Werewolf in Seattle by Vicki Lewis Thompson (Wild About You #3)

I get a kick out of this series.  On the surface it is a light paranormal romance but underneath it all it is all about tolerance or intolerance as the case may be.  In the first two books the Wallace brothers have found human mates much to the consternation of their peers.  In Werewolf in Seattle Luna Reynaud is a half breed human-were.  She hides this fact by not getting close to anybody until she goes to work for Colin McDowell’s Aunt Geraldine until she passes.  When Colin (the pack leader of the Trevelyans in Scotland) inherits Aunt Geraldine’s home and island just outside Seattle, WA USA he figures he will settle with the employees and sell it as quick as he can.  Luna and the other employees have found a home on the island and have come up with a plan to turn it into an exclusive get-away for weres.  The attraction between Colin and Luna is instantaneous and incendiary.  Now if he could only get over his prejudice. 

The Sheikh's Bartered Bride by Lucy Monroe

I won this as a prize from the authors website.  What little girl hasn't at one time wanted to be stolen away by a gorgeous desert sheikh? Twenty four year old virgin Cat Benning lives in her world of dreams working at the library and looking at the stars.  Into that world comes Sheikh Hakim.  He sweeps her off her feet with a whirlwind courtship and marriage.  Then Cat discovers she’s been set up.  Her father is working a deal with Hakim’s king and the marriage is part of the deal.  There is a clash of cultures and emotions.  I like the way that at one point the girl gets a spine.  I like the gentle way that Hakim never gives up.  I think however I would have been less polite with the dad.  

Hot Under Pressure (Rising Star Chef #3) by Louisa Edwards

In Some Like It Hot (Rising Star Chef #2) we learned that tall, dark, enigmatic rising star chef Beck from the Lundens east coast team actually had a first name and a wife!  Turns out that the sunny, zoftig, sweet head chef from the west coast team Skye Gladwell is Beck’s estranged wife. 

This book takes the rising star chef competition to its conclusion.  This series continues its exploration of the art and science of food and the nature of families you choose and those of blood.  I looked forward to this book because come on we would finally get a look a Beck.  I was not thrilled with the bet but stuck with it and was truly touched by Beck and Skyes story. 

Waltz This Way by Dakota Cassidy

Third in the Ex Trophy Wives series this is by far the best.  Former ballroom champion Melina Cherkasov finds out that her Svengali husband is a cheat on national television.  He leaves her with nothing but her dog after 20 years of marriage. Melina is forced to go back to live with her dad in his retirement community in New Jersey where with help from Max, Jasmine and Frankie from the previous books Melina starts to build her life anew. 

I really liked Melina.  I loved her best friend Jackie.  Drew and Nate were pretty great too.  This book wasn’t as fluffy as the previous two but I think it was better for that.

Vampires Dead Ahead (Night Tracker #5) by Cheyenne McCray

Nyx is back with all her friends.  Unfortunately Master Vampire Volod is back looking for revenge and there is hell to pay.  Without giving spoilers I can say that there is a big shake up in Nyx’s world in this book.  She loses some old friends and makes some new ones.  Despite all of that I think that this may be the best in this series to date.

Born to Darkness (Fighting Destiny #1) by Suzanne Brockmann

A new series by a favorite author.  I was really looking forward to this book and wasn’t disappointed. 
This book takes place in the future.  There have been wars and the government is corrupt.  Navy Seal hero Shaun Laughlin is dishonorably discharged for refusing to take the life of an innocent.  He is blacklisted so he cannot find a job in the private sector.  He gets an offer to work as a test subject at the Obermeyer Institute.  They study the brains activity and how to extend the use of it.  Shaun accepts and is thrown into a world where there are people who can do amazing things just using their mind.    Throw in a couple of love stories and this is classic Brockmann. 

I do hope that the Bach and Anna story gets done next.

Hunger Games the movie

I've been reading.  Just nothing to write about.  I did go see the movie Hunger Games.  It was well done.  It stuck fairly close to the book and best of all was well cast.  I hate it when I go to a movie and the actor/s is/are far from what the author described.  Unless the actor is really good and brings out the spirit of the character so well you can bypass all the other issues.

Divorced, Desperate and Delicious by Christie Craig

Funny, contemporary romance.  Lacy is a divorced photographer.  Chase is a widowed cop on the run after being setup and shot.  He hides out at Lacy’s and sparks fly.  

On Ice by J.D. Faver & Hotter After Midnight by Cynthia Eden

On Ice by J.D. Faver

A sweet story about Rene, a woman who with the help of her sister takes her children and escapes an abusive marriage.  She runs to a small town in Alaska where for the first time she grows into someone she can like.  She makes new friends and finds someone she can love.  Meanwhile the abusive ex stalks the sister trying to find where Rene and the kids have gone.  There is a lot going on in this story but I enjoyed watching Rene grow.

Hotter After Midnight by Cynthia Eden

Dr. Emily Drake treats “Others”.  Shifters, Charmers, Vampires and Demons.  She may be human but she has a “gift”.  She can identify or see “Others”.  She is asked to consult on a case with sexy shifter Detective Colin Gyth.  Things get dangerous both in and out of the bedroom.

Vampire Instinct (Vampire Queen #7) by Joey W. Hill

In A Vampire's Claim (Vampire Queen #3) we met Elisa as a second marked servant to Lady Danny.  She had met and was at the beginning of a relationship with a worker named Willis.  They had been assigned to take care of the children turned to vampire hounds by Ruskin.   In Vampire Instinct we find out that one of the vampire fledglings got loose and raped and hurt Elisa in front of Willis’ dying body.  In an effort to decide what can be done for the vampire fledglings and Elisa Lady Danny sends them to a Florida island where the Native American Vampire Malachi rehabs big cats. 

There is also a brief mention of Derek Stormwind who is an important character in Something About Witches (Arcane Series #1).

This installment of the Vampire Queen series dwells less on the psychology of sex then on a romance between two hurting souls.  And again I really enjoyed.

RANT!

WAKE UP AMERICA!  Do we really want to put in place an administration that would say that insurance companies don’t have to pay for contraception but still cover Viagra?  That says it is okay for Doctors to lie to women about the results of an ultra sound or other tests that says the fetus has major problems just because the mother may consider abortion as an option.  Do we want an administration that legislates who and how we can love.  That makes women into second class citizens?  If that’s the case there are several countries in the mid-east that would be happy to have you.  The government needs to stay out of my bedroom and my doctor’s office.  Yes we need the FDA but come on the rest of it makes no sense.  You are creating more problems than you are solving.  Defunding Planned Parenthood will cost more than it saves.  Women who would’ve been able to get low cost mammograms will die of breast cancer.  The instance of unplanned pregnancy will go up.  Who will support all those unwanted children?  

Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James

Books two and three of the Fifty Shades trilogy.  Long story short.  This is the story of a troubled man and a young woman who gives him not what he wants but what he needs.  I enjoyed this story.  It was wonderful to watch these characters grow individually and together.  My only real complaint is that the author could have used a really good editor.  

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

There have been so many reviews of this book that I just had to go and get it. I couldn’t put it down.  I’ve just picked up the second and third books and am now off to read them.  This first book was well written and well thought out.  As with any book that gets this much buzz you are going to find nay sayers.  Not every book is Jane Austin.  Nor should it be. It is at times sweet, funny and heart wrenchingly sad and worth the time

The Italian's Inexperienced Mistress by Lynne Graham

I needed something light to read and found this Cinderella story with a twist.   Both Angelo (our Prince Charming in Armani) and Gwenna (our Cinderella in blue jeans) have had tough childhoods.  He comes out of it a ruthless mogul and she has a heart of gold.  This was one of the better Harlequins I’ve read lately.

Shifters Unbound series by Jennifer Ashley - Shifter Made, Pride Mates, Primal Bonds, Bodyguard, Wild Cat

I first picked up Bodyguard (Shifters Unbound 2.5) because it was on sale at Amazon and I am a sucker for bears.  It introduced me to Jennifer Ashley’s world of shifters and I had to go back and read them all.

Shifter Made (Shifters Unbound .5) - This novella is prequel to the Shifters Unbound series, a standalone story that tells how the Sword of the Guardian came to be.

Pride Mates (Shifters Unbound 1) - Is the story of Liam (a cat shifter) and Kim a human lawyer.  They meet when Kim is assigned to represent a shifter accused of murder.  

