Tag: Vicky Dreiling

What I Read Last Week

Posted January 3, 2011 by Tracy in Features | 14 Comments

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a very nice new year.  My hubby took the girls to see the new Narnia movie and I stayed home and read. Nice! lol  I stayed up until 12 and then was asleep by 12:05. I know, I’m a party animal. 

For 2011 I’ve decided to only take on 1 challenge besides my own TBR challenge and that is Wendy’s TBR challenge.  Can you tell I’m trying to get through that sucker?  It’s needs to diminish!  The rule about posting the review on a specific date is always what fucks me up so I’ll see how it goes.

If you haven’t already gone over to DIK to enter the Grand Finale giveaway you need to do it!  Great books being given away to 2 lucky winners.  You have until the 8th at midnight to enter

The Karen Mercury book giveaway for Working the Lode is open until 1/4/11 at 11:59pm (pacific).

Life is pretty boring around here so I’ll get on with telling you what I read:

I started off with The Trap by Indigo Wren.  This is a story about workaholic David who finally decides to take a vacation to an island resort.  The brochure was just too compelling and he decided to take a break for a month.  He gets there only to find out that it’s not a resort – it’s all a hoax perpetrated by his ex-best friend, Ethan, to get him alone and make him face some hard truths about himself – mainly his sexuality and lack of acceptance of what it really is.  I really liked the book a lot.  There were some times that I thought David overreacted and I wanted to smack him upside the head but overall a really good book. 4.5 out of 5

Next was The Christmas Fantasy by KT Grant.  This was a cute story about a woman who is on a mission to lose her virginity and wants it taken by her brother’s best friend who she’s been in love with forever.  He’s all for the idea but life gets in the way and the woman starts to believe the crap in her head rather than reality.  It was a light, fun read – nothing too deep and we didn’t get too into the characters but if that’s what you’re looking for in a Christmas read than it’s perfect. 🙂  3.5 out of 5

Love Letters from Ladybug Farm by Donna Ball was next.  I read this for The Book Binge and you can read my review here.  It was romance in the book but mostly the book tells about 3 women in their 50’s who run a farm and attempt to put on a society wedding.  Ok, but really not my thing. 3 out of 5

The Darkling Thrush by Josh Lanyon was my next read and a very interesting one.  It’s fantasy with a bit of romance about a man who is a book hunter and is looking for what might be a fictitious book.  Only there are very dark forces at work in the story.  The man ends up with his boss but the boss moved a bit too fast for my liking and declared himself pretty abruptly.  That being said the writing was as wonderful as always and the story incredibly engaging. 4 out of 5

Dream a Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips was the book I read for my DIK Challenge read for the month. It was a great way to end the challenge as the book was so good.  You can read my review here. 4.5 out of 5

Skin Heat by Ava Gray was next on the list. Another book read for the Book Binge.  This is book 3 in the Skin series and I really liked it. Zeke was held in the facility in the last book and was set free.  He’s now home  and is not exactly comfortable in his own skin.  He takes a job at the local vet clinic and falls in love with the vet, Neva.  It’s a great story and has a psycho killer in it as well – good stuff.  I’ll let you know when my review posts. 4 out of 5

Instant Temptation by Jill Shalvis was my next read.  This was the story of Harley and TJ who’ve circled each other for year but haven’t exactly been friends.  TJ decides that it’s time to stop the animosity – especially since he has no idea what caused it – and make his move.  I really liked this book. The story was pretty simple but I loved the honesty of the characters.  No subterfuge, no lies, just plain out telling the truth about everything. Wish I could read more of that! lol  4 out of 5

My Tracy’s TBR Challenge for the week was The Reluctant Reformer by Lynsay Sands.  The first part of the book annoyed me – he thought she was a famous prostitute and she thought he’d found out about her writing. The misunderstanding was amusing a bit but not enough to stop the annoying bit.  Now, the second part of the book was almost like a different book.  This was the man taking care of the woman but he can’t keep his hands off her and compromising her constantly.  And there was someone who tries to kill her multiple times. The second part of the book was good – the first, not to my liking.  3.5 out of 5

Last for the week was Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman by Lorraine Heath.  This was the story of a woman who claims to be the mother of a baby and takes the babe to the father’s family – only in the hope that they’ll care for it.  When she finds out the father, Stephen, is alive she’s thrilled as she fancies herself in love with him.  But he has no idea who she is due to amnesia and him losing 2 years of his memory.  It was a pretty darned good book.  I’m not one for all the camouflage in a relationship but this one worked for me. 4.25 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted since last Monday:
No Place to Run by Maya Banks
Love Letters from Ladybug Farm by Donna Ball
Must Love Kilts by Allie Mackay
How to Marry a Duke by Vicky Dreiling
My Fair Succubi by Jill Myles

Happy Reading!


