ARC Review: Heart of the Steal by Avon Gale & Roan Parrish

Heart of the Steal
by Avon Gale & Roan Parrish
Published by Philtre Press
eARC (received from book tour organizer)
Adult, LGBT, contemporary, romance

Responsible, disciplined William Fox channeled his love for art and his faith in the rules into being an FBI Art Crimes agent. Right and wrong, justice and injustice—the differences are clear, and Will has spent his career drawing a line between them. Maybe his convictions have cost him relationships, but he’s not willing to compromise what he knows is right. Until the night he meets Amory Vaughn.

As the head of his family’s philanthropic foundation, Vaughn knows very well that being rich and powerful can get him almost anything he wants. And when he meets endearingly grumpy and slightly awkward William Fox, he wants him more than he’s wanted anything. Vaughn is used to being desired for his name and his money, but Will doesn’t care about either.

When Vaughn falls back on old habits and attempts to impress Will by stealing a painting Will admires, their nascent bond blows up in his face. But Vaughn isn’t willing to give up on the glimpse of passion he saw the night he took Will apart. Before Will knows it, he’s falling for the man he should have arrested, and Vaughn has to realize that some things can’t be bought or stolen. Love has to be given freely. But can a man who lives by the rules, and a man who thinks the rules don’t apply to him, ever see eye to eye?

Heart of the Steal is sweet romance (without being sickeningly sweet) about two men who are different from each other and from completely different backgrounds. Will is an FBI agent from Art Crimes division, a little bit awkward when it comes to meeting new people and he's from average midwestern family; while Vaughn is rich philanthropist with no family left and specialized in flirting and socializing. Not to mention that Will sees world as black and white, right and wrong, while Vaughn tends to steal painting when the mood strikes him. It's a disaster of making, but sparks fly because Will and Vaughn have this intense chemistry. Their differences were what made the relationship and their story so adorable and endearing.

 I had a hard time deciding whether I liked Will or Vaughn more, at least until I decided that it doesn't matter because I liked both of them. I loved seeing how Vaughn fell for Will, and how Will had to face that relationships and world doesn't work as black and white as he'd like. It was a journey for both of them, but I loved how neither of them lost any of their adorable quirks. They're both likable characters, which made the story flow nicely. The pacing was on point, and the authors' writing styles were a great match because I couldn't tell the difference, which made the story flow perfectly.

What I really loved about Heart of the Steal, was the fact that it doesn't have overly dramatic and angst ridden revelations and problems. True, Will and Vaughn have things to overcome but those felt realistic because it was mostly about different kind of morals and views of world meeting. It was truly freshening reading experience, and made the story unpredictable. And obviously I'm going to love a character that dresses up as Lucius Malfoy on Halloween. It might have just been the best part of the book, or at least the funniest.

I highly recommend Heart of the Steal if you're in need of great contemporary romance that's sweet and loving but also entertaining.

4 of 5 stars

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(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)

Release Day Blitz: Heart of the Steal by Avon Gale & Roan Parish

Heart of the Steal
by Avon Gale & Roan Parish
Published by Philtre Press
Release day: July 11th, 2017
Adult, LGBT, contemporary, romance

Responsible, disciplined William Fox channeled his love for art and his faith in the rules into being an FBI Art Crimes agent. Right and wrong, justice and injustice—the differences are clear, and Will has spent his career drawing a line between them. Maybe his convictions have cost him relationships, but he’s not willing to compromise what he knows is right. Until the night he meets Amory Vaughn.

As the head of his family’s philanthropic foundation, Vaughn knows very well that being rich and powerful can get him almost anything he wants. And when he meets endearingly grumpy and slightly awkward William Fox, he wants him more than he’s wanted anything. Vaughn is used to being desired for his name and his money, but Will doesn’t care about either. 

