Tag: PTSD

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Scorpio (Zodiac Killers Book 12) by W.L. Knightly

 A Nail Biting Episode That Is  A Must Have Read!

Oh heavens!!!  This series has driven me quietly mad over the year.  I NEVER, EVER read or even watch series lol  I hate cliffhangers but I only read these as they are so well written.  I am just about desperate to find out who Raven is now?? I have my suspicion and if it is then OM Gosh!I love puzzles and this has been one fabulous puzzle conjured up for us by the best selling authors, Ali Parker and Lexy Timms, writing as W.L. Knightly.  Over the months we have been taken through different scenarios and characters that have been so well developed and so many secrets and have been kept engrossed in the stories. I do not think you could read this book as a standalone as you really do need the information from the others to understand fully what is going on and in trying to solve the problem for yourself.  Brilliantly composed that I am still on the edge of my seat after all these months and I’m more excited to find out all who were in on the murders than I was at the beginning.  The twists and turns are perfectly balanced. I confess that once we have the final book that I will be re-reading them all one after the other to enjoy them again.  Anxiously waiting to see if I’ve reached the correct conclusion about raven’s identity in the next book!!!  I received a reader’s copy of this book and voluntarily leave my honest opinion of it here.  Most definitely recommended!!

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Protecting Abigail by R.R. Banks

  A Superb Must Have Read!

R.R. Bank’s writing just exceeds my expectations every time. I love reading his stories and he is a terrific author which is why he is a best selling US author. His storylines in the last year have developed into something so much more than ‘just a story’. I can practically ‘see’ the action happening as I read as his descriptions are so vivid and his characters so believable and lifelike. In this book we meet Abigail who has found the courage to leave her abusive ex and with her brother, Evan’s, support she is starting afresh. In this new life she meets Xavier and his daughter Anna who is such a sweet little girl, whose mother died tragically. It was wonderful to see Abigail gaining confidence and beginning to enjoy her life and forming new friendships and how Xavier lowers his guard and opens his heart which he has closed off to everyone but Anna since her mum died. As his feelings for Abigail grow and are reciprocated, how will they react when mysterious things start happening to her? Will she be able to continue as a teacher? Will their growing feelings be able to grow under these worrying conditions? Such a well thought out and beautifully written story that had me on the edge of my seat. R.R. banks certainly pulled out surprises for me in this latest book and I lost sleep so that I could find out ‘what happened next’! Well worth it. This is a fabulous example of why his writing is so popular and , if you haven’t read any of his books before, [where have you been ??] than this is the perfect book to get you addicted to his stories. I received a reader’s copy of this book and voluntarily leave my honest opinion of it here. I can’t emphasise how good a story this is and encourage you to read it for yourself and enjoy. MOST DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED

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Something About a Mountain Man (Wild West #4) by Em Petrova

   Second Chances With Her Marine

Ryan now lives off grid having had to leave the Marines having suffered some injuries including losing two fingers and a fair portion of his thigh.  Meanwhile, Livvy, who was a film maker and who survived thanks to Ryan, she is now searching for him since no one has heard from him for over a year.  He’s changed in appearance since she last saw him but his b and straggly hair make no difference to her – she is just here to see the real Ryan.  This is a wonderful story by the best selling author, Em Petrova and one that is a real page turner and I am so pleased that I read how Livvy wants to see if the attraction that she felt for him before is real and whether they can build upon it.  Written with sparkling wit, passion and real caring and loving warmth that left me wanting to read even more of her stories.  I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. Definitely recommended – grab your copy now!

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Come Back to Me: A Brother’s Best Friend Romance by Vivien Vale, Gage Grayson

  Loving His Best Friend’s Sister

Ruby’s older brother, Jake, invites his best friend, Wyatt, to the lake where they all had so many found memories of growing up.  Seven years ago Wyatt kissed Ruby and neither has forgotten it.  He became a Navy SEAL and has been through traumatic events as you can only imagine and has PTSD.  But he’s back now and Ruby is even more beautiful, both inside and out, than ever.  The chemistry between them is so strong that you could almost ‘feel’ it emitting from the pages in the book.  This is a wonderful read composed by those brilliant authors, Gage Grayson and Vivien Vale who write so beautifully in their own right, but together – they are magnificent! I loved reading about Wyatt and Ruby getting to know one another again in this second chance romance – sitting in front of the fire, and with the air simmering with the heat radiating off them.  This is a story that is romance with a capital R.  Such wonderful ‘people’ and their love and passion is not going to be denied for long.  There is some angst and full of emotions all woven into a lovely storyline that I could not put down [yes I lost some sleep but it was well worth it] and will certainly remember, and want to read again.  I look forward to reading more of their stories! I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Definitely recommended

