Review: Behind Closed Doors (McCloud & Friends, #1) by Shannon McKenna

Title: Behind Closed Doors (McCloud & Friends, #1)
Author: Shannon McKenna
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publication Date: October 1, 2003

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

From Goodreads:

Someone's watching...

Surveillance expert Seth Mackey knows everything about the women his millionaire boss, Victor Lazar, toys with—and tosses aside. But Lazar's latest plaything, Raine Cameron, is different. Beautiful. Vulnerable. And innocent. Just looking at her triggers a white-hot passion Seth can barely control as night after night, he watches her on a dozen different video screens. Raine is pure temptation, but Seth can't slip up: he's convinced Lazar had his half-brother murdered. His secret investigation—and his life—are on the line. But then he finds out that Raine may be Lazar's next victim...

Raine knows she's being watched—but no one can see the secrets in her heart. She has reasons of her own to seek revenge on Victor Lazar, and she will, despite her fear—and the distracting presence of Seth Mackey. His fiercely masculine good looks and animal sensuality stir her fantasies when she's alone...and lead her to a bold plan. Offering her body to him, surrendering totally to his ruthless desire, might well push her beyond all emotional limits—and beyond fear itself.

My Thoughts:

Wowza. I've read a lot of books. Like, seriously, a lot. And usually I know how a book is going to go. After all, I generally read books with happily ever afters so, ya know, I have certain expectations.

Well, this one certainly threw me for one helluva loop.

Don't get me wrong, there's still a satisfying ending. More than satisfying. I loved to see how the hero grew emotionally and how the heroine got stronger (also emotionally).  But the way the author gets you there, well, fasten your seat belts people, cause you'll be in for a ride with this one.

As you can tell from the blurb above, our hero, Seth, is more than a little obsessed with the heroine, Raine. Raine has secrets; Seth has secrets; Victor has secrets; Alix and Ed have secrets. Hell, let me just put this way:  everyone has secrets! And untangling those secrets is where the intrigue and suspense comes in. Half the time I didn't know whether I was coming or going, and like Seth, was suspicious of everyone's motive. I think that when it comes to romantic suspense, having the reader connect like that is the mark of a great storyteller. And even though as the book progressed and I knew who the players were -the good, the bad and the ugly- I was still being surprised, again in a good way most of the time, by the actions and responses of the characters.

Now, let's talk about Seth's obsession. Many readers have issues with Seth and think he's a crazy, psycho, perverted stalker. And in the first 50 pages I have to say, I was on their side. But it must be said that he doesn't start out obsessing over Raine. At first, what we learn from his back story, is that Seth is obsessing over the death of his brother and trying to avenge him. Raine just happens to get in the way and Seth, seeing something good for the first time in, well, ever really, latches on.  I admit, at first it's not healthy. but the good thing is that his voyeurism only lasts a short while. He sees Raine, watches her and then, putting his plan in motion, decides he wants her.  So it's not like he's lurking in bushes and windows for most of the book, which is what I was expecting based on what others have said. Seth is suspicious, doesn't trust anyone, and certainly doesn't love anyone, but seeing Raine makes something click inside of him and things start to change rather quickly.

And I have to also add that, what was a pleasant surprise about this book is that the hero and heroine actually talked through things, including the surveillance. After all, Seth's equipment was at the house before Raine moved there as he worked on his revenge plan so it's not like he set out to watch her. She happened upon his operation with the McCloud brothers, and well, you'll have to read the rest to find out the intricacies of where the plot goes from there.

So, sure Seth acted rash and like a paranoid freak a few times, but Raine was always there, forcing him to talk, to confront his feelings about the two of them and his brother, and pushing him away from the shadows that had dogged him all his life. And we can't forget that Raine herself isn't perfect. Raine has her own motives, her own secrets to drive her to get tangled in the stupidest, most asinine revenge plan (if you can even call it that) she could possibly think up. There were times, especially in the early part of the book, that I wanted to slap Raine in the head, and hard, because of her dumb ass-ery.  (Yes, I'm making that a word).  She had such a major TSTL moments at one point I was hoping the bad guy got her but Seth -the protective, paranoid alpha- was there to save her behind. Again.

I will say this though. Something happened around 80% into the book. Raine found some backbone and strength and went balls to the wall (theoretically of course since she doesn't exactly have balls) to save herself and Seth (or well, that was the plan anyways). This was when my feelings for her started to change and I didn't want the bad guys to get her anymore. Whether they did or not...well, you'll have to read the book to find out.

You may be wondering how I could possibly fall for a possibly crazy hero like Seth Mackey. Well, that's an easy inquiry to respond to. First, he wasn't just crazy and obsessive. He was also protective, strong, and sometimes even sweet. But it was also the hot, no holds barred, seriously panty-melting sex. Ms. McKenna knows how to make the pages, and my Nook, melt with her prose, let me tell you.

The author also does a great job writing the technological side of things, explaining all Seth and the McCloud boys' technology that they use in their investigation. She also writes a kick ass fight scene that had me a bit worried for our hero.

So all in all this book didn't scare me as much as I thought it would. Or rather, Seth didn't.  I will definitely be reading the second in this series and look forward to other work by this author.

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

*This book was a self-purchase and I was not in any way compensated for, or even asked, to review this book. All opinions are my own*

Book Review: A Week To Be Wicked (Spindle Cove, #2) by Tessa Dare

Title: A Week To Be Wicked (Spindle Cove #2)
Author: Tessa Dare
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: March 27, 2012

My Rating: 5 out of 5 amazing, shining, stupendous stars!

From Goodreads:

Minerva Highwood, one of Spindle Cove’s confirmed spinsters, needs to be in Scotland. Colin Sandhurst, Lord Payne, a rake of the first order, needs to be…anywhere but Spindle Cove.

These unlikely partners have one week to

• fake an elopement
• convince family and friends they’re in “love”
• outrun armed robbers
• survive their worst nightmares
• travel four hundred miles without killing each other
All while sharing a very small carriage by day and an even smaller bed by night.

What they don’t have time for is their growing attraction. Much less wild passion. And heaven forbid they spend precious hours baring their hearts and souls.

Suddenly one week seems like exactly enough time to find a world of trouble. And maybe . . . just maybe . . . love.

My Thoughts:

How is it that I find a book that is even better than the first in the series?! I mean, I didn't actually think this could be better than the first but it seriously, freaking was! Minerva...Minerva is in my top five of heroines. I want, and hope, to see her in more books about Spindle Cove. Her insecurities, the way her mother is just awful in the things she says to her, and her belief that all she has to offer the world, or anyone, is her mind made me connect with her in so many ways. She hides behind her brain, and is unable to acknowledge (mostly because of how she was raised and the "rules" of society) that she could ever attract a man, let alone a man like Colin.

As for Colin...well he was a rake, a dog and a skirt chaser. But when he got a glimpse of Min and who she really was, when she let her guard down for just a moment, he was hooked. And I loved how he was with her: gentle, kind (for the most part), and patient (again, for the most part). There were times, yeah, that he wasn't so much!) I fell for him hard, as did Minerva, and their journey together was beautiful.

It was the ending though that really struck a chord for me. I was unprepared for it and had certain expectations for this book. As do most who read historical romances. There was what I see as a twist in this story, and I absolutely loved it. I won't give it away but I was happy to that both Colin and Minerva knew that they had to face reality and do things the right away.

I loved this book and the series itself just keeps getting better and better. It also is going onto my re-read shelf!

*This book was a self-purchase and I was not in any way compensated for, or even asked, to review this book. All opinions are my own*

The Sunday Post: Reading, Writing, ROW80 & Camp NaNo

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. 

~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. 

This week, I'm going to start participating in The Sunday Post, a weekly meme that is sort of a week in review (see description and link above).  Because of this my Sunday ROW80 updates will be combined with the rest of the reading and reviewing I've done during the week. Combining everything in this "week in review" post saves me time so I can concentrate on doing what I need to do-that is, writing, reading and reviewing. I'll try to keep these short and sweet, but well, no promises!

