Tag: Amy Lane

What I Read Last Week

Posted December 17, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 0 Comments

Happy Tuesday!

Yes, this post is going up on Tuesday because I’m seriously hella behind. Things are falling by the wayside as work is wiping me out completely every day. It’s obviously one of the busy seasons here at the church so I’m just trying to keep afloat. I actually only worked half a day yesterday to try and catch up with laundry, housework and completing my holiday decorating. I thought this post was gonna get done at that time but apparently there was just too much to do! lol Crazy.

Anyway, things here are gearing up for Christmas. The kids are so excited about Christmas. We’ll go to my in-laws this Sunday to celebrate as that’s the only time we can all get together. It will be weird on Christmas to just be at home with the hubby and kids. As ALL of my family is all out of state now it’s just us four. I’m sad I won’t see them in person but Skype will be busy that day. 🙂

So….what I read last week:

I started off the week with Christmas Kitsch by Amy Lane. A wonderful book about 2 boys who are so very different but find what they need in the other. It was great and I highly recommend it. You can read my review here. 5 out of 5

Love this chicks hair!

Next was Jealous and Freakn’ by Eve Langlais. The story was about a woman who has known her mate was since she was 10 but he thinks he sees her as a sister and refuses to acknowledge her as his mate. Along comes another shifter and lo and behold, he’s her mate as well. Once he gets jealous he finally decides to admit that he’s wanted her for years but thought it was wrong. This was a fun and funny story that I really enjoyed reading. 4 out of 5

Elite by Rachel Van Dyken was a re-read. I wanted to read Elect which is book 2 in the Eagle Elite series but it’s a complete continuation from book 1…which I hadn’t read for a while. I wanted to be completely in the know so…it was re-read time. You can read my review here. 4 out of 5

Elect by Rachel Van Dyken is the continuing story of Trace & Nixon but also adds Chase, Nixon’s cousin into the mix to make a nice little love triangle. I’m not a fan of love triangles but this one was very readable and didn’t drive me batty – yay! 🙂 You can read my full review of the book here. 4 out of 5 

The Scandal in Kissing an Heir by Sophie Barnes is the story of Rebecca who was orphaned and taken in by her aunt and uncle who are horrid. She would do anything to avoid marrying the ancient suitors they have courting her – even fake madness for two years. Now she’s looking for a younger husband and she’s got her eye on Daniel. Daniel HAS to get married according to his uncle or he’ll be cut off. Turns out marriage is the best thing that ever happened to him. Great story. Liked both Rebecca and Daniel a lot. 4 out of 5

Forgiveness: Alek & Rose by Amanda N. Richardson was the story of, you guessed it, Alek and Rose who grew up together and were close friends who were each afraid to stated their true feelings. Then Rose disappears for a year and then comes back to finally tell Alek what’s up, why she left and how she feels about it. The characters were immature at best and Alek had serious anger issues. Rose seemed strong on one hand and then weak at others and I couldn’t get a true handle on her. This one was ok but really not my cuppa. 2 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

The Valentine’s Arrangement by Kelsie Leverich was about tattoo artist Ronnie who lusts after her soldier client Kale. They start a no strings sexual relationship which quickly turns to love. The love happened rather quickly even though they were parted for months. I guess I thought that because Ronnie didn’t talk to Kale the entire time he was deployed. This was a good one but I did have some issues with it. 3 out of 5

His Teddy Bear by Eve Langlais was about a short chubby bear shifter named Teddy who finds out her mate is big, bad, beautiful wolf shifter, Reece. Reece dates tall, leggy blondes so when he first realizes that Teddy is his mate he’s not thrilled. He then gets to know her, despite Teddy’s best efforts to constantly run away, and finally realizes that its what’s inside that counts. Yes, Reece was an ass but I really liked him by the end of the book. 3 out of 5

 

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Taming a Wild Scot by Rowan Keats

Happy Reading!

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Book Spotlight/Blog Tour: Christmas Kitsch by Amy Lane (+ a Scavenger Hunt & a Giveaway!)

