Friday, December 31, 2010

New Years Goals

I can not believe it is 2011!! Where has the time gone?!? I want to try some new goals for the year. The first I want to try is to read a book from starting with each letter of the alphabet, A to Z. I tried this a couple years ago but life and kids got in the way so I hope to have better luck this time around!
I also want to try to read 96 books in the year. Thats 8 books a month...seems low for me but my two sons are young and busy and I do need to spend time with them :) I hope to make it to 144 books for the year, or 12 a month, but I thought I would set a lower goal and bump it up next year if I make it!
Also....I am going to try really really hard not to buy to many books!! I have soooo many books here at home that I want to read (like yesterday! lol) that I need to get to them and I also have my library and paperbackswap.com. There is also the fabulous netgallery.com to get advance ebooks, which I love, so I hope to be set for awhile. I did get some gift cards for Barnes and Noble and Amazon, so I will use those to buy books for my keeper collection, but I only hope to use those! We will see....this might be the toughest one to keep!!! lol
I hope you all have a safe, happy, and blessed New Years and find lots of love and happiness with all your book journeys!

Storming the Castle by Eloisa James

This was a fun, sexy short story that follows A Kiss at Midnight and gives us the yummy Wicks happily ever after. Phillipa has been betrothed to Rodney since they were children and he proclaimed his love for her, but as the story opens and they consummate their engagement...in the stables....Phillipa realizes she can not marry him. Ever. As she does not want to do that ever again! She hears how the new prince and princess are having difficulties with their new baby and runs off to help with the little guy...and to get away from Rodney.
After she arrives and meets Wick, they both know that they have found their soulmates. However, even though Phillipa is posing as a nursemaid, it becomes evident that she is a lady and Wick, as the butler (though truly he is the illegitimate half brother of the prince) know he can never marry her and force her to downgrade her station. But still, they continue to meet up and have some lovely kisses and when Phillipa finally breaks down Wicks barrier about not sleeping together, ah, so sweet. He shows her what true lovemaking is like and she of course, wants more.
Phillipa returns home with her father and gets a promise from Wick that she will wait one week for him to come get her. The ending is very sweet and shows the deep love that Phillipa and Wick have for each other and also the love that Phillipas father has for her, and his desire to see her happy. This was a great little story to tide me over until the next book in the series, When Beauty Tamed the Beast, comes out in a month and I can't wait! 4 stars for this short, sweet love story! (And thanks to Ms James to listening to her readers who wanted dear Wicks story!)

Warrior by Zoe Archer

Well, I just could not get into this book which is a bummer because so many of my friends at goodreads.com love it. I guess I just was not in the mood for an historical, paranormal adventure right now....so I have it shelved to pick up at a later date because I do really want to read this series. They sound so fantastic!! I think they would make great movies, lol! Ah well, this happens sometimes for me, not often, but sometimes your mood just doesn't work with you. So I will try it again someday in the not so distant future!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

