Review: Craving

by Sofia Grey
Rating: 4/5

A deal with a demon, a biker psychic and the girl who might just be his salvation… if the demon doesn’t get to her first. Dante isn’t your typical medium. With his leather jacket, tattoos and piercings, he looks more at home on his motorbike than he does holding a séance and Katherine has no intention of getting involved with him. He’s the complete opposite of the kind of man she wants and represents everything she’s tried to leave behind, but she needs a medium and he’s the best one around. Dante’s never allowed himself to get close to anyone for fear of putting them in danger. His craving for Katherine is about to bring his worst nightmares to life

Craving is book two in the Talisman series. I was offered this book as an ARC in exchange for a review from the author so here goes…

Review: Always On My Mind

by Jill Shalvis
Rating: 4/5

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING After dropping out of pastry school and messing up her big break on a reality cooking show, Leah Sullivan needs to accomplish something in her life. But when she returns home to Lucky Harbor, she finds herself distracted by her best friend, Jack Harper. In an effort to cheer up Jack's ailing mother, Dee, Leah tells a little fib - that she and Jack are more than just friends. Soon pretending to be hot-and-heavy with this hunky firefighter feels too real to handle . . . No-strings attachments suit Jack just fine - perfect for keeping the risk of heartbreak away. But as Jack and Leah break every one of their "just friends" rules, he longs to turn their pretend relationship into something permanent. Do best friends know too much about each other to risk falling in love? Or will Jack and Leah discover something new about each other in a little town called Lucky Harbor?

This is book 8 in the Lucky Harbor series. This particular book is the second in what I consider the “Good Girls Going Bad” trilogy. Leah is back in Lucky Harbor for just long enough to help her grandmother and get out. Jack is a firefighter who refuses to get in a relationship and leave someone like his father did to him and his mother.

Election

It’s hard to imagine but if you’re not in Australia you might not know we had an election yesterday. And the results are pretty clear, we have a new leader.

Kevin Rudd, ex-PM (twice now) made a 30m concession speech that sounded like he’d hastily crossed out all the references to victory and changed them to loss. He tried to save face and claim that no Labor seat had been lost “in Queensland”. Considering they had only about five seats to lose that’s a small victory. And within moments of him saying it, he was wrong. Postal votes are still to come in but with up to 30% of the votes left to count, and such close margins, it could be more than one lost.

Tony Abbott, our new PM’s speech by comparison was much better. It was short (thanks) and it put all the credit for the victory on the voters. Then like I told him to (through the TV) he thanked his helpers and left.

Craig Thompson, former Labor MP, who ran as an independent this year held his seat with a 5.1% margin. After being revealed as a scummy bastard who cheated on his partner in brothels and even more damningly used Trade Union funds to pay for it he was charged with fraud (rightly so IMO) and has failed to get 5.1% of the total vote. He will unfortunately get federal funding as he got 4% and thus receives funds for campaigning.

But whether you care or not, whether you’re a Liberal or Labor voter one thing is sure. Now that the government is a majority and not a minority it will be more effective. I hope.

Currently Listening: Good Girl – Carrie Underwood

Retro-view: Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night

by Kresley Cole

Her breathless kiss haunts him. Bowen MacRieve of the Lykae clan was nearly destroyed when he lost the one woman meant for him. The ruthless warrior grew even colder, never taking another to his bed—until a smoldering encounter with his enemy, Mariketa the Awaited, reawakens his darkest desires. When sinister forces unite against her, the Highlander finds himself using all his strength and skill to keep her alive. His slow, hot touch is irresistible. Temporarily stripped of her powers, Mari is forced to take refuge with her sworn adversary. It’s rumored that no one can tempt Bowen’s hardened heart, but soon passion burns between them. Though a future together is impossible, she fears he has no intention of letting her go. No deed is too wicked for her seduction. If they defeat the evil that surrounds them, can Mari deny Bowen when he demands her body and soul—or will she risk everything for her fierce protector?

Well, MacRieve is coming out today so, here’s another retroview of the awesome Immortals After Dark Series. Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night is about the hero of MacRieve’s cousin Bowen. And Witches. And The Hie. It’s about a lot of things really.

Retro-view: The Warlord Wants Forever

by Kresley Cole

The Warlord Nikolai Wroth, a ruthless vampire general, will stop at nothing to find his Bride, the one woman who can “blood” him, making his heart beat and filling him with strength. Coldly interested only in the power his Bride will bring, he can hardly believe when Myst the Coveted awakens him body—and soul. The Seductress Famed throughout the world as the most beautiful Valkyrie, Myst has devoted her life to protecting a magical jewel and to fighting the vampires. Wroth provides her with the perfect opportunity to torment her sworn enemy—for with his new heartbeat comes a consuming sexual desire that can only be slaked by her. Denying him, she flees, struggling to forget his searing, possessive kiss. The Hunt is on… She eludes him for five years, but he has finally chased her to ground and stolen her enchanted jewel, giving him absolute power over her. Now that she’s his for the taking, he intends to make her experience first-hand the agonizing, unending lust she subjected him to for half a decade. Yet when Nikolai realizes he wants far more than vengeance from Myst and frees her, will she come back to him?

