Review: She's Gone Country by Jane Porter

Title: She's Gone Country

Author: Jane Porter
Published: August 23, 2010
Publisher: 5 Spot
Format: Trade Paperback
Pages: 376
Source: Publisher
Characters: Shey Darcy, Dane Kelly
My Rating:

Synopsis:

Shey Darcy, a 39-year-old former top model for Vogue and Sports Illustrated led a charmed life in New York City with a handsome photographer husband until the day he announced he'd fallen in love with someone else. Left to pick up the pieces of her once happy world, Shey decides to move back home to Texas with her three teenage sons. Life on the family ranch, however, brings with it a whole new host of dramas starting with differences of opinion with her staunch Southern Baptist mother, her rugged but overprotective brothers, and daily battles with her three sons who are also struggling to find themselves. Add to the mix Shey's ex-crush, Dane Kelly, a national bull-riding champ and she's got her hands full. It doesn't take long before Shey realizes that in order to reinvent herself, she must let go of an uncertain future and a broken past, to find happiness--and maybe love--in the present.

"Shey Lynne, you've been here three months now and not once have you taken those boys to church."

This book was a mix of humor and frustration for me. Shey's interaction with Dane and her mother provide the bulk of the bright spots of the book. Her romance with Dane seemed to get off to a somewhat slow start, but once it did, it progressed at light speed. Shey's relationship with her mom seemed a little strained, but it provided the comedic outlet.

What kept me from really liking Shey more, was how she seemed to let her children treat her. Her two oldest children, Hank and Bo, seemed to talk to her and behave with her any way they pleased. With me being raised by a Southern mother, I seen their behavior as very disrespectful and she did nothing to correct it. When it came to her boys, I have to agree with her brother Brick, in the fact that she was babying them. Shey kept saying how she used to be this strong woman, but I never seen her as such. She came off as more passive than strong.

Overall it's worth the read, but in the end I would have liked to seen what happened with the young girl Shey befriended who was having family issues at home. Or more about how Dane and Brick's friendship was progressing. Or not. I just felt like I was left with a lot of unanswered questions.

Jane Porter | Blog | Facebook | Myspace | Twitter

Book Blogger Hop: August 27-30, 2010 & Follow Friday

It's Book Blogger Hop time! Check out Crazy-For-Books to sign up and find more great blogs.

ABOUT THE HOP:

In the spirit of the Friday Follow, I thought it would be cool to do a Book Blogger Hop to give us all book bloggers and readers a chance to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on! So, I created this weekly BOOK PARTY where book bloggers and readers can connect to find new blogs to read, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed! So, grab the logo, post about the Hop on your blog, and start PARTYING!!

Courtesy of Hachette Book Group, I'll be hosting a super "SIZZLING SUMMER NIGHTS" giveaway for the entire month of August!! Three lucky readers will win ALL five of these HOT Forever Romances. To enter click HERE.

I'm also hosting a giveaway of Desperate Deeds by Dee Davis; A giveaway of She's Gone Country by Jane Porter; A giveaway of The Island by Elin Hilderbrand.

Your blog should have content related to books, including, but not limited to book reviews. And if that's how you found my blog, please leave a comment to let me know. Sign up and start hopping!!

My Answer: Yes I have a rating system of butterflies that is located on my sidebar indicting the meaning of the different butterfly amounts. I have been thinking of maybe adding an addition 'heat level' rating to my current system, but I haven't decided yet if I will.





Parajunkee's View will be featuring one blogger each Friday along with having the Follow My Book Blog feature. Each week one blogger will be selected as a feature, so sign up for the Follow Feature. Happy Follow Friday!!

Blog Tour: The Devil Wears Plaid by Teresa Medeiros

Please join Teresa Medeiros on her blog tour of The Devil Wears Plaid!

AN INNOCENT WOMAN

Emmaline Marlow is about to wed the ancient patriarch of the Hepburn clan to save her father from debtor's prison when the Hepburn's sworn enemy Jamie Sinclair bursts into the abbey on a magnificent black horse and whisks her away. Jamie is everything her bridegroom is not--young, handsome, virile...and a perilous temptation for her yearning heart.

A DANGEROUS MAN

Jamie expects Emma to be some milksop English miss, not a spirited beauty who will defy him at every turn. All of his plans to use her as a pawn in the centuries old Highland feud begin to go awry when irresistible passion flares between the two of them. A man can kidnap a bride, but is it possible for him to steal her innocence without losing his own heart?

