Tag: Jessica Lee

Review: On Thin Ice by Jessica Lee

Posted March 14, 2012 by Tracy in Reviews | 3 Comments

Silas Murdock, lion Pride leader of Ariel Estates, is on the trip of a lifetime, big game hunting with his entourage in Alaska. Everything had been perfect right up until a freak storm barreled into the area ruining their plans followed by an assassin’s bullet plummeting them into the frozen tundra.

Enter wolf shifter and former pack physician, Theodor Lucas. Returning from a trip to a nearby village, he witnesses the crash and finds the wreckage along with an unconscious and barely alive Silas. Theo’s ethical sense won’t allow him to walk away, leaving the male to suffer and freeze to death when there’s a chance he could be saved. Despite the personal risk and his vow to never be responsible for another soul, Theo takes the lone survivor back to his cabin to care for his injuries.
Silas Murdock is on a small plane with other members from his pack when all hell breaks loose. The small plane goes down and Silas is the only survivor. Theo Lucas sees the plane go down and though he doesn’t want to get involved he heads to the crash sight. He gets Silas home and nurses him back to health. Theo knows that there’s something going on with Silas and that he’s more than a human when he witnesses Silas’s injuries healing at an alarming rate. Well, not too alarming since Theo is a wolf shifter and he heals quickly as well. But Silas doesn’t have the scent of a  wolf so what could he be? Theo can’t wait to find out. Unfortunately he’ll really have to wait because when Silas wakes up he has no idea who he is or where he’s from.
Silas stays with Theo as he tries to recovers his memories and while he’s there the two men can’t deny their attraction to each other. Not only do they begin sexual relationship but something deeper and more meaningful to both of them. Unfortunately there are people out there that want Silas dead and will stop at nothing to complete their mission.
Anyone who’s been reading this blog for a while knows that I’m a sucker for the amnesia trope. Having that in this book and a good part of it being a cabin romance really made this a really good story for me.
I loved that the two men had the time at Silas’s cabin together before reality reared it’s ugly head. I think that with Silas having lost his memory it made him a fresher character as he had no bad habits to fall back on. We didn’t get to see anything of Silas prior to the accident (or very little) and really couldn’t get a taste for who he was but it did mention that he was bisexual and relationships weren’t for him. With Theo he could be whoever he wanted with no preconceived notions of how the relationship should go.
Reality did intrude though with assassins coming to do Silas in. Silas does get his memory back and though he knows that he doesn’t want to leave Theo he must go back to his Pride to find out who’s behind the murder plot. This part was interesting as we got to see Silas back on his home field but we still didn’t get to find out exactly who the real Silas was. I have to admit to being a bit frustrated as I wanted more! lol I know it’s a novella but I’m greedy that way. 🙂
The HEA in this one is very different than I expected but I really liked it. It was far more realistic than anything I expected and I was extremely happy the author decided to go that way.
Overall a really good book that I very much enjoyed reading.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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What I Read Last Week

