Bind Blog Tour: Review & "Hey Bestie! The Secret to Creating Heroines You Want as a Best Friend" by Sierra Cartwright

Bind by Sierra Cartwright

Published: 5th May 2016 (paperback)

Publisher: Totally Bond

Pages: 320

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Blurb

Only one man can help her. Is she willing to pay his price?
Faced with the potentially overwhelming loss of her family's fortune, Lara Bertrand turns to the one man who can help her, the gorgeous and powerful Connor Donovan.
She knows he's dangerous to her on every level. Only desperation would drive her to make such a risky proposition. After all, she knows all about his ruthless nature and relentless determination to succeed.
When the classy, elegant Lara walks into his office with an outrageous proposal, Connor is stunned and more than a little intrigued. Ever since he first met her, he's been attracted to the cool beauty, but she's more than kept her distance.
Connor is absolutely willing to help her out. For a price. He not only wants her hand in marriage, but also her total submissive surrender...

Review
Bind by Sierra Cartwright is the first novel in her new trilogy The Donovan Dynasty. This first book focuses on Conner Donovan, the CEO of Donavan Worldwide and his relationship with Lara Bertrand CFO of Bertrand Holdings Inc.

Lara is a woman who knows exactly what she wants and usually how to get it. In order to save her family business from financial ruin as her father’s business practices become more and more lack lustre Lara knows she needs a like-minded soul on the board of directors. Enter Conner Donovan, someone who has already shown an interest in parts of the business and Lara decides the man to help save her business.

As Lara makes her proposal to Conner, that they be married, in name only so he can join the board and help her out vote her father’s decisions she doesn’t expect the answer she gets. Yes he’ll marry her but in return Lara must surrender herself to him completely and in doing so she will experience things she’s never even dreamed of. Will Lara put her heart on the line and surrender to Conner to save the business or will she find another way?

As someone who doesn’t tend to read too many BDSM novels I wasn’t sure what to expect with Bind. I like my novels to have a believable plotline and relatable characters and not just sex scenes, something I’ve found lacking in other novels of this genre. In Bind I think Sierra Cartwright has balanced these two factors perfectly. I found the plotline convincing, the characters relatable and the chemistry between them sizzling which made for some scorching sex scenes.

I loved the dynamic between Conner and Lara, they’re both very intelligent, work well as a team and as a couple they are hot, hot, hot! I loved how connected they seemed to be. Conner had wanted a completely submissive partner in the bedroom but in the boardroom he seemed just as happy to let Lara take the lead.

I also loved their relationships with other people which I felt were very genuine. My favourite relationship was between Lara and Erin, Conner’s sister. These two savvy business women have known each other a long time and bounce business ideas off each other as well as relationship advice, so it was good when Erin didn’t instantly side with her brother when Lara mentions quarrels the two have and I just loved her phrase “chicks before dicks”.

I really enjoyed reading Bind, it had everything I wanted in an erotic fiction novel and has left me eager to continue on with this trilogy and find out what brothers Cade and Nathan have in store for us. I’d give Bind five out of five.

Thank you to the publishers for sending me a copy to review and for asking me to be part of the blog tour.

And now over to Sierra

Thanks for hosting me on your blog. I love your clean, inviting layout. 

Hey, Bestie! The Secret to Creating Heroines You Want as Your Best Friend

by Sierra Cartwright

There has never been a time in my life that I didn’t write. I penned my first book when I was nine, and my mum was my first editor. She corrected “babby” to baby and “haven” to heaven. I don’t know if my spelling improved, but from there, I moved onto longer works and handwrote a Star Trek fanfic at age thirteen. I also drank my first-ever pot of coffee on the night I stayed up until three a.m. to finish the first draft. Both are habits I’ve yet to break.

I wrote nine full-length novels before I eventually sold a book to Harlequin/Silhouette. Back then, there was massive competition for each slot, something like a thousand or two thousand
submissions for each that was accepted.

 The good thing about the years of rejection was the fact I honed my craft. I went to seminar after seminar, including one from Robert McKee and another from Donald Mass. I entered competitions, participated in critique groups that actually used red Sharpies to mark-up manuscripts, attended monthly writers’ meetings. I devoured all the books on writing that I could get my hands on. And I studied characterization.

Perhaps the most important lesson I learned was from my agent at the time, Irene Goodman. She was talking to me about heroines, and she said, “Think about the friend you’d like to have.The sassy one. The one who says outrageous things. The one who isn’t afraid to say the F- word.” (Irene, however, used the real word. It was unexpected and shocking.)

