"Butterfly in Amber" Book Review

Book Title: Butterfly in Amber
Series: Spotless #4
Author: Camilla Monk
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!
Book Blurb:
He's waiting for you...

Under a blanket of snow, surrounded by dark woods and a frozen sea, lies an ogre's castle. There lives a little princess, trapped in the maze of her own mind.
On a battlefield where the past meets the present stand a fairy godmother and a pirate, an old ice cream man and a knight in shining clean armor... 
The clock is ticking fast, and to pierce the ogre's secrets and defeat him, Island Chaptal will have to fight to remember...and stay alive.

Can the Lions and the Roomba cats be stopped before it's too late?

***

What a perfect ending to an amazing series! The only disappointment I really had was that the series is over. 

The fourth and final book in the Spotless series finds Island (who is still a virgin btw) isolated in a winter castle. Island is recovering from her injuries that occurred at the end of "Crystal Whisperer" and the biggest issue is her persisting amnesia. While her "father," doctor, and caretaker, Stiles, try to help Island fill in the blanks in her memory, she has the unsettling feeling that not everything is alright. After months inside the castle, Island is starting to feel stifled and her rebellion leads to some pretty scary consequences. Luckily, before the dastardly plan can be carried out, some returning cast members, including my favorite hit man, come to the rescue! The rest of the novel follows Island, March, and Island's real father trying to fix Island's memory and take down the bad guys. 

As with the previous books in the series, "Butterfly in Amber" features lots of action, cool weaponry, hilarious dialogue, and characters with heart. Readers will experience the full range of emotions. There will be no shortage of laughs or tears in this book! While the ending of the book isn't 100% happy, it is satisfying and Ms. Monk doesn't leave any threads dangling. Not to mention, many fans are sure to be happy that Island FINALLY has sex.

While I'm sad that one of my favorite series is now at an end, I look forward to whatever project Ms. Monk works on next. I suppose I'll have to bide my time waiting for her next book by re-reading the Spotless series!

*Full disclosure: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What I'm Reading: January to March

I LOVE reading. I am a proud, self-proclaimed bookworm (hence the blog title), and I can spend an entire weekend doing nothing but reading and be completely happy. A big part of this blog is writing book reviews for books that I've enjoyed reading, but I read so much (more than one hundred books a year) that I don't have time to review every single book. So, I've decided to do a monthly post dedicated to the top books I've read each month but didn't have time to review.

For this post I'm sharing my top six (not-reviewed) books from January, February, and March! Here you go:

Title: Lost Girl
Series: Neverwood Chronicles #1
Author: Chanda Hahn
Stars: 5 out of 5
For fans of: YA, Fantasy, Peter Pan Retellings
Blurb:
Wendy doesn't remember anything about Neverland—or the experiments done on her there as a child. Seven years later, all she wants is a normal life, but shape-shifting shadows plague her dreams and turn her life into a waking nightmare. When the shadows attack at a football game and a boy disappears right in front of her, she realizes these wraith-like shadows are real. They’re not just haunting—they’re hunting.

A mysterious boy named Peter, his foul-mouthed sidekick, and a band of misfit boys intervene before Wendy faces a similar fate. But can they trust Wendy enough to take her to Neverwood Academy and reveal all of their hidden secrets when she's hiding a secret of her own, or will the dreaded Red Skulls find her and drag her back to Neverland?

Title: Born in Fire
Series: Fire and Ice Trilogy #1
Author: K.F. Breene
Stars: 4 out of 5
For fans of: Adult, Urban Fiction/Fantasy, Kick-butt Heroines
Blurb:
Supernatural Bounty Hunter isn’t the sort of thing you see on LinkedIn. But with a rare type of magic like mine, I don’t have many options. If people found out what I could do—what I am—I would kiss my freedom goodbye.

So dangerous or not, the job is mine. And it was going fine, until an old as sin vampire stole my mark, and with it, my pay day.

Knowing I’m poor and desperate, he has offered me a job. I’ll have to work by his side to help solve a top secret case.

Everyone knows not to trust vampires. Especially a hot elder vampire. But without any other jobs coming up, I’m stuck. As I uncover a web of lies and treachery, revealing an enemy I didn’t know existed, the truth of my identity is threatened. I might make it out alive, only to end up in a gilded cage.

