Author: Cyliena Velnarin

A gamer, a mother, and a mother of gamers. My opinions are my own.

Review: Emerald

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EmeraldEmerald by Elle Casey
My Rating: 2-Stars
 Genre: Contemporary Romance
 Release Date: available now
 Formats: Kindle Unlimited, eBook ($4), Paperback ($10)

Emerald Collins is a small-town, hippie-esque girl from a community farm, where she lives with her three “moms” and one of her sisters, Rose. Her other sister, Amber, left for NYC and invites Emerald to come visit. On day one of the visit, Sam Stanz—the brother of Amber’s boyfriend, Ty—shows up unannounced, and Amber is pulled away from NYC on business, leaving Emerald and Sam alone.

Along with all that, there’s a ridiculous amount of exposition you need to suffer through at the onset, peppered with Emerald’s childish language and obnoxious musings.

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Review: The Hellion

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The HellionThe Hellion by Christi Caldwell
My Rating: 4-Stars
 Genre: Historical Romance
 Release Date: available now
 Formats: Kindle Unlimited, eBook ($5), Paperback ($10)

The Hellion is book #1 in the Wicked Wallflowers series. While it’s a nice introduction to the Killoran family, it should have been the final installation in its predecessor series, Sinful Brides. For that reason alone, I detracted a star from an otherwise excellent story.

Cleopatra Killoran will give up everything if it means protecting her sisters. When their older brother arranges one of the ladies to be sponsored for the London Season by their former gaming hell rivals, Cleo steps into a world she detests. The timing couldn’t be worse: the Hell and Sin Club was just destroyed in a fire, and suspicions are high regarding her family’s involvement.

Adair Thorne could do nothing to save his family’s gaming hell. In one night, the Hell and Sin Club, along with his home and his future, was consumed in a blaze. Now residing at his brother’s home, he tasked with keeping watch on Cleopatra, and ensuring that she isn’t doing anything devious. This puts the two in constant contact and at constant odds, and soon the couple discover that there’s much more behind the roughened street image they each possess.

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NYC Trip

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I went with the White Pine Press staff to a journalism conference in New York City last week. Traveling there was less-than-fun, as a nor’easter hit the day we flew out. We ended up delayed for about 12 hours, and eventually re-routed through another airport. Everything else went smoothly after that ordeal, and we had a nice time checking out the city the few days we spent there. Our hotel was in Times Square, so it was a great location for bopping around between and after panels.

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