Review: Making the Grade by Carol Lynne

Making the Grade
Carol Lynne
Series: Cattle Valley #19
Publisher: Total-E-Bound
Published: October 4, 2010
Kindle {p.137}
Source: Personal Library
Genre: LGBT
Kenny Trenton, Eli Sanchez
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

Kenny Trenton has had a crush on Cattle Valley English teacher, Eli Sanchez, since the age of seventeen. Although Kenny's no longer a schoolboy, Eli refuses to see his fellow faculty member as anything but a student.

Eli has spent his life hiding from the outside world. When the loneliness gets too much, he decides to make the changes necessary to open himself up to friendships and perhaps a relationship.

When Eli attends a high school football game in a neighbouring community, he's attacked in the parking lot. Although Kenny's the one to rescue him, Eli begins to think he's made a mistake and living in the outside world isn't a good idea.

Kenny's determined to keep Eli from retreating into his shell once again, but will his love be enough?

I didn’t really get into this one like previous books in this series. I didn’t really care all that much for either lead character.

Eli, who was supposedly a former member of the armed services, seemed to be frightened by his own shadow. He was overly sensitive to everything. The smallest thing could cause him to have hurt feelings and to withdraw into himself.

This relationship of the older man, Eli, and the younger man, Kenny, felt in reverse. I felt Kenny was the more mature one in this relationship taking care of Eli. It didn’t feel like Eli was bringing anything into this relationship.

Review: Taming Black Dog Four by Carol Lynne

Taming Black Dog Four
Carol Lynne
Series: Bodyguards in Love #4
Publisher: Total-E-Bound
Published: May 10, 2010
Kindle {p.95}
Source: Personal Library
Genre: LGBT, Menage
Jack Drake, Carlo, Lobo, Renaldo
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

The bodyguards of Black Dog Four had been carefully chosen for looks, temperament, battle skills and sexuality. In the tradition of the Spartans, the idea was to see if lovers worked better as a team than merely friends. The experiment had seemed like a complete success until they'd been sent to guard Maria Valdez. After Maria was killed in an explosion, all four men had refused to work together.

Addy Constentine needed around-the-clock security if she hoped to legitimise her father's empire. With her stepbrother now in prison, Addy's goal was to keep the family out of the underworld it had been entrenched in for decades.

With death threats coming from several different sources, Addy needed the best. She needed the men of Black Dog Four.

The Black Dog Four team has just recently reunited after losing the person they were hired to protect. So going in you already know who is with whom because they already have an established relationship. This story was mainly just about them trying to make a relationship of four work for the long haul.

There were also the side stories of Alec and Lon and Abby and Joe. Those two relationships are the ones that actually develop during the span of the book. Both of these relationships developed rather quickly and seemed to only scratch the surface with no real depth to them. Especially Alec and Lon’s relationship. Alec’s whole time spent Taggert seemed to diminish his relationship with Lon.

But as always, Lynne delivers on the hot sex front.

Review: Heartstrings and Diamond Rings by Jane Graves

Heartstrings and Diamond Rings
Jane Graves
Publisher: Forever
Published: October 1, 2011
Kindle {p.448}
Source: Publisher/Net Galley
Genre: Contemporary
Alison Carter, Brandon Scott
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

HE'S THE MAN OF HER DREAMS . . .

In a world full of frogs, Alison Carter is determined to find her prince. Maybe her dating past is more Titanic than Love Boat, but she's seen enough happy marriages to know that true love is possible. No matter what, she won't give up on happily-ever-after. If she can't find Mr. Right, she'll simply hire someone who can.

SHE JUST DOESN'T KNOW IT YET

When Brandon Scott inherits a successful matchmaking business, he thinks his prayers have been answered. Set up a few lonely ladies, collect the fee, how hard can it be? No one needs to know he's not really a professional matchmaker-especially not his first client, the beautiful, spirited Alison. Soon he's falling for her-and her dreams of kids and carpools. But Alison is getting close to figuring out his secret, and if she learns he's deceived her too, she'll walk right out the door, taking Brandon's heart with her.

Alison has had a lot of bad luck when it comes to dating. Since she’s getting older and wants to eventually get married and have children, she turns to a professional matchmaker. Only he’s no professional.

I found this book to offer a lot of good laughs and a cute love match between Alison and Brandon. All the men Alison was matched with offered a great deal of entertainment. I even loved the secondary romance of Alison’s father.

Both Alison and Brandon were likable characters, but the romance between them was a very slow starter. Their romance took place really late in the book. Even though, that does not stop you from becoming engaged in their story and the outcome of Alison’s hunt for a husband.

Thursday Three {4}: Hidden Summit

What is Thursday 3? It's a new weekly meme, hosted by me, in which we will be discussing our love/hate relationship with our current read.