Posted March 12, 2012 by Tracy in Features | 15 Comments

Good Morning!
Did you all have a nice weekend? I know for me the time change made yesterday the shortest day ever! I have no idea where the time went!
So…the refrigerator? Not purchased yet. Can you believe it? I finally decided which fridge to get and my hubby is now not sure that’s the one he wants. Wait, you said choose between these two and you’d be happy either way. What happened to that? lol He now wants the opposite fridge from the one I picked. Why? Because the one he wants has a bottom freezer bar that lifts when you pull it. I shit you not that’s why he wants the fridge. I said, “Um, hon, you know on the other one where the bar doesn’t lift? That one doesn’t lift and the freezer still opens!  It’s amazing! And we save $800.00!” (Granted it’s a larger fridge so you pay for that too be STILL!) So, we’re at an impasse and hopefully we’ll figure it out this week. *sigh*
I’ve been thinking about getting pictures of the girls for a while and finally went and did it. I realized that the only pictures I’d gotten of them for years (other than the ones I take which are crap) are their school pictures. I needed some with them together and boy am I glad I did. These turned out better than expected and I’m so happy. I have a ton of other poses but these are definitely my favorites. I have to say, they clean up well, don’t they?
So what did I read this week?
I started the week with Black Ties and Lullabies by Jane Graves. This one I read for The Book Binge so will let you know when my review posts. The book is about a multi-millionaire and his female bodyguard. She’s rough and tumble and not girly at all. He goes for the sexy blondes with huge…attributes. They end up having anger sex and she ends up pregnant. The story is about both of them coming to terms with being parents and eventually realizing that they love the other. I had a few issues with this one but overall all a pretty good story. 3.5 out of 5
Next was Dire Needs by Stephanie Tyler. Also read for The Book Binge. The story followed a pack of Dire wolves – the last of their kind – and the head of their pack who meets a human and realizes she his mate. She ends up being half dire wolf as she is actually the daughter of one of the pack. The pack also fights for humanity against evil witches. This one I had a ton of issues with. I liked the premise and what the story was trying to achieve but the story itself didn’t work for me. 2 out of 5
On Thin Ice by Jessica Lee was my next read. I’ll be reviewing this one this week so keep your eyes peeled. 🙂
Blame it on Bath by Caroline Linden is another I’ll be reviewing this week so watch for that one as well.
Defying the Odds by Kele Moon was next. I read a few reviews of this book a while back so decided to try it out. The story is about Melody who has divorced her abusive husband and is now trying to make a life for herself in a new town. She’s a waitress and buys Clay a piece of pie on Thanksgiving. That pie leads to the two falling in love but the story of how it happens is really great. Now some folks had an issue with the fact that she came from an abusive relationship but had no problem with the fact that Clay was a UFC and he was a big muscular man. I personally didn’t have a problem with this at all. Her husband had not been a muscular man and had come off as charming when he was really a snake. Clay was huge and not too talkative (at first) but he had a heart of gold. It just showed us that it really doesn’t matter what’s on the outside – it the good or evil that’s inside. I did have a problem with the hick speak.  It tended to get old especially with the multitude of “ain’t’s” that were being thrown around. Good book. 4 out of 5
Last for the week was my Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week: Concubine by Jill Knowles. This is the story of Korai, a country at war with Zandria, a neighboring country. One of the princes of Korai, Kael, doesn’t understand the reasons his father the king let the original dispute get to the point of war – especially since Korai ended up with a lot of casualties. Kael’s father meets with the king of Zandria and gives certain things to Zandria as a type of penance and shocks Kael to death when he gives HIM to the Warlord of Zandria…who is a man! gasp! Oh, and half demon. Kael is rightly pissed but soon realizes that he’s not all that opposed to sex with Taren, the warlord. The story is about Kael and Taren’s relationship but also Kael coming to terms with who he is now that he’s a concubine and the love/hate that he feels for his father for putting him in that position and knowing he can never return to his country. There’s also a subplot of suspense of someone trying to kill Kael. I enjoyed this book so much. This was BDSM lite set in a fantasy world and almost everything about it just worked for me. The emotion, the eroticism…man! It was really good and one I would definitely recommend. 4.5 out of 5
My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Happy Reading!

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Guest Review: Bloodlines by Jessica Lee

Posted December 5, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 1 Comment

Genres: Paranormal Romance

Tracy’s review of Bloodlines by Jessica Lee

Evin KinKaid, the only son of the KinKaid pack’s alpha, has a secret. One that will tear his family apart. In one year, Evin is to succeed his father as alpha leader and continue the dominant bloodline of his family. There’s only one problem: Evin is gay. When Evin is pushed into the bed of his intended female mate, he’s forced to reveal the truth. And for an alpha male wolf shifter promised to a female whose goal is to one day be queen, coming out has never been more explosive.

To Mason Thorne II, heir to Thorne Global Inc., life is a lie. To sustain his father’s love, Mason has agreed to stay in the family business and to one day assume his place as CEO. Instead of reaching for his heart’s desire, he’s settled for a life he never wanted. But an unexpected auto accident will send Evin and Mason into each other’s arms and down a path toward a destiny neither man can escape: an eternity sealed in blood.

Evin is banished from his pack’s compound and disowned when his father, the alpha of the pack, finds out that Evin his gay and will not be mating with the woman who was chosen as his queen. One year later and Evin is working in a garage fixing cars when Mason Thorne’s car is brought in. Immediately Evin and Mason hit it off and in no time at all they find themselves getting closer and closer to each other.

During a freak accident Evin ends up infecting Mason with his wolf “virus” and Evin decides that Mason’s life is more important than his banishment. Evin seeks out his father and asks for help with Mason and his first change. His father agrees, but the conditions of acceptance are enough to tear Evin and Mason apart forever.

