High Heels in New York

Fashion #1

by A.V. Scott

Melissa De La Rosa has never felt luckier. She is to marry her ideal man, and about to launch her shoe line during the coveted fashion week in New York. But in one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart when tragedy strikes, unleashing a string of events she never in her wildest dreams anticipated.

Then there’s Angelina, is a Hollywood has-been who can’t break her addiction to drugs, which she basically needs to actually function. Banking on her latest picture to launch her back into Hollywood royalty, a long kept secret vows to destroy the life she’s so carefully crafted.
​
In the city that never sleeps, secrets are never truly hidden.

Genres: Mystery, Chick Lit, Ebooks, Amazon, Contemporary

237 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 17, 2012

Reviews

[Anna Catharina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inhaltlich hat es mich irgendwie an "Lipstick Jungle" erinnert. Die Geschichte um die drogen- und sexabhängige Schauspielerin und die scheiternde Schuhdesignerin im schicken New York City war weder innovativ noch anspruchsvoll. Mit ein bisschen mehr Tiefe in den Charakteren, Darstellung und Sprache wäre m.M.n. mehr drin gewesen. Und in den Sex-Szenen ist die Sprache so vulgär und derb, dass ich schon auf Seite 1 versucht war, das Buch einfach abzubrechen. Insgesamt aber war es doch ganz okay, darum 1.5 Sterne. Trotz heftigem Cliffhanger werde ich mir die Fortsetzung wohl schenken.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was really good but I only give 3 stars for 2 reasons :
- it was full of English mistakes
- the end was unexpected and made the book appear half-finished

[amy shup · Rating 1 out of 5]

Truly bad writing and editing occur in this book. Don't get me wrong, I like a good chick lit novel here and there, but this was about the equivalent of the worst lifetime movie ever made in a book. The plot was very unbelievable as were the character's surprise connections throughout the book. I have to say, the poor editing (or lack thereof) was the most irritating while reading this - but hey, it was free on amazon.

[Michelle Hammond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although a good read I found myself struggling to remember who was who ( 2 main female characters aside) & what their relationship was to each other & to the story. Unless there's to be a 2nd part I found the ending strange. Lots of things left to be answered. There were several places where I thought the book had been badly edited.

[Leta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Melissa's story. This book is full of deception, lies, theft and murder. It ends with Melissa in another severe situation that makes you have to wait for the next book to figure it out! Hope the next one is on its way!

[Lizzy Baldwin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mistress Pussycat : Adventures With Submissive Men In The World of Femdom
Mistress Pussycat : Adventures With Submissive Men In The World of Femdom
by Joyce Snyder
Edition: Paperback
Price: £12.78

3.0 out of 5 stars I’m glad I’ve had the chance to read something so different and honestly eye-opening, 12 Feb. 2016
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This review is from: Mistress Pussycat : Adventures With Submissive Men In The World of Femdom (Paperback)
Right, as the blurb suggests the book follows the lovely Joyce a cat lover who finds herself editing a magazine for submissive men. Not one to shy away from the challenge she decides to throw herself into the world of ‘femdom’ and finds that it kind of suits her although is a little shocked to begin with. We see Joyce as she begins to fit in more with the sub/dom lifestyle and the rules that she must follow.We see Joyce as she experiments with spanking, sissy maids, adult babies (new to me) acquires herself a slave and meets a man who seems to enjoy electric shocks to his genitals – yes that’s where were going. Read along with this spectacular lady as she finds herself in a whole new world of sex and sexuality.

What I found really wonderful about this book is the honesty that we encounter as we read through – it’s not overly emotional, or draped in description – it’s a memoir, or even a diary of sorts that details the truly interesting and totally unknown depths of the sub/dom lifestyle? I don’t know if that’s the wrong word because other than this book I really have very little experience with any of the writings inside and yet I did really enjoying reading about the experiences that Joyce has despite it feeling very detached from my own personal feelings.

The book is well written – it doesn’t linger on descriptions but details a tale of different sexual encounters. The adult baby section was particularly interesting with the sub ‘Baby Chippy,’ wanting to experience a world with no control – being allowed out of a playpen or being allowed to play with a certain toy. I must admit throughout I was mixed feelings between disbelief, bit awkward and really surprised. It’s incredible the types of ‘play’ there is and this book just opens the door to learning more – if you so wish.

