Review: Only Yours by Susan Mallery

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 :)

Week-end away...

Hey everyone!!

Leaving for Lake George in a few hours. The above is what we're hoping to see this week-end during our "hike."   However, I'm not sure that many trees have changed colors. Ah well LOL.

As usual, I was planning reviews and stuff... but unfortunately, I have nothing ^_^; I know, total failure. This week though has just been busy and crazy. It's all small stuff - the clinic today, packing, car at the garage... but when you add up together, it's just overwhelming and freaking me out. Seriously, I'm not taking stress very well lately... which is why this trip is going to be awesome! :)

So yeah, if my friends bring a laptop this week-end, I'm going to try to steal it and review... but otherwise, you're not going to hear from me till Monday. But hey, next week I should have a nice hauling Sunday post. Yes, I know, I'm sick LOL.

In the meantime, have a nice week-end!

Review: Dragon Bound and Storm's Heart by Thea Harrison

Yay, I finally did it! I finally sat down and tackled this two-fer :) And now I'm nervous because my opinion of the books are different than most, but hey, honesty right? :)

Nothing going much with my life. I'm still sick - booo. Although I think it's getting better. I got some sad news yesterday. The Father for whom I used to send emails for passed away :( It was so unexpected, especially since I spoke to him not too long ago... But he lived a wonderful and long life... and I'm glad he didn't suffer at the end. So that's a good thing. What bothers me though is that I'm going to miss his funerals which are on Saturday :( That really sucks. Life.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the reviews :) Now, I need to work on my monthly post for August...


Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison

published by Berkley in May 2011

Half-human and half-wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful-and passionate-of the Elder races.

As the most feared and respected of the Wyrkind, Dragos Cuelebre cannot believe someone had the audacity to steal from him, much less succeed. And when he catches the thief, Dragos spares her life, claiming her as his own to further explore the desire they've ignited in each other.

Pia knows she must repay Dragos for her trespass, but refuses to become his slave - although she cannot deny wanting him, body and soul...

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: The Elder Races, Book #1

The Story: All her life, Pia Giovanni - half-human and half-wyr - has hidden her true nature. However, in a moment of weakness, she forgets her mother's warning and training and reveals part of what she is to her ex-boyfriend. Biggest mistake of her life as the bastard blackmails her into stealing from Dragos Cuelebre, one of the most powerful, feared and respected Wyr. After completing her task, Pia leaves New York City and goes under as she does not intend to be blackmailed for the rest of her life.

It does not take long for Dragos to find Pia. While furious, Dragos is also intrigued by this woman, this thief who left a note of apology. Also, she's one of the few that stands up to him. Definitively attracted to Pia, Dragos decides to keep her for himself... but others have other plans concerning both Pia and Dragos.

My Opinion: Dragon Bound is Ms Harrion's debut novel and wow, the buzz it has received!! It was quite unbelievable. Aside from the positive reviews, one of the reasons I picked up Dragon Bound was that many have likened this series to the Psy-Changelings series by Ms Singh. I thought it made sense since both series are published by Berkley. To say I went in with high expectations would be a bit of an understatement LOL. Overall, I think that Dragon Bound was a solid debut novel, a good start to a series... but I wasn't as wowed as everyone.

First, I gotta agree with everyone that Pia was a great heroine. She's smart and level-headed which are two great qualities in a heroine in paranormal romance. Plus, I loved the way she stood up to Dragos, not letting him push her around and making her own decisions. She wasn't a predator, didn't have the alphaness or the kiss-ass attitude, but that doesn't mean she let people walk over her and I admire her for that. She dealt with whatever situations she found herself in and handled herself well. Basically, I liked that she wasn't the fragile little princess waiting to be rescued or following the lead. As for Dragos, he was an okay hero. I wasn't that impressed with him basically because I've over-dosed a little on the uber-alpha heroes. I mean, they stand over the heroines, all hubbah hubbah, being all possessive and overprotective and it's just getting old. I guess though, no matter how alpha or how old, they can still learn new tricks :) So it wasn't that Dragos was a bad hero, but simply that he wasn't refreshing ^_^; And then, the romance turns out to be a case of "mating." Once again, not a bad thing, but just not refreshing. I also think it was pretty one-sided from Dragos. I think you see a few signs from Pia, but it wasn't as obvious. Perhaps because Pia is more rational. Although I think it's a great thing that Pia didn't give in so easily as it gave them the chance to get to know each other... Still, I think that the whole mating storyline just precipitates the romance :(

