Books, Books and more Books

Hauling Sunday LXVIII

2012-01-29T14:07:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!

I hope you're having a nice week-end!! Mine has been very relaxing so far :) I've read and blog-hopped, watched a little bit of TV and have been keeping an eye on the women curling provincial playdowns :) I can't wait for the national to start!!

I've also worked on my Monthly Reads post for December :) It's going well, I'm half-way done! yay! Might not have it done by Tuesday, but definitively some time next week. And then, I'll have to start on January. LOL, never ending circle!

Finally, I broke down and went to buy some books!! It seems that I cannot go three weeks without buying books ^_^; Have to say though, I was starting to go into withdrawal I think.... Just so bored!! Nothing to read (okay, nothing new to read) and nothing to watch :( Plus, a crappy week at work... So I decided that buying a book would be a reward :)

She Tempts the Duke by Lorraine Heath - This book was my reward to the crappy week :) I've actually been trying to wait for some other releases to be available so I could use a coupon... but I really needed something to cheer me up. I've quite enjoyed Ms Heath's last trilogy, London's Greatest Lovers, and have been looking forward to the debut to her new trilogy :) Especially since the story sounded quite interesting :)

My Wicked Little Lies by Victoria Alexander - While stalking the online indicator to see what new releases made it to the bookstores, I realized that My Wicked Little Lies was already available as an ebook! Now, I really debated whether to buy My Wicked Little Lies in print or in e-format. I know I've been saying I should slowly make the switch from buying print to e-format, but at the same time, I'm a huge fan of Ms Alexander and reviews have been really good so far. This would definitively be a book I'd like to have in print I think... In the end, well, the price was too tempting and I wanted to read it now LOL.

So two books! Not bad right? I was looking at my spreadsheet and it feels to me that so far, I've been a really good girl :) What about you?

Review: Bride by Mistake by Anne Gracie

2012-01-26T21:28:00.002-05:00

Hey! What has been everyone up to these past few days? Hope it's been better than me! I've been having a pretty crappy week at work, bleh. I usually like the administrative side of my work, doing orders and so on... but this week. Ugh. I'm thinking of hanging a punching bag somewhere in the lab, that's how bad it is. One more day and it's the week-end! Can't wait.

This review is for Bride by Mistake by Anne Gracie, a book I've read in 2012 :) Can't you believe it, we're almost at the end of January already?!? So I'm trying my best not to fall too much behind ^_^; Enjoy! :)

Bride by Mistake by Anne Gracie

published by Berkley in January 2012

Eight years ago, Lieutenant Luke Ripton made a hasty wartime marriage to protect a young girl from a forced union. Now, unable to obtain an annulment, Luke has no choice but to collect Isabella, the fiercely independent wife he never wanted.

And while they remain bound to their vows, they never expected that the passionate fury they share could become passion of a different kind...

Genre: Historical romance
Series: The Devil Riders, Book #5

The Story: They were five young men when they left for war and became Wellington's devil riders. Unfortunately, only four came back and all of them changed, especially Luke Ripton. Haunted, Luke has sworn to never step in Spain ever again... but now, he has no choice to.

Eight years ago, at the age of 19, Luke married Isabella Mercedes Sanchez y Vaillant, the only daughter of the Conde de Castillejo, who was then 13. At the time, it was a marriage in name only as Luke's intention was simply to protect the young girl's interests from her unscrupulous cousin in time of war. After escorting Isabella to her aunt, a nun in a convent, Luke applied for an annulment and thought the story over and done. However, he has just learned that the annulment has been refused. With no other option, Luke intends to honor the marriage and hopes that with time, they will come to love each other. But first, he needs to go to Spain and retrieve his bride.

Bella has waited eight years for her prince charming, stuck in a convent. Eight years! When Luke finally shows up, she has questions for him... and is heart-broken to learn that he applied for an annulment. Then, he expects her to follow him back to England! Well her husband is in for a surprise because Bella has things to see to before she can become his dutiful wife...

My Opinion: There are some books you read the blurbs and you just know they will be winners for you. Such was the case with The Accidental Wedding by Anne Gracie. I read that book a couple of years ago and really, really enjoyed it :) With Bride by Mistake, I have to admit, I had a few doubts. There is something about the way that the blurb is formulated that niggled me a little and I just wasn't sure. Add in the long wait and expectations and really, I was a bit anxious to start this book. Well I'm glad that the wait was worth it :)

What makes this book stands out for me is the fact that it was so unexpected. Ms Gracie took the marriage of convenience plot and turned it into something really refreshing. It all starts with the circumstances of the wedding which were rather unusual. All Luke wanted was to protect this young girl from a bad fate in a country thrown into turmoil. You see right away that Luke has a good heart and what a gentleman he is. Also, you really can't blame him for leaving Bella in the convent for 8 years since from the start, he thought there'd be an annulment. What's unfortunate is the misunderstanding between the two, that neither Luke or Bella's aunt thought to let her know about it, resulting in Bella pining for him. It makes sense on both parts, especially that Bella would fall in love with the man who saved her. I liked that Ms Gracie didn't draw out the misunderstanding. Another thing that I really liked was the fact that as soon as Luke learned about the annulment being refused, he intended to honor the marriage. He didn't drag his feet before going to Spain to pick up Bella, didn't resent Bella for it or sulk. Was he happy? Not really, but it didn't change the fact that Isabella was his lawful wife and that he hoped they would come to like each other and reach a level of contentment. So I really liked his attitude and the fact there was no thoughts of taking a mistress :P

As you can see, Luke was a good character and so was Bella :) In the blurb, Bella is described as independent... but it's not so much independence because Bella was not averse to marriage or a husband. She never gave the feeling that marriage would chafe or that it was a bad thing which is surprising considering her parents' marriage. She wasn't the meek and obedient wife that Luke expected, that's for sure LOL. Instead, she was strong, determined and smart. She was raised to take over her father's duties with the estate and it showed. Really, if I had to describe Bella, I'd say she was spunky :) And she was exactly the type of woman Luke needed in his life :)

These two good characters made for a nice romance :) I liked that they took their time to develop a relationship. I think it helped they were already married and both of them wanted this marriage to work. They each made compromises and put efforts into it. While Bella had a somewhat idealized vision of Luke in her mind, she did know him... because while it was only one meeting, she met the real Luke. It was nice to see how confident she was in his character. And the two definitively had chemistry :)

There were two other elements that worked for me in this book. The first was the setting: Spain. I thought it was really refreshing. Authors usually go for really exotic locations such as India, Egypt or Greece, but if they have to set the story in another country than England, then I actually prefer European countries :) It also wasn't overly done and I really liked it :) It was different, but not too much :) The other element is that we finally get the story about Michael! When I read The Accidental Wedding, I didn't really know what was the thread connecting the books in this series. Also, The Accidental Wedding was a bit of a spin-off of the series as Nash wasn't a Devil Rider. It's only when I went back to read the first books in the series that I learned about the 5 friends going to war and being nicknamed as the Devil Riders. Even then, Ms Gracie didn't expand on it at all as the men were already back from the war. So ever since, I've been really curious as to what happened and wanted to know more about their friend Michael. Therefore, I'm really happy that Ms Gracie finally told us and I thought it was quite interesting and unexpected :)

The only weakness from Bride by Mistake was from the storyline in my opinion. I liked Bella's background story as it was interesting and I think it added another dimension to Bella. It made her less perfect and more real. I also liked how it was resolved, the fact that it didn't go as I thought it would :) However, I don't know, something was missing from the whole storyline. It felt like this should had been the climax of the book, the big reveal and it was just a bit flat. The other subplot with La Cuchilla... While it did tie up nicely with the war and Michael, it was a bit too coincidental in my opinion and ultimately, a bit superfluous as well. Sure, it brought closure to Luke, but it didn't flow well with the rest of the book. It was almost like an afterthought ^_^; It's unfortunate because both subplot actually had potential... I think Ms Gracie would have been better off choosing one subplot and really expand it, give it a bit of omphf.

Lastly, just a comment about the series as a whole. Bride by Mistake may be the fifth book in the series, but it stands alone very well. Each book focuses on the H/H and their romance and as a result, there is a minimum of continuity... which is not a bad thing. Of course, characters are mentioned, but it never really dwells on fact that we should know. So do not hesitate to pick up Bride by Mistake :)

My Grade: B+. Bride by Mistake was a good read :) And a great way to start the year!! Next release will be Marcus' book!! Can't wait! :)

Best of 2011! (bis)

2012-01-25T14:52:00.000-05:00

As promised, Ames and I are wrapping up our recap of 2011 by discussing authors, series and books over at Breezing Through :) Click here to find out who was the best new author, redeeming author, author of the year and so on!! (Hint, hint above :P)

Now, the only thing left for me to do is my Monthly Reads post for December! I'm aiming before the end of the month, so only one week left! Eeeek! :)

Happy Lunar New Year!!

2012-01-23T08:06:00.001-05:00

Happy Lunar New Year!!

May the Dragon Year bring you happiness, health and wealth!

Yep, it's New Year again LOL. Funny how this year, regular New Year and Chinese New Year were so close. Convenient as well since I was able to keep my room clean and that meant no mad rush :P Also, my mom took care of the food :) LOL, my sister is jealous because she says my mom fruits plates look better! I guess it's experience :)

I had a friend at work asking me if I was celebrating Chinese New Year, since I'm not Chinese... Well yes I do. Theoretically, people should say Lunar New Year instead of Chinese New Year... but I guess it's too late to try to correct people LOL. So all countries in Asia that used the lunar calendar a very long time ago celebrate it :)

In Chinese astrology, the dragon is considered the most auspicious and powerful of the 12 signs :) So it should be a good year... Of course, I'll have to check my horoscope... not that I understand half of what it says ^_^; I also think that a lot of couples will try for a little dragon baby :) Obviously, that's not going to apply to me... but I wouldn't mind meeting someone.

Anyway, I hope you have a really nice day and that this year will be good for you all :) Happy Chinese New Year!!

Monthly Reads: November 2011

2012-01-22T15:20:00.000-05:00

Okay, two weeks in a row that I don't have any Hauling Sunday post. What can I say? No releases, no new books to buy! However, this week-end, I've been good and have worked on my Monthly Reads post for November! And guess what? I did it! Here it is!! So take a look at what I read, how much I enjoyed them and let me know what you think! :)

1) Playboy Boss, Live-In Mistress by Kelly Hunter: C+

This book has a very misleading title. Basically, Playboy Boss, Live-In Mistress has a friends to lovers plot and is the story of Alexander Wentworth, a millionaire businessman, training his childhood friend Sienna Raleigh to be the perfect personal assistant so she can make a decent living and keep her family home.

Based on the title, I was expecting something along the line of a very playboy boss entering a relationship with his personal assistant and changing his way. However, we didn't see much of Lex' playboy manners. Still, I liked his character, perhaps because he was so straightforward. In comparison, Sienna really got on my nerves, because she was so wishy-washy. Her doubts and worries were somewhat understandable based on her background, but I think she should really have considered the fact that Lex was nothing like her father and their situation was very different from her parents'. I think my real problem is that there was a lack of depth throughout the book which meant I wasn't really involved in the story and as a result, the story seemed to drag a little.

2) The Villa by Nora Roberts: B

I felt like re-reading this book, because I don't think I've ever read it in English :) The Villa was a standard NR stand-alone book which means a bland of romance, complex family interactions, a theme to the book which in this case was wine-making and a mystery :) In The Villa, the matriarch of Giambelli family, the Signora Tereza Giambelli, is looking to pass the reins to her granddaughter, Sophia Giambelli, and her husband's grandson, Tyler MacMillan. However, before she does so, she intends for her successors to have a better understanding of the firm. As a result, Tyler, who is dedicated to his vines, and Sophia, the marketing wizard, have to collaborate to learn each other's area of expertise... And obviously, not everyone is happy with the situation.

I liked The Villa a lot. I think it was a really strong read :) Tyler and Sophia were interesting, well-developed characters and it was a case of opposite attract :) It's kind of interesting to see the two of them get together because they've known each other for a long time after all, but they've never been close... but they're willing to do anything to succeed, even put up with each other LOL. I also really enjoyed the family interactions in this book as they are quite complex. The mystery was also interesting and there was a nice twist at the end. All in all, a very good and well-round book. Still, it wasn't perfect for me and ultimately, I think it's because there were just too many POVs and it detracted from the story a little. While The Villa was not a short book by any means, because there were so many POVs, it seems some parts were not fully developed and I wanted a bit more.

3) Beauty Dates the Beast by Jessica Sims: E

I picked up Beauty Dates the Beast when a review brought this book onto my radar. I was quite unaware of its release... and personally would have preferred it stayed that way ^_^; Bathsheba works at Midnight Liaisons, a dating agency for paranormal beings. While she's human, she's aware of the paranormal because her half-sister is a werewolf and was changed against her will. Beau is the Alpha of his pack and also leader of the Alliance. One of the females in his Pack is in heat and therefore Beau needs a woman to keep him company. When Beau's match renegades on the date, Bathsheba decides to go in her place in order to keep her job.

Now, I admit the grade might be a bit harsh and two factors influenced it: 1) I'm PNR'd out and 2) I was expecting something funny based on the blurb and review. Still at the end of the day, I never got in this book and it was a real struggle to finish it. Basically, nothing worked for me. First, the world building was quasi-nonexistent which is always bad when it comes to PNR, UF and fantasy books. This really bothered me because for PNR, having characters that can turn into animals or suck blood is not enough! Ms Sims throws in some elements such as the Alliance, but she never develops it, never gives us the information so we can understand how this world works. It's just frustrating.

Another major strike was that I didn't care for the characters. Beau was okay I guess... except the fact that he needed a willing female to rut with. It's just been overdone and a really bad opening to a relationship it seems. As for Bathsheba, I didn't like her at all. I thought she was too wishy-washy and let people walk all over her. I hated how she let herself be blackmailed by her boss. I understand that she's trying to protect her sister, but that's not how you do it... and proof, it turned into a fiasco at the end. Also, the fact that she was a virgin and suddenly, all the big, bad shapeshifters in the neighborhood wanted her? Bleh, so passé. Finally, the romance felt really rushed to me and I simply didn't buy it. Oh and the book wasn't very funny either.

All in all, Beauty Dates the Beast fails across the board for me, hence the grade :(

4) The Next Always by Nora Roberts: B

5) The Comforts of Home by Jodi Thomas: A-

6) Baby It's Cold Outside by Addison Fox: C+

Sloan McKinley is 30 years old and after finally transforming from the ugly duckling into a swan, her socialite mother despairs at Sloan still being single... and therefore is trying to set her up with young men of their status, but who are all jerks. To avoid such matchmaking, Sloan escapes to Alaska where her best friend, who went there to settle her father's estate, is having a really bad time. There, Sloan meets Walker Montgomery, a lawyer who has no interest in love and yet can't deny the sparks with Sloan. She's also just in time for the town's annual winter competition whose goal is to attract the bachelorettes from all across the country.

Baby It's Cold Outside was a cute read, but it didn't have me engaged all the way. I think its biggest flaw was it suffered of the first book complex where it sets up everything and as a result, the focus was taken away from Sloan and Walker. I mean, their romance is pretty typical where Sloan and Walker meet, dance around each other for the longest time and then, conflict is introduced as Walker not believing in love and relationship based on what happened to his parents' marriage and at the end, everything is resolved. The fact that it's typical is not a problem; instead, it's the way it was written. Their scenes didn't make up a continuous thread in the book, it felt disjointed and ultimately, it affected the chemistry between these two characters. It's unfortunate because Sloan and Walker were likable characters, they made a nice couple and I liked that they worked out their problems.

I think where Ms Fox went wrong is she spent too much time introducing the town and the competition, developing the conflict for the two other couples, Grier and Mick, Avery and Roman. It does pay off because I hope they will get their respective books and I'll most probably pick them up, but it comes at a cost and Sloan and Walker are the one paying. And also what frustrates me is that it leaves a lot of unresolved elements in Baby It's Cold Outside.

7) The Man She Love to Hate by Kelley Hunter: A-
Upcoming Review.

8) Always the Bridesmaid by Nina Harrington: C

Always the Bridesmaid is an enjoyable book when you read it, but not really memorable ^_^; Like all I remember at the moment is the heroine is a baker who works really hard. She is supposed to make the cake for her friend's wedding, when the wedding planner elopes with one of her client. As a result, heroine's friend's wedding is jeopardized... It's up to the heroine and her friend's brother to step up and deliver the perfect wedding.

I remember liking the heroine and her job as well as the hero. However, the romance was so-so. It seems to me, nothing was really happening throughout the book. The pacing was a bit slow and it took awhile for the heroine and hero to get together. Also, the title doesn't make much sense to me...

9) Forgotten by Cat Patrick: B
Upcoming Review.

10) The Spy Who Left Me by Gina Robinson: C

Trefle is in Hawaii with her cousin whose wedding was aborted at the last minute and who decided to bring her whole bridal party on her honeymoon instead of letting it go to waste. There, Trefle runs into her soon-to-become-ex husband who's a CIA agent and working undercover. She's still in love with him, but they have gone their separate ways because of his job... and she is determined to have Ty sign the divorce papers so she can move on. Meanwhile, Ty decides this would be the perfect occasion to win back his wife... if only his cover wouldn't be blown.

I was really looking forward to The Spy Who Left Me. Once again, I was expecting something funny... but I think my sense of humor went on vacation. This is the type of novel where some scenes are really exaggerated and you have to take it with a grain of salt. I have to say, I really liked the premise and the story had potential. I liked that Trefle and Ty were still in love with each other and that Ty was aware that his job was not easy on their marriage. Still, when everything is said and done, it bogs down to communication. I really felt for Trefle and what she went through, but I thought her asking for a divorce was jumping the gun. If she had explained the whole situation, I'm pretty sure Ty's reaction would be different and so when she would have asked him to quit his job, he would have handled it better.

All in all, I liked Trefle and Ty as a couple and I'm glad that they worked out their relationship. What didn't work so well for me was the case Ty was working on, that the book was all over the place, the action was a bit difficult to follow. Also, the switch in position between Trefle and Ty at the end was really annoying to me. After all this though, I'm not sure if I'll be picking up the next book in the series.

11) His Mistress by Christmas by Victoria Alexander: C

His Mistress by Christmas was better than The Perfect Mistress but by a very small margin. Basically, Lady Veronica Smithson has been a widow for three years and is ready to embark into an affair. Because she wants to keep her independence, she'd rather become a mistress than enter a marriage.. and she has chosen Sir Sebastian Hadley-Attwater as her potential lover. Meanwhile, Sebastian who's an explorer is ready to settle down. He's attract to Lady Veronica and wants marriage.

I liked the characters better in His Mistress by Christmas; however, I thought the romance was a bit dull between Veronica and Sebastian. They didn't really have much chemistry between them and as a result, it was hard to believe they had fallen in love at first sight. I just didn't get why they were both in love with each other so quickly, as they really didn't know each other well. Also, the Christmas theme in this book is very light...

I did like that Veronica loved her first husband genuinely, even though he was quite older than her. I liked both characters' families and their relationships with them. And my favorite scenes were the ones in which there was banter between either Sebastian and Veronica or Sebastian with his family. Personally, I think this series of Ms Alexander is really not standing out and it's a good move to her to switch direction and instead of writing Portia's book, to focus on Sebastian's family members. As it is, I'm looking forward to My Wicked Little Lies :)

12) Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally: B

13) Cold Touch by Leslie Parrish: B-

I was looking for a romantic suspense and decided to pick up Cold Touch. I have read Ms Parrish in the past and didn't fall in love with her writing, but didn't hate it either. Plus, I had read good reviews for this book :) The story is about Olivia Wainwright, a psychic, who upon touching a dead body is able to relive the deceased's final moments. She developed this curse when she was kidnapped from her bedroom at the age of 15 and her kidnapper almost drowned her. She was lucky to have escaped thanks to a little boy and has never forgotten him. Years later, Olivia recognizes the boy in a sketch that the police has obtained from the skeleton found in-between the walls of a bar... Olivia knows the boy lost his life because of her and is determined to find out his murderer.

I quite enjoyed the suspense in Cold Touch, but thought the romance between Olivia and the detective in charge of the case, Gabe Cooper, was a bit too rushed. I just felt they didn't really have time to get to know each other and developed such feelings. I also felt the psychic powers made things too easy for them. Then again, I'm very critical of psychic powers and suspense, because I'm a huge fan of the FBI SCU series by Kay Hooper, so yeah, I'm biased ^_^; All in all, the case was well done, I liked the investigation and there was a few interesting surprises in there :)

14) A Talent for Sin by Lavinia Kent: D

A Talent for Sin was not really a winner for me and I can sum up my feeling for it with one word: meh. I'm not usually a fan of younger hero and older heroine, but in this case, I thought it was interesting premise and it had a lot of potential. I especially liked the fact that our hero wanted to marry the heroine. Unfortunately, A Talent for Sin became too melodramatic for my taste with the heroine sacrificing herself for her sister. Also, I was disappointed that the hero didn't fight more for the heroine that he supposedly loved. I mean, given the heroine's past three marriages, she really had good reasons not to want to embark in another one... so it'd have been really good if the hero had tried to win her. Instead, I found immature that he just walked away. I also really didn't like the heroine's younger sister as I found her too calculative.

15) Her Best Friend's Wedding by Abby Gaines: D+

Her Best Friend's Wedding has one of my least favorite trope where the heroine is in love with someone engaged and is hoping that the wedding will not take place. Luckily for me, the hero wasn't the groom-to-be, but the bride-to-be's brother. So yeah, Sadie Beecham is in love with her colleague, Daniel, and think they're about to start a relationship... But that all changes when she introduces Daniel to her best friend, Meg Kincaid, and he has only eyes for her. Then they get engaged only after a few weeks and they all return home to start organizing the wedding. Meg's brother Trey realizes that Sadie has feelings for Daniel and wants to make sure that she won't interfere in the relationship.

I thought Her Best Friend's Wedding had really solid writing and solid characterization. That being said, I really didn't like any of the characters ^_^; I thought Sadie, Daniel and Meg were all very immature, I didn't like how Sadie pined for Daniel and was waiting for the relationship to run its course and fail. I also didn't have a very high opinion of Daniel. I can understand love at first sight, but he was two seconds away from starting something with Sadie and I would have liked him better if he made a clean cut with her before starting to woo her best friend and roommate. As for Meg, she was not only extremely immature but so selfish.

As for Sadie and Trey, first of all, their romance was not really developed at all. One minute, Trey was keeping an eye on Sadie because he was afraid she'd ruin Daniel and Meg's relationship and the next minute, Sadie was in love with him. Have I been in his position, I would have had doubts as well. It just seemed so sudden and not well transitioned :(

16) A View to a Kiss by Caroline Linden: D

A View to a Kiss is a historical romance featuring a spy agent, Harry Sinclair. He and his colleagues are charged to protect 3 important political men from rebels. One of the men is an earl and the father of the belle of the season, Lady Mariah. While being the belle of the season is all well and good, Mariah finds none of her suitors interesting... in fact, they're all boring. The only man to catch her attention is the one who accosted her in the dark...

All in all, this book was so-so only. I never really got into it and didn't care much about the H/H. The romance was flat in my opinion and not very believable. Sure Harry was mysterious and intriguing, but she really didn't know anything about him... so to fall in love with him? The only interesting part of the book in my opinion was the end where we learn something about Harry's identity. That surprised me.

17) To Wed a Wild Lord by Sabrina Jeffries: B
Upcoming Review.

18) Tis the Season to be Sinful by Adrienne Basso: B

I read Tis the Season to be Sinful because Hilcia quite enjoyed it and I was in the mood for a Christmas-themed book. This book is about a marriage of convenience between Richard Harper, a rich American industrialist, and Juliet Wentworth, a widow with three children and an estate to care for. To show his status, Richard wants to buy a country estate and has chosen Juliet's. Except hers is to rent only to pay for maintenance and she wants to keep it as it is her son's inheritance. After witnessing Juliet being bullied by her brother-in-law, Richard decides to strike a bargain with her. He'll not only buy the mansion, but will also marry her as he needs a society wife to be a hostess. Juliet agrees as this will ensure her children's future... However, she wants more than a marriage of convenience.

Okay, bad synopsis, sorry... but at this point, my muse is really tired LOL. Tis the Season to be Sinful was a very nice romance and perfect for the holidays.The characters were all very likable from Richard to Juliet to the three children. I also thought their emotions and conflicts were interesting and realistic. I enjoyed the relationship between Richard and Juliet quite a lot. Even from the start, it was more than a marriage of convenience and they both knew it, but they didn't know each other very well... The learning was nice and well done :) One thing that really sets Tis the Season to be Sinful from other historical romances or Christmas-themed books was the details Ms Basso added. She really included a lot of Christmas traditions and many I wasn't aware of and that was definitively a nice touch :)

The only reason this is getting a higher grade is that I didn't care much about the secondary romance and I thought they got rid of the brother-in-law a bit too easily.

Books bought: + 9
Books read: -16
TBR pile: -7

So looking back, November was a so-so month. There were a few books I really enjoyed, but at the end of the day, there were a lot of Cs and Ds... Much more than usual. I do think it's the books, but I can't deny that my mood had something to do with it as well. I just felt so restless in November, not knowing what to read :(

I'd like to point out also that I've read 4 books from my RWA TBR pile :) I'm happy about that number... cos I haven't been reading that many of it, since I'm always too busy running after the new releases. I'll definitively have to continue this year :)

And so that was it, November 2011 :) Now, only December to go!! LOL.

Best of 2011!

2012-01-19T11:29:00.000-05:00

What do these three books have in common? Well they are all part of my top reads in 2011! Ames and I have compiled our top reads for 2011 and are discussing it over at Breezing Through! Click here to take a look and let us know what you think! :)

In a few days, we'll have another post discussing more general topics such as "Best new-to-me authors", "Best new series" and so on :) Anything you'd like to know our opinions on? Feel free to make suggestions!

TBR Challenge 2012: Island Heat by Sarah Mayberry

2012-01-18T11:02:00.000-05:00

Ouf I made it!! Yay!! LOL, I've been meaning to blog... but I didn't get enough sleep this week-end (girls' night on Friday till 5am and reading on Sunday till 2am LOL) and so I've been paying ever since ^_^; It's really hard to stay awake when you don't have energy, let alone string words together in a coherent fashion!! Since I had no Hauling Sunday post last week-end (yep, been a good girl), I was planning to at least get the Monthly Reads post for November done... Yeah, as if LOL. Luckily, I got this one done!! Woohooo! One month down, 11 to go LOL.

Enjoy the review!

Island Heat by Sarah Mayberry

published by Harlequin in March 2008

It's been eight years since Tory Sanderson has seen Ben Cooper- eight years since she found out he seduced her to win a bet with some classmates at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, and eight years since she got her revenge...

After fulfilling her dream of publishing a cookbook of island recipes, Tory is thrilled when she's invited on a Caribbean cruise as a guest lecturer. But excitement turns to anxiety when she finds out that Ben, who is now a celebrated restaurateur, will join her as the guest chef.

Ben accepted the guest chef gig in order to enjoy a week of Tory sweating it out in the kitchen. But once the heat starts to climb, getting even turns out to be the last thing on his mind. In fact, picturing a future with Tory in his kitchen might add just the right amount of spice to his life...

Genre: Category romance, contemporary
Series: Mediterranean Nights, Book #10

The Story: The blurb above is really spot-on. I was trying to write a synopsis of the book and it was basically identical to it LOL. So here are some details that are important to the story, but not part of the blurb :)

Tory accepts the invitation as a guest lecturer on the Caribbean cruise not only to share her passion, but also because she hopes to find closure. Eight years ago, Tory lost her twin brother, Michael, who was undercover for the DEA, in a plane crash on the coast of these islands. For eight years, Tory has felt like she lost half of herself... but it is now time to move on and Tory wishes to do so by visiting the place where Michael lived his last few months so happily.

As for Ben, he's going through a tough time. He's just discovered that the baby girl he fell in love with is not is daughter... While the mother is willing to let Ben have a relationship with the baby, Ben thinks it's better if they have a clean break, especially since she's going back to the father. Therefore, to put a little distance between them, Ben accepts the job on the cruise... Of course, he intends to face Tory and have a revenge of his own.

