Review: Undaunted by Ronnie Douglas

Publish Date: September 15, 2015

Trade Paperback {p.352}

Genre: New Adult

Series: Knights in Black Leather #1

Source: Publisher

Aubrey Evans, Zion

Being fearless has never looked so good...

Aubrey Evans needs to get her life back on track after her father is indicted for embezzlement. All she has to do to hightail it out of small-town Tennessee is save up money for college tuition and steer clear of hard-muscled boys on motorcycles. Yet there's no ignoring someone like Zion. A knight in black leather, Zion looks like every bad idea she's been told to avoid, but she can't resist him. Whenever she's in trouble, he's there. Appealing as his rough exterior may be, it's the protective, principled man beneath who tempts her like crazy.

Zion knows Aubrey doesn't intend to stick around. She claims to want only friendship, but he senses there's a naughty girl hiding on the inside—one whose intense desires match his own. For now, he'll be patient and play by her rules. But he knows it's just a matter of time before he weakens her resolve.

As they join forces to figure out who's behind a local crime spree, it's clear that the danger goes deeper than Aubrey guessed. And when she needs someone tall, dark, and undaunted to keep her safe, Zion intends to be there—now and always.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. With that, I must say at times however, I did not like Aubrey. Who in their right mind does some of the things she did within the first couple of pages of the book with complete strangers. I almost gave up on this book with just that behavior alone. She definitely lost points with me with that behavior from that point on. I often wondered why Zion even bothered.

Zion I liked. His story or struggle with the MC is what kept me involved with the story. His chemistry with Aubrey was lacking in my opinion, and often felt forced for the sake of the story. I didn't buy what they were selling with "romance" between these two.

Zion's relationship with the MC president was also a head-scratcher. Yet another element to the story I could have done without. These guys are suppose to be all about brotherhood and having each other's back, but that whole situation with Zion and the MC was a complete and total mess. That was no kind of brotherhood in my opinion toward Zion from the MC or the other members surrounding the worst kept secret. Ellen and Dash, Aubrey's BFF and Zion's cousin, now that relationship seemed promising.

Review: Tease by Sophie Jordan

Publish Date: May 27, 2014
Trade Paperback {p.320}
Genre: New Adult
Source: Publisher
Emerson, Shaw

What happens when a girl who always calls the shots meets a guy who's too wild for even her?

A born flirt and good-time party girl, Emerson has never had a problem finding a willing guy. She's always chosen her hookups carefully, and she's never broken her three cardinal rules:

Never let them see the real you.
Never fall in love.
Always leave them begging for more.

Then Shaw comes along. A hottie from the wrong side of the tracks, he's immune to her flirtatious banter and come-hither smile. After rescuing her from a disastrous night at a biker bar, he doesn't even try to take her to bed—he calls her a tease and sends her home instead. Unable to resist a challenge, or forget the sexy, dark-eyed, bad-boy biker, she vows to bring him to his knees.

But instead of making Shaw beg, Emerson finds herself craving him. For the first time in her life, she's throwing out her rule book. Suddenly, she's the one panting for a guy she can't control—a guy who won't settle for anything less than the real Emerson and who forces her to do things she's never imagined, including facing a past she thought she'd buried.

A guy who just might leave her wanting more...

I so wanted to love this book, because I loved FOREPLAY, but I just couldn't. Emerson just annoyed me throughout the bulk of the book. Which is disappointing, because I adored Shaw.

Shaw is the strong silent type. He tends to be able to read people very well, which is what Emerson needed. He and Reese are very similar in their strong, rock-solid character. At times I felt Shaw deserved better than Emerson, that he should be with someone more like her roommate Georgia.

Emerson had been through something traumatic in her past that lead her to put up this party girl facade that was not true and down right irritating at times. I'm just not a fan women how actively seek out the reputation of being loose or without sexual morals. And her treatment of Shaw didn't win her any points with me either. Some points throughout, I just wanted to give up on this book and wanted Shaw to give up on Emerson. I stuck with it because I wanted to see what was cause her bad behavior. I already had some ideas to what it was, but I stuck it out for confirmation. And for some reason, when I read what happened, it felt very familiar, like I had read this plot-line before.

