Tag: Ashlyn Macnamara

What I Read Last Week

Posted February 25, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 4 Comments

Another Happy Monday to you!

I wish I could say that my life is incredibly exciting and relate all that happened recently to you but yeah, my life isn’t that exciting. It seems like we’ve been homebodies lately and haven’t really done much. I love my home so I love being there so that’s a good thing.

We did see a few movies that were good – Warm Bodies, The Impossible and the Franco Zefirelli version of Romeo and Juliet. My oldest just finished reading Romeo and Juliet in her 9th grade English class (do ALL 9th grade English classes read that? I know mine did) and the teacher had only shown bits and pieces of the movie to the kids. My oldest wanted to see the whole thing and was a blubbering mess by the end. That used to be my favorite movie when I was in high school and watched it about a thousand times (I had a huge crush on Leonard Whiting) so it made me smile to see her enjoy it so much.

We finally got the date for my youngest’s black belt test and it’s March 30th. She’s very excited and has been working hard on her form and techniques. She also has to learn some Korean and learn the Korean national anthem which I think is pretty cool but not all that easy. lol

Ok, on to what I read this week:

I started off the week with Wicked Lies by Karina Cooper. This is an in-between story in the Dark Mission series. I haven’t read any of the other books but this one intrigued me. The story is about tech guy Jonas who helps save Danny after he’s captured and beaten. He manages to get him out of the holding facility and while he’s escaping they talk. The pair become attracted to each other and when they meet they have a hard time keeping their hands off of each other. The story is set in a world that I wasn’t familiar with and frankly while I really liked the story between the two men I think it might have been even better had I read the rest of the series. I’ll post my review for this one next week. 3.5 out of 5   

Next up was Alien Overnight by Robin L. Rotham. My friend gave me a bag of books that she didn’t want any longer. When I pulled this one out I kind of rolled my eyes at the cover but the back blurb made me laugh so I read it. The story is about alien’s who are on earth to try and gather women to take back to their planet to bear their children as their species is dying out. One alien realizes that one of the women is a half human/half Garathan and wants to make her his mate. The story is about Monica’s transformation into this being and her dealings with her two mates, Kellen and Shauss. The story wasn’t as ridiculous as I first believed it would be which was nice and parts of it were enjoyable. I DIDN’T enjoy the forced seductions but of course the heroine ended up LOVING them. Ug. lol 2.5 out of 5  

A Most Scandalous Proposal by Ashlyn Macnamara was my next read. This story was about 2 sisters, their parents (especially their mother) who want them married to titles and the many different men. There’s the man that 1 sister is in love with but he wants to marry the other. There’s the 2nd sisters best friend who wants her, an Earl that gets married to sister 1 through compromise and then there’s the villain in all of that. If you want the full story you can read my review here. 3.5 out of 5 

From Here to Eternity by Paige Cuccaro is a story that kind of has a fantasy/sci-fi/paranormal/futuristic feel to it. I’m obviously not sure how to label it but it was good. Rachel wakes up to find her obituary in the newspaper and a man who calls her his wife but she can’t remember. The story involves automatons and deals with the question of what exactly makes us…us. It was a good one I just wish it had been longer. 3.75 out of 5 (read for The Book Binge) 

Fool’s Gold by Cassandra Dean is a western historical about a couple who have secretly lusted after each other but have a contentious relationship. They get stuck in a blizzard together and truly discover who the other person is – in and out of bed. The story was cute but very short. 3 out of 5 (read for The Book Binge) 

Wild Invitation by Nalini Singh is an anthology that has 4 stories and includes 2 stories that were previously printed in anthologies and 2 brand new stories. The 2 stories that I had previously read were wonderful, as they were the first time I read them (Beat of Temptation with Nate & Tamsyn and Stroke of Enticement with Annie and Zach) and I loved revisiting them. The two new stories, Declaration of Courtship & Texture of Intimacy, were really good as well and definitely worth reading. 4.5 out of 5 (read for The Book Binge) 

Seeing is Believing by Erin McCarthy is the 3rd book in the Ohio’s Most Haunted Town series. It’s been 6 years since the last full novel but it was great to be back in Cuttersville. This story is about Piper who in the previous book was only 8 years old. Now she’s grown and is teaching kindergarten. She’s still seeing ghosts and trying to ignore that fact. When her childhood fantasy comes back to Cuttersville in the form of Brady Stritmeyer Piper goes for the gold. They start an affair but soon things get series and neither is sure what to do. I really liked this book. I loved Piper and Brady together and loved seeing the characters from previous books. 4.25 out of 5 (read for The Book Binge) 

