ARC Review: Lingerie Wars by Janet Elizabeth Henderson

Title: Lingerie Wars
Author: Janet Elizabeth Henderson
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: June 14, 2013

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

From Goodreads:

Englishman Lake Benson loaned his life savings to his dippy sister so that she could buy a shop. It was a big mistake. His sister has been steadily flushing his money down the drain – and now he wants it back. Years in the special forces taught Lake that if you want a job done, do it yourself. So he steps in to make the shop profitable, sell it and get his money back. The only problem is, the business is an underwear shop. And all Lake knows about underwear can be summed up in how fast he can unsnap a bra. To make matters worse, the tiny highland town already has a lingerie shop. A successful one, run by an ex-lingerie model. A very gorgeous ex-lingerie model, who’s distracting him from his mission more than he’d like to admit. If Lake wants to get his savings back, and get out of Scotland, he only has one option – wipe out the competition.

Kirsty Campbell has spent years rebuilding her life after she woke up in hospital in Spain to find her body scarred, and her ex-fiance had run off with all her money. The last thing she needs is a cocky, English soldier-boy trying to ruin all she has left. Her home town is only too happy to help her fight the latest English invasion, although Lake is beginning to sway them with his sex appeal and cut price knickers. With the help of her mother, and the retired ladies of Knit or Die, Kirsty sets about making sure that her shop is the last one standing in Invertary.

It’s Scotland versus England as you’ve never seen it before. It’s lingerie war.

My Thoughts:

What a great book! This one made me laugh, a lot, while also being sweet with just enough steam to keep things interesting.

In Lingerie Wars, we meet Lake, who has come to the small town of Invertary, Scotland to bail his sister out. Again. Rainne borrowed Lake's money to buy a lingerie shop. But wasn't doing that great a job in making money. Or running it. Or competing with the other lingerie shop in town, which Rainne had failed to tell Lake about. So Lake come's to his sister's rescue and runs into Kirsty, the owner of the other shop. Kirsty is struggling, in both business and life. She's recovering from injuries she sustained in a very bad car accident as well as her ex-fiance having run off with all her money. See, Kirsty had been a lingerie model before hte accident. But now, the scars, emotional and phsycial, are keeping her closed off. She still has family and friends of course, but she isn't putting herself out there like she used to.

But all that changes when the competition between Kirsty's store and Lake/Rainne/Betty's store, heats up. The "war" has everyone in town taking sides and in some cases, joining in to bring down the other with often crazy, hair-brained antics. The break in while Lake and Kirsty were having dinner had to be one of the best comedic scenes I've ever read in fact. It had me laughing until my stomach hurt. But in addition to the shenanigans as they tried to out-do the other, there was also tension between Kirsty and Lake. A good and sexy kind of tension that caused its own problems, and some times detentes, in the war. But even though the two recognized their feelings for each other, there were still secrets. Lake was in Invertary for a reason and he wasn't staying long, after all. He had other plans; other things to do. And once the war was done and he came out on top, would take his leave.

Too bad Kirsty and Rainne were left in the dark about that.

I don't want to go too deep in the weeds about what happens in this book because I don't want to give anything away. But I do want to address an important part that was touching, sweet and had a personal impact on me. And that was when Lake helped Kirsty deal with her scar issues. Having several scars myself from childhood surgeries, I know all about the self-consciousness they can cause. Mine are barely visible anymore, but they're still there, or at least, I know they are there. And it bugs me to no end. In the back of mind I'm always thinking someone will see, or comment on them, or just even think something about them. I'm better with them now than when I was younger but still, dealing with scars, emotional and/or physical can be tough. And even if people can't see them, that doesn't mean they don't effect the person who has them in significant ways. In Lingerie Wars I thought that the author dealt with Kirsty's issues in a very realistic and respectful manner. The way Lake saw past all that, and the way he handled Kirsty with such great care (at least regarding those issues!) was fantastic. And because of that and the way he took things slow, for her, was beautiful. Lake waited patiently while she came to terms with the fact that yes, a man like Lake liked her and didn't care one lick about the scars. The scars didn't define her and they didn't make her less of a person. It was almost like he didn't like her in spite of her scars, but instead he liked her because of them (or at least in part) and how they showed she was strong and a survivor.

I knew that there would be a "bad guy" and I was waiting awhile for him to show up. I think the way this part of the story was handled worked well. The suspense didn't overpower the story this way nor did the author get too far in the weeds about any grand conspiracies or massive crime rings. Instead the author kept the focus on Kirsty and Lake, their lingerie war, with just a dash of a "baddie" to deal with. But again, I want to stress that this book isn't just about a war between two lingerie shops. Lake's presence and undeniable attraction to Kirsty, as well as their "war", helped Kirsty move on from a traumatic past. It not only helped her in her business, but it also gave Kirsty the courage to put herself out there again and not let her stupid ex and what he did keep her down. Lake opened her up to a whole new world, and life, and it was a great journey to be a part of.

I'm excited for the next book in this series and hopefully we see more of the Invertary residents we were introduced to. Betty was a hoot and I laughed so hard in some of those scenes. And the cardboard cut-out of Lake?! I was laughing so hard at one point I couldn't even speak. Oh, and we can't forget the Knit or Die group. When they had the t-shirts made that said "SOD OFF", I could not stop the tears of laughter streaking down my cheeks. Caroline also made me smile; she was sweet and nice and I really hope she gets an HEA at some point in the series. I hated Lake's parents though. They were awful and mean and I wanted to run them over with their bus. And isn't that the mark of a good author, making me want to commit violence against fictional characters?! :D

I do need to mention the side story of Alistair and Rainne. Dear god, that part broke my heart. Just shattered it. I even dreamt about them when I went to bed and I woke up with all these feels and angst, and just, I can't even explain it without giving too much away! (Gah! If anyone has read this, or when you do, we need to exchange notes on that!!) . That's how much of an impact their story had on me. I wonder if we'll see them again. I hope so.

This is a fun, sweet, romantic, and humorous read that I would recommend to anyone likes to both laugh and swoon while reading. The writing was well done and I saw zero, yeah, I said -zero- editing issues. All in all, a solid read and one which I will likely re-read again and again. Now what are you waiting for? Start reading!

Here are the purchase/info links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Goodreads

*I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves [9]: The Week in Review

 
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. From Kimba's website, "this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies."

I was having such a great week until my car broke down on Thursday and I had to take it into the shop. Then it was 48 hours of freaking out, crying and more freaking out because I was worried it would be thousands of bucks (that's how scary the break down was) to fix it.

Well, either my mechanic is a genius or I have no clue about cars. And honestly, I think both of those are true. While the repairs put a dent in the wallet (as in, no more books until next pay day), they weren't nearly as bad as I'd thought they'd be. Thank God.

