Book Review: Conning for Keeps (and giveaway)

About the Book
EBook: 110 pages
Release Date: February 3, 2014
ISBN: 978-1662664719
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Lovers undercover…

Secret Agent Marissa Jones has a gift. A con artist to the core, after deep hypnosis she can turn into someone else entirely. Marisa’s gift has gotten her into hot water over the years, but now more so than ever. With her smoking hot partner by her side, she needs to convince him that not only is she her true self, but also that she can be trusted—even in spite of her past.

…or traitors to the cause?

Trevor Harris has his own issues with the mission, he’s got revenge to seek, a cursed painting to secure, and Marissa’s sugary-sweet alter-ego to ignore. But when he releases Marisa from her mental cage and things get a little too hot, he ends up finding out what falling for a con artist really means—bigger trouble than ever before.

I've been a fan of Seleste deLaney's work for a while. I read Gaming for Keeps when it came out and was thrilled when I heard it was going to be a series, TRAIT, and continue with Conning for Keeps.

The second TRAIT novella was just as fun and action-packed as the first. We meet Trevor and Marissa, both agents of TRAIT who are sent undercover to bring down Leo Canalis, the head of a large mob organization.

It should be simple, but Trevor and Marissa have feelings for each other that they aren't supposed to act on. They also don't know how the other feels about them. Which causes even more trouble now that they're thrown into a situation where they must prove that they're a loving, engaged couple.

You all now have a chance to enter to win this fast, fun, sexy read below. And be sure to check out book one, Gaming for Keeps.

About Seleste:
Seleste started on her career path as a young child. Stories of talking animals soon gave way to a love of superheroes and science fiction. Her first foray into the world of romance came at age twelve when she envisioned a sweeping epic love story of two people thrust together and torn apart again and again by fate. As she recalls, the plan was for them to admit their love on his deathbed. But, as is often the case with pre-teen girls, a story of that depth gave way to other pursuits, and sadly it is completely lost other than vague memories.

After that, she occupied herself with short stories for a while, and then poetry until after she had earned a degree in chemistry, spent time as a high school teacher, and became a mother of two. Then she delved into writing fiction once more.

She never lost her love of the fantastic, and her stories now always reach into other realms. The worlds and people she creates occupy as much of her time as the real world, and she is most fortunate to have a family that understands her idiosyncrasies and loves her anyway.

Website/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway Be sure to check out the other stops on the blog tour: Entangled in Romance.

Book Review: A Modern Witch

Can you live 28 years without discovering you're a witch? — Lauren is downtown Chicago's youngest elite realtor. She's also a witch. She must be - the fetching spell for Witches' Chat isn't supposed to make mistakes. So says the woman who coded the spell, at least. — The tall, dark, and handsome guy sent to assess her is a witch too (and no, that doesn't end the way you might think). What he finds in Lauren will change lives, mess with a perfectly good career, and require lots of ice cream therapy.

I found A Modern Witch by Debora Geary while playing around on Goodreads. It sounded like something I'd enjoy since I love most things witchy. And then a good friend said she loved the series. So I bought it and read it. It was enjoyable, and I liked the characters. But it was slow. The beginning was confusing, starting with a scene where one of the guys told his sister she should go with the red lingerie. Whut?

There was no build up and no climax. The closest thing to a climax happened about 60 pages from the end, so the last 50 pages felt like filler. Like a short story/novella that would fall between novels one and two. I kept wondering why there were more pages since it seemed like the story was over.

While I enjoyed the characters, they were all happy, all the time. There was no conflict between anyone. While I'm not a fan of lots of arguing and drama, a bit of tension here or there would've been more realistic. Even the one sad scene was almost cheery. And the happy all the time stuff sometimes came off cheesy. It was definitely a fluffy, feel good book.

There were several kids in the novel, but I'm going to focus on Aervyn, since he was a big part of the story. He's a four-year-old. There was nothing about him that was believable as a four-year-old. I get that he's going to be the most powerful witch of his time, but he read more as seven or eight. Another issue I had... He had no rules to follow, no consequences for his behavior. He teleported his almost nine-year-old sister from the shower to the backyard nekkid and mom laughed it off. If he's going to be powerful, he needs to learn boundaries. As someone who has spent a lot of time around small children, he needed to be more believable for me.

