Unknown's avatar

About Rock Hard Romance

Romance Book Blog

A Lover’s Lament by KL Grayson & BT Urruela (4.5*)

Reviewed by Emma

In a matter of seconds my entire world changed, and it was in that moment that I stopped living and simply began to exist.

In my grief, I sent a letter to the first boy I ever loved. I hoped in writing it I’d find some peace from the nightmare I was living, some solace in my anger.

I didn’t expect him to write back. I wasn’t prepared for his words, and I certainly wasn’t ready for the impact this soldier would have on my life. A deep-rooted hate transformed into friendship, and then molded into a love like I’d never known before.

Sergeant Devin Ulysses Clay did what I couldn’t: he put the shattered pieces of my heart back together, restoring my faith in humanity and teaching me how to live again.

But now that I’m whole, I have a decision to make. Do I return to my life as I knew it and the fiancé I left behind, or do I walk away from it all for the only man to ever break my heart?

***

I’ve been living in hell, but you won’t hear me complain.

These men depend on me, as I do them, and this brotherhood is the only family I’ve ever known.

The Army saved me from a callous mother and a life on the wrong side of the tracks that was quickly spiraling out of control. So unlike most of the men in my platoon, going home wasn’t something I longed for.

I was content overseas, spending my days defending this country that gave me my life back. Fighting became my new normal … until her.

A letter from Katie Devora—a letter that I almost didn’t open. Her words put a fire back inside of me that I didn’t know I’d lost. She gave me hope during a time when I was fighting every day just to stay alive, and now it’s time I fight for her.LoversLament

A Lover’s Lament

It’s taken me about 2 days to be able to write this review. I was trying so hard to find a negative (yep your read that right) about this collaboration, because in my experience the only collaboration that works is Ker Dukey and DH Sidebottom. In the end I found one, well… it’s not really a negative, it’s just in personal opinion A Lover’s Lament was too damn short!!

I wanted needed more.

It’s obvious from the get-go that Katie and Devon are soulmates. The prologue sets the story perfectly, it draws you in, it rips your heart out. Apart for 10 years Katie and Devon are brought together again after the death of the man who played a hand in  pushing them apart.

I suck in a sharp breath at the sight of his name. “Impossible,” I murmur, sitting up in the recliner. There is no way that there’s more than one Devin Ulysses Clay walking this earth. It’s impossible. Right?

This book has it all. I laughed, I cried and found myself stepping outside to grab some air every so often, a long cold shower was also needed at one point.

“I love being inside of you,” he whispers before brushing my hair out of the way and kissing the back of my neck. ” You feel so fucking good, it hurts. This is perfection. You’re perfection.”

Devin’s PoV makes it feel like you were there. The writing is so vivid, it really is incredible. I could smell the dirt and grime in the tents he bunked in and the heat of the sun beating down on his face. There’s certainly no skimming over the details.

Katie, could at times be a little unlikable, although she did redeem herself. She seemed immature in comparison to Devin. Even taking into consideration her heartbreak, her behavior could be off-putting. You could feel the love she had for Devin.

It’s a poignant second chance romance, one of re-awakening and forgiveness. It’s both heart-wrenching and heart warming. It’s full of love and loss as well as hope and despair. It’s a story of love that never died.

“I feel it, Katie.” Everything around me blurs as tears fill my eyes. “You do? Because I feel it, and it’s powerful and overwhelming and I thought I had moved past it, and then all of a sudden, there it was again, and…” 

Pretty Things (Pretty 3) by Donna Alam (5*)

ARC Provided in exchange for honest review.

Release Date 14th October

Pre Order Not available.

Book 1: Pretty Hot

Book 2: Pretty Liar 

Kate Saunders didn’t believe in happy endings, especially after finding her fiancé between another woman’s thighs. So when she met Kai, she was sure he’d be nothing more than a hot one night stand. Charismatic, dominant and dirty mouthed, Kai wasn’t supposed to be her Prince Charming. Maybe more her Mr Right Now. Against her better instincts, she’d fallen in love.

Kai makes a little wrong look a whole lot of right, but he’s learning that good looks, charm and a talented tongue don’t always get you what you want. Wealth, privilege and family are sometimes their own bonds.
It’s not a forbidden love, but it’s a troubled one. One that might force Kai to reveal his not so pretty side . . .

Join Kate and Kai in Australia as they embark on the final leg of their journey in the heart-pounding, seat squirming, and hilarious conclusion to the trilogy. Lies, secrets and shocking truths will be revealed as they discover the destination isn’t always the most important part of the journey. Sometimes the best bits are just where you get off.

