What I Read Last Week

Posted February 21, 2011 by Tracy in Features | 16 Comments

And here we are again…another week has gone by.  How do they do that so fast? lol

It was a crazy week again this week.  My oldest daughter is going through some stuff and it’s stressful to say the least. But hey, we’re all hanging in and that’s wonderful! 🙂

This week was the week of the haircut for me.  I got my hair cut on Tuesday and loved it…until I started doing it myself (it always looks better when the stylist does it!) and then I realized that it really wasn’t cut like I wanted it. It was a great cut, just not what I was looking for.  So I went and got another hair cut (I know, no hair cut for 6 months and then 2 in one week…shocking!) and I love it!  I think I got the weight of a small child cut off of my head with all of the many inches that were cut off the back and the thinning of my hair. I wish it had all been at once so that I could have donated it all, but unfortunately since it was done in stages I couldn’t. 🙁  

First there was the “before” picture and if you ask me the back looks like some sort of animal pelt.  How did I walk around with that much hair? lol It was just damned BIG! Of course since I usually put it up into a ponytail about 4 hours of wearing it down each day I didn’t notice it that much.  For as crazy as it was down it turned into quite a nice tail. lol  I didn’t get a picture of the in between cuts – sorry.

Here is the final result.  She went a little short on my bangs but since they grow super fast I have no other complaints at all.

I need to work on styling it but it’s all good! So enough about my hair – on to what I read this past week:

I started off reading Duck! by Kim Dare for my TBR Challenge Review (through Wendy the Super Librarian) and it was really good!  I posted my review already so if you’re interested you can read it here.  4.25 out of 5

Next up was Seducing the Governess by Margo Maguire.  This was my first read by this author and I really liked the book.  This review also posted already so you can read it here if you’d like. 4 out of 5

Next up was Immortal Champion by Lisa Hendrix. I read this one for The Book Binge but it’s a series that I’ve been following since the first book (this is book 3). I really like the mix of medieval romance with the addition of magic and paranormal aspects mixed in.  This was Gunnar’s story and though it was heart wrenching at times it was really good. You can read my review here at TBB. 4.25 out of 5

Next was another book for The Book Binge called Cottage by the Stream by Gail Wolfe.  A woman heads to Scotland because she is hiding from a man who’s stalking her and out to kill her.  She ends up being thrown into a world of fey, Star-Children, Watchers and Druid’s. I really liked the premise of this book but it didn’t end up working for me.  2 out of 5

My next read was Not Knowing Jack by KA Mitchell.  This was an incredibly intense book that I certainly wasn’t prepared for what I got.  The book follows Jack and Tony who’ve been together for a little over a year but they never really talk and thoroughly get to know each other during that time.  Jack has some huge secrets and when they come back and start to bite him in the ass Tony isn’t pleased to have been left in the dark.  I knew from the blurb that the relationship between the two men is tested but, wow, that was intense.  You really have to read it to understand and I don’t want to give any spoilers but it was really good.  I wanted to smack Jack around a couple of times – ok, a lot – but in the end it was good to see the men work it all out. (That’s not a spoiler!  I mean, come on…it’s a romance – you know full well there’s gonna be an HEA!) 4 out of 5

For my Tracy’s TBR challenge read this week I picked up the Burning Up anthology by Nalini Singh, Meljean Brook, Virginia Kantra and Angela Knight.  I only ended up reading all the way through the Singh and the Brook stories and they were wonderful!  The Knight…I just couldn’t get into it though I normally like her writing.  The Kantra I read a few pages but just wasn’t feeling it.  I had read 1 book from the Children of the Sea series and it really wasn’t my thing so I passed on that one.  Anyway…for what I read – the Singh and Brook…5 out of 5!

Another Tracy’s TBR challenge read was Must Love Hellhounds by Meljean Brook, Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh and Ilona Andrews.  I had read the Brook story back in Oct. of 2009 but hadn’t read the rest of the stories.  I really liked the Singh story – getting to see how Sara and Deacon got together in her Guild Hunter series.  The Brook of course was great again and though I don’t read that Andrews series the story was good.  I liked the Harris (my first read by her) but it was probably my least favorite of the bunch.  Overall with it’s highs and lows I’ll give it 4 out of 5.

My Book Binge reviews that posted this past week:
Moon Burning by Lucy Monroe
Immortal Champion by Lisa Hendrix

Happy Reading!


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16 responses to “What I Read Last Week

  1. Tam

    Wow, I love your hair. Looks amazing, although I'd kill for your before hair as well. LOL

    Is it bad that I snorted at the Cottage by the Stream cover. It just made me laugh, then I saw it was 2 stars. Double whammy.

    I have not read that Jack book, I've heard it's rough and just not sure I'm in the place for it, HEA or not.

  2. It was the week for haircuts. I finally got mine done after saying for the last 2 months, "I really need a haircut…." I didn't go with a new style like you did though (which I like btw!), just got about 2 inches in length lopped off, along with some thinning out.

    Wow….that didn't sound so good. I'm talking about hair! Honest! LOL

  3. Tam – Thanks honey. The hair "before" was just too thick and heavy. My head feels so much lighter now! lol
    Yeah, the Cottage by the Stream cover is pretty chuckle worthy, isn't it?
    The Mitchell book isn't as intense as say…Finding Zach, but it is pretty crazy at times. I just wanted to shake Jack to bits because of the lies and omissions!

    Wendy – Oh I'd love to see the new do!
    LOL And yes, I knew you were talking about hair! 🙂

  4. Your hair looks great!! I saw the sentence about getting a haircut and then saw the first picture and was thinking, "Wow, you can't even tell!" Um, yeah. 🙂

    Glad you enjoyed Duck!. I have KA Mitchell's book, but haven't read it yet – possible because the related book, Regularly Scheduled Life, was awesome but emotionally grueling.

    Hope things smooth out for your daughter!

  5. Hey Tracy, I like the new cut! Although, I will say I am totally envious of the locks you did have. My hair just doesn't seem to want to grow past my shoulders.

  6. Love the haircut, you looks fabulous!

    I've read Duck! which I really liked and have Not Knowing Jack in my TBR.

    Hope things get better for your eldest.

  7. Hi, Tracy – I just popped in to say thanks for the wonderful review at Book Binge — only to find you've gotten your hair cut. Looks terrific! (and inspires me…I really need a more polished look)

    Hope to see you and some of your readers at RT Booklovers Convention.

  8. Love. The. Hair.

    Thinking lots of positive thoughts for your eldest daughter!

    I loved Duck! I so want a sequel…or something set in the same world.

  9. Your hair looks fab and I expect it's much easier to look after – long hair takes so much time to dry.

    I've not read any of these books, although I know a lot of people have recommended Duck. I shall have to check that one out. Like Chris I have Regularly Scheduled Life in my TBR pile and I shall read that one first before I tackle Not Knowing Jack.

  10. Chris – LOL funny.
    I'm gonna guess that though Not Knowing Jack is emotional it's not as emotional as Regularly Scheduled Life. I read the blurb for that one and couldn't decide if I could get through it. You do see those character in Jack's book.

    Barbara – Thanks! My hair did that for a while and it just didn't want to grow. I yelled at it and it grew! lol

    Lily – Thank you.
    I really liked the Mitchell and the Dare – it was a good week with my m/m reading. 🙂

    Lisa – So glad you enjoyed it. I really love the series and can't wait for the next book!
    It feels great to get a little more style on my head – it always makes me happy.:)

    Orannia – Thank you! For the hair compliment and the thoughts on my eldest. I may survive until she turns 18 but there's no guarantee. lol
    Duck! – yes, needs sequel!

    Jenre – Actually I'm finding that I have to spend more time on this new do but it's worth it. I'll get into the swing of it eventually. Just more difficult then flipping my head and blow drying. lol

    Clare – Thank you, you're too kind. 🙂

    Leslie – Thanks. Yes, the cover is a bit odd but the book is worth the read. If I avoided all the books with odd covers….lol

  11. Your new hairdo looks fabulous, Tracy. Very stylish. 🙂

    From the books you've read this week, I've only got Duck! and Not knowing Jack waiting for me. I'm glad you enjoyed both!

  12. The hair looks great Tracy!! and I really liked it when it was in a ponytail!! You have gorgeous hair! 🙂

    Catching up on your anthology I see 🙂 Good stuff 🙂

  13. Janna – Thanks.
    And both good books! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

    Lori – Thanks!

    Nath – Thank you. I really did like it in a ponytail but couldn't get myself to wear it that way all the time. 🙂
    Those anthologies tend to pile up and then I have to whack through them. I hate that I wait so long!

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