Tag: Crissy Smith

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!

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What I Read Last Week

Posted October 4, 2010 by Tracy in Features | 13 Comments

Good Afternoon!
Another Monday and here we are.  I hope you all had good weekends.  Ours was pretty quiet.  We did have a family picture taken which is always interesting.  When I get the results I’ll share.  I also got my kids’ pictures from school but forgot to bring them with me to share. I’ll try to remember…soon
Let’s see…what else.  Nothing! lol  Just running late today.  My boss is going on vacation tomorrow and it was a crazy, crazy day!
The giveaway for Hard to Hold by Julie Leto is still running so if  you’re interested leave on a comment on this post to enter.
So my first book of the week was Atlantis Betrayed by Alyssa Day and I read it for The Book Binge. This is book 6 in the Warriors of Poseidon series. It was Christophe’s book and it was pretty darned good. I really didn’t care for Christophe in the previous books. Actually, it’s not that I didn’t care for him, he just wasn’t really on my radar at all. He was kind of belligerent but when you hear his background in this book you understand why. 4 out of 5
Next up was A Hellion In Her Bed by Sabrina Jeffries – book 2 in the Hellions of Halstead Hall series and another really good book. This was Jarret’s story and covered him taking over his grandmother’s brewery for a year. He is approached by a woman who is acting for her brothers’ brewery and trying to get Jarret to agree to help them sell a pale ale to the East India Company. I loved seeing come to terms with his past, finding love as well as finding out what he really wants out of life. Good stuff. 4 out of 5
My next read was also for The Book Binge. Quarterback Blitz by Frances Stockton was about a woman who’s 40 who falls in love with a 30 year old 2nd string professional quarterback. She has issues with the age difference but what really is the angst in the book is outside forces trying to pull the couple apart. A pretty good book. A lot of steamy sex and it’s quite creative too. lol 3.75 out of 5
Next was Somewhere Along The Way by Jodi Thomas. This is the next book in the Harmony series and it was just as good as the first book! The story continues 2 years after book 1 and it has all the same characters as book 1 but also brings in Gabe Leary who finds romance with Liz – a Harmony resident who is starting her own business after graduating and becoming a lawyer. I love this series! It’s got such a family feel about it and I always love reading about the different characters, their lives, trials and tribulations. 5 out of 5 (this book was read for The Book Binge as well and doesn’t release until 11/2 but I’ve had it since the end of August and couldn’t wait any longer! lol)
Next was Last Dragon Standing by GA Aiken. Book 4 in the Dragonkin series and I loved it! The way Aiken tells the romance – which admittedly was a tad weaker in this book than previous books – but intertwines all of the characters from past books into it is something that I love. This dragon family is so at odds with each other but you can tell they love each other and will do anything for the other. The overall story arc continues and I can’t wait to read the next book and see what happens! 5 out of 5
My Tracy’s TBR challenge read for the week was a novella since I forgot about it completely (oops) and then had to read something short! The book was The Favour by Crissy Smith. The story was about a mated pair of wolf shifters, Mac and Trevor, who have been together for a while but are now looking for their 3rd. They know that it is Annabell who works for them but getting her to A) understand that they both want her and B) that they’re shifters isn’t that easy. Though it’s a fast mating since it was a shorter book it was a good story with both a bit of m/m sex as well as ménage in there. 3.5 out of 5
And last for the week was the most G rated book I’ve read in a long time. It was The Duke Who Came To Visit by Carol Quinto – a Zebra Regency romance. The Duke of Balfour – an absolute rake, on his way to Norwich, overturns his carriage. He goes to the first house he comes to and is mistaken by the owner, Regina Westfield, to be a tutor for her nephew who is spending the summer with her. The Duke squashes a kidnapping attempt on the nephew and is shot. He ends up remaining at Regina’s home and the two fall in love. It was a very sweet story – with only a little kissing in the last few pages of the book. 3.5 out of 5


My Book Binge reviews that post this past week:
*crickets chirping*
Happy Reading!