Prettythings

*I was given an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review*

I would recommend reading the series in order as Pretty Things follows on from where book 2 ended,and for at least the first 30%, as much as I loved Kai in the previous books, I began to question that love! Due to the events that made Kate return quickly to her native Oz, her own insecurities/trust issues coming to a head, Kai followed her, and I felt he was cold/using his dominant nature over her. However, on re-reading for a second time, I could understand his actions because of how he truly felt about Kate:

“How could you say you love, yet think so little of me? Did you ever, really? Trust that I’d do you no harm”
“I know such a lot about you Kate. Know how to push your buttons, make you come hard. Know how to love you.  But you? You seem to know nothing about me.  Do you know how that makes me feel?”

In the same way,I could appreciate how Kate felt:

“Because I know he’s trying to punish me, push me to submit-and I want to.  I also know he’s better at this game than I’ll ever be”
“Because I don’t trust myself around you-self preservation dragged me from that hotel, without leaving,would I have had the strength to walk away…”

A return to Dubai,and a new life together but again interference from Faris (Kai’s father) means not all goes to plan, add into the mix cousin Essam and the(b***h) Sophia will they will get a HEA. As ever, Niamh(Kate’s friend) adds some light relief, as does Kate I laughed out loud at many times and of course the intimate scenes between Kai and Kate are as H.O.T. if not more than before.

What I love about all three books is the way the author writes. You get the feel of the lifestyle and wealth,the exotic location(s) and the characters created. The Epilogue is perfect for Kai and Kate and I am hoping it is not the last we see of them as I am sure there is more to tell.

Kai “Because for me,there is only you…”
Kate “I love you Kais Al Khalfan”

**Cover Reveal** Unshakable by Gigi Aceves

Bannerimage

Title: Unshakable (Able Series #4)
Author: Gigi Aceves
Cover Reveal: October 9
Genre: New Adult
Hosted by: S.B.B. Promotions

add-to-goodreads-button

Synopsis Logo

The Wildflower and Her Shield

Sophia Andrews craves simplicity in the complex mosaic world of politics.

Damien Williams thrives in the complex environment of the Secret Service with great simplicity.

As their worlds collide, so do their feelings for each other.

Damien is her Shield. Sophia is his ever-rebellious Wildflower. His love and affection is her only wish and desire. Her safety is his prime concern. What happens when he tries to protect Sophia from the very world she exists in?

Will he choose his love for his job or his love for the woman he serves to protect? Will loving Damien hinder her own happiness? Can Sophia do what is expected of her, or will she take a stand?

Will the pomp that surrounds Sophia and Damien be the circumstance that will make their love UNSHAKABLE?

Teasers logo

Teaser 1 Teaser 3Teaser 2Book Trailer

Author Bio LogoGigi Aceves Author Pic

After growing up in the Philippines, I now live in California with my husband and two girls. My husband survived two bouts of cancer, AML Leukemia and Mucoid Carcinoma; hence, the inspiration for Unbreakable. I thank the good Lord for healing my husband, twice. It can’t get any better than that.

Our oldest, Andrea is a junior in APU. When she looks at my computer, the first thing out of her mouth is “Mom! What are you looking at? Dad!” Our youngest, Allysa is a freshman in high school. The few times she passed by me and looked over my shoulder when I was writing, her reaction was, “Mom! I’m telling dad!” There you have it; I have two double agents in my house. What happened to loyalty?

If my husband is the ying to my yang, Andrea is the Marlin to my Dory while Allysa is the Buzz Lightyear to my Woody. I love the beach, but I hate the sand; I love to travel, but I hate to fly; I love to eat but, I hate gaining weight (all women can relate to this); and so goes my little quirks in life.

Am I crazy? Well, the jury is still out on that one; however, I’d like to think if I can make one person smile with my craziness, it’s all worth it.

Author Linksfacebook copy goodreads copy twitter

~ Hosted By ~

SBB Promotions LOGO Small Trans

Must Reads

Our Must Reads…books old and new that we think everyone should read at least once.

The list will grow and change and will be updated as often as possible, you can click the covers to find out more and to purchase from Amazon UK.

Please note: The sections they are in are the ones we think they are suited too, they may or may not match up with the amazons categories.

Alpha Male/ Tattooed Bad Boy


Rockstar  

    

         

**Double Time features MM, MMF and MFM scenes.

Military

        

Fighter

   

**RAZE is also quite dark.

New Adult

                  

Erotic Romance

     


Romance

              
                                                           

Biker

                   


M/M 

           

Sports


Mind F*ck/Taboo/ Dark Reads (most of these have trigger warnings, please be aware)

                       

Paranormal


**Lover at Last features MM scenes


Who are the Rockettes?