My Opinion: For this month's entry, you can thank Tabitha who sent me Island Heat after she read and reviewed it a couple of years ago :) Thanks Tabs!

Ms Mayberry is a beloved author on blogland and she's one of the reasons why I pick up more category romance to read. But I wonder sometimes if that's a good thing, because it seems my expectations are really high when it comes to her books and well all know that's not always a good thing ^_^;

For me, Island Heat started out well. I really liked the setting - the Caribbeans, the cruise and the kitchen :) It was refreshing, original and it made for a fun atmosphere. Ms Mayberry did a great job incorporating the cuisine aspect into the storyline. I always had a weakness for chefs because it's fun see people so passionate about their work and the chaotic environment. In this case, Ms Mayberry used it to her advantage not only to create a good feel, but also showcased Tory and Ben's differences. They come from a completely different background and their personalities are also polar opposite... but they share their passion and can relate through it.

I also liked our H/H, Tory and Ben. They each had a lot of depth, were well-developed and interesting. The tension between the two felt real and was quite enjoyable. What I liked the most about their relationship is while they did let the past events cloud their judgement, at the end, they were able to work it out like two mature adults. I really liked the parts where Ben realized why he acted the way he did - both in the past and present. Not only he realized it, but also acknowledged and changed his behavior. However, I have to admit Ben annoyed me a little just because he kept changing his mind. One minute, he wants Tory; the next, he doesn't want long-term and then, he's angry at how casual Tory is acting... but happy when he finds out she wants him. Ugh. He reminded me of a wind vane! Seriously, just make up your mind and act accordingly! He was lucky that Tory didn't make it more difficult to win her. Also, I thought their relationship was not very romantic. Perhaps because they had a past and it was a question of clearing the air... To me, it was much more a relationship than a romance...

If Ms Mayberry had focused on the elements above, Island Heat would have been a winner for me. Unfortunately, it wasn't the case. Aside from Ben and Tory working out their relationship, there were also Tory trying to win her father's approval and two other subplots - one concerning Tory's brother and the other about the cruise necklace. Tory's issues with her father were interesting and I think were portrayed in a very realistic manner. Obviously, following in her father's footsteps, she wished for his acknowledgement and that's totally understandable. I just felt bad for Tory that her father never seemed to have taken time to help her, teach her. I'm glad that at the end, Tory worked through her issues and broke free from her father's hold. At the same time, I felt it took away from the ending - it should have been focused on Ben and Tory instead. As it is, I felt the ending was quite rushed :(

The other thing that dimmed my enjoyment of Island Heat is that there were too much going on. I mentioned the two sub-plots. I really think that the cruise necklace plot was superfluous. Not only that, it simply didn't fit the atmosphere of the book either :( I really wished it had not been part of the story, sigh. As for the other subplot with Tory's brother, that one had potential and it worked for me... But it also made me feel the book was unbalanced. It seemed to me it was all about Tory's issues. I understand that not everyone has baggage and I don't require both the H/H to have issues. I'm perfectly good with happy and content characters... but in the case of Island Heat, we know that Ben is going through a tough time with the baby girl that isn't his daughter. That's some issue!! And I would have liked it to be developed instead of glossed over and that's why I felt the book was unbalanced. In addition, one other thing that bothered me was unplanned pregnancies. One is fine, two is stretching it but three?!? Separately, it would have been okay with me, but when you put them all in the same book, isn't that a bit too much?

All in all, there were definitively parts of Island Heat that I liked and really enjoyed. However, it wasn't enough to negate the bad parts... and I wonder if it's because I have such high expectations for Ms Mayberry? Then again, it could simply be the book. I think if I've been more into Tory and Ben's romance, it'd have been easier to overlook the parts I wasn't as interested in.

My Grade: C.

2011 in numbers...

2012-01-11T23:26:00.001-05:00

So initially, I was planning to have this post written after I was done wrapping up the year 2011, i.e. writing my Monthly Reads posts for 2011. I know, I know, I sound like a broken record, always bringing up those two posts... but they've really been on my mind ^_^; The problem at this point though is... Who knows when I'll get to them?!? ^_^;

Then, another fact that prompted me to write this "2011 in numbers" post now is that this post is my 1000th!!! Wow, I can't believe it LOL. I never really thought about the future of this blog when I started. All I wanted was to share my thoughts about the books I've read to help other readers who were looking for recommendations. I'm glad that I've achieved that and I'm even more happy that after more than 5 years, I'm still blogging :) Anyway, I think it's only fitting that for such a milestone post, I talk about numbers and books :)

And without further ado, I offer you:

Number of books read

200

In the past couple of years, my goal had always been the same: read 200 books. 2011 was no different, except that I finally made it LOL. This is the most that I've read in a year, so I'm pretty happy :) Although, I have to admit to a little bit of cheating ^_^; I've read a lot of novellas in December to boost up the numbers :P In addition, I've counted some of my re-reads - the books that I haven't read in years and therefore, the stories were a bit murky in my memory. Technically though, if I count the re-reads and the manga I've read, I'm well over 200 books... But that's a debate I have every year. So for 2012, my goal is to read 201 books and will not count re-reads at all :) Hopefully, I can make it!

Speaking of books read count, I have to say I'm really glad I signed up to Goodreads!! It really made keeping track of the books easier :)

Number of books bought

157

All right, that's a number that I'll take :) Considering it'd give me -47 books in the TBR pile! Plus, it's quite an improvement from last year's number, 193. Of course, this number is a bit misleading as it doesn't include the books I've gotten at RWA ^_^; and books I've received from my blogger friends and oh, you've been generous with me my friends! LOL. Still, you have to take into consideration that in 2010, I went to the RT convention and came home with books and still bought 193. So it's still an improvement!!

And this leads me to one of my favorite number each year, the amount of $$ I saved :) This year, it is a grand total of 468.97$!! Awesome no? I think I definitively made some good deals LOL. Obviously, the bookstores were helpful to my cause as there were a lot of promotions and discounts. Hopefully, 2012 will be as good.

This is one of the reasons I have so much difficulty changing my buying habits. The fact that by buying ebooks, I don't really save over buying print books. So many of the discounts are not applicable on all publishers and seriously, it's really frustrating. If you look at the break down of my purchases, it's quite telling: 139 print books bought (88.5%) - 116 in bookstores and 23 online - and 18 ebooks (11.5%). However, whether I want it or not, the gap between these numbers will probably decrease this year... simply because I'm really running out of space ^_^; I need to be more selective about which books and authors I buy, especially in print. We'll see how I'll manage LOL.

Oh, another number that's interesting is out of the 157 books I've bought, I read 101!! That's 64.3%!! So I'm really good at reading what I've just bought... So I'm really not adding that much to the TBR pile, right?

What did I read?

For comparison, I've put last year's number in parenthesis. So the winner genre is...

Historical romance = 58 (45 | +7) --> Regency = 51, Western = 6, Highlander = 1
Contemporary = 41 (42 | -1)
YA, all genre = 29 (22 | +7)
Urban Fantasy = 20 (17 | +3)
Cosy Mystery/Thriller = 16 (2 | +14)
Romantic Suspense = 12 (13 | -1)
Category romance = 8 (9 | -1)
Paranormal = 7 (17 | -10)
M/M = 4 (5 | -1)
Fantasy = 2 (14 | -12)
Fiction = 2 (1 | +1)
Erotica = 1 (0 | +1)
Sci-Fi = 0 (3 | -3)
Steampunk = 0 (1 | -1)

... once again historical romance :) I have to say, I'm glad that historical romance and contemporary romance came on top of the list. I guess it really shows that I'm a romance reader at heart LOL. I'm surprised that I could read even more historical romance than last year and I think it supports my claim that a lot of historical romances are being published over the other genres.

The genres that I have taken the biggest hits are paranormal and fantasy. I'm not surprised about paranormal, the market definitively has been saturated in the past couple of years and I felt it coming, my overdose. I really cut down on a lot of series and only continued on with the Psy-Changelings series by Nalini Singh, The Guardians by Meljean Brook, Patti O'Shea and Molly Harper. I did pick up new authors - Thea Harrison, that was really due to the blogland buzz, and Jessica Sims because I was looking for comedy. However, I doubt I'll continue on with them ^_^; I predict that 2012, it'll be pretty much the same story for paranormal... I'll just be keeping up with my favorite authors.

As for biggest increase, Cosy mystery/Thrillers wins it and it really stems from the fact that I've been looking for something different to read... although I'm not sure this genre really is for me ^_^;

Who published them?

(0) Penguin Group (Berkley, Putnam, Daw, NAL) = 54
(0) Harlequin (Harlequin, Mira, HQN, Carina Press) = 33
(0) Harpercollins Publishers (Avon) = 29
(+3) Random House (Bantam Books) = 25
(-1) Simon & Schuster (Pocket) = 15
(0) Macmillian (St. Martin's Press, Tor) = 9
(+1) Kensington (Zebra) = 8
(-) Hyperion/Scholastic/Bloomsbury = 7
(-4) Grand Central Publishing = 5
(0) Sourcebook = 5
(-) Samhain Publishing/LooseID/Aspen Mountain Press/Dreamspinner Press = 5
(-) Self-published/Kindle = 5

Top 3 publishers have not changed, it's still Penguin, Harlequin and Harpercollins Publishers and I can't say I'm surprised. What surprises me is Grand Central Publishing's drop. I love that publisher because they have great romantic suspense and they're quite cheap... however, aside from RS, the other genres don't do it for me, especially their contemporary. As for Random House's surprising jump, well that's because I binged on some of their authors such as Mary Balogh and Tess Gerritsen. As for the self-published books, I haven't read that many... 3 out of the 5 books were from the Ilona Andrews duo :)

When were they published?

2012 = 1
2011 = 127 (63.5%)
2010 = 31 (15.5%)
2009 = 19 (9.5%)
2008 = 4
2007 = 2
2006 = 2
2000 to 2005 = 11
Before 2000 = 3

See, my hunting for new releases actually is worth, considering I don't just buy them for their shiny newness, but actually read them! LOL. Yup, majority of the books I read in 2011 were published the same year. It makes up for 63.5% which is very similar to 2010 where I read 63.2% of books released that year. The most staggering I guess is that 88.5% of my reads were published between 2009 and 2011. I knew that of myself, I knew I tend to stick to recent books... but I didn't realize it was that much LOL. I guess I'm really a contemporary reader and I don't mean the genre. I have to admit, a lot of authors that I read are fairly new authors. My favorite authors who have back-list, I've been through most already. Also, I don't really like to read older authors who don't write anymore... because you end up wanting more and there's just no more :(

This year, I've signed up to the TBR Challenge hosted by Wendy. We'll see if I'll pick up more books from the TBR pile with older publishing date...

How did I enjoy the books I read?

A = 8 (15)
B = 94 (115)
C = 81 (43)
D = 15 (8)

Okay, so I have this reputation to be a fairly tough grader... well it seems I've become even tougher LOL. In a way, I'm happy with the grade distribution. In 2011, I modified my grading system and as a result, I was more objective and that was the whole purpose. It works well and so I'll be continuing on with this grading system :) At the same time, I don't think it's just me... I also think it's the books that were published. Ames and I were discussing our Best of 2011 post for Breezing Through and it seems 2011 was a so-so year. There were some good books, but they were rare... Hopefully, 2012 will be better!!

Did I share my thoughts with you?

Number of reviews = 68
Mini-reviews (from monthly reads posts) = 68
Books I still want to review = ?!?

Okay, so this year was pretty up and down when it came to reviewing. 68 full review means that I've reviewed 34% of the books I've read, 1/3. It's really not bad at all and actually, much better than what I was expecting. However, it also means that I have 62 books waiting for a full or mini-review... Yeah, I'll definitively try to do better in 2012 LOL.

Random numbers

New Authors = 53 (40)

I'm always astonished at this number, because it always seems so high to me. 53 new authors, that means about 1 out 4 books I read was from an author I did not know! I think YA contributed to this number a lot considering I've only started reading this genre one or two years ago. Still, it's good because I'm trying to discover new authors and that will work to my advantage in the long run right? :)

Books read part of a series = 143 (139)

Not surprising at all since there are very few stand-alone books published out there nowadays. Although I didn't think it'd be as consistent as I've given up some series... but I guess that I've picked up some new ones along the way as well :) And I'm really good at staying up-to-date in series. Usually, if I fall behind, then it means something about my love of a series.

***

And voila, those were my numbers in 2011. Quite consistent with the numbers in 2010. I think the biggest surprise came from the shift in genres and that really speaks of over-dose LOL.

Overall I'm really happy with the numbers. How could I not when it's my highest in year? LOL. Let's hope I'll best these in 2012!!

Hope you enjoyed the post! As usual, there were no titles as Ames, Monroe and I are preparing a series of Best of 2011 posts over at Breezing Through for next week :) Stay tuned!

Review: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

2012-01-09T13:14:00.000-05:00

LOL, I'm really trying to delay the inevitable ^_^; I need to write my Monthly Reads posts for November and December and realized that I've barely reviewed any books I've read in those two months. I've read 19 books in November and 23 in December... Can you imagine writing mini-reviews for that many books? So here I am, writing full reviews instead! The lesser of two evils right? LOL.

Catching Jordan is another book I intended to review back in December, but never got to it. Glad I finally did :) Enjoy!

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

published by Sourcebooks Fire in December 2011

She can do a mean end-zone celebration boogie, but slow-dance at prom?

What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though - she leads them as the captain and quarterback on her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there's a new guy in town who threatens her starring position on the team... and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate.

Genre: YA, contemporary, sports
Series: N/A

The Story: Jordan Woods comes from a family which lives and breathes american football: her father, Donovan Woods, is a star quarterback in the NFL, her brother is starting to make himself a name in college football and Jordan is the quarterback of her high school team and also captain. Jordan's dream is to play football at the collegiate level and not just for any team - for the best of the best, University of Alabama. And despite her father's lack of support, Jordan is determined to make her dream comes true.

However, things get complicated when Tyler Green shows up. Due to familial reasons, he's had to move from Texas to Tennessee and hopes to become part of the team. He isn't asking to start, simply to be allowed to play... but the new guy has serious skills and might even be better than Jordan. Of course, Jordan is feeling slightly threatened... but the real problem is her attraction to Tyler. For the first time in her life, Jordan has a crush on a guy and doesn't really know what to do. She's always been one of the guys and not on the other side. But once Jordan's relationship with Tyler takes off, it opens another can of worms and Jordan is faced with the realization that her best friend and wide receiver has had feelings for her for a long time.

My Opinion: I have to thank Rowena for bringing Catching Jordan to my attention over on The Book Scoop :) As soon as I read the blurb, I was intrigued by this book. I really liked the idea of a girl playing quarterback for her high school team in a sport that is so predominantly male... and in that respect, Ms Kenneally definitively pulled it off :)

I really enjoyed Catching Jordan because it really was about Jordan being a girl and playing football. It wasn't just a background idea for the book and then, the story focused on high school drama and love relationships. Instead, Ms Kenneally really made football part of the story and used it almost as a character. Not only was it a good decision, but she did a great job at it and it definitively set the tone and created a refreshing atmosphere for Catching Jordan.

Aside from the football aspect, the strength of this book in my opinion was the characters and their interactions. I have to say, Jordan and her teammates JJ, Carter and Henry remind me of the 3 musketeers. I loved the friendship and camaraderie, the loyalty between them. That was definitively my favorite part of the book. I liked that the guys considered Jordan as one of them and they hung out playing videogames and eating. It was great to see that she could trust them on the field and outside of it, confiding and asking advice even though they were guys and she was a girl. You could see that for JJ, Carter and Henry, Jordan was their captain and their friend and more importantly, they believed in her and her dreams. Sure, they're not the most sensitive people and at time, they were gross LOL. Still, they were great friends and Jordan was really lucky to have them :)

I also really liked the Woods family dynamics. I thought it was really interesting and refreshing. I loved that Jordan and her brother had a close relationship and that he also supported her dreams, believed in her. I thought it was really sweet. I loved that the mother tried to make Jordan more girly, but at the same time, she respected who Jordan was. She didn't try to change Jordan and even encourage her in her dreams and played buffer between father and daughter. As for Jordan's father, it sucked that he didn't show more support for Jordan playing football, but at the same time, it didn't mean he didn't love his daughter or want to spend time with her. I thought his feelings about Jordan playing football made sense. He's a professional NFL player, he understands the world better... and while Jordan is very talented and dedicated... how far can she really go? How far will they let her go? As a father, Donovan Woods wanted the best for her and he just didn't think that collegiate football was what was best for her... and in a way, he wasn't totally wrong. I did like that at the end, their relationship was mended once he finally realized how important football was for Jordan and helped her out.

If Catching Jordan was such a good book, I think it was in great part due to the heroine, Jordan Woods. Not only Ms Kenneally did a great job with Jordan's characterization, but she also kept it real. Her anger against her father not supporting her in football, but always there for her brother. The confusion that her attraction to Tyler brought up. For example the desire to dress more nicely, more femininely... but at the same time, feeling uncomfortable. The fear what a relationship with someone on the team could do, the changes it would bring, etc. Ms Kenneally created a well-developed and layered heroine, one that was interesting and refreshing in my opinion.

Unfortunately, there was a fumble for me in Catching Jordan and that was the romance. First, I'm not a fan of love triangle, but aside from that fact, I think the romance was simply not well executed. Jordan's crush on Tyler was okay... but once they became a couple, it seemed a lot of the relationship was off-pages and therefore it seemed rushed and not well-developed. For example, their first time seemed to come out of no where ^_^; Also, my impressions of him are really contradictory and I don't know what to think of him. However, what bothered me most was the romance between Jordan and her best friend, Sam Henry. I liked Henry better so I was rooting for them to be together... But there were a few things that I didn't get. For example, once Henry declares himself, Jordan realizes she has feelings for him as well. In that case, why did she stay with Tyler? Even if Henry had back-pedaled, I thought that once she realized she wasn't in love with Tyler, she should have broken things off. It wasn't fair for Tyler. Also, given Jordan's personality, I really thought she should have gone after Henry. When it came to love, Jordan was too wishy-washy and passive. Also, Henry was stupid to back-pedal and I disliked his disappearing act and how it affected Jordan and the story overall :( I understand that he was afraid things would change, but as soon as he declared himself, it was too late, things had already changed. Luckily, everything worked out at the end ^_^;

My Grade: B. Ms Kenneally delivered a very solid debut novel. I truly enjoyed Catching Jordan and found it quite refreshing :) I'm looking forward to her next releases!

Hauling Sunday LXVII

2012-01-08T09:42:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!!

So how was your first week of 2012? I hope it went well for everyone :) Mine was uneventful at work. We're designing another experiment, so for now, it's mostly computer work. Yay for me, because it means I have more time to blog-hop :)

This year, I told myself I would not run after new releases. I'd take it easy... Yeah, famous last words, because running after new releases is all I did LOL. I think the worst time to get new books is the weeks after Christmas and New Year. The bookstores get their shipment late and they have absolutely no time to shelve, because their bookstores are overtaken by customers that they must help...

And there's me who absolutely want to get my hands on my new releases because that's what I want to read ^_^; I knew one of the bookstore had received their stock between Christmas and New Year... But it's one of the bigger bookstore downtown and that means they are more busy... So I told myself that I'd wait till release date to look for the books. Come January 3rd, I called the bookstore - and at that time, it was still the only bookstore in my vicinity that had received the books - and asked for Bride by Mistake. After looking on the computer and shelves, I'm told: "Yes, we've received it, but unfortunately, it's still in the backroom unpacked. Might take a few days." I wasn't really surprised, so I started stalking the online indicator and wishing really, really hard that the other bookstores would receive it.

Next day in the morning, I see that another bookstore - one that is better at unpacking - had received Twice Fallen. I jumped on the phone and called them. I thought I could gave them the list of the books I wanted and they could look for it throughout the day in the backroom and I'd just pick it up in the evening. However, when I called, the clerk checked their online system and told me they still hadn't received them!! Which meant I called too early and their system was still not updated. Oups LOL. My plan was still to go there after work because as I said, they're good at unpacking :)

However, as I kept stalking the online indicator in the afternoon (because bookstore #2 had showed the New American Library releases, but not the Berkley releases yet), I realized that the online indicator number for Bride by Mistake at the first bookstore had changed! LOL, I seemed to remember that they had 5 copies and now, they were down to 4! Yay! So once again, I jumped on the phone and the clerk was able to find Bride by Mistake! So they put a copy aside for me and later that night, I went to pick it up. I was hoping to get the NAL releases as well, given they were received at the same time... However, they weren't on the shelves :( It took me a while to find a clerk (guess that it's no longer the holidays and they cut-back on the staff), but she was helpful-ish. She told me it was probably in the backroom. So she went in... and immediately came back out and told me it was such a mess... That my best chance was to wait a day or two and call before coming. Fine. I had another option, I had bookstore #2!! LOL.

Went to bookstore #2. Once again, not many people working... but the girl was really nice. They had only received the bookstore on that day (oups), but she went to the backroom and was able to find the books :) and so, I got them all.

I know, I know, I could have waited. I mean, there was no chance I could have read Bride by Mistake, Twice Fallen and It Takes a Witch in one night... but once you're on a hunt, you just want to get it over with LOL. So here are my new precious :)

Bride by Mistake by Anne Gracie - Have been really looking forward to it :) Am reading it right now and really enjoyed it :)

It Takes a Witch by Heather Blake - New cosy mystery series featuring witches written by Ms Blake aka Heather Webber! Reviews have been good so far. Yay!

Twice Fallen by Emma Wildes - Love Ms Wildes' historical :) Also was looking to see Lady Lillian and Damien Northfield fall in love :)

And yesterday, I bought this at Kobo:

Darkest Powers Bonus Pack by Kelley Armstrong - Ms Armstrong is known to write a lot of novella for her series. Sometimes online for the fans, something part of anthology and this Bonus Pack is a collection of the online ones she's written for her popular YA series, The Darkest Powers. It includes Dangerous, Divided and Disenchanted. I do admit it's instance like this that makes me really like ebooks :)

And there you go, my haul for this week :) I hope the whole hunt is not a preview of what I'll be doing this year ^_^;

Review: The Comforts of Home by Jodi Thomas

2012-01-06T14:51:00.002-05:00

I've been meaning to write this review for a while :) I actually believe that I started putting it together back in November, not long after I finished reading it... but the words weren't coming together. Well today, they flowed and I hope it made justice to the book :)

Enjoy!

***Warning: This review contains spoilers. Read at your own risk***

The Comforts of Home by Jodi Thomas
published by Berkley in November 2011

In Harmony, Texas, twenty-year-old Reagan Truman has found her place, and found her family. But with her uncle taken ill and her friend Noah lost and disheartened with his life, Reagan is afraid of ending up alone again, and she's not the only one. When a terrible storms threatens the town, the residents of Harmony are forced to think about what they really want. Because making the connections they so desperately desire means putting their hearts at risk...

Genre: Contemporary romance
Series: Harmony series, Book #3

The Story: The Comforts of Home takes place 2 years after Somewhere Along the Way. Reagan is now 20 years old and in charge of the orchard, building up her pie business and taking care of her great-uncle. Life is busy, but she wouldn't have it any other way. Yet, she can't help but worry about her best friend/ex-boyfriend, Noah. It feels like the distance between them is growing and the joy of rodeo is gone from his voice... and when she gets the phone call that he's been injured...

Tyler is the director of the funeral home in Harmony. He's been in a long-distance/e-mail relationship with Kate for quite a number of years and is trying to figure out how to take the relationship to the next level. Or whether or not there is a next level... Meanwhile, there's been a strange car parked at the cemetery for days and Tyler considers it part of his duties to check it out. To his surprise, he finds a young woman asleep... One thing leads to another and somehow, Ty finds himself saddled with Autumn, who's obviously had a difficult past and is pregnant, as his new housekeeper.

Finally, there's Ronelle Logan. She works at the post office and is known to read your postcards and complete the crossword puzzles in the magazines she sorts through. She's very shy and has been isolated from the community her very opinionated mother. However, after she is asked to make a special delivery to Marty Winslow, Ronny's life starts to change. She strikes an unexpected friendship with this bad-tempered man who is now stuck in a wheelchair after a ski accident... and finally starts to spread her wings.

My Opinion: I loved this book!! Just loved it :) I really enjoyed Somewhere Along the Way and was a bit anxious to read The Comforts of Home... but once I finished this book and re-read it immediately LOL. Yep, that's how much I enjoyed The Comforts of Home :)

So far, I've loved following Reagan's journey, seeing her grow and dealing with life. It's really been heart-warming to see the relationship between Reagan and her great-uncle, Jeremiah. They are not blood-related, but blood doesn't matter. It's the heart that does. I've also been very anxious to see what would happen to her relationship with Noah. It was sad to see that Noah has lost his joy and love of the rodeo world. That the injuries and the reality of the rodeo world have toughened him up, but also eroded his spirit. At the same time, it makes Noah's promises to Reagan at the end even stronger, meaningful. I think that Noah will turn into a really fine man and as such, I'm glad that the fractures in their relationship were mended.

Another relationship that I'm happy with the outcome is Ty and Kate. I think Ty is an awesome man. Definitively not your typical hero in romance - a chubby 40-ish y.o. funeral director - and yet there is something about him. His gentleness, the way he cares for people and his job, his sincerity. Tyler is really a genuine person... While I think he deserves much better than Kate, in the end, it is the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with and I'm happy that he finally gets what he wants :)

I have to say though, my favorite storyline in The Comforts of Home was Ronny's story. She's been mentioned in Welcome to Harmony if I'm not wrong and she seems such a strange woman... but Ms Thomas was able to turn her into an interesting character, one that you came to love and couldn't help but root for :) It was just amazing to see her bloom and spread her wings, to come out from under her mother's thumb, starts making friends and affirming herself.

Ronelle knew Dallas would not stay to eat. She often reminded Ronelle never to eat anything at potluck dinners or bake sales. One person hating the town could wipe out the entire population with poison.
Looking around, she saw everyone eating and had a horrible thought. If they all died, that would leave only her mother and her in town. While her mother stopped to talk to Willie Davis, Ronelle slipped a piece of corn bread into her pocket. It would be all in crumbs by the time she got home, but she planned to eat it. Just in case.

When I first read this passage, it made me chuckled LOL. At the same time, can you imagine the situation Ronelle finds herself in? Also the stunt that her mother pulled at the end of the book. Really, I don't know how Ronelle did which shows that deep down, Ronelle is really a strong woman.

Anyway, I really enjoyed Ronny's relationship with Marty, because it was so strange. However, I think that both of them really connected and really understood each other. I thought that the romance developed a little bit too fast, so it's a good thing that Marty leaves to get better at the end... But I have to say, I cannot wait for the next book!!! I want to see what happens to this relationship and how things turn out!!!

So yes, I really enjoyed The Comforts of Home, but there were two flaws to it. First, there is another couple - Denver and Claire. I really didn't care about them... I just don't like Claire and can't warm up to her. However, I can say she's lucky to have Denver. The other issue I had with this book was the big storm. I just wished Ms Thomas would not use the disaster plot device in all the books ^_^; It's just becoming a pattern and I think patterns when they are too obvious are not good. Good thing these were small issues and did not affect my enjoyment of the book too much :)

Finally, but not least... I've said it often, but it's worth to mention it again: there is something special about Ms Thomas' writing :) The best way I can describe it is gentle, delicate and it really suits this series. The Harmony series is not your typical small-town contemporary romance series... instead, it's about characters in a community growing and falling in love, but not in a straightforward way :) I liked that life for these characters is not all pink, because it makes it more believable, more realistic... but at the same time, it's not always tragic. It's just life. And the way Ms Thomas writes it... it's not heart-breaking because that would imply it's sad, but it definitively tugs hard at your heart :)

My Grade: A-. The Comforts of Home made me smiled, made me chuckled, made me laughed and definitively warmed my heart :) I can't wait for the next book!

Monthly Reads: October 2011

2012-01-04T23:45:00.001-05:00

Finally, I'm done with this post!! Woohoo!! Only two more to go to wrap up 2011 ^_^; The worst is that October was a short month - both because of the number of books read and books reviewed. Sigh, I have a feeling November and December will take forever... But I'll do my best!

I've tried to keep the reviews short, but I was not always successful. Also, I feel like I'm repeating myself a lot... and I'm not sure if what I mean is coming across well. Guess it'll have to do though! Hope you all enjoy the mini-reviews!

1) Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep: B

2) Slow Ride by Erin McCarthy: C-

3) The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan: B++

4) Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins: B

Last year, Ms Perkins' debut novel Anna and the French Kiss got quite a buzz which got me to pick up the book. While I liked the book, I didn't seem to enjoy it as much as everyone. So I was a bit hesitant to pick up Lola and the Boy Next Door, but in the end, the blurb convinced me and I got curious about the heroine who liked to dress so outrageously. It somehow reminded me of all the trends in Japan. I'm glad to say I enjoyed Lola and the Boy Next Door more than Anna and the French Kiss :)

I thought Lola was a very interesting heroine - her personality, the way she dressed, but also her family situation. It was fun to see her interactions with her two over-protective fathers LOL. I also liked her friendship with her best friend and the connection she had with Cricket, the love interest. I also really enjoyed Cricket and I thought that their romance was sweet. To my surprise, I also found myself really liking Anna and Etienne who have cameo appearances a lot more than I did in their own book. Go figure :P Another thing that worked for me was there was less high school drama and the focus was really on Lola and her relationships/interactions with everyone.

While I thought Lola was an interesting character, she wasn't very likable ^_^; Some of her actions were very immature and at times, you really wanted to yell at her to make a choice, be decisive. Another thing that really bothered me was how Ms Perkins turned Max into a shitty boyfriend at the end of the book, to justify Lola choosing Cricket over him. I thought it was unfortunate, why not let him be the good boyfriend? He wasn't the perfect boyfriend, but he was a nice guy, accepting to have brunch with Lola's two over-protective fathers every week-end, and so on. I thought the change in his character was too sudden and unnecessary.

Still, I enjoyed this book and it kept me engaged :) I'll definitively read Ms Perkins again!

5) Angels of Darkness: C

Angel's Wolf by Nalini Singh: B
This was my favorite entry in the anthology. I really liked the H/H and how the romance progressed. The story was also quite interesting and I liked that Nimra was different from the other angels we've met so far in the series. The biggest issue that I had with this book is the once again forced darkness atmosphere that the author tried to create. Noel is recovering from a very traumatic incident and yet, I didn't feel it in his characterization. It was mentioned many times and Ms Singh tried, but it just didn't take for me.

Alphas: Origins by Ilona Andrews: D
Ugh. I love, love, love Ms Andrews' writing and her Kate Daniels series? I can't get enough, seriously. However, I always have the same problem with her: the world building. I found the world building confusing in Alphas: Origins, hard to visualize. The characters are also supposed to be real bad-asses and I supposed they are... but at the same time, I didn't connect with them, didn't find them likable. Perhaps if the story had been longer, more development... but as it is, I have difficulty buying the H/H budding feelings for each other ^_^; All in all, the whole novella just felt flat for me

Ascension by Meljean Brook: B-
Nice short story. I thought the case the Guardians were working was way more interesting than the H/H. They have been introduced in previous books, but not much was known about them and their development in this novella was obviously limited. Added in a prior relationship that didn't work out and everyone ends up with lots of baggage. But as I say, the story was very interesting and it makes you realize how fine the line is between Guardians and demons and the fact that they cannot hurt humans? Well that just makes things a lot more complicated and dangerous for them :)

6) Bring Me Home for Christmas by Robyn Carr: C+

7) Heartstrings and Diamond Rings by Jane Graves: B-

Heartstrings and Diamond Rings was a pretty good book, solid... better than Ms Graves' previous release, Black Ties and Lullabies in my opinion. I could actually understand Alison's urge to get married, her worries not finding Mr. Right and not being able to start her family soon. I do think she was a bit too obsessed about it and worried too much, but still, it made sense. It'd really hard to meet people - trust me. As expected in this kind of books, Alison's dates are quite funny LOL.

Thinking back, Brandon's behavior and actions might not have been really ethically acceptable at first... but kudos to him because he really tried his best to matchmake Alison with suitable men. I also liked that he came to care about the business and his clients and I do think he'd be really good at the job because he's quite a good judge of character. Anyway, I liked the characters and the story, but I think it lost a bit of its momentum once Alison started showing interest in Brandon and as a result, I started losing interest. I think the book needed a bit more punch at the end than the usual "You deceived me" conflict. Still, I enjoyed it :)

8) Snapped by Laura Griffin: C+

I was really looking forward to Snapped after reading Leslie's review, but I wonder now if perhaps I had too much expectations coming into the book. The suspense was definitively the strongest element of this book and was very well done. What didn't work for me were the characters and as a result, the romance. I didn't think Sophie and Jonah had much chemistry together. It felt to me for a long time, Jonah's feelings for Sophie was one-sided. True, Sophie had a lot on her mind, but it didn't look to me like she really reciprocated Jonah's feelings. Sure, she noticed that he was handsome, but nothing more. Also, what annoyed me so much was some of Sophie's actions. Granted, she tried to do what was right and that's a good thing, but she didn't seem to think before acting. And that's what was so frustrating!! When even your friends and colleagues who work in law-enforcing don't believe your words... going to the public might not be a good idea. Especially if you're right because in that case, you just painted a huge target on your back!

If I had liked the characters better, the grade would definitively have been higher.

9) In Total Surrender by Anne Mallory: B

Oh, here is a historical book that I really enjoyed!! I was intrigued by the blurb and picked it up at the bookstore on impulse. Well this impulse paid off! :) I really liked both the H/H. Andreas is the king of the underworld and he has one purpose in life: revenge. The only person he cares about is his brother... but suddenly, this woman is intruding in his life and in his thoughts. Personally, I thought Phoebe was an awesome heroine!! She was oh-so clever and knew how to plan. Loved the way she started wiggling her way into Andreas' household LOL. I also really enjoyed the romance, the way Andreas couldn't get Phoebe out of his mind, no matter how hard her tried :) The storyline was also well thought-out and executed. Andreas' revenge and how Phoebe tried to save her father's company and how these two elements were linked together. I really liked that Phoebe believed in her childhood friends.

The only reason why this book isn't getting a higher grade is because this is the third book in a series and I haven't read the other books and therefore, there were times where I really felt lost, like I was really missing some information. I know it is unfair for the book and the author, because technically, it's the reader's responsibility to read the books in order... but I've read books out of order and you don't always feel this way... and in the end, it really affected how much I enjoyed this book ^_^;

10) Glazed Murder by Jessica Beck: D

I've been burning-out on a lot of genres lately - paranormals, urban fantasy, small-town romances... and so I thought I should start varying my reading a bit more. As a result, I decided to go with mystery, because there are so many series out there! If I like this genre, well seriously, jackpot! LOL.

So I decided to go with Glazed Murder in which the heroine owns a doughnut cafe. Overall, the story was okay. One of the problems is I never really connected with Suzanne ^_^; I didn't care about her or her situation... and the fact that she's another divorcee... Ugh. Also thought this series was a bit formulaic and the fact it's a first book in a series didn't help. I mean, you have this heroine who has this job and for some reasons, she finds dead bodies and investigate. I haven't read many cozy mysteries, but I've read something similar to this before... and so it's hard to get engaged. Another problem is that I realized I'm not a big fan of amateur sleuth ^_^; Yeah, that's a big problem given that most cozy mysteries have amateur sleuth as protagonist. It can work if the author is talented and clever... but unfortunately, I just think Ms Beck didn't have the elements to pull this one off. There was a definite lack of originality in the setting-up of the book and the execution... Plus, it's hard to believe that people will babbled just because a woman came in with a box of doughnuts ^_^; So yeah, didn't really cared about this one.

11) A Hoe Lot of Trouble by Heather Webber: C

So instead of continuing Ms Beck's series, I decided to try another cozy mystery... This time though, I went with an author that I knew, Ms Webber who wrote the Lucy Valentine series which I've enjoyed. I have to say this one worked better for me.

What I liked the most about this book is I could feel that Nina, the heroine, had a life :) She's in the midst of a separation because she founds lipstick on her husband's boxer, still living with her teenage stepson who never seems to have accepted her. Her family drives her crazy half the time and she really could do without the noisy neighbors. Okay, so you have another heroine who is a divorcee (soon-to-be-divorcee), but in this case, it works because her circumstances are much more interesting, her background more rich. I thought Nina's relationship with Riley was one of the most interesting element in the book, perhaps because it felt so real. I also thought the mystery was more interesting because there was a lot more to it than a dead body (and at least, it isn't one that Nina stumbled across)... and wow, I sure was surprised at the end by the big twist. Also, I feel like Ms Webber handled the sleuthing better :)

Still the book wasn't perfect. I guess perhaps it's just the genre that doesn't do it for me, but I found myself skimming at times. This book just didn't completely hold my attention.

12) Trouble in Spades by Heather Webber: C+

So after reading A Hoe Lot of Trouble, I picked up Trouble in Spades right away. My thoughts of Trouble in Spades are pretty much the same. I still like Nina, still think her relationship with Riley is the most interesting element of the series. Case is interesting and there's a lot of twists. I think I liked this one better because it was funnier due to Nina's sister. Also, there's a romance looming ahead :)

13) Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins: B

14) A Match Made in High School by Kristin Walker: C+

I usually don't read contemporary YA books because I'm not a fan of high school drama... but for some reasons, I found myself picking up A Match Made in High School... Most probably because of the Marriage Education program. LOL, when watching TV programs for kids and teenagers, you often see them being paired and taking care of her fake baby or an egg... well this sounded similar to it :)

Overall, I thought A Match Made in High School was a cute and quick read. I thought the Marriage Education program was well thought out LOL and it was fun to see the students being forced into it. The heroine, Fiona, was a normal teenage girl. She has a crush, is none too happy with her partner and she doesn't let people walk over her. I thought the first half of the book was pretty good, was building up to something... And then everything fell flat when Fiona's crush got a girlfriend. I don't want to spoil the book too much, but at one point, Fiona is accused by her best friend of being selfish and well, isn't that a part of being a teenager? I thought the best friend had as much blame as Fiona... It's just too bad that Fiona started moping around and as a result, not much happened in the storyline. Also, I wished we've seen more interaction between Fiona and her love interest.

15) The Famous Heroine by Mary Balogh: C+

I've been enjoying Ms Balogh's books quite a lot in the past year and decided to pick up this book as it was re-printed. The heroine Cora Downes is a daughter of a rich merchant... after rescuing a duke's nephew, Cora is introduced into Society so she can make an advantageous match. I really liked Cora's personality. I thought she was really fun LOL. I loved Francis as well, the way he dressed up so colorful and the fact that Cora thought he was gay LOL. That was pretty fun. I also liked their interactions together, they had great chemistry. As such, you'd think the grade would be higher... but I'd say the story didn't live up to its potential. With such great characters and all, I thought the story would be a bit more interesting... but instead, it's pretty typical historical where the heroine finds herself in a compromising situation and thus, the H/H have no choice to marry. Plus, the fact that Francis thought himself in love with another woman for so long...

This was in no way a bad book or anything. It was fun to read, especially the situation Cora finds herself in... but I guess I just had really high expectations ^_^;

Books bought: + 21
Books read: -15
TBR pile: +6

Writing these 2 months later is not the best thing to do ^_^; If I remember correctly, October felt like a really meh month to me as shown by the grades. There were some great books such as The Son of Neptune but mostly, the books were in the C-range. I had difficulty picking up books and as a result, I did quite a few re-reads (not listed). I also ended up buying lots of books, but those weren't really the books I wanted to read ^_^; So I ended up increasing my TBR pile.

Okay, I think I've fried my brain, because it's just gone blank LOL. Guess I'm going to sleep now :) Then tomorrow, I'm going to start tackling November...

Tada!!

2012-01-02T22:58:00.000-05:00

I'm finally done!!! Took some time, but now, I have not only a spacious desk... but a spacious room as well! LOL.

So what do you think? I didn't get to sort out all the books, but I did weed out some :) I'll also be slowly weeding out my old clothes and cleaning out drawers to make more space :) But I'll be doing it really slowly LOL, one thing at a time :)

In any case, it's one thing out of the way as the new year starts and I go back to work tomorrow :)

Hauling Sunday LXVI

2012-01-01T15:04:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

May 2012 be filled health, love and happiness!
and great books!

I hope everyone had fun during New Year's Eve and didn't party too crazily! :) I can't believe we're already January 1st of 2012. How did that happen?!?

No plans for me today :) Just taking it easy. I definitively need to continue cleaning my room. However, it is going well. Look, look!!

Yep, that's my shiny new computer!! Along with my extra spacious desk!! :) But I'm not showing pictures of the rest of the room LOL. Hopefully, in 2012, I will be spared from the computer troubles! :)

I really like that this year, New Year is on Sunday. It feels like you're really starting the year afresh. Obviously, it'd have been better if I had managed to finish my Monthly Reads posts ^_^; I will definitively try to tie that loose end. In the meantime, here are the last book I've bought in 2011 :)

The Sweetheart of Prosper County by Jill S. Alexander - I've been wanting to read Ms Alexander for a while. Ames read and really enjoyed Paradise by this author. Then, not long ago, Alex reviewed The Sweetheart of Prosper County and I decided to give this one a try as it sounded a little bit more light-hearted than Paradise :)

And there it is. I've kept track of all the books I've bought in 2011!! I'll be making a tally in the new couple of days :)

My Life According to the Books I Read in 2011

2011-12-29T15:24:00.000-05:00

LOL, instead of typing my Monthly Reads posts away, I've been procrastinating and decided to have a little bit of fun. For the past couple of years, Christine has posted this meme at the end of the year on her blog. I always have a lot of fun reading the answers and since I have a little bit of time on my hand... Why not? :)

Describe yourself:
Absolutely, Positively by Heather Webber

How do you feel:
Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder

Describe where you currently live:
Perfect Harmony by Nora Roberts

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
The Comforts of Home by Jodi Thomas

Your favorite form of transportation:
Vanish by Tess Gerritsen

Your best friend is:
A Rare Gift by Jaci Burton

You and your friends are:
A Hoe Lot of Trouble by Heather Webber

What's the weather like:
Baby, It's Cold Outside by Addison Fox

What is life to you:
Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn

Favorite time of day:
Veil of Night by Linda Howard

Your fear:
Forgotten by Cat Patrick

What is the best advice you have to give:
Never Resist to Temptation by Miranda Neville

Thought for the day:
Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan

How I would like to die:
Knock Me Off My Feet by Susan Donovan

My soul's present condition:
Blackout by Rob Thurman

What do you think of my answers? Initially, I thought the form of transportation was going to be the hardest ^_^; Turns out the two I got stuck on were Thought of the day and My soul's present condition...The easiest was the weather... LOL, I had a couple of option: Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen and Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep... but in the end, the answer I went with was the most accurate LOL. One title that I wanted to use was Flawless by Carrie Lofty, but it sounded a bit presumptuous LOL. I also tried not using the same author twice, but I couldn't resist LOL.

It was definitively lots of fun!! Nice way to start wrapping up the year :)

Review: Slow Ride by Erin McCarthy

2011-12-28T09:37:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!! How's the holidays? Are you off the whole week? I've been back to work since yesterday... but I'll be off again on Friday :)

Sorry the blog has been a bit quiet. I've been shopping a lot LOL. We don't have Black Friday in Canada, so some of the biggest sales happen to be on the day after Christmas - Boxing Day! Actually, did you know that Boxing Day is a stat holiday? LOL. Anyway, aside from shopping, I've also been reading. I'm only 2 books away from achieving my reading goal this year! With 4 days to go, I'm crossing my fingers I'll make it :) Finally, I'm trying to complete my Monthly Reads posts... I have October, November and December to do ^_^; Sigh, how did that happen? I've started October... but I still have a long road to go. I think the trick is really to keep it short which you know, it's hard for me ^_^;

Anyway, I didn't want my blog to be too empty, so here is my review for Slow Ride by Erin McCarthy which initially was supposed to be part of the October Monthly Reads post... but I realized it was detailed enough to be a full review on its own. See what I mean by having difficulty keeping it short? ^_^; Okay, it is shorter than my usual reviews... but still, for a Monthly Post that can contain 10 reviews? Yeah, not short enough...

Slow Ride by Erin McCarthy

published by Berkley in October 2011

As a tribute to her late journalist father, Tuesday Jones is planning a career benefit, auctioning off racing memorabilia and meet-and-greets with drivers. Ex-racing star Diesel Lange has had his own brush with death, and is determined not to waste another minute of his life- especially when he meets Tuesday. He wants nothing more than to shift their romance into high gear, but he knows she's still grieving. Can Diesel do the one thing he could never do on the track and take it slow?

Genre: Contemporary romance, sport romance
Series: Fast-Track series, Book #5

The Story: Tuesday Jones is a reporter and has a very popular blog about NASCAR - what happens on and off the tracks. She has recently lost her father who was also a sport reporter and is dealing with her grief. During her best friend's wedding, she runs into Daniel "Diesel" Lange whom she previously met at her father's funerals. Diesel used to be a NASCAR driver till he got in an accident and almost lost his life. Now, with a busted knee, he stays connected to the racing world by restoring vintage race cars.

Tuesday and Diesel are attracted to each other and it doesn't take long for them to act on this attraction. However, they both brings a lot of baggage to the relationship. Can they deal with their issues and turn this fling into something more?

My Opinion: The last book of this series that I read prior to Slow Ride was Hot Finish and I was a bit disappointed because I was expecting more from the story between Ryder and Suzanne. Then I skipped over The Chase, because I didn't like the premise of a female driver. However, I was really looking forward to Slow Ride because of the blurb... but once again, I was disappointed.

The biggest problem I had with Slow Ride was that nothing much happened ^_^; Basically, Tuesday and Diesel meet, start dating and have sex. Sure, the sex was hot, but it was not enough to carry the storyline. In fact, given the amount of sex and the thickness of the book (304 pages), Slow Ride actually read more like an erotica romance than a contemporary romance. Another issue was the lack of development of the characters and the relationship. I thought that Diesel and Tuesday didn't really get to know each other throughout the book and as a result, it gave rise to a weak conflict and prematured HEA ending. For example, Tuesday reproached Diesel for not opening himself, not discussing his accident with her. I thought that was ridiculous. They have only known each other a month, barely spoke about themselves and she wants him to talk about the biggest life-changing event in his life? Also, based on Tuesday's behavior, I have to say, she hadn't really earned Diesel's trust at that point.

Finally, my last issue with this book was Tuesday. I really didn't like her character. She got on my nerve and rubbed me the wrong way. Also, I thought her behavior towards Diesel was very disrespectful - the time he came to pick up for the date and she was drunk and the whole article fiasco. While I didn't like Tuesday's problems with alcohol, I thought it was very realistic and could have made the book really interesting. Unfortunately, Ms McCarthy missed that opportunity :(

What saved this book for was the hero, Diesel. I thought he was a great guy and really liked his personality. I liked that he was the one who wanted a relationship. I liked that he wasn't bitter about how his career ended and was content with life. Also, he did try to help out Tuesday with her problems... and I don't think him not wanting to speak about his accident was a real conflict. All in all, Tuesday was really lucky in my opinion.

In my opinion, Slow Ride had potential, but it wasn't developed enough to fulfill it. In the end, I felt the relationship was rushed and as a result, the HEA ending was not believable. I think it'd have been much better if the book had ended on the H/H giving each other another chance for a relationship than with Diesel proposing.

My Grade: C-. Diesel is the reason why the grade is in the C-range, otherwise, I'd probably have given Slow Ride a D. At this point, I'm not sure if I'm going to continue with this series...

Hauling Sunday LXV

2011-12-25T14:03:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!! :)

First, let me start by wishing:

I hope you're having a great time with your family and friends! My sister and I are having a Big Bang Theory TV marathon and later, we'll be going out for dinner with my parents at our favorite Chinese restaurant! Yay! Oh and I've finally bought a new computer!! Can't wait to have it delivered :) Then tomorrow, we might venture out for the sales... or go see The Adventures of Tintin. I'm rooting for the movie :) While everyone is at the sales LOL.

Anyway, surprisingly, I did buy books this week! Lucky me, the December 27 releases came into store early and I got my hands on some!! :)

Trouble at the Wedding by Laura Lee Guhrke - I'm so happy this book is finally out! I've been looking forward to it ever since I finished reading Scandal of the Year! Although I have to say, I can't remember the hero appearing in the previous books! Ah well, it's okay :) I'm getting my LLG fix :)

By the way, funny story about Trouble at the Wedding. When I went to the bookstore, it wasn't on the shelf yet. However, the new Eloisa James and Gaelen Foley were. So I asked a clerk to go to the bookstore to look for it. He comes back a minute later telling me that his co-worker pointed out that Trouble at the Wedding had a release date of December 27 and so was not on sale yet. I told him that it was okay because Trouble at the Wedding didn't have a strict release date. I mean, if the Eloisa James was on the shelf, then I don't see why I can't get Trouble at the Wedding... and then I told him about the computer system, as in in-store, when you look up for books, if a book has a strict release date, even if they have copies in-stock, it will only say: Available for pre-order. As to books with no strict release date, if they are in-stock, even before the release date, it will indicate the number of copies available. So yeah, I told him all that and that it was okay to go get my copy. He said he was going to check with his manager to be sure... and a couple of minutes later, he came back with a copy and told me I was absolutely right :) Yay!! All in all, I got the book and it made my night :)

Hidden Summit by Robyn Carr - New Virgin River trilogy :) The reviews have been quite positive, so I'm giving it a go :)

And I got this from Netgalley:

Redwood Bend by Robyn Carr - Redwood Bend is the second book in the trilogy and has also been getting good reviews. I'm also more interested in it based on the blurb :)

And there it is :) My haul for this week along with my latest bookstore adventure LOL.

Once again, hope you're enjoying the holidays!!

Review: Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

2011-12-20T17:22:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: I've received Touch of Power as an eARC from Netgalley

Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder
published by Mira (Harlequin) in December 2011

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan absorbs their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Fifteen Realms, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken princeleader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life.

Genre: Fantasy romance
Series: Healer series, Book #1

The Story: Avry of Kazan is the last healer in the Fifteen Realms. However, this status isn't as prestigious as it sounds... Not when it is believed that the healers were the source of the plague that killed two thirds of the population. Now, healers are hated and a bounty has been placed for every healer caught and executed. As a result, Avry has spent the last three years in hiding, but she's growing tired of it and when she is captured after healing a child, Avry is ready to give up. But when she is rescued by a band of rogues and given a choice between life and death; to her surprise, her will to live is still very strong...

Unfortunately for Avry, being rescued came with a price. The leader of the band, Kerrick of Alga, wants her to heal someone from the plague: Prince Ryne of Ivdel... The same prince who held contempt for healers, the one who started the accusations against them! Avry is determined not to heal the prince no matter what. However, what Avry doesn't know because she spent the last three years in hiding is that the world is changing. With the Fifteen Realms decimated, three forces have emerged to unite the realms and rule over them... but only one has the well-being of the people in mind: Prince Ryne. As they make their way to where Prince Ryne's body is kept in stasis, Avry witnesses first hand the forces of King Tohon of Sogra and High Priestess Estrid of Ozero and in the end, she has to agree with Kerrick... But unbeknownst to Kerrick, healing Prince Ryne will come with a price: Avry's life.

My Opinion: I was really looking forward to Touch of Power as it is Ms Snyder's newest release :) I fell in love with Ms Snyder's writing with Poison Study and Magic Study. Those two books were amazing and are on the all-time favorite bookshelf :) Unfortunately, her subsequent books have not measured up in my opinion. For Fire Study, I think it was a case of the expectations being too high combined with the extremely long wait for the readers. As for the Glass trilogy, the heroine just wasn't likable enough and then, there was the whole romance/relationship aspect that didn't really work out for me. With this series, set in a new world, I thought it was the perfect opportunity for Ms Snyder to start afresh :)

Overall, I liked Touch of Power and I think it was a good effort on Ms Snyder's part. The writing was solid and I definitively liked the world building. It was well developed and a very good backdrop for the fantasy aspect of the storyline. When it comes to fantasy, I always like a little political intrigue and with 15 realms and leaders or leading family, the possibilities for alliances, betrayals and intrigues are endless :) Add in the fact that most of them have been to school together and yeah, it's going to be extremely interesting. So far, I liked the players that Ms Snyder has introduced and I'm looking forward to more :) I also found the magical aspect of this world interesting. I liked that magic didn't make someone absolute, above everyone else. Sure, it is an asset, but in the end, intelligence, honesty and heart are the elements that are going to break or make someone :) Also, it seems to me that Ms Snyder has a clear idea of the magical powers in this world, she knows where she's going with it and that is promising.

Another strong element of this book was the characters. I really liked Avry. She was strong for having survived, but she was not a kick-ass heroine. The reason she survived was because she was smart and was careful. She also had principles and a lot of integrity and that made her character very interesting. I liked that she could be reasoned with, that she could see right and wrong and make her own decisions. If she was stubborn, it was because there was a reason, but she didn't clung to her beliefs when she was shown otherwise. Out of the other characters, the one I liked the most was Belen - Kerrick's bodyguard and childhood friend, because he was just so likable and friendly. Prince Ryne seemed to be a good guy and I can't wait to see him in action :) As for Kerrick, I'm still not sure about him. He's not totally hero material, swoon-worthy and I applauded Ms Snyder for developing him this way. I think it really took guts as he is the love interest and readers usually prefer guys that oozed goodness or those who redeemed themselves. However, Kerrick is neither - he is himself. The best way I could describe him is cold on the surface as he seems to only care about achieving his goals and he can be ruthless sometimes, but deep inside, he does really care. I think all in all, it made him more interesting and gave him more depth... but at the same time, it was hard to like him. Especially some of his action in the beginning of the book, they were hard to forgive.

The romance was not the focus of the book, but there was some between Avry and Kerrick. At this point, I do feel like it was a bit forced. I can understand Kerrick having feelings for Avry, but that his mission took precedence... However, I'm not absolutely certain why Avry would develop feelings for Kerrick ^_^; I mean, why not Belen who was much nicer? I do like the fact that Avry came to trust Kerrick through their hardships at the end, that part was believable... I wished Ms Snyder would have developed Avry's feelings towards Kerrick a bit more. I do hope that we'll have more interactions between them in the future books to really cement the romance.

Aside from the romance, I had two other issues with Touch of Power. The first is the pacing of the book. Touch of Power was well-written and the storyline was interesting. There was a lot of action and a lot of twists and surprises in the storyline. Unfortunately, most of these surprises and twists fell a bit flat, because of the pacing, the tone. It was a bit monotonous and lacking in ompf. You simply couldn't feel the excitement, the thrill. Touch of Power was quite a thick book and as I said, a lot happened, but I'd say the overall tone of the book was passive and that just doesn't work when a book is full of action. My other issue with Touch of Power is that it felt like an echo of Poison Study ^_^; It seemed to me Ms Snyder based herself on Poison Study when writing the book and therefore, there was a lot of similarities: the heroine, the hero, the romance, the camaraderie and so on. Obviously, it made for a good book, but for a fan like me, well I can't help making comparison... and if I have to compare Touch of Power and Poison Study, then Poison Study definitively has the upper hand. In my opinion, it would have been preferable if Ms Snyder distanced herself of Poison Study instead and write something really original... Also, familiarity also led to predictability at times :(

In the end though, Touch of Power was still a very enjoyable book and a good start to the series. And I hope that Ms Snyder will surprise me in future books :)

My Grade: B-.

Hauling Sunday LXIV

2011-12-18T14:09:00.000-05:00

All right! My parents are back, work should be more quiet and the stress of my annual gift exchange is over :) I love organizing the gift exchange every year, but it's always a bit hectic - finding the gift, making sure everything runs smoothly, the menu for food, etc. It's always a ton of fun :) but also a bit of work :) Anyway, now that it's over, I'm pretty much free and should have more time for my blog now! Yay!!!

First thing is to keep up with the Hauling Sunday feature :) Have to admit though that lately, I have not been buying that many books as there aren't many releases... Ah well. Still, I have two for this week :)

As You Wish by Gabi Stevens - Truth be told, I got this week a couple of weeks ago, but forgot to include it in the last Hauling Sunday. I read the first book in this series, The Wish List and it was cute and so I got As You Wish. Also, I admit I have a fondness for the Tor line which brought us the Warland Chronicles series by Elizabeth Vaughan.