I came away from that conversation feeling as if I’d been gifted with The Secret about how to create my heroines, and I changed my approach. Rather than just looking at pictures for my character board, I began to consider the traits I want in my bestie.

I want her to be courageous, in a way I wished I was, confident, in a way I aspire to. And she needs to be flawed. No one wants to be friends with someone who is absolutely perfect—how boring and intimidating. We want to hang-out with someone who is real, who makes us laugh, who we can share our secrets with. We want them to eat ice cream with us when we go through a breakup, sneak a latte into the hospital ward after surgery, or drink a little too much on girls’ night out. I endeavor to create heroines who are admirable as well as fun, interesting and have a huge heart. And by seeing her interact with her friends, we see what type of person she is. So, it’s a good bet that my heroines will all have some they can call, “Bestie.”

 On the surface, Lara Bertrand, the heroine of Bind, my latest mass-market release, has it all. She’s the daughter of a successful businessman, educated, intelligent, beautiful.

But she’s hiding a secret. Her family’s business is teetering on failure. And no matter what she suggests, her father won’t listen to her. Connor Donovan, the devastatingly handsome CEO of Donovan Worldwide, has made a play for part of her family’s business, and the businesswoman in her thinks they should agree.

Lara takes drastic measures. She approaches Connor and proposes. To her, the arrangement is logical. He’ll get a seat on the board, meaning he’ll be able to bypass her father and takeover certain divisions. The problem is, this means she will be betraying her beloved father.

Lara is speechless when Connor says he’ll help her, but only if it’s a real marriage. And he will expect her to be his sexual submissive.

Of course, it’s a post-Fifty Shades of Grey world, so Lara has an idea of what that might mean.But she has no idea what it means to her, especially when he obliterates all her expectations and gives her shattering orgasms. She’d assumed it meant one thing, and it turns out that his oh-so sexy attention feeds a hunger she hadn’t known existed.

She changes, evolves, becomes a different person because of her experiences with Connor. One thing doesn’t change, though. I would still like to go out for dinner and a glass of wine with Lara and her friend, Erin.

Oh, hey. Would you like to join us? I’m buying the first round.

The Last Days of Summer by Vanessa Ronan

The Last Days of Summer by Vanessa Ronan

Published: 5th May 2016

Publisher: Penguin Ireland

Pages: 373

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

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Blurb

She can forgive. They can't forget.

After ten years in the Huntsville State Penitentiary, Jasper Curtis returns home to live with his sister and her two daughters. Lizzie does not know who she's letting into her home: the brother she grew up loving or the monster he became.

Teenage Katie distrusts this strange man in their home but eleven-year-old Joanne is just intrigued by her new uncle.

Jasper says he's all done with trouble, but in a forgotten prairie town that knows no forgiveness, it does not take long for trouble to arrive at their door.

Review

The Last Days of Summer tells the tale of Jasper Curtis as he returns home to the prairie outback of western Texas after spending ten years in the Huntsville State Penitentiary. His sister Lizzie has agreed he can come home to live with her and her two daughters Katie and Joanne, but she is unsure who will walk through the door the brother she once loved or the monster he became. The rest of the town are unsettled by his return and it’s not long before Jasper has found himself in the middle of trouble once more.

I found the writing in The Last Days of Summer to be very descriptive and Vanessa Ronan has done an excellent job of building the scene for us and giving us an understanding of each of the characters. I did feel this added to the suspense and feeling of unease throughout the book as we are drip fed littles snippets of Jasper’s life before prison but are not initially told what he did. While reading this book I felt the certain uneasiness that something really bad was going to happen and this is conveyed beautifully in the writing style. I did feel that all the action happened a little too late in the book. It’s not until three quarters of the way through that we find what Jasper did and the consequences of his return to town. By this time I was a little bored with the story and didn’t enjoy as much as if it had perhaps been a little shorter or a little less character driven.

I did find this quite a hard book to follow as it’s told from four different perspectives. Jasper, his sister Lizzie’s and each of her daughters Katie and Joanne have their own voice. The majority of the story is told in one main chapter “July” with no distinctive separation when the author changes voices, so you didn’t instantly know which character you’re focusing on and at times this was confusing.

I didn’t like the two older main characters. I found Jasper someone who just gave me the creeps, Lizzie might believe he’s changed but it’s obvious from his thoughts and actions that he hasn’t and it’s only a matter of time before he evil thoughts lead him to cause trouble again. I felt Lizzie was too weak. I could understand that living out on the prairie alone with her husband gone she wants some adult company and someone to help carry the burden. I felt she should have not allowed Jasper back and thought more about protecting her daughters from danger but also from town gossip and hurtful rumours instead of hoping her childhood brother and friend had returned. The only character I liked was little Joanne, she seemed so sweet, innocent and far too trusting to just accept her Uncle Jasper as her friend. The scene with the play fort in the living room was one of my favourite in the book.

