Book Review: Trust Me?

For a short time, you can purchase both Trust Me? and Love Me? for 99 cents each!

You know it's going to be one of those days when you get rear-ended on your way to work.  In the real world, whoever hit you is probably some high-horsed lady who was texting on her phone but still gets up in your face and demands that you were somehow to blame for the mess.  But for Jeni, the person who hits her car is someone just a little more apologetic...and good looking.  And yes, he's rich, too.

Trust Me? is a story about a couple's journey to be a stable part of one another's lives.  But it's not a novel for teens filled with a high school romance of hand-holding.  Young-uns, you should wait a few years before reading.  Or if you go ahead and read anyway, just make sure that you don't tell your mom that I am the one that brought this book to your attention!

One thing that really irritates me about most recent romance/erotic novels is that both the guy and the girl are made out of money.  Sure, it's a great fantasy, but really it just pisses me off.  Isn't it enough for the young, handsome man of everyone's dreams being loaded?  "I didn't have to work a day in my life if I really didn't want to, but I just love my job so much."  I'll tell you where you can stick it, lead female character!

That's why I find it refreshing that Jeni works in an auto repair job.  Sure, her friends own it, it's a stable job and she doesn't mind what she does.  But it's realistic.  And I need that with at least one character in a book.

Instead of going for shock value in the passages fit for only 18 and over, the romance illustrated is more a story of a couple falling head over heels for one another, longing to spend every moment with the other.  It reminded me a bit of when my relationship was new with my husband and how I would wait anxiously for him to drive down and visit me at school, just for a chance to snuggle up against him and turn my brain off.

I'm glad that I was able to discover KE Osborne's books before the end of the year.  I've got the sequel, Love Me? ready to read next!

I'm going to warn you - the end of the book had me pretty mad.  If you haven't read it, you're lucky that the second book is already available for you to dive right into after finishing this one.  You aren't going to want to leave it at the end of this one.  It's basically cruel!

Trust Me? on Amazon

Love Me? on Amazon

About the Author:

K E Osborn is the Adelaide based Author of the Trust me? Trilogy, a romance series with love, laughter and plenty of lust!

K E Osborn was born in September 1984 and raised in Adelaide South Australia. She had a love of writing throughout High School but went down a different path to Design instead. It wasn't until she had a vivid dream about a three car pileup that the characters of her first book came to life.

Aiden and Jeni are the amazing couple from the Trust me? Trilogy and they were born into the world through the imagination of K E Osborn in 2012.

Daven Says

This is only a bit of the exchange that I happened to catch this morning:

"I'm going to put Darth to bed so that Santa can come and bring him toys. "

"I need to cover him up. Here, Darth. I will lay with you so you have your daddy here. "

1.) Isn't Daven just the sweetest?

2.) Doesn't Vader look super creepy in my kid's bed?

Daven Says: A Christmas Story

We are all three sitting in the living room as a Family, watching A Christmas Story. Adam is dozing on one couch and Daven and I are on the other. We get to the point in the movie where Ralphie just got his secret decoder ring and has shut himself in the bathroom to decode the secret message from Little Orphan Annie. 

As Ralphie finally finishes and realizes that this was all a marketing ploy for Ovaltine. He exclaims, "Son of a bitch!"  Daven laughs. And then he gets really close to my face and says, 

"Hey, that's what daddy says!"

Busted. Merry Christmas. Let's all watch our potty mouths around the young'uns ;)

Daven Says

"You have a pretend baby Jesus in your belly. "

What?

Daven Says

I had just started up Justin Timberlake's new album in the kitchen before starting dishes. I was standing at the sink when Daven came in. He looked at my iPad, listened for a moment, and started dancing. 

And then he said, 

"Hey!  That's my jam!" And he continued to dance. 

What can I say?  The kid has good taste in music. 

Book Review: It Happened Under the Mistletoe

I don't really have a filter when it comes to free ebooks. If there's a chance to win one, I'm in. The author of this novella was giving away 5 copies, and I put my bid right in. I don't usually have holiday-specific reads, so when I heard the title, I was in. 

After I received my copy, I opened it up on my ereader. And then closed the app again. Here's why:

Ay, oh boy. That's a rather steamy-looking cover. I just couldn't even try. The picture of the couple on the cover made me seriously eye-roll. So I put it on the back burner for about the past month. 

Since Christmas is now less than a week away, I figured I should probably give this book an honest shot. Don't judge a book by its cover, right?  So while Daven and I were snuggled in bed together last night, he watched Sponge Bob and I dove into It Happened Under the Mistletoe. 