When Vaughn falls back on old habits and attempts to impress Will by stealing a painting Will admires, their nascent bond blows up in his face. But Vaughn isn’t willing to give up on the glimpse of passion he saw the night he took Will apart. Before Will knows it, he’s falling for the man he should have arrested, and Vaughn has to realize that some things can’t be bought or stolen. Love has to be given freely. But can a man who lives by the rules, and a man who thinks the rules don’t apply to him, ever see eye to eye?

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Excerpt

“So, William. You came. But something tells me the sentiment behind my invitation has gone rather astray.”

“Then you admit that you left the Staunton painting and a note outside my apartment,” he said flatly, and my eyes narrowed.

“Have I miscalculated your interest?”

William looked like he couldn’t decide whether to laugh or yell. It was smoldering.

“You have miscalculated my profession,” he responded. We were standing close enough to kiss, and when he reached a hand into his jacket, my breath caught. I wanted to help him strip it off and kiss that spot of barbeque sauce off his perfect mouth.

But he didn’t take his jacket off. He slipped his hand out holding something from his pocket. A badge.

An FBI badge.

I was lightheaded. I spent three beats of my heart wondering what the medical diagnosis would be for dying of sheer irony. 

Author bios

Roan Parrish lives in Philadelphia where she is gradually attempting to write love stories in every genre.

When not writing, she can usually be found cutting her friends’ hair, meandering through whatever city she’s in while listening to torch songs and melodic death metal, or cooking overly elaborate meals. She loves bonfires, winter beaches, minor chord harmonies, and self-tattooing. One time she may or may not have baked a six-layer chocolate cake and then thrown it out the window in a fit of pique.

She is represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan of Handspun Literary Agency.

Connect with Roan: website | newsletter | twitter | facebook | goodreads | instagram | pinterest

Avon Gale wrote her first story at the age of seven, about a “Space Hat” hanging on a rack and waiting for that special person to come along and purchase it — even if it was a bit weirder than the other, more normal hats. Like all of Avon’s characters, the space hat did get its happily ever after — though she’s pretty sure it was with a unicorn. She likes to think her vocabulary has improved since then, but the theme of quirky people waiting for their perfect match is still one of her favorites.

Avon grew up in the southern United States, and now lives with her very patient husband in a liberal midwestern college town. When she’s not writing, she’s either doing some kind of craft project that makes a huge mess, reading, watching horror movies, listening to music or yelling at her favorite hockey team to get it together, already. Avon is always up for a road trip, adores Kentucky bourbon, thinks nothing is as stress relieving as a good rock concert and will never say no to candy.

At one point, Avon was the mayor of both Jazzercise and Lollicup on Foursquare. This tells you basically all you need to know about her as a person.

Avon is represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan of Handspun Literary Agency.

Connect with Avon: Website | Twitter | Facebook | FB Group | Newsletter | Goodreads

Mid Year Freak Out Tag

Third year on the row that I'm doing this so I guess it's a tradition by now :)

I'm currently a few books ahead on my Goodreads challenge (I intend to read 60 books this year) and I'd like to it stay that way so I could actually go over my initial goal.

1. Best Book You've Read So Far in 2017

I've read so many amazing books so far, and this is a tough choice. I'm going with The Love Interest because it's an embodiment of everything I have always wished a book to be. And I simply loved Caden and Dylan, and the others.

2. Best Sequel You've Read so Far in 2017

It's funny that the best sequels I've read so far this year are all by Riordan. However, I have to go with The Dark Prophecy, because I love the Apollo series and this sequel was something I couldn't put down, and which left me craving for the third book.

3. New Release You Haven't Read Yet but Want To

Our Dark Duet by V.E. Schwab, and I'll dive into it next because I'm so excited about it and I want to read it before YALC at the end of this month.

4. Most Anticipated Release For The Second Half of the Year

The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan, because I need more of his books and I really need to know how Magnus Chase trilogy ends. Plus it'll soothe me a little bit because waiting for the next Trials of Apollo book takes forever.