Here is how Thursday 3 works:

• Take your current read, or book you previously finished, and tell me the following 3 things about it.

1. Character from the book you LOVE (This can be a character you want as your BFF or someone you want to take home to meet the parents)
2. Character from the book you HATE (This character does not have to be the villian, just someone you disliked)
3. Your overall LOVE/HATE of the book. (If you haven't decided your feelings for the book yet, or if you prefer, just provide a snippet from the book containing either the word "LOVE" or "HATE")

Anyone can participate!! Just link your posts in the linky! In your post, please provide a link back to my blog so that other people can find the information and participate.

Loved: Katie ~ I really got drawn into this character. I'm looking forward to her story in the next installment.

Hated: Greg ~ He was so self absorbed ans a total jerk. He was very easy to hate.

Overall: I love this series. This one was a good great, but not my favorite.

Hidden Summit by Robyn Carr
{California}

Review: Kiss Crush Collide by Christina Meredith

Kiss Crush Collide
Christina Meredith
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Published: December 27, 2011
Trade Paperback {p.320}
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult
Leah Johnson
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

Leah has the life most high school girls would kill for—popularity, glowing grades, a rich, athletic boyfriend. So why does she feel like she can’t breathe? And why can’t she stop thinking about the boy from the country club? The one who isn’t her boyfriend, the one that her mother would never, ever approve of, the one that her perfect older sisters would never, ever look at twice. The one who is always looking back at her. Irresistible attraction, smoldering glances, the bad boy and the good girl—Kiss Crush Collide has everything that a steamy forbidden romance should, and then some.

With graceful and honest writing and an electric love story, this is a book about growing into your own skin. For fans of Perfect Chemistry, Sarah Dessen, and John Green.

This book states that it’s for fans of Perfect Chemistry, but I didn’t get that feel from it. Kiss Crush Collide is a very slow starter that didn’t have that much depth. I’m not completely sure if I’m measuring it against Perfect Chemistry because it said it was for its fans, but it didn’t quite measure up.

From the start I was not a fan of Leah’s sister Yorkie or her mother. Yorkie was selfish and her mother was a total pain. Her father wasn’t much better. He completely let his wife run roughshod over everything. I felt he was an unnecessary character in this novel.

It took me a while to complete this book because it just wasn’t holding my interest. I was constantly putting it aside to read something else, and when I was reading this one, I tended to skim the chapters. Neither Leah nor Duffy was all that memorable as characters.

Waiting on Wednesday {77}: Texas Bride

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine. It is showcases upcoming releases of books that I'm looking forward to. It is somewhat similar to one of my previous posts, Anxiously Awaiting. {Button courtesy of Bewitched Bookworms}

Texas Bride
Joan Johnston
March 27, 2012

Miranda Wentworth never imagined becoming a mail-order bride. Now marriage to a stranger is her only hope of finding a home where she and her two younger brothers can escape the brutality of the Chicago orphanage where they live. With any luck, she can even start a family of her own, once the three of them are settled at Jacob Creed’s Texas ranch. But Miranda has one gigantic concern: Her husband-to-be knows nothing about the brothers she’s bringing along. What if he calls off the deal when he discovers the trick she’s played on him?

Jake Creed is hanging on to his Texas ranch by his fingernails. His nemesis, Alexander Blackthorne, is determined to ruin him. Jake will never give up, but he’s in desperate trouble. His wife died six months ago in childbirth, along with their stillborn son, and his two-year-old daughter needs a mother. The advertisement Jake wrote never mentioned his daughter—or the fact that he has no intention of consummating his marriage. He’s determined never to subject another wife to the burden of pregnancy. But Jake doesn’t count on finding his bride so desirable. He doesn’t count on aching with need when she joins him in bed. And he never suspected his bride would have plans of her own to seduce him.

And the Winner is...

Hot Zone by Catherine Mann

Anonymous
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Head Over Heels by Jill Shalvis

Maegan
Jennifer
Karen

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Review: The Darkest Passion by Gena Showalter

The Darkest Passion
Gena Showalter
Series: Lords of the Underworld #5
Publisher: HQN Books
Published: May 25, 2010
Mass Market Paperback {p.438}
Source: Personal Library
Genre: Paranormal
Olivia, Aeron
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

For weeks, the immortal warrior Aeron has sensed an invisible female presence. An angel--demon-assassin--has been sent to kill him. Or has she? Olivia claims she fell from the heavens, giving up immortality because she couldn't bear to harm him. But trusting--and falling for--Olivia will endanger them all. So how has this "mortal" with the huge blue eyes already unleashed Aeron's darkest passion?

