Archive for the Category &raquo;2/5 &laquo;

Review: TIS THE SEASON TO BE SINFUL by Adrienne Basso

Category: 2/5, Historical Romance, review copy One Comment

Nov

104089116 From the back of the book:

The Season For Surprises. . .

Juliet Wentworth knew what she was getting into: a marriage of convenience that will save her estate and protect her family long into the future. But she wasn’t expecting to find the passion of a lifetime in her new husband’s arms. After just one night, Juliet knows a marriage in name only will never be enough. . .

The Season For Seduction. . .

Richard Harper’s beautiful new bride has him reeling with desire–and running for cover. After all, falling in love was never part of the bargain. Yet when Christmastime celebrations bring him back to their country manor and back into Juliet’s arms, Richard finds his wife is determined–and all too able–to win over his heart, one kiss at a time. . .

Even though I loved both of the main characters in this story the book was lacking something. Richard is a complex man with a past that he hasn’t overcome. Juliet is trying to move on after the death of her beloved husband and wants another chance at happily ever after. There isn’t much to the story except for the romance and without subplots or something more the story falls a little flat. I think the romance between Juliet and Richard could have been told better in the form of a novella. There just wasn’t enough to keep my interest for the whole book.

the book girl gives TIS THE SEASON TO BE SINFUL a 2/5

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Review: ALL THAT REMAINS by Janice Kay Johnson

Category: 2/5, Historical Romance, Holiday Romance, puchased book One Comment

Oct

118454934 From NetGalley:

What remains is what counts

Wren Fraser can think of better times to go into labor. Say, when she’s not on the run, or when there’s a hospital nearby. Better yet, when there’s not a major flood trapping her in an abandoned house. She needs a rescue…now!

It arrives in one Alec Harper. Strong, competent and good-looking, the detective keeps her safe and doesn’t leave her side. He even takes in Wren and the baby when they have no place to go.

For a woman wanting her independence, it’s shocking how quickly she settles in with Alec. The situation seems a bit too domestic. And the sizzling attraction between them is making things worse. She keeps telling herself to walk away, yet she can’t. Or should that be, she doesn’t want to?

This book just didn’t work for me. I found the birth unrealistic. Giving birth is messy and painful. Wren rebounds just a little too quickly. The fact that both Wren and Alec think to themselves how attractive the other is while she is in the middle of labor is a little ridiculous. While there is a lot of emotion to ALL THAT REMAINS, I had a hard time caring about the characters. There is little depth to them. Alec complains about his past mistakes and the mistakes that others made that he takes the blame for. He never seems to really work through these issues. Wren makes several bad decisions and doesn’t have a plan for her future (even though she is now responsible for her and her baby). These were just two characters that I couldn’t connect to and a story line that sometimes seemed ridiculous to me.

the book girl gives ALL THAT REMAINS a 2/5

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Review: FROM DIRT TO DIAMONDS by Julia James

Category: 2/5, Contemporary Romance, review copy One Comment

Sep

116595791 From NetGalley:

He’ll stop at nothing to settle old scores!

When Angelos Petrakos spies supermodel Thea Dauntry in a swanky London restaurant, he knows she’s not really the effortlessly elegant woman she seems to be…

For Thea, Angelos’s reappearance is disastrous! Dining with a viscount on the verge of proposing, the last thing she wishes to be reminded of is the street-smart, quick-tempered girl she once was.

A lucky encounter years ago with the gorgeous Greek tycoon enabled Thea to make something of her future. But Angelos can’t forget how she used him—and he’ll stop at nothing to bring her down. Not even seduction…

There was nothing romantic about this book to me. The characters don’t even like each other until ¾ of the way through the book. Angelos is a complete jerk and doesn’t know how to treat a woman. He sets out to ruin a young girl with no thought to what will become of her. When he sees her five years later he sets out to ruin her again. Thea is strong and tough. After Angelos ruins her life as Kat, she reinvents herself and thrives. I couldn’t understand how she could hae romantic intentions toward him after what he had done to her. I did finish the book, but it was hard to do. I wanted to know how there could possibly be a happily ever after. (There is one, but I didn’t buy it.)

the book girl gives FROM DIRT TO DIAMONDS a 2/5

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Review: WHAT A GODDESS WANTS by Stephanie Julian