Title: The Rose Mark
Series: Black Rose Sorceress #1
Author: Connie Suttle
Stars: 5 out of 5
For fans of: YA/NA/Adult, Fantasy, Strong Heroines, Scarred Heroes
Blurb:
Sherra 
We belong to the King--those of us with the black roses tattooed on our left wrist, directly over our pulse. As if every beat of our hearts reminds us that we are not our own. 

All the women with the fire burning within them are culled, tattooed and taken to the warriors, to provide more energy. Energy that the warriors will then use to defeat the barbarians from the ocean of sand. Women with black roses on their wrists are emptied of their power by those warriors, who care not that they die a shrunken husk. 

In the King's library, The Book of the Rose says to honor the tattooed women. More than anything, I want to spit on its pages. 

As for running--there is one thing worse than having a black rose on your wrist. That is for the enemy to find you and see the black rose on your wrist. Your death will be slow and excruciating at their hands...

Title: Playing with Fire
Series: Standalone (but I hope the author writes a sequel)
Author: R.J. Blain
Stars: 4 out of 5
For fans of: Adult, Urban Fiction/Fantasy, Sassy Heroines, Unicorns
Blurb:
Warning: This novel contains excessive humor, action, excitement, adventure, magic, romance, and bodies. Proceed with caution. 

What do you get when you mix gorgons, an incubus, and the Calamity Queen? Trouble, and lots of it. 

Working as the only human barista at a coffee shop catering to the magical is a tough gig on a good day. Bailey Gardener has few options. She can either keep spiking drinks with pixie dust to keep the locals happy, or spend the rest of her life cleaning up the world’s nastiest magical substances. 

Unfortunately for her, Faery Fortunes is located in the heart of Manhattan Island, not far from where Police Chief Samuel Quinn works. If she’d been smart, she never would have agreed to help the man find his wife. 

Bailey found her, all right—in the absolutely worst way possible. 

One divorce and several years later, Bailey is once again entangled in Chief Quinn’s personal affairs, and he has good reason to hate her. Without her, he wouldn’t be Manhattan’s Most Wanted Bachelor, something he loathes. Without her, he’d still be married. 

If only she’d said no when he asked her help, she might have had a chance with him. While her magic worked well, it came with a price: misfortune. Hers. 

When Quinn’s former brother-in-law comes to her for help, he leaves her with a cell phone and seventy-five thousand reasons to put her magic to the test. However, when she discovers Quinn’s ex-wife is angling for revenge, Bailey’s tossed in the deep end along with her sexiest enemy.

Title: Clam Jam
Series: Standalone
Author: R.C. Boldt
Stars: 4.5 out of 5
For fans of: NA, Romantic Comedy, Roommate Romance
Blurb:
Clam Jam 
Definition: the female equivalent of a cock block. 
Example: You're chatting with a guy you're interested in and your friend comes along and lays claim to him. 

Maggie
That's my life except it's worse. My friend who keeps jamming me is my gay roommate, and if that isn't a W.T.F. moment, I'm not sure what is. 
Fact: He went home with three yes, three of the guys I had been so sure were into me. 
Fact: He's really pissing me off. I mean, hello? I'm trying to get back in the saddle, but I'll never manage to get a boyfriend before the age of fifty if he keeps this up. 
Fact: Secretly, I wonder what it would be like if he weren't gay. Why do all the hot, sweet, tender-hearted guys have to be gay? 
Fact: My gay-dar needs a serious tune-up. 


Ry
The day I interviewed for the room to rent, everything changed. I knew I had met the girl, except there was one small problem: she didn't want anything to do with men. I recognized a top-notch force field when I saw one. She'd been burned badly and didn't want to deal with a heterosexual guy as a roommate. I could've turned around and found another place to live, but I wanted to live there with her. 
So I had to go undercover. 
Fact: I'm in love with my roommate. 
Fact: I'm a likely candidate for carpal tunnel surgery since all the action I've had for the past year has been my hand. 
Fact: She's going to hate me if I come clean now. 
Fact: I'm not giving up. Which means I'll just have to continue to run defense until I figure out a way to get Maggie to see the real me. 
The me that loves her. 
The me that would never do her wrong. 
Until then, I'll keep running off every guy who shows any interest. 
Until then, I'll continue to Clam Jam. 

