Well it was another stressful week at work but I survived which was a good thing. 

We had a nice weekend as I headed out to my mom’s to help here with some computer stuff and then yesterday I got to see my grown & married nephew who lives in Pennsylvania.  Yay!  The local family got together for lunch and we had a great time just talking and catching up.  Here’s a picture that I took of my nephew and my youngest.  (I’d actually had one taken of him and me but apparently it turned out really blurry. I’ll have to take another before he heads home to PA.)

Don’t forget to enter the 2 contests I’ve got going.  One for a box of historical novels and one for a box of fantasy/UF.  The links are on the sidebar.

I read a really long novel at the beginning of last week and after that really felt the need to read a bunch of shorts.  Here’s what I devoured this week:

I started off the week with Season of the Shadow by Bobbi Groover.  This is an american historical that I read for The Book Binge and I really liked it but for a few items. The story was about a man (boy, really, as he was only 17) who was kidnapped, kept chained in a madhouse and treated like an animal for 6 years before he managed to escape with his life and most of his sanity.  He’s back in his hometown to destroy the person who did it all to him, his cousin.  He also is still madly in love with his first love but he thinks she might have had something to do with his abduction as well.  The man is confused and hurt emotionally but determined to get his life back from the man who stole it.  The book was very good but I did have a problem with the length which was 690 pdf pages.  Just too long imho.  I’ll let you know when my review posts at TBB. 4 out of 5

Here is where my short reading began:

First up was A Wedding Story by Dee Tenorio.  Ruth Ann and Bobby have been prankster enemies since they were young kids.  Ruth Ann isn’t thrilled when at her sisters wedding reception she is not only sat next to Bobby but they are at the kids’ table.  Ruth Ann and Bobby decide to make the most of it and decide to dance but that’s when things at the reception start going awry and when Bobby and Ruth Ann are left alone they realize that maybe they don’t hate each other as much as Ruth Ann thought.  Really cute and funny story. 3.5 out of 5 (free on Kindle)

Holding Out For A Hero by Stacey Joy Netzel was a short about a woman who is having a really crappy day.  When she’s at lunch, however, she sees something happen that makes her start looking at life a little differently and it changes everything.  A great story that has a little bit of a hopeful romance in it.   I did kind of a mini review that you can read here if you’re interested.  4 out of 5 (free on Kindle)

Next up was Fury by Anya Bast. This is part of her Otherkin series which is looks like there are only 2 of.  The story is about a woman who is in a “pack” of shifters but there are mostly wolven shifters.  She is a cougar but the elders want to make her their queen.  She runs but her mate comes looking for her.  This was an ok read.  I didn’t love the characters but the story was a good one and of course the sex was hot as is the norm with Bast’s books. 3 out of 5 (free on Kindle)

Without Mercy by Belinda Boring followed Darcy as she runs an errand for a pack bbq with the her future sister-in-law and best friend.  A crazed man who is on a mission ends up accosting the two and all hell breaks loose.  It was a sad story but it was so short that I just needed more.  More of the after effects of the whole situation, etc.  Maybe we were supposed to get that in future books but I never like being left hanging.  3 out of 5 (free on Kindle)

Four Kisses by Bonnie Dee was the story of two people who meet when they are 13 and share a kiss.  The pair meet about every 3 or 4 years due to odd circumstances and always share some form of a kiss.  It was a very sweet story and I really liked the whole scenario.  You can read my mini review here. 4.5 out of 5
So ended my short binge. lol

A Rose is A Rose by Jet Mykles tells the story of Carson who is in his early twenties.  He is a man used to be taken care of and when his “boyfriend” doesn’t want to take it to the next level it crushes Carson.  He finds out that he was just one of many who is man was seeing.  Carson befriends the owner of his building who is a shy manly man named Eddie.  Carson isn’t used to not being taken care of but Eddie helps him out with food and stuff but Carson knows that Eddie isn’t gay.  Of course Eddie will be gay for Carson as he just finds him beautiful and fascinating.  I really liked this book a lot.  Carson’s character was great but I just didn’t love the romance.  The story was told in third person but we never got to see things from Eddie’s pov.  When Carson decides that he needs to do things on his own we never get to see how that effects Eddie which I would have loved.  Overall a good story but I did have some issues with it. 3.5 out of 5

My next read was My Summer of Wes by Missy Welsh. Mal is friendless and lives in a vanilla world with no excitement until his new neighbors move in across the street. Wes is the neighbors son and though older than Mal they hit it off immediately.  Wes is gay and even though Mal has been called names and been accused of being gay for the past four years he is certain that he’s not.  Until Mal and Wes start spending more time together and Mal starts to see the truth in himself.  The story was very sweet with very little conflict.  The sex scenes were hot and I just loved Wes to pieces.  4 out of 5

A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare is the first in the Spindle Cove series and I finally read it!  It was really good and I’m so glad I did.  Bram was hurt in the war and is looking to regain his position in the field.  He contacts Sir Lewis in Spindle Cove and heads there with the hopes that he will get what he wants.  Sir Lewis not only turns him down but makes him an Earl (via the king) and then asks him to get a militia ready in a month.  Bram is pissed but Sir Lewis’s daughter Susanna is a nice distraction.  Distraction being the key as he can’t seem to keep his mind on his work due to thinking of Susanna constantly.  It was a cute book about the inhabitants of Spindle Cove and how they come together to try to make their local field day the best there is.  Susanna and Bram’s relationship was wonderful and just thinking of the book makes me smile. 4.25 out of 5

Last on the list was my read for the monthly TBR challenge and that was An Army Ranger’s Return by Soraya Lane.  Pen pal’s Jessica and Ryan have written to each other constantly and now Ryan is returning home.  Jessica is nervous about what will happen and what DOES happen is not what she expects at all.  I’d tell you more but then I wouldn’t have to write my review for Wednesdays post. lol  

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
crickets chirping

Happy Reading!!