There were a lot of weird reactions to things. For example, one of the female characters said one of the guys was making her uncomfortable. His response was, "Usually I like hearing that from a woman." Again, whut? A lot of the issues I had were small, nit-picky things, but these things took me out of the story. And they happened way too often. Also, it's not a good thing when my favorite thing about the book is the cover. Which I LOVE, by the way.

Despite these few complaints, I did enjoy it enough to read book two. But I'm not dying to get to it.

Book Review: Clockwork Mafia (and giveaway)

Inventor Henrietta Mason is retiring from airships and adventuring to return home to Philadelphia. Determined to erase all trails leading to her late father's duplicity, she dismantles his lab and removes all records of the Badlands gold. While in the city, she can't resist the lure of a charity gala but winds up regretting the whole experience. Well, everything except a heart-racing dance with a certain U.S. Marshal.

His career and vengeance on the line, Carson Alexander must prove a connection between Senator Mason and the mafia. He lucked out happening across Mason's strikingly beautiful daughter, only to have her slip through his fingers. On a desperate hunt to track her down, he never expects his search to take him into the brutal Badlands.

With a mechanically enhanced enforcer after them, only Carson knows the extent of the danger they face. He'll have to win over Henrietta's trust, and her heart, before it's too late...

I was so excited to get my hands on Clockwork Mafia by Seleste deLaney... since I loved Badlands so much. In Badlands, we're introduced to Ever and the crew of the Black Hawk, including Spencer (the captain), Zeke, Mahala, and Henrietta (a doctor). In Clockwork Mafia we get to learn more about Henrietta. I was a bit concerned, since I didn't much care for her character in Badlands, but it turns out I enjoyed her and her story even more than Ever's.

Henri is odd and eccentric. So, of course, I should like her. But those qualities are problematic for her. She's grown up in Victorian London, or rather the steampunk version of it, and she's expected to be a proper lady. She needs to find a suitable husband, but that's just not her. Another thing we have in common! She's a doctor and has a knack for inventions.

In Clockwork Mafia the mob is after Henrietta. After her father's death, they need to get his work from her. But she's also got Carson (a marshal) and St. Clair (a lawyer) following her to get their hands on her father's work as well. I loved Carson from the moment he stepped into the first scene. He's a hero and possibly the only way Henrietta can survive the mob. Unfortunately, Henri's heart wants the one person who would not be a good match for her in society's eyes. That would be the lawyer.

This book not only has romance, but also action and adventure and a fun cast of characters. The world that Seleste created is so much fun with the airship and clockwork contraptions. We get to see the characters we love from the Badlands but has someone else stepping up as leading lady. I loved this book so much, that I'm giving one away. Enter to win an ebook copy of Clockwork Mafia by Seleste deLaney below. And if you win, and don't have Badlands, I'll throw that one in, too.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: Kiss of Death (and winner announced)

Too many years of killer vamps have triggered the curse of the Blood Kissed. They’ve awakened the bloodline that can alter their world, because her blood has the power to control them all—even make them destroy each other.

Jocelyn thought her troubles with vampires were over when she drove a stake through her boyfriend Max’s heart two years ago. Even though she’s engaged to Chad, she’s never really forgotten him. Now Max is back, and Chad is taking her into the heart of the vamp community—and they’re the ones trying to keep her alive. The ones who love her and each seek to claim her for their own. Because once the elders know who she is, they’re all going to want her…or want her dead.



I was so excited when Seleste deLaney announced that there was going to be a full length novel in her Blood Kissed series. I really enjoyed "Of Course I Try" and "The Ghost of Vampire Present" so I was thrilled that we'd get more.

Jocelyn thinks that Max is dead. Because she killed him. He was a vampire after all. And she's engaged to Chad. The thing is... he's a vampire as well. So when Max comes back and she finds out what Chad is, she finds herself mixed up with two bloodsuckers who band together to protect her. She's one of the blood kissed, and she's extra tasty to the vamps. And not only is she stuck with both of them, she's attracted to them both.

At the beginning I was Team Max, and by the end... I'm still Team Max. But seeing Max and Chad interact together and with Jocelyn and other vampires was fun. The world Seleste created was interesting. Her vampires aren't quite the same as those we see all over. To find a unique vampire book these days is rare. I highly recommend checking out all of Seleste deLaney's work. You won't be disappointed. But please be aware, that her books are not for teens. They are very adult. ; )

You may recall, I did a giveaway in September for an ebook copy. The winner is...

Donna S

Congrats and enjoy!