Recent Read

Hearts in Darkness by Laura Kaye

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I saw this book mentioned on a few Romance Vlogs I've discovered over this past year and was reminded of how much I adore this book and how much I want to reread it. So I did. This time around I changed it from a 4.5 to a well deserved 5 stars

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I first read this novella a number of years ago and it was my first introduction to Laura Kaye. Next up on my list to read was the follow up to this one, love in the Light so I wanted to revisit Caden and McKenna first.

They meet when the elevator they are riding in stops midway and they lose all power. Caden got a glimpse of Mckenna but she didn't see him before power went out.

Because of a tragic accident many years before, Caden suffers from claustrophobia. McKenna helps him through it and during this time they talk for hours and over the course of time sparks begin to grow.

It's a simple premise but one I enjoyed very much. Caden is seemingly a rough, tough kind of guy with piercings, tattoos and a shaved head. But because Mckenn can't see the outside of him, she gets to know the inner Caden who is a whole lot different. This is a quick and very enjoyable read.

'til later

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Recent Read

 

This is the second book in this series and Olivia Dyer is the heroine.  She is the youngest one of the Dyer family and like her older brother and sister works at the family distillery.  She is in charge of the events and advertising and she is slowly trying to come back from a breakdown she had when things went very wrong at the distillery and she took the entire thing on her shoulders.  She’s recovering but she’s still a work in progress.  She’s working a wedding at the distillery when near disaster strikes with the kitchen staff and she is rescued by a very unlikely person.

 

Anders Berg is the very sexy pro hockey playing hero.  His brother plays for the local team and he is in town for his brother’s wedding, being held at said distillery.  He sees Olivia and right away is attracted to her and ends up spending much of the wedding helping in the kitchen.  She is as attracted to Anders as he is to her and they enjoy some ‘personal’ time together.  But as he plays in a different city and his whole focus in on hockey, it’s to remain a one night stand.

 

Several months later he happens to be traded to the local team his brother plays on and he happens to run into Olivia.  Their attraction is just as strong but Ice (as he is called) is still focused on moving ahead in his hockey career which means he’s only on a pit stop before he moves to a more hockey focused city and Olivia is still in the healing stage and very vulnerable and not sure she is ready for any kind of permanent relationship.  But they do agree to a no string thing.  And you know what happens when it’s supposed to be no strings.  All of a sudden there are all kinds of them.  Olivia opens up to Ice and he gives her more support and encouragement than she’s ever had before.  And while he doesn’t realize it, Ice is falling equally hard for her.

 

I love this book.  What can be sexier than a Swedish hockey player who is still learning the English language and still thinks in his native tongue.  While his professional life is all out of whack, he is so good for Olivia, the reader can’t help but fall for him too.

 

And I love Olivia.  The way Ms. Cole writes about her struggles is so true.  As on who experiences from depression I know there was one scene with her and while reading it, I was thinking YES!!  This is exactly how I’m feeling.  The author gets it.

The way Scarlett Cole writes is amazing and I so recommend her to anyone who loves a good romance.

Grade: A

Recent Read

Full Measures by Rebecca Yarros

Why this one: I think it was one of those Amazon Recommended books plus the price was  very good

Genre: New Adult

Steam Level: Just about the perfect temp.  It’s hot but won’t burn my tongue

Outline: Three knocks can change everything…

"She knew. That’s why Mom hadn’t opened the door. She knew he was dead."

Twenty years as an army brat and Ember Howard knew, too. The soldiers at the door meant her dad was never coming home. What she didn’t know was how she would find the strength to singlehandedly care for her crumbling family when her mom falls apart.

Then Josh Walker enters her life. Hockey star, her new next-door neighbor, and not to mention the most delicious hands that insist on saving her over and over again. He has a way of erasing the pain with a single look, a single touch. As much as she wants to turn off her feelings and endure the heartache on her own, she can’t deny their intense attraction.

Until Josh’s secret shatters their world. And Ember must decide if he’s worth the risk that comes with loving a man who could strip her bare.

My Thoughts:  Oh my, what a beautiful and emotional book this is.  I will be honest and confess though I’ve heard a lot of raves lately for NA books, I haven’t really paid them much attention thinking that at my advanced age I didn’t have much in common with the characters in the story.  Well call me So Wrong Kristie!!  (we must include both exclamation points.)  This book has it all!

It starts out heartbreaking and stays that way throughout.  December (or Ember as most people call her) has just had her world ruined.  She, her mother, sister and younger brother have just found out that their father/husband, a doctor in the army, was killed in Afghanistan.  Ember has to take over the family, her mother is too devastated to function and her younger sister, April, is acting out in not so good ways.  August or Gus, her younger brother isn’t old enough to help her.  The only one stepping is to help is Josh Taylor, Gus’s hockey coach and one time crush of Ember’s.  She has known him since high school though was never part of his crowd.  He was a top athlete, a bad boy and a chick magnet bar none.  Plus April had a boyfriend.  But that didn’t stop her from watching him with lust in her heart.

He is everything that her boyfriend isn’t during this difficult time.  And as if things aren’t difficult enough for Ember, she discovers something devastating about her boyfriend of 3 years, something that makes her evaluate her entire life.  She had been planning on going back to school some distance away, but between the shock of what she learns of her boyfriend and the fact her mother isn’t showing much signs of coming out of her deep, deep mourning, Amber can’t go back and transfers to the local college, though she does move out of the house and several miles away and moves in with a friend.

