Tag: Kait Nolan

What I Read Last Week

Posted September 19, 2011 by Tracy in Features | 4 Comments

Hi everyone!
I hope you had a great weekend. Mine was completely unexciting as I stayed home the whole weekend. My kids weren’t thrilled with that but whatcha gonna do when you have so much to do? IDK!
Since not much was going on in my life I’ll get right to the books. :0)

My first read of the week was a short by Missy Welsh called WHAT. This is a free read and pretty darned cute. It was about a guy who works in a tattoo studio and has a crush on his straight boss but there are some paranormal things going on. It’s a VERY short story and I would have loved to have known more but for the quickie it was it was pretty good. 3.5 out of 5

Next was another free story by Missy Welsh called You and a Billion Blue Tiles. I loved this one. It was about 2 kids – 1 who has lusted after the other for a darned long time. They have one night of lovin but it doesn’t end there. This was another short (not as short as the previous one) and it just had that something that clicked with me. I ended the book with a huge smile on my face and that’s always a good thing. 4.5 out of 5

The Taming of the Rake by Kasey Michaels was my next read. This was a really good story about a woman who goes to her brother’s archnemesis when said brother is going to marry her off to a religious fanatic. She knows that the man, who is a bastard son hates her brother because of a past incident with her sister and she hopes that he can be talked into marrying her to save her. The story is about their trip to Gretna Green, his family and their romance. I loved the personalities of the characters and their humor. This is the first in the series about the bastard brothers, The Blackthorn’s, and I will definitely be reading the next 2 books. 4.25 

out of 5
As much as I loved the book I wonder at who chose the title. The man, Beau Blackthorn, was in no way tamed during this book and he certainly wasn’t a rake. In fact it said at one point it stated how much he liked his quiet life since he’d returned from the war. Who comes up with these titles???

My Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week was Physical Therapy by Z.A. Maxfield. It’s a shame that I even let this one sit for longer than 3 months but I did. I really liked this story a lot. You can read my review of it here. 4.25 out of 5

Red by Kait Nolan was my next read and it was a good one too! This was a YA paranormal that had to do with werewolves/wolf shapeshifters. If you like YA and paranormal I definitely recommend this book. You can read my review here. 4.25 out of 5

Next up was Bride for a Night by Rosemary Rogers. This was the story of a woman who is the daughter of a wealthy man but he earned his money through trade and he is the son of a butcher – not a great lineage as far as the ton’s concerned. But Talia Dobson gets engaged anyway (her father bought her a fiancé) but he jilts her at the altar. The father then blackmail’s the man’s brother into marrying her instead – and he’s an Earl! The Earl, Andrew, sends Talia off to his country estate where she is then kidnapped by the French for overhearing traitorous information. Andrew heads to the rescue and during the course of the book the pair fall in love. It was a good story but it dragged a little in the middle – which is when they were trying to escape from the French so it really shouldn’t have. Overall pretty good. 3.5 out of 5

Sand and Water by Shae Connor was after that. One man, John was a widower but had been with men before. He had a daughter but it had been 5 years since his wife died. He meets Bryan who is in town helping his sister and her husband renovate their B & B. They have a connection and talk about a relationship but Bryan has residual issues with moving forward because of his previous relationship and what happened with that (and I’m not going to give you that spoiler!). I liked the concept in this book and though I liked the story I did have some issues with it. One was that I loved the characters but felt that the author didn’t get into both characters as much as she should have. It was told in 3rd person but we only got to see things from John’s point of view – rather than both men – and Bryan was the one who, in my opinion, had more serious issues. 3 out of 5

Lord of Rage by Jill Monroe is book 2 in the Royal House of Shadows series. This was Breena’s book. When her parents are attacked she’s sent off and ends up in Ursa which is the land of the Beserkers. She meets Osborn who is actually a man that she’s been dreaming about. He wants nothing to do with her – well not exactly true but he fights his feelings – and she wants his help. I’ll be posting my review on Friday so I’ll tell you more then.

Last for the week was Must Love Lycans by Michele Bardsley. This is book 8 in the Broken Heart Vampire series and takes place 8 years after the last book. Damien is in a clinic run by Kelsey and she thinks that he believes himself to be a werewolf – but he really is and he wants her as his mate. He bites her to claim her but instead of just claiming her it starts to turn her into a Lycan, which has never happened before. They must try to find a way to stop Kelsey from dying as she may not survive the change. It was a darker book than the previous ones I’ve read from this series. It still had humor but not quite as much as I think Damien was just a darker character. Read for The Book Binge. 3.75 out of 5

