Welcome to another week! Are you ready? I think I ask myself that every week and frankly the answer isn’t always a resounding YES. lol. I’ve been waking up at 5am for the past week with absolutely no idea why. It’s not like I plan it and I certainly try to go back to sleep but alas my brain starts up and won’t let me rest. Hopefully my bodies alarm clock will reset itself to normal soon and I can get a good nights sleep.
Life was pretty low-key this past week which was a welcome change from the previous week. Nothing much happened which in my book falls under the chapter entitled “WooFreakingHoo”. lol
How was your week? Anything exciting happen?
I got a lot of reading done which was nice. I got some books read that I’ve been meaning to get to and I love it when that happens. I think I get so caught up in what’s coming out that I don’t sit back and look at all the wonderful books I have sitting on my shelves or in my ereader. I need to make more of an effort to read those books I’ve had for a while.
On to what I read this week – and sorry – no author links today as I’m rushing! lol
First up was a novella by Amelia Fayer called Lust in the Library. This was 2 related erotic short stories set in one novella. The first is about a girl that has got a thing for a man that comes into the library where she works but she’s too shy to take the bull by the horns and talk to him above and beyond the call of duty. The second story was about a girl who has what she thinks is a cheating boyfriend and the story covers part of their relationship and the patch work it needs to get back together. Both stories were cute. I’ll post my review later this week. 3 out of 5
Next was Wrangled and Tangled by Lorelei James that I read for The Book Binge. This is book 3 in the Blacktop Cowboys series and it was a good one. This was 2 romances in one book. While I liked both stories I thought the story of Abe and Janie wasn’t quite as in depth as it needed to be. The story of Renner and Tierney I liked better. Both were pretty scorchin. 🙂 4 out of 5
After that I read Love Means…Family by Andrew Grey. This was the story about Arie who goes to visit his best friend Robbie to try to escape the grief over his sisters’ death. There he meets officer hunky aka Duane and the pair fall for each other. You can read more here in my review. 3.25 out of 5
The Last Night by Nico Rosso is a fantasy/post apocalyptic story that was really good. I’ll be posting my review of it later this week so keep your eyes open.
Shane’s Last Stand by Suzanne Brockmann is a prequel to the upcoming Born to Darkness novel that releases March 20th. This is the story of Shane and his last mission as a Navy SEAL but the story is set in the not too distant future. I’m not sure what year but they do mention some document from 2024 so it’s at least that far. Not too much seems different when it comes to military stuff though and Shane is leading a team on a search and destroy mission. But one of Shane’s team realizes that the woman that their technology tells them is the killer is actually someone else who is in hiding. Shane makes a decision that will change his life forever but a decision that keeps his conscience clear. It was a good story but there just wasn’t much to it. I think it will be a good set up for the novel but beyond that no real conclusion. 3.5 out of 5
Next was one of my Tracy’s TBR challenge reads and that was Carnal Intentions by Stephanie Hecht. This was the story of Mitchell and his mate Dean. They had met and fell in love and had been having a long distance affair via Skype for a long while. Now they are working together again to try and find Mitchell’s lost brother Joel and Mitchell doesn’t want to let Dean go again. Things aren’t always easy though and there’s a lot to work through. I really liked this fourth story in the Lost Shifters series. Books 2 and 3 had been so similar to book 1 that I was afraid that they had all fallen into a pattern but this one proved me wrong. It was a great story and good continuation of the story arc. 4 out of 5
Next was A Wicked Caress by Stephani Hecht. Continuing the series…we have Joel who now goes by Noah coming into the family fold and being treated with kid gloves. He is somewhat fragile but Seth who knows that Noah is his mate doesn’t want him to not be able to defend himself if the Ravens come for him. Especially since there’s one in particular that wants Noah for his own. This was a good story as well. I was a bit disappointed that some of the conversations and falling in love portions were off page but I was more than satisfied with the story I was given. 4 out of 5
I kept up with the Lost Shifter series by then reading Ruthless Pursuit. This was about Vapor who is sent to get Mitchell’s last missing brother, Andy, or Andrew as he now goes by. Andrew has been brainwashed by the man who raised him and always believed that his brother Mitchell had sold him to his guardian. While running from Vapor and giving him a good chase the pair fall for each other in their own rough way. It wasn’t romantic but it was hot and I liked how each character stayed true to his personality and didn’t get too sappy when dealing with the other once they realized their feelings. It was a good story and I’m looking forward to reading more in this series. 4 out of 5
Taken by the Cowboy by Julianne MacLean was a free book from ARe not that long ago and since it was a time travel novel I snapped it up. Jessica somehow time travels to the old west and lands in 1881. The first night she’s in Dodge she is accused of killing a man. He was a wanted criminal though so she’s actually offered a reward – even though she didn’t do it. She’s anxious to get home but then starts falling for the local sheriff who in turn is falling for her. She has to decide – does she want to stay in the wild west or try to get home and lose her love forever. This was a darned good story and I really like almost all of it. There were some slow parts in the middle but they didn’t detract from the overall story. The ending had me thinking as I’m just not sure how I feel about it. I can’t tell you details because it would spoil everything completely but it definitely wasn’t your usual HEA. Despite the end I would definitely recommend this one if you’re a time travel romance lover like me. 4 out of 5
My Book Binge reviews that posted last week
*crickets chirping*
Happy Reading!
You went on a Stephani binge! 🙂
Nothing exciting here – and I'm perfectly all right with that!
Oh I hate it when the body alarm clock changes!! Like recently, I cannot wake up before 7am… Which is great, except that it makes me late for work!! It used to be 6.30am which was perfect 🙁 However, 5am really sucks!
Very nice week reading-wise 🙂
You were able to step up your reading again. Whoo Hoo for you! 5:00 a.m. Ugh!
Wrangled and Tangled! I have to read that book by James. How did I miss it?
Chris – I did! I really like them. The editing did drive me a bit batty but I tried to overlook it. 🙂
Glad to hear that everything is status quo.
Nath – I'm seriously considering trying melatonin. I just don't have any issues falling asleep it's STAYING asleep. lol
Hilcia – Yep – I had a bit more time this week to read which was nice.
Sorry to hear about the extra early starts 🙁 Here's hoping things improve. So far this week I've woken up at 4.30 every day 🙁 GRRR!
I must get on with Suzanne Brockmann's series 🙂