And Josh, who is attending the same college, lets her know that he feels a lot more for her than just friendship.  But there are so many issues to overcome before she can make him any kind of commitment.  She is discovering what a truly wonderful man he is.  Besides being patient, understanding, knowing when to give her space and when to be there, he s drop dead gorgeous, but because of all that Amber is going through, she’s very gun shy about offering him hope.  Her boyfriend really did a number on her, she’s overwhelmed by responsibility and there is Josh’s well deserved reputation as a player.  She sends him mixed signals.  She will let the relationship go so far, then she pulls back and then she does it again and again.

 

What makes this book such a gut wrenching read is how well the author tells the story.  This is a first person book, written entirely from Amber’s POV so what she feels, the author makes us feel.  Because we are in her head we get to really know and admire her for doing what she needs to do without any self pity.  We understand how complicated her feelings toward Josh are.  She is still a very young person, only 20 and she has a great deal of responsibility thrust upon her in the middle of her own loss of her beloved father.

She finally does let Josh into her life when she finds out something about him that could completely derail the relationship.  As you can tell, I really like Amber.

And Josh, of my goodness I want to be 20 again and have a Josh of my own.  The patience, the humor, the understanding he shows Amber is amazing.  The author does a marvelous job of letting us see Josh’s emotions, his love and longing for Amber, his pain towards the end of the book where he sees something and misunderstands and things are in danger of falling apart for the two of them and then his strength when it seems they have reached an impasse in their relationship even though it’s clear that they truly need and love each other to be happy.  Though normally I would have troubles believing a relationship between two such young people would  be lasting, but I have not a shadow of a doubt that these two will love each other forever.  This is a very emotional and poignant book and a few times the back of my throat started to hurt like it does in the sad part of a movie.

 

The only thing keeping this from being a 5 out of 5 book is it’s told entirely from Ember’s POV.  Many of the books I read these days written in first person or third person will have parts of the book from the hero’s POV.  I would have liked actually read Josh’s thoughts.  In the grand scheme of things though and how much I thought of this book, it’s a small thing.  But I was looking at the other books in this series and it looks as though the last book,  Hallowed Ground is a continuation of their story and it’s told from both POV.  I have two others to get through before that one and I’ve already purchased Eyes Turned Skywise.

Full Measure has been read and received very high grades from quite a few readers.  Well add me to that list now too.

 

Grade: 4.75 out of 5

 

Would I read again: A resounding YES

Recent Reads

Another one from GoodReads

Grease Monkey Jive by Ainslie Paton

My rating: 4.5 out of 5


Outline: A romance about changing the game, finding the truth
and fancy footwork

She thought love was make-believe and
the last person to prove her wrong would be a player.

When ballroom teacher Alex Gibson danced with Dan Maddox she’s reminded of the time she stuck a knife in the toaster, gave herself an electric shock and saw stars. He’s precisely the type of man Alex’s mother warned her off – a player, like the father who abandoned her.

Dan Maddox comes from a long line of men who were hiding under the hood of a beat up old car when the ‘successful relationship’ gene was given out, but he was first in the queue for an extra jolt of chick pulling power.

The chicks in Dan’s life are universally gorgeous, random, disposable, and answer to the name Baby until one drunken night when he picks the wrong girl, hurts a good friend and realises that unless he does something to change, he’ll end up like his violent, unstable father.

It’s Pimp My Ride meets Dancing With The Stars as Alex and Dan come together to compete in a ballroom dancing competition that changes the way they both feel about relationships and love.  

My Thoughts: This book came up as a recommendation through Amazon. Despite the rather silly sounding title, the grease monkey part got my attention as a much prefer a mechanic over a millionaire as a hero. After reading the outline, it sounded good enough for me so I bought it. Since I was in the mood for a good blue collar hero romance I started it up right away and was enchanted with this book. So much I could barely put it down. Only the fact my power kept being used up on my iPad kept me from reading it straight through.

The book starts out with a "grab your attention" beginning. Alex, our herine is a dancer and when she dances for Dan, our hero, the first time she feels like you do when you stick a knife in a toaster. As I've done that I know how it feels. The story then goes back a bit to give us a look into hero/heroine.

Dan is a real charmer. He surfs, he works, he hangs out with his mates and he fucks. Women find him irresistible and he makes no effort to resist them at all when he and his friends hang out at their favourite bar and it would be so easy to dislike him completely, BUT he is beginning to look into his own character and he's not liking what he sees. He sees he is starting to become like his father, a mean asshole of a guy and Dan wants to change who he is.

Alex is focused and driven. She's attending school so she can become a business woman, she's dating a class A jerk of a boyfriend because her mother approves of him. But her real passionis ballroom dancing. She and her partner for years teach dance and are signed up for one final dance completion.

Alex and Dan meet when on a dare Dan and a couple of his mates sign up for dance lessons. Sparks fly right off the bat for the two of them even though they are complete opposites. Dan is a wonderful hero wanting to change. He completely falls for Alex and I love when this happens. There is so much to love about this book right from cover to cover and it hit all my buttons, great chapter development, well fleshed out secondary characters and a tender believable love story. This book gets a Hugh thumbs up.

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Recent Reads

Suddenly One Summer by Julie James

 Genre: Contemporary

 Why this one: I’ve been a fan of her books since her very first book

 Steam Level:  You will need to blow on this one before taking that first sip

 Outline:  Divorce lawyer Victoria Slade has seen enough unhappy endings to swear off marriage forever. That doesn't mean she's opposed to casual dating—just not with her cocky new neighbor, who is as gorgeous and tempting as he is off-limits. But once she agrees to take on his sister's case, she's as determined to win as ever—even if that means teaming up with Ford....

