Tag: Jacqueline Barbary

What I Read Last Week

Posted September 6, 2010 by Tracy in Features | 15 Comments

Greetings to all!

And…Happy Labor Day to those in the US! I hope you’re enjoying the holiday and hopefully you, like me, have the day off. Talk about a lazy day. Wow. I wish I could say I’m being uber productive today – besides laundry – but I really hate to lie to my friends. lol None of us want to leave the house because it’s been so stinking hot here. I want to know when I moved to the sun. I must have blocked that out somewhere along the way but that’s apparently where I live because it’s hot like the sun here! It’s been over 100 – F (that’s over 38 C) every day this past week. Right now weather.com says it’s 90 here but the thermometer that’s in my back yard – that’s in the shade – says it’s 100. That’s actually cool. lol

So what happened in Tracyland this week? Not a whole hell of a lot. We went to my youngest daughter’s back to school night and met her teacher. I loved her! She’s fun and funny but has her shit together. She seems like a great teacher and my daughter likes her a lot – super important! The teacher also loves math which makes her a perfect match for my youngest since she loves math as well. (I know, she’s sick, she gets that from my hubby shudders) lol

Anyway, on to what I read this past week:

First up was Coronets and Steel by Sherwood Smith. This is one I read for The Book Binge. It was the story of a graduate student who goes looking for her ancestry and winds up with a lot more than she bargained for. The book has a lot of history in it, and even though it’s not my thing I really enjoyed it. 4.25 out of 5

Next was another book for The Book Binge called Marriage in Moonlust by Kate Hill. This is about a woman who is given to the local vampire family as their monthly blood sacrifice but she ends up falling in love with one of the vampires instead. A little rushed on the love but not bad. 3.25 out of 5

Next was Savage Sanctuary by Jacqueline Barbary. This was a story of a shapeshifter that is on the run and the man who runs the sanctuary that he’s taken to. They fall in love and face trials and tribulations. 3 out of 5 You can read my review here.

Next was Sureblood by Susan Grant. This was a sci-fi book about warring clans in space and the leaders of those clans that fall in love. Pretty good book. I had some issues with it but on the whole I liked it. 3.75 out of 5 You can read my review here.

My Tracy’s TBR challenge read for the week was The Name of the Game by Willa Okati. This was the story of a gay man, Clay, who is in love with his straight cop roommate, Seth. Seth is in the relationship from hell with Sophie the psycho and it’s decided that Seth will tell Sophie he’s gay to get out of it. It works to a point, but then Seth starts really having feelings and desires for Clay. This was a good book but it was a bit much on the dramatic for me. The men had Sophie to deal with but then they threw in speed dating for Clay as well as some other issues. And did the characters ever work? Uh, not that I could tell. I just found it really wasn’t my cup of tea. 3 out of 5

Next up was Meet Me In Manhattan by Judith Arnold. This here is an absolutely true romance. That’s right, the book was written about the true life romance of Ted and Erika. It’s also part of the True Vows series and I’ll be posting my review of the book on Wednesday as part of the book tour so check back.

Mistress of the Night by Charlotte Featherstone had been in my ereader waaaaay too long so I finally decided it was time to read it. I originally bought it based on the info about the tortured hero – I love those. And boy was Blaine tortured. You see he had epilepsy and back then it was not a illness that was A-ok. If you had the “falling sickness” then you were thought to be possessed by a demon and Blaine was afraid that his secret would get out and he would be committed to Bedlam. He vowed to never get married and never have a child. But he fell in love with Madeline and he couldn’t seem to keep himself away from her. I really liked the book a lot. Blaine could be a right bastard at times while pushing Madeline away and yeah, I hated him for it, but he was so afraid. The problem was, he was so afraid that she’d find his secret out and be repulsed by him that he ended up living in hell because he couldn’t be with her the way he wanted. Very good book but if you read it be prepared to hate Blaine at times along the way. 4 out of 5

