Taking Him by Jackie Ashenden

Taking Him
by Jackie Ashenden
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
How can I describe how much I enjoyed this story? It's passionate and intense, sweet and quirky. A computer game designer girl and a general contractor-type guy. I love books that give the heroines all kinds of smarts as just a normal part of life. There wasn't a big deal about Ellie being a computer geek or making her conspicuously out-of-the-ordinary. She was just herself.

I loved Ellie's fascination with Hunter. I swear Jackie Ashenden pulled out every possible detail on Hunter and made me feel like I was witnessing this story as it happened. I could believe Ellie's attraction in an instant. Ellie was always the kid in their relationship and it took her a lot to make Hunter see her as a woman. I loved how fearless she was.

Hunter was morose and complicated. He got pulled in to a relationship with Ellie, almost kicking and screaming. Ellie knew what she wanted and went after it with everything she had. She had a certain innocence but a lot of determination. I was fascinated with Hunter just as much as Ellie was.

But, for all the passion, I did get a little irritated at Hunter. There were times he was violent, in a grabby way that left bruises, when he was upset. I understood where it was coming from, but there were times I wanted to tell Ellie that you just don't stick around a person who does that to you. There were times when this book reminded me of Surrender To A Wicked Spy by Celeste Bradley (I think that's the one). Ellie and Hunter have the same sort of I'll-save-your-soul-through-sex journey that Olivia and Dane go through. From that perspective, I wanted Hunter to get some outside help before the story resolved, but in the fantasy of this book, his problems went away as soon as he faced them. Luckily, the rest of the book was so good that I was able to believe in him.

And now that I'm reading Having Her, some of the background questions in this book are being answered, leaving me goggle-eyed and saying “ooooh, that's what was going on”. Both books are stand-alone stories, but they take place during the same time period, so read them close together to get the full effect.


I enjoy the older-brother's-best-friend trope, so when you combine that with Jackie Ashenden (who I just discovered recently and love, love, love), it was an auto-buy. I couldn't seriously pass it up. The story was so well written and so gripping. I was enthralled and barely put the book down. And I ended up crying near the end. It totally sucked me in. I didn't even highlight passages because I was so into the story. This one goes into my read again pile.

Skylar's Guardians

Skylar's Guardians
by Breanna Hayse
Rating: 3 of 5 stars

My Review:
Seriously, who doesn't enjoy some hot alien sex with guys who are huge and specially endowed? There's something fun about reading books like this and I had a good time with some of it. I even stayed up a little late to finish it up. The writing style was okay; sometimes a bit weird as the author mentioned herself multiple times. I found the names hard to keep straight. Both alien men are T names and I got them confused all the time. Sometimes you have no idea which person is talking, but if you sort of merge both aliens together like they're conjoined twins, it all works out fine. There were a couple alien women with L names and I didn't even try to keep them straight. The names threw me for a loop, but didn't interfere with parts of the book I enjoyed.

But... (and it's a big one) there was a lot of spanking in this book. And by a lot, I mean bruises and welts on an almost daily basis. There was also a number of anal punishments. I'm not into pain, so I found those parts of the book over the top and distasteful.

Any sex these characters have is completely consensual, which I thought was good and somewhat strange considering all the pain and punishment. The spanking and everything was kept almost completely separate from the sex. Anytime sexual contact happened, Skylar was the instigator or a completely happy participant and there was no punishment related to her sexuality. There was age-play, humiliation, spankings, punishment, forced nudity, etc. that happened separate from the sex, but none of those kinks were obviously enjoyable to Skylar. There were a couple mentions that she “secretly” liked them, but I felt they were so separate from sexual gratification, the story veered too far into the bad sadism for my taste.

As much as the pain disturbed me, even more gag-inducing was the motivation behind the punishments. Maybe it's a universally acknowledged feature of BDSM/spankings, but from the outside these guys were reenacting a certain fundamentalist child training manual that is well known to be abusive. And Skylar's reactions to her “training” were exactly what this manual says you should expect. Having been around that style of training often enough while growing up - no, just no.