Investigative journalist Ford Dixon is bent on finding the man who got his sister pregnant and left her high and dry. He's willing to partner with Victoria, despite the fact that the beautiful brunette gets under his skin like no other woman. He might not be looking to settle down, but there's no denying the scorching attraction between them. Still, the more time he spends with Victoria, the more he realizes that the one woman as skeptical about love as he is might be the only woman he could really fall for…

 

My Thoughts: Ms. James has been an autobuy author since book 1.  I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with her a number of times now at conferences and I confess to a bit of a girl crush.  She’s friendly and warm and a very nice person.  But I found this out AFTER I’d read a few of her books so no conflict on how to do a review of a book by an author I’ve met and maybe not like the book so much.  While some I’ve liked more than others, I have enjoyed all of them.

This book is one of my favourites so far.  I found it just delightful and a few places, while in public, found myself snickering out loud unexpectedly.  I love a book that makes me do that.

One of the things Ms. James excels at is writing smart, quick witted and very likeable heroes and heroines and Victoria and Ford are no exception.  Both are very wary of getting into “relationships” – ugly word that – because of issues from growing up.  Victoria in particular had it tough and in her profession as a divorce attorney she sees people and dying marriages at their very worst so she’s very understandably leery.

And Ford doesn’t want anything lasting either.  He has enough with his family.  But as the outline says, sparks fly and neither can deny that the other is growing on them.  Victoria is brought into Fords orbit when she unexpectedly agrees to help his younger sister find the father of her baby and the dialogue between Victoria and Ford is sharp and quick and wickedly funny.

If you are a Julie James fan or even on the fence about this one – go for it!  It’s not often I pay as much for an ebook as I paid for this one – being the cheapy that I am, but I didn’t begrudge the extra money spent on this book one little bit.

Would I read this one again:  Just doing up this review makes me want to read it again so the answer is a resounding YES!

Grade: 4.75 out of 5

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The One You Want by Gena Showalter

Genre: Contemporary

Why this one:  I read a couple of paranormals and while they didn’t work for me, it wasn’t so much the writing and plus this one was on for a real good price…..

Steam Level: Again, a few minutes may be needed for it to cool down before taking a sip

Outline: Rich, powerful and utterly untamable, Dane Michaelson is every woman's darkest fantasy. When he returns to his hometown to witness his father's upcoming nuptials, he is unprepared for the redheaded beauty soon to become his stepsister. He's never wanted anyone more.

Kenna Starr has no desire to join the long list of women on rotation in Dane's bedroom. The single mom learned the hard way—bad boys do bad things, and someone always gets hurt. But Dane isn't fighting fair. With every heated look, stolen kiss and illicit caress, he melts her defenses.

Soon, the girl with the rep and the man who claims to be heartless are locked in a passionate affair. But when trouble arises, will they stand together or fall apart?

My Thoughts: I read this one very shortly after reading Suddenly One Summer and while I liked this one, it didn’t have quite the bang for me as the other book.  It had shades of other books –ABSOLUTELY NOT that it was intentional or anything but the hero/heroine reminded me somewhat of Gray and Faith from Linda Howards After the Night.  Dane’s father and Kenna’s mother were involved when they were young; destroying both families and Dane took his pain out on Kenna treating her unfairly.  He has a lot of anger towards his father for the way his dad treated the family.  She’s had a bit of crush on him but it was quickly dashed by that event.  Dane is now a very successful businessman.  Here the two books diverge as it doesn’t take Dane long before he’s sure that Kenna is the woman for him.  Kenna however isn’t buying it.  She can’t really see why he seems set on her.  She was hurt very badly years earlier and after the incident with Dane.  Her mother is a bitch to her and she’s grown up to be pretty wild.  She’s slow to trust Dane, but with good reason. 

Would I read this one again:  Possibly, very possibly  The odd would be better if only I could quit buying books.

Grade: 3.75 out of 5

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Seduced by Molly O’Keefe

Why this one: Wendy talked it up at RWA and as it’s a Western and a good price…….

Genre: Historical Western

Steam Level: good kind of heat to sit around a campfire by

Outline: Melody Hurst’s days as a Southern belle are over. Now she’s widowed and alone in the foothills of the Rockies, struggling to make a life in a dangerous world. She’s determined to secure a future by marrying – but love is out of the question.

Cole Baywood has turned bounty hunter after serving in the horrors of the Civil War, but the ghosts of the men and women he’s killed still haunt him. He’s drawn to the beautiful widow trying to seduce him, only the darkness in his soul forces him to reject her. Is it possible that Melody’s touch can heal the demons of his past? And how can he convince a woman who has lost so much to risk her heart?

My Thoughts: Hmmmmm.  I’ve read some really good Westerns so far this year so far, Outlaw Hearts and Do Not Forsake Me by Roseanne Bittner being the crème de la crème and while Seduced was ok, it didn’t even come close to the Bittner books for me.  I didn’t really warm up to either Cole or Melody that much.  I get that Melody was beaten and warn down by an abusive husband and thinks were much worse in those days, but I just didn’t really get her willingness to go along the her husband’s evil plans.  And if I couldn’t buy into that, the rest of the book fell somewhat flat.  I felt that Cole wasn’t really fully drawn as a character.  This is rather a short story at 167 pages and I felt it could have been much better if the author had made it longer with more rounded characters.  Also she brought in four characters right off the bat, Melody and her sister Annie and Cole and his brother Steven.  I got confused for a while with so many characters all seemingly the lead characters until I managed to sort out who was who and who would be with who.