The Countess by Lynsay Sands

The Countess was my first book by Lynsay Sands and I have found yet another author to watch and catch up with! This was a fun, sexy book...if you can get past the tad bit silly plot of hefting around a dead man numerous times! Christiana assumed she had met and fallen in love with the man of her dreams, Dicky Fairgrove. But once they are married Dicky dissolves all the charm and turns into a cruel, spiteful man always criticizing Christiana and refusing any callers or to go to any balls. When Dicky suddenly drops dead one afternoon, she decides, along with her two sisters Suzette and Lisa, to put him on ice (literally) and head to a ball to try to snare a husband for Suzette as their father has run up some gambling debts that need to be paid by her dowry.
Now, imagine their surprise when "Dicky" turns up at the ball! It is really Richard, or the real Earl, coming home to confront his twin brother George, who tried to murder him. Richard is just as surprised to find that he has a wife but is intrigued by Christiana almost immediately. After all, she might be a money hunter or a murderer! As the truth begins to unravel about George, Richard, the past and plans to best salvage and protect everyones reputation, Richard and Christiana develop deep (hot!) feelings for each other.
Part of what I really enjoyed about this book was the relationship between Christiana and Richard. She was attracted to him immediately, even though she thought he was her spiteful husband, and I was glad the truth came out fairly quickly. Though not until after they had a very steamy night together...that bit I didn't like too much as she had had a bit to drink and Richard seemed to take advantage of her, even though he didn't! But still.... I loved how Richard strove to prove to Christiana how different he was from George, and how he planned to stay that way and her gradual acceptance of that and her loosening of the ties she had restrained herself with to be "perfect" for George and go back to her carefree self was wonderful to read. I also really enjoyed the humor in this book. I mean really, first the sisters tote around dead George and then later on its Richard and his friend David moving him about. All the funny mishaps that happen while doing this were quite fun. The mystery surrounding Georges death was done well. It was not a huge part of the story but it offered just enough intrigue to help the story along. The relationship between the sisters is wonderful as well, and how Richard takes them all in as part of his family immediately and sets to protect their reputations was so sweet. Later on, when the sisters dad comes to rescue Christiana from her horrible marriage brought a smile to my face to have such a loving father. And this is yet another story that did not have that 'big misunderstanding' so that was a plus for me! Overall, if you are in the mood for a fun, sexy, with a bit of a mystery, pick up The Countess! I know I am looking forward to Suzettes story (which I think runs at the same time as this one so we will see how that goes!) in The Heiress and hopefully Lisas story later! 4 1/2 stars
I received this ebook from netgalley.com

Monday, December 27, 2010

Wicked Nights with a Lover by Sophie Jordan

This was my first book from Sophie Jordan and it was a pleasant, fun read and I look forward to reading more of her works! The premise for this book intrigued me....Marguerite Laurent is told that she will not live to see her next Christmas. Of course she scoffs at the seer that told her this nonsense but then when her patient (she is a sick nurse) unexpectedly dies by the end of the week as the seer foretold, she starts to believe. Marguerite decides to live her life to the fullest and the first thing she decides to do is go to Spain and have a grand love affair. However, before she is able to embark, she is abducted by her fathers partner, Ash Courtland.
Ash has been Jack Hardleys, Marguerites absentee father, gambling hall partner for years but is told that Jack has decided to marry his three daughters (her half sisters) off to titled gentlemen to help cross into the ton and be fully accepted by society. Ash and Jack are not nobleman, just lowly men who have made a great success...well Ash has made most of the success with Jacks money. Ash, of course, is not good enough for the sisters and Ash is livid about the fact he will lose out of the money he has worked so hard for that he decides to swipe one of the sisters and marry her. Marguerite just happens to be leaving Jacks home and Ash abducts her and tells her they will marry but she will basically have her freedom after a few months.
The journey that Ash and Marguerite have to find their happily ever after is really a sweet one. Ash is a wonderful man that genuinely wants to please Marguerite and grows to care for her very quickly. And when Marguerite keeps changing her mind and trying to run away from Ash, because she does not think she can be happy because of what the seer had foretold for her, he is very patient with her when I wanted to smack her upside the head, lol!

Overall, this was a very easy read and I enjoyed it. I was able to read it over the Christmas weekend easily, and since it takes place over the Christmas holidays, it was the perfect read. Also, even though this is book three in a series, I did not feel that I missed out on anything previous. Her friends were just mentioned a few times and that was it. I look forward to reading the previous two books though! 4 stars

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Wild Man Creek by Robyn Carr

