Friday, April 02, 2010

The reading month that was March

I know there are a lot of readers that read more and faster than I do, but still for me, March was a Very Good Reading Month! Some I've reviewed, some are upcoming and some I just didn't have time for

Fallen From Grace by Laura Leone ~~ This one was a reread - which one I don't know but certainly at least the third or fourth time I've read it. It's wonderful story of the hero's redemption and one I highly recommend. It's one of my all time favourites
5 out of 5



Enslave by Cathy Yardley ~~This wasn't bad for an erotic beauty and the beast type story.
3 out of 5




Slow Heat by Jill Shalvis ~~ I can see why this one got the buzz it did, I thought the characters were good, the story was interesting, but the lack of baseball knowledge kind of made this one disappointing for me
3.5 out of 5



Pieces of Sky by Kaki Warner ~~ This was a gritty, wonderful example of why the Western is such a favourite genre of mine
4.5 out of 5




Embrace the Night Eternal by Joss Ware ~~ While I didn't grade this one that high, it showed a lot of promise for books to follow
3.75 out of 5




Beyond the Night by Joss Ware ~~ This one more than lived up to the promise this series showed in Embrace the Night Eternal. It was great!
4.75 out of 5




Naked Edge by Pamela Clare ~~ Another great book in the I Team series. My love for this authors books remains just as strong as when I first discovered her books
4.75 out of 5




The Best Revenge by Justine Davis ~~ I was hoping that the magic that this author used to have had returned and while I somewhat enjoyed this book, the magic isn't back yet
3.5 out of 5



Shut Up and Kiss Me by Christie Craig ~~ I received an ARC for this June release and My Thoughts are to follow. I'm not going to let the cat out of the bag yet - but I will say I quite enjoyed it.




Abandon the Night by Joss Ware ~~ I'm planning a 'My Thoughts' on this book - the more exposure the better for this fascinating series I discovered thanks to Stacy!





Take Me by Shelli Stevens ~~ I have a review started for this one so I'm mum on it *g*





Something About You by Julie James ~~ Another good one by Julie James; she amps up the steam on this one a bit more. While I liked it quite a bit, I enjoyed her first couple slightly more. I will keep reading her books though and she is quite a good lawyer turned writer
3.75 out of 5


Mr. Imperfect by Karina Bliss ~~ After reading What The Librarian Did, I went glomming this author. I loved the other ones I found, but this one was a dud. The hero wasn't bad, but I just couldn't warm up to the heroine.
2.75 out of 5



Hard to Hold by Stephanie Tyler ~~ I tend not to do as many negative reviews as positive so I don't have a full fledged one planned for this book. I know there are a number of readers who enjoyed it, but alas I'm not one of them. I found it jerky reading and things that would have been better explained near the beginning of the book were left until later and because of that, I found the heroine to be one unlikeable bitch despite what she went through. When I first got this one I was debating on getting the rest of the series but by the end of this book decided not to. The hero's story was also doled out in little bits along the way and by the time I got to the end, I just didn't care. Thankfully though, this disappointment didn't lead to a slump - that's happened in the past when I read a book I disliked.
2 out of 5

Her Secret Fling by Sarah Mayberry ~~ I started this one a while ago and kind of put it aside for a while as it didn't grab me the way She's Got it Bad did, but I picked it up again several days ago and continued on and ended up quite enjoying it. I'm looking forward to this months release for the Super Romance line - Her Best Friend
4.25 out of 5


So there you have it - one of the best reading months I've had in a very long time.

15 comments:

Scorpio M. said...

Hi Kristi,

Wow, I read almost half of the books you've listed. Agree with you on almost all the grades.

SLOW HEAT was a 3 at best for me, not only was there limited baseball, the heroine Sam annoyed me. Too much, I-want-you-I-don't-you going on for my taste.

SOMETHING ABOUT YOU didn't live up to the hype in my opinion. I liked that it was steamier b/c that was my only complaint about her two previous books but for whatever reason Jack & Cameron just didn't have that zingy-banter-chemistry going on. JUST THE SEXIEST MAN ALIVE remains my favorite James book.

HER SECRET FLING...I really enjoyed this read, SHE'S GOT IT BAD was great,too. Have you read ANYTHING FOR YOU? I really loved that one.

HARD TO HOLD. I agree on Tyler's jerky writing style - it's not for everyone, I determined it to be some type of "stream of consciousness" prose. I read HTH and moved onto the next in the series b/c jerky writing style aside I found her action plots pretty intriguing. I have the last of the series in my TBR and will get to it soon.

I was on the fence on the Joss Ware series b/c I'm not a UF or Paranormal fan but maybe I should reevaluate after your thoughts.

Kaki Warner caught my attention, too but I didn't buy it yet. Good news is I have FALLEN FROM GRACE staring me in the face as I type (Yippeee!!).

And of course, you already know how much I loved NAKED EDGE!!! 5/5 for me :-)

Have a great Sunday!

