Thursday, November 30, 2017

2017 Yule Reading Update: November

Yule Reading Challenge
November 1, 2017 - January 6, 2018

Welcome back to another year of the Yule Reading Challenge, here I attempt to read all the Yule/ Christmas books listed on my shelves and any ARCs I might have.  Last year I did this list and really enjoyed reading some of the books I owned.  This lead to me falling in love with a few new authors and adding them on to the TBR Pile but also made me aware of the awesome stories already sitting on the pile from those authors as well.

November Update, what I've read so far will be highlighted and crossed out, if there are any reviews I will have them linked.  

Books From the Stockpile
  • Carolyn Brown's Cowboy Boots For Christmas (Cowboy not Included)
  • Holiday Fantasy by Donna Hill and Friends
  • Naughty or Nice by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Friends
  • A SEAL Wolf Christmas by Terry Spear
  • A Bride For Christmas by Heather Graham and Friends
  • This Christmas by Jane Green and Friends
  • Under The Mistletoe by Linda Howard and Stephanie Bondh
  • The Secret Life of Mrs. Claus by Carly Alexander
  • Christmas on Mimosa Lane by Anna DeStefano
  • Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand
  • Three Days on Mimosa Lane Anna DeStefano
  • @Home For The Holidays by Meredith Efken
ARCs That I Need To Read:
  • The Keepers Christmas In Salem Heather Graham 
  • Christmas Brides by Suzanne Enoch and Friends
  • A Last Chance Christmas by Vicki Lewis Thompson
  • A Christmas To Remember by Jill Shalvis and Friends
 Okay my loves, so that's how well I've done so far, how about you?? Are you finishing storng in your yearly challenges?? Knocking out those TBRs?? Share down below and let's gush about books together.
Happy Reading 


Thursday, November 9, 2017

ARC Book Review: Law & Disorder by Heather Graham

Book Title: Law & Disorder (Finnegan Book 1)
Author:  Heather Graham |Website| TwitterFacebook|
Publisher: Harlequin
Genre: Mystery/ Thriller/ Romantic Suspense
Series/Standalone: Series Beginning
Format: Ebook, Mass Market
Cost: $6.50
Pages: 256
How I got it: Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound (Independent Booksellers)
Publication Date: Jan 2017
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:
Trust the enemy? Desperate to escape her kidnappers, Kody Cameron can turn to only one man…and he's holding a gun. Outnumbered and trapped in the deadly Everglades, she has little recourse, but something in this captor's eyes makes her believe she can trust him. Does she dare to take the risk? Undercover agent Nick Connolly has met Kody before and knows she might very well blow his cover. Though determined to maintain his facade, he can't let Kody die. He won't. And his decision to change his own rules of law and order are about to make all hell break loose. The Finnegan Connection
For the first time in a long time, I have to say that I can't recommend a title by Heather. And I almost wish I could but I really can't love this one.  I was so bored and it wasn't really a romance, it didn't have anything spooky the way the cover suggests, it felt like an older title that they attempted to modernize and it really didn't feel like a Heather Graham title at all.  I went into this one blind, just off the brand of Heather's unique stories and knowing how captivating she is, and this was just not for me.

You know you're in trouble when the villain has more personality than the main characters.  I actually remember more about Dillinger than I do about the main characters, like I had to look up their names to write this review meanwhile I remembered the criminal's name no problem.  I felt like I kept waiting for something paranormal to happen and when it was done and it hadn't I was severely disappointed.  This villain came prepared and at the same was a complete idiot.  He took the time to have back up plans, contingency plans, by kidnapping the child, had escape routes all planned out and yet he was still looking for unverified buried treasure. Like who really does that??

The female character Kody kept acting stupid, because let's be real the men with the guns make the rules, they don't have to do shyt you say.  She felt like two characters were being mixed together and we weren't quite sure which one was supposed to come out on top.  She's attempting to be an actress in NYC while working as a bartender and also working at the historic home that's in her family, she out of everyone knows the history the best and had the villain just grabbed her and threatened her family he would have gotten better results than the ridiculousness of grabbing an entire hotel of people and staff.  Just too unrealistic to believe but then again truth is stranger than fiction.