Posted December 11, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Blurb:

Sometimes the best thing you can get for Christmas is knowing what you really want.

Rusty Baker is a blond, rich, entitled football player in a high school full of them—just the type of oblivious jock all the bullied kids hate. And he might have stayed that way, except he develops a friendship with out-and-proud Oliver Campbell from the wrong side of the tracks. Rusty thinks the friendship is just pity—Oliver is very bright, and Rusty is very not—but then Oliver kisses him goodbye when Rusty leaves for college, and Rusty is forced to rethink everything he knows about himself.

But even Rusty’s newfound awareness can’t help him survive a semester at Berkeley. He returns home for Thanksgiving break clinging to the one thing he knows to be true: Oliver Campbell is the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

Rusty’s parents disagree, and Rusty finds himself homeless for the holidays. Oliver may not have much money, but he’s got something Rusty has never known: true family. With their help and Oliver’s love, Rusty comes to realize that he may have failed college, but he’ll pass real life with flying rainbow colors.

20% of all proceeds from this title are donated to the Ali Forney Center in New York, whose mission “is to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) youth from the harm of homelessness, and to support them in becoming safe and independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood.” To learn more about this charity or to donate directly, please visit http://www.aliforneycenter.org/. 

Bio:

Amy Lane has children, pets, consuming hobbies, an amazing spouse, and a very dirty house. The only time she does housework is Christmas, so that children, pets, spouse, hobbies, and home may exist in peace on hearth for at least once a year.

Feel free to visit Amy in the following places:
Blog: www.writerslane.blogspot.com
Website: www.greenshill.com
Twitter: @amymaclane
FaceBook: Amy Lane
FaceBook Fan Group: Amy Lane Anonymous
Or to contact her at: amylane@greenshill.com

The Scavenger Hunt– (from Amy)

In addition to the Riptide giveaway, I’m having a scavenger hunt on my own blog. At the beginning of the blog tour, I’ll publish the tour dates on Yarning to Write. For every stop on the tour I’ll have a “phrase” for the scavenger hunt. At the end of the tour, I’ll put up a post for the people who have found the phrases. If you comment — and then send me an e-mail with six of the twelve phrases and your address!– I’ll send you some Christmas Kitsch swag. The post collecting the winners will go up on the 13th (the day of the last stop on the tour) and you will have a week to go read all of the tour stops and collect your phrases. The hunt closes on December 21st, at the end of the day and I’ll get your swag into the mail between Christmas and New Years! (Hopefully after I get my own Christmas cards out in the mail. I’m not known for my punctuality, I’m afraid;-) Look below for today’s phrase! 

Today’s phrase:
And don’t forget to collect “Backroads Boogie” for the scavenger hunt on Amy’s blog on December 14th!
 
Riptide contest details: 
Enter your details in the Rafflecopter below to gain entry in the Home for the Holidays giveaway! This week of the tour closes at midnight, EST, on December 13th. Then, one grand prize winner will be contacted at the end of the Home for the Holidays tour on December 16th. Contest is valid worldwide.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Review: Christmas Kitsch by Amy Lane

Posted December 10, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 4 Comments

Sometimes the best thing you can get for Christmas is knowing what you really want.

Rusty Baker is a blond, rich, entitled football player in a high school full of them—just the type of oblivious jock all the bullied kids hate. And he might have stayed that way, except he develops a friendship with out-and-proud Oliver Campbell from the wrong side of the tracks. Rusty thinks the friendship is just pity—Oliver is very bright, and Rusty is very not—but then Oliver kisses him goodbye when Rusty leaves for college, and Rusty is forced to rethink everything he knows about himself.

But even Rusty’s newfound awareness can’t help him survive a semester at Berkeley. He returns home for Thanksgiving break clinging to the one thing he knows to be true: Oliver Campbell is the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

Rusty’s parents disagree, and Rusty finds himself homeless for the holidays. Oliver may not have much money, but he’s got something Rusty has never known: true family. With their help and Oliver’s love, Rusty comes to realize that he may have failed college, but he’ll pass real life with flying rainbow colors.