Title: Trigger 
Series: Origin #1
Author: Scarlett Dawn
Stars: 4 out of 5
For fans of: NA, Post-apocalyptic, Shifters, Soul-mates
Blurb:
New York Times bestselling author, Scarlett Dawn, has created a fresh and magical new adventure for romance and paranormal lovers alike. Shifters rule the world through corporations after the humans all but destroyed Earth. It's too bad humans are still oblivious. They have no clue terrifying beasts run their broken world.

And then along came a human. A beautiful and klutzy human.

She's the trigger the shifters have been waiting for...
But beware of the soul-sucking darkness soon to follow.

"Six of Hearts" Book Review

Title: Six of Hearts
Series: Book 1 of Hearts
Author: L.H. Cosway
Stars: 5 out of 5
Book Blurb:
Step right up and meet Jay Fields: Illusionist. Mentalist. Trickster.

I think in triangles. You think in straight lines.
I show you a table and make you believe it’s a chair.
Smoke and mirrors, sleight of hand, misdirection. I trick and deceive.
But most of all, I put on a good show.
The world thinks I killed a man, but I didn't. Bear with me. It’s all a part of the plan.
Revenge is what I want. I want it for me and I want it for her.
I want it for all six of us.

She doesn't remember me, but she’s the reason for everything. She’ll be my prize at the end of all this–if I can hold onto my willpower, that is. Maybe I’ll slip up a little, have a taste, just a small one.

So go ahead and pick a card. Come inside and see the show. Look at my hands, look so closely that you can’t see what’s happening while you’re so focused on looking. I’ll be destroying your world from right here in the spotlight.

You’ll never see me coming until it’s too late.

I've only got one heart, and after I've pulled off my grand deception I’ll hand it right to her.

So, sit back, relax, and let my girl tell you our story. You’re in for one hell of a ride.

***

Who doesn't love a good magic show? L.H. Cosway's book Six of Hearts was a performance in and of itself. The blurb is from the perspective of Jay Fields, illusionist extraordinaire, but the book is written from the perspective of Matilda, the heroine of the story.

Matilda is a great character who hasn't had the easiest life. As a child, masked men broke into her home, killing her mother, injuring her father, and leaving her with a scar that she's self-conscious of. Now, she's a secretary for her father's legal practice and in her free time she sews dresses that she sells online. Matilda is caring, kind, and I think it's awesome that she sews (I wish I could), but she's also lacking in self-confidence and we get to see her grow a bit during the book. Though I would  have loved to be in Jay's head during the novel, it was fun to be an audience member and see the magic and big finale as a spectator alongside Matilda.

Jay is a multi-faceted and magnetic love interest. He's charming, tenacious, very intelligent, kind, and a talented performer. He inserts himself into Matilda and her father's lives with some mysterious agenda. While he's a stranger to Matilda, a very attractive one at that, she grows to trust and care for him, despite his secrets. And Jay helps Matilda to come out of her shell. There are some great scenes between Jay and Matilda that are fun, sweet, and sometimes hilarious, like when he accompanies her to a conference for women to help them with dating. Jay is a good guy who sometimes does some sketchy, not-so-good things to accomplish an impressive goal (which I won't say anything about in the interest of not giving away spoilers). While Matilda is trying to unravel his mystery and is falling further for Jay, so are readers.

The plot centers around Jay's grand deception and we see how Matilda and her father are pulled into his plan. As the story progresses, Matilda starts to piece together clues and while she is concerned, she trusts Jay when he asks her to wait to find out what's going on. I like that Matilda isn't totally oblivious but figures out that there's more going on than what Jay is saying on the surface. I myself, was much further ahead of Matilda in figuring out the big surprise, but I wasn't disappointed because how everything came together in the conclusion was still surprising.

Not only were the characters and plot of this story interesting, the book was also well-written. The pacing was quick, but not so fast as to leave readers behind and the writing flowed nicely. I found the dialogue to be realistic and there were some good, quotable lines.