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a sucker for a shifter book so when I got the opportunity to read this one I jumped at it and it didn’t let me down. Though this is a novella it really packed some great stuff into such a short format. I really felt the bond between Evin and Mason and didn’t feel that it was all done too quickly – even though they only knew each other for about a week by the end of the book.

I think I would have liked to have gotten a tad more information on Mason and his father but it really wasn’t necessary for the continuation of the story so I understood the lack.

Overall a good m/m shifter story with a nice twist at the end.

Rating: 4 out of 5


You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place

This book is available from Breathless Press. You can buy it here in e-format.

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What I Read Last Week

Posted November 29, 2010 by Tracy in Reviews | 11 Comments

I hope you all had a nice week. For those of you celebrating Thanksgiving I hope you had a wonderful holiday. Ours was spent at our home with lots of family and laughter – the best way, imho. Of course it was fabulous having Thursday and Friday off as well – who can complain about 4 days off work? Not me! lol
My oldest has her first boyfriend. OMG shoot me. Yes, she’ll be 13 at the end of December but it just makes me feel old. lol And yes, we’ve moved into the modern age – the boy TEXTED her to ask her. *sigh* Granted they’ve been friends for a while and text all the time so I guess he thought it made no difference. Maybe I should have a talk with him….ok, maybe not. lol
My youngest brought home her first report card of the year and it was excellent! I’m so proud of her! I love that she loves school and does so well.
In case you didn’t see it, the Desert Island Keeper blog is recruiting for new members. The questions that need to be answered and then emailed to me are here so if you are interested, or know of anyone who might be, have them email me by Saturday, December 4.
My first read for the week was Styx’s Storm by Lora Leigh. This is book 212 in the Breed series. Oh wait, it’s only book 22! lol Anyway, I really like the series a lot but this one wasn’t the best I’ve read of them. The heroine, Storme, was the daughter of a council scientist and she felt that her brother and father cared more for the Breeds they created than they did for her – and the Breeds ended up killing them. She’s been on the run from both the good Breeds and the Council Breeds for 10 years because she carries secret research her father had completed and is finally caught by Styx who ends up being her mate. Or is he? He feels all the possessiveness that a mate would feel but the mating fever hasn’t started. She’s drawn to Styx but yet scared of the Breeds. This was good, but not really a romance, imho. It had more sex and fear in it than romance but yet the h/h fall in love. It did answer some questions that were brought up in Jonas’s book though so that was nice. 3.5 out of 5
Fairy Tale Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women edited by Kristina Wright was my next read. Not a long book but has 18 short fairy tales in it. Some dark, some light – all very erotic. I don’t particularly care for the title as I think that men would like this too. J I read this one for The Book Binge so I’ll let you know when the review posts. 3.5 out of 5
Next up was A Duke’s Temptation by Jillian Hunter. This involves a Boscastle but is considered book 1 in the Bridal Pleasures series by this author. Lily Boscastle seeks a housekeepers position after she witnesses a murder and her family doesn’t believe her. Rather than bring more scandal to the family she takes a position with a Duke’s household. She isn’t aware that this is the Duke that she had flirted with and kissed at a previous ball and that he wants her for his wife. It was a good story but the Duke was a tad too unhinged for my liking. No, he wasn’t crazy but I felt it took the eccentric artist/author persona a bit far at times. The romance was very sweet though and I really liked Lily and Gravenhurst together. 3.75 out of 5
My next read was Fun with Dick and Shane: The Life and Times of a Submissive Houseboy by Gillibran Brown. Utterly frustrating at times but quite entertaining…and supposedly real. *shrugs* who knows? You can read my review here. 4 out of 5
Bloodlines by Jessica Lee was an m/m book that I read for The Book Binge. Evin KinKaid kicked out of his shifter pack for being gay and not conforming to his dad, the Alpha’s, wishes about whom to marry. A year later and he meets Mason who he accidentally infects. He then seeks his father’s help for Mason. A very good shifter story with a nice twist at the end. 4 out of 5
My Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week was Three Nights with a Scoundrel by Tessa Dare. Why did this sit on my shelf so long? I think I bought it when it first was released. It’s one of those ones I’m kicking myself over since it was so darned good! Maybe because I wasn’t too attached to Lily and Julian in the first two books in the series but really, the two made for a very good couple and their romance was beautiful. Lily’s deaf and I think it made for such intimacies between her and Julian that wouldn’t normally have been there. Just a darned good story. 4.5 out of 5
My Book Binge reviews that have posted since last week:
Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews – so darned good!
Happy Reading!

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