Tag: Kimberly Raye

What I Read Last Week

Posted May 24, 2010 by Tracy in Features | 10 Comments

It’s Monday again. Why does this keep happening every stinking week? lol
Well, I’d love to say that my life is so exciting and I’d love to regale you with many a fun and funny anecdote but the truth is, nothing happened this past week of any import. Just a normal week in Tracyland. Maybe this week will be so exciting I’ll be bursting at the seams next Monday to share things with you. Let’s hope. lol
I read a lot of books for The Book Binge this week in a desperate attempt to catch up. I’m almost all the way through the books from May so I’m making headway! lol Only a few more to go and I’m all caught up – yay! šŸ™‚
So what I read this week:
I started off the week with a new to me author, Marie Sexton, by reading Promises. This was an m/m story about Jared who had lived his whole life in a small town in Colorado except for his years in college. He is gay but pretty much resigned to living on his own for the rest of his days. Then Matt comes to work at the Coda police department and Jared and Matt become instant friends. Jared falls for Matt, but Matt’s not gay…or is he? This was such a damn good story. I liked it so much. I enjoyed the writing and could really feel the things that were happening between Matt and Jared. Good stuff and highly recommended. 4.5 out of 5
Next up was Impulsive by Cathryn Fox. The story of a woman whose lover is killed and she’s turned into a werewolf. 100 years later and she’s scented her dead lover – who’s been reincarnated into Kane…a werewolf hunter. Wow, what a couple. This was read for The Book Binge. 3 out of 5

Next up was Tracy’s TBR Challenge read as well as an FTSP read – Destined For An Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost. I bought this one the day it released and yet it’s sat on shelf til now. I think I was a little leery to start it as I wasn’t a huge fan of book 3. This one was a good read though with Cat running from a man who claimed to be her husband. It was a very emotional book between Cat and Bones and was hard to read at times but it was a good one. 4 out of 5

Next was Out of Bounds by TA Chase. This was the story of a professional basketball star who is gay – but he’s not out (except to his family) because he doesn’t wanted to take the chance that he might be removed from the team. Despite his qualms he begins a relationship with a nightclub owner. Kasey has real feelings for Gram but is hesitant to reveal his personal life to the press. The is a novella and I almost wish it had been a longer book. I felt kind of let down that what Kasey worried about the whole book was almost minimized because the book ended so soon after things happened. Beside that it was good. There was more sex than story imho but the sex was definitely steamy. 3 out of 5
Next up was Line of Fire by Jo Davis. This is book 4 in the Firefighters of Station 5 series – Tommy’s story. He’s pretty much in love with nurse, Shea Ford. She is afraid to get close to him because she’s afraid he is similar to a man in her past. She finally breaks through her misgivings and they fall in love. I really liked Tommy and Shea and they were so cute together – but almost too cute at times but it worked. The suspense part of the story was a little much but a pretty good story. Another Book Binge read. 3.5 out of 5

My next read was a short by Julie Kenner called Wrapped and Ready. I’m not sure what prompted me to pull out a Christmas short in May but I did. The story of Annie who’s had a thing for Brent most of her life – but they come from different lifestyles and she doesn’t think that Brent knows she exists. Oh, Brent knows and when Annie proposes that she get Brent as a Christmas present he’s definitely game. Cute. 3 out of 5

Bonded Souls by Nina Pierce was next. This is a prequel in her Shifting Bonds series. This tells the story of Jayda and how she met Cole (a wolf shifter) and became his mate. She is part of a prophecy and until she went on vacation to get some peace and quiet didn’t even know she was a shifter. Not only a shifter, by a polymorphic shifter – part wolf, part cougar, part human. A Book Binge read. 3.75 out of 5

Next I picked up Sucker for Love by Kimberly Raye for part of my FTSP. This is book 5 in the series and I got about 1/2 way through the book and realized I just didn’t care. I didn’t care about Lil, her family, Lil’s missing friend. Sorry to say the series has run it’s course for me. DNF
Another book I started and just couldnā€™t get into was Once a Bride by Shari Anton. I donā€™t have a clue where I got the book but itā€™s been on my shelf for a while. The story was about a man who accused of treason so goes into hiding and leaves his daughter (age 17) to face his accusers at their home. The man the king has sent to oversee the property while the matter is dealt with knows that he should have nothing to do with the daughter ā€“ and sheā€™s pissed off at him for taking over the property ā€“ but that doesnā€™t stop their attraction. Again, I got about halfway through the book and nothing was clicking with me. DNF
Last but not least was another Tracyā€™s TBR Challenge read. This was The Runaway Princess by Christina Dodd. Though I read all of Doddā€™s Darkness Chosen series I wasnā€™t thrilled with it. I definitely liked this historical book better. It was pretty simple ā€“ an easy read with some silly parts but very cute. The story of a prince who finds his runaway princess ā€“ only sheā€™s not the princess ā€“ just someone who looks like her. No matter her protestations that sheā€™s an orphan from England and her guardian was the one who taught her about their respective countries, he thinks sheā€™s fabricating it all to get out of marrying him and wonā€™t believe her. So was she the princess or not? As I said ā€“ pretty cute. 3.75 out of 5
Some of my Book Binge reviews that have posted:
Happy Reading!