In the twelfth book of the fabulous Virgin River series, the second of three for 2011, we are treated to the story of Colin Riordan and Jillian Matlock. Colin has winded his way to Virgin River to help recooperate after a bad helicopter crash that left him in alot of pain and unfortunately, addicted to pain killers. Thankfully, the addiction was short lived as his brothers noticed and stepped in to stop him....but he still got arrested from buying the drugs illegally. Through his therapy, Colin rediscovered his love of painting and while he is in Virgin River, he is taking photos of the wildlife to paint.
Jillian is back in Virgin River, after a brief visit with her sister and friends earlier in the year, because she is forced to take a leave of absences from her job due to a nasty dispute with a coworker. She begs Jack to let her rent out the big old Victorian that she noticed before, as it reminds her so much of her childhood with her beloved nana. With that comes all the memories of her nanas home grown, speciality vegetables....which Jillian decides she can grow and possibly redirect her life in that venue instead.
Colin and Jilly, as he grows to call her, meet up on her property one day as he is painting. Sparks fly right away and they head into a very heated love affair with their eyes wide open to the fact that Colin in leaving September 1st to head to Africa to photograph wildlife and possibly fly again and that she is only temporarily living in the Victorian. I was very happy with the fact that there really was no big misunderstanding in this book. They both acted like mature adults, but of course, I wanted to smack Colin when he still left for Africa even though they both said they loved each other. The love between these two was so romantic...they listened to each others passions and never tried to change each others mind, and it was smokin! :) The ending of this story was so heartwarming, it made my heart sigh and a few tears come to my eyes.

The major side story with this book was between Jack and the young Marine that popped up in the last book, Denny and once again, I was surprised with how that one turned out. We also got a glimpse of whats next in Harvest Moon between Jillians sister, Kelly and new to town, Lief and his um, rebillious teenager daughter. I can't wait to see how that one plays out! I feel like I am always repeating myself with these Virgin River books, but I have to say it again---I love coming home to this wonderful small town and I love the close family ties and the close ties between friends and neighbors. This is yet another solid addition to the series! 4 1/2 stars
I recieved this ebook via netgalley.com

Monday, December 20, 2010

Wedding of the Season by Laura Lee Guhrke

This was a fun, delightful read from another new to me historical author. We meet up with Beatrix and Will right off the bat....she about runs him over with her motorcar as he is returning from Egypt after six years. That was one of the first things that surprised me about this book, the setting. I loved that it took place during the early 20th century and we got the added bonus of the motorcar and such, it really was a nice change of pace for me! But even as Trix checks on Will to make sure is all right from being thrown from his horse, their past love and passion reignites right away and sparks start to fly!
Will confronts her about her new engagement, to the safe, reliable Duke of Trathen and as Will and Trix continue to run into each and he observes her with Trathen he starts to question why she has changed so much. Why is she eating caviar when she hates it? Why is she denying herself champagne when she loves it? He persists in asking why she always does what other people want her to do and denying her dreams for herself. Will knows the reason why she did not marry him and go with him to Egypt to look for King Tuts tomb was because of the short leash her father had on her. Trix just wants to have a nice normal life and have children and not traipse all over Egypt without the security of a permanent home and convinces herself that is the only reason she did not go to Egypt...not because her father would have forbade it.
When Trixs fiancee catches Will and Trix in an embrace, he breaks off the engagement and Will begs Trix to marry him but she refuses as she still does not want to travel. But Will continues to court her and they soon realize all the passion and love is still there, after all these years. This is a wonderful story of childhood sweethearts who become separated but never stop loving each other. I am looking forward to Trixs cousin Julia (she is a blast) and Trathens story in Scandal of the Year as I can not wait to see how the fun loving girl and the strait laced man fall in love. If you love childhood sweatheart stories, check this one out! 4 stars