The overall storyline of Dragon Bound was interesting. It's political and intrigues and I always like those. I don't think it's as strong as the Psy-Changelings series, but then that's really top-notched. One of my complaints though is that I thought the world-building in The Elder Races series was a bit weak. First of all, you have a lot of paranormal beings, some of them living thousands of years literally, and I think they weren't well defined. For example, you have elves, fairies and wyrs. What are wyrs, how does each race function, how did they come into power, what about the council? Then, what about humans? How do they factor in in this world? How can they have power? It just wasn't clear for me. I understand that really, Ms Harrison couldn't address everything in one book and that's why having so many races is always a risk. Perhaps if she had focused a little bit more on one aspect of this world in this book and left the rest for another book, it would have worked. In this case, I feel like Ms Harrison tried to give the readers a too broad overview and at the end, I still don't have a sense of the world unfortunately ^_^;

Still I think there's more good in Dragon Bound than issues. Like I mentioned, I loved Pia. I also loved the secondary characters - Rune, Graydon and Tricks :) I like the friendship that forms between them and Pia. I was really happy that the readers got to find out what kind of Wyr Pia is and I think it was very, very clever. The part with the white dragon was very cute :) And finally, the writing was also good - very reminiscent of Ms Singh.

My Grade: B. There's not doubt that Dragon Bound was a solid debut novel and shows a lot of potential. For me though, there were important issues and it wasn't a wowzer. I don't think it's a case of too high expectations or buzz overkill. I can see why other readers enjoy it so much. For me though, the feeling, the connection to the characters and story simply wasn't there.


Storm's Heart by Thea Harrison
published by Berkley in August 2011

During the rule of her murderous Dark Fae uncle, Thistle "Tricks" Periwinkle found sanctuary among the Wyr in New York. Her ethereal beauty and sparkling personality won the hearts of the public, but after her uncle's death, there are those who don't want to see her ascend the throne...

Able to wield thunder and lightning, Wyr sentinel Tiago Black Eagle has ruled the skies for centuries. His massive build and thunderous power make him one of the Wyr's best weapons. And he's the one sent to protect Tricks when she's almost assassinated in Chicago.

Soon, both Tiago and Tricks will fall prey to the stormy hunger that engulfs them- a passion that will shake the very foundation of all the worlds.

Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: The Elder Races, Book #2

The Story: Tricks is the only survivor of the Fae royal family which was slaughtered centuries ago by her uncle in his quest to overtake the crown. To survive, Tricks sought refuge under Dragos and lived in plain sight as Dragos' PR, a thorn in Urien's side. After the events of Dragon Bound and the death of Urien, as the rightful heir to the crown, Tricks must return to the Fae to rule her people. That means leaving the Wyrs behind.

Unfortunately, as expected, not everyone is thrilled that Tricks is alive. When there is an attempt on her life, Tiago - one of Dragos' sentinel - rushes to her rescue. Then, there is a second attempt on her life and that's when things get more complicated as the assassins are not Fae, but Wyrs. Who can Tricks trust? One thing is sure though, she is stuck with Tiago as her protector.

My Opinion: After reading Dragon Bound, I was really looking forward to reading Storm's Heart because I really liked Tricks. The lady is bubbly, witty and fun and she's lived with Wyrs for centuries and therefore is not afraid to go up against them. Unfortunately, in Storm's Heart, we got to see the vulnerable side of Tricks instead, which meant a lot of self-pity and uncertainty. While it made sense that Tricks had some fears regarding the role she was about to assume and while it added some depth to her character, it wasn't the Tricks I was expecting to read about... and quite frankly, she just wasn't as interesting as I had expected. I kept hoping she'd get in control, grasp the reins of her life... but it seems to me instead, she kept being pushed around by Tiago and the control just slipped away from her.

As for Tiago, well he was even more hubbah hubbah than Dragos, if that's possible ^_^; Like he isn't more dominant than Dragos, but his attitude with Tricks? Yep, much more possessive and overprotective... and I think in part, Tricks is to blame because she lets him. She tried to escape a few times, but otherwise, she didn't stand up much to Tiago in my opinion. Anyway, back to Tiago. Unfortunately, he didn't make much of an impression to me. He's surly, good at being a warrior... There's nothing much to him, at the end of the book, I didn't get a feel for him.