Scorpio M. said...

Sorry, Kristie..not Kristi. I hate when people misspell names!

WEIGHT LESS NOT MORE said...

Wow I read alot of the same books you did this month (Naked Edge and Something About You were 2 of my favorites so far for 2010). I have Joss Ware's series on my wish list so glad to read your thoughts on them. I see you are reading Elisabeth's Naughton's book - I read all 3 and enjoyed them immensley. Great blog!

WEIGHT LESS NOT MORE said...

I just viewed your profile and you're from my neck of the woods SW Ontario - that is where I live as well!

Kristie (J) said...

Scorpio M: Oh you MUST read Fallen From Grace!!! It's an amazing book! You'll just ACHE for Ryan, the hero. If you like wounded, loner type heroes - he's one of the best I've read!!
And all 3 of the Joss Ware books get a solid thumbs up from me, specially the second and third. I'm kind of surprised - in a delighted way - how much I enjoyed them and I can hardly wait for more. It's tough when books are released close together and then you have a longer wait for the next ones *sigh* I like instant gratification when it comes to books.

And *laughing* I get my name spelled wrong all the time. What's really confusing - it's not even my real name. Well it is - but it's not. My 'official' name is Debra Kristine - but I've gone by Kristie since I was 3. But when it comes to official documents - I have different ones under all 3 names.
And then of course there is Krisite - my alter ego :-)

Judi: Although I don't have it listed anywhere officially - at least I don't think I do, I live in London - the 'other' one, though I grew up in Sarnia and moved here when I was 18 and stayed ever since. Where abouts do you hail from? And saaayyy - we will probably be having a SW Ontario blogger get together sometime in the summer - there are a few of us. Hopefully you will be able to make it!! Give those SoCal bloggers a run for their money :-)

I loved Stolen Heat, though I put Stolen Seduction down and now can't seem to find it. Also the same thing has happened with her next book, Marked. I have an ARC that's hiding on me at the moment. It went and disappeared when I switched purses. I think it must have developed a fondness for the older one and is showing it's annoyance at me. But I will track it down - oh yes I will!

WEIGHT LESS NOT MORE said...

Kristie: So nice to meet someone so close. I'm from Brantford, so only an hour away. I've just recently started a blog(just over a month old), but I'm having fun and growing little by little. I'm still a blog "virgin" and have lots to learn. So glad I found you blog!

Kristie (J) said...

Oh - and Scorpio M, no, haven't read Anything for You. I only discovered her with She's Got it Bad - but now I have an excuse again to visit some UBS's - it's been a while since I've been to one :-)

Cecile Smutty Hussy said...

Hey Kristie!! OMG that is some list you have there girlie!!!! Some awesome reads there!

And I wanted to stop by and wish you a Happy Easter! I hope you had a great weekend!!!! Hugs to you!

Scorpio M. said...

Thanks, KristiE...I'm going to bump FALLEN FROM GRACE to the top of my TBR pile. Just finishing up Pam Clare's, UNLAWFUL CONTACT...still Team Gabe but that Marc is pretty special ;-)

Holly said...

Great reading list, Krisite! I've read a few on your list and enjoyed them (the Shalvis and the Mayberry I agree w/ you 100%) and have several others in my TBR.

Kristie (J) said...

Judi - why you're just a hop skip and a jump away. I drive through there whenever I visit fellow blogger Cindy S.

Cecile: Thank you - I hope your Easter was nice. Mine was :-) Son #2 and his girlfriend (it's even nice to say his girlfriend) had us over for dinner. Gotta love it when you don't have to cook.
And yep - I got quite a few reads in.

Scorpio M - I'd love to hear what you think of FFG when you read it. And I liked Marc Hunter just a wee bit better than Gabe - maybe 'cause I read it first and he captured my heart first *g*

Holly - I'm hoping I can keep up this pace or close to it for the year. And despite a couple of disappointments, most of the books I read were pretty good :-)

Kwana said...

A good month. Thanks.

orannia said...

YAH for a great reading month!

I've had Fallen From Grace on my TBR list for ages. It sounds...amazing. I think I'm going to hunt down a copy!

nath said...

A very nice list, Kristie :D

Hmmm, I don't think I've ever heard of Laura Leone. You should review it so we can know a bit more about it :D

Too bad for the Karina Bliss :(

I've been debating about the Stephanie Tyler, but quite frankly, I've ODed on these kind of books featuring Navy Seal, marine and so on. Meh.

I need to read Her Secret Fling!

Kristie (J) said...

Kwana: It was a Very Good Month - for me anyway. The best one I've had in I don't know how long. April is starting a bit slower though. Of course I've been looking at mullet pictures......

Orannia: If you look to the left, it's on my Keepers slide - for very good reason. It's a wonderful book and just as good each time I read it.

Nath: Well, it was one of her earlier books and I'd enjoyed the other ones. So an author is allowed a few bad books every once in a while :-)