This woman was saved by the aliens after having been repeatedly raped and beaten by her ex boyfriend/drug dealer. She is given no choice in any of her actions; from what she wears, to what she eats, to how she can spend her day. Any deviation is met with more beatings and punishments. And yet eventually she comes to see that they really have her best interests at heart and she'll do a better job trying to be a good, responsible, compliant person.

It could have been just a fun, zany book, but when it veered so far into pain and non-consensual “training”, I felt dirty, soiled, and really squicked out by the time I finished it. It might be your cup of tea, but it wasn't mine.

Beyond Repair by Charlotte Stein

Beyond Repair
by Charlotte Stein
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
This book was billed as New Adult. It's written in 3^rd person, but only from Alice's perspective. I agree that it's a bit different than many of Charlotte Stein's other books, which tend to be extra-super filthy. It had a little bit of dirty, filthy sex, but that was mostly an afterthought compared to the emotion and gravity of the characters. Alice and Holden were so, so, so messed up. The way they met was crazy; their time together was sweet and bewitching; and their conclusion was gritty, poignant, and intense.

There was Charlotte Stein's signature depth of feeling and complete submersion inside the characters' subconscious. I knew them, I was them, and I couldn't help loving them. The language was so fun and quirky. They felt like real people that I'd want to be friends with. Here's an example of just a little piece of awesome:

She'd always seen the term grab ass and imagined something brutal and rude. The equivalent in her head was punching someone's great-aunt with a penis.

I felt like neither character had much in the way of physical descriptions. In this case, it made it so easy to let them fly free. They could both be attractive to each other without needing to narrow down what that attraction meant. They loved each other because they connected and accepted each other. It sounds like such a simple thought, but they worked through things heartbreakingly and beautifully.

Alice had some deep emotional issues to work through. I can't give away too much without spoilers, so let's just say that her issues could have veered into major psychological help needed, but I felt happy with the way the book went. She was able to overcome, in what I felt was a believable way, through being accepted and needed. She already had a lot of the psychological help paving the way, but she found a reason to fight once she established an emotional connection.

The experience of this book is so intense because everything is so constrained; one house, one moment in time, one single step taken before thinking about the next. Holden and Alice are so broken and seeing them heal and open up to each other makes life worthwhile. I was drawn in to the pain and disconnect of these two. Life just didn't work for them. They didn't have meaningful connections and they're full of emptiness. Things didn't get easy once they meet, but their love gave them reasons to fight through the emotional pain.

I loved seeing how Holden and Alice connected. They met each other exactly where they were. They pushed each other just a little bit, but there was no judgement – only acceptance. It was exactly the type of relationship that felt perfect. Even when they were dealing with heavy issues, they were whimsical and quirky – giving each other nicknames and allowing space for growth.

I'm not often a fan of movie star books. I hate the whole famous person thing. But it didn't matter that Holden was externally famous. It only mattered that he was famous to Alice because it gave them a connection. They got a little kinky, but that was just another way for them to accept each other.


Beyond Repair didn't quite knock my very favorite Charlotte Stein books off the top of the stack, but I did love it. It was so vulnerable and achingly raw. I agonized, I smiled, and I couldn't help the wistful feeling when I read this book. 

Hard Time by Cara McKenna

Hard Time
by Cara McKenna
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
This story was so sweet and bent. Eric and Annie are so broken and vulnerable. I loved the letter writing and there was so much emotion and hotness in those pages. I think that was my favorite part of the book. Both characters tug at your heartstrings and Cara McKenna handled their issues with compassion and hopefulness.

Annie was quiet and reserved, but decided to hold on to the tension of seeing where her attraction went. While Eric's in prison, it's just a secret adventure for her – something safe and dangerous at once. When Eric's released from prison, the feeling of safety and danger is still there but the reasons have been completely reversed. Physically, she completely trusted him, but emotionally it took her a long time to open up. She doesn't want to stay closed, but she's not really ready for the disappointment that comes from a relationship. I felt like she was really understandable and relatable, but also very morose.

