Book Review

The Fixer Season 1 Episode 1
Love this cover

Love this cover

The Fixer Season 1 Episode 1 By: Rex Carpenter

Plot:

JC Bannister calls himself a solutionist. His clients call him a fixer. His enemies, a hitman for hire. For the right price, he’ll fix your problem. A call comes in. A meeting in a bar. A contract is agreed upon. But when the contract is for killing a US Senator, Bannister’s problems are just beginning. Worst of all, JC thinks he’s being set up. But the why and the who is just out of his reach. Bannister must find out who is behind the double-cross, complete the contract and satisfy his very powerful client before his solution changes the political future of the country. Or gets him and his entire team killed. The Fixer is an explosive new thriller series by Rex Carpenter that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last body drops. WARNING: The Fixer is for mature audiences. It contains strong language and violence. If it was a movie, it would be rated R. If it was on TV, it would be on cable. If it was an album it’d have a Parental… you get the picture.

Review:

This really reminded me of the Expendables. If the Expendables had a plot.

There was action, the main characters seem to be total bad asses, and there was a nice twist at the end.

I do want to explain this is the first episode in a season, so there isn’t a resolution. Reading some of the reviews I’m not sure if other people understood that, though I think the title of the book kind of gives it away. Why shouldn’t writers create a serialized world like TV shows?

Anyway, if you like short reads (41 pages give or take) and are into macho men kicking ass I think you’ll like this. I’ll continue reading and let you know if it keeps up the pace.

4/5

MILF Episode Two and Three and Four

MILF-Optimized

MILF Episode Two and Three and Four By: Lexi Maxxwell

Plot:

Would you go all the way for your family?

Natalie is a desperate mother in hard times. Her family life is barely clinging to livable, and the big bucks her husband isn’t bringing home aren’t helping. Despite every corner cut, every penny pinched, she clings to a ledge of normalcy but constantly dangles above the pit of poverty.

Until a friend approaches her with an offer too naughty to refuse. An opportunity to use her best assets to help her family increase theirs. Natalie is hesitant. Because once you slip into that hole, there’s no coming back out …

Join Natalie as she becomes an expert, gets into bed with all the wrong people, and gets deeper and deeper into a life of excitement and deceit.

Review:

Wow, the story is really moving with Episode Two. Not as much sex as I expected, but I really can’t complain because the story has pulled me in. So much intrigue and danger. I’ve evidently been reading the wrong erotica.

Episode Three has political intrigue, not really a unique pairing, sex and politics, but it did add a new element to the story. Lots more tension in this episode, I felt like there were also more sex scenes. Great addition to the ongoing story and very arousing.

Wow, great ending, definitely makes me have to know what comes next. As usual great erotic scenes and good story progression. I don’t really expect this level of story detail in erotica. Maxxwell isn’t leaving any loose ends or forgetting plot details. Happy with how this is progressing.

Maybe I just don’t expect enough from erotica. Either way I’m looking forward to more episodes to come.

5/5

MILF: Episode One

MILF-Optimized

MILF: Episode One By: Lexi Maxxwell

Plot:

Natalie is a desperate mother in hard times. Her family life is barely clinging to livable, and the big bucks her husband isn’t bringing home aren’t helping. Despite every corner cut, every penny pinched, she clings to a ledge of normalcy but constantly dangles above the pit of poverty.

Until a friend approaches her with an offer too naughty to refuse. An opportunity to use her best assets to help her family increase theirs. Natalie is hesitant. Because once you slip into that hole, there’s no coming back out …

Review:

Awesome! Loved this so much.

I’m not a huge erotica reader, though I’ve had my moments. This has the steamy sex scenes and a good plot, something that isn’t always the case. Most of what I’d categorize as Erotica, that I’ve read, is sort of wham bam thank you ma’am. This certainly doesn’t waste any time but it also builds characters.

Definitely reading the next one.

5/5

Of Grave Concern

Of Grave Concern

Of Grave Concern (An Ophelia Wylde Paranormal Mystery #1) By Max McCoy

Plot:

The Civil War is over, and many a young widow has turned to spiritualism to contact their husbands on “the other side.” But Ophelia Wylde won’t be fooled twice. After wasting her money on a phoney psychic, she decides if she can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. She leaves New Orleans and heads West, selling her services as a spiritual medium who speaks to the dead. By the time she reaches Dodge City, business is booming. Except for a handsome but skeptical bounty hunter named Jack Calder, no one suspects Ophelia of running a con game–until an unfortunate “reading” of a girl who’s still living exposes her to a townfull of angry customers. As punishment, the mob drags Ophelia to Boot Hill and buries her alive in a fresh grave overnight. That’s when the dead start speaking. To her. For real. And for dead people, they’ve got lots to say. ..

Review:

I like paranormal books, and recently I’ve been on a cozy mystery kick, so when I saw this was on sale I snatched it up.

First off this is an origin story more than it’s a cozy mystery. The “mystery” is mentioned at the beginning of the book but it’s not pursued until the halfway point. The main point of this book was to introduce you to Ophelia Wylde and get her started on her life of mystery solving.

As a character Ophelia was fully fleshed out and I could see her clearly but I didn’t really like her. For most of the book she was basically a grifter, taking advantage of people. When she was a child she’d had a gift but circumstances caused her to lose the ability. So she took her knowledge and manipulated people.

By the end of the book I liked her a little better. She was trying to be good, but what does it say about a character that they had to be almost killed to reach that point?

It was an interesting idea and I liked the paranormal western approach. Now that her origins are out of the way I’m interested to see what’s next.

3/5

Sprinkle With Murder

sprinkle with murder

Sprinkle With Murder (Cupcake Bakery Mystery #1) By: Jenn McKinlay

Plot:

Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura are finally living out their dream as the proud owners of the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery. But their first big client is a nightmare. She’s a bridezilla who wants 500 custom cupcakes for her wedding. When Mel stumbles upon the bride-to-be dead-by-cupcake, she becomes the prime suspect. To save themselves and their business, the ladies need to find the real murderer, before the cupcake killer ices someone else.
Review:

When I read this book I was in a foul mood and yet I still ended up enjoying it. I really liked it. It was mentioned in an issue of Writer’s Digest as a good example of a contemporary cozy mystery. Unfortunately it was not available through my library and it was more expensive than I normally purchase eBook wise. Still after reading the sample I wanted to know more so I begrudgingly spent the $5.99. It was totally worth it. Oddly enough the library has the 3rd, 4th, and 6th in the series. Weird.

Anyway, the story had the perfect amount of everything. The mystery was the main focus but there was also cupcake shop stuff to deal with and just a small amount of romance. The characters were good, though the mother annoyed the crap out of me.

I don’t get mother’s in books. Half the time they’re nonexistent and the other half of the time I want to kill them. So overbearing and nosy and… Maybe I have mommy issues?

Back to the book. I’m really looking forward to this series though I do really wish my library had them because I just don’t have the money to pay $5.99 a book, even though they’re totally worth it. Maybe I can find some money with some creative accounting?

4/5