Illness – Z. Elizabeth

Real (#1) – Katy Evans

Posted on April 23, 2013April 22, 2013 by Z. Elizabeth

Synopsis

A fallen boxer.
A woman with a broken dream.
A competition…

He even makes me forget my name. One night was all it took, and I forgot everything and anything except the sexy fighter in the ring who sets my mind ablaze and my body on fire with wanting…

Remington Tate is the strongest, most confusing man I’ve ever met in my life.

He’s the star of the dangerous underground fighting circuit, and I’m drawn to him as I’ve never been drawn to anything in my life. I forget who I am, what I want, with just one look from him. When he’s near, I need to remind myself that I am strong–but he is stronger. And now it’s my job to keep his body working like a perfect machine, his taut muscles primed and ready to break the bones of his next opponents . . .

But the one he’s most threatening to, now, is me.

I want him. I want him without fear. Without reservations.

If only I knew for sure what it is that he wants from me?

5 / 5 stars

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My Review

Brooke Dumas is dragged to an underground fighting match by her best friend Melanie one night and the eye of Melanie’s crush is aimed at one fighter in particular – Remington Tate.

Remington, or Remy, is the desire of females across the country. But during this fight and one of Melanie’s many screaming fits to Remy, he flicks his eyes over to the place where he heard Mel shout and catches Brooke’s eye. In that moment, he’s hooked.

Following Brooke after one fight, he has a proposition for her. Join him and his team on the last three months of the competition as his sports rehab specialist. Her attraction to Remy is at an all time high and after mulling over it, she accepts. Now shes touring with this sexy beast of a man and no matter how much she wants him, does he want her that way she needs and wants him?

Brooke is going crazy over the music and the little smiles and interactions she and Remy are sharing and it comes to a point where she needs him before she explodes but Remy is much more reserved, wanting to take things slow until she truly knows who he is and then she will always be his.

When everything is spilled about Remy, Brooke still wants him, still cares about him and will do whatever to keep him. But what happens when a fight goes wrong and Remy is put in danger? Her heart is breaking to tipping point and she doesn’t know what to do anymore. This man, this man who she loves with everything is breaking her and maybe now is the time to walk away?

Will Remy let her walk away or will he fight to keep her his?

I had seen the buzz on Twitter about Real and how everyone was raving about this book and about Remy. So I shifted my butt over to Amazon, clicked the 1-Click button and boom-ya. I’ve mentioned how scared I get to read angsty books but reading snippets of Real just made me decided to man up and open the file up. BY JESUS how glad I am that I read this book. I was sucked in, captivated by every sentence and every page. I felt every emotion from Brooke, especially the first half where I was desperately needing Remy to just have sex with Brooke, but I will come to that later on in my review. I laughed, I was frustrated, I cried, I grinned and I cheered and shouted throughout the book. Make me feel all sort of emotions in your book and make me feel all over the place and it’s an instant love for you and your book – and that is definitely what I feel about Real and Katy Evans.

Real is pure, its raw, it’s dangerous but it’s powerful and you will become hooked with it.

As mentioned, Brooke meets Remy at one of his fights. He catches her eye at the end of one of his fights and when Brooke decides she needs the bathroom; Remy suddenly runs after her and confronts her, demanding to know her name. This is the beginning for both of them.

A few days later, Remy and his team propose to Brooke that she come on the last few months of the competition as Remy’s rehab specialist. This means spending a lot of time with Remy, touching him when all she wants to do his jump his bones. She agrees.

During the months, she becomes closer to Remy, develops deep feelings for him but she wonders if he feels the same way? She thinks he does with the music he chooses for her to listen to, but she doesn’t fully know until one night at a club they all attend. Although Remy wants Brooke, he won’t have sex with her until she knows the real him, all of him and if she still wants to be with him, then she has to be HIS because he doesn’t just want a one-night stand with her, shes stiring emotions in him that he didn’t think he would ever feel.

When she sees and finds out the real Remy, it doesn’t make her leave. She loves Remy and will help him through his illness. As much as she is his, he is definitely hers. But when Brooke does something behind Remy’s back – to try and help her sister out – Remy’s mind is anywhere but on the fight with the snake that is Scorpion and what happens after that causes Brooke to leave. Her heart is broken.

Yet Remy and Brooke are soul mates, they have find the missing piece to their puzzle. Will Remy fight for the love of his life?

I firstly have to say how much I loved that music was an important part of Real – a way that Remy and Brooke could show each other their feelings for one another through the music and lyrics. Each song choice from both of them played a huge part in sharing their feelings without voicing them and music, to me, is a great way to express what you are feelings. Whether happy, sad, angry, there is music for every emotion and Remy and Brooke certainly knew the right songs to play to each other. Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls is one of my favourite songs and every time it was mentioned I would put it on and read that part with it playing. Music really does make a scene more powerful.