Eric wasn't evil, even though he committed a violent act to go to prison. He was a really caring, loyal, doer guy. He was the secret romantic, but he didn't let that interfere with the things that were most important to him. He didn't care what job he held, had no hopes or dreams, but he did what he had to for the people he cared about.

To start out with, I was a little creeped out by Eric's attention. He had a staring thing going on that felt a little too perverted. I think their relationship was build around being soul mates and you have to suspend some extra disbelief to allow them to like each other while he's in prison. I think part of my difficulty was that we don't get any of Eric's perspective. It's just all of a sudden he's looking at her and writing letters. They had an across-the-crowded-room zing, but I didn't get a good read on why Eric initially liked Annie besides she was available. Without his perspective, he felt a bit more one-dimensional – like each of his issues were just a part of the drudgery of life and he didn't have emotions to go with them.

Both characters skirted the law to interact with each other and it was an uncomfortable feeling to experience their attraction along with the anxiety of potentially getting caught. While the book was heartwarming and sexy, I also felt distressed by how much I could relate to these characters even through their bad choices. They were totally believable and it made me cringe each time they decided to stick with the attraction and let themselves stew in their discomfort.

At the same time, Eric and Annie were just so nice. They didn't see eye to eye all the time, but they both felt likeable and grown up. They found mature ways to work through their problems. Besides the whole am-I-ok-with-you-being-a-criminal issue, they didn't have a reason not to be together. They're relationship wasn't easy, but it did feel calm. They didn't have loud, angry fights or huge, emotional reunions. But they were happy together. They owned their choices and were accepting of their lives. Life wasn't all joy and roses, but they made the best of what they had.

This was another book from Cara McKenna that felt very constrained. We got a little more outside interaction than say Unbound, but neither person has a support system, neither person seems to have friends. They each have some family, but the real reason they found each other is fate or destiny.

I thought this book handled all of Eric and Annie's issues with compassion and a gratifying resolution. The writing is excellent. The emotion and perception was spot on. But I didn't completely believe their attraction was more than convenience and gentle personalities working well together. In most cases, that would be fine, but the constrained Insta-Love was hard to reconcile with their calm personalities outside the prison walls.

Just One Night by Lauren Layne

Just One Night
by Lauren Layne
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

My review:
We had two great stories with Love The One You're With and After The Kiss. Julie and Grace were nice, solidly draw heroines. Now we have book three of the series. Riley was the sexpert of the group. Outgoing, pushy, always the push-the-line woman who knows how to get what she wants, and in the other two books, knows the sexy advice to help Julie and Grace get what they want. She always seemed confident and outrageous, so I had some high hopes for this book. Amazingly enough, it met and surpassed all of my hopes. It was sweet and touching, gave me all kinds of good feelings.

I wished that I could have read the entire story in one sitting. Some of the emotional punch gets muted when you have to start and stop a bunch of times. Even then, I was crying within the first few pages and had so many happy, tingly feelings through the rest of the book.

Riley is so confident on the outside and I loved how she wasn't willing to settle. She thinks about it and is so close to having sex with someone even though she's not attracted to them, but she's confident enough in herself to just say no. And she doesn't let anyone else's opinion change her mind. She doesn't let guys push her around at all. Even though she's not as sexually experienced as she'd like people to think, she's just so self-assured and knows how to take on the world. I appreciated that she didn't avoid sex for some shame-based reason. She just didn't find someone who did it for her. Although Riley's idea is to have one night with Sam for her personal experience story at the magazine, once they're finally together, there's never any doubt that they were meant for each other. In fact, there really wasn't any doubt to begin with.

And Sam... well, Sam is really hot. He's sweet and vulnerable. He takes these huge risks but then sort of chickens out for the final step. He's quirky and lovable and totally hot. There are issues he needs to work out, he treats Riley pretty poorly at one point, and he needs to accept himself. But there's never really a question of if he's capable of loving someone. He simply does (love). He just can't figure out how he's worthy of it. One of the greatest things in the book is that Riley doesn't try to take that on herself. She says it to him, but she leave the responsibility with him. I was so happy to see her have solid boundaries.

