GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ I Smell Sheep: June 2017

Friday, June 30, 2017

New Movie Releases for July 2017

Here are some of your choices for July. I plan on seeing Spiderman, War on the Planet of the Apes, and Atomic Blonde. I like a lot of the limited releases too. The Girl Without Hands is a Grimm fairytale adaptation...Bruce Willis is in First Kill and Mark Hamil is in Brigsby Bear
If anyone here watches The Emoji Movie...you will have to turn in your Sheep card... :P

June 30

Limited release


July 7


Limited release

July 14

Limited release

July 21

Limited release
 

July 28

Limited release

Book Review: The Finder by J.E. Lorin

by J.E. Lorin 
March 15, 2017 
Genre: LGBT Sci Fi Romance
ISBN: 978-1520967554
ASIN: B06XGCNBP3
Number of pages: 284
Word Count: 99,630
Cover Artist: Everpage Designs
At the age of sixteen, August Goodson developed a strange and mysterious power overnight: he can find people. Victims of murder, suicide, kidnapping, accidents, and rape; August can find them all, usually dead, but sometimes still alive.

Nine years later finds August volunteering his services to the police. He's still smarting from the loss of his long-time love Dante, who cheated on him with his best friend, and harbors a deep crush on the incredibly handsome, and oh-so-straight, Detective Luke Williams. But there are bigger concerns on August's mind: a serial killer is loose in the city, one whose victims are a little too much like him for comfort.

When August finds a living victim who may be one of the serial killer's, he's drawn even deeper into the case. Will he make it out alive, or will he soon be the one in need of finding?

The Finder is a story about a psychic solving a serial killer mystery. The story is one of the troupiest (is this a word?) I've read in a while. The writing is good, but the plot is predictable (hence the troupiness). I figured out who the killer was the moment they, showed up. But there was one twist to the story I didn't see coming which I can't mention, 'cause spoiler!

Now, you are probably thinking I didn't enjoy The Finder...I did! While plot-wise there wasn't anything special, the story was told from the perspective of the progat, August. I adored August. The author did a great job of putting me in August's mindspace. August has suffered some very troupey tragedies but his inner musings on what has happened to him and how he deals with life is what drew me to him. Plus he's a bit snarky and I love me a snarky character.

The romance between August and the detective, Luke, is sweet, and yes...troupy. But I loved them and the sex was hot. If you haven't figured it out yet, this has a gay romance.

Based on plot this doesn't stand out, but if you like character driven gay romances then you will enjoy The Finder.

3.5 "Finding" Sheep





SharonS

Excerpt:
Help me.

My eyes popped open to a pitch black room. For a few seconds, I lay where I was, sprawled on my back in my own bed. I wasn’t sure yet whether the voice I’d heard was real or whether I’d dreamed it. The room was unusually silent. My tiny studio apartment was normally filled with the sounds of the downtown street below. Not now, though, so I figured it must be late. Even the drunks had gone to sleep. Everything was still, quiet; I convinced myself I must have been dreaming. Just as I closed my eyes, I heard it again.

Help me.

Groaning, I rolled onto my side. With one hand, I groped for my cellphone on the end table, knocking something off in the process. Whatever it was, I didn’t hear it break, so I shrugged it off. I’d figure it out later. My hand landed on the phone. I picked it up, pushing the button to light up the screen; it was only three-thirty in the morning. I groaned again. I really didn’t want to get out of bed but it had to be done; the voice wouldn’t go away on its own. I could ignore it, but that had never worked out. I refused to go through that again.

Grumbling, I clambered out of bed and snatched the jeans I’d shucked off only a couple of hours before. Being sort-of psychic can be a real pain in the ass. I never know when a voice is going to call to me. It could be like now, in the middle of the night. It could be while I’m at work, which means I have to have a flexible job. Or it could be during the middle of sex, which makes relationships difficult, especially since I don’t like to tell people about what I can do.

Having a psychic ability is also weird. It doesn’t always work and I have no idea of the full extent of it. Sometimes I can do something useful, like avert a crime or a death. Most times I just find dead bodies. I know it’s a turn off. Most people, I figure, don’t want to get with a guy who’s basically a cadaver dog.


