Tag: Saranna DeWylde

What I Read Last Week

Posted October 16, 2012 by Tracy in Features | 4 Comments

Happy Monday!

Well, I wish I could say that it’s a happier Monday than it is. I’m in mourning as my Kindle died a horrible death last night. Actually it was more a matter of it dying in its sleep. It was fine yesterday afternoon when I stuck it on my bedside stand but then last night when I went to get it the screen was dark with horizontal and vertical lines on it and apparently that’s a death knell. It lived a good life but now I’m without an ereader as I lent my EZreader to a friend of mine. Oy. Imagine, I had to actually pick up a print book today! Luckily it was the one I planned on reading next anyway so it all worked out. I’m in the process of getting another Kindle – hopefully I won’t have to be in withdrawal too long.

Other than that it was a pretty quiet week. There was one day that I was so tired that I left work early, went home, crawled into bed at about 5pm and didn’t wake up until 6:30 the next morning. Wow.

On to what I read this past week:

First up was Deadly Silence by Victor J. Banis. This is book 5 in the Deadly Mystery series and it was another great book. Now, I wanted to beat Stanley a bit in this book as he was annoying me a bit but other than that it was definitely worth the read. Stanley and Tom are hired by a woman to find out who is trying to kill her father and the suspects are many. 4 out of 5

A Deadly Kind of Love is book 6 in the Deadly Mystery series by Victor J. Banis and as far as I know the last one written. In this story Tom and Stanley head out to Palm Springs, CA to help their friend Chris when he finds a dead body in his bed at the hotel he’s staying at. This one was a bit more on the tense side for me but good. I wanted more from Tom and Stanley’s relationship after what happened in the previous book but we didn’t get too much insight into that, unfortunately. 4 out of 5

Next I picked up Untamed by Sara Humphreys. This is a paranormal /shapeshifter story about a woman who is half shifter/half human and the full blooded shifter that is her mate. I got about halfway through the story and was not into the book at all. I was a little bored and didn’t care for the heroine so unfortunately this ended up being a DNF.

Hot and Haunted by Lauren Hawkeye, Megan Hart and Saranna DeWylde was a three story anthology with some far out stories. There was one with a girl trying to seduce a man whose car is stuck in a ditch, one with a US Marshal who’s hunting a serial killer and one with a girl, her two men and a zombie apocalypse. You can read my review on this book here. 3.5 out of 5

Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas is book 2 in the Fitzhugh trilogy series. This is the story of Millie and Fitz. Fitz is just 19, has just come into his title as an Earl and finds that he’s forced to marry as the title is destitute. Millie is just 16 and had been engaged to the previous Earl before he died. Millie falls for Fitz immediately but Fitz is in love with a woman with no money and their love is not to be. Millie and Fitz make a pact that they won’t have marital relations for 8 years and Fitz can live as if they are friends and not married. The book takes us through current times with Fitz seeing his lost love again and also through periods of time from their past 8 years. The book was well written and utterly heart-wrenching as I read about the couple’s years together. I wanted to kick Fitz in the balls and tell him to open his damned eyes but it all worked out. A painful (literally my chest ached!) and angst ridden book but very good, imho. 4 out of 5

Hunter’s Season by Thea Harrison is a novella in the Elder Races series and I think it’s my favorite novella so far. We get these wonderful stories in between full length novels and this one just worked for me so well. The story is about a commoner and palace guard in the Other lands who guards the Dark Fae queen. She ends up falling for and then protecting the Dark Fae Chancellor and they fall in love. I loved the setting, the solitude the couple had and, I guess, the normality of it all. Yes, the Chancellor was powerful but other than being in the Other lands no magic was used – just 2 people falling in love. Good stuff. 4 out of 5

Stygian’s Honor is book 27 (yes, you read that right) in the Breed series by Lora Leigh. The story is different as the Breeds look for 2 girls that have not been heard of for many years. They’re protecting 2 girls that the Genetics Council wants and the Breeds want to know why their after them. Stygian falls for Liza but the whole romance and mating heat and the woman wanting her independence thing was just too similar to other books to be exciting. It was a good book but nothing spectacular, imho. 3 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

