Tuesday, July 30, 2013

A Lady by Midnight by Tessa Dare


4 stars

This was the 4th installment in the Spindle Cove series. Some are full length novels and some are novellas, but they are all good. This one follows Miss Kate Taylor, the town’s music tutor and Corporal Thorne who is in charge of the town’s militia.

Thorne has known Kate her whole life and is afraid that she will recognize him. When she doesn’t he vows to stay away from her (you know, for her own good). Miss Taylor is an orphan who grew up in a girls home and has never known her family. Very early in the story, the Grammercy’s (a well to do but somewhat scandalous family) come to Spindle Cove searching for Kate. They think she might be a long lost cousin and want to sleuth it out. Thorne wants to protect her from the Grammercy’s and he doesn’t trust them and states that Kate and he are engaged. The rest of the story follows Kate and Thorne through their phony engagement and through Kate finding out whether she has a family or not.

I love this series! I haven’t read anything else by this author so I can’t say whether it is all fabulous, but the author has a way of writing that is quite funny.

Favorite Quote: Thorne to Kate:

“If I hadn’t spent the last year thinking of you as a lady, I promise you—things would be different between us.”

Monday, July 29, 2013

Honor’s Splendour by Julie Garwood



3.5 Stars

I always round my stars up, but if I could I would give this book 3.5 stars. It was better than average in the story line and very good writing style, but at times it seemed to drag. The narration is done with third person omniscient. It is a little odd at times to go back and forth from one paragraph to the next in these characters minds.

Summary:

Baron Duncan Wexton has vengeance in mind when he goes to Baron Louddon’s fortress unarmed. He has a plan, but Louddon’s sister has one of her own. She quickly aids Duncan in his escape and in so doing puts herself right where Duncan wants her. Besides his other plans, he came to take Madelyne with him. She wanted away from Louddon anyway so she goes with Duncan but still plans to make her way to Scotland.

Thoughts:

Anyone can see what will happen next. Of course our fair maiden falls for our handsome, fierce warrior. And our warrior finds his world turned upside down. This predictability didn’t detract from the storyline at all. In fact, I needed them to fall for each other. If they didn’t, I should be thoroughly put out. Madelyne was constantly telling everyone that she was a gentle lady. And then things would come out of her mouth like this:

“You can rid yourself of that frown, Edmond, or I promise God I’ll smack it right off your face.”

Of course there is more to the story. Louddon has his own plans for Madelyne and won’t give her up. Hearing her talk about her worthlessness was very sad to read it would make my stomach drop. Soon, Madelyne had charmed everyone in Duncan’s fortress and she gained self worth. I absolutely loved the beginning and the end, but the middle was a bit long.

Favorite Quote: (this is between Duncan and his brother Edmond)

“It’s a shame you know,” he called over his shoulder.

“What’s a shame?” Duncan asked.

“That I didn’t capture her first.”

Duncan smiled. “Nay, Edmond, it was a blessing. God’s truth, I would have taken her from you.”

Friday, July 26, 2013

Raising Innocence by Shannon Mayer (Rylee Adamson #3)




5 Stars

So the fourth book in this series comes out in a couple weeks so I guess I am lucky I picked it up at the right time. I don’t have long to wait to find out more about Berget and Liam.

So at the end of the second book we realize that Liam is now a werewolf. He runs off into the sunset and when book three starts up he is still out there somewhere. Rylee hasn’t heard from him and after telling him that she loves him is being surprising mature about this and just waiting. I think I would be really hurt by this, but she realizes that it isn’t about her, but about Liam and his wolf. The pack that has been after Alex has been missing and Rylee thinks this is because of Liam. She kicked Milly out too and I was soooo glad for that! Get that lady out of there. She is bad news!

Agent Valley has come calling again and wants Rylee to work on a case in London. She declines but her dangles in front of her an opportunity that she thought didn’t exist. Alex and Rylee end up on a plane flying to London three days later. Faris is still after her and both Liam and Milly show up in London! Rylee makes more friends and enemies in this book. I really, really don’t like this Dr. Daniels character. She needs a swift kick in the pants! We finally learn by Giselle was always mumbling about “blue socks”!

Favorite Quote: (Giselle talking to Rylee)

“You are more than a Tracker Rylee, and in some ways, that is the least of your worries.” She took a breath, let it out, took another. “You are touched with the Blood of the Lost.”

What does that even mean? Blood of the Lost? In capital letters? Gah! I can’t wait!