Books Read/Reviewed Last Week

The Rake's Vow (Cynster #2) by Stephanie Laurens: Although the heroine annoyed the crap out of me at times I really did like this book. I just thought the miscommuncation between them went on way too long. No worries though, Scandal (aka Richard) is up next in this series and I can't wait to see who he's paired with!

I also did a re-read of Kristen Ashley's Sweet Dreams this week because I cannot get enough of Tate. I really love this book and even after 5 re-reads it doesn't get old for me. I mean it's TATE!  I also started to read Fringe Benefits by Christine Pope but I am having a hard time getting into it. I hope to finish it soon but right now I've set it aside for a bit.

What I'm Reading This Week 

I'm going to tackle Behind Closed Doors by Shannon McKenna today. I've been trying to get to this for over a week but events have conspired against me. I also want to read Nine Rules of Romancing A Rake, one of the books I purchased on sale this week. Hopefully I can get to them both and post some reviews. 

Stacking The Shelves

You can check out my weekly book haul HERE, in the Stacking The Shelves post.  I'm going to be participating in this meme most weekends (likely Friday/Saturdays)-or at least those weekends that follow the purchase of books. And since I have a slight book addiction, it will be often. Sad for my wallet, but good for me. :D As a side note, I have been very picky lately with what books I'm buying and try to hit only sales and freebies. With the latest plagiarism debacles out there I am being very careful about where and who I spend my cash on. I've also been getting great books from the library, both in ebook format for my Nook and paperback. I've saved a ton of money this way and found some great authors/series  I've missed. I like being able to on something new to see if I'll like before spending the dough.

ROW80

I decided to do Camp NaNo in July. With everything going on I might have been  a bit crazed when I decided to give it a go but I need to get back into my daily writing and with Round 3 of ROW80, well, what better time than now?! That being said, I set a goal of 30K words which is only 1K a day, but I'm already behind. Oops. Anyways, here's my ROW80 update:

Write/Revise 5 hours per week: Done though I haven't made any progress wordcount wise for Camp NaNo. I've been writing a bunch of back stories for characters and outlining chapters/scenes. Hopefully I can make up some ground this week with that.
Blog a minimum of one book review per week, here and/or on Goodreads: Done, see above for link to my GR review.
Blog once per week on something that isn't a book review or ROW80 update: Done! Again, see above for my Stacking the Shelves post!
Post my Sunday ROW80 Update: Clearly this is done.
Organize my WiP Plan via Excel: I didn't get to figuring out exactly how to create the spreadsheet I want though I've been doing some google searches/research on how to put this together. Hopefully this week I will have more success.

Next week my goals will be the same. As I mentioned in my initial Round 3 post, I'm starting slow and will build up my goals as the Round progresses.

Around the Web

Because Llamas really are fabulous

Some great tips from Julie Jordan Scott on how to use your phone to improve your writing.  I love #4, that's an exercise I have my students do when I am teaching composition. Nothing like a little bit of free writing to get the creative juices flowing!

Danielle Hubert's Hehehe pinterest board is freaking hilarious. Check it out if you get a minute. I laughed until my stomach hurt at some of those pins.

So how did you do this week? What are you reading or what kind of book haul did you have this week? And writers (and ROWers), how is your week going? Are you moving forward on your goals? Let me know in the comments!

That's it for me, for now. I've got to go to another baseball game-my nephew's team advanced in the Little League All-Stars tournament. But I'm taking my Nook so I can get some reading in before it starts. It is going to be painful-literally-because I'm nursing a wicked cold and can't hear a thing (I hate when my ears get plugged!) but I have to go because it's his last year in Little League.  So if anyone has any remedies for curing plugged up ears, let me know. (I will be eternally grateful!!) I've already tried swallowing, yawning, eating hard candy, taking Mucinex D, and OTC drops to clear them and still, nothing. It's driving me crazy not being able to hear anything. I can't even hear me typing this! Crazy, no?! And it's kind of freaking me out too. Anyways, enough of my whining! I hope everyone enjoys their Sunday and have a great week!

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!"

So I am jumping into a meme this week that I've seen around for awhile. It's a great way to display the haul of books readers have taken in during the week and to share with others what books I've gotten on sale, for free, for review, or borrowed from the library. It's also nice to see what others are buying/reading, cause ya know, my TBR list(s) on Goodreads just aren't long enough! *snorts*

Anyways, for now the plan is to try to post these on Saturdays, but if it's a slow week I might merge it with my Sunday blog post. We'll see how things go.

So, what did I bring in this this week? (Note: All links should go to the Goodreads page for the book)

Bought:

I bought these books on sale via Barnes and Noble (the first and third were 1.99 each, Deadly Fear was .99). I am such a sucker for a sale! I'm not sure if they are still on sale but if they are you might want to check them out!

Freebies: 

As usual Amazon and Barnes & Noble had some freebies listed this week that I snapped up as well.  I've become much more discerning about freebies, always checking out the preview (if there is one) and/or the reviews on the site and GR. I do this because as many of us have found some free ebooks can be, well, not very high quality and I hate DNFing books. I downloaded these throughout this week so they may not still be offered as free at the time of this post.





Given the amount of books I have on my kindle app and my Nook, who knows when I will get the chance to read the freebies though I do intend to dive into Nine Rules to Break When Romancing A Rake. I've heard great things about this book so I'm anxious to start it.

Check out what others have added to their shelves via the linky, here.  What books did you add to your shelves this week? Did I miss anything on sale or that came out this week I should nab? Let me know in the comments!

Jumping Into ROW80, Round 3: Let's Try This Again

I did so well in ROW80 Round 1. And then Round 2 came and though I was trucking along, doing great, somewhere along the way things slowed down and so did I. A lot was going on in life and I found myself sliding into the fiction of books, reading instead of doing what I should have been, writing. I lost my focus and though I was working on various WiPs sporadically, I wasn't being consistent. I knew I had to get back into it. I knew I had to update my blog and get on top of that too. But I couldn't muster the energy to do it. Even writing a book review was difficult and I was leaving most of those on Goodreads instead of my blog.

I can't explain why all this happened. All I know is that during March and April I was writing all the time and moving forward. It was during this time that I got sick-with pneumonia that lasted way too long and did way too much damage (of which I'm mostly recovered from thank goodness). I did Camp NaNo in April during the height of my illness and that may have had something to do with my burnout, I guess. Though I did NaNo in November and I didn't unravel like I did this time. It's all a mystery really but the bottom line is, I let things go and I needed to get back to my routine, shake off the "dust" from my WiPs, and move ahead. I just wasn't sure how.

And then I remembered ROW80 Round 3 was starting. It's just the push I need to grab onto my focus, hold tight, and move ahead.  I went back and reviewed my year long goals and hammered out some weekly goals to shoot for. They are somewhat simple to start but I want to start small and see how I progress. This will allow me to take stock and make adjustments as I go. It's my way of easing back into things.

So, here are my weekly goals:

• Write/Revise 5 hours per week: I'm starting off with a timed goal and will slowly expand this to daily writing/revising. Eventually. I hope. My focus will be on Wanted (I am halfway there on my second round of revisions!) and my Camp NaNo project. I should have a name for that my next week. 
• Blog a minimum of one book review per week, here and/or on Goodreads.
• Blog once per week on something that isn't a book review or ROW80 update: this will likely be writing/reading related, but not a specific book review or update. Or it could be something I find humorous. Or a TV show I've started to watch. Or music. Who knows? 
• Post my Sunday ROW80 Update: I will be getting back to my "Week In Review" posts and hopefully will have some fun stuff to post, including books I've bought or am reading, and an update on my ROW80 goals. 
• Organize my WiP Plan via Excel: this was a larger goal of Round 2 that I let get away from me. It's now a Round 3 goal and I want to work on this 1 hr per week. I need to prioritize my WiPs (of which there are a lot) and outlines (there are even more of these) and see what was salvageable and what isn't. I've read through most of them and written down my list but I think I am going to make a spreadsheet of some kind so I can not only put them in order I want to work on them, but also track my progress. This should give me some accountability and keep me on track. The only problem is I suck at Excel so figuring out how to organize the spreadsheet and progress via word count (for writing) and page counts (for revisions) might take some time. 

So that's it for now. As for the bigger picture, specifically those year long goals I mentioned earlier, I'm behind in revisions for Wanted as I had hoped to have that ready for submissions by mid year, but the submission process of Music & Motors (f.k.a. Finding Home), delayed all that. (Speaking of which, I'm still in the midst of that, including reviewing/negotiating a possible contract). My hope is to get Wanted finished by the end of July/middle of August and then it will be time for decisions to be made on where I go from there.

I am wishing everyone in ROW80 the best of luck on their goals this Round and I can't wait see you all around the ROW!

Book Review: Breaking Point (I-Team #5) by Pamela Clare

Breaking Point by Pamela Clare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Gee-zus! Just when I thought that there could be no hero to top the awesome Marc Hunter or Gabe Rossiter, I buy Breaking Point and am blown the freak away by Zach McBride. Holy heck that man is the alpha to top all alphas in the I-Team series thus far and has flown to the #1 spot of book boyfriends.

I know, it's a bit gushy, but this man was so strong, so protective of Natalie, and had such a big heart I was blown away by him. But it wasn't just the man's alpha tendencies and need to protect Natalie. It was how he believed in Natalie and knew she could handle the things he asked her to do. He was gentle with her but firm, helping her to find an inner strength inside her she barely knew existed and by cultivating that strength they were able to get out of the hell they'd both been in (and I'm talking literally, as in being kidnapped and tortured as well as emotionally with their past and PTSD issues), together.

On to some other things that blew me away about this book:
At one point I thought the author was going to kill one of the prior heroes. I couldn't breathe the whole time as I read as fast as I could to find out what happened. Talk about nearly having an anxiety attack.
I cried at the Marc and Julian scene. I love those two and their banter cracks me up and I love their relationship.
The portrayal of both main characters and their issues with PTSD was solid and wasn't glossed over. The readers were given glimpses of how both characters handled (and mishandled) their issue, and by coming together during Natalie's kidnapping, began to heal. I also was happy to see that the issues didn't just go away. Zach still had nightmares, they just weren't as bad.
The scene at the cemetery-balled like a baby. I also did this when Zach spoke to the picture of Beau when they were in the penthouse. (Before all hell broke loose)
The torture scenes (of Zach) scared the hell out of me. And the author didn't portray Zach as someone who could get out of every situation like MacGyver. He suffered, and that suffering was palpable in the descriptions and actions of the characters.
I love catching up with the I-Team gang. I'm sad that I've read all the novels that are out there and will now have to patiently wait for Striking Distance in November 2013. Did I say patiently? Yeah, I don't know about that...

I've read some of the reviews and was surprised at how, when this book came out, people were upset by what Natalie decided to do once all hell stopped breaking loose around her. Deciding to leave her job and stay at home I think was a good decision for her. I'm not saying that I think all women should stay home and wait on their husbands. And in no way did I read the author as promoting this. For this character, after the hell she'd been through in Hurricane Katrina and then everything that happened when she was kidnapped in Mexico, it makes total sense that she just wants to be there 100% for her man and eventually for her kids. I thought the explanation and her reasoning was more than sufficient and anyone who gets pissed about it or says that the character is somehow giving her hubby control, or it's anti-feminism, and the like, is just wrong. If a woman decides the best choice FOR HER is to stay home and focus on her family, then more power to her. And no one should look down on a woman that chooses this, but women especially shouldn't. The sisterhood needs to stick together after all. Sure, personally I can't say that what Natalie decided would be my cup of tea (though if I had Zach coming home to me every night, I might! LOL) BUT I would want the freedom to be able to make that choice (if I chose to) taken away. Ever. And I wouldn't want to be criticized for it either. Women need to support each other's life choices, even if we don't agree with them. We aren't all cookie cutter versions of each other after all; we have different wants, needs and dreams. So being offended because a woman (and in this case a fictional woman) made a choice to stay home, is baffling to me. Okay, getting off my soapbox now.

If you haven't picked up this series, I highly recommend doing so. It has action, sexy times, suspense, interesting story lines and compelling characters that make the time spent with these characters worthwhile.

*This book was a self-purchase and I was not in any way compensated for, or even asked, to review this book. All opinions are my own*


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ARC Review: Fire Inside (Chaos #2) by Kristen Ashley

Fire Inside by Kristen Ashley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wasn't sure going into this book how KA was going to accomplish everything she had to make this book amazing. How was she going to answer the questions people had about Hop from Motorcycle Man? How would Lanie be made into a KA heroine that her readers could relate to? Could she pull it off and make her readers fall for this hero and heroine, as they had for so many of her fictional couples before them?

I don't know why I had these questions. I should have just trusted the woman. I mean seriously, someone smack me on the side of the head next time I even think of doubting KA's awesomeness and her ability to redeem characters.

First, let's start with Lanie. I did not like her in Motorcycle Man. I thought she was a materialistic, stuck up snob. And I didn't think she could ever do anything to deserve a Chaos hunk. But I was so wrong. After going into FI with trepidation about her character, I quickly saw the layers that went into Lanie and how she might SEEM materialistic and stuck up, but she was using that as a shield. She didn't have a great home life and did a lot of what she did to protect herself, to shield herself from getting hurt the way her father hurt her mother.

Now, let's talk about Hop. Hop in MM did something that many in the KA support addicts group deemed unforgivable. It seemed like, from the events in MM, that he cheated on his wife. During the wait for FI's release, I was one who tried to put my faith in KA and wait and see what the explanation was. After all, in MM we only get a glimpse of the events AND we only get in Tyra's POV. As a Writing instructor I know how important POV is. What one person sees or thinks can be no where near the truth of what is actually happening. Yes, he did have sex with BeeBee in MM. But so did Tack. So that in and of itself didn't make him a bad guy-just a guy with bad taste for the moment. And Tack tells Tyra in MM that she doesn't know the whole story, to leave it alone and that things are what they seem. This was confirmed in Own the Wind (Chaos #1) when Shy and Tabby talk about Hop. But again, in OtW, we don't get all the details and are still in the dark.

In FI, I am happy to say that what happened with Hop and his status during the MM motorcycle incident are realistically explained. KA did not change history or back story. I know some people think that, but she did not. I am adamant about this because the "history" we have in MM and OtW aren't the actual facts. They are perceptions built on assumptions and for Tyra, false assumptions. Tack tried to tell Tyra in MM to let it go.

Sadly she did not. She is what caused the drama (or some of it) for Lanie and Hop. This disappointed me about Tyra and I blame her hanging out with Elvira and Gwen for becoming more of a gossip. She rattles on about Hop to Lanie and Elvira and all hell breaks loose. Lanie runs, flips out on Hop and THEN we get the truth. We find out the most heartbreaking story, something that not only affected him but also his kids, and I was so mad at Tyra for her blabber mouth and Lanie for her idiocy that I wanted to reach into the book and smack them both. Hard. I know it had to happen-we needed the "big misunderstanding" for the truth to come out. But I do wish we saw Tack get pissed at Tyra for doing what she did and not being a good old lady-he told her she had to keep her mouth shut in MM and not to assume. She not only did neither of those things, but she blabbed club business to people she shouldn't have (namely, Elvira).  This was not good MC behavior.

