Tag: Tere Michaels

What I Read Last Week

Posted April 12, 2010 by Tracy in Features | 21 Comments

Happy Monday!

At least I hope it’s a happy Monday for most of you. 🙂 My kids are back at school today after having a week off. I love it when they’re off…I get to sleep in an extra half hour in the mornings and I love letting them stay up a little later and not having to impose the strict bed times. I think they like it too. 🙂 The kids did spend a few days at my parents house last week which was nice for them and for hubby and me as well. We got to spend more one on one time together and I got a ton of reading done as well.

So what I read…

First up was Love and Loyalty by Tere Michaels. Michaels’ second book and a good one, I must say. This is the story of Jim, a workaholic cop with great, well meaning friends and Griffin, a screenwriter from Hollywood who is writing a story about a case that Jim was deeply involved in. The two men meet for dinner “to discuss the script” and one thing leads to another. They go back to Jim’s place and then are just…together. I loved seeing how comfortable the two men were together – enough that Jim just let Griffin stay at his place and it just kept going. It was just a sweet story and I loved it.. I can’t wait to read Duty and Devotion – the newest book 4.5 out of 5

Next up was Winter Kiss by Deborah Cooke. This is book 4 in the Dragonfire series about dragon shapeshifters and yet another book in my FTSP. This was Delaney’s story. He was hurt and abducted by the Slayers (the bad guys) and given an Elixir that tainted him. But he broke free of the hold…or so he thought. He has his firestorm – the time when he and his mate…well, mate and produce little baby dragon shapeshifters. The firestorm doesn’t go as planned but Delaney’s determined that he’s the one that must destroy the elixir even if it kills him in the process. It was a good story. I had to roll my eyes sometimes at the heroine and some of the things that she did but it was good. I read this one for The Book Binge so I’ll let you know when my review posts.

Next was a Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week. Bedded by Her Lord by Denise Lynn was, I think, a book I picked up at the very first So Cal Blogger get together I went to. Yeah, and it’s been sitting ever since. Anyway, this was the story of a man who had been abducted and forced to kill other men for his own survival. He escapes and makes it home after 7 years but when he comes home nothing’s as he imagined it would be and they don’t even recognize him. On top of that he walks in to his wife giving birth. Oops. The story is him trying to beat the demon inside him that has grown from killing so many and the struggle between his wife and himself. Not a fantastic medieval, but not bad. 3 out of 5

Next up was Hide Out by Katie Allen. This is Trevor’s story and it was a good one. Trevor is trying to hide from his father who wants to kill him and he’s in a “fake” couple relationship with the cop who’s his protector, Pete. Only, hey look, they’re both gay! 🙂 It was a great story and another I wrote for The Book Binge so again, I’ll let you know when my review posts.

Another Chance to Dream by Lynn Kurland was my next read. This was another medieval read and had some angst. *snort* Ok, that’s like saying that candy has some sugar. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that had that many things happen to the hero and heroine. Seriously nothing could go right for the poor couple. They just wanted to be together dammit and they couldn’t! lol Gwen and Rhys have a great infatuation with each other from the time she’s 10 and he’s 14 which grows to love over the years. He heads off to earn mucho money so that he can try to buy land (since he’s only a knight and not a lord) and also possibly bribe someone for Gwen’s hand in marriage since she’s been promised to another since birth. But everyone and everything is determined to keep them apart. Oy. I really like Kurland’s writing but this one was off the charts when it came to Murphy’s Law. 3.5 out of 5

Ok – any Kurland fans out there? I have a question. What order should I read the books in? I swear I stared at the reading order page for at least 10 minutes the other day trying to figure it out and still didn’t have a clue. The page itself is very organized but that didn’t help me. I like her historicals as well as her time travel but some interconnect. I thought to just read in publication order (barring her fantasy reads) but that confused me to since her first book is #10 in the De Piaget series. Can anyone help this poor confused soul out?