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What I Read Last Week

Posted June 7, 2010 by Tracy in Features | 19 Comments

Hello there!
How the heck are ya?  Did you all have wonderful weekends?  I hope so.  Mine was definitely fun filled. 
On Friday night my youngest had, once again, another belt test.  I know it seems like she just had one but the last one was in March.  She did a great job on everything up until she had to break a board.  Her back kick is probably her weakest kick and of course that’s the kick she had to use to break the board.  He called her up and gave her about 8 chances and she couldn’t do it!  OMG the poor thing was in tears.  But then he looked at her and told her that he’d give her another try after he had tested some of the higher belts.  When he called her up again it was still touch and go but she managed to do it.  Here’s the vid of the second set of attempts.
And she passed!  Yay chickie!  Here’s a picture when she got her green belt.  I tried to video tape it but apparently I hadn’t cleaned up my camera in a while and the memory was too full – yikes! 🙂

Then Saturday the whole family went to Lori’s son Steve’s Bar Mitzvah.  He did a great job at the service and the party was a ton of fun.  They did a great job decorating the party room and the dj’s were great – they had everyone out there dancing.  I practically had to drag my girls off the dance floor when it was time to go.  Just a really fun party.
Well, on to what I read this past week:

I started with Lord of the White Hell by Ginn Hale.  This was an ARC of the book that releases on August 15th. It was an excellent read that I highly recommend.  You can read my review here. 5 out of 5

Next was Hue, Tint and Shade by Jordan Castillo Price.  This is the first story in the Petit Mort books and it was very good.  I really enjoyed reading about Tommy the total introvert and Nathan the outgoing window washer get together.  4 out of 5

Then another of my FTSP books Pack Territory by Crissy Smith.  This was Adam and Tasha’s story.  Adam is helping Tasha find her sister who has run away and they start to fall in love.  Along with that Adam has to deal with the fact that his father is in a m/m relationship.  I liked this one but not as much as the other 2 in the series.  3.5 out of 5

My next read was The Forbidden Rose by Joanna Bourne.  OMG I loved this book.  As much as I liked her other 2 books in this series I thought this one was just that much better.  Marguerite and William were just fabulous together.  This is a prequel to the other 2 books so if you haven’t read the series yet you could start with this one and still be ok. 🙂  I read this one for The Book Binge so will let you know when the review posts.  5 out of 5

Pool Hall Green by Sara Bell was my next read.  This is the story of Drew and his struggle with his family.  His parents kicked him out of the house when they found out he was gay but yet call him to get his reckless brother out of trouble whenever they can’t handle it.  It was a very good story about Drew coming to terms with his family and falling in love along the way.  I will definitely be reading more from Bell in the future. 4 out of 5

Skin Tight by Ava Gray was a really good book.  This is book 2 in the Skin series and it follows 2 characters we met in book 1 – Kyra’s friend Mia and casino thug Foster.  Only Foster is now Thomas Strong and he and Mia are working at the same facility.  It seems that Kyra and Strong weren’t born with the powers that they have  – they were basically science experiments.  Mia and Strong work together – against Strong’s better judgment and become close while in the process.  I really liked this story.  Strong (you’ll find out his real name in the book but I don’t want to give it away) is so closed off it was nice to see him loosening up and starting to trust someone – which he hadn’t done in a very long time.  4 out of 5

Yesterday was manga day.  I had a few piled up and knew I had to get to them so I could send them on to their next temporary home so I had a yaoi manga binge.

*The Devil’s Secret by Hinako Takanaga was the story of an incubus demon and a priest. There were some other shorts in there as well.  Interesting stories – pretty good graphics. 3.5 out of 5

*Sugar Milk by Dokuro Jaryu was a bunch of stories.  I didn’t particularly care for the graphics in this one – nor the stories – they were just kind of odd. 2 out of 5
*Shy Intentions by Shoko Takaku was the story of the teacher and the artist.  The teacher was pretty much relating the story of how they got together to another acquaintance.  I liked this one but I think I would have liked it better had it gone in chronological order.  The story was told – then they went back even further…then further again.  It was strange, but still good. 3.5 out of 5
*Restart by Shouko Hidaka was the story of 2 models.  One was going strong and then kind of fizzled out while the other started slow but is rising swiftly.  They get together when one is drunk and that starts the feelings a flowing.  I liked the story and the graphics in this one. 4 out of 5

Last of the week was Black Wade by Franz and Andaerle.  I’ve been wanting to read/view this graphic novel since Sarah put it on her DIK reading list.  It has wonderful color graphics and a short but good story.  Definitely worth the read/view. 4 out of 5

My Book Binge review that posted this past week:

Happy Reading!