Also, and as an important side note, the mechanics working on my car were seriously hot. I couldn't stop staring. And when one spoke to me I don't remember actually forming words to respond. I probably looked like a moron but their hotness overrode the circuits in my brain. So, although it was an inconvenience and I was super upset about the car, there was, at least, a plus in the man-candy that I got to look at. :D

Anyways, after the Great Car Break-Down of 2013, I was looking forward to a relaxing weekend where I could read, prep some reviews and work on finishing the transfer my blog to WP. This didn't happen. Instead, yesterday I went to camp for the day and today it's the start of football season which means a party at my sister's house. Not much reading has been done, sadly, but I have had a great time with the family. Enough about all that though. Here's a break down of what was, and what's to come, on the blog:

BOOKS READ/REVIEWED LAST WEEK

ARC Review: The Companions by R.A. Salvatore: this was such a fun book and the intro to what is loking to be a great adventure. The writing was rich and the world building was both fantastic. I hadn't read any of the earlier works about Drizzt, but this book worked well anyways. I never felt lost about who characters were or anything. Check out my review for more info.

The Chief by Monica McCarty: Anyone who comes to this blog knows that I love highlanders. So a couple weeks ago when I picked up the first three in the Highland Guard series (in paperback, they were on sale at BN), I was excited to start. This book blew me away. It was gritty, real and though there is of course romance, the author doesn't shy away from the realities of war at the time. It's also got some real life history in it which was nice to see. I love when author's do research and include it in their works. Check out my review for more info and purchase links.

I also reviewed Say No To Joe? by Lori Foster on Goodreads. I was surprised how much I liked this book because I certainly wasn't expecting to fall in love with the hero. But I did. :D

What I'm Reading/On the Blog This Week:

In His Command by Rie Warren
Full Blooded by Amanda Carlson
Last Chance Summer by Hope Ramsay

Last week I had these same books up there, plus one other. The 'plus one other' is the only one I managed to finish reviewing. There just are not enough hours in the day! *head-desks repeatedly*

Stacking The Shelves:

This meme was started by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews. The link is to the official launch page that explains what Stacking the Shelves is all about and where to sign up. Basically, it's a weekly meme where you post what you've bought, borrowed, and/or read, throughout the week. To quote Tynga, "you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!"

Well, I bought quite a few books this week, mainly due to some awesome sales that were going on so I'm going to jump right into it: (Note: I can't show covers because Blogger is being difficult, sorry!)

A bunch of Sherrilyn Kenyon's books were on sale (varying between 1.99 and 2.99) so I snapped up a bunch of those:

Night Pleasures (Dark Hunters #2)
Night Embrace (Dark Hunters #3)
Dance With the Devil (Dark Hunter #4)
Kiss of the Night (Dark Hunter #5)
Night Play (Dark Hunter #6)

Jill Shalvis' Lucky Harbor Series also was on sale (many for 1.99):

Lucky In Love (Lucky Harbor #4)
At Last (Lucky Harbor #5)

I also picked up: Monster in My Closet by R.L. Naquin because the blurb sounds awesome. I don't always make that kind of impulse buy but from what I've heard, it's worth it!

I picked up the following as freebies as well:

Bluegrass State of Mind by Kathleen Brooks
The Shy Bride by Lucy Monroe

And just an fyi, Amazon's daily deal, today only, are 8 of the Sullivan series' books by Bella Andre. This is a great contemporary romance series, so if you're looking for something sweet and with the right amount of sexy, you might want to give these a try! Here's the link for Amazon: The Sullivan Series by Bella Andre (Remember: check the prices of ALL these books before one clicking. I've no idea how long the sales are on for!) Have a great week everyone!

(Sorry about the weird font for the second half of this post. Blogger is being absolutely ridiculous today and won't sort itself out. I've tried everything but, yeah...I'm giving up now. Will try to fix it tomorrow!) 

The Sunday Post [8]

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. From Kimba's website, "this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies."

Last week school started. I'm teaching at the local community college three classes this semester, all writing, and between that and the other job, it's taken a lot out of me. I still managed to get some writing and reading in though, as well as grab some books from the library. And buy some too. I had Kobo coupons that were going to expire. I had to! *looks around all guilty like* Don't judge me...

I've also been eating healthier. I figured that with this new schedule of mine I'd better start watching what I eat better and it seems to be working. I've added a lot more fruit to my daily intake and basil tea. Odd right? But someone suggested I should take some for my asthma. It tends to act up when my allergies do in the spring and fall and so when I was venting my frustration about always having to have  and use my inhalers. someone suggested drinking the tea. It's not a cure, of course. But it supposedly helps with respiratory symptoms? I don't know. I've only had two cups so far, but I'll keep you updated on my progress.

But enough of that. Let's get down to it, shall we?

BOOKS READ/REVIEWED LAST WEEK

ARC: The Demon's Desire by Kendra Leigh Castle
ARC-The Awakening: Liam by Abby Niles
ARC: Deady Sexy Dragon by Lolita Lopez

I also reviewed a few books on Goodreads, so if you'd like to see those, you can check out my profile, HERE.

WHAT I'M READING/ON THE BLOG THIS WEEK

As for this week, well, I have the folliwng to finish that I dind't quite get to last week:

In His Command by Rie Warren
Full Blooded by Amanda Carlson
The Companions by R.A. Salvatore

I am also adding Last Chance Summer by Hope Ramsay to this list as well. 

ARC AUGUST

I'm participating in this challenge to decrease the amount of ARCs I have and get my butt in gear with reviews. You can check out the details HERE. In terms of progress, here is how I did for the month:

• I finished August with having read/reviewed 7 ARCs, instead of 11. This annoys me, because I really wanted to hit my goal. But at the same time, 7 ARCs in one month for me is a good thing. And it's certainly progress. Hopefully I can keep this up and stay on top of things from this point on.

STACKING THE SHELVES

No dice this week. I just couldn't get my crap together enough yesterday to post. I think that, given my new work schedule, I will be combining the Sunday Post and StS memes and post them together. I've seen others do this and it makes sense. It will also leave me a third day to post a book review, if I need to. So, 3 days of reviews, a ROW80 post, and then the SP and StS meme together. I think I can handle that! 

Having said that, I did get a whole bunch more books via the library book sale so if you're interested in checking out what I've added to my paperbacks, you can check out that shelf HERE. 

That's it for me: short, sweet and to the point. Or well, kinda-sorta anyways! I'm off to get some reading in before bed. I have a day off tomorrow and plan to enjoy it! Have a good week everyone!  

The Sunday Post [7]

 
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. From Kimba's website, "this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies."

It's been a busy freaking month. Holy heck! I start teaching writing classes next week at the local college again (in addition to my other job, which I usually call the "evil day job") so things on the blog were quieter than usual as I ran around trying to get myself together. It was a nice break though and I needed it to reset, make a plan and get organized. I admit I was a bit overwhelmed at times this month, which I blame on the wedding shower, several birthdays, unexpected visitors and two unexpected projects at work, but I made it. This week I hope to be back to my regularly scheduled programming when it comes to writing and blogging, and everything else too. I hope.

