Stacking The Shelves

It's been forever since I participated in a meme and I especially enjoy sharing my new book finds so Stacking the Shelves (aka StS) is some kind of awesome sauce. I found this meme over at Tynga's Reviews which is a pretty impressive book blog, by the way, so you should check it out soon.

Basically the meme is super simple. Just list your recent acquisitions. Easy Peasy. Right? So, here are some of my recent additions to my Mt. TBR (I add to the mountain by purchasing used books anywhere I can find them. Or new books from amazon, B&N or even Walmart. I borrow them from the library too. Some even are gifted to me by NetGalley or the author themselves for reviewing...pretty much anywhere I can get my hands on a book I'm super happy. I'm not particular about the type of book either. Ebook, paperback, hardcover or audio...I love them all!) Oh and each book cover will link back to amazon (no they don't pay me LOL). I just find it helpful when I'm looking up a new to me book.....

On Ebook

free on kindle!

free on kindle

NetGalley (8/13/13 release)

NetGalley (7/16/13 release)

NetGalley (7/29/13 release)

NetGalley (6/25/13 release)

only $.99 on kindle!

Library books

Purchases

A Dinner in Bellagio by Carlotta Melzi d'Este

Synopsis: A forty-something widow spends the summer on Lake Como in Italy to finish the cookbook she is writing but finds herself distracted by a 20 year old man-child. A lot of cooking happens and a lot of sex occurs and somewhere along the way they fall in love.

My Thoughts: This book is pretty much a mess. From the beginning to the end I was constantly wondering if this book was poorly translated from Italian to English or if the author purposely wrote it in English thinking she had a superior grasp of the language. Many of the sentences are awkward and clunky and often the dialogue had a randomness about it where multiple thoughts were blended all together within the same paragraph.

"I can use my mother's recipe or my grandmother's recipe. Both of my grandmothers had a different one. There are heavy recipes or heavier recipes. Tonight we will use my aunt Palmira's one. It's so rich that I suspect she had learnt it from a priest."

Another issue I had was that the author spent a lot of time telling us what she wanted us to know about the characters and the setting but never just showed us. There were many times where the story broke away from the 'action' to tell us background information. It would have read better if the information was discovered by the reader through Rose and Agostino's interactions or adventures. In addition much of that background information tended to read like it was part of a research paper. There were even footnotes peppered throughout the book.

The author had an interesting idea incorporating recipes of dishes that Rose and Agostino made but with one recipe following ever chapter it felt a bit much. After reading a few of them and realizing that there was no way I'd actually make any of them (mostly because some of them called for ingredients I had no idea where to find) I opted to skip them. This made the book go a lot faster for which I was very grateful.

The only thing that rivaled the number of recipes would be the amount of sex found in the book. Yes, this book has a warning "Warning: explicit sex and BDSM. 18+" but to tell the truth, it was not the amount of sex or the kind of sex that I found horrible. It was actually the rather uninspired phrasing used to describe the sex that I found offensive. None of their sexual encounters could be mistaken for romance. Here is an example of a weirdly worded and non-romantic sexual encounter....(I substituted a couple words that are more offensive but left those that can be found on a 'This is your body' poster at your doctor's office but I can assure you the rest is all the author's work.)

"I was lying on my back, and Agostino knelt among my legs putting my feet around his neck. He forced me to lift my [badonkadonk] from the bed and he penetrated me. He squatted and his [rooster] went back, he knelt and reached the deepest part of my vagina. He began to do the exercise faster, squat and knelt, back and forth, again, again...

"Agostino!" I yelled. I didn't want to end just at the beginning!

He slowed down panting and moaning. He was too concentrated to grin at me.

Slow. Fast. Slow. Fast. Slow......"

His [rooster] was rubbing my vagina upper wall. I'd never found such a perfect position. I was on the verge of an explosion. Abruptly Agostino stretched his legs under my lower back. I had to bend backwards and his [rooster] reached the cervix.

Fast. Fast. Hard. Fast. Boom!" 

The book is chock full of these encounters.

In addition the author had a habit of being quite repetitive. Repetitive in her description of Agostino (he had a brat face, a brat smile and a brat grin which we read about in every chapter) and extremely repetitive in the fact that the characters were always laughing or giggling yet nothing ever seemed funny.

"Rose, sei cosi bella sotto la luna! You are so beautiful under the moon!" He yelled at me in Italian......

......"Buona notte, Agostino. Hai passato una bella serata? Good night Agostino. Did you have a nice evening?" I answered him, me too in Italian.

He stared at me for a full minute then he burst out laughing. He couldn't stop.

"I'm sorry, Signora. I'm a werewolf tonight."

I laughed back at him and wished him goodnight before that crazy dialogue became dangerous."

