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Debbiereadsbook (1472 KP) rated From A Jack To A King in Books

Jul 3, 2018 (Updated Jan 31, 2019)  
From A Jack To A King
From A Jack To A King
Scotty Cade | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
bloody LOVED this book! and the narration!
Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted both the ebook AND audio version of this book.

First half of this review is from when I READ it, the second half is the audio bit.

Oh it's been a while since I had my Scotty Cade fix, and this proper hit THAT spot!

Bay is, by his own words, pretty much a recluse. Save for promoting his latest book and getting his gambling hit, he doesn't get out much. And when he DOES, he uses his character Jack as his alter ego. Winning escort King in a card game, and coming face to face with the spitting image of Jack knocks Bay off his axis. Just as meeting Bay knocks King off of his. King doesn't see Jack, he sees BAY. He also sees that Bay might be the one to halt his recovery.

I will be honest here, cos ya'll know I'm all about sharing, and tell you, I walked into this one a little wary. I've read a couple of other porn star books and had pretty much decided that I didn't like that particular troupe, and I wouldn't read any more. But this came up, and, I mean, its' Scotty Cade for heaven's sake! So I signed up and I was so very NOT disappointed!

What this one did, what made it stand out, was there was very little "work" time for King, once he and Bay had met. There is a scene before, and one after. But the one after is a huge part of the story; a necessary and integral part.

I loved that it's nearly to the end of the book before Bay and King come together properly. Loved that Bay put his research skills to good use; both for helping King with his recovery and watching all those videos to further his relationship with King.

Loved that while previously only ever having been with women, Bay didn't seem overly perturbed by his attraction to King. OH, he questioned his sexuality, many many times, but he wasn't particularly bothered by it!

There are some difficult topics dealt with here. Bullying and how that effects Bay as an adult. Sex addiction and how that makes King so very wary of what he feels for Bay so very VERY early on. Both topics are dealt with well and with sensitivity, but some readers may struggle with them.

I have just one teeny tiny niggle, but it doesn't affect my rating or my overall enjoyment of this book. It's just ME, being a little bit picky!

I would have liked, just once, while Bay and King are up close and personal, for Bay to have used King's given name, and not his "stage" name. That's all! Told you it was me being picky!

Mr Cade has a particular knack of writing with emotion; of being able to make you cry in really random places along with his characters; of being able to grab at your heart strings, tug them, snap them and put them back together again! And I bloody loved this book for that!!

I read this in one sitting, stayed up way past my bedtime to finish this! Loved it!!

5 full and shiny stars!

AUDIO REVIEW

Kenneth Obi narrates. And Mr Obi is growing on me for several reasons. As I see more and more books narrated by him, I can see his skill set growing. A quick search shows far more books that I expected, but the oldest is only November 2017, so he is still fairly new at this, and in the time since I listened to the other one he narrated that is in my library, I can hear a difference.

Obi's voice for Bay was. . . unexpected. I've no idea WHY, but that was my first thought. He sounds almost too young, but as I listened, I realised it fit Bay, PERFECTLY, it really did. I LOVED Bay's voice, I really did.

Obi's reading voice is clear and even, his voices for ALL the characters are clear and distinct enough for my crappy hearing to make them out. It was my only real criticism in the last book I listened to of his work, the voices were too similar for my crappy hearing to keep up. NOT so here.

The scenes for King and Bay getting up close and personal came over way more. . .what's the word. . . whats. . . .the. . .word. . . intense? maybe? I dunno, can't find that right word, and I hate not being able to do that, but they came across all kinds of different to when I read it. An AMAZING different though, cos Obi got out all the emotions that you don't always pick up when reading. The hitches and dips in the voices, the little noises, they don't always come across well on paper but HEARING them?? Oh yes Sir, intense is the right word!

I stand by what I said in my read review though! I would have liked, just once, while Bay and King are up close and personal, for Bay to have used King's given name, and not his "stage" name. That's all!

Watch out for Mr Obi, he's now firmly on my list!!

5 stars for the book
5 stars for the narration
5 stars overall.

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
What Happens Now?
What Happens Now?
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;

<img src="https://i0.wp.com/diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/WhatHappensNow_BTB.jpg?w=1600&ssl=1"/>;

<b><i>I am so excited to be part of the Blog Tour for What Happens Now by Sophia Money-Coutts! Thank you to the team at HQ, for being so kind to send me a copy of this book!
Without further delays, let’s see what I thought…</i></b>

<img src="https://i0.wp.com/diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Book-Review-Banner-12.png?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1"/>;

What Happens Now by Sophia Money-Coutts is a wonderful story that features Lil, who is a normal lady, living a normal life. She thought she has found ”the one”, but after so many years, this fellow dumps her for a twenty-year old blonde girl.

Doing what everyone should do, she moves on, and tries to find a new match, choosing a dating app and swiping right. She finds a handsome man that seems to like her and arranges a date. She gets ready, meets this guy, has a few drinks and spends the night at his apartment.