And the romance? What romance? Once again, the male finds himself mating with the female without knowing it. In my opinion, there's no development to it. After centuries of knowing each other, suddenly, wham bam, the two are in love and that's it. I mean, it was hinted in Dragon Bound that there was something between them and you see it really early on in Storm's Heart when Tiago rushes to Tricks' rescue... However, there are no real development to it. The only interesting thing to this romance is as a Fae, Tricks doesn't feel the mating bond and could have turned Tiago down. Which raises another question: how does the whole mating thing works then? Oh and at the end, when Tiago gives everything up to be with Tricks... Nice grand gesture, but a bit sudden and too easy perhaps.

The storyline is what saves this book for me. I thought it was a bit obvious that Tricks going back to the Fae demesnes to become Queen wouldn't go smoothly, but I like political intrigues. However, I enjoyed finding out more about the Fae and I liked all the tidbits that went into Tricks getting ready to become Queen. For example charming the staff, the protocol moments, etc.

My Grade: C-. Unfortunately, the characters and the romance in Storm's Heart just didn't do it for me. At this point, I'm not sure I'll pick up Rune's book.

Hauling Sunday LVII

Okay, this is cutting it pretty close LOL. It was a pretty lazy day, lazy week-end and I didn't accomplish much of what I was hoping. The reason? I woke up yesterday with a cold :( Ugh. Hopefully, it won't last very long. I guess all I can do is sleep early, drink lots of fluids and pump in vitamin C.

Watching the Emmy Awards right now. I'm so happy that Comedy series category is up first, because that's the one I care about... and yay, Jim Parsons won!! Woohooo :)

I have a feeling this week is going to be a busy one. Have to bring my car to the garage to change the timing belt. Need to stop by to Coles, because it's closing next Saturday T_T My uncle is coming this Wednesday and next week-end, my friends and I are going away for a week-end. Going to Lake George... Anything worth doing, visiting there? Any good restaurant that I should go eat at?

As for books, well this week was very quiet for me. Especially given the last few weeks. Of course, it helps that there wasn't much being released LOL. Still, I got one book :)

New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb - New installment in the never-ending In Death series :) I don't know, I have high hope for this one, even if the reviews are more cautious. Anyway, it'll just be fun to see the gang again :)

That's it :) Ugh, someone, please tell me... Why are week-ends so short?!? I don't want it to end!!!

Something to make us all smile :)

Hello! How are you? I'm so happy it's Friday today!! I can't wait till the week-end!! Yesterday was the deadline for the grant application and let say, not everything went smoothly ^_^; I have to say, part of it is my fault - ugh, I hate website that block access after you've entered the wrong password three times!! Then again, if the secretary had started earlier, we wouldn't have been last-minute... Ah well, it's done and over. It involved a lot of stress and a lot of running around... and hopefully, the next grant application deadline is very, very far away in the future. In the meantime, I'm meeting with patients this afternoon. Sigh. I don't want to :(

Anyway, this means once again, I haven't had time to blog ^_^; Oups. So instead of a review, I give you this, something that I hope will make you smile :)

So I left my book lying around in the lab and my co-worker S had a bit of fun with it :) S had never had any problems with my love of reading or the fact that I read romance... but I have to admit, there are times when he looks at the book covers and wonder what I'm reading ^_^; In any case, he decided that this particular book needed a little bit of censorship LOL.

Don't worry, he didn't actually draw on the book. It's pieces of Post It that he colored in black :) Yes, it's a bit immature, but he's a guy, he can't help it LOL.

Happy Friday! and hope you have a nice week-end :)

Review: Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

Hi! and sorry! LOL. I've been meaning to work on some reviews, but work has been busy. Okay, yes, yes, I've been engrossed in my reading as well. However, you know, when work is busy, all you want to do is relax, hence the reading. Anyway, we have a grant application deadline tomorrow and I'm giving some experiments a last go. It's pretty desperate when you want results from an experiment that has never been done to be included ^_^; After tomorrow, I'm hoping for some freedom!! Although quite frankly, I've had it easy compared to my two colleagues... what does that say about my lab?!?