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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

Posted December 1, 2008 by Tracy in Features | 17 Comments

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! šŸ™‚ 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. šŸ™‚

Ok – so on to what I read.

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!


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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

Posted August 25, 2008 by Tracy in Features | 19 Comments

Happy Sunday!

It’s been a hellova reading week. I read A LOT this week – I’m not quite sure how that happened actually, but it did. I left work early on Thursday and only worked 2 hours Friday because of a killer headache (that I still have)…and the drugs the doc injected me with kept me up most of the night on Friday so I’ve had mucho reading time.
One of my good friends, Andrew, got married today. Andrew and Beth have been together for 10 years. That’s right, 10 years! He finally popped the question and it was about damn time! lol Talk about an age difference…he just turned 50 in July and she’s 29! Of course he looks and acts like he’s about 35 so it all works out. Such a cute couple.

So my goal this past week was to read a ton of RAW authors as it’s only 4 weeks away. Ask me how that went. Not good! I read 1 book. 1! Geesh! I really need to work on that this week.

Oh and due to sheer, unadulterated laziness and severe pain in my head..no links will be available this week! But I still lubs ya!

The Pregnancy Test by Erin McCarthy was first. My only RAW author book. Cute book…see review a couple of posts back.

Countdown (Shomi) by Michelle Maddox. Good book. I won’t go into detail..you’ll just have to check out my review this week (sometime) on Book Binge.

Kill Me Twice by Roxanne St. Claire. I wanted to read one of her books since she’ll be guest blogging on DIK this week (Mon, Tues, Wed) and I hadn’t read her work. I liked it. I’ll probably read more of her stuff in the future…when the TBR goes down some. Stop laughing!! It’ll happen.

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs a novella in the On The Prowl Anthology was next. I’ve been seeing this around and hearing how good it was so I wanted to check it out. Very good story. It was a great introduction to Cry Wolf which is the 1st novel in Briggs’ Alpha and Omega series.

Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs was really good. I plan on doing a review this week of this book so check back. šŸ™‚

I then read the remainder of the stories in the On The Prowl anthology. (see book cover above) Besides Alpha and Omega I really didn’t care all that much for the other 3 stories – they weren’t bad, just not my thing.
InHuman by Eileen Wilks was ok. There was a lot of info being given but I really didn’t feel like I knew the characters by the time the story was done. This was an intro into a series (I think) but it didn’t make me want to read more.
Buying Trouble by Karen Chance was a cute little novella about a 1/2 human, 1/2 Fae that doesn’t know that’s what she is. She gets jiggy with another 1/2er and turns into something she would have never imagined. I think I’ll check out Karen Chance’s work to see what else she’s got going on since this was my first read of hers.
Mona Lisa Betwining by Sunny. Not a fan of this story. The heroine’s got too many freakin lovers…she’s got serious issues in so many other things and doesn’t know what the hell’s going on. The series is not something I’d want to be reading more of.

I won the novella Oh, George by Christiane France this week. This is an m/m romance about a man who’s inherited his dad’s business and a man from the secretarial pool. I didn’t feel like I could get into the characters enough during the novella and they fell in love really fast.

Last was Just One Bite by Kimberly Raye. The Dead End Dating series is weird and quirky and I like it for a fun little read. For any of you who read the series I just love Ty Bonner and there just wasn’t enough of him in this book! lol I needed more Ty! It was a nice edition to the series and I liked it.

Happy Reading!


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Anthology Review: A Nascar Holiday by Kimberly Raye, Roxanne St. Claire and Debra Webb

Posted May 13, 2008 by Holly in Reviews | 2 Comments

Anthology Review: A Nascar Holiday by Kimberly Raye, Roxanne St. Claire and Debra WebbReviewer: Holly
A NASCAR Holiday by Kimberly Raye, Roxanne St. Claire, Debra Webb
Publisher: Harlequin
Publication Date: November 15th 2012
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars

Ladies, Start Your Enginesā€¦ by Kimberly Raye All Savannah Calloway wants for Christmas is a chance to prove her talent with an engineā€”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 heartsā€¦
'Tis the Silly Season by Roxanne St. Claire NASCAR Busch Series racer Clay Slater needs a ready-made familyā€”fastā€”to impress a potential sponsor. Lisa Mahoney can't resist the chance to give her kids the storybook Christmas she's never been able toā€¦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 racingā€”and race car driversā€”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 Enginesā€¦ 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 heartsā€¦

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 toā€¦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.

three-half-stars


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