Hey guys,

Well it was an interesting week last week. It never seemed like there was that much time to read but yet I did a fair amount of it.

This weekend was a very sad one. On Saturday morning my nephew’s girlfriend died. They went hiking and she collapsed from heat exhaustion. Apparently it was too severe and her organs started shutting down and she passed away. She was just 22 years old. She and my nephew had been dating for years – planning to get married after she got out of college and of course he’s just devastated. I don’t know her family but I’m sure they are as well. If you’re the praying kind I ask that you add them to your list that they can find some peace in their grief.

On a happier note I’m only working 2 days this week as I took the last part of the week off for RWA. On Wednesday I’ll head down to Anaheim for the book signing – which will be wonderful I’m sure – and then on to a blogger get together in the bar afterward. Yay. I’ll go back down to Anaheim on Friday and stay for the weekend and make as much trouble as I can. Kidding. I’m kidding. Trouble is Holly’s job. lol

So on to what I read this past week:

First up was Murphy’s Law by Sandy James. This story is about a rich spoiled man whose father dies and leaves some strange and annoying stipulations to his will that the man is NOT happy about. You can read my review here. 4.25 out of 5

Next was a novella in the Elder Races series called Devil’s Gate by Thea Harrison. The story was about Seremela who is a medusae and is taking time off work to go retrieve her wayward niece once again. Duncan is a vampire and works for the same employers (Rune and Carling from Serpent’s Kiss). He’s got a thing for Seremela – not that she knows that – and volunteers to go with her to get the niece. The story is short but really good and I loved the experiences that Serrie and Duncan have along with their romance. Good stuff. 4 out of 5

Next up was The Warrior Laird by Margo Maguire. The story connects two people – Laird Dugan MacMillan who is looking for French gold to save his clan from eviction from their lands – and Lady Maura Duncanson who is being shipped off to marry an old man just so her family can get rid of her. The pair meet when Maura steals Dugan’s map to the gold and they end up looking for it together – kind of. The story was good but not too terribly exciting. This was more of a get to know each other while traveling type book and while a decent read just didn’t rock my socks off. Read for Book Binge. 3.25 out of 5

Forever and a Day by Jill Shalvis was next and while I read some really good books this week this one just was the absolute highlight. I’ll post my review on Wednesday.

My Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week (yes, I’ve been sucking on my own challenge lately!) was Moonlight Temptation by Stephanie Julian – Lucani Lovers series #4. The story is about Evie who was kidnapped in a previous book and now she’s trying to deal with the ramifications of the kidnapping as well as finding out that she has powers she never knew about. Dane is a doctor and while his mother wants him to only marry pure Lucani blood he’s got it bad for Evie. He calls his friend Ryan in to be a buffer, thinking that he can keep his feelings hidden if Ryan is there. What ends up happening is that they all fall in love but not before Evie is kidnapped again. It was a good novella with a quick and sexy love story. I wish the story was longer but what I got was very good. 3.75 out of 5

Because of You by Jessica Scott is a military romance that is so good. The story has to do with a soldier that is hurt in the line of duty and blames himself for every injury and death on his team. His nurse is a woman who has survived breast cancer and ends up being there to help him in so many ways. My review will post on Thursday so keep your eyes open. 🙂

A Sticky Situation by Kay Jaybee was an erotic novella that I read for Book Binge. The story is about a woman who does NOT like the new employee who is oh so close with the boss. She finds out that she’ll be heading to a conference with the guy. She’s more than a bit clumsy and though that aggravates the hell out of him it doesn’t stop him from wanting to lick all the food off of her chest. While they have their differences and arguments they still end up in bed together. It was a cute story but the heroine and her anger kind of rubbed me the wrong way at times. She was also getting notes from the hero (not signed) but yet thought they were from anyone but him – which seemed kinda ditzy to me. IDK – it was just an ok read. 2.5 out of 5

I went on a bit of a manga binge yesterday when I started the Yakuza in Love series by Shiuko Kano. Volume 1 is about a guy who is ends up working as a Yakuza (Japanese gangster) and quickly saves the boss’s life. He gets assigned to an underboss who is just getting out of prison and ends up having feelings for the underboss. On top of that there’s a lot of in-fighting between the boss and underboss. Good story, well drawn but a bit confusing as to which character was talking. That definitely could have been a lot clearer. 3 out of 5

Yakuza in Love Volume 2 shows us more from the characters in book 2 but deals more with the main character, Ichimura and his relationship with the underboss but also tells us more of a relationship between some other characters. Again, well drawn and definitely a lot more clear as to who is saying what. 3.5 out of 5

Last for the week was Yakuza in Love Volume 3 where all of the love/romance/sex and Yakuza infighting comes to a head. Things are worked out but I was still left with a thought that all was not as solid as it should have been for the end of the series. Very good though. 4 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:

*crickets chirping*