Ponderings

 

I am a collector.  When I find something I enjoy I go full out on almost obsessiveness.  For a while I was very big into crocheting – afghans.  That seemed to be the only things I wanted to crotchet and I must have made at least 15 of them.  And the wool.  Oh my goodness did I go all out for wool.  I could have made 50 of them with the amount of wool.

Then I started beading. So I bought beads and more beads and more beads and so on.  I keep meaning to really start, I have enough now to open a jewelry store – except I haven’t mad that many necklaces, bracelets, earings and so on.  But if I ever do get around to it.

And finally we come to books, the biggest and brightest of my hobbies and I made a momentous decision.  I’m not sure how many I have but it’s in the thousands.  Between print books and ebooks I will admit it is insane.  So I decided yesterday that I will stop buying books.  It’s a scary thought and there are exceptions.  I will allow myself five authors and still buy their books:

Lisa Kleypas

Pamela Clare

Mia Sheridan

Carian Cole

Scarlet Cole

That’s it.  Those are the only authors who will remain on my autobuy list.  In order to purchase a new book by any other author, I will have to read 5 books I already own.  Then I will let myself buy a new book.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and these are the rules for me.  I can still get books through Kindle Unlimited.  I have 10 of them now, the most you are allowed at one time so I will be reading them until I have them done before getting any new ones.  And of course I will be seeing book I just have to have.  I will put those ones on an Amazon wish list and when I finish reading the number of books needed to get a new book, I’ll have that list.

The only other exception is the FREE books offered through Book Bub and only if I can't live with out it.  Other than those rules that's it!  No new books for me.

We will see how long this lasts.  I'm thinking a week at tops before I talk myself into breaking my rules and getting a new book

'til later

Recent Reread of an old favourite

 

The Many Sins of Lord Cameron by Jennifer Ashley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Although I've read The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie, I think this is only the second time I've read this boo. I'm every so glad I read it again. I think maybe it took so long as I hadn't picked it up as an ebook until the other day and since I don't read print books much at all anymore, I kind of forgot about this one. I m ever so glad I decided to read it again. I'd forgotten how much I love it.

Still deserves the 5 stars I gave it last time!!

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I'll be honest here and say when I read the first two books of this series, Cam didn't make that big an impression on me. And my main thought was that I would have to read his story before I got to Harts' the one I wanted most after reading all about Ian and the rest of his MacKenzie brothers. So going into this one I wasn't expecting a whole lot.

I don't know if that's the reason or what it might be, but this one turned out to be, as Tony the Tiger says, GREEEEAAAATTT!! I LOVED it - almost, but not quite as much as Ian and Beth's book.

It starts out with a bang when Ainsley is scoping out Cam's bedroom for some missing letter stolen from the queen when in walks Cam and the thieving woman who is using the letters to blackmail the queen. She has hidden them with Cam, though he doesn't know it and as one of the queens lady's, Ainsley is trying to find them and give them back. Cam of course, discovers Ainsley's hiding place and is wickedly delighted. You see, they had a similar kind of meeting six years previous when Ainsley was trying to find something in Cam's room. They had an immediate attraction to each other though Ainsley refused to act on it as she was married and while not in love with her much older husband, respected and cared for him a great deal. But neither has forgotten the other over the year and now that Ainsley is a widow, Cam is determined to 'get in her skirts' this time 'round.

For not being a character who made me sit up and take notice in the previous books, with his own story it was an entirely different matter when reading it. Cam is a man who was betrayed beyond belief by his first wife. Not only did she take many, many lovers over the time they were married, but she also tried to kill both Cam and their son Daniel and indeed ended up taking her own life. She was clearly mad but that didn't keep her from leaving deep, deep scars on Mac, both physical and emotional. He uses his gift with horses and meaningless sex to try and escape his demons. But when he's with Ainsley, he feels a deep sense of peace though it takes him a while to recognize it as love he is feeling. I just loved this poor tortured man to pieces and pieces. He loves his son deeply, and Daniel is a wonderful secondary character by the way who will be getting his own story, but doesn't really understand how to be a father. His own father was a monster and all the MacKenzie heroes have a lot to overcome with their horrific childhoods.

Once he gets Ainsley into his orbit again, he is so gone for her. I've said on many occasions I love a hero who is so gone for the heroine.

And Ainsley is exactly the kind of heroine I enjoy. She's sharp and she's funny and she's intelligent. No false miss is she. After a bit of hesitation and then consulting with friends, when Cam wants to take their relationship much further, she goes for it, with no second thoughts. She has very fond thoughts of her first husband and admired him even though he was much, much older than her.

I love that the author didn't go down the cliched route and make her first husband evil. Even the character that was blackmailing the queen didn't turn out to be evil, evil. She just wanted the money to desperately escape an unhappy marriage. The most evil person in the book was Cam's first wife Elizabeth and her evilness was needed to turn Cam into the kind of person he was.

I finished this book in a very short amount of time as I couldn't bare to put it down. I, um, ah, may have taken longer breaks and lunches than I'm allowed as work since I really didn't want to stop reading this Very Enjoyable Book. I still like the first one better, but just by a shade. But this one also is getting very high marks!

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Entreat Me by Grace Draven

 

When I saw what the theme was in May for Super Librarians (Wendy) TBR Challenge, I wasn’t sure if I had anything that would fit the bill.  The month’s theme is Fairy Tale/Folk Tales.  I think you get those tropes more in Fantasy and I don’t read Fantasy very much at all so I wasn’t sure I had a book that would fit the bill.  I do!  I hit the jackpot with this one.  I’ve had Entreat Me by Grace Draven in the pile since 2015; just sitting there, unread.  I picked it up after reading Radiance ad Eidolon and loving them.  Then I tried getting into Master of Crows a couple of times, unsuccessfully and forgot I had this book.

 

This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.  Louvaen is our Beauty and Ballard is our Beast.  Now in this story, Cinnia, sister to Louvaen is the real beauty and Louvaen is the mother lion, doing everything she can to protect her sister.  Their father is ineffectual at everything and has put them all in debt to the evil villain who is willing to overlook the debt if he can have the hand of Cinnia.  This will be only over Lou’s dead body.  Cinnia is smitten with the handsome and dashing Gavin and the two of them run off to his mysterious castle.  Lou is hot on their heels, bound and determined to save Cinnia’s honour.

 

Ballard is the father of Gavin and he is under an evil spell.  He routinely goes through times where he turns into a beast.  Gavin does too but not to the same extent.  Ballard’s wife and Gavin’s mother put on an evil spell as she lay dying after giving birth to Gavin.  She hated Ballard with a burning seething passion and wants to make his life hell.  None of the castle inhabitants have really aged since she put the spell on them, which includes a few servants and one caster of spells, and they’ve been living in the run down and isolated castle for over 200 years now.

 

There is instant chemistry between Ballard and Lou.  Even when not in monster form, Ballard still bears the aftereffects and is hideously scarred.  He can’t see how Lou would find him the least bit attractive.  However, Lou sees beneath his scars to the truly fine person that he is.  He makes for a wonderful hero.  This felt a lot like a medieval and I love the atmosphere that Ms. Draven creates. I love the relationship between Ballard and Lou.  She is a very prickly type heroine and so overprotective of her sister.  Ballard gets more of a kick out her for it.  Ballard is also an amazing father.  We learn right at the beginning that his wife was not a faithful one and Gavin’s father is Ballard’s enemy but not even for one moment does Ballard not love him and consider Gavin as his.  We learn later what a sacrifice Ballard has made to help his son, to the point of being willing to give up his own life. 

 

I love the secondary romance between Gavin and Cinnia.  Also the bickering between Lou and Ambrose, Ballard’s magician and good friend.  Lou has inherited a bit of magic from her mother and hates it.  She and Ambrose do quite a bit of bickering and I admit I love some of the names they came up with for each other.

Moreover, the villain sure is good and villainy.  Though we don’t see her, there are a few flash back scenes with Isabeau, Ballard’s wife is truly evil.  It is bad enough to put a curse on your hated husband, but to put one on your newborn son is beyond the pale.

 

Except for Lou being a tad overprotective, this book is perfect.  I can really see me reading it again.  I was very impressed with this book.  While I was reading this book, I picked up a couple more of her books.  The third book in the Wraith King series is out and somehow missed that and I picked up another one of her books at the same time.  One other thing I have to mention is the absolutely beautiful covers she has for all her books.  I love all of them.

 

Therefore, this month’s TBR Challenge was a complete success.  I love the book.  I’d forgotten I had it so finding it was a real treasure and I loved enough to get back on the Grace Draven train.  Win, win  This book gets 4.5 stars and comes oh so close to 5.  I very happily recommend this book.

Recent 5 star ReReads

Love in the Light by Laura Kaye

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having just finished a reread of the first book, of course I had to reread this one again. I said I knew I would reread it, I just didn't know it would take this long to get back to. And yep, loved it just as much this time around

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I just reread the first book in this series, Hearts in Darkness before reading this one. I needed to revisit with Caden and Makenna. I thought this book was SO wonderfully written. In the vast majority of books, we get the HEA and then it fades to black. But in Love in The Light, it continues on and we get to see that things don’t always end so perfectly. The description of this book is pretty spot on so no need to go over it too much. Caden and Makenna are still deeply in love and are rarely apart since they met in the darkness in Love in the Dark. But it’s not a happily.

You see, Caden is really struggling to comprehend things are going so well. He has a very tragic story, my heart just broke for him, and he can’t believe that Makenna could really care about him. He has very little self-worth and he is inadvertently sabotaging the relationship with his doubts. Makenna is still crazy about him and she knows she always will. She is slightly aware of his insecurities but not all of them. She doesn’t know how deep it runs. He has told her about his past but not how much he was damaged by it. Things come to a head when they go to visit her family at Thanksgiving and one of her brothers has brought an ex-boyfriend of hers, an ex-boyfriend who wants Makenna back and Caden hears this declaration and it feeds right in to his own lack of confidence. And if that weren’t enough he overhears a conversation between the ex and the brother who happen to be best friends agreeing that Makenna is too good for this scarred, tattooed, face piercing guy and Caden can’t handle it anymore. Even though her father and other two brothers really seem to like him and see how happy Makenna is with him, it’s not enough.

He ends the relationship and then falls apart. Makenna is devastated but holds hope they will get back together. She KNOWS they are meant to be together and Caden is just struggling with his devils at the moment. But then thing happen and she just can’t wait any longer.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. Caden suffers from acute anxiety and severe depression. As this is something I struggle with myself, I could really relate to him. Everyone around him may be telling himself what a great guy he is, but he can’t buy it. His inner voice is constantly telling him he’s not good enough, she’d be better with someone else, he doesn’t deserve to experience love – all those kinds of things. He knows he’s spiraling downward but he can’t stop the free fall. That’s exactly what depression does, how it lies to us. I know from experience and I just wanted to hold Caden through it. No matter how much we tell ourselves to ‘get over it’ it’s not that simple.

And Makenna. Oh what a great character she is. She is patient and compassionate and wildly in love with Caden. She “sees” who he is. She is honest. She tells him about the conversation she had with the ex, even though she doesn’t know Caden overheard the conversation. I know this is going to be a book that stays with me for a long time and one I will read over and over again.

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The Tender Texan by Jodi Thomas

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Being a looonnnggg time romance reader, there have been books I’ve read that have stayed with me over the years and I remember them as if I just read them yesterday. Then there are books where I don’t remember the details, but I clearly remember the love I felt for the book. Such is the case with The Tender Texan. This is one I’ve been wanting to get as an ebook for a number of years now. My thousands of books are all packed up in over 35 boxes in one of the rooms and very inaccessible. Plus I so much prefer ebooks. I’m having to use somewhat larger fonts now. The cost of The Tender Texan has always been too high to justify getting it. I have a number of books like this that I check every few months and low and behold – the price came down!! So of course I picked it up lickity split

Anna Meyers is part of a group of settlers all the way from Germany planning on settling in Texas with the promise of free land. While on the journey, her husband died and because of this, she doesn’t get the land they were promised. She needs a husband. She bravely walks into a camp of cowboys and ask if any of them are willing to marry her for $100. Of course she’s laughed at until one steps forward. Lets just say that Anna struck gold when Chance Wyatt volunteers. He needs the money for personal reasons and agrees to marry Anna and take care of her and help her build her home and get things going. At the end of one year he will leave and she will have her land.

Chance is simply the very best kind of hero. He’s slightly younger than Anna but that doesn’t matter. He is fully competent in everything he does and he is smitten with Anna right from the very beginning. Over the course of the story he does everything he says he would do and so much more besides. There was one stipulation that Anna put on the marriage and that is no kind of physical touching whatsoever and as Chance falls deeper and deeper for Anna, he finds that harder and harder. And although the reader might get a little annoyed with her – I mean this guy is pure gold – she has her reasons. She was brutally attacked by her husband a couple of times and left pregnant after the second time. What’s worse is he was carrying on with her nightmare of a mother and she has no sense of self worth. She’s learned to be cold because she had to in order to survive. But she is gradually attracted to Chance in return and manages to send the poor guy some mixed messages.

There is a whole lot more in this book that I have mentioned and it all works together to make this such a wonderful book and yet another reason I love Westerns. I’ve read many a book by Jodi Thomas and this is my favourite one – still.

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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

Don't Kiss the Bride by Carian Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love Carian’s books to the point of almost obsession. The only one I haven’t read is No Tomorrow but all the others I’ve read at least once a year, sometimes more. So it was an absolute given I would read her latest book, Don’t Kiss the Bride. I think I can safely say she’s written another book I’ll be reading multiple times. This is an age gap romance and I often feel a bit of trepidation reading one with that trope, unless the heroine is older than the hero and yep, I know that’s kind of a double standard but I can live with it *grin*

Skylar is our heroine and pretty much from the beginning our hearts break for her. She has a wretched home life; she deals with something I’ve not read about before and she is bullied at school. She is unique and of course if someone doesn’t conform, they can really pay a price. She also has a number of physiological issues, brought on by her upbringing.
There is a house undergoing renovations near the school and Jude (Lucky) Lucketti is the boss in charge of the reno’s. He notices Skylar, not in a creepy way at all, but because she stands out in a crowd. He observes from a distance how she is being treated and it bothers him. One day he’s working in the rain and he sees her fall. He goes to help her out and that’s how they begin talking to each other. He’s in his early 30’s and he’s completely aware of their age difference but they become friends after a fashion. She slowly begins to open up about her problems and because he is a good and caring guy he wants to help her. The plan he comes up with is rather unorthodox but he suggests they enter into a marriage of convenience. One of reasons is she has lots of health issues and no money to pay for things. If they are married, he could put her on his plan.

She’s quite reluctant at first. She doesn’t want to cramp his style since her current living situation is untenable which means she will be moving in with him, but Lucky is such an incredible hero, that isn’t even a concern.
They start out as strictly friends but slowly an attraction grows between them and things get trickier. Neither want to start anything as it’s only a marriage of convenience until Sklylar is older but the attraction can’t be denied.

This book is SO swoonworthy. Skylar is mature beyond her years and because they started out as friends first and both are aware of the age difference, they think things through before acting on anything.
I only read this book a couple of weeks ago but writing up this review has me wanting to read this book again, something that happens with all her books. This book gets an unqualified 5+ stars. All her books do.

**Note**

I enjoyed this book so much that even though I only read it a short while ago, it called me to read it again.  I'm not surprised as her books are always calling my name

'til later


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My Ramblings on Audio Books

 

I’ve been rather absent lately, not because of any particular reason except nothing much has been happening that I’ve felt worth blogging about.  I go no where and I see no one – well except for Easter.  I stayed overnight visiting my sister but that’s about it.

I’m desperately in need of vacation but since I work in health care and here in Ontario the covid numbers are going up and up and there is another province wide shut down so they’ve kind of said no to vacations or LOA – all hands on deck, that kind of thing.  Thank goodness we can rant to each other.

 

One of the things I’ve been doing to distress when not working other than reading is watching YouTube – A/ Lot.  And one of the things I’m finding fun to watch is romance video bloggers.  There are a number I follow.  I find it interesting though as number of the books they recommend are audio books.  When they explain them I kind of scratch my head a bit as they call them books read and I kind of think of them as books listened to, not so much read but then that’s me just hair splitting.

 

I’ve thought I need to get on board the audio book train.  I was relatively late on the eBook train thinking I would never want to read books that way.  However, once I hopped on board, I read about 98% ebooks now and I didn’t think that would ever happen.  But I’ve no idea where to even start!!  I see where I can sign up on Amazon with Audiobook but I’d just as soon not rely on Amazon.  I already feel bad about getting so many kindle books through them.  I have been listening to more and more samples though and that brings up another issue I might have with audio books and that is I find myself very critical of the way they are read.  Either I don’t like the reader’s voice or they don’t pronounce something the way I would or I’m constantly critiquing the emphasis.  I can see myself arguing with them – “that’s not the way it should read”.  So even though I say I should try it, I’m still not sure.

 

Then I think I should get in the habit as I’m extremely – and I mean really, really, really squeamish when it comes to eye stuff.  Even watching someone put drops in their eyes squicks me out.  There is not a chance in hell I would ever be able to wear contacts.  The fatalist in me figures that since I’m so passionate about reading, I’ll probably go blind.  That’s a huge plus to ebooks is being able to adjust the size of the fonts.

 

Anyway – that’s just me rambling on about the latest thing in reading.

 

Til later

Recent Read

 

Once We Were Starlight by Mia Sheridan

While I was reading this book, I tweeted asking if anyone else has read a book that is painful to read.  And I meant in a good way.  It’s a book that is so well written that it’s as if you are there, a part of the story, like a silent observer.  Such is the case with this book.  It’s not an easy read in many ways but oh so well worth reading

 

The first part of the book takes place in a mid-east country in some kind of small city and the main characters are Karys and Zakai, two young people who have lived in this place since they were very young.  From the very beginning there was a very strong bond between them and as they got older, this strong bond turned physical.  Only this place wasn’t paradise, it was a place people came from all over the world to watch deviant sexual acts and once the owner was aware of what was going on between Karys and Zakai, they became part of the “entertainment” as brother and sister having sex with each other.  Thankfully, the book isn’t very descriptive in this area.

 

Karys is very naïve and doesn’t really understand what’s really going on and in order to protect her, Zakai makes almost a game of it.  All the other ‘prisoners’ also try and shield her so she doesn’t see how depraved it all is and sees everyone as almost family.  Eventually Karys and Zakai are rescued and Karys is sent to live with an uncle she has never met.  Zakai was a beggar and an orphan and has nowhere to go but he is also sent to New York.  Karys finds things very difficult as she has always had Kai with her and now her uncle tries to discourage their special bond.

 

Then for reasons Karys doesn’t understand, Zakai smashes the bond and they are estranged.  They are still in each other’s orbit in a way.  Zakai goes on to become a very successful model and she sees him on billboards and print adds.  Karys has become a successful author of YA fantasy books.

 

The story opens and then ends with a confrontation between the two and the story in between is their history.

This is just a very brief synopsis of this heartbreaking romance and I know I don’t have the words to adequately describe how very impactful it is.  Karys and Zakai are beautiful together and the love between them is intense and passionate.  It’s the kind of book that haunts you and stays with you even when you aren’t reading and long after you’ve finished  My heart broke for both of them.

It is told entirely from Karys’ point of view except for the final chapter which is from Zakai.  I know in the past the author has written duets from each POV and I’m really hoping this is the plan for this book too.  We can infer quite a bit what Zakai is going through but I’d love to see it directly through his eyes.

 

This is such a beautiful, haunting, painful, amazing book and I’m at risk of overdosing on superlatives.

 

Mia Sheridan can write such powerful and emotional books and in this book she is at her finest.

Grade: A+

One last thing just in case you aren't sure and wondering, this is a romance and the number one criteria for a romance is the HEA

2021 TBR Challenge for March

 Wicked Dangerous by Julie Kriss

This is my choice for this month’s #TBR Challenge, Books by a Favourite Author.  And Julie Kriss certainly qualifies for this.  I have and have read all of her backlist.  This is the fourth and final book of her Filthy Rich series about 4 lifelong friends who banded together and made it rich. 

 

This is Alex story.  It’s been hinted at throughout the series that he was the only married one but it ended in divorce and this is a second chance romance.  Kat is his ex and though the marriage is over, Alex has never really been able to let her go completely and keeps tabs on her and how she’s doing through a private detective.  Sadly, Kat’s life hasn’t been that great.  She travels around like a tumbleweed working as a bar tender.  After observing from a distance, Alex charges back in her life when one night after work Kat is accosted and there is an attempt to kidnap her and she ends up in the hospital.  Blake rushes to her rescue and they conclude that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and she saw something she shouldn’t have.  And that means she isn’t safe.  Almost against her will because these are both very stubborn people, Alex whisks her out of the hospital and takes her to his home to keep her safe until they figure out who it is trying to kidnap her.

 

They were very young when they met and eloped and this is also a wrong side of the tracks story.  Alex lived almost hand to mouth with his friends and Kat came from wealth.  However the attraction between them was so strong they couldn’t stay away from each other.  Because they were young and stubborn, their marriage was almost doomed to fail.  When a third party interfered, rather than talk things out, they both went off the handle and called things off and though they have both moved on, well except for Alex who kept watch from afar, they have never really gotten over each other and though they fight it, Kat in particular, the feelings and attraction is still there.  Will they get a second chance with each other?  That is the story.

 

I’ll admit, this book wasn’t in the TBR pile for very long.  Julie Kriss is an autobuy author and I probably would have read this book even sooner but I was committed to my Black author reads for the month of February.  This is a rather short book as are most of her books but it’s still very good.  You can feel the draw between them and I love that Alex has pined for Kat for years even though he would never call it pining.  We get just enough of the previous characters.  Julie Kriss is an author who is undervalued in my opinion.  She’s written some very good books and a number of them have been 5 stars for me and I’m glad to highlight her for this months challenge.

Grade B+

An author I found while in lock down

 

Ball Peen Hammer by Lauren Rowe


5++

This book is a riot and I think I was either smiling or laughing through most of it. I’ve never read a hero quite like Keane Morgan before. He struck me as being over the top at the beginning of the book and to be honest I wasn’t sure how far I was going to make it. However, once I got used to him, I couldn’t read this book fast enough and I just adored him.
Keane is a stripper by trade and according to him, he’s the best in the world. His stage name is Ball Peen Hammer. I think I’m a bit naïve as I’m not sure what exactly what that means in the world outside of actual hammers. Stripping isn’t his first choice of career and while it takes a while, we do see what his first choice was and it’s sad he didn’t get to succeed. He’s determined to be the best at his second choice though.
He’s also the world’s greatest lover – according to him – and every woman wants him. He claims he knows everything there is to know about women and he has no problems at all confirming this to everyone he meets. He’s just a hoot and I just love him to pieces.

There is one woman though who doesn’t seem to fall at his feet and that is of course our heroine Maddy. She is on a road trip to California to attend college and her older sister doesn’t want her traveling alone so she arranges for Keane to be her travel buddy for the trip. Keane had been planning on heading to L.A to do some auditions and visit his younger brother, an aspiring singer. Keane almost doesn’t make it though as he doesn’t listen to his voice mail or read his text messages. That whole screw up is so cute and so funny. They finally do get things sorted out and start their road trip. And every single bit of the journey is a delight. Keane is completely unfiltered and says whatever he thinks, most of all about sex and what a sex god he is. Maddy describes Keane as Daffy Duck trapped inside Prince Charming’s body. Throughout their trip they are both determined not to fall for each other but they do become fast friends. And of course, because they aren’t supposed to be anything other than pals, they do begin to fall for each other but neither really clues in on their changing feelings. Keane in particular is hilarious as he is in total denial about what’s happening. They are both bummed when the 3-day trip is over, they gotten so close.

In addition to the relationship between Keane and Maddy, there is an equally well done, touching, and hilarious relationship between Keane and his roommate Zander. Never have I read such a close bond between friends and I bow to the author for writing this relationship.

It’s a bit frustrating, as no matter how I write this review, I can’t seem to do the book justice. There’s a whole lot I haven’t written about. I think it would take at least three pages to share everything that makes this book a book that blows me away. It took until close to the end of the year, but this is my favourite book of 2020 and as I’ve read more books than ever, the fact Ball Peen Hammer is my number one book of the year just says how much I loved it. This is a new too me author and as this is the second in a series you can bet your bottom dollar I’m going to be reading the whole set of them and her other books as well. In a year full of darkness, this book shone such a bright light.

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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

Kind of a Recent Read- but not really

 

During my absence I still wrote reveiws on GoodReads.  I've signed up for their reading challenge for the past few years and this is a book I first read in October of 2021.  I just finished the second book in this series so before I post a review of it, I thought I'd post the review of this first book.  Plus this is a test to see if I could still copy and paste the review from GoodReads here.  I know I could but as I've been away for a while and some things have changed, I wasn't sure I could figure out if I still could.  Turns out I can so I did.

I'm ever so glad because now when my brain is stuck for something to post, until it unfreezes I can post a review.  And since I read and reviewed 177 books in 2020 even though my goal was 140 books, which means I scored 126% I can afford a number of brain freezes and still post.  Yeah.

Love in Numbers by Scarlett Cole

4.5 out of 5

I’m a huge fan of this author. I’ve really enjoyed reading The Second Circle Tattoos series and I’m simply mad for the Preload series. I’ve read all of the books in this series at least twice, some (Jordan Reclaimed) at least 4 times. So when I saw her tweet that she would be releasing a new book the next day, well guess what the first thing I did was. And guess what I started reading the same day.

Connor is the hero. He’s been working for his father’s liquor distribution company for a while now and as his father is due to retire soon, Connor is ready to take over and make a number of changes hoping to go for higher quality.
Emmerson is the heroine and she has what seems the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her beloved father recently passed away very unexpectedly and she becomes head of Dyers Distillery. While she has a younger brother and sister to help, she doesn’t want to burden them so feels she has to handle everything herself. She and Connor meet on a plane when they are both headed to the same awards ceremony and Connor is a jerk to her. He’s a jerk, but a very hot jerk and despite the off putting meeting, she does find him very fine. But as soon as he hears her name, Connor knows who she is. She’s the daughter of the man his father holds responsible for all the hard times he had when he got their company up and running.

One of the things Connor thinks of is acquiring Dyers Distillery. But when they end up sitting together at the award ceremony, the both see that the first impression they had of each other is all wrong. The more Connor gets to know Emmerson, the more he admires her for her strength and loyalty to her family and the business. It isn’t long before they become very close and Connor sees what a real family company is.

This book isn’t as angsty as the Preload series and has a totally different vibe to it. But I still was smitten with it and definitely keeps Scarlet Cole as one of my top favourite authors. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a book that gives you the warm and fuzzies.

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So! You want to buy me a book and you want to know which one

 

This can be a tricky question you are asking.  I’m a picky eater and unfortunately a picky reader too.  The first ones up are by a small group of authors that I either pre-order if that is an option or I’m on their mailing list and the second I see the book is out, I snap it right up.  And I do believe I have the entire back lists of all these author.  These include, in no particular order

 Pamela Clare   Carian Cole   Scarlet Cole   Lisa Kleypas

Julie Kriss,   LH Cosway   Ellen O’Connell

There’s no sense in getting a book for me by any of these authors as chance are I already own it or will have it on Day 1

Now that’s not all my autobuy authors.  I have rather a large group, but with this next group of authors,  I tend to check the price and read the synopsis.  Chances are about 95% I will still get the book, but it’s not as instantaneous.  This list is much larger.  Again in no particular order

Mia Sheridan   Brenda Rothert   Emma Scott   Vi Keeland

Penelope Ward   Jo Goodman   Kristin Callihan   A. Meredith Walter

Brittainy C Cherry   Jane Harvey-Berrick   Lisa B Kamps   Elle Kennedy

Aly Martinez   Courtney Milan   Sara Ney   Winter Renshaw   Samantha Towle

 

So you might not want to get me a book from any of these authors as I may or may not have a copy.  Since that’s the case, I’ll instead use tropes rather than specific authors as I’m sure I could add a few more authors to the list above.

Royalty

I don’t care for romance books that have royal characters, either real or made up.  I see them and pass right by.  When you think of it though this is a rather odd eliminator as what are fairy tales at heart but romance stories for young girls.

****

Vampire

I have read vampire romance but never been a real fan of them.  I read the first two books of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward for example and while I enjoyed them well enough, the enjoyment didn’t reach the height it did for many romance readers. I read a couple of Christine Feehan Dark series and it was the same thing except they creeped me out.  So no, don’t waste your money on Vampire books.

I don’t have the same issues with werewolves or other shifter type heroes but keep in mind, I don’t really read a lot of them.

****

Billionaires

I see these books and pass right by them.  As with other tropes, I may read them if a favoured author has written any but that’s pretty much the only exception.  To go along with this I could also add any high falutin’ white collar romances.  Give me a good carpenter or auto mechanic and I’m on board, but a lawyer or doctor – not so much.

****

Aristocracy

(Simon, Duke of Hastings excluded of course)
Here I’m referring more to historicals.  Again, I won’t ignore books by favoured authors such as Lisa Kleypas but I’m so much more drawn to a non-titled hero such as Derek Craven then I am to Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent.  So if the hero is a boxer or the owner of a gambling establishment, then I think you are safe but a duke or a viscount or earl, you shouldn’t risk it.  There are exceptions but it’s too confusing to explain them all.

****

Angel or demons

Not interested so again a money waster.  I know they are popular now and I did read one years ago, Angel for Hire by Justine Davis that I adored but that was a rarity.

****

Motorcycle Gangs

I know these type are very popular with many a romance reader but on the whole, not so much for me.  When I see a freebie or one on sale, I tend to skip it.  And while Charlie Hunnam is indeed very fine to look at, I never watched and never wanted to watch Sons of Anarchy.

~~~~~~~

On the other hand, here are some suggestions as to books I do go for

SciFi

 

I love a good SciFi romance so unless the hero has scales or is lizard like, I’m willing to give it a try.  And of course, just like everything else, there is an exception. I love Radiance by Grace Draven and I think he might be on the more lizard-like of the scale.

****

Westerns

Though I haven’t read as many lately, I do love this genre so it’s another good choice should you wish to buy me a book.  Reformed outlaws are the best.  Who doesn’t love a bad boy whether in a contemporary or historical book eh?

****

Medievals

Back in the day there were a lot of medieval being written (and read by me) but there don’t seem to be as many these days.  Hopefully they will make a resurgence

****

Sports romance

I’m a big sports fan so I love this trope.  The only sport I’m not interested in really is basketball.  I don’t follow that sport.  Though as will every type of book, there is an exception. I loved Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan.

Bowlers though are one you can stay away from.  I don’t think professional bowlers are inherently sexy.  To be on the safe side and being Canadian, hockey players are the best bet.

Blue collar romance

As mentioned up above, I’m a huge fan of blue collar type heroes

****

Unjustly imprisoned

I really and I like really like this trope.  It would be interesting to get inside my brain to try and figure out the reason why

****

Rock Stars

This is another trope I can’t seem to get enough of reading.  Three of my auto buy authors have written books about rock stars and I’ve read all of them multiple times.  So you are pretty save on getting me one of these.

 

So there you have it.  I think it’s a good wide choice of what and what not to get me in the way of romance books.

 

******DISCLAIMER******

Just in case you aren't 100% sure and wondering what is up with this blogger, this is 100% not serious - well, it is in the types of books I prefer - but I neither want, hope, expect, anticipate etc anyone getting me any books.  It's a total leg pull.

My Very First Blog Post

 Just for the heck of it I went back to my very first ever blog post.  Believe it or note it was back on Feb 17, 2005.  Wow!!  That was a long, long time ago.  And the topic of my very first post is just as relevant today as it was back then even though just about everything else in my life has changed.  Here's what I had to say back then.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Why Romance??

Since this blog is about my romance reading habits, the first question one would ask is why romance? Why not mystery? Why not horror?
The main reason would be fear of the unkown. I've been an avid reader all my life. From those very first days of 'See Dick Run' - yes I'm that old - I have been hooked on reading. My first series of books I checked out of our local bookmobile were Freddy the Pig books. To this day I seem to be the only one who has read that wonderful series about Freddy the talking pig detective and all his various friends; the cat, the mice, the cow and the horse.
I've read all types of books in my life. I went through a Stephen King phase. I went through a true crime phase. I went through a biography and autobiographical phase. I even went through a sports book phase. I read Don Cherry's book. But now my choice of reading material is strictly romance. Many years ago, long before I settled on romance, I read a book called The Balloonist. Many of the details are sketchy; we are talking quite a few years ago, but the gist of the story is a young woman and small crew took a long flight in a hot air balloon over the Atlantic. Things did not go well. They ran into many difficulties and their journey was doomed. I wish I could remember exactly how it ended. It would strengthen my case, but suffice it to say, they didn't survive the journey. It was a totally unexpected ending. I even turned the book over, opened it again and checked to make sure I didn't miss some pages where they miraculously escaped. But there wasn't, and they didn't.
With that end and similar type endings in other books, I realized over time that when I closed the cover on a book, I wanted to feel better than when I first opened the book. I wanted to KNOW that there would be a happy ending. Romance books fill that need. And with all the different genres in romance today, I can still have different choices.