Romantic Suspense – Page 3 – Talk Nerdy Book Blog

June 30, 2014

D

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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A Girl By Any Other Name by MK Schiller

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

March 14, 2014

A

Series: Standalone

Release Date: January 17th, 2014

Synopsis:

Everyone tells him he needs to move on, but how can a man function without his heart?

Ten-year-old Caleb Tanner wants nothing to do with Sylvie Cranston, the annoying weird girl who moves next door to him and gets him in trouble for swearing. But at twelve, they become friends when he teaches her how to hook a fishing line and she shows him the value of a selfless act. At fourteen, he falls in love with her.

At sixteen, she dies.

Or so he’s told. But Cal never believes it. Sylvie has become part of his soul. He knows her like the study beating of his own heart. He’d know if she was dead. Cal looks for her, prays for her and finally, he just waits for her.

Nine years later, she walks into the community college English class Cal is teaching. Only this girl claims her name is Sophie Becker and she doesn’t know him. Cal knows better. He’s determined to get the girl he loves back – and protect her from the danger that took her away all those years ago.

Ending

 HEA

Representation

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

Possible Triggers

 • Hero’s father died when he was a child
• Heroine’s mother was murdered and has a turbulent relationship with her father
• Hero still dealing grieving with the death of his best friend (who died when she was 17).
• Hero suffered gunshot wounds when his BFF died
• Hero is also convinced his BFF is alive

Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions

• No cheating
• Does have OW drama (Hero has a friends-with-benefits situation going on)
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine (Neither are celibate, but of course, Hero has a lot of ex-lovers, while the Heroine has only one.)
• Does have the Heroine pushing away
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Rating: 4/5 stars

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Nothing Left to Lose (Guarded Hearts, #1–2) by Kristy Moseley

By Sarah

In 4-stars, Book Review

March 3, 2014

N

Series: Guarded Hearts*

Release Date: November 5th, 2013

Synopsis:

Nothing Left Lose is a sexy New Adult romance dealing with love, lust, loss and grief. First uploaded on Wattpad, it surpassed 25 million reads before publication.

Due to heavy subject matter and sexual content, this book is recommended for ages 17 +

Annabelle Spencer’s life is every girl’s dream. She has wonderful parents, great friends, and of course the perfect boyfriend, Jack Roberts. That all changes on her sixteenth birthday when her life comes crashing down around her. Her dream night turns into a nightmare when Jack is murdered right in front of her, and she’s kidnapped by his murderer, Carter Thomas, a big time drug and arms dealer.

After five months of being with Carter, she’s found, but the experience has totally changed her. She’s no longer the happy-go-lucky girl that everyone used to know and love; she’s now cold, hard and suffers from night terrors. It appears that Carter broke not only her body, but her spirit too. A shadow of her former self, her slogan for life now: “If you don’t care about anything, then you have nothing to lose”.

Carter is currently serving time for the murder of Jack, a conviction that Anna helped secure. But his retrial is coming up because some key evidence appears to have been tampered with. Unbeknown to Anna, death threats are being received by her father, the Senator. it appears that Carter is still interested in Anna and will stop at nothing to get her back.

Ashton Taylor is brought in to protect her. He’s a newly qualified SWAT agent, a bright spark, the agency’s new golden boy. He is assigned undercover, posing as her boyfriend. His job is to help her through college and keep her safe until the end of the trial in eight months’ time.

For three years Anna has been the broken, damaged girl, refusing to feel emotion or pain, but can Ashton help her rebuild her life and finally deal with the grief of losing her childhood sweetheart? Will he be the one to make her see that life is, in fact, worth living and that not all men will hurt her?

All the while, the shadow of the trial looms over the both of them, taunting them, reminding them that it isn’t over yet. After all, Carter Thomas will stop at nothing to be reunited with his “Princess”.

Ending

 HEA

Representation

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

Possible Triggers

• The Heroine witnesses her boyfriend being brutally murdered (on page and memories)
• The Heroine was kidnapped, held hostage and repeatedly raped by her boyfriend’s murderer (flashbacks and memories)
• Heroine suffers severe PTSD from her kidnapping
• Heroine was impregnated by her rapist and suffered a miscarriage when he beat her (memory)
• Heroine is severely depressed (on page) and has attempted suicide twice (off page)
• Heroine was repeatedly threatened with a gun (memories and on page)

Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions

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

Rating: 4.25/5 stars

*Books one and two are companion novels, whereas the following books in the series are Standalone

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