But anyway, it served its purpose and we got the details about Tack and I can happily say he did not cheat. But what happened (i.e. what caused the incident itself and the subsequent mess that not only crushed Hop but could have devastating effects on his kids when they find out the truth; especially for his son) made me cry. And it made me hate his bitch of an ex-wife. Some may call it cliche-having the crazy or horrid ex-wife, but honestly, it's romance. There is always going to be some kind of trope like this used-a stalker, an ex, a crazy step-brother, etc, etc. There needs to be something in the characters' backgrounds that make them act the way they do, and in this case, it hurt to see how badly Hop was betrayed by his wife. And Lanie should have talked to him, not made an assumption and ran, believing Tyra's ridiculous and inaccurate gossip. The subsequent scenes were heart-wrenching and I was a bit worried that our MCs wouldn't get an HEA, or not one that they deserved. But again, my doubts were washed away with an amazing resolution and I loved the epilogue.

One thing I will say about this series is I love how the "action" is being built up. This book runs parallel to Own the Wind so we see the same (and additional) events regarding Benito, but from a different POV.  I'm assuming that things will ratchet up as the series progresses with it ultimately coming to a head in the final book of the series which will focus on Rush. I think there are two more between FI and Rush's book so things I am sure will continue to get interesting.

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



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Book Review: Highlander Most Wanted by Maya Banks

Title: Highlander Most Wanted (Montgomerys and Armstrongs #2)
Author: Maya Banks
Publisher:Random House Publishing Group
Publication Date: March 19, 2013

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

From Goodreads

In Highlander Most Wanted, a reclusive woman content to live in the shadows shows a Highland warrior the true meaning of love.

Genevieve McInnes is locked behind the fortified walls of McHugh Keep, captive of a cruel laird who takes great pleasure in ruining her for any other man. Yet when Bowen Montgomery storms the gates on a mission of clan warfare, Genevieve finds that her spirit is bent but not broken. Still, her path toward freedom remains uncertain. Unable to bear the shame of returning to a family that believes her dead or to abandon others at the keep to an imposing new laird, Genevieve opts for the peaceful life of an abbess. But Bowen’s rugged sensuality stirs something deep inside her that longs to be awakened by his patient, gentle caress—something warm, wicked, and tempting.

Bowen seizes his enemy’s keep, unprepared for the brooding and reclusive woman who captures his heart. He’s enchanted by her fierce determination, her unusual beauty, and her quiet, unfailing strength. But wooing her will take more than a seasoned seducer’s skill. For loving Genevieve, he discovers, means giving her back the freedom that was stolen from her—even if it means losing her forever.

My Thoughts:

This story was heartbreaking. What Genevieve went through was absolute hell and the ridicule and torment she endured even from those who also feared Ian was just as horrifying as what he did to her. Not only did no one ever stand up for her, but they blamed her. I wanted to shout, scream, and defend Genevieve against those who would do her harm. I wanted to rail against the injustice of it all. And I wanted her deceased captor and torturer to be killed all over again, only this time, slowly. When an author can bring out that kind of emotion you know she is doing something right.

Bowen's protection of Genevieve was beautiful. He promised to be there for her and he was. He listened to her when she needed to talk and he stood up for her to his brothers. When they separated I thought my heart would truly break. I was as miserable as Bowen was. What he was willing to sacrifice for her well-being was  touching and I loved how it contrasted with the protective, alpha Highlander that he was. He wanted her, he loved her, but he also wanted her to heal.

And the ending...I just need to ask how is it that Ms. Banks always makes me cry in these Highlander romances?! I'm never like this when I read a contemporary (at least not that I can remember) but somehow she is able to bring forth such raw emotion in her highlanders! It's freakin awesome though I had to tell my inquiring nephew that "no, I wasn't crying at your little league game. I had something in my eye." (Just a little white lie to save face in front of his baseball team...)

This series is really well written and I love exploring both families in this series. I am really hoping that this explores all the Brothers' Montgomery and Armstrong because I would love to see them all find happiness. I hope we see more of Talie and Brodie especially! The next book I think is out in September of 2013 according to the author's website though GR has 2014 as a release date. I am really, really hoping for September of 2013 though! This is definitely a series that, for me, is on my "re-reads" shelf of my Nook.

*This book was a self-purchase and I was not in any way compensated for, or even asked, to review this book. All opinions are my own*

Back On Track

After two Sundays of rest and relaxation I am back with my Week in Review and weekly ROW80 updates. I know, you guys missed me, right?! Unfortunately today will be relatively quick as I have a busy day ahead of me. I have plans to write, read and and, eventually, mowing the lawn. If it stops raining. I hope it does, cause I really need to get on that. There's a whole lot of other things on my to-do list too and I want to get as much done as I can so I'm not bogged down this week.

On the blog this week I reviewed the first in Tessa Dare's Spindle Cove series, A Night To Surrender. I seriously love this book and this entire series. The fourth novel (there are two novellas in the series as well) will be released on May 28th. I cannot wait!

I also found two highlander romances at the library by Paula Quinn, Laird of the Mist (MacGregors, #1) and A Highlander Never Surrenders (MacGregors, #2),  that I read this week. I really enjoyed both of them and gave them each 4 stars on Goodreads. Her characters are well developed but it was the research she clearly did that had a huge impact on me. She gave a pretty accurate portrayal of Scotland during that time and the fighting between clans, as well as the issues between England and Scotland. Often times in historicals/highlanders actual facts are glossed over so this was a nice change.

On a side note, I am loving being able to download eBooks from my library. However, as I noted on twitter this week, I am pretty impatient. The eBooks can be out for 14 days and for me, who reads fast, I'm practically jumping out of my chair as I wait for others ahead of me in the 'hold' line to get done. Yeah, this is something I need to work on.

Also, has anyone else noticed an uptick in twitter drama of late? I love twitter, but lately it's like there is drama and/or controversy every time I turn around, especially with authors. Maybe it's always been there and I've only just noticed it because I'm more active on twitter of late. I don't know, but whatever it is, it's making me need to turn away from social media more and more so I can focus. This might be a good thing because focusing on my to-do list and WiPs is of course a priority but still, I'll be happy when things settle down. I don't like drama and conflict. It makes me twitch. 

Anyways, back to more important things. Here's my ROW80 update:

• Write every day: I hit 5 out of 7 days. Not too bad but next week I hope to make it every day. 
• Review minimum of 3 books per week via the blog or GR: See above for the break down. 
• Post my Sunday ROW80 update: Done
• Finish organizing all WiPs and make a plan: In progress. I've gone through my outlines and cleaned those up a bit, added info where I needed to, and started to prioritize them in a way that makes a reasonable amount of sense in terms of order to write them in. Now I have to move on to the WiPs I have half started, nearly finished, etc. There are a bunch of those. I have to read through each this week and see if they are salvageable or if I should toss 'em. 
• Workout a minimum of 3 times per week: Well, I didn't get any yoga in but I did take a couple walks. I'm dog sitting for a month while my uncle has surgery on his back and the dog likes his walks. In addition to walking I've also been doing a bunch of yard work. I am trying to get more comfortable about being outside in nature. It would be perfect if the bees just left me alone but I swear my face is on a "Most Wanted" poster somewhere in the buzzing insect community. Every time I step outside they freaking find me! So yeah, I gotta work on this still. :D

Anyways, that was my week. Not too exciting but at least somewhat productive. My goals for next week will remain the same and hopefully next Sunday I can tack on some others. I hope everyone had a great week and good luck!

Book Review: A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare

Title: A Night to Surrender (Spindle Cove #1)
Author: Tessa Dare
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: August 30, 2011

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

From Goodreads

A peaceful resort by the sea, Spindle Cove is a retreat for Regency ladies—offering intelligent, often unconventional women a temporary escape from men and their madness. Unfortunately for Miss Susanna Finch, the seaside safe haven she has so painstakingly nurtured is no longer quite so safe. The Cove’s been invaded—not by Napoleon’s forces, but by battle-weary, barely civilized, dangerously handsome men.

Victor Bramwell, the new Earl of Rycliff, knows he doesn’t belong in Spindle Cove. So far as he can tell, there’s nothing in this godforsaken place but spinsters… and sheep. But he’s stuck here—with orders to gather a local militia. It’s a simple mission, made complicated by the spirited, exquisite Susanna. Not only has she driven all red-blooded men from the place with her "modern" notions, but her lively wit and tempting beauty are distractions Bram doesn’t need.