Nick is an undercover cop and we learn that in a few minutes of the home being on lock down.  The two characters met briefly as she was walking out the door while he was walking in to the bar she works in NYC over a year ago, and I'm supposed to believe that's enough of a connection that they remember each other and begin to fall for each other while he's lying about who he is and she's being held at gunpoint.  Yeah ok.  Even though Nick does his job well while trying to keep the body count low and the federal crime list from climbing; Kody mouths off to the leader who has a gun and has proven he's willing to make people bleed.  She has way too many too stupid to live moments within the book and each and every single time I'm like girl what?? the man has a gun and is crazy. Shut up and do what he says, you have one job and it's not to get me killed.

Even though I learned that even in Florida there are crocodiles which I had to stop to google before I finished reading, and I fell in love with the landscape and the description of the Everglades to be honest almost nothing else about this story made much sense.  The romance took a backseat to everything else and then when it finally had center stage it felt rushed, dry and wasn't as passionate and fun as Heather's other romances have always been for me.

The story revolves around the hidden treasure, the kidnapped child and romance.  However,  the romance wasn't really believable because they only spent like a week together while he was someone else, not much to build something on.  This book truly felt like it was written years ago and then they brought it back out and modernized it somewhat, just the mannerisms, the lack of reliance on cellphones or any modern tech just branded it as odd.

I did love the Everglades and the historical information that got dumped throughout the story but beyond that, this story wasn't very believable   the ending was a bit predictable however how Dillinger got caught wasn't and I learned a new nursery rhyme for when I'm in Florida.

If you're looking for good romantic suspense then I recommend Heather's other books, and of course Julie Garood's Buchanan -Renard series.  I'm not sure I will follow the rest of this, after all I have plenty of the paranormal romance from Heather to catch up on.
 ★★
Have you read this?? Share in the comments wheat you thought so we can discuss.  


Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Waiting On Wednesday (WOW) 5: Longing For His Kiss by Sherri Hayes

Hosted by: Jill over at Breaking The Spines.  This is a weekly book lust prompt, asking for us to share our absolute can't wait to get our hands on a copy books. Swing on over to find out how to participate and to see what others are sharing.


Adult Fiction/ Romance / Erotica

Longing For His Kiss by Sherri Hayes
Eight months ago, two uniformed men showed up at Grace Martin’s door and told her that her husband wasn’t coming home. She’s tried to move on, but nothing will make that ache in her chest go away. Kurt wasn’t only her husband. He was also her Master. With him gone a part of her is missing and she has no idea how, or even if, she can repair the hole that has been left. A lot has changed in the last eight months for Alexander Greco. He was injured, spent six months in a VA hospital recovering, was discharged from the Army after ten years of service, and then moved himself halfway across the country to find his friend’s widow. He has a letter to deliver to Grace—her husband’s final goodbye. Little does either of them know the letter contains something that will change both their lives.
Due Date: November 2, 2017
Print: Ebook
Pages: 254
Publisher: Sherri Hayes
 This is a second book in this series and I can't wait to get it in my hands. Sherri does amazing erotica especially BDSM erotica and I can't wait to see how she handles this one.  

Are you getting any of these?? What's on your book lust list?? Share in the comments down below!!
Happy Lusting


Monday, November 6, 2017

Book #Review: Dignity (The Breaking Point 2) by Jay Crownover

Book Title: Dignity ( The Breaking Point 2, Welcome To The Point 5)
Author:  Jay Crownover |WebsiteTwitterFacebook|
Publisher: CreateSpace
Genre: New Adult, Romance
Series/Standalone: Book 5
Format: ebook
Cost: $2.99
Pages: 292
How I got it: Purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble |
Publication Date: October 17, 2017
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:
Looks can be deceiving.

I knew that most people took one look at the ink and the impossibly big and strong body it covered and decided I was a brawler…a bruiser…a beast. However, I was hardwired to be a thinker, not a fighter—my mind being my greatest weapon and my biggest weakness.

I should have chosen to use my brain and talents to be one of the good guys, a hero, a man with dignity and worth.

I turned my back on dignity and sold my soul to the highest bidder, deciding to dance with the devil, instead.