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What I Read Last Week

Posted December 28, 2010 by Tracy in Features | 8 Comments

Wow I’m really behind!  I swear the day has totally gotten away from me. I just played Mario Kart on the Wii with my youngest for about an hour and I swear the thumb on my right hand won’t stop twitching! lol

First of all I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas – if you celebrate it. If not, I hope you enjoyed having the day off! lol  It was fun around here.  The kids were very good so they got good stuff from Santa.  We went to my parents house about 1/2 hour away and met up with family there. We ate enough for a small country and then played games that were loud and raucous.  A good time was had by all.

My oldest daughter had a rough week after her fall but managed to muddle through (thank you all so much for your well wishes).  Her back is much better – hardly even a twinge any longer but she was down and out for a few days – then the poor thing got the flu and was throwing up profusely.  I swear, when it rains it pours – not a good week for her.  But it ended well with all the gifts!  And her 13th birthday is this Thursday so there’ll be more gifts!  (Yes, it’s hell on the pocketbook!)

So what did I read this past week?

I started with How to Marry A Duke by Vicky Dreiling.  I read this one for The Book Binge so I’ll let you know when my review posts.  The story was about a Duke who was finally ready to take a bride in order to get an heir but he had specific things he needed in a bride.  How did he know who to choose?  And if he courted a woman to find out if she fit the bill then the scandal sheets would think he’s going to marry her.  So he enlists the help of a matchmaker who basically starts an episode of The Bachelor.  It ended up being a good book.  4.25 out of 5 (releases 1/3/11)

Next up was Two is Twice as Nice by Emily Cale – another book for The Book Binge.  This one didn’t really work for me.  The woman meets a great guy.  She’s hesitant to start anything because she’s been scarred inside and out by an auto accident and her fiance dumping her.  He gets past her defenses though and it seems pretty good.  Then the man introduces her to his twin brother who she had had sex with already, unknowingly.  Her acceptance of the whole sitch just turned me off. 2 out of 5

Next was Kindling Fire with Snow by Kate McMurray.  This was the story of two men who were in love with each other when they were in high school and meet up again.  Due to a snow storm they stay together in one of the men’s apartments and the time they spend together help them see they belong together.  It was a really great book and one I’d recommend.  4 out of 5

Precious and Fragile Things by Megan Hart was next.  This was an intense book about a woman who is carjacked and when she has the opportunity to escape she doesn’t take it and allows herself to be kidnapped.  It was a really great book with Hart’s typical wonderful writing.  You can read my review here.  4.5 out of 5

Next was My Fair Succubi by Jill Myles.  This is book 3 in the Succubus Diaries and it’s a good one!  All the same players are in it, Jackie, Noah, uber-hottie Zane (love him!), Remy and a few other newer players as well.  Jackie is trying to save her friend Remy from being possessed while trying to help the angels and keep her love life from falling apart.  It’s crazy but it’s good!  I read this one for The Book Binge as well so I’ll keep you posted on the review. 4.25 out of 5 

I won Tooth and Nail by Mary Calmes from Stumbling Over Chaos (and I didn’t even have to provide sexual favors for Randy to win!).  This is book 2 in Calmes’s Warder series.  I didn’t read book 1, His Hearth, but didn’t feel like I was missing anything but not having read it.  Malic is a warder (demon hunter/fighter) but is taking unnecessary risks. His sentinel, the man in charge of him and he thinks that Malic wouldn’t take such risks if he found his Hearth, the one man or woman who holds his heart and he won’t hurt. You see when he has sex with someone they age. Yes, they eventually return to normal and feel like they’ve had a horrible flu but his hearth won’t be like that.  Malic, who’s 30, meets Dylan, who’s 19 and though Malic is very attracted to him he won’t do anything about it because Dylan is too young.  But Dylan isn’t about to give up on the man he immediately thought of as “his” when he first saw him.  A really great book that I just was a joy to read.  4 out of 5

Last up was Must Love Kilts by Allie Mackay.  Yet another book I read for The Book Binge – can you tell I’m trying to catch myself up again? lol  This was about a woman who loved Scotland and then got to time-travel to there only she lands in the 13th century. It was a good book but the romance wasn’t all that great, imho.  The cover of this one – I love. Big strapping kilted Scottish hottie?  Lemme at him! 3.5 out of 5 (releases 1/4/11)

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
crickets chirping lol

Happy Reading!!


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