Review: In Enemy Hands by M.A. Church

Blurb:
Two very different civilizations—one bathed in bright sunlight and the other veiled in shadow.

Bad decisions, declining resources, and a king on the brink of madness force Prince Varo Kutchif, third son of the royal family and a starship captain, to attempt the impossible: barter for Black Phospolrock, an energy source the mysterious Helkan Kingdom has in abundance. Varo opens a line of communication with Adlar, an intriguing Helkan who seems to reciprocate Varo’s interest. He hopes so, because if negotiations collapse, Varo has orders to attack.

The Helkans preside over a planet shrouded in perpetual darkness. Several species have tried to exploit its natural resources through trade with them, but all have failed. Adlar Mondur is the older brother to the Helkan ruler. An assassin of the highest order, he’ll do anything to protect his king and his people—including tracking down the Yesri prince who crash-lands on their planet, leaving an ugly scar across its untouched beauty.

Thus begins a journey where two men from disparate civilizations grow from enemies to lovers.

Excerpt:
"STARS-CURSED PLANET"
    Snarling, Varo placed in his private bridge office, jerking his luxurious cowlarium-hide desk chair around, he flopped down. Long white-blond hair fell over his shoulder. Irritated, he shoved it out of the way. He should've braided it this morning, but he'd gotten up late.
    He rested his chin on his knuckles and stared out the port window into the unrelieved darkness that was space, scowling. Planet Helkan what his focus-with its permanent, swirling cloud cover that ore times than not denied their in-depth scans.
    Its classification was that of a Darkrealm planet. Thanks to the cloud cover playing peekaboo, only filtered light got through. As such, its ecosystem either didn't require much sunlight to live, or its flora photosynthesized nonvisible light. No one knew much about the planet's race since they didn't travel off-planet much. The ones who did were said to be reserved, unfriendly, and uncommunicative. Cold, even.


Author bio:
M.A. Church is a true Southern belle who spent many years in the elementary education sector. Now she spends her days lost in fantasy worlds, arguing with hardheaded aliens on far-off planets, herding her numerous shifters, or trying to tempt her country boys away from their fishing poles.

Going... going... going...GONE! Another grand-slam home run for M.A. Church!! In Enemy Hands rates right up there with her Harvest series which, in my opinion, is her best work.

I've read a lot of SciFi novels, not all of which were romance, and I have to say I've never read a story with this kind of plot. They were usually time travel or space battle. I really, really loved the plot. It's amazing. M.A. keeps you guessing on what's gonna happen next. It has more twists and turns than a bag of curly fries.

M.A.'s amazing depiction of Helkan makes me want to visit as much as I want to visit Pandora. To talk about the planet would require spoilers.

The main characters, although are enemies, are extremely complex and likable. It would be difficult to choose sides between Adlar, older brother of the king of Helkan, and Varo, prince of the planet Yesri. What happens when the two enemies come face to face? You'll just have to read In Enemy Hands to find out.

If anyone had the chance to read In Enemy Hands when it was being posted on her blog, even though it was really good, this is awesomely awesome.

I would love to give it a 100, but unfortunately, the scale only goes to 5, so 5 it is. After reading the reviews on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, I'd be surprised if readers didn't rush out and buy it.

Well done, M.A., very well done.

Buy links:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
DreamSpinner Press



 

Blog tour: Doll Baby by Kayleigh Sky

Doll Baby - Kayleigh Sky

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Global

Length: 330 pages

Blurb

Todd Rifkin has sworn off love forever—until he loses his heart to a badly scarred rent boy and stumbles into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a brutal stalker out for revenge.

Struggling to make enough money to buy a friend’s bar and grill to fulfill a promise, Todd Rifkin vows to let nothing stand in his way. Nothing, that is, until a friend’s call for help. Bailing his friend out of trouble might cost Todd his dream. Now he is scrambling to make up the loss and reluctantly takes on the job of errand boy for his boss’ spoiled ex-lover.

Bliss Busby has no memory of the attack that scarred his face. Scared and reclusive, he has no interest in Todd’s intrusion into his life. No interest, that is, until somebody starts scattering cinnamon hearts at his door. Now Todd is the only one standing between Bliss and a mysterious stalker.

