for her. Her job is to go on the road with Saving Tate on their huge world tour and act as their publicist.

Tate is the lead singer of Saving Tate. He and the band have been together for a long time, and they are closer than brothers. They are pretty well behaved, considering that they are a huge rock band. But that doesn’t mean that their head publicist doesn’t want to have a publicist travel with them to help boost their good rep and dodge any bad publicity. The guys all agree that the publicist can travel in the bus with them. But then Zoey shows up and Tate isn’t having it. She’s hot, and he worries. The other guys are all good with it though. In fact, they all start treating her like a little sister, while Tate tries to hold her at arm’s length.

I like Zoey. I also feel sorry for her. She’s had to grow up too soon, and she has the whole world on her shoulders. Everything that she is given, she has to figure out how she can pay someone back, because that’s all she’s ever had to do. She doesn’t get given anything. She feels like she only has bad luck and if anything good does happens, she waits for the other shoe to drop. I think that she is smart, caring, funny, and brave. I think that she does deserve every good thing ever to happen to her. She does her job really well, and she is determined to make sure that she does everything to the best of her ability, and I have a lot of respect for that.

Tate is a pretty good guy. He’s got some seriously broken edges, but he is still a good man. He has his good friends and they are all very loyal to each other. He writes beautiful music, and he really wants to help people. I think that the broken edges make him a better person. He’s not so broken that he can’t feel, and they help him to be empathetic to other people, because he can see where they are coming from. I think he is really the very best person that Zoey could’ve fallen in with, and I think that she’s the very best person he could’ve fallen in with.

I can’t wait for book 2, because the look we get into it sounds interesting.

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I think that the way that Tate handled the confrontation with his parents was well done, if not necessarily in the best place.

OK, that’s all for today. Go check it out! Happy reading!

Anna Edwards-Zhanzhi

Anna Edwards has spun us a beautiful fairy tale in Zhanzhi. This is part of a collection of fairy tale retellings. Anna chose to tell us Mulan. And can I tell you that the whole time I was reading this that I had I’ll Make a Man Out of You from the original show. That’s my favorite song from the movie. I totally enjoyed the hell out of this story.

Instead of being in ancient China, we’re in modern Chinatown in San Francisco. Lia and her family are part of the Yu Shi which is a triad that is in control of California from SF to all points north. They have an enemy that wants to take over their territory. Now, triad are generally associated with the criminal underworld, but they were also organizations that helped out immigrants from the old world back in the day. Anyway, the Yu Shi helped Lia’s grandparents get from China to the US, and her family have sworn their fealty to the group for forever. So, any time they call for the oldest male of each family to come fight the war, they have come. Only now, the oldest male member of her family is Lia’s father, he has no sons, just two daughters, and he has a damaged leg, and if he goes to war, he’ll probably die. Lia begs him to not go, and to let her go instead. He’s been training her for the majority of her life, and she’s an excellent fighter. And of course, you know what’s happening here.

Jaxon is one of the generals in the Yu Shi army. He’s not Chinese, but he’s sworn to the family. His father brought him to the head of the family when he was a child, and Jax swore to follow him always and to follow the rules of the Yu Shi, which he does. When it’s time to recruit for a new war, Jax went around and told all the families and neighborhoods in Chinatown that they needed to send their oldest male family member to be trained. At his last stop, there was a man who had an injured leg, who he knew would probably die at the first sign of fighting, but the man had no sons, so what could he do? He wanted to make an exception, but it doesn’t work that way.

The next morning, he oversleeps and wakes up to find the 4 trainees he’ll be working with, including a mere slip of a boy named Zhan, who he is pretty sure will die immediately. But, he’s surprised to see how good a fighter Zhan is. Guess who?

The Mulan story, if you look at the original Chinese tale, focuses on a strong woman who goes out and follows her heart and does what she feels what she needs to be done. Lia/Zhan does not fall far from that tree. She is an extremely strong character. She has a hard time being a woman in her world, because all she’s supposed to be is the wife of a Yu Shi man and the mother of the next generation, but she’s so much more than that. She’s always felt like that, and the fact that her father taught her to fight and she’s just so good just reinforces that. It isn’t until she cuts her hair while she’s becoming Zhan that she actually starts to feel like who she is. I mean, she has a whole journey she has to go through to finally figure out who she is, and I was totally here for it.

You know, Jax, the Blond Demon, doesn’t have to go through as much as a journey as Lia does. He is pretty much a complete person from the beginning. I mean, he does have things that he has to work through, but they aren’t really finding out who he is. He’s a really, really good man, who has to occasionally has to do some really bad things, but his goal is always to protect and care for his people instead of trying to expand territory or kill people just because. I think that he’s just a great character.

I think every version of Mulan would be really happy with Anna and her book. Well, might be a little much fucking for Disney.

