Happy New Year! I know I’ve said that before I just needed to say it again! lol
To say that I’m behind this week is a bit of an understatement. I was almost completely incommunicado yesterday as I promised my girls that I would try and not be on my phone or my laptop all day and just spend the day watching movies and playing games with them. I got a bit done before they woke up yesterday and sent a few emails from my phone while in hiding 🙂 but for the most part it was a day with the girls and it was a good day.
I had a lot of time off last week and read a whole heck of a lot – I’m not kidding. lol A lot of them were shorts and novellas but ones I’ve been wanting to read.
First up was Handyman by Claire Thompson. Now this one I started…I think near when it came out and could not get into it. It has languished in the pile for quite a while and I finally decided to give it another go. The story is about Will who is a stock broker who took a leave of absence after his boss died right in front of him of a heart attack. He’s purchased a house on the outskirts of the city and is refurbishing it. He hires Jack who is a widower with two grown sons and according to him – very straight. Except…there was the one experience in high school with his best friend Luke. This is a great story about Will coming to terms with a slower lifestyle as well as Jack taking a hard look at who he is and what he wants when it comes to his sexuality. 3.75 out of 5
Next was How the Marquess Was Won by Julie Anne Long. Book 6 in the Pennyroyal Green series and it was wonderful. I really loved so very many things about this story of a school teacher and the man they term “Lord Ice”. You can read my review of the book here. 5 out of 5
Next up was Bachelor Number Four by Megan Hart. This was the story of Arden who is a widow and is finally ready to head out on to the dating scene once again. She tries a couple of blind dates that are pretty amusing because the guys are just such losers! What she wants – well yes and no – is to meet up with an old flame who she had feelings for before she got married. She contacts him on a social networking site and they even have cybersex but she’s not sure she wants to take it any further. I liked the book – it was a cute HFN story with the possibility of it turning into a HEA but the heroine, Arden, drove me a bit nuts when it came to her contact with Shane. She ran really hot and cold and I think, hurt his feelings a bit. I realize that she was scared a bit of what could be but the way she handled it wasn’t great. 3 out of 5
My next read was The Bracelet by Mary Jane Clark. This is a short story and it looks like a prequel to the Piper Donovan mystery series. The story is about Piper who is home helping her mother in her bakery. Piper helps by taking some goodies upstairs to a little old man, a friend of her mom’s. When she gets there she finds him unconscious with the very valuable bracelet missing that he had just been showing Piper, her mother and her sister-in-law. Piper finds clues that leads her to believe that her sister-in-law had a hand in the missing bracelet but she doesn’t want to think badly of her – even though she doesn’t like her very much. The story was ok but it was mostly internal struggle and thoughts of Piper’s as she tried to figure out what to do about the missing bracelet. 2.5 out of 5
The Jock and the Wallflower by Lisa Marie Davis was the story of a wallflower, Decker, who is talked into going to a frat party with his best friend. He is almost on his way out when the man he is half in love with helps him out when a beer is spilled on him. The man is Avery and his is a jock and Decker’s thrilled beyond belief that Avery is even talking to him. He’s even more surprised when Avery makes his move. It was a very cute erotic m/m. 3 out of 5
The Santa Problem by Tam Ames was next. Gavin is in a bind. He needs someone to play Santa to his elf for his company on Christmas Eve and he wants his boyfriend Lane to play the part. Lane is NOT thrilled at all to say the least and frankly the gig doesn’t go all that well to say the least. But Lane and Gavin make a turn in their relationship during it all and it makes it all worth it. A very cute story. I just love Tam’s humor…well, all the time and I love that it translates to her books so well. The characters are very real and I love that. 3.5 out of 5
Hot Secrets by Lisa Marie Rice was next on the list. This was another short story that was kind of an “incident in the life of” her characters from her book Dangerous Lover. Jack, an ex-army ranger, is very protective of his wife and he trains her for any eventuality. She goes along with Jack but really her heart isn’t in it. Little does she know that she’ll need that training when her book store is taken over by a drunken madman. She puts into effect her training and her calm demeanor and silently thanks Jack. The story was pretty short but very good. There were a couple of things that were brought up but not mentioned again – I assume we’ll hear more in a future book? IDK. 4 out of 5