A Rare Gift by Jaci Burton - This was a free download, part of Harlequin's 12 days of Christmas campaign :) I was actually planning to buy it, because I've been in the mood for contemporary romance... but I've been dragging my feet... and I'm glad since because of it, I got this free :) I only realized afterwards that A Rare Gift is part of this year's Carina Press' anthology. Surprise surprise :)

And there you have it, my haul for this week :) This week is most probably going to be quiet as well... unless the bookstore receives the Avon releases early. That'd be a great Christmas gift LOL. What about you? Too busy to read? Or expecting books as Christmas gifts? :)

Now I'm off to read and watch curling... but I'll definitively be working on some reviews tonight. I must! :)

Lost mojo...

2011-12-14T21:04:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! How are you doing?

So sorry that I haven't really blogged or blog-hopped recently ^_^; The conference has really put a kink in my blogging routine and even though I've been back for two weeks already (gosh, how did that happen?!?), I still haven't settled back into a routine yet. I have lots of excuses for it... Want to hear them? LOL.

Well, work has definitively been quite busy as my boss has decided to rush an experiment, sigh. My parents have been away ever since I came back and so my sister and I have been fending off for ourselves. I don't mind, but it is time consuming LOL. Good thing they are coming back tomorrow :) It's the holidays season and I've been trying to squeeze in some shopping... and finally, my room. I'm still not done with it ^_^; It's mostly a matter of re-shelving the books in an order that I like. Hopefully, I'll be done with it tonight especially since my parents are coming home tomorrow ^_^;

And oh, I've finally given up on my computer and therefore has been using my dad's laptop. It's not bad, but I prefer a desktop which I'm hoping to buy on Boxing Day, hoping there'll be a good deal. In the meantime, well my desk is a mess and I feel cramped when using the laptop and so I've taken refuge into reading... Although I'm really having a hard time deciding what to read. Ugh, December is just too slow release-wise :(

And that's what I've been up to. What about you guys? Blogland has really been quiet lately so I'm assuming everyone's busy with the holidays :) Still, read any good books lately?

Anyway, since it's been so quiet, here are some pictures of my room. I didn't really want to post them at first, because seriously, it's a bit embarrassing ^_^; But hey, maybe it'll liven up my blog LOL. Also, Tabitha was wondering how much a mess could one person do... The answer is: a lot ^_^;

So this was at the start, when I came back from the conference...

This was during the week-end...

It looks like there's been very little changes, but actually it's mostly books. So if I could just shelve them... However, I've been feeling quite cramped in... Wonder why ^_^; and so instead of continuing shelving, I've decided to just ignore it and read... Don't think it was the best idea...

And this was as of this morning:

See there is some progress!!! I'm also weeding out books as well. Stay tuned for a list and perhaps some books... and hopefully, I'll be able to shelve everything and at the end, it'll look like this:

Isn't that pretty?!? Okay, need to get to work now!

EDIT:

This is as of this morning (Dec. 15). Ames says she can't see a difference, but hey, you see a lot more floor! The books are all on shelves or in boxes. All I have to do tonight is put them away either in the basement or corner of the room. Quick vacuuming and straightening the desk and chairs and voila. Might not be as organized as I wished, but much better than when I came back from the conference :)

Happy Birthday Ames!!

2011-12-11T09:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Ames! :) We're getting older!! LOL. Hope you have a great day and a great time. May your future be filled with tons of good books :)

When reading leads you into trouble...

2011-12-09T01:11:00.000-05:00

So initially, I was planning to post a review... However, I didn't have time to write it. Why? Funny you should ask...

I went shopping with a friend and my sister this evening. I parked my car in a free spot. Free parking in downtown is rather rare. The few places that remain usually have time restrictions, for example you cannot park from 9am to 6pm because it's reserved for delivery. So I got to my parking space at approximate 5.50pm and waited 10 minutes in the car. While I was waiting, I of course pulled out a book to read. Since it was dark, I turned the inside light on... and yes, you can guess what happened. I forgot to turn it off while I was shopping and when I came back, about 4 hours later... my car wouldn't start ^_^;

At first, I wasn't sure if it was the battery or my remote starter. I sometime have problems with my remote starter as in I'll use it once and the next time I want to start my car, I cannot do it manually, I'll have to use the remote starter again. I tried several time starting the car manually and with the remote starter and it wouldn't work. My headlights were a bit dimmed, but nothing drastic. Finally, I had to ask a taxi driver to take a look. He confirmed it was the battery... yay! Unfortunately, he didn't have any booster cables. I asked another taxi and he didn't have any either. In the end, I had to call a friend and she was nice enough to come and give me a hand.

Little problem is that we've each had boosted a car only once before... and with help. LOL, the funniest is that we told my friend to park her car so both the cars would be hood-to-hood. She then popped the hood and I tried looking for her battery to connect the cables... After a moment, I had to ask her where her battery was... She took a look as well and a minute later, she remembered that she had a Mitsubishi Evo and therefore: "Oh, my battery is in the trunk!!" LOL, it was sooo funny, especially the look on her face :) Finally, I was able to connect the cables... but it still wouldn't work.

At that point, I was really starting to panic :( If it wasn't the battery, than it was the remote starter and the battery, I can jump start... but what do I do with the remote starter?!? Finally, I was ready to give up and I called roadside assistance. I was on the phone with them when a security guy was passing by and gave us a hand. Turns out the pliers were not well connected to the battery!!! My friend's battery was a bit dirty and therefore, the pliers weren't in contact with metal, but with grease... After a few tries, my car finally started!!! Alleluia!!

A few things I learned from tonight's experience? Check the horn and headlights as indicators for battery - although they can still work and battery be weak. If there's no sparks when the pliers make contact with metal, then it means the pliers are not well connected ^_^; And finally, I should put the booster cables and a flashlight in the trunk of my car. Well next time that it happens, I'll be more prepared and know better what to do. But I hope there's not a next time ^_^;

Review: New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb

2011-12-06T21:27:00.001-05:00

***Warning: This review contains spoilers***

New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb

published by Putnam in September 2011

The number-one New York Times-bestselling author J. D. Robb presents an intense and terrifying new case for New York homicide cop Eve Dallas, one that will take her all the way to the city that gave her her name-and plunge her into the nightmares of her childhood.

When a monster named Isaac McQueen-taken down by Eve back in her uniform days-escapes from Rikers, he has two things in mind. One is to pick up where he left off, abducting young victims and leaving them scarred in both mind and body. The other is to get revenge on the woman who stopped him all those years ago.

Genre: Romantic Suspense, mystery, futuristic
Series: In Death series, Book #33

The Story: In New York to Dallas, Eve faces an old foe, Isaac McQueen. McQueen is a pedophile who kidnapped young girls, marked them with a number within a heart on their torso and kept them in a proof-sounded room for his sick pleasure. He was also Eve's first collar when she was still in uniform.

Now that McQueen has escaped from Rikers, he intends to pick up where he left off and seek revenge on the cop that arrested him. Meanwhile, Eve is determined to put him back in a cage where he belongs. When McQueen moves his hunting ground to Dallas, Eve and Roarke are hot in pursuit - even though Dallas is the last place Eve wants to be...

My Opinion: I kind of had high hopes for New York to Dallas, partly because of the blurb, but also because of the title change. In a series like the In Death series, after 30-something books with the same pattern in titles, when there's a change, there must be a reason and it must have a big impact, hit hard. Unfortunately, it wasn't the case and instead of being a wowzer, New York to Dallas fell flat for me :(

I think the biggest problem about New York to Dallas was the lack of excitement. There wasn't anything in the book that made me sit at the edge of my seat or make me turn the pages faster to know what would happen next. There was also a lack of intensity in my opinion. New York to Dallas was just another book in the series instead of being one with a lot of impact. Don't get me wrong, I'm always happy to read an In Death book, because I know it's going to be a solid read... but the couple last installments have been solid, but not great and I think it's time to have a great In Death book just to shake things up. I thought New York to Dallas was a great opportunity for Ms Robb to deliver something different, considering that Eve and Roarke were alone in Dallas, away from the gang - no Peabody, McNab, Feeney, Summerset and the tons of supporting characters. It would have been a great opportunity to explore Eve and Roarke's relationship for example, have something happens... but instead, it was just the usual, i.e. Eve trying to stop the bad guy. Even worse, I missed the gang because Ms Robb didn't really have anything in the storyline to fill the void ^_^;

All right, so instead of thinking what was missing, let's focus on what was actually in the book. The writing as usual was solid, fluid. Ms Robb definitively has a distinct style of writing when it comes to the In Death books and I like it :) The actual case wasn't bad... but it didn't really stand out for me. One of the reasons is if I remember correctly, there was a similar case in a previous book, i.e. the villain fixating on Eve for revenge. Another reason is Eve's ability to "read" the villain - know his thinking process, what he's going to do, etc. It bothered me in New York to Dallas because it seems that Eve was very familiar with McQueen, the kind of familiarity that comes from a cop chasing after a killer for a long period of time, through many cases. However, it is not the case between Eve and McQueen. McQueen's arrest by Eve was "coincidental." She basically stumbled over him while going door to door for another investigation. I can understand Eve familiarizing with his M.O. afterwards, because that's just who she is, especially given this was her first arrest. But even then, what they would have discovered from McQueen would be hear-say as opposed to living it and therefore, I can't really believe that the bond between Eve and McQueen would be so strong... and the fact that Eve was so effectively in McQueen's head, knowing him, predicting his next move - it just took away from the suspense for me.

Another issue I had with New York to Dallas was Eve's mother's appearance. Obviously, going back to Dallas, there would be a part of the book dedicated to Eve's past. I knew that, even expected it. However, I thought it was a huge coincidence that McQueen's accomplice would be Eve's mother. If at least, it had been intentional, as in McQueen actually chose her because she was Eve's mother... but no. Also, the one time that Eve goes to Dallas, she runs into her mother? I think it'd have been more powerful if it's been somewhere else, like in New York or another city. The only good news is that we're finally done with Eve and Roarke's parents and can move on ^_^;

All in all, New York to Dallas wasn't that bad. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations either. I just feel that Ms Robb had an opportunity to deliver something really different and she missed it. Instead, New York to Dallas felt redundant, nothing original or new :( Still, I'm not giving up on the series yet and I'll be picking up Celebrity in Death in February :)

My Grade: C.

Hauling Sunday LXIII

2011-12-04T16:46:00.000-05:00

Ugh. I had a few days off and I was so happy to have them and health issues just came and ruined all the fun :( Really sorry to sound/be whiny, but I just need to get it off my chest. Sigh, I just want to be healthy again and not worry about things :( In part, I think I'm having a BPPV relapse :( I've been nauseous in the past few weeks and had a few dizzy spells. Nothing as bad as last March though. I actually felt better while I was in Toronto... but this week-end? Bleh. And now, I don't know, but I think I feel a bit of tingling/numbness in my hands and feet. Not sure if I'm just over-worrying and imagining it or paying too much attention to it. Seriously, I regretted taking my health for granted and I'd do anything just to feel normal and not worry at every little health hiccups ^_^; Anyway, I'll pay attention to it. I just hope it's perhaps BPPV combined with stress and dehydration. Oh yeah, gotta love the internet for self-diagnosis ^_^; If it's not better in a few days, then I'll go to the doctor.

Okay, whining part over. Now, onto a much more fun topic: books :) Wow, hard to believe it's been almost a month since I last did a Hauling Sunday post!! So are you ready to see my haul? :)

Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook - I got this book a couple of weeks ago, but didn't want to do a Hauling Sunday post with only one book. LOL, I never thought though it'd be so much time after! I still haven't read The Iron Duke. I think I'm having a mental block when it comes to that book ^_^; I'm hoping I'll have more success with this one :) Ms Brook is a brilliant author and I so want to love this series.

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally - So I've never really been into contemporary YA, but lately, that's what I've been craving to read. Weird, I know. In any case, as soon as I read Catching Jordan's blurb, I knew I wanted to read that book. I thought the premise was really interesting - Jordan being a girl and playing quarterback for her high school team. I thought it'd be a good mix of contemporary and sport and I was right :)

Fate's Edge by Ilona Andrews - I'm a big fan of Ms Andrews' Kate Daniels series. I love that series - the action, the characters dynamics and the humor. However, the world building has always been a problem with me, just because I have difficulty "seeing" it. Well I have the same issue with The Edge series and the characters have not won me over yet.... but I have hopes, especially considering the hero is Kaldar :)

Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep - I've reviewed Touch of Frost not too long ago and if you've read my review, you know why I got Kiss of Frost :) I just love Ms Estep's writing and I'm glad she has two series going on :)

Treasured Vows by Cathy Maxwell - This book was released in 1996 (wow!) and the reason it caught my attention is because Alex has reviewed it not long ago. I wanted to give it a go because while it's set in England, it's different as in the hero is not titled. Small detail, but it can be a lot of fun!! :)

To Wed a Wild Lord by Sabrina Jeffries - This is the 4th book in the Hellions of Halstead Hall series. I've been enjoying this series so far and wanted to know more about Gabe... especially after the challenge the heroine threw him in the last book!

So all these books have been ordered online a couple of weeks ago. I've just been waiting for them to arrive. The only book I've actually bought is the following:

The Lady's Secret by Joanna Chambers - I read Hilcia's review yesterday and it was such a great review that I immediately bought it LOL.

And speaking of Hils, well she sent me a couple of books...

LOL, you can say I'm ready for the holiday season :)

And voila, a month-worth of haul! Definitively a great haul, but not too crazy right? :) Yes, I'm fishing for compliments for my restraint LOL.

I'm home!!!

2011-12-03T08:54:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!!

How are you doing? I'm back home!! Yay! Actually, I've been home since Wednesday night ^_^; Sorry I haven't blogged earlier! I wanted it to, but recovering from the trip - most specifically the bus right - took precedence LOL.

So can you believe that I made it for 4 days without internet?!? Yep I did :) LOL, great detox. There was wifi actually, but I had no gadget to connect to ^_^; No laptop, no iPhone or iPad... I do have a cell phone that could... but I don't know how ^_^; Plus, checking emails on the phone is not the greatest. I was hoping to borrow my labmate's laptop, but after days of hanging out together, we just went our separate ways in the evening... Booo.

Overall though, it was a great experience. It was the first time I went to a scientific conference and I think it was good. Not as fun as RT or RWA, but good LOL. Basically, this was the first Canadian Cancer Research conference on such a scale. There are many agencies in Canada funding cancer research and they usually each have their own conference... but this year, they forgo theirs and unite their efforts to make 1 big conference. There was about a thousand persons registered... This is much smaller compared to the American equivalent, but a good effort still considering this is the first conference. The conference was all about building bridges - making connections, seeing what is done here and elsewhere and what is the trend. And the caliber of the speakers was quite impressive as there was two Nobel Prize winners!!! I mean, seriously, it's hard not to be impressed LOL. But those two aside, I mean, there were some impressive names... Of course, my favorite talks were the ones with humor. Some of them are really well articulated and fast on their feet.

While some of it was really interesting, some of it was also really boring. I mean, sitting in hotel chairs from 9am to 5pm and listened to a myriad of talks... it's really long!! Also, some of it was a bit scary. Let just say that once I came back, I did google the symptoms of breast cancer, colorectal cancer and so on ^_^; Also, this conference was all about precision/personalized medicine. It's kind of funny when you think about it, but there is trends in research as well and that was it. The idea is with genome sequencing now more affordable, researchers are sequencing different tumors of a same cancer - the ones that respond to treatment and the ones that don't and compare them. They're trying to look for the mutations that will allow to predict whether a patient will respond to a treatment and which one in order to avoid over-treatment and toxicity of chemotherapy. Of course, in theory, this is awesome... but whether it'll really be feasible - not just from the science POV, but ethically and so on... That'll be interesting to see.

So that was pretty much it for the conference. Oh, the poster session went well. However, it was just too crowded... and I'm really glad I didn't have to present any poster. Basically, there were 477 posters for 2 sessions of two hours!!! Everyone registered to the conference was given a booklet the size of half a phone book with the abstracts (summary of what the poster was about). So people could know beforehand what was there and go see the posters that they were actually interested in. Posters were put up on panels in the morning and people had the whole day to peruse... and from 4 to 6pm, people presenting would stand next to their poster and people could ask them questions. I saw a lot of people just standing there and looking bored. I'm just glad I wasn't one of them ^_^; My labmate had about 8 persons coming up to him and my boss, about the same numbers. Although in the case of my boss, it was all the big names in our field, so that's encouraging.

The best moment of my trip? When Cindy and Bob drove up to Toronto to have dinner with me!! It was awesome to catch up with Cindy and Bob and it was really nice of them to do so! :) For those who worries, she's doing fine!! And she should be back to blogging soon :) There, I've said it Cindy. You can't back out anymore! :)

Since I had Thursday and Friday off, I decided to just relax... and tackle my room. My room has been in such a messy state, I really couldn't stand it anymore. You think I'm exaggerating? Just ask Ames! I have some pictures of my room, but really it's just too embarrassing to share... But just to give you an idea of how messy my room was... I received a really big package from Chapters/Indigo while I was away... and I didn't even notice the box in my room... cos it blended in so well with the boxes of books that I've gotten from RWA! Yeah ^_^; Hopefully, I'll be done by Monday LOL. However, in my defense, I have to say I'm making progress :)

I'll also be taking a lot of breaks to blog and blog-hop! It's good to be back home :)

Oh and for those who are wondering... Yes, I had time to read while I was away! LOL, it's kind of funny cos everyone's been asking me that question LOL. But with no internet, let just say books were the only way to keep me from going insane with boredom LOL. I read To Wed a Wild Lord by Sabrina Jeffries, Tis the Season to be Sinful by Adrienne Basso and re-read Count to Ten by Karen Rose and River's End by Nora Roberts :) 4 books in 4 days. Not bad, right? :)

Away for a few days!

2011-11-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone!!

How are you doing? Sorry I've been MIA the past couple of days ^_^; Although I figured most of you would be busy with Thanksgiving and away from the internet, so it was good timing :) Work has been quite busy this week as we got ready for our conference. As I said in my previous post, we had 2 posters to prepare... and we only started on Thursday. Last minute? Yeah, pretty much. Also, I ended up working on the one which project I was less familiar with... So I felt pretty useless. Not a good feeling.

I was planning to have some posts scheduled, but that didn't work out ^_^; I'm still planning to blog, but quite frankly, I don't know how much internet access I'll have... so I might be pretty quiet till Thursday :( But I'll try my best!

Review: Heiress in Love by Christina Brooke

2011-11-22T22:08:00.000-05:00

Ugh, the past two days have been brutal. It's really gotten cold and I've been having headaches and feeling nauseous. I'm knocking on wood it's not a BPPV relapse. Instead, I'm blaming the cold... In any case, I cannot afford getting sick as I'm going to the conference this week-end. Hmmmm, now that I think about it, it could be the conference is stressing me up. I mean, we're leaving Sunday and I have just booked the bus tickets today. It's soo annoying because my boss is indecisive about everything and so it doubles the planning time ^_^; Also, my labmate is really starting to panic as he and our boss each has a poster presentation... but we have not started on the posters yet!! Yeah... guess what I've been drafted to help with?

On the review front, I'm trying to catch up on books from this summer ^_^; I'm so behind, it's not funny. To try to avoid this situation in two months, I've been mixing it up, old and new... If there are any books that I was supposed to review and I haven't yet and you'd like me to, please let me know! LOL. In the meantime, enjoy this one!

Heiress in Love by Christina Brooke
published by St. Martin's Press in June 2011

When the Ministry of Marriage arranges a match, all that matters is power, wealth and prestige. In the business of marriage, there is no room for love. But even the most prudent plans can go awry...

Jane, Lady Roxdale, has endured one marriage of convenience decreed by the Ministry of Marriage. While she deeply regrets her late husband’s death, she is relieved to be free at last. But when a dissolute rake threatens everything Jane holds dear, she must contemplate marrying a second time...

Disgraced libertine Constantine Black inherits his cousin Roxdale’s land and title—while Roxdale’s prim widow is left all the wealth. Constantine is not a marrying man, but wedding Jane is the only way to save the estate from ruin. Jane resists the smoldering heat between them, desperate not to fall in love with an unrepentant rake. But for the first time ever, Constantine wants more than seduction. He wants all of her—body, heart, and soul...

Genre: Historical romance
Series: Ministry of Marriage series, Book #1

The Story: Through ironic circumstances, the Duke of Montford, a confirmed bachelor, found himself the guardian of 5 children - 3 girls, all heiresses, and 2 boys, titled and landed. He did his best raising them and ensuring their futures which means making sure their fortunes grew and in the case of the ladies, that they'd also marry well. As a member of the Ministry of Marriage, Montford had his pick for the best matches...

Jane, Lady Roxdale, was one of Montford's ward and was married off to Frederick Black, Baron Roxdale, at the age of 17. While she had liked him during their courtship, marriage did not turn out as she expected... and as a result, Jane is content to be free again. All she wants is to live peacefully and to take care of her 6 years old nephew and Frederick's ward, Luke Black. She knows that soon, Montford will plot to get her married again, but this time, she intends to remain independent. Unfortunately, Frederick's will have taken away that option...

Constantine Black is the defunct Lord Roxdale's cousin and heir. Years ago, Constantine refused to marry a young lady that he had compromised and as a result, he's been estranged with his family and has become persona non grata to the ton. And of course, he's gotten a reputation that he hasn't earned. Now that he's inherited the title though, Constantine wants to forget the past, start anew and prove to everyone they were wrong about him... However, it won't be as easy as he thinks...

Indeed, in his iron-clad will, Frederick Black stipulated that all his funds would go to his widow and Luke's guardianship was transferred to Constantine. Each has what the other wants as Constantine now has no funds to maintain the estate... and therefore, there is really only one solution: a marriage of convenience between the two!

My Opinion: This book caught my attention earlier this summer when I was going through the list of authors attending RWA. Back then, I was binging on historical romance and this definitively seemed to be right up my alley :) I was determined to get a copy at RWA... and I'm glad I did!! :)

The premise of Heiress in Love is not really original - it's a marriage of convenience after all. Constantine needs the funds to maintain his estate and Jane wants to remain close to Luke. However, Ms Brooke did a great job with it and it's all due to her interesting characters :) I have to say, I really liked the hero of this book. Despite his reputation, Constantine was really an honorable man. I liked that he accepted the consequences of his decision and they were quite dire. He didn't blame anyone, didn't whine and wasn't angry at the whole world. He stood by his principles and wouldn't be coerced into a marriage and it took guts. With Jane, while he didn't have many options, to marry her was still his choice. I also liked that he bonded with Luke - I love men getting along with kids in books :) It shows a different side of them. I also liked that he was hard-working and cared for his tenants. As I said, a great hero and he totally stole the spotlight in this book. I'm not saying that Jane was a bad heroine. She was likable, but paled a little bit in comparison to Constantine. She wasn't as self-assured as Constantine and was a bit the ice maiden. She did feel, but it felt to me she didn't know how to communicate her feelings. The only persons she let close to her were her childhood friends and Luke. Still, at the end, you have to admire her love for Luke.

The romance in the book was okay. I think the fact that bothered the most to me was the fact that Jane didn't enjoy the conjugal act with her late husband and therefore she finally finds passion with Constantine. It's just so common whenever you have widow heroines ^_^; Although I guess it's all a question of chemistry. In any case, I'm happy the two of them didn't jump right in the marriage and in bed together. Actually, both had reservation about it and were trying to find other options. I thought that was realistic. It also gave them time to get to know each other better and develop their feelings. In that aspect, the romance worked for me :) All in all, the romance was there and it was nice, but it lacked a bit of omphf to it making it only okay.

The overall storyline of Heiress in Love was interesting :) Surprisingly, there was a lot going on and Ms Brooke did a great job balancing everything. The most interesting part for me was Constantine's past :) The weakest part for me was the Ministry of Marriage. It seems to be consisted of three persons: Montford, Lady Arden and Lord DeVere and together, they seemed to be related to everyone in Society LOL. As it is the basis of this series, I wished there'd have been more explanations about the Ministry of Marriage. Why did they form, who has given them the power, what is their purpose. Obviously, it is to make match... but there must be more to it, right? So I hope Ms Brooke clarifies that in the future. I also wish for more interactions between Montford and Jane, just so she understands that Montford really did care for them all.

In the end, I was really pleasantly surprised by Heiress in Love. I think Ms Brooke has a nice writing style that flows well and is easy to read. Heiress in Love was definitively a solid debut, its flaws minor, and I am looking forward to Mad About the Earl, the next book in this series :)

My Grade: B-.

Review: The Next Always by Nora Roberts

2011-11-20T09:09:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!! How's your week-end going? Mine is great, but I feel so unproductive :( Didn't do anything.. and it's worst considering that I had Friday off as well because I went in for a doctor appointment. Sigh. Also, I haven't been reading... Just don't know what to pick up ^_^; At least, I have been re-reading, but it doesn't feel right sigh. And today, I'm meeting friends the whole day, so no reading either. Ah well, hopefully, I'll make it up this week...

Once again, no Hauling Sunday post this week as I haven't gone to the bookstore. Shocking right? LOL. But it proves that I can do it! Of course, lack of release and pre-orders play a big role. I still have my Monthly Reads post for October to post, but I didn't feel like it since I've just post September's last week. Maybe next week? :) So instead, you get this review!

I had other books I wanted to review first, but after the discussion topic of this week, I thought it would tie-in well if I reviewed The Next Always... and so The Next Always it is :) Enjoy the review!

The Next Always by Nora Roberts

published by Berkley in November 2011

The historic hotel in Boonsboro has endured war and peace, changing hands, even rumored hauntings. Now it’s getting a major facelift from the Montgomery brothers and their eccentric mother. Beckett is the architect of the family, and his social life consists mostly of talking shop over pizza and beer. But there’s another project he’s got his eye on: the girl he’s been waiting to kiss since he was fifteen.

After losing her husband and returning to her hometown, Clare Brewster soon settles into her life as the mother of three young sons while running the town’s bookstore. Busy, with little time for romance, Clare is drawn across the street by Beckett’s transformation of the old inn, wanting to take a closer look... at the building and the man behind it.

With the grand opening inching closer, Beckett’s happy to give Clare a private tour - one room at a time. It’s no first date, but these stolen moments are the beginning of something new - and open the door to the extraordinary adventure of what comes next...

Genre: Contemporary romance
Series: Inn Boonsboro trilogy, Book #1

The Story: The Montgomery brothers - Ryder, Owen and Beckett - along with their mother Justine are committed to bringing Inn Boonsboro back to its splendor and re-opening it for business. Beckett, the youngest, is the architect on this project, although he doesn't mind strapping on his tool belt to pitch in whenever necessary.

Clare Murphy Brewster married right out of high school and followed her husband who enlisted in the army to Kansas. After his death, she moved back to Boonsboro with her three boys and opened Turn the Page, her bookstore.

Beckett has been sweet on Clare since high school. With the inn bringing them closer together, Beckett seizes the opportunity to make his move on Clare and start his courtship...

