What I Read Last Week

Posted February 3, 2014 by Tracy in Features | 1 Comment

I can’t believe it’s February already! Didn’t we just start the new year? Huh. Crazy.

Let’s see – nothing much happened this past week but I still didn’t get much reading done. Here’s what I read:

I started off the week with an anthology called Love and Other Games by Ana Blaze, Melinda Dozier, Aria Kane and Kara Leigh Miller. The stories all revolved around fictitious Winter Olympic Games that take place in Switzerland. I really liked 2 of the stories and the other ones were good but not fantastic. I thought they were all cute and all had something going for them. You can read my review here at Book Binge. Overall the book was a 3.75 out of 5

Next up was Kaleidoscope by Kristen Ashley. This was Jacob who used to date a girl 9 years earlier but always got along great with her best friend, Emme. Now Emme and Jacob run into each other again and Jacob realizes that Emme’s his girl and he has to go about proving it. Emme, however, is suffering from a kidnapping 22 years earlier that she never dealt with and kind of disconnects from relationships when they start getting deep which of course causes a problem with Jacob and Emme. I’ll post my review of this one tomorrow so you can read about my thoughts. 3.5 out of 5

Shh…Mine (This. Is. Not. Over) by Shannon Dianne is the story of Danielle who meets Malcolm in high school only she never actually sees his face. He never stops thinking of her and she of him. She goes on to get married to Jon but that relationship suffers and they plan on getting a divorce. Now Danielle is trying to figure life out with Malcolm but he’s got his psycho ex girlfriend after him and her now ex-husband wanting her back. The story is a bit crazy and is told in alternating 1st person POV – something the author calls Confessional Stream of Thought. While crazy it’s also funny and sweet as well as sexy. It’s also a bit creepy at times but I really liked it and I’m looking forward to reading the conclusion to the story. 4 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

Last for the week was Captured by the Pirate Laird by Amy Jarecki. This is a story about a girl whose uncle marries her by proxy to a man who saw her at court. She can’t remember the guy but she’s not happy about the marriage as she’s 19 and he’s 58. Her ship is taken over by pirates who aren’t really pirates. They take her back to their island home in Scotland and then send off a ransom note to her husband. The problem is that the hostage, Anne, and the Laird/pirate, Calum, fall in love – and then he has to ship her off to her husband. Not good. The story was really good and I’m glad I read it. I’ll post my full review next week. 4 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
How to Wed an Earl by Ivory Lei
Love and Other Games by Ana Blaze, Melinda Dozier, Aria Kane and Kara Leigh Miller

Happy Reading!

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Tagged: Amy Jarecki, Ana Blaze, Aria Kane, Book Binge, Kara Leigh Miller, Kristen Ashley, Melinda Dozier, Shannon Dianne, What I Read Last Week, What I've Been Reading This Week

Guest Review: Love and Other Games by Ana Blaze, Melinda Dozier, Aria Kane & Kara Leigh Miller

Posted January 31, 2014 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Tracy’s review of Love and Other Games by Ana Blaze, Melinda Dozier, Aria Kane & Kara Leigh Miller

Worth More Than Gold by Ana Blaze

Amy Pierce, the klutzy sister and manager of America’s Skating Sweetheart, is used to being invisible. But when a friend drags her to a party near the Olympic Village, Amy catches the eye of a sexy Norwegian ski jumper. It’s a magical night, but an awkward next morning has her running.

Everyone knows Erik Andresen’s best shot at an individual medal was back in 2010, before an injury pulled him from the competition. He’s there for his team, but a hot night and a remarkable final training session have him wondering if a gorgeous good-luck charm could give him another chance at the podium.

With a little bit of luck, these two might have a shot at something worth more than gold.

Trouble with Gold by Melinda Dozier

US snowboarder and notorious prankster, Ty (Trouble) Madsen is only getting a taste of his own medicine when his Olympic teammates shackle him to a fence wearing nothing but his boxers.

Reception and protocol volunteer, Nadia Hoffman, gets up close and personal with the sexy snowboarder to rescue him, but she’s not the kind of girl who lets her hormones get in her way. A professional performance could help her land her dream job at Olympics Committee Headquarters, but her new assignment supervising the rambunctious US Snowboarding Team is making that difficult. Can she see behind the snowman in the community center bathroom and into the warm heart of the man everyone calls Trouble?

The Girl behind the Gold by Aria Kane

Greek aerial skier Lia Milonas’s parents are about to lose the family farm. Saving it means medaling and landing a huge sponsor. While her no-nonsense attitude has her well on her way to a medal, it hasn’t won her a place in fans’ hearts.

“Come back with a story that will make readers cry, or don’t come back.” This is what Brandon James’ boss told him before he left New York to cover the Winter Games for Moment Magazine. With a wink and a smile, he can charm his way into any invite-only party, but that career-making story is nowhere to be found – until he meets Lia.

The two strike a deal that should get them both what they want – but neither would have guessed they’d also find what they need.

Ice Gold by Kara Leigh Miller

Colton Campbell thrives on the fast paced, adrenaline rushed lifestyle of being an Olympic hockey player.

Despite Brenna Jessup’s abhorrence for the games and the athletes, she’s hand-picked as the official photographer for the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team.

When a faux pas by Brenna almost costs Colton his career, she owes him. Too bad for her, Colton doesn’t want apologies — he wants retribution! And he knows just how to get it — and her — in the process.

Love and Other Games is a group of short stories that all center around the Olympic Winter Games. These fictitious winter games are being held in Switzerland (which in reality hasn’t hosted the games since 1948). The stories all consist of couples meeting and falling in love pretty darned fast. The stories are all very cute and for the most part very sweet. I’m not sure if it was planned this way but every heroine in was somehow considered “not fun” in their own way. They were all focused on something that kept them away from fun and while that was interesting in the first and maybe the second story it got a little bit old when it happened in all the stories.

The characters in the stories were pretty great and for the most part I really liked them throughout most of the stories. In Trouble with Gold and Ice Gold the men were, at times, jackasses. They did redeem themselves somewhat but it didn’t give me hope for their everlasting HEA’s after seeing the tempers flare.

My favorite stories of the 4 were definitely The Girl Behind the Gold and Worth More Than Gold.

Overall this was a decent read. It was released in October 2013 but with the Olympics starting in just over a week it was a perfect time to read it.

Overall Rating: 3.75 out of 5

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place

This title is available from Swoon Romance. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by one of the authors in exchange for an honest review.