Rockettes

The Rock Hard Romance Rockettes are our Facebook group, we can chat more openly in here without or family and friends seeing our love of hot guys and the smut we read. Feel free to join us – here!

The original Rockettes are four book lovers, Vicki, Shaz, Emma and Rose. They are the admins on Facebook, the reviewers on here and the general sharers of smut in the group. Find out more about them below.

Rose met Emma and Vicki at RARE 2014, and then Shaz at the Silver City Signing in Aberdeen in August 2015. There will be an Original Rockette meet-up sometime in the new year!

Rose2

I’m Rose, Busy working Mum of 2 gorgeous girls, 3 all together if you count the man child that is my Husband.

I got in to reading Romance after reading The Secret Diary of  a Call Girl by Belle De Jour. I’ve always read, its only in the last 8 years I’ve discovered smut.

I love everything from contemporary to dark. I struggle a little with paranormal, but if you have something you think could sway me, let me know.

I’m the first Rockette. I started the blog nearly two years ago but between work and family life I wasn’t getting as much as I wanted done. I asked my amazing friends who I have met at signings (who I speak to more than my friends I see everyday!) If they wanted to join. Its been AMAZING having them, Our blog is looking great and hearing the different ideas and general smut oh and not forgetting the pictures is a daily love of mine now.

This is the hard bit. Favourite authors. First is Jane Harvey- Berrick – I fan girled so hard, It took me nearly two hours to go up and just say hi at the RARE14 pre signing party. so glad I did. The queen of Alpha Kristen Ashley- Who I get to fan girl/ cry over in July.
A quick list of my musts read authors. Fisher Amilie,  Tiffanie DeBartolo, Colleen Hoover, Jamie McGuire, Kylie Scott, Joanna Wylde, Bella Jewel, Belle Aurora, Aurora Rose Reynolds, L.A Casey, Tillie Cole, CJ Roberts, Penelope Ward, Harper Sloan, Jay Crownover (Rome is MINE) Tracey Garvis Graves, Samantha Young, S.C Stephens. Okay I’ll stop now or I won’t be able to stop. 🙂

Don’t be afraid to give us a message we’d love to help out however we can.

Shaz2

Hi, I’m a busy working mum who loves to read and be transported into someones imagination.  I can read almost any genre but I’m happiest reading New Adult and Contemporary Romance.  I’ll swoon over your hot alpha males. Ugly cry alongside your heroines.  Laugh out loud at your humour and fan myself at your eroticism but I also love dark reads so don’t be afraid to pull me into the darkness. I like to visit there.

My favourite Authors are Kristen Ashley, Madeline Sheehan, Callie Hart, Tillie Cole, Pepper Winters, Ker Dukey, Penelope Ward, Vi Keeland, Belle Aurora and R L Mathewson to name but a few, however, I am always looking for new Authors to fan girl over.
I will always be honest in my reviews and I appreciate you sharing your hard work with me.
Shaz x
Vicki2
Hi Vicki here…After reading FSOG it opened up a whole different world of books to me,and as a result I have an ever-growing Book Boyfriend list…Biker’s/Alpha hotness/CEO’s/Rock Stars/Dark and twisted/M/M/Paranormal(some)/Hockey Players/ YA…there are probably others that I’ve missed but you get the idea!
As I say ‘Fantasy-land’ is way better than reality at times-and I am in awe of the authors I have come across over the last few years,and some I have had the pleasure of meeting in person at the signing events I have attended.I ‘popped my signing cherry’ (ahem) so to speak at RARE in Edinburgh in 2014..didn’t know what to expect but had an amazing day..met all the authors I wanted and also met some new friends,Rose being one of them!
This year two events..in April The Tattooed Bad Boys Signing at York and Shaz came with me to The Silver City Signing in Aberdeen,where again meeting old and new authors and like minded readers  who’ve become friends.
I love a book that makes me laugh out loud,get emotional,pushes the boundaries,and where possible a good Epilogue! I will give an honest review,trying not to give spoilers!
Emma2
Hey I’m Emma, newest Rockette on the blog. I’m a busy working mum who loves picking up a book whenever I get the chance. I love to read all kinds of romance books. I go through phases with favourites, a few weeks ago it was all about the ‘man sausage’ with M/M reads, followed by a week of paranormal (non sparkly vamps please!), then I decided I had to get stuck into my reading list for London and caught up with some old favourites, including YA/NA and erotic reads!
My go-to authors(those where the synopsis and cover don’t even matter) include: Harper Sloan (if I ever meet her, I’ll cry!), Madeline Sheehan, Kirsty Moseley, Ker Dukey, Tillie Cole, C.J Roberts, J.R Ward, Olivia Cunning and more recently Jane Harvey-Berrick (lets blame Rose for my new addiction)!
I love reading new authors and discovering new loves.