I bought the second book in the series, Tempted and I do believe there is a third book and I will also read both of them, just to finish off the story but *heavy sigh* alas, this author is just one I can’t get completely on board with.  As I said, it wasn’t bad, but the ‘could have been’ knocked it down some in grades for me.

Would I read it again:  Probably not

Grade: 3 out of 5

Well - that's it for now.  I think 3 is a nice number

'til later

More Recent Reads

I am so woefully behind on these :-(

Face the Fire by Nora Roberts

Why this one: I listened to it in the car while driving to and from my recent visit to sister/RWA

Steam Level: Warm

Genre: Contemporary with a bit of Paranormal thrown in

Outline: Mia Devlin knows what it’s like to love with your whole heart—and then watch your love walk away. Years ago, she and Sam Logan shared an incredible bond built on passion, legend, and fate. But then one day he fled Three Sisters Island, leaving her lost in memories of the magic they shared—and determined to live on her own…

As the new owner of the island’s only hotel, Sam has returned to Three Sisters with hopes of winning back Mia’s affections. He is puzzled when she greets him with icy indifference—for the chemistry between them is still sizzling and true. Angry, hurt, and deeply confused, Mia refuses to admit that a desire for Sam still burns in her heart. But she’ll need his help—and his powers—to face her greatest, most terrifying challenge. And as the deadline for breaking a centuries-old curse draws near, they must take the first step toward destiny—and come together to turn back the dark…

My Thoughts: This audio book did not work for me on so many levels.  I didn’t like the heroine, I didn’t like the hero.  I didn’t care for the supporting characters.  I thought parts of it were downright stupid and it emphasizes all the reasons I do not read Ms. Roberts trilogies any longer.

That’s it in a nutshell though I suppose I should give a bit more detail, otherwise it will sound like one of those ‘crap’ reviews that can be found on Amazon.

I have to start out by saying I’ve loved Nora Roberts for a long time.  I still love her as JD Robb and I still enjoy her single title books though I don’t read that many due to price.  I did very recently purchase Whiskey Beach and Honest Illusions as ebooks when they were for a good prices.  But I gave up her trilogies a long time ago as the characters seen all interchangeable after having read a number in my earlier romance reading days.  I’m going to come down on the author and it hurts to do so as I have a tremendous amount of respect for her talent but in the trilogies she has 3 basic types, mostly heroines but I have read a series where the heroes fell into this pattern too.

There is what I call, “earth mother (father)” type.  All she (he) really wants is to be a good wife (dad) and possible mother (father).  She’s (he’s)tried to womanly (beta manly) things like cooking, cleaning, raising plants, that kind of thing.  She’s often been abused by a previous boyfriend/husband the hero for this type ‘rescues’ her.

The second type of heroine (hero) is the ‘tough’ type.  She(he) has a tough exterior hiding a heart of gold of course.  She often holds a traditionally more masculine type job, cop, firefighter, works on a boat, that kind of thing.  Eve Dallas for example is this type.

The third type is what I think of as ‘high maintenance’.  Usually this heroine (hero) is very stylish, sure of herself and her place in the world.  High maintenance probably isn’t a fair label, but she is the most confident of the three and has a successful career.

In Face the Fire, Mia is the third type and my least favourite.  I can’t really relate to this type of heroine and in all the trilogies this is my least favourite type.  I didn’t care for Mia; she comes across to me as rather cold even though her ‘element’ is fire.  Yes, she had her heart crushed by Sam when she was very young.  And her parents did pretty much abandon her.  And to keep the hurt at bay she gained a very strong mask, but I still didn’t like her.  And Sam was an awful hero.  He selfishly left her when they were young, breaking her and didn’t even give much of a reason for it.  He doesn’t have anything to do with her for ten years and though he realizes he may have a bit of work ahead of him in getting her back, he figures it’s pretty much a done deal.  Ass hat.

The woo woo part of it didn’t work for me at all either.  Both Sam and Mia are witches though I always thought a male witch was called a warlock.  They are often sending out spells and maybe because I listened instead of reading where I could just skip them they were, well, stupid.  Every time either one went off into spell working land I rolled my eyes, even though I was driving in a car.

I have very little experience with audio books but the reader’s voice didn’t impress me at all.  When she was speaking in the characters voices it was almost like nails on a chalkboard for me.  I winced and hunched my shoulders.

The plot was simplistic – some Evil Force on Sisters Island wants to drive Mia out and take over the island.  This is the third book and The Force tried with Nell, the ‘earth mother, abused wife’ heroine in the first book and failed and then again with Ripley, the ‘tough’ heroine in the second book and now finally with Mia in this one. 

But after finally forgiving Sam and embracing love, Mia triumphs over evil along with the help of her two ‘sisters’ and Sam.  At the risk of being a negative Nellie – gag me.  I don’t give this low of grades often but with so many things working against it for me this gets a very low grade.

Will I listen to it again: Not a chance

Grade: 1 out of 5

 

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Love in the Afternoon by Alison Packard

Why this one: the whole series was on for a Very Good Price as a Kindle Daily Deal

Genre: Contemporary

Steam Level: Pretty darn good.  Not boiling but hot enough for me

Outline: Kayla Maxwell is eager to shed her slasher-flick bimbo image—and she plans to do just that in her new role on daytime’s most popular soap. With a chance to showcase her dramatic range, Kayla will be able to wash away the lingering betrayal and public humiliation left by her controlling, philandering ex-boyfriend.