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

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Review: Red by Kait Nolan

Posted September 16, 2011 by Tracy in Reviews | 5 Comments

Elodie Rose has a secret. Any day, she’ll become a wolf and succumb to the violence that’s cursed her family for centuries. For seventeen years she’s hidden who and what she is. But now someone knows the truth and is determined to exterminate her family line. Living on borrowed time in the midst of this dangerous game of hide and seek, the last thing Elodie needs to do is fall in love. But Sawyer is determined to protect her, and the brooding, angry boy is more than what he seems. Can they outsmart a madman? And if they survive, will they find a way to beat the curse for good?
Elodie was a normal lively child until she turned 12 and received a letter from her dead mother that changed her entire life.  The letter stated that when she turned 16 she would turn into a werewolf.  Her father, though he took care of her and loved her in his own way always was a bit standoffish after that.  The letter also came with a journal that told Elodie her entire wolfish history and how all the women had gone crazy after their first shifts into a werewolf.  Elodie is preparing herself for her own death because she doesn’t want to hurt an innocent because she turns into a beast and she doesn’t want to go crazy either.  If that happens she will end it all herself.
Sawyer is a werewolf.  He and his father move to Mortimer to conduct a scientific study and recover from his mother’s death.  He meets Elodie briefly and then was shocked when he finds that she is the new intern for his fathers research for the summer. Sawyer is drawn to Elodie in a way that he can’t explain and he wants to protect her.  He starts to think that maybe she has some werewolf traits after he witnesses them but her scent tells him she’s completely human.  He wants to help her and be with her but Elodie has different ideas about how her life will go.
Elodie and Sawyer end up trying to get away from the hunter that has been tracking Elodie but not before tragedy strikes those closest to Elodie’s heart.  Can she survive it all and make the crazy man pay?
Everyone knows that I love a good shifter book and this was a great one.  I wasn’t sure what to expect with the YA label on it but it came through with flying colors.
The story was quite engaging from the first page and I couldn’t help but want to read more and more as the book went on.  I gotta tell you that I was a bit disappointed when it ended – not because it was bad but because I wanted more!
Elodie and Sawyer’s relationship was just the right blend of teen attraction, a little bit of satisfaction (but no sex) and a deep binding bond.  Nolan really made them perfect for each other with each having their strong and weaker parts.  They each made up for what the other lacked and it made for great reading.
I’d have to say that this is a story for older teens.  With the kidnapping, descriptions of animal kills (not by our hero and heroine) and fight/death scenes it got a bit gruesome.  I thought it was perfect but I don’t think a teen with a weak stomach or a younger teen would have dealt with it well.
Overall a very good book and one well worth taking the time to read.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5