Now, with an enemy hot on his trail and his faithful demon companion determined to remove Olivia from his life, Aeron is trapped between duty and consuming desire. Worse still, a new executioner has been sent to do the job Olivia wouldn't....

Olivia is an angel who has been given the task of killing Aeron, keeper of Wrath. Unable to complete this task because of her growing attraction to him, she chose to fall.

Aeron and his demon child, Legion, I enjoyed from the previous book in the series, so I was excited to get more of them. But in this installment I struggled to like either of them. At times I just wanted them to get rid of Legion and be done with her. And Aeron refused to see Legion’s love for him as anything more than a father-daughter type of love. Both Legion and Aeron managed to be redeemed in the end. I truly felt bad for Legion in the end. I want her to find happiness.

Olivia was not all sugar and innocence I expected her to be. Yes, she was kind and sweet, but I guess all her years of watching humans taught her a thing or two about sex. I know the book was about her and Aeron’s journey, but I would have loved to see her interact more with the other ladies of the house. Some of my favorite scenes were Olivia with the girls and Olivia with Gideon.

The ending has me intrigued. I’m anxious to see what happens next. Although this wasn’t my favorite of this series it was still an enjoyable read.

Review: Her Dakota Men by Leah Brooke

Her Dakota Men
Leah Brooke
Series: Dakota Heat #1
Publisher: Siren Publishing
Published: December 29, 2008
Kindle {p.73}
Source: Personal Library
Genre: Erotica, Menage
Stacy Daniels, Wolfe, Travis, Cash Dakota
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

Stacy Daniels left the ranch she loved so much years ago. Not being able to cope with her abusive father, she'd stayed away as much as possible. Infrequent visits to the ranch to visit those she loved caused her heartache, but she couldn't stay away.

Wolfe, Travis and Cash Dakota, the foreman's three sons, lived and worked on the ranch and she'd loved them forever. Realizing the futility of loving all three, she carefully kept her love for them hidden as guilt consumed her.

She wanted more than anything to stay on the ranch she loves so much with the only real family she's ever known. But if she gives in, loving all three of them the way she does, she'll ruin everything.

Not wanting to cause anyone pain, she has no choice but to flee.

Wolfe, Travis and Cash Dakota have other plans for her and won't let her go. They've waited for years to be Her Dakota Men.

I’m not sure if it’s due to the length of this story or not, but I didn’t feel like any of these characters had any depth. Stacy is torn because she’s in love with all three brothers and has slept with all three on separate occasions. And they’re just suppose to live happily ever after?

By the end of the story, I wasn’t any better off than I was at page one.

Thursday Three {3}: Don't Mess With Texas

What is Thursday 3? It's a new weekly meme, hosted by me, in which we will be discussing our love/hate relationship with our current read.

Here is how Thursday 3 works:

• Take your current read, or book you previously finished, and tell me the following 3 things about it.

1. Character from the book you LOVE (This can be a character you want as your BFF or someone you want to take home to meet the parents)
2. Character from the book you HATE (This character does not have to be the villian, just someone you disliked)
3. Your overall LOVE/HATE of the book. (If you haven't decided your feelings for the book yet, or if you prefer, just provide a snippet from the book containing either the word "LOVE" or "HATE")

Anyone can participate!! Just link your posts in the linky! In your post, please provide a link back to my blog so that other people can find the information and participate.

Loved: Tony ~ I felt so bad about the characters in the book didn't seem to like him, but I loved him. I was rooting for him thoughout the book.

Hated: Serena ~ She was a total pain. The way she treated Dallas, but still thought they should get back together...

Overall: Another hit! A new series to look forward to visiting again.

Don't Mess With Texas by Christie Craig
{Texas}

Review: Small Town Christmas by Jill Shalvis, Hope Ramsay, Katie Lane

Small Town Christmas
Jill Shalvis, Hope Ramsay, Katie Lane
Series: Lucky Harbor #2.5; Last Chance #2.5 ; Deep in the Heart of Texas #2.5
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: November 1, 2011
Kindle {p.136}
Source: Publisher/Net Galley
Genre: Contemporary
Sandy Jansen, Logan Perrish; Annie Roberts, Matthew Jasper; Samantha Henderson, Ethan Miller
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

Kissing Santa Claus
NASCAR driver Logan Perrish returns to Lucky Harbor, Washington, with love in his heart and a ring in his pocket. But can Sandy Jansen forget the past and give him a second chance? Or will Logan be spending another Christmas alone?

I'll Be Home for Christmas
After ignoring the advice of Miz Miriam Randall, local matchmaker, Annie Roberts expects another hum drum holiday in Last Chance, South Carolina. But when a stray cat arrives in the arms of Army sergeant Matt Jasper, a calico named Holly just may be the best matchmaker of all.