Shaw, and Emerson's roommate Georgia, were by far my favorites in this installment. I'm hoping that Georgia's story will be much better than Emerson's.

Review: Foreplay by Sophie Jordan

Publish Date: November 5, 2013
Trade Paperback {p.294}
Genre: New Adult
Series: The Ivy Chronicles #1
Source: Publisher
Pepper, Reece Mulvaney

Before she goes after the life she’s always wanted, she’s about to find the one she needs.

Pepper has been hopelessly in love with her best friend’s brother, Hunter, for like ever. He’s the key to everything she’s always craved: security, stability, family. But she needs Hunter to notice her as more than just a friend. Even though she’s kissed exactly one guy, she has just the plan to go from novice to rock star in the bedroom—take a few pointers from someone who knows what he’s doing.

Her college roommates have the perfect teacher in mind. But bartender Reece is nothing like the player Pepper expects. Yes, he’s beyond gorgeous, but he’s also dangerous, deep—with a troubled past. Soon what started as lessons in attraction are turning both their worlds around, and showing just what can happen when you go past foreplay and get to what’s real…

From the moment I picked up this book, I couldn't put it down. I connected with Pepper when it came to her shyness with the opposite sex. It was like reading my own story in that aspect.

I really enjoyed both characters on their own as well as together. Although at times, Pepper and I had our moments, there wasn't a single moment I wasn't feeling Reece. Throughout the entire story he remained a stand-up, truly likable character. Reece is by far one of my favorite New Adult males.

Pepper and her fixation on Hunter, her best friend's brother, was the only sticking point for me. I felt that she knew she was thinking about Reece more than she was Hunter now, but she still refused to let it go and commit to Reece. I guess the author had to continue with that to provide a bit of conflict.

The overall pace of the story was great, which meant I was never bored and was counting down the minutes until I could pick it back up again. (silly things like my having to go work got in the way of my reading) Pepper's honesty and Reece's mystery kept me completely enthralled with them.

Foreplay was such an entertaining, wonderfully written story, that after reading this book, I will definitely have to add Sophie Jordan to my automatic buy list.

Review: Run to You by Rachel Gibson

Publish Date: September 24, 2013
Kindle {p. 384}
Genre: Contemporary
Series: Lovett, Texas #4
Source: Publisher
Estella Immaculata Leon-Hollowell, Beau Junger

Rachel Gibson, New York Times bestselling author of Rescue Me, returns to Texas for the second of her Military Men series, with the tale of what happens when a tough guy meets his match--and falls harder than a ton of red-hot bricks. . .

From Rachel Gibson, New York Times bestselling author of Rescue Me, comes her latest sexy contemporary novel, featuring a hot Navy SEAL and a woman on the run

The story was too fast-paced to form any real connection with the characters. Both Stella and Beau felt like very flat, one-dimensional characters that didn't have any depth.

Stella and Beau had a very short timeframe of knowing each other, but ended up falling in love with each other. No, that's not unheard of, but them falling in love in the amount of time it takes one to drive from Florida to Texas is a bit of a stretch. And by the end, they're talking marriage when they haven't even been on a single date.

I truly wanted to like this book, but other than a few entertaining moments between Beau and his brother Blake, and Beau and his flashbang, I just wasn't feeling it. Which is disappointing because I loved her Writer Friends series.

Review: Losing It by Cora Carmack

Publish Date: October 15, 2012
Kindle {p. 204}
Genre: New Adult
Series: Losing It #1
Source: Personal Library
Bliss Edwards, Garrick Taylor

Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, Bliss Edwards decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible - a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if that weren't embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She'd left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.

The premise seemed somewhat immature in the fact that Bliss was willing to sleep with some random guy just to lose her virginity. The fact that she didn't follow through with this ridiculous plan, saves the story.