I always love the friends-to-lover troupe. Riley's family was a great addition to the story too. This story was so well written; they had secretly been in love with each other for years. I found it so believable and touching that both of them generally knew in the recesses of their hearts that they were meant to be together. This book is the perfect, emotionally rich, soul mates will wind up together, cozy evening read. I know I'll read it again. Now we just have to wait for Emma's story!

I received a complementary ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Talking Dirty With The Boss by Jackie Ashenden

Talking Dirty with the Boss
by Jackie Ashenden
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
This was another book that I stayed up late for. It sucked me in so hard. Talk about passion and angst. So much of it was like a modern day, old-skool Harlequin Presents: rich, broody hero meets interoffice secretary, lots of unwanted lust, surprise pregnancy, a ton of passion and feelings. But after that thin, upper veneer, it set itself apart in my forever love. The heroine was not a virginal, innocent, docile flower. She went after what she wanted and was confident enough to use her sexuality however she was comfortable with.

Marisa is finally trying to get her life on track. She just got out of a relationship with a married man and her life and finances are in ruins. She works in an office, was a model, but she wants to be an artist. She's just getting ready to pay off her debts and go back to art school when things start happening with Luke. She doesn't do trust very well because of how badly her ex screwed her over, but she seemed calm and levelheaded when necessary.

The hero had actual psychological issues that he was attempting to keep secret. When they do come out, the heroine handles them in a compassionate and calm way. I loved how unflappable she was. She gave as good as she got, didn't let people take advantage of her but was caring and capable of connecting. Luke is so rigid and vulnerable. At first, I felt he was all closed up and serious but we quickly find out how passionate and broody he is. It was so much fun to see him start caring more and more.

Jackie Ashenden books seem to have so many things in them. Half the time I'm going “Oh my gosh! Really?! That too?!”, but in a good way. This story is interesting and so nicely put together. Although we get a nice happily-ever-after, there were a few things I still would have liked to see once I got to the end. We don't get any airtime with Marisa as an artist, so I have no idea if she was actually any good at it. We also don't get to see how they deal with having a baby and/or if Luke is able to deal with his OCD with a kid in the mix.

I wasn't totally sure about the ending. Luke does something sweet and caring. You see it coming, but I was surprised Marisa was able to roll with it and not be a little offended after the way she talked about wanting to do things on her own. Bottom line is that I will now have to get the rest of this series and I will read this book again when I need a smile and a large dose of crazy passion and well-written angst.

Amazing Spinach Salad

I keep thinking of posting this recipe, but I always convince myself - who really likes salad anyway? But maybe you've been looking for a good salad to try. Maybe you've been hoping for something a little different. Maybe you've wanted to add more salad to your life. Maybe your plain iceberg lettuce has needed a pick me up.

Well, I have the recipe for you. I'm sort of on a kick of this salad. I've been making it for myself a couple times a week. My husband has his own special salad mix, but he likes this dressing. So, use what you want and let this inspire you. Eat Salad!

First off, The Dressing
Juice about 3 lemons into a shakeable container. Pull out all the seeds and throw them away. Add a teaspoon of minced garlic, a couple sprinkles of salt, about 1/2 teaspoon of truvia, and up to a teaspoon of the herb of your choice. (I've tried once with basil and once with rosemary.) Look at how much liquid you have and add in approximately the same amount of sunflower oil (so now your liquid is doubled). Put the lid on and shake it really well. Voila. Dressing.

And my salad base contains:
About 3 large handfuls of spinach, ripped into bite size pieces.
A bunch of baby carrots
Half an avocado, cut into bite size pieces
One apple, peeled and sliced
Some parmesan flakes
Some crumbled up sweet potato chia seed tortilla chips.

