What I Read Last Week
Tagged: Cathryn Fox, Christina Dodd, Jeaniene Frost, Jo Davis, Julie Kenner, Kimberly Raye, Marie Sexton, Nina Pierce, Shari Anton, TA Chase, The Book Binge, What I Read Last Week, What I've Been Reading This Week
Why, yes, yes I am. Kind of like a large seal or a porpoise.
Oh wait, that’s not why I’m posting. I’m posting to let you know that I’ve done a guest review for Katiebabs – that wonderful chick. Go here and read my review for Slippery When Wet by Kimberly Raye.
Hey there, hi there, ho there,
It has been a crazy week. I know I said it before, but thank you all so much for your support at the beginning of the week with the death of that little boy. You all are amazing people and I’m so happy to have you “met” you all! 🙂 The family is still pretty hysterical. We did find out from the coroner that it wasn’t suffocation as previously believed but they haven’t said what it actually was. Still waiting.
Thanksgiving was wonderful. We went to my in-laws for an early meal (they live about an hour and a half away) and then went to eat with my family (who were about an hour and a half away from the first place but only a 1/2 hour from my house). It was great being with the whole family for the day, but very tiring. That was the first time we’d tried to do 2 fams in 1 day for Thanksgiving and it’s probably our last! lol I hope you all had a wonderful day!
I just went and saw Bolt with my kids. They loved it – so glad. It was ok but not fabulous for the parents, IMO. Could have been the pounding headache I have but I can’t be sure. 🙂
First off was The Demon King and I by Candace Havens. It was ok – not great. Just an eh for me. If you didn’t see my previous post and want to read my review go here.
Next up was The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn. Yes, I’m totally into the Bridgerton’s and am reading them all. I probably will be reading a lot of them in the next few weeks since a local friend got them all from the library and is passing them on before they’re due. Unfortunately she reads like friggin lightening so they’re starting to back up on me! lol Anyway, loved Anthony’s story. The man was just killing my heart there for a while but Kate brought him through! Loved the book.
Next I read a couple of short stories for review on The Book Binge. A Pirates Hellion by Jaden Sinclair and Elfing Around by J Morgan. The reviews should be up sometime soon. The first one – horrid. The second a cute Christmas tale.
Then I read Slippery When Wet by Kimberly Raye. I will be doing a review on this soon – keep your eyes peeled!
Get A Clue by Jill Shalvis. Jill Shalvis has been recommended to me and I just had to see what all the fuss was about. I have to say when I started the book I was wondering if I was gonna like it but after about 10 pages I was completely hooked. Cute story about a woman jilted at the altar and the funny/bizarre happenings when she goes on her honeymoon alone. Oh and it has a hunky cop too – you gotta love it.
Nikki had given me the Virgin River series by Robyn Carr with the instruction that I HAD to read them! They’ve sat there for a couple of weeks so I decided to dive it. I started with Virgin River and let me tell you it was great. I truly enjoyed delving into the different lives and loves of the people of this small moutain town. Great story telling and a pretty darn good romance – 2 things I don’t like to pass by.
I honestly can say that as much as I loved Virgin River I had absolutely no intention of immediately starting Shelter Mountain which is book 2 in the Virgin River series. But, I made the mistake of reading the excerpt in the back of VR, which was chapter 1 of SM, and I was once again hooked. SM was just as good as book 1. I really like this series a lot. To save myself I did not read the excerpt for the next book when I finished SM even though I really wanted to. Book 3 is stting on my shelf I’ll try to stay away for a few days!
Oh and I didn’t blog hop all week and I’m almost going through withdrawal so hopefully I’ll be catching up this week with everyone!
Happy Reading!
Happy Sunday!
Happy Reading!
Ladies, Start Your Engines… by Kimberly Raye All Savannah Calloway wants for Christmas is a chance to prove her talent with an engine—and hot young NASCAR driver Mackenzie Briggs is ready to play Santa. But they soon find that winning the race isn't nearly as important as winning each other's hearts…
'Tis the Silly Season by Roxanne St. Claire NASCAR Busch Series racer Clay Slater needs a ready-made family—fast—to impress a potential sponsor. Lisa Mahoney can't resist the chance to give her kids the storybook Christmas she's never been able to…and if that includes a kiss under the mistletoe, so much the better!
