June 2014 – Talk Nerdy Book Blog

June 30, 2014

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Series: Crossing the Line*

Release Date: June 5th, 2013

Synopsis:

A minor penalty that is not called until the offending team gains control of the puck. As long as the non-offending team maintains possession, the referee allows play to continue and signals a delayed penalty by raising his arm.

I’m Evan Mason, an NHL hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks. I spend my nights roughing up two hundred pound defensemen and, at times, spend more time in the penalty box than I do on the ice.

That’s my job.

One night changed everything I thought I once knew about my life on, and off, the ice.

A girl.

A brutally beaten girl left to die in an alley.

I don’t know why or how but something made me stay that night after taking her to the hospital. I didn’t know her, nor did I have an obligation to stay but something inside of me rooted me there telling me I should stay. Saving a life is worth something. At least I thought so. And I wouldn’t have been me if I just simply left her there.

Any man who put his heart and soul into a game of hockey couldn’t just walk away when someone needed them. She had no one else right now. The same guy who saw determination where there was desire, now saw hope where there was one despair.

I couldn’t leave. That wouldn’t be me. No, not a man that put all he had into something some called just a game. I couldn’t walk away from her holding onto life, weak, and powerless to something she had no control over.

So I stayed. In a room full of family members praying for their loved ones to pull through, I prayed for a girl I didn’t know and had never met before, to have a beating heart. While others’ sorrow turned to grieving pain, I sat waiting on the words of the unknown.

No bond is stronger than the ones you’ll bleed for.

Ending

 HEA

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers

• Rape
• Physical abuse
• Violence (blood and gore)
• Death of family
• Grief

Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions

• No cheating
• Does have OW
– The Hero has a friends-with-benefits relationship with an OW (who sleeps with a lot of guys on the hockey team). The OW becomes friends with the Heroine and stays friends with the Hero.
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
– There are allusions to the Hero’s past with an OW (not a descriptive scene but thoughts like “freak in the sheets”).
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have brief separations between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4.25/5 stars

*Each novel in the series is Standalone

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Summer Lovin’ Book Blogin’

By Sarah

In Book Lists

June 26, 2014

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The first day of summer has passed, being just five days ago on the 21st of June! And with summer comes a heap of books to read and of course more books to review!

With over 42 books to read… obviously fewer to review and relaxing to occur, this summer is one to be remembered.

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Romancing the Bookworm by Kate Evangelista

By Sarah

In 3-stars, Book Review

June 26, 2014

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Series: Standalone

Release Date: July 9th, 2013

Synopsis:

Sometimes, even the best-laid plans can unravel.

It’s spring break, and Tamara Winters would rather stay on campus and read romance novels than flaunt her size-fourteen body on a beach. But her best friend, Ronni, has other ideas.

Against her wishes, Tamara is whisked away to picturesque Maverick Bay, where she’s wrangled into waiting tables with Ronni at the Shore Shack for its busy week leading to Maverick’s Surf Invitational. There she meets fellow schoolmate Xavier Solomon, the Invitational’s organizer and campus womanizer by reputation. From the moment Tamara sees him emerging from the waves like a hero in of one of her romance novels, all she wants to do is run away from the feelings he inspires in her.

Little does she know Xavier has been watching her for weeks now. In fact, after failed attempts at asking her out on campus, he’s concocted a crazy plan: fabricating romantic situations straight out of her favorite books. Xavier quickly realizes that if Tamara gets a whiff of his designs, he might as well spell CREEPER across his forehead. Yet as they grow closer, he’s convinced it’s a risk worth taking. What he hasn’t planned on, of course, is his drug-addicted, alcoholic stepbrother, who decides to join the fun and put a wrench in Xavier’s scheme.

Spring break is proving hotter than Tamara expected. Will her romance novels be able to compete?

Ending

 HFN

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers

• Drug addiction
• Alcoholism

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Heroine pushing away
• Does Not have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 3.75/5 stars

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The Vixen and the Vet (A Modern Fairytale, #1) by Kate Regnery

By Sarah

In 5-stars, Book Review

June 25, 2014

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Series: A Modern Fairytale*

Release Date: June 15th, 2014

Synopsis:

Burned by an unreliable source, Savannah Carmichael, returns to her hometown of Danvers, Virginia with her once-promising journalism career in ruins. Given the opportunity to get her skin back in the game by writing a patriotic human interest piece, Savannah turns her attention to the town hermit, Asher Lee, a wounded veteran who returned to Danvers eight years ago, and hasn’t been seen since.

After an IED explosion in Afghanistan took Asher’s hand and disfigured half of his face, he’s lived a quiet life on the outskirts of Danvers where the locals respect his privacy … that is, until Savannah Carmichael comes calling in a borrowed sundress and a plate of homemade brownies. When Asher agrees to be interviewed by Savannah, he starts feeling things for the beautiful reporter that he hasn’t felt in years.

Misfits in small-town Danvers, Savannah and Asher create a bond right away, touching each other’s hearts in ways neither though possible. When a terrible mistake threatens to drive them apart, they’ll have to decide if the love they found in one another’s arms is strong enough to fight for their hard-won happily ever after.

Ending

 HEA

Representation

• A main character who is partially blind and had part of one arm amputated due to serving in the US Military

Possible Triggers

• PTSD
• Death of family
• Grief
• Sexual assault
• Violence
• Gaslighting

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 5/5 stars

*Each novel in the series is Standalone

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Defy (Defy, #1) by Sara B. Larson

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

June 23, 2014

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Series: Defy

Release Date: January 7th, 2014

Synopsis:

A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue and a thrilling love triangle.

Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king’s army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince’s guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can’t prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she’s sworn to protect?

Ending

  Cliffhanger

Representation

• POC main and side characters

Possible Triggers

• Allusion to rape
• Death of family
• Grief
• PTSD
• Violence (Blood, gore and use of fire)

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No OW
• Does have OM
– The Heroine’s best friend is in love with her
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does not have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4.75/5 stars

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Waking Up in Vegas by Stevie Kisner

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

June 18, 2014

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Series: Standalone

Release Date: May 23rd, 2014

Synopsis:

What’s your name, Beautiful?
Never mind. It doesn’t matter, and I won’t remember it, anyway.

I’m Tack Morgan, and I’m Las Vegas Magazine’s Sexiest Man. I’m the host of the most listened-to morning drive-time show on Vegas’s FM dial.
I’m also in therapy for sexual harassment.
My therapist is the one making me write this. The doc says it’ll help me put things into perspective.

To be clear, I don’t have sexual harassment issues. I have sexual frustration issues.
And it’s totally not my fault.
That responsibility rests squarely with the person I’m being accused of harassing. I see her each and every weekday morning at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m.

Funny. I used to think that was the best time of the whole day. I lived for starting my mornings so early, not seeing my bed until many, many hours later.
Unless it was for recreation.

At the risk of sounding cocky, I recreated a lot.
Sex is my sport of choice. Or at least it was, until Jen waltzed through the station door and announced she was my new morning-show co-host.
I swear, she’s developed some sort of pheromone-canceling ESP that follows me around everywhere and cockblocks me at every turn. I haven’t gotten laid in… too long.

Honestly, I haven’t been keeping track.
Actually, yes, I have.
It’s been two months.

Coincidentally, that’s exactly how long Jensen MacKenzie has been my co-host.
I don’t think my balls can get any bluer.

Ending

 HEA

Representation

No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia

Possible Triggers

• Makes light of sexual harassment
• No OTT sad parts

Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions

• No cheating
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have OW
– The Hero’s POV is the only POV, so before he meets the Heroine he’s with OW (no details though)
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does not have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4.75/5 stars

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