But let's get down to business, shall we? Here's what's been happening on the blog, and beyond, this past week:

Books Read/Reviewed Last Week:

Elite (Eagle Elite, #1) by Rachel Van Dyken: I received this as an ARC and I liked it enough to add the second in the series to my TBR.

Deceiving The Witch Next Door by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez: this was also an ARC and a sweet read. The author has set up what looks to be a series; at least, I hope that's the case! Also, the heroine's name rocks.

The Awakening: Aiden by Abby Niles: Shifters, YAY!!!

Sacrifice of Passion by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez: This is the first book in the Deadly Legends series. I had read the second as an ARC, not realizing there was a book before it. (They both work as stand alones though!) Once I read the ARC, I had to run out and purchase this book and I am so glad I did. 

What I'm Reading/Coming Up on the Blog

I have to look through my ARCs and the books in my TBR to make a plan for the week but tentatively I'll be reading and/or reviewing (or preparing the reviews, depending on release dates) the following:

Dead Sexy Dragon by Lolita Lopez
In His Command by Rie Warren
Full Blooded by Amanda Carlson
The Awakening: Liam by Abby Niles
The Companions by R.A. Salvatore
The Demon's Song by Kendra Leigh Castle

Yeah. It's going to be a busy week. But who needs sleep?!

Stacking The Shelves

I behaved this week. Kind of. Sorta...Okay, not really. You can check out my haul HERE.

ARC AUGUST

I'm participating in this challenge to decrease the amount of ARCs I have and get my butt in gear with reviews. You can check out the details HERE.  In terms of progress, here is how I'm doing so far:

I haven't met my goal yet. I had wanted to read 11 ARCs. I've read 5. I still have 6 days left but that would mean a book a day and I don't know if I can do that given my schedule this week.  I'll try my best but no guarantees. On the upside though, getting through 5 ARCs is nothing to sneeze at. At least I've made a dent in the pile. It's a small one, but a dent nonetheless.

ROW80

I have revamped my goals for the last month of ROW80, Round 3, as well as adjusted the blog schedule. My goals is to be consistent with both writing and blogging (specifically with book reviews) since I really love doing that. It combines my love of writing and reading, and well, it's just fun for me. And that's what blogging is all about right?! So here's the plan for the remainder of the round:

• Write one hour a day on a WiP, whether on a draft, outlining, planning, or revising
• Post my ROW80 update on Wednesday: this will be the last post where ROW80 is a part of the Sunday Post.  Or that's the plan anyways. I will be doing a quick update on Wednesdays instead. This will also break up the posts on the blog from being all book reviews and book related memes. I like a little variety in my life. :)
• Finish revisions of Wanted
• Post a minimum of 2 complete book reviews each week, here or on Goodreads
• Post the Stacking the Shelves and Sunday Post memes every week, either separately or combined
• And for this week only: send the dreaded email I don't want to send for the evil day job. I can't say much about the subject of this but bottom line is, it's a task I'm dreading.  I've got to just suck it up and do it though. I'm determined to get this task done and off my desk this week. It's been haunting me for a month. 

It seems like a lot to take on but with classes starting I've revamped my entire work, writing and blog schedule and put everything in my calendar so I can (1) not forget about blog posts or forget do my writing by the end of the day and (2) stay on top of things at both of my jobs so I don't fall behind, get frustrated, and give up. Consistency in writing, blogging and at work is key to keeping me sane this semester.

I can do this. *fingers crossed*

How's your week been? Any interesting books caught your eye or added to your TBR pile? Reviewed any books lately that surprised you or you were disappointed in? What about your writing goals? Have you hit them yet? Let me know how your're doing in the comments and have a great week!

ARC Review: Deceiving the Witch Next Door by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez

Title: Deceiving the Witch Next Door
Author: Melissa Bourbon Ramirez
Publisher: Entangled Covet
Publication Date: July 20, 2012

My Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

From Goodreads:

Down-on-her-luck witch Storie Bell never thought the biggest threat to her future would be Reid Malone, the very man she’d run from years before. After striking it rich in Texas shale, he’s back in town, and he seems hell-bent on getting in the way of her bookstore’s grand opening. A witch trying to blend in in a small southern town is hard enough, but now he’s seriously testing her strict No Kissing Mortal Men policy. But even witches don’t have a spell for that.

Reid knows there’s much more to Storie than meets the eye. But right now he has only one mission: to infiltrate her shop so he can snatch the elusive secret ingredient to his father’s million-dollar moonshine recipe. Once he does, he can go back to the city and get out of his small hometown, a place in which he has no future.

But as the days go by, he can’t help falling for Storie in every way…and every encounter brings him closer to finding out what happens when you try to deceive a witch.

My Thoughts:

The main character's name is what hooked me with this book. Both of them actually. Storie Rae Bell and Reid Malone. If I ever have kids I might have to name the girl Storie. I love it that freaking much.

Anyways, back to the review. Our heroine, Storie, returns to the small town she had lived with her dad to open up a book store/cafe. She had left some years ago and the town folks had some suspicions about her being a witch. They didn't shun her, exactly, but they definitely were suspicious. And curious. Reid however, the man who ran the bar next door with his dad, wasn't suspicious. No, he just had the strong desire to get into her pants. Something he hadn't done during their last encounter years ago. But Reid has ulterior motives and though these are explained via a bit of back-story, I wish there had been "more" to it. We only got a few glimpses of Reid's dad (who for some reason I pictured like the really old guy on Moonshiners!) and I would have loved to see his interactions with Storie. Especially since it was alluded to that Jigg and Storie's dad had been friends. Or at least, spent lots of time together when her dad went to the bar.

The steam factor in the book was moderate and tastefully done. Reid and Storie had some serious sexual tension going on and I liked how the author was able to capitalize on that as the the book moved forward. The author also explored the tension that Reid felt, being attracted to Storie and yet, at the same time, trying to do "right" by hi father. The only downside I saw with this was that I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Jigg and his father-their interactions, dialogue, even his father's reaction to Storie and the eventual hooking up of her and his son.

Oh, something else that I thought was awesome? I didn't figure out what the "secret ingredient" was (the one Reid was looking for) and was pleasantly surprised by that. Sometimes I'm able to figure out the mystery too soon and it ruins the book for me. Of course, looking back I'm all "I sooooo should have seen that!". Not much catches me off guard anymore and I kinda like that feeling. :) I did however know who the woman in the beginning of the book was right off the bat. I don't think that was supposed to be a surprise though.

I was going to give this book three stars, meaning I liked it and will definitely be seeking out more from this author and series. But the final few twists in this book made me up the rating by half. The author does a great job setting up what I hope will be future books in this series. I already think I know who the couples will be, but obviously this is just my Nancy Drew like senses going all tingly. Or is that Spiderman? Whatever. Anyways, I think I have an idea and hope I am right!