Finding Ever After (Ever After 1) by Stephanie Hoffman McManus (5*)

Reviewed by Vicki.

Out Now, purchase link below.

It’s been three years since she left everything she knew behind, but Jaxyn is finally done running, and returning home to Boston face the friends she abandoned without warning and the nightmare that still wakes her in the night.

Back in the childhood home that holds all of her memories from before life showed her that ‘happily ever afters’ don’t come easy, she is unsure of what the future holds. The one thing she definitely wasn’t expecting was Kyden McCabe, the hot, tattooed and pierced musician she meets her first night back.

All she ever wanted as a little girl was to be swept off her feet by a prince, but Ky is nothing like the heroes from the stories her mom used to read to her. He’s arrogant, frustrating and completely wrong for her. He lives his life one night stand at a time and she knows he’s nothing but trouble.

Still haunted by her past and afraid to let anyone see the scars she hides, she fights the attraction she feels for Kyden and wonders if she’ll ever find her storybook ending. Then a monster from her past threatens to rip away her chances before she realizes that maybe she already found it.

Content Advisory 17+ recommended

A

Finding Ever After (Ever After 1)

Vicki was given a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the idea of this story and the character’s created so much so that I ended up getting the other books in this ‘Ever After’ Series. It is not your typical Rock Star Romance.

Told from Jaxyn’s POV until the Epilogue which is from Kyden’s, It is a story which takes it time unfolding but I enjoyed the way the author wrote it.We don’t have the usual scenes there’s no un-planned pregnancies/secret child/drug use and it was a nice change from some of the other books I’ve read over the years.There are tears,laughter,sweet moments and character’s you will fall in love with (and a couple who you’ll be glad to see the back of!) Jaxyn and Kyden’s story is one that along with the rest of the series,I will re-read again. Although each can be read as a stand alone,it makes sense to read the whole series,as we do get more from each as the series goes on.

Reading Order is..

Finding Ever After
Chasing Ever After
Fighting Ever After (Kyden’s POV of Finding Ever After)
Saving Ever After
Risking Ever After (out on the 12th September)

Lev by Belle Aurora (5*)

Reviewed by Shaz

No Preorder available.

Release date TBA.

From the moment Lev Leokov spots the young woman hiding behind her hair in the middle of the gentleman’s club, he can’t take his eyes off of her.
For the very first time in his life, he is affected. Having been told his entire life that he can’t process or understand emotion, he considers it a big deal.

When Mina Harris gets caught red-handed with a wallet that isn’t hers, she falls apart. She’s tired, lonely and hasn’t eaten in days.

Lev offers her an ultimatum… A nice warm bed, a hot meal and a job, or the cops.

Mina takes her chances with Lev.
After all, a person with nothing has nothing left to lose.

***This book enters the world of the extended Leokov family which are introduced in Friend-Zoned, however, is unrelated…***

Lev

I kindly received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Lev, plain and simple and I think I might have a girl crush on Mina too. I can’t tell you how much I loved this book. I sometimes feel bad when I leave 4 stars for a book I really liked but this is the reason I do it. For books like this, books that make me go “OMFG you have to read this”. Books that have me sitting up at 2am desperate for sleep but unable to part with the characters that the writer has made me fall in love with.
Lev is a beautiful flawed man. I don’t want to give too much away but I promise he will steal your heart.
“Love,” he advised gently, “is a doing word. And sometimes the people who least deserve it are the ones who need it the most.”

And Mina needs it.

Lev struggles to give himself over to her but her irrevocable love for him and the way she see’s him is a delight. She never falters or pushes him away and her journey into his heart is a pleasure to be part of.
‘Lev was a clink in my armour, a crack in my wall, and I just knew that if he really tried, I would open myself up to him completely in the hopes that he would do the same. I would do that for him. I would do that, because he was worthy’.

Her inner monolgue at times was also hilarious and not out of place or over used.
‘Where’s my damned kiss, Leokov?’

As always with Belle’s work the supporting characters are just as strong and she sets it up perfectly for what’s to come.

This is definitely a contender for my favourite book of the year and I can’t wait for the next installment from the Leokov Family.

Well Done Belle Aurora and thanks for the sleepless night. If you ever read this. Please can I be Lev’s penguin!!!!

