My Weekly Reading (10-21-12 and 10-28-12)

I was ready to incredulously declare this a smut-free week until I remembered that I read a book by Charlotte Stein, who writes some of the filthiest books I have ever read.   Oh well.  Nuts to that.


The Best...

Remember a few weeks back when I said I was hoarding Karina Bliss' backlist?  Well, I was in just the right mood for some short category romances so I raided the whole stash.

Like Father Like Son - Karina Bliss

I really liked this one. A spunky teacher helps a divorced dad connect with his ten-year-old daughter and then the two fall into a short-term relationship (that turns complicated, naturally) before she's set to return home to New Zealand.  The romance was really enjoyable.  However, this book is part of a multi-author series, and a significant portion of the story is taken over by the overarching familial drama.  While I found that stuff to be rather confusing and hard to keep track of, I also found it interesting enough (and superbly soap-y) to make me consider tracking down the other books in the series.

Weekly Reading (10/14/12)

A very satisfying conclusion to a somewhat frustrating trilogy, hilarious dragon shifters,and more..

The Best:

Tempting The Bride- Sherry Thomas

Only Sherry Thomas could take an amnesia plot and make it amazing. 

This is the third book in the Fitzhugh Trilogy which follows the romantic entanglements of a trio of siblings in Victorian England.  I enjoyed the first one, Beguiling The Beauty, which had an odd revenge/hidden identity plot and I loved the second one, Ravishing The Heiress, even though every page made me want to crawl into a fetal position and just cry my eyes out.

Helena Fitzhugh and David Hillsborough have way too much baggage between them.  She's fixated upon an old love who is now an unhappily married man.  He's been in unrequited love with her for half of his life but has spent so many years purposefully antagonizing her to hide his feelings from scrutiny that he's finding it impossible to break the pattern no matter how badly he wants to. Luckily for them, Helena's poor decisions and a not-really-all-that-selfless white knight move on David's part throw the two together and a carriage accident and case of amnesia gives them the chance to wipe the slate clean just long enough to start building something real.

I did not anticipating loving this book.  Helena came off really brittle and rather selfish in her sibling's books, David came off a bit too smarmy and pervy, and amnesia is such a cheesy plot device.  What hooked me initally is the depth of David's unrequited love.  He's not screwing around, he's a goner for this woman but he's also a hopeless mess.  He had me rooting for him almost right off the bat and never disappointed.

Gosh, Sherry Thomas is a great writer.  She sucks you in and then digs her claws in deep.  I've now read all of her books.  Guess it's time to make second passes now.  (Incidentally, the number of times Sherry Thomas has made me cry while on vacation: 2.  It's time to stop taking her books on vacation, obviously.)

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.

Weekly Reading (Playing Catch-Up: Part 2)

Well, here is my promised All Kristen Ashley: All The Time edition.

Kristen Ashley is a self-published author who writes massively long romance novels featuring asshole alpha males.  Her novels are such guilty pleasures.  They're affordable (the e-editions, anyways), fast, easy-to-read, and highly addicting.  However, they often can be found to be very lacking in the editing department, have rambling structures, and have male leads who can easily cross the line from "asshole hero" to "full-on asshole."  Nonetheless, I got totally hooked.


The Best:

Motorcycle Man [Dream Man #4] - Kristen Ashley

This book blindsided me.  I was completely unprepared for how hard this book knocked me on my ass.

It starts with heroine Tyra acting out of character by having a lust-fueled encounter with a sexy biker, falling down with a sudden case of insta-love, and then unceremoniously getting the heave-ho.  Only thing is, she maybe kinda forgot to tell the biker that she's his new secretary so Monday morning proves awkward and confrontational.  He has a no-sleeping-with-employees policy and she's pissed and too stubborn to back down.  Tyra's a very independent person who is used to taking the safe path and is not looking to make waves or get involved in a messy situation.  Tack's an aggressive man who thrives on a challenge.  An awesome romance full of passion and fighting and acrobatic sexytimes ensues.

Tack is not just a biker.  He's the leader of a full-on biker gang.  The misogyny rampant in biker culture was probably my biggest issue with the book but it didn't end up overshadowing my enjoyment of the rest of the novel.  I think that's probably because Tyra was good at not letting Tack run roughshod over her and didn't back down when he'd overstepped or crossed a boundary.

Did I previously mention how damn sexy Tack is?  He's a scary biker gang leader and a dominant, controlling, aggressive man.  He is also, in his own completely unconventional way, one incredibly sexy and romantic bastard.  A couple of choice Tack quotes:

 "We’re seein’ where this goes because we both want that. And we want that because what we got is hot and parts of it are sweet and parts of it are wild and parts of it are frustrating as all fuckin’ hell but all of it is alive."

 “No, baby, I’m not scaring you. You’re just scared. You give me a little more, you’ll see I’ll protect it. More, I’ll protect that too. More, I got that too. When you give it all to me, if it works with us in a way that lasts, you’ll never be scared. You’ll feel safe enough to have your eyes open, your arms up and you’ll enjoy the fuck outta the ride. I’ll see to that, Red, and that’s a promise.”

The day after I finished this book, I felt so bereft that I went back and reread all of my favorite bits (which pretty much means every single glorious knock-down drag-out fight between Tyra and Tack).  Of the four Kristen Ashley books I've read, this is easily still my favorite one.

My Weekly Reading (Playing Catch-Up: Part 1)

I am so far behind.  Here's me playing catch-up for a while:

The Best:

Captives Of The Night - Loretta Chase

This is a Loretta Chase that's been sitting on my ereader for ages and, since it's an older novel of hers, I expected it to be a bit rusty.  Yeah, no.  I really loved this one.  It's bent a little more to mystery than romance in tone and plot.  Mysteries aren't my favorite genre but I loved this one because it's atypical  in that the villain of the story, really, is the murder victim and the two leads aren't trying to bring his killer to justice so much as they were just trying to get some closure on a sticky situation.

The murder mystery may have been the main plot but I thought the romance was really strong as well.  The heroine, Leila, is not your average romance heroine.  She can be tempermental and closed off and when she flies into a rage, she's a force to be recconed with.  Luckilly, her hero's a reformed villain and he has no problem keeping up with her incredibly perceptive mind, cutting insights, and blinding rages. In fact, he finds her downright captivating.  I loved them together. Another great one by Loretta Chase.

My Weekly Reading Recap (9/16/12)

Due to a case of THE STUPID COLD THAT WILL NOT DIE AFTER 7 DAMN DAYS there will be no reading wrap-up this week.  I'll bundle the two very awesome books I read this week in with next week's wrap-up.  See ya then.

Weekly Reading Recap (9/9/12)

Whoops, I forgot another book last time.  Luckily, I tackled a large book this week so the quantity is less than usual.  Fun smut, far more man-on-man action than normal, and 80's craziness ensues...

The Best...

Feeling Hot - Elle Kennedy

So, remember when I got excited last week when I read an erotic short where two straight dudes didn't freak out about touching each other in a threesome situation?  Boy did this take that to another level.  An awesome level.

Perviness aside, this was a really great romance.  The two main characters are a Navy Seal just home from a long deployment and the sister of his C.O. who is dealing with a creepy stalker ex-boyfriend situation.  The two are great together.  They have great chemistry, get along well, and really compliment and support each other.  I didn't think the erotic bits were the least bit superfluous, but without them, this still would have been a very solid contemporary romance.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My Weekly Reading Recap: 9/2/12

An all e-book edition!  Woo.

Also, I didn't get the 8/26 recap done before leaving for a Labor Day weekend vacation extravaganza so this is a double-spectacular-bonus-edition.  Woo.

I'm done wooing now.  I promise.  Anyways...

The Best...

The Pirate Next Door - Jennifer Ashley

I usually don't care much for pirates.  Pirate-speak makes me want to stab someone.  Also, I find that "pirate" is often used as shorthand for "overbearing asshole who does whatever he wants."

None of that here.  What is here, though, is a sexy next door neighbor who has a really hard time buttoning his shirt up all of the way (hee), an exceptionally sensible and smart heroine, and lots of crafty pirate intrigue.  There's also some very fun shipboard sexytimes and lots and lots of unabashed pirate nudity.  Ah, pirate nudity.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and plan to read lots more by Jennifer Ashley.

My Weekly Reading: 8/19/2012

Lot of novellas and shorts this week and a great book I somehow forgot to mention last week.


The Best...

One Night Rodeo (Blacktop Cowboys #4) - Lorelei James

Whoops, I forgot this one last week.  I love Lorelei James like mad, and this latest release is one of her best yet.  Kyle and Celia have been antagonizing one another since childhood and have been dancing around each other romantically for the last couple of books in this series.  In the wake of one fateful drunken Vegas wedding and a major familial upheaval, the two decide to temporarily join forces while both are secretly wondering if they can manage to turn their accidental marriage into a real happily ever after.  An incredibly endearing and sexy romance ensues.  I just know this one's going to end up really high on my list of "favorite Lorelei James books ever."

My Weekly Reading: 8/12/12

Ok, lets start things out with an admission.  I'm fudging this week's reading wrap-up.  I haven't blogged in forever, and when I went to start this entry two memorable books missed my one-week cut-off.  So I'm cheating.  I may eventually go back and cover "Great Shit I Read While Not Blogging" but in case I don't, I'm fudging a little.  It's my blog, I reserve the right to do whatever the hell I want when I want to.

Anyways...


The Best...

All Fall Down - Megan Hart

Pheww.  This was a really riveting  novel about two women dealing with the complete upheaval of their lives.  One is dealing with the sudden appearance of her husband's surprise 19 yr-old daughter and her three kids, all of whom have spent the entirety of their lives in a cult.  The other, the surprise daughter, is dealing with a jarring assimilate into the regular world (or "blemished" world as she thinks of it) after having spent her entire life under intense cult indoctrination.  I was utterly sucked into this book but I have to say that I'm really glad that I'm one of those people who is utterly incapable of not peeking at the end of books because I would have chewed my nails off with worry if I hadn't known what direction things were generally going in.

Springsteen Gems

So, I'm tooling around on YouTube and somehow come across...

Jon Stewart praising Bruce Springsteen at the 2009 Kennedy Center Awards?  Awesome.



The Sting performance at the end is fine but I had just watched Springsteen sing it himself so it unfortunately paled in comparison.


Eddie Vedder doing this though?



Made me tear up just like Bruce.

All of the songs in this post are from Springsteen's 9-11 album "The Rising," which I tend to forget about because it makes me cry. I should add it back onto my ipod. They are very beautiful songs.

Man Titty Fun Time!

So, I bought a 90's Johanna Lindsey romance novel at the charity book shop the other day.  The cover looks like this:

And then I flipped to see the splash page and...

Holy crap!  It's a genuine vintage Fabio cover!  I don't think I've ever actually read and/or owned one of those before.  Look at the man titty!!  And what the hell?  Is that a panther?  Why is there a panther?


Just glorious.  I really hope this book can live up to that artwork.

Weekly Reading Wrap-Up

Reading slump!!

I finished one solitary book last week.  For some reason, I decided I was being lazy by reading a bunch of quick romance novels.  So I decided to pick up a thick mass market fantasy novel off of my unread shelves and force myself to finish it.  This was a bad idea on a number of levels.  So, I spent the week mostly slogging through a book I couldn't muster much interest in even though I think I would have enjoyed it if I had read it at another time.  I haven't finished it yet, but I honestly have no desire to do so.  I think I'm going to consider it "read" at this point and throw it into the basement book storage for a while.  I'll finish it one day.

So, the one book I did finish?  A short romance novel, naturally.  Luckily, it was a great one.

"Once A Ferarra Wife..." by Sarah Morgan.

A Sarah Morgan book can fall anywhere on the spectrum between love and hate for me. This one was firmly on the "love" side. It's a great angsty reconciliation romance about a separated married couple who are both desperately in love with each other but also desperately afraid of screwing it all up again and getting hurt. This one's full of anguish and pain but in a glorious way.

The main characters have been separated for two years in the wake of a painful miscarriage.  The heroine has incredibly deep-seated trust issues and her husband let her down when she was at her most vulnerable.  The husband acknowledges that his behavior wasn't ideal but he's pretty pissed off at his wife for abandoning a solid marriage because of one single misstep on his part.  It takes a lot of back and forth to reach middle ground.

I really loved this book.  As soon as I finished it, I desperately wanted to read it again.


Next Up: Lusty steampunk werewolf wild-west vampire hunters... and a rather delightful regency romance.  Those two things have nothing in common.

Movie Trailer of Awesome

I feel like movie trailers have gotten completely uninspiring lately (it doesn't help that the actual movies have done the same thing).

So, imagine my complete delight when I stumbled upon the following while cruising around on the Xbox last night:



Love!

And here's a more normal trailer with a better hint at the actual plot:



Looks seriously promising come August.

Weekly Reading Wrap-Up:

This week's selections were pretty good.  And I spread the love around source-wise.  One was from the library, one from my e-reader, and one off the unread shelves.

First up...

Lucy March's "A Little Night Magic" is a supernatural chick lit novel.  Yeah, I know some people hate the term "chick lit" but I like it so I'm going to use it. 

This was a light book with some dark edges and lots of smart and funny quips.  I liked that the romance had already started before the book did.  The two characters already had a strong friendship established and I thought that base line was set up and then built off of really nicely. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book but I thought it could have been tighter.  Something just felt a little off and too loose with the plotting and storytelling and I'm not exactly sure what.  It was a fun read, and I'll definitely read the next book when it comes out next year, but I'm not sorry I borrowed this one from the library.

"Devil's Bride" by Stephanie Laurens was another $0.99 e-book deal that I had heard good things about.  I'm a sucker for a simple classic-style historical romance and that's exactly what this turned out to be.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The plot is basically: Duke meets classy governess.  He pretty much immediately decides that since she's attractive, smart, comes from a noble family, can definitely keep her cool in a sensitive situation, and doesn't appear to be at all intimidated by him... he's totally going to marry her.  As soon as he can convince her to say yes (this takes a lot of work on his part).  There's a very obvious whodunit murder mystery in the works too but the book is mostly wooing and post-wooing bliss.  I found it highly enjoyable.

Also, the classic euphemism-happy historical romance sexy times made me laugh (in a delightfully good way).  A lot.  My favorite bit was when they're making out at one point and the heroine thinks about how she wants him to "fill the molten void within her" and then a few paragraphs later the hero promises to "make that molten heat inside of you explode."  As soon as he said it, my first thought was "How the hell do you know which crazy euphemism she's using inside her head?"  Heh.  Too funny.

  
Julie James' "A Lot Like Love" was so very good.  Julie James kicks ass.  Her books are so slick and fun and they feature smart and sexy professionals who are good at their jobs. 

This one involved an heiress/wine entrepreneur and a rough and tumble FBI agent working an undercover operation together.  Male love interest, Nick, could be a little jerky at times, but his constant deployment of his patented "don't-fuck-with-me-face" never ceased to make me chuckle.  Oh, and he was super adorable on the phone with his mother.  That was a definite plus.

The heroine, Jordan, was also great and I especially loved the loving yet sarcastic interactions she had with her family.  I am super excited that her "Twitter Terrorist" twin brother is the lead in James' next book.  I'm really looking forward to it.