A Beautiful Distraction Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

A BEAUTIFUL DISTRACTION
Hard Feelings #3
Kelsie Leverich
Contemporary Romance
272 pages
NAL
Available May 6th
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY
Nothing’s more dangerous than a bad boy with a broken heart…

First Sergeant Rafe Murano did everything to the extreme. He trained harder, he fought harder, and unfortunately, he loved harder. But he fell for the wrong woman and it nearly destroyed him.

Back home from a deployment, with no mission to consume him, Murano’s ravaged by memories of his past. So he drinks until he’s numb and drowns himself in meaningless one night stands. But they only take the edge off…

Until he meets Fallon.

Fallon Kelly learned the hard way not to take risks with her heart, But she sees something irresistible in the tatted-up bad boy one more punch away from a ride in the back of a squad car. She offers a distraction. And he quickly becomes an addiction. Little does she know, this bad boy could love so hard it could break her…

MY THOUGHTS
A Beautiful Distraction is a fairly straightforward contemporary romance where a pair of individuals with dark pasts and an impressive amount of emotional baggage are forced to sort through their various hang-ups to determine whether possibility of love is worth the possibility of heartbreak. Though the story itself is nothing new, Ms. Leverich writes characters who communicate well and spare us a lot of the drama and angst that often results when two people forget how to use their words. Both Rafe and Fallon are honest with one another about their pasts as well as their expectations for the future, and while that’s not to say they don’t argue or occasionally let their insecurities get the better of them, they impress throughout with the way they talk things through.

Fallon in particular is a highlight, coming from a world of wealth and privilege only to have that world ripped away from her and a new, darker reality take its place. Though the circumstances of her past have convinced her to keep people at arm’s length, she thankfully doesn’t spend the entire book fighting to keep her walls up. She’s fully aware her defenses begin to crumble the minute she meets Rafe, but instead of pulling him close one minute only to push him away the next when she remembers she’s supposed to keep her distance, she simply accepts that he’s something different and decides to see where the ride will take her.

While Fallon is a strong heroine and the chemistry between her and Rafe is beyond sizzling, the relationship itself is not without a few small issues. Those readers who don’t necessarily like too much detail when it comes to intimate moments should know this story sits slightly more on the erotic side of the romance line, the sex between Fallon and Rafe frequent and explicit. While certainly not a problem for everyone (as it wasn’t for me), it does lead into the main flaw that kept this book from a higher rating. Rafe communicates almost solely through sex, using it to convince Fallon her doubts have no place in their relationship, to apologize for any wrongdoing, and in the end, to express his love for her. Though sex is obviously a form of communication, the way Rafe consistently defaults to it in times of tension between them makes it a touch harder to believe his feelings extend beyond the physical.

Overall, A Beautiful Distraction is a quick and very hot read, and though Rafe isn’t entirely convincing in his profession of love at the end, his and Fallon’s journey is still an enjoyable one.

Rating: 3.5/5

Find Kelsie:

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

• • • • • • • • • • • 

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the fantastic team at Penguin, I have a copy of A Beautiful Distraction to give away on the blog today! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US residents only.

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Review: House Rules

HOUSE RULES
Chicagoland Vampires #7
Chloe Neill
Adult Urban Fantasy
352 pages
NAL/Penguin
Available February 5th
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
At the tender age of 27, Merit became a sword-wielding vampire. Since then, she’s become the protector of her House, watched Chicago nearly burn to the ground, and seen her Master fall and rise. Now she’ll see her mettle—and her metal —tested like never before.

It started with two . . . Two rogues vanishing without a trace. Someone is targeting Chicago’s vampires, and anyone could be next. With their house in peril, Merit and her Master, the centuries old Ethan Sullivan, must race to stop the disappearances. But as they untangle a web of secret alliances and ancient evils, they realize their foe is more familiar, and more powerful, than they could have ever imagined.

MY THOUGHTS 
The Chicagoland Vampires series is one that has gained in popularity due in large part to Ms. Neill’s trademark sense of humor and her proficiency in writing witty banter, with a smoldering sexual tension between Merit and deliciously frustrating Master vampire Ethan Sullivan only feeding an already ravenous hunger for the books as a whole. The past couple books have been a bit darker in tone, the playful camaraderie between Merit and both Ethan and Mallory replaced by a somber tone as death and darkness stunned Merit’s world and turned it on its head, but House Rules sees a return of the rapier wit we’ve come to appreciate from Merit, and it’s nothing short of delightful to watch her wield it as she challenges Ethan the way she did in earlier books. Though there is a certain amount of levity threaded through this seventh installment, the seriousness of Cadogan House’s impending defection from the ruling council of vampires is present and accounted for; drama, romance, and mystery all combining to remind us of why we love Merit and company so very much.

