JR Ward - BDB 03 - Lover Awakened

The Challenge: The beginning of this book wasn't as hard to get into as the last. It still had some funky opening dialogue but I pushed through and made it over the first hump fairly easily. Later though, when switching to text, it took A LOT for me to ignore Ward's gems like ahvenge, cohntehst, ghardian and sehclusion. Seriously, I wonder how she decides which words get that extra special attention. Things that make you go WTF…er…hmmmm.

Format and Setting: I listened to about 1/3 of it in audio when I could at work but it's long so I switched to reading the rest of it here, there, everywhere.

The Music: The official rapper name dropped was Mystikal. For me, I'd say the song for this book in general would be Lady Gaga's Bad Romance

…. I want your ugly
I want your disease
I want your everything
As long as it’s free
I want your love
Love love love
I want your love…

The Couple: Zsadist and Bella

The Surprise: I liked this book…for the most part.

A former blood slave, the vampire Zsadist still bears the scars from a past filled with suffering and humiliation. Renowned for his unquenchable fury and sinister deeds, he is a savage feared by humans and vampires alike. Anger is his only companion, and terror is his only passion—until he rescues a beautiful aristocrat from the evil Lessening Society.

Bella is instantly entranced by the seething power Zsadist possesses. But even as their desire for one another begins to overtake them both, Zsadist’s thirst for vengeance against Bella’s tormentors drives him to the brink of madness. Now, Bella must help her lover overcome the wounds of his tortured past, and find a future with her…

Zsadist was one of the characters that stood out for me in books 1 and 2 so I was glad his story was next in the series. Z was made out to be the loner with a past so horrific that even the other members of the Brotherhood appeared wary of him. So why did someone like that stick out to me? Because we also caught glimpses of a caring soul and I wanted to see more of that side. In Lover Awakened, Zsadist is awakened to true emotions, true security, true personal growth and of course, true love.

This story continues the plot of Bella's kidnapping by the lessers, which occurred towards the end of book 2. It opens up with Z and the Brotherhood looking for her and when she is found early in the story, we see more of the softer side of Z as he cares of her during her recuperation. We also learn more of what happened to him when he was a blood slave. Learning what Z endured in his past absolutely explains the scared and wounded person he is now. In his eyes, he is dirty and unworthy and anyone who tries to get close to him will be tainted. As Z and Bella spend more time together, it was sweet to see him sort of blossoming emotionally. He would tell Bella why something was difficult for him to accept and sometimes they were able to work through the issue but most of the time, Z still felt he wasn't good enough for Bella. She tried to convince him that he was neither dirty nor unworthy of her love but in the end, the only one who could change Z's outlook was Z. That's what I thought was great about this book. Z ended up making decisions and taking actions that showed he finally believed he was worth having more in his life. When compared to the previous two books, I'd say Bella and Zsadist's is my favorite.

Another thing I enjoyed was learning more about Zsadist and his twin brother Phury's history. Phury takes a trip down memory lane and we see how Z was taken from their family and became a blood slave. We learn how long Phury searched for his brother and what he sacrificed to rescue him. I felt such compassion for both brothers and Phury became another stand out character for me. I really felt for him because he started to fall for Bella too but she chose Z and he had to stand by and watch their happy ending. He sealed the deal for me towards the end when he sacrificed himself again for his brother…I look forward to reading his book.

Phury knelt beside him and stroked his face. "I've only ever had you to live for. If you die I have nothing. I'm utterly lost. And you are needed here."

Zsadist tried to reach out, but couldn't lift his arms as Phury stood up.

"God, Z, I keep thinking this tragedy of ours is going to be over. But it just keeps going, doesn't it?"

Zsadist blacked out to the sound of his twin's boots heading from the room.

One of my favorite things is still the moments of solidarity between the Brothers. There's a scene when a change in Z's physical appearance is noticed and the Brothers are all there for the surprising revelation.

Z jacked his head up. "Why?"

"He didn't give a reason—" Tohr's eyes narrowed on Z's face. "Oh… my God."

The others in the room glanced over, and there were a couple of low gasps. Then the Brotherhood and Butch just stared at him.

"What the fuck are you looking at?"

Phury pointed to the antique mirror hanging on the wall next to the double doors. "See for yourself."

Zsadist marched across the room, ready to give them all hell. Bella was what mattered—

His mouth went lax at his reflection. With a shaky hand he reached out to the eyes in the old-fashioned leaded glass. His irises were no longer black. They were yellow. Just like his twin's.

"Phury?" he said softly. "Phury… what's happened to me?"

As the male came up behind him, the brother's face appeared right beside Z's. And then Wrath's dark reflection showed up in the mirror, all long hair and sunglasses. Then Rhage's star-fallen beauty. And Vishous's Sox cap. And Tohrment's brush cut. And Butch's busted nose.

One by one they reached out and touched him, their big hands landing gently on his shoulders.

"Welcome back, my brother," Phury whispered.

Zsadist stared at the males who were behind him. And had the oddest thought that if he were to let himself go limp and fall backward… they would catch him.

We also meet another character, Bella's brother Rehvenge, who seems like an interesting addition. There's a little twist at the end, that I admit I didn't see coming, and I'm curious to see how he plays into the rest of the series.

Now for the lessers, the baby powder smelling adversaries of the vampires. In earlier books I never found them very threatening but this book seemed to step up the action. I'm still waiting for my epic Lord of the Rings Battle at Helms Deep type fight but so far things are heading in the right direction. In this book there's the creepy and obsessive stalkerish lesser holding Bella captive and refers to her as his wife. He was so loony tunes over her that he even ignored his duties as fore-lesser to find her. When he finally gets a lead on her location, he sets in motion something that I really, really, really hated in this book.

If you haven't read any of these books and are planning to, I suggest you skip over the next section.

*SPOILER RANT ALERT* Scroll mouse over to read.

Crazy stalker dude that kidnapped Bella ends up killing Wellsie!!! Why, why, why?!?! Aside from Zsadist, Tohr was the other character that stood out for me in the previous books. I wanted to see how he and Wellsie's future turned out since she was pregnant. I wanted them to have their happy ending. The scene where the Brotherhood comes to tell Tohr what happened is heartbreaking but after that, there's practically nothing else. We see John's mourning but there are only a couple mentions of Tohr still being missing. C'mon, dammit. In previous books, Wellsie was there for Brotherhood dinners and she took John in when they found him. I know they couldn't do the formal Fade ceremony because Tohr was gone, but damn someone shed a tear for her. Someone talk about her and what she may have meant to them. Someone do more to try and find Tohr.

*END SPOILER RANT*

While Bella and Z's story has been my favorite so far, there are still things that bug me.

1. Of course there's the funky slang. I can't tell you how annoying it is to hear/read about the "shitkickers" or "What's doing?" or "How's doing?" For the love of all that's grammatical, can I please get a complete sentence?
2. When Z remembers back to what he endured as a blood slave there were several uncomfortable moments for me. I understand the need to show us what he went through but some of the frequent and detailed descriptions were uncomfortable to read.
3. Coming back to the present, Bella goes into her needing period.
   
   

   needing period(n.) Female vampire's time of fertility, generally lasting for two days and accompanied by intense sexual cravings. Occurs approximately five years after a female's transition and then once a decade thereafter. All males respond to some degree if they are around a female in her need. It can be a dangerous time, with conflicts and fights breaking out between competing males, particularly if the female is not mated.
   

    This is too close to animals in heat and weirded me out. Seriously, every male in the house started sportin' wood and since it was daytime, those without female mates in-house were shit out of luck. They had to turn to alcohol, red smoke or "self-love" to get through the needing period. During this time, Bella and Z started their sex-a-thon. It was all just very, very bizarre.
   