I drizzle on about 3-4 tablespoons of dressing for this much salad. I recommend putting on the dressing and tossing, before you put the chips in. This much salad serves just me for lunch or dinner. As a side dish, you could probably stretch it out to 3-4 people.

First Kiss Blog Hop: An Ensemble of Acceptance

Welcome to Day 7 of the First Kiss Blog Hop. Here's my addition to the fun, coming in right under 1500 words (1497). I hope you enjoy it. Be sure to visit my date mates for this blog hop: Cate Dean, Cherri Porter, and LM Sparks. Check out the full list of participants here. I'm so excited to be a part of this event with such wonderful and talented authors. Special thanks to Jody Wallace for taking a look at this story early and giving me invaluable feedback.

An Ensemble of Acceptance

"I can do this. I know I can."

Brianna kept walking even as her brain rebelled. Everything in her wanted to turn around and walk away, except that one tiny piece that was still holding the reigns.

"You know you can't let them win. This is your best chance," it whispered.

So she kept walking. Up the seemingly endless steps, through the doors, name on the sign-in sheet, down the hall, second door on the left. She stood in front of it with clammy hands and spots dancing before her eyes. She leaned against the wall and squatted down to put her head between her knees. Why did she let her friend strong-arm her into this? Recording a first kiss with a random stranger? Who does that? The only reason she'd agreed was because she couldn't get through the anxiety of another first date. At least this way, everyone knew the expectation.

She could feel the ticking clock down to her bones. Crouching in the hallway much longer would let the chance escape. She rocked back and forth a few times and stood. Pushed her hair back, straightened her shoulders. Opened the door before she could second guess herself for the millionth time.

The room was empty, leaving her with more time to obsess. Great. She started to pace, but stopped herself. Then again, standing still made her feel stiff and mechanical. She had to keep moving to hold the panic at bay. She started repeating the script in her mind, each action coinciding with a step across the room. Her friend had written these up and insisted she rehearse for the last week. Talk about embarrassing. Her pillow had a lot of dirty secrets now.

But no one was going to tell her she was a bad kisser again.

Finally, the door opened and he stepped inside. A little taller and a little broader than her. Messy, dark hair like he'd just pulled off a hat.

He started to say something, maybe his name, maybe just "how do you do?", but she heard nothing. Once the door closed, her brain took her to the place where it could complete the steps, follow the path down the rabbit hole. Her ears buzzed every noise and thought out of existence except for the muscle memory to complete the process. At that point, she couldn't avoid it even if she tried. She inched closer to him and started the sequence she'd rehearsed.

As their lips touched, she realized that she never would have gotten through this if her body hadn't known what to do on its own. Her conscious mind had completely disengaged, filling up with as much useless noise as possible.

Her brain went rogue and decided to make her lips into a dirty Frenchman. Her lips started talking in her head with a deep French accent, "Oh-ho-ho, we are nekked and rubbing against other nekked things. Zees ees very nice. Zees massage would be so much better if we were wet and slippery." Nice to see her brain still had a sense of humor, but she was too amped up to notice. She did oblige and use her tongue...just a little bit. Then she pulled away. Script over, process completed.

She finally breathed out. That was pretty much as bad as she expected it to be. At least it was over. She could open her eyes to see what the damage was like.

"Whoa. I didn't know it was going to go down like that." He ran his hand through his hair as the words kept pouring out of him. "You're pretty. Did you practice that?"

She could have taken that offensively, but there was red creeping up his cheeks and he was talking so fast - like he was too flustered and overwhelmed to think about his words. Maybe she wasn't the only nervous one. It helped her calm down and she smiled when she answered.

"So, you could tell? Darn. I was trying to be smooth."

He looked toward the sound booth and asked, "Um, does that mean we're done?" After a nod and a thumbs up from the guy in the booth, his words kept rushing out "Yes? Good. Works for me. I'm Greg, by the way." He turned back to her.

"Brianna." It seemed like that was the only word she could get in around his haste. It did give her some time to check him out, now that the pressure was off. He was pretty cute with the messy hair and the nervous, scratchy voice.