Unbreakable by Debra Webb Although she's been hired to prove that drivers are serious athletes, Dr. Maxine Gray doesn't think much of NASCAR racing. So in the spirit of Christmas, driver Rush Jackson is determined to show the good doctor the "rush" that racing—and race car drivers—can bring.
You might be wondering why I’m reviewing a Christmas anthology in May..and you know, I’m kind of wondering the same thing. I decided to organize my bookshelves last night and I found this buried under Mt. TBR, so I figured..heck, why not. And there you go.
I’ve read each of these authors away from the Nascar gig and really enjoyed them, so when I saw this I grabbed it, thinking I’d give it a go and see how the Nascar thing played out. I really enjoyed it.
Ladies, Start Your Engines… by Kimberly Raye
All Savannah Calloway wants for Christmas is a chance to prove her talent with an engine–and hot young NASCAR driver Mackenzie Briggs is ready to play Santa. But they soon find that winning the race isn’t nearly as important as winning each other’s hearts…
I enjoyed this story, but the way Savannah’s family took advantage of her really started to bug me after awhile.
Savannah’s father owns one of the largest racing teams in the Forth Worth area, and all she wants is a chance to prove to her father she’s as good with engines as she is with cooking him and her brother meals and cleaning up their messes. When he decides she should, “Take some time off” to find herself (a man) she decides to approach Mac and see if they can help each other out. She’ll give him a number one winning car if he’ll give her the chance to prove she can do it.
Mac and Savannah are cute together, and I really liked that he listened to her and encouraged her to do what she needs to do. The sexual tension between them was believable and worked because they knew each other prior to her approaching him.
My biggest gripe is with Savannah’s family and the way she lets them walk all over her. Throughout the story they dump one thing after another on her and expect her to just “fix it”. She finally was able to stand up to them, but I think it went on a little too long for the character Savannah was.
3.5 out of 5
‘Tis the Silly Season by Roxanne St. Claire
NASCAR Busch Series racer Clay Slater needs a ready-made family–fast–to impress a potential sponsor. Lisa Mahoney can’t resist the chance to give her kids the storybook Christmas she’s never been able to…and if that includes a kiss under the mistletoe, so much the better!
I enjoyed this one, though I think the premise behind it was just a little too over the top.
Lisa is having a crap month before Christmas (not that she really likes Christmas anyway) and the icing on the cake is not being able to get the two toys she promised her two boys would be under the tree. So when she overhears Clay and what she believes to be his girlfriend discussing Kincaid Toys she thinks she might have a chance to get what she needs. And she can, only it comes with a hefty price tag. To impress the owner of Kincaid Toys, Clay wants Lisa to pretend to be his wife for a weekend. If all goes as planned, they both get what they want..Lisa gets a Christmas for her boys, and Clay gets to race the next Kincaid car.
Like I said, the plot was just a little bit too over the top. Even so, both Clay and Lisa were good characters, and I liked her boys. Clay was just like a big kid himself, and the three of them together were adorable. It was nice to see him realize his feelings for her.
4.0 out of 5
Unbreakable by Debra Webb
Although she’s been hired to prove that drivers are serious athletes, Dr. Maxine Gray doesn’t think much of NASCAR racing. So in the spirit of Christmas, driver Rush Jackson is determined to show the good doctor the “rush” that racing–and race car drivers–can bring.
I think the romance in this story is my favorite, but the hero really rode the Beta line. I’m not sure how I feel about that.
Rush is determined to prove Nascar racing is a sport, and one that should be taken seriously. They train hard and don’t get the recognition they deserve. But Dr. Max isn’t what he expected, and trying to get her to change her mind about racing could prove interesting, to say the least.
Ok, I’m shallow. I admit it. But..well, the hero still lives with his Mama. I just had a really hard time getting over that. I think it’s wonderful when men – especially Southern men – show the proper respect for their mother’s, but I think Rush living with her when he was trying to woo Dr. Max was just…well, let’s just say it didn’t quite work for me.
Max was ok, but she had some relationship hangups I felt she clung to a little too tightly. Still, the story progressed nicely and I really enjoyed the characters.
4.0 out of 5
All in all, not a bad anthology, and I’m curious enough to check out some of their other Nascar novels. Total grade:
4.25 out of 5
This book is available from Harlequin. You can buy it here or here in e-format.