   
   

As for grading this book, the portions with Bella and Z's romance and Z and Phury's interactions would be a B- but the rest would be a C-. What to do, what to do? I'll go ahead and give it the higher one.

Final Grade:

ETA: 01/21/2010 - Made minor changes to review for clarity of thought, spelling/formatting issues and overall cohesiveness as original review was written while I was super tired and therefore did not re-read it thoroughly before hitting Publish Post :D


Around The Net:
Loves Vampires: 5 out of 5 stars
A Journey of Books: A
Dear Author: A-
Romantic Times: 4.5 out of 5 stars
The Hope Chest: 5 out of 5 stars
The Romance Reader: 4 out of 5 hearts

Read more...

Keri Arthur - Bound to Shadows (Riley Jenson Guardian Book #08)

Yet another series I'm a fan of and after the last book I was eager to see what Riley would be facing in her personal life. As fans of the series know Riley Jenson and her twin brother Rhoan are half vampire and half werewolf. The wolves in this tale have one soul mate they go through life hoping to find. The connection between wolf soul mates is so strong that more often than not, if one dies their soul mate dies with them. The big question Riley faces is can a person with two souls have two soul mates? She's been in a committed relationship with the zexy vampire Quinn but they always knew one day she would find her wolf soul mate. How would they deal with that when it happened? This book gives us some of the answers.

Part vampire, part werewolf, Riley Jenson knows what can happen when vamps don’t play well with others. But she’s never seen anything like this: a series of brutal murders surrounding the latest hot spot for vampire-human hookups—and the victims aren’t just killed, they’re beheaded. Now Riley is launching into action, toying with a seductive—and highly suspicious—club owner, and finding herself in the middle of another mystery: women being killed one by one, without a trace of violence.

For Riley, solving multiple cases—in a world going mad with human and vampire passions—would have been tough enough. Instead she has two jealous lovers on her hands: Kye Murphy, the amber-eyed werewolf who makes Riley’s wolf blood howl—and Quinn, the cool, elegant vamp who has over a thousand years’ experience at fulfilling women’s desires. While she’s busy juggling these two sexy beasts, Riley’s detective work takes a stunningly violent turn. Finding a murderer is now a matter of life and death. Especially since the killer has long since found her . . .

At the end of the previous book Riley finally finds her soul mate; too bad he's more foe than friend. I thought making Riley's soul mate someone she despises was an interesting twist by Ms. Arthur so I was anxious to see how things would turn out in this book. I thought Riley and Kye would eventually work things out which would cause problems between Riley and Quinn and that would be the big to-do in this book. Instead, the animosity continues to grow between Riley and Kye and they fight against the soul mate connection while also occasionally giving in to the physical pull of their bodies (hot and hard sex up against the door jamb anyone?).

As for Rhoan, he's already found his soul mate in Leander and is finally taking a big step towards a more committed relationship: he and Leander want to have a baby. Leander's sister is willing to carry the baby and they ask Riley to donate an egg so the baby will be a part of the Jenson clan too. This is a huge deal for Riley because above all else, her heart's desire has been to have a baby. With things that happened to her in the past, she is unable to carry one. I can't wait to see where Ms. Arthur takes this story line.

We also got to see more of Riley's friend Dia, a woman/clone Riley helped in the past, and Dia's daughter Risa. We find out Risa's father was one of the same creatures Quinn used to be before he became a vampire. Dia asks for Quinn's help with mentoring Risa since the young girl's powers are growing every day. Dia is also psychic and Riley goes to her for some advice about her future and the whole soul mate situation. There's also more of Kade, the were-stallion (*snickers*) who has a corral of mares and new colts to look after. Kade is also a co-worker of Riley's and is the funny sidekick type character. It was nice to have Kade and Riley working together on solving the latest crimes.

I have to say I really, really, really disliked Kye. He's a cold-hearted, selfish and cocky son-of-a-bitch with a dash of crazy. At first I thought he would change because of Riley but as things progressed I started to sense something really wasn't right with him. In the end, we found out what he was really up to. I felt sorry that after all this time and hope, this is the soul mate Riley ended up with. I wondered how Ms. Arthur would resolve this horrible situation and what she did was shocking. Not just what happened with Kye (which looking back on the series, I can see it was heading that way) but what happened with Kade. I was not feeling that particular bit at all.

With that said, I can't wait to read book 9 which is the series finale.

Final Grade:

Around The Net:

Steph Su Reads: 2.5 out of 5
Leontine's Book Realm: 4 out of 5 stars
Romantic Times: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Read more...

Carolyn Jewel - Scandal

Scandal has a bit of a different start to it compared to the romances I've read in the past. We meet the hero, Banallt, who is just arriving with his friend John Mercer to John's home where John's sister, Sophie, also resides. We find out right away that Banallt is there to win Sophie's heart. Sophie and Banallt have met in the past, when both were married to others, but they struck up a friendship that apparently has turned to love on Banallt's side. He expresses his intent to marry her and I was extremely interested in finding out what exactly happened in the past to make this man almost desperate in his pursuit. Great way to draw the reader in!

The earl of Banallt is no stranger to scandal. But when he meets Sophie Evans, the young wife of a fellow libertine, even he is shocked by his reaction. This unconventional and intelligent woman proves to be far more than an amusing distraction-- she threatens to drive him to distraction. Unlike the women who usually fall at Banallt's feet, and into his bed, Sophie refuses to be seduced. And soon Banallt desires her more than ever-- and for more than an illicit affair.

Years later, the widowed Sophie is free, and Banallt is determined to win the woman he still loves. Unfortunately, she doesn't believe his declaration of love and chivalrous offer of marriage-- her heart has already been broken by her scoundrel of a husband. And yet, Sophie is tempted to indulge in the torrid affair she's always fantasized about. Caught between her logical mind and her long-denied desire, Sophie must thwart Banallt's seduction-- or risk being consumed by the one man she should avoid at all costs...

The chapters flow seamlessly back and forth in time from Sophie and Banallt's past to their present day interactions. We learn that Banallt was a friend of Sophie's husband, Tommy. One night Tommy comes home drunk, passes out in his and Sophie's bed and leaves her to deal with the two strangers in the hallway. The strangers are Banallt and one of his many mistresses. A servant shows the mistress to a guest room and Sophie shows Banallt to a separate guest room. This is where he first makes a pass at her but Sophie is faithful to her husband and slaps Banallt in the face. What a nice first meeting, eh?

Back to the present, both Sophie and Banallt's spouses have passed away so both are free to pursue new relationships. Unfortunately Sophie is too wounded from her past marriage and Tommy's infidelities to trust another man, let alone Banallt. Considering Banallt and Tommy were fans of good ol' debauchery, she has every right to be wary. But something has happened and Banallt is a changed man. He has given up the rake's life and wants to build a life with Sophie. The only problem is convincing her that he will be faithful.

During all this, John is the typical protective brother and warns Banallt away from Sophie. He knows the hurt Sophie suffered during her marriage and with Banallt's reputation he only wants to protect his sister from future harm. John is also rising in his political career and through him Sophie meets a couple of men who also seem to be interested in courting her. There is also a secondary budding romance between John and Banallt's cousin's daughter that I found very sweet.