Overall I really enjoyed this story (enough to read it two times!) and I will probably be re-reading it again in the future. If you love illusions, mystery, and romance, then this story is definitely for you.

"Beating Ruby" Book Review

Title: Beating Ruby
Series: Book 2 of Spotless series
Author: Camilla Monk
Stars: 5 out of 5
Blurb (from Goodreads.com):
Life hasn’t been quite the same for computer engineer Island Chaptal since March, an OCD-ridden professional killer, burst into her life to clean her bedroom and take her on a global chase for a legendary diamond. Sadly, the (hit) man doesn’t just break bones; he breaks hearts, too.

Since then, Island has found solace in Alex—the perfect boyfriend—and Ruby, a software project about to revolutionize online banking security…for the worse. When Island’s boss is found dead after allegedly using Ruby to steal a vast fortune, it’s up to her to clear his name and recover the money. Someone else wants answers, though, and this time, Island might be in over her head.

From New York to Zürich, it’s going to take the return of a cleaning expert, a mini-octopus, and Island’s wits to beat Ruby. All while deciding whether to trust a man who already jilted her, or one who may have his own deadly secrets…

***

Another enjoyable, laugh-until-you-cry read! I enjoyed Beating Ruby just as much as the first book. If you'd like to see my review of Spotless, Book 1 of the Spotless Series, you can find it HERE.

Poor Island just can't catch a break. This time trouble has found her at work, and now she has to work with her new boyfriend (who is more than he seems) and her not-really-an-ex March. As one might expect based on the first Spotless Series book, there's plenty of humor, action, romance gone awry to go around. 

The characters are unique, interesting, and well-developed. This goes for both the main characters and the side characters. Nobody is neglected! I love Island's humorous and witty inner dialogue. Even more, she's intelligent, strong, and doesn't let the guys have all the fun. And speaking of the guys, the show-downs between Alex and March are entertainment gold. March is a complex character and I fell more in love with him in this book. Alex can go crawl under a rock, and if you want to find out why, pick up a copy and read the book for yourself! 😉

If you enjoyed the first book in the series (and I don't see how anyone possibly couldn't), then you will definitely want to read Beating Ruby. It's a page-turner that won't let you go until the end, and until your stomach is cramping from laughing too much. 

"Spotless" Book Review

Title: Spotless
Series: Book #1 of Spotless Series
Author: Camilla Monk
Stars: 5 out of 5
Book Blurb:
Island Chaptal—nerdy IT engineer by day, romance novel junkie by night—just walked into her messy New York apartment to find Mr. Right waiting for her. No, wait…Mr. Clean.

A gentleman professional killer with a bad case of OCD and zero tolerance for unsorted laundry, March isn’t there to kill her…yet. He wants the diamond her late mother stole for a sinister criminal organization. Island agrees to help him find it, facing the kind of adversaries who dismember first and ask questions later. Good thing she’s got March to show her the ropes. And the guns. And the knives.

The buttoned-up Island is soon having a blast racing from Paris to Tokyo following the clues in her mother’s will, and for the first time, she’s ready to get close to someone. But falling for a hit man may be the very definition of loving dangerously.…

Spotless marks the beginning of Island and March’s ongoing adventures.


***

It's been a while since a book made me laugh out loud as much as Spotless did. This was such a hilarious and enjoyable story with much to love. 

I really liked the characters, especially Island, the quirky, socially awkward heroine. She's computer savvy, intelligent, brave, and her thoughts/commentary are very amusing. Then there's her obsessively cleanly "cleaner" romantic interest- March (or whatever his real name is). When he's not too busy being intimidating and a bada**, he's literally cleaning up messes. There's also a fun, well-done cast of side characters from Island's roommate to some interesting villain characters. 

This book was lighter on the romance side, in fact, an ongoing inside joke is that the main character is still a virgin. So, don't expect any sex scenes but there's no lack of sexual tension between Island and March.  There is plenty of quick-paced action and  world-travelling adventure as well. 

I wouldn't say that the book ends on a cliff-hanger - it wraps up well - but it's definitely set up for a second book. I am looking forward to reading the next book and seeing what misadventure Island will find herself a part of next.