Tag: Mina Carter

What I Read Last Week

Posted December 20, 2011 by Tracy in Features | 5 Comments

Well it’s been crazy at our house this past week. First my little one got a bad cold and fever (I was home with her when I wrote the last edition of What I Read Last Week), then we had a really early birthday party for my oldest (her birthday isn’t until the 30th), then she got sick, then my youngest had another belt test for her red belt on Saturday (which she passed with max points – go baby go!), then she came home, threw up and continued to do so for the next 15 hours. She’s feeling much better now but has been at work with me for most of the past two days so it’s been a bit hectic. Life is fun. lol Needless to say I’m behind on EVERYTHING, including this post! But eventually it all gets taken care of. As long as my family gets healthy soon I’ll be one happy camper.
Here’s my youngest breaking a board at her red belt test. A couple of practice kicks and then she got it in 2.

So how are all of you? What have you been up to? What are you reading lately? I’m afraid with life in a whirlwind I’ve not been blog hopping lately so I hope you’re all well.
What I read last week:

I started off the week with The Cowboy’s Christmas Miracle by RaeAnne Thayne. This was the book that I read for my monthly TBR challenge and it was pretty good. Minor angst between the h/h but other than that a sweet Christmas tale. You can read my review here. 3.5 out of 5

All the Pleasures of the Season by Lecia Cornwall was my next read. A novella that was about a woman who tries to do what her family wants when it comes to marriage and her future but between the evil fiancé and the fact that she’s in love with someone else it just didn’t work. You can read my review here. 4 out of 5

Faery Wedding by Mina Carter was a short read about a woman who is being forced to marry a man she thinks is old and probably evil just to save her family. She goes out the night before and gets her groove on with a great guy who shows up later and surprises her in a big way. It was an ok story but definitely more of an erotic tale rather than love. 2 out of 5

A Knight in Cowboy Boots by Suzie Quint is a book that I read for The Book Binge. This was the story of a girl who basically kidnaps her nephew after the baby’s father kills her sister, the baby’s mother. She goes into hiding but ends up falling for a guy. He’s great but she knows she can’t stay in one place even if she’s in love. It was a pretty good story but there was a bit of hick-speak that made me a bit crazy as I was reading. Luckily they only spoke a bit in hick-speak and didn’t THINK that way. lol 3.75 out of 5

8 Seconds on the Mountain by PD Singer is a short related to Mountain series. This story had the boys, Kurt and Jake, invading the stocks at a rodeo. Kurt riles up the cowboys and makes a bet that he can stay on a bull for 8 seconds. It was cute, short read. 3 out of 5

Priority One by Stephani Hecht is book 4 in the EMS Heat series. I’ve not read the first 3 books but didn’t feel that it was necessary in order to read this one. The story was about newbie EMS Dylan who is mightily attracted to Kaleb the firefighter. The story covers the men getting together and Dylan, who is dealing with emotions left over from when he got kicked out of his parents’ house and his feelings of betrayal from a previous relationship. The romance in this is a bit non-existent as we’re told that the men are basically inseparable but we don’t get to witness any of that. It was a good story just a little short on romance for my liking. 3 out of 5

Beneath the Neon Moon by Theda Black was a free book given away by All Romance eBooks this past week. It was about Zach and Mal who wake up one day and they are chained together in a basement. They discover after a bit that Mal has been bitten by a werewolf and will soon turn one and Zach is to be his first meal. Close proximity, however, bring the two young men together and the last thing either wants is for one to die and the other to be ridden with guilt forever. The book is about Zach and Mal getting to know each other and becoming closer as well as trying to figure out how to change what seems like an inevitable outcome. Really good story, well done. 4 out of 5

I wanted to read When I Fall by Belinda McBride but it had been so long since I had read An Uncommon Whore that I decided to re-read it first. Griffin Hawke is looking for the king of his people and he ends up finding him in an unlikely place. Pasha aka King Helios has been a slave and a whore for years and he knows nothing different. When Griffin finally gets him off planet Helios has to deal the memory/control chip that’s in his head as well as his thoughts of being King and of course his growing feelings for Griffin. It’s a really good book and it was just as good the second time around. 4 out of 5

