Weekly Reading (Playing Catch-Up: Part 3)

Almost there.  I swear.  Lots of quickie reviews in this bunch.

The Best...

Beyond Shame - Kit Rocha

A kinky erotic dystopian romance with gang violence, bootlegging, cage-fighting, public sex, BDSM, girl-on-girl action, and some serious themes of female empowerment.  This book was definitely what I like to call a "kitchen sink book."  A little bit of everything there.  I can't wait for the next book to come out as I am on the edge of my seat waiting to see how the couple in that one will manage to bridge the seemingly insurmountable gap between them.  Cannot wait.

Note:  This is a new pseudonym and series for Moira Rogers.  I already really liked Moira Rogers work, but this is easily my favorite so far.  I love the new direction.

The Pirate Hunter's Lady [Regency Pirates #2] - Jennifer Ashley

More regency pirates!  Revenge!  Kidnapping!  Shipwrecks!  More unabashed pirate nudity!  I really enjoyed this one.  It's got a complex hero and a smart heroine with a backbone of steel  I really need to finish this series and then start on Ashley's non-pirate historicals.


The Rest...

When Love Awaits by Johanna Lindsey:  Oh man.  I have to read more old school Johanna Lindsey medievals.  This was utterly absurd and yet I was thoroughly entertained.  How absurd you ask?  Well, two people get married and even consummate said marriage without seeing each other's faces.  And that's only the tip of the crazypants iceberg, I tell ya. 

Seduction and Snacks/Futures and Frosting by Tara Sivec: So, I somehow accidentally purchased and read Twilight fanfic.  I have no idea how that happened except to say that even though I now know the connection, I have absolutely no idea how the two bodies of work are at all related to each other.  But anyway.  These books.  They were crass, crude, and bawdy-as-all get out.  I seriously doubt more than two pages went by in either book without someone uttering the words "vagina," "balls," or "penis." These were fun as I read them, but I don't think I'll be reading any more works by this author.

Down and Dirty Bundle by Moira Rogers: These left me underwhelmed.  Three short wild-western-esque werewolf romances.  The third story was easily my favorite.  I apparently have a great fondness for romances involving whorehouse madams and lawmen.

Caddygirls by V.K. Sykes:  Meh.  This is a sports romance featuring a would-be-professional female golfer and it underwhelmed me.  The fact that male lead is involved in a never-ever-a-good-idea bet that involves getting an unsuspecting woman to have sex with him did it no favors.  That plot line never works unless your name is Jennifer Crusie and you're turning it onto it's ear.

Make Me by Cherise Sinclair: This one just did not work for me.  There's a sgnificant suspense plot involving a ring of human traffickers targeting submissive women and it just dragged everything down for me.  This is why I don't read romantic suspense.  I really don't like mixing rape and murder in with my romance.


A most unfortunate DNF:

Dear Enemy by Jean Webster:  Dear Daddy Long Legs is my absolute favorite childhood book.  It's the very first book I ever remember choosing for myself, it's got a spunky orphan heroine, and I love it with my whole heart.  This sequel?  I could not finish.  I just could not.  Both novels are epistolary but whereas Judy is a delightful narrator in the first book, Sally is a pain in the ass in the sequel.  Unfortunately, Sally's utterly irritating narration isn't what final sank this book for me.  The book was written in 1915 and revolves around the running of  a charitable orphan asylum.  As such, the topic of eugenics is portrayed casually and in a positive light quite frequently.  I knew about it going into the novel but I was unprepared for how prevalent the subject was in the book and how seriously it would affect me. There reached a point where I just couldn't stomach it any more so Dear Enemy was a DNF for me.


Next Up: Hilarious dragon shifters and the crazy badass powerhouse women who love them (someone has to keep those arrogant bastards in line).  Also, some more e-reader clean-up.