Hey guys! We have Tricia Owens popping in today with one of her newest releases The Bucket List, we have a great excerpt so check out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~
The Bucket List
(LoLLA (Lots of Love, Low Angst) 01)
by
Tricia Owens
When Quinn nearly dies in a skydiving incident, his life flashes before his eyes…and it’s pretty boring. Though he’s moved to Las Vegas to rebel against his strict Mormon upbringing, he still hasn’t done much to liven up his life. He’s far too comfortable with his boring routine. After the accident, however, he vows to change this. He draws up a bucket list with all the best intentions, yet somehow nothing changes. Quinn worries that he really is a dud, until a gorgeous man walks up to him and suggests an indecent proposal.
Gabriel has had a lot of sex. He’s fantastic at it and he’s good-looking, so he never lacks for people willing to jump into bed with him. But after a rough break-up, he’s determined to make hooking up a secondary priority. It’s too bad that when he first sees Quinn and his heart goes pitter-patter, Gabriel’s first instinct is to make a bet with Quinn involving sex.
With one spin of the roulette wheel, Gabriel and Quinn embark on a series of sexually adventurous dares, each more exciting than the last. But what happens when one of them pushes for something more? LoLLA books are standalone novellas with lots of love/sex, low angst, and a Happily Ever After ending for a quick dose of happiness.
While the human Ryan has made an enemy of the greatest Angel in Heaven–Anifiel, the Commander of Heaven’s Army–Ryan has somehow managed to befriend Anifiel’s kind and gentle battle companion, Vithius. Ryan adores the handsome Angel and is all too happy to teach Vithius the ways that humans make love.
But how much knowledge is too much? Is he corrupting Vithius as Anifiel has accused? Meanwhile, Demons are beating at the gates of Heaven with renewed aggression. Vithius believes he knows why the Demons are so determined, but Anifiel and Ryan refuse to listen to his theory, afraid to believe what it signifies about their relationship to each other. Can Vithius bring the three of them together?
Or will the desire that they continue to resist bring down the entirety of Heaven?
Review:Each book in the A:R Heaven collection features a different romantic couple. To enjoy the overall story arc and crossover characters, I would recommend reading the series in sequential order.
I am not usually one to read books by authors that I have not really connected with so Tricia was a surprise to me. She has a way of giving you a unique story that has a great story line and plot. The problem for me was that it seemed very long-winded even though it is not a truly long book. The title was catchy as well as the cover of the book, the series name was a bit dull though.
I had read the first book in this series and was a bit leery of reading the second book. It actually was a little better than the first one. However it is still a bit stiff to me. The characters were fully developed but a bit complicated and confusing.
I also don’t like cheating in a book which for me Anifiel was with Finn. Then there is Ryan who is getting interested in Anifiel, but he is best friends with Finn brought it way down for me.
Ryan and Vithius are moving forward, whereas Ryan and Anifiel are not. Anifiel turns his ass down every time Ryan tries something. The war is not going the way Ryan expects, for every time he fights it doesn’t go the way it should. To me Anifiel is with Finn yet when he opens up it is with Vithius not Ryan. Ryan is not moving forward in heaven like he should and it leaves him feeling hopeless and lost. That is until Anifiel steps up and makes Ryan share his feelings.
The characters were fully developed if not a bit hard to get into. There are a lot of emotions in this book but for me it did the exact opposite of what it should have. It came off too wordy for me to really get into.
I have realized that this is definitely not my kind of story.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Hi peeps, we have Tricia Owens and her new releases Territory of Angels and Spoils of War, we have a great excerpt, a brilliant giveaway and Lisa’s reviews, so enjoy the post and click that giveaway link <3 ~Pixie~
Territory of Angels
(A:R Heaven 01)
by
Tricia Owens
Can Angels fall in love with a former shoe salesman?
Ryan thought becoming an Angel would be easy. Well, besides the whole dying part. But it’s difficult when he’s hounded by bouts of insecurity and a secret, unrequited love. The only good thing to happen to him is his friendship with the lovable Angel Finnian. But Finnian is lover to the Commander of Heaven’s Army: Anifiel, the most magnificent Angel in Heaven. Anifiel doesn’t approve of his lover befriending a measly human, unfortunately, and when Finnian’s curiosity about Earth compels him to leave Heaven and investigate, Anifiel blames Ryan’s bad influence. Ryan doesn’t know how to appease the fearsome if hunky Angel. Everything that Ryan does is wrong in the great Angel’s eyes. It doesn’t help that every time Anifiel draws near, Ryan is overcome with a lust too powerful to resist, a lust that Anifiel resents. Can Ryan manage to behave long enough to find a way to bring Finnian back? Or is Ryan doomed to remain a human in Heaven, never quite good enough for anyone?