I normally would try to balance my review with some positives about the book but after more than a week of trying to come up with some I'm still drawing a blank other than I was able to read this utilizing my Amazon Prime benefit for free. Because I finished this book I feel obligated to give it a rating more than 0 cups of coffee but it truly was not enjoyable for me so I give it 1/2 a cup of coffee. Carlotta's efforts deserve that much recognition even if I didn't like them.

Wilder by Christina Dodd

Synopsis:(back blurb) As a young man, Aleksandr Wilder abandoned his duty--and for that lapse, he was tortured, tormented ... and transformed.  Now he prowls the tunnels beneath the city, fighting on the frontline against the forces of hell, never daring to dream that he can live as a man again. After seven years fighting the world's ultimate evil, Chosen One Charisma Fangorn has become a tough, strong warrior without illusions or joy...even her gift of hearing the earthsong has faded.  Deaf to her own instincts, she never suspects that a monster lurks in the dark underneath the streets. When Aleksandr finds Charisma under attack, he rescues and cares for her, and hope stirs once more in his heart...and in the world. But in the secret recesses of his soul, he knows the truth. A woman so exceptional woman could never love a beast...could she?

My Thoughts: Frankly I was a bit disappointed in this book. It felt disjointed from the rest of the series. Perhaps because there was quite a bit of time between books 4 and this one. Perhaps it was the title that didn't flow with the rest of the series. Or maybe both. 

The first half of the book was quite a lovely beauty and the beast romance but the second half had a different feel to it. I've read these in order so I read this last book after reading the first 4 and it's a good thing. The coming together of the 7 Chosen Ones to beat the great Evil should have read more of a reunion to me but the characters from the previous 4 books felt like strangers. One of those previous characters almost died at the end and it was written as an afterthought as if that character was some unknown Ensign wearing a red shirt in an old Star Trek show. 

Also the back blurb of the book tells us who 'the beast' is but through a large part neither the hero (who as amnesia) nor the heroine knows who he is. It would have been much better if we, the readers, were also in the dark. Sure we could have figured it out, the book was Alexandr Wilder's book after all. BUT if it had been marketed as Charisma's book instead, Dodd could have pulled the suspense out more. 

In addition, there were no indications that the beast (aka Guardian) was actually Alexandr yet at one point Charisma decided he could be him anyway. I don't know how she came to that conclusion. He didn't look anything like Alexandr and his personality was different also. The only thing that fit was Guardian didn't know who he was and the timing lined up.

Anyway, there were some good moments in the book (really liked the Beauty and the Beast theme) and some not so good and someone not familiar with this series should not read this one first. You won't get the full impact on any of the secondary characters (those common to the entire Chosen Ones series) because they aren't in this book long enough. To tell the truth, the big battle will seem almost pointless if you haven't read any of the other books. It will be just a bunch of strangers trying to fight their way into a building.

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Synopsis: You will kill. The only question is when.
In the dark days since the insidious Red Lung virus decimated the human population, vampires have risen to rule the crumbling cities and suburbs. Uncontested Princes hold sway over diminished ranks of humans: their "pets." In exchange for their labor, loyalty and of course, their blood, these pets are registered, given food and shelter, permitted to survive.
Unregistered humans cling to fringes, scavenging for survival. Allison Sekemoto and her fellow Unregistereds are hunted, not only by vampires, but by rabids, the unholy result of Red Lung-infected vampires feeding on unwary humans. One night, Allie is attacked by a pack of rabids, saved by an unlikely hero...and turned vampire.
Uncomfortable in her undead skin, Allie falls in with a ragtag crew of humans seeking a cure, or cures: for Rabidism and for Vampirism. She's passing for human...for now. But the hunger is growing and will not be denied. Not for friendship—not even for love.

My Thoughts:
Dystopian theme--check
Vampires--check
Rabid pseudo zombies--check
Potential Star Crossed Lovers theme--check
One Immortal Kick Butt Teenage Girl--check

With all those things how could this not be a great book???

For the most part this was a great read...once it got going. Honestly its biggest downfall is the slow as molasses pacing. Once Allie is turned into a vampire one would expect the story to take off but it doesn't. We readers endure pages and pages of her walking through trees and fields and highways with little to absolutely nothing happening except for her internal fight on to drink blood or not to drink blood.

The beginning was interesting as we learned how Fringers survived and once she is turned, Allie's training was also interesting. What isn't interesting, however is Allie herself (she's rather annoying) or pretty much any of the other characters in this book. Allie is set up to be a survivalist but continues to do ignorant things that make me wonder how she survived being an "unregistered" at all.

The only interesting character is her vampire sire who, unfortunately, is only in a small part of this book. I'm hoping he is in the next book more than he was in this one.

