mignon mykel { reviews }: review || HIS LULLABY BABY by Airicka Phoenix

Thursday, October 22, 2015

review || HIS LULLABY BABY by Airicka Phoenix

Airicka Phoenix | October 19, 2015 | Contemporary Romance
The Baby Saga, book 5
★★★★★

SOURCE: PURCHASED

Nothing ever happens by accident.

Ex-combat search and rescue officer Toby McClain had seen all aspects of humanity in his ten years of service until friendly fire took him out of action. But bitterness was something Toby could never do. He was alive. He had his family and, after being ambushed by a door, he had his eyes on the sexy new innkeeper.

Adelaide Nixon had felt the burn of love once already. It was a mistake that cost her six years of her life. It was a punishment she never wanted to feel again, especially when there were two little people who depended on her to keep them safe. The last thing she wanted or needed was the attention of a guy whose family kept the gossip mills turning.

But no secret ever stays hidden in a place like Willow Creek. Even as Toby breaks through Addy’s walls, a new threat comes to town, leaving her no choice but to put more than her heart in Toby’s hands and trust him not to destroy her.

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{ about airicka phoenix } .

Self-proclaimed romance addict, Airicka Phoenix lives in a world where unicorns, fairies and mermaids run amok through her home on a daily basis. When she's not chasing after pixies and rounding up imps, also known as her four children, she can be found conjuring imaginary friends to play with. Airicka is the prolific author of over eighteen novels for those who crave strong, female leads, sexy alpha heroes and out of control desires. She's a multi genre author who writes young adult, new adult and adult contemporary and paranormal romance. For more about Airicka and the realm she rules with an iron fist--and tons of chocolate--visit her at:

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{ review } .

I had an opportunity to read a review copy of the title, but Impatient Imogene over here needed to buy it. Couldn't wait. Because while I loved the idea of the parents having books and then their kids having books, it was Damon's interactions with kid brother, Toby, that really had my heart going, and if there was one book I was dying to read, it was Toby's.

And pairing Toby with a single mom of not one, but two kiddos? Gosh, I loved this book.

Toby came home from war and he has some battle scars, internal and external. He does a really good job of staying positive and keeping his hurts to himself, though. He first meets Addy when she runs him down with a door -- and then when he's given nieces-and-nephews-to-riding-lessons duty, he encounters her again. Toby is definitely his brother's brother; signing up for riding lessons meant for children had me chuckling. Addy's son? Not so much (chuckling).

I loved Addy and I loved her kids -- Hanna was a doll. I loved that Sean knew some of the McClain's, and watching him fall into the family dynamics was great. I loved how accepting they ended up being.

I'm very sad to see this series end. It was greatly written and the characters all felt extremely real. Kudos, Airicka, for a series well done. I can't wait to see what else you bring forward!

{ previous reviews in series } .

BYE BYE BABY 4.5★ { review }

ALWAYS YOURS BABY 5★ { review }

No comments:

a quick note from { mignon } ...

I AM NO LONGER ACTIVE IN REVIEWING

The last two years has been incredibly rewarding, giving me the opportunity to pick up new-to-me authors, as well as new-to-the-world authors. I have enjoyed supporting publishing houses as well as the indie author, and in doing so, I learned a lot about the marketing aspect of writing a book and selling it as a self-published author.

I have re-focused my journey to more writing-minded. I still read and review! But not nearly at the rate I was; three books a day has turned to three books a month.

I will no longer be accepting individual review requests (unless it's specifically author-to-author, then it will be highly considered).

I will definitely be posting reviews for commitments I have already made, though.

Thank you for understanding, & thank you to all those I have worked with over the last year plus!

~ Mignon

http://mignonmykel.com

GOODREADS updates

Dirty Saint: A Secret Baby Sports Romance by Vesper Vaughn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book almost failed to get my attention. Why?

The hero.

He is the exact public person I despise. You know the type -- all biblical with publicized praying and verses all over his public persona. Great. Good for you. Bet you're not like that behind closed doors...

Which is exactly what Esther thinks of him.

Saint and Esther attend the same super religious college. Esther is on the fast track to becoming a nun, and no I do not kid, and Saint, given name Francis, can do just about whatever he wants, because he is the star athlete and the school knows he has connections. What in the world can these two have in common? The actions of their parents.

But where Saint does what his father says, usually, because his father is pushing him toward a pro-football careers, Esther follows her parents (father) because if she didn't... Her life would literally be a living hell.

I really enjoyed these two, once we started to get to know Saint a little bit better. My only drawback with the book would be the last half goes by in super-fast time. While it helped to keep the story moving, I would have liked to see more of that time drawn out so the feelings and emotions of our two characters felt more genuine and real -- rather than simply a two month courting that their lives demanded.

I'm giving the book the full 5 stars because it came out of left-field for me. It was a book that I didn't expect to like, but the author wove it in a way that I fell hard for our characters both as individuals and as a couple. I liked watching Esther grow and find her voice in life, just as I liked watching playboy, always for the chase Saint, settle down and find a person to be terribly protective over. I loved him most in the last two chapters.

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review

Everything by Erin Noelle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here's something you may know about me if you've followed my reviews -- I'm an epilogue reader. I will almost always read the epilogue first. Call me a spoilsport or no fun, or whatever but that's how I've been reading books for years. It's no wonder that when I write books, I tend to have the epilogue all figured out before I even start with "Once upon a time...".

That said... I read this epilogue and while I liked it, I just couldn't get past the ages of our characters. Couldn't do it. So I read the beginning. Still... If anything, the age of our characters was even more pronounced. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to read this. You see, I have an issue with "Happily ever after" and the hardly-twenty crowd, let alone an eighteen year old.

But that's my hang-up.

Another thing you may know about me? I will sometimes read a book in what I call a inside-out fashion. I jump all over the place until I find a snippet of story that absolutely grips me. And people -- there are a few of those parts in Everything. So because I found those gripping parts, I put my faith in Erin Noelle, and I started from page one -- and I gave Everett and Belle a chance.

And I'm so glad I did.

Everett and his twin sister have been making music forever -- literally. They're the children of a rockstar; music has always been their life. When their father's group decides to get back together (dad always said he'd go back when the twins were done with school), Mason tells the label -- if you take me, you're taking my kids: thus, giving Everett and Ashlynn the opportunity to take their music to a larger level than they have before.

Along the way, with a local gig, Everett meets Belle -- and so begins their story.

This is a story about growing up. This is a story about following your heart -- be it for a person or a career, or even both. It is about learning to trust the person you are giving your heart to, and about taking the ever-looming jump into unknown feelings. When you put your life, your wants, your desires in someone else's hands, the world opens up -- and it certainly does for Everett and Belle.

The part I most appreciated was that the author made Everett true to his age and situation. Belle was too, yes, but it was Everett and his new lifestyle that had me wanting to see true characterization for. He's a guy; he's a musician; he's new to love. He makes mistakes. And for those mistakes, I truly got on board with this story.

Everett and his Tinker Bell were incredibly cute. I liked that there's a decent time jump at the end, further allowing -- you guessed it -- growth of our characters. I'm excited to watch more of them when (if?) Ashlynn's story comes out.

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review

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