February 16, 2015 · 8:30 pm

Bear Attraction (Shifters Unbound, #6.5) by Jennifer Ashley

Bear Attraction (Shifters Unbound, #6.5)Bear Attraction by Jennifer Ashley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Title: Bear Attraction
Author: Jennifer Ashley
Series: Shifters Unbound, #6.5
Publisher: Intermix
Date: February 17, 2015

This book was supplied to me through NetGalley for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

This is a great series, although it is darker than some shifter books I read. Shifters are treated as second class citizens and required to wear shock collars to keep their “animal” instincts under control. The human Shifter Bureau is responsible for ensuring that all shifters stay under human control and obey the laws set out for them by humans.

Walker is the human liaison between the Bureau and Shiftertown and because of that none of the shifters trust him. So, of course, Rebecca runs afoul of the Bureau and Rebecca becomes Walker’s responsibility.

Oh yeah, and she also starts to feel the mating instinct with Walker.

This book was a good addition to the Shifters Unbound series. It is definitely an in between book, but still adds to the overall storyline. We get to revisit some of the characters from previous books as well as get hints about future relationships.

The only thing I had a problem with (and this is a personal issue, nothing against the story) is the fact that Rebecca is so much more powerful than Walker. This is only to be expected since she is a bear shifter, but I still had a problem adjusting to that aspect of the story. The author handles the issue by making Walker the more dominant personality.

As I said before, this is an in between book. I don’t recommend reading it as a stand alone, but I highly recommend the entire series. Book seven, Mate Bond, is due out on April 7th, 2015, so you won’t have long to wait.
In other words, you better get reading!

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January 25, 2015 · 10:29 am

Ace’s Wild (Hell’s Eight, #7) by Sarah McCarty

Ace's Wild (Hell's Eight, #7)Ace’s Wild by Sarah McCarty

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Title: Ace’s Wild
Author: Sarah McCarty
Series: Hell’s Eight, #7
Pages: 416
Publisher: HQN Books
Date: January 27, 2015

Summary:

When you gamble with desire, be prepared to risk everything……

Unlike the rest of the Hell’s Eight brotherhood, Ace Parker’s home isn’t on the range. This restless cowboy craves the hustle of Simple, Texas, a lawless town where he can sate his darker appetites without guilt. At least he did, until Petunia Wayfield arrived. The prickly new teacher is insisting that Ace help her rid the town of drunkenness and card playing. For that kind of miracle, Ace demands a reward the spinster schoolmarm will surely never give.

But Petunia isn’t backing down. Not when the intense passion Ace offers shatters her to the core. As soon as she can afford a ticket home back east, she’ll leave Simple behind for good. Until then, she’ll match his sensual challenge with her own, daring him to give up his fiercely guarded self-control. And then real danger claims Petunia, forcing Ace to reveal the man he really is—even if it drives her away forever….

Review:

This book was sent to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Sarah McCarty has done it again. Ace’s Wild, the seventh book in the Hell’s Eight series, is totally satisfying. As in the previous books, there is a strong alpha male and a woman in need of help. This sounds sexist, but the women are strong in their own right. They need help due to circumstances outside of their control.

Which brings me to a focus of Ace’s Wild that I don’t remember from the previous books – social justice – in particular, the lack of support available to women and children who find themselves in a dangerous situation.

Petunia hopes to open a boarding school for children to give them a safe place to live. She is only temporarily in Simple, Texas until she can earn enough money to move to California where she plans to a open a more prestigious school that will serve more children.

Ace does not think he is good enough for “Pet,” but he protects her anyway. He wants her and she wants him, but they are both too stubborn to admit it.
So we have two hardheaded people who both think they know what they want. Add in a kidnapping (a staple in this series), some mild bondage, and interference by good friends and we finally get to a Happily Ever After.

I loved this book and I hate that the series is almost over. I have read Sarah McCarty’s other books – yes, all of them – and they are really good. However, I just have a special place in my heart for the Hell’s Eight. The men are just as damaged by circumstances as the women, but they are good men anyway. You just have to love an alpha male . . . at least the fictional ones.

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January 18, 2015 · 4:31 pm

Adam (Riding Hard, #1) by Jennifer Ashley

Adam (Riding Hard #1)Adam by Jennifer Ashley

Adam Campbell returns to his ranch in Riverbend, Texas, after a movie stunt goes wrong, seriously injuring him. He settles in to heal at his family’s ranch, where his four brothers train stunt horses and do stunt riding for movies, as Adam had before he’d moved to Hollywood.

He’s stunned to find Bailey Farrell working there–Bailey was the shy girl who’d helped Adam graduate from high school so he could run off to be in movies. Except the budding Bailey, with whom Adam had a brief but intense affair, has blossomed into a beautiful woman.

Now Adam is beaten-up, broken-down, and has lost his nerve, since the stunt that injured him killed his best friend. When he’s challenged by his rival to a contest of riding feats, the only person he can turn to is Bailey, who helped him once before.

Will Bailey, who has also come to Riverbend to lick her wounds after a life as a software tech in Austin and a painful divorce, be willing to help him again?
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book. Adam is Jennifer Ashley’s first contemporary romance and it is as wonderful as her other books. Even though Adam is not an alpha shifter or and alpha laird, he is very much an alpha male. He is, however, damaged if not broken. It is up to his first love, Bailey, to prove he is still as strong as he ever was.

As with all her books, the couples are both strong characters. They both have something the other needs and manage to work out their differences.

I am pleased that the next book is about Grant. I really want to hear his and Christina’s story.

I am very, very pleased that there is not a long wait between books. According to the author’s website, all of the books will be published this year . . . and I will be preordering them as soon as they become available.

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January 4, 2015 · 12:22 pm

The Importance of Being Alice (Ainslie Brothers, #1) by Katie MacAlister

The Importance of Being Alice (Ainslie Brothers, #1)The Importance of Being Alice by Katie MacAlister

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Title: The Importance of Being Alice
Author: Katie MacAlister
Series: Ainslie Brothers, #1 (aka A Matchmaker in Wonderland)
Publisher: Signet
Pages: 352
Date: January 6, 2015

Summary:

Nothing about Alice Wood’s life is normal right now. Her fiancé, Patrick, called off their wedding and relationship only days before their nonrefundable wedding trip. And though a luxurious European river cruise for one is just what she needs, it’s not what she gets…

Due to a horrible misunderstanding, Alice is now cramped in her “romantic” suite with one of Patrick’s friends. Instead of cruising along the Rhine, Main, and Danube rivers sipping champagne with the love of her life, she’s navigating the waters with a strange—yet mysteriously handsome—British aristocrat.

An author, Elliot is just looking for some alone time to write. But his stodgy, serious self is about to be sidetracked by a woman who seems to have jumped out of the pages of a fairy tale, one who is determined to shake up his life…and include him in her own happily ever after.

Review:

This book was received from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The last thing Alice needs is an uptight English Lord camped out in her cabin. This was supposed to be a romantic river cruise with her soon-to-be husband. When said fiance dumps her for another woman (the Lord’s sister, no less), Alice decides to enjoy the cruise anyway. Or at least, not lose her deposit. She might as well get something out of her money, if only a place to cry alone.

Noooo! Her ex-fiance gives a friend his ticket and never says a word to Alice and she is stuck with a stranger for a cabin mate.

Poor Elliot. All he wants is somewhere quiet to finish writing his book. He’s behind schedule and needs the money to support the ancestral manor and all his many siblings. He needs not to be disturbed.

And Alice is very disturbing.

Katie MacAlister is a great author. Her books are fun and that is the highest compliment I know. If I want a book that I am sure to enjoy, I know I can always turn to her.

The Importance of Being Alice is no exception. It’s the first book in a new series and jumps from one madcap escapade to another. It has two people with two totally different outlooks on life stuck together in a close environment. Alice is a flighty American and Elliott is an uptight English Lord.

So, of course they fall in love. This is a romance after all.

The problems don’t end there though.

There are falling towers. Near fatal accidents. Unknown fiances (oh right, that’s Alice).

Is it a surprise that Alice down the rabbit hole comes to mind?

The second book, A Midsummer Night’s Romp, comes out May 5, 2015 and I have already ordered my copy. I cannot wait.

There is a discrepancy between the name of the series, so you will need to watch out. In some places it is called The Ainslie Brothers and others list it as A Matchmaker in Wonderland. Whatever it is called, you will want to read these books.

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January 4, 2015 · 11:35 am

The Rosie Effect (Don Tillman, #2) by Graeme Simsion

The Rosie EffectThe Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Title: The Rosie Effect
Author: Graeme Simsion
Series: Don Tillman, #2
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Publisher: Text Publishing Company
Pages: 415

Summary:

‘We’ve got something to celebrate,’ Rosie said.
I am not fond of surprises, especially if they disrupt plans already in place. I assumed that she had achieved some important milestone with her thesis. Or perhaps she had been offered a place in the psychiatry-training programme. This would be extremely good news, and I estimated the probability of sex at greater than 80%.
‘We’re pregnant,’ she said.
The Rosie Project was an international publishing phenomenon, with more than a million copies sold in over forty countries around the world. Now Graeme Simsion returns with the highly anticipated sequel, The Rosie Effect.
Don Tillman and Rosie Jarman are now married and living in New York. Don has been teaching at Columbia while Rosie completes her first year of a psychology degree. Just as Don is about to announce that Gene, his philandering best friend from Australia, is coming to stay, Rosie drops a bombshell: she’s pregnant.
In true Tillman style, Don instantly becomes an expert on all things obstetric. But in between immersing himself in a new research study on parenting and implementing the Standardised Meal System (pregnancy version), Don’s old weaknesses resurface. And while he strives to get the technicalities right, he gets the emotions all wrong, and risks losing Rosie when she needs him most.
Review:

I received this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I loved The Rosie Project and recommended it to several people. Those who read it also loved it. I was thrilled to find out there was a sequel, although I didn’t think one was necessary. It was a great stand alone book.

Having said that, I am so glad I got to read The Rosie Effect. It is another great book and I enjoyed seeing Don and Rose as their relationship progressed. However, it is not as light a book as the first. Rose has gotten pregnant on purpose without discussing it with Don. She is dealing with her own emotional problems which are exacerbated by pregnancy hormones. Mostly, she is terrified that Don won’t be able to emotionally connect with the baby.

Don tries to manage as he has always done . . . by learning as much about pregnancy and small children as he can. This leads to numerous problems involving giving nutritional advice to Rose (not well received), encounters with the law, and court ordered therapy. Since Don knows from his research that Rose should not be stressed, he hides the last two from her.

Actually, I think he would have been safer to have withheld the nutritional advice and told her about his run in with the law.

In a way, this book was heartbreaking. Don tries so hard. He loves Rose and does everything he is capable of doing to keep her happy. It just doesn’t work.

This statement from Don which comes near the end of the book explains so much about his difficulties dealing with others.

“I was suddenly angry. I wanted to shake not just Lydia but the whole world of people who do not understand the difference between control of emotion and lack of it, and who make a totally illogical connection between inability to read others’ emotions and inability to experience their own.”

Make no mistake. The Rosie Effect is a great book. It’s just not as lighthearted as The Rosie Project. Read it. You won’t regret it.

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December 5, 2014 · 4:29 am

Schooled (Mastered, #2.5) by Lorelei James

SchooledSchooled by Lorelei James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First off, this is not a stand alone novella. At 113 pages, it is the icing on the cake of the first two books: Bound and Unwound. Schooled picks up after Unwound and give us a glimpse of Ronin’s life in Japan and the extreme training involved in his martial arts work. The problem is the amount of time and dedication necessary to excel takes Ronin away from Amery. She is left alone in a strange country with nothing to occupy her. Obviously, that is a recipe for trouble.

Since I had a first off, I must have a second point and it is an important one. READ this series! Bound introduced me to an entirely different aspect of BDSM literature. The description of shibari rope bondage is fascinating and the developing relationship between Ronin and Amery is engrossing. It does end on a cliff hanger which just means new readers are lucky enough to not have to wait for book two – Unwound.

I highly recommend all three books to readers who have an interest in descriptions of alternative lifestyles. Prior to this series, I had only read the author’s contemporary westerns which are excellent. This change of direction did not disappoint me.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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November 26, 2014 · 8:00 am

Light My Fire (Dragon Kin, #7) by G. A. Aiken

Light My Fire (Dragon Kin, #7)Light My Fire by G.A. Aiken
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Dragon Kin, #7
Publisher: Zebra
Date: November 25th, 2014
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Comedy
Pages: 496

Book was obtained from NetGalley for an honest review.

The trouble with humans is that they’re far too sensitive. Forget you put a woman in the local jail for a few months – and she takes it so personally! And yet she is the one trying to assassinate the queen. And now I’m trapped with Elina Shestakova of the Black Bear Riders of the Midnight…gods! That endless name!