Despite the pacing and the unlikable characters, Julie Kagawa does have a way of making me want to find out what happens next. Did the group find Eden? Who is this mysterious Jackal who claims to be the Vampire King? Where did Kanin, Allie's sire, go? Kagawa gave me just enough information in this book to be satisfied with the ending but left out just enough for me to want to continue on with the series. In addition the world building is good, her writing flows well (even when the story's pace is staggeringly slow) and it's easy to read which overall made me happy.

A word of warning to younger readers: there are some gory scenes, quite a few fighting scenes and many deaths. Please keep this in mind if you decide to read this book.

Bite Me, Your Grace by Brooklyn Ann

Synopsis: England's "vampire craze" causes much vexation for the Lord Vampire of London, Ian Ashton. To save his reputation, Ian enlists aspiring authoress Angelica Winthrop without realizing she has hidden plans of her own.

Angelica Winthrop's life goal is to ruin her reputation, avoid marriage, and become a gothic authoress like her idol, Mary Shelley. To find inspiration for her new story, she breaks into the home of Ian Ashton, Duke of Burnrath, not knowing she will be coming up against the Lord Vampire of London. Romance sparks and reputations are at stake. But who knows the real difference between fact and fiction?

My Thoughts: I love me some historical romances. I love me some vampires. Put them together and I am in 7th Heaven. With Bite Me, Your Grace, Brooklyn Ann brought my two loves together in a way that wasn't awe inspiring but an OK read none the less.

Angelica Winthrop is an interesting character that unfortunately does quite a bit of flip flopping throughout the book. In the beginning she is intelligent, strong willed and witty but towards the middle she ends up becoming a bit, well, awful and no one I'd be interested in knowing. She does come back around but I was no longer in awe of her and moved my attention towards Ian and his second in command.

As far as Ian goes, he too managed to disappoint me in the end. I expected much more from the Master of the City than what he gave me upon rescuing his bride from the evil clutches of...well, it doesn't really matter who he rescued her from because technically he didn't really rescue her. But whatever.

From a plot perspective there was almost way too much going on because the author spent too much time focusing on the secondary plot threads giving too many pages away to them instead of focusing on building a believable romance between our hero and heroine.

On the positive side Brooklyn Ann's vampires are really interesting, her characters have much potential and Ian's second in command is so intriguing that he is more than enough to make me want to read more by Ann to see where she takes his character.

Six Years by Harlan Coben

Synopsis: Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd.

But six years haven’t come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd’s obituary, he can’t keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife he’s hoping for…but she is not Natalie. Whoever the mourning widow is, she’s been married to Todd for almost two decades, and with that fact everything Jake thought he knew about the best time of his life—a time he has never gotten over—is turned completely inside out.

As Jake searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to unravel. Mutual friends of the couple either can’t be found, or don’t remember Jake. No one has seen Natalie in years. Jake’s search for the woman who broke his heart, who lied to him, soon puts his very life at risk as it dawns on him that the man he has become may be based on a carefully constructed fiction.

My Thoughts: When you pick up a Coben you know you're going to get a thrilling nail biting experience. Six Years didn't disappoint although as I was reading this book I was thinking it felt familiar to me. I think that thought occurred to me only because Coben often highlights the everyday average Joe who is slightly above average in looks and has a tendency for sarcasm. This Joe Schmo usually finds himself in way over his head as he is bound and determine to find the answers he is searching for. Oh, and he usually ends up being played the fool when he finds the answers aren't what he thought they'd be.

Despite the slight repetitive feeling I got while reading Six Years I thoroughly enjoyed it. Jake was an interesting character and I enjoyed his academic background. I did, however, have a bit of trouble believing he was so in love with this woman 6 years later (after only spending 3 months with her) he would go to obvious great lengths to find her/save her/be with her ignoring potential harm to himself.

With that said I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a well paced thriller. It should delight Coben fans and newbies alike.

 

Three Sisters by Susan Mallery

Synopsis: After Andi Gordon is jilted at the altar, she makes the most impetuous decision of her life – buying one of the famed Three Sisters Queen Anne houses on Blackberry Island. Now the proud-ish owner of the ugly duckling of the trio, she plans to open her own pediatric office on the first floor, just as soon as her hunky contractor completes the work. Andi's new future may be coming together, but the truth is she's just as badly in need of a major renovation as her house.  When Deanna Phillips confronts her husband about a suspected affair, she opens up a Pandora's Box of unhappiness. And he claims that she is the problem. The terrible thing is, he's right. In her quest to be the perfect woman, she's lost herself, and she's in danger of losing her entire family if things don't change.  Next door, artist Boston King thought she and her college sweetheart would be married forever. Their passion for one other has always seemed indestructible. But after tragedy tears them apart, she's not so sure. Now it's time for them to move forward, with or without one another.  Thrown together by fate and geography, and bound by the strongest of friendships, these three women will discover what they're really made of: laughter, tears, love and all.