Bram fears he may have met his match, for Susanna won’t easily surrender.

The scene is set for an epic battle ... but who can be named the winner, when both have so much to lose?

My Thoughts:

This series, along with Maya Banks' Highlander series, has brought me back to loving (and seriously glomming on) historical and highlander books. I'd been in a bit of a book funk of late and everything I read was all the same. The contemporaries  the PNRs, it was all just melding into one glob of sameness and nothing was holding my interest. I realized I needed variety in my reading genres. And I also realized I needed to space things out. Reading and reviewing contemporary after contemporary was wearing me out on hte genre. So I looked back, searching for historicals and highlanders, that caught my interest to give me a bit of distance. One of the authors I kept seeing come up was Tessa Dare so I grabbed the first in her Spindle Cove series and I fell in love with it, and the genre, all over again.

Bram and Susanna. Oh how I loved these two. Their story was so beautiful, funny, steamy, sexy and had me even tearing up in a few places. Susanna's independence and her reasons behind it both tugged at my heart strings and made me cheer for her. She was doing what she could to help others like her while at the same time resigned to her fate as a spinster. Or so she thought. When Bram and his friends blast into her life (literally) this sets of a chain of events that slowly allows Susanna to see she can be more than just a spinster. She can love and be loved, and still be independent. In fact, I think that's why Bram and Susanna fit so well together. As much as he (Bram) seemed to get exasperated by her need to do things on her own, he seemed to also respect her for it. But I gotta say, watching Bram break down her walls, slowly but surely, until they finally came together...*sighs* I admit, I might have swooned a bit.

The writing and plot were tight. The characters were well developed and had real issues they were dealing with. The end wasn't rushed and it came to a reasonable (and believable) conclusion. But what I think is most notable of this book is the world that Ms. Dare created. She has a whole slew of secondary characters in this community that she managed to make interesting and this is what made me want to read the next book, and the next, and then wait anxiously for the release of the third novel in the series. (Note: there are 2 novellas in this series as well. See the series page on Goodreads for the order).Not many others can make a whole town seem like a place I not only would want to visit, but a place I'd like to spend a considerable amount of time in, getting to know the residents and join in the often humorous situations the residents find themselves in. (I'm thinking of the tea shop incident here but I won't say more than that. It was both horrifying -for Susanna and the ladies- and humorous at the same time!)

I've read the other two novels in this series and will be reviewing those on the blog soon. But seriously, if you're looking to get into historicals with some seriously sexy, strong heroes and feisty, independent women (and the sexy times -and tension- that come along with all that) get thee to Amazon or Barnes & Noble, or wherever it is you purchase your books. Make haste people. Make haste!

*This book was a self-purchase and I was not in any way compensated for, or even asked, to review this book. All opinions are my own*

Getting Back To Writing & ROW80

The last two weeks have been insanity. I've barely posted. As a matter of fact, I haven't posted at all. I've only gotten my daily writing in a handful of times. Instead, I've been working, grading papers, reading when I can and falling asleep on the couch way too early. I blame this on a lot of things: work, of course. It's the end of the semester and if anyone has seen my recent tweets you'd see many consist of me being buried in papers and finals and trying to close out the semester for my students. When I get done grading 50 critical essays I find my brain is numb and I'm not very good at putting words down on the page at that point. So I read. Or sleep.

But also I've had a lot of little league and softball games to go to during the week and on the weekend. My niece has three games a week; my nephew has two. This doesn't include spring concerts of which my niece is in three. (She is in chorus and chorale. She's a busy kid!)

I feel bad for the slacking. And I hate not writing. It makes me twitch to not find time to tap out words onto the computer screen. And the lack of blogging is frustrating cause of course I have lots to say, just not a lot of time to sit at the computer and ya know, actually say it. But at the same time I've enjoyed spending lots of time with my niece and nephew. They are growing up so fast-she's 14, he'll be 13 later this summer-and I don't want to miss a minute of it.  I know it sounds cheesy, but what can I say? I guess I'm becoming a sap in my middle age!

But with classes over, my grading done and just waiting to be submitted (I can't officially hit 'submit' on the grades until Friday) time is opening up for me. I can now get back to the WiPs that have been languishing and type up a few rough outlines I've been scribbling on a legal pad for future stories. I'm excited to jump back in. I know two weeks isn't all that long, but for me, who was writing every day, I feel a bit lost.

But I won't stress over getting back into the swing of things for long. I'm just going to jump right in. Starting this morning. No time like the present, right?

As for my ROW80 goals, I've done a bit of tweaking.  My overall goal for the round of finishing the revisions of Wanted (as indicated in my starting post for Round 2) will remain the same but I am tweaking my weekly goals as follows:

• Write every day: Camp NaNo is done so my focus will be on revisions of Wanted and the Camp NaNo still untitled project but I'm open to working on any of my WiPs as long as I am writing every day.    
• Review minimum of 3 books per week via the blog or GR: I will get back on track with this. I have so many reviews to post that are in my draft folder. Gah!
• Post my Sunday ROW80 update
• Finish organizing all WiPs and make a plan: One of my larger goals for this Round was to go through and get myself together, prioritize, and make a plan. This will now be a weekly goal until I finish it. 
• Workout a minimum of 3 times per week:  In my 2 week hiatus I am happy to say I was doing this. Yay! Well, if you count all the outdoor work I've been doing and the lawn mowing. (I have a huge backyard and a push mower so yeah, my legs and arms have been getting a workout!)  

My other overall goal for round 2 has been completed: completing Camp NaNo. I'm glad I did it. It was a long and exhausting month but I have proven to myself that I can write a heck of a lot of words in a month's time that don't completely suck. :D  This will bode well for the other WiPs I have on the back-burner, I hope!

I hope everyone is having good luck with completing their goals! Oh, and LET'S GO RANGERS! Yeah, it's playoff time again in hockey! 

Three Days Until Camp NaNo Comes To A Close...

And I'm trying to take deep, calming breaths, because I can finish this. Right? I should, by Tuesday, have hit my word count goal of 30K for the month of April. (This was 30K words in addition to the 38K the WiP already had when I started )  Right now I think I am about 6500 words shy of this goal. I bet you can guess what I will be doing the next couple days.

Because of my need to get lots of words down (and preferably words that don't completely suck) I will do a fairly short (at least for me) week in review.  On the blog this week I reviewed the following:

Conviction by Nicole Edwards (Club Destiny, #1): I rated this 3 stars. It was good, but I did have some issues with it that I go through in my review. I will be reading other books by this author though in hopes that the issues I had with the narrative improve.

Star Crossed by Kele Moon (Battered Hearts, #2): 5 stars for this one. This was such a great mix of romance and the suspense plot was great. It had be on the edge of my seat towards the end. The main characters were so adorable but they could certainly burn up the sheets.

As for my ROW80 goals, here's how I did:

• Write every day: I did write every day however much of my writing was in the realm of revising. As I am getting close to the end of Camp NaNoWriMo I have been going through my WiP and seeing where I need to add missing scenes. This is exciting and terrifying since it basically means that, yep, I have my third book done. This will also mean that for the rest of this ROW80 Round, I will be focused on revisions and edits of this WiP and Wanted. (The latter is close to being done though, thank goodness!) But still, after years of not ever finishing the books I've begun to write, now to have one submitted to publishers and two drafts complete and moving to the revise/edit phase, well, it's a bit overwhelming. 
• Review minimum of 3 books per week via the blog or GR: I was able to hit two of these this week. I also finished reading two other books that I am in the process of writing reviews for. So I guess two out of three ain't bad.
• Post my Sunday ROW80 update: Done!
• Complete all outstanding grading: Um, erm...just ignore the stack of papers on my desk.  
• Prepare final exam: In progress. 
• Work out twice per week: I am super excited to say that I got in two workouts. I am still taking it slow, doing yoga and stretching routines as opposed to heavy cardio, but still, working out is working out! In addition to that I worked in the garden for an hour this morning before it got too hot out: pulling weeds, transferring plants from area to another, shoveling, watering, and well, other garden-type things. I don't know if that counts as a workout but ya know, I was wiped out after and muscles I didn't even know I had were aching (in a good way). 

My goals for next week are the same. Classes are winding down so this week and next I will be hip deep in grading students' research papers, final exams and calculating grades but I will do my best to get my daily writing in! I hope everyone is having a great round and see you around the ROW!

Book Review: Star Crossed by Kele Moon (Battered Hearts #2)

Title: Star Crossed (Battered Hearts #2)

Author: Kele Moon

Publisher: Loose Id LLC

Publication Date: July 3, 2012

My Rating: 5 out 5 Smoking Hot Stars!

This is the second book in the Battered Hearts series, focusing on MMA fighters (current and retired) and the women who love them. I liked the first in this series, Defying the Odds a lot but this second book, Star Crossed, is a huge 5 star read that I could not get enough of.

From Goodreads:

Heavyweight MMA fighter, Romeo Wellings comes from the hard streets of New York where his family ties to the mafia cause him nothing but pain. His life takes a surprising detour when he crosses paths with the twin sister of his long time enemy. After a steamy one-night stand, he faces the fight of his life, but it’s not in the cage. The secret relationship that blooms between Romeo and his real life Juliet has him battling his family and a dark past rather than let her go. 



The only lawyer in her hometown of Garnet, Jules Conner is also a volunteer Sheriff’s deputy and co-owner of a successful MMA training center. Strong and dependable, Jules is always there for those who need her. Until one forbidden night in Las Vegas with Romeo leaves her feeling so alive she can’t stop reaching out to the sexy, bad boy of MMA, even knowing the forbidden love affair could jeopardize everything.



As the tide rises against them and the people they love work at keeping them apart, Romeo and Jules hold onto a dream for a better life together and vow to go down fighting rather than accept a tragic ending.

My Thoughts:

I cannot begin to tell you how much I loved this book. I mean, I'm going to tell you, of course I am. This is a book review after all. But it's hard to find the words to describe how freaking amazing this book is. Let me try to explain what I mean. Those who know me (or have looked at my Goodreads "read" shelf) will notice that I read a lot. I also re-read a lot. I have a ton of books on my Kindle app and my Nook that I still have not read. And don't get me started on the paperback books I have or the ones I get from the library. But despite all these there are times, like the last two weeks, where I have trouble finding a book that really grabs my attention. I have done a lot of re-reads of faves lately because everything I picked up was just "blah".  Either it was too much sexy and not enough plot, or too much inner dialogue and not enough action/communication.  I just couldn't find books that grabbed me.

But this changed when I realized I had yet to read Star Crossed by Kele Moon. As I mentioned earlier, I had read the first in this series and liked it a lot.  I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads. I figured this would be around the same in it's awesomeness but Romeo and Juliet surpassed all my expectations.

I loved Juliet. At first I thought, "Okay, a book with the MCs named Romeo and Juliet; please let this not be hokey." And I am happy to say it was not in any way cheesy. It's freaking perfect. I loved Romeo with his shady past and his love for his Juliet and I loved even more how much Juliet wanted to give Romeo happiness and love because he deserved it and had to struggle so much in his life. Their relationship was not ordinary by any means. The book picks up after the end of Defying the Odds and we see just how Romeo Wellings and Juliet Connors met, went to dinner and well, progressed from there. The two weren't able to be together as much as they'd like, at least in the beginning. But seeing how they made this work and began to fall in love even across the miles was the sweetest thing I ever read.  

What about the all important hotness and sex factor? Well in a word, or a few, that was super, smokin, hot. The phone sex, the video chat, the actually being together. Holy freaking smokes people! Have some ice water nearby. Or your guy. Because Kele Moon knows how to write a sex scene that not only oozes sex but has emotional depth as well. This is not easy to do so I give her serious props for that.

I mentioned that the plot was tight, right? I think I did. And it was. I loved the back story of both Romeo and Juliet, and the relationship Romeo had with his brothers, and Juliet had with Wyatt (her twin), was one of love and complications. These complications didn't make it easy for Romeo to be with his Juliet, and at one point I really thought things were going to go south for them.  The fight they had? And what Wyatt did? Ohmigod, I was freaking out! I needed to know what was going to happen and then when it all came to a head?! Frakin A, Ms. Moon, next time just punch in me face, because seriously I was getting all teary eyed and wondering what the hell had happened!

The next book in this series is about Wyatt and Tabitha. I am anxiously awaiting this one cause Wyatt needs some serious lovin' and an HEA.  And just, fyi, after reading this, Kele Moon is going to be getting her own shelf on my Nook Color. And I'm also going to glom her backlist. Like seriously glom people because I have a new fave author!  ♥  This book, and the first one too, will also be going on my Nook's "re-reads" shelf. (See! I am serious guys. I don't re-read all my books. Only a small portion, so the fact that this gets included is a big deal. Well, okay not really, but it's a big deal for me. :D )   

So the bottom line is if you love MMA, or just hot guys in general, strong women, solid story lines  and a tightly written (and well edited) book, you might want to check out this author. I would suggest reading the stories in order so you know the players and what happened at the end of the first book which bleeds into the second.  Also, for those wondering, neither book has a cliffhanger in regards to the main couple. (And thank goodness cause cliffhangers... *shudders*).

Here are the purchase links:  Amazon / Barnes and Noble

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

Book Review: Conviction (Club Destiny #1) by Nicole Edwards

Conviction by Nicole Edwards
Publishing Date: July 29, 2012
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am having a hard time rating this. A really hard time. So let me break it down a bit. First, the sex is well, seriously hot. Like even I was all "Woah" a few times at what the main couple were doing so if you are at all squeamish about intense sex, menage, a 4some, and even some m/m action between two other characters, well, this might not be for you. And even though I was all "woah" it didn't make me stop reading. (I've been reading Stephen King and other horror novelists since I was 12, so seriously people, not much bothers me, whether it's sex, violence or whatever.)

What is making me bring this down from a 4 star (because seriously, I liked the story, I liked how Logan was trying to get Sam to lose some of the tight control she had on her entire life) and had me wavering at the 2 star rating (meaning it was okay), was the narrative itself. There was a lot of head talking. Don't get me wrong, I get that this happens in narrative such as this, but it was just too much. And I also did not like how Sam kept running, refusing to communicate with Logan at times, even by phone. This pissed me off and made me want to slap her, hard. Or tell Logan to go find someone else, someone who is more deserving than Sam. I get she was hurt by a relationship in the past, I get she was cautious, but going incommunicado after everything they went through (Especially towards the end of the book) just was not cool.

Oddly, even though I liked Logan, it was his twin brother Luke, who intrigued me the most. I can't wait to read his story and I really hope that there is less intense head talking and more, well, talking, talking. :D  Overall, a good read and I look forward to reading more from this author.

*This book was a self-purchase and I was not in any way compensated for, or even asked, to review this book. All opinions are my own*


View all my reviews

Little Progress This Week: A ROW80 Update

Tragic, sad, gut wrenching  horrifying, terrifying and finally triumph as the manhunt for the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon ended. And then there was the explosion in West, Texas that occurred, killing many volunteer firefighters and EMS workers. Again: tragic, sad, gut wrenching, horrifying and terrifying. My heart goes out to those affected by these tragedies and they are all in my thoughts and prayers. Also, to the cops, firefighters, EMS, federal officials, members of the military and other heroes and heroines who do the hard work every day of trying to keep us safe: thank you for everything you do. I don't say it enough, but I should. And after this week and seeing these men and women run towards the danger instead of away from it -just like so many did on 9/11- I plan on saying it more often.

Because of the events this week I, like so many, have been restless. I moved through the week as if on autopilot, getting my work done, reading, always keeping an eye and ear on the news, and trying to get some sleep. I say trying because my insomnia came back with a vengeance this week. This tends to occur whenever I'm worried or anxious and well, what can I say: this was a week full of worrying and anxiety. From this point on all I want the world to experience is that which includes rainbows and unicorns  

So how did I do with ROW80? Well, not great. My progress is seriously lacking. This means I am way behind on Camp NaNo too. I guess I better get my butt in my chair today and get my fingers
moving. Here's how I did:

• Write every day: So much for maintaining the progress I'd been making both on my Camp NaNo project and the revisions/edits of Wanted. I wrote Monday and Tuesday and for about 30 minutes yesterday. Yeah, I sucked this week.
• Review min. 3 books per week on the blog and/or GR: I only achieved one book review this week and that was Enslaved by Shoshanna Evers. I received this ARC via Netgalley. I did read this week, but they were comfort re-reads for me. I need to get on this goal though because I have so many books I need to read and want to review. 
• Post a Sunday ROW80 Update: Done
• Catch Up On Grading: Well, I have about half of it done. I don't know if I can finish them today either but I am going to try and get through at least half of the half. 
• Work out once per week: I didn't get a full workout in this week. Well at least not all once. Because of work, my niece's first softball game of the season and the wacky weather, I had to resort to short bursts here and there. Not ideal, but it's better than nothing I guess! 

Next week my goals will be:

• Write every day
• Review minimum of 3 books per week via the blog or GR
• Post my Sunday ROW80 update
• Complete all outstanding grading
• Prepare final exam
• Work out twice per week

I've added a few other things to my goal list and I am hoping that I can get back on track starting today. I hope everyone has a quiet, calm, and relaxing week with nothing but sunshine, roses and those rainbows and unicorns I mentioned. Have a great week!

Book Review: Enslaved by Shoshanna Evers (Enslaved Trilogy #1)

Title: Enslaved (Enslaved Trilogy #1)
Author: Shoshanna Evers
Publisher: Pocket Star
Publication Date: April 8, 2013

My rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

From Goodreads:

From a red-hot erotica writer comes an original eBook—a sensual romp across the playgrounds of the unbelievably rich and extremely sexy.Elisabeth Anderson has seen Trevor and his friends at the infamous Manhattan BDSM club WhipperSnapper, where everyone calls them the BAD Boys, for “Billionaire Arrogant Doms.” The BAD Boys—Trevor Brooks, Marc Wilde, and Roman Chase—are aptly named; they’ve made money hand over fist due to their aggressive investing at the Brooks Wilde Chase Fund. These guys are so rich they can get away with anything, or so the rumors go.

Trevor gives Elisabeth full reign of his estate in Westchester, letting her do as she pleases. He has only two rules. Rule One: she must obey and submit to him while she is living in his house. Rule Two: always answer the blue cell phone. She’s happy to oblige, because being with Trevor makes her want to obey, to love him the way he seems to be falling for her. But Elisabeth’s never been good at being the quiet sub; she's feisty and gets off on the punishments more than she does by pleasing Trevor.

Elizabeth can’t submit to Trevor the way he needs her to, so his friend and business partner (and fellow BAD Boy) Roman takes her in hand. But love triangles can have sharp edges...and somebody’s bound to get hurt.

My Thoughts:

Yes, Ms. Evers, triangles do have sharp edges. And yours hurts! Gah! I don't normally shout at my Nook since, well, it's an eReader, not an actual person. But you achieved this feat. I was glaring. I was grinning, I was glaring again while yelling at Elisabeth and Trevor. And then yelling at Roman! Then my mouth dropped open, and I was all "oh, wow. No. GO TO HIM!" And then finally I was smiling like a dork. I mean, people, this was a serious freaking roller coaster and half the time I didn't know if I was at the top of the hill or the bottom, but I definitely was enjoying the ride!

Let's get into the meat of this book. We have a heroine who has been released by her Master. Why you ask? Well you'll have to read it to find out but let's just say that the two are able to part ways yet remain friends. In fact, her former Master remains very concerned with Elisabeth and her well being. I didn't think this would work-him being her former Master and all, but given the circumstances it worked. And when he released her, he made sure to find her a Master who would take care of her and hopefully give her what she needed. This is where Trevor comes in, with his oodles of money, cars and a huge house. Oh, and horses too! And did I mention that we also had Trevor? Cause yeah, that's really all we needed. He was hot and just, wow. Trevor is quite the Master to his Elisabeth. *waggles eyebrows* (Or tries to be. More on that later!)

What about Elisabeth?  Elisabeth was a little off for me, character wise, but eventually I got her. And what I saw was a woman who liked to be bad, or as she called it, a brat. Trevor was not looking for that kind of fun though. So while things, I thought were going okay, well things happened and suddenly, there was another man involved.

Well, that certainly can complicate matters, can't it? And poor Trevor! He was in such a bad position. He wanted Elisabeth so much but she had so much to learn! And the one person who could teach her, and the one person he thought he could trust, was one of his best friends, Roman.

Ah, Roman. Roman, Roman, Roman, you beautifully broken man. I thought Trevor was my favorite but once I saw inside Roman's poor, messed up brain, my inner good girl went all "awwwwwww" and I immediately wanted to find Roman and fix him. Badly. His book won't happen until the third book though so the author is has effectively hooked me into these delicious men she's created. We have Marc to tide me over when his book is released in May.  And tide me over he will. Or tie me down. I'm fine with either.

Back to Roman. Roman was able to get inside Elisabeth's head and show her that being a brat wasn't her being submissive. He showed her what true D/s was (or his version of it). Elisabeth did well under his care, but well, it caused feelings. And feelings cause complications. And all I could keep saying to my Nook was "But Elisabeth, Trevor loves you! He's waiting for you!!" She didn't respond. Obviously. She isn't real! See Ms. Evers?! See what you've done to me?! Kudos to you for tying me into knots and freaking me out! *sighs* Anyways,  by the time I got to the end I was calmer. And more than satisfied with the end. Now, is it May yet?

Here are the purchase links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

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

A Busy Week With Lots of Reflection & Writing

I debated whether to post my week in review. The 14th of April is always a hard day for me. It's the  anniversary of when my grandma passed away and so I've been out of sorts since I woke up. Actually, I've been out of sorts for the past week. It doesn't seem like it was 6 years ago. In fact it feels very much like it was yesterday. But I will try not to dwell on the sad and instead try to enjoy the sunshine she brought to Central New York today. Well, I think she brought it. She loved spring after all and was always outside with her flowers. And it makes me feel a little better thinking she is the reason for the sunshine.

Because of the above, add in some things going on work, catching up on grading, writing, and having to do my taxes, I've been a bit more reflective -and busier than is usual- this past week. This meant that, although I was present on twitter and getting writing done, I didn't get to post many reviews this week. This makes me all sad face but I was so busy I just couldn't fit it all in. This week things should go back to their regularly scheduled programming though. I've even got some reviews in the hopper to keep me on track.

In terms of reading and reviewing, here's what I did:

Book Review: Hard Evidence by Pamela Clare (I-Team, #2)

I also read the second book in J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Lover Eternal, on Goodreads. Oh my freaking goodness. Rhage. He is my new number 1 book boyfriend ever. EVER! So damn bad ass yet sweet. I cried. And cried. I will be getting the third book from the library in the next week or so, hopefully, so we will see what happens with Z. He's a scary MoFo, but I can't wait to read his story.

