Duchess Loves Books

So fitting for the relationship between Ty and Zane!

Not going to do a rehash of the plot...just want to clarify my thoughts about the book and to once again equivocate my feelings because this stupid three star review makes everyone think that I didn't like the book. That's really not the case, I promise! It's just that at the end of this book, I didn't put it down with a sense of satisfaction from a story well told, a case closed, a happy-ever-after. I put it down with a sense of anticipation for what's to come, and here's why:

Ty and Zane are such fascinating and complex characters! At any given point in the story, it would be hard to pick a thought out of this book and attribute it to one or the other. Which is, I think, completely opposite from what most people would think starting off reading this but eh... I guess I feel like I still don't know them very well.

I can see the appeal of this book for a lot of people but it just wasn't for me. Too many overused erotic tropes thrown into one book. It starts out a year after Michaela and Jordan's fiancee/girlfriend are caught in bed together. Since then, these two have become very close friends and have been hanging out together a lot. Jordan wants more, Michaela is oblivious. One night, they both get a little tipsy and one thing leads to another...you get the idea.

So Jordan is "Relentless" about winning Michaela over and claiming her as his in the romantic sense. He has a big, huge secret that a year of friendship and many, many, MANY obvious clues aren't enough to give it away to Michaela. He's not even really that sneaky about it, so I wasn't convinced that this aspect was feasible.

The sex was pretty formulaic and lacked...ease...for lack of a better word. It just didn't feel real. It felt like a bunch of erotic novel's bits and pieces stuck together. The sensuality and passion just fell flat for me.

Editing...usually not a huge deal for me but it truly needed a heavy handed editor or at least some beta readers to pick through it.

I think had this story slowed down a bit, maybe if we could have gotten a more in depth look at the protagonists, I could have enjoyed it more. As it is, I just felt no connection...to the characters, the story, OR the sex.
Advance copy provided by the publisher for review

I am really enjoying this series. I love the slight paranormal aspect...it's nothing too over the top...more sci-fi, actually, with these genetically modified commando brothers rebelling against the evil secret government team that created them.

Matt is the oldest brother, and therefore has always felt responsible for his three younger siblings. The supposed death of the youngest brother, Jory, hit him very hard. Since Shane admitted to thinking he saw evidence that Jory was alive, Matt has been fighting against all hope, trying to be realistic about their situation. And right now, his main objective is to track down the doctor that implanted the microchips near their spines...the devices set to explode in six weeks, severing their spinal cords and ending the Gray brothers.

So Matt tracks the lady doctor to the town of Charmed and narrows down the possible candidates. His entrance into town is, of course, somewhat unorthodox...stumbling into the bar with a knife slash across his torso is a good way to gain unwanted attention. Fortunately, he gains the attention of the lovely, kindhearted, but somewhat reclusive bar owner, Laney Jacobs.

I had waited almost two years to read this book. Knowing any book that followed Kiss of Snow would likely disappoint and all... and dang it, I was right. I thing this may have been Singh's thoughts as well (not that I presume to speak for her) as this just felt very much like a transition book.

Riaz and Adria's story felt somewhat cheated. What was there was okay. Riaz recently found out that his mate is already married to the love of her life. Instead of continuing to live in Europe and live with the agony of knowing his fated mate is with another man, he comes home to the Snow Dancer pack. There he meets Adria, a lieutenant. There is an immediate attraction between them, but Riaz feels nothing but misplaced guilt when he thinks of this headstrong female that makes him feel forbidden desires.

"You're not a woman I'll ever want in my bed."
Adria could feel her face burning, the heat blistering, but she didn't run off, tail between her legs. "Can't get much clearer than that."

 

Harsh? Yes. But wait...

"Dance with me." It came out harsh, crushed rocks in his throat.
Adria wrenched away her arm, shuddering at the contact. "I don't think that'd be a good idea." Riaz was a drug her body craved - and like all addictive substances, he was not good for her.
"Scared?" Eyes gone night - glow.
"No," she said, her own wolf rising to the fore. "I just happen to have some self respect."

Wow. I really had no idea how Kresley Cole would go from her Immortals After Dark series to some contemporary/erotic/suspense/romance. And let me tell you, I was blown away. I feel completely blindsided.


MY SYNOPSIS:
The story starts out as a typical young innocent miss meets big ole bruiser bad boy. But this is only surface level in this somewhat unconventional story. Natalie is an ordinary American girl, raised by her adoptive parents in the Midwest and is now using the reliable work ethics that her farmgirl upbringing taught her in order to work three jobs and finish up her degree. When her attempts to track down her Russian birth parents ends up at a dead end, she resolves to try again later.

Only...it seems her inquiries did not go unnoticed, and Aleksandr "The Siberian" Sevastyan shows up searching for her.

Before she knows it, she is whisked away to a world of opulence and utter indulgence, but her small town roots hold her fast. And while Natalie is fascinated with Sevastyan and she KNOWS he desires her as well, their lives can't seem to mesh. Sevastyan is an enforcer in the Russian mafia, he's huge and tattooed and everyone seems to fear him. Except for Natalie. His passions are intense and verge on scary, but no one has ever excited her nearly so much as he has.

4.5 Stars
I loved this BOOK!!! I'm going to say right off...this was far from perfect. I had a couple of things that bugged me. But I'm rating this purely on my enjoyment of the story. And I enjoyed the hell out of it!
I read...
and read...
and read...
and I just never wanted to put it down!

Often, even with a good book, I'm checking the percentage, checking the time left until I finish reading. Just to see how late I have to stay up, or how much time I have left before I have to get up and do dishes or run errands or whatever. Not so with Diamond Girl! I didn't give a hoot how long I had to go...I was gonna keep reading until I passed out or finished this story!!

What I loved:
The premise...
A woman in her midthirties, stuck in a loveless marriage. She loves her daughter, and she does her duty to her demanding and absent husband. They married very young (Samantha was seventeen) and her father, the owner of a successful pharmaceutical company, basically gifted her husband with an extremely lucrative and stable career. So Samantha has been a stay at home mom to their daughter. When her husband's business trips begin to take over more of his life than his home life does, and their daughter goes away to college, Samantha decides to do something to make herself feel better. Something for just her. She begins to take some exercise classes and eventually a pole dancing class to try to spice up her sex life.

When it becomes clear that sex with her philandering, ass hole husband is no longer a viable option, Samantha gets a job pole dancing at a gentleman's club. She doesn't strip...she strictly dances. She loves the music and the mood, the dancing, and of course...the male attention.

"My feelings had to count for once. If they didn't then I hadn't learned anything from the past nineteen years of marriage to the mannequin. I was done being that person that allowed someone else to define their existence."

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"She was doomed. Nicolas resided in her heart. He didn't wish to be there, and she hadn't invited him in. But there he was."

3.5 stars
MY SYNOPSIS
On the banks of a river, Nicolas Hansen and his best friend and brother in law stumble upon what looks to be a woman's body. On closer inspection, they find the woman is barely alive, and so Nicolas carries her home to be taken care of. When the woman awakens, she has no memory of who she is or how she came to be half drowned in the river. After realizing that her memory is not forthcoming, they decide to call her Sydney. And even while reaching for what used to be, Sydney embraces her new life and her new name.

Nicolas is a good man, a widower carving out a life for himself and his son in Missouri Territory. He's fairly wealthy by his neighbor's standards, but the area that he lacks wealth is the area of love and tenderness. Since the death of his wife and newborn son, he has lost his ability to feel, to be passionate, to laugh and love. Even his five year old son Stephan feels the loss. Nicolas' best friend Rick (his dead wife's brother) owns the land abutting his own.

Sydney feels a strong attraction toward her host. At first, she's simply grateful that he is goodhearted enough to take care of a homeless woman dumped into his lap. But when this huge Norse man begins to show his gentle side and the sexual awareness starts to creep in, neither Sydney nor Nick are loners enough to resist each other.

Matthew Felker as Nicolas

Evangeline Lilly as Sydney


The problem lies, of course, in circumstances beyond their control...and some of their own problems that are out of control. Rick the best friend seems to have set his bachelor cap for Nicolas, while his sister seems to have her claws embedded into Nick. Sydney's past resurfaces with a vengeance...betrayal and heartbreak return to her, and let me tell you...it's a doozie when she remembers.

It's officially official...I stumbled across a favorite author purely by accident. This is my second Terri Osburn novel. Her debut, Meant to Be, blew me away. After reading this second installment in the Anchor Island series, my mind is made up. I'm in love with Terri Osburn. She writes what I want to read.

Anchor Island, (actually Ocracoke Island), which is the place Terri acknowledges as her inspiration:

Sid is a boat mechanic on Anchor Island. She's not an island lifer, but loves it like she's been here forever. She's tough, somewhat abrasive, and quite the tomboy. And she's been in love with Lucas Dempsey since high school.

Lucas Dempsey is a big shot lawyer over on the mainland. He grew up on Anchor Island but his goal was always to leave. Recovering from the humiliation of his fiancee leaving him for his brother isn't all that easy, even if he knows that they are perfect together. He knows Sid only as the tough mechanic chick in the baggy greasy clothes.

By now many of us has seen the screen cap of Dawid (CEO of Booklikes) responding on the STGRB site. It was a quick and friendly reply to answer a question posed in their article (see screen cap of full article here).  So does this mean he supports them?  Of course not, so I think we can all turn down the alarm bells for a moment.

The STGRB wants us to believe Booklikes is on their side, but I refuse to believe it based on one post over there.  Especially when it addresses an email from Rick Carufel, a known troll himself.

