A Special Spot for Serial Seduction

Here you'll meet amazing authors who write romantic series. These excellent story-tellers will pull you into new world with characters who will make your hearts ache and plots that will keep your minds spinning. I'm thrilled to hopefully introduce you to writers you haven't met who you'll want to read over and over and over.

The reviews appear in reverse order with the most recent book at the top, so if you missed my review of a previous book in the series, simply scroll down on this same page to find it. If I highlight this same author again, that series will appear on a separate page, but all books in each series will always be posted together so you'll never have to hunt for them. I hope you'll like this spot and comment on ways to make it better.

(This is the third book in the series)

Book Blurb:

Raven Daniels and Dorian Thomas have been best friends since college. But while the free-spirited bond they share holds their relationship together, it’s also the reason they both know they’re better off as friends—flirty friends, but friends.

So when Raven decides to leave her old life and cheating ex behind in Fort Worth and move to Dorian’s turf in sunny Miami to take a job as a middle school art teacher, they’re both excited about the prospect of being around one another full-time. As the social media manger at a prominent company, Dorian knows his city, and he’s eager to show his girl the ropes.

But one night, emotions run high and everything about their platonic relationship is put to the test. A series of events is set in motion that neither one of them is prepared for, events that force them to answer the question... is love always worth it?

Purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/Less-Than-Forever-Love-Always-ebook/dp/B00ZZAFZWI

Here’s What I Thought of the Book . . . 

From the very beginning, Jacinta Howard’s characters deal with their feelings in a raw and honest way that draws the reader into the inner workings of their hearts. We see them confront their desires and fears head on and the collisions are mesmerizing.

There’s a naturalness and realness to the way Dorian and Raven stumble around and through their evolving emotions. This novel beautifully nails the truth about falling in love—we might as well stop fighting. As Dorian said to Raven early in the struggle, “You are gonna do this with me.” While he has a well-established reputation for being a womanizer, he can get away with being this bold because underneath everything is trust built on years of friendship. Raven knows him like no other woman—as a friend who has never let her down, who has always been honest and caring, who has supported her year after year after year. That foundation is beautiful, strong, undeniable, and reserved only for her. And she knows it.

Let me also point out that this author understands what a TRUE alpha male is like. So, those women who think that the perfect man is a bossy, domineering, control freak, on an endless power-trip and a mission to prove that he always knows more than his mate need to take notes. I can tell you that Dorian’s way of being bossy and protective, demanding and cherishing, blunt, clear, no-holds-barred, and yet supportive and flexible and able to give Raven the space to be creative is exactly the aggressive, alpha, take-no-prisoners hero that satisfies fantasies. Whips and chains are not necessary. Their chemistry is off the charts!

Too many novels wrap up with a happy ending once the couple realizes they’re in love, but that’s where the real story begins. In Less Than Forever, we see love that develops over years of friendship that is shown in glimpses into history that almost never feels the typical disruptiveness of flashbacks because of how brilliantly the scenes are written. We get to understand the complexities behind the characters’ personalities that make them perfect for each other and see how they slipped under those defensive habits designed to ultimately keep everyone else away—except perhaps only Dorian for Raven and vice versa. 

As I was reading some of Dorian’s private confessions, I wondered whether these characters subconsciously realized they were setting themselves up for each other all along. Then I had to laugh at myself for thinking like these were real people. Yeah, Jacinta Howard has a way of writing that makes you forget that this is make-believe because is it really? She expertly pulls from real life—from those mistakes we’ve all either made or held our friends while they cried about making, right? You’ll get lost in the words, the scenes, the emotions on the pages of her books. She’ll take you back in time and make you sigh or smile or wonder. Jacinta Howard will definitely make you experience the story, as only a great writer can. 

This series is an excellent exploration of how love works. It’s simple and honest and unafraid in the way it handles the human struggle of mind versus emotion. I’m so happy to have discovered this author and be able to highlight her on my website. Please check out Less Than Forever, the Love Always Series, and her other works. You definitely won’t regret it.

My rating of Less Than Forever is

Now, for a special announcement!

Jacinta Howard is having a GIVEAWAY!!!

Comment on this review (scroll down to the bottom of the page) and you will have the chance to win the e-book copies of the entire Love Always Series! That’s right, all three books can be yours—Better Than Okay, More Than Always, and Less Than Forever! You don’t have to write a lot—just say hello to Jacinta, say you want to read her books, comment that you’ve read something else of hers, or shout out whatever pops into your head. But hurry! This opportunity ends at midnight eastern time on October 24th. Jacinta and I will advertise this giveaway and post the lucky winner on this site and our Facebook and Twitter pages, so make sure you’re paying attention.

Good Luck!

(This is the second book in the series)

 

Book Blurb:

Brian Jace only had one purpose when he left Phoenix for Miami—to convince Destiny Michaels that there was more than just a lifetime of friendship between them.