I couldn’t figure out how to help myself, so there was zero chance I knew how to save someone else.

That someone else was Noe Lee. She was the unkempt, unruly thief who was just as smart as I was and twice as street savvy. She was annoyingly adorable beneath the dirt and grime and she was in trouble. In way over her head, I told myself it wasn’t my job to keep her from drowning. In the Point, it was sink or swim and I wasn’t the designated lifeguard on duty.

I had shut the door in her face, but now she’s gone…vanished…disappeared without a trace. It took less than a second for me to realize that I wanted her back.

When a woman comes along that melts all the frozen, hard things you’re made of, you’ll do anything you have to, to bring her home.

What you see is not always what you get…and with a man like me there is more than anyone ever bargained for.
This one has been a long time coming, once again we are back in the Point and it's as always a shyt show.  Stark the massive inked computer genius has been in the series since the beginning and of course we really saw him in Honor when the Devil went looking for his mate.  Stark is now even more firmly entrenched in the family's games and on the Devil's payroll.  Noe Lee is a new one, we did see her before in Honor because she has the same campaign going as does Honor except she goes about it a little differently.  She's a hacker who aides women who want to leave the Point.

I absolutely loved this one because even though the Point has no real geographic location it can be where ever the 'bad' side of town is in any state, we know very little about the whole town.  This story really fleshed out the town and made us more aware of how large an infrastructure the underground criminal class truly is.  For me Lee was my favorite character, she was well written and awesomely fleshed out as a woman and a character.  Even though she was scared & she had plenty of reason to be, she still fought anyway she could to aide those in worse situations than her, even if she did it from the shadows.  I loved that Stark shared a similar mission and that he was a hero on the low.

I really enjoyed that they lived in Race's fortress, and that we got to see so much of the original group in this one, even though it was really about Lee and Stark's journey and their fight, both individual and together.  I loved that all this time later Titus is still fighting to clean up the city.  The romance in the story wasn't as front and center for me, even though it was good.  I liked that they didn't immediately fall for each other, they danced around it and fell in like with each other's brains and genius abilities first.  I also liked that even as they discovered that they were better together than apart they weren't immediately healed by being int he relationship, it's something they acknowledged would take time.

For Stark being a genius carried a heavy burden,m one that cost him so much.  Reading that it makes me understand why some parents don't push their kids into the special programs because if this is how they handle it, my gad no.  I wasn't expecting the ending because in the last few chapters secrets just came tumbling out and I can't wait to see the full fall out of all of that in the next book.  I really enjoyed those ending scenes as well because it was beautiful to see them all together and know where they were coming from and knowing that they shouldn't have these happy moments and yet they do. It's beautiful to read and see how this found family has expanded.  Noe Lee was a pretty bad ass who knew how hide from even Nasser when he was looking, and even in a full blown panic she was vicious.

One of the few things I do have to call this series out for is that this is known as an urban city, and in all their interactions there are few to little with characters that are minorities.  Also you live int he underbelly of the city and beyond Nassir and Lee you have no minorities as friends??  More of than not in reality the reverse is the truth, whites are truly the minorities in the 'ghettos' and 'hoods'.  I just wish we had more characters of color within the main group.  Especially because Bax had been to jail, he didn't meet no friends in there the whole time??  I would really love to learn more about Benny and who he was fighting for.  Even if it's just a novella.

Once again the "bad" guys take aim at the Hill and bring down terror on their own. Secrets shake out, pasts are revealed and we are pulled under by the grime, but Hope blooms here.  It's messy and it's revenge at it's best.

I loved it. I highly recommend.
 ★★★

Happy Reading my loves, 

Sunday, November 5, 2017

Stacking The Shelves: November (1)

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page! Stacking The Shelves now has a new host and check out that new image!!

This month I went to Salem MA for Samhain or Halloween as you know it and luckily for me so did Alice Hoffman, at least she came to Boston on Halloween and did a reading and discussion about the book that I'm about to show you. 

Once I knew this book was coming out I immediately wanted to pre-order it; then I saw the info about this even and I waited with baited breath because I knew the event meant getting a book as well. I also got one personalized for my sister who couldn't be there. This talk and meet and greet were amazing. We go to sit right up front and she came early and signed books for us it was amazing!!!