And last but not least I re-read Lord of the White Hell book 1 by Ginn Hale. And you know, it was just as great the second time reading it as it was the first. I re-read in preparation for reading book 2 and I wanted to completely refresh my memory. Man I just love Javier and Kiram. Good people. I reviewed this back in June – you can read my review here if you’re interested. 5 out of 5

My Book Binge review that posted last week:
Seduced by a Highlander by Paula Quinn

Happy Reading

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Tagged: Charlotte Featherstone, Ginn Hale, Jacqueline Barbary, Judith Arnold, Kate Hill, Sherwood Smith, Susan Grant, What I Read Last Week, What I've Been Reading This Week, Willa Okati

M/M Challenge Review: Savage Sanctuary by Jacqueline Barbary

Posted September 1, 2010 by Tracy in Reviews | 10 Comments

Sexy bad boy shapeshifter Michael O’Dare grew up on the streets. When government soldiers finally captured and imprisoned him, he became a lab rat and a collared slave, never again allowed to be human. His escape allowed him to return to human form, and head for freedom in the Western Territories.

Robert Hamilton-Scott had lived by the code “you’re careful, or you’re caught” for too long to take chances now. The one risk he takes in his carefully controlled life is offering temporary shelter to shifters on the run like Michael.

Robert knows it’s definitely not safe to want the sexy renegade he’s giving sanctuary to – passion is dangerous for a shapeshifter. As the soldiers close in he must choose between the careful life he’s built or life on the run with the man who has captured his heart.

Michael is brought to Hamilton Croft, Robert’s home and refuge, by freedom fighters after having escaped from labs that had been experimenting on him for a year. Robert is immediately drawn to Michael, but knows that what he wants and what he should take are two different things.

When Michael becomes conscious he is immediately attracted to Robert as well. Michael knows that he shouldn’t be longing for the other shifter’s touch – he doesn’t feel that he’s good enough for Robert. But Robert makes him feel comfort and though Michael has never known a true home, or anything but survival of the fittest, he longs for something…someone and he sees Robert as that someone. Though the two men give in to their attraction there are soldiers out looking for shapeshifters and if they are caught and taken to the labs the two men would probably not survive. Instead of accepting their fate they fight for their freedom.

This book had a new twist on shifters for me. The idea that the shapeshifters were created in a lab was a new one for me, I think. It seems that even though the shifters were scientifically produced the shapeshifting gene could be passed through birth so there were quite a few shifters around. Another new idea for me was that the shapeshifters could shift into many different animals. It’s described as:

Shifters didn’t morph their bodies. Their human form simply dematerialized, while their consciousness entered the body of the animal they chose to call.

It was an interesting concept to think that the shifters could shift into a lynx, a wolf, a dove, a falcon, a tiger. At one point Robert even wondered if he could shift into an elephant but he’d never tried before.

Despite the interesting premise of the book, however, parts of it didn’t really work for me. I liked the paranormal aspects of the book but the romance/relationship between the two men, which is what the book is mostly centered around, was rushed, imho. They had known each other a day, maybe 2 when they finally fully consummated their relationship. Within a couple of days Robert was thinking he was in love. It was too insta-love for my liking.

Robert was a “centered” shifter. It was kind of a religion but helped the shifters to not get addicted to the shifting. They controlled themselves instead of the animals controlling them. I could get into that. But Robert was afraid if he gave into one desire, Michael and sex, that he would give in to all desires – shifting included. But after Robert and Michael have sex, and fall for each other, Robert gains immeasurable strength and seems to become someone he’s never been before. He suddenly knows that he must help the shifter resistance. I guess it seemed too easy to me – shy and timid turns into outgoing and bold.

Then there’s Michael’s character. He’s played as a gangster baby – one that was born into and runs with a pack – but yet besides having shifting issues due to his lab time he seems as gentle as a lamb. I kept expecting there to be more fall out to the lab time but it just never happened. IDK the two characters just seemed off to me. Maybe it was just too much fantasy for me.

In the end I was torn about this one. How do I rate it? I really liked the paranormal aspects but the relationship didn’t work for me. So I’ll say it was a good but not great read.

Rating: 3 out of 5