Posts

Cruel Start (Hidden Valley Elite) by Isla Vaughn – Review by Christie Mitchum

/0 Comments/in /by

Cruel Start (Hidden Valley Elite #4.5)Cruel Start by Isla Vaughn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cruel Start is another great installment in the Hidden Valley Elite Series, and now it’s Phoenix’s turn to share his story with readers, and he didn’t disappoint.

Cruel Start is a great title for this book as it is somewhat of a cruel start for Phoenix and his “surfer girl,” Aspen! The chemistry between these two is electrifying, but they have a lot of things to overcome before they find their happily ever after!

This book is a little different from the previous books as now the characters I have come to love have now moved on to college, and I actually liked Phoenix a lot earlier on than I did the male characters in the earlier books. He wasn’t all that nice to Aspen in the beginning, but now that he knows she is pregnant, he has no intention of shirking his duties as a father.

What I have come to discover about Aspen, I like. I don’t know as much about her as I do about Phoenix because I have gotten to know him just a little bit in the previous books. Both are going to be complex and complicated characters because of the parents they have. Each has issues with relationships and love because of their parents, with the exception of Phoenix’s mother, but I am hoping they work through those for the sake of their relationship and because I like them as individuals.

The book isn’t very long as this serves as a prequel for the upcoming books, but Vaughn packed a lot of things in those pages that just give us a little taste of what is to come. Looking forward to getting to know more about these two in the next few books!

View all my reviews

The Silent Woodsman (The Olympic Peninsula series Book 1) Audiobook by Cat Treadgold – Review by Cindy Mayberry MI

/0 Comments/in , /by

This has to be one of my favorite romances. It’s honest, it’s laid back and accidental love does happen, or can it? Joe is recovering from throat surgery. He can not say one single word. So he isolates himself in a small cabin off the grid. Somewhere his fans will not find him. He is happy and content. Ali is walking around in her twin brother’s secret places in hopes of finding clues as to where he really is. She has been told he had died in an accident. She can’t believe them. Getting lost in a rain shower, she stumbles her way on to a cabin. Thinking it abandoned she approaches the porch when the door opens. So that is all you get! This author writes with her heart on her sleeve. She is also the narrator of the book and you can tell she loves her story. It is fast paced and with all the events going on in these two very different characters, you just can’t tell how it will end. As for me it ended too soon. I have questions that I bet they will be in book 2.

Review@cinful

Brutal Nights (Hidden Valley Elite Book 4) by Isla Vaughn – Review by Christie Mitchum

/0 Comments/in /by

Brutal Nights (Hidden Valley Elite #4)Brutal Nights by Isla Vaughn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brutal Nights is my favorite book out of the Hidden Valley Elite Series so far!!!

The story opens right where it left off in the first book with a MAJOR cliffhanger. Now, Damon and Skylar will have to face the consequences of their decisions that not only affect others but affect themselves. Both of them will need to explore their very COMPLICATED feelings for each other.

As expected, there are horrible things done and said to Skylar in the aftermath, and her relationship with her best friend, Gia, is in tatters. I kept hoping that Gia would have a hard look at herself and accept her part in everything that happened. No spoilers here, you will have to find that out yourself. With all the complexities that happened, you would think this would make Damon and Skylar stay away from one another, but it only draws them closer. The two come up with another arrangement because the first one worked out so well, but this one has the potential to really allow them to get to know one another and become a real couple.

There was some angst between them and some back and forth, but all in all, they didn’t push each other away. They actually became friends, of course with benefits, but there were some really tender moments between them when they each let their walls down and trusted the other.

I enjoyed seeing the softer side of Damon and discovered that a lot of the things he did were to protect himself from becoming what he perceived his father to be and that impacted his feelings for Skylar.

“The noose tightened around my throat. If I told her how much I cared about her and thought about her constantly, she would gain too much power. And unequal power in a relationship was a very bad thing–it struck a chord that pointed at what my dad held over my mom.” ~DAMON

I was happy to see that Vaughn delved deeper into his complicated relationship with his father and stepmom. There was some real progress made there. I’m glad that Vaughn included that in the book because it played a huge role in Damon’s character.

Skylar was just a great all-around character. I loved her in the first book, but Vaughn showed a more vulnerable part of her, and she just illustrated how loyal she was, especially in regard to Gia. As with Damon, I saw why she felt like she did towards athletes, but she learned you can’t always lump one group of people together. You have to see them as individuals, not what you label them as.

“Damon was becoming a human being rather than just what he represented–an athlete. The thought alone should have made me run away, but it didn’t.” ~SKYLAR

I have loved every book in this series, but this one is my favorite and a 5-star read!!! Vaughn blended together so many components that make a book so good…angst, spice, a little bit of humor in a dark romance, and real emotion. Can’t wait for the next book in the series.

View all my reviews