Tag: Jess Granger

Guest Reviews

Posted October 20, 2009 by Tracy in Reviews | 5 Comments

I suck! Seriously. I hopped onto Blogger to let you know that my review for Indiscreet had posted over at The Book Binge and I started thinking – have I let them know about my reviews lately? Um, no…not since the middle of Sept. Yikes! What the hell is that all about? I have no idea, truly. This post should get me all caught up! lol

Starting with the oldest first – just click on the titles to go to the review:

Viking Heat by Sandra Hill
Psychologist Joy Nelson thinks things are bad when she finds herself training in the modern-day female Navy SEALs program. But then her life takes a turn for the worse. Somehow she’s been thrust back in time to the cold Norselands, and is being auctioned off as a thrall, or slave–a gift for a Viking warlord, who would be a perfect candidate for Male Chauvinist Viking of the Centuries!

Brandr isn’t thrilled with the slave his brothers have purchased for him. Holy Thor! The woman wants to teach him anger-management skills! And help him find his feminine side, whatever that is. She may be beautiful, but the saucy wench defies him at every turn. So Brandr makes her an offer: She can earn her freedom…as his bed thrall. But when Joy dares to decline his offer, he must decide what to do with the woman enslaved to him–and the out-of-control heat between them.

Beyond the Rain by Jess Granger
In a universe torn apart by civil war, a warrior and a slave must fight for their freedom, for their lives, and for a love that may destroy them both…

After five years behind enemy lines, Captain Cyani is ready to retire to her homeworld of Azra as one of the Elite — the celibate warrior sisterhood that rules the planet. But first she must complete one final mission to rescue her fellow Union soldiers. The last thing she expects to find is a prisoner, chained and beaten — but radiating feral power and an unbroken spirit…

Soren is a Byralen, an enigmatic people who possess a unique hormone that they use to bond with their mates — and that is sold as a sexual narcotic in the shadow trade. For years, he has endured torture at the hands of his captors as they leeched his very essence. The last thing he expects is to be freed from slavery by a beautiful warrior woman with radiant blue eyes.

Bufflehead Sisters by Patricia L. Delois
As an only child, Janet longs for a sister her parents are unable to give her. In kindergarten she meets Sophie, a strange and imaginative girl with a troubled family life. As friendship grows between the two girls, Janet believes her prayers have been answered, especially when members of her family embrace Sophie as one of their own.

Sophie’s troubles continue to follow her through high school, and Janet stands by her “sister” until, in adulthood, she learns of a devastating secret Sophie has kept from her. Janet’s world is turned upside down—and she discovers there may be a limit to what sisters should share.

Neck and Neck by Elizabeth Bevarly
There’s only one sure way for fledgling party planner Natalie Beckett to make her Kentucky Derby Eve soiree a success: get reclusive video game creator/billionaire Russell Mullholland to attend. But how can she even get out of the gate with Russell’s gorgeous bodyguard, Finn Guthrie, blocking the way? Never let it be said that Natalie doesn’t like a challenge, for soon she finds sparring with Finn far more exciting than landing Russell on her VIP guest list.

Indiscreet by Carolyn Jewel
Edward, Marquess of Foye, would have been happy to continue his life as an unmarried gentleman rake. His brother’s death changed everything. As the last of his line, Edward must now marry. Heart already broken by a capricious young girl, he vows to find an older woman-seasoned, mature. . .and no threat to his feelings. Falling in love can be dangerous. . . Sabine Godard was educated by an Oxford don beyond what was proper. Her studies became her salvation after her past left her unwilling to accept the touch of any man. Though she never intended to fall in love, when she and Edward meet, passion defies logic. Together they explore temptation and sensuality, healing old wounds. . .until events require them to risk everything for their love.


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What I Read Last Week

Posted September 28, 2009 by Tracy in Reviews | 3 Comments

Hi folks – it’s already Monday again and I’m behind – as is my usual lately. Today I woke with the migraine from hell. It’s abated somewhat with meds but it’s damned hard to sit here so I’ll be quick.