Sean Barrett, the son of an influential, award-winning actor, is the hottest soap star in the country. Paired on-screen with the talented and beautiful Kayla Maxwell, Sean is determined to keep her at arm’s length, burned before by fame-seeking actresses who had no qualms about using him to get to his famous father.

But when Kayla receives threatening letters, her past as a scream queen seems to be coming back to haunt her. Succumbing to an attraction neither one of them can deny, Sean and Kayla must face down her stalker and their own personal demons before trusting what they both feel—a love that lasts long after the cameras stop rolling.

 My Thoughts: Sometimes, without realizing it I do something really brilliant.  When I saw that this series of books was on for 99 cents each, I took a gamble and bought them all.  I hadn’t read this author before and didn’t hear any buzz on her.  But at 99 cents even if I hated them, it was still less expensive for all of them then it would be for a regular paperback and much to my delight, I really enjoyed it.  Both Kayla and Sean are good, interesting, down to earth people even though they both work in the entertainment industry and are both “beautiful” people.  They meet since they are on the same soap opera.  They hadn’t really got to know each other as Kayla hadn’t been on long and her character never had any scenes with Sean’s character.  But that changed when the writers of the soap decided to make them a couple and Kayla and Sean decided that besides the physical attraction they really respected each other and thought the other was great at their craft.

There isn’t anything earth shattering or deep about this book.  There was a slight mystery as to who was sending letters to Kayla that were freaking her out but even the letters weren’t threatening.  But I liked the story very much.  I liked Kayla and Sean and I liked Kayla’s sister and Sean’s friend who are the stars of the second book of the series.

Would I read it again: very possible

Grade: 4 out of 5

 

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The Winning Season by Alison Packard

Why this one: It was a good price and I really liked the first book in the series

Steam Level: very nice and warm

Genre: Contemporary

·       Outline: Kelly Maxwell has finally landed her dream job as publicist for the San Francisco Blaze. But the team’s newest member, handsome bad boy catcher Matt Scanlon, is refusing every interview. She’s got to get him to open up before the season ends, or she may not be back next year. And after everything she overcame to achieve her dream, Kelly’s not about to let that happen.

Matt Scanlon just wants to be left alone to rebuild his life and his career. After a year of masking the pain of a recent loss with hard partying and fast women, he finally hit rock bottom and was traded to a team he’s loathed his entire life—a team with little to no chance at the post-season.

Butting heads is getting Kelly and Matt nowhere but annoyed, and with the team’s schedule on the road, they can’t avoid close quarters—or their surprising attraction to one another. As the season winds down, Matt finds his growing feelings for Kelly have brought his numbed emotions back to life. But when betrayal shatters their fragile trust, winning it all seems more impossible than ever.

My Thoughts: I quite enjoyed the first book and since I’m a baseball fan – though not as fanatic about them as Wendy, who turns the DetroitTiger players into Harlequin Heroes – in a hilarious series of posts – I was still excited to read this one.  Both Matt and Kelly appeared in the first book.  Kelly is the sister of Kayla from the last book.  Where Kayla is feminine and beautiful, Kelly has always struggled with her self-image.  As one who is the same, I found her very relatable.  She’s quite athletic and she has a job working for a pro baseball team in PR.  So she’s very likeable has her issues.

Matt on the other hand has issues that we don’t know about and isn’t very likeable in either the last book or the first part of  this book.  But over the course of the story he is redeemed.  He realizes what a jerk he is has been, especially in regards to Kelly with whom he had a run in with in the first book, Love in the Afternoon.

He has some sad issues of his own which he was trying to deal with in a rather self-destructive way.  The more the book went on, the more I enjoyed it and I enjoyed it right from the beginning.  And once again I was glad I bought the entire series.

Would I read it again:  I just might!

Grade: 4 out of 5

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Drive Me Wild by Julie Ortolon

Why This One: I read it when it was first published in 2000 – wow – so many years ago – and when I saw it was on for a good price on Amazon, I picked up the ebook.

 

Steam Level: warm

Genre: Contemporary friends to lovers

Synopsis: Owner of the face that launched a thousand newscasts, drop-dead-gorgeous TV anchor Brent Michaels returns to his Texas hometown for a good cause: playing the bachelor in a dating game fund-raiser. He couldn’t refuse the request of his old friend Laura Beth Morgan. But Laura’s no longer the shy wallflower that he remembers. When he gets a good look at the girl he loved and lost, Brent realizes he can’t refuse her anything.

Laura yearns to break free, just as Brent did. He has come so far from the boy who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, the childhood friend who kissed her once and ran away. But even as he warns her that he’s incapable of love, Brent isn’t running now. After all these years, Laura has blossomed into a beautiful woman—and an irresistible challenge for a man who’s used to getting everything he desires.

My Thoughts: It’s been a long time since I first read this book and I liked it better back in 2000 than I did in 2015.  There wasn’t anything wrong with it exactly, but it’s not a book I’m going to ponder over.  The main characters Brent and Laura are nice but not memorable.  Brent grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and couldn’t wait to get out of the small town where everyone but Laura looked down on him.  But now he’s made a name for himself as a very successful, handsome news anchor.  Because he’s a success, his hometown wants him to come back for a dating game style fund raiser.  He’s all ‘hell no’ as he has no fond memories of the town, but his dearest friend from his young days, Laura asks him as a favour and he can’t refuse her.  He does have a condition though and that’s if she is one of the contestants.

Laura has always had ‘feelings’ for Brent but their lives couldn’t be more different.  She’s almost tied to her home town even if it is somewhat reluctantly and Brent can’t stay.  But feelings flair between them on his brief visit home and he convinces her to take a gamble and travel with him to his home.  She does, moves in with a friend and they begin to make a life together when Brent’s insecurities get in the way and things fall apart between them.