I can't wait to get back into the world of the Owens.  I'm so excited to read and that's it, that's all I picked up this week, share what you got down below and I will swing on by
Love and Light always


Friday, November 3, 2017

2017 Monthly Reading List: November 2017


My goal for this year was 365 books. It's November and we are almost at the end of the year.  I have made it into the hundreds finally however I'm nowhere near the three hundreds. I'm not making that 365 but I'm still going for as many as possible I ant to make 150 at least. Here's to the good ole' college try.

These are a few of the books I'm planning to read this month:
  • Christine Feehan Book
  • Non Fiction Book
  • J. D. Robb 
  • Nora Roberts
  • Erotica Challenge book
  • Book from my shelves
  • YA Challenge book
  • Paranormal Challenge book
  • New Adult Challenge Book
  • Book from 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge
  • Ebook Challenge Books
  • Brenda Jackson Challenge
  • Randomly Selected Book from previous monthly list
  • Yule Themed Romance
  • Cowboy Yule Themed Romance
  • Carolyn Brown Romance novel
And of course whatever draws my eye.  

Share in the comments down below what you want to read and let's cheer each other on. We are getting closer to the end let's keep the push going!!!

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Book #Review: Eternal by Cecy Robson .@Barclay_PR .@CecyRobson

Book Title: Eternal (A Carolina Beach Novel 2)
Author:  Cecy Robson |WebsiteTwitterFacebook|
Publisher: CrushStar Multimead LLC
Genre: Romance, New Adult
Series/Standalone: Book 2
Format: ebook, Trade Paperback
Cost: $3.99/ $12.99
Pages: 306
How I got it: NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BAM
Publication Date: October 2017
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:
After months of bad luck and even worse men, Luciana Diaz just wants to crawl under the covers and forget the year ever happened. Her friend has other plans, convincing Luci to attend a New Year’s Eve party on the affluent shores of Kiawah Island.

Luci never expected to have fun. She also never expected to wake up next to a man she just met, or for this man to be the new attorney at her firm.

Landon Summers is done with drama. After an ugly separation and even worse divorce, he has no desire to jump into another relationship.

When his sister Trinity drags him to a New Year’s Eve party, he doesn’t plan to stay long. One drink, a few hellos, and he’s out. Until he meets Luci, the first person in months to draw his smile and incite his passion.

Neither Luci nor Landon planned on each other, and they definitely didn’t plan on love. But the New Year means a fresh start, and eternal possibilities neither could deny .
"I know people...powerful people"  "Oh my Gawd you're in the mafia??!!!!" 
Luci- a strong young woman who comes from a difficult home life made something of herself but is still struggling with her past.
Landon- brother to Trin from book one in this series and is a bit of a Captain Save a Hoe, this comes back to bite him in the ass.

There are so many reasons to love this book, and so many reasons to rage at a certain character because they are dumber than a box of bricks at times.  One of the many reasons I love this book is the familial relationships that are involved.  Some of my favorite people are Trinity from book one, she's Landon's little sister who loves to meddle and be in everything, and his parents who are just so amazing in their love for their children.  They were so much fun and they were so down to earth that they because great anchors for their kids to help keep them from drowning in their pain.

As with so many of the books I read I went into this one simply because of the author, I love her works and just knew I needed to read this one as well. So I knew nothing about the synopsis or the characters and I just fell in love as the story unfolded.   I kind of expected Becca's story to be honest and after the glimpses we got here I just know that when we finally do get it?? God it's going to slay me.

Landon had according to everyone done everything 'right' and still ended up being screwed over, and while he accepts that he has to move on, he's still a bit bitter about how things turned out.  He goes to this New Year's Party because he promised his friends and his sister and he's planning to have one drink and dip, then his sister's family needs her and he has to step in to help and we just get one of the funniest scenes I've read in a while.  I absolutely loved that we were back in Kiawah island, Cecy can write then heck out of a scene and just the description of it made it sound so amazing.  The beach also played a big part in this novel just as it did in the first book.

