Lies You Tell by LaQuette

BW/WM

Publisher: LooseId

Published: 9/2016

4 out of 5 stars
Click Here to Purchase

Lies You Tell is a contemporary romance published by LooseId and written by the new-to-me author LaQuette. One of the first things that I noticed about this book was the cover. Covers can make or break a book in my opinion, and they have the power to turn me off before I read a single sentence. I really liked this particular cover for a number of reasons. First, I loved that the heroine was a darker woman with natural hair. Covers with women like this stand out to me because they are relatively rare. I also liked the image of the couple embracing. Actually, it's the expression and posture of the hero that I like. The gun in one hand, the other hand protectively at her back, and the "Don't fuck with my woman" look in his eyes pretty are a pretty accurate depiction of the hero Dante and his feelings for the heroine. Very fitting.
And the book wasn't too bad either...

A Treasure of Gold by Piper Huguley

Published: November 2015

Character diversity?: African-American main couple

Rating: 4 stars

Available @ Amazon:

This is the third book in Migrations of the Heart series, which centers around an African-American family from a town called Winslow in Georgia. Unlike previous books in the series, A Treasure of Gold takes place entirely in Pittsburgh, giving the story a fresh sense of place. As always, Piper Huguley's writing is powerfully beautiful and intriguing as it transports me back in time.

His Pretend Baby by Theodora Taylor

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Character diversity: Yes (bw/wm)

Published: February 07, 2016

Purchase: @ Amazon
*Copy provided by author in exchange for a fair and honest review*

When I first started reading His Pretend Baby, I wasn't sure what to expect. Plus, the lumberjack in a suit cover wasn't quite doing it for me. Fortunately, my fears were unfounded and this turned out to be a really great read that supports my previous comments about this author. She just keeps getting better! Theodora Taylor stepped out of the box on this one and not only wrote a billionaire book that wasn't cookie cutter, but also wrote characters with a unique spin. Yay!

The "N" Word by Tianna Laveen

Author: Tiana Laveen

Edition: Kindle 

Published: August 8th 2015

The N Word is a very well written, thought-provoking book about racism, love, and redemption. This is a very timely topic considering the state of race relations today. Based

A Virtuous Ruby by Piper Huguley

A Virtuous Ruby is a book that has a striking cover and an equally striking story. When I started to read this book, I couldn't put it down. It covers so many things  - love, betrayal, shame, pride, strength, acceptance, and forgiveness. The characters feel organic, beautifully fleshed out and formed from their life's circumstances such as race and skin color, environment, and social standing. As I read A Virtuous Ruby, I found myself holding my breath on some scenes and pondering how I would have personally reacted or behaved in others.

The story takes place in 1915 Georgia, in a town named Winslow. The town is named after the white owner of the mill where many of the African-American residents work. The mill doesn't pay well and generally has poor working conditions. Because this is 1915 Georgia, the good people of Winslow aren't about to rock the boat. With the exception of Ruby that is.

Venomous by Penelope Fletcher

*Warning this is a multiple partner (F/M/M/M) romance.

Lumen is a woman from Earth (England I believe), but she has a huge problem. She's been kidnapped! By aliens no less! As the story opens, the reader is immediately thrust into Lumen's dire circumstances. So far, this hasn't been a romantic romp among the stars. Nope. Lumen's kidnapping has been horrifying and things have been very bad for her. She's been hurt and she's terrified of what will happen next. Turns out she has good reason to be afraid, her captors have come to the conclusion that she's useless and have a plan to get rid of her while being entertained at the same time. She's to be tossed to the slaves and her captors plan to get a show out of watching the slaves fight for a female. This is how Lumen meets Venomous.

Behind Blue Eyes (Hell's Vipers #2) by Jordan Abbott

The pairing of IR and motorcycle club or MC romance is still fairly new. There are just a handful of them that come to the top of my head and the ones that I've read haven't been all that great in my honest opinion. That said, if you are an IR fan and MC romances are your thing, then Jordan Abbott is at the top of the game. Before I start this review, I need to throw a few warnings out there. Behind Blue Eyes isn't for everybody. The sex between the main characters isn't sweet or romantic. Some of the ways that Nuke treats Jasmine may be offensive to female readers (although the heroine of the story definitely isn't complaining!). In fact, the way in which women are treated in general might not sit well with some readers. Honestly, I had a few "hell. no." moments in there myself. The one scene that almost made me put the book down got me thinking... I had to keep it in perspective. This is an MC book. It's supposed to be dangerous and gritty and portray a lifestyle that is different than my own. The author herself warns that this isn't The Notebook style romance. This is why I'm reading the darn thing! So my warning is to start reading this with an open mind. You'll get a great story featuring a couple

Broken Open by Lauren Dane

Wow. What a good book this was. Broken Open is a story about life-altering choices, anguish, healing, and being brave enough to let yourself actually be in love. It has a fantastic cast of characters but centers around the main protagonists Tuesday and Ezra. On a quick side note, I'm giving a thumbs up just for the names alone! I love that these aren't names that we see all of the time in romance. They're unique enough without sounding forced or silly.

