Review: The Significant Other by Nicole Strycharz

Synopsis:

Adam: I swore off men years ago to protect myself. I don’t trust guys. Guys break hearts, they take, and they don’t give like women do. That’s why for the past ten years I’ve entrusted my heart to a tattooed, multi-hair colored, vixen named Trix. Trixie is my safe haven. She doesn’t just back up my voice in our band she backs me in life. 
Sadly, I don’t reciprocate like I should. My phobia of PDA and my over-protectiveness are hard to put up with. It might be because I need more than I let on. More than I would dare to admit to. 
We moved to NY to grow as a band but then I met ‘him’…our boss; a sexy as hell, bad boy with a convict’s past and a talent for breaking men and women’s hearts alike. He’s bad news… An urban beast with too much edge and he’s prowling around my comfort-zone relationship. 
Now I’m not sure who my significant other is… my girl or the man determined to remind me who I really am and what I truly want. 

Trixie: Coming to the city was our ticket to fame. It was me and Adam against the odds of notoriety but since we arrived in the Big Apple, we’ve also been made aware how small our bubble of safe love is. 
I know what my boyfriend probably hasn’t admitted to himself… that I’m not enough for him. We both are just too chicken to do anything about it. 
New York is changing us. The people we meet here, the emotions we face, even our music… and if there is anything you learn from these streets, it’s this… 
Traffic and life, they both wait for no one. You have to go with the flow, ride the current, and keep up the pace. Both Adam’s love and mine is being tested, or it’s about to end. 
Hopefully we can figure it all out. Oh and add that to my list of to do’s like keeping my twin away from a dangerous drug lord, struggling not to fall from a stranger, keeping the band from falling apart and not becoming a bumbling idiot in front of our criminally hot boss. Yeah…criminal…

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

The Significant Other by Nicole Strycharz is another brilliant masterpiece. Striaght and the LGBT community will love this book. Once more, I got another taste of the heart and soul the writer puts into her words. Emotionally, tugging on my heart strings. I cried, I laughed, and I fell in love. Frustrating, stunning, and well-told. The entire tale was nothing but epic. 

Nicole Strycharz created her first novel featuring a gay couple. A man who likes other men. That was until he had his heart broken. Then, he went and fell for Trixie. A female singer. But despite her loving him…something just was missing. Both knew it. Adam just didn’t want to face it and neither did Trixie. Adam is a sexy hot alpha male who easily gets under readers skin, like he did to me. His has a big heart. I noticed that from the beginning. Adam hid himself with Trixie…keeping his heart guarded. Until, they meet their new boss. A boss that is more alpha than Adam, sexy hot too, and has a thing for Adam…

Trixie is a submissive kind of woman. Made her great for Adam. But she wasn’t meant for him. That’s thought love. She knew Adam’s real love and it wasn’t for her. Trixie too, has the biggest heart anyone has read in fiction. Despite her sexy tough looks, lies a sweet engaging woman looking for love. Trixie finds love but it fails…then she has a sister that made me want to hug Trixie. Trixie goes out and beyond for her sister. A sister who will never change…

Overall, The Significant Other is a book I can easily see made into a movie for 18-year-olds and above due to its content. Sex, drugs, and other things. Life is messy, complicated, and unfair. I really enjoyed this novel, because it brought out real life issues that people battle with each day. Believable, intriguing, and well-written. Nicole Strycharz has done it again with her latest piece. I applaud Nicole for her astounding job in creating three-dimensional characters whose stories I’ll never forget. So readers, yes, I highly recommend this talented writer’s book, The Significant Other to all. 

Review: Dangerous Liars

Synopsis:

Jaxon has a mission. Retrieve a valuable emerald for an entry fee and join Maxime, the most prestigious club in the Secure States of America. No problem, if his ex-thief, super-hacker friend Riley can lower the shield around an island where the stone is hidden. And when he discovers a purple-eyed woman who can make herself invisible, he adjusts his plans to include her skills.

But Violet has plans of her own, and a guy who can knock down a shield will fit in nicely. To get her disfiguring scars repaired, she needs access to another island, so when opportunity knocks, she grabs it. Even if it means telling a few lies. Or stealing. Or putting herself in the crosshairs of a pissed-off drug dealer.

Working with Riley again on the other side of the law fires up cravings Jaxon thought he’d suppressed. While he struggles to escape the shadow of his notorious family and unlawful past, Violet faces old demons she’d rather keep buried. Focusing on their goals and keeping their agendas hidden, they travel from Maine to Florida, fighting each other, and a losing battle with lust and love.

Rating: 4.5-stars

Review:

Dangerous Liars by Naomi Bellina is a thrilling romantic tale. Suspense, intrigue, and adventure. Readers will be sucked in from the start. I definitely was. The charcaters are three-dimensional. Realistic with real world issues. Romance can’t happen just when both needs to focus on their goals. Goals that involve lying and stealing to get to where they want to be. Each has a past that is full of darkness. Their present moments have a way of keeping readers, like myself, on the edge of our seats. Waiting to see what happen next…

Dangerous Liars is intense. The pacing is good. The troubles leave so many what if moments. I was constantly guessing as the plot kept moving. Romance full of risks. Naomi Bellina has talent in creating fictional worlds full of entertainment. Overall, I recommend this book to readers everywhere. 

The Outcast Part 2

Jeff took his things out of his bag into a room that Susie was kind enough to let him have. The police investigation into the old man’s death has been a shocker to everyone. Jeff missed him. The old man surely knew how to make a home feel like a home. The woman police officer said she would tell him if they found out anything as long as he stayed home with Susie. Susie spent her nights crying about the old man just as much as Jeff did. Men aren’t suppose to cry, he thought. Real men have feelings and we show them at different times, he remembered hearing the old man tell him. Smiling he fell asleep.

It wasn’t even two hours after he slept that he heard a loud crash. What the hell..
Getting up with a baseball in hand he heads over to Susie’s room. No sign of her.

Heading towards the kitchen, he sees Susie laying on the floor. Running to her side, he notices she’s still breathing.

“Susie, who did this to you?”, he asked her. Watching her eyes flicker he waits for a response. Nothing. “Just wait, I’ll call the police. You will be fine,Susie. Hang in there!”

Running to the phone, he dials 911. “Hi, I need an ambulance quickly…Susie’s been attacked. I think someone broke…”
“Hold on we are sending am ambulance , the police are on their way”, the emergency responder said.

Jeff didn’t get to hear the rest.. the intruder was holding a gun. It was someone he recognized..

Who broke into the house at night? And why? Was it one of the street gang? If so, what is the person’s motive for the robbery and killing? Find out more in part 3.

Here’s a writing challenge for you: write how you would have written this scene better. Then add what happens next. Post your response down below in the comment area for feedback!