Primal Bonds (Shifters Unbound 2) – This is Sean’s story.  Sean is Liam’s brother and a Guardian.  It’s his job to ensure that a shifters soul is freed to go to the Summerlands when they die.  It is emotionally tough because nobody wants to get up close and personal with death.  That is until he meets Half Fae/half wolf Shifter, Andrea Gray.  There is also a back story with Dylan (Sean & Liam’s father) and Glory Andrea’s wolf shifter aunt.

Bodyguard (Shifters Unbound 2.5) – Ronan a bear shifter saves human Elizabeth from a robber.  Ronan then continues to act as bodyguard and then so much more.

Wild Cat (Shifters Unbound 3) – We move from Austin, TX where all but Shifter Made takes place and head to Las Vegas Where we meet cat shifter Eric’s (we met him as a secondary character in Primal Bonds) sister Cassandra and human cop Diego.

I am entranced with this series.  There is so much going on.  The injustice of the collars and Shiftertowns and all the asinine laws made out of fear.  The love between races. The tolerance and intolerance.  I am really glad I found this series and look forward to the next installment.

The Husband Hunt (Madison Sisters #3) by Lynsay Sands

Finally we get Lisa Madison’s story.  Lisa is the youngest Madison sister.  She has been in love with confirmed bachelor Robert Langley for most of her life.  Problem is Robert only sees her as a “little sister”.  At 21 and nearly on the shelf she is crushed when Robert informs her of that fact.  But being a Madison she sucks it up and decides to heck with Robert she will find someone else.  There are two problems with that.   First the second accomplice in George’s scheme shows up determined to have Lisa and second Robert finally figures out he wants Lisa.  Let the games begin.

I have come to the conclusion that Lynsay Sands is incapable of writing a bad book whether it be vampire or historical.  Add her to your auto buy list and you can’t go wrong.

Marriage by Mistake by Alyssa Kress

When I first started this I didn’t have high hopes.  After all the lost weekend / quickie Vegas wedding had been done to death right.  And while there was nothing really new about this story the characters were so real, so engaging they made this a wonderful read.

Nice Girls Don’t Bite Their Neighbors (Jane Jameson #4) by Molly Harper

My cats are not fond of Molly Harper.  Every time they would get settled around me as I read Nice Girls Don’t Bite Their Neighbors  Jane and her group of crazy comrades would say or do something laugh out loud funny that disturbed their rest. 

Jane Jameson has finally agreed to marry Gabriel.  But this like everything else in Jane’s life or undead existence couldn’t possibly go smoothly.  Plus the hunky high school kid Jane used to baby-sit is run over right in front of Jane’s shop.  At his request with urging from Dick she turns him and is now responsible for him.  We learn more about Jane and her dysfunctional family and some really interesting things about Ophelia from the vampire council. 

This is the one Jane Jameson fans have been waiting for.  If you love fun vampire romance I heartily recommend this series.

Angels' Flight (Guild Hunter 0.5, 1.5, 4.5, 4.75) by Nalini Singh

Four short novella’s that take place in Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter world.  I’d already read three of the four  Angels' Pawn, Angels’ Judgment, and Angel’s Wolf  but it’s nice to have them all in one place rather than trying to remember which anthology they were in.

Angels’ Dance is the only previously unpublished story in Angels' Flight.  It is Galen and Jessamy’s story.  It is a wonderful “nerd” and “jock” love story.  Jessamy is the teacher/ historian at Refuge that has a deformed wing and can’t fly.  Galen is Raphael’s new weapons master.  

I enjoyed this story so much that despite my over-flowing TBR shelf I am going to go back and re-read the Guild Hunter series.

Vacation

I’ve been on vacation. I went to Sedona, Arizona for my sons’ wedding.  It was beautiful.  Both the setting and the ceremony.  It meant I was forced to give up the computer but it doesn’t mean I didn’t get to read.  I read Desire Untamed by Pamela Palmer on the plane.  I read Ice Queen, Mirror of my Soul and Branded Sanctuary by Joey W. Hill and started Triad by Lauren Dane.  All were particularly relevant to the Sedona vibe.  I am reserving judgment on Desire Untamed and am having a tough time getting into Triad.  I did enjoy as always the Joey W. Hill books.  Off to do laundry.  Maybe Triad will look better after that.