Here are the purchase links:

Deceiving the Witch Next Door (Entangled Covet) at Amazon
Deceiving the Witch Next Door at BN
Deceiving the Witch Next Door at Goodreads


*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

ARC Review: Elite (Eagle Elite, #1) by Rachel Van Dyken

Title: Elite (Eagle Elite, #1)
Author: Rachel Van Dyken
Publisher: Forever 
Publication Date: July 9, 2013

My Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars

From Goodreads:

For Tracey Rooks, life with her grandparents on a Wyoming farm has always been simple. But after her grandmother's death, Tracey is all her grandfather has. So when Eagle Elite University announces its annual scholarship lottery, Tracey jumps at the opportunity to secure their future and enters. She isn't expecting much-but then she wins. And life as she knows it will never be same . . .

The students at Eagle Elite are unlike any she's ever met . . . and they refuse to make things easy for her. There's Nixon, gorgeous, irresistible, and leader of a group that everyone fears: The Elect. Their rules are simple. 1. Do not touch The Elect. 2. Do not look at The Elect. 3. Do not speak to The Elect. No matter how hard she tries to stay away, The Elect are always around her and it isn't long until she finds out the reason why they keep their friends close and their enemies even closer. She just didn't realize she was the enemy -- until it was too late.

My Thoughts:

Alright, first things first. This is a series. Instead of an HEA and based on the preview chapter, this ends with a HFN.  I really hope this doesn't get drawn out. As most of you know, I hate cliffhangers. Especially relationship cliffhangers. And though this doesn't end with a cliffy, it does end with that feeling of, "uh oh, things look like they could go very, very wrong."

Now, all that being said, you'd think I disliked the book, right? Well, you'd be wrong. I liked it. It had this great Romeo and Juliet feel to it that I loved (without the suicide of course) and reminded me a lot of the Vampire Academy books which I absolutely freaking loved.

Let's chat about our main characters, shall we?  Tracey Rooks get into this all exclusive college by, allegedly, writing a stellar essay. It's made clear that Tracey is the school's charity case. Oh yeah, she is not liked. One thing that drove me up a wall was when Tracey actually believed Nixon was a jerk, when he had freaking just talked to her and explained what he was going to have to do. She got all pissed and depressed and I literally wanted to smack her in the face. I mean, "hello?! The guy just told you what he was going to do and now you're ready to give up?! Get a clue!" And yes, I was talking to my Nook. But I couldn't help it, it was frustrating. Don't judge me!

Nixon. He might be the youngest alphahole I've ever read. He was such a jerk. Such a major, freaking jerk! At first I couldn't believe he was the hero, but then, as the story unfolded, it all came together. There was a method to his alphahole-ness (definitely not a word, but you get the idea!) He was, in his own way, doing what he had to do to protect his woman. What neither he nor Tracey realized until a pivotal point in the book is that they share a history. Nixon was a perfect blend of protective, broken, hot hero and I love him. Almost as much as I love Dimitri from the Vampire Academy series and so that's a lot!

Moving on to...Chase. *sighs* What can I say about him? He's the one thrown into the middle and based on the preview for the second book, is going to cause Nixon and Tracey trouble. I want to like him, cause he's hot and well, he;s Chase. But just knowing what his role is in the book and the "part" he will play, I can't. In fact, I loathe him. (I dislike drawn out love triangles just about as much as I dislike cliffhangers.)

The rest of the secondary characters were interesting and I look forward to reading more about them. Phoenix, though, seriously, someone, i.e. Nixon, should have shot him. What a lying, assaulting, jack ass. I hate him, like loads. And lastly, once or twice I felt the narrative was disjointed or didn't quite fit. I was confused about Tracey's grandfather and it just didn't seem right he was lying to her the whole time. And also, the hate between him and Nixon over their shared family history just didn't ring true. I would have preferred to see them as a united front for Tracey's sake. He also just happened to show up out of the blue which was, in a word, odd. But none of that was enough to distract me from the book or stop me from wanting to read more.

Elect, the second in the Eagle Elite  series is scheduled to debut December 10, 2013. That's seems like a long time from now but I can be patient. I think. I really am looking forward to it and hope we get some final resolution between Nixon and Tracey. They're meant to be!

Here are the links for info and/or to purchase:

• Elite (Eagle Elite) at Goodreads
• Elite (Eagle Elite) via Amazon
• Elite (Eagle Elite) via Barnes and Noble 

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

The Sunday Post [6]: Little Progress and a Necessary Break

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. From Kimba's website, "this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies."

I always try to have a plan, especially when I have weeks (or in this case, a month) where I'm swamped with work, reading, writing, family duties, and well, trying to have a personal life. This month that plan hasn't seemed to work so well for me. Oh, I'm getting things done. But I've had to sacrifice sleep and sanity to do it. Thankfully, Saturday will be the end of this month from hell and I can get back to some normalcy. I hope.

On the upside, things at work are going well. Or, going better than they were in the beginning of the year anyways. I've also been managing to pay off some bills (yay!) and stick to my budget (double yay!).  I'm slowly making headway on my website and hope to have that up and running soon. Getting familiar with WordPress has been interesting, to say the least, but once I find a background I like, I think it will be launch time. Maybe by September 1, or at the latest, the middle of September. The organizer in me wants to be sure I understand what I'm doing before I launch so yeah, maybe mid September is a better goal post for this!

But on to the here and now, this week's review of all things reading, reviewing and writing related with some miscellany thrown in between for good measure. 

BOOKS READ/REVIEWED:

Facade by Nyrae Dawn

The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski

Both of these made me ball my eyes out, for different reasons, but yeah, I was a sobbing mess by the end of them. I keep my reviews spoiler free for the most part so check them out if you're looking for a new adult book to read.

I also finished Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie and I fell in love with the hero in that book. And the heroine too. It was heart-warming, sweet and just what I needed after the angst of the other two I read this week. This was a just for fun book, and one I needed to finish so I could return it to the library.  I don't plan on reviewing this for the blog though I think I could write pages and pages on how deeply this book impacted me. The banter was great, the plot was interesting and not in any way over the top and the author had me connecting to the heroine in such a meaningful way that even days later I can't stop thinking about it. I might have to break down and buy this one so I can have it for re-read purposes.

WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING:

I have way too much to focus on this week so reading will be far down the list for me, sadly.  So other than finishing comments on my CP's book, I don't have much to read this week on my reading list. It's a short list in fact (only two books I think) and on top is Curse of Passion by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez.

STACKING THE SHELVES:

I didn't get to post my week's intake yesterday because I was up at the crack of dawn so I could get to Syracuse for the day. I had to go yesterday to do a final check of the venue and make sure we had everything.