Next up was Kiss and Kin by Kinsey Holley. I had read a short free story by Holley at Christmas from The Samhellion and really enjoyed it. This is the story of Lark and Taran. A non related pair who were raised as brother and sister due to the death of Lark’s parents. Because of this they have tried to stay away from each other but Lark is Taran’s mate. When Lark is in danger not only the cop in Taran but the mate in Taran come forward. I liked this story. Sometimes with foster siblings there’s a squick factor involved but I didn’t get this from the story at all which I appreciated. I liked Holley’s writing as well and will look forward to Nick and TJ’s story (supporting characters in this book). 3.75 out of 5

Oh and while I was at Holley’s site I came across this very funny blog post: Orgasmic wombs and the penises that poke them.

Instant Gratification by Jill Shalvis was next on my list. Another FTSP book. (There are just too many of those FTSP books!) Emma Sinclair has left her NY life as an ER doctor to help her estranged father out at his medical clinic in Wishful, CA where she spent the first 6 years of her life. At first no one takes her seriously they just see her as Doc Sinclair’s daughter rather than a doctor. She just wants Starbucks, Thai take out and someone to pay in something other than casseroles. Then Stone Wilder comes in after falling 50 feet down a cliff. She patches him up despite his grumblings that all he needs is a band-aid and some sparks fly. Fighting the attraction is hard for Emma but she’s not about to get involved with someone from a small town when she’s going back to NY. Yeah, easier said than done. I enjoyed this book and the ease that Stone and Emma had around each other. I did have some problems believing that Emma would want to stay in Wishful. Also, secondary characters Serena and Spencer…that was completely unbelievable to me. (I’m not saying more in case you haven’t read the book and plan to but if you have read it you know what I mean.) 3.75 out of 5

And last but certainly not least was Dark Angel/Lord Carew’s Bride by Mary Balogh. I’ve only read a couple of other books by Balogh but I really like her work. These two were great stories that were originally published separately in 1994 and 1995. Two cousins who show up in both books. Dark Angel is about Jennifer who has been unofficially engaged to Viscount Kersey since she was 15. She believes herself passionately in love with him even though they’ve spent very little time together. Now that she is 20 and she is officially engaged to him she believes life will be even more wonderful. But Kersey’s got a sordid past and he’s an evil bugger – for only being 25. Then there’s the Earl of Thornhill, Gabriel, who wants revenge on Kersey and Jennifer become a pawn in a game that she knows nothing about – her life changes forever.

Lord Carew’s Bride is about Jennifer’s cousin, Samantha – also changed by Viscount Kersey’s evil ways. While visiting Jennifer in the country she meets a man, Hartley Wade, who she believes is just a landscape gardener. They become friends and Sam is very upset about having to go back to Town for the Season. But Sam, despite her many male followers and the many offers she had from them, never wants to get married. However when Hartley asks, she accepts because he’s “safe” and he’s her “friend”. Yeah, that’s not exactly why he wants to marry you. 4.25 out of 5 for both stories.

You can go here for Hilcia’s review

And my review for A Certain Wolfish Charm by Lydia Dare posted on The Book Binge this week.

21 Comments

Tagged: Deborah Cooke, Denise Lynn, Jill Shalvis, Katie Allen, Kinsey Holley, Lynn Kurland, Mary Balogh, Tere Michaels, The Book Binge, What I Read Last Week, What I've Been Reading This Week

What I Read Last Week

Posted March 1, 2010 by Tracy in Features | 17 Comments

So this was a good week. My hubby is slowly getting back to normal. He’s still slower than normal along with weak but he did go back to work today. I think (and hope) that he’s just gonna do half days for the next few days until he can get back up to speed. One thing that’s making him so weak is his weight loss. You have to understand my hubby. When he’s completely up to speed he eats a bowl of cereal every night right before bed. If he doesn’t he loses weight (bastard!). When he was in the hospital he lost 6 pounds in the 4.5 days he was there. Since then he’s lost another 6 and he’s been trying to eat normally – although up until a few days ago he just couldn’t stomach that much. So this morning he told me that he weighed 148. I just stared at him for a minute and then said: You weigh 148 and I weigh 143.
Him: That’s just scary.
Me: What? That you weigh 148 or that I weigh 143?
Him: Both
Me: speechless
Then my youngest walked up and gave me a hug and said: It doesn’t matter how much mama weighs, I love her anyway.
Me: awww sticking my tongue out at hubby (bastard)
LOL Anyway – my daughter saved my Monday morning – thank heavens! 🙂