The interactions and conversations between Garrick and Bliss were at times hilarious. I really enjoyed them together as a couple. Their story was straightforward without all the drama and conflict, which is a plus in my opinion, which I know some readers prefer the conflict to make the story more believable. Losing It didn't need all the conflict and drama to be believable or enjoyable, it was both without all of that. Although at times Garrick did come across as being too perfect.

The storyline moved along at a quick pace, that kept me involved with the characters and invested in their outcomes. The ending was a bit abrupt, but the epilogue helped that somewhat.

Review: Resisting Her by Kendall Ryan

Publish Date: April 15, 2013
Kindle {p. 292}
Genre: New Adult
Source: Personal Library
Savannah, Cole Fletcher

Agent Cole Fletcher lives for his job at the FBI, and he’s more than ready for his next assignment—raiding a cult compound and putting their leader behind bars. But he isn’t prepared for Savannah and her knock you on your ass good looks. At nineteen, she’s too old for foster care and too damaged to live on her own. With nowhere else to go, and against his better judgment Cole takes her in.

But helping her out won’t be easy. He comforts her through screaming nightmares and escaping the lingering fears of her past, but that’s the easy part. Her preference to sleep cuddled up next to his warm body, and her desire to please him in every way makes her harder and harder to resist.

Cole seems to have an instant attraction to Savannah when he first rescues her from a cult. He feels she's to young for him so he does everything he can to stay away from her on a level other than friendship. They chemistry between them wouldn't allow for just friendship.

Savannah, growing up in a cult, was somewhat sheltered and naïve about some things, so a lot of her first experiences were with Cole. He tried to do right by her in a sense of not wanting to get involved with her because of their FBI rescuer relationship. But eventually he gave up the fight of resisting her and fell in love with her.

These two had some very hot love scenes, but beyond that, the author really developed these two as people beyond the bedroom. Cole had baggage to deal with and Savannah had a past that came looking for her. Even the secondary characters were well developed and left me wanting to get to know more about them; Cole's sister and his best friend, to name a few.

Review: Storm Bound by Alice Gaines

Storm Bound
Alice Gaines
Publisher: Avon
Publish Date: August 14, 2012
Kindle
Source: Publisher
Genre: Menage
Christie Lovejoy, Wolf Martin, Jon Tucker
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

Stranded on a steamy tropical island, these three will create their own heat…

Christie Lovejoy is normally all business. But when a hurricane bears down on the exclusive resort she's sharing with two sexy businessmen, it's time to throw caution to the tropical winds. How often do you find two gorgeous men with the hots for you…and the willingness to share?

Wolf Martin and Jon Tucker have been friends for years, and their taste in women has never overlapped…until now. Wolf, Jon, and Christie use the luxurious resort to take the kind of sensual journey that only total isolation will allow. But when the storm recedes, will they be ready to leave their island paradise?

This novella was just okay, not something that will draw you in. My biggest gripe with this story is how Christie tricked the two men into staying on an island during a hurricane. The fact that she took that decision from them didn't sit well with me. From that point on, I had no interest in Christie what-so-ever.

The menage scenario seemed more like they were together because they were each others only options. The guys were okay, but not much depth. I didn't know any more about them at the end of the story than I did at page one. I guess that's sometimes the case with novellas.

Review: A Long From Home by Gwendolyn Heasley

A Long Way From You
Gwendolyn Heasley
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publish Date: June 5, 2012
Trade Paperback {p.314}
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult
Kitsy Kidd
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

For too long, Kitsy has had to satisfy her dreams of becoming a real artist by giving her friends makeovers before prom. So when her best friend Corrinne's family offers to sponsor her for a summer art course in New York City, Kitsy bids a temporary good-bye to Texas to say hello to the West Village.

Between navigating the subway and the New Yorkers--namely, the Art Boy who has a nice trick of getting under her skin--Kitsy knows that this summer is going to be about a "lot" more than figure drawing.

Kitsy is a cute, likable character with a big heart and even bigger dreams. She leaves her small-town Texas home to live in New York at her BFF's house while she's away at summer camp. I didn't really get the friendship between these two. It seemed that all Corrinne did was make snide remakes and digs at Kitsy's hometown.