Saturday I got together with the So Cal Blogger in Pasadena and let me just say how much I love those women! They are so great and it’s just sheer unadulterated heaven to talk to them for hours on end! I have a picture of us but at this moment I’m in too much pain to download the pictures. Besides the camera is in the other room and that’s just too damned far for me right now. 🙂 I’ll post them soon.

So what I read:

I started off with One Week as Lovers by Victoria Dahl. I read this fab review at The Book Smugglers and decided to buy it. It was really good and I liked it a lot. I’d only read one of Dahl’s books before and it was a contemporary but I have to say I liked her historical work just as much. 4.25 out of 5


Next up was Set the Dark on Fire by Jill Sorenson. Another great romantic suspense novel by Jill. I really like her books. My review is here. 4.25 out fo 5


My next read was What A Dragon Should Know by G.A. Aiken. This is book 3 in the series and I liked it just as much as the first 2. It covered Gwenvael’s relationship with Dagmar as well as catching us up on all of the rest of the dragon siblings. It moved around a lot but it flowed very nicely. Good series…I love the humor, sex, romance and fighting that goes on. 4.25 out of 5


I covered my Year of the Category Challenge read and my Tracy’s TBR Challenge read all in one book by reading Her Best Friend’s Brother by Kay Stockham. I’ve had the book for a while and had been meaning to read it but never got around to it. I decided to read it for my YOTC Challenge so that made me the multi-tasker of the day. lol I’ll post my review of it tomorrow.


Last was Bufflehead Sisters by Patricia J. Delois. A fiction book I read for The Book Binge that wasn’t a romance and was a tad bizarre. I’ll let you know when my review posts.

That’s it for the week. I hope you had a great reading week as well.

FYI – my review for Beyond the Rain by Jess Granger posted at The Book Binge this past week – you can read it here.

Happy Reading!


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Guest Review: Beyond the Rain by Jess Granger

Posted September 25, 2009 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 0 Comments

Genres: Paranormal Romance
Tracy‘s review of Beyond the Rain by Jess Granger

In a universe torn apart by civil war, a warrior and a slave must fight for their freedom, for their lives, and for a love that may destroy them both…

After five years behind enemy lines, Captain Cyani is ready to retire to her homeworld of Azra as one of the Elite — the celibate warrior sisterhood that rules the planet. But first she must complete one final mission to rescue her fellow Union soldiers. The last thing she expects to find is a prisoner, chained and beaten — but radiating feral power and an unbroken spirit…

Soren is a Byralen, an enigmatic people who possess a unique hormone that they use to bond with their mates — and that is sold as a sexual narcotic in the shadow trade. For years, he has endured torture at the hands of his captors as they leeched his very essence. The last thing he expects is to be freed from slavery by a beautiful warrior woman with radiant blue eyes.

Driven by her rigid sense of honor, Cyani frees Soren even though her life hinges upon the success of her mission. But after so many years in bondage, his hormones are so unbalanced that he will die if he does not bond with a woman. Can the lovely but distant warrior be the woman he needs to survive, or will the forbidden bond destroy them?

Captain Cyani is on her last Union mission. After this mission she will go back to her home planet to be an Elite. She’s not looking forward to it but she has no choice. When she finds Soren and sets him free it sets her on a totally different path than what she was expecting.

This book was not what I expected. When the ladies from The Book Binge send me book names to see if I’d like to read and review them I go to the author’s website and read a blurb and/or an excerpt. I decide from that whether I’d like to read the book or not. After the book is sent to me I really don’t read the back of the book to see what it’s about. I figure if I wanted to read it at one point then I will again. This leads to some surprising reads – of which this was one. I had completely forgetten that it was a futuristic story so was a little surprised there. But I also remembered, vaguely, that I thought the book was erotica for some reason. I think because the hero in the story can become addictive, but I’m not sure. That being said, I was in for a pleasant surprise.

