Tag: Astrid Amara

What I Read Last Week

Posted May 23, 2011 by Tracy in Features | 11 Comments

I can’t believe how fast this school year has flown by. Of course while it’s happening it doesn’t seem like it’s going by quickly but now that it’s the end – wow. My oldest daughter’s last day of 7th grade is on Thursday – how the hell did that happen? Seriously, wasn’t I just posting pictures of the first day of school and wondering how she’d grown so fast? It’s crazy. My youngest is quite put out by the fact that her sister’s last day is this week because she doesn’t get out of school until the 10th of June. I can just imagine how fun it will be to try and get her up every morning when her sister gets to sleep. Ug. lol

Diet and exercise – I was bad this week and didn’t do any exercise routine at all. I did, however, go on a 90 minute hike on Saturday morning with my youngest and not only was it great exercise but it was fun and a beautiful day to boot. Here are a couple of shots I got with my phone. There was a lovely small waterfall at the top of the trail and I thought I had gotten a picture of it but apparently I had accidentally switched my phone to video mode and I got a jumble of nothing instead. 🙂
I did lose 1.8 pounds this week which brings my total lost to 4 pounds. Slow and steady wins the race, right? Yeah, I just keep telling myself that.

I read a lot this past week. Mostly because I was sick for 2 days and when I’m home, in bed, with what felt like the Bubonic plague, there’s nothing to do but read. I hated being sick but it was nice to have quiet alone time. It’s amazing how much I can read when the kids aren’t around. lol I also read quite a few shorter books so it seemed like I read more. 🙂

First up was Mate Hunt by Amber Kell. This is book one in the Dragonmen series. It was the story of Joriah who is sent to a mate hunt on the dragonworld so that he can A)find a mate and B)get away from his brother who supposedly wants him dead. Joriah ends up finding not one but 2 mates. This story had some good potential but it was so short the world and emotions weren’t explored fully. 3.25 out of 5

Next up was The Clearing by Heather Davis. I read YA novels that often but I got this one at RT and I’m so glad I did. It was the story of Amy who goes to live with her great aunt in a small town after she has some abuse issues with her ex-boyfriend. She ends up meeting Henry in a clearing near her aunts house and they become friends and start to fall in love. But Henry’s not exactly in the 21st century. On Henry’s side of the clearing it’s still 1944. The story tells of their friendship, their sweet romance and the difficult choices that have to be made by both Amy and Henry. It was a really great book though I have to admit the last chapter threw me a bit. I understood why the author wrote it the way she did…except for one aspect of it that I couldn’t quite wrap my head around and thought about for days afterward. A really good read. 4 out of 5

My next read was Dark Enchantment by Anya Bast. This is book 3 in the Dark Magick series and it was pretty darned good. The story was about Charlotte, a human accountant, and Kieran who is from the Seelie court. Kieran bonds with Charlotte to get her to Piefferburg so that the dark fae can delve into the memories of her ancestors. A good story just like the first two in the series. You can read my review on The Book Binge here. 4 out of 5

After that I picked up Lord Langley is Back in Town by Elizabeth Boyle. This is the story of Lord Langley who is back in town. lol Kidding, ok, he IS back in town but he’s trying to clear his name and falling in love at the same time. I’ll post my review on Wednesday.

Feral Craving by Jenika Snow was a short story about a woman who is looking for something in her life but doesn’t have a clue what that might be. She gets invited to a weekend party by her friend and during the weekend meets Killian and has a wonderful night – but on the second night he seems quite different. Maybe because there are two men who just look alike? It was good erotic read but not too in depth with the characters 3 out of 5

A Lot Like Love by Julie James was my next read and it was a good one. The story of an FBI agent who gets roped into playing boyfriend to a rich woman so that he can get the bad guy and she can get her brother out of prison. It was a great story and I really liked it. It had James’s humor as well as some great romantic moments. 4 out of 5

Love Ahead, Expect Delays by Astrid Amara was my next read. This was the story of a man who has to drive his grandmothers Geo Spectrum to her from Seattle to Colorado at Hanukah. He invites his boyfriend who’s not thrilled about the Geo but agrees to go. It was a story of everything that can go wrong, will go wrong which normally isn’t my favorite thing to read but Amara really did a great job of working Austin and Zach’s relationship issues into the story along with great humor. 4 out of 5