About the Author:
J.E. Lorin was born and raised in Michigan. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Germanic Studies from Indiana University, she lived in six different states before landing in the San Diego area, where she resides with her husband and their cat & dog. Her mission is to write interesting stories that just so happen to have a little sex in them.

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Eliza Knight’s Top-Ten Bucket List: (Laird of Twilght *Historical Romance* book tour)


Eliza Knight’s Top-Ten Bucket List 

1. Drink bubbly at the Champagne Bar at the top of the Eiffel Tower

2. Run a half-marathon (a marathon is too far…)

3. Visit Pompeii

4. Travel back in time through Scottish standing stones (a girl can wish!)

5. Meet Chris Hemsworth dressed as Thor

6. Be on the set of Outlander for a day of filming (and if they want to redo “The Wedding” episode, I’m cool with that, lol)

7. Have a library like Belle’s

8. Go on a Jane Austen walking tour

9. Spend an entire summer in a cottage on the Scottish coast

10. Meet the Queen of England 


Laird of Twilight (MacDougall Legacy Book 2)
by Eliza Knight
June 30, 2017
224 pages
A future foretold… 

Only one man can fulfill her destiny…

Lady Lilias Cameron has spent the last thirteen years skeptical of a prophecy regarding her future—until the very man described by the seer is introduced as her escort to a doomed marriage. Brooding and handsome, she cannot help the sparks of awareness he triggers. Nor can she ignore the deep desire to be true to herself.

Dirk MacDougall, Lord of the Isles, is to deliver a worthy bride to his Norse enemy, in an alliance that will hopefully bring peace to his country. The only problem is, he finds himself quite enamored by the spirited and charming lady. When one kiss leads to another, desire to claim her as his own takes hold.

If the alliance is broken, a mighty battle will be waged across Scotland begging the question: is forbidden love worth the price of war?


About the Author:
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Eliza Knight is an award-winning and USA Today bestselling indie author of over fifty sizzling historical romance and erotic romance. Under the name E. Knight, she pens rip-your-heart-out historical fiction. While not reading, writing or researching for her latest book, she chases after her three children. In her spare time (if there is such a thing…) she likes daydreaming, wine-tasting, traveling, hiking, staring at the stars, watching movies, shopping and visiting with family and friends. She lives atop a small mountain with her own knight in shining armor, three princesses and two very naughty puppies. Visit Eliza at http://www.elizaknight.com or her historical blog History Undressed: www.historyundressed.com.

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Book Review: Hunted: An Eternal Guardians Novella by Elisabeth Naughton + excerpt

From New York Times Bestselling author Elisabeth Naughton, comes HUNTED,a new novella in her Eternal Guardians Series, brought to you by 1,001 Dark Nights! Be sure to grab your copy today!


Hunted: An Eternal Guardians Novella
by Elisabeth Naughton
June 27, 2017
128 pages
Erebus – Dark in every sense of the word, a skilled and lethal warrior, and sinfully sexy by design.

Since the dawn of modern man, Erebus was Hades’ secret weapon in the war between the immortal realms. Until Hades lost the minor god in a bet to his older brother Zeus. For the last hundred years, Erebus has trained Zeus’s Siren warriors in warfare and the sexual arts. But he’s never stopped longing for freedom. For a life filled with choice. And lately, he also longs for one Siren who entranced him during their steamy seduction sessions. A nymph he quickly became obsessed with and who was ripped from his grasp when her seduction training was complete. One he’s just learned Zeus has marked for death because she failed the last Siren test.
Before Erebus can intercede on the nymph’s behalf, she escapes Olympus and flees into the human realm. In a fit of rage, Zeus commands Erebus to hunt her down and kill her. Erebus sees his opportunity to finally go after what he wants, but he’s torn. Freedom means nothing if the Siren at the center of his fantasies doesn’t truly crave him back. Because defying the gods will unleash the fury of Olympus, and if he chooses her over his duty, whether she joins him in exile or not, the hunter will become the hunted.



REVIEW
I'm a little torn on this one. It's kinda-sorta a sex slave type of tale, but is it really? I mean, it's not real. (least I hope not) So why did it, in parts, rub me the wrong way. Almost like sandpaper on my tongue. I had to ponder that a lot. 

Maybe it's the fact that our leading gal is forced into a sex trade and judged by her performance. Are woman meant to be so mistreated even in make believe books? I am just not sure how to give a rating review, when the foundation of the story was so hard to absorb. I liked the writing style as a whole, very descriptive and not lacking in details. The world overall was very layered and executed extremely well. For a short read, you really do get a lot

I'm going to say that this one is the first in a very, very, very long time that I can not give a rating to. Check out what other people are saying and hopefully you can decide if this is the right PNR for you. 

KD 



Excerpt:
“I want to know where you’re taking me,” she said as he pulled her around switchbacks in the tunnel, her breath heavy at his side, her skin so hot against his he was starting to sweat.

He didn’t owe her an explanation. She was lucky he hadn’t decided to kill her after the way she’d lashed out. Or taken her to Zeus already. The second he’d recognized her he’d decided not to do either, though. Not because she didn’t deserve one or both but because he had his own plans for her. Plans that didn’t include the King of the fucking Gods, at least not yet.

Eventually he knew Zeus would want her back for punishment, which could include anything from having her reassigned as a servant or handmaiden or even a sex slave. And though Erebus wasn’t wild about any of those options—especially the last, unless she was his sex slave—he knew he had time. Time to have his own fun before his life-long obligations to Olympus drew him back.

Hell, he deserved some fun after the years he’d spent in servitude, didn’t he? As far as he was concerned, he deserved more than a little fun simply because he had to deal with Zeus’s incompetent Siren trainees on a daily f*cking basis.

“I’m taking you to the half-breed ruins,” he said, tugging her around another corner in the dark, deciding he didn’t want her completely defiant. Oh, he enjoyed an adrenaline-amping fight now and then, but it was so much more enjoyable when he could coax a female’s reluctance into cries of sensual pleasure. With Sera’s nymphomaniac tendencies, he knew it wouldn’t take much persuading.

“No one’s there,” she argued. “The half-breed ruins have been empty for twenty-some years.”

Exactly. No one was there. No one could hear her screams from inside its walls. No one would even know a minor god had gone off the grid there with a cheeky little nymph who made him so hard he hurt.


She tugged against this grip. “Erebus, please. This is a bad id—”

It was the please that brought him around. Or maybe it was the way she said his name. He wasn’t sure which, but something in her voice made him whip back and push her up against the cold rock wall.


About the Author:
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Elisabeth Naughton is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. From Elisabeth: “I was never one of those people who knew they wanted to be an author at the age of six. I didn’t have imaginary friends. I didn’t write stories in my journal or entertain my relatives by firelight after Thanksgiving dinner. For the most part, I was just a normal, everyday kid. I liked to read, but I wasn’t exceptional at it. And when my teachers complimented me on my writing abilities, I brushed them off. I did, however, always have a penchant for the unique and absurd. And as my mother told me all throughout my childhood, I should have been an actress—I was a drama queen before my time. “Years ago, my husband bought me Scarlett: The Sequel to Gone With The Wind. If you ever saw the book, you know it’s a long one. I sat and read that thing from cover to cover, and dreamed of one day being a writer. But I didn’t actually try my hand at writing until years later when I quit my teaching job to stay home with my kids. And my husband? After that week of reading where I neglected him and everything else until I finished Scarlett, he vowed never to buy me another book again. Little did he know I’d one day end up sitting at a keyboard all day drafting my own stories. “My writing journey has not been easy. I didn’t just sit down one day, decide I was going to write a book and voila! sell my very first attempt. As most authors will probably agree, the path to publication is filled with hours of work, pulling all-nighters I thought I’d given up in college, sacrifices, rejections, but a love I discovered along the way I just can’t live without. Instead of a big, thick book to read by lamplight (I do read much smaller ones when I get the chance), I’ve traded in my reading obsession for a laptop. And I’ve never been happier. “I’m one of the lucky ones. I have a wonderful family and fabulous husband who put up with my writing—and obsessive personality—even when life is chaotic. More than once my kids have been late to swimming or baseball because I needed just five more minutes to finish a scene. Their support and encouragement mean the world to me. I also have amazing friends and a support network I couldn’t survive without. So to all of you out there who have encouraged me along the way, sent me emails and fan letters, phone calls and congratulations, I just want to say, thank you. You make this whole writing gig that much more enjoyable. I truly wouldn’t be here without you.”

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Book Review: Mr. Rook (Mr. Rook’s Island #1) by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Mr. Rook (Mr. Rook’s Island #1)
by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff
June 13, 2017

254 pages
From NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller Mimi Jean Pamfiloff, Comes Part One of Mr. Rook's Island, a Sexy, Dark, Romantic Suspense.
~~~~~
He's Enigmatic, Dangerously Handsome, and COMPLETELY OFF-LIMITS...

The women who vacation on Mr. Rook's exclusive island are looking for one thing and one thing only: to have their wildest romantic fantasies come to life. Pirates, cowboys, billionaires--there's nothing Rook's staff can't deliver.

But when Stephanie Fitzgerald's sister doesn't return after her week in paradise, Stephanie will have to pose as a guest in order to dig for answers. Unfortunately, this means she'll need to get close to the one thing on the island that's not on the menu: the devastatingly handsome and intimidating Mr. Rook. And he's not about to give the island's secrets away.

Rook’s Island is an exclusive topical locale where women of means travel to have their every fantasy fulfilled. Select lucky ladies are secreted away to the unmarked resort run by the powerful and deadly attractive Mr. Rook, a man as mysterious as the island. But Stephanie Fitzgerald’s sojourn isn’t about discovering paradise, but rather uncovering the circumstances of her older sister’s disappearance from the island months earlier. Determined to find answers, Stephanie buys a spot to the dream destination, but soon discovers nothing is as it seems.

In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a Mimi Jean Pamfiloff fan. Her King series is one of my favourites. The premise of a sibling moving heaven and earth to avenge their sibling is a theme explored throughout the King series and it works well as an emotional motivator for the main character in this book. Stephanie makes a deal with a devilish character to raise the funds required for a stay at Rook’s Island. She is fearless, and probably a bit impetuous, in her pursuit for the truth. But I admire her strength and perseverance. For his part, Rook fits a type—but a type I like. He’s tall, dark, and beautiful, in an unworldly sort of way. Sporting a perpetual five o’clock shadow, Rook oozes intimidation and enigma. And so Pamfiloff has once again laid the groundwork for a stunning series. And while these basic elements aren’t new territory for Pamfiloff, her fans will undoubtedly be delighted by a fresh reboot of some beloved plot staples.

The paranormal aspects of Mr. Rook are subtle, at first. Initially, I wasn’t even sure if this was a paranormal story. It stands to reason that a sexual Neverland of sorts would house some kind of magic, I just wasn’t sure how much. The ending of the book hints at some stunning secrets that nicely build momentum and I found the ending quite satisfying, for now. There are two more books planned in the series. I can’t wait.

Five Sheep
 





Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:
Contemporary Romance. Her books have been #1 genre sellers around the world. Both traditionally and independently published, Mimi has sold over 600,000 books since publishing her first title in 2012, and she plans to spontaneously combust once she hits the one million mark. Although she obtained her international MBA and worked for over 15 years in the corporate world, she believes that it’s never too late to come out of the romance closet and follow your dream. When not screaming at her computer or hosting her very inappropriate radio show (Man Candy Show on Radioslot.com), Mimi spends time with her two pirates in training, her loco-for-the-chili-pepper hubby, and her two rat terriers, DJ Princess Snowflake and Mini Me, in the San Francisco Bay Area. She continues to hope that her books will inspire a leather pants comeback (for men) and that she might make you laugh when you need it most. Sign up for Mimi’s mailing list for giveaways and new release news!

Excerpt Spotlight: Not His Dragon (Not This Series Book One) by Annie Nicholas

Not His Dragon (Not This Series Book One)
by Annie Nicholas
July 25, 2016
Genre: Paranormal Romance
ASIN: B01FP2XSE2
Number of pages: 224
Word Count: 75,000
Cover Artist: Janet Holmes
Tagline: Here be dragons.
Eoin Grant hasn’t encountered a female of his race in decades, and this crazy person’s scent declares her unmated. Fate set her in his path, and he won’t let this opportunity slip through his claws. No matter how wary she is of him. After all, how many chances does a dragon have at finding love? But fate can be a crueler mistress than his perfect mate. Of all things, she thinks she’s human.

Business is taking off for Angie Weldon. She put her freakishly sharp nails to good use when she opened her back-scratching spa in downtown New Port. The local shifter community pounced on her skills and she’s knee-deep in shed fur. By the end of the year, if lucky, she could afford to move out of her crappy apartment.