Category: 2/5, Contemporary Romance, review copy 2 Comments

Jul

111877012 From the back of the book:

IN HIS ARMS, HER MAGIC POWERS ARE ON THE RISE…

Tessa, Etruscan Goddess of the Dawn, is losing her powers, and now there’s a mean Underworld god determined to run her down. She needs a hero and fast, because only sexual energy can give her power. So she seeks out Caligo, whose sexual prowess is legendary…

AND SHE’S THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN BRING HIM INTO THE LIGHT…

Caligo is a fabled Cimmerian warrior determined to stay away from spoiled goddesses who trample hearts after they’ve had their fun. But there’s something irresistibly hot and inviting about Tessa, and he knows he’s her only chance to escape the encroaching darkness…

WHAT A GODDESS WANTS is an erotic romance with mythology and suspense thrown in. I loved the idea behind this book, but the execution didn’t work for me. I didn’t feel an emotional connection between Cal and Tessa, and couldn’t connect to them as a reader either. There is a lot of sex in this book and while it is important to the story (Tessa gains her energy through sex), there wasn’t any romance to their coupling. It was always fast and furious. I needed there to be more romance and emotion to the story. I did like the plot, but felt that there were too many loose ends at the end.

the book girl gives WHAT A GODDESS WANTS a 2/5

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Review: THE HUSBAND LESSON by Jeanie London

Category: 2/5, Erotic Romance, review copy One Comment

Jun

103626332 From NetGalley:

There’s been a mistake!

Karan Reece has no other explanation for this situation. Being assigned to work with her ex-husband, Dr. Charles Steinberg? She really must have offended someone to be forced to spend her days with him. The only good thing she can say is at least this arrangement has an expiration date.

Funny thing, though, is that working together for a shared cause forces them to look at each other differently. She’s learning a lot about him and his strengths. And those discoveries are causing her to see him in a new way…a very attractive, can’t-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-you way. Seems that life with Charles is a lesson she’s willing to study again!

After I finished this book I just felt…meh. It doesn’t really feel like it was a romance novel. There is a happily ever after, but it comes at the very end of the book. The couple never even goes on so much as a date throughout the book. Karan and Charles do share a past, which makes the HEA more believable, but I just felt like something was missing. Most of the story is about Karan and her self-centered behavior. Karan sees the world in one way - how it affects her. This changes as she visits a therapists and learns some things about herself. Charles is very one dimensional. He comes across as emotionally unavailable in the beginning and it doesn’t change really throughout the book. I didn’t feel a connection between the two.

the book girl gives THE HUSBAND LESSON a 2/5

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Review: ALICE IN ZOMBIELAND by Lewis Carroll and Nickolas Cook

Category: 2/5, Contemporary Romance, review copy One Comment

May

105669839 From the back of the book:

The were indeed a queer-looking party that assembled on the bank - the birds with draggled feathers, the animals with their fur clinging close to them, and all dripping wet, cross, and uncomfortable. All of them were covered in Alice’s now cold and congealed blood, which made them even tastier looking to poor hungry Alice.

When little Alice follows the Black Rat down into the gaping darkness of an open grave, she falls and falls. and soon finds herself in an undead nightmare of rotting flesh and insanity. Venturing further into this land of zombies and monsters, she encounters characters both creepy and madcap along the way.

But there’s something else troubling poor Alice: her skin is rotting and her hair is falling out. She’s cold. And she has the haunting feeling that is she remains in Zombieland any longer, she might never leave.

Can Alice escape Zombieland before the Dead Red Queen catches up to her?

Um, not sure what to write about this book. ALICE IN ZOMBIELAND was a very quick read. The storyline of the original story is there - it has just been twisted into something dark and a little gross. I was intrigued by the book, but I just couldn’t really get into it. Several times I put it down and read something else. I think if you are a fan of other literary books that have been altered into something paranormal you would enjoy ALICE IN ZOMBIELAND, but it just wasn’t for me.

the book girl gives ALICE IN ZOMBIELAND a 2/5

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Carina Reviews - FRIENDLY FIRE and MANAGEMENT SKILLS

Category: 2/5, Paranormal Romance, review copy One Comment

Mar

96950073 From NetGalley:

After Agent Kendall Frasier’s partner is shot in “friendly fire” during a drug bust, she agrees to take a week’s vacation on a tropical island as part of her psychiatric evaluation. Sand, sun, sea-what could be better to help her work through her guilt? Even if the presence of the man responsible for the shooting, Agent Zane Vincent, seems counterproductive to her mental health.