Next was Ice Cream on the Side by Wren Boudreau. Architect Dylan meets Michael Gilmore and start a relationship but there are some strange things happening. First a dead body shows up…and it’s a guy that Dylan dated. Then another friend of Dylan’s dies and Michael almost gets killed. Now they just have to figure out who wants everyone out of Dylan’s life. A cute story. 3.75 out of 5

Anchor by Jorrie Spencer was next. I bought this one not realizing that there were a few other stories in front of it in the series but once I started reading I didn’t feel like I needed to read those others to know what was going on. Yes, there were a few times where previous knowledge of the town, etc. would have helped but not too much. This was the story Mala who had been having stories about wolves since she was a child. She always thought that they were just dreams but then she finds out that everything was real. She ends up in Wolf Town trying to help find an evil wolf shifter and falling in love with the alpha, Angus. I liked the dream portion of this story as well as the interactions with the different people that Mala had but the I felt the romance part of the story was definitely on the light side. 3.25 out of 5

My Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week was The Perfect Stranger by Anne Gracie. Yes, I’m slowly making my way through this series – just 1 more book to go. This was Faith’s story and I really liked it. It was definitely on the darker side compared to the previous books but really good. Faith had eloped with a man and married him but after a month finds out that the wedding was a sham and that he was already married with 5 children! She runs from him but ends up pretty much living on the streets until she runs into an ex-soldier. The ex-soldier, Nick, says he’ll marry Faith in name only but once they’re married she’ll go straight back to England (they’re in France) so that he can complete his journey. Faith agrees but then reneges and ends up traveling with Nick and of course, eventually falling in love. It was a sweet story and quite emotional at times. The resolution to Nick’s issues was a bit out there for my liking but the book was good overall. 4 out of 5

Pack Rogue by Crissy Smith is a novella that is book 4 in the Were Chronicles series. This was the meeting and mating of Kiley – a rogue/were/P.I. – and a visiting Alpha, Austin. The series itself deals with the were’s possibly coming out to the humans but the stories are SO short that we really never get total resolution at the end of the books. The romances are short and sweet but the rest of the story needs more too it imho. 3 out of 5

Last on the list was St. Nacho’s by Z.A. Maxfield. This was a great book about Cooper is trying to outrace his demons by hitting the road on his motorcycle – which he’s been doing for three years. He stops in Santo Ignacio, California and ends up working for his room and board…and falling in love with Shawn, the deaf busboy at Nacho’s. But his past calls and he has to head back to help a friend and ex-lover deal with similar demons. It was great read and I can’t wait to read the next in the series. Too bad I have books 1 & 3 only. lol I’ll get #2 soon and work on that. 4 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted this past week:
Hidden Embers by Tessa Adams
Devil’s Own by Veronica Wolff
Dark Enchantment by Anya Bast

Happy Reading!

11 Comments

Tagged: Amber Kell, Anne Gracie, Anya Bast, Astrid Amara, Crissy Smith, Elizabeth Boyle, Heather Davis, Jenika Snow, Jorrie Spencer, Julie James, What I Read Last Week, What I've Been Reading This Week, Wren Boudreau, ZA Maxfield

What I Read Last Week

Posted September 13, 2010 by Tracy in Features | 14 Comments

Hello my fellow book lovers!

How the heck are ya? I’m doing well. There’s not anything to report here so I’ll get right to the books.

Actually I started the week reading a bunch of yaoi manga:
Reversible by various artists 2 out of 5
Love Mode by Yuki Shimizu 3 out of 5
Ka*Shin*Fu by Makoto Tateno 2 out of 5
Golden Prince and Argent King by Kouko Agawa 3 out of 5
Little Butterfly – Omnibus – by Hinako Takanaga 4 out of 5

First up was Wicked Surrender by Jade Lee. This was the story of the daughter of an actress who now ran a theatre. She wants nothing more than to be found respectable so when the 4th son of an Earl proposes she accepts. The problem is that she’s not accepted by his set at all and things aren’t exactly the way she expected them to be. There’s also the problem of her having feelings for her fiance’s cousin and him constantly asking her to be his mistress. I had some issues with the heroine of this book…and the hero at times as well but liked it for the most part. I found out an interesting twist when I read the blurb for the next book in the series so I’ll definitely be reading that one to find out what happens. This one I read for The Book Binge. 3.5 out of 5