Set in the time of dukes and dutchesses, Christmastide and dowries, this romance is truly old-school. A holiday house party aims to create matches for single socialites. But the most eligible man of all wishes that he could have found his true love before he gained his title as Duke, as he has no interest in the hoards of greedy girls. 

I ended up really enjoying this book, despite my snuff at it in the beginning. Sure, it's a rather predictable romance plot, but we need those in our lives every once in a while. I read this in less than two hours, so it's a quick, fun read if you're wanting a bit of an escape into a different time period where, unlike Game of Thrones, everything ends happy and no one dies!  

Book Review: Nearly Departed

You may hate your job, but do you have to clean up the mess that the dead leave behind?

Vicky is not a maid.  While she owns a cleaning business with her brother, the messes that she is contracted to clean up are a bit...bloody.

Keeping Spring Cleaning up and running years after her brother was declared missing in Afghanistan, Vicky has to handle all of the dirty work herself.  Crime clean up is her life, and on top of it all, she can see ghosts.  They tend to bug her at each job she goes to, wanting her to help them in some way.  And when she is contracted to clean a murder-suicide of three college students, their ghosts tell her that this is not how it happened.

If you happen to keep up with my book reviews, you have seen my thoughts on the the Hitwoman Series.  (Spoiler - I love them!)   J.B. Lynn writes wonderful fiction, and I practically begged her for a copy of this book to read and review! 

I can't wait for the next book in this series to come out.  I hope she's working on it now!  I breezed through this book, finding the plot engaging, suspenseful, and yet still hilarious in places.  And who would have thought that among the bloody carpets and ghosts with half a face that romance could start?

Do yourself a favor and buy this as an early Christmas present to yourself!

Daven Says - Turkey Edition

When the boys get together, rough play inevitably happens. Daven was running around with Cameron and Elliott, and Daddy joined in.  Adam had just captured Daven and put him in jail while Daven shouted, "Let me go, you moron!"

I shouldn't have laughed. I did. More than once. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday afternoon, I was lying on the couch at my parents' house, half asleep.  I had been put under earlier that morning to have a procedure done, and was still rather drowsy.  Daven frequently came into the room, hugged me, and kissed my forehead.  Often times he would continue to do this until I opened my eyes and hugged him back.  Then he would go back to the other room, where he was going back and forth between playing with Papaw and Nana.  It was such a sweet gesture for him to make.  He told me that he was taking care of me.

So today, when I was having to restrain him in order to wipe poop from his butt while he was kicking and screaming, I had to remember that special moment from yesterday.  Poop your pants; get mad at mommy!  Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, and may all of the poop go into the potty! 

Book Review: Campbell

I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It's such a thrill when authors want you to read their work.

Campbell is set in a present-day, dystopian world. It's 2013, but the only people who are around are the ones that were too young to be killed off by a mass-spread virus ten years before. The narrative switches between the present day and ten years prior, when the entire world changed. 

The children, who many are now grown, have somehow managed to keep major transportations, such as planes and boats, operational. But what didn't they have?  Internet. Interesting.  Broken up into territories like a compass, tensions are high, as the game for the throne escalates.

 Whoops! Wrong time, wrong kingdom.

I did have questions that were never answered, like how are these children flying planes?  Who's keeping the electricity going?  How did they learn to communicate and trade with other countries?  Like other dystopian-based books, I bet that more will be explained in future books to the series.   And I want to read it all. Now. 

The main players in this story are Tal, Leah and Connor from the West (California) and Lucy, Zoey, and Cole from Campbell (Canada).  LA hotshots and a farm family don't appear to have a lot in common, but when two of them are forced to spend some quality together, those assumptions are reevaluated. 

The further into the book I read, the more invested in the characters I became and the more intense the plot was. I craved a neat and tidy, happy ending. And while it wasn't quite a "George R.R. Martin, everyone you love is dead" ending, I wasn't thrilled with how the author left it. 

It's a love/hate relationship that I have with books that have at least one sequel. You've got to wait ages to continue on with the story!  There was an except at the end from he next book, but I didn't want to read it, since I couldn't have the whole book. ::pouty face::

I'll definitely be reading the subsequent books to Cambell.  If you'd like to read this one yourself, it's only $3.99, on both  Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Wake up the Magic

Every morning when it's time to open The Disney Store, a little boy or girl gets to help. Usually, whoever happens to be around at that time gets selected. But since Nana knew that she was going to be opening the store, she asked if we wanted to come over and have Daven help. 

The first step is to get your hands warmed up so that the magic can flow through them. 

Send the magic out!

Oops!  That didn't work. Maybe if we dress like Sorceror Mickey, that will help. 