My Thoughts: I've been a fan of Susan for years now after reading several of her Buchanan family books. I've continued to read her old Silhouette Special Editions and her wonderful Fool's Gold books over the years because her romances are like Mac n' Cheese to me. I know when I open one I'm going to meet a friend. I'm going to laugh a little. I'm going to cry a little. And I'm going to close the book at the end feeling warm and fuzzy and probably smiling like a loon.

With Three Sisters I got all of that and more.

What shined most for me had to be the 3 women. Andi, Deanna and Boston are as real to me as my best friend. Hands down these women are some of the best characters Susan has ever created. She has an uncanny ability to write that one character who is a total witch no one (including yourself) can stand through a good portion of the book and turn them around in a way we readers cheer them on by the end. Oh yes, she certainly did that here. Totally made me want to drive my happy butt to Blackberry Island and give Deanna a hug!

I'm really looking forward to reading more in the Blackberry Island series and I hope Susan continues on with them for a long time.

Highlander Most Wanted by Maya Banks

Synopsis: Genevieve McInnes is locked behind the fortified walls of McHugh Keep, captive of a cruel laird who takes great pleasure in ruining her for any man. Yet when Bowen Montgomery storms the gates on a mission of clan warfare, Genevieve finds that her spirit is bent but not broken. Still, her path toward freedom remains uncertain. Unable to bear the shame of returning to a family that believes her dead, nor bring herself to abandon others at the keep to an imposing new laird, Genevieve opts for the peaceful life of an abbess. But Bowen’s rugged sensuality stirs something deep inside her longing to be awakened by his patient, gentle caress—something warm, wicked, and tempting.   Bowen seizes his enemy’s keep, unprepared for the brooding and reclusive woman who captures his heart. He’s enchanted by her fierce determination, her unusual beauty, and quiet, unfailing strength. But wooing her will take more than a seasoned seducer’s skill. For loving Genevieve, he discovers, means giving her back the freedom that was stolen from her—even if it means losing her forever.


My Thoughts: This book pulled me through an amazing range of emotions when it came to the heroine. I have long since claimed to be a lover of the tortured hero but never really thought much about the opposite.  Let me tell you, a tortured heroine is just as compelling.

I love great characters and it is a tribute to Banks' writing that I found myself completely absorbed in the life of Genevieve. This is one character that will stay with me for a very long time.

However, the actions of the hero did not ring true to me when looking at them from a historical setting angle. If this had been real, Genevieve would have found herself in a convent spending the rest of her days devoted to a higher power. Also, her involvement with a situation that was highlighted in a previous book was a big deal yet seemed to have been forgivable by all, despite it being an unforgivable act. (I'm being quite vague and I do apologize but if you haven't read the other book in the series I do not want to spoil it for you.)

In addition to the hero's actions even some of Genevieve's seemed improbably. Case in point would be her ability to set aside the fact that she had been heinously abused both physically and sexually (for an entire year) after only a few weeks of being around Bowen with very little issues. This is, of course, a romance and the 'real' issues that would have cropped up repeatedly have been glossed over.

Despite these issues this was a wonderful book and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read it. I will definitely read more of Maya's highlanders.

The Wanderer by Robyn Carr

Synopsis: Nestled on the Oregon coast is a small town of rocky beaches and rugged charm. Locals love the land's unspoiled beauty. Developers see it as a potential gold mine. When newcomer Hank Cooper learns he's been left an old friend's entire beachfront property, he finds himself with a community's destiny in his hands.
Cooper has never been a man to settle in one place, and Thunder Point was supposed to be just another quick stop. But Cooper finds himself getting involved with the town. And with Sarah Dupre, a woman as complicated as she is beautiful.
With the whole town watching for his next move, Cooper has to choose between his old life and a place full of new possibilities. A place that just might be home.

My Thoughts: Reading one of Robyn's books is like having coffee with an old friend.  I have loved reading her Virgin River series (I still have several books to go as she writes them faster than I can read them LOL) and was looking forward to reading a new series from her. The Wanderer offers that picturesque small town setting and down home folks that fans couldn't get enough of with Virgin River. In this aspect, this book is quite charming and fits right into what I call a "comfort read".

The characters are very 3 dimensional and at the conclusion I felt as if I knew them all.

However, the H/h's romance is not featured as much as I would expect from a romance. They don't even meet until the middle of the book. They also share the romance spotlight with another couple and yet a third 'secret' romance as well.