Last for the week was a re-read. My Fair Captain by JL Langley is still one of my favorite m/m books. It was one of the first ones I read and I love it still. The latest book in this series just came out and I bought it almost immediately. I think thought…ya know, it’s been so long since I’ve read the other books I should probably do a re-read. (Easier freakin said than done with the Kindle gone – waaaah. Ahem) The story of Nate and Aiden is so great. I usually don’t like historical m/m but the fact that Regelence accepts the gay men changes everything for me. If you haven’t read this series yet I highly recommend it. Of course we had to wait 4 years in between books 2 & 3 but hey, anticipation is good for us, right? lol 5 out of 5

And I thought I had this lovely picture that I once got from Lisabea aka LB Gregg of what Nate looks like – or at least what he looks like in our heads, but I can’t locate it. Too many computers to check. I’ll post it if I find it. 🙂

My Book Binge Reviews that posted last week:
When the Duchess Said Yes by Isabella Bradford

Happy Reading!

4 Comments

Tagged: Death of a Kindle, J. L. Langley, Lauren Hawkeye, LB Gregg, Lora Leigh, Megan Hart, Sara Humphreys, Saranna DeWylde, Sherry Thomas, Thea Harrison, Victor J. Banis, What I Read Last Week, What I've Been Reading This Week

Review: Hot and Haunted by Megan Hart, Lauren Hawkeye and Saranna DeWylde

Posted October 12, 2012 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins

Nothing Else Matters by Megan Hart

After surviving the zombie apocalypse, Lira wants nothing more than the sense of life that only lust can bring. Suddenly torn between two irresistible lovers, Lira must choose: the one who brings her carnal fantasies to life? Or the one who sets her ablaze again and again?

Lira and six others are encamped in a synagogue trying to survive in post apocalyptic Pittsburgh. Lira is immune to the black spores that turn people in to zombies or Resurrect’s so she is the one that goes on missions to get food and supplies. When she returns she needs the life affirming skin on skin action that only sex can provide. Anthony who is part of her group is the one that provides that. He is in love with Lira but she feels that she can’t get attached to him because she never knows when or if she’ll return.

On one such mission she is attacked by Resurrect’s and saved by Mac. He is a former military man and when the get away from the zombies Mac is the one that provides her skin on skin. But what this brings her is not necessarily peace but the knowledge that she can love in return.

This story was kind of bizarre when it came to the zombies. How they became zombies what happened to them during the story was just fantastical. Of course it was meant to be that way, I’m sure, so it certainly achieved its goal.

The story revolves around the theme of death and destruction but also hope and love and what that means when everything else is falling apart. It was good in that way, definitely. The story was too short though and I wanted more as I felt it was incomplete, but that’s just me.

Pick Me Up by Lauren Hawkeye

Sure, hitchhiking is dangerous, but Holly just had to get away. Now soaking wet and stuck in a downpour with her roadside savior, she’s ready for a little window-steaming and some role-play. It’s all fun and games until Holly realizes she’s met her match . . .

In this story Holly causes a man to drive his car into a ditch and then sits in the car with him to wait for a tow. Holly has concocted the story that she’s a stripper and seduces people when really she’s a grad student that’s upset with her boyfriend. Earlier that day she’d found a dvd that showed her boyfriend screwing her ex-husband and his wife – kinky. I understood Holly’s need to feel desired but the story just went in too many strange places for me – especially at the end. The way it ended was highly unlikely and kind of ruined what could have been a good story.

Little Red’s Big Bad by Saranna DeWylde

Hunting werewolves and being snowbound in a remote cabin with a sexy FBI agent are all in a day’s work for U.S. Marshal Miranda Garrick. But when business mixes with pleasure, can she stay in control? Or will she be tempted by unrestrained passion . . . and tantalizing danger?

This was my favorite of the three stories. We have Miranda Garrick who is a US Marshall who is looking for an escaped convict who not only kills but eats his victims. She pairs up with FBI agent Aden Brewster and the sexual chemistry between the two of them is off the charts. When they get stuck in a cabin during a snow storm they let their passions run wild. That’s when Miranda thinks that Aden might not be who he says he is.

This was a great story. It kept me on the edge of my seat with both the erotic and suspense aspects of it. I loved how tough Miranda was and that she didn’t take crap from anyone. Aden was a total hotty and knew how to make Miranda happy. The ending of it was a nice twist as well and though there were no full explanations there was enough there to be satisfying.

Overall a very erotic set of stories. I do with we had gotten more from all the stories but it is what it is.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Megan Hart
Lauren Hawkeye
Saranna DeWylde