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Hold Onto Me: A Secret Baby Romance by Juliana Conners

   Saving Each Other

If you’ve read any of Juliana Conner’s books before then you may have ‘met’ the Bradford Brothers.  They are all ex-military and each has their own story to tell and I fully encourage you to read them if you haven’t already [have a look at my other reviews on her books].  In this story we meet Juliet and Brandon. he is ex-Military and worked with some of the Bradford brothers. he suffered from PTSD when he was demobbed and so he ,moved to the mountains for solitude to help him heal.  He is living in his family cabin now and is chopping wood one day when he sees a bedraggled female looking very dishevelled as if she is going to jump off the cliff.  he races too her as quietly as he can to save her from falling. He does and she fights him but he calms her down and takes her to his cabin as it’s nearing darkness and too far out of the way. He doesn’t get much sense out of her other than her name is Juliet. This is a very emotional story of someone, not military, who suffered an ordeal so great that she too is suffering from PTSD. This story helps illustrate that anyone can suffer from it and displays some of the ways that it can manifest itself in a person as we are all different. Brandon is such a great guy who has suffered so much himself but, because of that, he is able to help Juliet so much and be so understanding towards her.  The passion between these two is palpable and way off the charts with red hot HEAT – have your fans/air con switched on to max cool please! You may need your hankies ready at some parts of the story. I particularly enjoyed the moving scene towards the end when Brandon gives his first public talk for his friends. As he gazes at Juliet sitting there, it is magical the way Juliana uses the English language to create such emotions, atmosphere and tension.  What has caused  Juliet to suffer from PTSD and will she share her nightmares with Brandon?  To enjoy this book for yourselves you need to get yourself a copy. I received a reader’s copy of this book and voluntarily leave my honest opinion of it here.

DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED

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Cave Man’s Captive by Juliana Conners, Sizzling Hot Reads (Editor)

  Trapped Together

If this is your first encounter with a story by Juliana Conners then you are in for a treat as you’re going to discover so many characters in here that you will be racing to get ‘their’ stories as soon as you’ve finished this one.  We meet Elijah who is a n ex Navy SEAL who does suffer form PTSD and served with The Bradford Brothers [fantastic series that is a MUST READ!!] and how is he coping with civilian life.  So imagine the scene, Elijah is out hunting in the mountains where he now lives to avoid people, and he hears a group of people. He spies on them and sees the most stunningly beautiful woman that he has ever seen in his life and he wants to know her more.  The men in the party recognise him as their old Navy SEAL teammate, they are the Bradford Brothers and as he wants to get to know Michelle better he invites them all to his cabin.  But he wants to act on his attraction for her and as she seems equally attracted to him, he invites her to his Cave!  And they trapped it in together!!  Now that’s a walk in the woods!  can they resist each other before any rescue attempt can find them? Do they even want to be saved??  There are so many secrets that they both keep inside so maybe they have found someone they can share themselves with?? This is a fun, fast paced read by Juliana Conners who is a top 100 author.  This kept me entertained the whole way through. It was probably more interesting as I knew some of the characters that  appeared within the story but it can easily be read and enjoyed without that prior knowledge.  get yourself a copy and enjoy getting to know them. I look forward to Juliana’s next romantic adventure. I received a reader’s copy of this book and voluntarily leave my honest opinion of it here.

Definitely Recommended

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Small Town SEAL’s Saving Grace: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 45) by Flora Ferrari

  More Than They Hoped

Caleb is an older man and a navy SEAL who is on medical leave and he heads to s small town where one of his colleagues lives with his wife and family.  He attends a wedding as a friend of the groom and this is where he meets Grace, a teacher and friend of the bride.  There is definitely chemistry between them but they get parted and don’t see each other till a few days later when he comes to pick up his friend’s little girl.  Grace is very frosty towards him as he’d told her that he was unmarried and with no children.  he is not happy with her reception and as he is so attracted towards her he persuades her to meet him to clear the air between them.  Whilst still waiting to hear from the Navy he can’t bear to sit round being idle so he starts up a gym and gets the children really involved.  I have read books by Flora Ferrari before and enjoyed them very much.  This book is different and tackles topics that are not ‘easy’ such as PTSD to address but Flora does and with such sensitivity and compassion that makes it a truly beautiful story.  If you haven’t read anything before by Flora then I encourage you to start with this latest book as it is so well written with plenty of passion between the main protagonists.  Such interesting characters and a setting that all blend well together making this a great story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Definitely recommended