But what am I to do? I am Celyn the Charming with direct orders from my queen to protect this unforgiving female.

Even more shocking, this unforgiving female is completely unimpressed by me. How is that even possible? But I know what I want and, for the moment, I want her. And I’m sure that she, like all females, will learn to adore me. How could she not when I am just so damn charming?
I adore this series. The dragons are all just so full of themselves. Humans are, for the most part, cattle. But then there are certain humans that scare even the dragons.

Elina Shestakova of the Black Bear Riders of the Midnight Mountains of Despair in the Far Reaches of the Steppes of the Outer Plains is such a human. And yes, that really is her name. You do have to sympathize with Celyn the Charming on this one.

Elina has been sent by her tribal leader to kill the dragon queen Rhiannon the White, but her heart’s not really in it. She is easily captured and imprisoned and that is where the trouble starts. Celyn forgets about her. He leaves her to rot in a human jail . . . for months.

For some reason, she resents that and is not properly grateful when he does have her released.

There are so many plots and subplots in this book. It’s also a reunion of characters from most if not all of the previous Dragon Kin books. I loved catching up with everyone and seeing how their lives have developed.

On that note, I do recommend you keep the author’s Dragon Kin Glossary at hand.
http://gaaiken.com/reading-order/glos…

It really does help in keeping everyone straight.

Anyway, a religious cult is sweeping the lands and Rhiannon wants to make an alliance with the Tribes of the Steppes. Everything in the book spins from this need for an alliance.

As in all of Ms. Aiken’s (aka Shelly Laurenston) books, the humor is what makes them so wonderful. There is humor in the personalities of the characters. There is humor in the situations they find themselves in . . . and there is even humor in the architecture.

No, really! Wait until you read about the cult’s temples.

I highly recommend this entire series. It’s hard for me to say this book can be read on its own because it brings back so many of the characters from previous books. I think to truly enjoy it, you should read the entire series . . . back to back. I know I am going to with the release of the next book.

Now when is that going to be? I want it now!

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November 2, 2014 · 4:14 pm

Jason (Anita Blake, #23) by Laurell K. Hamilton

Jason (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #23)Jason by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Jove
Format: ebook
Date/Year: December 2, 2014
Series: Anita Blake, #23

This book was provided to me through NetGalley for an honest review.

“Enjoying pain with your pleasure is something you either get, or you don’t. If you get it, then you don’t really need it explained, because you know how good it feels, and if you don’t get it then no amount of talking is going to convince you it makes sense.”

But sometimes you have to explain the unexplainable, especially if the love of your life needs to understand, or she’ll leave you. Jason Schuyler is one of Anita Blake’s best friends and favorite werewolves, with benefits. J.J. is his lady love, an old flame from childhood who dances at one of the top ballet companies in New York. She’s accomplished, beautiful, and she’s crazy about him, too. Neither of them wants to be monogamous, so what could go wrong?

J.J. is enthusiastically bisexual, with an emphasis on the female side of things. She plans to keep sleeping with women, because Jason can’t meet that need, just like she can’t meet Jason’s need for rough sex and bondage. J.J. doesn’t understand why Jason isn’t content to go elsewhere for a need she can’t fulfil, so Jason asks Anita to help him explain.

Anita is having her own relationship growing pains with her only female lover ever, Jade. Jason suggests that J.J. might be able to help Anita with her girl problem, while she helps him with his kinky explanations. With some encouragement from a few other lovers in Anita’s life she reluctantly agrees, and J. J. makes plans to fly into town for an experience that none of them will ever forget.

I love the Anita Blake books. Some of them more than others, just like any other series, but I love them. I know a lot of reviewers have issues with the extended sex scenes, but I enjoy them.

This book, however, starts out as being about just the sexual relationships. It has too much dialogue with nothing else happening. There is no plot besides the relationships. There is not a bad guy/vampire/demon/etc. for Anita to fight. It is all about the people.

And you know what? It worked.

I especially liked the fact that Anita is forced into recognizing she can’t be the emotional support for everyone she is linked to. She has said that before, but in this book I believe she really accepts it and realizes she has to take a stand with some of her partners.

My main criticism of the book is that neither Jean Claude nor Micah make an appearance. I love both of these characters and I want my fix!

However, beautiful, beautiful Nathaniel does have a large part, so I guess I can’t complain too much.

Yes, this book is all about the relationships, especially the sexual relationships, but it really does add a lot to Anita’s emotional growth. I can’t wait to see how that is manifested in the next book: Dead Ice. The release date is June 5th, 2015.

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November 1, 2014 · 5:41 pm

Rocky Mountain Miracle by Christine Feehan

Rocky Mountain MiracleRocky Mountain Miracle by Christine Feehan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Pocket Star
Format: ebook
Date/Year: November 17, 2014 (originally published in 2004)

This book was provided to me through NetGalley for an honest review.

When Cole Steele, a womanizer rumored to have killed his father, meets Maia Armstrong, a veterinarian rumored to practice magic, the sizzling romance could melt all the snow on his Wyoming ranch. And when an injured horse brings them together, Cole can’t help but believe that Maia casts spells on animals—and men. What else could explain the burning passion he feels for her and the thawing of his heart just in time for Christmas?

I have been a fan of Christine Feehan since I discovered her Carpathian series years ago. I love the Drake Sisters series and her Ghostwalker series as well. All of these are heavy on the paranormal or parapsychic so I was not sure what to expect with a straight, contemporary romance . . . but it’s not.

Maia is a traveling veterinarian. She has the ability to see images from the animals around her which makes her job so much easier. However, humans don’t understand her ability and so she can never stay long in one place. And she longs for a permanent home and family.

Cole doesn’t know what home and family mean. He and his much younger brother were both emotionally and physically abused by their father. After he was killed, the brothers inherit his ranch and all his millions.

But, who murdered their father? Was it either of them? If so, it was certainly justified.

Feehan does an excellent job of showing the damage done to both men through the use of flashbacks and their reactions to things other people treat as normal.

Regardless of the title, Maia’s healing influence is not shown as a miracle, but as result of developing love.

My heart broke for both brothers and it was wonderful to see how Feehan, with Maia’s help, brought their lives around.

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October 19, 2014 · 10:44 am

Heart Fire (Celta’s Heartmates, #13) by Robin D. Owens

Heart Fire (Celta's Heartmates, #13)Heart Fire by Robin D. Owens

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On the planet Celta, accepting a HeartMate can be the greatest challenge in the universe…

 

Antenn, an architect hired to build a cathedral in Druida City, dares not think of his HeartMate. Even though he yearns for her, he’s taken steps to ensure she will be forever unknown to him. After all, how could he, a commoner who grew up in the slums, the brother of a murderer, be worthy of any woman?

Tiana, a priestess, has her own fears about being a HeartMate. She’s watched her friends struggle with such a stormy destiny. She’s sure her HeartMate has never claimed her due to a terrible scandal involving her Family, and she’s set aside hopes for love.

Antenn’s gotten the commission of his life. The cathedral will make him famous, but more, it will last for ages and prove to others he can contribute to Celta…if the controversial structure isn’t destroyed while being built. Tiana, too, is an integral part of this process, but the villain who wrecked her Family is ready with firebombs. Can they trust each other in dangerous circumstances to succeed…and to love?

Thirteen? This can’t possibly be the thirteenth story in the Celta’s Heartmates series. I have loved these books since the first one was published. I have no idea how I discovered them, but I am so glad I did. Like every series, there are some books (and Fams) I prefer more than others, but I enjoy them all.

Heart Fire is one of the good ones. Antenn and Tiana are both likeable people with their own personal problems to overcome. Antenn comes from a violent background and Tiana suffered from a violent episode in her childhood. Both of them keep too much bottled inside which interferes with the Heartbond.

They are both dedicated to their careers and neither feel that it is the right time to begin a serious relationship. Sex? Of course. There is plenty of time for a sexual relationship, but not time enough to commit to a Heartbond.

But this is Celta and the Heartbond will win out.

Antenn’s Famcat Pinky was introduced in an earlier book and has been with him since he was a child. Tianna has just met her Famcat Ratkiller although he also made a small appearance in an earlier book. Another recurring character is the Turquoise House. He is a young sentient house and I love him. I enjoyed watching his development towards becoming a Residence.

Since this is the thirteenth book, there is plenty of history available. The author does an excellent job of reminding longtime fans of what has happened before without overwhelming them with backstory. However, there is enough backstory to keep new readers from being confused.

I have to say, she gives just enough of the earlier books to make me want to go back and read them again.

Heart Fire is wonderful as a stand alone novel, but I highly recommend the entire series. We’re in the next generation of characters and it is fun to see their lives now.

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