Initially, I was going to do a two-fer, Dragon Bound and Storm's Heart... but yeah, instead I read Sean Griswold's Head and The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June. I guess I should be happy I'm at least reading!! Anyway, a two-fer is not realistic for today, so instead, I'm going with Flat-Out Love, especially since some of you have expressed some curiosity concerning the book :)

Enjoy!


Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park
published by Kindle in 2011

Something is seriously off in the Watkins home. And Julie Seagle, college freshman, small-town Ohio transplant, and the newest resident of this Boston house, is determined to get to the bottom of it.

When Julie's off-campus housing falls through, her mother's old college roommate, Erin Watkins, invites her to move in. The parents, Erin and Roger, are welcoming, but emotionally distant and academically driven to eccentric extremes. The middle child, Matt, is an MIT tech geek with a sweet side ... and the social skills of a spool of USB cable. The youngest, Celeste, is a frighteningly bright but freakishly fastidious 13-year-old who hauls around a life-sized cardboard cutout of her oldest brother almost everywhere she goes.

And there's that oldest brother, Finn: funny, gorgeous, smart, sensitive, almost emotionally available. Geographically? Definitely unavailable. That's because Finn is traveling the world and surfacing only for random Facebook chats, e-mails, and status updates. Before long, through late-night exchanges of disembodied text, he begins to stir something tender and silly and maybe even a little bit sexy in Julie's suddenly lonesome soul.

To Julie, the emotionally scrambled members of the Watkins family add up to something that... well... doesn't quite add up. Not until she forces a buried secret to the surface, eliciting a dramatic confrontation that threatens to tear the fragile Watkins family apart, does she get her answer.

Genre: Contemporary Young Adult Fiction
Series: -

The Story:  Hmmm, the blurb is very detailed and also, accurate, so I'm going to skip this part as I'm not going to add much :)

My Opinion: Flat-Out Love has been on my radar ever since Ms Heather Webber gave it a 5 stars on Goodreads. Unfortunately, it wasn't only available on Kindle. Then, a few months later, I checked it out again and lo and behold, it was now available in epub format! Hurrah! So I was really excited when I started reading the book.

I really liked the feel of the book. In Flat-Out Love, we follow Julie as she navigates through her first year of college and the Watkins dynamics. I really liked that the book spans several months. It gave the readers the opportunity to really get to know Julie as well as understand the dynamics of the Watkins and this was very important. Too often nowadays, plots and romance are rushed because of the timeline of a few days. So this was a definitive plus for Flat-Out Love. I also loved reading about Julie's college life - social such  as making new friends, starting new relationships, as well as academic - choosing classes, attending them, midterms, etc. Ms Park definitively did a great job at creating the right feel for the book.

Unfortunately, while I enjoyed reading about Julie's life, I didn't like the character itself as much as I wanted to ^_^; In truth, Julie is really a nice young woman. She's pretty mature, she's smart and enjoys college and the opportunity of learning, she cares about others and wants to help out... Like I said, a pretty nice young woman. What bothered me with her though is that I thought she cared too much about what other people thought and appearances. Not to the extent of high school where she's trying to fit in and be part of the cool crowd, but to the extent I felt she was a conformist. For example, the first impression she gets of Matt is that he's a geek based on his t-shirt... and that impression stayed with her very long. Simply because he'd rather stay home and play video games, hang out on forums, etc. instead of going out and hanging out with people. She took pity on Celeste because she wasn't acting like a regular teenager. Even herself, back in her hometown, she had to hide the fact that she liked school, enjoyed literature. Why? Is it wrong to be different? To enjoy different things? To be your own person? I don't think that Julie thought it was wrong per se, but some of her actions made it seems so. The other issue I had with Julie's character is I thought she was a bit meddlesome. I know she wanted to help and her intentions were sincere, but the fact is she didn't know what was going on and without that crucial information, what she did could have been harmful. Sometimes, helping consists of giving a hand and that's easy. However, as soon as you dwell into something more profound, you have to be careful. I think the part where Matt scolds Julie after Celeste's sleeping-party was correct. You cannot just swoop in and fix what you think is wrong with one fingers snap while there's someone who's been on the sideline the whole time, observing and helping at a slower pace. It was presumptuous on Julie's part and I'm glad Matt called her on it. Oh, I'm not saying that Julie didn't help Celeste out, because she did. I think that without Julie, Celeste would not have healed as fast and as I said, Julie's intentions were sincere... but yeah, I found Julie presumptuous and it bothered me a little. Otherwise though, I had no problem with Julie and I think Ms Park did a good job at making her realistic.