As for Kitsy's boyfriend Hands, he was okay from what little I knew of him. He and Kitsy didn't seem to have this grand love affair but more of an elementary type of love. Not that that's a bad thing, they were just more buddies than anything else.

"Art Boy" or Tad, never really took off for me either. He too was an okay character, but more of a big brother type to Kisty.

I just kept seeing Kitsy as the adorable side-kick, but not the leading lady.

Review: The Cowboy Takes a Bride by Lori Wilde

The Cowboy Takes a Bride
Lori Wilde
Publisher: Avon
Publish Date: March 27, 2012
Kindle {p.348}
Source: Publisher
Genre: Contemporary, Western
Mariah Callahan, Joe Daniels
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

Ex-champion bull rider-turned-cutting-horse cowboy Joe Daniels isn't quite sure how he ended up sleeping in a horse trough wearing nothing but his Stetson and cowboy boots. But now he's wide-awake, and a citified woman is glaring down at him. His goal? Get rid of her ASAP. The obstacle? Fighting the attraction he feels toward the blond-haired filly with the big, vulnerable eyes.

When out-of-work wedding planner Mariah Callahan learns that her estranged father has left her a rundown ranch in Jubilee, she has no choice but to accept it. Her goal? Redeem her career by planning local weddings. The obstacle? One emotionally wounded, hard-living cowboy who stirs her guilt, her heartstrings, and her long-burned cowgirl roots...

I was really drawn into Ila and Cordy, the secondary characters, story. At times I was more interested in seeing their story than that of the main characters, Mariah and Joe. The best interaction between the two of them was at the very start of the book when Mariah finds Joe asleep in a horse trough.

They were an unlikely pair from the start because of Joe’s occupation. Mariah has a distrust of cowboys leading back to her father, a cowboy, abandoning her and her mother.

Joe and Mariah were okay characters, but the tug-of-war between Cordy and Ila was a bit more exciting and entertaining. Joe and Mariah were just a bit on the bland side for my taste.

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.

Review: Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay

Love and Leftovers
Sarah Tregay
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books
Published: December 27, 2011
Mass Market Paperback {p.451}
Source: ARC Tour Site
Genre: Young Adult
Martha "Marcie" Iris Foster
Challenge: 100+
Buy the Book: Amazon

My wish
is to fall
cranium over Converse
in dizzy, daydream-worthy
love.

When her parents split, Marcie is dragged from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She leaves behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father.

By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this "vacation" has become permanent. She starts at a new school where a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up. But understanding love, especially when you've watched your parents' affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? can you even know it until you've lost it?

Love and Leftovers is a beautifully written story of one girl’s journey navigating family, friends, and love, and a compelling and sexy read that teens will gobble up whole.

I must admit, when I first opened this book I was a bit apprehensive because it’s written in verse. But after I got into it, I hardly even noticed.

This was a truly engaging read. I read the complete book in one night; that’s how caught up in it I was. It being written in verse may have helped too.

Marcie’s parents are recently split and she’s dragged off to New Hampshire to live with her mother while her dad shacks up with his new boyfriend. Back home in Idaho, Marcie was a leftover, not quite fitting in anywhere. Here in New Hampshire, she has caught the eye of one of the most popular boys at school. So of course she basks in that soaking up as much as she can of that attention. Especially when her current Idaho boyfriend, Linus, hardly touches her.

I loved how the author captured the New Hampshire accents. Everytime JD, Marcie’s New Hampshire boyfriend, was speaking I would hear Mark Wahlberg (yes I know he's from Boston) speaking in my head. Weird I know. And “idea-r,” my co-worker who is from Connecticut says that all the time!

I didn’t like how Marcie’s BFF Katie treated her about her relationship with JD. Or how she thought Marcie should tell her every little detail of her life. While Marcie was struggling to find her new pace among the leftovers, I was rooting for her to break free of them and find a new place to belong. That’s just how upset with the rest of them I was for Marcie.