Rusty doesn’t believe himself to be very smart. In fact he calls himself stupid constantly. He thinks he’s just a big dumb jock. He’s a nice guy though and when a new kid, Oliver Campbell, starts at his school, he’s nice to him – it doesn’t matter to Rusty that Oliver’s gay. They become best friends and by summer they’re constantly hanging out together. When Oliver kisses Rusty the night before he leaves for college he really likes it until he finally clues in to what he’s doing – kissing a boy. He feels he should be more bothered by kissing Oliver but he’s really not.

Rusty heads off to Berkley where he doesn’t feel he belongs at all. His parents have such plans for his future that Rusty doesn’t really want any part of. He does want to at least try to pass. He struggles constantly in his classes and texts Oliver daily to get help. He’s barely hanging on with his studies and with his belief about his stupidity but he manages. He does have a breakdown at one point but Oliver and his roommate, Rex pull him through.

When Thanksgiving break comes along Rusty is more than ready to head home. He’s finally realized that Oliver is much more than a friend and that he is in love with him. When Rusty gets home Oliver kisses him and Rusty’s mom sees them. Within minutes she’s kicking him out of the house – unless of course he gets rid of Oliver and then he’s more than welcome home. Ug.

Rusty then has to deal with the emotional fallout from his family and his feelings of inadequacy when it comes to taking care of Oliver. Oliver’s large extended family embraces Rusty as do his sister and their housekeeper. The story centers on Rusty’s growth as a man, a son, a brother and a lover. The

This story was such an amazing read. While at times quite funny it was pretty intense most of the time and heartbreaking just as much as it was heartwarming.

Rusty is just an average person. Her parents are distant and think that their kids will love them for what they can give them. Rusty and his sister were basically shown affectionate love by the housekeeper and she’s the one they felt closest to. Having grown up in that kind of family he really didn’t know what to do with all the emotions he was feeling when Oliver came along. Oliver showed him the person he could be and then sat and waited for Rusty to catch up mentally. He certainly wasn’t stupid but his brain definitely worked at a slower pace than some. Of course when he got it, he really GOT it. Oliver was just the perfect guy for Rusty. While Oliver did have his impatient side (though small) the flip side of that was one of the most patient men ever. I thought the two of them together were perfect.

I adored the secondary characters in this book almost as much as I loved Rusty and Oliver. Oliver’s dad is the kind of guy you want for your father – and your friend. He was kind and understanding and a really great guy. Oliver’s extended family were all wonderful too and accepted, loved and supported Rusty when his own parents threw him away. Rusty’s sister stood by him and she was awesome, just like Rusty – I loved their relationship. Rex, Rusty’s roommate at Berkley was another incredible character. At first I thought he was a real douche but he proved to be a true friend and took care of Rusty when he hit his rough spots. The guy cracked me up with his sexual antics!

I don’t think I can adequately describe how much this book touched me. It’s a wonderful story that made me laugh, cry – I even laughed while crying! It’s well written, has great characters and I loved every word.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Amy Lane

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What I Read Last Week

Posted January 15, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 3 Comments

What a crazy Monday! This is getting to you a bit late today but hey, it’s Monday. lol

So it was back to work for me last week and that was seriously the longest 5 days EVER! :0) Starting back to work after vacation is never fun but that just sucked.

It was a good week despite that. My kids were bored out of their minds because it was the last week of a 3 week break for them. They went back to school today and they were both pretty excited.

Other than that not much to tell so I’ll get on to what I read last week. I don’t have much time today to write this so it’s going to have to be title, author & rating for now and then I’ll come back and write my thoughts at a later time – sorry!!!

Turkey in the Snow by Amy Lane 4 out of 5  (m/m)

Caught in Amber by Cathy Pegau 3.75 out of 5 

One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean 4.5 out of 5

 

Abby’s Twin Mates by Darlette Clarke 2 out of 5 Link to review

How To Misbehave by Ruthie Knox 4 out of 5

 

The Lass Wore Black by Karen Ranney 3.25 out of 5

Tri Mates by Lauren Dane 3 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
The Wicked Wedding of Miss Ellie Vyne by Jayne Fresina 
Precinct 13 by Tate Hallaway 
Secrets of a Wedding Night by Valerie Bowman 
Abby’s Twin Mates by Darlette Clarke


 Happy Reading!