5. Biggest Disappointment

There's only been two disappointments this far, and Broke Deep by Charlie Cochrane takes the prize. I simply had high expectations because the other books in the series were so good but this one ended up not just being one for me.

6. Biggest Surprise

Heels Over Head by Elyse Springer, because the synopsis sounded good but I never thought a book could get me so invested in sports. I spend so much time just googling about diving and divers mentioned in the book that it's almost surreal.

7. Favorite New Author (Debut To You)

Cale Dietrich because he just swept me away with The Love Interest. I devoured the book because it was so brilliant and so stunning, and I really liked the writing style and characters, and I can't wait what Dietrich comes up next!

8. Newest Fictional Crush

Hard choice (because my first choice is old crush, not new), but I'll go with Rhy from A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab. True, I read the first installment last year where Rhy was introduced and while I love him then, I think I fell more for him in the sequel where Rhy got a bigger part and there was even chapters in his point of view.

9. Newest Favorite Character

Nate from Insight by Santino Hassell, because Nate's adorable, loyal and very easy to approach as a reader. And he needs all the hugs (especially from Trent).

10. Book That Made You Cry

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan, simply because Nico di Angelo makes me feel all the feels, and I cried for so many reasons in this book because of him.

11. Book That Made You Happy

The Summer Palace by C.S. Pacat because I was so happy to have an epilogue for the Captive Prince trilogy. And I really need more Laurent and Damen, so a novella about them was bound to make me happy.

12. Favorite Book To Film Adaptation

Sadly, I haven't read any books that have been adapted as a film this year so far.

13. Favorite Review You've Written This Year

Hmm... That might just be my review of Trailer Trash by Marie Sexton. I'm happy with the review because I was so excited and captivated by the book that I wrote quite detailed review.

14. Most Beautiful Book You've Bought This Year So Far

I refuse to narrow this down any more because it seems like 2017 has been the year for new releases with absolutely stunning covers. Even narrowing the list to these five that I actually bought and now counting all those gorgeous ARCs I've received. 

15. What Book(s) Do You Need To Read by The End of The Year

There's always so many books I need to read because of reasons, so I'm just going to make a small (or not so small) list of those I really want to read by the end of the year (we'll see if I actually manage to read them).

 

Review: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus, #1)
by Rick Riordan
Published by Puffin
Paperback (purchased)
YA, fantasy, mythology, adventure

OLD ENEMIES AWAKEN AS CAMP HALF-BLOOD'S NEW ARRIVALS PREPARE FOR WAR 

When Jason, Piper and Leo crash land at Camp Half-Blood, they have no idea what to expect. Apparently this is the only safe place for children of the Greek Gods - despite the monsters roaming the woods and demigods practising archery with flaming arrows and explosives. But rumours of a terrible curse - and a missing hero - are flying around camp. It seems Jason, Piper and Leo are the chosen ones to embark on a terrifying new quest, which they must complete by the winter solstice. In just four days time. Can the trio succeed on this deadly mission - and what must they sacrifice in order to survive?

It took me years to pick this up. I absolutely love Percy Jackson and the Olympians and have done so since I read it when I was a teenager. When The Lost Hero was first published, I didn't pick it up because it didn't have Percy and I was hesitant about the Roman gods aspect since I've always been more into Greek mythology. I'm not sure what changed, but eventually I decided to give this one a shot when I heard that the old gang would be main characters in later books in this series. All of my hesitations ended up being for nothing, because true Riordan style, The Lost Hero was compelling and totally a page turner!

It was nice to meet some of the characters from previous series at the Camp Half-Blood, as well as the gods. I loved most of the new characters too, especially Jason and Leo. Leo's hilarious and adorable and just so precious. Jason's the traditional hero type but he was also interesting and really likable. Piper was the only one I didn't really warm up for, mostly because she was a little bit whiny.

