Tag: Lissa Matthews

What I Read Last Week

Posted February 28, 2011 by Tracy in Features | 12 Comments

Oh so many things are going on in Tracyland but you would all be bored to tears to hear it all so I’ll give you a a couple of good tidbits.

My youngest had an eye appt. since she was having problems seeing the board at school.  Though the prescription will be weak she will still need glasses. She, being the stylin 8 year old that she is, picked out some adorable glasses.  As soon as we pick them up I will pass pictures along.

Then when I went to visit and have lunch with my parents on Saturday it snowed!  I know for a lot of you this is not exciting but since that’s an unusual occurrence I thought I’d share. 🙂  This is what the road leading to their house looked like from the storm the night before  

and this is what it looked like when we got out of lunch.  It was actually coming down pretty steadily while we were eating lunch and this was just 45 min. worth. By the time I left their house my youngest was having a great time throwing snowballs at her grandpa! 

So what did I read this week:

First I started off with yaoi.  I’ve had this since Kris was here (yes, back in Nov!) and I was sucking at reading it and getting it to Chris who was next in the swap.  So these became my Tracy’s TBR challenge reads for the week as well since I’ve had them so damned long.  So I first I read I Can’t Stop Loving You vol 2 by Row Takakura.  Kyouji is at a mountain retreat doing his monk training when he’s accused of murder. Yu comes to see him and gets involved.  It was cute but odd at times. 3 out of 5 

Next was Thunderbolt Boys Excite vols. 1 &2 by Asami Tojo.  These were stories about models and frankly I thought they were a bit ridiculous and it was all I could do to keep reading.  They were drawn well, though. 2 out of 5 for both.

Then I read Incubus vols. 1, 2 & 3 by Yayoi Neko.  This was an interesting story about Lenniel who is half human and half demon who lived with Judas in the demon world but then Judas had to leave and lost all of his memories.  Lenniel has finally found him again but Judas is madly in love with his professor.  Judas also has serious self-esteem issues which he comes by after everyone, including his parents, constantly putting him down.  There’s also a second story with a demon who is a butler for a rich family and the young master who he loves and loves him back.  It’s quite good at times and others, not so much. 🙂  Vols.1 & 3: 3.5 out of 5, vol. 2: 4 out of 5

After that it was The Swing by Lissa Matthews – a book I read for The Book Binge.  This was a decent story about a man and a woman who are deeply in love but haven’t been together because she was once married to his now dead twin.  Sounds creepy but it was actually a very good short story that was quite emotional.  4 out of 5. My review is here.

River Marked by Patricia Briggs – another Book Binge Book – and so damned good.  I really loved Briggs’ writing and all of the wonderful scenarios she comes up with for Mercy and Adam to get involved in.  This followed Mercy and Adam on their honeymoon (no, not a spoiler!) and they have to end up fighting beasts and meeting others that they never expected to meet.  No, I’m not telling any more.  I don’t want to spoil things.  Suffice it to say that it’s great.  I loved every bit of it and am sad that I’m done reading it. 5 out of 5
So has anyone read any of her other series and if so which did you read and what did you think?

I finally picked up How To Woo A Reluctant Lady by Sabrina Jeffries.  This is book 3 in the Hellions of Halstead Hall series and it was good.  This was Minerva’s story and she is still pissed that her grandmother is making her grandchildren get married so she decides to advertise in a ladies magazine for a husband.  Giles Masters, a friend of the family, shows up to try to win her hand but she thinks it’s all pretend and he really wants to marry her.  Great romance and of course humor and intrigue as well.  Good stuff. 4 out of 5

Last on the list for the week was All or Nothing by James Buchanan. This was book 3 in the Taking the Odds series and it was a good one. Buchanan writes so well that I get drawn into the story and next thing you know it’s over!  How the heck did that happen? lol  Brandon is visiting Nick in Vegas the week between Christmas and New Year and he’s brought his daughter, Shayna, along.  She’s not thrilled to be at Nick’s, nor with Brandon and she’s got the attitude to prove it.  When Shayna is taken life goes on the emotional roller coaster from hell.  Such a great story and I certainly hope there are more books about Nicky and Brandon in the future.  5 out of 5


My Book Binge review that posted since last week:
The Swing by Lissa Matthews

Happy Reading

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Guest Review: The Swing by Lissa Matthews

Posted February 26, 2011 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 0 Comments

Tracy’s review of The Swing by Lissa Matthews

Two years after his brother’s death in Afghanistan, Jethro is doing well. His handmade porch swing business is booming, his hip injury has healed and he’s still in love with Caitlyn. He knows he should resist her, but can’t, and pulls her into his darkly sensual world of sex and spankings.