The conflict of new kid vs. bully pulls a secondary storyline along nicely until the last 1/4 of the book and the mystery of what actually happened to Coop's friend Ben is not played out well with the conclusion almost being an afterthought.

Despite these things I think fans of Robyn's books will find this introduction to Thunder Point nice and will want to continue the series. 

Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins

Synopsis: Being one of the guys isn't all it's cracked up to be… So when journalist Chastity O'Neill returns to her hometown, she decides it's time to start working on some of those feminine wiles. Two tiny problems: #1—she's five feet eleven inches of rock-solid girl power, and #2—she's cursed with four alpha male older brothers. While doing a story on local heroes, she meets a hunky doctor and things start to look up. Now there's only one problem: Trevor Meade, her first love and the one man she's never quite gotten over—although he seems to have gotten over her just fine. Yet the more time she spends with Dr. Perfect, the better Trevor looks. But even with the in-your-face competition, the irresistible Trevor just can't seem to see Chastity as anything more than just one of the guys.…

My Thoughts: Being completely character driven I found it hard to completely enjoy this book as I really couldn't stand Chastity. Where others found her to be charming and quite vulnerable when it comes to the hero, Trevor, I found her a bit abrasive and annoying as she pined for her first love for a decade or so.

We first meet Chastity as she is being dumped by her current boyfriend which actually is quite amusing until she regresses into childhood and says something to the effect of "oh yeah? Well you throw like a girl." Many of my reading buddies enjoyed Chastity and her attitude. Unfortunately she annoyed me.

However, the rest of the characters in the book (including Chastity's big lazy dog) are phenomenal. Higgins really knows how to bring depth and a sense of realism to the people she writes about. She does not gloss over family issues within the O'Neill clan nor does she sugar coat anything. The O'Neills are people I know. They yell, they fight, they make up, they love, they laugh, they protect what's theirs. Everything you would expect from a big Irish family. As I said, truly excellent characters.

With that said I really wasn't a complete believer of the ending. Trevor's actions leading up to his declaration didn't fully jive together for me but it did balance out nicely the bitter sweet HEA for Mike and Betty the heads of the O'Neill clan.

Overall I very much enjoyed my first Higgins book. I wish it would have been told in the third person narrative though. I would have loved to have known what Trevor was actually thinking. Even with the 1st person narrative it was a book well done and enjoyable. I'm looking forward to reading more by Kristan.

Cold Sight by Leslie Parrish

Synopsis: After being made a scapegoat in a botched investigation that led to a child's death, Aidan McConnell became a recluse. Still, as a favor to an old friend, Aidan will help on the occasional ESA (Extra Sensory Agency) case.

Reporter Lexie Nolan has a nose for news-and she believes a serial killer has been targeting teen girls around Savannah, but no one believes her. So she turns to the new paranormal detective agency and the sexy, mysterious Aidan for help. But just as the two begin forging a relationship, the case turns eerily personal for Lexie-and Aidan discovers that maybe he hasn't lost the ability to feel after all.

My Thoughts: This romantic suspense book has everything I could want. A mysterious hero with baggage. A snarky intelligent woman who represents everything our hero detests. A deviously twisted sociopath who has kidnapped yet another teenage girl in a town that has put up blinders to what is happening in its poorer section. Sizzling attraction between our H/h. And Psychics. 

I seriously love a psychic twist on the paranormal genre. With so many vampire and werewolf stories it is refreshing and somehow more realistic than the others. Probably because our friendly neighborhood psychics are still basically human.

The romance aspect of this novel was well done but didn't necessarily wow me. To tell the truth I was so caught up in the serial killer/kidnapper aspect I anxiously continued on, biting my nails the entire time just to see if our heroes would save the girl in time. The mystery part really did shine and the deep dark town secret was a bit shocking. 

This isn't necessarily a book for everyone as there are some situations involved that are hot buttons for some and I feel I need to include a warning. Although many of the graphic scenes are glossed over there is mention of the killing and torturing in addition to rape and prostitution of teenage girls.

Not sure what it says about me that I loved every minute of this book but there you are. LOL.

When I picked up this book and it's follow up, I took a chance on an author I'd never heard of before and ended up being very surprised and happy with my choice. I will definitely read book 2 in this series and I really hope Parrish plans on writing many more.

