Month: August 2013

What Are You Reading? (167)

Posted August 30, 2013 by Rowena in Features | 5 Comments

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Rowena:  I put myself on a reading ban this week because I had to take care of some serious review writing business.  After I caught up on all of my reviews, I let myself read Run to You by Rachel Gibson which was a short but cute read and made me want more of the same.  So I’m going to pick up Blue by You by Rachel Gibson today and get that read.

After that, I’m not sure what I’m going to start.  Probably, Into the Deep by Samantha Young.  I’ve been hearing good things about that one and Ames told me that I need to read it and I always do what Ames tells me to do….mostly. =)

Holly: Ha. You do not always do what Ames tells you. Liar.  Not even mostly.

I read Rumor Has It by Jill Shalvis last night. What a fabulous read. I loved Griffin and Kate. You should definitely go forth and preorder.

Aside from that, I read  (Never) Again by Theresa Paolo, Stealing Phin by Avery Hale (free @ Smashwords until tomorrow!! http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/350756), Into the Deep by Samantha Young and Too Fast by Alexia Haynes this week. As you can see, I’ve been on a bit of a New Adult kick lately. Honestly, I didn’t love any of these. I didn’t necessarily dislike any of them, but I can’t say I loved them.

I didn’t connect with the narrator of (Never) Again. As it’s told in the first person that means I didn’t really connect with the story, either. Stealing Phin was a little too light for me. It read as a silly romp, which isn’t my preferred type of rom com. I’m sure others will enjoy it, but it wasn’t for me.

Into the Deep was good, but it had a to be continued ending, something I didn’t know before going in. I really hate to be left waiting. Plus, the characters read a lot of the young side of 18. You read my review of Too Fast here.

I haven’t decided what I’ll read next. I might catch up on the last few In Death books. I’m ready for a change of pace.

What are you reading this week?


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Review: Things Good Girls Don’t Do by Codi Gary

Posted August 30, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 2 Comments

Good girls don’t steal.
Good girls don’t visit sex shops.
Good girls don’t have one-night stands.

For Katie Conners, being a good girl just isn’t worth it anymore. It used to mean getting the life she always wanted. But that was before she got dumped and her ex got engaged to his rebound. So, after a bad day and one too many mojitos, Katie starts making a list of things a girl like her would never do, not in a million years . . .

As a tattoo artist with a monster motorcycle, Chase Trepasso isn’t the kind of guy you bring home to mom and dad.

And when he finds Katie’s list in a bar, he’s more than happy to help her check off a few items. Especially the ones on the naughtier side . . .

Katie’s more than tempted by Chase’s offer, as long as they keep things uncomplicated. But as they spend more time together, she may just wind up breaking the most important rule of all: Good girls don’t fall in love with bad boys.

It’s been 8 months since Katie’s live-in boyfriend cheated on her and moved out. She’s wanted to tell him how she really thought about him but never did. When she receives an invitation to his wedding (Jimmy and Katie were together for almost 7 years and he never proposed!!) she doesn’t want to be by herself. She heads off to the local bar and while sipping mojitos she decides that she needs to make a list of all the things she’s always been told NOT to do. You see Katie was raised by a wonderful mother but she was always holding Katie to a certain standard – one Katie lived up to. Katie however is a bit sick of “being good” or at least letting the townspeople walk all over her because she’s always too nice to tell them how she really feels.

Katie ends up with 10 things on her list but never plans on accomplishing any of them. That’s until Chase – the hunk who owns the local tattoo parlor – shows up and while just joking around takes the list. Katie’s mortified until Chase shows up at her house and offers to help her accomplish her list. Katie decides to take him up on it and what starts as a joke turns into something deeper for both of them. Unfortunately not everyone loves the “new Katie” and they certainly don’t care for Chase hanging around her as they feel he’s the one being the bad influence on Katie.

This was such a sweet book! I really loved both Katie and Chase and loved them together as well.

Chase was such an unknowingly sweet guy. He said he wasn’t romantic but he was always performing sweet gestures with Katie that he didn’t realize could be labeled romantic. He was kind, smart, humorous and not afraid to stand up to the townspeople. He did have some demons in his head telling him that he wasn’t good enough for Katie but he totally was and I loved it when he eventually realized that himself.

Katie was a great character. She was considered goody-goody but she didn’t want to be. She didn’t want to be rude or nasty but she didn’t want to be someone who could be walked all over either. She had been like that for too long and she wanted to find a happy medium between the two. She had doubts about Chase at first but soon got over them. I loved seeing the two of them with their pillow talk as it just seemed such a normal thing to do.

There was a part of the book having to do with Chase’s mother and I have to tell you that was one of the sweetest things I’ve ever read. Chase realizing how much his mother loved him even though he never knew before was just heartbreaking and wonderful at the same time. The way the whole thing was written was so well done.

I really liked this book a lot and definitely recommend it. It wasn’t too long and can be read in just a sitting. If you need a good book to pick up you should keep this one in mind.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Codi Gary


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Guest Review: Bridal Armor by Debra Webb

Posted August 30, 2013 by Judith in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review:  Bridal Armor by Debra WebbReviewer: Judith
Bridal Armor (Colby Agency, #51) by Debra Webb
Series: Colby Agency #51
Publisher: Harlequin, Harlequin Intrigue
Publication Date: August 20th 2013
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Pages: 224
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Two agents' forgotten love is rekindled in USA TODAY bestselling author Debra Webb's Colby Agency: The Specialists series.

Someone was out to get Thomas Casey. His profession had taught him to trust no one. So when Johara di Rossi abducted him on his way to his beloved niece's wedding, Thomas assumed the worst—despite their intimate history.

Though attachments made him vulnerable, Thomas was haunted by regret for walking away from Jo years ago. No other woman had stirred such intense desire in him. Now, snowbound in an isolated cabin, with a determined enemy from his past closing in, suspicion begins to melt away as the embers of their passion reignite.

Wow!  This is a really complicated novel that will keep lovers of espionage and mystery on the edge of their seats.  The director of a government agency that is a branch of the CIA that isn’t supposed to exist is on the way to his niece’s wedding to give the bride away.  But what starts out as a bit of family leave time turns into a witch hunt by those who are trying to end not only Thomas Casey’s career but his life as well.  Intercepted by a woman who was his lover five years previously, Thomas begins to understand the extent to which his enemy has gone to do him great harm, and possibly those he loves.  What he doesn’t plan on is the renewal–the resurgence of his gut-deep attraction to Jo Rossi in spite of the fact that she is the governmental equivalent to Internal Affairs and may well be a part of the conspiracy.

This novel is layer upon layer of trouble, so much so that the reader will have a hard time deciding who the bad guys are. The sexual tension between Jo and Thomas keeps on building throughout the novel and the relentless nature of the enemy’s action against Thomas never lets up.  Ms Webb has written a story that literally leaps off the page continually and it was one of those that I started and didn’t put it down except for bathroom breaks.

This series of novels have been wonderful reading and it is always fun to re-visit characters that have figured prominently in past stories.  That all this murder and mayhem is set against the backdrop of a family wedding is sheer genius on the part of the author.  It is certainly a study in contrasts and yet it seems to ramp up the tension even more.  There’s not a lot of erotic action in this novel.  Yet it is deeply erotic in that the intent is there, the tension is palpable, and the sense that it was going to happen eventually–but we just don’t know when.   Just goes to show that the sexiest novels are sometimes those were the sex is implied or delayed.  That is certainly the case here.

Harlequin’s “Intrigue” imprint has come out with some wonderful stories.  This one is no exception.  And if you have been reading Ms Webb’s books in this particular series you will love this one as well.

I give the novel a rating of 4.25 out of 5.

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This book is available from Harlequin Intrigue.  You can buy it here or here in e-format.

four-stars


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