When I Fall by Belinda McBride starts a year after Helios and Griffin finally make it back to their planet. Helios has fallen into the roll of king easily enough and has made wonderful changes for his people. It seems though that Griffin (this book is from Griffin’s POV while book 1 was from Helios’s) is feeling a bit unneeded and left out. The story deals with many aspects of the men’s world and Griffin’s feelings of impending loss (of Helios). While that was great and I enjoyed the writing tremendously I felt the story lacked the strength of the first book when it came to the men’s relationship. Griffin doubted Helios’s love, Helios kept secrets from Griffin but nothing really got worked out as the conclusion of the book kind of glossed over the issues. Because of a near death experience it seemed that the problems weren’t to be dealt with in depth – Helios admits he did wrong and so did Griffin and then it was all ok. I still gave the book a good grade because as I said, I liked the writing but the lack of true resolution of the problems bothered me a bit, I must admit. 4 out of 5

My Book Binge Reviews that posted last week:
Happy Reading!!

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Guest Review: Playing With Fyre by Mina Carter

Posted July 11, 2009 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Playing With Fyre by Mina CarterReviewer: Tracy
Playing with Fyre by Mina Carter
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Publication Date: July 3, 2009
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
two-half-stars

When you play with Fyre, you just might get burned.

Raelyn Borne has a fiery passion to save her home. Unfortunately, lawyer Logan Fyre, is as ruthless an opponent as they come. With him, she can’t bribe or threaten her way out of this one.

When backed into a corner, Raelyn has a tendency to get sassy. And now she’s desperate enough to enter into a dangerous game with Logan.

Does she have the strength to play with Fyre–without getting burned?

Raelyn Borne in lives in a gatehouse. She bought the property that was once part of a larger estate and one she had always dreamed of living in. She’s set up her aromatherapy massage business in the front part of the house and she lives in the back. Unfortunately business is not great and she spent more setting up the business than she’s now bringing in.

Enter Logan Fyre, a property developer that has purchased the mansion that’s associated with the gatehouse and he wants Rae to close up shop and leave. He’s willing to offer her great compensation but she doesn’t want to leave. Logan decides that letters aren’t getting the point across so he goes to see Raelyn in person. Rae mistakes Logan for her next client and talks to him about the massage. Right off the bat Logan assumes that she’s giving “special” massages and pretty much calls Rae a prostitute. Rae is incensed, as she should be, but yet when he makes a move on her and kisses her she’s all in. That was a little confusing but it did show their sexual chemistry was good.Directly after leaving Rae’s business Logan gets in a car accident. Rae comes to his side and actually rides in the ambulance with him. Since no one…no friends, no girlfriends, etc., are coming to be with him and she can find no info in his cell phone for a close contact she stays with him. As much of an ass as he was to her at her place of business she feels bad that he’s alone. When the nurses call her by Mrs. Fyre, assuming she’s the wife, she doesn’t correct them. She plans on leaving before Logan wakes in the morning but falls asleep. After Logan wakes he discovers that he’s lost part of his memories. He knows his name but not much else about his recent life. He certainly doesn’t remember his wife, but he thinks she’s gorgeous so goes with it. Rae decides to seek some revenge on the ass who is trying to kick her out of her home and takes him home with her with the story that they are currently separated and that’s why his stuff isn’t at her house.

Logan is anxious to find out what went wrong in his marriage and wants to fix it. He and Rae spend a nice evening together and then Logan goes to bed. Unfortunately when he wakes up in the night his memories flood back and he remembers most everything, including the fact that Rae isn’t his wife, and decides to play his own game with her.This review is very difficult for me to write. I’ve read one of Ms. Carter’s other novellas before and really enjoyed her writing. It has a nice easy flow to it and she really doesn’t skimp on emotions, sex or difficult issues. That was no different for this book. Although it was only 70 pages I thought she really packed a lot of information in without the reader feeling like there was too much. The problem I had with this book was the characters. While both had moments in there where I saw a glimpse of someone I’d want to know, for the most part I just didn’t like them.