While the human Ryan has made an enemy of the greatest Angel in Heaven–Anifiel, the Commander of Heaven’s Army–Ryan has somehow managed to befriend Anifiel’s kind and gentle battle companion, Vithius. Ryan adores the handsome Angel and is all too happy to teach Vithius the ways that humans make love. But how much knowledge is too much? Is he corrupting Vithius as Anifiel has accused? Meanwhile, Demons are beating at the gates of Heaven with renewed aggression. Vithius believes he knows why the Demons are so determined, but Anifiel and Ryan refuse to listen to his theory, afraid to believe what it signifies about their relationship to each other. Can Vithius bring the three of them together? Or will the desire that they continue to resist bring down the entirety of Heaven?
Blurb:Can Angels fall in love with a former shoe salesman?
Ryan thought becoming an Angel would be easy. Well, besides the whole dying part. But it’s difficult when he’s hounded by bouts of insecurity and a secret, unrequited love.
The only good thing to happen to him is his friendship with the lovable Angel Finnian. But Finnian is lover to the Commander of Heaven’s Army: Anifiel, the most magnificent Angel in Heaven. Anifiel doesn’t approve of his lover befriending a measly human, unfortunately, and when Finnian’s curiosity about Earth compels him to leave Heaven and investigate, Anifiel blames Ryan’s bad influence.
Ryan doesn’t know how to appease the fearsome if hunky Angel. Everything that Ryan does is wrong in the great Angel’s eyes. It doesn’t help that every time Anifiel draws near, Ryan is overcome with a lust too powerful to resist, a lust that Anifiel resents. Can Ryan manage to behave long enough to find a way to bring Finnian back?
Or is Ryan doomed to remain a human in Heaven, never quite good enough for anyone?
Review: Each book in the A:R Heaven collection features a different romantic couple. To enjoy the overall story arc and crossover characters, I would recommend reading the series in sequential order. I would start with A:R Earth though otherwise this whole thing can get confusing.
I spent most of my time with this book confused and frustrated. It was well written with a lot of details to it. So much detail that I lost interest before the first chapter ended. I pushed myself through this book but came to the conclusion that it is very long winded. I usually don’t go for books that have angels in them, but I had heard that this one was a fascinating read.
The problem was I didn’t see it. There are many stories that just draw you in and keep you captivated, this one did not do that for me. There was just something missing to bring it all together for me, which is strange since there was so much to it. It does have a lot of meat to it but for me it did the opposite then what was intended.
Ryan was given an angel status when he passed on. He thought it would be so easy to be one. He had not expected the way the whole thing revolved. His best friend was an angel and Finnian made things easier. The problem was Finnian was involved with the commander of heavens army. When Finnian wanted to go to the first level to see what things were like he agreed. The problem came when Finnian didn’t come back with him.
Anifiel is the commander and he blames Ryan for everything. It would seem that every time Anifiel shows up Ryan wants him. Ryan wants to find a way to bring Finnian back from earth, but he needs to regain his focus. He wants to be an angel not a human in heaven. Anifiel basically degrades Ryan. He humiliates him and treats him like shit, however there is something there. When Vithius takes an interest in Ryan things are going to heat up. For Vithius is the battle companion to Anifiel.
I am not really sure what to truly think with this story but I do understand that this book was just not for me. If you like angels, twists and turns, complicated characters and excitement then you might want to read this.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
*Title was free on Amazon at time of posting* Title: A Pirate’s Life for Me Book One: Captain & First Mate Series: Pirates of Anteros, #1 Author: Tricia Owens Genre: Contemporary Length: Novella (100 pages) Publisher: Tricia Owens (23 Jan 2012) Heat Level: Explicit Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3.5Hearts Blurb: After breaking up with his girlfriend, Lucas is eager to get away from reminders of their failed relationship so he answers an ad to join a pirate show in the Caribbean. What he doesn’t learn until he gets there is that there are two shows: one gay and one straight, and he’s been hired for the gay show.
Determined to stay, Lucas vows to ‘play gay’, but he hasn’t counted on becoming the target of the show’s pirate captain, Adam, and his first mate and lover, Tyler. Adam will only let Lucas stay in the show if he plays by Adam’s rules. But Adam wants more than a good performance from Lucas, he wants Lucas to surrender to an attraction he’s about to learn he can’t resist.
