What I Read Last Week

Posted October 3, 2011 by Tracy in Features | 6 Comments

Hey There!

I can’t believe Monday is already half over and I’m just now writing this out. Sorry to be so behind but that’s about my life right now.

I’m trying to get reading for GayRomLit. It doesn’t start until the 13th but I leave on Sunday the 9th to go visit my sister in Alabama for a few days first. Getting myself ready is one thing but getting the rest of the family ready for my absence is taking up way more time than it should! Really? I do THAT MUCH? lol It sounds ridiculous but when I sit down to organize it all for my husband I realize there’s a lot to do and remember and take care of and shuttle around and etc., etc. Who knew? Anyway, I’ll be leaving whether it’s all done or not so I try to not to stress but yeah, easier said than done, right? 🙂

I didn’t get as much reading done (kind of like last week) as normal but what I read was good. I want to read the free book of shorts that the authors from GRL put out but so far I haven’t been able to get to it – that puppy is like 800 and some odd pages! Maybe on the plane…

What I did end up reading…

I started out with Bounty of Love by Scotty Cade. This was a great book about a man who’s fiancé and parents are killed the night before his wedding. He mourns his fiancé and is determined to find out who and why. He is aided by FBI agent and eventually the pair fall in love. If you’d like more info you can read my review here. 4 out of 5 (nice hot men on the cover too!)

Next up was Bad Boys Do by Victoria Dahl. This is book 2 in the Donovan Brothers Brewery series and it was a good one. I absolutely loved Jaime even though I felt so sorry for him at times. You can read my full review here. 4 out of 5

After that it was Skin Dive by Ava Gray that I read for The Book Binge. This is book 4 in the Skin series and it was oh so good as well. This was the story of Taye who can pull electricity and Gillie who is a healer. They escape from a Foundation facility and try to make it out in the world without being caught and pulled back in. They succeed to a point but eventually seek help from a group of resisters that they join. Gillie and Taye’s relationship was so intense but Taye constantly pushed Gillie away thinking that he wasn’t good enough for her. It just broke my heart. He was also hiding another secret from Gillie and this was another factor in his decision. The romance was good and bittersweet at times and the book was a really good read. 4 out of 5

Last on the list for the week was Animal Attraction by Jill Shalvis that I also read for The Book Binge. Book 2 of the Animal series and this was Dell’s book. He has series commitment issues and Jade, his receptionist, has trust issues. Jade was attacked in Chicago and basically ran away – Dell is trying to help her but the pair can’t seem to keep their hands off of each other. Doesn’t matter how they feel though as Jade is returning to Chicago. This was a great book – different from book 1 but still with the hot sex, wonderful romance and fun humor that Shalvis always gives us. 4 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:

Must Love Lycans by Michele Bardsley

Romancing the Countess by Ashley March

Happy Reading!

6 Comments

Tagged: Ava Gray, Jill Shalvis, Scotty Cade, The Book Binge, Victoria Dahl

Review: Bounty of Love by Scotty Cade

Posted September 28, 2011 by Tracy in Reviews | 5 Comments

The night before his wedding, Zander Walsh, his parents, and his husband-to-be are all shot when they return home and interrupt a mysterious robbery in progress. After three weeks in a coma, Zander wakes up to find out he is the only survivor, and his perfect life falls apart in an instant.

Hunky FBI Agent Jake Elliot is investigating the case, and he eventually apprehends the killer-who soon escapes. Following six months of searching, Zander and Jake realize they’re being stonewalled by the FBI… and that they have slowly formed an unbreakable bond that is beginning to turn into much more.

Once they embark on a journey to apprehend the killer for the second time, they’ll discover that one terrible night was much more than just an interrupted robbery. Can big business and politics cover up the truth, or will Zander and Jake’s quest to unravel the mystery be the end of their newfound love and their lives?

The blurb on this book is so good that I feel like I don’t need to tell you much about the background on the book so I’ll just move on to my thoughts.

I guess I should start with saying how much I liked the book. The story had sadness, grief and lost love, but it also had equal parts friendship, betrayal, new love and acceptance. Everything clicked for me and I love it when that happens.

I admit that after reading the blurb I was a tad leery of seeing Zander and Jake get together after only 6 months of Zander grieving for his dead fiance. The reality, however, was just so much better than I expected. Mr. Cade showed us the friendship between Zander and Jake first and everything they’d gone through. Frankly I would have been shocked if they hadn’t formed a strong bond between them – that bond eventually turning into love.

The friendship and love story was woven seamlessly into the suspense part of the book. The suspense was a constant as was the relationship between the two men and I loved that the focus wasn’t stronger for one or the other. I have to confess to suspecting the identity of the bad guys quite early but it was nice to see my suspicions confirmed later in the book. lol

Overall, a really good book. I understand that there are 2 more books in this series (this actually takes place before those other two books) and I will definitely be putting those books on my wish list for future reading.

Rating: 4 out of 5