The Last Days of Summer is a novel which perfectly captures the uneasiness of being around a simmering pot of evil and waiting for it to boil over. It’s a novel about family, forgiveness and about revenge.  It’s a book which falls in the middle for me, some parts I enjoyed but overall it didn’t wow me.  I enjoyed the writing style and would be interested to see what Vanessa Ronan writes next.  I’d like to rate three out of five.

I would like to thank the publishers for this review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Monthly Wrap Up April 2016

As you can tell from the lack of posts in April I have found reviewing very hard this month. I just don't seem to be able to do justice to the books I've read. Which has left me with about ten reviews which are all half written, I really need to find some mojo and finish so I can share my thoughts.

Anyway here's what I've managed to read this month:

        

I'm glad to say this month I haven't been sent too my physical books by publishers as I really want to try and clear some off my tbr pile. Here's what I've received:

      

Again this month Netgalley has been my downfall, I just love that site and wish so much I could read faster! Here's what I've been lucky enough to add to my kindle:

    
   

This month I would probably have finished more books except I've been dipping in and out of a number of different books, here's what I'm currently reading:

      

Quite a selection don't you think but I'm finding some are best read at night and some are not as they're a little creepy.

So finally my book of the month for April has to be

I adored this book but I'm really struggling with writing the review as I just can't seem to do it justice. All I can say is go and buy this wonderful book  and lose yourself in the village of Talting and Rose's world and I'll try finish my review this month!

An Autumn Affair by Alice Ross

An Autumn Affair by Alice Ross

Published: 21st April 2016

Publisher: Carina UK

Pages: 384

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Blurb

Autumn is coming. Anything could happen…
Julia is contemplating an affair with ex-boyfriend Max after a chance meeting in the cereal aisle of the supermarket…and finding that he’s just as gorgeous as ever.
Miranda has got it all: expensive clothes, a huge house and her enormously wealthy husband, Doug. So why does she feel as if something is missing?
Faye is fed up of being treated like a child – she’s a teenager, and knows what she wants! She’s determined to escape her sleepy life at Primrose Cottage…
Three women, each with two options, needing to make one choice. When it comes to affairs of the heart, nothing is ever simple!
A perfect, feel-good read about love, life and family.

Review

An Autumn Affair is the first book in Alice Ross’s new countryside dreams series.  It follows the lives of three women, each one is facing difficult decisions as they come to realise they are not happy with their lives.

First we meet Julia, a woman who has been married to Paul for almost twenty years after finding out she was pregnant just after college. She believes she’s happy until a chance meeting in the cereal aisle of the local supermarket reminds her she’s never really gotten over her first love Max. So does Julia stay and play happy families with Paul and the twins or does she set out to follow her heart?

Next we meet Miranda, she’s married to wealthy business man Doug and has one daughter Josie. On the outside Miranda has the perfect life, she doesn’t have to work, she has the big house and she can go buy anything she wants. But with Doug away most of the time and nothing to occupy her Miranda makes one tiny mistake which could have massive consequences.

Finally we meet seventeen year old Faye, Julia’s daughter. She’s struggling with living in the shadow of her wonderful twin brother Leo and she’s just longing to grow up. When she decides to “be a grown up” and do what she wants it lands her in big trouble and she realises she’s maybe not ready to face a world away from her mum.

At first I wasn’t sure how this story would come together as one, Julia and Miranda’s stories initially felt very separate and I was waiting to see what would pull them together. When they did come together, the reason why was quite a shock, but I felt it worked really well. Although these two had very different background stories I felt they were very similar as all they both really wanted was to be appreciated and feel like they belonged.

I struggled with liking Faye, she seemed a typical whingey teenager who’s jealous of everybody else and wants what she can’t have. I’m glad that she learnt that being an adult isn’t as “fun” as it’s made out to be and began to appreciate her mum a lot more.

I really enjoyed reading An Autumn Affair, it was an easy and fairly quick read for me with plenty of humour and some heartfelt moments. It’s a story about acknowledging that everybody has a right to be happy and that we should all follow our dreams and be happy for ourselves and not just for other people.

I’m really looking forward to reading the second book in this series A Summer of Secrets which is out soon.

Thank you to Carina UK and Netgalley for this copy to review, I would like to rate An Autumn Affair by Alice Ross 4 out 5 stars.

