OMG...I'm blogging again

Well, as you see I sure the heck haven't been blogging much this summer, and my reading has really slacked off.  I've just been too busy with work and family.  My office job has been insanely busy, and I started editing in January (WOW, I'm getting paid to do what I love--READ!), that too has been busy.  I'm not complaining by any means, a year ago I was just working at the office, getting lay-off notices.  I'm still at the same office plus now I have the editing job, boy how have thinks changed in less than a year.

Then there's my kids, baseball season ended in June...with an unexpected tournament at the end of July, and now my kids are starting their football seasons (I have a senior in high school--YIKES!--and a 5th grader). So much for my free time. I still manage to squeeze a book in here and there though, and man have I found some great ones recently!

I must be one of the few people out there that have NOT read 50 Shades of Grey, which seems to have shocked all of my non-reading friends who have read it.  I mean really, this isn't the first book written that has hot sex in it with dominate ALPHA (yum) males...I just happen to like my heroines on the stronger side, not being demeaned and degraded by their men, or if they are, they are quick to stand up for themselves and tell the men to straighten up or F*ck off .  Really, if you want to read some sizzling hot romance with alpha guys, check out: Beth Kery, Bella Andre, Lacey Alexander, Maya Banks, Shiloh Walker, Olivia Cunning, Lisa Renee Jones, and that's just to name a few, really there are a lot of awesome writers out there that you should try out.

My favorite "new to me"  author is Olivia Cunning, after I discovered her Sinners on Tour series.

These books are scorching HOT, how in the hell have I missed this author?!?!.  This series has got everything I want: awesome plot lines that grab you, and suck you in; phenomenal characters that pull at you emotionally, strong men and woman who have been hurt in the past, but aren't about to let anyone walk all over them now--though they need to find the value in themselves to feel worthy of love; oh and did I forget to mention that these guys are ROCK STARS, really HOT, super SEXY rock stars? I can't wait until November when book #3 comes out.

 

I've also read Lisa Renee Jones' If I Were You, she's another one of my favorite authors of sizzling hot romance. :) I will be posting a full review of IIWY on the 23rd and Lisa will be stopping by my blog for a visit...so please come back and check out how much I enjoyed that book (OMG Chris, the hero is sooooooooo SEXY!) oh and there may be PRIZES! 

Isn't this cover fabulous? Don't you want to know what she is reading?

When Sara McMillan receives a scintillating stack of journals from an auctioned off storage unit, she is both shocked and fascinated by the content of those pages. The more she reads the more she can't help but wonder why Rebecca, the owner of the unit, left everything behind. Did something sinister befall her or did she simply decide to leave her life behind to start anew?

In her quest to discover what happened to Rebecca, Sara finds herself immersed in Rebecca's life. Taking her job, becoming involved with the people who may know Rebecca's fate. Opening herself up to new experiences, and opening herself up to danger.

The men she meet unwittingly enable her to deepen her investigation. Mark Compton, manager of Allure Gallery and Chris Merit, a famed artist, are sexy rivals that have no qualms showing their dislike for one another, but what has caused their rift? What dark secrets do they hold? Why do they want to press Sara in the middle of it all?

And most importantly, where is Rebecca?

September 2008 Reads

...a very unimpressive month of reading, I had a hard time finding anything I really liked.
(*ARC copy)

*1) THE BRIDE PRICE by Anne Mallory ~Historical England~ Rating – C
~Unfortunately I was unable to connect positively with the characters of this book. I found both Sebastien and Caroline's personalities annoying, and really felt no sympathy for either of them. Neither had taken charge of their own futures, they both put on good fronts for trying, but I wasn't convinced that they really wanted to be independent, they both enabled others to have control of their lives. I found Caroline's constant sabotaging of the games rather predictable and uninspired. The lack of chemistry between them made it hard for me to focus on any romance, mainly because I just couldn't believe in it between them. Sebastien thought that power would make him happy, and fortunately he discovered by the end of the story that he needed more than money and power to be complete.