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Immune by Shannon Mayer (Rylee Adamson #2)



 4.5 Stars

I finished the first book in the series in two days and promptly went on Amazon and bought the second book.  I am already 70% of the way through the third book before I convinced myself I should get my tuchas in gear and write the review for the this book before I finished the next one and get it all muddled.

All the books pick up right where the previous one left off with many of the problems from the previous books carrying over.  This means the reader need not fret when they finish and have unanswered questions about some of Rylee’s predicaments.

So in this book the Arcane group of the FBI still wants Rylee to work for them and Liam wants Rylee for a partner.  Rylee thinks that Milly and Liam are having a fling, but she is starting to admit that she has a thing for Liam.  Rylee is called onto another Salvage and it turns out one of her old enemies is behind this.  However, Rylee has a bigger problem.  The demon that stung Rylee with its scorpion tail left some venom behind.  This means that although the venom can’t kill Rylee the…side effects that the venom has on other things can affect her (that is all I can say without putting more spoilers in there).  She has got to do something about this venom but every step she takes to remove it puts another obstacle in her way.  Rylee’s friend, Dox, is in trouble and the shamans that were missing in the first book need to be found in this one.  Faris (the vampire that wants Rylee for his unknown nefarious purposes) keeps showing up and Milly is still being…Milly.  I knew I was right not to like Milly in the first book!  She is bad news!  Anyone who doesn’t like Alex is bad news in my book!  Speaking of Alex, I think he might be my favorite character in this series.  He is funny and loving.    

This series reminds me a lot of Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series and if you follow my reviews you know that pretty much anything Ilona and Gordon can write, I will read it and love it!  So you will understand if you know the Kate Daniels series, but both are urban fantasy, both have a unique take on some of the supernatural creatures in the series, and Rylee also has a mysterious parentage and doesn’t quite know what all she is capable of.    Rylee is a loner with dubious social skills, but is an awesome fighter and doesn’t need a man to take care of her. 

Ok, I love this series…read it.  It’s cheap and if you don’t love it then…again, it’s cheap.  The author could use a couple good beta readers and a little more proof reading, but it isn’t bad enough that it bothers me.    

Favorite Quote: this is about Alex:

“Come on,” I grumbled at the weather.  Anger was easier to hang onto than fear.  Better in this case, ‘cause being afraid would only give me more trouble. 


“Come on,” Alex grumbled, shaking a fist at the windshield.  Shit, that werewolf made me laugh.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Priceless by Shannon Mayer (Rylee Adamson #1)



4 Stars

I got this e-book a while ago, but my TBR shelf is as big as a mountain so it has taken me a while to get to it. I was absolutely pleasantly surprised. I think I either got it for free (with an Amazon promotion) or paid $0.99. I scarfed it down in two days! The world building was wonderful and the details were brilliantly fleshed out. As soon as I finished it I went and got the second book.

Brief Summary:

Rylee Adamson is a tracker and she is immune to magic. Ten years ago when she was sixteen, her adoptive sister was kidnapped and never found. Everyone thought Rylee did it…even her adoptive parents! So Rylee has been mostly on her own since that time. She does have a friend Milly, who along with her was taken in by a woman named Giselle. Rylee has dedicated her life to finding lost children. This story picks up with Rylee taking the job of finding a little girl who was taken under the same circumstances as her sister. An FBI agent, Liam O’Shea has been on her trail, determined that she killed her sister for the past ten years and he makes himself a nuisance once again.

Rylee has a werewolf for a pet, named Alex who is one of my favorites. He is so cute and innocent; you can’t help but love him. I didn’t like her friend Milly, but I am guessing that the issues between Rylee and Milly were to demonstrate that their friendship is so strong it will survive anything. Milly just wasn’t very likeable. I had a hard time visualizing Agent O’shea. I have no idea how old he is but he has been following her for at least 10 years. I think I just needed some more descriptions of him to find him the object of Rylee’s desires.

I can’t wait to read the next one. I hope it is as good as this one.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

With Everything I Am by Kristen Ashley (The Three Series #2)



5 Stars

I loved this sucker even better than the first one. For reasons discussed in my review for the first book in the series (Until the Sun Falls From the Sky) I had put off reading the first book. I read the summary for this book and still wasn’t crazy about starting this series! The summary states that the werewolf king finds his mate, but she is human and dying of an illness. Yuck! What a downer! I am so glad I got started on this series and didn’t let the summary deter me for much longer.