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What I Read Last Week

Posted May 10, 2010 by Tracy in Features | 14 Comments

I hope you all had a great week last week.  My week was relatively quiet – until my oldest daughter decided to wake me up at the butt crack of dawn on both days this past weekend.  Death to the television.  Ok, not death – but maybe some headphones so she can watch movies at 7am and I won’t have to hear them! Or earplugs for myself! lol
Not much happening in life right now so I’ll get right to the books:

This was actually a book I read week before last but forgot to mention – Silent Blade by Ilona Andrews. Very good story about an assassin and the man who falls in love with her. 4 out of 5

My first read was Tall, Dark and Wolfish by Lydia Dare.  This is book 2 in the the Westfield brothers trilogy.  Unlike book 1, where the hero lied about his Lycan side, Ben came clean pretty quickly about what he was.  He shared a bond with Elspeth and I really liked their relationship.  Good book.  You can read my review at the Book Binge here. 4.25 out of 5

Next was another free read from the GLBT Bookshelf called Crimes of Passion by Mel Keegan.  A short story about the in-laws coming to visit.  Brad and Frank are happily co-habitating when Frank gets word from his parents that they’re coming to visit.  Frank freaks out and Brad can’t seem to figure out what the hell is wrong with the ‘rents as they sound fine on paper.  Yeah, not so fine in person.  Cute, funny short.  4 out of 5

Dancing in the Dark by Jennifer Dunne is a novella I read for The Book Binge.  The story is about a woman who gets invited to a Halloween party at the opera house where she volunteers.  She decides to go as a slave girl and orders a costume online sight unseen.  She gets the costume and it’s a bdsm slave girl costume.  She wears it anyway and decides to become a slave to a man she meets at the party.  You can read my review here. 3.5 out of 5

Next up was Finding Home by Cameron Dane.  A book where I loved the first part of the book and the second part – not so much.  You can read my review here.  3.5 out of 5

One of my FTSP reads for the week was Pack Enforcer by Crissy Smith – book 2 in the Were Chronicles series.  This is set in the same world as book 1 but deals with people from another pack than book 1.  Unfortunately it’s been some time since I read book 1 so I had to really stop and think about who these people were.  I figured it out and enjoyed the story. Werewolf man denying his feelings toward his mate – misinterpreting something that happened while he was away and then regretting his actions.  Good story. 3.75 out of 5

Out of the Blue by Josh Lanyon was my next read and one of my Tracy’s TBR Challenge Reads.  This was a story about fighter pilots in WWI.  The story of Bat who is grieving for his love who was killed in a air fight.  Now he’s being blackmailed into having sex with another pilot.  As much as I was angered at Cowboy for blackmailing Bat I just knew that there were underlying feelings on Cowboy’s part.  The story was incredibly good.  The action and fight scenes had me on the edge of my seat and yet the stories of the other pilots dying every day had me tearing up.  Just a great novella.  4.5 out of 5

Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Duran has been a book that I’ve really been looking forward to.  Unfortunately while a good story I didn’t love it.  Gwen, jilted twice at the altar, decides that there will be no more Miss Nice Girl and decides to be Wicked.  She is aided in this by family friend Alex.  I couldn’t feel the connection with Gwen and Alex on anything more than a superficial level.  Alex was an ass most of the time until the end and by then, for me, it was too late.  I think Ana from The Book Smugglers spoke my thoughts perfectly in her review here.  3.5 out of 5

The Reawakened by Jeri Smth-Ready is the 3rd book in the Aspect of Crow Trilogy.  Why this book sat on my shelf for so long is beyond me.  It was so damned good!  I loved this trilogy on so many levels.  This book takes place 18 years after book 2 but is no less powerful.  We see how life has changed for Rhia and Marek, their children and their friends and family.  Just a wonderful read.  5 out of 5 (also part of my FTSP)

Another series finished! Woohoo! The Legend of the Four Soldiers series by Elizabeth Hoyt was completed this weekend by reading To Desire A Devil and loving it.  The story of Reynaud – who was thought dead. His fellow soldiers had seen him burn and when he returns after 7 years they don’t know what to make of it.  On top of that his father has died which means he’s the new Earl – but when he was presumed dead the title was given to someone else.  He’s determined to get the title back and keep his cousin (by marriage), Beatrice, with him forever.  Great end to the series.  Loved Reynaud and his possessiveness.  Sometimes that can go over the line but it didn’t in this book, at least for me, and I was digging it. 4.5 out of 5

Reasons by Tracy Fabre was a book I read for The Book Binge.  The story of a woman who goes back to a ranch in Colorado where family friends, the Laughlin’s live.  Only she’s found out that the car that hit her 9 years ago in a hit and run was driven by one of the sons of the Laughlin’s.  Good story.  Witty dialogue. An engaging read of family secrets and new love.  4 out of 5

And last was a yaoi manga – A Foreign Love Affair by Ayano Yamane.  Great graphics.  The story was ok – about the 3rd highest in a yakuza family that was on a cruise and had just gotten married to a woman who he didn’t even like and she certainly didn’t like him either.  He was old fashioned and wore kimono’s.  The ship captain had a thing for Japan so was instantly drawn to him.  I couldn’t figure out if the Italian captain liked Ranmura or just the fact that he was Japanese. 3.5 out of 5


Happy Reading!

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