Red Fox by Karina Halle

Synopsis: With Book Two of the Experiment in Terror Series, Perry Palomino and Dex Foray trade in the stormy Oregon coast for the unforgiving deserts of New Mexico. In the for­got­ten town of Red Fox, a Navajo cou­ple is tor­tured by things unseen and by motives unknown. Wild ani­mals slink through their house in the dark, a bar­rage of stones pound their roof nightly, and muti­lated sheep car­casses are turn­ing up on their prop­erty. Armed with a cam­era and just enough to go on, Perry and Dex travel to the des­o­late locale, hop­ing to film the super­nat­ural occur­rences and add cred­i­bil­ity to their flail­ing web­cast. Only their show has a lot more work­ing against them than just grow­ing pains. Tested by dubi­ous ranch hands, a ghost from Dex’s past, and shapeshift­ing decep­tion, the ama­teur ghost hunters must learn to trust each other in order to fight the most ancient of myths…or die trying.

My Thoughts: With this second installment of this series I am finding myself more intrigued by Perry's 'abilities'. Although her ghost seeing was not factored into this book she is becoming more of a complex person as we determine what it is about her that is making her so susceptible to the influence of the other world.

Dex, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be growing as a person but does seem to be evening out despite the fact that he admits in this book to not having an even keel on his emotions (read this as saying he is probably bi-polar). His attraction continues to miss me completely but I did find him less condescending towards Perry with his smarmy attitude and sleazy smiles being kept to a minimum in this book.

Perry and Dex continue to grow closer during the course of Red Fox but Perry's surprising admission (to herself) of love seems premature as they have only been together for a few days since they met a paltry month earlier.

The build up of suspense is quite good throughout the entire book but the ending had very little closure with the bad guys running for the hills and Dex and Perry running for home.

This ebook is offered as a great deal by Karina Halle, who self published this series. (Purchase at Amazon.com here) Don't let the term 'self published' keep you away from this series though. Unlike many self published books I've read (or attempted to read) I was never pulled out of this particular story by glaringly obvious spelling and grammar mistakes. This says to me that Halle is someone to be taken seriously in a booming industry and that she wants to make sure we are reading her best efforts.

With that said, even though I found this book to be average it was well worth the money I spent purchasing it.

Return to Sender by Fern Michaels

Synopsis: At seventeen, Rosalind “Lin” Townsend finds herself pregnant and alone. Her father, deeply religious yet cruel, throws her out of the house. Nick Pemberton, her baby’s father and the man she naively hoped might marry her, rejects her. Yet even at the lowest point in her life, Lin vows to succeed on her own terms, and to give her son, Will, all the love and happiness she’s been denied.

Nineteen years later, Lin has made good on her promises. She’s the owner of a thriving diner in her Georgia hometown, and Will has grown into a fine, intelligent young man who’s about to start his freshman year and NYU. But when Lin visits New York with Will, she crosses paths with the one man she was sure she’d never see again -- Nick Pemberton, now a millionaire CEO, the man who sent back all her letters unopened, marked “Return to Sender.” Seeing him fills Lin with anger -- and she resolves to right the wrong he did to Will.

Helped by Jason, a hired detective, and her best friend, Sally, Lin sets out to disrupt Nick’s life and his finances, with spectacular results. But the truth is more complex and surprising than she imagined. And soon Lin must choose -- between the revenge she thought would free her, and the bright new future that’s about to be delivered to her door...

My Thoughts: (and boy do I have some.) First of all this is not a romance as the romantic elements are not introduced into 2/3 of the way through book. Once introduced they are mild and secondary to the primary plot of a woman scorned who wants revenge on her son's dead beat dad. So I would classify this more as women's fiction. Second, we readers have to suspend our disbelief that *A)a girl who found herself pregnant at a young age would have no financial/food stamp/child support  assistance from anywhere...B)would have been allowed to go to school with urine soaked pants day after day without a teacher calling in Social Services...C)this woman managed to build a backwoods diner into a thriving business in a matter of a few years making her extremely wealthy...and D)She kept every single letter she sent to her baby's daddy (all returned unopened Return to Sender) without actually looking at the Return to Sender Stamp on the envelope for 19 years. 
*Keep in mind that this was in 1989....not 1949.

If you can believe all of this you might be able to enjoy this book. However, I couldn't. Lin is made out to be a strong selfless woman who pulled herself out of the hopeless situation she found herself in to be able to provide the kind of life her son deserved yet is completely consumed by the need for revenge upon learning that her baby's daddy donated millions to a charity. Knowing that he was able to drop so much money on strangers but never sent a dime for his son's care sent her on a mission to ruin that man's life. I for one can't empathize with such a woman. 

As I am character driven in the books I read my inability to connect with Lin (or even like her for that matter) and believe her storyline made this book a complete dud for me. If you factor in the sub par romance it makes it even worse.

