It was a pretty good week here in Tracyland. No complaints which is always a good thing.
Diet and exercise – exercised twice and lost no weight. I’d be upset about that but seeing as with PMS I usually gain 3 so I’m pretty happy with staying even. lol Total lost still 2.2 pounds.
Hubby and I went to an auction at my work and I ended up with an iPod shuffle (for only the price of a $1.00 raffle ticket – woohoo!) Anyone have one? Can you put audio books on those or do they shuffle the chapters? lol Just curious.
Good reading week this past week:
My first read for the week was Man from Tennessee by Jennifer Greene. This was a reunion story between a married couple that’s been separated for 5 years. I’ll post my review on Friday. 🙂
Next up was Claimed by Desire by KayAnna Kirby. This was the story of a woman who had a one night stand with the hopes that more could come from it but when she woke in the morning the man was gone. Now she’s pregnant and runs the man again. He wants them to be together but she’s resisting. You can read my review here. 2 out of 5
My next read was actually a re-read of a book that hasn’t come out yet. How can you do that, you might ask. Well it was Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh and it comes out at the end of the month. When Holly first sent it to me in March to read and review for The Book Binge I gobbled that sucker up and loved it! I know, I didn’t tell you – I’m so mean. I wanted to give it a couple of months and then re-read and see if I felt the same about the book now that I’d read it and it was just as good if not better the second time around. This is Hawke’s story. He’s the alpha of the SnowDancer wolf changeling pack and he and the Psy, Sienna, have been circling each other for years. She was way too young before but he’s finally made his move. Along with the awesome romance we get lots of political Psy/Changeling conflict and it was just SO.GOOD. Excellent book. 5 out of 5
Rinse and Repeat by Amberly Smith was the story of Peat the repeater who is trying to save the life of Jake and finds himself falling in love. It’s a great story and one I’d recommend. You can read my review here. 3.75 out of 5
Devil’s Own by Veronica Wolff is book 2 in the Clan MacAlpin series and I really liked this book. The story was about Aidan who was kidnapped 13 years prior and worked as a slave until he escaped. Now he’s at home and trying to find the man who kidnapped him. But he needs assistance and finds it in a neighbor, Elspeth, who helps him learn to read while he works on her family farm to pay for the lessons. This was a very sweet romance that I really enjoyed. There was definitely some intense moments with Aidan and kidnappers but for the most part just a nice romance. 4.25 out of 5 (read for The Book Binge)
I haven’t read any Yaoi Manga for a while – bad Tracy! I only had one – Stallion by Kosen. While I really liked the graphics I didn’t really like the stories all that much. The Stallion story was the best of the three but very abbreviated. There was a lot of advertising in the book– one including what looked like a full grown man and a boy of about 12 – ewww. 2 out of 5
One of my Tracy’s TBR Challenge reads for the week was Cruel Enchantment by Anya Bast. This is book 2 in the Dark Magick series and it was a good one. The story was about Emmaline who is Seelie but had escaped imprisonment when the rest of the Fae was walled and warded into their own area. She was an assassin back then and had accidentally killed Aeric’s love. Aeric hates Emmaline and wants to kill her but when he has the chance he finds himself changing his mind. I really liked this story it had a lot of ins and outs that made the story that much better. At first I didn’t see the romance as Aeric started falling for Emmaline but in the end I was happy to see them together. 4 out of 5
Last for the week was another Tracy’s TBR Challenge read that I read for Wendy’s TBR Challenge – the Kept Woman by Susan Donovan. This was a pretend engagement story (the theme for May) and it was a good one. I’ll post my review on Wednesday.
My Book Binge reviews that posted this past week:
Happy Reading!
Yeah, I ADORE Kosen's artwork but that book was really a disappointment. And that story you mentioned? Ewwwww.
Looks like a good week and keep up the efforts on the fitness front. It's soooo hard some days.
Good job on the diet and exercise! And yes, you can turn the "shuffle" feature off… its just a little switch on the side! Have fun!
You had a really mixed reading week, didn't you?! I guess it's better than a universally bad reading week.
Congrats on the shuffle!
Tam – Kosen does do some incredible graphics but there just wasn't enough story. Maybe if they had done more with the old west story and made it longer I would have liked it better.
Oh yeah, that one story was so bizarre and just WRONG with that young kid. Yuk.
Fitness is hard EVERY day. lol I really have to push myself to do it.
SVZ – Oh yay – thanks for the heads up! I had no idea you could turn the shuffle off. Very cool.
Chris – Yeah, the week definitely had its ups and downs for reading but overall pretty good. 🙂
Glad you had a good week. 😛
Also, I should hurry up and catch up with the Psy series so I can read Hawke's book when it comes out. I've been so eager for that book forever it feels like.
Man from Tennessee sounds interesting too. Looking forward to your review on that one.
Anyone have one? Can you put audio books on those or do they shuffle the chapters?
Congrats on the iPod Shuffle. I'm saving up for one and was just wondering whether audiobooks could go on them.
Still dithering over Kiss of Snow…
And I haven't read any yaoi for ages! Sorry that your break back into it wasn't a good one!
You got to read Kiss of Snow! LOL, who cares about the rest, that probably made your week… if not your month 😛
Ames – I really liked Hawke and Sienna's book – well worth the wait.
Orannia – Still dithering on Kiss of Snow because you haven't been keeping up with the story or what?
I know – it was nice to read the yaoi – made me want to go out and buy some new. I held myself back. lol
Nath – I did! It was great – and yes, it did make my month! lol
No, I'm dithering on the story because I just can't relate to Sienna. Actually, it's more than that. She's…everything I'm not, and I have the feeling I'm just going to end up depressed after doing a compare/contrast. So…it might be easier if I just not read the book altogether.
LOL Tracy, I did the same thing with Kiss of Snow. I read it in April and re-read it before writing my final review. I just wanted to make sure that I felt the same way before I wrote it… and yeap… agree with you, definitely an A. Loved it.