Years ago, Todd lost the love of his life in a violent twist of fate. After a night with a knife-wielding maniac, Bliss lost everything. Thrown together by circumstance, Todd and Bliss must unite to battle a hidden force from the past. As Bliss struggles to remember the attack that wrecked his life, and Todd struggles to save him from an attacker that is closer than either of them realizes, their reluctant friendship becomes a passionate love that just might have the power to heal their wounded hearts.

If they live.

Author Bio

Kayleigh Sky is a m/m erotic romance writer.

Kayleigh’s stories are tales of struggle and pain, loss and despair. Love is won in the battle to rise out of the depths of darkness. Victory is in the sweet bliss of happily ever after.

Once upon a time Kayleigh hid out in a cold dark garage reading a book her parents forbid her to read. She was nine years old. The book? Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, a story of love between two men–well, actually the story was a little more complicated than that, but hey, she was nine.

In the dark of the garage, a light, a passion, a sheer joy for love in all its manifestations awoke.

And love between two men–Hot!

Kayleigh’s men are often broken, always brave, and always memorable.

You can find Kayleigh here.

http://www.kayleighsky.com/?feed=rss2

http://www.facebook.com/pages/kayleighsky/766385570110391

http://www.twitter.com/skyboundlove

http://www.pinterest.com/kayleighsky

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I have to be totally honest here. I had a hard time getting into this book. It was difficult keeping the characters straight in the beginning. I must say, however, that this is my opinion. Readers need to make their own opinions

That being said, the plot was some something you'd see on Law and Order Special Victims Unit. It was pretty believable.

Even though I had problems keeping the characters straight, I liked them.

Would I read this book again? Possibly. Would I recommend it? Yes. There's no doubt in my my mind other readers will find it enjoyable.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it a 4.

Blog tour: LIght Up The Dark by Suki Fleet

Light Up The Dark - Suki Fleet

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Cover Design: Natasha Snow 

Blurb

For two years Nicky has wandered the dark empty corridors of the overgrown Thorn Hall, unseen and untouched, feeling like a ghost. His only company, the cold man who promised to keep him safe from harm, Lance.

But when Lance dies, Nicky’s assurance of safety disintegrates and his world suddenly becomes a lot more real and a lot more dangerous. Scared to leave the house, Nicky longs for daylight. He employs a gardener to clear the over-grown bushes and vines that have nearly swallowed Thorn Hall whole.

The last thing Nicky expects a little light to do is show him something to fight for.

Eighteen months in a young offenders’ institute has taught Cai two things: he occupies the playful puppy end of the How Dangerous Are You? spectrum, and he has an unfortunate knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Desperate for a job, he takes the first offer he gets. Even though Thorn Hall creeps the hell out of him and he barely knows one end of a pair of garden shears from the other.

Things start to fall apart when Cai is drawn into Nicky’s strange world of sticky notes and secrets. Cai finds he is now a target, blamed for a crime he didn’t commit. Desperate not to go back to prison, he digs deep and risks all the good things in life to help Nicky run.

But now Nicky has someone he wants to protect, he knows he can’t run any more.

January 3 - Dog-Eared Daydreams
January 9 - MM Book Escape, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
January 11 - Back Porch Reader
January 13 - Diverse Reader, The Novel Approach, MM Good Book Reviews
January 16 - Making It Happen, The Geekery Book Review, Jim's Blog
January 20 - Wicked Faerie's Tales & Reviews, Inglorious Bitches
January 23 - Bella's Blog, Bayou Book Junkie, Alpha Book Club, Keysmash

Author Bio

Award Winning Author. Prolific Reader (though less prolific than she'd like). Lover of angst, romance and unexpected love stories.

Suki Fleet writes lyrical stories about memorable characters, and believes everyone should have a chance at a happy ending.

Her first novel This is Not a Love Story won Best Gay Debut in the 2014 Rainbow Awards, and was a finalist in the 2015 Lambda Awards.

