Greetings to all!
And…Happy Labor Day to those in the US! I hope you’re enjoying the holiday and hopefully you, like me, have the day off. Talk about a lazy day. Wow. I wish I could say I’m being uber productive today – besides laundry – but I really hate to lie to my friends. lol None of us want to leave the house because it’s been so stinking hot here. I want to know when I moved to the sun. I must have blocked that out somewhere along the way but that’s apparently where I live because it’s hot like the sun here! It’s been over 100 – F (that’s over 38 C) every day this past week. Right now weather.com says it’s 90 here but the thermometer that’s in my back yard – that’s in the shade – says it’s 100. That’s actually cool. lol
So what happened in Tracyland this week? Not a whole hell of a lot. We went to my youngest daughter’s back to school night and met her teacher. I loved her! She’s fun and funny but has her shit together. She seems like a great teacher and my daughter likes her a lot – super important! The teacher also loves math which makes her a perfect match for my youngest since she loves math as well. (I know, she’s sick, she gets that from my hubby shudders) lol
Anyway, on to what I read this past week:
First up was Coronets and Steel by Sherwood Smith. This is one I read for The Book Binge. It was the story of a graduate student who goes looking for her ancestry and winds up with a lot more than she bargained for. The book has a lot of history in it, and even though it’s not my thing I really enjoyed it. 4.25 out of 5
Next was another book for The Book Binge called Marriage in Moonlust by Kate Hill. This is about a woman who is given to the local vampire family as their monthly blood sacrifice but she ends up falling in love with one of the vampires instead. A little rushed on the love but not bad. 3.25 out of 5
Next was Savage Sanctuary by Jacqueline Barbary. This was a story of a shapeshifter that is on the run and the man who runs the sanctuary that he’s taken to. They fall in love and face trials and tribulations. 3 out of 5 You can read my review here.
Next was Sureblood by Susan Grant. This was a sci-fi book about warring clans in space and the leaders of those clans that fall in love. Pretty good book. I had some issues with it but on the whole I liked it. 3.75 out of 5 You can read my review here.
My Tracy’s TBR challenge read for the week was The Name of the Game by Willa Okati. This was the story of a gay man, Clay, who is in love with his straight cop roommate, Seth. Seth is in the relationship from hell with Sophie the psycho and it’s decided that Seth will tell Sophie he’s gay to get out of it. It works to a point, but then Seth starts really having feelings and desires for Clay. This was a good book but it was a bit much on the dramatic for me. The men had Sophie to deal with but then they threw in speed dating for Clay as well as some other issues. And did the characters ever work? Uh, not that I could tell. I just found it really wasn’t my cup of tea. 3 out of 5
Next up was Meet Me In Manhattan by Judith Arnold. This here is an absolutely true romance. That’s right, the book was written about the true life romance of Ted and Erika. It’s also part of the True Vows series and I’ll be posting my review of the book on Wednesday as part of the book tour so check back.
Mistress of the Night by Charlotte Featherstone had been in my ereader waaaaay too long so I finally decided it was time to read it. I originally bought it based on the info about the tortured hero – I love those. And boy was Blaine tortured. You see he had epilepsy and back then it was not a illness that was A-ok. If you had the “falling sickness” then you were thought to be possessed by a demon and Blaine was afraid that his secret would get out and he would be committed to Bedlam. He vowed to never get married and never have a child. But he fell in love with Madeline and he couldn’t seem to keep himself away from her. I really liked the book a lot. Blaine could be a right bastard at times while pushing Madeline away and yeah, I hated him for it, but he was so afraid. The problem was, he was so afraid that she’d find his secret out and be repulsed by him that he ended up living in hell because he couldn’t be with her the way he wanted. Very good book but if you read it be prepared to hate Blaine at times along the way. 4 out of 5
And last but not least I re-read Lord of the White Hell book 1 by Ginn Hale. And you know, it was just as great the second time reading it as it was the first. I re-read in preparation for reading book 2 and I wanted to completely refresh my memory. Man I just love Javier and Kiram. Good people. I reviewed this back in June – you can read my review here if you’re interested. 5 out of 5
My Book Binge review that posted last week:
Seduced by a Highlander by Paula Quinn
Happy Reading
Ugh. I know what it's like to try and function in that heat. Nasty. Hope you get a break soon.