For me I didn’t get engrossed in this in terms of enjoying the story because it is a little cold. It is very much descriptive and as if the author is just going through the motions a little and although it’s interesting it definitely didn’t engage me as much as I thought it would or could. Maybe it’s because none of what happens inside relates to me at all, or maybe it was a little too much.I also found the section about ‘ronins’ or slaves that are dismissed or abandoned and therefore unable to leave an independent life of their own a struggle to read – it’s so different from the life that I lead.

But, that’s why I liked this book so much – without this insight I would not have read anything about the world of BDSM – did you know for instance, whipping or spanking is done to create the most pain but not physical damage. It’s about control and letting go of the stresses rather a physical injury. I would never known that and maybe I don’t need to but I’m glad I’ve had the chance to read something so different and honestly eye-opening.

*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.*
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Captain Rum: A Wondrous Adventure
Captain Rum: A Wondrous Adventure
Price: £1.99

3.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting historical fiction tale with a lot of swashbuckling adventures., 12 Feb. 2016
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This review is from: Captain Rum: A Wondrous Adventure (Kindle Edition)
As the blurb suggests the book follows the discovery of Captain McAdam’s journal that pens his sea adventures in the year of 1821. Leaving in search of both an adventure and to leave his life and miseries in London behind we see Captain Rum discover himself at sea – new places, terrrors, worries, natives, a few near misses with death, we see our protagonist begin to discover himself, sometimes positively and sometimes not so much. With Bubo the parrot beside him what could go wrong?

My review then – did I enjoy this? Yes I really did if I’m honest with you. The language style and the feel of the writing is very vivid and applicable to the time that the book is set. It flows wonderfully and really has a lot of character and depth. The writing is still in a diary style format meaning that it is still a little straight-forward in terms of the writing style but because of the characterisation it has a much more engaging feel – for me anyway. Here we see one of Captain Rum’s dreams.

The ocean was deep – deep and black – and was spitting white foam over the gunwales. The storm’s ferocity grew with every passing moment, and the wind tore at her sails until they were just flailing canvas rags. Just as it seemed she could take no more, two giant waves careened into either side of her. But instead of crushing her, the waves transformed into a pair of giant wings. The wings pulled themselves free of the sea and then flapped in steady beats, like that of a dragon. Slowly, my little sloop lifted herself above the waves and flew away to safety.

Parts of the book are incredibly interesting and even though Captain Rum is pretty much our sole character the author manages to engage the reader and keep us reading through the tale. During the adventure Captain Rum ends up stranded on an island and needs to grow certain seeds and plants to help him get the boat fit for sailing. I thought this part of the book was exceptionally well written and it really made me feel as though all of this could be true. I could imagine the Captain carefully trying to grow the seedlings whilst trying to mantain his strength and his mentality – it really is an intriguing tale.

Captain Rum as a character is a bit of an odd one. I felt for him with the loss of Beth and the struggle with alcohol to mantain his sanity but then he has such a strong compass to succeed and discover and be one with the sea. He is honestly a fantastic character and one I did really enjoy reading about. Bubo is a lovely and quirky character and he is given such character that he really becomes a member of the story in his own right.

Would I recommend this overall? Yes, yes, yes. If you like historical fiction and you like the idea of adventure this book is really brilliant. I guess the only complaint I could see is that the diary style does mean it reads very much as like a self-discovery tale but I thought it was well-written with a strong character and a darling idea. Really really brilliant.

PS: Don’t be naughty and skip the very beginning, the author has very cleverly put together a note about the writing of the book which is such a special touch.