This story that unfolds is fun, funny and at times dark and emotional.  The book was very therapy positive even if the patient wasn't compliant. I loved that the book also owned the darker emotions and talked about taking the time needed to get them under control.  While I personally didn't need some of the lessons within I certainly hope others realize that people have to want help for you to be able to save them.  You can't make them want it.

One of my favorite scenes in the novel comes after Landon tries to help Luci and botches it, that conversation was so hilarious.  I believe it's only outdone by the accidental dinner with the family back on Kiawah island when Landon went on a weekend vacation.  It was so much fun to have the family together and the chaos that comes with that. I loved reading those moments.  I absoluetly loved that Luci had her life together so well all except in two small areas, and yet these areas were the ones she felt it the most.  I loved how she and Landon were together, how brave she was in exploring that part of herself.  I loved their chemistry and how well they were together.  And man they certainly burned up the sheets as well.

My least favorite part of the book is Luci's secret.  She's so insistent on being the person to 'rescue' this person that she ignores all the conventional wisdom and she also hides it from the person she claims to be falling in love with.  She knows she's wrong for lying about it and still does it all the while hiding it.  If there isn't a problem with what you are doing then you shouldn't have to hide it. This was my one con for the story, she was willfully stupid at times and while I understand the emotions behind it, you can't help someone if you yourself aren't safe.

Reading this I got so frustrated with her because I kept thinking to myself, what would have happened if she hadn't met Landon?? Or what would have happened if her staff didn't love her enough to know when something was wrong?? Her fate would have been terrible all because she can't separate her emotions enough to accept that she's done all she can, now it's up to them.  Maybe because this is part of my career field I knew better & can separate the emotions out more, so to me her actions were reckless for no other reason than she's too emotional that she's not willing to seek the help she needs herself, because she knows what others would say.

All in all this was a wonderfully written story.  It was emotional as all of Cecy's books are and it certainly kept me glued. I needed to know what her secret was, how they would work out their individual issues while working on become a duo.  It was awesome to read and I can't wait for more from Cecy.
 ★★★★1/2☆
Happy Reading my loves, 


Wednesday, November 1, 2017

2017 Yule Reading Lists: November - Jan 6 2018

Yule Reading Challenge
November 1, 2017 - January 6, 2018

Welcome back to another year of the Yule Reading Challenge, here I attempt to read all the Yule/ Christmas books listed on my shelves and any ARCs I might have.  Last year I did this list and really enjoyed reading some of the books I owned.  This lead to me falling in love with a few new authors and adding them on to the TBR Pile but also made me aware of the awesome stories already sitting on the pile from those authors as well.

With another season on us I wanted to give myself plenty of time to really fall in love with these books, since I don't celebrate Thanksgiving I'm going to be going right from Halloween reads right into the Yule season.  If you would like to join in just share in the comments down below and we can work on motivating each other to clean up the TBR Pile just a little bit more.  Now onto the books to be read:

Books From the Stockpile
  • Carolyn Brown's Cowboy Boots For Christmas (Cowboy not Included)
  • Holiday Fantasy by Donna Hill and Friends Dec 2017
  • Naughty or Nice by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Friends
  • A SEAL Wolf Christmas by Terry Spear
  • A Bride For Christmas by Heather Graham and Friends
  • This Christmas by Jane Green and Friends
  • Under The Mistletoe by Linda Howard and Stephanie Bondh
  • The Secret Life of Mrs. Claus by Carly Alexander
  • Christmas on Mimosa Lane by Anna DeStefano
  • Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand
  • Three Days on Mimosa Lane Anna DeStefano
  • @Home For The Holidays by Meredith Efken
ARCs That I Need To Read:
  • The Keepers Christmas In Salem Heather Graham 
  • Christmas Brides by Suzanne Enoch and Friends Nov 2017
  • A Last Chance Christmas by Vicki Lewis Thompson
  • A Christmas To Remember by Jill Shalvis and Friends
 Let me know if you have read any of these and should I move them to the top.  I'm sure I will find more in my kindle, but for now these are the ones I would like to work on.  The goal isn't to add anymore books to this list but to clean up the books that have been waiting all year for me to read them.  Any comments or questions please feel free to leave them down below, and I will see you tomorrow my loves.