Words of Wisdom....from The Scarf Princess: suspense

Showing posts with label suspense. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Book Release Blast for Forced Proximity by Lani Lynn Vale (REVIEW)……

It's an action-packed, emotionally-draining rollercoaster ride for two people put through the wringer of life in this MC-fueled romance where opposites attract. Keep reading to get a tempting glimpse of Forced Proximity by Lani Lynn Vale, along with my impressions of it, then add this seventh installment in the Content Advisory series to your bookshelf too!

Finnian “Apollo” Reins met Dru Noel Rossi at his lowest.

She was a bright ray of sunshine in his darkest, cloudiest night.

He had no clue that he needed her. He was just struggling to keep his head above water, going from day to day, waiting for it to be his time to go.

But then she catches his eye in the swankiest restaurant in Washington DC. She’s wearing all black and sticks out like a sore thumb among the elitists’ otherwise dressiest affairs. She may have been severely underdressed, but that didn’t stop Finnian from following her every move and becoming obsessed.

So of course, when she leaves, he follows her. And wouldn’t you know it, she goes right back to his hometown.

But that’s not the first coincidence between the otherwise complete opposites. It’s just a long line of chance encounters that force them together, time and time again, and show them what they’re missing.

She’s the sweetest thing he’s ever met, and understandably, is hesitant to get anywhere near a Truth Teller like him.

The Truth Tellers MC got their hard, terrifying reputations for a reason.

But Finnian wears her down with his charm, while showing her what it’s like to be with someone that won’t hesitate to take out the entire world as long as it makes her smile.

He has to have her in his life, and he’ll do just about anything to make that happen. A little light stalking, financial blackmail and forced proximity never hurt anybody.

FIND AT GOODREADS here.

BUY AT BOOKBUB here.

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

My, oh my, this was one exhilarating read! From start to finish, Ms. Vale kept me on the edge of my seat through unexpected twists and turns, and a steamy romance that kept gaining in intensity. Like the main couple, I felt battered and bruised emotionally, after seeing everything this couple went through both separately and together. It was a battle to reach the end of this book, leaving me with red eyes and a drippy nose, but it was an immensely satisfying read that brought two broken people together in a hard-fought HEA.

Seeing Apollo throughout the previous books in this series gave just a hint of what pain he was going through. Here readers got to experience it firsthand though and it broke my heart into even smaller pieces. Despite all he's gone through he's a hero with a heart of gold, willing to do anything and everything for Dru. Dru too was someone suffering through life, a likable heroine that I wish had been a bit more fleshed-out. These two apparent opposites were perfectly paired though as they helped each other heal in a very rocky road to HEA.

My rating for this is an A-

*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

HE'S A MEAN ONE (#8 - Releases December 9th)

AUTHOR INFO:

Lani Lynn Vale is an American author of humorous romantic suspense novels. Born in the Great State of Texas, she has lived the majority of her adult life in East Texas where most of her novels are based. She’s married to her high school sweetheart whom her readers refer to as “LLV’s Bearded Half.” She published her first novel, Boomtown, in the summer of 2013 after the birth of her third child. She’s gone on to publish over 100 novels, with most of them going on to become USA Today Bestsellers.

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Book Release Blast for Mistaken Identity by Lani Lynn Vale (REVIEW)…..

Readers will find themselves drawn to this gritty and emotionally intense tale of second chances and a romance that evolves in the most unexpected way. Keep reading to get a tempting taste of Mistaken Identity by Lani Lynn Vale, along with my impressions of it, then add this fifth installment in the Content Advisory series to your bookshelf!

From the moment Creole Williams met Audric Ingram, they were inseparable.

But not the way one would think.

They shared a best friend.

What they did not do, however, was like each other.

You could say that it was a war to win the best friend title.

The only problem was, their best friend would never choose a clear winner. So they spent their teenage years fighting it out. What Audric didn’t know, though, was that Creole was desperately in love with him.

The same went for Audric. He wanted Creole more than his next breath.

But it was never the right time.

Then life happened, and it kicked them both in the teeth.

One second they’re acting, and the next the anger is real, and neither one of them can stand to be near the other.

For years, they fight it out, one-upping each other to the point where neither one of them can be in the same room with each other without things going to hell.

Then one day their best friend dies, and they have to figure out a way to live without her.

There’s no fighting anymore, at least verbally. Physically, however? They let their bodies duke it out the fun way.

But in the end, neither one of them wins.

FIND AT GOODREADS here.

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

Ms. Vale has done it again! She's taken readers on another emotionally intense journey that puts them, as well as her characters, through the wringer. In a story of childhood friends whose relationship turns to jealousy and ultimately to tragedy, things turn unexpectedly steamy as those left behind redefine what they've always meant to each other. Set amongst the backdrop of the Truth Tellers MC there's also suspense along with characters laying the groundwork for future installments.

Creole Williams and Audric Ingram are compelling characters, ones that you're drawn to and can picture interacting with in real life. Creole had a difficult past full of trials and tribulations, one that could've turned her bitter, but she's a bright light with a big heart. She's an empathetic woman with a strong backbone who finds a family of her own within the Truth Tellers MC while making the most of her second chance with Audric. Audric's history with Creole has taken a lot of turns, and it's not always shown him in the best light, but the man he is now definitely shows him worthy of her and protective of her through everything. Despite his tough exterior there's a softer side to Audric on display, especially with his daughter that made his connection to Creole even more believable and richer. Theirs is a romance of pure perfection, one built on a rocky road full of pain and heartbreak, that had me glued to the pages from start to finish.

By the turn of the final page I was left emotionally drained but immensely satisfied by this romance of second chances. It's raw and gritty at times, sometimes with triggering events and particularly in depicting this couple's past, but it made their HEA all the more rewarding. On a whole there's a perfect balance of steam and suspense that held me captive and unable to put this book down. The other members of the Truth Tellers MC further enriched this story through the unwavering support they gave to Audric and Creole in their role of being a found family. I look forward to where things go from here for the Truth Tellers, and for a series that continues to pull at your heartstrings, as Ms. Vale keeps publishing one winner after another.

My rating for this is an A-

*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

DISCOVER THE NEXT INSTALLMENT IN THE CONTENT ADVISORY SERIES:

UGLY DUCKLING (Book #6 - Releasing October 7th)

AUTHOR INFO:

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Book Release Blitz for Someone Knows by Vi Keeland….

With temps starting to sizzle, today brings even more heat as you get a glimpse of this suspenseful tale of the past coming back to haunt a young woman's future. Keep reading to get a tempting taste of Someone Knows by Vi Keeland, then add this edge of your seat story to your bookshelf.

As a college English professor, Elizabeth looks forward to the start of each new semester teaching her creative writing seminar. At least until she reads chapter one of The Reckoning, a tale about a high school senior who has an affair with her teacher. To anyone else it would be the beginning of a great page-turner, but to Elizabeth it is the beginning of the end.
She knows this story. It’s all familiar because she lived it. The girl in the story was her best friend Jocelyn, and Elizabeth knows exactly how the story will end—with the teacher dead. Because she was the one who killed him.
Someone knows what Elizabeth did twenty years ago and her secret is about to be exposed, but who is the mystery student submitting the chapters? In an effort to find out, Elizabeth returns to her Louisiana hometown where it soon becomes clear that no matter how many years have gone by, she can’t escape her past.

FIND AT GOODREADS here.

FIND AT BOOKBUB here.

AUTHOR INFO:

Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles are currently translated in twenty-seven languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in the US, Germany, Brazil, Bulgaria, Israel, and Hungary. Three of her short stories have been turned into films by Passionflix, and two of her books are currently optioned for movies. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Book Blitz for Grumpy Sunshine by Lani Lynn Vale (REVIEW)….

Lani Lynn Vale is back with another combustible tale of opposites attracting in the gritty MC world. With characters from the past, along with newly introduced ones, this is a tantalizing tale that had me hanging on for dear life. Keep reading to get a tempting taste of Grumpy Sunshine by Lani Lynn Vale, along with my impressions of it, then add this first installment in the Content Advisory series to your bookshelf too!

The first day that she walked onto the surgical floor that Chevy Clayborne spent most of his time on, he knew that he’d do anything to make her his.

For two years, he played the long game.
He slowly insinuated himself into her life, and the moment that she needed him, he swooped in like the knight in shining armor that he only pretended to be but most assuredly wasn’t.
He’s no real knight.
In fact, he’s the villain in everyone’s story but his own.
He lives life the way he wants to live it, and damn anyone and anything that gets in his way.
He may appear like an upstanding anesthesiologist at work, but the moment he gets out of those scrubs and into his jeans, biker boots, and leather cut with the Truth Tellers emblem at his back, he morphs into his alter ego.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ain’t got nothin’ on him.
He’s been putting on a front for two years, and just when he has Aella Cowan right where he wants her, he closes down every possible avenue of escape.
He thinks he has a future fight on his hand, but Aella proves that she’s not quite as sheltered as Chevy thinks. She’s perfectly happy being the old lady of one of the scariest members of the Truth Tellers Motorcycle Club and couldn’t care less if he spends his nights doing questionable things to despicable people.
As long as she has breakfast with him every morning, what does she care how he spent his night?