As Kendall gets to know Zane, and realizes he feels worse about what happened than she does, it becomes impossible to hate him. And their mutual attraction becomes impossible to deny.

Kendall and Zane soon agree to put the event that brought them together in the past-and spend the present exploring their most erotic desires. Do they have a future in the real world when their week in paradise is over?

Previously published; newly revised by author.

FRIENDLY FIRE by Megan Hart is one hot story! It is a short story and there is a lot of back-story, but it is written in a way that makes the reader not feel that they are missing out on anything. It also made the “encounters” between Zane and Kendall more realistic and the speed with which they fall in love didn’t seem to fast. This book would make any Megan Hart fan happy!

the book girl gives FRIENDLY FIRE a 4/5

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96950031 From NetGalley:

When CEO Grant Edmonds meets with his new production manager, he immediately recognizes her as Silver, an exotic dancer who once mesmerized him at an exclusive fetish club. Though he was forbidden from pursuing her back then, there’s nothing standing in his way now. He’s not looking for an after-hours fling-he wants to own her. In every way.

As much as Allie Fairfax tries to deny her past, and the way her body responds to Grant, she soon finds herself having mind-blowing sex with the boss. Despite her own desire to surrender to Grant’s sexual authority, she’s not willing to risk her career. After all, she’s been owned before, and it ended badly.

It’s all or nothing for Grant. If Allie wants more of the fiercest orgasms she’s ever experienced, she must consent to his rules…

This book was a miss for me. I just didn’t feel like Grant and Allie had a loving relationship. I’m not well versed in the D/s culture, but I do enjoy some D/s in my erotica. I just felt like something was missing between Grant and Allie. The sex is very hot, but I needed more emotion.

the book girl gives MANAGEMENT SKILLS a 2/5

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Review: FOUR PLAY by Maya Banks and Shayla Black

Category: 2/5, 4/5, Erotic Romance, review copy 3 Comments

Oct

678268861

From the back of the book:

“PILLOW TALK” by Maya Banks…Zoe Michaels may be in a committed relationship with her boyfriend, Chase, but there’s no lack of heat between her and her other two roommates, Brody and Tate. after all, the three guys are all firefighters. Then one night, chase reveals his number one fantasy: for Zoe to perform an everything-goes striptease in front of his buddies. A turn-on for them means a turn-on for him. And for Zoe? It proves to be even more, and it opens the door for a secret desire of her own to come true.

“HER FANTASY MEN” by Shayla Black… Kelsy Rena is an enigma. She’s a girlie-girl who’s wild for football, craves action movies, and loves knocking back a cold beer with her three best friends - all male. She’s a puzzle, too, when it comes to sex. These are three hot guys always ready and within reach, but she never seems interested. So who is lucky mystery man satisfying this girl of their secret dreams? The three pals plan to find out. And when they do, they’ll see a side of Kelsey they’ve only dared to fantasize about.

These two stories have two things in common - both are very hot and full of alpha males. ”Pillow Talk” was my favorite of the two stories. I liked that Zoe and Chase were already an established couple. The characters had a connection to each other that was very deep. Chase and Zoe were already in love and the other two were their best friends. There were a few places that I thought went a little too far. The addition of a fifth person was one to many. The way the couple was working to fulfill each others fantasies set the scene for this plot to seem realistic. There was a lot of emotion between all of the members involved in the foursome. (This has nothing to do with this story really, but I loved seeing the characters from one of my favorite Maya Banks books - SEDUCING SIMON)

Shayla Black’s story lacked the emotional that made the Banks’ story great. The three men had nothing in common, other than Kelsey, and they fought a lot. Through most of the story they are trying to top each other and “win” Kelsey. It didn’t feel like love, but lust. Kelsey is wishy-washy and although she says she loves all three men, it seems like more of an excuse to not have to pick one man.

the book girl gives “Pillow Talk” a 4/5 and “Her Fantasy Men” a 2/5

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Review: HANDS ON by Christina Crooks

Category: 2/5, 4/5, Erotic Romance, puchased book 3 Comments

Sep