Pretty When You Cry – Skye Warren (4*)

Shaz was kindly provided an ARC in return for an honest review.
Release Date: October 20th.
No Pre-order available.

A new dark romance novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderlust and Prisoner…

I came from a place of dirt floors and holy scriptures. They told me the world outside was full of sin, and the first night I escape, I find out it’s true. Ivan saves me, but he does more than that. He takes me. He makes me his own girl.

My conditioning runs too deep. Ivan sees what I am.

That’s the thing about showing a mouse to a cat. He wants to play. And it’s terrifying, even for me. Because the only thing darker than my past is his.

Skye

Skye Warren is a beautiful writer who isn’t afraid to guide you into the darkness, what’s more, she’ll make you want to stay there. Pretty When You Cry is the story of Candace. After growing up in a twisted religious community where her self esteem was stripped from her, she finally escapes and meets Ivan, being the terrified young girl she is,he takes her in and claims her for his own, all the while keeping her at arms length. Ivan is a hard man but it is obvious from the onset that he cares for Candace deeply.

There is no getting away from the fact he is down right mean to her a lot of the time but the reader is also aware that he would never let anyone harm her. Ivan holds Candy on a type of pedestal, denying himself the pleasure of her. Haunted by his own demons, Ivans dark and sometimes humiliating forms of play, inadvertently give Candace what she needs and build her up to be a strong, independent woman but now she wants more. She wants Ivan, all of him and she’s not going to settle for less.

Ivan is an intense and complex character and I would have loved to have delved further into his psyche, this book was crying out for Ivan’s POV, there were many times I would have loved to have known what he was thinking or why he did what he did and although this book is a standalone, I did wonder if there was more to come from Ivan.
All in all, this is a captivating read for lovers of dark romance and Skye does not disappoint.

Obscured by Tara Sue Me writing as Cat Waters (4*)

Obscured was given to Emma through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Releasing October 12th 2015, pre-order link below.

There’s the truth you know….

At age 16, Athena Hamilton traded her body for survival when a powerful Vegas hotelier and pimp lured her into his world. Ten years of turning tricks has taught her to trust no one and feel nothing. Yet a chance meeting with a childhood crush sparks hope for something more.

The truth you believe…

There’s no way Isaiah Martin could want her. He’s a pastor. Too good. Too pure. But when she learns her days are numbered, she runs into the safety of his arms and trusts his promise of protection.

And the truth you never imagined…

The aftermath of a tragic accident and a bitter betrayal leaves her destitute and alone. The one man she shouldn’t trust offers her a chance to escape. But when good and evil collide, what do you do when the truth is Obscured?cover74815-medium

Obscured

I went into Obscured blind; I skimmed over the synopsis, the cover and Tara Sue Me was what drew me in.

Throughout the book there were twists and turns I never expected, it kept me wondering what would happen each time I turned the page. It was fast paced and quite enjoyable.

Athena Hamilton became a prostitute at 16 years old, after meeting Mike Randolph. After meeting an old friend 10 years later something within Athena breaks as she decides to run. This is when she find out the truth, truly is, obscured.

I found Athena to be a little bit flaky at times, but who can blame her when you read what she’s gone/going through. Her decisions at times had me shaking my head, thinking ‘you silly girl’.

Isaiah Martin, her old friend, tells her he is a pastor. When Athena makes the decision to leave, her path leads her to Isaiah once more. To begin with he was likable, a southern boy, all grown up, Athena can’t see he’s almost too good to be true.

There was a twist in the story, a good one in which Athena seemed to be on the way to getting her happy ever after.

Saying anymore would be a spoiler, so I’ll leave it there. Obscured was generally really good, 1* off for the flakiness of Athena and the fact it’s looking like a series but there was no mention of it.

Romance Author & Reader Events – Edinburgh 2016

11930834_10153693473091178_6209408848909115659_o

Romance Author & Reader events are returning to Edinburgh in July 2016.

What? RARE is an awesome opportunity to meet book minded people like you! (Rose met Vicki and Emma at RARE 14!) With over 55 NYT best selling authors (including Tillie Cole, C.J Roberts and S.C Stephens) attending, its your chance for a massive fangirl, to pick up some swag and get some pretty signed shinies for your shelves!

Where? Edinburgh, Scotland. The EICC to be exact.. There is an after party (not all authors will be in attendance) in the same venue. There is also a registration event too (free tickets must be allocated through eventbrite) taking place at the Shanghai Club

When? July 9th 2016. Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite, see the links page.

Why? Well if you need to ask then maybe RARE isn’t for you…

The four of us Rockettes will be in attendance (we’ll have T-shirts, so you can’t miss us!) feel free to come say hello!