Greetings and Salutations!
How the heck are ya? All doing well I hope. It was a good week in Tracyland this week with the family. Everyone’s doing well. Well, I’ve got a horrid cold/sinus thing and sound like a teen going through puberty, but other than that we’re all good! 🙂
I read quite a bit this week so I’ll just get to it. 🙂
I started the week off with Viking Heat by Sandra Hill. I read this one for The Book Binge so I’ll let you know when my review posts if you’ you’d like to check it out.
Btw – TBB is having an awesome book giveaway so if you haven’t checked it out go now! 🙂
Next was a short by J.A. Saare called A Kiss Before Dying. I saw this review on Anna’s Book Blog and got interested so I got it. It was about a blood who was in love with her vampire master and was basically willing to die just to have sex with him. It sounds weird but it actually pretty good. 3.75 out of 5
Next up was a novella by Crissy Smith called Pack Alpha. This is the first book in the Were Chronicles series and I have to say I really liked it. The story was about Marissa who comes from a pack family but can’t shift. She had issues with her last pack and has been pack-less for the past 10 years. Her sister is getting married so she goes to attend the ceremony. She meets Gage, the sexy pack alpha, and sparks fly. 4 out of 5
My Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week was Come Up and See Me Sometime by Lucy Monroe. This was a book about Alex who is an information specialist who is bent on seeing justice/revenge on the man he holds responsible for his father’s death. He falls for the man’s daughter and even though he originally plans on using her for his own nefarious purposes he ends up marrying her and trying to keep her out of it. Yeah, like that ever works. Although I had some issues with the heroine going from independent woman to doormat backt to independent woman I really liked the story. And of course I always like Lucy Monroe’s writing style. 3.75 out of 5
Wing and Tongue by K.Z. Snow was my next read. The novella followed Elrisa who is a web weaver (it’s fantasy) who has been selected to be the wife of a Dragon Caller. In order to become a wife she must meet with/have sex with 3 men. After that she selects the one that she felt closest to or the one she feels is the one that chose her. I’m not normally one who goes in for seeing the heroine of the book with different men but this was fantasy so I didn’t mind too much. Besides, I like Snow’s writing so that made it better. 🙂 3.5 out of 5
The rest of the books are all m/m. I didn’t intend for it to be an m/m weekend but it ended up that way! I needed to read the yaoi and pass it on!
Kris from Kris ‘n’ Good Books told me I should get cracking on reading Sean Kennedy so I read Tigers and Devils. I really liked this book. The story (set in Australia) of a self-proclaimed “arty wanker”, Simon, and a footballer, Declan, who try to have not only a long-distance relationship but the trials of having one man out of the closet and one in. On top of that they had to deal with Declan’s celebrity status and all that entailed. It was a great book with lots of humor but also some very serious moments. I will definitely be reading more from Mr. Kennedy. 4.25 out of 5
Next was Make Me A Match vol. 1 an anthology by Dreamspinner Press of m/m stories. I really liked the whole book – especially the stories by Clare London and Chrissy Munder. 4 out of 5
Hanky Panky by Koreaki Kamuro was a yaoi manga. I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it. This one had some stories that were a little hard to follow. 3 out of 5
Next was yaoi novel called Dark Walker by Hikaru Yura. This was a fantasy yaoi novel and I just couldn’t really get into it too much. I read fantasy but not that much but I just found this one too far out there for me. 2 out of 5
Last up was Gentle Cage by You Shizaki. Another yaoi novel that followed Itsuki who got into serious financial trouble and was saved by a businessman. Unfortunately he basically became his pet and wasn’t allowed to contact anyone for 8 years. Sent on an errand to Tokiwa’s house, Itsuki falls and breaks his ankle. He stays at Tokiwa’s house for 10 days and during that time his former friend takes care of him, but also takes his anger out on him sexually. It was an interesting read, that’s for sure. It took until almost the end of the book but I very much liked seeing Itsuki becoming his own man again and figuring out who he was and what he wanted to do with his life. 3.5 out of 5
Happy Reading!
I find many of the yaoi books are a bit confusing, they switch stories and there's not much coherency, but some are better than others. I really liked the "Caged" books and I liked Dark Walker until it got to the non-con pedophilia at the end. I was kind of "ack!" at that point.