Last for the week was Spider Sense by Charlie Richards. This was a really good story about Haben who is a tarantula shifter who finds his mate while helping out a friend. Lou is the parent of his dead partners son and the son has shifted into a lion. Haben is asked by a friend to go and help them all understand what’s going on but finds that Lou is his mate. Lou is freaked when he sees Haben in spider form and almost blows it. Then when Lou’s son gets kidnapped they need to find and save him. It was the best story I’ve read in this story so far and hopefully the next few in the series will be just as good. 4 out of 5 

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week: 
A Rainbow for Christmas by Mary Montague Sikes 
The Devil’s Triangle by Toni de Palma 
Immortal Ever After by Lynsay Sands

Happy Reading!


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Review: A Most Scandalous Proposal by Ashlyn Macnamara

Posted February 21, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 5 Comments

After watching her beloved sister Sophia pine over the ton’s Golden Boy for years, Miss Julia St. Claire has foresworn love and put herself firmly on the shelf. Unfortunately, her social-climbing mother and debt-ridden father have other ideas, and jump at the chance to marry Julia off to the newly-named Earl of Clivesden…the man of Sophia’s dreams.

Since resigning his Cavalry commission, Benedict Revelstoke has spent his time in London avoiding the marriage mart. But when he discovers that the Earl of Clivesden has set Julia in his sights, Benedict tries to protect his childhood best friend from the man’s advances—only to discover more than friendship driving his desire to defend her. He surprises them both with the force of his feelings, but when she refuses him and her father announces her betrothal, he fears he’s lost her forever—until Julia approaches him with a shocking scheme that will ruin her for all respectable society…

…and lead them into an exquisite world of forbidden pleasures.

Benedict Revelstoke is in London to buy a broodmare. He has no intention of attending balls or even seeing his childhood best friend, Julia. He’s at his club though and sees that a man named William Ludlowe has placed a bet having to do with Julia and he heads off to warn her. He does manage to warn her but doesn’t tell her about the bet.

Julia and her sister Sophia have been out for several seasons and have had offers of marriage that they have both turned down, much to their mothers dismay. Julia has no plans to marry, ever, and Sophia has been in love with William Ludlowe (the bet maker) for five years and plans to marry no one but him. Unfortunately William shows no signs of ever paying Sophia any attention and her heart is breaking. When Sophia faints after seeing William with another woman at a ball she is saved by the Earl of Highgate. Unfortunately it compromises Sophia and the two end up engaged. Sophia plans on crying off before the marriage, and Highgate knows it, but the longer Highgate is with Sophia the more he truly wants her for his bride.

Benedict has been in love with Julia since he was a young teen but Julia wants nothing but to be his friend. That changes however when Julia’s engagement to William Ludlowe, now the Earl of Clivesden, is announced – an engagement that was arranged without Julia’s knowledge or consent. Besides the fact that she doesn’t even like Clivesden she doesn’t want to marry him for another reason – her sisters love for him. Julia doesn’t want to betray her sister and heads off to find Benedict. Julia asks Benedict to compromise her so that she won’t have to marry Clivesden and while he first refuses he soon realizes that he can’t let Julia go.

I know that it all seems very confusing with the two different sisters and their men and then Clivesden, but I have to say that despite there being a ton of characters in this book the author did a good job of weaving the story and not making the reader feel overwhelmed.

When I started the book I thought that it was just a love story between Benedict and Julia but really the book has 2 love stories going on – that between Benedict and Julia and also Sophia and Highgate. While I liked both stories I have to say that I felt that neither of the love stories were given their complete due because of sharing a book. I would have loved to read about Julia’s and Sophia’s romances separately as each seemed a bit rushed. I think I actually ended up liking Sophia’s romance better than Julia’s!

Benedict was a second son and a fine man. He wanted to court Julia but she’d have none of it. If it hadn’t been for her parents making arrangements behind her back I don’t think the two would have ever gotten together because of Julia’s thoughts on love and marriage. I was quite happy when she finally got her head together and saw the light. 🙂

Sophia and Highgate great together. Highgate had lived through one marriage where his wife cheated on him and didn’t care for him at all. He understood that Sophia was going to need time to get over her feelings for Clivesden before they could really move ahead with their relationship. He tried to be patient and he was for the most part but I’m happy to say that he did his best to move her in his direction. He wasn’t your typical romance hero as far as stature as he wasn’t tall and strapping – he was actually shorter and scarred – but Macnamara really made him seem so much bigger because of his personality and I loved that.

Overall it was a good read. I liked the writing enough to definitely pick up another of her books when it releases.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Ashlyn Macnamara


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