Well, MacRieve is coming out Tuesday so, here’s another retroview from the Immortals After Dark Series. The Warlord Wants Forever is the first IAD “book”, originally published as a novella in the otherwise unremarkable (to me) anthology Playing Easy To Get, The Warlord Wants Forever was released on its own in 2011 just before the release of Lothaire.

Review: Obsession

by Sofia Grey
Rating: 4/5

When the perfect husband Becomes the perfect nightmare... Josh Delaney is the ideal honey trap. His charm and model good looks would be enough for most women, but coupled with his psychic ability to read their thoughts, he’s impossible to resist. Suspicious husbands employ him to test their wives, to see if they can be tempted to stray. High profile couple Suki and Gabe Bridgewater have the perfect marriage, or at least, that’s the image they portray to the world. Behind closed doors, Gabe’s dominance in the marriage is unravelling and he decides to test Suki, using Josh as bait. For Josh it should be just another easy job, but two things go horribly wrong. One, Josh falls in love with Suki. And two, Gabe refuses to let her go.

Obsession is book one in the Talisman Series. Sofia Grey is a new author and I was intrigued by the mix of paranormal abilities and a male honey trap. I was not expecting this book.

Review: Not Quite Mine

by Catherine Bybee
Rating: 1/5

Gorgeous hotel heiress Katelyn "Katie" Morrison seems to have it all. But when she crosses paths with Dean Prescott - the only man she's ever loved - at her brother's wedding, Katie realizes there's a gaping hole in her life. After the ceremony she gets an even bigger surprise when someone abandons a baby girl on her doorstep. Determined to keep the newborn until she learns who her mother is, Katie has her hands full and doesn't need Dean snooping around, especially when his presence stirs feelings she thought were long gone. Dean Prescott knows Katie is lying to him when he discovers a baby is living with her. He shouldn't care what the woman who broke his heart is up to...and he most certainly shouldn't still be aching for her. Yet Dean can't ignore the need to protect Katie - or the desire to be near her every chance he gets. But when he and Katie solve the mystery surrounding the baby, their second chance for happiness could be shattered forever.

Not Quite Mine is book two in the Not Quite series. I was really excited for this book as it would be about Katie, who appeared to be an airheaded heiress and her brother’s best friend. Plus after Bybee’s MacCoinnich Time Travel series and Not Quite Dating I had a fair amount of faith in Bybee as an author. So why did I only give it one out of five?

Review: Werewolves Be Damned

by Stacey KennedyRating 1/5

Nexi Jones—part witch, part guardian, and wannabe kick-ass warrior—can’t throw a punch or conjure the simplest magic. But that doesn’t stop her from hunting the werewolves who slaughtered her human family. She’ll have her revenge, but only if Kyden, the elite guardian, would get the hell out of her way. Kyden can’t decide if Nexi wants to get herself killed or if she just has no clue what she’s doing. But her father made it clear: keep Nexi safe…or else. Of course, the more Nexi runs toward revenge, the more she needs Kyden’s aid, and as she grows into her power and confidence, so does his desire to protect her. The only problem? She’d rather he dropped dead. But when a vampire paints a bull’s-eye on Nexi’s back, she’s hard-pressed to deny Kyden and the help he’s offering. Even if it means getting her revenge will be a little bit harder. At least it will still be as sweet.

Werewolves be Damned is the first book in Stacey Kennedy’s Magic & Mayhem series. It also happens to be an expanded version of The Willow from Kennedy’s Magical Sword series. The Magical Sword series is no longer available and Kennedy’s is turning it into Magic & Mayhem.

My Year With Nora

This year has been a interesting one for me. I took six months off of university, and spent that time with my family. I was diagnosed with anxiety, which in hindsight was a wakeup call I needed. I got some counselling and sorted out my life.

I also decided to pick up a Nora Roberts book for the first time. I have been reading romance novels for about three years at this point, reading my first around this time in 2009. The reason I avoided Nora’s books is because I wasn’t sure they were romance, I thought they might be “women’s fiction” with romantic elements.

I took the plunge in April about when The Last Boyfriend was released. I used my local library, which felt a little awkward as the librarians there are the same ones who set me up with my first library card back when I was eight. My first Nora Roberts book was The Quinn Brothers a reprint of the first two books in the Chesapeake Bay Saga. Then I borrowed the next two and read them.

