NB: This is a guest rant. Many years in the making I believe. It’s aged in a notebook like fine wine. Decant it with care and savor! The backstory on this is that, like, 4 or 5 years ago, I accidentally late-night-bought a free ebook that threw me into such a rage that at like 3AM I decided to write down all my feelings about it. I think I meant to submit it to SBTB. But I … Continue reading Guest Rant: Feral Sins by Suzanne Wright
Trigger warning for domestic violence The Strongest Steel is a new adult novel about Harper Connelly, a domestic violence survivor with extensive scarring on her back from where her ex-boyfriend carved a phrase into it, and Trent Andrews, the tattoo artist whom she wants to tattoo over her scars. This novel hits several of the new adult tropes. Terrible trauma? Check. Green eyed heroine? (Green eyes are the violet eyes of the new century.) Check. … Continue reading The Strongest Steel by Scarlett Cole
This is the sixth in a loosely linked series of novels about the Carrigans of the Circle C Ranch. The story starts off well. Willa and her son, Scout, are driving through a snowstorm to a vacation at the Bramble House B&B. They’re being followed. This sounds ominous, but actually isn’t; the car behind them is driven by Finn, who’s booked a room at the same B&B. He’s driving behind them because Willa is obviously … Continue reading A Bramble House Christmas by CJ Carmichael
Y’all, this is going to be a review with several part: I’m putting the basic plot summary and analysis up top, and then there shall be semi-spoilery THOUGHTS. Our main characters are Willa Fairchild and Finn Conrad. Willa is a single mom and private nurse who is travelling from Phoenix to Marietta this Christmas at the behest of a former patient of hers who died and left her a minor inheritance. Willa’s son Scout is six years … Continue reading A Bramble House Christmas by CJ Carmichael
This one is going to be much harder to write than my previous review, because I didn’t like this book as much. I actually wonder if I would have kept going if I hadn’t signed up to write this review. I’m glad I did, because there were some aspects of the book I greatly enjoyed. There were other aspects that drove me bonkers. I’ll start with what I did like, since I have the social … Continue reading Fatal Frenzy by Marie Force
Staff Sergeant First Class Carla Anderson is the first woman to receive orders of selection for “The Unit,” more commonly known as Delta Force. Being the only woman in a previously all-male bastion is only one of the challenges ahead. She is determined to excel and her biggest competition is Sergeant First Class Kyle Reeves. Mutual respect becomes mutual attraction as they make their way through the assessment phase. There’s no time for romance during assessment, … Continue reading Target Engaged by M.L. Buchman
Funny story. Due to lots of unforeseen travel in the last month – Shepherding the Dread Pirate Robert’s cataract surgery (You scheduled it for when? What you mean I don’t need to be there? It’s so cute that you think that, Dad) and moving my goddaughter to Ohio (What do you mean what time am I getting there? We’re doing what this weekend? Didn’t we just get her potty trained last year?), I was not … Continue reading Midnight’s Kiss by Thea Harrison
FINALLY! That is my reaction to this book. I have been sitting through three books to get to this story and it was totally worth it! The book follows Chelsea as she draws up the list for her perfect man and the characteristics that he will possess. None of them are physical traits – it’s more about lifestyle and personal beliefs that concern Chelsea. She doesn’t want someone with a crazy-ex, works nights or weekends, … Continue reading Love After All by Jaci Burton
I started No Better Man with high hopes. Chapter 1 was great. And that was it. Actually, I’d made it about 72% of the way through sometime back in April, then put the book aside when I couldn’t deal with it anymore. Besides, I had a lot of cereal boxes to read. With the RITA Reader Challenge deadline fast approaching, it became a point of pride to resume reading and do my duty. Unfortunately, doing … Continue reading No Better Man by Sara Richardson
Barefoot with a Bodyguard by Roxanne St. Claire is made of my own personal catnip all over the place. Bodyguard crush? Check. Sweet hero with a dark and troubled past he’s trying to escape? Check. Damsel who refuses to stay distressed? Check. Two people who aren’t romantically involved going undercover as a couple? Check. The list goes on and every trope was extremely well written. The basic set-up is that Kate Kingston is fresh out … Continue reading Barefoot with a Bodyguard by Roxanne St. Claire
I chose this book under ‘Best First Book’ rather than ‘Best Paranormal Romance,’ and that pretty well summarises some of the more technical problems I had with it. The pacing problems, jarring (often unnecessary) exposition, inconsistency of voice, and slightly clumsy ending sequence that I experienced here are, in my experience, pretty typical first-book problems. But this book also bugged me in several ways that I’m less sanguine about. First, though, let’s talk about the … Continue reading Viking Warrior Rising by Asa Maria Bradley