This is a good beach read, two nice people falling in love and overcoming their issues.  And while I did like it better the first time around, I did like it this time too.

Would I read it again: Odds are no.  While I enjoyed rereading it again, I have so many new books and so many older book reread I’ve enjoyed more

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

 

'til later

 

 

Recent Read

DirtyThoughts by Megan Erikson
 

Why This One: It was on for a good price and it looked interesting and I love a blue collar hero
 

Genre: Contemporary
 

Level of Steam: If this were a real cup of tea (tea just goes with reading better than coffee) it would be the perfect temperature. 

 

Outline: Some things are sexier the second time around.

Cal Payton has gruff and grumbly down to an art...all the better for keeping people away. And it usually works. Until Jenna MacMillan--his biggest mistake--walks into Payton and Sons mechanic shop all grown up, looking like sunshine, and inspiring more than a few dirty thoughts.

Jenna was sure she was long over the boy she'd once loved with reckless abandon, but one look at the steel-eyed Cal Payton has her falling apart all over again. Ten years may have passed, but the pull is stronger than ever... and this Cal is all man.

Cal may have no intention of letting Jenna in, but she's always been his light, and it's getting harder to stay all alone in the dark. When a surprise from the past changes everything, Cal and Jenna must decide if their connection should be left alone or if it's exactly what they need for the future of their dreams

 

My Thoughts: What a treat this book turned out to be.  I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this one.  I’d barely heard about it, I didn’t see much buzz, but whatever I was expecting, this book more than made up for any expectations.  I enjoyed it so much that when I saw the author at a signing at RWA I simply had to go over and tell her how much I enjoyed this book.  I don’t normally do that as I don’t do well at signings in general, but I am that pleased with this book.

Cal and Jenna were high school sweetheart and had a deep connection but Jenna wanted more out of life than what small town life offered and took off for the bright lights of the big city.  But as the outlines says, she’s come back and the sparks are still there and she wants another chance with Cal.  But he’s ten years older now and has come to the conclusion that a wife and family aren’t for him any longer.  His mother left him and his two younger brother years previously and Cal did most of the raising of them.  His relationship with his father is most contentious.  They work together at the family garage and Cal’s dad stifles any kind of expansion or changes that Cal wants.  With such a poor example of family himself, Cal doesn’t want to risk it.  And then when another person is added to his responsibilities, he really doesn’t want to get involved again with Jenna again.

I loved, loved, loved Cal.  He’s exactly the kind of hero I read romance for.  He’s a good guy who while on the outside seems to not want the obligations in his life, on the inside he dearly loved his family.  The sparks flew between he and Jenna and while he was pretty broken up when she left, he doesn’t hold onto bitterness, he understands why she did what she did even though it hurt very badly.  And the reader just knows he would make a great husband and father.  He’s a car mechanic and not afraid to get his hands dirty.  Oh I just love him.  Even doing this review makes me want to read the book again.

Time got away from me between reading this book and then this review so it’s a few weeks apart and Jenna isn’t quite as vivid a character as Cal, but I really did like her too.  She knows what she wants, she wants Cal back and she sets about getting him back, not in a sneaky underhanded way but in a “I was young and didn’t really know and appreciate what I had back then and now want a second chance’ kind of way.

And I just got back from a break at work and opened Dirty Thoughts and noticed that Ms. Erikson has another book she wrote where the hero of that one was Cal’s brother, Make it Right.  You can guess what I did right after that!  So now I have a plan.  I’ll read Make it Right and then reread this book.  I also noticed she had quite a nice back list which I will be diving into.  Consider me a happy reader, I love finding new to me authors

 

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

Would I read it again: You betcha, I already have plans to.

Grade: 4.75 out of 5

 

'til later

 

Recent Reads

Outlaw Hearts by Rosanne Bittner

Why this one:  I LOVE THIS BOOK

Genre: Western

Steam Level: pert ‘near perfect

Outline: At twenty, Miranda Hayes had known more than her share of heartache and loss. Widowed by the war, orphaned by a vicious band of rebel raiders, she was a woman alone in a harsh, unyielding frontier. Then she clashed with the notorious gunslinger Jake Harkner, a hard-hearted loner with a price on his head, and found within herself a deep well of courage...and feelings of desire she'd never known.

Hunted by lawmen and desperadoes alike, haunted by his brutal past, Jake had spent a lifetime on the dusty trail--and on the run. Until he met a vibrant, honey-haired beauty who was determined to change his violent ways, who loved him enough to risk her life to be his woman...an outlaw's woman.

From the vast plains of the Midwest across the Oregon Trail to the sun-drenched valleys of southern California, from the blazing Nevada desert to the boomtowns of Colorado, Miranda and Jake struggled to endure amid the perils of a lawless wilderness. In a world of heart-stopping danger and burning desire, could their hard-won love survive the shadows that stalked their happiness?

 

My Thoughts: Take this review I did last year:

I read this book years ago when it first came out and it blew me away at first reading. I’ve reread it a number of times since then and I've loved it more every time.

Jake Hackner is an outlaw. Pure and simple he’s a bad guy. He’s in town loading up on supplies when Miranda Hayes accidentally shoots him. He manages to get away and heads out of town. He finally holes up at a farm to recover a bit. Little does he know the farm he ended up belongs to Miranda. She is a young widow whose husband died in the Civil War. After raiders kill her father and take most of their belongings she decides to head out west to look for her younger brother.