Read an excerpt

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Teresa on Facebook

About the Author:

New York Times bestseller Teresa Medeiros wrote her first novel at the age of twenty-one, introducing readers to one of the most beloved and versatile voices in romantic fiction. She has appeared on every national bestseller list, including the New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly lists. She currently has over seven million books in print and is published in over seventeen languages. Read more here.

Confessions {3}

This is a meme hosted by Jen @ In The Closet With A Bibliophile. Since she is always asked what is her favorite book and/or song, she decided she would make it into a meme. So, what is your fave book and song for this week?

My favorite song this week, is Teenage Dream by Katy Perry.







My favorite book this week would have to be Finding Perfect by Susan Mallery.



When Pia O'Brian's best friend dies, Pia expects to inherit her cherished cat. Instead, the woman leaves Pia three frozen embryos. With a disastrous track record in the romance department and the parenting skills of a hamster, Pia doesn't think she's meant for motherhood. But determined to do the right thing, Pia decides to become a single mother. Only to meet a gorgeous, sexy hunk the very same day.

A former foster-care kid now rich beyond his wildest dreams, Raoul Moreno runs a camp for needy children in Fool's Gold, California. After his last relationship, Raoul thought he was done with women and commitment. Still, he can't get sweet, sexy Pia out of his mind—and proposes a crazy plan. But can such an unconventional beginning really result in the perfect ending?

Review: Tracker's Sin by Sarah McCarty

Title: Tracker's Sin
Author: Sarah McCarty
Published: October 1, 2010
Publisher: Spice
Format: E-book
Source: Publisher
Characters: Ari Blake, Tracker Ochoa
My Rating:

Synopsis:

WED BY NECESSITY…JOINED BY DESIRE

Before his trade became his name, “Tracker” Ochoa was a scrawny Mestizo runaway. Now as fearsome as he once was frightened, he’s joined the notorious Hell’s Eight...and they have a job for him.

He must rescue kidnapped heiress Ari Blake and deliver her safely to the Hell’s Eight compound—by any means necessary. Turns out that includes marrying her, if he means to escort her and her infant son
across the Texas Territory. Tracker hadn’t bargained on a wife—especially such a fair, blue-eyed beauty. But the erotic pleasures of the marriage bed more than make up for the surprise.

Tracker’s well-muscled bronze skin and dark, dangerous eyes are far more exciting than any of Ari’s former debutante dreams. In the light of day, though, his deep scars and brooding intensity terrify her. But he’s her husband and she’s at his mercy. With the frontier against them and mercenary bandits at their heels, Ari fears she’ll never feel safe again.

Tracker, too, remembers what fear feels like. Though he burns to protect Ari, to keep her for himself always, he knows that money, history—and especially the truth—can tear them apart.

I don't know how to start this letter, except to say thank God you're alive.

This one was a slow starter for me. It starts off with Tracker locating Desi's sister, Ari, living with an older couple raising her child. Upon first seeing Ari she appears to be happy and leading a normal life. But upon further investigation, you realize things are not all that they seem.

I won't get to much into the plot, but when Ari finally does reach Hell's Eight, it isn't the happy reunion everyone hoped for. Ari feels abandoned by Desi and also feels resentment towards Desi. She thinks Desi left her to the men who abused her, all while she had been living the good life with Caine.

Tracker too has issues in the fact that he doesn't think he's good enough for Ari. If Ari chooses to leave Hell's Eight and head back East she would never be accepted for being with him. Also he feels that his Indian heritage will be a constant reminder to her of her attackers.

I have to say, I do like Ari and Tracker together. At first I was unsure of how it would work out given all that she had been through, but Ms. McCarty pulled it off. Ari comes across as this damaged yet strong woman who just needs to find her strength and courage. And with Tracker she can be the women she is meant to be.

Waiting on Wednesday: Volume 1 Issue 16

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.


Title: Born to Bite

Author: Lynsay Sands
Release Date: August 31, 2010

Legend has it that Armand Argeneau is a killer in the bedroom . . .

But with all three of his late wives meeting unfortunate and untimely ends, is this sexy immortal a lover or a murderer? That's what Eshe d'Aureus intends to find out. As an enforcer, it's her job to bring rogue vampires to justice, even if the rogue in question makes her blood race red hot.

Armand knew she was trouble the moment Eshe roared into town on her motorcycle, clad in tight black leather. She claims she's hiding from dangerous fiends, though he suspects something more. But after three wives who've all had trouble remaining, well, undead, Armand is reluctant to open his heart again. Then strange accidents start to happen, each deadlier than the last, and Armand realizes he may not have much time to prove he's a lover, not a slayer.