I recieved this ebook via netgalley.com

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right by Kieran Kramer

This is Kieran Kramers second book in the Impossible Bachelors series and I thoroughly enjoyed it! If you are in the mood for a light, funny, laugh at loud romance with a delightful, spirited heroine and a dashing, spy hero this is the book for you. We get reacquainted with the second of four Impossible Bachelors, the Duke of Drummond, Nicholas Staunton (though he was know as Lord Maxwell I believe in the first book) who needs to marry to stay a member of the Service. Now, Lady Poppy Smith-Barnes has turned downed numerous proposals because she is a member of the Spinster club....they will only marry for love, nothing else. She always says in her rejection, that her heart belongs to the Duke of Drummond, whom she believes is not real. Needless to say, when the real Duke turns up....she is forced to accept his proposal or be ridiculed by everyone in the ton.
They hi jinks that accrue after this fact are quite fun. Poppy accidentally discovers that Nicholas is working undercover in the Service on a highly sensitive mission and he is forced to tell her the details and enlist her help. Her help comes in handy as they need to stay close to the Prince and Princess of Russia to get a painting away from them. Poppy has had a childhood crush on Sergei since she was a teenager and finds it very easy to be around him, until he reveals his true self to her. And Nicholas, unfortunately, had a brief relationship with Natasha beforehand and is forced to endure her advances, even though he despises her. Ugh, Natasha...what a vile female!! And Sergei is no better! But as Poppy and Nicholas work together, their feelings for each deepen.
The one thing that bothered me with this book was the ending. Once again, like When Harry Met Molly, so much happens in the final chapters it is overwhelming. Its like...bam...bam...bam...and another bam. I just wished some of the secrets had been exposed a bit sooner instead of one right after another. Besides that fact, this is a fun, lively book and I look forward to Ms Kramers third novel, Cloudy With A Chance Of Marriage! 4 1/2 stars

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Promise Canyon by Robyn Carr

It is that time of the year again to return to my favorite small town, Virgin River. This entire series is a delight and I am so glad Ms Carr continues to write more books in this series :) This time around we meet a couple of new characters, Clay Tahoma and Lily Yazhi. Clay has come to Virgin River to work with Nate and Annie (That Holiday Feeling) as a vet assistant and he meets the feed delivery woman, Lily. They are instantly attracted to each, and not just because they are both of Native American, though rival tribes, descent but also for their love of horses.
Clay is coming away from a divorce that he just can't quite break off completely and Lily has a troubled past from when she was just fifteen that has made her very cautious with men. She takes very good care of her grandfather and really only seems to have her best gay friend Dean. I hope we get to see a bit more of Dean because he had one of the most laugh out loud moments for me in this book! Lily finds an abandoned horse and calls on Nate and Clay to help her and Lily remembers her deep love she had for riding and slowly starts to visit the stables everyday to see her....and Clay. Clay is patient with her, and thankfully, the enemy tribe situation is just something they laugh at and is not a problem for them, or really anyone in the extended family. They continue to bond over horses and life and when they take it to the next level, whew....pretty steamy and passionate this time around! Of course we have to have a big misunderstanding to work thorough and that comes in the form of Clays ex wife who just can not let go. Oh but the ending is so sweet it brought tears to me eyes! It was a perfect ending to this book!
Some of the side stories this time around involve Jack, Mel, and Hope and how the town reacts to a situation which really disappoints Jack. We also get to see some more of the yummy Riordan brothers after Colin has an accident and who is featured in the next story, Wild Man Creek and I can not wait to read that one! Is it necessary to read the previous books? Well...no...but should you, yes! This entire series is a wonderful story of what we can all hope a small town could be like. But for this story, I give it a solid 4 stars, a great addition to the series!
I recieved this ebook from netgalley.com