Next was All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins. Ok, Higgins makes me laugh. I really love her sense of humor. The story was about a woman who had been in love with a guy for years. He was now her boss and at one point had had a 5 week relationship that she thought was going somewhere. Turned out it wasn’t quite great “timing” for her boss though. Yeah, right. Anyway, so she’s decided to branch out in the dating scene and starts – eventually, in a round about kind of way, to date the new town vet. That’s not before she goes on a couple of dates with men that’s she’s met on an online dating service (those were damned funny). It’s a crazy time in her life and very emotional at times but it works. This book was funny, heart-breaking, sad and fun all rolled into one. There were points in the book when I found it too descriptive, or the heroine would go off on a tangent in her mind and those were a bit frustrating but overall I really liked it. 4 out of 5

I read Her Laird, Her Lover by Sable Grey for The Book Binge. This short story was about a woman who had been sent back into medieval times 3 years prior. Her and her “mother”, the woman who had taken her in, ran cons to make money. One such con was run on a local Laird only her secret is discovered and eventually love blooms. I really liked this story. Grey managed to pack a lot of good stuff into 40 some pages. 4 out of 5

After that was Holiday Outing by Astrid Amara. I’m not sure why I’m reading Hanakkuh stories in September but whatever. lol It was good! Jonah is going home to visit his parents for Hanakkuh and he’s not thrilled about it. He’s gay and a gay fiction writer but his parents know neither of these facts. They think that he lives in Seattle and isn’t very successful. Ethan, Jonah’s old neighbor – the guy Jonah had the hots for while growing up – and the guy who outed him and got him beat up and shoved in lockers in high school, picks Jonah up from the airport and starts flirting with him. Huh? The story is of Ethan and Jonah’s relationship as well as the search for a family heirloom that disappears during a blizzard and subsequent blackout. This was a wonderful story! I loved the mystery involved with all of Jonah’s relatives as well as the budding relationship with Ethan and Jonah. I definitely recommend this one. 4.5 out of 5

My Tracy’s TBR challenge read for the week was Warsworn by Elizabeth Vaughan. I read Warprize a while back and loved it. Why it took me so long to read book 2 is beyond me. This book followed Lara and Keir in their journey to the Plains. The story was mostly about the Plague and how it hits their camp but also about Lara and Keir finding a better understanding and deeper love with each other. I laughed in this one, I cried (a lot, which I never do) and I loved it. Great book 4.5 out of 5

I had to immediately read Warlord by Elizabeth Vaughan after finishing Warsworn. I didn’t want to wait so I picked it up and devoured it. It was just as good as books 1 and 2 and I loved it as well. This had Lara and Keir in the Plains and the many obstacles they had to face in order to be together. They had to face many dissenters and it certainly wasn’t easy. I really like Vaughan’s writing and yes, found myself crying at the end of this one as well. How does she do that? lol 4.5 out of 5

Next up was The Promise by Brenda Joyce. This is book 13 in the de Warrene dynasty series and it comes out on the 28th. I don’t want to say anything about my thoughts since I’ll be reviewing it this week. This was Elysse O’Neill and Alexi de Warrene’s story.

I read Whenever We Meet by Cerise DeLand for The Book Binge (yes, I’m trying to catch up!). The story of a woman who is recovering from the death or her husband – even though they didn’t have a great marriage. She goes to Mexico to design a hotel and falls in love with her client. He wants her but is willing to wait until she’s comfortable with him. He does have one requirement though – she has to kiss him hello whenever she enters a room that he’s in and kiss him goodbye when she leaves. Interesting concept – I liked the first part of the book since I love kissing scenes but the end didn’t really do it for me. (EC covers are not leaving much to the imagination these days are they?!) 3 out of 5

Next was another book for The Book Binge called Trouble in a Stetson by Regina Carlysle. Lola and 2 of her friends leave Vegas for a grand adventure. Lola was a showgirl (*sings* her name was Lola, she was a showgirl…nevermind) and got canned because she was too old – she’s 30! Right after that her fiance breaks it off with her and Lola and her friends have had enough of Vegas. Lola and her friends make it to Mesa Blanco, Texas when their car breaks down. They have no money and end up staying to get the car fixed and get some money to get on their way. Lola meets the town sheriff though and they start a relationship. Lola was done with men but Sam just calls to her and Sam was hurt by a previous relationship/marriage and doesn’t want to get involved other than sex. Yeah, that doesn’t work out for either one of them. lol This was a very cute book. I’ve liked what I’ve read of Carlysle’s in the past and this one didn’t disappoint. 4 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted this past week:

A Matter of Duty by Elizabeth Jewell

Cross Your Heart by Michele Bardsley

Marriage in Moonlust by Kate Hill

Happy Reading!