Review: This is a very sexy, very erotic story which kicks off the 3-book series, Pirates of Anteros. However, I am left with very mixed feelings between liking and loving this one.
This is about Lucas. He’s a straight dude who is desperate to find a job to get him away from Chicago and his ex-girlfriend. The job he gets ends up being adult entertainment for a gay pirate crew. There he meets a group of men, including Adam, the captain and Tyler, the first mate and the main crew for the pirate performance.
There were a number of elements that I really liked about this book. I liked the steamy sex and the general all-around erotic feel of the entire story. The sexual tension and attraction is also excellent. Lucas is desperate to keep his job so reading about a very straight man try to be gay, was somewhat entertaining, though he quickly finds himself fighting attraction.
The secondary characters also are wonderful on the whole. All the characters are very fleshed out (Tyler is a right proper bitch) and you can tell that there is depth to these guys. This, though, leads me to what I really did not like.
Firstly, I didn’t feel the flow of a complete story with a beginning, middle and end. This is more like the first half of a book – or maybe the first third since this is the first book in the series. I suppose you can say that there is a beginning and middle, but there is no proper ending. Yes, you have to go to the next book because things are just left hanging, but even books in a series tie up some minor loose ends and leave the major storyline as a cliff hanger.
Okay, that rant went longer than I expected. Just a couple more points I want to make. This entire story is predicated on a straight man “finding himself”. I have to admit that I found myself disturbed by it somewhat. It didn’t feel like it was a big, fun epiphany for Lucas, it seemed like he was dragged from the bisexual closet kicking and screaming and by the end of it he still wasn’t comfortable (I know, going back to my former rant).
So we get to some of the erotica. Perhaps I am too sensitive, but some of the sexual-play involving Lucas, because he is kicking and screaming, feels like he is forever avoiding being raped. Maybe it would be easier to comprehend if the story felt more complete but the fact that Lucas doesn’t have any form of resolution when it comes to his newly discovered sexuality made me uncomfortable at points.
Regardless of my misgivings, this is fun and sexy and I wouldn’t mind finding out what happens to Lucas. I just want to be able to read him finally comfortable in his own skin, perhaps even a bit of a HEA.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *
Title: Hunter and Hunted Series: N/A Author: Tricia Owens Genre: Mystery/Suspense Length: Novella (134 pages) Publisher: Loose Id LLC, (August 4th, 2014) Heat Level: Explicit Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4 1/2Hearts Blurb: Hunter’s a professional hit man trying to get out of the life. One last job, and if he doesn’t get sloppy, he’s done for good. Then he can have a normal life with friends, a lover, maybe even a dog–instead of feeling like a piece of meat up for auction at the gay resort where he’s waiting for his target to arrive. The waiting’s not exactly unpleasant between the great views and the even better mouth of his room service waiter, Daniel, but there are several attempts on his life, and Hunter’s forced to consider that Daniel may be out to get him.
Hunter’s not wrong that Daniel’s out to get him. Hunter’s the subject of an intense, focused, and determined manhunt. But to have him, not kill him. Daniel knows Hunter likes what he’s offering. Now if only he can convince Hunter that he’s not out to kill him.
Review: Hunter Mathews a sexy hit man, is on his last job. When he meets gorgeous Daniel Sullivan his room service waiter the hunter becomes the hunted. Daniel has been fascinated with Hunter since he was on a special task force with the FBI to track Hunter down. After a failed poisoned cranberries from the welcome fruit basket at the hotel and a robbery attempt on the beach Hunter thinks someone is out to kill him.
Hunter’s real name is Adam Murrell. He used to be a cop until his best friend’s 6-year-old son was killed by a drunk driver. While off duty, he got the address of the drunk driver and confronted him with the intentions of killing him but decided to call in the hit and run when he turned, Ed, drunk and angry, shot him in the back with a shotgun. He returned fire and killed the man in self-defense. But the police dept. let him go.
He kept getting phone calls from people congratulating him on what he did. Then started getting calls from others who needed vigilante justice. But then bad men started asking him to take out their rivals without him asking questions. Hunter is shocked when he receives a text message of his last target, Daniel. Wonderfully written. This story has lots of drama, mystery, suspense, and action.
I loved the way Daniel slowly reeled Hunter in and finally made him see he was the one for him. Steamy hot sex was great in between all the little tid bits into Daniel and Hunter’s past. You don’t find out who Daniel really is, though you will try to figure it out, until the end. Fantastic story. I loved it.
Title: Spoils of War
Title: Territory of Angels
*Title was free on Amazon at time of posting*