I did get some ARCs this week though, four to be exact, though some of these don't have to be reviewed until later in the month or September so I have time. Thankfully.

Safe in His Arms by Renee Jones
Dead Sexy Dragon by Lolita Lopez
In His Command by Rie Warren
Last Chance Summer by Hope Ramsay

I also bought two of Lauren Dane's books, Giving Chase and Taking Chase, and Rock Hard by Olivia Cunning. I bought these only because I had great coupon offers from Kobo and could not pass them up. I'm a sucker for a sale.

ARC August:

You can check out the details HERE but basically I'm participating in this challenge to decrease the amount of ARCs I have and get my butt in gear with reviews. (Ironic since, I'm trying to decrease the pile of ARCs and yet I got more this week. I don't even think I can explain that. LOL)  Anyways, you can check out my goals for the month, HERE. In terms of progress, here is how I'm doing so far:

• This week I read three of the ARCs and finished (and posted) two of the reviews (see above for the links!). I will finish the third review and post it sometime this week. 

ROW80:

Well, let's just call the week a big ole fail on the writing front, shall we? I don't like making excuses, I really don't. But honestly, with maid of honor duties for this shower I have had to devote my time to getting that done. So the only writing I've gotten in is for the party games templates, emails to the rest of the birdesmaids, and to-do lists. As I said earlier, after the 17th of August life will calm down and at that point I plan to reassess my ROW80 goals and move forward. But until then I'm taking a break from my goals. I'll call it a vacation though I doubt it will be very relaxing!

AROUND THE WEB:

A great post about "blah-ging": dealing with the case of the blahs while blogging and some tips on how to get out of it.

The best blog ever when it comes to books, bookshelves, libraries and everything that is books and reading! Gah! It's heaven! I found heaven, people! And you can find it too by clicking HERE.

Who doesn't like Cookie Monster?! Having grown up with the Muppets and Sesame Street I have a lot of love for them. Heck, I still have my Kermit the Frog stuffed animal I got when I was 4. Yeah, I know, it's crazy, but I can't throw out Kermit!! Anyways, check out Cookie Monster and his song about self control HERE.  (And thanks to @Katiebabs for tweeting this! She comes up with some of the best links ever.)

This is an older link (July 2012) but seriously, these are adorable and make me smile, laugh and some I even get a bit teary eyed over. In fact, I may or may not have been crying when I read #10. So check out The 50 Cutest Things That Ever Happened and don't blame me if you need tissues.

And finally, @smexys_sidekick tweeted this quote from Tina Fey which I re-tweeted because seriously, it's Truth:  “It is impressively arrogant to conclude that just because you don’t like something, it is empirically not good." ― Tina Fey  I love this quote. I need it billboard size.

So that's it for me this week. Between work, where I have a ton of deadlines to meet including one which will keep me tied to my desk Monday and Tuesday all damn day, and until next week's festivities are over I won't be around all that much. I'm even skipping my monthly book club. Can you believe that?! Instead I'll be home, drinking copious amounts of wine and making enough chicken riggies for 50 people.  (If you're from central New York or have been here, you likely know what those are. :D ) I hope everyone has a great week and see you next Sunday!

Book Review: Facade (Games, #2) by Nyrae Dawn

Title: Facade (Games, #2)
Author: Nyrae Dawn
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: July 2, 2013

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

From Goodreads:

Can love save them?

After her father commits a crime that shatters her family, eighteen-year-old Delaney Cross is tired of pretending everything is alright. Packing up her car, she sets out to find the people her father hurt. Her search leads her to places she's never been--and into the arms of Adrian Westfall.

To the outside world, Adrian is a sexy, charming ladies man. But his playboy persona is just an act. Secretly his soul is tortured by a memory too painful to share. Only Delaney seems to see through his façade to the real man underneath. And for the first time in his life, Adrian feels he can begin to open up about his past.

Together, Adrian and Delaney share a passionate, carefree love they never expected to find. Yet both still harbor their own secrets. When the dark truth is finally revealed, will it bring them closer together, or tear them apart forever?

My Thoughts:

I was really skeptical that the author could pull off Adrian as a hero.  After reading Charade I just could not see how he could be anything but a pot smoking player who partied all the time. I mean really, how could anyone turn Adrian Westfall, of all characters, into a hero?

After finishing this book, I can safely say that Ms. Dawn did it.

And I liked that she didn't hide Adrian's past. She made it clear that he had that past; the past of a guy who partied, smoked too much pot, drank way too much and wanted women for one thing, sex. There was no way that Adrian could just suddenly be some perfect hero after all that. And he wasn't. Adrian continued to make mistakes in this book. He continued to be a clueless ass at times. But he also had a damn good reason to be.

And that reason shattered me.

There aren't too many books that I can say this about. Most books I read and sure there is some angst and in some cases I might even shed some tears. But this. Oh this was so different. By the time the climax occurred in the book and what had been building throughout the narrative exploded I was already near tears. But when the truth came out, a truth that even I did not see coming, I was left sobbing. And not quiet tears. No. These were ugly tears and it actually hurt.

Not only was the story that touching and poignant that I couldn't control my emotions, it also brought home that everyone grieves in different ways and that sometimes people nearly destroy themselves before they finally see the light and climb out of that hole. And sadly, there are times, people don't climb out at all. We all have experienced it, or will. Grief is something none of us can escape. And in both Charade and now Facade, Ms. Dawn explores how love can be the antidote for that pain, if we let it. In Facade I wasn't prepared for the truth that Adrian let Laney, in on. The truth that had been keeping him locked inside himself for four long years. I was so shocked it broke me, and like Laney, I wanted to throw up. Losing someone the way Adrian did is hard for anyone. But losing someone who was connected to Adrian the way Ash was, well that is just is unfathomable and terrifying, both at the same time.

I cannot say this enough but of the NA books I've read so far, this author is by far one of the best that I've read. And in actuality, she has climbed up onto the top of my favorite author list, without regard to genre. her writing, her voice, the development of these characters and the narrative in which they live, is truly fantastic. The third book is due out in January of 2014 and I will be snapping that up to find out if Maddox finds his happily ever after.

If you want a book that is well written and has a complete story that will touch your very heart and soul, I recommend checking out this series. You don't have to read the first one (the about Cheyenne and Colt) but it's just as good as this. And yeah, I cried in that one too. But it was a different kind of crying in Charade. In this book the tears weren't for the inevitable happening. No, in this one, it was for the senseless loss that Adrian suffered and how badly I wanted to fix it all for him.

Have you read this book or the first in the series, Charade?  What did you think of the heart shattering truth we find out from Adrian? Were you as surprised as I was? Sound off in the comments with your thoughts on this book and/or series.

Here are the purchase and info links for the book:    Facade (The Games Series) via Amazon /
Facade (The Games Series) via BN  /  Facade (The Games Series) at Goodreads

*I received this ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.*

ARC August: Setting Goals to Tackle My Pile of ARCs

ARC August is a challenge for all of us reviwers out there who may have gotten a little bit behind in reading ARCs. Or, perhaps a lot behind. Don't worry. I won't judge. As Ocativa says on the ARC August post, "type up a post just saying you’re participating then add your link in the linky below! The post can be as detailed (how many ARC’s you have, etc.) or as simple as you want just make sure your mention this post so other people can join!"

And what does one get at the end of ARC August? Well, for one, the knowledge that your ARC to-be-read pile is smaller. And for two, the chance to win a $20 dollar gift card via Read, Sleep, Repeat.

So I'm joining up and this is my goal for the month:

Read and prepare reviews for 11 books and schedule for posting in either August or September, depending on release date.  

This goal, or set of goals rather, should ensure that I stay up to date with the ARCs I have to read and review and also that I not only read, but actually prepare the posts. The latter is the hardest part for me. It shouldn't be, since I make notes and highlights and all that while reading, but it is. My hope is that the ARC August Challenge will help me get on top of that! (Note: not all of these are ARCs. Some are earlier books in a series that I have the current book in ARC format for. By reading the ARC and preparing the review,, VOILA! My ARC pile decreases!)

Here is a sampling, but not all, of the books and ARCs I will be reading this month with the reviews *hopefully" going up in the months of August and September (again, depends on the release dates):





So, are you participating in ARC August? What are your goals for the months. Or do you want to join in? Click HERE to go to the post that explains the rules and don't forget to include the link to your goal post on that page!

The Sunday Post [5]: Reading, Writing, Reviewing & Veronica Mars!!

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. From Kimba's website, "this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies."

HEY YOU GUYS...... (Said in the best voice imitation I can muster a la Goonies):

VERONICA MARS IS BACK! 

I want to give a one fingered salute to all those "Suits" in the TV industry who cancelled the show way back in the day and thought there would never be life after the TV show. They clearly didn't realize the amazing, fantasical phenomenon show this was, and is. So, for all your trailer watching pleasure, here it is, a sneak peak for the movie (that I will probably see 5 times, at least, when it comes to theatres):

I am so seriously stoked for this movie I cannot even begin to explain it. This show, for me, brought back all the awesomeness that was Nancy Drew, Fear Street, the Christopher Pike books and everything that is awesome from my 80s/90s childhood, rolled it into one big pile, and then morphed it to meet the culture and reality of the 00s. Yes, it is that good. And also, Logan is my future husband. Just sayin'.

Alright, and now that I have done my fan-girling for the day, on to everything else I did this week:

BOOKS READ/REVIEWED:

I read one of the best books ever last week. I reviewed it for the blog and I literally have gushed about it all week. I even told the lady at the library who was going through the shelves with me at the book sale about it. And I don't like to talk to strangers; the introvert in me freaks out around strangers. But I did it, because seriously this book ROCKS! Here is the link to the post: Red (Transplanted Tales, #1) by Katie SeRine.

If you like UF with just the right amount of romance tossed in, read this book. It's not heavy on the steam, but there is enough tension between the two main characters to slice a knife through. And the twists and turns on the Fairy Tales...Just, seriously, check out my review and get this book!

Again, here I am with the fan-girling. What the heck is with me today?! Moving on...

WHAT I'M CURRENTLY READING:

Facade and The Edge of Never are up next and part of the ARC August Challenge I've decided to participate in. (Click on the link for more info on the challenge and see if you want to sign up!) I have a bunch of ARCs to read and my goal is to post 2 ARC reviews a week in the month of August until I get caught up and the TBR list gets smaller. Look for my ARC August goals post tomorrow for all the details!

STACKING THE SHELVES:

Please someone stop me. Check out yesterday's post, HERE to get a look at the damage. Let me know over there if you read any of the ones I got from the library and what you thought. There are a bunch of historicals. (It seems my library has a ton of those!)

ROW80:

ROW80 is the writing challenge, that, as the founder Kait Nolan puts it, "knows you have a life." You can check out the details HERE. I check in every Sunday (or try to!) to update my progress on my goals for this Round. So, here we go:

Write every day: Done. I didn't get a lot of writing in, but I wrote every day.
Review a minimum of one book here or on Goodreads: Done (see above for link!)
Blog once per week on something that isn't a book review or ROW80 update: Done. See my Stacking the Shelves post from yesterday. (Link is above!)Post Sunday ROW80 Update: Done
Continue Worksheets for WiP(s): In progress. I finished one and have moved on to the next. I'm loving these things!


I failed at Camp NaNo. *sighs* I'm disappointed in myself, but there is always November and 50K more words to tackle. As for my goals for next week, I'm adding the weekly goal of finishing my CP's book and sending it back with my comments to the list. Other than that, not much will change goal wise. I'm just going to keep on keeping on, as they say, and see what happens next week!

MOVING TO WORDPRESS:

As you can see from the header, I am in the midst of making the switch from blogger to Wordpress. I have a domain and am hosted (thanks Lauren for the recommendation!) but now I have to get into the meat of it all. I've been playing around with themes and widgets and plugins, and trying to get familiar with the WP interface and whatnot. I'm finding that customizing the theme is not so easy. I need to find some good tutorials or instructions on the web on how to do this. I know that I can do it, I just need to have something in front of me that walks me through the steps.

Has anyone else made the switch from blogger to WP? What was your experience? Any hints or tips that got you through the move?

AROUND THE WEB:

Here are some awesome ADS for reading/books that someone posted to on twitter earlier in the week. I love these!

I'll try to find some more links of interest next week. And speaking of next week, don't forget--Shark Week starts tonight!




So how'd you guys do this week? Is anyone else participating in ARC August? What about your writing goals: are you making progress on your goals or do you need to make some adjustments? Fill me in on what's going on with you in the comments!

Book Review: Red (Transplanted Tales, #1) by Kate Serine

Title: Red (Transplanted Tales, #1)
Author: Katie SeRine
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Publication Date: August 2, 2012

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

From Goodreads:

“My name is Tess Little. But everyone calls me Red.”

Once upon a time, a spell went awry, stranding Make Believe characters in the ordinary world. Since then, Tess “Red” Little—a/k/a Little Red Riding Hood—has worked as an Enforcer for the Chicago branch of the Fairytale Management Authority. But, consider yourself warned—she’s not just some waif with a basket of goodies. All grown up and with nothing to lose, a gun and combat boots is more her style. And Red’s new assignment threatens to be short on happily ever afters…

Someone is murdering transplanted Tales in gruesome fashion. The list of fictional characters capable of such grisly acts is short and includes more than one of Red’s old flames. And if that wasn’t bad enough, there’s another complication, in the form of sexy, enigmatic Nate Grimm, the FMA’s lead detective and part-time Reaper. Used to following her own rules and living life on the edge, Red has managed to avoid taking on a partner until now. But Nate’s dark side makes him perfect for a case like this. That is, if she can trust him. Because if there’s one thing Red knows for sure, it’s that believing in the wrong person can have big, bad consequences…


My Thoughts:

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I freaking loved this book. I'd heard this book was more UF than PNR and that the romance aspect was "lite". So I kept putting it off. Well, after reading, I just have to say that I'm clearly an idiot.