Remy is a quiet guy. His life hasn’t been the greatest and music is his release and his way of showing his feelings. No one gets to see this caring, loving side to him apart from Brooke, who brings it out in him. To everyone else, he is primal, animalistic (is this even a word? it is now), protective, a man that women want to sleep with and a man that men want to be (and perhaps sleep with), but despite this side of him, his fighting side, he has a vulnerable side, a caring and a warmth to him. He wants Brooke more than he’s ever wanted anyone and it scares him that he’s feeling these unknown feelings but that is why he is trying to make her see the REAL him, this side that no one apart from his team know about, because he’s scared she only wants him because he is Riptide. He wants her to see him and know all of him, Remy, not Riptide.

He is the typical Alpha-male but despite what is wrong with him; you can obviously see his protection towards Brooke. See how much he loves her through his attentiveness and his music and how much he needs her. He will do whatever to make sure she is protected, wanted, needed, cared for and make sure she is his. You do see his other side, and while it is scary, having Brooke there calms him down, makes him less’ speedy’ and you can tell she has a positive effect on him that no one in his team have even seen. Brooke truly is the girl for Remy.

I also loved that he always looked for her before a fight and smiled a secret smile for her, a smile that heightened their connection and told her that this was for her, this win was all for her.

I am totally on the Remy bandwagon, you so should you!!

Now Brooke. She is a tough cookie, but also fragile at the beginning. We find out that her dreams of being an Olympian were shattered when she not only tore her ACL one, but twice (and the fall is on Yotube) and so now she is a specialist at a sports rehab centre. If she can’t be an Olympian, she will help out teenagers recover and follow their own dreams. This, in my eyes, makes her admirable.

From the moment she laid eyes on Remy at the fight, something inside her sets alight. She’s never had this feeling before, never been so attracted to someone that they make her feel all these emotions. When she goes on tour with him, she realises that Remy isn’t a big communicator and so their commutation is through lyrics and music, picking the perfect songs to express their feelings. But I did love her spunk. She seems a bit shy, but with Remy and her overpowering feelings towards him shes frustrated that he won’t touch her or have sex with her – yes, it is enough to blow up – and that’s exactly what she does. She fronts him and shouts at him asking him what is wrong with her.

Her confidence in what she wants and loves is brilliant to read and she really is a great heroine.

The more time they spend together, whether it’s prepping his body after his coaching or fights or just listening to music, the higher the sexual tension builds for her (and him). I felt every emotion that Brooke was during this period. I felt the longing, the nervousness of touching him, of wanting him or picking the perfect song for him. I went on a journey with her, wanting him, wanting to protect him, caring for him and falling in love with him. Although she’s got broken dreams, she knows that this is where she is meant to be, with Remy.

You see Brooke love fiercely. Not just love for Remy, but love for her best friend Melanie and her sister Nora. She will fight and protect and do whatever for her friends. Her protection and love pours off the kindle and she truly is a strong character. You’d expect Remy to be protective, but just wait until you see Brooke’s protectiveness coming out. Holy hell!

Got to be said, Remy and Brooke got me so hot under the collar and frustrated for the first half of the book before they had sex. As much as Remy wanted Brooke, he wanted her to know all of him and want to want him, not Riptide and find out about him before giving himself to her and giving her what she so desperately wanted. I have to say I really admired that about Remy. Normally the guy would jump straight in but he wanted her to be sure that she would be his when they finally had sex and that she knew what she was getting into with him before he took anything further even though it was killing him to hold back from her.

Also when they did finally have sex, it got my all frustrated once again and stupid me, I read the first sex scene before bed. Yeah I really needed to be hosed down after that. Katy Evans certainly knows how to keep you on your toes with Remy and Brooke being sexually charged for one another. It literally pours of the kindle and into your body. Steamy is such an understatement that I cant even think of a word to describe how I felt reading the two of them together. If anyone can think of a word, please let me know!

Slight spoiler now!

I have to say, picking a favourite scene is pretty hard but there was one part that completely made my heart swell and that is when Remy is ‘speedy’ and he and the team are in the car and he is resting on Brooke, who is running her fingers through his hair and keeping him relaxed. His team have never seen this happen ever, and it just made me feel so many emotions that Brooke had this effect over Remy, to make him act this way for the first time during his ‘episode’. It truly was amazing to read this part and the part after.