My Opinion: I was a bit worried when I started this book because the reviews have been so-so... However, it turned out that I really enjoyed The Next Always! Perhaps it's because I went in with low expectations, but most probably I think it's because this book really suited my mood at that time :)

It seems to me the keyword to The Next Always was normal. Beckett and Clare live in Boonsboro where they grew up and therefore know almost everyone. They have normal lives, normal jobs, normal families. No big, dark secrets in their closets, no recent changes to adapt, no upheavals to overcome. Simply two persons who were friends and took their friendship a step further, with no obstacle standing in the way :) It sounds simple and perhaps a little boring, but it wasn't. Sometimes, you need books like The Next Always because they're nice and feel real :)

I really liked the H/H in The Next Always. Beckett was a nice guy, fun even. He's had a crush on Clare for a long time and even now, often stops by her bookstore for books and coffee to see her :) I thought that was really sweet :) I loved how he connected with Clare's boys. He really enjoyed spending time with them and it showed. I liked that he wasn't out of his depth dealing with boys under 10 years old... Probably because he remembered being a boy of that age :) I also enjoyed Beckett's camaraderie with his own brothers. They really knew and understood each other well and had a good relationship. They also loved their mother, were a little scared of her and that was cute :) As for Clare, I liked her a lot as well. She was a great mom and her boys were happy and well adjusted. The children were definitively her priority, but she had space in her life for more :) I liked that she wasn't scared of starting a relationship with Beckett, that she didn't over-worry too much. I also liked her friendship with Avery and Hope - every woman needs girlfriends :) Ms Roberts also did a great job with the secondary cast. I loved Clare's sons, especially Murphy. They were a blast :) I liked what I've read so far of Owen, Ryder, Avery and Hope and I think Ms Roberts did a great job at keeping the sequel baiting at a minimum :)

The romance was nice and sweet :) Some feel that there wasn't enough focus on it, that Beckett and Clare didn't have enough alone time, but I didn't mind. They've known each other for a long time, so I didn't feel the need for them to always be together. Also, they were two busy persons - Beckett with the inn, Clare with the boys and the business, so it made sense to me that they couldn't always get together. However, when they did, they enjoyed it and that's what mattered :) The fact that there wasn't any big conflict worked for me, although it doesn't mean that the relationship was smooth sailing. There were a few kinks of course, but Beckett and Clare did a great job at communicating and compromising :) They were simply good together :)

One important part of the book was the inn and I know some feel that Ms Roberts focused a little bit too much on it... and most probably, they are right, but it didn't bother me. I considered the inn like another character of the book and as it is the central element to this trilogy, why not? In addition, I thought it was interesting to read about it. It made me feel part of the project. To read about Beckett and Justine's vision and reading about the brothers making it real... Also, may I say I really like the concept of the inn? The atmosphere they're aiming for, but also the rooms theme. Knowing it's real just makes it more awesome LOL. Oh and I thought the ghost was a nice touch to the story :)

The only thing that didn't really work for me is the stalker plot. I don't know, I think it didn't really fit with the mood of the book, although at the end, it was a good plot device to make Beckett and Clare's relationship advance. Also, now that I'm reviewing the book, it does seem that The Next Always is lacking a bit of depth. I mean, we really just see the surface of everything - the characters and the relationships. It doesn't bother me, but perhaps it will others ^_^;

My Grade: B. The Next Always is not Ms Roberts' most memorable book, but it worked for me. The writing was solid as usual and I liked the characters, the setting, the romance and the simplicity of the book :) I'm definitively looking forward to the next book in this trilogy, The Last Boyfriend. I really liked Owen - I find his organization skills sexy LOL.

Review: Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

2011-11-17T07:00:00.002-05:00

Ugh, what an awful few days it's been. First, it's been really busy at work... and second, my computer is giving me trouble. Again. This time though, I'm throwing down the towel and I'm ready to buy a new computer. Except, buying one is not as easy as it seems or as it should be ^_^; I'm debating whether I should still go with Dell or another brand and how long it'll take till I get it if I order it. Just yesterday night alone, I got the blue screen of death 6 times!! That's not counting the number of times Chrome crashed on me! At the rate it's going, I won't be able to wait for long... so I'm thinking perhaps instant gratification at a store is the way to go instead of ordering online. Sigh, decision, decision, decision.

In the meantime, I'm really happy to finally have this review up!! Yay!! I'm really having a hard time putting reviews together lately. It's just not coming together nicely in my opinion... Despite that, I hope this review still make sense :) Let me know if it doesn't!!

Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

published by Kensington in July 2011

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy — a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.

But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why—especially since I should have been the one who died...

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Series: Mythos Academy series, Book #1

The Story: In Gwen Frost's family, the women have powers. Her grandmother sees the future, her mother could sense the truth and Gwen knows, sees and feels an object or a person's history upon touch. Because of those powers, the Frost women are considered as Gypsies.

Six months ago, Gwen's mother died. Not long afterwards, Gwen was enrolled at Mythos Academy, an elite Ivy League prep school for the descendants of mythological warriors: Amazons, Valkyries, Romans, Vikings, Spartans, Trojans, Celts, Samurais, Ninjas and so on. Being the new kid is difficult, but in this case, Gwen just feels she doesn't fit in: she is not a warrior and cannot wield any weapon, she's not rich, she's not wearing any brand names and is into comics... Her friendless state doesn't really matter anyway as Gwen is still dealing with her grief.

Then, the most popular - and mean - girl, Jasmine Ashton, is murdered in the Library of Antiquities, where Gwen works, and the Bowl of Tears, one of the Thirteen Artifacts, is stolen... Jasmine wasn't among Gwen's favorite people, but she is bothered that everyone is indifferent to Jasmine's death. Something else that's on her mind is that Gwen actually touched Jasmine's blood and corpse... and didn't flash. Things just don't add up and therefore, Gwen decides to investigate Jasmine's death. And in the course of her investigation, she ends up making unexpected allies...

My Opinion: Well I've become a fan of Ms Estep with her Elemental Assassin series and I was looking forward to Touch of Frost because I thought that Ms Estep's writing would lend itself well to YA... and I was right :) Touch of Frost ended up being a really enjoyable read :)

I admit, I'm not a fan of high school drama. I know, I know, it's the predominant theme in YA books ^_^; I guess it's because I never experience high school drama to that extent, so I cannot relate. That's why I usually prefer paranormal or fantasy YA. However, in this instance, I think Ms Estep did a good job at blending the regular life of a teenager with the paranormal elements. It felt a bit like the Percy Jackon series version teenagers LOL. I like that while these characters were supernaturals: Valkyries, Spartans, etc., their concerns were ones from typical teenagers, i.e. going to school, having friends, their crushes, who are they going to go to the dance with and so on. For them, being supernatural didn't bring them more angst or make their lives so different. I liked that at Mythos Academy, they didn't need to hide who they were. As you can see, the setting really worked for me.

Another aspect of the book that worked for me were the characters :) I really liked them. Gwen was a nice heroine that I could get behind and cheer for. She was quite independent and didn't really care about high school drama - a plus in my book :) I liked that she was her own person and was quite comfortable with it. I also liked that she wasn't too morose or depressed. Yes, her mother passed away and part of Gwen felt guilty and that's why she isolated herself in the past few months... However, she was ready to come out of her shell and move on, start making friends and live. Basically, she was a good character with a lot of potential and one that I'm curious to see what will happen to :) I also liked what I've seen of the secondary characters. I thought at first that Daphne would be a bitch, but it was nice to see things turn around and her becoming Gwen's ally. I'm looking forward for their relationship to develop :) Carson was a nice guy, a bit of a geek. I thought his romance with Daphne was cute and most likely, he will become the voice of reason in their little group. As for Logan, he was quite the mystery. It was hard to figure him out, as he blew hot and cold... Obviously though, the guy is interested in Gwen and I'm sure whatever his secret or reasons to be had to do with Gwen. Right now, I'm thinking he's her protector... He seemed to always be there at the right moment and probably know much more than he let on. I wonder how long it will take for Gwen to figure it out :)

There was a lot of world building in Touch of Frost, but Ms Estep was good at not dumping all the information at once. She was able to spread it out as the story went on and I thought the storyline was a good one. I liked seeing Gwen taking an interest and investigating Jasmine's death... although it felt like her amateur sleuthing was too easy. Also, the fact that the teachers didn't look more into Jasmine's death was highly suspicious in my opinion. In any case, the twist at the end was quite interesting and I didn't really expect it :) What I'm most happy about though is that Ms Estep cleared out the Gyspy thing in this book. First, it means she thought about it and so every dots should connect :) Also, it gives us a little idea of what to expect in the future.

All in all, Touch of Frost was a solid start to this series in my opinion. The style of the book is easy to read and enjoyable, the characters are engaging and the storyline was interesting. Ms Estep gives us enough information and answers so we are not too anxious and going crazy, but still looking forward to the next book :)

My Grade: B.

Self-promotion or harmless fun?

2011-11-15T16:56:00.000-05:00

My plan for today was to have a review up... but as you can see, there is no review yet ^_^; One would think it shouldn't be too difficult to finish one that I've already started, but alas... I ended up cleaning my room yesterday ^_^; Poor excuse, but then, you haven't seen my room LOL. Then, today was busy, busy, busy! Plus, I blame Ames for stealing my reviewing mojo LOL. So instead, I've decided to bring up a discussion topic :)

The topic today is what do you think of authors mentioning bits and pieces of their other work in their newest books? And I'm not talking about books in a same series or that are loosely connected. For example, I was reading Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep and in it, Gwen mentioned how her mother and her enjoyed BBQ from the Pork Pit which is the restaurant that Gin, the heroine of her Elemental Assassin series, owns. In The Next Always by Nora Roberts, the rooms at the inn are named after popular romance couples such as Titiana and Oberon, Elizabeth and Darcy... and Eve and Roarke. I also remember in Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon, the heroine was reading a book by Kinley MacGregor which is Ms Kenyon's pseudonym.

My question is: What do you think of those mentions? Is it self-promotion or harmless fun?

And when does it become too much? Once again, we go back to The Next Always by Nora Roberts. In Goodreads, Marg wrote in her thoughts of The Next Always: "Given that NR owns the Inn Boonsboro in real life, I can't quite decide if she is clever to write a story about something that she has personally spent a lot of time and effort on, if it is clever marketing for the town or Boonsboro or if it is one huge example of product placement." I read that comment a while ago and it stayed with me. I admit this is a bit different from what I brought up as it's not from Ms Roberts's previous books, but her real life... but I don't think it's off topic.

Personally, most of the time, I think it's fun that an author would mention something from her previous books in a newer one. Also, you have to be familiar with the books to catch those mentions so I think it's harmless and it's just fun for the authors as well :) I mean, as long as it doesn't overshadow the current story, it's all good and fun :)

When it comes from real life though, things become a bit more iffy. Usually, I don't have any problem either. For example, the Sherrilyn Kenyon and Kinley MacGregor thing - why not? :) Inside joke, right? But recently, I read a book and it just rubbed me the wrong way. IIRC, it was in The Next Always again. They were looking to buy books for the library at the inn and a couple of romance author names were mentioned. It just seemed to me a bit clique-y. Are those authors friends with NR and that's why she mentioned them or simply just luck of the draw. I know, that's me being picky though and most probably, I'm over-thinking it ^_^;

As for the question Marg brought up... Well I don't think it's a huge product placement. Ms Roberts often write about different careers and she always does her research just well. This time she chose the inn to be the focus of this trilogy and it's not that different from her previous trilogies/quartets. Actually, while I knew she owned an inn, I didn't realize it was in Boonsboro. To me, it was simply a case of "you write what you know about." Although now that I am checking it out... the bookstore is indeed called Turn the Page and the Italian restaurant is Vesta, just like in the book. Hmmm, I guess the saying "ignorance is bliss" is true ^_^; Okay, now, perhaps I need to re-think this...

What are your thoughts?

Monthly Reads: September 2011

2011-11-14T00:15:00.001-05:00

Ugh, it's just just after midnight ^_^; Ah well, I can't do much about it. As I did not buy any books this week - yes, you've read that right and no, I'm not sick... simply, did you see my last two hauls?!? LOL. My plan for this week-end was to have my September reads post up to make up for no Hauling Sunday post - it's really becoming an habit. Plus, I'm already one month late... But as usual, my plans got derailed and instead of spending the week-end writing and refining this post, I ended up reading manga ^_^; I'm glad because it's been a while since I've read manga and I've discovered two new series :) However, on the down side, I didn't do anything... not blogging, not reading, and definitively not cleaning. Ah well, I guess I'll have to fit the cleaning some other time.

As a result, a word of warning, I have a feeling the mini-reviews are quite rough. I tried putting my thoughts together, but I feel they might not convey well what I mean to say about the books... plus, they might not be really coherent. Especially the last one... Anyway, you should get the gist though and there's always the grades you can trust :)

1) Demon Marked by Meljean Brook: B+

2) A Tale of Two Lovers by Maya Rodale: B-

This is Ms Rodale's second book in The Writing Girls Romance series. Lady Julianna Somerset is one of the four writing girls of The London's Weekly. She is secretly the author of the Society's column and while it started out as necessity, she has grown proud of her work. Julianna's identity as the author cannot be revealed as she wouldn't be invited to events anymore and Julianna needs this job as her deceased husband didn't leave much behind and she is too proud to ask help from her family as they disapproved her marriage - with good reasons. Julianna is always on the look-out for Lord Simon Roxbury as his love of women and good times always make good stories. Especially when she catches him in a torrid embrace with a woman dressed as a man! Of course, Julianna knows it's a woman... but it's never wrong to... imply.

To say Lord Simon is furious at the news, especially when his friends start giving him looks and ladies close their bedroom doors, is an understatement. Then, his father gives him an ultimatum to get married! Really, how is he going to achieve that when ladies are no longer receiving him? And Simon definitively knows who is to blame! And then, Lord Simon and Lady Julianna are caught in a compromising situation and have to get married... Can this marriage of convenience really turn into a love match?

I liked Ms Rodale's writing in A Groom of One's Own; however, the storyline wasn't to my taste. Therefore I was looking forward to A Tale of Two Lovers to see if Ms Rodale would make it on my list of authors to buy and I'm glad to report this book was more enjoyable than the previous one :) I think the storyline just worked better. It was very ironic that Julianna suggested in her column that Lord Simon had a penchant for men and that she ended up married to him LOL. Of course, she knew that it wasn't the case... Unfortunately, Simon kept finding himself in ambiguous situations LOL. So yes, that part was funny :)

I think A Tale of Two Lovers was a nice read, but I don't think it's a memorable one. Julianna and Simon were okay characters, but they don't capture your attention. What makes the book is the storyline. Personally though, I think I could have done without the marriage of convenience. There was enough material for Ms Rodale to work with: Julianna reporting on Lord Simon's tendency, Julianna wanting to discover the identity of her rival over at the other newspapers and Julianna's issues with marriage. I think the romance would have been more entertaining if they haven't been married. As it is, I think they fell in love a bit too fast. Just a thought.

So really, the jury is still out on Ms Rodale :) I'm most probably going to read more of her books; however, I'll be choosing the ones that attract me.

3) Archangel's Blade by Nalini Singh: C+

4) Revenge at Bella Terra by Christina Dodd: C-

Eli Di Luca's vineyard is in financial trouble and Eli is too proud to tell his family about it. Eli is becoming quite desperate when he is approached by this Italian man who proposes to save Eli's vineyard in exchange for Eli marrying his daughter. Eli thinks it's crazy... but he can't think of any other way out and accepts to woo Chloe Robinson, a best-seller author who needs a quiet place to overcome a severe case of second book syndrome. Chloe is aware of her father's matchmaking, but all that matters is her book and the deadline.

Revenge at Bella Terra just didn't work for me. It started out well enough for me with the introduction of the characters and the setting... Unfortunately, it didn't last ^_^; I liked the characters, but I think they didn't match each other well. First, there was the age difference between Eli and Chloe. Age is just a number and most of the time, if it's about 10 years give or take, I don't really care. The problem is that in this case, you felt the difference. Heck, it was obvious that Chloe made Eli feel old ^_^; and that's not good. Basically, Eli is a tough and hard man with quite a past, but he escaped and is now following his path making wines. Chloe is a young author, quite independent, who's really just starting her career. The two of them have nothing in common and quite frankly, there was no connection, no chemistry between the two. I also didn't like the idea that Eli precipitated Chloe into marriage to save his vineyard. I know at that point, he had feelings for Chloe, but the least he could have done was let her know what was going. It was obvious that the whole plan would exploded in his face and Chloe would be angry about it all. I just think it wasn't well done at all from Eli's part and it left a sour taste in my mouth.

Aside from the romance, the suspense was well done. There was a lot going on and I have to say, I liked the case concerning the still and the disappearance of the man. Unfortunately, I think the pacing didn't work that well and it probably has a lot to do with the balance of the book. As I said, there was a lot going on. Quite frankly, at the end of Revenge at Bella Terra, I wasn't involved in the book anymore and started skimming some parts, mainly because I wasn't engaged in the romance.

So I'm giving it a C- because there were some good elements in the book... Unfortunately, it just never came together for me.

5) Sean Grisworld's Head by Lindsey Leavitt: B
Upcoming Review.

6) The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June by Robin Benway: C+

April, May and June are going through a lot. Their parents have recently divorced, the girls had to move and are starting at a new school. As if it's not enough, they suddenly wake up with powers! April gets flashes of the future, May can become invisible and June can read people's thoughts! Of course, for June who wants to be popular, being able to know what others think come in quite handy. For May who's taken the divorce the hardest, becoming invisible is just reflecting her mood... although she's not sure she likes it quite that literal... And April who is the studious and responsible type, well now she's really a know-it-all!

This book came to my attention after I read a review for it on Alex' blog. I like psychic powers and I thought this would fit the bill. It also turned out that I was pretty burn-out in September, so to change things up, I started reading more YA. Good stuff for me :) The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June is more about the girls handling their new lives after the divorce and the new school and who just happens to have powers than them, dealing with their powers. I mean, sure they have to get familiar with their powers because May becoming invisible in public - not a good thing - and they use their powers and they were handy. However, what I mean is that these powers are not the focus of the story, the sisters don't look for the source of their powers or decide to play superheroes. In fact, I find that they adapt quite rapidly to their powers and it just becomes a part of their lives.

I'd say out of the three girls, I liked April's storyline the most and June's, the least. I'm sorry, but I can't help but dislike girls that want to be part of the popular group no matter what. Most of the time, these characters are just so superficial and I think that was the case with June. April, well I think it's because she kind of had a romance. May's storyline though was the most realistic I think. Being angry is normal at her age, but add everything that's going on and yeah, it's not easy to be a teenager. One thing that Ms Benway captured well in this book was the sisterhood, i.e. the bickering LOL. Okay, seriously, there was no doubts that these three girls were sisters... and the bonds between them were solid. Overall, The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June was really the story of three sisters going through a tough period in their lives and them having powers was just a bonus. It was a nice read, but not one that stood out.

7) Cheri on Top by Susan Donovan: B-
Upcoming Review.

8) New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb: C
Upcoming Review.

9) Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones: A-

10) The Duff (The Designated Ugly Fat Friend) by Kody Keplinger: C

Bianca Piper is not impressed by Wesley Rush whom she considers a man-slut, especially after he calls her the DUFF: the Designated Ugly Fat Friend. Unfortunately for her, she gets stuck with him on an assignment for English and therefore, can't ignore him.

Then, she learns that her mother, who's been going away more and more in the past years, has asked for a divorce and her father has started drinking again. Things are definitively not going well at home and Bianca needs to escape, needs to be distracted... and finds refuge in Wesley's arms. At first, it's just sex... but soon, Bianca realizes that Wesley is more than a man-slut. However, she's not sure she can see him under a new light and have a relationship with him. It gets even more complicated when her long-time crush becomes single...

There was a lot of buzz about this book on blogland last year and I wanted to check it out. I have to say though, straight contemporary YA novels are not my favorite... mostly because I don't really care about high school drama. On that front, The Duff wasn't bad at all. In fact, I think it had a lot of depth to it. Bianca is going through a tough time at home and wants to escape and she does it by having sex with Wesley and withdrawing from her friends. I thought what Bianca was going through and her way of coping was very realistic. And the more time she spent with him, the more she learned about the true Wesley. I can also understand why Bianca had difficulty to trust Wesley... Him calling her the Duff, well it didn't endear him to her and obviously, it brought into question whether or not he found her attractive and really wanted her. I did think Ms Keplinger started laying it a bit thick with Wesley's story though. Although there are more and more negligent parents and it made sense... it's just overall, The Duff was quite serious in tone and I think I need a bit of happiness, of glimmer somewhere.

Basically, I can understand why this book was so popular and such a success. It has depth and is quite realistic and I think it reaches a lot of the readers. Unfortunately, I'm not among those readers ^_^; I thought the book was a bit on the boring side with not a lot happening. There was just too much internal monologues and passages that it never really gripped me.

11) At Hidden Falls by Barbara Freethy: D

Isabella Silviera is on her way to Angel's Bay to visit her older brother when her car is hit and she almost goes over the cliff. Luckily for her, Nick Hartley was passing by and saved her. Instantly, there's an attraction between the two of them... However, Nick is in no position to get involved in a relationship. He's trying to mend his relationship with his teenage daughter who has recently moved in with him after she's spent the last 10 years with her mother in England and she is definitively his priority. Unfortunately for him, Angel's Bay is small and he keeps running into Isabella, especially when she decides to volunteer at the Hartley family theater. As for Isabella, while she understands Nick's position, she is not about to give up on the man... as he's been haunting her dreams for quite some time now.

At Hidden Falls was a meh book. Perhaps it's because I haven't read the first three books or it might have been my mood... but basically, I never got into this book. The whole storyline simply didn't appeal to me. I did like Isabella and Nick, but there was just too much going on and in the way. It bothers me when one minute, a character says s/he can't be in a relationship or can't do this or that and the next minute, s/he's doing exactly that. And this was the case with Nick. I don't think it makes you a bad parent if you start a new relationship... it's really simply the way you handle it. Nick was too wishy-washy and it ruined the romance for me. Despite Nick haunting Isabella's dreams, I never felt much chemistry between the two. Isabella is quite confident in herself, but she never went after Nick. Finally, they just didn't spend enough time together for me to really buy the romance ^_^;

Also, there was just too much about the subplot which was about a young, single mother disappearing. Her baby is left with the town's doctor who is still feeling the lost of her own baby as a teenager and who must choose between two beaux. And oh, the baby's father is married and actually, among one of four couples who wants to adopt the baby. Yeah, complicated, much, right? This part of the storyline was just too prominent and not really interesting as it didn't connect to the real main characters. I guess it does serve to set-up the doctor's book, but I never took the bait. Simply wasn't interested ^_^; Then, you add in my burn-out for small-town romances and all in all, this book didn't have much going on to interest me :(

12) Spider's Revenge by Jennifer Estep: B

13) Flawless by Carrie Lofty: B
Upcoming Review.

Books bought: + 15
Books read: -13
TBR pile: +2

September really felt like a slow month for me. The biggest problem I had that month is I started feeling burn-out on many genres. I just didn't feel like reading historical or contemporary romances which are two genres that I read a lot. Urban fantasy also held little appeal ^_^; That's when I started turning to YA and lucky me, it worked! I ended up with 13 reads, so overall I'm happy because it's in the double digits. I'm also happy that I managed to review quite a few of them already... Hopefully, I'll be able to review all I want.

All right, need to go to sleep now! Night night!

Review: Ghost Story by Jim Butcher

2011-11-10T07:19:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! How are you doing? There's nothing going on with me lately :( It's just the usual: work. I've been going out with some friends, but nothing out of the ordinary. Oh, the change of time though seems to give me an extra hour in the morning :) I'm not complaining LOL.

I'm working really hard on getting reviews for some books that I've read a while ago ^_^; These are books that I really wanted to review, so I'm doing my best so that they don't fall between the cracks! I seem to have find a balance between my reading and reviewing - it's been a while! Hope that it keeps on! :)

Today's review is Ghost Story by Jim Butcher. Hmmm, somehow, it's more of a gushing than a review ^_^; but hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

***Warning: This review contains spoilers. Read at your own risk***

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
published by ROC (New American Library) in July 2011

When we last left the mighty wizard detective Harry Dresden, he wasn't doing well. In fact, he had been murdered by an unknown assassin.

But being dead doesn't stop him when his friends are in danger. Except now he has nobody, and no magic to help him. And there are also several dark spirits roaming the Chicago shadows who owe Harry some payback of their own.

To save his friends-and his own soul-Harry will have to pull off the ultimate trick without any magic...

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Dresden Files, Book #13

The Story: Six months have gone by since the cliffhanger ending of Changes and Harry is given the chance by the higher powers to go back as a ghost and solve his own murder. Otherwise, three of the people he loves will come to great harm. With his friends' lives at stake, Harry does not hesitate one second.

However, once Harry arrives in Chicago, he is in for a surprise. First, it's May and there is still snow. Second, his beloved city has been invaded by dark beings. Indeed, with Harry - the biggest badass in the area- gone, many beings are no longer afraid of coming out and are vying for power, for territory. In order to counter these attacks and protect people, Murphy and Marcone have allied and formed a militia in which most of Harry's friends have engaged in. Then, there is his apprentice who has gone rogue and whom everyone seems to fear... Oh and let's not forget that as a ghost, Harry has some communication problems... and no magic.

Nonetheless, Harry is determined to help his friends, face old foes and find his murderer... Dresden's style :)

My Opinion: I realize that I've fallen behind in my reviewing of the Dresden Files books or of the Codex Alera books for that matter ^_^; I think one of the reasons is they're just so complex and most of the time, I'd sounded like a rabid fangirl LOL. However, I always look forward to a new release by Mr Butcher and try to get my hands on it ASAP. Ghost Story is his latest and I really wanted to review it because it was sooo good!

So the previous book in the series, Changes, was really titled appropriately because it was the catalyst of the series so far and brought a lot of changes to what the readers were familiar with. It also ended on a really big cliffhanger and I was really looking forward to Ghost Story to see what Mr Butcher would do! What would happen to Harry?!? And all I can say is that Mr Butcher really pulled it off :)

I love Harry. Even as a ghost, he's still himself :) He's a genius and a clown at once LOL. I liked that he's so oblivious to the notoriety he has built on over the year. I think that's a real sign of selflessness. In all his adventures, it wasn't about him, it was really about the people he helped and the circumstances. Also, it's nice to re-visit the whole gang. I thought that Bob now being in Butter's possession was quite clever. LOL, the bond between them just makes me laugh. It's also very nice to see Butters being more confident :) Molly's transformation is quite interesting as well. To me, it really makes sense. I kind of feel bad though that she has to live up to her mentor's and to some extent, her father's reputations. The poor girl is not a fighter, but she has to become one. The fact that she's not running away and instead is enduring Lea's tutelage is really brave and really shows her strength. By the way, Lea and Molly's combo is quite interesting and not one that I'd have predicted but once again, one that makes sense :) The only person I'm a bit wary is Murphy. She's never been weak, but now, with everything that's happened, she really toughened up, hardened up... and I found it unfortunate and sad :( I feel like she lost something and perhaps, it's part of her heart when Harry disappeared.

As usual, there's a lot going on in Ghost Story. It's full of action, pretty much non-stop, and fast-paced... and I simply loved it :) Mr Butcher brings back an old foe and it really fit the story. I really liked that part of the story. I enjoyed Fitz' introduction and I'm hoping he's going to become a recurring character. Finally, regarding Harry's death... Once again, it's really clever. I didn't figure it out, but once I read it, it simply made sense and it's so in character with Harry. I think Mr Butcher did a great job at foreshadowing it. Also, regarding the big revelation... I really liked that it didn't come out of no where either, that Bob and Harry were able to figure it out.

Okay, I guess that's why I don't often review Mr Butcher's books... because, in the end, it's not much of a review ^_^; It's quite simple though. First, if you've never read the Dresden Files books, don't start here! Then, if you're a fan of this series, I believe you're going to be happy with Ghost Story. It has all the elements that has made the Dresden Files series a success. It's thrilling and funny, you just want to keep reading and it's great to re-visit the characters. Yes, the storyline concerning the White Council has stalled, but it's not a bad thing. Considering what happened in Changes, Mr Butcher really had to address those issues and storylines first. I'm sure we'll be back on track very soon :) My only disappointment in Ghost Story is that we have no seen more of Mouse, Thomas and Ebenezar ^_^;

My Grade: A-. I really liked this book and am looking forward to the next one as always :)

Review: Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones

2011-11-08T02:03:00.000-05:00

Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones

published by St. Martin's Press in August 2011

When Charley is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by her best friend who tells her to get dressed quickly and tosses clothes out of the closet at her, she can’t help but wonder what Cookie’s up to. Leather scrunch boots with a floral miniskirt? Together? Seriously? Cookie explains that a friend of hers named Mimi disappeared five days earlier and that she just got a text from her setting up a meet at a coffee shop downtown. They show up at the coffee shop, but no Mimi. But Charley finds a message on the bathroom wall. Mimi left a clue, a woman’s name. Mimi’s husband explains that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old friend of hers from high school had been found murdered a couple weeks prior. The same woman Mimi had named in her message.

Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He’s left his body because he’s being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can’t let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they’ll have a portal to heaven. And if they have a portal to heaven... well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty. Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Will Cookie ever get a true fashion sense? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel them as they do?

Genre: Mystery with paranormal elements,
Series: Charley Davidson series, Book #2

The Story: There's never a dull moment in Charley's life. Everything starts when Charley is rudely awakened by her neighbor/secretary/best friend Cookie. Cookie's friend, Mimi, who has disappeared 5 days earlier, has just contacted Cookie to meet at a coffee shop. However, when Charley and Cookie arrive at the coffee shop, there is no sign of Mimi... Instead, there's only a name. Charley agrees to help Cookie out and investigate on Mimi's disappearance. She quickly realizes that Mimi is in trouble when she discovers that Mimi's high school entourage has been dropping dead one after another. The fake FBI agents who paid a visit to Charley were also a pretty obvious clue.

Meanwhile, Charley is heading an investigation of her own. She's looking for Reyes Alexander Farrow's body. Reyes is the entity that has been haunting her and looking over her. Reyes is also her sort-of-boyfriend and Satan's son and his physical shell is being tortured by demons who want to know her whereabouts. Soon, he won't be able to take it anymore so he's decided to let his body die... To say that Charley is not thrilled with this idea is an understatement and thus, she's determined to find him. Unfortunately, there's the slight problem that Reyes is a fugitive and therefore, Charley can not openly ask for Uncle Bob's help... And as if all this was not enough, Charley's father is acting weird. Should she worry about it?

Yep, never a dull moment.

My Opinion: Well, Second Grave on the Left was another winner for me :) I'm really liking this series so far and am happy that 1) there is little wait between the books and 2) there is going to be more than three books in this series.

Basically, everything that I enjoyed in First Grave on the Right, I found in Second Grave on the Left :) Charley is still a fun heroine, but more importantly, she's interesting and intriguing. I like that there's a lot more to Charley than meets the eyes. As I mentioned in First Grave on the Right, my first impressions of Charley was that she reminded me of Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich. Mainly because she is quite a klutz and finds herself in preposterous situations :) However, as it turns out, Charley does know what she's doing. Actually, I find Charley to be smart, savvy and competent... but she hides herself behind a veil of absurdity that makes her hilarious. Mostly, I think it's her way of protecting herself. She's different and therefore, often misunderstood and feared. She's definitively been hurt in the past - by her own stepmother and sister, but also friends... and so she maintains a distance. So that's Charley as a human... but Charley is also the grim reaper. I liked the fact that when we met Charley, she already had a handle on her abilities and her functions as the grim reaper and that she's been learning as she grew up. I like that the powers weren't just foisted on her one day. Instead, she's had a lifetime to learn and adapt. Then again, I also like the fact that Charley has a lot more power than she thought and she is slowly uncovering it. To me, it makes sense that as she learns more about the world, she learns more about her abilities and her true nature :)

Along with Charley, we have a yummy hero, Reyes :) Reyes is another interesting character and he's still quite a mystery. I find Reyes' character to be refreshing. I like how dark and ruthless and how kind he can be. He's a very ambiguous character. Good or bad? Does it really matter? What matters is that he's willing to sacrifice himself to protect Charley and that Charley loves him. I do admit I'm anxious about the romance. Is there really a way for Charley and Reyes to be together at the end? I sure hope so!! I definitively don't want a love triangle somewhere in the future... However, I have to say Charley and Reyes are quite devoted to each other so perhaps we'll be spared. It feels to me that their romance is transcending, it's been thousand of years in the making... at the same time, it is so fragile, because when it comes down to it, Charley doesn't know Reyes. She is getting to know him though and she is dealing with what she learns... LOL, as you can see, Ms Jones has me invested in this romance! Don't need to tell you this is a good thing, right? LOL.

Finally, I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of the book. The case about Mimi was interesting and quite suspenseful. I also liked that Charley is delving more into Reyes' past, finding out more about him and meeting his best friends. Most interesting is Ms Jones's good use of Charley's informants and aides which of course, are from the ghostly nature :) It gives her some leeway when it comes to the mystery because Charley gets information that usually wouldn't be available to her. At the same time, Charley actually does some investigating of her own, gets information the old fashion way. For me it works, because the ghosts are involved in both Charley's professions - PI and grim reaper - and let's face it, they make for great secondary characters :) With everything going on, Second Grave on the Left is full of action and very fast-paced; I couldn't turn the pages fast enough :) I do admit that at time, there was perhaps a bit too much going on and I was confused a little... but overall, I think Ms Jones did a great job at balancing everything and keeping the readers at the edge of their seats :)

My Grade: A-. I really enjoyed and loved Second Grave on the Left. It was a great book and my issue with it was pretty minor and will probably clear up once I re-read it at a slower pace. All in all, I'm really happy I gave this series a go and it's probably my "find" of the year so far :)

Hauling Sunday LXII

2011-11-06T11:25:00.000-05:00

And another week has gone by. Not much we can do about it, right? LOL. At least, this week was good :) My boss was out sick - very unfortunate for him, but that meant I had a light workload. Didn't have the chance to play hooky though :P Instead, I worked on catching up on things like the samples inventory and thawing the freezer. Not very fun things, but things I can never get around to when my boss is around.

Then, I went ahead and had fun with books :) First, there was a 31% off at Harlequin for Halloween. Li has been on a Kelly Hunter binge. I read a couple of her books a while ago and really enjoyed it... but somehow, she slipped off my radar. When Ames told me about the special at Harlequin, I was determined to put her back on the radar :)

Her Singapore Fling by Kelly Hunter - This is the last book of the Bennetts series and the one the blurb attracted me most, so that's why I got it :)

The Man She Loves to Hate by Kelly Hunter - I was looking at the reviews on Goodreads and Jane for Dear Author mentioned how the setting of this book is quite similar to After the Night by Linda Howard which is a book I really, really, really enjoyed :) So it was a no-brainer that if I was going to re-discover Ms Hunter, I was getting this book :)

Playboy Boss; Live-In Mistress by Kelly Hunter - I liked the blurb of this book. Seemed like my kind of book :)

Always the Bridesmaid by Nina Harrington - There was a review not long ago on Dear Author that caught my attention. I've been keeping this book in mind ever since and this was the perfect occasion to get it :)

Then, I received a book that I've pre-ordered a while ago...

The Next Always by Nora Roberts - Quite a no-brainer for me. I love Ms Roberts' writing and even though the reviews have been so-so, I was happy to get my copy and proceeded to read it :) I have to say , the cover is pretty, but I think it's even better when you're holding it :)

Finally, I went to the bookstore. The 20% off coupon was still valid and so, I went to get the books released on November 1st :)

The Comforts of Home by Jodi Thomas - I'm loving Ms Thomas' Harmony series and was really glad to get my hand on the newest one! I probably sound like a broken record, but there is something special about Ms Thomas' writing. I also like the fact that Ms Thomas' characters are really different than what I'm used to :)

Heart of Darkness by Lauren Dane - By now, you all know my weakness for witches and wizards, right? :) So that's one reason I picked up this book. Another is I've been wanting to give her a serious try. I have some of her Brown Siblings books... unfortunately, they don't really appeal to me ^_^; This one does though.

His Mistress by Christmas by Victoria Alexander - Ms Alexander is my comfort author when it comes to historical romance. There's just something about her writing, characters and books that work for me :) Plus with the 20% off coupon, I didn't hesitate anymore because this was a trade-size book :)

Baby It's Cold Outside by Addision Fox - This book just caught my eyes. I love the cover and on the back, there's an adorable husky puppy!! Of course, the blurb was interesting as well!

The Spy Who Left Me by Gina Robinson - I've never read Ms Robinson, but this book sounded a little absurd and a lot funny :) And lately, I've been in the mood for funny, so this one should be right up my alley :)

And there it is, my haul for this week :) A really nice haul!! Now, technically, this should be it till the end of the month because there's nothing that I want coming out till November 22 at least. However, it turns out that next week-end is Chapters/Indigo Family and Friends week-end, so that means 15% off on everything (plus my 10% iRewards membership). Sigh, why now? Why not at the end of the month or early December?!? Ah well, we'll see how things go ^_^;

What about you? What are your new precious?

Review: Changing the Game by Jaci Burton

2011-11-02T11:05:00.000-04:00

How are you doing everyone? Hope you had a nice week-end and that your Halloween was very spooky! LOL. It's a new month, so head over to Breezing Through to look at the new releases we're looking forward to :)

I've been in a bit of a reading slump. I have no problem re-reading books, but new ones? I just don't know what I feel like reading ^_^; Ah well, if I can't read, why don't I review? :) It's funny how some books are easier to review than others... I was going to cover Changing the Game in my Monthly Read post of August, but it just begged for a post of its own :) So here it is! Enjoy!

Changing the Game by Jaci Burton
published by Berkley in August 2011

Most people play by the rules. Gavin and Liz aren't most people...

Win at any cost. That's always been the mantra of sports agent Liz Darnell. When she carries things too far and risks losing her number-one client, baseball pro Gavin Riley, Liz realizes that she'll have to work extra innings to win him back. It might not be too much of a stretch. She's had a thing for this player's moves since she first laid eyes on him, and by the looks of it, he wants her just as bad.

Gavin's more than ready—especially when Liz is offering herself as part of the bargain. And as much of her as Gavin wants. For added thrills, he decides to throw a little curve ball Liz's way to see just how far she's truly willing to go to keep him as a client. But when love unexpectedly enters the playing field, neither Liz nor Gavin are ready for the biggest game-changer of them all.

Genre: Sport romance
Series: Play by Play trilogy, Book #2

The Story: Liz has had a crush on Gavin Riley for a long time, but never acted on it because he was her client. After losing Mick, Liz believes that Gavin will side with Mick and fire her as well, so she gives in her long-time crush and kisses him at the end of Perfect Play. It's been months now since the kiss and Liz has been avoiding Gavin. When they find themselves at the same sport banquet, it is time for Liz to face the music. However, instead of being fired as she expected, Liz ends up having very hot sex with Gavin.

Gavin has no intention of firing Liz as she's done a good job with his career. He's always kept his relationship with Liz professional, but with the kiss and Liz' belief that she'll be fired, things have changed. He's seen a different side of Liz, one that he wouldn't mind exploring. Soon, Gavin and Liz find themselves embarking in a fling - one that they both enjoy.

However, is it good to mix pleasure and business? Especially when not everyone in Gavin's entourage is welcoming Liz?

My Opinion: Like many readers, I had my doubts when I started Changing the Game because I didn't really like Liz' character in Perfect Play. However, Liz turned out to be a pleasant surprise and instead, Gavin is the one who didn't measure up.

I really enjoyed the first half of the book. It was all about Gavin and Liz and they were fun to read about :) I liked seeing them together, enjoying each other's company and getting to know each other better. While Gavin and Liz have known each other for years, it's always been more on a professional level. Sure, over the years, Liz has become a family friend, but I suspect she always kept more distance between herself and Gavin than she did with Mick and as a result, there was a lot about him that she didn't know. Inversely, Gavin learned more about Liz - her life, family and her motivation for her job. All in all, I think they made a great couple and I enjoyed them together with the baseball setting as a backdrop :)

As I mentioned earlier, I ended up liking Liz' character a lot more than I expected. Mainly because she was nicer, but also more real and more sincere. In Perfect Play, she was portrayed as the villain, a bit one-dimensional, but in truth, her character has a lot of depth and Ms Burton did a great job at fleshing it out. I really liked the fact that she had to deal with the fall-out of her action and that she learned a valuable lesson. Though she did make a mistake meddling in Mick's love life; ultimately, it wasn't with bad intent and that made her more sympathetic to me. I liked that her complex character was paired up with someone "simpler" like Gavin. By simpler, I mean that Gavin is just a regular guy who plays professional baseball. Sure, he has enjoyed the high life and the perks of his job - who wouldn't? But he wasn't too much of a jock, didn't have a big, dark secret in his closet or a sob story as his past. That contributed to make the couple more fun and easier to enjoy. And oh, let's not forget the sizzling chemistry that Gavin and Liz shared :)

Other things that I enjoyed from this book was the Riley family - well, Gavin's parents and his sister, Jenna :) The parents are really good people, genuinely nice and they kept their sons grounded to earth :) Jenna is spunky and doesn't let people walk over her which is good considering how popular her brothers are. I really liked that they didn't hold a grudge against Liz for her actions in Perfectly Play and welcome her back. I also think that Ms Burton did a great job at giving this contemporary romance its "sporty" atmosphere. It was just the right amount of baseball and jocks for this to really feel like a sport romance and I liked that she stayed away from the clichés :)

Unfortunately, I had some issues with this book. I enjoyed the first half, but I think the book started losing some steam about half-way. Why? Well because, there was no real storyline going on ^_^; The first half was pretty much about Liz and Gavin fooling around and getting to know each other better. Lots of sex going on - a bit too much in my opinion - and not much else. So when the conflict appeared, it seemed a bit out of no where... I don't want to give too much away, but I just don't understand how Gavin could say that to Liz. He spent half the book taking Liz' side and then suddenly, does a 180 and is suspicious of her?!? It didn't make sense to me and it was really hurtful for Liz. The worst is that I don't think he really believed what he was saying... it was more as if he wanted to hurt her with his words! I'm really glad Liz didn't let him treat the way he did and she walked out. However, I have to say it ruined his character a little bit for me. Also, I don't really get Gavin's attitude or reaction towards his father's heart attack. I understand being concerned and I think that him taking time off to care for his father was very filial. But not going back to play... when you want to play? Especially when his father was recovering well and urging him to go back? It seemed out of character for me.

One more thing that really bothered me throughout Changing the Game was Mick. Oh gosh, he was a jerk and soooo annoying!!! I understand that he was mad at Liz for what she did... but Liz has apologized and even paid for it and Tara has forgiven her. So what else did he want? He kept harping on it like a broken record and in the process, poisoned Gavin and Liz' relationship a little... and at the end of it all, he asks Liz to be his agent again?!?! Are you kidding me? Have I been Liz, I would have turned him down.

Overall, I think that Changing the Game started off well. I enjoyed the chemistry between Liz and Gavin, the interactions between Liz and the Rileys... However, I feel there was a lack of direction in the book which was reflected in the lack of goal/purpose for the H/H. Good chemistry and hot sex can only carry a book so far. That being said, I'm curious about Jenna's book. She's very different from Tara and Liz and from what we've seen, she seems to have enough personality to carry the book on her own :)

My Grade: C+.

Review: Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins

2011-10-31T17:55:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer: I've received Until There Was You as an eARC from Netgalley

Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins

published by HQN Books (Harlequin) in October 2011

Posey Osterhagen can't complain. She owns a successful architectural salvaging company, she's surrounded by her loveable, if off-center, family and she has a boyfriend—sort of. Still, something's missing. Something tall, brooding and criminally good-looking...something like Liam Murphy.

When Posey was sixteen, the bad boy of Bellsford, New Hampshire, broke her heart. But now he's back, sending Posey's traitorous schoolgirl heart into overdrive once again. She should be giving him a wide berth, but it seems fate has other ideas...

Genre: Contemporary romance
Series: none

The Story: While the blurb is accurate, it left out some important details. So hopefully, my summary will fill in some blanks :)

Posey Osterhagen's first love was Bellsford's bad boy Liam Murphy; unfortunately, he had eyes only for nice girl Emma Tate. Unbeknownst to him though, Liam broke Posey's heart during prom when he made a very hurtful comment.

Years have gone by and Posey has put it all behind her. At least, that's what she thinks until Liam, who is now a widower, is moving back to Bellsford so his teenage daughter, Nicole, can be closer to her maternal grandparents. For some reasons, the two of them keep running into each other... and soon, Posey finds herself falling for him once again. However, things are complicated as a potential client is dangling an important salvaging contract at Posey and Posey's very demanding cousin, who always made Posey feel inadequate, is coming to town for an extended visit. In all this chaos, Posey must deal with her feelings for Liam, try not to get hurt as last time and not forget that Liam's priority is his daughter.

My Opinion: Before reading Until There Was You, I was a bit wary of the book. First, I was afraid that I was a bit burn-out on Ms Higgins' books because she has a very unique style and when you read many of her books, her heroines and the storylines start to blend together ^_^; Second there was the switch from first to third POV and finally, the so-so reviews that have been popping up on blogland. Perhaps it's because I came in with low expectations, but I ended up enjoying Until There Was You quite a bit :)

Until There Was You is a pretty typical Kristan Higgins book in the sense that readers get a fun and successful heroine with a quirky family, quirky friends and a big dog who is looking for love. While it sounds familiar, Ms Higgins keeps it fresh by varying the details and does a really good job :) The best part of Until There Was You though was the characterization of Posey and Liam. Ms Higgins did a great job at developing and fleshing the H/H so we had complex and flawed characters :) Posey was very likable. I loved that she was happy with her life: loved her job, had great relationships with her family and was surrounded by good friends. I think there's a bit too many down-on-their-luck heroines, heroines that must do something big in order to save their job, heroines that want to prove themselves at the cost of love and/or heroines that are desperate for marriage and children. It is nice to have happy heroines and there definitively should be more of them in romance. While Posey is happy, it does not mean she's not vulnerable. I thought the issues Posey had were different and refreshing - her weight, the evil cousin, etc. It showed different sides of Posey, made her more sympathetic and real. In contrast, Liam was not as likable as Posey, but he was as well developed. I liked that he really loved Emma, but he wasn't blind to the problems in their marriage. I liked that he did not idealize or revile his wife. He was very realistic about it and I thought that was refreshing. I also liked that he was honest - that's always a great quality in an hero. He was also a great father, perhaps a bit over-protective, but it made sense given the circumstances.

The romance was an interesting one. I thought it was a bit uneven as in the beginning, Posey seems to have the impression that Liam does not like her and Liam seems to be a bit freaked out by Posey's stalker-ish manners when they were younger... And Ms Higgins never goes back to these feelings, to work them out or explain them. Instead, she moves forward. I liked that the relationship took time to establish between the two of them as they are different persons. I never had the feeling that Posey fell in love with the "young" Liam or her idealized version of Liam. Also, I loved that Liam realized that he was happy with Posey and what a mistake he did and that nobody around him really nudged him. I wouldn't say the romance in Until There Was You is very romantic, not a lot of "ahhhh" and "ohhhh" - although there is a grand gesture at the end - but everything was resolved in a satisfying manners and I liked it :)

Other things that I enjoyed in this book was Posey's interactions with her family and friends. I loved seeing her hanging out with her best friends (one of them her brother-in-law, Jon). I do wish that we've seen more of her relationship with her brother, Henry. Also, Henry and Jon were a great couple and every time they appear, the mood of the book lightened up :) I enjoyed the light-hearted scenes: the baseball matches, the prom, the cooking for singles LOL. Ms Higgins really has a talent for blending funny situations with more serious matters and she proves it once again in Until There Was You. There was a lot going on in this book, but in the end, Ms Higgins juggled with everything and Until There Was You turned out to be a well-balanced book.

One of the thing I was most happy about was getting Liam's POV. This book would have never worked otherwise. I think Ms Higgins did a great job at handling the switch from first to third POV. I always felt in the past that her books were more chick-lit because of the first POV and have wished several time that she'd do the switch so it'd be more contemporary romance... and it was :) I hope she will continue in that direction with her future books!

My Grade: B.

Hauling Sunday LXI

2011-10-30T11:41:00.000-04:00

It's Sunday again!! Why do week-ends go by so fast, but not weekdays? It's definitively unfair in my opinion. I was planning to do a bit more of blogging, but this week turned out to be quite busy. Part of it was work as usual, but another part was that I went to see The Three Musketeers on Wednesday evening. Yes, going to the movies has disrupted my routine... Doesn't take much LOL. That and my sister hijacking my computer.

I've had a bit of the blues this week. I just don't know what to read ^_^; The usual dilemma LOL. To cheer me up and spur my reading, I went to the bookstore on Friday evening. I've been planning it out the whole week ^_^; 1) I had an additional 20% off if my purchase was over 35$ and 2) I wanted that blanket that is 30$ if I spend more than 50$... Tell me, why do the books I want never come to the same bookstore?!? Most of the releases was available at bookstore #1 and one or two, at bookstore #2 ^_^; At the end, I was lucky a friend came with me and bought a travel book as one of the new releases I wanted was on strict release date. Plus, the sale person just couldn't find it ^_^; Okay, enough babbling. Here is what I got :)

Until There was You by Kristan Higgins - I'm a big fan of Ms Higgins. I've read some so-so reviews on this book and I've actually read the Netgally e-ARC. Well in the end, I enjoyed it enough to get my own copy :)

Beauty Dates the Beast by Jessica Sims - Found this one out thanks to blogland :) It's been getting some good reviews. It sounds very funny which is what I've been in the mood for :)

The Famous Heroine and The Plumed Bonnet by Mary Balogh - These are re-prints. I've fallen in love with Ms Balogh's this year and so am collecting her backlist :)

The Fall of Lucas Kendrick by Kay Hooper - Another re-print. Unconditional fan of Ms Hooper here. I've read the first two books in this series and enjoyed it. I have to say though, I'm really looking forward to her next FBI SCU book... When is it coming out?!?

The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams - This was a calculated risk. It has faeries in it... but KMont seems to have enjoyed it a lot. She's a big reader of UF as well and if she enjoyed it so much, I think it's worth a shot.

There is my week :) I'm hoping to get some more this coming week, hopefully my 20% off coupon will still be usable :) What about you? What did you get this week?

Review: Bring Me Home for Christmas by Robyn Carr

2011-10-25T22:32:00.000-04:00

Bring Me Home for Christmas by Robyn Carr

published by Mira (Harlequin) in October 2011

This year, Becca Timm knows the number one item on her Christmas wish list—getting over Denny Cutler. Three years ago, Denny broke her heart before heading off to war. It's time she got over her silly high-school relationship and moved on.

So she takes matters into her own hands and heads up to Virgin River, the rugged little mountain town that Denny calls home, as an uninvited guest on her brother's men-only hunting weekend. But when an accident turns her impromptu visit into an extended stay, Becca finds herself stranded in Virgin River. With Denny. In very close quarters.

As the power of Christmas envelops the little town, Becca discovers that the boy she once loved has become a strong and confident man. And the most delicious Christmas present she can imagine.

Genre: Contemporary romance
Series: Virgin River, Book #14

The Story: Becca Timm finds herself free during the Thanksgiving holidays and decide to join her twin brother's men-only hunting weekend in Virgin River. Obviously, Becca has no interest in hunting and the real goal of this trip is to see Denny Cutler again. Three years ago, Denny broke up with her before heading for Afghanistan and Becca was devastated. Time has passed and she is now dating a law student, Doug, who is about to propose to her. Unfortunately, as things are right now, Becca wouldn't be able to accept Doug's proposal in good conscience as she's still not over Denny. So Becca is determined to see Denny, get some closure and move on. However, things don't go as planned when Becca breaks her ankle and therefore is stuck in Virgin River for two weeks, in close proximity to Denny, and her boyfriend turns out to be an egoistical jerk...

At first, it's a shock for Denny to see Becca in Virgin River. Although Denny is the one who broke up with Becca, he always loved her... Now that he has a second chance, Denny is not about let it slipped... and he'll make this relationship work no matter what.

My Opinion: Wow, I can't believe Bring Me Home for Christmas is the 14th book in this series... I remember when I picked up Virgin River :) Back then, I didn't know what to expect, but it turned out to be formidable read! Good times really :) Now, I know exactly what to expect from these books... and that's why I continue reading. Comfort :)

Bring Me Home for Christmas is Denny's book. I have to admit when I read the blurb in the bookstore, it took me a few minutes to realize who Denny was ^_^; I hadn't paid much attention to the blurb before that, because this book had slipped under my radar. So I was a bit surprised that it was Denny's book and felt like it came out of nowhere LOL. I guess I expected more buzz - from the author and the bloggers - since Denny is such a great guy :) I was also surprised that Denny got his book so soon because it seems to me his character has not been fleshed enough in the previous installments. Yes, he's been through a lot - his mother's death, the war, a romance that didn't work out and the disappointment that Jake was not his biological father... but most of it happened off the pages, before he came to Virgin River. In the books, the Denny we've seen is a bit uni-dimensional in my opinion: the nice guy who helps around. He's nice, smart, not afraid of hard work, responsible and satisfied with a simple life. I mean, those are great qualities that make him such a likable character. At the same time, I can't help but feel it makes him way too mature for his 25 years old. You'll argue with me that it's because of what he's been through... Yet, it's so at odd with the man who was so enthusiastic learning about farming, seeing the fruits of his labor grow or the one who "ran away" when he learned Jake wasn't his father. Despite how likable and responsible Denny is, I wish we've seen him grow a bit more, find himself a bit before he got his own book... That way not only would I understand him better, but would have also connected more with him. Or if not before his book, than in his book... Unfortunately, Bring Me Home for Christmas was more Becca's book than Denny's book.

Sigh, looks like I got carried away a little LOL. So let me start from the beginning :) I enjoyed Bring Me Home for Christmas and thought it was a nice addition to the series. Becca and Denny were obviously not over each other and they were lucky to get a second chance and it was a nice story for Christmas. Of course, there were some flaws to the book. As a whole, I thought Becca was a nice girl. Young, vibrant and confident, but what I admire most about her was her honesty. Not committing to marriage with her new boyfriend because she might still be hung up on the previous - not many heroines would question themselves as Becca did and take the steps for closure. Not only it was honest with herself, but it was also a mature decision. However, there were definite times when Becca got on my nerves. What bothered me the most is that she didn't really compromise in the romance, in the relationship. Granted, she didn't have to because Denny was pretty quick sacrificing himself and decreeing he was going to follow her anywhere she went and then, she ended up getting a job... But what if she had to? Would she have compromised to make this relationship work? I'm not sure. At the end of it all, I guess I felt Becca was a bit self-centered.

This brings me to the romance. It's always nice to see two lovers get back together especially given it was more circumstantial in the case of Becca and Denny than them growing apart or fighting like crazy. Unfortunately, in Bring Me Home for Christmas, I thought there was not enough focus on the romance. Everything happened really fast. I know that Becca and Denny are familiar with each other, but the readers aren't. I would have liked to see Becca and Denny really work out their relationship, take more time before jumping in. Instead, everything was really rushed and worked out too easily, especially with Denny deciding to go back to San Diego. As you can see, that part really bothered me. I understand that he loved her, but at the same time, he was willing to give up everything - his new friends, his new promising job... and because the romance was not fleshed enough and me, not engaged in enough, I'm not sure that Becca was worth it ^_^; I seriously think the romance would have worked better also if there had been more of Denny's POV. See what he was thinking and feeling. Instead, Bring Me Home for Christmas is 3/4 Becca's POV. That's why earlier, I said that this was more Becca's book than Denny's. That was another disappointment, seeing at how great Denny has been as a character. I was expecting more of him and from this book. At the end, it made me wish that Denny has met a new woman instead of getting back together with Becca ^_^;

My last issue with this book was the whole holiday spirit element. I don't mind theme books at all and I think that what they do in Virgin River is great actually: the Christmas tree, the decorating and the Thanksgiving and Christmas boxes. That's the holidays spirit and how a community should be :) However, I thought Ms Carr went a bit heavy-handed this time around and it impeded on the romance. It felt to me the author wrapped up the romance really fast and then focused on these holidays things to convince the heroine to stay, show her how great Virgin River was and yes, you really want to live here ^_^; If there'd been more balance between the romance and this, it would have been a better book.

Okay, it sounds like I had a lot of issues with this book and perhaps I did, LOL. However, it was also nice to be back in Virgin River and to see everyone. Having Jack and Preacher taking Denny under their wings, I knew we would see them and their family... but this time around, I think Ms Carr did a great job at keeping their appearances as cameos :) Nobody took over the spotlight, it was definitively focused on Becca and Denny :) Overall, Denny and Becca were nice and likable characters with flaws and the story was sweet. Exactly what you expect from a book in this series :)

My Grade: C+.

Monthly Reads: August 2011

2011-10-23T23:27:00.000-04:00

Guess what? I didn't buy any books this week! Didn't even step in a bookstore. True, I bought most of what I wanted last week... but that's just a detail, right? LOL. As a result, since there's no Hauling Sunday post to write, I decided to tackle my Monthly Reads posts ^_^; I've been lazy lately and therefore, August was never posted. Well I've rectified that today! Yay! Finally!

It didn't take as long as I thought, but I don't know, all the mini-reviews sounds so-so. It's been so long since I've written one it seems I've lost my touch ^_^; Still, it's better than never posting it :) Now, I need to work on September's... Only one week-end left. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, enjoy August!