Ethan and Merit’s relationship has always been an entertaining battle of wills, Merit’s distaste for authority clashing repeatedly with Ethan’s expectations of obeisance and obedience, and their struggle to patently deny the chemistry between them has been a highlight of each book. The continuation of their stop-and-start relationship in the previous two installments has notched their antics down a touch from amusing to mildly frustrating, but luckily Ms. Neill gives us an Ethan and Merit in House Rules who have learned from their past mistakes and are admirably fighting their knee-jerk reactions to perceived slights in order to set a new standard for their relationship – one of strength and unity rather than fear and doubt.

Though there is no shortage of romantic drama for our leading couple in this story, the way they deal with it shows a great deal of growth, with Ethan in particular making some significant progress in the relationship maturity department. When a few revelations shake the fragile foundation they’ve begun to rebuild, House Rules has them bracing for impact rather than running and ducking for cover as they have before, with Ethan attempting to express his feelings vocally rather than shuttering them away behind his Liege and Master mask. Though he has a long way to go before anyone might describe him as communicative or demonstrative, what we see in this book gives us hope they are on their way to becoming the powerful couple we've always known they could be.

In addition to a strong comedic and romantic performance from both Ethan and Merit, we’re also given a solid mystery in this installment, a serial killer targeting vampires with seemingly little motive keeping us on our toes throughout even as we grit our teeth in frustration at the actions of the Greenwich Presidium against Cadogan House. Ms. Neill successfully juggles several different plotlines, giving each of them due attention while blending them together to form a single cohesive story, and we walk away from this story blissfully satisfied in a way we haven’t quite been for the last couple books.

Rating: 4.5/5

Review: Biting Cold

BITING COLD

(Chicagoland Vampires #6)

Chloe Neill
Urban Fantasy
337 pages
NAL
Available August 7th
Received from publisher for review

Warning: Review contains spoilers from previous books, but no spoilers from Biting Cold.

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

Turned into a vampire against her will, twenty-eight-year-old Merit found her way into the dark circle of Chicago’s vampire underground, where she learned there was more to supernaturals than met the eye—and more supernaturals than the public ever imagined. And not all the secrets she learned were for sharing—among humans or inhumans.

Now Merit is on the hunt, charging across the stark American Midwest, tailing a rogue supernatural intent on stealing an ancient artifact that could unleash catastrophic evil on the world. But Merit is also the prey. An enemy of Chicagoland is hunting her, and he’ll stop at nothing to get the book for himself. No mercy allowed. No rules apply. No lives spared. The race is on.

MY THOUGHTS

Biting Cold is a bit more serious and somber in tone than earlier books in the series, the witty banter between Merit and her cohorts subsiding as Chicago faces perhaps its strongest and most lethal foe yet. Luckily for us though, Ms. Neill has returned to us a beloved character, and we greedily devour pages that are missing her trademark humor but are ripe with the romantic tension between Ethan and Merit responsible for our addiction to the Chicagoland Vampire books in the first place. We happily trade some of the laughs for the electric sparks leaping back and forth between our two protagonists, craving a peace and happiness for them we know is not in their immediate future, and loving the return of a relationship that has the ability to make us smile wider than we ever have before while simultaneously frustrating us more than we ever thought possible.

While the end of Drink Deep left us hopeful that a sexy and gleeful reunion between Ethan and Merit would be forthcoming, Biting Cold proves to us that even death hasn’t fundamentally altered Ethan, and he remains indecisive and impulsive—making personal choices in the heat of the moment that hurt Merit and send whatever progress they’ve made back several steps. They are a couple reminiscent of those assigned to Dante’s second circle of Hell, picked up and violently tossed about by the intensity of their attraction while a cruel wind forces them to repeatedly circle one another without ever getting any closer. Merit continually reaches out to Ethan only to have her hand batted away when he allows his fear to overwhelm his heart and mind, and while we may groan when he plays his alpha and Liege card, it’s easy to see that his actions are not just a power play as they might have been three books ago, but rather they speak of a genuine concern for a woman who means more to him than his own life.

Merit is as strong as ever in this newest installment, jumping into danger from the first page and refusing to give up her pursuit of it until we reach the conclusion. We root for her the entire time, whether she’s battling evil, trying to save her best friend, or attempting to untangle the emotionally complicated knot that is Ethan Sullivan, wishing we could could pick up a katana and stand beside her to show the world what we’re made of. She handles the romantic situation with Ethan admirably, wanting to fight him when he pushes her away, but understanding that beating him into submission is a far cry from the willing surrender she wants from him. She gives him time and space when necessary, but also pushes when she sees him hiding behind his fear for her safety, proving to him again and again that she is a match for him in every possible way.

Biting Cold is a solid addition the Chicagoland series, both delighting us and upsetting us with a couple that has an uncanny ability to work themselves under our skin and set up house for the duration of our reading experience. We’re given a complete story in this installment, a lot of our questions about Mallory and Mayor Tate answered while events are nicely set up for the next book, and those readers like me who are more than a little in love with Gabriel Keene and his shifters will revel in their inclusion this story. All in all, Biting Cold, while notably missing in humor, is a joy to read and what’s to come for Cadogan House will no doubt prove interesting.

Rating: 4/5