I read Scandal in two sittings which is very rare for me because of time constraints but I found myself eager to see how it would end. Which brings me to the not so good stuff: there I was minding my own business, happily reading along when something unexpected happened. I am not lying when I tell you my good reading mood was broken when this incident happened. Complete bummer! There were also a few issues I was confused about and since I was in the last days of my NaNoReadMo challenge I didn’t do as much re-reading as I normally would when needing clarification. First, Sophie and Banallt sometimes referenced how horrible Banallt was on the final day they saw each other. I thought he had revealed Sophie's secret occupation but I have since re-read that portion of the book and know it was him making another pass at her. The second issue is what exactly made Banallt decide to turn his life around. I've re-read more of the book and still unsure if there was an actual event that changed his life. Was it the loss of his wife? There is someone else from Banallt's past and I thought it was the loss of that person but that also happened back when he knew Sophie. I thought something major happened to him since their last meeting and that was the reason for the redeemed man.

Aside from that confusion and the incident that bummed me out, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the glimpses (outside of the chapters set in the past) we got of Sophie and Banallt's close friendship like when Sophie sees the painting in Banallt's home and tells him it is as beautiful as he had told her. I love how she knows his little quirks like always tugging on his cravat. My all time favorite line in the book is Banallt describing Sophie when they're in the carriage. I've read a few romances where the heroine isn't the conventional beauty yet has that certain something that attracts the hero but I've never read it described better than this:

He leaned back so that he had a better view of her face. She was one of those women, he’d long ago decided, whose appeal did not lie in repose, but in action, in the change of expression, the quick, intelligent eyes.

I LOVE this description! "…whose appeal did not lie in repose, but in action, in the change of expression…" It is absolutely true. Someone's personality and spirit can definitely shine through one's expression and bring absolute beauty to it no matter what their physical appearance may be.

I've had this book in my TBR pile for a while and am so glad to have finally read it. My new challenge will be figuring out which Carolyn Jewel book to read next.

Final Grade:
A very high

Around The Net:

The Book Binge: 4.5 out of 5
Dear Author: A-
Love Romance Passion: 4 - 4.5 stars out of 5
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books: B+
All About Romance: B+
Romantic Times: 4 stars out of 5
The Book Smugglers: 9 out of 10
Romance Novel TV: 5+ stars

Read more...

Karen Marie Moning - Dreamfever (Fever Book #04)

I'm a fan of this series and was eager to start this book since the cliffhanger ending in the previous one. The ending where Dublin is under attack and Mac is being raped by three Unseelie Princes and the Lord Master who is believed to have killed Mac's sister Alina. When I finished book 3 I was a bit stunned by the ending and there was some speculation that maybe the destruction of Dublin and Mac's rape were some kind of dream since the next book was titled Dreamfever. Anyone who has read this book can confirm it's not a dream.

MacKayla Lane lies naked on the cold stone floor of a church, at the mercy of the erotic Fae master she once swore to kill. Far from home, unable to control her sexual hungers, MacKayla is now fully under the Lord Master's spell. In the New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning's stunning new novel, the walls between human and Fae worlds have come crashing down. And as Mac fights for survival on Dublin's battle-scarred streets, she will embark on the darkest-and most erotically charged-adventure of her life.

He has stolen her past, but MacKayla will never allow her sister's murderer to take her future. Yet even the uniquely gifted sidhe-seer is no match for the Lord Master, who has unleashed an insatiable sexual craving that consumes Mac's every thought-and thrusts her into the seductive realm of two very dangerous men, both of whom she desires but dares not trust.

As the enigmatic Jericho Barrons and the sensual Fae prince V'lane vie for her body and soul, as she rallies the sidhe-seers to fight an impossible battle, and the power of the Dark Book weaves its annihilating path through the city, Mac's greatest enemy delivers a final challenge...

It's an invitation Mac cannot refuse, one that sends her racing home to Georgia, where an even darker threat awaits. With her parents missing and the lives of her loved ones under siege, Mac is about to come face-to-face with a soul-shattering truth-about herself, and about the world she thought she knew.

This book picks up right where book 3 left off. Mac is being raped and losing everything that makes her Mac. With each forced orgasm by the sex Fae princes, she loses a memory of her childhood, a memory of her sister, a dream she had for her future. She is turned Pri-ya, which means she becomes nothing but a sexual being, living, breathing and needing sex above all else. When the princes are done with her, they move her outside the church they found her in and that's where Dani, a young sidhe-seer Mac befriends, finds her and with her superspeed ability, is able to get Mac back to the sidhe-seer compound.

At the compound is where the sexy Barrons (of unknown origins) arrives, with eight other men who appear to be of the same unknown creation, and takes the pri-ya'd Mac away to try and save her. No one has ever come back from being turned pri-ya but we can't have the heroine of the book out for the count, can we? Thus begins a months-long battle for Mac's former self with Barrons leading the way. He repeatedly reminds her of things from her life: her sister Alina, her parents, the bookstore they worked in, her anger towards him. Oh and throw in some sexing during it all because she is pri-ya after all and Barrons apparently couldn't restrain her somehow but gave in to giving her some sex along with the information about her life. Three words for ya: "Say my name." I was hoping these two would hook up eventually but I didn't want it to occur that way. Then, with the exception of one argument (I think), the aftermath of what happened isn't really addressed. Why not, Ms. Moning?

One thing we do find out about the recovered Mac is that she is no longer vulnerable to the sex Fae's pull. V'lane (the friendly sex fae?) who has a soft spot for Mac always had to dull his powers when in her presence but he meets with her unguarded and she feels absolutely nothing. So, like with some illnesses where your body builds up an immunity to the strain, Mac apparently built up an immunity to the powers that had invaded her so ruthlessly in the beginning of the book. How will this aid in the search for the Sinsar Dubh?

There are parts of this book that I found confusing as all hell like the four stones and especially the mirrors. I started to get the idea of the stones when Christian was telling Mac about the history of the stones' creation but the whole idea of the mirrors being re-routed, I have no fecking clue. Don't even ask me about the Hall of Mirrors. Yet the rest of the story is so freaking awesome that I can over look these issues. Things Mac believed to be true are now under question. Did the Lord Master kill Alina? Is Barrons really one of the good guys? Why didn't her parents tell her and Alina the truth? We're also left with so many new questions like who are the other eight men in Barrons crew? What's up with Ryodan's little nightclub? Who was the fourth rapist? Who was the beast at the end? (pssst…….click here for some crackpot theories underway on goodreads.com – reader beware: spoilers ahoy!)

Dani especially stood out for me and I found that I really enjoyed it when the pov changed to hers. Another thing I enjoyed was the interaction between Mac and Dani. Dani looks up to Mac as an older sister and Mac begins to see their relationship echoing that of hers and Alina. They also work together to figure out solutions to the craziness going on around them rather than sitting around waiting on Barrons or V'lane to save the day.

I think one of the biggest draws of this series for me is the fact that there is a finite amount of books in it. Book #5, Shadowfever, is to be the grand finale of the Fever Series. Ms Moning definitely knows how to leave us hanging and wanting more and this series is one of the few that I always look out for come release day.

The following is from an email I sent Mistress just after completing the book. I believe it sums up my thoughts on the book and most especially the cliffhanger ending:

OMG! WTF! Just finished Dreamfever. Dammit should not have read this til last book was out. As Dani would say, Feckin A!!!!!!!

Final Grade:

ETA: Audio book details

I've listened to the entire series on audio and this book changes narrator from Joyce Bean (books 1-3) to Natalie Ross and Phil Gigante. It took some getting used to but I quickly adjusted and enjoyed the new narration. Mr. Gigante's deep bass comes across a bit monotone but at times is wonderful at enhancing certain phrases *cough*Say My Name*cough*. Mist wasn't a fan of the narration change and set the audio aside for the text version.

Around The Net:

Romance Rookie: A
Lurve A La Mode: 2.5 to 3 scoops out of 5
Review Stream: 10
Romantic Times: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Read more...