<b><i>What is the worse thing that can happen?</i></b>

Well – firstly, he doesn’t seem to respond to her messages at all. And then, she discovers that he is, in fact, the famous mountaineer Max, who is currently out there somewhere, climbing a mountain and can’t actually see her messages, the Max who is possibly Prince William’s best friend. But on top of it all, after weeing on a stick, she discovers she is pregnant with his baby.

So now Lil is single, thirty-one and living in a small flat in London, and this is not how she expected to become a mum. But our lady Lil here is probably the bravest woman I have ever encountered in my books, and she decides to do this whole motherhood thing on her own. Yes – she really likes Max, and it would be amazing if he gets involved too, but she doesn’t need him really. She can do this!

Throughout this book I felt so empowered to read about Lil’s daily challenges and I was cheering for her all the way through. She, and all women in the world that had the courage to give birth to and raise a child on their own should be praised, and I can’t think of any words to describe how brave these people are and how much I admire them!

Lucky for Lil, she has her mother and her stepdad along her way throughout the whole journey, and these two people are the friendliest and kindest people in the world.

And then there’s Jess – Lil’s best friend, who is, by the way, THE BEST FRIEND anyone wants. She was EVERYTHING and I loved her so much! She was always there for Lil, giving the best advises in the world. We all need a Jess in our lives!

And to be honest, given my low opinion on Sophia’s first book, The Plus One, I didn’t have high expectations on this one, but I think she outdid herself and created a masterpiece! The writing style has improved so much, that you wouldn’t notice these two books have been written by the same author.

I loved reading about Lil’s journey – I truly did. The writing was gorgeous and I couldn’t put the book down. Very empowering, but at the same time a very light summer read. I recommend it to all of you – read What Happens Now? this summer, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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The Mage King (The Ice Queen #2)
The Mage King (The Ice Queen #2)
Rebecca Bauer | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Mage King (The Ice Queen #2) by Rebecca Bauer
The Mage King is the second book in The Ice Queen series, and we return to see what Aria and Cas are up to, two years after we last saw them. They are now proud parents of Elena, although Cas seems to have taken to it a bit easier than Aria has done. They have worked hard for peace, but it seems like the mages are up to their tricks again. Not only that, but the magic of the mages seems to be failing. It becomes apparent that those who are not having problems (like Cas) may have a different blood line than others. Not only that, but King Liam from the west is making his way eastwards, and no one is quite sure why.

So much happens in this book, and yet it is easy to follow and is not unnecessarily complicated. Aria and Cas continue to go from strength to strength, no matter what is thrown at them. Their love and trust in each other is a strength that others just don't understand, and yet I adore it! They are not saccharine sweet, one of the things I love about Aria is her razor-sharp tongue, but are unfailing honest and loyal although they both play the deception/political game with style and finesse.

I refuse to give out any spoilers about this book. Trust me, you will want to immerse yourself in the Ice Realm, along with the other places, just like you did with The Ice Queen. I will say that there were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. Once again, this is an exceptional adult fantasy that I highly recommend.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
WA
Wreck and Order
Hannah Tennant-Moore | 2016 | Young Adult (YA)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Elsie is a wreck just as the title of the book suggests. She is living mostly off of her father's money with some little jobs to hold her over. She's seeing a guy who barely respects her and she doesn't really seem to have found her direction in life. Taking trips overseas to Paris and Sri Lanka improves on her recklessness, but once she's back in the states, it's hard to control old habits. Will Elsie find her place in this world before she destroys her life?

At the beginning of the book, I could relate to Elsie on some level. During my early 20's I was pretty reckless with my own life doing things that now I can look back and see weren't the best decisions. Those things have made me into the person I am today, but who would I of been without those experiences. Who is Elsie without her crazy alcohol induced, drug addicted boyfriend, Jared? Who is she without Suriya, her Sri Lankan "sister" and without her parents who continue to support her financially even if it's not the best thing for her

I was so looking forward to this book. I first discovered it through Penguin's First To Read Program, but at the time I had some difficulty downloading it to my Kindle I had the opportunity to borrow it from the library, but I was not as thrilled with the overall story as I was hoping to be from the description. To me Elsie seemed like she was going in circles instead of moving forward in her life. Continuing to make the same choices sh know are not good for her, not learning from her mistakes, or maybe she does learn from them but doesn't implement these changes into her life. I rated it three stars, but it's more of 2.5 for me. It started off strong, but the ending left something to be desired.
  
The Happening (2008)
The Happening (2008)
2008 | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Back in 2009, when I first saw this, I wrote a review on Flixter which read "Simple question: What the hell was Happening???? More to the point… What was the point???? This movie was so diabolically pointless, self-serving and self-indulgent that words could never do it justice. Such a fall from grace from the man who brought us The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable…"

In many ways, that sums this film up perfectly. On a second viewing, an almost three years later, I feel that I have just a little more to say, but none of which is particularly good, except for the fact that I have increased my original one star/candle review to three out the maximum of ten! Shyamalan was a rising talent and now he has fallen far from grace, especially after the flop that was The Last Airbender. In this film he managed, whether by some misguided design or just by poor direction, to get some of the most amateurish performances out his cast imaginable.