*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*
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Romance: High Heels in New York - Contemporary Romance (Fashion Series Book One)
Romance: High Heels in New York - Contemporary Romance (Fashion Series Book One)
Price: £0.00

1.0 out of 5 stars It’s horrible but there is little to say about this book other than it direly needs an edit, 12 Feb. 2016
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This review is from: Romance: High Heels in New York - Contemporary Romance (Fashion Series Book One) (Kindle Edition)
As the blurb suggests the book follows Melissa who loses her dream life when her supposed prince charming is really a thief who not only ruins her big day, but has been lying for years, and stole her money and her heart. However, our main protagonist picks herself up and decides to throw herself back into her dream of making and creating beautiful, perfect shoes. On the other side of the story, Angelina is an old and tired actress who is desperate to keep herself in the spotlight. However a family tree mistake and her best friend Melissa nearly losing her mind it’s all going to get a bit messy.

This review is going to be a little tough because there are lots of what I call wobbles. The first thing to note is the characters that are built, are both shallow and incredibly frustrating. They lack traits that make readers fall in love with them and although Melissa tries to push forward this strong, dutiful woman it feels vague and unbelievable. There’s just a lack of depth. The writing is also (really unfortunately) poor in it’s entirety. If you ignore the grammatical and spelling mistakes the consistency errors are awful. At one point we hear a lot about a character going to visit a city and all the places she wants to go. When we go to the city it’s a completely different one with completely different tourist hot-spots, not to mention a characters name changes entirely for a few chapters – SORRY WHUT!

As you might imagine this makes the plot difficult to pull together. Not only does the story jump all over the place but the sub-plots are a little confused and get muddled with the rest of the characters. It doesn’t feel consistent and it makes it difficult to keep a hold of the plot-line. There are bits that are written with real skill and do show the potential of the author but they are just ‘bits.’ It’s a shame because I kept reading only to see what on earth would happen next – it was so unstable in it’s telling that it became enjoyable for allllll the wrong reasons. Another big wobble is that the tense changes, uncomfortably and regularly, as in, in the same paragraphs multiple times at points.

I guess, overall, it felt a little like a first draft, because the editing was just not there. There are mistakes that I believe 16 year old Lizzy could have picked out pretty easily and quickly. These errors should have been picked up by any editor easily and suggested to be changed. The plot felt like an outline that needed developing and there was space too. I’m not going to go into the ending because it was honestly a car crash. It just ended with nothing to let the reader feel they had finished a really interesting and exciting book.

It’s horrible but there is little to say about this book other than it direly needs an edit. The premise of the book isn’t too far off and with an big edit of grammar/spelling/consistency there is potential there. There needs to be a big focus on Melissa’s back-story, her love for shoes, the fashion show and the author could have gone to town on that but it doesn’t. Overall this book struggles and it’s a darn shame.

[yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast pace book with believable characters

I choose a 3 star rating as I felt the ending could have been more detailed, it leaves you wanting to find out more so I suppose commercial wise it did the job.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was just "okay". Whoever proof-read the book didn't do a very good job of it; "Valerie" is "Jessica" for part of the book, and there are several places where "Christina" is called "he". The story line seemed to jump around a bit. The ending left much to be desired.

[Larnee · Rating 1 out of 5]

gave up at 43%

[Claire Daubney · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an easy read

[Salon Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

*What Nicole Thought*

This is a sweet, seductive, racy novel, with a lot of potential, about one Melissa whose high-profile fashionista and cupcake-loving lifestyle spirals out of control beginning with just one piece of news. We find out early on that Melissa is pregnant, and far from planned: “[My uterus] didn’t ask if I had any plans for the next five months.” Stressed out about this news, Melissa meets with her gal-pal extraordinaire, the beautiful aging actress Angie to talk about their dating and career woes. As a strong female character- a la Sex and the City’s Samantha- Angie is often the voice of reason for Melissa, but we soon find out she has her own struggles with men, substance abuse, and facing her own demons. While Melissa has a sarcastic, cynical voice, Angie offers comedic relief and dry humor. Some of my favorite Angie moments are: “Not feeling like drinking is like not wanting to have an orgasm. And who doesn’t want to have an orgasm?” and “One day you will realize that sex is like air; it’s not important unless you’re not getting any.” There are so many twists and turns early on that at the risk of spoilers, I won't say much more, but I can say that readers will surely be drawn in to a world of lies, scandal, thievery, deception, and even murder.

