It was a pretty quiet week this week until we got to Saturday.  Apparently on Friday my father had taken my girls to a local drug store for some ice cream and while they were wandering while eating it they happened upon a pet supply.  In the pet supply they happened to have a 3 month old kitten that was a rescue that they were trying to find a home for.  After many hours of my girls bugging the ever-livin crap outta me…we are now officially cat people.  Yes, I caved – especially when I saw the kitten and saw how cute she is.  We brought her home on Saturday morning and so far so good.  The girls named her Echo and she’s incredibly sweet and lovable…and litter box trained (that was a must before I even said yes. lol)  Here are a couple of pictures.  They don’t really do her justice but they’re what I’ve got.  I think she’s camera shy because every time I try to take an up close picture she turns her head. 🙂

Besides that – a pretty quiet week. lol

On to what I read:

I started off the week with a romantic suspense novel called She Can Run by Melinda Leigh.  This story was about a woman who is running from her husband (for many reasons) and trying to protect her kids.  She takes a position as a caretaker at a home and falls in love with its owner.  You can read my review here. 4 out of 5

Next was a novella called A Waltz at Midnight by Crista McHugh.  I normally don’t read books so very far in advance (ok, sometimes I do) but this one just spoke to me when I got it from Netgalley.  It comes out at the end of February from Carina Press.  The story is about a man who starts writing a woman that his father wants him to marry.  The woman is in love with someone else so her maid writes the man intending to dissuade him from writing again. Not only doesn’t she dissuade him but they end up corresponding.  The problem is, he thinks she’s someone else.  It was a really good story.   I’ll post my review next month. 4 out of 5

Buckle Down by Eve Cassidy was the story of Ty who has a police record who has moved to help his brother start the rodeo that he purchased.  He is attracted to Dane the sheriff but the sheriff thinks that Ty had something to do with a local robbery.  The story of the two men being attracted to each other when they were so opposite was compelling but the sheriff thinking that Ty had something to do with the robbery with absolutely NO supporting evidence really drove me a bit nuts.  Ty knew he was innocent so he took it with a grain of salt but STILL. Ug.  In the end it was a bit too pat for me as it all got worked out. 3 out of 5

Tamed by a Highlander by Paula Quinn was my next read and I read this one for The Book Binge.  A great story that wove political intrigue (back in the 1600’s) and romance really did it for me.  The heroine drove me crazy at first and I almost stopped reading but in the end the book ended up being really good.  The hero, Connor and heroine, Mairi had fallen in love and promised to each other but then Connor went off to fight for England.  Feeling betrayed Mairi started to hate Connor and though he wrote and begged her to come to him she refused.  Now she’s in England for a coronation and they see each other after 7 years’ separation.  Love blossoms once again (after a bit of viper biting on the heroine’s part) and all seems well – until the King and Queen get involved. 4 out of 5 You can read my review here.

She Tempts the Duke by Lorraine Heath was my next read.  This one I really liked – you can read my review on Wednesday.

My Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week was Enforcer by Lauren Dane.  I can’t tell you how long I’ve had the Cascadia Wolves series and haven’t read it.  Shame on me.  Lex is watching Nina in hopes that her brother, Rey, will surface.  Rey is a werewolf and ran when some bad shit went down.  Nina and Lex end up together but Nina has to deal with some weird werewolf rituals and she’s not all that pleased with it.  I really liked Lex and his brother, the Alpha, Cade.  I liked the supporting characters the story.  I really had a problem with Nina’s mouth.  Yes, she was incredibly strong and intelligent and she distrusted werewolves on principle…but, she was so forthright that there were times I just wanted to tape her mouth shut! lol  3 out of 5

Next up was Safe Harbor by Derek Adams. This story was about Mike Vickers who had his life planned out after high school when he gets sideswiped by the fact that his ex-girlfriend finds herself pregnant with his daughter.  During the summer he meets Eric who is an artist and though they come from different backgrounds they form a friendship.  That friendship turns into becoming lovers but when they are discovered by guys in Mike’s high school he turns on Eric as well.  10 Years later Mike and Eric meet again and try to form a relationship.  I liked the premise of the story but I just didn’t get to see the two men reconnecting as much as I would have liked.  Yes, we get to see some but not enough imho.  I loved the daughter in this one.  3 out of 5

How Miss Rutherford Got Her Groove Back by Sophie Barnes was next up and it was a historical romance about a woman who had her heart broken and bounced back.  I’ll post my review for this later this week.

Last for the week was Reluctant by Lauren Dane.  This was a short about Lex and Cade’s sister Layla.  She heads out for the night to have some fun and ends up with a mate that she doesn’t want.  Not that she doesn’t want Sid himself but she has a plan for herself professionally and it certainly doesn’t include a mate.  The story of Layla coming to terms with having a mate was pretty good.  I will definitely keep reading the Cascadia wolves. 3 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost
Tamed by a Highlander by Paula Quinn

Happy Reading!