I really liked Matt. He could be considered as a beta hero. He's silent and a bit geeky, but he's there for you and has your back. He was also a very, very good brother and I liked that. I really felt for him at the end when he tells Julie the truth. It must have been such a weight on his shoulders and it says a lot that he could hold it together. I understand why Julie was hurt by Matt's actions and he admitted he knew it was wrong... However, given the circumstances, it was hard to be mad at him and begrudge him those moments where he could be himself.

I also really liked Celeste. She was an interesting character and crucial to the book. I liked her maturity and her mannerism :) I figured out quite early in Flat-Out Love what was the reason that Celeste was carrying a life-sized cardboard cutout of Finn... and I have to say I'm surprised Julie didn't.

There was a touch of romance in Flat-Out Love. Not the focus of the book, but one that was still quite satisfying and I think it's because of the timeline in the book. Since they knew each other, it was just more believable :)

My Grade: B. I wasn't sure when I started Flat-Out Love what kind of book it was. For some reasons, I thought it'd be a funny book ^_^; What I got was a solid, well-written book with well-developed and flawed characters and a story with a lot more depth than I expected. Based on the storyline, I'm not sure I would go back and re-read, but I would definitively read more by this author :)

Hauling Sunday LVI

Hey everyone! Hope you're having a great week-end. Mine is pretty good so far :) The weather is really nice and that's great. Got to hang out with my friends a little yesterday evening and I'm getting ready for the Oyster Fest. Watched a bit of tennis as well. Yay for Djokovic for being in the finale... but in the other one, I was hoping for Murray to come out victorious. Yes, I know, chances were slim, but one can hope right? Just as I'm hoping Stosur will win tonight!!

Oh I went to the optometrist on Friday evening concerning my eyes and she said everything was okay. The reason why my left eye is bothering me is because it's very dry for some reasons. However, my vision and everything is good. Phew, what a relief!

Now, the only thing that would make this week-end perfect was if I could read a bit more ^_^; I started a book but it was really bland and had to put it aside. Sigh. Now, I've started another one and I'm half-way through... but I don't know how much time I'll have to read the rest of this week-end. I guess it's for me to find out later!

Okay, I'll stop rambling and introduce my new pretties :)

Got these books on last Sunday, taking advantage at the "Buy 3, get the 4th free" promotion :)

Revenge at Bella Terra by Christina Dodd - Technically, I should have waited after reading Secrets at Bella Terra before being Revenge at Bella Terra... However, I needed a 4th book and quite frankly, out of the two books, the story of Revenge was the one that I wanted to read.

Demon Marked by Meljean Brook - This is the book that spurred the bookstore adventure LOL. That's the book I needed to get my hands on and yay, I did! :)

Haunting Beauty by Erin Quinn - I met Ms Quinn at the RWA Literacy signing and got Haunting Desire IIRC. While I don't need to read a series in order, it's always nice... especially since Haunting Beauty was being re-released in paperback :) Plus, Ms Quinn is Canadian :)

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June by Robin Benway - Alex reviewed this book not long ago and it sounded like something I would like to read :) I love psychic powers :)

Archangel's Blade by Nalini Singh - Of course, I had to get this book because it's written by Ms Singh. I'm still a bit wary of this series; I prefer the Psy-Changelings series... but I was curious at the change of characters. You never know, perhaps Dmitri will trigger my love for this series.

The follow books are some that I've gotten in August, but forgot to include in my Hauling Sunday posts ^_^;

A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare - Ms Dare has just recently changed publisher and I was curious to see if it would reflect in her writing :) For some reasons, Avon's historical romances really work well for me.

For I Have Sinned by Darynda Jones - Little novella that takes place between First Grave on the Right and Second Grave on the Left. I've enjoyed the first book and thought I should give this a try :)

Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park - I've had this book on my radar bever since Heather Webber gave this a 5 stars on Goodreads. Unfortunately back then, Flat-Out Love was only available on Kindle... Then when I checked not too long ago, it was available in other format and I jumped on it! :)

So yes, lots of new books in the past two weeks :) It's great to be buying books LOL.