FIND AT GOODREADS here.

FIND AT BOOKBUB here.

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

Chevy Clayborne's appearance in the previous book might've been brief, but in this book he's larger than life, leaving an indelible mark as a decadently delightful anti-hero. A sexy anesthesiologist by day and an avenging MC angel by night! Oh, my! What a delicious combination of a modern-day Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! The dichotomy of his personality is beautifully and emotionally depicted by Ms. Vale, making him a compelling character whose actions add even more exhilarating substance to this series-starting thrill-ride.

Aella Cowan has been attracted to Chevy for two years. It's been a time of push and pull and feelings of not being good enough for him. Little does she know that he's been watching and waiting for her, and once they get-together things turn combustible. Aella's an immensely likable heroine, along with her sister Silver, one who's had a rocky and painful past courtesy of a toxic mother and danger creeping ever closer. She's got a tough exterior, but is vulnerable at times too, and it had me rooting for her every step of the way.

Like her previous series, Ms. Vale has woven together an exhilarating tapestry of suspense and steam. Readers are put through the emotional wringer on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. There's unexpected twists and turns along with actions that put a smile on your face while bringing a tear to your eye. All in all, Ms. Vale has once again given readers exactly what they want in a perfectly paced, immensely satisfying, series starter that has me greatly anticipating the next story in this series!

My rating for this is an A.

*I got this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

DISCOVER THE NEXT INSTALLMENT IN THE CONTENT ADVISORY SERIES:

LOOK AT HER AND DIE (Book #2 - Releasing June 10th)

AUTHOR INFO:

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Book Release Blitz for Always Salty by Lani Lynn Vale (REVIEW)….

It's the end of the steamy road for the Semyonov Bratva series, with the release of this fourth installment. When an unconventional hero finds the woman meant for him he'll go to any lengths to keep her safe...and then just keep her. Keep reading to get a tempting taste of Always Salty by Lani Lynn Vale, along with my impressions of it, then add it to your bookshelf!

Was it considered stalking if the woman you were stalking liked the idea of being stalked?

It started out like any other job.

My brother, the head of the Russian Mafia, wanted me to delete an opponent. Like the good brother I was, I decided to give him what he wanted.

In doing so, I ended up finding a woman that made my cold, dead heart start to beat again.

One day while doing some reconnaissance on my target, I happen to overhear Keely telling her friend one of her darkest fantasies, and I decide that I’d be the one fulfilling that particular craving for her.

I tell myself that it’s only once. I’d give in to that darkness inside of me once, and I’ll leave her alone from then on.

Except, once turns into twice. And twice turns into way too many to count.

Just when I plan to cut all ties so she doesn’t start to develop feelings for a killer, I find out that Keely doesn’t have just one stalker. She has two. And the one that wasn’t me wanted her dead, and I couldn’t allow that to happen.

Not to her.

Not to the woman that not only chased my demons away, but also didn’t care that I had them in the first place.

FIND AT GOODREADS here.

FIND AT BOOKBUB here.

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

Dima Semyonov is one heckuva unforgettable hero, or rather anti-hero as he's done some questionable things in the name of family. He's a man secure with who he is, a bit broken and unhinged, but who loves with all his heart. He's a bit crazy, but utterly swoon-worthy with his words and deeds...when directed at Keeley. The moment he sees her he's all in, letting her in on who and what he is, imperfections and all. Thus begins an epic and steamy story of opposites attracting, a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Along with an unforgettable hero, readers are introduced to Keeley. She's the kind of heroine you admire, the kind of heroine who's been bruised and battered by life, along with a few men along the way. She's got a good heart, is caring, and devoted to her brothers. She's starting over now too after an especially dark period for her, so Dima comes around just when she needs him most.

This story pulls you in from the very start. Watching these two perfectly imperfect people find themselves bound together makes for a steamy and swoon-worthy romance. There's plenty of bumps, steam, and suspense along the way. There's also pulse-pounding action, wtf moments, and a twist ending that's going to leave me in knots until Ms. Vale's next release. Along with a truly delightful main couple comes an equally enjoyable cast of secondary characters, some seen before and some new, all of which makes the story stronger and is another hallmark of Ms. Vale's writing. Readers looking for unique heroes and rollercoaster storylines only need look at Ms. Vale's bookshelf to find exactly what they're looking for.

My rating for this is an A-

*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

DISCOVER THE OTHER BOOKS IN THE SEMYONOV BRATVA SERIES:

STAY TOXIC (#1)

HEY, DADDY (#2)

WALKING RED FLAG (#3)

AUTHOR INFO: