Day: March 5, 2015

Monthly Reads: February 2015

Posted March 5, 2015 by Holly in Features, Giveaways | 11 Comments

monthly reads - big

Holly:  February was the month of Nalini Singh and re-reads for me. Of 23 books, I read 3 new/upcoming releases. All the rest were either Singh’s or re-reads.

 

1. Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase (re-read) | 5 out of 5
2. Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh | 4.5 out of 5
3. Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh | 4 out of 5
4. Bonds of Justice by Nalini Singh | 3.75 out of 5
5. Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh | 4 out of 5
6. Play of Passion by Nalini Singh | 4 out of 5
7. Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh | 4.25 out of 5
8. Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh (re-read) | 4 out 5
9. Rock Courtship by Nalini Singh (re-read) | 4.25 out of 5
10. Rock Hard by Nalini Singh | 3.75 out of 5
11. Midnight Rainbow by Linda Howard (re-read) | 4 out of 5
12. Diamond Bay by Linda Howard (re-read) | 4 out of 5
13. White Lies by Linda Howard (re-read) | 4 out of 5
14. Heartbreaker by Linda Howard (re-read) | 3.5 out of 5
15. The Way Home by Linda Howard (re-read) | 3.25 out of 5
16. Overload by Linda Howard (re-read) | 3 out of 5
17. Golden Trail by Kristen Ashley (re-read) | 3 out of 5
18. Sweet Dreams by Kristen Ashley (re-read) | 4 out of 5
19. Rock Chick: Regret by Kristen Ashley (re-read) | 2.5 out of 5
20. Mate Bond by Jennifer Ashley | 3 out of 5
21. Deep by Kylie Scott | 3.75 out of 5
22. Midnight’s Kiss by Thea Harrison | 4 out of 5
23. Duncan’s Bride by Linda Howard (re-read) | 4.5 out of 5

My favorite reads of the month, excluding re-reads, were Heart of Obsidian and Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh, though I really liked all the Psy/Changeling books I read. Honorable mention goes to Midnight’s Kiss by Thea Harrison. I really liked Julian and Melly.

My least favorite read was Mate Bond by Jennifer Ashley. I liked the romance, but the suspense plot didn’t work for me.

Also? I need to write some reviews.

Rowena: I think I’m in a never ending reading slump. It comes and goes throughout the year but so far, this year? It is staying put. I’m kind of embarrassed at the amount of books that I read (and actually finished) this month.

Check it out:

1. Caressed by Ice (Psy/Changelings #3) by Nalini Singh | 4.75 out of 5
2. The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand | DNF
3. Mine to Possess (Psy/Changelings #4) by Nalini Singh | 3.5 out of 5
4. Rock Hard (Rock Kiss #2) by Nalini Singh | 4.5 out of 5
5. Rock Courtship (Rock Kiss #1.5) by Nalini Singh (re-read) | 4.5 out of 5
6. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger | 4 out of 5
7. Hostage to Pleasure (Psy/Changelings #5) by Nalini Singh | 4.5 out of 5
8. The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler | 3.5 out of 5

My favorite read of the month is Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh because Judd is a straight up studd. I loved the hell out of him and his story rocked my freaking socks. Honorable mentions go out to Rock Hard and my re-read of Rock Courtship. Both books rocked my socks but I loved Judd’s book just a tad bit more.

My least favorite read of the month is probably Mine to Possess since Tally drove me up the wall in that one. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t like Tally throughout a huge chunk of the book so I kept putting that one down.

I DNF’d The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand, not because it wasn’t good but I wasn’t in the mood for it. I had to keep forcing myself to read the book but it’s a downer of a story and the writing itself was good but I didn’t want to get sucked into a book about grief so soon after my brother died and coming up on my Mom’s anniversary of her death. I’ll pick this one up again later and finish it.

This month we’re giving away:

Rock Hard by Nalini Singh (e-book copy)
Heart of Obsidian (print or digital, winner’s choice)

If you want to be entered to win, leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite – and least favorite – reads of the month were. Also, be sure to tell us what book you’re interested in reading. You can put your name in for more than one book, but you’ll only be allowed to win one, so choose wisely.

So…what was your favorite read of the month? And your least favorite? Use the Rafflcopter Widget below to enter!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Guest Review: Rule Breaker by Harper Kincaid

Posted March 5, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Rule Breaker by Harper KincaidReviewer: Tracy
Rule Breaker by Harper Kincaid
Series: Break on Through #1
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Publication Date: March 3rd 2015
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Re-belle-ious, free-spirited Lauren Renwick has decided it’s time to trade her wings for roots. That means no more bad boys, no more foolish choices. Yet when she’s stood up on New Year’s Eve, her resolution to stick to her Mama’s Rules for Dating weakens. Especially when she spots sex-in-leather-and-tattoos, Jackson Sullivan.

One look at Lauren, and Jackson is hell-bent on getting her on the back of his Harley and riding straight for his bed. Their night together is an erotic rush that has a new word popping up on his horizon—forever.

Lauren tries to convince herself he’s just one last fling to get bad boys out of her system, yet she finds herself falling hard and fast for a man with a stalker ex and a meddling Irish family. Plus, he has zero chance of passing her uptight parents’ inspection.

Jackson has Lauren’s back, but if she wants all of his heart, she’ll have to meet him halfway—by ditching rules that hold her prisoner, and learning to stand up for what she really wants.

Warning: Contains several highly practical rules for dating—all of which will be broken in the most wicked ways possible, thanks to a domineering alpha male who knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to go after it...rules be damned.

Tracy’s review of Rule Breaker by Harper Kincaid

Lauren is upset about her New Year’s Eve plans – to say the least. She’s been dating a guy named Keith for about 6 months and right before he was supposed to pick her up for NYE and then a weekend away he calls to say he’s getting back together with his ex. Ok, not a great way to start the new year. She wasn’t too into Keith but it’s still a bummer that she has to spend NYE alone.

Lauren drives around because she wants a drink and all of her friends are out having fun with their dates. She ends up at a biker type bar called Sully’s and ends up meeting the owner of the bar, Jackson Sullivan.

Now Jackson is a bit Alpha. He knows what he wants and he’s not afraid to go after it. He decides he wants Lauren which would be great for her except she’s trying to follow her Mama’s rules and settle down with a nice guy – not a tattooed hottie that would send her mother into fits. She gives in to Jackson almost immediately they spend the night together and soon they’re off at the beach having a weekend together. It happened fast – speed of light fast – but Lauren finds that even though Jackson isn’t what she was looking for he may just be what she needs.

Rule Breaker is sweet sexy read. Jackson is definitely a guy who isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind. You could tell that he truly cared for Lauren throughout the story even though we didn’t get all that much of their story. The book is told in segments – the first meeting and weekend then 4 weeks later then 4 weeks later and then an epilogue. It was a little disconcerting because we didn’t get too deeply into Jax and Lauren’s relationship but what we did get was quite good. I loved the way Jackson stood up for Lauren against everyone – even her parents.

Lauren was strong enough to handle Jackson but I she definitely had some self-confidence issues. Jax helped her with those as well and made others see how great she was as well. I was quite happy when she decided to not follow her Mama’s rules as it was much more fun to be the rebel. 🙂

Overall a good story that I really enjoyed. This is Kincaid’s first book and I look forward to reading others from her in the future.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

 

This title is available from Samhain Publishing, Ltd. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

three-half-stars

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