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What I Read Last Week

Posted April 30, 2012 by Tracy in Features | 8 Comments

Hola!
How are you this fine Monday? It’s beautiful out today in my part of the land – I wish my desk was outside and not in a stuffy office. I just keep looking out the window with longing. lol
Not much happened this week. I did realize that I completely forgot my blog anniversary! Yep, on April 16th it was the 4th anniversary of Tracy’s Place. Damned hard to believe that it’s been that long. It really only seems like a year or so – weird. 🙂
This past weekend we went to the Santa Barbara Fair. The weather was great and we had a wonderful time. The kids rode a ton of rides, we watched pig races, got to see adorable baby goats and my oldest daughter got hypnotized. It was hilarious. I did get a dvd of my oldest so that she could see what she did while she was under. Too funny. I asked the hypnotist if he could make it so that every time I snapped my fingers she would listen to me but he just laughed. lol
So on to what I read this week:
I started off the week with The Witness by Nora Roberts. This is a wonderful romance and a bit of a mystery/suspense story all wrapped into one. I really, really liked it. You can read my review here. 4.5 out of 5
Next up was a YA book called Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink by Stephanie Kate Strohm. This is the story of a girl who goes to spend the summer at a living history museum. It was another really good book. You can read my review here. 4 out of 5
My next read was Country Mouse by Amy Lane and Aleksandr Voinov. This was the story of an American guy who is visiting London. He meets a guy in a bar on his first day there and they end up spending the weekend together. You can read more about this great story and my review here. 4.5 out of 5
Lady Maggie’s Secret Scandal by Grace Burrowes was a book I read for The Book Binge. This story was about a woman who is a by-blow but was “adopted” by her father (a duke) and raised with many siblings. She is 30 years old and living in her own household. She loses her purse and hires a man to find it. She’s got secrets though and the man knows that there’s more to things than just a lost reticule. This was a bit of a frustrating story as we didn’t get to know Maggie’s secret until right before the hero did. The romance was great though and I really liked the book. 4 out of 5
Next was The Walls Have Ears by Erica Pike. This is the 3rd in the College Fun and Gays series. Harley is a guy who has been having a relationship with the guy next door – but through the wall. They masturbate to each others voices until the guy on the other side of the wall, Devon, asks Harley’s roommate out instead of him. Harley ends up crying on Devon’s roommate’s shoulder but Tasha wants more from Harley than just being friends. It was a short story but so cute. My heart ached for Harley’s situation and that was written so well but Harley made me a bit crazy with his child-like emotional outbursts. I loved Tasha and admired him for his infinite patience with Harley. I look forward to reading the rest of the series! 4 out of 5
Devil’s Punch by Ann Aguirre was my next read. This is book 4 in the Corinne Solomon series. I’ll be posting my review of this later this week so stay tuned.
Sunrise by Kody Boye is a zombie apocalypse novel that I read. I’ll post my review of this on Wednesday so keep your eyes peeled.
Last on the list was What We Deserve by Kerry Freeman. This is the story of 2 best friends. One falls in love with the other but then the older boy, Jamie, heads off to the army without telling his best friend…the night after they sleep together for the first time. Sean is devastated but moves on with his life. Twelve years later Jamie is back but Sean is in a committed relationship and none to thrilled about Jamie coming back and wanting to talk and pick up where they left off – after 12 years of non communication. Eventually Sean does talk and after that Sean, Jamie and Tyler, Sean’s boyfriend, all fall in love to make a household of three. The story is about the falling in love but also dealing with the men’s families and their reactions. It was a good story even if I did have a couple of issues. There were things left unresolved with one of the men’s parents which bothered me and I never did feel that Sean and Jamie talked enough about Jamie’s jackassedness and ultimate silence when he had left all those years ago. 3.5 out of 5
My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Happy Reading!

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