The main characters weren't all about ripping off each other's clothes (though you knew they both wanted to!) but holy moly this author can build sexual tension like nobody's business. And the story itself-the Tales being tranplanted to the Here and Now and what happened to all our favorite fairy tale and literary characters was superb. I nearly choked when I found out what Snow does in the Here and Now. And Nicky?! Loved that turn but I will say, what happened in Red, I balled my eyes out. That was absolutely heart-breaking. And Juliet (though, I wonder what happened to Romeo!?!). And we can;t forget about the Big Bad Wolf, Cinderella and her Prince Charming (Oh, what a jerk!) and the fairy godmother.

I can't wait to read the next installment of this series and find out about Lavender and Seth. My heart broke for both of them in the first book and I was seriously conflicted about who Seth should end up with. But Nate, well Nate was loyal, true and just awesome. Even if he is a Reaper. I loved their connection and when I found out the "true" story of Red and how she was cast out of her village I was really hoping that her savior was who he turned out to be. I think I even heaved a great big, satisfied sigh when it was confirmed.

Thank you to the author, Kate SeRine, for restoring my faith in Urban Fantasy and proving that UF can rock your world with a kick butt heroine who isn't afraid to be vulnerable AND have a smoking hot romance (and romantic tension) between the main characters.

To purchase this book or for more information, check out the links at:

or: Barnes & Noble / Goodreads 

*This book was a self-purchase. All opinions are my own*

The Sunday Post [4]: The Week In Review & A ROW80 Update

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. From Kimba's website, "this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies."

Look to the right of your screen. Do you see anything different?! You should. I finally found the Allegiant countdown widget that I'd been seeing and, the nerd in me, had to get it for the blog. You can get it HERE. Just click the html option and the code will pop up for you. I'm so happy I finally tracked it down. I just want to stare at it and will the release date to be sooner. *sighs* I need more Four.

Anyways, back to the task at hand which is a run down of the past week on the blog. My house-guests left Friday night and I can't say that I was sad to see them go. Thankfully I have about five more months until the next wave of guests stay at my house and that should be enough time for me to recover. All in all, it was a hectic week and honestly I didn't get much done in terms of writing though I did get quite a few reviews written and some reading in.

Books Read/Reviewed Last Week:

ARC Review: Lions, Tigers and Sexy Bears Oh My! by Candace Havens

ARC Review: The Silver Chain by Primula Bond

ARC Review: Luck of the Dragon by Susannah Scott

And on Goodreads, I did quick reviews of A Highlander's Touch by Karen Marie Moning,  His Risk To Take by Tessa Bailey and Charade by Nyrae Dawn.

(Note: I didn't read all of these books this week. Even I can't read that fast! LOL I'm just really behind on reviewing books.)

What I'm Currently Reading:

At the moment I don't have any books that I'm in the middle of. Big surprise, I know. But with my house-guests around I used last week to finish a bunch of books and book reviews instead of starting anything new.  This week I plan to start Facade, Red and Elite. (Not necessarily in that order though!)  

Stacking The Shelves:

It was another busy week in terms of book sales, deals and galleys that I just had to get. I also made a stop at the library so I took a couple books out there too. To see this week's book haul check out my Stacking the Shelves post.

ROW80

ROW80 is the writing challenge, that, as the founder Kait Nolan puts it, "knows you have a life." You can check out the details HERE.  I check in every Sunday (or try to!) to update my progress on my goals for this Round. So, here we go:

Write every day: I am so behind in writing and especially in Camp NaNo. At this point I don't have any hope of meeting my goal at the end of the month. This makes me sad but at the same time I would rather not rush the words. I won the challenge in April so I don't feel like a complete failure at least. And there is always November. *looks at glass half full*
Blog a minimum of one book review per week, here and/or on Goodreads: Check out my links above. :)
Blog once per week on something that isn't a book review or ROW80 update: I also completed this weekly goal. Once again it's my Stacking the Shelves post (see above). One of these weeks I won't get any new books and this will be a different post but until I can rein that in, well, it's Stacking the Shelves.
Post my Sunday ROW80 Update: Done!
Work on WiP Worksheets: This continues to be a work in progress

Next week the goals will remain the same. I finished reading/commenting on my CPs chapters so I will hopefully be sending that back today. (This was stalled while I was entertaining this week!) I'm also going to try and get some more words down. I need to reset my writing and really buckle down this week.

Lastly, and on a completely unrelated note, I've been trying to get through the shows I have recorded on my DVR. I've finally caught up on the Rizzoli and Isles episodes I hadn't watched (as in, all of them since I haven't been watching this season), now I just have to catch up on Once Upon A Time and Rookie Blue (I love Sam. I really want him and Andy together and this is why I've put off watching so far. If they don't sort their sh*t and get together for good, I'm going to pissed!) Also, Shark Week starts in the beginning of August! Even though it scares the crap out of me (and makes me glad I live in the center of New York state), I'll be watching.

How was your week? Did you take in any good books this week? And for those who are doing ROW80 and/or Camp NaNo, how're you doing with your goals? Do you tune in to Shark Week or have you watched any good shows of late? Sound off in the comments!

ARC Review: Luck of the Dragon by Susannah Scott

Title: Luck of the Dragon
Author: Susannah Scott
Publisher: Entangled Covet
Publication Date: June 24, 2013

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

From Goodreads:

Luciana de Luca has a PhD in sass and gemology—and a problem. Her twin brother’s gambling debts have gotten out of hand, and a mob enforcer is blackmailing her to rob the latest, greatest mega-casino on the Strip. Although Lucy has worked her whole life to get away from her family’s grifter past, to save her brother, she dons three-inch heels and a sluts-r-us dress and struts into Alec’s Gerald’s casino, determined to put her long-forgotten thieving ways to the test again.

Alec Gerald, a shape-shifting dragon, has built the Crown Jewel casino to provide sanctuary for his people amongst the flash and awe of Las Vegas. Unfortunately, the sexy little thief trying to steal his largest diamond exhibit turns out to be his mate, and he must woo her before he loses his dragon form forever. But before he can handcuff her to his bed and explain the details of a mating ceremony, an enemy attacks and threatens to destroy his casino, his people, and his newfound mate.

My Thoughts:

Let me start out by saying that this is the first book I think I've ever read with a dragon shifter. And after reading this, I want to read more of them. So after the last shifter book I read and reviewed (Lions, Tigers and Sexy Bears Oh My!) I not only want more bear shifters to read about, but more dragon ones too. *shakes head* I know, I have issues.