I mean, I know that I'm hardly Mark Wahlberg's greatest advocate but he's still miles better than this, as is his counterpart, Zooey Deschanel, who both put in embarrassingly poor performances, but not just bad, but something that I would expect to see in a church hall! This was amateur all the way, with the only saving grace being the otherwise precise Shyamalan direction. But that's not to say that it wasn't boring or that he was directing a pointless narrative. The concept was slightly interesting but handled in such a ridiculously cack-handed and misjudged manner that I doubt anyone would dare suggest this idea again, let alone finance of film it.

I won't give away the "Twist", if you would call it that, but it is original, I grant you that, but interesting enough to support a movie? No way. Nor was anything else about this film.
  
Lies You Never Told Me
Lies You Never Told Me
Jennifer Donaldson | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.4 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
As a teen high school has to be the hardest, yet most defining moments in your life. It's where you decide what your life is going to be like for the rest of your life. Whether you'll go to college, or find a a trade, or do absolutely nothing.

Two teens, Gabe & Elyse are trying to figure out life right now. Gabe is dating one of the most popular girls in school, although he's not too keen on the way he treats her and he's thinking about ending it. But what will that cost him in the long run? Elyse has just landed the lead for the school production of Romeo and Juliet. Always content to be a part of the background, will she be able to perform in the spotlight?

Both of these teens are trying to make it through these tumultuous high school years. But there are things that are holding them back from being their best. Will they allow these things to come to the surface, or will they boil inside of them until they can't handle it any longer?

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin for the sneak peak of this book. I knew it wasn't going to be enough so I got the full book from the library.

The sneak peek takes you through the first 7 chapters of the book. It's so good though that you have to continue reading and find out what is going to happen next.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat. With things happening to Gabe and no way for him to explain it, to Elyse falling in love for the first time and discovering a lot of firsts with an unusual partner. How are these two alike, how are they different? With a twist at the end that I didn't see coming, this is a book you are going to want to read.
  
Now You See Her
Now You See Her
Heidi Perks | 2018 | Mystery, Thriller
10
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
What would you do if you leave your kid with your friend, and she suddenly lost it? How would you react if they told you she was on her phone throughout that time? Your friend has many secrets, but hey - SO DO YOU!
In a world full of psychological thrillers about missing girls, this is probably the only one that stands out on its own and reigns them all.

What would you do if you leave your kid with your friend, and she suddenly lost it? How would you react if they told you she was on her phone throughout that time? Your friend has many secrets, but hey - SO DO YOU!

<img src="https://www.deadgoodbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Extract-Now-You-See-Her-Heidi-Perks.jpg"/>;

While we have the overrated stories of how a girl goes missing, everyone involved is hiding something, things get intense, and in one moment we find it all out - here Heidi Perks did an extremely great job to spice things up and make this book one of a kind. She blended all these things together so well, that I couldn’t put the book down with intense moments happening on every single page.

The characters were very well formed - I could connect so easily to every single one of them. I loved their backgrounds and the little Easter eggs hidden through that only made sense in the end - PRECIOUS!

The story plot was so cleverly put together, and I greatly enjoyed it! A nice, fast-paced, psychological thriller that will give you the chills constantly, make you start biting your nails again, scroll through the next chapters and forget about your sleep until you’ve finished it!.

Big - intense five-stars from me, and definitely one of the best intense stories I have read in 2018!

A big thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, for providing me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
  
Behind Every Lie
Behind Every Lie
Christina McDonald | 2020 | Mystery, Thriller
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
When Eva Hansen wakes up in the hospital, burned and battered after being struck by lightening, she learns a horrible fact: her mother, Kat, is dead. Even worse, the police tell her Kat was murdered. It quickly appears Eva is their number one suspect, having been found unconscious down the street from her mother's home. After the lightening strike, Eva can't remember what happened, but some clues from her mother's home lead her to London, her mother's former home, where she works to unravel both Kat's past and her own. But it quickly becomes apparent that someone doesn't want Eva uncovering her mother's secrets. And the more Eva begins to remember the events of that evening, the more danger she is in.


"Memories could be come distorted, twisted to suit the teller, or ignored and forgotten, pushed away. I should know. I'd been doing it for years."


This was my first book by Christina McDonald, but I'll definitely be tracking down her first book now as well. This was a spellbinding thriller, which I found quite difficult to put down. It's told in the alternating perspectives of Eva, in present-day, and her mom, Kat, in the past. The format works quite effectively and somehow gives the book a frenetic, frantic pacing and feel.

It's hard to know if Eva is telling us the truth, as she's been struck by lightning (!) and alludes to previous problems, too. Kat quickly emerges as a mysterious and dynamic character, too. As their stories unfold and start to converge, I was quite fascinated and intrigued, and the pages just flew by. I guessed quite a bit, but it didn't diminish my enjoyment at all, and I enjoyed all the twists and turns. (There's much more than Kat and Eva, but I don't want to spoil anything!)

Overall, I'm glad I followed all the #bookstagram hype and picked this one up. It was a quick, intense read. Different and engaging! 4 stars.