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Lia made some hard choices in this, and one really, really hard one that I don’t think I could’ve made.

OK, that’s all I have to say about this one. Go check it out! Happy reading!

Anthology-The Institute

Welcome to the Serenity Institute. Dr. Ansel Sterling started The Institute after seeing his mother suffer with her own mental illness. Now, he has created a safe place for other people to come and get treated. So, we have 6 stories written by 6 fantastic authors, 2 of whom are new to me. Without any further ado, let’s get into the stories, shall we?

Dani Rene-Echo

Dani gets the book started for us. She introduces us to Dr. Sterling and his special patient, Katya. Katya suffered a traumatic event and she broke into pieces, including one named Rose. Now Dr. Sterling is trying to treat her. So, the whole time I read this, I wondered if Katya or Rose was the real one, and what Ansel was going to do with them. Excellent. I mean, damn. This was definitely a great Dani story.

Anna Edwards-Marbh

Anna gives us Marbh, whose name means Death, and is a 500 year old assassin. She is currently locked up at Serenity because people are sure that she’s delusional. She just wants to get back to her Laird. The ending of this was spectacular. It is one of those that left me wanting and made me happy all at the same time. I often say that I would like to see more of a particular couple, but I think that this was perfectly perfect.

India R. Adams-Hostile Illusions

Vera has amnesia. She is covered with scars, but only on her left hand side. This story. OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD. That is all.

Jennifer Bene-Mr. Cat Is Not Real

Nina is at the institute because she has hallucinations, and dangerous things have happened around her. But she’s not the one who does them, it’s always Mr. Cat. I thought that the treatments that Dr. Nickelsen gave Nina were… interesting. I do kinda think that Mr. Cat is real, though.

Murphy Wallace-Release Me

Brynn has a thing when it comes to sex. She’s what they call hypersexual. That means she likes it. A LOT. But she also blacks out sometimes, which causes her to end up at the institute, with Dr. Dick. I like Brynn, and I kind of agree with her about a doctor.

Sian B. Claven-Sanitorium

Molly’s identical twin sister, Lizzie, is a nurse at the institute, so they have permission for Molly to be treated there, since Lizzie has been taking care of Molly because of her illnesses over the years. Molly is so very sweet, and I just want her to be all kinds of happy. Sian was another new author to me, so I’ll be looking for more. The whole time I was reading this story, Metallica’s Sanitarium kept running through my head.

So, there are our 6 stories. They are all disturbing to some extent, some more than others. Some of them left me nearly destroyed. They were all fantastic though.

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Anna Edwards-Frozen Sector

Frozen Sector is the first book in the shared world series Zombie Year 2099. I think, don’t 100% quote me on this, but I think they are all standalones. I have more of them that I’ll be reading, so as soon as I read the next one, I can tell you for sure. Anyway, Anna gets us started off.

So, here’s our world. In 2099, zombies took over the world. These aren’t your Night of the Living Dead “They’re coming to get you, Barbara” zombies that are just going to shamble around and then eat your brains. No, these motherfuckers are truly nasty little things. They are smart, well as smart as they were in real life at least, they can talk, and they still want to eat you. And not in the good way.

Five years ago, the zombies came to the North Pole. Santa disappeared and the elves fought as valiantly as they could, but they weren’t able to get free. Fraeya was the princess of the elves, and she fought at her fiance’s side, Vaegon. But, all of a sudden, while they were trying to fight off the zombies, their magic completely disappeared. They could no longer control the ice and snow, and the elf knights could no longer call their swords to them so that they could fight. Without their magic, they were an easy target for the zombies.

In the years since, Fraeya and the other females have acted as “wives” to the zombies. For wives read slaves. They were stuck having to do everything that the zombies wanted them to do, including having to take care of the humans that the zombies want to eat, and even choosing out the humans. Fraeya tries to avoid that as much as possible, but the lead zombie, Rott, makes her do it as often as he can, and if she doesn’t or if she tries to protect the other elves, she gets punished. At least she’s still at the North Pole.

Then we have Vaegon, the love of Fraeya’s life. They have been each other’s everything for years, and they were going to be married. Then, zombies. The zombies didn’t want to the guys to stay near their women, because that would be bad. They also didn’t want to leave the males near them. Weak or not, the zombies wanted to make sure that there was no way in hell that Vaegon and his guys could even think about fighting for and with Fraeya and her ladies. So they sold all the male elves down to Mexico, to work in the fields for werewolves. It’s hot and nasty and disgusting and the ice elves hate it because, well, ice elves in Mexico.

After 5 years, Fraeya is about to take all her ladies and escape. She thinks that she feels Vaegon for the first time years, and she just can’t handle any more. She manages to escape, and she gets to Vaegon. Then all the things happen.