I found the WO book a bit convoluted but not bad. I'm kind of hit and miss with that author, sometimes it works well for me and other times not so much. This was so-so. Must get the Ginn Hale books.
We went from 90F last Monday to 60F by Friday, Tracy! It was weird…
Must get the Ginn Hale books, too!
Popping in to see how you and the family are doing! Hope all is well and hope you had a great holiday weekend! Hugs to you honey!
Tam – I'm not sure what it was about this one. I didn't like the speed dating – as I said – I thought they had enough problems without it. But the whole heading out to kiss Clay while buck naked…really? I just couldn't see it! I've only read one other Okati but I liked it.
Chris – That IS weird weather. I wish it would cool off here – it's killing me! lol
Yes, you and Tam MUST get the Hale!
Cecile – We had a good weekend – thanks! Hope you had a good one too.
This is my absolute favorite blog post every week. I love seeing what you've read. 🙂
Isn't it fun to have such varied tastes? Keeps things interesting.
I really need to catch up on that Susan Grant series. I adore her writing, but I keep passing her books over on my TBR shelf.
Somw really interesting and varied books this week, Tracy. Like Tam and Chris, I must get the Ginn Hale books as I've seen lots of great reviews for them.
Looks like you had another good reading week. The only I've read is Willa's and it was nice although the GF was a bit overdone.
JenB – Aw that's nice! 🙂
I do have varied tastes. Sometimes I look at the different books that I read each week and just shake my head in wonder. lol
You know I didn't have the Grant for very long in my tbr (because I had it for review) but I kept passing it by as well. Why do you think that is?
Jenre – The Hale books are so good. The main characters are young – 17 & 19 – but it's really more of an adult type read.
Lily – Yes, the GF in the Okati was just crazy. I was shocked that Seth's character had stayed with her as long as he had.
I wish I knew why I keep passing my Grant books over. Actually, all my scifi books. I always love them, but I never feel like reading them.
I'm not a huge sci-fi fan to start so don't have many on my shelves – but they do get passed by most of the time…unfortunately for them.
Sorry to hear it's been so hot Tracy. If it helps it's still cool here, but my apricot and plum trees have blossom! YAH! *happy dance* Spring is right around the corner!
I have the Ginn Hale books! *grin* Well, technically I have the first one – I'm waiting for the second to arrive and then I'm having a Ginn Hale weekend – LOL!
Labor Day threw me off, off, off Tracy! So that's why it's Friday and I'm commenting on this post ^_^;
Liking your teacher is very important. I think it motivates and also, kids listen more 🙂 Hope your youngest has a great school year 😉
Again, you had a very nice reading week 😀 I'm looking forward to your review of Coronets and Steel. This looks a lot more fantasy-ish than what you usually read 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Orannia – I think you'll like book 2 just as much as book 1 (Hale), maybe even better!
Nath – She does love her teacher, and you're right – liking them is so important. I'm just glad she got with someone who loves math and will really get into it. 🙂
The Coronets and Steel is definitely more fantasy-ish than what I normally read. I like to break out of the mold once in a while. lol It was really good though!
Glad to hear both you and your daughter love her teacher this year. It's so much easier to tackle the school year when that happens.
It's great seeing everyone loving that Ginn Hale series!
Christine – Yes, school is much easier to tackle when you like the teacher. So far we've been lucky and have only had 1 teacher we didn't like for my oldest. That was a miserable year. 🙂
The Hale series is just so wonderful. A fantastic fantasy read.