His calm and steady approach worked—Brian finally got his girl, and he’s never been happier. But just when Brian and Destiny think they’re finally free to enjoy each other on a new level, a fresh set of challenges that Brian wasn’t prepared for arise, and their love is once again, put to the test.

Is love always enough? Will Brian be able to hold on to Destiny, when he’s still fighting his own demons?

Or this time, will he be the one to walk away?

Purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Always-Love-Book-ebook/dp/B00TKKX7A6/

Here's What I Thought of the Book . . .

Brian and Destiny have a complicated relationship. Love isn’t a question, and neither is their desire to be with each other. Yet, building a relationship requires a type of openness and effort that neither of them have any experience giving.

Brian is an amazing man that was trying to be too perfect, too strong, and too independent. He definitely didn’t know how to rely on Destiny or understand how to be her partner. His flaws were realistic in some ways because while he was kind of cocky about his charm and confidence with other people, never seeing a healthy romantic relationship definitely hadn’t prepared him for building what he needed to create with Destiny. At times, I wanted to see a little more growth from him and kept holding my breath praying for him to get his act together. Jacinta Howard almost had me passing out from holding my breath. Oh the pain that couple had to endure was heartbreaking for sure! 

I will never fully understand the male brain and why men just don’t grasp how their blasé attitudes about the attention they receive from women can make the special lady in their lives feel insecure. Yeah, Destiny should know beyond a doubt that Brian loves her with his whole heart, but shouldn’t he make sure other women know that, too? To be fair, Destiny was also a bit guilty of not clearly drawing boundaries for her business associates because of the casual nature of those interactions, so there were plenty of opportunities in this relationship for hurt feelings and misunderstandings. But her friendships never confronted them in professional, social, and family life like Brian’s did.

Without giving too much away, I'll say that Destiny knew all about those “thirsty” women, but damn that Egypt! Okay, so I’m pretty sure that every reader could see this “other woman” element of the story line coming, yet it was still well-handled, written with great care, and filled with intense emotion. I'm pretty sure that I would have reacted exactly like Destiny did. Maybe not. I definitely wanted to slap Brian! There are so many ways he could have explained what did and did not happen, but the truth is that fear is a powerful thing. 

It’s interesting how people who are afraid of opening up and making themselves vulnerable know they’re already vulnerable at the same time they’re fighting against changing the behavior that’s threatening to undermine the happiness they so desperately need. Jacinta Howard plows through this issue and doesn’t let Brian get away with anything! He is uncovered and we feel sorry for his pain even though the predicament is entirely his fault. We understood his heartache and his hesitations, but he never truly made the effort to understand what Destiny needed from him or to move beyond his own hang-ups. I'm glad Destiny stood her ground!

Even though Brian felt they weren’t on the same page, there was so much Destiny kept saying that Brian just didn’t seem to truly hear that I honestly doubted whether this book could have a happy ending. Do you see what happened there? It’s like I was saying with the first book in the series, Better Than Always . . . Jacinta Howard made me feel Destiny’s hopelessness. Wow!

So, I’m not going to tell you how the rest of the book goes except to say that the author does a great job of keeping the reader in her feelings. Keep the tissues close! We get to understand a lot about Brian’s past and see the things that force his growth, and they’re emotional. We also understand so much of how Destiny is processing everything that’s going on and why she makes the decisions that she does. We tag along as these lovers finally stumble back to each other and figure out how to face the challenge of being in a relationship. The title of the series is Love Always, which is interesting because neither of them had faith in love or any positive experiences with romance from the very beginning. You’ll love how the author pulls everything together, though, to turn them into people who become capable of handling the challenge.

More Than Always is a sappy title, but it’s actually appropriate by the time you get to the end of this novel. After everything Brian and Destiny go through, after the history that’s revealed and the transformations that take place, their love had better be unshakable! I truly enjoyed this book, and so will you.

My rating for More Than Always is

(This is the first book in the series.)

     

Book Blurb:

Sometimes it’s not whether or not you survive, but how you survive. I guess that might be the thing that makes you the person you are ... How you survive.

When Miami music writer Destiny Michaels learned her childhood friend, the always cool and collected Brian Jace, was moving from their hometown of Phoenix to Miami, she wanted to do cartwheels across Ocean Drive. 

Brian has always been able to counter Destiny’s annoying tendency to overthink things, and he’s the only person she knows with a love for music that’s as intense as hers. However, when he arrives, she quickly realizes there’s been a major shift in their formally platonic relationship. And no matter how scared she is about taking things to the next level, their feelings only intensify. 

But just as she begins to believe that real love can exist outside of sappy romantic comedies, Destiny is forced to question everything she thinks she knows about life, including her new feelings for Brian. 

She soon discovers that while we can’t control some things that happen to us, the power of unconditional love, once accepted, can make life better than okay.

Purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/Better-Than-Okay-Love-Always-ebook/dp/B00K7S1PXG/

It's an amazing book! Here's a glimpse at the trailer to get you in the right frame a mind for the sizzling chemistry between these two people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li9MsPyqSgo

Four friends. Four paths. Drawn together by one question—is love... always? 