Warm the hands up again. 

Don't forget to say the magic words!  "Let the magic begin!"

It worked!  The store's magic woke up and everyone was able to come into the store. 

We extended the magic by seeing Santa while we were at the mall. He told him about all the toys at the Disney store he wanted, as well as doing his Darth Vader impersonation. 

Book Launch Blog Tour: Ascension

Hey there, readers!  Haaaaaaaaave you met Stacey?

If you frequent my book reviews, I've talked about most of her books in the past calendar year.  Once I discovered her, I quickly read everything of hers that I could get my hands on.  And while The Gryphon Series is aimed at young adult readers, I have gotten sucked into the story every time, despite the fact that I am no longer a young adult myself.

 (Seriously.  I just started a new part time job this week and one of the girls that works directly under me called me old.  Does this mean I can start wearing muumuus?)

I am a part of Stacey's street team, and I do my best to promote her whenever I can.  She is an amazingly kind woman.  Well, how nice IS she?  She is so sweet and catering to her fans, that after we learned that our respective family vacations would be at The Happiest Place on Earth on the same day, she agreed to meet me.  For a few brief moments last month, my 3-year old son quoted Star Wars quotes to Stacey and her girls while they smiled and laughed, indulging in his imagination.  There, at the front of Magic Kingdom, with Main Street in front of us and the Electric Light Parade about to start, I met one of my favorite authors.

See, I told you that she's basically the best.

But you want to know about the new book.  Right.

 I was geeking out so much while reading this book that I was constantly facebook-messaging Stacey  throughout.  "Oh my word, that part was SO funny!" and "WHAT?!  I can't believe that this person enters the story!"  She was very patient at indulging me in my fan-girl silliness.

Celeste Garrette, how have you gotten yourself into such a mess again?  And Grams - how are you still so funny?  This book gave me all the feels and I'm still trying to cope with them.

This being the fourth book in the Gryphon series, I'm already pretty emotionally invested in Keni, Gabe, Celeste, and the whole gang. And of course, Mr. Pirate, Rowan and lad Irishman, Caleb. (So many feels). I knew going into Ascension that there would be obstacles that the family must face.

If you've read the proceeding books, you know that The Countess is practically stalking Celeste and is rather obsessed with knocking our conduit down.   Basically, this is her agenda:

The Garretts never really get much of a break, having the responsibility to save everyone from total destruction.  Celeste has some crucial tough choices to make, ones that I don't think I could make myself.   I couldn't read fast enough, trying to guess how everything was going to play out.

And then it was over.  And I don't know what to do with myself.

 

I wish, more than anything, that at least one of my friends would read this series so that I can get all book club-like and discuss it.  Maybe I should gift the books to someone for Christmas and pester them until they read them all.  

Buy it now on Amazon

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Book Review: The Seven Steps to Closure

This was one of the many free books that I downloaded to my sister-in-law's kindle.  Sadly, many of them sit there, unread, for a long time.  But something drew me to this book, and I am happy that I decided to read it.

Tara turns 30 and learns that her husband is leaving her all at once.  A year later, the news is filled with images of her ex running for political office, and getting engaged...to her cousin.  She is in a constant fog, unable to move on.

Thankfully, Tara has a close-knit group of girl friends who are there to help her through her compulsion to purchase baked goods and be forever miserable.  An article in a magazine about achieving the seven steps to closure from a relationship turns into something that her friends insist that Tara try.

I really enjoyed this book.  I almost felt like I was reading Marian Keyes.  But she's Irish and Donna is Australian, so the book settings are different.  I feel like the main book theme is similar, though.  Females finding their place in the world and the man of their dreams, all at the same time.

If you like a good chick lit, give this book a read.  It's not free anymore, but you can purchase an ebook on Amazon currently for $3.99.  If you need a nook book, though, you're out of luck.  B&N only has the paperback edition of the book for sale.

Buy it on Amazon

Trust Me, I'm Going to Read This!

Love Me releases today!

Trust Me is available today, November 18 through the 25th for only 99 cents

Trust Me?

The Trust Me? Trilogy

Book 1

KE Osborn

  

Amazon    Smashwords

This book is for mature audiences 18+ It contains explicit language and sexual content.

Book Description:

Jenifer Taylor is content with her life, dull and boring as it is. Being absent from the dating scene means she doesn’t have to deal with the major trust issues she has with men that stem from a controlling and aggressive ex-boyfriend and an absentee father.  She’s happy being alone, sharing her life with her friends and family.

When Jeni starts a typical day in the big city of Mornington Vale, California, it turns from bad to worse when she’s involved in a chain collision on her way to work.