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Unveiled by Courtney Milan

Loved. That's all I have to say. Ok, just kidding...but really, I absolutely enjoyed this book. This is the first book I have read from Courtney Milan and I am very happy that I have purchased her two previous books (Proof by Seduction and Trial by Desire) because I can not wait to read them if they are anything like Unveiled!
What did I love about this book? The hero, Ash Turner for one. He has harbored ill feelings to the Duke of Palford for turning him away when he was young and his two brothers and sister needed help desperately. As a result of the Dukes coldness, his young sister died and Ash vowed to seek revenge on the man. So when he finds out the Duke is actually still married to his first wife, now living in America, he brings forth the bigamy charge against him and thus discrediting his second wife and their three children, two sons and a daughter. As it happens, his two sons went to school with Ashs two younger brothers and they got into a few scuffles due to their distaste of each other.
This brings me to the next point of enjoyment in this book, the heroine, Lady Anna Margaret Dalrymple, Duke Palfords daughter. After being declared a bastard and all her society friends turning their backs on her, it is decided she will remain at Parford Manor and act as a nursemaid to her father while her brothers try to secure necessary votes to remain the heirs to the dukedom. When Ash and Margaret meet, sparks fly. You would think Ash would be a cold, heartless man based on his previous manners but he turns out to be a honorable, caring, loyal and protective man of his family. He repeatedly makes people understand that you matter, you are important, regardless of station in life. As Ash and Margaret get closer, Ash continues to be a gentleman allowing Margaret to make the decisions. Margaret takes this all in along with knowledge that could destroy Ashs chance at claiming the dukedom and finds the strength to follow her heart.
There are numerous other points of the story that I loved....when Ash finally realizes who Margaret is and his reaction to it....Ashs love and protection and need to fit in with his brothers....Margarets resolve to help her brothers even though they basically turn their backs on her to better themselves. I do not really want to say too much more about the plot but the way everything is resolved will leave a smile on your face. This was a wonderful book and I can not wait to purchase it and read it again in Jan! And I eagerly await the next in the series, Unclaimed, in Oct! 5 stars


I received this ebook from netgalley.com

Friday, December 10, 2010

When Harry Meet Molly by Kieran Kramer

This is the debut novel from Kieran Kramer and it is a delightful one! This premise is a bit far off, Harry convinces Molly to be his pretend mistress to win the "Most Delectable Companion" contest after his real mistress runs off with her supposed fiance whom she is eloping with to Gretna Green. Harry and Molly have a history with each other and despise each other as a result of it. This, of course, leads to many smart remarks to each other and growing sexual tension. Once they arrive at the hunting box to start the competition, Harry starts to teach Molly how to be a mistress...and "practice" kissing. There are many hijinks that happen that will give you some good chuckles. The sexual tension that builds between Harry and Molly is very believable and the fact that Harry does not actually formally compromise her was a nice surprise to me.
I very much enjoyed this book until the last couple of chapters. So much happened it was a bit overwhelming, like Ms Kramer was trying to wrap up too many loose ends all at once at a big ball. The whole book is a bit silly, which is fine to me, but the ending was just a bit too much. Overall though, this is a great start to what will be a hopefully wonderful new author to the historical romance genre! I look forward to the next two books in the series, Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right and Cloudy With A Chance Of Marriage! If you are looking for a fun, sweet book to curl up with, grab this one! 4 stars

Monday, December 6, 2010

Midnight Kiss by Robyn Carr, Jean Brashear, Victoria Dahl

Midnight Confessions by Robyn Carr

This is a sweet short story in the wonderful Virgin River series. I'm not going to say much about this one because if you have read the previous books you will read this one to get a quick glimpse of what Virgin River is up to on New Years eve. If you have not read the series, this is just an all right read probably about two people trying to heal over getting left at the alter (her) and a broken engagement (him). It takes place over only one day, which I did not like, and its only 100 pages so I was left wanting more....which hopefully I will get in this new set of books coming out this year! 3 1/2 stars

Midnight Surrender by Jean Brashear

This was a pleasant surprise for me. I have not read anything by this author but I will be looking into her other books because Ms Brashear did a great job telling a sweet, hot love story in about 100 pages. Jordan comes off pretty stuck up and bitchy but sweet Irishman Will persists and helps Jordan discover that love isn't all that bad. I wish this would have been a full length novel because I would have loved to have seen more interaction between these two! 4 stars

Midnight Assignment by Victoria Dahl
This was another winner from one of my favorite authors. We meet Noah and Elise, FDIC agents, who are about to take over a failing bank. Having worked at a bank that changed hands recently, I was really intrigued by the storyline and felt Dahl did a great job with it. Noah and Elise had worked together before and shared a kiss but parted on uneven terms and need to overcome those terms this time which leads to some steamin romance. I also would have enjoyed this one as a full length novel but this short story was excellent and hot. 4 stars