Katy did an awesome job with Real. She portrayed the characters brilliantly, wrote them in a way where you see their journey, from start to finish, see them fall in love, see their vulnerable and protective sides and just see them find that piece that has been missing. They found each other and despite their tribulations, they just know that this is the end game for them both. They found that person who they completely fell hard for and who they need next to them.

I will recommend Real a thousand times over. It’s one book that will stick with you for days after (hence why I needed to be in the frame mind to write this review) and Remy will definitely take a piece of your heart along with him. Don’t skip this book; make it a book you read RIGHT NOW!

Whilst writing this review, a song on my Ipod came on. I’m not sure if you are aware of Emeli Sande and Labrinth (If you are American) but they sing a song called “Beneath Your Beautiful” and this song just made me tear up and think about Remy and Brooke’s relationship and their journey. Take a listen to it below. (So lyrics not fit, but the majority – to me – do)

New Adult, Romance

ARC: Levitiating las Vegas – Jennifer Echols

Posted on April 12, 2013August 16, 2013 by Z. Elizabeth

Synopsis

Nothing up her sleeves…or so she’s been led to believe.

Showgirl Holly Starr is sick and tired of assisting her dad, a celebrity magician, in his Las Vegas casino magic show. As soon as he keeps his promise to her and shares the secrets to his tricks, she can break out on her own. But can she really make it? For years Holly has taken medication to stave off crazy hallucinations that she can levitate objects. Just when she thinks she’s ready to make a career and a life for herself, her medicine—and her luck—run out.

Elijah Brown suffers from a similar delusion—that he can read minds—and he’s out of medicine too. Determined to save himself and his old flame Holly, he kidnaps her and takes her straight to the source, a town high in the Rockies where their medicine is made. What they discover there leads them to suspect their powers are not imaginary after all…and neither is the intense attraction they feel for each other.

They make a pact to stick together as they return to Vegas to confront the people who kept them in the dark so long. But soon they’re pitting their powers against each other in a dangerous world where the nightlife is seductive, domination is addictive, the sex is beyond belief…and falling in love is murder.

2/5 stars
Release date: 7th May 2013
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My Review

*Thanks to Edelweiss and the publishers for approving me for a EArc copy of Levitating Las Vegas in return for an honest opinion*

What if you had been lied to for seven years? Told you had a mental illness, forced to take tablets everyday and told never to tell anyone? That is exactly what Molly and Elijah were told to do at just 14 years old.

At 21, Holly Starr is fed up of assisting her dad, a celebrity magician at his casino show. She wants to break free and be the stay of her own show, if only he would spill his tricks to her. For years she had taken medication to keep the crazy hallucinations away that she can levitate objects but what happens when she thinks shes ready to make a life and career for herself? And what happens when shes taken off her medication and finds out shes been lied to about her illness for seven years.

Elijah Brown is also on the same medication as Holly. Suffering from a similar delusion – he can read minds and when he runs out of medicine, he believes he’s going crazy. Finding out that his old flame Holly has MAD too, and shes about to run out of medicine, he believes the only way to save them both, is to kidnap her and take her to where they make the medicine. But on the way, what they find out and discover is that they may very well have powers that have been hidden from them for seven years…and that their feelings for one another had never gone away.

But having these powers leads them into dangerous territories and as they plan to stick together and confront everyone who kept them from their powers and each other for so long can only lead them into the hands of the people who want them; want to pit them against each other in a dangerous world where dominance, sex and falling in love can lead to disastrous consequences.

I was so excited when I got approved to read Levitating Las Vegas. Ever since I had read the synopsis, I added it to my TBR list and willed the days until it was released. When I found it on Edelwiess, I took a chance, requested it and got approved.

But, and this is a big but, because I LOVE Jennifer Echols books, I was disappointed in it. I loved the concept of two teenagers having powers, only to be told they didn’t and had to take this tablet every day and tell no one about their illness, until they are taken off it and realize everything they had been told was a lie and they did have powers.

I just felt that it dragged all the way up until the last 20% where my attention spiked because there was a ‘battle’ and secrets came out from some of the characters, where I was uhming and ahhing about them. I willed myself to want to like it, I wanted to, desperately and I powered through. But books normally take me 1-2 days to read, this took me nearly a week. (add in the fact I was ill too, but I still read a couple of pages) – I just suppose it wasn’t the book for me in the end.

I had a love/hate relationship with Holly and Elijah. You can pretty much tell they are the done deal for one another, even in their teens as the book begins seven years in the past when they are 14. But once their parents find out they are going on a date to their school prom, they stop them immediately and tell them to never see each other again. That is where everything starts for them and that is when they ‘discover’ their power, only to have their parents tell them they have MAD.