Fern Michaels has written something like 100+ books and I'm sure she has some great ones and I can't fault her writing....much. The only downside of it was on a couple occasions she repeated entire pages (which was not a publishing oops by the way.) For example...Lin told a back story on what her father did to her. We readers got the whole story as she told her friend. Then she went and told someone else the same story. Instead of Michaels saying something to the effect of "and so she began her story for the second time" and leaving it at that she actually repeated word for word the entire thing. This happened twice and was completely unnecessary as readers, in general, are not stupid. 

Other than that her style is pleasing to read and I will definitely read more by her based on that fact alone. But as far as this book goes I really didn't like it at all.

The League of Illusion:Legacy by Vivi Anna

Synopsis: London, 1851 Former thief Jovan Davenport is the black sheep in a family of powerful sorcerers. But when his dying father—head of the League of Illusion—reaches out for help, Jovan has no choice but to accept. He must find his missing brother Sebastian and stop the power-hungry Hawthorne family from taking control of the council. If only they'd appointed someone other than Skylar Vanguard to help him in his quest. Skylar, a druid and accomplished tracker, has spent three years trying to forget her past, especially Jovan Davenport. Once in love, she left Jovan when she discovered his betrayal. She wants nothing to do with him or his family, but must obey the council's will by accompanying Jovan and reporting back on his progress. Forced to work alongside each other, neither of them expects their passion to return so quickly. But as the conspiracy deepens in a steam-powered world of dirigibles and mechanical golems, will their secrets stand in the way of their mission…and their love?

My Thoughts: Good ideas. Not enough pages to fulfill them all.

My biggest disappointment in this book, by far, was the romance.  This could be, in part, due to my personal peeve of the reunited lovers storyline. I prefer to read about that first meeting and the build up of love and romance. With this book you have two characters with a painful breakup past thrown together to thwart evil by finding the lost brother. In some cases it works but I'm not sure it did here. There was so much rehashing of the past I'm surprised they fell in love again. It's hard to move towards the future when you are stuck in the past.

In addition to the romance aspect, the characters fell flat for me. They were not underdeveloped just inconsistent. Jovan starts the book out with an "I'll do what I want. I'm magic Baby. That's how I roll!" attitude about his abilities but by the end (which is only a few short days) he does a total 180 and he's so smitten with Skylar he's ready to accept consequences for all of his actions over the years. In addition as much as this is Jovan and Skylar's story it was his brother who seemed to be more of a hero.

The mystery aspect of the book as a whole also falls short as the entire storyline is left dangling for further exploration in future books. The bad guys sail off into the sunset and the good guys end up on trial for their past. None of which screams HEA to me.

The book is really short (more of a novella) and many of these plot threads could have been fleshed out more and had more conclusions if it were longer but what action it had was good. Skylar had an interesting tracking ability (although it could have been utilized more) and Jovan's remaining brother is intriguing.

I might have rated this book higher if not for the last scene in the book which was a sex scene between the bad guy and his woman. It was not romantic and frankly it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I enjoy a good sex scene in my romances but it has to be well written and appropriate to the book and to the timing. This one did nothing to enhance the book other than to potentially meet a sex scene quota (I don't know if there is such a thing but it's the only logical conclusion I can come up with.) The scene could have been cut. It would have only helped the book in the long run.

With all that said I will read more by Vivi Anna. Her writing style was pleasant to read and her ideas are good. This book just didn't do it for me.

Immortally Yours by Angie Fox

Synopsis: IN THE WAR BETWEEN THE GODS…
No one patches up the incoming wounded like Dr. Petra Robichaud. Recruited by the gods for her uncanny medical skills, she’s the best M*A*S*H surgeon in the Army. Along with a nosy guard sphinx, vegetarian werewolf, and other paranormal paramedics, she bandages soldiers who are built like Greek gods (literally). But when one sexy immortal ends up on her operating table – half dead and totally to-die-for – Petra’s afraid she’ll lose her patient and her heart…
NOTHING IS MORE DANGEORUS THAN LOVE
Commander Galen of Delphi is one gorgeous but stubborn demi-god. When his spirit tries to slip out of his fatally wounded body, Dr. Petra has to slip it back in – unwittingly revealing her ability to see ghosts. Now that Galen knows her secret, he’s convinced she’s part of an ancient prophecy. If the oracles are right, Petra could lead Galen’s army to peace. And if he seduces her on the way to hell and back? Heaven knows – all’s fair in love and war.

My Thoughts: I really wanted to like this book and I did, overall. The premise is unusual and intriguing and the characters were well developed.There were funny times and serious times throughout the book with a nice balance between the two. The action was consistent throughout and I wanted nothing more than to get back to the book instead of working for the man to keep Top Ramen in my cupboard

Characters wise, Angie created some great ones that were fun and interesting. Dr. Petra is a strong heroine who has the ability to see ghosts and Galen is the warrior hero that Petra saves (and who doesn't love an Alpha man huh?) Even the secondary characters are great.