I really liked the change to third person (compared to the first person in Percy Jackson series) and the multiple point of views (Jason, Leo and Piper). Although, with the multiple pov's there was sometimes moments when I preferred one to other, and it all comes down to characters preferences. Anyway, The Lost Hero was a page turner and full of adventure. It was a really good series opener because it left so many questions, and the ending, if that's not a cliffhanger then nothing is. Definitely made me want to pick up the rest of the series right away!

I highly recommend for the fans of Percy Jackson, and I definitely recommend to read that series first because this one does include spoilers.

4 of 5 stars

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COYER Weekly Wrap Up #3

Third week of the COYER reading challenge is almost over so it's time do a little wrap up. Third week wasn't any productive than the previous ones as I only finished one book. I haven't been reading much because I've been binge watching House MD. However, I have every intention to read more next week, especially since I have to finish one review copy and I have four books I want to read before YALC at the end of month so I want to read at least one of them during next week. Anyway;

Here's what I read and reviewed;

Tied to Trouble (3 stars)

(Here's my sign up post for COYER challenge)

Review: Tied to Trouble by Megan Erickson

Tied to Trouble (Gamers, #3)
by Megan Erickson
Published by Entangled Brazen
ebook (purchased)
Adult, LGTB, contemporary romance

Between love and hate, there's a whole lot of trouble…

Chad Lake only showed up at his sister's party for the free food, but when he spots an uptight nerd at the edge of the crowd, he can't resist trying to ruffle the guy's perfect bow tie and impeccable hair. The hottie's ready for him, though, and in the end, it's Chad who's left wide-eyed, his ears still ringing with the filthy things Bow Tie whispered in his ear. No one gets the upper hand on Chad. Ever.

Owen Hawkins has heard all about the cocky Adonis from Chad's sister—the same sister who holds Owen's career advancement in her hands. He has every intention of steering clear of the other man…until Chad's sexy taunts push him too far. There's something intriguing about Chad, and even though Owen knows that getting tangled up with the infuriating man is trouble, he can't seem to stay away…

**This is part of an M/F series but can be read as standalone**

Tied to Trouble surely had great banter and snarky comments between the main characters Chad and Owen. I'm a huge fan of banter, so it's no surprise I really enjoyed that aspect of the story. Chad was also charming and funny, even if he was the type of person who had refused to grow up of society's terms by the time he was thirty. Owen was Chad's opposite in a way that he's mature and responsible in every possible way. It shouldn't work, but they had sizzling chemistry, which was a page turner. And somehow, Erickson managed to make bow ties sexy and irresistible, and it's one of the highlights of Tied to Trouble. Chad, and the budding relationship between him and Owen were the best thing and if it had been just that, I would have rated the book higher than three stars. However, there was this thing that made me a bit annoyed about the story.

The one thing that made me pretty disinterest and almost had me skipping pages, was the subplot about Chad's sister Marley being proposed by her boyfriend Austin. I haven't read their previous story, and I was unable to connect with either of them because Austin was controlling and didn't show redeeming qualities and Marley was a bit too overbearing and bossy. Their subplot took about a quarter of the story line, which I felt could have been used to deepen Chad and Owen's relationship or they as individual characters. Especially since there was this quite cliche (and bit annoying) dramatic moment that changed their relationship and led to a bad argument that just caused drama.

If you're looking for a light read that's relatively low on angst but full of steamy scenes and hot nerds, then Tied to Trouble might be good choice for you. However, I have to say that other M/M books from Erickson are way better especially plot wise (I recommend the Cyberlove and In Focus series).

3 of 5 stars

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ARC Review: Oversight by Santino Hassell

Oversight (The Community, #2)
by Santino Hassell
Published by Riptide Publishing
eARC
LGBT, romantic suspense, paranormal

Spoiler Alert! The following blurb contains spoilers for Insight, book one of The Community.