"Well, nice to meet you, Brianna. Since we're done here, you wanna see my viola?" he finished.

After all the stressing about the kiss, the whole conversation was surreal. Did he really say viola? It was so out of left field it made her laugh. Like the ice had broken and she was finally free to take back control of her body and mind. Maybe she had an adrenaline high. The hard part was over now.

"Has that line ever worked for you?" she asked, with raised eyebrows. "That's the cheesiest come-on I've ever heard."

"No, I really mean it. I had to keep my viola outside the door and I don't like leaving it alone," he said.

So, maybe not a creepy pervert, but still...strange? She didn't know, but it wouldn't hurt to see what he was talking about. She had to leave through that door anyway. Who had a relationship with their instrument? Ugh. She couldn't help the blush at that innuendo.

When they walked out, his eyes darted back and forth even though the case was right there next to the threshold. He seemed to be checking to make sure no one had touched it. He picked it up with one hand and shocked her by taking her hand as he started walking. She felt almost giddy from surviving the tough part, so she followed along. It wasn't like she had anything else on her schedule. He hadn't chided her for the kiss so that was a step in the right direction and he was rather intriguing.

They went out the door and down the steps. He sped up and towed her along, like he was the white rabbit and she was Alice. Two blocks away, he stopped in front of a medieval-looking church with the doors wide open. He pulled her up the steps into another new experience.

They walked into the cathedral and he explained, "This is where I spend my Saturdays. It's always empty right now."

He set the case on a pew and opened the lid. His eyes glazed over as he caressed the contents. He looked so spellbound that she couldn't help stepping closer to catch a glimpse. It looked like any other stringed instrument she'd seen and she mentally shrugged, but he stared at it like it was a priceless artifact.

It felt like forever before he got everything unhooked and aligned on his shoulder. He started to play and honestly, he sucked pretty badly. Even after warming up, he squeaked and hit wrong notes every few measures. His music echoed through the building and she cringed with embarrassment for him every time he made a mistake. But he didn't stop; didn't even seem to notice that she was there.

Eventually, she closed her eyes and let the melody sweep her away; accepting the good with the bad. She found that she was spinning, no longer standing on firm ground but connecting to this unique, strange person. Letting go of perfection felt like riding the wind, with air and sound rushing through her whole body. This person with eyes closed, a blissful smile, and haunting, half turned phrases exuded an overwhelming acceptance that seemed to permeate the air she breathed.

She loved how unconcerned he seemed with his imperfections. It fascinated her. This viola and his talent had freed her from the burden of expectations that had been weighing her down.

As he finished his piece, she stepped closer. She whispered, "Put the viola away". She didn't touch him until he complied.

This kiss would be different. She had discovered she liked his brand of crazy and it opened her eyes to the uniqueness all around her. He had offered her a glimpse of unfiltered authenticity. She could do no less than accept his gift and show him some part of her unvarnished passion. Good kisser or bad kisser, it didn't really matter anymore. She knew he's be able to accept her with all of her imperfections and insecurities.

The world was full of possibilities again and she didn't need to fear them. No scripts left, no process needed. She chose to be impulsive and spend this moment right there, with both hands wrapped around his shoulders, leaning close, brushing her lips against his. And this time, letting the music inside carry her away, along with her dirty Frenchman lips.

Ripped by Sarah Morgan

Ripped
by Sarah Morgan
Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
This was another so-so read for me. I enjoyed it, but it seemed really short. I felt like the heroine went from “I don't want a relationship” to “yep, all set for forever” in just a couple pages with one conversation and the hero was already set from the get-go. So far, that seems to be the nature of these Cosmo Red Hot Reads – not much conflict, really short, sex-positive, all ready for happily-ever-after.

Hayley seemed a little insecure, like she was still looking for a male to validate who she was. She stood taller because Niko saw value in her, because her worth was still smarting from her ex. I felt with the length, we didn't really get to see if she figured out her self-esteem apart from Niko. She has this confident, I'm-going-to-have-a-fling persona, but she's so vulnerable and bashful that we know it's not going to work at all.