The story of Soren and Cyani was the coming together of two people who had had some horrible things happen to them in their lives but were strong enough to survive and do what needed to be done. Soren had been captured and forced to have painful extractions made of the aphrodisiac-like hormones in his body. He had no idea how much time had passed since he’d been abducted and he just wanted to get home. He was pretty resigned to dying though, even after being rescued. He either needed to be home where his “lifegarden” was, which he was pretty sure was dried up and useless at this point, or bond with a woman, which he knew was impossible to do in the timeframe that he had.

Cyani had lived on her horrid home planet that was mostly a gigantic cesspool. It was the epitome of light and dark. Those who lived under the canopy of the trees and those who lived above. No light got under the canopy and thieves and criminals abounded. Cyani had been beaten and forced into service with the Union in order to save her family. When she went back to her planet after her duty was fulfilled there would be nothing but silence for her.

When Cyani and Soren get to know each other it really is very sweet. For a book that I thought was erotic there’s very little actual sex in the book. But the sensuality of the attraction was very compelling. I don’t want to tell you too much about what happens and give it all away.

Towards the end of the book Cyani has to make a horrible decision between duty and love and it’s not one I would ever want to have to be faced with. One of the issues I had with the book is that the decision was pretty much taken out of her hands, which ended well, but I thought it took some power from Cyani’s strength of character.

So although I had issue with some things I thought it was a good read. At the end of the story we were led to believe that there will be more books involving secondary character and if that happens I think I will be reading more in this series.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5
This book is available from Berkley Trade. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

Posted September 20, 2009 by Tracy in Features | 16 Comments

Hello there!

I can’t believe I’m getting this post done on a Sunday afternoon! That’s almost a miracle for me lately. 🙂

Hope you’re all well. All’s well here. I managed to avoid 2 other “Stupid Ass Things” for the week. The bang cutting I think took precedence and I avoided the other two. Either that or they’re delayed! lol

Have you all seen the book cover for Carolyn Crane’s (aka our own wonderful CJ from The Thrillionth Page) book Mind Games that comes out on March 23 2010?

Isn’t it gorgeous?? I love it and I can’t wait to read her books!
Ok – on to what I read this week:
I started with To Seduce A Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt. This book 2 in the Legend of the Four Soldiers series but I didn’t read book 1 first. I certainly didn’t feel like I was missing anything that’s for sure. I decided to try and read some of the DIK books that others had brought to the island. I chose this one after reading Renee’s quick blurb about it and I’m so glad I did. It was a wonderful story of love and healing and I will definitely be getting the next books in this series. Thanks Renee! 4.5 out of 5

Next up was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society book by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. You can read my thoughts here. Good book! 5 out of 5

After that I read Wolfbreed by S.A. Swann. I had started this book last week but put it down when it was just dragging for me. It ended up being a pretty good read once I got past the first 100 pages but I didn’t love it. It was very descriptive of blood and gore – it definitely didn’t shy from descriptions of massacres and that’s a tad off-putting to me. 3.5 out of 5

A novella was next called Screen Shots: Seduced by Willa Okati. This one was recommended by Tam and it was a cute little read. It had a tad more “I love you, man” in it than I generally care for but I liked it. 3.5 out of 5

After that I read Beyond the Rain by Jess Granger for review on The Book Binge. I will let you know when my review posts in case you’d like to read it.

My Tracy’s TBR Challenge Read for the week (yes, I almost forgot to do one!) was You Slay Me by Katie McAlister. My friend Jen gave this entire series to me about 2 years ago and there is has sat. I finally decided to pick one up and it I liked it. I thought that the heroine, Aisling, was a huge bumbling idiot and did some completely retarded things but overall the story held my interest and I read it quite quickly. Since I have the rest of the series I’ll read the next book and see what I think. If Aisling is too much of a bumbler I’ll call it quits but I’ll give it a chance. Has anyone read this series and if so what did you think? 3.75 out of 5

Happy Reading!


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