I feel like I am forgetting to mention a review or something else I've read but oh well. My head is scrambled today. Next week I will be much more organized and not sound like a crazy woman. I promise. (Well, I'll at least try! :D )

Okay, so now on to my ROW80 update. I don't have too much to say since things are moving forward at a good pace so I will just go through these quickly:

• Write every day: Done! I am a little bit ahead on my Camp NaNo project (yay!) and I am now halfway through the revisions of Wanted. I have added a few scenes towards the end to wrap things up and need to write those out, but all in all, it's looking good. Writing every day is a challenge  Some days the words just don't want to come, but I make sure that I sit down and do something. Even if it's on some other WiP, or notes in my outline. Just a little bit each day makes such a difference and seems to keep the creativity flowing. 
• Review min. 3 books per week on the blog and/or GR: So, I definitely hit two. But I swear I did another one on GR, I just can't find the thing. It's really driving me nuts. I will have to go through my Kindle archive and my Nook to find what I had read.
• Post a Sunday ROW80 Update: Done!
• Catch Up On Grading: Everything that the students handed in as of last Monday has been corrected. I have some worksheets to go over from Wednesday and their test from Friday, but other than that I am on track! YAY!!!
• Work out once per week: This is getting easier. I did a yoga workout (easy level) and took a short walk, keeping my inhaler handy, just in case. I am hoping that, after this week, I can up this to three again. Or maybe two per week, then three, and so on. I am just glad my breathing has improved a heckuva lot from when I was sick because I really miss working out. (Did I just say that?! Out loud?! OMG, someone check and see if I have a fever!)

Next week my goals will remain the same, cause why change something that isn't broken, right? I hope everyone has been having a productive round so far and I look forward to seeing how everyone has been doing when I check around the ROW tomorrow! Have a great week!

Book Review: Hard Evidence by Pamela Clare (I-Team #2)

Title: Hard Evidence (I-Team #2)
Author: Pamela Clare
Publisher: Berkley Publishing
Publication Date: October 1, 2006

My Rating: 3 out of 5

From Goodreads:

Investigative reporter Tessa Novak witnesses the murder of a teenage girl--and believes Julian Darcangelo committed the crime. But Julian is actually an undercover FBI agent on the trail of a human trafficker and killer. Tessa's report has brought them closer than either one of them could have imagined--and put both of their lives in danger.


My Thoughts:

Before I get into the issues I had with the second book in the I-Team series, let me just say that I did like this book. I really did. Three stars means, for me, I Liked It and I Will Read More of This Series/By This Author. Three stars does not mean that I didn't like it or wouldn't recommend it. In fact it means the opposite. It was steamy and the mystery was well written. The suspense element was there and I definitely stayed up late reading this because I wanted to see what would happen next. So three stars definitely means I liked it and am really looking forward to jumping into the third book soon!

Okay, now on to the issues I did have with the book.  First, Tessa cried all the freaking time.  I get it. The story was upsetting, she was having PTSD from what she witnessed and even if she hadn't seen what she did, having a bunch of crazy people after you and trying to kill you, well it's upsetting. And honestly, a heroine that cries a lot never bothers me. I mean, people, I cry at commercials and Lifetime movies, so I am not one to talk. But for some reason, Tessa really got on my nerves with the crying all the time.   After awhile I wanted to kick her! I think that I could have handled it if, when she was crying, she didn't suddenly (and sometimes inexplicably) flip flop in the next second and be all "I can do this. I can be strong." And then start blubbering again.

I also took issue with her righteous indignation that the cops held the documents for a week before releasing them. She kept going on about how it was wrong etc, but I mean, they weren't doing it to obfuscate justice. they were doing it to give them a lil bit of time to stop the killer and oh yeah, save her freaking life! I mean, a little gratitude and understanding would be the nice thing to do. Or at least something like "I know Chief and Julian, you don't want me to end up raped and murdered nor do you want to give the real bad guy the heads up your closing in. So I'll give you X amount of days to do that before I have to release the information via the paper." Cause if someone was gunning for me, and my life was in serious danger, then I'd do this. It seems more realistic than acting like a righteous defender of freedom of the press and then, because of that attitude nearly getting the people trying to save your life killed. (Yeah, that part really pissed me off. She knew, she knew, not to go there. And she did it anyways. Knowing what could happen. This was a TSTL moment that I had a hard time getting past.)

Now let's talk about Julian. I liked him a whole heckuva lot.  Julian hated himself for awhile and I understood why he did. He had a pretty bad childhood that scarred him. But sometimes he'd say something that really hurt Tessa (the "I'm not a babysitter" really pissed me off) and then they never really talked about it. I mean, I don't remember him apologizing to her. Like at all. Maybe it happened and it was when Tessa was on a crying jag and I missed it (I do admit, I skimmed over some of the crying jags) but I don't remember it. And when he sent the coffee pot back, that bothered me too. It kinda said "nice knowing you", ya know? I know he had to get the task force together but still, it was kind of heartless and made me a tad annoyed with him. But of course, Julian being Julian he made up for this. Eventually. But like so many alpha-type heroes I don't think they know how to speak an apology, I think they give their apologies in orgasms. And far be it from me to complain about this cause ya know, an orgasm, well that's better than any "I'm sorry", isn't it?  *shrugs*

The epilogue was great and was glad to see they didn't rush into babies. Neither of them was ready for that. I also liked to see story-line throughout with Tessa and her mom. Even though I had my issues with this book, it was still well worth the read and I will be reading the rest in the series!

Here are the purchase links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

*This book was a self-purchase and I was not in any way compensated for, or even asked, to review this book. All opinions are my own*

Writing, Reading & Reviewing, Oh My!

It's the first Sunday check in for the second round of ROW80 and time for my Week In Review post. I love these posts because I can look back and see that, yeah, I have gotten things done.  Sometimes I am so busy during the week I don't take stock of it all. So having a day to do that helps me see that I am moving forward, even if it is slowly. Of course there are still things to be done, but hopefully I can keep up the momentum next week.

So let's review what I've been up to this week. I reviewed two books this week on the blog:

Dirty by Megan Hart: This book took me by surprise. I mean, here I thought this would be just another romance with a HEA. Boy was I wrong. Sure there is a love story but talk about gut wrenching...holy hell. This threw me for a loop but it was so worth it.

Own The Wind (Chaos, #1) by Kristen Ashley: This was a fantastic book and totally lived up to my expectations. Loved it and Shy is seriously one of my favorite heroes ever!

I also reviewed three other books on Goodreads. One of those books was a real gem that I had on my kindle app. I reviewed Neanderthal Seeks Human by Penny Reid on Goodreads. If anyone is looking for a well-written, sweet, and hysterically funny book, this might be for you. I absolutely loved it.  I have been gushing about this book to fellow readers all week. Seriously, I don't think I have been this thrilled about a new author in a long time.

I also found via someone's tweet a post that anyone who is a writer and/or nearing the time to publish -however you choose to do it-, or even if you have already published something, may find very helpful. Cara McKenna wrote it over at Wonk-o-Mance and there is a lot of good advice there but most important, I think, is where she talks about balancing the author-stuff (my words) and the writing, and not letting the author stuff get in your way, or get you down.

Lastly, here's how I did on my ROW80 weekly goals:

• Write every day: Done!! I was surprised how easy it was to get back in swing of writing every day but I did it. At least this week I did. I am on track, so far, with my still untitled Camp NaNo project. But not only that, I've also worked about one-third of the way through my first round of revisions on Wanted.  As I've gone through both WiPs I have also added to my outlines where necessary and updated information. Now if only the plot bunnies would go hide in the forest until I am done with these WiPs everything would be perfect! 
• Review a minimum of three books per week (either posted here or on Goodreads): Done! 
• Post Sunday ROW80 Update: Also, done! 
• Catch up on all grading by the end of the week: I'm all caught up other than papers that students handed in on Friday. I will be working on those this afternoon so I can start Monday with a clean slate. Hopefully.
• Work out once per week:  I did get a short walk in. I am still not at 100% from my bout of pneumonia so I am still taking it slow. Doctor's orders and all that. 

At this rate my Round 2 goal of finishing revisions and edits of Wanted will be done in no time. I am not moving up my finish date though. Right now it's set for the end of the round and I will keep it there. This way I don't feel the pressure and I just do a little bit of revisions/edits each day.  Slow and steady wins the race, right?  As for next week's ROW80 goals, they will remain the same.

I hope everyone is having a successful ROW80 and for those participating in Camp NaNo, see you around the camp fire. I'll bring the s'mores! :D