Niko was strong and solid, like a broody, passionate billionaire should be. He was quiet and misunderstood, but confident enough to not care. I appreciated how open he was about wanting a relationship. It didn't feel like he needed to grow or anything, the two of them just needed to sort out what they wanted.

There were lots of characters in here standing behind Niko and Hayley and supporting them but it was hard to feel connected to them given the length of the story. It was a nice addition that they had a positive support system, but I felt like I didn't know much about anyone. We don't get a feel for jobs or personalities of any of the characters outside their connection and sexuality.

Right now, it seems like this line of stories hasn't piqued my interest. I've wanted to enjoy them, but I haven't been in the right mindset. I might try this one again sometime when I need a quick, sex-positive, happily-ever-after read and see if it gives me a happy feeling.

Rescue Me by Serena Bell

Rescue Me
by Serena Bell
Rating: 3 of 5 stars


My Review:
At the time I read this, I thought it was sweet and cute, but it moved really fast and ended too quickly. I guess I wasn't really comfortable with the characters getting around all the bases with someone they'd just met. I also felt sad that Molly was so convinced Dave had rescued her. She pretty much got all she needed by getting angry at her ex and being all stubborn and crazy. Dave gave her a boost of confidence, but she did the saving on her own. Their attraction was like “hey, we just met and now you're feeling me up”... on a ledge... with freezing conditions... In the end, it was just so short that I didn't get the feeling Molly and Dave really knew each other and even had any reason to like each other besides some general attraction before they're practically agreeing to have sex.

April News and Events

This last month has been so crazy for me. I got back from my trip to Anaheim (where I met Ruthie Knox and Cara McKenna, YAY!) feeling all pumped about writing. I wrote a lot that weekend and before my trip I wrote at least a couple times a week. My husband was great about taking the boys out on the weekends so I could have some silent time, before my trip.

Then when I got back, everyone was sick and it seemed like forever until the coughs went away. Add in some birthday-party-filled weekends, then some more sick, then my husband sprained his ankle. Mix with some school volunteer responsibilities and the resulting soup said NO WRITING TIME. It's pretty frustrating and makes me feel like I'm paying for the time I was away, but that's the way life is right now.

All of that together means I got behind on my reviewing too. Normally I post about three reviews a week, but life was so busy I was barely reading or reviewing anything. I think I'm pretty much caught up and reviews are scheduled out for a couple weeks. I also have a couple more ARCs that I'm about to finish reading, then I'll write reviews, so keep an eye out for my upcoming recommendations.

And because it's what you do when you have no time, I got daring and begged to be included in the First Kiss Blog Hop. On April 13th, you'll be able to read the first publicly accessible story I've ever attempted. I'm joining about 25 other authors in this endeavor. You can check out the schedule here and be sure to click over to read everyone else's stories too.

My story is less than 1500 words, as directed, but I never knew how much time that would take! I wrote it in about two hours, but then editing and thinking took so much longer. Doing that little bit of "finished product" work has given me a little taste of what it'll take to get an actual book written. Boy is it going to be a lot! I haven't been able to get myself back in the groove of working on my other story because I just keep stressing about this one. Once it's active on the 13th, I'm sure it'll be easier to move on, I hope.

So, be sure to check out my blog on the 13th and read my little bit of awesome craziness. I hope you enjoy it. And stayed tuned for more fun and excitement throughout the next weeks and months. I'm pretty sure I'll have excerpts and reviews going up soon for some great books, by all different authors. You don't want to miss them.

Apples Should Be Red by Penny Watson

Apples Should Be Red
by Penny Watson
Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
This story starts by introducing us to the characters through a conversation their grown children have. I was a little confused to start with, not really knowing who was supposed to be hero and heroine of the story. The whole first (short) chapter is the interaction of the married children. I caught on eventually and the rest of the story flowed clearly for me.