14 Comments

Tagged: Astrid Amara, Brenda Joyce, Cerise Deland, Elizabeth Vaughan, Jade Lee, Kristan Higgins, Regina Carlysle, Sable Grey, The Book Binge, What I Read Last Week, What I've Been Reading This Week, yaoi manga

What I’ve Been Reading This Week

Posted December 21, 2009 by Tracy in Features | 12 Comments

Hi there!

How is everyone? Are you all ready for Christmas…well, the ones celebrating it, that is? 🙂 I think I am. Well, I need to wrap a lot of stuff but I can’t do that when the kids are around so I’m excused, right? lol

I’m out of whatever kind of reading thing I was in a couple of weeks ago. Thank heavens! I’ve had no problem picking up books this week. I think what did it was A) Your suggestions and B) reading a bunch of m/m. I love reading it…but sometimes it makes me long for a good m/f HEA I guess.

Anyway, on to what I read this week:

First up was Star Crossed: Demon Tailz by Reno McLeod and Jaye Valentine. This is an m/m novella that I was totally into up until the twincest started and I just couldn’t do it. I had to stop reading. I can read a lot of stuff…apparently that’s not included. Ew. DNF

I liked the writing by McLeod and Valentine so my abrupt halt in my previous read didn’t stop me from picking up Star Crossed 2: Opposite Ends of the Spectrum. This story involved a demon and an angel who meet while being held captive and were shown off at what appeared to be a carnival freak show. The two men escape and start a relationship. 10 years later and they’re still in love, but trouble is a brewing – how will the two work things out? I liked this book but was slightly confused by the end and the whole angel thing. If you’ve read this – we need to talk. lol 3.5 out of 5

Next up was Hell Cop by Astrid Amara, Nicole Kimberling and Ginn Hale. I really liked these story about 3 different cops who work in the city with demons and sorcerers and all kinds of various beings. They’re called hell cop’s because it’s pretty much hell working there. 3 really good m/m stories. 4.25 out of 5

Accidentally Were? by Anne Douglas was next on the list. Another impulse buy at ARe. It was the story of a straight laced woman who has a one night stand and now all the dogs in the area are following her around. lol She goes to talk to her best friend’s neighbor cuz he’s a vet. Well he just wants to do her on the floor of his house…so he does. See – she had had sex with a were-being of some sort and one of them had nipped her enough to change her and she happened to be ovulating so she was in heat and all the beasts in the neighborhood were following her scent. Sounds weird but it was pretty funny. The book has some hot sex, humor and of course twu wuv. 🙂 3.75 out of 5

Half Past Dead by Zoe Archer and Bianca D’Arc was a book I read for The Book Binge. If you like zombies you’ll want to read these two stories, maybe. lol I’ll let you know when my review posts.

My Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week was Seduce Me At Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas. This was Win and Kev’s story and I really liked it. I had read mixed reviews of the story and though the book made me want to crawl through it and smack Kev at times I really liked it. 4.25 out of 5

Bad Boys, Bad Boys by Mia Watts was my next read. Another impulse purchase (yes, I do that a lot) but it was pretty darned good. Two cops, best friends and partners, and one’s been having erotic dreams about the other. One night when Geo is drunk he puts the moves on his friend, Mack, and Mack’s freaked out, but can’t stop thinking how good it was. I loved how the two worked it all out. There’s one scene when they’re on a stake out and they’re in the car kissing, yet practically beating each other up as well. Great scene. Do I think it would happen when they were on a stake out? Probably not but that’s where suspension of belief comes in to play. 🙂 4 out of 5

Next was Jock Dorm: Dar and Gregg by Bobby Michaels. Dar and Gregg meet because Dar, a non-jock, gets put into the Jock Dorm. He falls hard for his roommate and they become great friends. But Dar can’t handle being in love with Gregg when Gregg’s not gay. Guess again. This part of the story was just cute. Gregg and Dar falling in love was pretty cool and I liked that part of the book. Their sex was hot too, the first couple of times, but then it was just too much for me. I think if the book had been shorter with about 1/3 of the sex I would have loved it. I’m sure there are others out there that loved the length of the book and the amount of sex, I’m just not one of them. 🙂 2.5 out of 5

And last but not least was yet another book that I read for The Book Binge, Smolder by Melina Morel. This one didn’t work for me – which was sad since I was looking forward to reading it. I’ll let you know when my review posts.