Links
Email: sukifleet@gmail.com
https://www.instagram.com/suki_fleet
https://www.facebook.com/suki.fleet.3
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7919609.Suki_Fleet
http://sukifleet.tumblr.com
http://sukifleet.wordpress.com
https://twitter.com/SukiFleet?lang=en

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Amazing. Simply amazing.

If you're not careful, you could drown in the emotions that pour from the pages. Courage. Fear. Loneliness, Protectiveness, Rage. All of these are found in abundance within the pages of this book.

It's easy to feel Nicky's fear after being completely alone for 2 years, several months of which were without gas or electricity. If I were in Nicky's shoes, I'd probably have gone insane from the loneliness. I don't think I'd be able to allow Cai into my life at all, let alone completely, albeit very slowly.

I applaud Cai's willingness to risk everything in order to keep Nicky safe.

There is much more I would like to say about this amazing book, but to do so I would have to give out spoilers, which I refuse to do. You'll just have to read it for yourself, which I strongly recommend you do.

I give Light Up The Dark 5 out of 5 stars.

Release blitz: Doll Baby by Kayleigh Sky

Doll Baby - Kayleigh Sky

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Global

Length: 330 pages

Blurb

Todd Rifkin has sworn off love forever—until he loses his heart to a badly scarred rent boy and stumbles into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a brutal stalker out for revenge.

Struggling to make enough money to buy a friend’s bar and grill to fulfill a promise, Todd Rifkin vows to let nothing stand in his way. Nothing, that is, until a friend’s call for help. Bailing his friend out of trouble might cost Todd his dream. Now he is scrambling to make up the loss and reluctantly takes on the job of errand boy for his boss’ spoiled ex-lover.

Bliss Busby has no memory of the attack that scarred his face. Scared and reclusive, he has no interest in Todd’s intrusion into his life. No interest, that is, until somebody starts scattering cinnamon hearts at his door. Now Todd is the only one standing between Bliss and a mysterious stalker.

Years ago, Todd lost the love of his life in a violent twist of fate. After a night with a knife-wielding maniac, Bliss lost everything. Thrown together by circumstance, Todd and Bliss must unite to battle a hidden force from the past. As Bliss struggles to remember the attack that wrecked his life, and Todd struggles to save him from an attacker that is closer than either of them realizes, their reluctant friendship becomes a passionate love that just might have the power to heal their wounded hearts.

If they live.

Author Bio

Kayleigh Sky is a m/m erotic romance writer.

Kayleigh’s stories are tales of struggle and pain, loss and despair. Love is won in the battle to rise out of the depths of darkness. Victory is in the sweet bliss of happily ever after.

Once upon a time Kayleigh hid out in a cold dark garage reading a book her parents forbid her to read. She was nine years old. The book? Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, a story of love between two men–well, actually the story was a little more complicated than that, but hey, she was nine.

In the dark of the garage, a light, a passion, a sheer joy for love in all its manifestations awoke.

And love between two men–Hot!

Kayleigh’s men are often broken, always brave, and always memorable.

You can find Kayleigh here.

http://www.kayleighsky.com/?feed=rss2

http://www.facebook.com/pages/kayleighsky/766385570110391

http://www.twitter.com/skyboundlove

http://www.pinterest.com/kayleighsky

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Blog tour: Analog to Digital by Posy Roberts

Analog to Digital - Posy Roberts

Length: 13,655

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Dreamspinner | AllRomance | B&N | KOBO 

Blurb

All Ethan wants for Christmas, and the rest of his life, is Toby.

For years, Ethan and Toby have said they’ll never marry, despite Ethan’s secret wishes. So leaving sunny California for snowy Minnesota to witness his sister’s vow renewal is not how he wants to spend his Christmas Eve. It’s the second time she’ll say “I do” in less than a year, when Ethan saying those words to Toby even once is hopeless.

In the run-up to the ceremony, Toby seems to avoid Ethan, and doubts grow in his absence. Ethan can’t help noticing Toby spends more time with Ethan’s family than with him. Little does Ethan know, Toby has desires of his own. But if Toby doesn’t find a way to reveal them, Ethan could leave for home without him.