I was hooked. So I looked up her books and set myself a list, from the earliest single title books Nora wrote that weren’t Harlequin/Mills and Boon to the latest books. Not because I don’t respect Harlequin but because after twenty years the effort to find those books just isn’t worth it; I know some if not all have been reprinted in light of Nora’s success, but still.

Using my list the next books I requested from the library were the Born In trilogy. Around this time I also joined a book club run by the library, which was a good experience and although I was the youngest there by decades, all the people were very welcoming and encouraging.

This first half of the year was very low key for me, apart from helping my mother and reading the major undertaking was my counselling sessions for anxiety.

I also read the Dream trilogy, the Gallagher’s trilogy and the Key trilogy which I borrowed from the local library and read in that order.

Around half way through the year I returned to the city for University. I ended up in a different place to last year which meant joining yet another library. I now have memberships at four different libraries within my state, something I am both proud and embarrassed by.

I reserved and read the Three Sister’s Island trilogy before I ended up without a car. I had to spend several hours on a weekend going to the Uni campus using public transport because my regular bus doesn’t run on weekends. But I am proud of the fact I got up every day for Uni at 7, well 7:30 and walked to my bus-stop and got to Uni. Something I know I could never have done two years ago living alone(ish) for the first time. Also positive was the inability to get to fast food.

I took the bus to the library to pick the In the Garden and Circle trilogies; at separate times. I’m very proud of my prowess with the bus system at the moment.

This semester was fraught with both highs and lows. Unlike previous years at Uni I was able to do far more cooking, if only of my meals which still remains as a soothing activity.

Then after my exams which included a Saturday exam, seriously guys wth? and an almost two week break between my first and last exams. I had one on the first day of the exam period and one on the third and second-to-last days of the exam period.

I picked up the Sign of Seven trilogy from my city library and brought them home with me. Reading in the wee hours of the day, and sleeping in, the way only I can when I have nothing pressing in the mornings. I also helped my mother and sisters by cooking tea while they worked. Honestly, my sisters can get jobs but I can’t get one in the city?

On a trip back to the city I picked up the Bridal quartet before Christmas which I read amongst others as I frantically tried to reach my Goodreads set goal of 800 books for the year. (What was I thinking?)

So, next year will I pick another’s author’s backlist? No. This was not a plan, it just happened to take up an entire year. My plans for next year are to finish of my degree at university and to read as much as that allows in my “spare time”. I also hope to post at least one review per month here.

Retro-view: A Hunger Like No Other

by Kresley Cole

A mythic warrior who'll stop at nothing to possess her… After enduring years of torture from the vampire Horde, Lachlain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae Clan, is enraged to find the predestined mate he's waited millennia for is a vampire. Or partly one. This Emmaline is a small, ethereal half Valkyrie/half vampire, who somehow begins to soothe the fury burning within him. A vampire captured by her wildest fantasy... Sheltered Emmaline Troy finally sets out to uncover the truth about her deceased parents--until a powerful Lykae claims her as his mate and forces her back to his ancestral Scottish castle. There, her fear of the Lykae--and their notorious dark desire--ebb as he begins a slow, wicked seduction to sate her own dark cravings. An all consuming desire... Yet when an ancient evil from her past resurfaces, will their desire deepen into a love that can bring a proud warrior to his knees and turn a gentle beauty into the fighter she was born to be...?

So, A Hunger Like No Other was my first ever romance. At sixteen I was on Rachel Caine’s website trying to decide if I’d like the Morganville Vampire series and I somehow found myself on Kresley Cole’s website looking at the summaries for her IAD books. It was late and very hot that night so I just gave up on it and forgot all about

And a year later I again go to Kresley Cole’s website through Rachel Caine’s, and this time I bought A Hunger Like No Other.

With the power of hind-sight and two solid years of reading mainly romance (I’d guess over a thousand books in the last two years) I can pretty safely say that A Hunger Like No Other is one of the best books I could have had as a transition.

Now I’ve always been a big paranormal fan and sadly my library was running out of fresh new paranormal books for young adults. So this was really right up my alley.

Retroview

I’m going to start doing what I’ve cleverly (okay so I can’t think of anything better) called a retroview. It’s basically a review of a book that I read a long time ago or one that I read relatively recently that was published a long time ago.

The idea is to highlight an older book. Since they are older books I’ll be doing a bit more context and more spoilery summaries. For the first review, tomorrow I’ll be doing A Hunger Like No Other. Merry Christmas everyone!

Currently Listening: Troublemaker – Olly Murs feat. Flo Rida