June/July Part One

One measly post in June and then you’d think I didn’t read anything after that. Sadly, such is not the case. I started a book review post at the end of June, blanched at the number of books I had to review, and gave up. Then I read all through July. Now it’s August and the pile of books I’ve read is threatening to topple over onto me . . . and that many books can do some serious damage!

So I’ve decided to take it a few books a time and post in parts. When I get tired of posting, I’ll stop and continue in the next part. Sound fair to you? Meanwhile, I’ve made some half-assed suggestion on my writing blog that I’ll only read after getting so much written. Yeah, we’ll see how well I stick to that suggestion.

These books are in no particular order, just the way they’re stacked up on the desk.

Too Wild by Jamie Sobrato

This book, from the Harlequin Temptation line, was sent to me by my friend Jamie (anyone who sends me books and tea is a friend indeed! :-) ) I have a soft spot for books with writer protagonists, they never disappoint. This one features Jenna Calvert who’s a journalist looking for a place to hide while she re-creates her story about the beauty pageant circuit. Someone’s trying to kill her when she meets Travis Roth, who makes her an offer she finds hard to refuse, especially after someone trashes her apartment and steals her laptop. She makes him a counter-offer that he’d be a fool to pass up, and Travis may be uptight, but he’s no fool. These two show why opposites attract in the very best way. This book is sexy and funny and fast-paced - the scene where they’re caught in the coat closet by Travis’ father is priceless!

Midnight Cravings

This is a collection of Nocturne Bites. For those of you unfamiliar with Nocturne, it’s a paranormal line from Silhouette. At one time Silhouette had a line called Silhouette Shadows which was one of the first lines to foray into the paranormal realms of romance. Then Harlequin bought them out and shut down the line. A couple of years later they tried to revamp it under the name of Harlequin Dreamscapes, but this line was a dismal failure.

The Nocturne series has been around since 2006 and according to the blurb about it from Silhouette: The promise we are fulfilling to the reader with each Nocturne story is that the book they are reading will be a sensual, dark, atmospheric paranormal story with a strong hero and compelling, sympathetic heroine.

The Nocturne Bites are basically short Nocturne stories, and by short I mean not novel length. You can actually go to the Nocturne Bites Website and download them individually as e-files, but I prefer holding the book in my hand.

Midnight Cravings runs a gamut of paranormal including shapeshifters and vampires, hellhounds and soul-suckers, cops and healers. Six dark and sensuous tales of paranormal passion. Have a bite.

The Queen in Winter

I bought this anthology as one of my “four” in 4 for $10, not really expecting much out of it. Boy do I love it when I’m wrong. This is an anthology of four tales of adventure, filled with both enchantment and love.

There’s a story of the elfin princess held by a dark sorcerer, and the human prince who saves her. Both are without hope, for different reasons, but find A Whisper of Spring in the end. Then we have a story of two sisters and the mystic baby they’re trying to protect, and of the nobleman who drops in out of their lives in When Winter Comes. Next is Kiss of the Snow Queen, which is a new take on an old tale. The story of the Snow Queen with its own twist. And finally we have A Gift of Wings, the story of a man who’s been broken and the woman who loves him enough to try and piece him back together. Four very different fantasy tales, each touched by romance and excellent in their own, unique way.

Kick @$$

Yes, that’s exactly how the title appears. Yet another anthology, this time a little more contemporary. First we have a woman with amnesia who’s preparing for her wedding in the Bride Wore a 44. But is she marrying the wrong man? And where’d she get all those guns? Next is the story of a unique vampire slayer who picks herself up a very unwanted side kick in the Incredible Misadventures of Boo. Another fast-paced story, but laced with humour. Next is Angela Knight’s Warfem, a futuristic story of the lengths a mother will go to to keep her child safe. And finally, we have a supermodel spy wannabe, who turns out to be more of a secret agent than she realized in Painkillers. All four stories have strong female characters who do indeed kick @$$.