Initially I was so engaged in this thrilling piece that at every turn of the plot I literally gasped and punched the unfortunate person sitting next to me. However, in the second half these twists became so ridiculous and unbelievable it jarringly ripped me out of the fantasy and left me skeptical and unsatisfied. Unfortunately author, A.V. Scott is adept when it comes to creating surprising twists, but not so skillful at explaining them. Often she would leave me feeling like her bold plot lines were unearned, as she abused her pen like a magic wand eraser. When scattered plot lines became too hard to explain she would write them off in one sentence rather than tie them up in a nice neat Chanel bow. The story ends on a poorly chosen cliffhanger, which left me wanting to jump and end it all, however readers should keep in mind this is Book One of a series and it does have potential. I give this book a rating of the perfect number of high heels to wear on a night out… two. Out of five. Two stars for it’s quirky characters, humor, and lovely descriptions of glorious drinks, shoes, outfits, and of course, cupcakes. We can all enjoy indulge in a little bit of that, am I right?

[A. Gorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book so didn't go the way I thought it would. It's a cliff hanger. The story has several story lines going on at once but they do come together. The main one is Melissa and her cheating thief ex fiance Jonathan. The second is Melissa's best friend, actress Angelina, or Angie.

The chapters are split of from one character to another and then they merge in some chapters. The characters are really well developed but I was kinda frustrated when a chapter would finish and it would flip to someone else. With that said, let me talk about the actual book.

My heart completely broke for Melissa. She was planning a wedding of the century to the man of her dreams, but she soon found out he was a con... He sucked her dry, along with the lady she thought he was cheating on her with and other people who I won't mention because it would be a huge spoiler! And she was planning on revealing her shoe line and there is all kinds of drama there.

A lot happens to Melissa in a short amount of time... Que the entrance of Angie. Diva alert! This girl has some baggage and drama. She finds out she has a sister and who the is sister is, I wwas like you are fing kidding me... And there is a lot more OMG with that situation!!

There is some romance and a little naughtiness, but nothing too crazy. It's chick lit with a twist of murder and sucky men! I actually really enjoyed this book. I read it in a few hours! I give it a 4 out of 5. The book is well written. I was a little bummed by the ending because I have to clue what has happened. And there is some medical concerns with Melissa that was just addressed briefly. Lots and lots of questions! I hope there is an a #2 come out! I'd put in on my TBR!

**I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. These are my thoughts and words and no one else's!**

[Claudia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book takes place in New York City with two characters but I'm going to start with Melissa that is a princess that has the prince that turns into a frog. Every girl has a dream of a beautiful wedding with the prince in her world, for Melissa her day was destroyed before her big day. For years her prince was an undercover thief that stole her heart and money right from underneath her. But that didn't stop her from living her life and going on with her shoe dream.

Angelina is a washed up actress that is trying her best to stay on top to find out that her life is not what it was made out to be. She finds out that her family tree is not what it should be and comes out to have somewhat a problem to correct. But before all this correction of her life takes places her manager comes up dead in his office and her best friend Melissa almost lose her life.

I'm so glad that this was a free read off my kindle because the book cover is very attractive and pulls you in along with the story line on the back. The story was much undeveloped with a lot of errors along with undeveloped characters. Not enough of research on how to write a book or the mystery of the plot to kill and who did it. The story line of different plots was out of order. Left me really with a? Of why...

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Melissa thinks she's got the world at her feet, but suddenly one shift pulls the rug out from under her. Now she's maneuvering Manhattan while dealing with a cheating and criminal fiance, an unexpected pregnancy, her mother's quickie wedding, and a lot of financial fallout. Along for the ride are her friends, Angie, a washed up, drug addicted actress, and Christina, the personal trainer.

I wish I could give this book a higher rating because the author shows tremendous promise. But this particular book needs serious advice from an editor (past and present tense in the prose, incorrect capitalization, misspellings, etc.) The blurb doesn't match the details of the actual story, and too many scenes rely on coincidence. The best friends/bad girls are just too cliched to be likeable.

[Shen Hart · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was intended as light escapism, something to remove me from the stresses of the world with a good cup of tea. There is no denying that this book is light, given the plot is poorly formed, the characters are weak and vapid, and the overall thing is in desperate need of a good editor. The author is far more interested in reeling off copious number of designers and names than the plot itself. There could be something interesting in there, but at the present moment it reads like a draft not a published novel.