So glad you enjoyed Tigers and Devils. I really loved that book. You were a busy reader. 🙂
Hi Tracy, glad to have you back, sorry to hear you're sick. Feel better.
Looking forward to the Sandra Hill review. I have her name on my ever growing list of authors to check out.
Hope you're feeling better. I've been down with the crud too. Blech.
But the kids are in school!! 🙂
I love to see what you've read for the week.
L
I read the Lucy Monroe way back when it was first released, and well….pretty much hated it. I think it got the equivalent of a D grade from me.
That said, it only took me 2 days to read that book. And let me tell you, when I'm hating a book it tends to be a slog that takes me forever to finish. There's something about the way Monroe writes. I can't quite put my finger on it. But I plowed thru that story…..
Sounds like you had a fun reading week. I've got Sean's book in my TBR and will be getting to it soon. I enjoyed the Make A Match anthology as well.
Hope you feel better soon.
I've only read one yaoi it was by Morgan Hawke I think. I remember liking it pretty well, but haven't read another one.
Lucy Monroe is hit or miss for me. I want to like her books more…does that count?
I've only read one yaoi it was by Morgan Hawke I think. I remember liking it pretty well, but haven't read another one.
Lucy Monroe is hit or miss for me. I want to like her books more…does that count?
As always, you got a great reading week. I'm jealous, LOL 🙂
By the way, did you read Haru Wo Daite Ita?
Hope you get better soon 😀
Tam – I find the it the same with the yaoi manga…sometimes very confusing. That Dark Walker was…wow. Didn't care for that one.
Tigers and Devils – good book.
Hilcia – thanks. I went to the doc today and he said I'm on the recovery end of it so that's good. He did give me some Rx cough medicine so I can sleep at night which will help. Of course it will cut back on my reading not being up half the night! lol
LB – Thanks honey. Congrats on the kids being back in school. I bet the house is very quiet. 🙂 Hope you're feeling better soon.
Wendy – that IS weird that you didn't like it yet read it quickly. I'm like you – usualy if I don't like a book it takes me forever to get through it.
Lily – I think you'll like TaD's. So good. Thanks for the well wishes.
Rosie – LOL Yes, wanting to like them more counts. NOT. 🙂 I do that with books too. I want to like them more, I just don't.
I hadn't read any yaoi novels or yaoi manga that had been translated from japanese before I joined this swap. It's been an experience – but fun.
Nath – thanks!
Yes, I read some of them but with little eyes around all the time it's hard to get to them all. lol I've liked the ones I've read so far though. I need to download the RAR converter and then I can read the rest. 🙂
All this in a week? You are a wild woman!!
Thanks for these reviews!! I love the mini ones.
Okay, I have to say, you really seek out some interesting books, especially that Gentle Cage. It sounds super intense!! Now that I have my ereader back up on go, I may have to check it out!
Ohhh, a good reading week! I really must hunt down a copy of Tigers and Devils – it sounds good!
And yes, Dark Walker was…disturbing. I did like Gentle Cage…although parts of that were slightly disturbing too. The yaoi I just finished – whose name eludes me (it's part of The Great Yaoi Swap) – was good. A friend has lent me a manga series called Banana Fish – has anyone read that?
I hope your feeling better soon Tracy!
CJ – well I don't think I would have read any of the yaoi manga or the yaoi novels if I hadn't been involved in the swap.
The Gentle Cage is good but there is some forced sex (I won't call it forced seduction) involved.
Orannia – Tigers and Devils – GOOD! Definitely worth hunting down a copy. I think that Gentle Cage was somewhat disturbing but I wasn’t too bothered by it for some reason – not sure why. Dark Walker – ug. lol
Banana Fish? Really? Oh the visuals on that one! Both the Banana (obvious reasons) and the Fish – aka the one-eyed trouser trout! lolol
Pack Alpha looks good, I've been searching for a shifter book to read!
Patti – it IS a good one.
Also have you tried Shelly Laurenston's Magnus Pack books? Pack Challenge is one of my favs. It's not gushy romantic but it's very funny and very good.
Let's see – then there's Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling series – good stuff right there.
I'll have to think of a few other shifter books I've liked.
LOL, true, not something you can read around the kids 😛
You can download 7-zip. It's free and will unzip zip and rar files…
Ah! 7-zip, thank you I will look into that one. 🙂