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DUKE by Jax Hart

    Steam Heat

Shanna has been brought up. cosseted and protected by her dad’s MC in a relatively isolated area.  She is wilful, a strong feisty personality but , at times, a bit immature. Her life changes for the better one day when a stranger to her walks into the MC bar.  His name is Duke and he has a worthless father, is an ex-Marine and is a biker too.  He is ALL MAN! He has a dark exterior persona with flashbacks from his time in the military and he is loyal to a fault. But underneath he is protective, caring and all ready to love his woman when he finds her.  When I say that there is chemistry between them, I mean RED HOT all out blistering sizzling heat that is ready to explode. And what an explosion!  This is the first book that I’ve read by Jax Hart but it will NOT be the last!! WOW.  Swoon even. he really knows how to draw you into his story and keep you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what will happen next and if Duke and Shanna will get their HEA.  May I just make the observation that he is obviously an expert at creating sensual scenes that will make you reach for ALL the fans in your house, plus the air con to set to max cool as his writing is HOT.  I loved the twists in the story and the humour!  I can’t wait for the next book of his to read.  I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED

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Truth or Dare: A Mountain Man’s Second Chance Romance by Amy Brent

   Rescued In The Mountains

Calla was barely 18 years old and ready to go off to college when she has a passionate one night stand with Jake and loses her virginity to him.  They never think they will see each other again but she got pregnant that one special night.  Meanwhile, Jake joined up and spent time in Afghanistan and suffers from PTSD. Since leaving the military he has lived in the mountains in Maine in his own wooden cabinwith his dog, Casper, with no electricity nor running water or tv!  He often spends time with his friend Gabe who lives nearby [about a mile away].  Eleven years later, Calla is now a romance writer and wants to get some inspiration for her latest book and so she does a survival course before hiking in the mountains. Unfortunately, bad timing leads to her caught in a bad snow storm and Jake rescues her, little realising that she was HIS Calla!  What I found refreshingly lovely about this latest story by Amy Brent was that Jake had not been a man whore in the eleven years between being with Calla and finding her in the storm, which does tend to be the ‘formula’ in many love stories these days.  It was her memory that often helped him throughout the years and her encounter with him had certainly provided fabulous ‘material’ for her novels.  As she has to spend some time there together in the storm they play a game of @truth or Dare’ and all sorts of interesting info is revealed.  Their passion for one another is still burning brightly but is that enough? Or are these fews days together all that they are going to have?  Will Jake want more of her? Will they tell each other how they feel?  Will Calla want to live in the mountains with him?  Do they stand a chance at a HEA?  This is one of Amy’s best stories yet.  I loved the twists in the storyline and I liked ‘hearing’ their POV and it flowed so well. By the end of the book I really felt as if I almost ‘knew’ them. Their interactions were so well written and I couldn’t put the book down as it was just so great a read. I fully encourage you all to get your own copy and I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I did.  Looking forward to Amy’s next story. I received an arc of this book and voluntarily leave my honest review of it here
Definitely recommended

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Sight Lines (The Arsenal Book 2) by Cara Carnes

   Tensions are Rising

‘Sight Lines’ is the absolutely fantastic second book in The Arsenal by Cara Carnes. She is a new author to me but I was so impressed with the way she created such a fabulous storyline with amazing characters and had me sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next in this suspenseful romantic thriller. Mary and Vi are the best back room operatives in the business and Mary was kidnapped, tortured but, fortunately, rescued before she gave any secrets away. She now, however, suffers from PTSD which is totally understandable given the circumstances.  But now someone has put a $2million  hit for their deaths but $6million if they can get all the secrets of HERA! Unfortunately, they have chosen the wrong man to blackmail into doing this for them as Judson has his own reasons for keeping the two women alive and betraying his so called ‘boss’!  The tension in the story is palpable and I could almost ‘feel’ when something dramatic was going to happen as Cara writes this style of writing so very well.  Her characterization of Vi, Mary and Jud are first class.  I’m now going to get a copy of ‘Jagged Edge’ which is the first book and tells us about Mary’s ordeal.  Can’t wait for Cara’s next book to be published. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Definitely Recommended