REVIEW: Black Rose

 

Black Rose

by Kris Thompson

It's better to die on your feet than beg on your knees.

Release Date: November 13 , 2014

Published by The Writers Coffee Shop

Genre: Fiction/Romance/Suspense/Thrillers/

ISBN e-book: 978-1-61213-247-1

Available from: Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and TWCS PH

 

~~SUMMARY~~

Lillian Locke had the perfect life in Boulder, Colorado. She had the boyfriend of her dreams, a wonderful family, awesome friends, and a spot on the track team at a great college. There wasn’t anything life could throw at her that she couldn’t get through . . . until he found her. Lillian never could have imagined being abducted and chained up in the dark. Worse yet, being just one of many girls kidnapped and held captive by a madman. All she can do now is hope that she survives the brutality of their captor long enough to find a way to free herself and her new captive friends. When Richard Haines’ girlfriend goes missing, he makes it his personal mission to find the woman he loves and bring her home to the safety of their loved ones. Seeking the help of friends and family, Richard abandons everything except for his pursuit of Lillian. But when someone else close to Richard goes missing, and the bodies of the abducted girls start showing up in the hills outside Boulder, the only thing he can do is hope that he finds her before it is too late.

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When I first started reading Black Rose I thought for sure I had read something like it before. The story was just so familiar. And then I realized no, it wasn’t something I had read but something I had watched.

Anyone remember the movie Kiss the Girls? Well, this book seemed to have an almost identical plot to that movie. Even the prologue was pretty damn close to how the movie started. Was I about to read a rip-off of one of my favourite films?

In my opinion….yes and no. It would seriously surprise me, like knock me over with a feather surprise me, if the author has never seen Kiss the Girls, because the book verses movie is just too similar for it to be a coincidence. That being said, there was just enough differences to keep Kris Thompson from being called a plot thief…hopefully.

Now, did I like the book? That would be a big HELL YEAH!

The story sucks you in from the very first page. Kris Thompson is a very talented story teller and you can definitely see that in her work.

Lillian (Lee) is a very strong character. She’s smart and feisty and it’s that fire inside her that keeps her determined to escape the hell she finds herself in.

The secondary characters in this novel are just as strong as the main ones. While the story is about these girls being held captive and what they had to live through, there is also another story going on within the story of Richard (Lee’s boyfriend) and her brother trying to find these girls. You get a glimpse inside everyone’s head, even the abductor.

That being said, there were a couple of things that bugged me about it.

These girls are being abducted and held prisoner by some psychopath that uses them as his own personal sex toys. But they all seemed lighthearted the majority of the time while being held captive. They laughed and joked with each other, they discussed their sex lives… That just struck me as incredibly odd. These girls are being raped (and beaten) on a daily basis, yet they still find it amusing entertainment to talk about their past sex lives because “they weren’t getting anything good down there”. What?!

As smart as Lee was, I found her to be incredibly stupid at times. Not just with the way she taunts the psychopath, but her actions are sometimes so juvenile you just wonder, “WTF?”

It wasn’t until towards the end of the book when I finally saw some reality hit. Lee was finally acting like someone who had gone through a traumatic experience. Nothing was funny anymore; she finally acted like the whole thing wasn’t some big twisted joke. She was scared and lashed out in a way that you would expect anyone in the same situation to do. She finally, FINALLY, showed some real emotion about the whole thing.

The ending is strong, but, since it takes places 6 months later, I feel like we were cheated out of that whole time. I would have liked to have seen Lee (and the other girls) grow, to see all the work they had to do to overcome some a horrible experience.

But like I said, the way the story ended still came out strong and wrapped the book up nicely.

                      

 

~~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~~

Kris Thompson is a veteran of the US Navy and single mother of three. When she’s not knitting scarves, chasing her children around or baking, you’ll find her enjoying a good book or writing down notes for her own upcoming stories. Writing has been a passion for Kris for many years, and seeing those stories printed on paper is a dream come true.

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~~Praise for Black Rose~~

"There are just not enough words to describe how great I thought this book was! I completed it in one sitting, refused sleep till I was finished. 

A psychotic killer is abducting women, holding them hostage for days and days while raping and torturing and killing in a most horrendous way. Except you know this by reading the back of the book. What you dont know is the story inside...there is so much more."