A Chip in His Shoulder by LA Witt is a fantasy about a world where technology is king (so much more than what we live in now) and vampire Liam has a ton of them. He is an assassin and is hired to kill his old lover – and he has no problem with that. Except when he gets to the location he finds himself trapped with Daniel and it gives them time to talk about what went wrong in their relationship while they try to find a way out of their highly volatile situation. I really liked the world in this story and hope there will be more set in this interesting world in the future. 3.5 out of 5
Next up was Trouble at the Wedding by Laura Lee Guhrke. This story is book 3 in the Abandoned at the Altar series and it was a good one. We had a duke sworn not to marry again trying to earn some cash by talking an American heiress out of marrying someone her family hates. The Duke, Christian, goes to pretty great extremes to get the job done but it ends up smacking him back in the face. It was a good book and my review will post tomorrow. 4.25 out of 5
All’s Fair by Suzie Quint is a short story in between books 1 & 2 of her McKnight series. This had Sol taking his daughter Eden to the Carnival knowing full well that his ex-wife, and the woman he’s still in love with, there while on a date. Sol ends up discouraging the date from seeing Georgia again by telling him some fantastical lies. Georgia is pissed and goes seeking retribution from Sol and but after Sol gets injured in a bull ride they end up in bed together. This is a very short story and really has no conclusion but it worked for me. I think it was a nice prequel to their eventual HEA…at least I hope they’ll get their HEA. 3 out of 5
Forever and a Day by Delilah Marvelle is the story of a woman who boards a British aristo in her very lowly tenement after he is hit on the street and suffers amnesia. The pair fall in love but how can a Viscount and a laundress ever be together? You can read my full review here at The Book Binge. 4 out of 5
The Viking’s Sacrifice by Julia Knight was a wonderful surprise. The story is about Viking raids, family betrayal, love and lots of danger. I really liked it and will post my review on Thursday. 4.25 out of 5
I’m a lucky, lucky girl and won a copy of Dating the Delaney’s by Anne Brooke over at Brief Encounters when they ran their Boxing Day Extravaganza. I got it and then gobbled it up as I love Liam and the Delaney’s. If you haven’t read this story about a man who works in a gallery and his twin crime boss lovers I suggest you do. They’re all short stories but all worth reading. This was book 4 and the trio has decided that they’re going to date for 6 weeks. On their first date in the movie theatre they can’t keep their hands off each other – just like when they’re on a picnic together. The dynamic is a bit odd with Liam being so submissive and the two brothers being so opposite from each other but I think it’s just great. 4 out of 5
Next was Slow Ride by Erin McCarthy – book 5 in the Fast Track series. This book was about a retired race car driver and a racing journalist and blogger that is grieving the death of her father. They kind of hook up at the wedding reception of Kendall and Evan (of The Chase #3) and start seeing each other. Parts of this book I really liked but others not so much. Tuesday had a stress and drinking problem, along with the fact that she hadn’t properly grieved for her father when she started dating Diesel. Then there’s Diesel who in no way had emotionally dealt with the racing accident that put him into forced retirement. I loved Diesel and Tuesday together when there were no issues but they each needed to handle their own lives before they could handle a relationship. It was good but not great for me. 3 out of 5 Read for The Book Binge
Next up was True Colors by Thea Harrison and is a novella in the Elder Races series. This is the story of Alice Clark who finds her best friend murdered in her apartment and hides when she sees the huge man come in. She runs from him not knowing if he’s the killer but it turns out he’s an investigator and a part of the Wyr division of the police. Gideon is immediately drawn to Alice who is also a wyr and finds he needs to be with her almost as much as he needs info from her to try to catch the killer of her friend. It was a good story about destined mates meeting and had a decent suspense element involved. 3 out of 5
Last on the list…yes there actually was a LAST…was Striker by KyAnn Waters. This is about two men, one a well known professional soccer player and a sportswriter who moves in next door. I’ll be reviewing it this week so keep your eye out. 4 out of 5
OK – so it may look like I read a lot but really, of the 16 listed 6 of them were shorts, 4 novella’s and one a short novel and those take no time at all, right? lol
My Book Binge reviews that posted this week:
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Reviewer: Holly 
