Tag: Eden Winters

What I Read Last Week

Posted December 5, 2011 by Tracy in Features | 8 Comments

Greetings!
I can’t believe it’s December already! Do I say that every month? (Not that it’s December but that it’s a new month?) Where has 2011 gone? I swear I keep trying to write August on my checks because I’m still back in summer! lol.
This week was pretty quiet on the home front. Not much going on – just status quo – which personally I like. 🙂
For a good laugh watch this video with Katherine Heigl about how she hates balls – too funny!
I did get quite a bit of reading done this week and here’s what I read:
I started off the week with Again by Mary Calmes. This is the story of Noah who is devastated by his husband breaking off their relationship of 4 years and telling him he’s in love with a woman and has been for years. Noah can hardly believe it as they had talked about having a child together and Noah had proof that it was about to happen in just a few months. Six years later and Noah is in Vegas with his daughter Grace when he runs into Dante’s brother – and then his parents – and then Dante. The break up ends up being a Big Mis and Dante and Noah still love each other. Dante will try anything to get Noah and his daughter back. I really liked the story despite not really liking Dante. I mean I liked his determination but he was like a bulldozer in getting what he wanted. I wondered where that determination was when the relationship was up in the air all those years ago. Despite that I thought the story was very good. 4 out of 5
Next was Muscling Through by JL Merrow. I have to say this was not what I expected when I picked up this book but I liked it so much. The story surrounds Al who’s a big lovable lug but not all that smart…at all, and his relationship with a Cambrigdge art professor, Larry. The story is told from Al’s pov and I just thought it was charming. The differences between the two men’s intelligence was great but they made it work and I loved reading about it. There was a misunderstanding in the story that felt just wouldn’t have happened but other than that I loved it. 4.5 out of 5
Next was Desired by Nicola Cornick. This story was about a scandalous woman who wants to be rid of her reputation to get unsavory characters off her back. She proposes marriage to a man she believes to be impotent because of a war wound – little does she know that he’s just fine and more than ready to get her into the bedroom. You can read my full review here. 3.5 out of 5
Next was On The List by LA Witt. This is the 3rd book in the Changing Plans series and it was really good. We see Elliott and Derek getting ready for their wedding with all the excitement that goes along with it. But Derek gets some astounding news from his family when he goes to see them and has to sit down and think seriously if marrying Elliott is really what he wants to do. I really liked this episode in Derek and Elliott’s lives. I think it was very down to earth and showed us a bit more into Derek than we’ve had in the past – especially since it was from his point of view. If you’ve read the first two in this series you definitely need to read this one. 4 out of 5
Daybreak by Ellen Connor was my next read. This is book 3 in the Dark Age Dawning series (comes out tomorrow) and it was a great conclusion. This book puts us back in contact with Penelope and Tru who we met in book one when they were just kids. This is 12 years after that book and Tru and Pen have grown up considerably – and also come into their own as far as magic goes. Pen is on a mission to take down the evil O’Malley and his minions to make a better life for everyone. Tru wants no part of it at first but then realizes that he doesn’t want to separate from Pen. They both have to learn and grow emotionally, physically & magically and not hurt themselves in the process. As I said, a great conclusion to the series. 4.25 out of 5
Galen and the Forest Lord by Eden Winters was just a fun book. Galen is outcast from his village when they find him with another man. He is sent off into the forest along with a baby to seek the Forest Lord. He knows he’s going to be eaten rather than taken in but discovers there’s a whole community living in the forest. Erik the Forest Lord is attracted to Galen and his wolf is telling him that Galen’s his mate. He’s fighting it and eventually Galen is too. This was a fun and funny book. Neither Galen nor Erik are the brightest bulbs in the box but their not stupid either. Eden does humor so well and really brought us a great story. 4 out of 5
Once Upon a Winter’s Eve by Tessa Dare is the second story in the Spindle Cove series and it was so damned good. It was a short novella but so worth the read. The story was about Violet who is in Spindle Cove trying to forget about the man she loves who she refers to as The Disappointment. When a man shows up in the Cove who kind of looks like The Disappointment Violet’s not quite sure what to do. You can read my mini review of this awesome novella here. 5 out of 5
Brazen is the second book in a duo by Margo Maguire. This has Captain Gavin Briggs looking for the second of the lost granddaughters of a Duke but he finds more than he bargains for. He coerced into helping the woman, Christina, with a blackmail problem before she’ll agree to head to her grandfather’s house. On the way to London the pair find they like each other more than they thought. You can read my review here. 4 out of 5
A Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week was Highland Vampire by Hannah Howell, Deborah Raleigh and Adrienne Basso. This was an anthology of 3 medieval stories each featuring a vampire. While they were all good reads none of them stood out to me. I have to say I don’t read many medieval romances that involve the paranormal so that was a nice change. 3 out of 5
Another Tracy’s TBR Challenge read was After Dark by Luisa Prieto. The story revolves around Andrew who is supposed to be mourning the death of his brother Tyler but he’s not because he’s the one who killed the evil bastard. Tyler killed Andrew’s first love and he fears for Tyler’s family and Andrews current love, Devon. When he gets a call from his nephew that tells him that his father, the late Tyler, is in his house he heads over. Tyler doesn’t succeed in getting to Andrew completely but enough that Andrew can now see that Devon is a werewolf. When Andrew looks at Devon without his glasses on he has fur and a tail! He doesn’t know why Devon doesn’t tell him and he comes to terms with what Devon is. I liked Andrew and understood his need to try and keep Devon safe but when you’re on the phone with your dead brother don’t you think you should say something? When you’re on your way to said dead brother’s house and you’re pretty sure that bad shit is coming down the pipe – don’t you say something? I couldn’t understand why Andrew was so intent on keeping it a secret until after he was attacked by Tyler and then he couldn’t stop telling people – it was bizarre. Then the story ended, imho, in the middle of scene with no real conclusion to anything. I have to say I’m glad that my kids were asleep because I came out with a pretty loud what the fuck! lol It was a good but incomplete book. If you plan on reading book 1 be sure to have book 2 there to delve into right away and book 1 leaves you hanging.  I would like to read book 2 – which I can find to purchase…nowhere. If anyone has a clue where I can buy book 2 please let me know. 3 out of 5
My Book Binge Reviews that posted last week:
Happy Reading!


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What I Read Last Week

Posted June 21, 2010 by Tracy in Features | 23 Comments

For the most part this past week was pretty quiet.  Compared the week before it was very welcome!
The exciting part of the week was going to yet another So Cal Blogger/Author get together on Saturday, June 19.  It was so much fun to see everyone again and meet even more So Cal readers, bloggers and authors.  And one of the main reasons we all got together was that Pearl, from Pearl’s World of Books, was visiting LA from the Netherlands! Pearl is incredibly sweet and it was great to meet her!  We All met at the Borders in the Century City Mall and then went on to the Ummba Grill, where the food was wonderful.  They sat us in their “lounge” area which we came to find out was outside but I thought it was great to be able to get up and move around.  Who cares that I ate with my food on my lap, I was in great company! 🙂  Here are pictures of the group:

I thought, what a great picture this turned out to be!  And then I realized that the man who was taking the picture cut off Nikki and Lori! Oops!  I’m going to tell you who everyone is because some of the faces were cut off in the total group picture.  I’m hoping Pearl comes through with some better pics from her camera. 🙂  Starting from the left: Rosie, Judith, Rowena, Pearl, Holly, Rachel Jameson, me, Sabrina Darby, Wendy (down in front), Christa Paige, Zoe Archer, Danielle Yockman, Renee, Netta Ferguson