Holden Payne has it all . . . or so he thinks. As heir to the founder of the Community—an organization that finds, protects, and manages psychics—he’s rich, powerful, and treated like royalty. But after a series of disappearances and murders rock the Community, he’s branded the fall guy for the scandal and saddled with a babysitter.

Sixtus Rossi is a broad-shouldered, tattooed lumbersexual with a man-bun and a steely gaze. He’s also an Invulnerable—supposedly impervious to both psychic abilities and Holden’s charms. It’s a claim Holden takes as a challenge. Especially if sleeping with Six may help him learn whether the Community had more to do with the disappearances than they claimed.

As Holden uncovers the truth, he also finds himself getting in deep with the man sent to watch him. His plan to seduce Six for information leads to a connection so intense that some of Six’s shields come crashing down. And with that comes a frightening realization: Holden has to either stand by the Community that has given him everything, or abandon his old life to protect the people he loves.

Oversight was a good follow up for Insight as it let us get into Holden's head, introduced Six, and delved deeper into the Community and its secrets. What's even perfect was that I got my wish when Nate and Trent made an appearance and oh boy, did I love it!

I liked Holden in previous book and now I fell in love. He's idealistic and he believes to all the good in the Community and he genuinely wants to help his fellow psychics. Basically, he's adorable and his biggest fault was to be a bit naive. Besides the old characters from previous book, Oversight introduced Six, who was a mystery in so many ways that figuring him out was intriguing and fun. The chemistry and steamy romance between Holden and Six was definitely classic Santino Hassell, and I really loved it. It was full of suspense and doubt, but also magnetic bull and secrets that changed everything.

The only negative thing I have to say about Oversight is that there were a few moments when it felt a little bit rushed off. I felt like some scenes needed a little bit more page time (and honestly, I wouldn't have minded if I'd get fifty more pages of Holden and Six). Otherwise the book was perfect mix of suspense, romance and paranormal.

I just can't get enough of this world! Paranormal is not my go-to genre but this series is addicting and definitely a very good paranormal. I do recommend this for anyone who likes paranormal, suspense, romance and mysteries - or even if you're not biggest fan of paranormal, this would still be a really good read. Although, in order to read this, Insight has to be read first to avoid spoilers and to know what's going on.

5 of 5 stars

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(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)

COYER Weekly Wrap Up #2

Second week of the COYER reading challenge is almost over so it's time do a little wrap up. Despite my intentions, the week was quite busy and I only had time to finish one book. I travelled back to Scotland and did some volunteering work, all of which took more time than I imagined. Hopefully the third week of COYER is more productive for me!

Here's what I read and reviewed;

I haven't reviewed House of Cards yet, so it'll appear on later wrap ups.

(Here's my sign up post for COYER challenge)

Wrapping the Month: June

What's greater way to start new month than taking a look at previous one?

What it comes for writing reviews, June was a bad month. Even blogging was a bit sluggish at times. I got really caught up going back to Finland for midsummer fest as I was missing my family and friends, and I had awesome time there - and I didn't read or blog much during that time. Still, there were a lot of book tours and release days in June that I was happy to participate in, so the month wasn't all that bad!

I only got two physical copies, both of which were highly anticipated and I really want to read Our Dark Duet in July! I also got plenty of ebooks, both on sale and eARCs which is really nice.

June's reviews:

Broke Deep (2 stars)

A Gathering of Shadows (4 stars)

Summer Stock (4 stars)

June was a steady reading month for me, especially since I went to Finland for midsummer and didn't really read during that week. I still managed to finish five books and start few that I'll finish in July. And overall the books I read were highly starred so it was a nice month.

  

 

I'm almost giving up on making plans for months since it never really goes as well as I want. I'll still try to blog more on July, although at the end of the month I'll be travelling to London for YALC, which means less time to blog and read. But it'll be amazing to spend a weekend with fellow booknerds, see authors and attend panels!

Hugs,

Henna

Stacking the Shelves (61)

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Purchased

  

For Review