Saturday, December 4, 2010

Passions of a Wicked Lord by Lorraine Heath

This was my first Lorraine Heath novel and while not spectacular, I will try some of her previous works. Fair warning, if you do not like books with a cheating husband this book is probably not for you. The opening chapter has our hero, Morgan Lyons, Earl of Westcliffe, at his mistresses home only to return home to find his estranged wife, Claire, is back in London. Claire had been promised in marriage to Westcliffe even before she was born and they were married shortly after her seventeenth birthday. She obviously has serious reservations about her wedding night to this tall, meanincing looking man who would not play with her and her sister and his brother as children. So in all who wisdom and maturity agrees to Stephens, Westcliffes younger brother, plan of postponing the wedding night by being together, clothed, in bed. However, instead of talking with them like they thought he would, Westcliffe packs Claire up and ships her off to the country estate with no chance of explanation. Now three years later she is back in London to give her sister a Season in hopes of finding her a promising marriage offer.
There are numerous ups and downs as they try to feel out their relationship and discover that they really never had one. It's hard to believe that only three years have passed and Claire is so much more mature and daring but that's the way it is. The storyline moved along nicely but had many moments of frustration and there is a bit at the end I didn't really feel connected the best. Overall, still an easy read, as long as you can move past the fact Westcliffe continues to see his mistress (but does not sleep with) after Claire returns. I am looking forward to Stephens story, Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman (London's Greatest Lovers, #2) but will probably just get it from the library, based on some early reviews for it. I have seen many great reviews for Ms Heaths previous works, so I look forward to reading those and hoping this one was just a slight miss for me. 3 1/2 stars

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

A Lady's Guide to Improper Behavior by Suzanne Enoch

In book two of Suzanne Enochs Adventurers' Club series we meet the delightful, but very proper, Theresa and the surly wounded Colonel Bartholomew James. First, let me say that is just the most awful name to me and his nickname of Tolly just isn't much better! But, if you can get past the name problem this is another fun, easy read.
Tess and Tolly meet each other at Tollys brothers home (his wife is Tess' cousin) where he is trying to heal his bad knee that he received as a result of a horrible attack by the Thuggee. Almost instantly they are attracted to each other and Tess starts to do some improper things that she clearly mentions in her booklet she wrote, that a proper lady must never do. She speaks her mind quite clearly to Tolly and that intrigues him, especially her parting comment of "you may watch me dance", as Tolly is incapable of dancing at the moment due to his poorly healing knee. Oh course, Tolly turns up at the next dance and has another amusing chat with Tess and she boldly speaks her mind to him again and even allows him to kiss her. Another big no-no in Tess' booklet of proper behavior for ladies.
As they continue on with their flirting, it gradually deepens into something more. Tolly has his knee rebroken in hopes of setting it correctly to it may heal. As Tess was at his home to "visit" her cousin, she heard his screams and came to assist in the surgery. Right before he passes out, he tells her he did it so he could dance with her someday. So sweet! Naturally, he denies it later when she mentions it but they both know it to be true.
The side story was very well done I thought. Tolly is obviously dealing with PTSD and deep emotional issues from his tragedy with the Thuggee. Tess is able to break through this emotional walls he has built up around himself. But the officials of the East India Company are denying that Tollys tale for fear of losing lots of money due to fear of traveling and being attacked and killed by the Thuggee. Which results in a huge cloud of suspension and disgust for Tolly and he refuses to bring Tess into his mess. Her reaction at first bothered me but thankfully she turns it around and does the right thing.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a bit better that the first but I wished we had seen Tess be a bit more proper before meeting Tolly. They meet by the second chapter and Tess is always saying she needs to be proper but we really never got a sense of that beforehand. We did learn the reason why she feels the need to be so proper and how it helps her connect to Tolly, but I guess a preface of some sort would have been nice for me. Looking forward to starting the next book, Rules of an Engagement, soon and I really hope with get the delish Duke of Sommersets book after that!! 4 stars