Excerpt

LOOKING UP from the doodle I’d started on a cocktail napkin, I ordered. “Surly Furious. Two, please.” It was the beer I’d begged my sister to ship to me from back home. I wanted to give my employees a taste of Minnesota, even if they relentlessly teased me about my accent and “unfathomable” work ethic. I didn’t end up owner of a top-rated design house by the time I was in my midtwenties by phoning it in, so I never let their jibes bother me much.

The server reached for glasses after cracking each large can with a pfft and pfft, but I waved him off. “We’ll drink ’em right from the can, thanks.”

“Certainly.”

I slipped a ten in his tip jar and turned to the center of the distinctive ballroom, where people were dancing. His thanks trailed after me as I made my way over to Toby, who looked ready to blend into the leather couch while the room buzzed around him.

I pressed the chilled beer into his warm palm. “Here. This is the one I told you about.”

He took a sip and looked at me with dark eyes before taking another few swallows. He smiled when he finally set the can down. “It’s good. Real good.”

“Told ya.” I leaned in and kissed the beer foam that clung to his mustache. His beard brushed my chin, and as much as I wanted to get lost in his kisses, I was there as the boss tonight and couldn’t really let go like I wanted.

“Look at you two! So in love.” Stella, my right-hand and necessary coconspirator in most projects, plopped herself in the chair next to me and sipped at a neon-pink drink garnished with at least three fruit kabobs. Her eclectic style, mostly latent punk rocker meets Vargas pinup girl, was in full bloom. She would’ve fit perfectly on the nose of an Air Force plane or at any dance club in the city.

I smiled at her as I leaned against Toby’s shoulder. The sparkle in her lined eyes made what she was about to ask obvious.

“When are you two going to finally tie the knot?”

“We’re not,” Toby said without a second’s hesitation.

I crossed my feet at the ankles to ward off any evil as I lied through my teeth. “It’s not something either of us has ever wanted. No need to be tied down to a person. God knows I’m tied down by enough strings to this business, which grows busier by the day.”

Stella studied me out of the corner of her eye, skeptical. I talked shop to shake her focus.

December 29 - V's Reads, Out Of My Head, Hearts on Fire Reviews, Dog-Eared Daydreams, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, BooksLaidBareBoys, More Books Please Blog, The Way She Reads, Keysmash, Gay Book Reviews

December 30 - Bonkers About Books, The Day Before You Came, The Geekery Book Review

January 2 - Making It Happen, Wicked Faerie's Tales & Reviews

January 4 - Bayou Book Junkie

January 6 - Bella's Blog, Books Lovers 4Ever, MillsyLovesBooks, Jim's Blog, MM Good Book Reviews, Slashessed.

About Posy

Posy Roberts writes about the realistic struggles of men looking for love. Whether her characters are family men, drag queens, or lonely men searching for connections, they all find a home in her stories.

Posy is a Jill of all trades and master of the drill and paintbrush. She’s married to a partner who makes sure she doesn’t forget to eat or sleep during her writing frenzies. Her daughter, a budding author and cinematographer, helps her come up with character names. For fun, Posy enjoys crafting, hiking, and singing spontaneously about the mundane, just to make regular life more interesting.

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Release blitz: Chase The Ace by Clare London

Chase The Ace (London Lads #1) - Clare London

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Dreamspinner

Length: 27,000 words

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Blurb

Newly single in his late twenties, and bored with his life in a London insurance company, Daniel Cross soon discovers the lure of social media. Excited at the chance of tracking down his old mates from a schooldays sports club, he launches a personal quest to find out what kind of man each boy has become.

Dan’s first mistake is chatting online to the wrong man—Nick Carson isn’t one of the boys, but his brother. Nick isn’t offended and offers to accompany Dan on the trip to find the others. It’s the first step to friendship and something more for both of them.

For Dan, the reunions with the “Gang of Four” range from startling and heartening to disturbing. Nick’s company is a constant support, though neither of them are prepared for the exposure of personal secrets they’d thought long hidden. Dan begins to suspect he’s really looking for a direction in his own life—and the excitement and purpose he craves may be closer to home than a quest with its roots in a boyhood dream.