She finds Jake and nurses him back to health. And during this time she sees something good beneath the outlaw exterior. She asks him to take her out west since he is headed the same way, but he refuses.

Later he has a change of heart and decides to look for her to help her. He finds her at station after she’s  been left behind by the wagon train she was with.  She’d been bitten by a snake and the nasty scoundrels were taking advantage of her illness.  Jake saves her and thus begins a truly amazing love story between an outlaw wanting to go straight and an incredibly strong woman. They are desperately in love with each other but time and time again Jake’s outlaw past comes back to try and destroy them.

This is one of those epic type books. It’s a long book coming in at 501 pages with teeny tiny print. It spans over 20 years. Bad things happen to good people and it isn’t always easy to read. Each time I read it, I have to take breaks due to its richness and length. It’s like a truly rich feast that is best eaten slowly in order to savour it.

Jake is one heck of a hero. He’s not all good. He definitely has shades of gray to him. But what saves him is his almost worship of ‘Randy’. He knows he’s no good for her; staying with her can bring her great heartache.

But Randy sees past his outlaw ways into his hidden heart and realizes he is a victim of his early circumstances. She sees the lost little boy inside and that inside he really has a good person wanting to come out. She refuses to let him give up no matter what fate throws at them.

This really is a heart in your throat, breathtaking book. I have a list of about 10 books that seem to stand out above all others. Outlaw Hearts has always been one of them and I know it always will be. So I'm spreading the word early on this one, you don't find much better than this book

 And add a Hell to the Yes!! – even if it is a review I did previously.   I don’t know how many times I’ve read this book now, but it just doesn’t get old and I fall in love with Jake and Randy all over again – not that I ever fell out of love with them.  The love and devotion and passion that exists between them is timeless.  They have to fight so hard to keep it going so that when they do overcome whatever has kept them apart, it’s even better, their coming together.  Randy is the goodness that Jake needs in his life to keep him on the right path when it would be so easy to go off it.  And Randy needs Jake because he needs her.  She sees the goodness in him where no one else does and because he had such an abusive past, she needs to keep reinforcing him that he is good.  He truly does treasure and cherish her, and she stands by him through good times and bad.

She has another book coming out next month with Jake and Randy, apparently one she’s been wanting to write for years now.  I already have it preordered and I can hardly wait until it appears on my kindle.

Grade: 5 out of 5

Will I read it again: A Resounding YES.  Again and again and again.  I can’t get enough of it.

 ~~*~~*~~

Night Whispers by Leslie Kelly

Why This One:  I really enjoyed Bringing Down Sam and Reforming Jake and I really enjoyed them and went searching for some of her back list

Genre: Contemporary

Steam Level: simmers for a while then breaks out into a full boil

Outline: Thanks to her sexy radio talk show, Night Whispers DJ Kelsey Logan has become infamous! Suddenly, men all over Baltimore are desperate to discover the true identity of Lady Love, the sultry siren who keeps them up all night. But the only man Kelsey is desperate to have is sexy, stuffy Mitch Wymore.

Mitch is having a hard time believing that his bratty childhood nemesis has grown into the temptress the whole city's lusting after. A woman he's lusting after. He might have been able to keep his libido under control if Kelsey hadn’t made it clear she wanted to seduce him.

My Thoughts:  Leslie Kelly is a good writer.  I just finished a reread of Outlaw Hearts and loved it all over again.  Sometimes when you finish reading a very good book there is almost a restlessness that comes over while you search for the next book.  But Night Whispers had a very soothing effect on me and was a perfect book to read after.

I like the trope of this story, heroine has had life-long crush on hero but she was just the pesky little sister of his bed bud.  Mitch had mostly lived with Kelsey’s family growing up due to his own lousy home life, but he always felt like he was standing on the outside looking in.  so when Kelsey comes back into his life and things are combustible between them, he’s very reluctant to start anything, not wanting to upset the family who raised him.  But things burn hot between him and Kelsey.  He was kind of wild as a young man but he’s gotten a bit stuffy over the years and Kelsey unstuffs him.  She drives him crazy with some of the things she does, she’s kind of a wild and crazy heroine, and he particularly hates her job, though he does admit she’s very good at being a late night, very seductive DJ.

He finds himself living on the wild side again and he finds he’s enjoying it and falling more and more for Kelsey all the time.

While I didn’t enjoy this quite to the level I did Bringing Down Sam and Reforming Jake, still, it was a very good treat when one was needed.

Grade: 4 out of 5

 

Will I read it again:  Probably not – but NOT and I repeat NOT because I didn’t enjoy it.  But I’m trying to be realistic.  I’m buying books at a very scary pace and I already have so many to read the first time as well and a number that I reread frequently.  If I was much younger, my answer would probably be different though – heh, heh, heh.

 

 ~~*~~*~~

Alex by Irish Winters

Why this one:  No real reason, it’s just where my finger stopped when trying to pick the next book to read

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Steam Level: I’d say warm – not boiling but nice and warm

Outline: He’s trying to forget . . .

Alex Stewart, ex-Marine and tough as nails boss, ditches the success of his fledgling business and flees to his cabin in the deep woods. He’s had enough. Four years after the deaths of his wife and daughter, he’s stuck in the anger stage of grief. He wants to be left alone. Life used to make sense. It just doesn’t bring him joy. Nothing does.

She’s trying to remember . . .

Left to die in those same deep woods, Kelsey is the last thing Alex expects to find at his cabin. She’s everything he’s running away from. Responsibility. Memories. Having to care about someone else beside himself. To make matters worse, she can’t remember anything except her first name. Neither can she explain the marks on her body, nor why two darling baby boys haunt her dreams.