The language was a bit more crass than I was expecting. Which was funny considering the little bit of sex scenes we get are tame and almost fade-to-black. The characters were crotchety and bitter. I felt like the men in the story were purposely drawn a bit more uncouth than normal romance heroes. They swore and talked dirty in a way that was a little off-putting to me.

The writing was well-done and engaging. I felt like I connected with Tom and Beverly's emotional vulnerability and they felt like real people. I was glad the author was able to show us how loved they were, but for the first half of the story I didn't really like either of them. I thought Tom tended to treat Beverly poorly, while criticizing her dead husband for his neglect. Beverly seemed to have no self-confidence, even as she projected a very capable image.

Both characters got more likable as the book progressed. I enjoyed my time reading this book, and I might even read it again because I'd like to see if I missed any details on my first read. It was a nice, easy romance. Not quite sweet considering the crassness and crotchetiness, but interesting and heart-felt.

Flushed by Sally Felt

Flushed
by Sally Felt
Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
This book was fun and serious all at once. Both characters are dealing with large issues – mostly the kind common to romance novels: trust, cheating exes, heroes who have never wanted a long term relationship. They have family problems and external adventures too which create a bunch of interesting excitement and interactions.

Isabelle is dignified, regal, and feminine, but is also “a lioness” with a good sense of humor. Being from the west coast, I found her fun and quirky. There are times I felt she went old-skool heroine on me; she'd get really fragile, have a don't-rock-the-boat attitude (Southern Charm maybe, I couldn't be sure), or seem to not care about her job. But on the other hand, she owns her own business and was really sexually expressive. I liked her even if I didn't always understand or connect with her. Her biggest conflict in the story is that every man she knows has cheated so she doesn't trust them. She knows her own worth and enjoys her sexuality, but she's also demure and...maybe I would say she's up for the game. And she was good at playing: the banter, sexiness, flirting, she had it all in spades.

Kim has never been one to stick around. He's is an on-edge but go-with-the-flow kind of guy. I liked how caring he was without being demanding or smothering. He had some growing up to do in this book, but he took it well and matured eventually. And he was a nice guy, even if he had very little relationship sense and even less ability to express himself for a good portion of the book.

I thought the story didn't have enough conflict for the length. Isabelle and Kim seemed to just keep rehashing exactly the same thing for a long time, but there was a nice amount of mystery and adventure to keep things going. The mystery part was slightly a letdown; things were sorted out quickly at the end and there wasn't a big reveal like I was hoping for. But the action was nicely written and as I went further through the book it got harder to put down.

Isabelle and Kim were fun together in a way-back kind of way. The book had today's confidence, technology, and sexual openness, but the charm of days gone by. Most of the sex scenes were not very explicit, but not quite closed door. I had a good time reading this story and although I didn't laugh, I had a smile from all the silly dialogue.

Misbehaving by Tiffany Reisz

Misbehaving
by Tiffany Reisz
Rating: 3 of 5 stars

My Review:
This book was just sort of meh for me. I liked the writing, but I felt like I was missing something. I've heard that this was based around Much Ado About Nothing, which I've never read, so maybe that's what it was. I think it was supposed to be funny or silly and I just didn't catch on to it.

The story seemed so short that it was hard to feel like anything really happened. The main characters were both modern, sexual, consenting adults, with no real issues. The story felt like just a bunch of sex that easily segued into together-forever.

They are rather adventurous in their bed-time antics and pretty much the whole book revolves around their sexuality. Beatriz, being a sex toy reviewer, is open, honest, and willing to try pretty much anything. Seemingly she keeps it all leaning toward the business of pleasure vs. emotional connection, until she reconnects with Ben and they realize they've loved each other forever.

I thought they were nice, levelheaded characters with a good grasp of emotional intelligence. They didn't take themselves too seriously and were open and caring toward each other and their friends. The whole book is less than 2 hours of reading, so when you need a sex-positive taste of fun without much conflict, this was a nice choice. I might read it again sometime and see if it piques my interest a bit more.