1) The Soldier by Grace Burrowes: C-

Devlin St. Just is the acknowledged bastard of the Duke of Moreland and has just been given the Earldom of Rosecroft. However, a surprise awaits for him when he gets to his new estate... the bastard child of the previous earl... And then, the urchin turns out to be a girl! No matter, Devlin has experience with children and knows what the child is going through... What he does not have experience with is the child's cousin and guardian, Emmie Farnum. Emmie had planned to take Winnie away, to forge themselves a new life. However, the child has taken to new earl and he is willing to take care of her... What right does she have to take Winnie away then? Except one thing is sure, Emmie cannot stay.

My biggest issue with The Soldier is that it couldn't hold my attention. There were some positive things: I liked Devlin's character and loved his interactions with Winnie - he was just so at ease with her, it was really heart-warming. I liked that we got to see Devlin's younger brother Valentine again. He's quite an interesting character. Unfortunately, I didn't care much about Emmie and the romance ^_^; I thought the overall story was dragging and considering how thick this book is, that is not a good thing ^_^; I just want Devlin and Emmie to get on with their relationship and I think Emmie could have come clean earlier. Then again, facing someone as perceptive as Devlin, she didn't really have to. Also, I'm still confused about Devlin's whole family situations. I know some of his brothers died and one of them left a wife and a daughter behind... but I still don't get why Devlin has never met his niece? Overall, I think if the whole storyline had been tighter and Emmie was less wishy-washy, I would have enjoyed it more.

2) Magic Dreams by Ilona Andrews/Curran POV and Fathers and Sons by Gordon Andrews

3) The Dangerous Viscount by Miranda Neville: C-

Sebastian Iverley is passionate about books, but doesn't care much about women... Until he falls under the charms of Lady Diana Fanshawe and even shares a kiss with her. However, when he finds out the kiss was part of a bet between Lady Diana and his cousin, Sebastian is hurt... and angry. Angry enough to plot revenge.

Lady Diana is a widow of a baron who has always had a crush on Sebastian's cousin, Lord Blakeney, and is determined to marry him. She meets Sebastian during a visit and while he looks nice, he's not as handsome as his cousin, is badly dressed and wouldn't elevate her status. However, after she shares a kiss with him, Lady Diana cannot help but pay attention to him... and then, his situation changes and Lady Diana finds herself choosing him over Lord Blakeney.

The Dangerous Viscount started off well in my opinion. Sebastian was a total beta hero, very nerdy, but interesting. Him going to his friend Tarquin to learn how to dress better and stuff was cute and funny LOL. Also, I think his childhood stories explain his personality very well and why he didn't care much for women. So yeah, I liked him... until he decided to take revenge on Lady Diana. I just thought he should be above that... Then again, he was really hurt and so I guess it does make sense. As for Lady Diana, I loved her family. They were eccentric, but interesting and Sebastian fit well in. Lady Diana though? I didn't like her. I thought she was too shallow... Just the way she judged Sebastian by the way his clothes fit and the way he sat a horse. Then, taking that bet with Lord Blakeney so he would pay more attention to her. I don't understand why she wasn't happier in life, considering she was a wealthy widow... The way she was embarrassed by her family.

I think Ms Neville does a good job at setting up a book - the characters and the setting... It has a lot of potential... Unfortunately, the direction the book takes is where everything goes wrong for me ^_^;

4) Heartbreak Creek by Kaki Warner: C

The South has been torn apart by the civil war and as a result, Edwina Ladoux has lost her home. In order to start afresh and keep a roof over her and her sister's head, she's decided to become a mail-order bride for Declan Brodie in Heartbreak Creek, Colorado. However, as she approached her destination, Edwina is starting to have some doubts... Especially as Edwina does not know much about cooking, cleaning and children... which were Declan's requirements. Once Declan sees Edwina, he starts having doubts of his own. She's definitively not was he hoped for, but he can't help but being attracted to her. Still, what is he to do with a wife that can't help him? He's already had one running away with a gambler and then, gotten herself dead. So Declan and Edwina decide to give their marriage a three-months trial and see if this can work...

Okay, so I picked up Heartbreak Creek because I've been meaning to give Ms Warner a try. All in all, I think Ms Warner's writing is excellent and understands why she won a RITA this year :) Unfortunately, well, I'm just not a fan of Western ^_^; I just had difficulty getting into the story. The beginning was okay, seeing Edwina and Declan tip-toeing around each other, Edwina facing the 4 kids. She's lucky she had help from her sister!! LOL. However, once the Indians came into the picture, I started losing interest a little. I guess it's simply not a time period I relate well to. I wasn't that thrilled either by the dead wife re-appearing, although it did shake things up a bit.

5) Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park: B

6) Storm's Heart by Thea Harrison: C-

7) Ghost Story by Jim Butcher: A-
Upcoming Review.

8) The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver: C

Seventeen years old Riley Blackthorne hopes to follow in her father's footsteps and become a Demon Trapper. However, the task ahead of her is monumental as there's no female Demon Trappers... and it doesn't help her case when one of her assignment goes south. Things go from bad to worse when her father is killed by a demon and Riley is orphaned. What Riley doesn't realize yet is that she's become a target for some very powerful demons... because Heaven has chosen her.

I really, really wanted to like The Demon Trapper's Daughter... but the book simply felt flat for me. One of the reason is the world-building. It's actually an interesting world, but what I don't get it how it turned that way. There were a lot of references at how it was before, but the big event that change things completely was never explained. Perhaps the author is keeping it for the future, but it just got me confused, curious and frustrated. Also, I would have liked the demons to be explained to me. How many kinds they are, how are they graded, etc.

Then, there was Riley. Not the most likable heroine I've come across. I want to be sympathetic, because she's gone through a lot of harsh events in the course of The Demon Trapper's Daughter; yet, I can't relate to her, like her ^_^; One of the biggest reasons I think is the way she treats Beck - her father's apprentice. She used to have a crush on him and because of their age difference, Beck rejected her and she seems to have a grudge. It's hard because you can see Beck trying his hardest to help her out, especially after the death of her father... and the way she treats him. I think you have to be pragmatic at times and understands... and she doesn't.

So far, I'm not sure whether I'm going to continue this series or not. This book was clearly setting up for things... but it's really vague as what to expect. Some people won't mind, but I need more to be hooked.

9) Texas Blue by Jodi Thomas: B

Duncan McMurray was tasked by his uncle to find three eligible men and arranged for them to travel to Whispering Mountain to be introduced to his three female cousins. However, instead of accompanying them, Duncan goes on an expedition with the Texan's Rangers. Lewton Paterson is Duncan's good friend and is aware of Duncan's duty. When one of the eligible man turns out to be not so quite eligible, Lewton decides to take his place. At first, it is just for fun and to help out a friend... But as Lewton approaches Whispering Mountain, he realizes that he is tired of his current life - being a gambler man, and he'd like to settle down, start a family and become respectable... and starts to make plans.

Emily McMurry has no intention to be married. All she wants to do is help her father taking care of the ranch and so has asked a friend to impersonate her. Meanwhile, she'll be free to come and go and continue on with life. As a mere employee, Emily did not expect Lewton to seek her out. The man is clearly not a rancher, but he wants to learn about the life... and Emily finds no reason why not. Perhaps if she works him too hard, he'll just up and leave. However, Lewton is made of sterner stuff.

There's something about Ms Thomas' writing, it is so gentle and delicate, that sets her western apart. It's hard for me to describe that quality, but even when her books are filled with action, you can still feel the gentleness and it gives a distinct feel to the storyline :) Texas Blue is no exception and overall, I thought this was a cute book :) I liked both characters, Lewton and Emily. I liked Lewton's smoothness, but at the same time, his honesty. The fact that he was willing to learn about ranching and work hard. You can feel that he really wants to settle. I think it was also humbling for him to realize that despite his charms and planning, it's not only a question of wooing the lady that will get him everything. The lady actually has to choose him as well. It was heart-breaking when he was about to give up because he knew none of them were interested in him. As for Emily, I liked her... but her aversion to men bothered me a little. I understand she was traumatized as a child... but after growing up in a loving family with a lot of men, for her not to do the distinction between a good man and a bad one. It was a bit baffling.

The romance between Lewton and Emily was very nice. It was like a flower blooming. Slow at the beginning, they got to know each other by spending time working and then, developed some feelings. Because both were hiding their true identities, it didn't bother me much that they kept their secrets and at the end, it worked out well :) I also really liked Lewton's friendship with Duncan and their efforts to save the man :) All in all, a very enjoyable read :)

10) The Many Sins of Lord Cameron by Jennifer Ashley: B+
Upcoming Review.

11) Attachments by Rainbow Rowell: B+
Upcoming Review.

12) Changing the Game by Jaci Burton: C+
Upcoming Review.

13) Only Yours by Susan Mallery: B-

14) Good Girls Don't by Victoria Dahl: C+

Tessa Donovan might be the baby of the family, but she plays the role of the middle child, keeping the peace between two older brothers. She's spent a lifetime covering for Jaime's mistakes and that's what she does after Jaime sleeps with the daughter of one of their potential business associate, leaving the deal in jeopardy, despite Jaime's protests. She also has to deal with the robbery at the brewery which puts her to close proximity with Detective Luke Asher, Jaime's college friend. Even with her busy schedule, she is determined to explore the sparks between them.

Ugh, okay, very bad recap, but it gives you the gist of the story. In any case, this book has gotten a lot of buzz, a lot of reviews and that's why I decided not to write a full review. Basically, I liked Ms Dahl's writing and style in Good Girls Don't and I loved the hero. I thought Luke Asher was an awesome hero. He's sexy, patient, loyal and caring... He stood by his wife, he stood by his partner despite what it did to his reputation. I can't imagine how hurt he must have been by their actions and the rumors and yet, he let people think what they wanted... I think it takes courage and strength to do what he did. What brought down the grade for me was the heroine, Tessa. I just couldn't stand her. I know she wanted the best for her family, but she acted so immaturely and the lies and manipulations. It's really not how a family should be. The worst is that Jaime wanted to come clean. Both her and Ethan kept harping on how Jaime was immature and irresponsible, but they didn't let Jaime be himself, grow up and act maturely. Also, the whole "Madonna-whore" complex kept being mentioned in the book and that just turned me off. Her being "perfect" and a "virgin" was just another lie of her. I don't know, after what the three siblings have gone through together, I expected there to be more honesty and more trust between them. Overall, I think Good Girls Don't could have been a great book, if the heroine had been more likable, less neurotic ^_^;

15) One Good Reason by Sarah Mayberry: C+

Jon Adamson is at some loose ends. He sold his business in Canada, rushed back to Australia so he could be by his father's side when he died, but was too late. As a result, he never got closure for the years of abuse he suffered at his father's hands. When his brother Tyler brow-beat Jon into working for him in his custom furniture business, Jon accepts... knowing it's not permanent. He's just passing time while he figures out what he'll do next... but he can't deny that building furniture soothes him.

Gabby Wade is the office manager. She was once in a relationship with Tyler, but had to break it off because Tyler wouldn't open to her and their relationship couldn't continue on as it was... Now Tyler is newly married and Gabby can't help but be jealous of his new-found happiness. Why couldn't it be her? Eventually, Gabby and Jon start their own relationship... but will it end the same way?

I think One Good Reason was slightly better than The Last Goodbye. At least, it was less heart-breaking. Ms Mayberry wrote two well-developed characters that had their share of baggage, especially Jon. I liked Jon and I can't imagine ever being in his shoes. I think he was really lost after the death of his father - the lack of closure. Then, there he is, in Australia... His only family left is Tyler, but they've never been close... and now, he wonders if it's too late, if they've drifted apart too much to ever really connected. As for Gabby, I really admired her for ending her relationship with Tyler. Sometimes, you have to take tough decision. She knew what she wanted in a relationship and Tyler wasn't giving it to her... so she had to move on. Except, she didn't really move on ^_^; She didn't go out and try to find someone else. Anyway, at times, I found her independence a bit annoying. It was more a shield for stubbornness. Also, her first impressions of Jon really rubbed me the wrong way. How she was so quick to judge him, to think the worst of him.

Overall, One Good Reason was a good read, with well developed characters. I think Ms Mayberry did a good job as well with the romance. The characters really got to know each other and they've learned from their past. However, this wasn't a very happy-happy read ^_^; It was very emotion-heavy and perhaps not what I needed at the time I read it.

16) When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James: A-
Upcoming Review.

17) Stand-in Wife by Karina Bliss: B-

Vivienne Jansen is a costume designer in the States and had some free time, therefore decided to go back to Australia to surprise her family. Upon her arrival, she finds her twin sister in a middle of a crisis. Perfect Meredith has separated from her husband and is looking for a new job... in a new town. During the interview, Meredith breaks her leg and she's in a frenzy - if her husband finds out that she was planning to take the children to a new town, he'll sue for custody and will have big chances to win. Vivienne assures her twin that she will keep the secret and take care of the children while Meredith is at the hospital... and somehow, Vivienne ends up impersonating Meredith! However, it won't be easy to keep up the charade when her niece is blackmailing her with the secret and sparks from the past fly between her and Meredith's brother-in-law, Ross Coltrane.

This was an enjoyable category romance. Despite the length, it was quite meaty. We have Vivienne who is helping out her sister and at the same time, dealing with twin issues. Vivienne has always been independent and a bit of a free spirit and therefore, had difficulties being a twin. Added in the sisters were type-cast: Meredith was perfect and Vivienne... was not. This has caused a rift between the twinship that Vivienne now has to deal with. Then, there's Meredith who strayed... Or did she? Can a kiss and some emails be considered cheating? Meredith was tired of being a mom and a wife, she wanted some sparks back in her marriage and therefore, indulged in some flirting... Then again, if she wasn't so controlling, if she wasn't micro-managing everything, would her marriage turned out the way it had? Then, there's the niece who's gotten everything ever since her parents have separated to make up for it... This has made her spoiled and not really nice... Then, there's Ross who's a special forces elite soldier and demolitions expert and he's been injured very severely. He's working himself into the ground to get back into shape and get out there again... wanting to seek revenge for two of his friends. However, can he ever?

Like I said, very meaty book. Was there too much going on? Perhaps, but I thought Ms Bliss did a great job. The only problem I think was the romance suffered a bit. Also, considering that Vivienne is impersonating Meredith and there's a limit at just how far Vivienne and Ross can take things... Even though Ross finds out early about Vivienne's impersonation. I definitively think Ms Bliss could write another book, focusing on Vivienne and Ross romance. I would read it :) In any case, the characters were interesting and well fleshed out. They were flawed and real and did grow up a bit by the end of the book. Oh and the baby, Harry, was adorable!

18) Heiress in Love by Christina Brooke: B+
Upcoming Review.

Books bought: + 15
Books read: -18
TBR pile: - 3

I'm happy with the month, number-wise. 18 is pretty good and I have a negative number from the TBR pile :) Also, a couple of the books did come from my RWA TBR pile, so that's good. However, most of the books were C-range ^_^; I don't know if it was just me... but I don't know, I just didn't connect with most books I've read and found fault with a lot of heroes and heroines ^_^; I'm thinking perhaps it's my mood. Ah well, what's done done, right? :)

Review: Archangel's Blade by Nalini Singh

2011-10-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

Nothing new with me. Work, blogging and reading. The usual :) Still addicted to Bu Bu Jing Xin and since I've reviewed twice this week (!!), it's been cutting in my reading time ^_^; But hey, I'm reviewing again, so it's worth it :)

Review today is Archangel's Blade by Nalini Singh. Please peeps, don't throw tomatoes at me :P

Archangel's Blade by Nalini Singh
published by Berkley in September 2011

The severed head marked by a distinctive tattoo on its cheek should have been a Guild case, but dark instincts honed over hundreds of years of life compel the vampire Dmitri to take control. There is something twisted about this death, something that whispers of centuries long past...but Dmitri's need to discover the truth is nothing to the vicious strength of his response to the hunter assigned to decipher the tattoo.

Savaged in a brutal attack that almost killed her, Honor is nowhere near ready to come face to face with the seductive vampire who is an archangel's right hand, and who wears his cruelty as boldly as his lethal sensuality...the same vampire who has been her secret obsession since the day she was old enough to understand the inexplicable, violent emotions he aroused in her.

As desire turns into a dangerous compulsion that might destroy them both, it becomes clear the past will not stay buried. Something is hunting...and it will not stop until it brings a blood-soaked nightmare to life once more...

Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal romance
Series: The Guild Hunter, Book #4

The Story: Archangel's Blade opens with a severed head being found in the river. This head is special as it belongs to a newly made vampire whom the Tower is unaware of and it has some kind of tattoo. When the body turns up in many pieces in Times Square where Raphael punished a vampire in Angel's Blood, Dmitri knows it's personal. As Raphael and Elena are absent, the vampire steps in and takes up the investigation. He reaches to the Guild for help to decipher the tattoo and the director sends him their expert in ancient languages and history, Honor.

For two months, Honor was kept captive, blind-folded, by vampires for them to feed and play their sick games. She was lucky to be rescued by her fellow hunters, Ransom and Ashwini, and has spent the past few months recovering and hiding in the Guild Academy library. She's always had this strange fascination for Dmitri - even keeping a scrapbook of him, but after what she's been through, the thought of meeting him doesn't make her happy... It scares her. However, the director is not giving her a choice and it's time for her to start putting her life back together. Nobody said it'd be easy.

Dmitri is attracted to and intrigued by Honor; however, he knows she cannot be rushed otherwise she'll run. No matter, he is a very patient man...

My Opinion: Okay, so please people, don't throw tomatoes at me LOL. I know I'm in the minority of readers who aren't wowed by Ms Singh' Guild Hunter series. I really enjoyed Archangel's Kiss and there were some elements in Archangel's Consort that I liked, but as a whole... I don't know, the Guild Hunter series is not working for me and I simply enjoy the Psy-Changelings series much better. Still, I decided to give a try to Archangel's Blade as Dmitri was the hero and I thought perhaps it'd change my feeling towards this series... Unfortunately, it didn't.

Oh, the writing is still great. Hey, it's Ms Singh after all :) I definitively have no complaints about that. For me, what's not working in the Guild Hunter series is the feel. It seems to me Ms Singh is trying very hard to make this series "dark" - perhaps too hard. The constant mention of torture, regeneration and infliction of pain and the reluctance of the ones who have to inflict the pain and do it because "they have to"... it just get repetitive and over-bearing. The fact that so many of the characters have been punished and hence, have "tortured" souls. I know it gives them interesting pasts, but it's just too much. It's like nobody in the series has had a normal life/upbringing and that's just weird. Like I said, it feels to me Ms Singh is trying too hard, that the atmosphere is too forced.

All right, enough about the series, let's talk about Archangel's Blade. I have to say, I've never been a big fan of Dmitri. He's simply not my cup of tea. Most readers find him sexy and sensual. Me? Well I didn't like the way he treated Elena in previous books and the whole tendrils of exquisite scents just go over my head LOL. I like likable characters and Dmitri is not. I guess getting his book, I was hoping Ms Singh would turn him into a more sympathetic hero... but she didn't and kudos to her for it. Dmitri's personality in Archangel's Blade is the same as in previous books, she didn't change him to please the fans and that's not only brave, but smart as well, because otherwise, it wouldn't be Dmitri. So yeah, I still feel lukewarm about him. His whole "I like a bit of pain during sex" probably made some fans swoon, but it left me indifferent. While I didn't warm up to his character, I did enjoy reading about his past :) That part was interesting and unexpected :)

As for Honor, I did like her. Really, what's not to like? Strong and smart heroine who's trying to overcome trauma. She isn't as kick-ass as some other heroines, but she is one determined woman. The romance was also nice with just the right amount of protectiveness and sweetness :) Although I wished for a bit more. Also, I'm not entirely won over by the revelation at the end. I usually like that type of romance, but the revelation is usually earlier in the romance. The problem in this case is that we don't see Dmitri really processing the revelation.

Now, the story. Archangel's Blade has two storylines: one is about the severed head found which is linked to Dmitri's past and the other is Dmitri and Honor finding Honor's captors and seeking justice/revenge. I really liked the storyline involving Honor's case. I thought it was great that Dmitri helped her out and by finding her captors, it gave Honor's closure. Plus, the whole plot was intriguing and engaging. I liked how from a bite, they found one person which led to another and another and another :) Personally, the way it was developed, I think the story should have been about this and Honor and Dmitri of course. As it is, the other storyline about the severed head got the short end. I thought the mystery/suspense of it was very thin. Since there was little focus on it, the clues became very obvious... And I really didn't like how it was linked to Dmitri's past. I understand why Ms Singh did it, so she could bring up Dmitri's past... I simply don't understand why it didn't happen sooner ^_^; Why now? Yes, it is Dmitri's book, but it's a bit too coincidental.

My Grade: C+. I've really been torn about this grade, debating between B- and C+. In the end, although it pains me because this is by Ms Singh, I need to be honest with myself. Do I love this book? No. I've enjoyed parts of it and so, I did like it-ish... and therefore, it's in the C range. I really don't know what I'm going to do when the next full-length Guild Hunter novel comes out. I guess it's going to depend on the characters, story and reviews :) Although knowing myself, I'm most probably going to read it because it's Ms Singh after all :)

Review: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

2011-10-18T17:49:00.001-04:00

***Warning: There are spoilers in this review. Read at your own risk!***

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

published by Hyperion in October 2011

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

Percy is confused. When he awoke from his long sleep, he didn't know much more than his name. His brain fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa tol him he is a demigod and trained him to fight with the pen/sword in his pocket. Somehow Percy manages to make it to a camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he has to keep killing monsters along the way. But the camp doesn't ring and bells with him. The only thing he can recall from his past is another name: Annabeth

Hazel is supposed to be dead. When she lived before, she didn't do a very good job of it. Sure, she was an obedient daughter, even when her mother was possessed by greed. But that was the problem - when the Voice took over he mother and commanded Hazel to use her "gift" for and evil purpose, Hazel couldn't say no. Now because of her mistake, the future of the world is at risk. Hazel wished she could ride away from it all on the stallion that appears in her dreams.

Frank is a klutz. His grandmother says he is descended from heroes and can be anything he wants to be, but he doesn't see it. He doesn't even know who his father is. He keeps hoping Apollo will claim him, because the only thing he is good at is archery - although not good enough to win camp war games. His bulky physique makes him feel like an ox, especially infront of Hazel, his closest friend at camp. He trusts her completely - enough to share the secret he holds close to his heart.

Beginning at the "other" camp for half-bloods and extending as far as the land beyond the gods, this breathtaking second installment of the Heroes od Olympus series introduces new demigods, revives fearsome monsters, and features other remarkable creatures, all destined to play a part in the Prophesy of Seven.

Genre: Young Adult, fantasy
Series: The Heroes of Olympus series, Book #2/Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book #7

The Story: The Titans' defeat has stirred up Mother Earth - Gaea - from her slumber and she is now slowly awakening. Meanwhile, her sons - the giants - are being reborn and are getting ready to challenge Mount Olympus. This is really bad news for the Olympus gods as it means another battle looms in the near future. Juno (Hera) believes that the only way Olympus will be able to defeat Gaea this time around is if the demigods from the Roman and Greek camps unite. In order for this alliance to happen, she's taken the leaders of each camp - Jason and Percy, stripped them of their memories and sent them on their way to the opposite camp.

After months of slumbering, Percy finally makes it to the Roman demigods camp. Because of previous incidents, other campers are wary of children of Neptune and as a result, Percy finds himself in the legion's weakest cohort, the Fifth Cohort, which is composed of the misfit demigods. Quickly, he becomes friends with Hazel, daughter of Pluto (Hades), and Frank who's still unclaimed. Both demigods are part of the Fifth Cohort, new to the camp and have secrets of their own.

Before Percy can get comfy at his new camp, he is sent on a quest with Frank and Hazel. Pluto (Hades)'s lieutenant Thanatos has been captured by the giants and chained which means the Doors of Death has been forced open and no one is policing them. Therefore demigods and monsters have stopped dying, Gaea's pawns and minions are being resurrected and eventually, even mortals will find it impossible to die. Frank, Hazel and Percy are tasked to go to Alaska to free Thanatos before June 24th, which is only a few days away... On their journey, Hazel will have to face her past, Frank will need to find out what is his family's secret and Percy hopes to regain his memories.

My Opinion: Wooohoooo, my friends, Percy Jackson is back! LOL. Okay, so I wasn't dying to get my hands on and The Son of Neptune earlier this month, because I've been disappointed with Mr. Riordan's last couple of releases. The first book in this new series, The Lost Hero, was only okay and I really had difficulty finishing The Throne of Fire earlier this year... All in all, I was a bit wary of The Son of Neptune, wondering if the magic was gone for me... Well let me tell you, it isn't!! :)

As soon as I started reading The Son of Neptune, I knew this book was going to be a winner :) A big part of it was due to seeing Percy again. Actually, it's not so much his familiarity, but his personality :) Percy is such fun character to follow because he is clever and witty. A real smart-ass LOL. He is very likable and also has a lot of charisma which makes people pay attention to him and want to follow him. In comparison, Jason from The Lost Hero was bland and boring. His personality did not shine through his amnesia, while Percy's did. I also think that Percy has come a long way from The Lightning Thief in term of maturity. I think it shines throughout the book: when he assessed Octavian during the senate, when he faced Phineas, when he coordinated the rescue at the end, etc. Also, everything he went through has made him a good leader, someone caring, compassionate and easy to interact with :) Of course, Percy's not perfect and sometimes, he can still act like a kid such as when he discover Frank's family gift. LOL. However, I think it's normal and it adds to Percy's depth :P

While Percy is a big presence in the book, his companions aren't about to let him outshine them :P I think a lot more thoughts went into Hazel and Frank's background stories and personalities than Piper and Leo's from The Lost Hero. Hazel and Frank are definitively more interesting characters, but more importantly, more likable. Hazel and Frank both have big secrets and things to worry about, but it doesn't stop them from forging ahead and do what they believe needed to be done. Also, they don't constantly doubt everything and believe in themselves and Percy. I think that was a big difference with Piper whom I really didn't care about in The Lost Hero. In this book, Hazel and Frank really hold their own with Percy and prove they are worthy to be part of the big quest :) I have to admit that even now, Frank's ancestry still confuses me a bit LOL. However, it definitively makes him more intriguing... The potential he has!! Another thing that's interesting is that Mr. Riordan has not wrapped up their storylines yet - both of their curses - and I'm looking forward to see how all this will be resolved :)

Something else that made me wary of The Son of Neptune was the storyline. I knew coming in that Percy would have amnesia and he would find himself in the Roman camp, etc. and I was afraid that the storyline would be a repeat of what Jason went through in The Lost Hero. I should have had more faith in Mr. Riordan ^_^; First, Mr. Riordan did not dwell on the fact that Percy had amnesia too much and the memories and glimpses from the past came back to him much faster than for Jason. Also, I think it was fun to discover the Roman demigods and their camp, how they did things. It's quite different from the Greeks, while still being familiar. Does that make sense? I appreciated it even more because I had just re-read the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher which is very heavy on Roman legions and stuff, so some elements were very familiar such as the way they fight, the gladius, etc. :) Happy coincidence LOL. Finally, I liked the quest Percy, Hazel and Frank went on. I liked how the quest was connected to Hazel's story as well as Frank. I also thought Mr. Riordan is relying less on the myths which is a good thing. Oh, there is still a lot of elements taken from mythology such as the Amazons, Hazel's horse Arion, the gorgons and so on... but what I mean is when facing foes, our heroes have to rely on themselves and their wits more instead of thinking back on how these monsters were killed in the myths and legends and then, tricking the monsters into situations mimicking those circumstances/situations to win. Yes, that way is clever... but this way is more exciting and unpredictable :)

All in all, I really enjoyed The Son of Neptune and I think this was a great installment to the series. I was really glad to see some familiar faces such as Nico and Tyson!! Two of my favorite characters!! Tyson is just cute because of the love and loyalty he has for Percy... and seriously, the possibility of him having a harpy as a girlfriend is just so cute! And Nico!! I can't wait to find out what happens to him and I really hope that we'll get his POV at some point. I'm crossing my fingers that it'll be in the next book... At the same time, I think Mr. Riordan did a great job at not overdoing it - not adding Grover, Annabeth, Jason, Leo or Piper. This story was really about Percy getting accepted by the Roman camp and I say it's a success :)

Finally, I don't have any major issues with The Son of Neptune. I read this book in one sitting and it was just so much fun :) If I'm going to be picky though and have to find fault, well it'll be the usual quick timeline the book has. Why do the kids always have only a few days to complete the quest?!?