But Alex can . . .

My Thoughts: I struggled with how to rate this book.  I liked the characters, I liked the story but there several plot points left untouched after being introduced and one was a GLARING plot point that was never addressed and since it was MAJOR to the story, the lack of follow-up was very jarring.  And sadly, this was too big a mistake and I can’t ignore that fact and it brings down the grade of this book.

The book opens with Kelsey running through woods and finally collapsing against a wall.  It then switches to Alex, the founder of a group of former army snipers who help out in the world trouble spots.  His own life exploded a few years previously when his wife and young daughter were killed and he hasn’t really recovered since.  He’s full of anger and frustration and decides he needs to get away from it all and visit his very rustic cabin in the woods with his two inherited war dogs.  He comes across Kelsey and can tell right off the bat that she is in very bad shape.  She’s been badly beaten, has scrapes all over her and is in a very weakened condition.  On top of that, when she regains conscious , she has no memory of who she is or what happened to her.  He’s resentful at first, having to take care of her, almost blaming her for the state she’s in, but he very quickly gets past it and sees that she is someone very special.  He falls deeply for her and is determined to help her in whatever it is she needs.  As he is a very angry individual, his almost blaming her goes along with his nature at the time so he reaction didn’t bother me at all and then he is so sweet and protective of her that I really liked him once he took off his grouchy uniform.

Kelsey is a good heroine.  She has gone through some horrendous things that most of can’t even imagine dealing with and a large part of the book is spent with her grieving and finally and slowly being able to move on with her life with the help and support of Alex who has been through that difficult and painful journey himself.

So – what are the problems?  Well for one thing Alex mentions that he’s been married twice. We know of his one wife but nothing else is mentioned about the other one – what happened to her, why did he marry her, was she the first or second wife?  I had all kind of questions running through my head and why start that thread if one isn’t going to do anything with it and just leave it hanging?  But a much worse thread left hanging is the fate of Kelsey’s abuser.  It’s never mentioned and this is such a huge oversight all things considered that it really did spoil what could have been a great book.  It’s a complete fail by the author and I’m very shocked that it wasn’t fixed through editing.

So because of this I don’t know if I can recommend this book.  It should serve as a warning book to authors.  Alex had such great potential to be a 4.5 or even 5 star book, but the author torpedoed that for me by completely ignoring a vital piece of the story.

Grade: 3 out of 5

Will I read this one again:  Sadly no.  Though I do want to try another book by her since it was absolutely not the writing itself, nor the characters that didn't work.  It was a plot hole I couldn't get past.

  ~~*~~*~~

 

Take a Chance on Me by Susan Donovan

Why this one:  I’ve read this book a number of times now and it never fails to cheer me up and make me laugh.

Genre: Contemporary

Steam Level: A nice rolling boil

Outline: They've Got Nothing In Common...
For animal behaviorist Emma Jenkins, romance has been at the bottom of her daily "to do" list since making it through a messy divorce. But everything changes the day six-feet-of-gorgeous Thomas Tobin walks into her office with a quivering Chinese Crested named Hairy, a canine that looks more like an underfed rodent than a dog. Sure Thomas is sending her mixed signals-but that charming smile just sent Emma's dormant sex drive through the roof...

But Animal Attraction-
Thomas isn't looking for a fling. In fact, he wants nothing to do with women. He just wants to know if Hairy witnessed his owner's murder. But something tells him that asking Emma to help him with the case will spell nothing but trouble-trouble in the form of serious temptation.

And the Willingness To Take A Chance On Love
Thomas knows that relying on Emma's expertise-and her soft touch with a weird dog that has somehow become his-may be a crazy way to track a killer. Especially when Emma's down-home warmth makes him want to believe that anything is possible-even true love.

My Thoughts:  This is one of those books that every so often I get an urge to read again.  As I said above it never fails to cheer me up.  The characters are all delightful, each and every one of them, including and almost especially Hairy, the Very Ugly Chinese Crested who is in some ways the real star of this book.  I’m not even a dog person but he is such a hoot.  Sometimes we get his POV and it’s hilarious.

Thomas Tobin is a grouchy bear of a hero – one of my favourite kind.  But he has a reason for his grumpiness.  He’s a lawyer who masquerades as a hit man in order to catch they bad guys who want to have people murdered.  He doesn’t really see the best of mankind in this role.  In addition, he questions his very masculinity when he and a former fiancé were told his ‘swimmers’ were in pretty bad shape and he’s probably never be able to father a child.  His former flame didn’t take the news so well and really did a number on him.

He meets animal behaviourist and heroine Emma Jenkins when he kind of inherits this ugly, traumatized Chinese Crested dog Hairy when one of Thomas’ informants is murdered and Hairy was his dog.  Hairy is very high maintenance and the advice that Emma offers Thomas to help poor Hairy out is LOL hilarious and almost makes Thomas squirm in embarrassment.  Both Thomas and Emma are wildly attracted to each other but both have issues.  Emma’s ex has done as big/bad a number on her as Thomas ex did on him and it’s cute watching them completely misread each other.  But attraction and love eventually wins out.

If you are looking for a book to make you smile, possibly laugh, with a wonderful grump of a hero and warm, loving, smart heroine, this is the book for you.  It would be under the “if you like” type of Rachel Gibson, Julie James, Susan Andersen kind of book.

Grade: 5 out of 5

Will I read this book again: Yep, already have a few times and I know I will again.

 

And that's it for this latest batch

 

'til later