Read The Full Review Here

[Caro Dosé · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a cautionary note that I haven't been reading romances for a number of years, and I was not prepared for just how common 'f-bombs' are now. And I didn't particularly enjoy that aspect of it. But regardless of that, Melissa's problems with her ex-fiancee, while somewhat entertaining, didn't satisfy my hunger for a good story.

I found just enough interest in it to continue listening to the end, but now I'm wondering whether the ghastly narration by Marie Kopan was 90% of my dislike. Kopan is, hands down, the worst reader I've encountered in many a moon.

[Rizna · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are lots and lots of coincidences occurred in this book, which is unlikely to happen as the story takes place in Manhattan, New York. It's like the world revolves around Melissa and Angie. The coincidences feel so odd till the story gets less and less intriguing as every plots turned to be predictable. But again it's a fiction after all.

I got the e-book free from kindle, however I disagree with the notion of free book is ok to be cheesy. It's not. I always believe that price should not reduce the quality of an author.

[Eva Ruff · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was a good read until.....

Rant warning! I received the book free through one of the many sites that offer a few titles a day. That being said, I have gone back and bought other titles to support a good author. They do a leap of faith to offer the book, I reward that risk. But to end a story in mid-thought feels like coercion and I won't go for it.

Sorry, Scott, I don't waste my time on previews and this was even worse because it wasn't labeled as such. I do like series but this isn't fair and I feel so wronged that I don't care what happened.

[Lynne Gallimore-ayling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It's a quick, easy, enjoyable read. I thought the characters were very likeable and I couldn't put it down. I had to know what was going to happen next! My only real complaint is that it ended right on a cliffhanger and now I'm forced to wait for the next one before I can find out what happens!

[Lynne Gallimore-ayling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It's a quick, easy, enjoyable read. I thought the characters were very likeable and I couldn't put it down. I had to know what was going to happen next! My only real complaint is that it ended right on a cliffhanger and now I'm forced to wait for the next one before I can find out what happens!

[Elayne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well there was a reason this was a free book - it said it had been revised an updated but not enough in my opinion. Very very light and still left you with lots of unanswered questions about just what was going on so don't bother unless you love shoes and want to read about names - they weren't even described! I kept thinking it would get better which was I read to the end - but it didn't.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

quick easy read set completely in New York, my sole reason for reading it. I had a few editing errors that bugged but overall an ok story.

Very annoyed with the ending. A few occasions where a narrative is opened and not closed off.

overall a 3 star, ok read but could fill out and finish off better.

[Carley Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ended on a cliffhanger that I'm not convinced I need to read the rest of.

The book in itself was okay, but some of it was extremely predictable and I find myself not overly caring what happens to the characters in the next book.

This is unusual for me as usually I have to finish a series just to see how it ends

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of interesting characters

There were many different stories going on in this book. I want sure if I liked it or not but I was curious as to how everything would conclude. Unfortunately it ended on a cliff hanger. Not sure I want to finish the whole sorted story by reading the next book in five series.
It did have interesting people throughout.

[Arlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

! frustrating the book was good, errors for the most part were fixed. The ending what a lot to be desired I understand close hanging but totally leaving you clueless is another story, especially with no second book to finish it up in the works

[Shelley Promisel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Where's the rest of the book?

Where's the rest of the book?

I liked the book until the ending ! I was really not happy how the book left me looking for a true end.

[Catherine Coffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story line of this book it kept me interested while there were some grammatical errors I still wanted to read more. There is a cliffhanger and I will definitely be reading the second book in this series.

[Andrea Berrios · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read!

The story and characters were interesting but the book needs editing. Other than that, I'll say it's was a good read. It ends in a cliffhanger, so I can't wait to see how the story ends.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this book :) romantic mystery/suspense and there's definitely a cliff hanger...but I'm looking forward to finding out what happens in the next book!

[Donice Darden]

Awesome

This was a great read! Anymore freebies? Please keep them coming! Better than Janet Evanovich last book! Keep up the excellent work!!!!