The emotional new adult series by Jacinta Howard includes the titles, 

Better Than Okay, More Than Always and Less Than Forever.

Here's What I Thought of the Book . . . 

This is what love looks like ... it’s tender, sexy, determined, sensitive, can make you laugh, can dry your tears, makes your heart clench, makes your breath gasp, knows you so well that it’s scary, and it’s unshakable. Yep. It’s all of that. And that’s why love is so hard to handle. 

That’s why Destiny, the main character, is running from the best thing she’s ever had and a man who wants nothing more than to be everything she needs. Who can handle being vulnerable when life keeps showing you that love never brings lasting happiness in the end? At least that’s the way Destiny understands it—not just because of her own experiences of seeing her mother’s heart crushed by her father. She and Brian grew up together, and his mother’s many failed relationships haven’t inspired either of them to have faith in romantic fairy tales. Yeah, she’s pretty sure she knows what love looks like, and she’ll do anything to deny love so that she can protect their friendship.

Yet, true love strikes hard for these two, and Brian realizes it first. When the story begins, it doesn’t take long for the reader to understand that he’s figured out what he wants and is a man on a mission. He has, in fact, rearranged his life in pursuit of her. I absolutely fall in love with the way he is so patient with Destiny, so attuned to her insecurities and hesitations, and so careful with her spirit of independence. He is, first and always, her best friend.

This author masterfully draws you into each scene in a way that you can visualize the settings and almost hear the music. So many times, I felt like I was in the room with Destiny, and that makes me smile. But what impressed me even more is that these are complex characters with a full range of emotions that are raw and real and just ... WOW! For me, there is nothing better than to be completely drawn into a story, and I appreciate that this novel accomplishes that almost instantly and consistently throughout each chapter—there aren’t any parts of the book that lost my attention. 

The plot is full of unexpected tragedy and heartbreaking twists that are handled with so much courage, skill, and sensitivity that it makes you want to sit down and interview the author. She must be a fascinating person! She most definitely is an excellent story-teller.

Better Than Okay is the first book of the first series selected for A Special Spot for Serial Seduction. I’d like to take a moment to explain how it was chosen. Last year, I started reading lots of new-to-me authors and created a collection on my Kindle where I tucked those books that I really liked because I intended to write reviews. At the time, I was having some health issues and knew the reviews wouldn’t be written soon, so these were novels that I obviously wouldn’t mind re-reading—they were that good. 

Earlier in 2016, the idea popped into my head to do something different on my website with posting reviews, but I wasn’t sure what. When that happens, I tend to just sit back and wait until my instincts lead me in a specific direction. It wasn’t until recently that the idea for highlighting series occurred to me. Even then, I had no idea which author to highlight first because I’ve read many wonderful authors, have personal relationships with some, and wanted to be careful not to offend any of my friends with the order of selection. However, when I went to the collection on my Kindle of the books I’d shoved aside to review later, Jacinta Howard’s name basically screamed at me and my eyes locked on to Better Than Okay. Honestly, I had read so many books since reading that one that I didn’t remember much about the plot, but the feeling to select this book was overwhelming and I trust my instincts. Not far into reading the first chapter, I understood why I made the selection … this is the PERFECT book and series to represent everything I believe romantic writing should be about. 

Love is complicated in its beauty, because it’s also scary and fragile at the same time that it’s strong and everlasting. Jacinta Howard expertly captures the essence of love and all of the complexities of the human struggle with it—exposing our fears while also building all of the hope and joy and possibilities. Her ability to craft such balance made Better Than Okay the absolute best choice for the launch of this new page on my website. While my mind might not have remembered all of the details, my heart and spirit obviously had made a strong connection with her words. There is no stronger endorsement that I can make of another author’s work than to say that I sensed this type of a connection simply by seeing the title again. 

THAT is what A Special Spot for Serial Seduction is all about. While I’ll continue to review other books elsewhere on this site, those are the types of books I want to bring to this area. I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I do.

                                   My rating for Better Than Okay is:

                                                           

(Check back next week for my review of the second book in this series, More Than Always.)

Before you go, I have to pass along a greeting from our featured author. Over these next few weeks, you're definitely going to agree with me that this is one very talented woman. I'm sure she'd love to hear your feedback so feel free to drop a few questions or comments on these pages as we go along -- and book reviews of even a couple of sentences are always very appreciated. 

A Message from the Author:

Hey everyone! I’m Jacinta Howard, author of The Love Always Series (Better Than Okay, More Than Always, Less Than Forever) and the Prototype Series (Happiness in Jersey, Finding Kennedy). My books tend to fall under Romantic Realism. Basically, my books are definitely love stories, but I try to ground them firmly in reality. I tend to explore topics that people go through in actual life, even if they’re heavy. But don’t run away! At the core, my books are always about one thing—love. And being able to love someone through anything, through any life situation, or flaw-- dude, it doesn’t get much more romantic than that to me. Seriously. At any rate, I hope you enjoy the books!