Caitlyn has grieved, created a life for herself and has finally come to terms with her need for Jethro, her dead husband’s brother. With no small measure of hesitation, she takes a fateful step-daring him to turn her and their chance at happiness away.

What would you do if you feel in love with your twin’s girlfriend and remained in love with her even after they got married? Not only that, but the woman is in love with you as well – and your twin knows it?

Well that’s exactly what happened to Jethro and his twin Marcus’s wife, Caitlyn. Marc knew that Jethro was in love with her but he also knew that his brother wouldn’t do anything about it – and neither would Caitlyn. But how hard would it be living life with that knowledge? Pretty darned hard, imho.

But Marcus died while in Afghanistan two years prior to this story’s beginning and now we’re seeing Jethro and Caitlyn trying to see if they can piece together a life while dealing with the guilt they feel. They finally realize that Marcus wouldn’t have wanted them to struggle the way they have and even asked Jethro to take care of Caitlyn knowing that Jethro was thoroughly in love with her.

It was an emotionally charged book for as short as it was but Ms. Matthews managed to convey the feelings of this couple extremely well. I even found myself tearing up at one point.

Now this being an Ellora’s Cave Quickie I knew going in that it would be on the sexy side with emphasis on the sex…and sex on a swing! That was incredibly hot even though Jethro was not the sweet romantic type. He liked his spankings and wanted to show everything to Caitlyn that she had missed while being married to a sweet romantic man.

I think I liked this not only for the emotional aspect of it but the fact that Ms. Matthews really made us see how Jethro and Marcus were most definitely two sides of the same coin. One soft and loving, one harder but just as loving but both of them not afraid of who they were and the love they had for Caitlyn.

A great quick story that is worth taking the time to read.

Rating: 4 out of 5

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place

This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.

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Guest Review: Carnal Ecstasy by Lissa Matthews

Posted August 8, 2010 by Ames in Reviews | 0 Comments

Ames‘ review of Carnal Ecstasy by Lissa Matthews

When good girls go bad, very, very bad…

The minute Carrie meets tattooed, bad-boy bartender Dallon, her decision is made. He’s the one, her ticket to freedom and a new, independent life. She’s tired of dictates and zero dates and following the path laid out before her by her well-meaning-but-completely-out-of touch-with-her-reality religious parents.

Dallon sees the buttoned-up, full-of-curves woman outside the grocery store and feels the flames of hell licking at his heels. When she asks him for directions to the large, nearby university where she’s starting work, his gut-twisting lust for her doesn’t diminish, but those flames start to singe his tough-as-nails hide.

With Dallon’s promise of not sleeping with anyone associated with the university his father is the dean of about to go up in smoke, Carrie takes the first exit off the Heavenly Highway straight onto Sin Street. She wants Dallon to teach her all the things a good girl should never know, and she won’t take Hell no for an answer.

I very much wanted to like this novella, and there were some good parts, but it left me feeling kind of dirty. Like a pool cue touched by who knows how many people and not washed before it’s inserted into a body cavity dirty. Maybe it’s just me, but that seems unsanitary.

Anyway, Dallon sees a woman talking on a cell-phone in the grocery store parking lot. His first thought? Of her on her knees, pleasuring him. Niiiice. Then he somehow magically senses how innocent she is and he wants to make her naughty. All she wants are directions to her new place of work (she’s new in town and got lost). He gives her directions to the university and also to his bar, where he’s part owner and bartender.

Carrie shows up in his bar, before closing, and tells him she quit her job. And that she wants him. Score for Dallon. He didn’t want to want Carrie because she would be working at the university, where his super religious father is the dean. Carrie quit because she wants freedom, freedom from the life her parents planned for her. You see, Carrie too has super religious parents and they set the job up for her – but she’s sick of living under their thumb and she wants to be a naughty girl.

Dallon is the perfect man to debauch her. And he does. With a beer bottle…and a pool cue.

Dallon finds himself falling for this sweet, innocent angel. But the feelings she engenders in him are dangerous – he doesn’t want the entanglement, he’s used to one night stands. (This feeling of his, his commitment phobia is never explained, btw.)  Also, these two don’t use condoms after the first time they have sex.  What are the chances little Carrie is on the pill?  I guess Dallon isn’t too worried about commitment after all then, is he?  One then has to wonder, how safe is he if he’s so willing to go without?

The one good thing about this short story? It’s told from Dallon’s point of view. So we were spared Carrie’s religious upbringing angst.

Carnal Ecstasy gets 1 out of 5 from me.

I’m going to go wash my hands.

You can read more from ames at Thrifty Reader. 

This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.

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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

Posted August 17, 2008 by Tracy in Features | 11 Comments

Well it was a good week this week if very tiring. The girls going back to school threw me for a freakin loop. Getting up 45 min. to an hour earlier than summer just kicked my butt for some reason and I kept falling asleep early at night. God I felt old! lol Of course falling asleep early just puts a huge kabosh on the whole reading at night after the kids go to bed plan. This week only I read 2 full length novels and then a bunch of novellas and stories that weren’t more than 150 pages each!

Right now the girls are driving me batty. I’ve escaped to the computer and had hubby take over. If one of them comes up to me just one more time and says, “She looked at me funny!” I’m going to blow my fuckin lid! lol I love mykids, I love my kids, I love my kids…

Ok – so on to what I read this week…


It Had To Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. See review below.


Next was Twin Temptations by Elizabeth Lapthorne. This is a cute little novella that is #6 in the Rutledge Werewolf series. I haven’t read the first 5 but whatever. 🙂 Oh, it’s “Twin” because the girl is a twin. You thought boobs or even menage, huh? Yeah, I did too! lol


Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Lapthorne was next. This is #2 in the Rutledge Werewolf series and strangely enough it’s about the parents of the twins I read about in book 6 – kinda weird, but ok. I liked the story but there was a huge build up to the major conflict in the book and then it was just settled without a whole lot of fanfare. It was kind of anti-climactic.

It’s been 2 weeks or so since I’d read a book in the Troubleshooters series by Suzanne Brockmann and that’s just not right! I read Force of Nature which is book 11 in the series (I’ll soon be all caught up, dammit!). This was another fantastic read. I just love Brockmann’s characters and this one didn’t disappoint. Annie, Ric, Jules, Robin, Martell and all of the others in this book were just great – even the bad guys are written so you really hate them. Let me just also say that Brockmann’s dedications almost always bring me to tears. (I’m such a sap)

Ok so last week I read Samantha Kane’s At Love’s Command which was fab. I really liked it and I decided to read the rest of the Brothers in Arms books that she has out. I wasn’t planning on reading them one right after another, but that’s just what happened. I went from The Courage to Love to Love’s Strategy to Love Under Seige. I liked all of these books. There was a time in one of the books – I think it was The Courage to Love that I started skipping a love scene and thought wow this has a lot of sex! lol Yeah, I don’t say that very often! haha. But like I said they were all good. I think At Love’s Command is my favorite but they’rea ll worth reading.

I ended my reading week with Educating Rose by Lissa Matthews. Educating Rose is Lissa’s first book, a short about a girl (virgin librarian) who has the desire to be a submissive, but only for 1 man. Although this story was only 36 pages I very much enjoyed it. Obviously you can’t delve too far into the characters with such a short story but after I was done reading I felt like I knew them. I’m not a huge bdsm book fan but this one was very enjoyable. Great job Lissa.
You can also find Samantha Kane and Lissa Matthews at Kiss and Tell which is where I found out about Lissa’s release.

Happy Reading!

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