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I snatched this one up for free when it was thrown in my direction. I've had a couple of paranormal romances by this author for awhile and have heard amazing things. After reading this, I can see the allure. This woman can drag you into the story in a page or two...and talk about setting up a naughty, titillating story and delivering a scorching hot sexy times! Yes, I was sweating it out for nearly this entire book. Hot, hot, HOT!!!!

However, I will say that I'm somewhat bummed about the page limit to each installment in this series. Sure, I got this book for free. Next 100 pages is $2.99, with two more installments in the works. At regular price, this regularly sized book (a tad on the long side, for sure) will end up costing about $12.00. I will only spend that much on an ebook that I've been DYING to read from one of my TOP favorite authors in the world. In fact, I'll likely just go buy the REAL book so that I can share it with friends. Granted, this isn't quite the typical two chapter serial that's been coming out lately but still.

That being said, it definitely seems as if this book was written to be broken up like this...the stopping point for this installment was a pretty comfortable place to pause.

Back to the book...I will most definitely make sure to read the books by Karin Tabke that I already have. This chick can write, and her ratings show it. Will I be purchasing the next installments in this series? I'm ridiculously tempted, because this sh*t is GOOD sh*t...we shall see. I really want some more of this sexy cop and his tentative new lover.

This one is most definitely written for young adults. I didn't do a lot of research on it, just saw it available from my library's digital site and wanted a fantasy story.

I think expectations played a lot into my lack of enthusiasm for this. I'm not sure why this is labeled fantasy other than it's not written with real places in mind. It's more medieval fiction, in my humble opinion. There is nothing really fantastical about it...no magic, no strange creatures, nothing like that. Just old times and swords and kings and false princes.

Sage, the main character, is pretty much a bratty kid for the majority of the book. His behavior is explained later on in the story, but he was hard to relate to for me. He has an odd sense of honor, and it wasn't readily apparent for quite some time. However, his strength of conviction, once outed, was admirable.

I was, quite frankly, uninterested until the last twenty percent or so. PLOT TWIST!!!

And it added some much needed purpose to the story. Up until this point, I was quite ready to go with two stars, but finally the reason for the story falls into place...the true plot is revealed, and some much needed direction grabbed my interest. I will definitely read the next installment now that I see what's coming!

I "read" the audiobook. The narrator, Charlie McWade, was fantastic!

For all of my lovely Goodreads friends and followers...if you changed your profile picture and name, then I have NO IDEA who you are.  I'd love to follow you and keep in touch with you on Book Likes.  Please message me on GoodReads or post a comment telling me your new Booklikes profile name.  ((Hugs)) {{Ass slap}} [[Fist bump]]

“I want you to take note, Commander, that turning in my badge would be like cutting off my arm. But if it comes down to a choice between the job and my marriage, then I lose the arm.”

Gotta say, that line surprised me.

This would be the first time that I've felt as if Eve and Roarke were on equal footing with regards to their affection for each other. That's not to say that I ever doubted Eve's love for Roarke. Just her ability and willingness to make herself completely vulnerable to him. I "read" the audio and somehow missed marking the quote, but at one point in this book, Roarke is basically pleading with Eve and telling her how her inability to open up to him hurts him. And it just made me ache. I've got to hand it to Eve, however; she does tell him that just because she cannot express herself in words to tell him what he means to her does not mean that she doesn't FEEL all the love that he feels for her. It was a great moment.

Short synopsis: Like the previous books, there is a baddie that Eve needs to find before he kills more people. The big difference here: It is obviously someone from Roarke's past, and in connection with his retribution for the brutal rape and murder of Sommerset's daughter. These murders taking place are truly sadistic and evil, evidenced by Eve's lack of composure a couple of times. Eve and Roarke travel to Ireland...for a funeral, but it was still nice to get to see Roarke in his element. He also has a sort of "Come to Jesus" moment with who he used to be, and it only endears him to the reader more.

I flat out love this man.
Roarke and Eve:

On the top of your homepage you’ll notice your navigation bar.

This will bring up your Settings page.

Now Scroll down a bit until you see this:

That’s going to bring up the template customization page. In the upper left hand corner, you’ll see this:

Once that is done, beneath the above posted menu you can scroll down. Do so until you find this:

DON’T FORGET TO CLICK SAVE!!!

Now comes the fun part, making that image static. Click on the Edit HTML button.

This is going to split your screen, with your blog showing below and the code window at the top. Don’t freak out. Scroll down through the code until you find these lines:

Now, where you see the green word ‘repeat’, replace that with ‘fixed’. It should now look like this:

DON’T FORGET TO HIT SAVE!

Okay, so as you’ll notice in the screenshot above there’s a drop down menu with the word Blog selected. In order to assure that your background is fixed for all your pages you have to select that drop down and repeat the code change for each one listed:

DON’T FORGET TO HIT SAVE FOR EACH ONE!!!

Good luck, everyone. Hope this helps! 

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