In the end, I was happy with how everything turned out. The style in which Love and Leftovers was written, I think helped to capture Marcie’s voice. I wasn’t ready for her story to end.

Review: Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Epic Fail
Claire LaZebnik
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publish Date: August 2, 2011
Trade Paperback {p.295}
Source: Personal Library
Genre: Young Adult
Characters: Elise Benton, Derek Edwards
Challenge: 100+, YA Romance
Buy the Book: Amazon

Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail?

At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.

Epic Fail was a light, fun read that kept me engaged throughout. Elise's instant dislike of Derek and how she was always willing to believe the worst of him was a bit off-putting. But that is how the story is supposed to go. Derek on the other hand, I liked from the start. Although Derek seemed rather closed off, upon a closer look it was more a protective mechanism.

Don't take that to mean I disliked Elise, because I didn't. I just did not like her unwillingness to give Derek a chance. Plus her instant trust and acceptance of Webster, who had done nothing to deserve it, but agree with her dislike of Derek.

When I discovered this contemporary take on Pride and Prejudice I was excited to read it. The story stayed true to character, with the annoying little sister Layla and the overly sweet sister Juliana.

Although I did enjoy this quick and breezy read, it felt liked it ended rather abruptly. I found myself turning the pages at the end expecting there to be more to the story. But indeed it was. The whole thing left me with unanswered questions about the progress of Elise and Derek's relationship.

Review: Eat Prey Love by Kerrelyn Sparks

Eat Prey Love
Kerrelyn Sparks
Series: Love at Stake #9
Publisher: Avon
Publish Date: October 1, 2010
Mass Market Paperback {p.373}
Source: Personal Library
Genre: Paranormal
Characters: Caitlyn Whelan, Carlos Panterra
Challenge: 100+, Paranormal
Buy the Book: Amazon

Wanted: Bride. Must love children. Mortals need not apply.

Carlos Panterra is looking for a mate, a woman who will love and care for the young orphans he's recently taken under his wing (or paw, as the case may be). When the shape shifter spies the beautiful Caitlyn, it's like sunshine amidst the darkness. At last, he's found the perfect woman, except...

Caitlyn Whelan is mortal. Worse, her father is the head of a CIA agency bent on hunting the undead. Still, Caitlyn knows that Carlos is the man for her, shape shifter or not. So she jumps at the chance when her sister offers her a job to work with him, determined to show Carlos their attraction is more than just animal magnetism. But danger lurks in the night, and their unleashed, untamed passion might just get them both killed...

Eat Prey Love was a funny and entertaining take on vampires and shape shifters. The blurb is what caught my eye about this book. A shape shifter searching for a wife to be the mother of his orphans that he's taken in.

Carlos and Caitlyn had an instant attraction that Carlos chose to fight because Caitlyn is human. But that didn't stop Caitlyn; she was determined to have Carlos. There didn't seem to be anything going on deeper than their attraction.

I enjoyed Caitlyn's interaction with the children, but I would have liked to have seen more of that. Afterall she would become their mother, but she only had limited interaction with them. Plus she really only interacted with two of the children he took in.

The book was a bit short on action but it was big on laughs. I'll have to go back and read all the books in the series leading up to this one.

Review: Devil Without a Cause by Terri Garey

Devil Without a Cause
Terri Garey
Series: The Devil's Bargain #1
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: May 31, 2011
Mass Market Paperback {p.371}
Source: Publisher
Genre: Paranormal
Characters: Faith McFarland, Finn Payne
Challenge: 100+, Summer Romance

Idle hands are the devil's workshop

Temptation and seduction are the tricks of the Devil's trade, and when offered the chance to regain his wings by playing guardian angel, he's hell-bent on doing things his way . . .

Faith McFarland is in need of a miracle. So desperate to save her sick child, she's willing to make a deal with the Devil: steal a ring worn by Finn Payne, the bad-boy rockstar who long ago sold his soul for rock 'n roll. Temptation and seduction become necessary evils, yet Faith's salvation means Finn's damnation . . . because the ring is all that stands between him and Hell. Falling in love was never part of the bargain, but now that they've tasted heaven in each other's arms, can they convince the Devil to give up his due?