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What I Read Last Week

Posted October 26, 2010 by Tracy in Features | 11 Comments

What’s up? What have you all been up to? Anything fun? Tell all!
Sorry this is so late today folks, I’m just busy, busy, busy!
So this is a short work week for me as tomorrow evening I’m leaving for San Francisco to go to Yaoi-Con and to meet up with Chris, Kris, Tam & Jenre and have a jolly good time. I can’t believe I’m actually going to meet all of these fabulous ladies from all over the globe. (Chris is from Minnesota, Kris from Australia, Tam from Canada and Jenre from England) It’s amazing that we could all work our schedules to get together and it’s going to be fabulous!
My reading this week was a tad frenetic – didn’t exactly stick to my normal routine of reading different sub-genre’s (contemp, then paranormal, then historical…in no particular order). I needed to get several books read so that the reviews could post on time so that kind of directed my reading. I’m happy to say that I got it all done – yay! And now I’ll have no worries about the blog while I’m gone. Hopefully my hubby will give up his laptop for the trip cuz I need to be connected!
Not a lot of excitement here other than getting ready for my trip so on to what I read last week:
First up was book 4 in the Farm series by Andrew Grey called Love Means…Freedom. This was a book about Stone who was kicked out of his father’s house when he came out to him. He was working his way south to warmer weather but got kicked out of his ride during a blizzard. He happens upon Eli and Geoff’s farm and is taken in. He meets Preston, who is in a wheelchair after being hit by a drunk driver and is doing the riding therapy at the farm. The two hit it off but as it usually does, life creates obstacles. This was a good installment in the series. It was almost a little too sweet for me between Preston and Stone. Preston’s father was an ass and I kept thinking that it would be revealed that he was the one that was hurting Preston’s work options but that never came to light. Who knows. 🙂 Cute though. 3.5 out of 5
Saving Lady Ilsa by Crystal Kauffman was a book that I read for The Book Binge. A historical about a second son who’s father wants him to marry but he’s in a committed relationship with another man. He’s willing to marry but not have the marriage be in name only. On a whim he takes home a tailor’s assistant, Ilsa, who is being abused by the tailor and decides to make her his bride. But he and his partner, Frederick, might want to keep her around and have the marriage be more than just in name. A cute book but it was a little hard for me to think of two gay men suddenly wanting a woman. 3.5 out of 5
Next was Duchess of Sin by Laurel McKee. This is book 2 in the Daughters of Erin series. I didn’t read book 1 but didn’t feel that I was missing anything. The story revolved around an Irish Duke who is anti-Union in 1799 and a woman who is looking for some meaning in life. The two fall in love and it’s quite romantic. The book mostly takes place in Dublin. I read this one for The Book Binge – it releases on November 30th. 4 out of 5
Next was a book that I received from the author for review – Forsaken by Shadow by Kait Nolan. The first book about the Mirus, who are paranormal beings. This story was about Cade who woke up and had no memory at all. Ten years later the woman he loves shows up needing his help to save her father. She would have looked for him sooner but she was told he was dead. We get to meet shadow walker, dragon shifters, fey, vampires. It was quite a good book and not that long so if you’re looking for a quick paranormal read this might be for you. You can a short review here. 4 out of 5
Craving Beauty by Nalini Singh was my DIK reading challenge book for the month. I’ll post my review on Friday.
My Tracy’s TBR challenge read for the week was Allergies by TA Chase. A shifter story about two men who meet at work – Lou’s a wolf shifter but Ray seems to be allergic to him when he’s in his human form. The story covered them getting together and the issues around Lou “coming out” as a shifter and those issues. There was another part of the book that had some shifter hunters coming into the territory but that wasn’t dealt with by the end of the book which was a bit surprising, and a little annoying. I can only assume it will be in the next book? IDK. I’ll have to read it and see. 3.25 out of 5
Undeniably Yours by Shannon Stacey was my next read. This was another book that set with the Kowalski family. Kevin has a one night stand but he’s really likes the woman, Beth, and wants to see if more can come from it. Well it did since she got pregnant – but she wants to just stay friends – friends that are having a baby together. I’ll post my review for this on Wednesday. It releases from Carina Press on Nov. 1. 4 out of 5
Picture Postcards by JM Snyder was a very short book but one I really liked. It was about a man, Donny, who was in love with his best friend, Greg, but his friend marries a woman and moves away. They fall out of contact but suddenly Donny is getting random postcards from Greg about his feelings and how he misses Donny, etc. Only 15 pages but it packed a punch. 4 out of 5
After Midnight by Teresa Medeiros was next and this was a book I read about when Luisa Prieto was on DIK recently. It’s a historical about a woman who thinks that the man who is courting her sister might be a vampire. Whether he’s a vampire or not she finds herself falling in love with him and he with her. Good book. The end resolution was a bit rushed but overall I really liked the story, thanks Luisa! 4 out of 5
Next up was Icing on the Cake by Alison Kent. I read this one for the True Vows tour and will be posting my review on Nov. 3rd. Let me just say though that the romance was great and I very much liked Kent’s writing.
Dance with a Vampire by Fabian Black was next. Only 7 pages long. The story was told in first person but it was told as if retelling a story to the person it happened to. (example: if I was telling the story of how I met my husband to my husband). It was short but sweet. I liked it. 4 out of 5 (free on ARe)
Last on the list was the novella You Get What You Want by Janey Chapel. This was a great book. An ex con, Jay, meets Patrick, a cop, when Patrick gets a drink at the bar that Jay works at. They are incredibly attracted to each other and have a great time in the bar’s office after closing. But Patrick can’t stop thinking about Jay and has 12 hours to kill before he has to head home (to another city), so seeks out Jay’s company. The time they spent together was very touching and sexy and I really loved the emotion that was infused into the story. 5 out of 5
My Book Binge reviews that posted since last Monday
Happy Reading!

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Review: Forsaken by Shadow by Kait Nolan

Posted October 22, 2010 by Tracy in Reviews | 3 Comments

Cade Shepherd is on top of the world as this year’s Ultimate Fighting Champion. He doesn’t even remember his life as Gage Dempsey, a Shadow Walker with the ability to magically transport himself from shadow to shadow. In fact, he can’t remember anything before waking up in a cheap motel room ten years ago with mysterious burns on his hands–not even the woman he almost died for.


Embry Hollister has picked up the pieces of her life, learned to control her ability to generate flame, and now works an enforcer for the Council of Races. But when her father is captured by the human military and the Council refuses to mount a rescue mission, Embry has no choice but to go rogue. All she has to do is find the man with the new name and new life who was completely wronged by her people, give him back the memories they stole, convince him to join her on what’s probably a suicide mission, and hope that after ten years of living as a regular guy he still remembers what her father taught him.

And after that, she just has to leave him. Again.
Imagine waking up in a hotel room with no memories. That’s exactly what happened to Cade Shepherd. He had no idea who he was or even where he was. He eventually heads to a hospital where they find out he’s really a missing person. Jump 10 years and Cade is a UFC Champion who still remembers nothing from his life before. He always had this feeling though that there was a woman that he loved. He had no idea who she was but he just remembered a woman.
Embry is that woman. When he sees her at one of his fights he is drawn to her but has no idea why. Embry is there to give him his memories back in order to save her father’s life. But bringing Cade/Gage back into the life of the Mirus (paranormal beings) puts him in danger of losing his life.
This was my first read by Kait Nolan and it won’t be my last. The 91 action packed pages of this book kept me interested from start to finish.
The romance was sweet and touching while still having the tension that I always like in my romance books. The world that was built was done seamlessly throughout the story – there was no info dump that got it all out of the way and it was something I greatly appreciated.
Ms. Nolan has caught my attention and I definitely want to read more in this series when it’s published.
Rating: 4 out of 5

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