Excerpt

~~Daniel and Nick visit a club in Brighton, searching out the first old friend on Daniel’s list~~

We found ourselves in a narrow corridor running behind the stage and the bar, where two small rooms served as dressing areas. The young man who’d acted as receptionist was in the doorway of one of them, swigging from a can of drink and dressed in a tight, sparkling green Lycra vest and denim shorts. He turned to stare at me.

“Looking for Gerry?” he asked with a grin.

Behind him, the show’s announcer chuckled—he was sitting inside the room on a chair in front of a large mirror, now dressed only in the matching sparkly shorts. The two men were both of slight build, with similar pale good looks. All I could do was wonder if they shared outfits, taking turns to wear the top and then the bottom, until laundry day.

“I’m looking for Dina,” I said, raising an eyebrow.

Alice used to tell me I could look very forbidding, but the young man just laughed and nodded to the next room.

Dina sat in front of a similar mirror with a large cosmetic bag open on the counter in front of her. She’d taken off the huge wig and eyelashes but was still in costume, and she turned her chair to greet us as we entered.

“Hello, Daniel,” Gerry said. He was smiling, though his eyes showed some nervousness. “I saw you in the audience. Long time no see.”

His voice was lower than on stage, his natural hair a shaggy, dark mess, but he was still a long way from the schoolboy I’d known. He’d taken off the heels as well. It looked incongruous: his large, masculine feet showing under the feathered hem of the sparkling frock, the nail polish on his toes that coordinated perfectly with his fingers.

“You remember me?”

Gerry chuckled. “You’re memorable, honey. Not that you ever believed it.” He glanced at Nick and winked.

“Do I call you Gerry, or do you prefer Dina?”

He laughed, and in that moment I was reminded of the joker at summer school, the easy-going extrovert. “Call me what you like, honey. I love Dina, and I love Gerry too.”

“Are you a transsexual now?” I asked, from nothing but curiosity.

Nick’s hand tightened on my arm. “Dan, that’s pretty rude.”

“It’s okay,” Gerry said in his rich drawl. “I’ll talk about anything, you know.”

“We gathered that much from this evening’s show,” I said wryly.

Gerry laughed again. “I always liked you, Danny Boy. You were bright, but you weren’t an arsehole. No, I’m not female, and I’m not sure yet if that’s what I want. For the time being, I’m happy being both of me, whenever and whichever I choose.”

“And the diva is a star,” Nick said with a smile. “It was a great show.”

Gerry flushed with pleasure that could almost be called coy, if I hadn’t recalled how he spiked the cola in the club fridge one lunchtime with vodka he’d stolen from his mother, or the time he offered to wash the tennis kit and turned it all baby pink, or the time he smuggled in a family bucket of fried chicken and sold it piece by slimy piece to the younger kids under cover of the table tennis tournament.

He was watching me, smoothly plucked eyebrows raised. “Remembering the good old days, Danny?”

I laughed then. I realised how buzzed the atmosphere was, how light-headed I felt, and not just because of the wine. “Your costume is magnificent. You always did like playing with the dolls’ clothes. Remember that time we tried to re-enact Chariots of Fire with Sindy dolls?”

Gerry rolled his eyes. “I twisted one of the legs in its socket, taking it through the finish tape. And the homoerotic subtext? Well! That scene snapped the other leg right off, as I remember.”

“And Mark was whimpering we’d get caught, you know how tough the girls could be with him—”

“And Alec sneering how fucking stupid the dolls looked in string vests and shorts made of chopped-up dishcloth—”

We were roaring with laughter by now.

“Do you remember …?” I paused, but I’d gone too far now to stop. “Do you remember that game of chase the ace?”

Gerry stopped laughing, abruptly and startlingly. “Honey, you’re not still worrying about that, are you? After all these years?”

I flushed, and I could feel Nick’s curious eyes on me. “It’s stayed in my mind. I just wondered if it was still in yours.”

“Bloody good punch-up that day,” Gerry said, with glee that owed more to a sixteen-year-old’s boasting than an adult cabaret singer’s set.

“I just wanted to know ….”