When I Lost You by Kelly Rimmer

When I Lost You by Kelly Rimmer

Published: 21st April 2016

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 333

Available on Kindle

Order from Amazon now

Blurb

Do you ever wish you had the chance to meet someone again for the first time?

When Leo and Molly met and married, they believed they were invincible. Together they could take on the world. But Leo, a war correspondent, lives for life on the edge, and when he takes a step into the unknown, tragedy strikes and he loses his memory. Molly rushes to help him fill in the gaps and soon they start falling in love all over again.

The trouble is, Molly is hiding something. Something big. The devoted wife at Leo’s bedside is a sham; Leo and Molly’s marriage was on the rocks long before Leo’s accident.

The closer Molly gets to her husband the more scared she becomes that he will remember. As Leo’s memory begins to trickle back will Molly lose the man she loves for a second time?
An emotional, heartbreaking read that will restore your faith in the power of love.

Review

When I Lost You is the latest novel by Kelly Rimmer, it’s the first I’ve read which is very bad as I’m sure I have both of her previous novels on my kindle.

 When I Lost You tells the tale of Molly and Leo, two people who fell very deeply in love very quickly and are now dealing with a marriage on the verge of breaking up. Except now it’s not that simple, Leo has been in a car accident and has been left paralysed and has no recollection of the last four years. So Molly, his wife, the love of his life and the complete stranger next to him begins to tell Leo about their life together. As Leo begins to piece his past together we slowly start to see how close they once were and how they marriage slowly begin to fall apart. But given a second chance can Molly and Leo restart their marriage and find their happy ever after.

From the very start of this novel I was totally engrossed and committed to finding out the story of Molly and Leo and what had gone so badly wrong. From completely opposite sides of town it seemed unlikely that these two would get along. Molly’s a Torrington, one of the richest families in Sydney and has grown up never wanting for anything. Leo’s from Redfern, one of the poorest districts of Sydney and has had to work hard to get everything in his life. Their only connection Molly’s dead brother Declan  who was Leo’s best friend at university and as the two come together to grieve for the man they’ve lost they begin to fall for each other.

I loved how this story was written with alternating chapters between Molly and Leo. In the first part Molly’s story is told from present day in 2015 just after Leo’s accident and Leo’s story is told from the past in 2011 when the two first met years after Declan’s death. In part two the perspective is switched and we hear the present day from Leo’s point of view and the past from Molly’s. This allowed me as a reader to experience their relationship from both sides and be fully absorbed by their relationship and all its raw emotions.

This novel really highlights that to make a relationship work there needs to be communication and compromise from both sides, otherwise assumptions are made and things can go wrong. So can Molly and Leo manage to figure this out and make their marriage work?

I loved When I Lost You, it was full of deep raw emotion and had me hooked until the end. It’s a must read if you love want something which covers some of the more realistic aspects of a relationship and not all the sparkle and shine.

I’m rating When I Lost You five out of five, it was a brilliant real full of intense emotion and I can’t wait to read more books by Kelly Rimmer,

Thank you so much to Bookouture and Netgalley for this review copy.

Truth or Date by Portia MacIntosh

Truth or Date by Portia MacIntosh

Published: 11th April 2016

Publisher: Carina UK

Pages: 243

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Blurb

Falling for the man of her dreams… Ruby Wood is perfectly happy playing the dating game – until she has a red-hot dream about her very attractive flatmate, Nick. He might spend every day saving lives as a junior doctor, but he’s absolutely the last man on earth that fun-loving Ruby would ever date!
The solution? Focus on all of Nick’s bad points. And if that fails, up her dating antics and find herself a man! So what if she manages to make disapproving, goody two-shoes Nick jealous in the process…
Only, after a series of nightmare first dates, there’s still just one man on Ruby’s mind. Maybe it’s time to admit the truth and dare to ask Nick to be her next date?

Review
Truth or Date by Portia MacIntosh is a book which just screams fun to me, I adored the cover and after reading the blurb knew I had to read this book and it did not disappoint it was full to the brim with funny scenarios but also had some lovely heartfelt moments.

Ruby Wood has been perfectly happy dating a different man every week, content to keep looking for her ideal man rather than settle down and focus on a relationship. Until she begins to have rather erotic dreams about her flatmate Nick. Nick who is the total opposite to Ruby, he’s tidy, gets up early and is very focused on his career as a junior doctor. Nick who Ruby can’t stand as he mocks her fun lifestyle. Nick who is happy with long term girlfriend Heather. After confiding in best friend Millsy Ruby knows the only way to get Nick out of her head is to increase her dating antics, but when this just leads to a series of disasters should Ruby just admit the truth and ask Nick for a date?