The romance, however, felt a little underdeveloped. Petra and Galen have some amazing chemistry and their intimacy is off the charts. Unfortunately, I was left wondering how exactly they fell in love. I could see the potential but between the action and their time apart I'm not sure there was enough time to develop a completely believable love.

On a positive note I do think what shines in Immortally Yours is the world building. Having been a fan of M*A*S*H* since I was young (I had a secret crush on Hawkeye shhhhhh don't tell) I was in love with the setting before I even started the book. For this reason alone I would tell everyone to give this book a chance.

 

The Better to See You by Kate SeRine

Synopsis: Once upon a time, a spell went awry and Make Believe characters were cast into the ordinary world. And the results aren’t always happily ever after… Everyone thinks fairy godmothers can do no wrong. But if not for a certain spell mis-cast by Lavender Seelie, Cinderella’s former fairy godmother, the Tales would not be stuck in the Here and Now. Fortunately for Lavender, she’s about to get a second chance at a happy ending… The Refuge, a sanctuary for wayward Tales, seems like the perfect place for Lavender to start a new life—especially when she discovers an unexpected ally in Seth, the brooding werewolf who’s been typecast as a villain ever since his run in with Little Red Riding Hood. But when humans from nearby towns start turning up dead, their bodies mutilated with archaic Tale symbols, Lavender wonders if Seth’s deep sensuality has blinded her to the truth. And that distraction could put innocent lives in danger. Including her own…


My Thoughts: Kate SeRine's Transplanted Tales world is utterly fascinating. I loved seeing Hansel and Gretel, Bo Peep, Puck, and so many more characters make their appearance throughout the book.

The mystery of who is trying to hurt Lavender (or maybe Seth) is intriguing and entertaining and Lavender makes a good heroine.

However, there are some minuses in the book.

There is more sex in this book than romance which leaves the development of the H/h's love underdeveloped. They fall in love almost at first sight to where we, the readers are left wondering how it happened. This compromises some of their heartfelt declarations making them somewhat cheesy.

The mystery isn't as tightly woven as I'd have liked. There is still an openness about it making way for future books and the big bad evil is one we wouldn't necessarily know.

There is repetitive usage of the "F" word throughout the book by both the hero and the heroine that borders on excessive. I only mention it because many would find it offensive. I don't, as I tend to use it quite a bit myself (please don't tell my mom she'd be mortified), but even to me it felt like too much.

In addition it is told from Lavender's perspective through first person narrative and I find this to be very restrictive in paranormal romances. I would have liked to have known more of what Seth was thinking as well as a glimpse or two from the Big Bad Evil's perspective.

Overall, The Better to See You really is a decent book but I would recommend reading from the first book in the series (Red) before reading this second book. There are things that are best not spoiled by reading out of order.

(I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley for my honest review.)

My Lord Immortality by Alexandra Ivy

New Ivy Cover

Old Raleigh Cover

Synopsis: Amelia Hadwell has no time for London's nightlife. Not when her beloved brother's odd ways have their family threatening to institutionalize him. And not when she is questioning her own sanity after being confronted by a murderous shadow creature - then being saved by a captivating stranger, a man who belongs to a world she cannot imagine. Reserved and scholarly, Sebastian St. Ives has been content without human desires - until they are reawakened by the delicate, brave Amelia, whom he is meant to protect. For the young woman has no idea she possesses the key to a ravenous vampire's dark victory. Now Sebastian must shield her from both a killer and his own growing attraction - or bond with her completely, and forever.

My Thoughts: This was just re-released in ebook which I received via NetGalley and found that it was very lacking. It lacked passionate characters and it lacked length to fully realize it's plot. It left a big dangly bit hanging with no closure which had consumed a fairly large portion of the book too. The ending wrapped up the continuing tie in plot-line that tied in this book with the other two in the Immortal Rogues (aka My Lord) trilogy which seemed a bit anti-climactic. This is the only one I've read by the way.

Originally these books were published by Zebra publishing in 2003 as short regency romances that reminds me of a Harlequin/Silhouette category series under the name Debbie Raleigh (the trilogy was called My Lord under the Raleigh name). They are being re-released under her pseudonym Alexandra Ivy, in my opinion, to capitalize on the popularity of her Guardians of Eternity series. On an interesting note Nefri an ancient vampiress who bestowed the three amulets onto the three mortal women in this trilogy has her own book coming out in July. The upcoming book is part of her Guardians of Eternity series written as Ivy. This is another reason I think these books were re-released now.

I don't think that even if the plot had been completely wrapped up I would have enjoyed it more. The characters were so completely flat that I found I was never fully immersed into them. I read the book. I didn't live it.