Faith is willing to do whatever it takes to save her sick son. Even if it means selling her soul to the devil.

This book had me engrossed from the first page. It's unlike anything I'd read before. Faith and Finn both are ordinary people who made the wrong choices in moments of weakness.

The connection between Faith and Finn progressed rather quickly, but did not lack believability. The fact that they both felt genuinely sorry for what they felt they had to do to each other because of their deals, endured you to them as individuals.

This one was a fast paced read that didn't do a lot of prolonging. It was straight to the point. I wish I had the back story of Nikki and the devil, because the mere mention of her seemed to humanize him a bit.

I definitely would like to see more of this series.

Review: Any Man of Mine by Rachel Gibson

Any Man of Mine
Rachel Gibson
Series: Chinooks Hockey Team #6
Publisher: HarperCollins Avon
Publication Date: April 26, 2011
Kindle {p.373}
Source: Publisher/Net Galley
Genre: Contemporary
Characters: Autumn Haven, Sam LeClaire
Challenge: 100+, Summer Romance

What happens in Vegas . . . doesn't always stay there.

Autumn Haven's Las Vegas "to-do" list said to catch a show and play the slots—not wake up married to a sexy jerk like Sam LeClaire. The first moment she saw him eyeing her like a luscious piece of the dessert buffet, her usually responsible self told her to run. And she did—right into the wildest fantasy weekend of her life. But Monday morning jolted her back to reality, and before she could say "pass the coffee," Sam was gone.

Now a successful wedding planner, Autumn hasn't clapped eyes on the heartbreaking hockey superstar for over two years . . . until she organizes his teammate's "Special Day," where Sam makes a big play to pick up where he left off! But she has vowed any man of hers plays for keeps. Is Sam the man for her or does she banish him to the sin bin forever?

This is the first book I’ve read in Rachel Gibson’s Chinook series although I’ve read most of her Writer Friends series.

Any Man of Mine was an enjoyable read, although it started out a little slow to me. Autumn and Sam didn’t really have much of a relationship outside of their son and the bedroom. The two of them falling back in love again didn’t seem to have any basis. I understood her hesitation to truly trust Sam again after the way their marriage ended. They rarely spoke to each other outside of scheduling time for Sam to spend with their son, Conner.

I did enjoy the flashback scenes of Autumn and Sam’s first meeting. The sex between them seemed to be really good but that’s about it. Sam and Autumn were both great people on their own, but lacked something together. It didn’t quite come across as all that believable that Autumn was able to forgive Sam for not only the way he treated her, but also his lack of involvement in their son’s life.

Review: Tangled Up In You by Rachel Gibson

Tangled Up In You
Rachel Gibson {Blog | Facebook | Myspace}
Series: Writer Friends #3
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: July 31, 2007
Audio Book {9 hrs}
Source: Public Library
Genre: Contemporary
Characters: Madeline Jones, Mick Hennessey
Challenge: 100+, Whisper Stories
My Rating:

Maddie is determined to uncover the untold story about the town's sordid past—her past. As a child, Maddie lost everything, and now she's back at the scene of the scandal—a local establishment that's always belonged to the Hennessys—determined to uncover the truth, and nothing is going to stand in her way. Especially not a black-haired, blue-eyed Hennessy.

Everyone in Truly knows that the Hennessy men are irresistible, and the current owner, Mick, is no exception. His late father was a skirt-chasing heartbreaker who ended up causing disaster for two families. So far, Mick's managed to keep the ladies in line, but when he claps eyes on Maddie, with her luscious curves and tempting lips, he can't resist getting tangled up with her.

But Maddie is keeping secrets, not the least of which is her true reason for being in town. And when Mick discovers what‘s really going on, there is going to be a whole lot of trouble in Truly.

Madeline goes to Truly, Idaho in an effort to get answers about her mother’s death for her true crime novel. There she meets the children of the man her mother was having an affair with, whose wife killed them both and then herself.

Maddie doesn’t expect to like Mick because she assumes he’s just like his cheating father. But after spending time with him, she not only likes him, but starts to love him.

Mick and his sister Meg seem to have two totally different ways of dealing with what their mother did all those years ago. Meg is constantly reliving it, trying to justify her mother’s actions, while Mick wants to forget it ever happened. It isn’t until he finds out the true identity of Maddie, that she is the daughter of the “waitress” that his mother killed for sleeping with his father that Mick starts to really deal with what happened to his parents.

I really liked Maddie. She was very likeable and Ms. Gibson did a great job in getting the reader to know Maddie. I enjoyed her quirky, funny analogies and sense of humor. She was very independent and let Mick know from the start that she wasn’t looking for the white picket fence of happily ever after.

Rachel Gibson’s style of writing keeps you fully engrossed in the story, but laughing along the way.

Read by Nicole Poole

Duration: 9 hours

Recorded Books

The narrator had a somewhat dry tone, but it went with some of the dry humor of the story. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the narrator, but she’s not one of those chipper upbeat narrators. Her tone reminds me a little of the late Kate Fleming.

Review: Don't Make Me Choose Between You and My Shoes by Dixie Cash

Don't Make Me Choose Between You and My Shoes
Dixie Cash {Myspace}
Series: Domestic Equalizers #4
Publisher: Recorded Books
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
Audio Book {8 hrs}
Source: Public Library
Genre: Contemporary
Characters: Debbie Sue Overstreet, Edwina Perkins-Martin
Challenge: 50 States, Whisper Stories
My Rating:

New York City is miles from Salt Lick, Texas, in more ways than one, but Debbie Sue Overstreet and Edwina Perkins-Martin are rarin' to go. The best friends/beauty shop owners/private-eye partners have been offered an all-expense-paid trip to the National Association of Private Investigators convention in the Big Apple. Debbie Sue sees the invitation as validation, but Edwina has one goal: to get her feet into a pair of super-glam designer shoes, not easily had back home. Yee-haw!

As a sign of things to come, the two Texas tornadoes don't even get out of the state without causing pandemonium at the Dallas airport. And once they land in the Big City they meet Celina, a small-town librarian who's broke and bereft from getting robbed, and Cher, an amiable "working girl" with a heart of gold. Taking them under their wings, they head right for trouble as Edwina nearly starts a riot in the hotel bar.

But the Big Apple hasn't seen nothin' yet! While helping shy Celina hook up with a hunky young police detective, the Domestic Equalizers bumble their way into a murder investigation that could end up leaving Debbie Sue deceased and Edwina stone-cold in her new Jimmy Choos!

Debbie Sue and Edwina head to the Big Apple to speak about their PI skills at a national conference. Of course trouble and mayhem follow in their wake.

Edwina, afraid of flying, has to get overly medicated for the big trip. She causes great embarrassment to herself and "Deputy Do," I mean Debbie Sue, before they even set foot on the plane.

When they do arrive in NYC they find that someone is killing prostitutes. Leave it to Edwina to befriend one. Edwina strikes up a conversation with working girl, Cher, who mistakes Edwina as a fellow pro. Edwina and her fashionable attire, who could blame Cher for thinking Edwina a hooker.

Fellow Texan from Dime Box, Celina, meets Edwina and Debbie Sue at the conference and becomes roommates. While Selena is becoming involved with one of New York's Finest, Debbie Sue and Edwina are dragging her into all kinds of mess. So when the Domestic Equalizers hear a murder taking place in the hotel room next door and no one believes them, they have no choice but to take matters into their own hands.

This is another laugh a minute riot by Dixie Cash. It wasn't as good as Since You're Leaving Anyway, Take Out the Trash, but hilarious all the same.

Read by Peggity Price

Duration: 6 hours

The narrator took some getting used to when I first started this series, but now that this is book #4,  she's growing on me. The accents that she bring to Debbie Sue and Edwina are half the laughs. Just hearing her do the witty banter of these two with that Texas twang is an added bonus.