Fraeya has got ovaries of steel. She really does. And I like her a lot. She doesn’t take a lot of shit that she doesn’t have to, and she will go and do the things that she feels are right, even if other people, like, oh say Vaegon, doesn’t think that they are the right thing to do. She will also go out and fight like the queen that she is.

Vaegon is a good guy, and a great leader. He wants to make sure that all his elves are OK, and he will put himself on the line in order to make sure that they are. Not only will he, but he actually does put himself right out on the line. He and Fraeya are a good match. They are both strong in ways that complement each other very well. It’s a very good balance for them, which is what makes them very efficient leaders.

I really like their story, and I would love for Anna to write more of them.

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Santa, Santa, Santa.

OK, that’s all I have to say about this one. Go check it out! Happy reading!

Anna Edwards-Stolen Choices

Stolen Choices is the 6th book in Anna Edwards’ Glacial Blood books. While each book focuses on a different couple, these really aren’t standalones. The overall storyline builds up on itself with each book, and if you don’t read each of them, then you are going to miss stuff. Trust me, I started in the middle of the series, and I was a little bit lost until I went back and read all the earlier books. I mean, I wasn’t horribly, terribly lost, but a little lost. I missed nuances that I might have picked up. But that’s just me.

So, let’s get into the story, shall we? We have Katia, who is a member of the Glacial Blood pack, led by Kas. Then we have Jackson, who is one of Nuka’s followers. Nuka and his evil henchman, Ciaran, have evil plans when it comes to Katia. And they want to have Jackson deal with it.

You see, Katia has a horrible past. And that horrible past keeps her alone in a pack where everyone is coupling up. Her father used her to pay debts, and she ended up being trafficked. It was horribly horrible until she managed to get free, and now she wants to have nothing to do with men, sex, or anything like that. And I don’t blame her a bit. It’s hard though, and sometimes everyone coupling up and having all kinds of crazy sex in the house where the pack lives is overwhelming, so one day, she decides that she needs to take a break and go stay in one of the cabins on the pack land.

However, it’s not that easy. It’s never that easy. Ever. Nuka and Ciaran have plans for Katia. They are going to capture her and give her back to the man who owned her and mistreated her. And Jackson is going to do it. He grabs her, and Ciaran teleports them back to the place where she was taken before. Only this time it’s even worse. Ciaran has used his evil magic to make it so that she has to do whatever anyone tells her to do. No matter what. Jackson does what he’s supposed to do, but once he leaves her, he realizes that he can’t do that, so he tries to make it right.

If you looked at yesterday’s post, you’ll see that I said that this was a redemption story, and it is. The reason it is one is because Jackson has to go through his journey to figure out what was going on and become a better person. It isn’t an easy journey, and he does have to handle a lot of shit, but it’s a worthwhile one.

I like Katia. She is so incredibly strong and fierce. She’s had to be, and that strength really helps her out a lot. She needs to have it. I think that she’s also incredibly compassionate. You can see it in how she handles Jackson. She has a really good heart. A practical heart, definitely, but a very good one.

I didn’t think I could hate Nuka more than I already did, but you know what, I do. I think that he is a huge hypocrite, but aren’t a lot of bad guys? And really that’s not the worst thing he is, or the worst thing that he does, but honestly. I’m ready for Kas to wipe him off the face of the Earth.

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Argh, Ciaran and his fucking magic, taking all kinds of choices from everyone. I have to wonder who even has their own thoughts in their head when it comes to him.

Anyway, that’s all I have to say about this one. Go check it! Happy reading!

2019 Round Up-Top 10 Redemption Books Pt. 2

So, we’re back to redemption books again today. I’m hoping that you liked the first part of the list, and that you’ve liked the rest of my lists. I think, after this one, that I might have just 1 or 2 lists left. We have Omegaverse books coming and a best Daddies, I think. Maybe more, if I think of any more lists to write, or if I get any suggestions of round up lists that people want. I live to please you guys. Or at least I am going to let all y’all think that.

***Disclosure: I may get a commission from Amazon on any purchases made from the links on this post.***

Kay Elle Parker-The Shadowcrown Duet

Kay is all over my round up lists this year. And there’s a good reason for that. I love the way that she writes. I’m putting her Shadowcrown duet on this list because I think that they fit really well. I can’t put one or the other of the books on this list, because the redemption arc encompasses both books. The first book in the duet is King of Shadows and the second is Queen of Shadows. These books are the story of Alliana, Kian, and Islador. Alliana’s mother was human but her father was an archangel. She was raised by Kian, the King of Shadows, and his second in charge and best friend, Islador. Kian was raising her to be his Queen. Things happen, demons show up, Lucifer gets involved, horrible, terrible things are done to Alliana, Kian and Isla both die, and Alliana becomes the queen. There are some extenuating circumstances to why Kian did what he did, but he still needs to get redemption for it, and prove himself to both Isla and Alliana. The books are dark, but fantastic.