“Of course you did,” Gerry said. “Close your eyes, honey.” His voice was suddenly stronger and much deeper. He stood, towering over me even without his heels on. “You hear me?”

Shivering, I did. God knows what Nick thought was happening. He must have worried we had some weird ritual going on, worried what kind of lunatic he’d given a lift to. Then Gerry grasped my chin, tilted my head, and kissed me.

I didn’t open my eyes; I just surrendered to it. His lipstick was sweet and slick and his lips firm. The end of his tongue brushed my mouth, but he didn’t push in, just licked briefly at my lower lip. Nick stifled a gasp, and Gerry chuckled in the back of his throat.

Then our lips drifted apart.

“Well, honey?” Gerry murmured.

I opened my eyes and smiled. “That was nice.”

Gerry raised his eyebrows again. “I’m damned by faint praise.”

“You know what I mean. It was great, but it wasn’t ….”

Gerry nodded. “I know. Even at sixteen I had a kiss you’d have remembered.” He glanced over at Nick. “And your cute man is looking daggers at me, so he needs to be in on the story, right?”

I said, “He’s not m—”

“I’m not h—” Nick said at the same time.

Gerry ignored us both. “Whatever. Fun, fascination, or fuck, you both look good on it.” He turned back to the mirror and sat again. “Now I have to get ready for my second set. You’ll stay for that?”

Author Bio

Clare took the pen name London from the city where she lives, loves, and writes. A lone, brave female in a frenetic, testosterone-fuelled family home, she juggles her writing with the weekly wash, waiting for the far distant day when she can afford to give up her day job as an accountant. She’s written in many genres and across many settings, with novels and short stories published both online and in print. She says she likes variety in her writing while friends say she’s just fickle, but as long as both theories spawn good fiction, she’s happy. Most of her work features male/male romance and drama with a healthy serving of physical passion, as she enjoys both reading and writing about strong, sympathetic and sexy characters.

Clare currently has several novels sulking at that tricky chapter 3 stage and plenty of other projects in mind . . . she just has to find out where she left them in that frenetic, testosterone-fuelled family home.

All the details and free fiction are available at her website. Visit her today and say hello!

Website: http://www.clarelondon.com
Blog: http://clarelondon.livejournal.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/clarelondon
Facebook chat: https://www.facebook.com/groups/clarelondoncalling/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/clare_london
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/clarelondon
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/clarelondon

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Blog tour: Painted on My Heart by Kindle Alexander

Title: Painted On My Heart

Author: Kindle Alexander

Genre: M/M Romance

Release Date: January 2, 2017

Artist Kellus Hardin let love and loyalty cloud his past decisions, a mistake he definitely won’t make again. Now, lost and alone, he’s left to pick up the shattered pieces of his broken heart while facing the truth of his reality. 

Arik Layne exudes power, confidence, and determination. But when an encounter with the guarded artist shakes him to the core and alters all his future goals, he finds more than just his heart on the line. 

For Kellus, opening himself to love isn’t an option. 

All Arik wants is to make the artist his. 

Can love create a masterpiece when it’s painted on your heart?

One. Incredible. Read.

Two men on opposite sides of the social ladder meet. One loaded with baggage, the other in, as Sheriff Buford T. Justice in the Smokey and the Bandit movies, 'hot pursuit'. One's holding a serious secret which causes him to put up thick walls.

Ms. Alexander brilliantly portrays the emotional roller coaster Kellan, a brilliant artist, deals with on a daily basis, intensified by Arik's relentless pursuit. I can't help but wonder how many people would share Arik's reaction to the life-changing secret Kellan finally reveals. I know I would.

I also like how characters from one of her other series are mentioned in this story. I won't mention any names, but their initials are C. M. & J. M. From her N. G. series.

*spoiler alert* One of the things I REALLY like is that the portrayal of their relationship is much more realistic in that it's not all lovey-dovey. They fight like any other couple does, and their fights are included in the story.

I've seen similar plots in other books written by Ms. Alexander, so I kinda new what to expect and how the book would end. This, however, did not affect my enjoyment of Painted On My Heart.

Definitely 5 out of 5 stars!