Moving on.

The world that the author built here and presents to the reader is intriguing. It revolves around the lore of the dragons and how they came to be, in this book, living in Las Vegas. The backstory and information we're given is well put together and interesting. I wasn't jarred out of the story by info dumps either. It was just enough to give the reader the information that was needed to understand the plot while also leaving me with a feeling that I want to know more, learn more, about this world. (So yeah, you can guess I am hoping for more in this series, maybe about the rest of the dragons we were introduced to, because there was some awesome story potential there!)

The characters themselves, well, let's talk about them. Alec was awesome. He was the leader of the dragons and knows, shortly after meeting Lucy, that she is his mate. Alec wants her and he wants her to come to grips with the fact that he is a dragon.

Well, easier said than done. I mean, come on. What modern girl is just going to be all "oh yeah, you're a dragon? That's cool. Let's mate and have dragon shifter babies or whatever they would be called."  Of course she needs time. That's understandable and so I totally agree with her hesitation, to a point.

What wasn't understandable for me was Lucy's continued actions after she finds out about Alec and the depth of his feelings for her. In her blind need to protect her idiot brother (and yes, I said idiot. I'm not being harsh enough in fact because he was that much of an arse) she betrayed Alec. Even if she couldn't be okay with the dragon thing, which give a girl a break not many would be able to handle that, she still should not have done what she did.

And what ticked me off the most was that Alec forgave her. Well wait, that's not accurate. I'm fine that he forgave her because I wanted them to have an HEA. But it was the way it came out, the execution of it, that bothered me. One  minute Alec was royally pissed off, and the next he seemed fine and able to trust her again. It all happened so quickly it left me kind of shocked. I had to actually go back and re-read that part to see if there were pages missing. I mean, really?! Lucy did that and he, in a matter of hours, is all, "oh that's okay honey, I trust you with my secret dragon secrets and we can be mates now. You're totally trustworthy." Um, hello?! Excuse me?! Are you serious? Do you, Alec, not remember what she did?!

I mean, seriously. After reading all that and closing in on the resolution, Alec's sudden turn around just did not seem to jive with who Alec had been made out to be throughout the story. I wanted to see Lucy work for his trust, do something to earn it and redeem herself for what she did. I also wanted to see her finally tell her brother (the stupid, jerk who got her into the mess to begin with) to take a hike but instead she was all cool with what had happened. Or seemed to be. This was another moment where my eyes almost bugged out of my head. The whole resolution just made the story fall a bit flat, sadly. And this sucked, cause I was liking it, a lot, up to that point.

Honestly, I think this book would have benefited from being longer in order to accomplish a resolution that worked better and fit with the character development. Yet, and even in spite of my issues with the book, I didn't dislike it. As I said, I like it, it just left me a bit unsatisfied in the end. And it won't stop me from hoping for more books about the dragons or reading future books by this author.

Here are the purchase and info links for the book: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads

What about you? Have you read any dragon shifter books I should add to my TBR? Did you read Luck of the Dragon? What did you think? Sound off in the comments below!

*I received this ARC from the publisher, Entangled Covet, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.*

ARC Review: The Silver Chain (The Unbreakable Trilogy, #1) by Primula Bond

Title: The Silver Chain
Author: Primula Bond
Publication: Mischief
Publication Date: July 4, 2013

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

From Goodreads:

Bound by passion, she was powerless to resist.

One dark evening in London, photographer Serena Folkes is indulging her impulsive side with a night-time shoot. But someone is watching her – mysterious entrepreneur Gustav Levi. Serena doesn’t know it yet, but this handsome stranger will change her life forever…

Serena is fascinated by Gustav, the enigmatic owner of the Levi Gallery, and she soon feels an irresistible pull of attraction. The interest is mutual, and Gustav promises to launch Serena’s photographic career at his gallery, but only if Serena agrees to become his exclusive companion.

To mark their agreement, Gustav gives Serena a bracelet to wear at all times. Attached to it is a silver chain of which he is the keeper. With the chain Gustav controls Serena physically and symbolically – a sign that she is under his power.

As their passionate relationship intensifies, Gustav’s hold on the silver chain grows stronger. But will Gustav’s dark past tear them apart?

A seductive and beautifully written novel for erotic romance fans. The Silver Chain is the first in the sexy, passionate and addictive Unbreakable Trilogy by Primula Bond.

My Thoughts:  

Oh, where do I start with this book. I was really conflicted the entire time I read it-going from loving it to having to put it aside for a breather over several days. Usually I can main line a book in a day. With this one, no way. My brain might have exploded.

So first, let me begin with the good.

I loved the characters; I loved the set-up, and loved the symbolism of the silver chain. The silver chain and how the two characters used it, and eventually relied on it in a way, to show their connection was beautiful. As was the simple way Gustav would hook it to Serena's bracelet.  I also was impressed by the prose. The author really does have a way with words and from the first page I can see that this author is a real talent.

What about the main character, Gustav. Holy heck that man was swoon-worthy from the first time he steps onto the scene! I also enjoyed the British slang. For some it might be a bit difficult to cut through, but for me, who loves all things British (especially the accents!) I loved hearing the authenticity it brought to the heroine's voice. I felt the heroine was great too. She was enthralled, obsessed, attracted to, and intimidated by the hero but yet she still had her own personality and you could see it throughout the book.

So, what didn't I like?

There was too much of the main character inside her head. Like I mentioned, I loved the prose. This author's writing is something that I don't see very often so that in and of itself is impressive. I loved the intensity and realism she brought to the descriptions of the setting, clothing, scenery, people, etc. However at times (and sadly there were a bit too many of them throughout this book) I felt like I was drowning in the words, and not in a good way. And the constant internal dialogue, the heroine's constant inner thoughts and struggles, distracted from the story itself. It came to a point where the narrative seemed to be lost and because of this I ended up skimming large chunks of pages. This internal dialogue of the main character could have, and should have, been cut down to allow for more interaction and dialogue between Serena and the other characters.

And last, there is a cliffhanger. I really do not like cliffhangers. This one however was not all that bad so I can't say that I disliked the ending completely. In fact, it really didn't bother or leave me with a feeling "son of a *itch now I have to wait a gazillion months for the next in the series!"  I am so incredibly thankful for that. Also, the big reveal wasn't much of a big reveal for me. I figured out almost immediately (and very early on) what the twist was and instead of guessing I just kept waiting for that particular shoe to drop.  This ending felt more like the end of a TV episode. This is much better than an ending where the reader is left wondering about the state of the relationship. Sure, there are likely to be some angsty times ahead-it's a trilogy after all. But it seems to be angst that I will be able to live with. I'm not sure when the second book comes out but I will be reading it to see how things turn out between Gustav and Serena.

Here are the purchase links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads

*I received this ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.*