Definitely not as great of a picture but at least we’re all in it – although you can’t see Christa’s face at all!  Lori and Nikki are on the left next to Rosie,

Then we moved on to our book swap in the garage.  It was a fun time and we all pounced like scavengers! lol
And after it was all done these are the leftovers!  I know – a ton left (and this picture below doesn’t include the very large box of books that were in my backseat!  All the remaining books will go to my friend who is stocking a downtrodden local library. 🙂 
I had a great time and can’t wait to do it all again soon!
So on to what I read this past week:
First up was No Souvenirs by KA Mitchell.  Book 3 in the Diving in Deep series and it was just as good as the first 2 books.  This was Jae Sun Kim’s story – he meets Shane McCormack while on a diving trip.  Jae Sun doesn’t believe in love and seeing him have a meeting of the minds with Shane who ends up having 2 doctorates is something to behold.  Good stuff. 4.5 out of 5
Kidnapping Kara by Alyssa Brooks was a novella I read for The Book Binge and I gotta say I really didn’t care for this one all that well.  It was the story of a man who goes to look for the woman that he loved 8 years prior to save her from her job of stripping and the drugs that he’s been told (by her manipulative mother) that she’s doing.  There were a few things that bothered me in the story – I’ll let you know when my review posts and then you can see what those are. 2 out of 5
Next up was Fortunate Harbor by Emilie Richards.  You can read my review here and if you’re interested you can enter to win a bound galley. You’ve got until the 24th at 11:59pm (pacific) to enter. 3 out of 5
Angel of Thirteenth Street by Eden Winters was my next read.  This was the story of a foster kid who had been kicked out of his home because he had turned 18 and the foster parents were no longer receiving checks.  He was living in a basement of an abandoned warehouse and managing to still finish high school.  He meets Noah when he goes to do his laundry at a local coin op.  Turns out that Noah is known as the Angel because he helps get young male prostitutes off the streets.  Noah takes Jeremy off the streets, gives him a place to live while Jeremy is hiding from the local pimp.  Trust, faith and love bloom while saving Jeremy.  This was my first read by Winters and I very much enjoyed her writing style.  I’ll be reading more of her books in the future.  3.75 out of 5
My Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week was The Other Half of Your Heart by Janis Susan May.  I think I got this one free from ARe in 2009 during their 12 days of Christmas giveaway.  I just have to say that I’m very glad that I didn’t pay for it because it was a huge exercise in frustration.  I get when the author wants to draw the reader in by not giving them all the information right away, but I like to be given at least some info during the course of the book.  In this book a woman goes on a weekend with her boyfriend.  When she gets to the airport she finds that he’s changed the tickets from New Orleans to Puerto Vallarta.  On the first day that she’s there she is kidnapped and taken by a man who works with her in Dallas.  She has no idea why he’s taking her and what’s happening.  They run for their lives, but from whom?  They are constantly on the run and you have no idea if the kidnapper is the good guy or the bad guy…or if the boyfriend is a good guy or a bad guy.  While on the run the kidnapper, Dave, and Cara find common ground but not enough, imho, to warrant love – much less the other half of their hearts.  I had absolutely no clue what was going on (and neither did the heroine) until page 99 and it was a 112 page book!!!!  Anyway – not one I can recommend. 2 out of 5
Last but not least for the week was another read for The Book Binge.  This was Barely a Lady by Eileen Dreyer.  I’ve not read her before and apparently this is her first historical novel.  I really liked it.  The story of a man and a woman who divorce (gasp!) and she’s not so graciously shown the door.  She finds him 5 years later after the battle of Waterloo in a French uniform.  When he awakes he doesn’t remember much of anything and he believes their still married.  There were a few issues I had with it but overall a good read.  Anyway, I’ll let you know when my review posts so you can read more.  4 out of 5
Happy Reading!
My Book Binge reviews that posted this past week:
Swap Meet by Lolita Lopez (used for one of my m/m challenge reviews)


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