Sonia Arlington is human and does have a rare disease that is killing her. She has to take injections nightly and these are painful. At the beginning of this story Sonia is being attacked by some badies and Callum (aforementioned werewolf king) comes to the rescue. Then she is whisked off to a cabin where she spends her time trying to escape her delusional kidnapper. Callum, being king, is used to taking and ordering, not asking for anything. Sonia is whisked around at his whims, and fights falling for this big, bossy jerk!

My biggest complaint about this book is that there were a lot of misunderstandings. Some were intentional by key players in order to play out the prophesy as it is supposed to unfold. But Callum doesn’t tell Sonia how he feels about her. Sonia hears Callum’s brothers talking at the beginning and learns a lot of stuff that hurts her feelings. But she doesn’t bring it up, she just uses it to keep herself from falling for him. There are other times when she buries stuff until she explodes! I am not a big fan of misunderstandings keeping people apart so that was frustrating.

Overall, I loved this book. There was so much heart break in this one. It makes what Lucien and Leah went through in the first book seem trivial. The ending was not expected so I enjoyed that! I would love for Ryon, and Callum’s brothers, Calder and Caleb to get their own books too. Especially, surly Calder! He needs a dose of lose-your-mind-and-your-logic-because-you-have-fallen-in-love!

Favorite Quote: Callum to Sonia

“If I could have wished what I thought was my perfect mate on the wind and had her come back to me in a storm, I could never have come up with anything as exquisite as you.”

Monday, July 15, 2013

Until the Sun Falls from the Sky by Kristen Ashley

4 Stars

I had been putting off this book. I’ve had it for a while. I will tell you after my brief summary why I was putting it off.

Leah is a Buchannan. This means her family has been in the vampire concubine business for 500 years and their family was the first to sign up with the vampires. The vampires have made feeding very sophisticated. They go to a ceremony where they pick out their next concubine and everyone signs a contract. There is not funny business between concubine and vampire, only feeding. But Lucien has been waiting for 20 years for Leah to be his concubine and he will not allow anyone to tell him what he can and can’t do with her.

The reason I had been putting this off is that Lucien has a vampire mate, Katrina. Obviously, Katrina doesn’t like Leah, but I shouldn’t have doubted Kristen Ashley’s ability to make this situation work. I don’t like the idea of the hero being with two women at once, but don’t worry this is a non-issue in this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It isn’t the typical KA book, but I happen to love PNR so reading about vampires wasn’t off-putting for me. My biggest complaint with the storyline is that vampires and humans can’t mate. Lucien knows that Leah is falling in love with him and how he reacts to her when she tells him this is devastating! I felt so awful for Leah!

I went right out and bought the second book in the series and I think that I will like this next one even better than this one. Although, I have been putting off reading that one too because I read that the heroine has a terminal illness! I should have more faith. Kristen doesn’t write sad stories. They may break your heart in the middle, but there is always a happily ever after!

Favorite Quote: (Lucien and Leah talking)

“You can’t stalk what’s yours,” he returned.

I looked at his shirt. “Yes, I suspect that’s what all the stalkers say.”

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Golden Trail by Kristen Ashley (The 'Burg #3)


4 stars


This is the third book in The ‘Burg series. We meet Rocky Merrick and Tanner Layne. They were high school sweethearts, but Rocky ended things 18 years ago for reasons unknown. I am not sure I would have noticed this but another reviewer noted that the only narration happens through Tanner (or at Rocky calls him “Layne”). We are never in Rocky’s head. I didn’t really miss this, and since we didn’t find out until the end, I can see why the author chose to stay in Layne’s head. It gets really old if you have to read vague references to situations two dozen times before you get the details. So although we knew Rocky was hiding the secrets from Layne, we didn’t have to listen to a narrator who was hiding her thoughts from herself (which doesn’t make sense) and the reader.

Layne is a private investigator for The ‘Burg. There is so much drama going on in this book! Layne’s ex-wife has a live in boyfriend who is trouble so he is working on gets the goods on this guy to get him outta his kids life. There is something weird going on with the local youth group and Rocky is determined to figure it out so that forces Layne to get involved. One of the local cops is dirty and Layne already almost died from getting too close to this situation, but he is back in action here. His boy’s football coach is a big jerk and turns into an even bigger jerk.

In true Kristen Ashley alpha male fashion, Layne is able to fix all the problems. What he can’t fix is Rocky because she won’t let him in. When you find out her secret you kind of want to punch her brother and father because they could have helped her, but instead they kept it “in the family” and let this crap fester for twenty years.

I can’t wait for #5 in The ‘Burg series to be released! It is going to be the bomb.com!