Other home stuff: my oldest dropped her itouch in a pool when she was at her friend’s house. It’s toast, we think. We have a warranty but it only covers broken itouch’s, not water damaged itouch’s. sigh My husband has it imbedded in rice to try to soak up any moisture but since she turned it on right after it happened we’re pretty sure it fried the electronics. What’s a mom to do? She was trying to save her chore money to try and buy an inexpensive laptop – now she’s going to be saving it for a new itouch.

I’ve decided to make March “Finish the Series” month. I’ve been thinking the past few days that I’ve started quite a few series and haven’t finished them. Some of the series have ended and still others are still going but I haven’t caught up yet. That’s my goal for this month is to get caught up on the series that I’ve begun. This will take a bit of research on my part to try and figure out what I need to read but hopefully it won’t be too daunting and I’ll be able to get it done in a month’s time. Now there are books that I’ve started that were part of a series that I don’t plan on ever reading but thankfully there aren’t many of those.

So my first read for the week: I started Naked Dragon by Annette Blair for review at The Book Binge but it just wasn’t my thing. Both the hero and heroine were annoying me (this seems to be happening a lot) and I just couldn’t read more. After about 100 pages I put it down. DNF

Next up was Bound, Branded and Brazen by Jaci Burton. I read this one for review at The Book Binge as well and really enjoyed it a lot. The story of 3 sisters coming together on their family ranch – reuniting with each other and finding love in the process. I’ll let you know when my review posts. 4 out of 5

My next read was Chosen by Desire by Kate Perry. Book 2 in the Guardians of Destiny series follows Carrie Woods as she steals sacred scrolls for a monastery in order to get information for her dissertation. The man who is sent to get the scrolls back is Max Prescott, a Guardian of Destiny. They have a lustful yet volatile relationship that just works. Max seemed a little out of it to me at times, like he was a time traveler from the past or and didn’t have a clue about the modern world. But then I thought about it and realized the man had spent most of his adult life in a monastery so that would make anyone a little out of it. lol Despite that I liked the book and will be reading the next one when it’s released. 3.75 out of 5

My Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week was A Perfect Hero by Samantha James. This is book 3 in a trilogy about the Sterling siblings. I didn’t read the first 2 books in the series but really didn’t feel like I needed to. Julianna was jilted at the altar when she was 22 years old. She’s now 27 and on her way to Bath. Her coach is stopped by a highwayman and when the coachman tries to get away crashes the coach and dies. Julianna is hurt and the highwayman takes her to his cottage. The two form a bond and fall in love while Julianna is there. But Julianna leaves eventually and is crushed until she meets Viscount Granville at a ball – and he’s none other than the highwayman. This was a really sweet romance. I loved when the h/h were in the cottage and spending time together. The first part of the book was a little repetitive but I forged through and it ended up be more than worth it. 4 out of 5

After that I read Faith & Fidelity by Tere Michaels for one of M/M Challenge reads. A great book I highly recommend. My review here. 4.5 out of 5

Love in Exile by Samantha Kane was next. I read this one for review at The Book Binge. I liked the story about Gregory/Palu who is part English and part Polynesian. I’ll let you know when the review posts. 3.75 out of 5

