What I Read Last Week

Posted July 4, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 3 Comments

Hey there

I bet you didn’t think you’d be seeing this post this week, did you? I was kind of wondering myself, to be quite honest. Lol But here I am – yay! Lol

So let’s see, last week was pretty good. I’ve been going to physical therapy for a rotator cuff issue and that’s been quite painful. Luckily it’s getting better so that’s good.

On Saturday morning I sent my oldest off on a youth group mission trip for a whole week. I think she’s having fun – hopefully she is.

After I dropped her off I then drove with my youngest to Rancho Cucamonga where I met some Southern California bloggers for lunch. I met with Wendy, Rosie, Holly, Nikki, Renee and Lori and we had a great lunch and a great talk. I love getting together and talking about books! We just don’t do it often enough and I always get such great book recommendations! We were all nuts and neglected to get a picture, but oh well. We’re dorks. 🙂

As you can see I’m helping to host the 2nd annual digital first read-a-thon and it’s been great. All month I’ll be having excerpts and giveaways for digital first books so check back daily to check out the books.

So on to what I read last week:

I’m really behind on my Book Binge review books so I’ve been trying to catch up lately. My first read for the week was One Night Rodeo by Lorelei James. This is book 4 in the Blacktop Cowboys series and it’s about Celia and Kyle. They get married in Vegas one drunken night but then end up agreeing to stay together for 6 months so that Celia can help Kyle with the ranch he inherited. I really liked the story and thought it was a good addition to the series. You can read my full review on Book Binge here.4 out of 5

Next up was Freefall by Jill Sorenson. This was a great book about Sam Rutherford who was in Aftershock, the first book in the Aftershock series. Sam ends up helping Hope Banning who is a park ranger who is determined to catch a killer and save her sister at the same time. During this time Sam and Hope end up falling for each other. A really good story that I really enjoyed reading. You can read my full review here. 4 out of 5

My next read was Love and Other Scandals by Caroline Linden. This story is about Tristan who is a bit of rake. He tells his friend that he will look after his sister while his friend is out of town. Tristan is only ready to do his duty and visit a time or two but the more time he spends with Joan the more he likes her. The story was very sweet and I loved seeing the wallflower come out of her shell. 4 out of 5

Finding Billie by Priscilla Brown is the story of a man who comes back to the town he lived in up through high school and ends up meeting up with his good friend Billie who runs the only gas station in town. Billie and Zac are very attracted to each other but Zac is still dealing with the death of his family a couple of years ago and Billie is dealing with some stuff in her town. The story had a good idea but I didn’t care for the writing at all. You can read my full review here. 2 out of 5

The Ever Knight by Georgia Fox is a short novella about Jisella who is determined to get out of the convent that she’s been in for years. Her intended husband is about to come get her and she’s not willing to be there when he arrives. She picks out her knight from some warriors who are at the convent and seduces him. When she finds out that the knight, Remy, is there to get her to take to his half brother, Renard, she’s not deterred from her mission. When Renard shows up to escort his bride himself and Remy tells him what happened Renard’s not as upset as one would think – he just joins in. Now this could so easily have been a completely cheesy story but I thought it was done well for as short as it was. I would love to see what happens to the trio later after they left the convent. I’ll have to hope that happens. Lol 3.5 out of 5

Last for the week was the Wagered Wench by Georgia Fox which is a novel about a earl’s daughter who is wagered, along with her father’s land, in a game of cards. She’s not sure she wants to comply but is attracted to the Saxon warrior. The problems really start when the neighbor, who believed that HE would get the girls hand in marriage decides to try stake his claim. The story was another good one. I didn’t care for the neighbor so seeing him with the woman was a bit uncomfortable. I didn’t find him a sexual character so when the menage started it was more awkward to read for me than erotic. The rest of it was good though. 3.5 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
The Secrets of Mia Danvers by Robyn DeHart
A Rural Affair by Catherine Alliott

Happy Reading!

3 Comments

Tagged: Caroline Linden, Georgia Fox, Jill Sorenson, Lorelei James, Priscilla Brown, The Book Binge, What I Read Last Week, What I've Been Reading This Week

Guest Review: Finding Billie by Priscilla Brown

Posted July 3, 2013 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Tracy’s review of Finding Billie by Priscilla Brown

Billie Williams belongs to a rare breed – she’s a female mechanic. Though happy with her life, she is not as independent as she believes and in her heart she knows something is missing. When Zac Jarvis walks into her garage, they are shocked to meet by chance eighteen years after the abrupt end to their teenage friendship. Zac is a man trying to cope with a tragedy. Dare she risk loving someone with so much baggage? Can he learn to love again?

Zac Jarvis is traveling near his boyhood home so he decides to take a look and see how things have changed. When he stops for gas he finds his childhood friend, Billie, owns the station. Zac and Billie start talking and they find a connection with each other.

Billie definitely wants to get to know Zac better but she knows he travels and can’t quite get a bead on his emotions. Zac’s wife and 2 children were killed in a earthquake 2 years prior and Zac is still dealing with his grief and though he feels something for Billie he’s not sure he can handle a new relationship – or if he even wants to.

The book is about Billie and her life, as well as Zac’s. It highlights an issue with a company that wants to buy Billie’s land to put up a mall. Not only is she not interested in selling the proposed mall would kill the local platypus’s, which is a big deal.

While this book had a good premise, I frankly didn’t feel any emotion when I read it. The writing was very matter of fact and even when someone was supposed to be upset or frightened or even passionate I just didn’t feel it. The book was only 200 pages long and I seriously had to force myself to finish it (and that took 3 days!) because I kept putting it down.

There were definitely good ideas in the story and I liked Billie, her “adopted” son, Tim, and her family. Zac was confused, which confused me. He truly wasn’t ready to move on and that made the “romance” even more awkward. The whole point is that Billie heals him but it just felt almost rushed at the end and that did nothing to make things better.

I’m giving this one a 2 because I really did think the story had potential – it was just the execution that did nothing for me.

Rating: 2 out of 5

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place

This book is available from Steam eReads. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.