Goodreads Review

REVIEW: Eight Days a Week

Eight Days a Week

by Amber L. Johnson

A "manny" should always mind his own business. And he definitely shouldn’t fall in love with his boss.  

Release Date: November 6 , 2014

Published by The Writers Coffee Shop

Genre: Romance / Contemporary

ISBN e-book: 978-1-61213-329-4

Available from: Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and TWCS PH

 

~~SUMMARY~~

Gwen Stone has secrets she’s not ready to reveal. After a recent promotion at work, she needs a caretaker for her children. She’s frenzied and in a lurch and pretty much ready to hire the first person who comes along. So she does. Andrew Lyons needs to get out of his sister’s apartment, and a Craigslist posting may be the answer to his prayers. But what he thought was an ad for a room rental turns into a job offer he can’t refuse. Accepting the nanny position could change his life, if only he had a clue how to be a grownup. A working mother, a shirtless “manny” who looks good in a towel, two children who need more than a babysitter, and hours of kids’ TV can only spell disaster for everyone involved. Because a manny should always mind his own business. And he definitely shouldn’t fall in love with his boss.    

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It’s official.

I need to get me a manny. One who runs around in just bath towels, please?

Eight Days a Week is your typical sweet romance novel. We have the overworked, saint-like heroine, Gwen. And the I’m-here-to-save-your-mess-of-a-life eye candy hero, Andrew.

The story is told entirely from Andrew’s POV, which I found delightfully different. Usually they jump from hero to heroine, or are straight from the heroine’s mouth. I can’t recall reading an all-male POV (romance) book before, so I did like that it had that uniqueness going for it. Andrew had his entertaining moments, especially when it came to his nicknames for his ride, and I enjoyed his Manny Log. I’ve had quite a few of his thoughts on certain cartoons myself.

Gwen was a hard character to feel anything for, maybe because she didn’t have a voice in the book, but mainly she had no depth as a character. She was just kind of…there. I found she came off as irresponsible when it came to the children as well at times, especially when hiring someone to look after them. She left out information; she didn’t reveal personal facts about the kids when interviewing Andrew – although part of that was his fault for not asking. I know it’s only a book, but it’s little things like that that make the characters relatable, and more importantly, believable. Half the time she didn’t seem to have a clue how to take care of these kids any better than Andrew did at first.  And I don’t understand what the big deal with her “secret” was.

When it came to Andrew and Gwen as a couple, I wasn’t really buying it. There wasn’t any heat there between them. I felt they were more thrown together out of convenience than anything else. Although, Andrew’s date sabotages were good for a chuckle.

The kids were cute—and probably the most authentic characters in the story. What really made this book possible to finish—and enjoy—was the relationship that grew between Andrew and the kids. It was way cuter and more interesting than the one between Andrew and Gwen, in my opinion. I loved how Andrew got the kids to open up and trust again; and how they taught him to grow up and be responsible. They balanced each other out perfectly and it was the sweetest thing.

Like I said, it’s your typical sweet, short read, and it had its moments, but there was just something missing for me between Gwen and Andrew. They didn’t quite do it, and since the book is about their romance, if the couple isn’t doing it for me the book will always fall a little bit flat.

                     

~~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~~

Amber is a full-time mom and a full-time wife who is employed full time and writes when she can. She believes in Happily Ever Afters that occur every day—despite the obstacles real life serves up on a regular basis. Or perhaps they’re sweeter simply because of them. She always has two rubber bands on her wrist, a song in her head, and too much creamer in her coffee cup that reads ‘Cocoa,’ because she’s a rebel. If she’s not at her desk, with her boys, or behind the computer, she’s supporting live music with her arms raised above her head and her eyes closed, waiting for the drop.    

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Praise for Eight Days a Week

"Laugh-out-loud story about a guy who goes to look at a room to rent and discovers it comes with a job - that of live-in nanny to two damaged kids. So Andrew Lyons accidentally becomes the "manny". Written in his POV, this book chronicles his hilarious escapades as he looks after and grows to love Bree and Brady, and his employer, Gwen. His pranks and spot-on observations about kids' TV shows had me giggling, but there were a few serious moments worthy of a sniffle as well. The star of the show may be Don, though - you'll just have to read this book to find out about him! Highly recommended." 

 - Andrea Goodreads Review