Maggie Stiefvater - Shiver

This was another audio book listen and in all honesty, I would have set it aside if it had not been one of my NaNoReadMo challenge books. Nothing like a public pledge to get the reading mojo going! When I started Shiver, I got the same "it's taking too long to get going" vibe I did when I tried Twilight. Unlike Twilight, though, I actually finished this book. Who knows, I may join a Twilight challenge someday and finish it then but, um, don't hold your breath. ;)

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human... until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

We're introduced to Grace, a girl being attacked by wolves, before a certain yellow-eyed wolf challenges the attackers and gets them to back down. Six years later we meet a boy named Sam, working in a local bookstore that just happens to have yellow eyes. A wolf with yellow eyes? A boy with yellow eyes? It couldn't be, could it? Why yes, yes it can. Wolf = Boy. “It's elementary, my dear Watson.”

Anyway…what makes this werewolf story different from all the rest is the fact that the transformation from man to wolf, and vice versa, has nothing to do with the moon. The transition for these wolves is based on the temperature. When the temp drops in the winter, they turn into wolves. When it heats up during summer, they change back to humans. Also, they only get a certain amount of changes before they become a wolf, permanently. The number of changes varies for each person and that's one thing that bugged me. How can it be so random for each person? And why not move to a place that's always warm? This question is brought up in the book but the answer is kind of effed up too. There's just no rhyme or reason to it. It just…IS. I don't like that. I want to know the what's, how's and why's.

I found Sam and Grace's growing relationship to be sweet but it felt like forever before the story picked up and got interesting. Grace's parents were beyond clueless and selfish, never once taking a real interest in their daughter's life. If they had, they would've noticed the dude sleeping in her room. Things finally picked up for me when another girl, Isabel, approached Grace for help regarding her brother Jack. Jack was killed earlier in the book by the wolves yet Isabel tells Grace she has recently seen her brother. Things slow down again because Grace denies knowing anything about the wolves and she and Sam continue their budding relationship. One thing that stood out for me early on was the fact that Grace was bitten by a wolf in the beginning of the book yet she never turned into one. This is what I held onto for a lot of the book – I wanted to know why, Why, WHY?!?! The subject finally came up in the book and I hoped they would take the information to Beck (Sam's mentor/father-figure/fellow wolf-man) so they could really look into her situation and what made it unique. Instead, Grace and Sam talk about it for a little bit and then don't really do anything about it. HELLO!!! She was somehow cured! Get thee to a lab for some analysis, STAT!

In the end, it does turn out that something about when Grace was bitten gives the Scooby Doo gang an idea about finding a cure, but there's one major problem: the temperature is dropping and Sam is facing his final change. This is where things really get good. I applaud the audio book version during this part because the section where they're looking for Sam, and Isabel is checking the sheds on her family's property had me pausing all else as I waited for the outcome. The rest of the book from this point had my full attention. The part in the car just after the accident…heartbreaking!

So, while the beginning and middle were a little slow for me, the final stretch of the book was good enough for me to look back and say I'm glad I read it.

Final Grade:

Around The Net:

Chick Lit Teens: 5/5
The Book Butterfly: 5/5
The Book Smugglers: 5/10
Dear Author: B-
Babbling About Books, and More: B+
My Friend Amy: 4/5

Read more...

JR Ward – BDB 02 – Lover Eternal

The Challenge: Trying to get past page 1. Seriously – I couldn't get past this page for a week. I've since realized it's probably because the page starts out with dialogue and we all know how much I love the dialogue *end sarcasm*. Now, the challenge is writing my review.  

The Setting: My room  

The Music: Jay-Z bumpin from the speakers j/k  

The Couple: Rhage (aka Hollywood, Hal E. Wood) and Mary Luce  

The Surprise: The book was dedicated to me. What, you doubt me? Read 'em and weep people. Read 'em and weep:

Dedicated to: You. In the beginning, we didn't hit it off, did we?

See, told ya so. JR Ward obviously had Vishous prognosticate my reaction to book one, Dark Lover.

Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He’s the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover—for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. Possessed by this dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.

Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships, is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage’s protection. With a life-threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. Her faith in miracles was lost years ago. But when Rhage’s intense animal attraction turns into something more emotional, he knows that he must make Mary his alone. And while their enemies close in, Mary fights desperately to gain life eternal with the one she loves…

Mary and Rhage's story starts out pretty good. I found it to be an easier read, once I got past page one, than the first book. We see how hard it's been for Rhage to live with his beast and we meet Mary who's had a rough life. She took care of her sick mother and watched helplessly as she faded away into death. Mary also battled leukemia and after two years of remission, may now have a recurrence. I was very interested in these two until everything got repetitive. Here's a summary:

Mary: I'm plain, why is Hal (aka Rhage) with me?

Rhage: Your voice, it's so soothing yet it also makes me hot.

Mary: He's only being nice because Bella told him I'm sick.

Rhage: You're so beautiful and you make me all tingly in my special places. Wait, even in my non-special places.

Mary: Stop pitying me. You're way out of my league.

Rhage: But I'm so hard for you. Oh no! I'm also dangerous for you. See how my teal eyes glow for you. My secret beast wants out and will probably eat you.

Mary: Hmm….his teal eyes are glowing but that doesn't bother me at all because glowing teal eyes are oh so normal. Oh and I'm wet for you, but you're just being kind to the unattractive girl. See you even pull away from me because I disgust you.

Rhage: I love you! Stay here with me in my room. You're my girl now and forever.

Mary: What? You don't even know me, I don't know you. We may be practically sexin' it like monkeys but you, Mr. Hottie McNaughty, cannot love me, Ms. Demure Insecure.

Rhage: How can you think me so unworthy? I only want to love and take care of you.

Yada, yada, yada. Shampoo, rinse and repeat a couple dozen times with some breaks for kissing, fondling and feeding (food not blood) because apparently it means a whole lot in the vamp world to feed another. Whatever….moving on.

There was one part that I really liked in the first half. It's when Rhage is reflecting on the burden the beast has been on him. I really feel for him here:

God, he was tired of being stuck inside his body, managing its demands, trying not to fall into a brutal oblivion. Sure, his stunner of a face and the strength were all fine and good. But he would have traded both to a scrawny, ugly mo'fo, if it would have gotten him some peace. Hell, he couldn't even remember what serenity was like. He couldn't even remember who he was.

The disintegration of himself had started up pretty quick. After only a couple of years into the curse, he'd stopped hop-ing for any true relief and simply tried to get by without hurting anyone. That was when he'd started to die on the inside, and now, over a hundred years later, he was mostly numb, nothing more than glossy window dressing and empty charm.

Early on in the book, we meet a young man named John Matthews who Mary befriends despite his stalkerish behavior. She also introduces John to her neighbor Bella, who happens to be a civilian vampire. John is mute but of course Mary, in all her holy goodness, knows sign language. While chatting/signing with John, Mary and Bella discover he is an orphan. He is also wearing a bracelet he made that has symbols he dreamt about. Guess what those symbols are? They're old school vamp talk and Bella just happens to read OSVT. The following is what she discovers after reading the symbols. It is also the point at which I set the book down and laughed:

Putting her hands on her hips, she stared at the floor. What the hell was she going to do? When she'd searched John's conscious mind, she'd found nothing about his race, his people, his traditions. The boy didn't know a thing, had no idea who he really was or what he was going to turn into. And he honestly didn't know what those symbols meant.

She did. They spelled out TEHRROR in the Old Language. A warrior's name.