Logan was a complete ass. He was a ruthless, materialistic lawyer who always got what he wanted. He didn’t stay with a woman for longer than 6 months and during that time always played a romantic part. When he would tire of them he just told them to leave. Granted he said that he always told them straight up before they started the relationship but it didn’t show me great hopes for his future. Raelyn, while I liked her at first and thought the little game she was playing was amusing, really took it too far. I thought that she sacrificed her integrity, especially toward the end of the book for this man, and frankly he just wasn’t worth it.

I realized that Raelyn felt that she had fallen in love with Logan, but I felt that she had fallen in love with the Logan that he wanted her to see. He completely admitted that he was acting in order for her to feel that he was a nice guy but he was just seducing her to get what he wanted in the end. Even after Raelyn figured this out and acknowledged to herself that she was in hell she still thought that she was in love with him. He loved the city and the social scene. She loved the country and her little shop. Even after the HEA I just couldn’t believe that they loved each other (I just didn’t feel he was redeemed) and that they were going to come to a mutual agreement…about anything. I truly saw this as being one of his sex month relationships again.

So, in the end this one just didn’t work for me.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

two-half-stars

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What I Was Reading Last Week

Posted July 6, 2009 by Tracy in Features | 15 Comments

I’m behind. Yes, again. I know, it sucks, but what can you do? Actually I tried to spend as little time as possible on the computer this weekend. Since I work at a computer practically all day every day I tend to have issues with my right arm – especially when I’m on the mouse for extended periods. The last time it kicked into high gear I had problems even moving my right arm and had a long stint in Physical Therapy. Let’s just say as nice as they are, I don’t want to go back! lol So I’ve been trying to stay off the computer during weekends and last night I just couldn’t get myself to type this out. I’m sure you were wondering how you could possibly start your week without the info but I hope you managed somehow. 🙂

Not much excitement this past week at the homestead. My youngest getting her yellow belt was cool. She loved it when I read all of your comments to her. Her birthday is on Wednesday and she’s been looking forward to getting her ears pierced which I said she could do when she was 7, just like my oldest. Well, I took her yesterday to get them done and she totally changed her mind. She wanted it so badly I was completely shocked. It wasn’t even when she saw the needle! I have no idea what happened but she just said, you know, maybe when I’m 8 or 9. Well ok then. 🙂 My oldest kept trying to talk her into it and finally my oldest told her that the only way she was doing it was if my oldest paid her $500.00!!! lmao. That got my oldest to pipe down pretty darned fast!

Oh and I posted my reads for June on my sidebar if you’re interested.

Ok – so on to what I read last week:


First up was Sea Fever by Virginia Kantra. This was a book that Katiebabs sent me a while back and I finally picked it up. After discussin the book with her she asked that I do a review for her blog so I’ll do that and when it posts I’ll let you all know. 🙂


Next up was Twisted Creek by Jodi Thomas. I really, really liked this book. It had such a great sense of family and the romance in it was so subtle it made it that much better. I also loved the heroine in this one so much. Allie was just a girl I would love to call friend. I would definitely recommend this one. 4.5 out of 5

My Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for this month was Carnal Gift by Pamela Clare. A while back I read the first book in this trilogy and really liked it. This was good, but not as good imo. I liked Jamie and Brighid (pronounced Breed) together but they were both so stubborn at times I wanted to conk them over the head with a blunt object. lol I think what didn’t do it for me in this book was the fact that there was a lot of the h or h getting sick, or stabbed, or kidnapped and it was all a little too much. 3.75 out of 5

My next read was Touched by Light by Catherine Spangler. This is the 3rd book in the series and I can say I’m probably done reading them. I read this for The Book Binge so I’ll be sure and let you know when the review posts.
This cover? The hero of the book is a suit wearing, tie donning, brand name dresser who has short hair that is always meticulously combed. The guy on the cover has a mullet. I know that the covers don’t always match up but come on! A mullet??? lmao! (nice abs though)

The Treasure Keeper (book 4 in the Drakon series) by Shana Abe was my next choice. I had to finish the series! While I enjoyed this book very much and of course still love Abe’s writing I just couldn’t believe in the heroine’s love at the end of the book. This book was about Rhys and his longtime love Zoe. I think Zoe had had feelings for Rhys when she was younger and as she got older cared about him but when it came to the end of the book I just didn’t believe it. Now Rhys, I loved. He was an arrogant ass but he did it in such a way that I couldn’t help but be drawn to him. I really am looking forward to the next book and I don’t even think it’s been decided when that will be since this one just came out in April. Oh well, patience is a virtue, or so they tell me. I’m really on the shelf about a rating on this one. It’s a 4.25 to 4.5 out of 5


Next was a novella called Playing With Fyre by Mina Carter. I read it for The Book Binge and will let you know when the review posts.