Dollar signs flash before Angie’s eyes when a dark, brooding stranger books her solid for a week but she notices the possessive fury in his glare. She’s been around enough shifters to know the look, and she won’t go down that road again. Angie is literally swept off her feet by the intense shifter and he wants more from her than she’s willing to give. She figures it’s best to avoid eye contact and back away slowly. Until he changes her life by insisting she’s a dragon.

On Sale for 99 cents until 7/1/17


Excerpt:
Only one block separated Angie from her workplace. Her lungs burned. No matter how much air she sucked in, there didn’t seem to be enough oxygen.

A tall, slim man smoking a cigarette watched her from half a block away.

How did she notice him in her state of asphyxiation? Because his pale, blue gaze cut across the distance and met hers with such intense fury that it scorched her retinas.

She slowed her pace, glancing over her shoulder, but saw no one. Why was she the focus of his death glare? Maybe he was friends with the jackass in the truck who’d cat-called her and didn’t appreciate her attempt at sign language? If so, he could take a number and get in line with all the other things wanting to destroy her life today.

As Angie jogged closer, she couldn’t help but notice the brightly colored tats peeking out from under his long-sleeved dress shirt. His business attire looked out of place with his shaved head and a cigarette hanging from his lips. He’d never be the poster boy for GQ Magazine, but he sure fit her bad boy fantasies.

He strode into her path, blocking her way. “What are you doing here?”

She tried to brake, but flip-flops weren’t made to stop on a dime. The front ends folded under and she scraped the tips of her toes along the concrete sidewalk. “Mother fucker, son of a bitch…” She hopped on one foot to rub her bloody toes, then repeated the process on the other foot. “What’s wrong with you?” She planted her hands on his chest and shoved, propelling herself backward.

Pinwheeling her arms, she caught her balance. Great, a supernatural. She had a better chance of pushing the Hanover Tower.

He grabbed her upper arm and yanked her kissing-close. “Don’t do that again.”

Her blood smeared across his white shirt where she’d laid her dirty hands. She couldn’t help but notice a small blue symbol tattooed by his left eye. From this angle, she couldn’t see the design completely.

Try as she might, she couldn’t jerk her arms free. Her heart hammered. “Let go.” She glanced around for help, but no one seemed to want to meet her desperate stare. They crossed the street, gazes glued to the ground. The pedestrian population thinned out quickly as many of them found stores they just had to enter. The scent of fear filled the air and only some of it was hers.

“What are you doing in my city?” His whispered question sent chills down her spine.

“Your city? No one owns New Port.” Oh God, she couldn’t stop her mouth. All she had to do was apologize profusely for whatever imagined transgressions and he’d most likely let her go. Angie stared at the shaved dark stubble on his head, since she couldn’t take his penetrating glare. He kept his hair cropped real close. Almost like velvet. She caught her hand before she reached to touch him. Her senses said he was some sort of shifter, but she couldn’t tell what. She suspected she had a little supernatural blood in her lineage, so her skills were limited. Definitely not werewolf. Her ties to the pack were close enough that she knew them at least by sight.

Unfortunately, humans didn’t hold the monopoly on criminals. Supernaturals had them too and Ryota had shown her how to best defend herself. She slid her free hand into her front pocket. “I said, let me go.” She gave her arm another jerk.

He gave her a condescending smile that would have frozen the Eastern Ocean. “Or what?”

She withdrew her hand, aimed at his face, and pulled the trigger on her pepper spray, remembering at the last moment to close her own eyes and mouth.

He let go and roared an inhuman sound. The noise rattled the windows. She thanked God that she’d emptied her bladder before setting the kitchen on fire.

Shit, shit, shit.

She geared her ass to holy-shit-it's-going-to-eat-me speed and didn’t think the soles of her flip-flops hit the ground until she reached the door to her own little business.


About the Author:
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Annie Nicholas writes paranormal romance with bite. She has courted vampires, hunted with shifters, and slain a dragon’s ego all with the might of her pen. Riding the wind of her imagination, she travels beyond the restraints of reality and shares them with anyone wanting to read her stories. Mother, daughter, and wife are some of the other hats she wears while hiking through the hills and dales of her adopted state of Vermont.