Seriously? TEHRROR? Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

*picks book back up and continues reading*

So apparently John Matthews is destined to be one of the Brotherhood. I love how Tohr is with him. Again, Tohr is one of my faves from the books and I can't wait to read more about him and Wellsie.

There's also a part where Rhage cheats on Mary. She knows where he's going (and why) and I see why he did it but after all his sweetness towards her, he lost many points in my book.

After Mary finally admits her feelings for Rhage things go a little smoother. There's still a lot of repetitiveness but I was less annoyed by then. There's a part where Rhage realizes that his beast wants to sex it up with Mary too, and she agrees to let him. So they proceed and I won't lie, that scene was kinda creepy. It had nothing to do with the chains (they had to chain Rhage so the beast wouldn't hurt Mary) but with the actual thought of some alien-like creature up in there too…CREEPY!

The Lessers are snoozeville for me. I don't see them as any real threat except to Johnson and Johnson, the makers of baby powder. Have nothing else to say about them.

One of the things I really like about the BDB world is the brotherhood aspect. I like the solidarity they show towards Rhage after his punishment for breaking the Brotherhood's rules. I LOVE the scene afterwards with Zsadist at Rhage's bedside chanting or praying for him. I wished for more scenes of the brothers together WITHOUT the slang. That would have made a huge difference for me! I also wanted more interaction between the ladies. When Mary first arrives, Beth is there for a brief second and Wellsie is mainly in scenes with Tohr. At the very least, I would have expected Beth to befriend Mary since she was living there. She could have provided some advice on dealing with the brothers considering she was fairly new to the group as well.

I did get a little bored towards the end with the exception of the scenes with Bella and Phury, then Bella and Zsadist. It really got me interested in learning more about both brothers. I liked Bella because she was upfront, she straight up told Z she was attracted to him and wanted to sleep with him. You.Go.Girl. Very refreshing after all Mary's wishy-washy ways. We also learned earlier that Bella has a brother named Rehvenge, probably a future member of the brotherhood.

The ending wasn’t unexpected but rather a bit unsatisfying. I seriously thought the path they were taking was heartbreakingly beautiful. Don't get me wrong, I wanted a happy ending and knew there would be a twist but didn't think it would be that. Since the rule was Rhage couldn't go to the new Mary, I thought somehow the new Mary would cross paths with him and they would rebuild their relationship. I actually would have preferred it that way. Anyway……

I still have my issues with JR Ward's writing (the names, the slang, the caveman talk - see link above for the list in my review of the first book) but I have to admit the little peeks she provides on the other brothers are enough to catch and hold my attention. My faves are still Zsadist and Tohrment. I want to learn more about what happened in Z's past and I want to see what happens with Tohr, Wellsie and their baby. I also, want to see how they help John Matthews since they pretty much adopted him. I even want to see what's up with Phury and why the celibacy. Oh yeah, not to mention V and his awesome yet burden laden gift of prognostication.

In short, these books are mind-crack and I have succumbed. Well played, Ms. Ward. Well played. I still need recovery time from each book so I'll see you in another 3 months when I read the next one.

Final Grade:

Liked the premise of this book but aspects of its execution were WEAK. Enjoyed it enough to continue riding the series/author out at my own leisurely pace. Beyond the hype, this book is fine for a fluffy, generic read and has more of a library rental/swap quality rather than a keeper for my personal bookshelf

Around The Net:
A Journey of Books: A+
The Romance Reader: 3 Stars
Love Vampires: 5 Stars
Dear Author: B
The Hope Chest Reviews: 4 Stars
Romantic Times: 4 ½ Stars

Read more...

Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do!

Short version review of Tessa Dare's Goddess of the Hunt can be summed up in the lyrics to Vanessa Williams' "Save the Best for Last":

All of the nights you came to me When some silly [boy] had set you free You wondered how you'd make it through I wondered what was wrong with you Cause how could you give your love to someone else And share your dreams with me Sometimes the very thing you're looking for Is the one thing you can't see And now we're standing face to face Isn't this world a crazy place Just when I thought our chance had passed You go and save the best for last

Read on for the special extended edition ;)

Ever the bold adventuress, Lucy Waltham has decided to go hunting for a husband. But first she needs some target practice. So she turns to her brother’s best friend, Jeremy Trescott, the Earl of Kendall, to hone her seductive wiles on him before setting her sights on another man. But her practice kisses spark a smoldering passion—one that could send all her plans up in smoke. Jeremy has an influential title, a vast fortune, and a painful past, full of long-buried secrets. He keeps a safe distance from his own emotions, but to distract Lucy from her reckless scheming, he must give his passions free rein. Their sensual battle of wills is as maddening as it is delicious, but the longer he succeeds in managing the headstrong temptress, the closer Jeremy comes to losing control. When scandal breaks, can he bring himself to abandon Lucy to her ruin? Or will he risk his heart, and claim her for his own?

Where or where should I begin? I guess I should start with the first thing that really caught my attention. Yes, the opening scene is a good one. It drops you right in the middle of something life-changing but the first moment that really hooked me was in chapter two. It occurs when Lucy (a tomboy) comes to breakfast all dolled up to impress Toby, one of her older brother's best friends, and something happens to one of the heavy opal earrings she's wearing. I was not expecting that and it got an audible response from me - sort of a combination laugh-gasp-oh response. I've had that response in the past, after reading the "the one eating the shrubs" line from Julie Garwood's The Lion's Lady. Considering I'm practically a JG fangurl, I knew it was a good sign for this book. Lucy is convinced she's in love with Toby and does her best to attract his attention after finding out about his upcoming engagement to another woman. She plots and schemes to come up with a way for him to notice her as a woman and no longer Henry's little sister, however, her schemes fail every time. In the beginning, I could see past Lucy's scheming as I saw her more through Jeremy's eyes and thoughts. She is a young girl with no experience in dating or even friendship for that matter. Her parents died leaving her to the care of her brother who is pretty much clueless to the kind of guidance a girl Lucy's age needs so with no exposure to any other company, it's no surprise that her first major crush is on one of Henry's best friends. Someone who has come to the manor every summer for the past 8 years and the only one who has shown her the slightest bit of kind attention (btw, I loved the idea of where the title of the book comes from). With all that in mind I began to see Lucy's behavior more as emotional growing pains. We all go through them and we all are different in our reactions to them. However, later in the book there were moments were she seemed to take 1 step towards maturity but then Toby came within hearing distance and she took 2 steps back. Very aggravating considering how much progress she and Jeremy had made, not just in the physical sense, but I thought he was finally reaching her emotionally. Particularly after Lucy witnessed Toby giving Sophia, his future betrothed, a crown of ivory. I felt since that was what started Lucy's crush in the first place, seeing Toby give the same gift to someone else would surely snap her out of her daze. Unfortunately, it did not. As for Jeremy, I really liked him from the start. First, because of the way he handled the situation with Lucy coming to his room in the middle of the night for a ridiculous practice session. Secondly, because he was upfront in telling her how foolish her behavior was yet every time her plans went awry, he was there to pick her back up. I liked that he tried to warn Henry and Toby about Lucy but for all his good intentions they only gave him more reasons to be closer to Lucy. As his fondness for Lucy grows, even as she continues her pursuit of Toby, you can't help but feel for him. Especially when his efforts are thwarted in the name of Toby….literally in the name of Toby (end of wardrobe scene anyone?). Speaking of the wardrobe scene….yes, it is hot and sensual (it is up there with the scene in front of the mirror from Stephanie Laurens' Devil's Bride) but for me the part that gave it that extra oomph, what made it more powerful, was Jeremy's internal dialogue. His desperate need for Lucy to acknowledge it was him and no other that was with her in that precise moment.