Her world changes forever that day because she meets Aiden O’Connell, the billionaire son of Alistair O’Connell, who owns Mornington Vale’s largest financial corporation. Aiden is an up-and-coming young businessman who's ready to take on the vice presidency of his father’s company. He is the good son, and it’s imperative to Alistair that Aiden succeed and follow in his footsteps. Life for Aiden involves working hard and not much else.

After the accident, however, Aiden’s world changes as well. He finds Jeni irresistible and instantly pursues her. With some coaxing, she eventually agrees to a date, and the attraction is mutual.

Jeni finds love quickly with Aiden, but trusting him is another issue.  When to trust is tested in many different ways but comes to a head when Aiden is investigated for a serious crime.  As her trust issues spark, she is forced to go through a journey of self-discovery.

She must decide once and for all whether she trusts the man she loves when she’s asked the ultimate question: “Do you trust me?”

My Two Cents:

I haven't read any of this trilogy yet, but I'm in the works with getting on the tour to help promote them.  I have really learned to appreciate indie authors this year, and I want to read as much as I possibly can.  I am looking forward to being able to read these books and review them for you.

Want to read them before I do?  Catch the sale in combination with the new release!  If you do, let me know what you think!  And if any of my readers are under the age of 18, you might want to think about waiting on these. 

Daven, why?!

In the past, I've written short posts titled, "Daven Says", to try to capture the moments when he says something outlandish, clever or silly.  And I'll still continue to write about these moments when I remember to!

Unfortunately, the new trend in the house is defiance and just plain preschooler grump. I'm sure that our runny noses and constant coughing from the ever-changing weather have played a part in escalating the grumpies, but Daven has just been a little turd this week. 

I posted the other day about how he tried to dump his oatmeal in the bathroom sink while I was in the shower. Yesterday, he got mad at ME because Adam left the house to run an errand and because Daddy didn't give him "one more hug", Daven bit me on the arm. What the heck, kid?  The number of timeouts are just exhausting. 

Today, between hacking up allergy junk in my throat and trying not to take pain pills for the pain in my side, I'm trying to clean house. Adam's band is coming over to practice, a couple people from a music magazine up north are coming to the house to interview them, and late tonight we will have overnight guests.

So what does Daven do?

He held up his plate that had his cinnamon toast on it and blew all the extra cinnamon sugar all over the couch, the floor, and himself. Why, Daven?

It's such a small thing that means nothing within the larger picture. I just wish I knew why he decided that he needed to do this. Don't worry though, Panic Manor. I'll make sure that he vacuums the couch before one of you crashes on it tonight. 

Book Review: Murder of an Oil Heiress

Available for purchase starting November 12

My experience with most mystery books has been that the big, bad, "Who done it?" moment happens at the very beginning.  It may have even happened before the story starts, with the opening scene in the book being a detective walking into a crime scene that is going to take the rest of the book to put the pieces together.  Or, if not, the reader briefly meets a character enough to like them, and then BAM!  Murdered.

Neither is the case for this book, although I found that to be refreshing in a way.  I kept reading and waiting for someone to die and then when they finally did, I was all, "Thank you!  Finally!"  Well, in my head I was, anyway.  Now, the title does give some clues as to who is going to be taking a dirt nap, but you've still got to guess a bit.

And who did it?  I'd like to parallel Breaking Bad for this because just like in that show, no one is completely innocent.  If you haven't watched that show, then you should log in to your Netflix account immediately, watch all 5 seasons, read this book, and come talk to me.  Every character has something to hide, it seems.

I enjoyed reading this book, and was glad for the opportunity to read and review it.

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About the Author

Candy Ann Little grew up in a small town in Ohio. She now resides in Michigan with her husband, two adult kids and 4 cats. She began writing in the aftermath of tragedy – her third child was stillborn. The nurse suggested keeping a journal to cope with the grief. Although she thought it a dumb idea at the time, she soon found a freedom and healing that only writing brought.

Eventually that pain and sorrow turned into her first Inspirational romance, Unforgiving Ghosts. Since then she has finished 2 more inspirational romances. Her historical romance The Unwilling Bride was published in 2011. She has also tried writing in the genre of mystery, including a novella, Death By Broken Heart, and her first full length novel, Murder of an Oil Heiress. Candy Ann finds it therapeutic putting her thoughts into the words and action of her characters. She also finds that discipline is the biggest lesson learned in her writing life.

When she isn’t busy writing, you can find her subbing in the public schools, or helping with church activities. Her favorite things to do are reading, cooking, baking and doing crafts.