Broken Open isn't a roller coaster of thrills or highly manufactured drama that exists just for the sake of drama. In fact, there isn't any real outside conflict that threatens our would-be couple. It's all internal, and that's okay. When you read Broken Open what you'll get is a story about two people who are attracted to each other and aren't afraid to acknowledge that attraction and chemistry. The characters

The Pussycat Death Squad by Roslyn Hardy Holcomb

With a title like the Pussycat Death Squad, you know that one of two things will be true - it will either be terribly cheesy and cliche or it will be a book that's good fun to read. Thankfully it was the latter. This isn't your typical romance - IR or otherwise. It also isn't your standard romance couple. As a result, this is a great book for readers looking for a change of pace.

What it's about: Lelia Assad is the leader of an elite military group called the Amazonian Guard. Their duty is to personally protect and defend Col. al-Fariq, the leader of the North African country known as Laritrea. The Amazonian Guard is made up of all women who are as beautiful as they are lethal. Despite their competency at protecting al-Fariq, the Western world has taken to calling them the Pussycat Death Squad, a label that Lelia finds offensive and demeaning. Lelia and her guard have

The Sweetest Taboo by Harper Miller

I'm a little behind on my reviews with the Holidays and life and such... but better late than never right? And guess what? Do I ever have a new author for you! Her name is Harper Miller and she's an author that I think readers of interracial romance will want to keep an eye on. The book that I'm reviewing today is the Sweetest Taboo, and it's the author's debut novel. From it's title to the characters, The Sweetest Taboo was a fantastic little story and honestly if this is the author's first book, then I can't wait to see what she churns out the more seasoned she becomes.
There are a few things that you as readers should know right out of the gate. First, this is a BDSM romance. It isn't anything too heavy and it is tastefully done. If you're

TuDawgs by Eden Connor

I'm going to confess that the name of this title threw me off. Big time. I thought, TuDawgs? Do I really want to read about a hero named TuDawgs? Thankfully that wasn't the case and I was ultimately pleased with the story. TuDawgs is actually the name of a hot dog stand at a county fair. The owner of the stand is a man named Tee. Tee is the owner of several TuDawgs stands (think two dogs like two hot dogs) which are very successful in their own right. Tee has a niece named Melody or "Niecy", who is the mistress of the Lieutenant Governor. The lieutenant governor has embezzled money from a charity that Niecy works for, has a drug habit, and gives her, his mistress, gifts like an expensive car. The press drags her and her reputation through the mud, painting her as a woman who has sexually bewitched and lured a married man into an affair and convinced him to commit

Love Edy by Shewanda Pugh

I don't read YA romance books for the most part. Reading about kiddies in love and angst really doesn't hold much appeal to me as an adult woman. That's not meant to be judgmental of anyone who does enjoy this genre, it just ain't for me. Because it is so popular however, I figured I would give Love Edy a shot (plus I'm really loving that cover). Well I'm happy to say that not only did I read it, but I ended up liking Love Edy. Quite a lot actually and I'm so glad that I gave it a try. The author has a very beautiful voice and the words just seemed to flow in the telling of this story. It grabbed me from the start and held my interest and curiosity captive until the book was finished. There were some things that I didn't care for, but the good outweighed the bad in my opinion.

Execution World by Chanta Rand and Rob Shelsky

This is the second book that I've read by author Chanta Rand with the first being Goddess. The two books couldn't be more different, but both are very well written and imaginative. In Execution World, Ms. Rand co-authors the story with author Rob Shelsky. The story begins with a cluster of humans in the process of leaving Earth on a fleet that consists of hundreds of asteroids. Technology has made it so that asteroids are capable of carrying humans across space. The departing humans wanted freedom from Earth's authority and the ability to create their own destinies. Rather than get into an all-out war Earth has given them supplies and their blessing to leave. The problem is their journey will take a thousand years to complete and their idealism must face the test of time. The book then does a fast-forward some 350 years or

Goddess, by Chanta Jefferson Rand

Ayana is an Egyptian princess who is considered a goddess by her people due to a marking on her inner thigh which marks her as a gift from the sun god. Ayana's no goddess, but she is the spoiled daughter of a pharaoh and his Nubian queen (Pharaoh's Desire is the first book and tells the story of her parents). Ayana hasn't found a man to her liking so her father has arranged a marriage to a Syrian general. As the book begins, she and her grandmother are on their way to meet the general when they are overrun by bandits. The bandits kidnap

Remember Me by Michelle N. Onuorah

At times I despair at the lack of romance and true love in the IR genre. Too often the sex in a story dominates and
completely buries a potentially interesting story beneath the

Monster by Francette Phal

How much could you forgive? That's a question that I kept asking myself as I read Monster by Francette Phal. Could I forgive a man that degraded and demoralized me? Turned me

Loving Among the Dead by Dahlia DeWinters

What would you do if the world around you suddenly went crazy and the dead didn't stay dead? What if people started
eating one another, and the remaining "normal" people are just

Rumors of Wars by R.L. Craven

I was given the opportunity to read Rumors of Wars and I wasn't really certain what to expect. The cover (here I go again...) is entirely unremarkable and nothing about it really

The Real Thing by Brenda Jackson

When you read a book by Brenda Jackson, you're getting a solid story with a well-crafted plot. She tells her stories effortlessly and with such expertise that when you read about

Eagle's Heart by Alyssa Cole

Eagle's Heart is a romantic suspense featuring an African-American heroine and an Albanian hero. This book didn't spare a moment before thrusting me into the thick of things so