Anna Edwards-Stolen Choices

Technically, Stolen Choices isn’t out yet. It doesn’t come out until 1/2, and I’ll have a full review on my blog about it tomorrow, but trust me when I say that this is really an excellent redemption story. It’s part of the Glacier Blood series, and it is not a standalone. You have to have read the other books in order to understand what is happening in this one, but it’s an excellent PNR.

Nikita Slater-Luna & Andres

Luna & Andres is one of the books from the Blaire’s World shared world series. These books are spun off of Anita Grey’s Blaire books. Which I’m dying for the next one. Anyway, back to L&A. Andres is a member of a Mexican cartel and Luna is his wife. They are combustive together. In this, Luna takes their kids and runs from him. Of course, she has reasons that I think are good, but still. It turns ugly. Both Luna and Andre have to go through a redemption arc in this one, for very different reasons. The majority of this book is just the two of them, which makes it very intimate and very intense.

R. Cayden-Clark’s Bully

R. Cayden writes MM romances, usually menages. Clark’s Bully is a menage. It’s part of a series of books that take place in Seattle surrounding a particular bar and comic book shop. I happen to be reading the latest one in the series right this very second. Anyway, here’s the redemption in this one. Clark and Rip went to high school together. Clark was rather obviously gay, Rip was confused. Rip’s friends bullied Clark horribly, and he stood along with them. Years later, Rip is back with his best friend/FWB, Mars. Mars meets Clark, and sparks fly, until Clark finds out he is besties with Rip. I really like Rip. He has spent a long time thinking about what he did and making changes in himself.

Jennifer Bene-Inheritance

I debated about Inheritance, because I think that if it were written by anyone other than Jennifer, I wouldn’t consider it a redemption story, but since it is her, it is. It’s the second book in the Fragile Ties series, and it’s the continuing story of David and Lianna. David kidnapped her because of her father, and did some pretty terrible things to her. Of course, she pretty much liked those terrible things, so it worked out after all. The reason I put it in this one is because David and Lianna are working hard to put together a relationship, and David is working hard to get past everything in the past. Anyway, I think that it fits well in this.

OK, that’s my Top 10 redemption books of 2019. We have reviews coming up in the next couple of days, but over the weekend, I’ll do some more round ups. Like I said, O-verse and Daddies.

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Anna Edwards-Second Chances

This is a spin-off from Anna’s Control series. Like she says, you don’t have to have read all the Control books to read and enjoy Second Chances, but it helps. Which I can attest to since I haven’t read them all (don’t be mad at me, Anna)(I’ve read the first one and the rest are on my neverending TBR). Anyway, the main storyline of the Control books is over, and now we’re into a new storyline.

So, here we go. This is the story of Ryan and Elena. Ryan was from the Control series, and is related to James and Sophie from that series. Elena is Amy’s best friend and runs her ballet school, and Amy is James’ wife.

Ryan is learning how to be a Dom from James and Grayson, who is Sophie’s husband. He is dealing with shit, and Domming helps him control himself, and hey, he likes it. You know, as those D-types tend to do.

Elena is busy running the ballet school. She was going to be a prima ballerina until she fell and broke her leg badly. She can still dance, but her leg isn’t as strong as it used to be, so no more top ballerina. So, she teaches and choreographs instead, and she likes it.

One night, Amy invites Elena to go to the BDSM club that Grayson owns and all the couples go to. Then in walks Ryan. And boom. Elena and Ryan meet eyes across the crowded club, and it’s lust at first sight. Lots and lots and lots of lust with a capital LUST.

There is a lot that happens in this book. I mean, you are getting Ryan’s backstory as well as his POV on certain things that happened. I think that will give a lot of added dimension to the whole story. (Now I really need to read it all.) I like getting to know Ryan through this book. I think that he is a truly good guy in this book. He has to deal with a lot of difficult shit, and he could totally cave and he doesn’t.

Elena. Hmm… I don’t know about Elena. I do think I like her most of the time. There were a few times that I didn’t like her, but I don’t know how much of that is because of what was happening in the story at the time or because of her character. Elena has to handle some serious shit in this story too, and I think, overall, that she comes through it, not necessarily easily, but she does.

Thre is a note at the end of the book that there is going to be another series starting off. I don’t know if that means that this is the first book in a new series, or if this was a transition book between the Control series and the new series. I tend to think it is transitional, because I can really see it as a bridge between what happened before and what happens next. I’m not discounting Elena and Ryan’s story, because it’s an important one, but it really felt like a bridge book to me.

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The whole Victor storyline really affected me. I’m not sure what the feelings that it gave me are, but I have feelings about it. It packed a massive punch though.

OK, that’s all for today. Go check it out! Happy reading!

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