O Little Town of Bramble
All Ethan Miller wants for Christmas is to celebrate in Bramble, Texas, with family and friends. But when his childhood neighbor, Samantha Henderson, comes home for the holiday, Ethan realizes that the girl-next-door could be the girl of his dreams.

Kissing Santa Claus Jill Shalvis
I loved Logan in The Sweetest Thing and I loved him even more this time around. Logan has made mistakes in the past but you can see he’s truly a changed man. He and Sandy were such a great fit that you really wanted them to get their happy ever after. The two of them are very hot together. Another thing I loved about Logan is his relationship with his ex-wife. I think it speaks highly of man who is truly able to be friends with his ex-wife.

I’ll Be Home for Christmas Hope Ramsay
I really enjoyed this novella in the sense of it being a heartwarming tale. This addition was a bit more on the sweet side with a touch of sad. Annie takes in Matthew, a man recently out of the service, for the holidays and it was love at first sight; at least for him. But from the start, Matt seemed to be exactly what Annie needed.

O Little Town of Bramble Katie Lane
This is a Christmas story that will keep you laughing. The town is putting on a live nativity scene that goes totally wrong in so many ways. I loved the Bramble townspeople. The romance between Sam and Ethan was sweet and enduring. They started out as best friend who fell in love and that only made their story all the sweeter.

Waiting on Wednesday {76}: Insatiable

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine. It is showcases upcoming releases of books that I'm looking forward to. It is somewhat similar to one of my previous posts, Anxiously Awaiting. {Button courtesy of Bewitched Bookworms}

Insatiable
Opal Carew
February 14, 2012

How far would you go for a taste of ecstasy?

Crystal never dreamed her engagement would end this way. With her fiancé breaking her heart the day of the wedding...and his best man stepping in to mend it. Now she’s about to embark on her dream honeymoon with the sinfully sexy best man. But when the groom shows up determined to win her back, she ends up in a highly unusual situation...on a honeymoon for three. Caught between two gorgeous guys—each determined win her hand by showing her the most pleasure—Crystal has an impossible decision to make. Who will she end up with once the honeymoon is over? And how can she follow her heart when it belongs to two men at once?

Teaser Tuesday: Hidden Summit by Robyn Carr

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading. To participate, all you have to do is the following:

• Grab your current/upcoming read
• Open to a random page
• Share 2-3 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers! (You do not want to ruin the book for others.)

Share the title & author so that others who enjoy your "teaser" may add the book to their TBL pile.

"Wanna tell me what's in the bag?"
"Thai. It's for dessert..."
"And the main course?"
"I'm thinking mustache rides."
"I guess that means you missed me," she said.

page 126; Hidden Summit by Robyn Carr

Review: Slapping Leather by Desiree Holt

Slapping Leather
Desiree Holt
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: July 29, 2011
Kindle {p.94}
Source: Publisher
Genre: BDSM, Erotica
Liz Gillibrand, Alex Wright
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

Liz Gillibrand wants a man she can submit to in the bedroom but still keep her sex life a secret from the conservative ranching community. When she discovers her neighbor owns Rawhide, a private bondage club, she might have found the answer.

But the first Dom she meets is Alex Wright, a man she's already connected with physically and emotionally. Once before she tried to merge her private life with the lifestyle but with disastrous results.

Can Alex be the one to finally free her from the past and give her the life she longs for.

Liz is a female submissive working in a male dominated field where she has to keep a tight hold on being the authority. But in the bedroom she wants to let go of the control and let someone else have the control. Then enters Alex Wright.

Both Alex and Liz have an immediate connection and attraction to one another, but Liz can’t afford to have her employees know about her secret lifestyle. In an effort to keep it just that, she wants nothing to do with Alex outside of Rawhide.

The storyline of these two trying to get their relationship beyond the club was not without its bumps. Some of the problems they faced were due to some events from Liz’s past. The relationship they have inside Rawhide is smoking hot. With their interaction, you can see it’s about more than sex to the both of them.

The absolute trust Liz had with Alex at Rawhide but not outside its doors was a bit questionable. I didn’t understand how she could trust him so thoroughly with her body and safety, but not trust him to let her make her own decisions and live her own life outside the bedroom.

In My Mailbox {77}

In My Mailbox (IMM) is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. Every week I'll post what books I've received either by mailbox/library/store.

I'll try to post an entry of IMM every Sunday that I receive books by mail/library/store of that week.

Books via Ebay

The Immortal Highlander by Karen Marie Moning

The Dark Highlander by Karen Marie Moning

Kiss of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning

To Tame a Highland Warrior by Karen Marie Moning

Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning

Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning