Book Binge

Rowena: It's been a really busy week for me, reading wise.  I read all of my book club books and I read Own the Wind: A Chaos novel by Kristen Ashley.  It was my very first Kristen Ashley book and Holly's goal was achieved.  I will be starting every single Kristen Ashley book just as soon as I can and I won't be reading anything else until I finish them too.  *sigh*.  So this weekend, I'll be reading The Gamble by Kristen Ashley.

Holly:I'm currently reading The Fire Inside by Kristen Ashley. I can't decide how I feel about it.

I also read Cover Me this week, our book club pick for the month. I'll be discussing that with Rowena later today in the comments of the Book Club post.

What are you reading?

Judith's review of How To Tame Your Duke by Juliana Gray.

England, 1888. Quiet and scholarly Princess Emilie has always avoided adventure, until she’s forced to disguise herself as a tutor in the household of the imposing Duke of Ashland, a former soldier disfigured in battle and abandoned by his wife. When chance draws her into a secret liaison with the duke, Emilie can’t resist the opportunity to learn what lies behind his forbidding mask, and find out what adventure really means...

The duke never imagines that his son’s tutor and his mysterious golden-haired beauty are one and the same. But when the true identity of his lover is laid bare, Moreland must face the demons in his past in order to safeguard both his lady—and his heart.

Rowena's review of True by Erin McCarthy.

Hero: Tyler Mann
Heroine: Rory Macintosh

When Rory Macintosh’s roommates find out that their studious and shy friend has never been with a guy, they decide that, as an act of kindness they’ll help her lose her virginity by hiring confident, tattooed bad boy Tyler Mann to do the job…unbeknownst to Rory.

Tyler knows he’s not good enough for Rory. She’s smart, doctor smart, while he’s barely scraping by at his EMT program, hoping to pull his younger brothers out of the hell their druggy mother has left them in. But he can’t resist taking up her roommates on an opportunity to get to know her better. There’s something about her honesty that keeps him coming back when he knows he shouldn’t…

Torn between common sense and desire, the two find themselves caught up in a passionate relationship. But when Tyler’s broken family threatens to destroy his future, and hers, Rory will need to decide whether to cut her ties to his risky world or follow her heart, no matter what the cost…

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when opening this book, since I've heard conflicting things about this book.  Some really liked it, some couldn't get into it and some didn't like it.  I was a little slow to warm up to getting this book read because of those conflicting reports but now that I've gone ahead and read it for myself, I wasn't too disappointed in the reading experience.

This book follows Rory and Tyler on their journeys to finding themselves and coming together as a couple.  They're both in college and they're both going through different issues but I really liked the both of them, together.  I didn't not like them apart but I thought that together, they were pretty fantastic.

It was kind of heartbreaking, getting to know Tyler and seeing into his background.  Seeing the person that he was and the issues that he faced on a daily basis. To come out of all of that as a genuinely good person, I really liked.  In fact, Tyler was probably my favorite part of this entire book.  His life was raw and it was real and he wasn't perfect but he made do with what he had and he tried every day to make life a little better for his brothers, who were stuck with his no-good mother.  I really liked that Rory embraced Tyler's family and wanted to do her part in helping U and Easton have a bit more sunshine then they were used to.

As much as I liked this book, there were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way.  Like, when we first meet Rory- she's almost raped while she's waiting for her two friends to finish getting their bang on with their friends (Tyler was one of the guys that was getting laid by Rory's friend and roommate which bothered some of my friends but not me.) and when Tyler steps in to save Rory, he tells the friends what happened and they get all pissed off on Rory's behalf (as they should) but when Rory wants to go home, they don't go with her.  They're like, "Oh, well I'm going to crash here but you go home and get some rest."  WTF? Rory is visibly still shaken up about what happened and they're sending her home...ALONE? What's wrong with them?  Over the course of the book, there's no denying that her friends love her and want what's best for her but they're completely selfish and it was hard for me to like them.  Which should be interesting, considering the next book in this series is Jessica's book...with Tyler's brother? Interesting, indeed.

Overall, I enjoyed this book but it didn't come without it's share of frustrations. I'm not at all mad that I read this book but it's not my favorite read either.  Still, I liked it enough to still be interested in reading the next book.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

This book is available from InterMix. You can buy it here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.

It's book club time and this month we'll be discussing COVER ME by Catherine Mann.

COVER ME is the first book in Catherine Mann's Elite Force series.  It features Pararescueman Wade Rocha and Sunny Foster.  Wade jumps in to rescue a group of hikers that have lost their way, only to meet up with Sunny Foster who does not need his help...only she does.  Just not in the way that she thought she'd need help.

Check out the blurb:

It should have been a simple mission...

Pararescueman Wade Rocha fast ropes from the back of a helicopter into a blizzard to save a climber stranded on an Aleutian Island, but Sunny Foster insists she can take care of herself just fine...

But when it comes to passion, nothing is ever simple...

With the snowstorm kicking into overdrive, Sunny and Wade hunker down in a cave and barely resist the urge to keep each other warm... until they discover the frozen remains of a horrific crime... Unable to trust the local police force, Sunny and Wade investigate, while their irresistible passion for each other gets them more and more dangerously entangled..

There is much to discuss so let's get right to it, shall we?

• What did you think? Did you like it or no?
• What did you think about Wade and Sunny? Did they work for you?
• What about the secondary love story between Flynn and Misty?
• What are you thinking about Phoenix, Sunny and Misty's brother?
• What were your favorites of the book? Scene? Quote? Character?
• What about your not so favorite parts of the book? Share them with us.

Rowena's review of Lord of Wicked Intentions (Lost Lords of Pembrook #3) by Lorraine Heath.

Hero: Lord Rafe Easton
Heroine: Miss Evelyn Chambers

Lord Rafe Eason may be of noble blood, but survival taught him to rely only on himself and to love no one. Yet when he sets his eyes on Miss Evelyn Chambers, and earl's illegitimate daughter, he is determined to have her, if only as his mistress.

After her father's death, Evelyn Chambers never imagined she would be sold to the highest bidder, yet circumstances give her little choice except to accept the lord's indecent proposal. Rafe is wealthy, as well as ruthless. Yet his coldness belies deep passion and deeper secrets. If she must be his, Evelyn intends to lay bare everything the Lord of Pembrook is hiding. But dark discoveries threaten to destroy them both until unexpected love guides the last lost lord home.

This was the final book in the Lost Lords of Pembrook trilogy.  Rafe is the last Easton brother to get his happy ending and I've got to say that Rafe is my favorite Easton brother.  Throughout the series, we see how distant he's made himself from his brothers.  We see that he holds a whole lot of what happened to him against both of his brothers but in those previous books, we don't know why...until this book.

Rafe has really built an empire for himself.  He's one of the most dangerous men in London because he's made his business to be.  He's not the weakling that his brothers left behind all those years ago and he's built a wall around himself to protect him from lesser things, like feelings.  Feelings gave you weakness and Rafe was anything but weak.  And when Evelyn comes into his life, things are irrevocably changed.

Evelyn is an illegimate child of an Earl and when he dies, her half brother feeds her to the wolves.  Literally.  He puts her up on the block to be purchased as someone's mistress and she's up there smiling, thinking that she's going to snare herself a husband.  It's not until she lands herself at Rafe's house that things become crystal clear to her and then the humiliation sets in.

Watching both Rafe and Evelyn grow closer was such a great way to spend a few hours.  I really enjoyed this story and I really enjoyed seeing Rafe come to terms with his brothers, what happened in the past and finally looking toward the future.  The romance between him and Evelyn was slow to build but I loved it.  I loved seeing Rafe thaw out over the course of the book and I really loved seeing Evelyn come into her own.  She came so far from the beginning when she's a sobbing mess being turned away from the home that had been hers ever since she could remember.

I loved seeing the Easton brothers in action together.  I loved seeing them come together for Rafe after seeing them band together for the other two brothers.  I loved seeing that even though so much time had passed, both Sebastian and Tristan were a force to be reckoned with and even though their relationship was strained, they came out in force for Rafe.  This was such a great book, a fantastic romance that I definitely recommend this one.  I'm kind of sad that this series is done, I'll miss these characters!

Grade: 4.75 out of 5

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.