Ruby was a character that I instantly warmed to. She may be untidy, late, a little dramatic and only really interested in a having a goodtime but she does seem loyal to those she does care about. Having a male best friend has made her harder and less willing to admit that what she really wants is someone to care about her and something to give her some direction in life. This really comes across when she begins to realise she has feelings for Nick and also begins to admire his work ethic rather than scoffing at it as she previously had.  I loved that she was confident in her own body, she is not worried what anyone thinks of her and carries off her curves and pink tinged hair brilliantly.

I loved all the comical moments in this book as Ruby attempts to win Nick’s heart, poor Ruby she seems destined for disaster. Some of my favourite moments were, stalking weird Ian, going clubbing dressed in drag and the selfie in the stars wars bedroom. Its book which will definitely make you laugh and I think it would make an excellent film.

I loved reading Truth or Date and will definitely be reading more books from Portia. Truth or Date is a light hearted read which is flirty and fun and a guaranteed pick me up, I think everyone should read this.

I give Truth or Date a rating of five out of five and would like to thank Carina UK and Netgalley for my review copy.

The Second Chance Shoe Shop by Marcie Steele

The Second Chance Shoe Sop by Marcie Steele

Published: 8th March 2016

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages:232

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Blurb

All Riley Flynn wants is to meet someone who makes her happy. But attracting the right kind of man is not easy, and with her heart still hurting from her last break-up, Riley believes she’ll never find love again.

A year ago, Sadie Stewart’s whole world was shattered when her husband, Ross, died. She has struggled to keep herself together for the sake of their young daughter, but with the anniversary of his death approaching, Sadie finds herself overwhelmed by grief.

Sadie and Riley work at Chandlers shoe shop, in the charming town of Hedworth. But when Chandlers is threatened with closure, the friends are confronted with the loss of not only their jobs, but also their support network - the glue that holds them together when they are close to breaking.

As they put together a plan to save their beloved shop, Sadie realises that she might just be learning to live again. Could it be that new beginnings are just round the corner? The campaign also finds Riley unexpectedly crossing paths with charming photographer, Ethan. Maybe her second chance at love is right under her feet …

Review

The Second Chance Shoe Sop is the third book by Mel Sherratt writing as Marcie Steele and I think it’s her best yet. She’s developed a lovely writing style which is easy to immerse yourself in with characters which you genuinely begin to care about.

Riley has been the manager of Chandler’s shoe shop for the past eight years and she loves her job.  She loves working with friends Sadie and Dan and loves finding exactly the right shoe for people, more recently she has been longing to bring the shop more up to date and stock more fashionable and affordable shoes instead of the expensive sensible shoes Chandler’s is known for. Despite giving owner Suzanne many news ideas for stock and marketing Riley is unable to convince her boss to change and sales remain stagnant.

When Suzanne pits Riley against her two work colleagues in a competition to drum up sales Riley knows it’s time to take things into her own hands before the shop is gone forever.  So Riley sets out to use her social media knowledge to drum up some slightly unconventional publicity for the shop, but will it be enough to save Chandlers?

Riley is a character who I instantly adored. She’s so loyal to the shop and to her friends that she will do anything to help them, even if this sometimes lands her in trouble. She’s wary of starting a new relationship after she had her heartbroken by horrible Nigel, but can’t seem to resist the charms of news photographer Ethan. Is he the one to mend Riley’s broken heart?

Sadie and Dan were also great characters, each dealing with their own heartbreak. Together with Riley they make an excellent team and this stands out throughout the book as they are tested by Suzanne. The other characters Ash, Cooper and Ester all add to this group of friends and provide comfort and support for each other throughout the book.

I loved that Marcie has once again based her novel in the fictional town of Hedwoth where her previous novel That’s What Friends Are For was set, this time focusing on the high street rather than the indoor market.  A couple of characters from that book pop up here and it was good to check back in with them. I’m hoping we may see Hedworth again in another novel…please.

Despite this being a novel about shoes don’t fear you will love it, I’m a girl who lives in either slippers or wellies and this book has made me want to go out and buy a new pair of shoes, so read it and bring on the shoe love!

This is a novel about friendship, love, loss and loyalty, about knowing who to trust, and knowing that when things are bad they will always work out in the end. I really enjoyed The Second Chance Shoe Shop and am hoping Marcie writes another one soon as she’s becoming one of my favourite writers.

Thank you so much to Bookouture and Netgalley for the review copy, I’d like to rate The second Chance Shoe Shop five out of five, I loved It!