Dragon’s Kiss by Ally Blue was an m/m short story that I read next. This was my first read of Ally’s and I thought it was pretty good. It was very short and had a touching story but because of the length there wasn’t much time to get to know the characters. Bear and Lynx are out on patrol when they come across Dragon who is nekkid and jacking off. Bear is drawn to this man and as they make their way back to their pack Bear and Dragon talk and find that they have similar thought of life and how things should be run in the pack when it pertains to earth as it was approx. 15 generations prior. I think it must be part of a series (which I’ll check out today) and if so I’d be interested in reading more of the series because I liked Ally’s writing. 3 out of 5

My last read for the week was Tied Up, Tied Down by Lorelei James. This is book 4 in the Rough Riders series and definitely one of my favorites of the series so far. This one was with Kade and Skylar. Kade had been dating Skylar but she thought that he was actually his twin, Kane. Unfortunately when she found out about the duplicity in book 3 she broke things off. Kade was heartbroken and moved away for a year with basically no means of communication. The poor guy had his heart broken. When book 4 opens we find that Skylar is pregnant from the one encounter she had with Kade. She does try to contact him but when she finds he’s gone for a year really doesn’t try any harder to get a message to him. When Kade returns he finds out about the baby and is 100% in for taking care of little Eliza. Kade wants not only to be a great dad to the baby but he wants Skylar back. I really loved Kade. He was just truly a kind, good-hearted person. Skylar had issues from past problems with men and humankind in general but she came around. It was a good read. 4 out of 5

Happy Reading!

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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

Posted November 17, 2008 by Tracy in Features | 19 Comments

Hey folks! Happy Sunday!

Things around these parts were quiet this week – I like it that way more often than not.

I did get to Rancho Cucamonga yesterday where there was a Southern California Get Together. Not everyone from So Cal was there but there were a few of us and it was great getting to finally meet some of these folks! We shopped at Borders for a while then went and had some lunch then had a book swap (17 more books to add to my collection). Fun! Unfortunately there were a ton of fires going on in So Cal yesterday and lots of freeway closures so Nikki and I had to take a long roundabout way of getting to the get together but we made it. Alice got to the GT but then due to a closure couldn’t get home. She ended up going home with Rosie. Then Wendy and her Man got evacuated because there was a fire practically in their backyard. They met us all and then went home with Rosie as well. I was kind of jealous of the fun slumber party they were having! 🙂 (btw – Wendy and her Man are home now and their apartment is safe! YAY!) Here we all are in all our glory:

Alice, Nikki, Rosie, Wendy, Me & Lori
Ok – On to the books I read this week. I read a lot this week. A lot of the stories were novellas or shorts (some uber short). And, I want to be a nice, kind person and post book covers for you…but I just don’t have it in me tonight, sorry. Hopefully you’ll survive!

Up first was Moon Madness by Mina Carter. A short novella about a werewolf woman running from her pack alpha and having lots of hot sex! lol You can read my review on The Book Binge.Next up was Demon Bound by Meljean Brook. Holy demons Batman! Just an awesome, awesome read. You can read my thoughts a couple of posts back. Meljean is just an incredible story teller and I love reading her books.

Riding Temptation by Jaci Burton was next. The second book in the Wild Riders series. This was a great story about Diaz and Jesse and I loved it. Burton’s such a fun author to read.

Sugar Shack by Paisley Scott was next. Cute little novella about a man and woman who hadn’t seen each other in 10 years. She’d broken up with him because he wanted to stay put in Vermont and she wanted adventure. She’s back in Vermont now and seeing the error of her ways. I thought our hero accepted her a little too quickly for what she’d put him through but overall it was a good story.