My Grade: I'm splitting hair with this grade. I've been debating whether to give The Son of Neptune a B+ or A- and so, I went back to look at how I graded the previous books in the series. My favorite book remains The Last Olympian, although this one comes to a close second. I'd say, my feeling for The Son of Neptune is on par with The Lightning Thief and so, B++ it is :)

I really, really enjoyed The Son of Neptune :) It was great to meet up with Percy again and this book really re-ignited my love for this series and Mr. Riordan's books. My hands are already itching for The Mark of Athena - a year is really looong! I'm looking forward for the demigods heading to Rome! (Is this the first time they get out of America?) I also hope that we'll get a bit of Nico's POV in the next book. Sigh, I can't help but hope we're in for a great adventure!

Hauling Sunday LX

2011-10-16T22:37:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone!

Hope you had a nice week-end :) Mine was pretty relaxed. The weather has been rainy - perfect weather to cuddle in bed with a good book :) Which is what I did. Ended up re-reading Sense of Evil and Hunting Fear by Kay Hooper. Just felt like it :) Then, today, I looked up the new releases for the next couple of months :) Filling blank pages with books to come really cheered me up LOL Now, I'm really looking forward to the next couple of months!

In the afternoon, I drove my sister to town cos she had a midterm. Gave me the occasion to shop... I got a few tops, but more importantly, more books! There was a 20% discount plus my usual 10% member discount :) Wooohooo. Here is what I got:

Snapped by Laura Griffin - Leslie really enjoyed this book based on her review :) The blurb sounds really good and I skimmed through the book a little and... I'm in LOL. Also, lately, it seems I'm starting to overdose on a lot of genres (historical, small-town contemporary, paranormal...), but romantic suspense is not one of them :)

Home Sweet Home by Bella Riley - Yeah, I said I'm a bit burn-out on small-town romance... but for some reasons, I'm attracted to this one. I think it's the blurb once again :) Also, the price... 6.50$ + 20% off+ 10% off... It was pretty cheap! :)

In Total Surrender by Anne Mallory - I hesitated a lot about this one. I have not read Ms Mallory's books before, but this one has been getting good reviews in blogland. I skimmed through the book and indeed, it sounds really good :) Plus, I thought it'd be good to support the author... I've never read Ms Mallory before, but I have two of her books that I've received free from RWA.

Dragon Actually and About a Dragon by G.A. Aiken - I got these books because I know Tabitha enjoys this series a lot. At first, I was just going to get the first book, Dragon Actually, but reading the blurbs, I couldn't help but smile :) If I'm going to get the same reaction while I'm reading the books, they'll be really worth it!

So there it is, my books this week... More like today LOL.

Review: Spider's Revenge by Jennifer Estep

2011-10-13T22:42:00.001-04:00

Yes, I finally able to stop watching Startling Early Steps and focus on my review LOL. It freaking took me 3 days to write it, so I hope I did a good job... although I don't know. It doesn't feel complete to me ^_^;

I'm really having difficulty lately to write review. The worst is that I want to review!! But when it comes to choosing which books and to put my feelings into words... Ugh. So frustrating. I guess I'm having the reviewing blues ^_^;

In any case, I hope it was the right decision to choose Spider's Revenge and that you will enjoy the review!

***Warning: There are spoilers in this review. Read at your own risk!***

Spider's Revenge by Jennifer Estep
published by Simon & Schuster

Old habits die hard for assassins.
And I plan on murdering someone before the night is through.

Killing used to be my regular gig, after all. Gin Blanco, aka the Spider, assassin-for-hire. And I was very, very good at it. Now, I’m ready to make the one hit that truly matters: Mab Monroe, the dangerous Fire elemental who murdered my family when I was thirteen. Oh, I don’t think the mission will be easy, but turns out it’s a bit more problematic than expected. The bitch knows I’m coming for her. So now I’m up against the army of lethal bounty hunters Mab hired to track me down. She also put a price on my baby sister’s head. Keeping Bria safe is my first priority. Taking Mab out is a close second. Good thing I’ve got my powerful Ice and Stone magic—and my irresistible lover, Owen Grayson—to watch my back. This battle has been years in the making, and there’s a good chance I won’t survive. But if I’m going down, then Mab’s coming with me . . . no matter what I have to do to make that happen.

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Elemental Assassin series, Book #5

The Story: Gin Blanco, aka the Spider, is anxious. She has declared war against Ashland's strongest elemental and mob queen Mab Monroe, who turned out to be an old family enemy. Now, she just wants it to be all over - which means killing Mab - so her family and friends can be safe. However, Gin is not the only one growing anxious... Mab is too. She wants things to be over just as much as Gin - with a different ending, of course. To speed it all up, she has called in reinforcements: bounty hunters... and some of them are actually competent! The stakes get higher when Gin finds out that Mab has not only placed a bounty on the Spider - which is expected, but also on her baby sister, Detective Bria Coolridge. It's high time to end things... but can Gin really take on Mab in a face-off? And whom will Lady Luck favor?

My Opinion: So, Spider's Revenge. LOL, well the title says it all, right? Very appropriate :) It was a satisfying ending for the story arc and overall, I enjoyed it :)

As usual, Spider's Revenge has a very short timeline and is action-packed... and as usual, Ms Estep makes it work :) I think the storyline of Spider's Revenge was very solid. While we all knew how this book was going to end - with the death of Mab, Ms Estep was able to make the storyline interesting with a few twists :) The addition of the bounty hunters was a good idea to mix things up. I really liked Ruth Gentry and Sidney. Not because Sidney reminded Gin of herself at that age; instead, it was the fact that they were competent foes for Gin. Also, there's the fact that they're not "bad" like the other people that work for Mab and Gin has gone against in previous books. That meant Gin's dealing with them was different. Oh I'm sure that if they had really pose a danger, Gin wouldn't hesitate to get rid of them... but since it wasn't the case, she had to be a bit more wily :)

Another aspect of the book that I really liked was the relationships. Finn and Bria finally pair up - not surprising, but good to see :) You also have Owen and Gin declaring their love for each other :) I'm glad that Gin is finally overcoming Donovan Caine. I mean seriously, Owen is a prize and she should never let go. Also, the image of Owen fighting with hammer... I'd like to see that :) What I liked best though was the part where Jojo revealed to Gin how she met Fletcher and how her alliance with Fletcher and later Gin started. When you depend so much on a person to put you back together injuries after injuries, it's nice to know where their loyalty stems from... So you know that your own loyalty is not misplaced. After all, Gin is from a very dark world.

What dimmed my enjoyment of Spider's Revenge a little was the lack of excitement... and this lack of excitement stems from the predictability of the series. Yes, Ms Estep was able to make things interesting with the twists, but ultimately, I knew that Gin and Mab would face off and Mab would die. Or for example, Finn and Bria hooking up. It was great to see happening, but as I mentioned it wasn't a surprise. I just think that all along the series, Ms Estep has been too obvious in her next moves and her agenda. Her foreshadowing was big neon signs in the dark ^_^; Which is actually why I'm so glad this storyarc is ending. It means that with the next book, By A Thread, we're going into unknown territories. Ms Estep can start a whole new storyarc and we, the readers, are totally in the dark :)

My Grade: B. Spider's Revenge had the potential to be great in my opinion... if only it had been accompanied by a breathless feeling, the urge to turn the pages as fast as you can to know what will happen next. It is nonetheless a very solid and enjoyable read :) And as corny as it may sound, Spider's Revenge is not the end of things, but a new beginning for the readers :) And guess what? When I was at RWA, Ms Estep told me that Donovan Caine would be back in By A Thread... I think things are going to get exciting!

When TV gets in the way...

2011-10-12T21:13:00.000-04:00

There's a review on the way, I promise! I've been working on one, I swear... but I've stumbled across a new chinese TV series on Monday. Seriously, why not Thursday when I started my days off? Of course not, it had to be by the end of it. Anyway, the TV series is Bu Bu Jing Xin aka Startling Early Steps. It's a 35 or 40 episodes novel adaptation... The story is about a modern 25 years old woman being electrocuted in an accident and waking 300 years ago, in the body of a 16 years old girl during the Qing dynasty. She becomes the Emperor's maid and is embroiled in the court intrigues as the princes fight for the throne. And I'm watching it with subtitles... Vietnamese and English, LOL. Whatever I can get my hands on... which is why it takes more concentration and time to watch... If I don't pay attention, I basically don't know what's happening!!

The series is pretty good. I like the court intrigues and the series is quite faithful to the novel and the novel, to history :) I's not a comedy and it's not about the modern girl trying to changes things up in ancient time, so that's really good with me :) Aside from the court intrigues, well it's all about relationships... Take a look at the map fans made :P

I'm a bit annoyed that all these guys are in love/develop feelings for the heroine. Makes the heroine a bit too Mary Sue for me. The acting is also pretty superb and spot on :) And to add to everything is the decors, sets, costumes... It's so authentic and gorgeous. The embroideries on what the princes wear... Make them even more handsome! And there are several eye candies in there... Of course, I'd rather them to have more hair LOL... but that what happens when you watch a TV series set in the Qing dynasty.

I got to catch up with two of my favorite actors... Nicky Wu and Kevin Cheng:

Jeez, hard to believe they are 40-something :) And I've become a fangirl of Yuan Hong!

Just love, love, love his role of Prince 13th!! :)

Okay, I'm going to finish watching what I have and then work on my review. Hopefully, sometime tomorrow... In the meantime, I leave you with the opening. Enjoy!

Hauling Sunday LIX

2011-10-09T15:26:00.000-04:00

Nothing much going on with me this week-end :) I'm just relaxing LOL.

Here are the books I bought this week:

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan - And Percy Jackson is back!! :) I wasn't too sure about this book, because I thought The Lost Hero was okay... However, I just finished reading The Son of Neptune yesterday and it's really good!! If you're a fan of this series, you don't want to miss The Son of Neptune!!

A Touch of Crimson by Sylvia Day - I picked up this book because Ames enjoyed it. Plus, I heard Ms Day talking about this series last year at RT and I'm a sucker for reincarnation :)

Bring Me Home for Christmas by Robyn Carr - I was looking for A Touch of Crimson at the bookstore, looking on the cart, when I stumbled across this book. LOL, I jumped on it since it's supposed to come out only later this month! The Virgin River series has its ups and its downs and I'm hoping that Denny's story is going to be an up :) High school sweethearts reunion combined with Christmas spirit :P

And there you go :) A quiet week for me, but better than no books at all!

Derailment...

2011-10-08T10:52:00.000-04:00

Hey there everyone!

Sorry to have been MIA in the past few days... Sigh. Once again, my plans had gone awry. As you all know, Ames was supposed to come over this week-end, but she had an accident :( The good thing is that her trip is not cancelled! Just pushed back... probably till after the New Year. So yeah, a little disappointed, but the most important is that Ames is okay :)

Since I already asked for Thursday and Friday off, I decided to keep them! Seriously, I need a break from work. Was really looking forward to this extra long week-end! So first thing I do on Thursday is as usual, to turn on my computer... and I get this error message that Windows cannot load because config32 has been deleted or corrupted. WTF?!? I panicked during a moment, because I haven't back-up my stuff for a couple of months and I thought I'd lose everything! Finally went on my dad's computer, typed the message and followed the instruction. That got me into Safe mode. Yay! Started backing-up everything... the reason I don't like to do that is because it takes sooooo freaking long!! In the meantime, I had to drive my sister to school and my mom decided she wanted to go shop... Then, I came home and back to the computer it was. So I was able to access safe mode; however, I couldn't carry out the next step to repair config32. So I tried to restore my computer to an earlier point - all the restore points had been delete. Ugh. That meant only one thing was left to do: re-format the computer. Yes, again. This is probably the third time I had to re-format my computer ^_^; Once Windows was up and running again, that meant re-installing all the programs and etc. So yeah, it pretty much took me the whole day :( Then, in the evening, we went out to eat for my sister's birthday.

Speaking of my sister's birthday, well it was on Thursday which was when Ames was supposed to arrive. When my sister learned that Ames wasn't coming, she was a bit bummed... She was like: "Oh, I could have done something with my friends then." Seriously, I admit I still don't get it, because hey, even if Ames was here, my sister could have done something with her friends. But whatever... So I told her to do something and she was like: "But this is too last minute, you know my friends." Well I don't see why she shouldn't try, so on Tuesday night, I started calling her friends and try to do a surprise party. Of course, I'm not very subtle so yesterday night, when her friends arrive, she knew LOL. But at least, we had a good turn-out and she had a good time :) So that was pretty much my day yesterday, running around to get ready for the surprise party.

But now, now I'm free!!! Woohoo!! Still have three days of freedom ahead of me :) With absolutely no plans! I've been re-reading the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher the whole week. Next is going to be Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan... Maybe I'll finally do my Monthly Reads post LOL... Get ahead in my blogging. LOL, a girl can dream, right? :)

In any case, I hope you have a nice week-end!! :)

Review: Kate Daniels series novellas

2011-10-04T07:36:00.000-04:00

See, this is my kind of laziness. I was looking at my Monthly Reads post and decided that instead of doing mini-impression, it would be quicker to put these three reads in a review. Wrong!! It sure wasn't faster, but in the end I'm happy with the results LOL. How can I have so much to say about novellas though, that baffles me :P

Nothing much going on with me. I've decided to re-read Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher... and am slowly getting ready for Ames' arrival. I'm really looking forward to the two days off at the end of the week!! Yay!! Now I'm off to review more books from August... Enjoy this post!

Magic Dreams by Ilona Andrews

published by Berkley in August 2011

Shapeshifting tigress Dali Harimau finds herself in deep waters when she must challenge a dark being to a battle of wits or risk losing the man for whom she secretly longs.

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Kate Daniels series, Book #4.5

The Story: Dali Harimau is a petite Indonesian woman who wears coke-bottle glasses and can shapeshift into a vegetarian white tiger. She is very smart, but not physically strong and therefore feels cuddled by the Beast Lord and her Alpha's rules. While Dali might stretch the limits of these rules, she is always ready to help the Pack. When Jim comes to Dali for her expertise on South Asian magic, she quickly realizes that something is wrong with her Alpha. After poking around, Dali finds out that Jim is being possessed by a Japanese spider demon and said demon is draining Jim from his life energy. Dali is determined to save Jim's life... even if it means putting her own at risk.

My Opinion: I loved Magic Dreams. Simply loved it :) When I picked up the anthology, I had no idea that Dali was the narrator of this Kate Daniels series installment... but when I found out, SQUEEEE!!! I loved Dali from the first when she was introduced in Magic Strikes. She's just so quirky LOL. I mean, seriously, did you ever hear of a vegetarian tiger that get sick at the sight of blood? Also, she has attitude in spades. Being able to stand up to Curran and Jim is no small accomplishment. So yeah, it just made my day to read a story from her POV and to see her romance with Jim unfolds :)

I always thought the strengths of the Kate Daniels series were 1) the characters, 2) the plots and 3) the touch of humor. Well Ms Andrews reinforced this belief for me with Magic Dreams. I enjoyed reading about Dali and Jim, finding out more about their personalities. They are secondary characters that definitively had potential to be expanded and it was great of Ms Andrews to do so. I also loved reading about Jim and Dali's feelings for each other. It's been hinted that Jim had feelings for Dali in Magic Bleeds and I was curious about it. In Magic Dreams, it's more from Dali's perspectives, but it's good to see that she reciprocated his feelings :) Still, you can see how much Dali matters to Jim... I mean, he learned her dialect! That was really cute. So overall, I was very happy with the romance :)

I think that Ms Andrews did a great job at balancing everything in this novella: the characters, the romance and the storyline. The storyline was both interesting and complex. I thought that was really important, so it kept with the spirit of the series. It also fit Dali's background really well, which made it even better. Then, there were the touches of humor :) It's great when you're reading a story and just laugh out loud because of those :)

My only issue with this novella was Dali's voice. I simply think that it is not very distinct from Kate. What keeps them separate is Dali's Asian background and her strength being different from Kate, but otherwise... I think it's partly due to both women being snarky and thinking the same way, plus how the story is actually constructed. But really, this is a very small complaint and perhaps if we had a full-length novel with Dali as a heroine, it wouldn't be a problem at all ;)

My Grade: A. Magic Dreams is one of the best novellas I've read. Of course, if it was a possibility, I would have loved for Magic Dreams to be longer, would have loved to read more of Dali and Jim... However, as a novella, it is well-written, complete and a great read :) I hope we'll get to see them more as a couple in the future books :)

Curran POV vol. 1 by Gordon Andrews
published by Ilona Andrews in July 2010

This isn't a short story or a novella. This is a collection of scenes written by Gordon Andrews as a companion to our Kate Daniels series of books. These scenes illustrate the point of view of Curran, the Beast Lord of Atlanta and are provided in gratitude to our readers for all of their support. This collection isn't meant to stand on its own as an independent work of fiction.

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Kate Daniels series

My Opinion: As described in the blurb, Curran POV is a collection of scenes from the Kate Daniels series written from Curran's POV. These scenes are a couple of pages each and are definitively not meant to be read as a stand-alone. However, fans of the Kate Daniels series will definitively enjoy them :) I know, I did.

I think these scenes give us a better insight at Curran, a better idea of who is Curran, which is a good thing considering that all we've read in the Kate Daniels series have come from Kate's POV. I don't think that Kate's view of Curran is romanticized and actually, he has told her many times what to expect from... but still, I don't think I really believed it till I read some of his thoughts and actions. After reading Curran POV, I find Curran more ruthless and domineering than ever. Perhaps subconsciously, I was the one romanticizing his character.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Curran POV. Whatever is found in this collection doesn't alter the events that has taken place... but it was fun to read these scenes from Curran's POV. To know his thoughts, his feelings and his reactions to some of the things that happened. I especially enjoyed his impressions of Kate when they first met and my favorite scene is when he is feeding soup to Kate in Magic Burns :) Therefore a big thank you Mr Andrews has taken the time to write these little snippets and that he shared it with us :)

My Grade: B.

Fathers and Sons by Gordon Andrews

published by Ilona Andrews in May 2011

Infuriated by Kate's treatment at the hands of the Pack, the Beast Lord demands an explanation. When words fail, claws and fangs must do the talking.

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Kate Daniels series, Book #4.25/Curran POV, Book #2

The Story: Fathers and Sons takes place just after Magic Bleeds. Curran wakes up from his coma and is none to happy to hear that his mate had had to face 22 challenges in the past two weeks. He is especially angry at Mahon, his adoptive father and Alpha of Clan Heavy, because with his support, Mahon could have prevented the situation... However, Mahon has never approved of Kate as the potential consort... and thus, father and son battle it out.

My Opinion: Another very short story, but fun to read :) I think this is the short story that really made me realized how ruthless Curran is. How he expects to be obeyed... and in a way, his selfishness. Once again, nothing new here. We already knew and Curran had already told Kate... but still, to see proof of it makes it more real.

I like this short story because it really solidifies Kate and Curran bond. The fact that Curran would "retire" his adoptive father if necessary for Kate to rule along side with him. I also enjoyed the politics of the Pack. LOL, lots of frienemies :) And despite the shortness of the story, it still got my heart to beat loudly for one or two seconds :)

My Grade: B+.

Hauling Sunday LVIII

2011-10-02T15:07:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone!!

October arrived yesterday and with it, fall. I mean, seriously, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees Celsius between Friday and Saturday. Brrrrrr.

I've been pretty quiet since coming back from my week-end away. One of the reasons is that I've been meaning to write up my Monthly Reads post for August. My plan was to have it up before the end of September. Yes, epic fail ^_^; Then, I switched gear and tried to have a review up... but I didn't know what to review ^_^; Sigh. At least, our New Releases post went up without a hitch over at Breezing Through. Yay!! LOL, I'll take it. One of the reasons I haven't accomplished much is that the whole week, I went to bed early. I just fell asleep. I think the past few weeks combined with the week-end has just wiped me out.

Yesterday was Doctor Who's season finale!! I don't know if I've written on the blog how I've become a fan of the show. Well at least, the last two seasons of the show. I really like the River Song storyline... Anyway, the finale was okay. I liked the big twist, but I thought they could have finished the season with more bang. I hope Alex Kingston is coming back in the next season.

Anyway, I'm all good now :) Ready to start a new blogging month and catch up on everything! So I'll start by my Hauling Sunday :) I had hopes to buy some books in the States... Take advantages of their cheaper price. However, the Walmart and Target's selections were sadly disappointing. As a result, I made it up when I came back home :) Ready to see my haul?

Spider's Revenge by Jennifer Estep - Wooohooo, the conclusion of this story arc! :) And the reasons I'm still so happy? Because Ms Estep has two more books contracted! :) Yay!

Flawless by Carrie Lofty - I've been meaning to read Ms Lofty's books, but yeah... just never happened. I'm happy that this new release is in print :) Plus, for some reasons, I'm really excited the story is taking place in South Africa. I'm not one for exotic locations... but South Africa and diamonds = exciting :)

Utterly Charming by Kristine Grayson - I didn't realize that this was a re-print. Ms Grayson has a new release, Wickedly Charming, coming up soon and to celebrate the occasion, Sourcebooks is re-releasing the two books in this series. In any case, I'm happy I picked up this one. I've always liked Sleeping Beauty's story more than Cinderella :)

Blood Trails by Sharon Sala - Fan of Sharon Sala I am :) Hopefully, this one will be different than the previous two books in this trilogy though.

Slow Ride by Erin McCarthy - Liked the cover and the blurb :) Diesel sounds like a yummy hero!

Heartstrings and Diamond Rings by Jane Graves - Sounds like a cute contemporary romance and I usually enjoy Ms Graves' books.

Every Scandalous Secret by Gayle Callen - Okay, this book was totally NOT on my radar. However, it was on the cart when I was looking for Slow Ride and Animal Attraction and it just caught my eyes. I really like the cover for some reasons. Plus, in my mind, I was confused LOL... I was thinking Gaelen Foley for some reasons... and I thought the blurb sounded familiar. Well yeah, it's familiar, because I did read the first book in this series: In Pursuit of a Scandalous Lady! Anyway, impulse buying LOL.

Animal Attraction by Jill Shalvis - Sigh. I wasn't planning to get Animal Attraction. Thought that Animal Magnetism was okay and I'm not a huge fan of Ms Shalvis. Her writing is good, but her books are just not grabbing me. Then, I read Leslie's review... and I have to say, I really was curious about Dell and Jade when I read Animal Magnetism. So yes, I caved LOL.

So this was my week :) Pretty good all in all :)

Now, let see if I can start some posts for the blog this week and squeeze some cleaning before the week-end ends. Oh and I've been looking for new blogs about books. Any new bloggers or blogs out there? If you know any or if you are one, feel free to leave links in the comment section :) Big thanks!

Review: Only Yours by Susan Mallery

2011-09-27T17:37:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! I'm back and I had a great week-end :) It was fun to go away and to hang out with friends :) The week-end would have really been perfect though if I could have bought some books... but alas. And it wasn't from lack of trying!! Ah well, to make it up, I went to the bookstore yesterday LOL.

I hope to post a few more pictures in the next coming days - as soon as my friends send me some LOL. 9 persons, 7 cameras - I decided I could let my friends take pictures :) Of course, now, I need to harass them to get the pics...

So in the meantime, here's a review. Enjoy!

Only Yours by Susan Mallery
published by HQN Books in August 2011

Montana Hendrix has found her calling—working with therapy dogs. With a career she loves in a hometown she adores, she's finally ready to look for her own happily ever after. Could one of her dogs help her find Mr. Right… or maybe Dr. Right?

Surgeon Simon Bradley prefers the sterility of the hospital to the messiness of real life, especially when real life includes an accident-prone mutt and a woman whose kisses make him want what he knows he can't have. Scarred since childhood, he avoids emotional entanglement by moving from place to place to heal children who need his skillful touch. Can his growing feelings for Montana lead him to find a home in Fool's Gold, or will he walk away, taking her broken heart with him?

Genre: Contemporary romance
Series: Fool's Gold series, Book #5

The Story: Simon Bradley is a gifted surgeon who specializes in patients who have been burned. As a burnt victim, Simon knows first-hand the excruciating pain his patients are going through and the will needed to recover and that's what makes him good at his job. He also lives a nomadic life, dedicating all his energy and talent to a hospital for a short period of time before moving on to the next place, never getting emotionally attached to anyone. For the next three months, Simon is in Fool's Gold and the mayor wants him to stay... She thus enlists the help of Montana Hendrix to convince him.

Montana is a bubbly and enthusiastic young woman who has finally found her calling: working with therapy dogs. Her first meeting with Dr. Bradley is not a success as one of her dogs barge in the burn unit of the hospital... Still, Montana cannot refuse the mayor's request. Then, when Simon needs a therapy dog to help one of his patients, Montana is more than happy to help.

From the first moment, Simon is attracted to Montana in a way he cannot explain. However, Simon doesn't do relationship, doesn't get emotionally attached to anyone... but once he does, what will happen?

My Opinion: If you've been reading my blog for the past few years, you know that Ms Mallery's books have been hit and miss with me. There are some that I really, really enjoy such as Almost Perfect and Hot on her Heels and others that just didn't work for me. So from experience and from the first Fool's Gold trilogy, I decided to be a bit more selective when it came to this second Fool's Gold trilogy featuring the Hendrix triplets... and decided to skip Only Mine and go straight to Only Yours. My reasoning was that out of the three triplets, Montana was the one that I've liked the most based on their previous apparitions in the series and also, the storyline seems to be one that I'd enjoy as it's a bit of the "happy-go-lucky heroine thawing stuffy hero" theme. All in all, I think it was a good decision :)

I really liked the characters in Only Yours. I think both Montana and Simon were likable, nice and well-developed characters. I didn't completely get the "Montana has finally found herself/her vocation." And her projecting on Fluffy the dog was a bit extreme. I don't know, she appeared to be happy in previous books, always cheerful and smiley. Did it really matter if she didn't have a true calling? I don't think so, although it doesn't hurt of course. I guess she needed a bit of a conflict... As for Simon, my heart broke for him and his past really gives a good insight of the man he's become and his lifestyle.

What I liked most of Montana and Simon is that they complemented each other very well. They came from completely different backgrounds and have very different personalities, but it worked. They were cute together and I enjoyed reading those parts :) However, I do think their relationship was a bit rushed and precipitated. I guess it's because of the deadline - Simon only staying for three months. It just bothered me a little bit that Montana knew what she was getting into, basically a fling with a man that didn't do long-lasting relationship... and she wanted more. I understand falling in love and wanting more and everything... but after less than three months? In that case, why start this fling? Also, it'd be nice from time to time for a man and a woman wanting the same thing and evolving at the same rhythm in a romance. Just saying.

I also think that in Only Yours, Ms Mallery balanced the secondary characters well. She gave us a bit of the Hendrix family and a bit of the town. I especially liked seeing the Hendrix dynamics between the siblings. Especially when they were discussing their mother's past love LOL. That was cute. I think Kevin and his son returning to Fool's Gold is a nice addition and wonder what Ms Mallery has in store for them. Another part that I liked was when Simon was expecting everyone to treat him badly because he and Montana have broken up, but everyone at the end was nice. It surprised him and at the same time, it broke my heart. Shows us how little love Simon had in his life. Sigh.

I have to say, I wasn't crazy about the whole town getting involved in Montana and Simon's relationship. The insinuation about how Montana should convince Simon to stay in town. Another thing that bothered me was the "miracle" near the end. Throughout the book, Simon is taking care of a young girl who's been severely burned... and at the end, she crashed. Well seriously, I think Ms Mallery should have let her die. I don't mean to be heartless, but one minute her condition worsens and the next, she's all right. I thought it was unnecessary drama. Either you let her recover nicely in which case, she doesn't crash at all... or she crashes and dies. It's a bit like in Only Mine where the chances of Dakota getting pregnant are almost null and thus, she decides to adopt... and suddenly, voila, she's pregnant! Yes, this is fiction, but there is just so many times you can do this. At least, there is no pregnancy in Only Yours which makes it "refreshing" LOL.

Oh by the way, the dogs were a nice touch to the book :) They made me smiled and I loved how Simon got attached to Cece. So cute :)

My Grade: B-. Overall, I enjoyed Only Yours. Not ground-breaking, but it was still a nice romance :)