*2) HER SECRET LOVER by Sara Bennett ~Historical England~ Rating – A-
~Sara Bennett did a wonderful job creating a story with appealing characters, whose sexual tension was well played out. While sometimes I find misunderstandings tedious and annoying, I didn't feet that at all here. I liked the mystery around Antoinette and Gabriel, and felt that it furthered along their attraction to each other, keeping them each off-balance. The chemistry between them totally clicked with me as a reader, I really liked each of them, they both have been wronged by the same man, and seek to rectify their situations, neither of them was going to just sit back and take what was handed to them. They also know that others will suffer if they can't resolve their issues.

3) ALWAYS LOOK TWICE by Geralyn Dawson ~Romantic Suspense~ Rating – C-
~There were too many plot devices used to keep me seriously into this story. I found Mark to be immature and selfish. The fact that he was hung up on grieving for a loss he had suffered 18 years earlier and wasn't willing to move on really irked me. Mark's grieving, making him too scared to commit was my biggest annoyance, and I really didn't care for how it was resolved. Why didn't Mark look further into the death of his wife and daughter? As deep as his grief was, I felt he would have visited a grave site to place flowers on or just visit in remembrance or sorrow, at least once, but apparently the author didn't feel that he would care enough to do such a thing, which I think left a huge gap in his emotional development. I felt that Ms. Dawson should have had him coming to grips with his loss earlier into the story, in order to move Mark and Annabelle into the next step of their relationship, instead, I found that when he did resolve his pain, it was done in a way that I felt was extremely rushed, and, in fact took away from the importance of the event.
Annabelle was a character that I just didn't click with. There was just something about her that left me not really caring what happened to her. On one hand she is strong and independent, yet on the other hand, she is very insecure and weak willed. I felt that it would have done Mark some good, if she could have resisted him more and not practically fell right into his arms.
Also, I found the plots of the two different people out to kill their team poorly constructed। I found it implausible and didn't feel that their storyline was well planned. We never really got to know any of the team to care enough about them other than a passing, hmm, sorry to see someone died, but there was no emotion in that. I wasn't surprised by who the second antagonist was, but I especially wasn't satisfied with how the person was convicted, it was way to hurried for my tastes.

4) THE PIRATE LORD by Sabrina Jeffries ~Regency~ Grade – A (Just what I needed, a sexy pirate story! ;oP )
~This was a very delightful read, I can't remember the last time I picked up a book that left me with such a warm-fuzzy feeling when I finished. The characters were well drawn out and balanced, captivating my attention, allowing me to visualize them in action. Also, I really enjoyed the premises of this book, pirates ready to settle down and begin families. Their big plan to seize a ship full of woman and make them marry, didn't go quite as smoothly as they had planned. Sara's arguments with Gideon forced him to allow the women to choose their mates. Gideon was also made to see that he really hadn't thought his plan of a the perfect island home completely through, such as he had not planned for medical emergencies or the fact that perhaps not everyone would be able to find a compatible spouse.
Gideon was absolutely delicious and Sara was very appealing as a woman who knows what she wants in her life, and is not afraid to go out and get it. I found them both very likable, sure they each had moments of boneheaded stubbornness, but it didn't inhibit their storyline, in fact, it was an opportunity for them to confront a conflict, making them rethink their actions and try for more positive consequences. I felt that each of them grew and matured with the story.

*5) WICKED BURN by Beth Kery ~Contemporary~ Rating – B
~WICKED BURN is a sultry story successfully mixing a hot erotic tale with an complex storyline. Both Niall and Vic have issues they need to work through in order to find love and happiness again and they find it's not an easy path to follow. I thought Beth Kery did and excellent job captivating my interest into the characters, and the circumstances that led them to where they currently stood in life, making me want to see how they would resolve issues, and be able to find their happily ever after. I found myself please with the conclusion of this story, and ready to find more of Ms. Kery's books.

6) RED HOT REUNION by Bella Andre ~Contemporary~ Rating – A
7) SEVEN NIGHTS OF SIN by Lacey Alexander ~Erotica~ Rating – B