Next up were 3 short stories: Mischief in the Garage by Liza James (7 pages) this was a small continuation story of one she’d previously written. Sex on a riding lawn mower – I haven’t tried that one yet. Cute story. (this is actually a free read from Wilder Rose Press)
Then there was Cowboy by Delilah Devlin. Great little erotic short (about 10 pages) of a woman and a cowboy stuck in a storm. This was my fav of the 3.
Then there was One Sinful Night by Jalena Burke (22 pages and I couldn’t find a site for her to link to). I did not like this story at all. Sorry. Woman at a party kissing a guy – suddenly transported to a different house – wakes up and has had sex and been turned into a vampire. Vampire guy nowhere in sight. The woman was just TSTL let’s put it that way.

Another novella: Passions by Jennifer Cole. Woman working at Caribbean resort and meets 2 men from a different universe who say she’s their mate. Review will be up sometime soon on TBB.

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase. Just a great, well written book. I loved the h/h and their banter throughout the book. Dain was a great ass but redeemable. Jessica was a little like a Mack truck in some parts of the book but I loved them when they were together. Loved this one.

A Delicious Taboo by Jennifer Cole. After reading Passions I was a little curious about her other work. I got this book and I basically misunderstood the premise. I thought there would be 2 different menage’s involved. Actually it was a 4 man 1 woman group romp. Huh. 2 male bi couples each want the woman to be their 3rd. They basically try to see who she’ll pick. Things get uh, heated.

Heaven by Jet Mykles. I’ve been meaning to read this forever and finally did it. It was an interesting m/m story about Johnnie Heaven and his obsession with a straight hotel manager. As much as I liked the story I thought there wasn’t as many getting to know each other parts. It’s probably the girl in me since the story was about men, but still. I’ll definitely be reading the other books in the series.

And last but not least…Wild by Lori Foster. As Nikki and I were in the car for a few hours yesterday we of course were talking about books. She recommended this one that I hadn’t read and lent it to me. I really liked the story – and having not read the previous books in the series it was fine as a stand alone.
Happy Reading!

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Guest Review: Moon Madness by Mina Carter

Posted November 14, 2008 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 4 Comments

Guest Review: Moon Madness by Mina CarterReviewer: Tracy
Moon Madness by Mina Carter
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Publication Date: November 1, 2008
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars

 

It’s never easy staying ahead of the pack when hunting for the right man.

Penny Stephens is a wolf with problems. She’s contended with her wild side all her life, but it’s about to catch up with her. She needs a mate who can love the woman and tame the wolf within.

Not just any wolf will do.

Lone wolf Cade Steele could be the one to fill her needs. He’s wolf enough to match her animal instinct, and perhaps enough of a gentleman to satisfy her feminine side. As a mated pair, her bed might become part of his territory, but her heart is another matter.

More than love is at stake in this call of the wild.

Thoughts/Opinions:

Penny Stephens is a werewolf but she’s only been one for about a year. The man who turned her was pack alpha and was killed in a challenge. The new pack alpha, Big Jimmy, is a thoroughly despicable man and Penny wants nothing to do with him. She decided to get the hell out of dodge and has been on the run ever since.Penny’s now going into her Moon Madness – basically she’s going into heat. She doesn’t have a boyfriend or a lover…nor does she want one…so she pretty much plans to chain herself up so she doesn’t go on a killing spree.

Enter Cade Steele. He is the son of the previous alpha but was exiled from the pack way back and has been a lone wolf ever since. He’s had a thing for Penny since he met her and has tracked her down to tell her that Big Jimmy knows where she is – yeah, that’s why he tracked her down, sure. But with Penny in her Moon Madness running gets put on hold for more interesting endeavors.

Things with Penny, Cade and Big Jimmy get interesting but there is an HEA in the end.

I really liked this story. I’d not read anything by this author before and enjoyed her writing. She has funny, strong characters and an interesting plot…well, and I’m a sucker for a “were” story.

Score: 4 out of 5

four-stars

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