Fast forward seven years and they haven’t seen each other, even though they both work at the casino. As ive mentioned, Eljiah finds out Holly has MAD too and after running out of pills, he asks Holly for one. This starts the back and forth relationship these two didn’t have in high school, thus starting it now. To me, there wasn’t really any romance linked with these two, although to them, they are the real deal. They are just dangerous to one another as they could and most probably at some point manipulate each other with their powers, but they don’t want to. They want to just be normal, as they can be, together, but of course, it’s going to be hard, as Elijah can hear her thoughts and she can strangle, push him away, and move him etc with her mind.

The two of them really did have a turbulent relationship and the powers did not help that at all. One minute they were fine together, the next they were fighting and storming off (well, Holly was). They were all over the place and i suppose can you really blame them? They really liked each other in school but were forced to stay away, then they get together 7 years later, only for her parents to want her to stay away again, add in their powers and you do get a messed up relationship, where their love is powerful but their powers are dangerous. Its a lot to handle I’d expect for both of them, seeing as neither had been in a relationship, nor less, intimate with anyone else in that time span. But one thing that I do know about these two, was that they would go to hell and earth to save one another.

The Rez is mentioned throughout the book, but its not until the last 20% that you finally get to see exactly what it is. You do get brief outlines as to what goes on there and why you should never want to be a part of that ‘crowd’ as they use your powers against you and your loved one, as you get to see in the final parts of the book. It’s not a good or nice place to end up.

I did enjoy all the powers, that being said. The mind readers, the mind changers and the levitators. I liked how all the characters involved at something different and how they used them, even if some used it for the wrong reasons, Holly and Elijah wanted to use theirs for the good, not to be sucked in by the danger of the Rez, who will do anything to have they both and pit their powers against one another. They know they have to stand strong but what happens when one of them is taken?

Although I wasn’t a big fan of Elijah (Or Holly), the one thing is did do near the end proved just how much he loved Holly that he was willing to sacrifice something so big for her, so she would be let go and they couldn’t manipulate his mind-reading power and hers. Although it wasn’t her fault she was acting that way, she was being controlled, I really did feel for him doing what he did, just to save her.

So yeah, I’m going to say that what Elijah did was my favourite part of the book. Although I cant tell you what he did, as it will be a big spoiler, but if you want to find out, read the book when it comes out on May 7^th.

I’m giving it a 2. I winced as I wrote that. A two because the last 20% I liked and because the concept of the story was a good one, but it just needed more for me. I’m sure other people may very well love this book, but it took every inch to try and keep my attention, plus, I’m not sure if there is a second book, but there needs to be because there are a few things that were left unsaid and need to be rectified, such as WHAT was going to happen right at the end. It seemed to just be left hanging.

I DO love Jennifer Echols books, Just a Rush is one of my favourites, but Levitating Las Vegas, I’m sorry, but it’s not for me. I’m not saying this to put you off, because this is my opinion of the book, and as we all know, we all have very different tastes, so if you are looking forward to this book, don’t beat it down and never read it because of me, because you may very well love it.

Family, Music, New Adult, Romance, Terri Anne Browning

The Rocker That Holds Me – Terri Anne Browning

Posted on February 11, 2013July 5, 2013 by Z. Elizabeth

Synopsis

Touring with four rockers is the thing of dreams…

At least that is what people tell me. To me those four rockers are my family. They have watched over me from the time I was five years old. Protecting me from my mother and her drunken, drug addict rages. When they made it big they still watched over me. And when my monster of a mother died they took over as my guardians.

In the six years since that happened I have watched over the four men that
mean everything to me. I take care of them just as they once took care of me. I handle all the dirty work behind the scenes of a rockers life. It isn’t always pretty. At times it came be damn near disgusting, especially when I have to get rid of their one night stands. Ugh!

Taking care of them doesn’t bother me though. I mean it’s not like I’m in love with one of them. That would be crazy. Falling for a rocker is NOT smart.

Okay, so I’m not smart. I love my guys, and one of them kind of holds my heart in his big old rocker hand. But I’m dealing. I’ve been able to keep it my little secret for years now.
I’m not, however, dealing with this bug that I seem to have caught. It scares the hell out of me. I hate doctors, but I’m suddenly more worried about finding out what is wrong with me than what the doctor might do to me.

When I get my test results back my life will never be the same again…

***Because of language and adult situations not suitable for readers under 17***

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My Review

“Yes, I am in love. There is this Ember in my heart that has hold of me and won’t let go.”

Ember didn’t have the best childhood. Living on a trailer park, her mother was a drunk, a druggy and would beat up Emmie when she was in a rage – which was most of the time. But at 7, Emmie had the four best friends she could have that looked after her when her mother beat her. Albeit, the guys were 10 years older, but they were always there for her, protecting her and cleaning her up.

They knew if the police got involved then their Emmie would be taken away from them and they didn’t want that. They were the ones that needed to keep her safe and protect her, not the social services.

At 15, Emmie’s mum died and since the guys were now in a famous band, they took Emmie in, telling social services that she was theirs and that was that. She has been touring and living with them for the past six years, taking care of them, like they did for her when she was younger and handling their dirty work aka getting rid of their one night stands!

As much as she loves them, there’s one rocker who holds her heart the most, but she knows he doesn’t feel the same as her, so she just needs to deal with it, but when she starts feeling ill and ends up at the hospital, all is not what it seems and when the results are back, she is in for a huge shock.

Although The Rocker That Holds Me is only 99 pages long, there is depth in the story, the characters are developed – albeit you don’t really find out about their home life on the trailer park apart from Emmie’s so I am hoping there are more books – and the little family they create is utterly perfect. I loved reading about how much they mean to each other, after all those terrible years during their childhood. From the beginning, you may think this book is filled with heavy issues but you would be wrong and as the story went on it was lighter although there are angsty bits along the way.

I spotted this book on Amazon last night, and because it contained Rockstars – my favourite – I knew I had to grab a copy and read it straight away. I was not disappointed at all and the story develops despite only being 99 pages long. You feel like you know these characters and they take a bit of your heart along with Emmie’s.

Emmie, as I’ve said, hasn’t had the best childhood. Subjected to abuse, the guys were her saviour; her guardian angels. So when her mum dies and she goes to ‘live’ with them, so knows she owes them everything for what they have done for her all these years. Emmie seems to have become stronger in herself, although she still has nightmares sometimes; she knows that the guys are only a few feet away if she needs them. She can hold her own against them but she still gets scared that they are going to disown her when they find out the news of what is wrong with her. But she should know by now that no matter what is wrong, these guys love her and would never let her go.

I ADORED the band! You first meet them when they are 17(?)(I had to work out their ages, still not sure if it’s right) and are tending to Emmie’s cuts. From the beginning you can see how much Emmie means to them all; they need to protect her. When they become famous, they don’t forget Emmie and they send her money, buy her things and give her a phone so when she needs them, she only has to call, so when her mother dies, they automatically leave to come back home to her – shes more important to them than the band and they will do anything for her. They truly love her and that’s why they took her with them instead of letting the social services take her. Shes part of their family and they have all been through so much together. She is theirs, and they are hers.

I freaking loved Jesse and Nik. More so Jesse because he was always there for Emmie, through the tears, through the ‘illness’ and he would do whatever it took to make her happy and smile again. It was really sweet to see how much her crying affected him and he hated it, it tore him up inside. For such a metal band, they aren’t afraid to show their emotions. He really was a big brother to her.

Now Nik. Holy moly, he sounded so hot! I can see why Emmie fell for him. Much the same as Jesse, he was there for her and you could really see how much he cared for her, a little bit more than ‘sister love’. All the little things he was saying/doing, I couldn’t understand how Emmie wasn’t picking up his feelings, but then I suppose when you’ve loved someone so long, and you think they only think of you as a ‘little sister’ then seeing beyond that wouldn’t cross your mind.

I did feel that all this will-they-wont-they could have easily been sorted out with either of them telling the other how they feel. They kind of kept mucking each other up, especially Nik, trying to make Emmie jealous to see if she really did have feelings for him?! BOY why would you do that to a girl? It isn’t fair at all to do that when it’s obvious she loves you. But when he finally spilled his guts, oh man, I fell even more for you, you sweetheart. Ugh you know just the right things to say and I love you for that.

The epilogue was a great ending to the book. It summed up the love that Nik and Emmie had together, along with a little surprise. I would love to know more about their relationship, so when Jesse’s book is out, I do hope they get some part in it!

I CANNOT wait for Jesse’s book next! I’d love to find out more about this brilliant drummer and his past story too. I’d also like to know more about Drake and Shane, especially Drake, who seemed to like his alcohol a bit too much, which was his way to forget his childhood demons. I want to know about their childhood – as they are brothers – and if they both went through the same things and are using different coping mechanisms to forget the past or if something just happened to Drake? Hmmm. I hope they do get their books; I’d love to know their story!

So if you like Rockstars, romance, sex, friendships and twists and turns, then The Rockstar That Holds Me is definitely the book for you. It’s a short read but it holds so much in the plot. I’d definitely recommend it to all of you, because I absolutely loved it!