Who was he to her, here in the dark? Was he himself, or some stranger, or – most terrible to contemplate and altogether probable – someone else known to them both?

That extra oomph factor can be found throughout the book. It's hard to explain exactly but there is so much given to us not only in the dialogue between the characters but also in the internal struggles they're experiencing. I felt all that internal insight made the emotions that much stronger and Ms. Dare's writing...I found it to be a bit lyrical and poetic. The way she describes things sort of paints an emotional picture for the reader. I also liked the supporting characters and the relationships they had with the main characters. In fact, I would count Henry as one of my favorites. Yes, he is the fumbling brother that is out of sorts when it comes to what a girl needs but he is still a funny and caring character. From the song he sings in the beginning to some of the comments he makes (something about frozen stones? :P ) to the confrontations he has with Jeremy regarding Lucy. The brother/sister relationship between Henry and Lucy felt very real to me. Especially when he cracks on her being considered a 'lady' and also in the descriptions of the letters he sends her towards the end. I was glad that Sophia wasn't made out to be a villain. She isn't some stuck up, beautiful yet brainless twit, but a sweet and lonely young lady not unlike Lucy. She's also learning her way in the world and thinks she's doing the right thing by marrying Toby but still has her doubts throughout the book. I liked that Lucy and Sophia grew to be friends which also helped Lucy to realize what she truly wanted. As for Toby, I thought he was a jerk in the beginning for knowing how Lucy felt about him but being too chicken to let her down easy. But later on when he's in London talking to Jeremy, he redeemed himself in my eyes. Then we have the ever-wandering Aunt Matilda. She could have become an annoying character but it was actually very sweet to see how they all cared for her and how some of her wandering aided Lucy and Jeremy's relationship. I loved the part when they're departing Waltham Manor and Jeremy sees she's bringing Aunt Matilda with her. That's actually one of the main things I liked about GotH - the humor. From the Look, to the Book, to the Letter, to their first 'completed' love scene, the humor is sprinkled throughout the story and amongst the characters and is definitely one of the reasons I read GotH as fast as I did. I have to admit, though, that there was an interesting turn in the book for me. For the most part, I was always Team Jeremy. Then after the wedding and they moved to Jeremy's estate, I found myself gradually going towards Team Lucy. Where before, Jeremy was always upfront with Lucy and told her what's what, when they got back to his home and all the memories of his past came at him full force, he became the avoidance king. On the other hand, Lucy finally seemed to grow up and care about the well being of others. I even began to feel sorry for her when Jeremy was avoiding her or away on business. I think I truly joined Lucy's side when he criticized her for not being a 'lady'. I thought, "Hey dude that's the Lucy you fell in lust/love with – the one with the adventurous spirit. You can't expect her to change just because you put a ring on her finger and a title next to her name." But this time it was seeing Jeremy through Lucy's eyes and thoughts that reminded me that yes, it's still the same, caring Jeremy from before but he has some pretty big demons from the past he needs help in defeating. When they finally come together emotionally in the end, it's a solid and sweet reunion. So aside from Lucy's somewhat childish behavior (which I think could have been remedied had the quantity of foolish schemes been cut back a tad) and the over-use of "dusky red lips", I found GotH to be a fun and fast read. I was also left with one question regarding a minor character, the doctor's daughter, Henna. When she is first introduced in GotH, I immediately felt she'd have a very interesting tale to tell. I wonder if there are any plans for her book. Goddess of the Hunt is the first book in Ms. Dare's trilogy and I eagerly await the next two of the series, Surrender of a Siren coming August 25th and A Lady of Persuasion coming September 29th. Final Grade: A very high

Is everything I hoped it would be and not a pinch more. Better than average, it hit the spot like a tall drink on a hot summer's day. While it didn't quite dazzle me with unique or transcendent content, in no way is it a stale retelling.

Around The Net: Monkey Bear Reviews: B KatieBabs: A- Dear Author: B+ All About Romance: B Smart Bitches, Trashy Books: C Mrs. Giggles: 84 Romantic Times: 4 ½ stars Romance Novel TV: 5 stars

Read more...

So tell me have you ever really, really really ever loved a woman.....

This book started out with a Pride and Prejudiced inspired scene. The heroine, Merriam, overheard the man she liked make a hurtful statement about her at a ball. Unlike Pride and Prejudice, though, Merriam came up with a way to get her revenge and show that man she's more woman than he could ever handle. Looking back, the main events of this book made me think of a certain website. Merriam's story totally fits the FML requirements. So I present to you a review of Renee Bernard's A Lady's Pleasure, FMyLife style.

Seeking revenge, she discovers how delicious a case of mistaken identity can be.... Merriam Everett has always been regarded as a shy, docile creature. But for one night, Merriam the Mouse has become a temptress who will recklessly take her pleasure with the arrogant earl who once slighted her, and then leave him aching with lust. A fine plan, if Merriam had not just seduced the wrong rogue! Drake Sotherton left England amid dark speculation and has returned to seek vengeance against Julian Clay, the man he believes murdered his wife. Convinced that the masked beauty who seduced him is Julian's pawn, Drake tracks her down and proposes that she become his mistress for the Season. Every sensual desire, every secret longing will be explored...and fulfilled.

Merriam: Today I overheard my crush, Julian, tell someone that I'm a whey-faced widow. How will I ever face him or the world ever again? FML M: Today I went to the masked ball and my plan for revenge on Julian went awry. I was supposed to get him hot and heavy and leave him wanting but instead I had smokin' hot sex with him. FML Drake: Today I had sex with an unknown woman at a masked ball. She left before I could get her name and I MUST see her again! How will I find her? FML M: Today I found out it wasn't Julian I seduced that night, WHO THE F was it?!?! FML Ok, so aside from the silliness of the 'revenge' scheme I was into this book at the beginning. I didn't mind the set up as long as the rest delivered. I even had a brief moment where I compared Drake Sotherton to Devil Cynster from Stephanie Laurens' Devil's Bride. I liked his friendship with Alex and there was one conversation they had where he bit Alex's head off but immediately apologized for it. He seemed like a decent guy and I looked forward to reading more about him. I also enjoyed reading about his search for the identity of the mysterious Mrs. Lover Lover from the masked ball. M: Today the man I seduced at the ball found me and wants me to meet at his house tonight. He got me all hot and heavy….then didn't finish the job. FML M: Today I went to his house to tell him I was a respectable woman and I didn't want what he was offering…..until he started serving it up. I'm afraid I also had seconds and thirds. FML The author did write some good love scenes, I'll give her that. The scene in Drake's house that night was super hot and seductive

“Only what you bare,” he whispered, his breath hot in her ear. “Hurry.”

Read the book and you'll know what I'm talking about ;) M: Today I agreed to be his mistress for the season but I'm still afraid of what the public will think so we hide out at his place. FML M: Today we finally made a public appearance in the park and OMG my former crush, Julian, came up to us which made Drake all jealous. He rushed us home, threw me over his shoulder, carried me upstairs where he proceeded to spank me….and……I kind of liked it. FML?!?! My good opinion of the book started falling the more I read because I didn't see any positive growth in Merriam and Drake became too possessive and overbearing. Merriam was semi-assertive in bed but if she wasn't sexin' it up with Drake she was back to being Miss Dependent. She never stood up for herself or what she wanted and anytime there was a hint of disagreement, they pushed it aside and went for sex instead. M: Today an acquaintance that saw us in the park stopped by to tell me about Drake's sordid past. He is known by all, yes ALL, the ton as the Deadly Duke!!! *gasp* Why am I always the last to know these things? FML M: Today I attempted to ask Drake about his past yet he distracted me with more good lovin'. Could I possibly be falling for a murderer? FML D: Today I discovered who Merriam thought she was seducing the first night we met. She was looking for my mortal enemy, Julian. Is she in cahoots with him to bring about my downfall? How can I still want someone I don't truly trust? FML By now, you'd think Merriam would want to know more about the man she was sleeping with and falling for yet when opportunity arose, she always backed down. You'd also think Drake would man up and ask Merriam more about her revenge scheme at the ball and what her relationship with Julian was. But both seemed to enjoy living in their little sex bubble and ignored any semblance of truth. There were times, however, when Drake was really good to her. This was my favorite part from the book:

“There is only one person’s opinion that should sway you,” he went on, lifting her hand gently to peel off her glove. “Oh?” she asked, feigning ignorance, anticipating his reply. Typical man! He would say that his was the only one that counted and then pay her a compliment to soothe her bruised confidence. “Oh, yes.” Drake moved her palm up to his mouth and flicked his tongue over it before kissing it. “Your own. Yours is the only opinion that matters.”

I wanted his actions to back-up those words but sadly it never happened. He was always too busy fuming behind her back wondering what her true motives were or being super jealous of her attentions. There was also a mystery subplot about what happened in Drake's past and why he and Julian were enemies. I figured out who did the crime but was mistaken in my reasoning for it. The whole back and forth of "You did it." "No, you did it." "No, you!" got old quick because that's all we got for most of the book. It wasn't until the end that we discovered some of the background info on the crime - right before the truth of the murder was revealed. Sorry, that was not enough to keep my interest in that storyline. Other issues I had with the book were the overuse of words or phrases. "You're incorrigible." "Who is incorrigible now?" "And you say I'm incorrigible" (the last one may be of my own making but believe me, incorrigible was used way too much). Next would be the many references to the Deadly Duke. I felt like I needed the little sound effect that plays during Law & Order scene transitions every time it was mentioned. Drake also called Merriam 'familiar' in reference to how she got his attention at the ball – Merriam was dressed as a cat and sent a message via the butler to Merlin (who she thought was Julian) that his 'familiar' had arrived. It was cute the first couple of times but when it was still used at the end, it was beyond overdone. My review is titled "So tell me have you ever really, really really ever loved a woman" which is from one of Bryan Adam's song but this book forgets one major thing:

To really love a woman To understand her You gotta know her deep inside Hear every thought See every dream And give her wings when she wants to fly.

The meaning of that last line is what's missing from this book. Sadly Merriam never wanted to fly and even if she did, Drake wasn't the type to accept that. This is the first in the Mistress Trilogy with the next book being Alex's story and the third is Julian's. While I liked Alex in this book, I probably won't be reading the rest of the trilogy. Final Grade:

This book is decent but unfortunately I found parts of it annoying, boring, disturbing, and clichéd. Didn't float my boat but hey, maybe it just wasn't for me. So I'll leave you to make your own judgment call. Proceed with caution, though: I came, I saw, I read and was not amused.

Around The Net: Romantic Times: 4 Stars Mrs. Giggles: 73

Read more...

Family Ties

Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas: The main theme of this book is family. Yes the romance is there along with the HEA but the root of the story is family dynamics. I think most families have certain roles that each person plays. One person may be considered the black sheep who does things on their own terms. Another can be the needy one who somehow always ends up in a bind. On the opposite end is the dependable one who is expected to have all the answers to everyone's problems. For some reason, someone out there had a sense of humor and decided to grant me that last role. So with my knowledge of what that role entails, this book absolutely hit home with me.

Ella Varner has it all--a successful career as an advice columnist, a handsome boyfriend, and a circle of friends in Austin. When anyone has a problem, Ella knows the answers. But one night she receives a call that changes everything. And as Ella's world is turned upside-down, she meets a man who is the opposite of everything she ever wanted . . . a man who will offer her the most irresistible challenge she has ever known . . .

The heroine of this book is Ella Varner (role = dependable) who one day receives a frantic call from her mother asking her to come over and pick up her baby nephew. Ella’s sister Tara (role = needy) dropped her son off with their mother and took off. Their mother is an “all about me” character and knowing the childhood she and her sister had, Ella decides to go and ends up taking care of the baby, Luke. Well this does not sit well with Ella’s boyfriend Dane who has no interest in starting a family and tells her not to come back home with the baby. Say it with me now everyone, "ASSHOLE"! Although, I do have to give credit for being upfront about it. I may not like his stance but I can respect it. So maybe he’s only an ASS ;) . So begins Ella’s journey to find out where her sister is and who the baby’s father is. In finding Luke’s father, she is hoping to secure some form of financial and emotional stability for him. One of the possible baby-daddy candidates is handsome, rich, available Jack Travis. When it becomes clear there is no possible way he can be Luke’s father, Jack offers to help Ella in her search. It is during this search that a wonderful and believable romance is built. One of the things I really like about this book is the amount of conversation between the two main characters. Then we have the added element of Luke. Ella has never taken care of a baby and Jack has some experience since he is an uncle but the two of them navigating the foreign territory of parenting is a wonderful thing to watch. At one point Ella is alone with Luke as he wraps his tiny little hand around her finger:

Living with Dane, I had heard and discussed and pondered any number of injustices in the world. But it hardly seemed that there could be anything worse than an unwanted child. Lowering my head, I pressed my cheek against his pale baby skin, and kissed the fragile curve of his skull. I watched his lashes lower, and his mouth compress like a grumpy old man's. His hands rested on his chest like tiny pink starfish. I touched one of them with my finger, and his hand closed around it with surprising tightness. He fell asleep holding my finger. It was an intimacy unlike anything I had ever felt before. And an unfamiliar, sweet pain spread in my chest, as if my heart were cracking open.

That line right there, it has a direct line to my heart. While I have no children of my own, each and every one of my nieces and nephews has made their mark. From tiny hands wrapped around my finger to first smiles and first hugs. There is nothing like it in this world. Then we have Jack, who is always there to lend a helpful hand to Ella and Luke. Although he is wealthy, Ella insists on paying her own portion of the expenses which is something I love about her character. With that said, even with his money Jack never comes across as overbearing or arrogant - just a hard working, caring and down to earth man. With his help, they soon discover Tara’s whereabouts and have a better idea of who the father is and go to meet with him to get things set in motion for Luke’s future. Although there is some difficulty due to issues stemming from Ella’s childhood, Jack and Ella grow closer and yes, they end up having some hot sex. Not too much, not too little, just right. I love the way Jack takes charge yet is still gentle:

I chuckled, and Jack pressed his cheek against the soft bounce of my breast. His hot breath rushed against the distended tip. Slowly his mouth opened over the rosy flesh, his tongue circling. Sliding my arms around his neck, I kissed the thick, damp locks of his hair. He lifted his mouth and took the nipple between his fingers, clamping softly while he moved to kiss the other breast, and my hips pressed upward into his weight. In a matter of seconds I was steaming. He browsed over me as if I were some lavish buffet, nibbling and licking and kissing, lifting and turning me to make certain there was nothing he had missed. I lay on my stomach, gripping fistfuls of amber quilt as he took my hips and hoisted them upward. "This okay?" I heard him whisper. "Yes," I panted. "God, yes."

Another favorite scene is Jack’s proposal which is unique to Ella. I love that kind of stuff! Yes a candlelight dinner or walk on the beach before you propose is great but if you personalize it to your loved one……tres magnifique! Towards the end there are some iffy parts like when Dane finds out about Ella and Jack he is ok with it because he and Ella always had an open relationship. I found it strange that Ella never knew about this arrangement. Then there is the issue of Tara’s return and wanting Luke back and the brief moment of grief we have over his loss before another traumatic incident occurs. In the end, none of these iffy parts took away from the emotional ride this book invoked in me. The very last word of the book is a beautiful wrap up that confirms what it's all about……family. This is the first book I've read by Lisa Kleypas but it definitely won't be my last. Final Grade:

Romance Novel TV: 5+ Stars Smart Bitches Trashy Books: B+ Katiebabs: B+ Bibliophile Musings: A- Dear Author: B+ Love Romance Passion: 5 Stars The Book Binge: 4.75 out of 5 Stars

Read more...

Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning

LOVE a good highlander romance and thought I'd be in for a treat with this one. It not only has the romance but also some paranormal aspects with the royal court of the fae adding their magic to the mix. There is also some time travel which I thought could make it even more interesting. Little did I know! First off, the heroine Adrienne is a twit. Her background story is too ridiculous to believe yet I'll share it with you because I'm that kind of a person :) She's a 20th century gal who is apparently on the run for the murder of her ex-fiance who is supremely stupidly named Eberhard. Mr ex-fiance was a "beautiful" and rich man who sent Adrienne on all kinds of fancy vacations………alone. Ding, ding, ding – clue #1 that something isn't right yet she continues to go because her man is so wonderful and thoughtful to give her such extravagant gifts. Well it turns out he was using the twit to smuggle something……I honestly don't care enough to even try to remember what it was. But she finds out when she comes home early and overhears him laughing at how stupid she was. (Psst….he wasn't the only one laughing). So from then on she proclaims her HATE of beautiful men and how she'll never fall victim to one ever again. Yeah, um….ok lady you do that.. Now for the hero – he is known as the Hawk and is renowned because he's apparently hung like a horse and has the stamina to match (who actually came up with that analogy and knows the stamina of a horse?). Ok back to business.....all the women want him and one goes all psycho after he's married and tries many times to kill twit. Anyway, so widely known is his prowess in bed that even the Queen of the fae wants to get a piece. This makes the King jealous and he sends his jester….super smoking faery guy Adam to go make the Hawk's life miserable. The king's plan is for Adam to find a woman that will turn the Hawk down at every turn. The one woman that will be able to say NO to him. Well since he is a magical being, Adam travels to the future and hears twit's proclamation against beautiful men and decides he's found the perfect match for the Hawk. So twit gets sent back in time and I'll skip all the "where am I, how'd I get here" drama and move along to more fascinating (NOT) stuff. So twit and hung get married by proxy (he sent his friend in his place for the actual ceremony) yet when they're in each other's presence she's all "stay away from me, oh wait but kiss me, oh wait I hate beautiful men get away". And he's all "you’re the one, come take a ride and I'll make you forget the men from your past" blah blah blah I honestly didn't care where this was going and I read what has to be the cheesiest line I've ever come across in a book. At some point during one of the love scenes twit proclaims "Take me to Valhalla"! Really? That actually got printed? All I can say is take me back to the moment before I decided to read this book. I have officially renamed it: Beyond the Ridiculous Twit!

Read more...

Ransom by Julie Garwood

RANSOM is the story of Brodick Buchanan and Ramsey Sinclair who we first met in The Secret. Ramsey's is the secondary story but for me, his is too unbelievable. I know, I know this is a romance book where all kinds of things take place but even I couldn’t fall for this one. Basically, he becomes a laird and there's this girl in his clan, Brigid, that all the highlanders want to marry yet she rejects them all because she loves some mystery man. So on and on it goes with her refusing proposals and refusing to tell Ramsey who she's holding out for. Only at the end does Ramsey realize he's the mystery man and all of a sudden it's all "Yes, I love you too Brigid let's get married". No explanation of why all the boys got their kilts in a bunch over her or why she loved Ramsey in the first place or any kind of build up to his realization of his own feelings for her. So back to Brodick's story…….we find out that he was named protector of his best friend's son, Alec. This is basically the equivalent of a godfather or guardian. Alec and Ramsey's younger brother Michael are playing near a waterfall when they decide to play a prank and switch their plaids. While Michael runs off to find something, Alec is mistakenly kidnapped to be held for ransom against Ramsey. Since no one witnessed the kidnapping, everyone believes Alec fell and drowned in the waterfall. This leads us to Gillian, the book's heroine. She is held captive in England by the same people that kidnapped Alec because she may know the location of a secret box that holds the key to a murder from the past. Anyway…Gillian escapes with Alec and during their journey he tells her of his protector, the brave and fierce warrior Brodick. To comfort the scared little boy, she says she will be his protector until he returns home. When they finally cross the border into highland territory, they hide out in an old church and Gillian decides to send a message claiming to be Laird Buchanan's bride and counts on that lie being a big enough draw for Brodick to come meet her. She's right on all counts! Brodick arrives (in all his fine-ness) where he greets her with a scowl and an intimidating stance yet once Gillian lets the boy come out of hiding and he lays eyes on Alec, he is nearly brought to his knees in shock and unbelief. The reason I like this story so much is that Brodick is not the typical dominant male character when with Gillian. He's not all "Do this because I'm the man and I said so". Also I think Julie Garwood has her humorous moments in most of her books. There's a part when they're riding back to the holding and they cross paths with one of the Highland's priests. This priest knows of Brodick's rep and will not allow the lady to travel alone with such a heathen. So after being told a slightly altered version of Gillian's claim to be his bride and some miscommunication between the priest and Gillian regarding her consent to marriage, the priest performs their wedding ceremony. Being English and the ceremony occurring in Gaelic, Gillian has no idea she was just wed. When she finally discovers the truth she can't help but ask Brodick how she can face telling their children she was wed on the back of a horse. But then all protests are forgotten as he carries her off for their long awaited wedding night. So yes, you can say this has the romance novel formula down to a tee but the difference is the hero is strong and brave yet vulnerable and open when it counts without being cheesy. The heroine is also very likeable without being annoyingly perfect. I thought the plot was good as well but you'll have to read the book to get the rest!

Read more...

The Devil You Know by Jenna Black

Something is inside Morgan Kingsley and it still makes me somewhat nauseous.I had a heap load of bones to pick with the first book in this series and no intention of enduring this one. But I decided for you, dear readers, to lie down and think of England. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected but it's earned its place on my never read again list. That said lets get this party started So “ The devil inside” ended with Morgan’s brother in a catatonic state, Morgan still hosting the mighty demon king, the 3 musketeers saving her boyfriend from evils clutches, and me gagging over all the disgusting torture gives Adam a woody scenes. So you wonder, what’s going on in “The Devil You Know”? Well little miss exorcist is still the Kings host. Surprise surprise her bro wakes up then proceeds to be as unhelpful and whiny as possible. Of course the scary villain with a chumps name (I mean c’mon it’s a lil hard to tremble in fear at the coming of the Dastardly “ Dougal”) is still after Lugh,his kingness, which results in Ms. Morgan trying to outwit some big muckity muck Demon uber hunter. To add to the fun she moons over her love for Brian incessantly while refusing to make any attempt to be with him. It probably says something about me how many times I wished for irksome Brian’s demise; but I’m only human. Thankfully Adam keeps it in his pants so to speak; so no nasty pain porn. Which resulted in me actually enjoying his presence in this novel.Actually “enjoy” is too strong a word. Let me rephrase; things were more interesting when he’s around. All that said there were some notable improvements: more action in this novel (which was sorely lacking in the last book) and we learn more of Morgan’s past. This book was OK, better than the first and undeniably shows promise, but not one my favorites.

Read more...