Last up was The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop. Technically I guess this would be considered a Tracy’s TBR Challenge read as well since it’s been on my shelf since the day it released. Why it sat there I don’t have a clue because as usual with Bishop’s writing it was a really good book. The story of Dena Nehele that has been decimated by evil witches and fighting landens. Things have calmed and the last man with the Grayhaven name goes to Daemon Sadi to request a queen for their land. They are given Cassidy who is a lovely person but not all that great to look at. Teran Grayhaven is not thrilled with Daemon and Jaenelle’s choice. He wanted someone with a dark jewel and a beautiful face to “wow” the Blood in Dena Nehele. The book basically follows Cassidy as she goes to Dena Nehele and attempts to be a good queen. This was just a wonderful book. I really liked Cassidy a lot and hated Teran because he was such a bastard. I was a little thrown off by the end of the book as I didn’t feel things were wrapped up well – but since I started Shalador’s Lady right after (and am currently reading it) I realized that the story is still in progress. 4.5 out of 5

FYI my reading list for February is now up at my reading list blog – aptly named Tracy’s Reading List. I know, it’s genius.

Also – any of my reviews for The Book Binge that have posted you can find here.

Happy Reading!

17 Comments

Tagged: Anne Bishop, Annette Blair, Jaci Burton, Kate Perry, Samantha James, Samantha Kane, Tere Michaels, The Book Binge, Tracys Reading List, What I Read Last Week, What I've Been Reading This Week

M/M Challenge Review: Faith & Fidelity by Tere Michaels

Posted February 26, 2010 by Tracy in Reviews | 17 Comments

New York City Vice Detective Evan Cerelli has lost his wife, the only person he ever loved and slept with. He’s trying to get on with his life, build a life for his children. Former Homicide Detective Matt Haight is a ladies’ man, all sex/no commitment. He’s depressed, having a midlife crisis, and not sure where his life is headed.

The two find friendship in the bottom of a shared bottle. When the friendship turns to love, it shakes two straight men to the core and flips their lives inside out. Kids, families, careers that are not gay-friendly — can all the love in the world overcome the obstacles to faith and fidelity?

The story begins with Evan and his devastation directly after his wife’s death but the story quickly moves us to approximately 1 year later. Evan is still just as crushed as he was and is not doing well. At a retirement party for a fellow cop Evan meets Matt. Matt was on the NY police force but at one point had turned in dirty cops. This had been the beginning of the end for Matt as he went from an NYPD Homicide Detective to a beat cop on Staten Island. He was currently working for a coporate security firm and hating every minute of his life. He was miserable in his job choice and his personal life. When Even reaches out a friendly hand to him at his old partner’s retirement party Matt more or less grabs on and doesn’t let go. But it turns out to be a mutual lifeline for both men.

Matt and Evan start meeting at a bar to drown their sorrows and speak to each other about things they had never spoken to anyone before. Matt about how he misses being on the force and the changes in his life and Evan about his wife Sherri and all he missed about her. Not necessarily a healthy relationship between the two men but something they both really needed at the time. Things are going along fine until Matt starts having erotic dreams about Evan. He’s not quite sure how to handle things and is afraid he’ll show his feelings and lose Evan’s friendship. But when Matt does admit his growing feelings he finds that Evan’s feeling the same way.

The relationship between the two men changes from a friendship to a friendship as well as a sexual relationship. The sex between the two is hot and steamy but since this is all new territory for them it’s a bit awkward as well. It actually made for very tender moments between the two men. But there are other issues that have to be dealt with in this new relationship. Evan’s job, his in-laws, his 4 children and the men’s relationship takes a huge hit.

I won’t tell you any more because I just don’t want to give anything else away if you haven’t already read the story. It was a very emotional read for me in so many ways. The dynamic between the two men was wonderful as much as it was heart wrenching. Matt’s relationship with Evan’s kids was lovely to see and something that I was very glad was a focus in the book. The only thing that bothered me, I think, was the fact that Evan focused at one point about his in-laws and how they would react to him being with another man – especially since they weren’t real thrilled with him after their daughters death. But in the end I don’t think that was dealt with to my satisfaction. The book showed us Evan dealing/talking with his kids and his sister-in-law, but not his m-i-l and f-i-l. I have to say that was my only issue with the story.

Overall a wonderful book about new love, new life and all of the ups and downs, ins and out that it brings. I highly recommend this story to any who haven’t already read it.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5