Book Binge

Rowena: It's the last weekend of July (I can't believe it's August already) and I'm knee deep in a romance reading kick. I've read loads of romances in the last couple of weeks and am now showing any signs of stopping. I just finished Jill Shalvis' Animal Attraction (YUM!) and am starting The Perfect Play by Jaci Burton. Yeah, I know- it's about frickin' time if you ask me. I picked it up around the time my Mom was in the hospital back in April but never got around to reading it so I'm reading it now, or I would be reading it now if I could stop staring at the cover. =)

Holly: OMG that Jaci Burton cover. *drool* I might need to go dig mine out so I can lick stare at it.

I've had a pretty good reading week so far. A lot of contemporaries. Yesterday I read Good Girls Don't by Victorical Dahl. I was impressed with the growth of the heroine, but I was bothered by a lot of her actions throughout the book. This morning I started Bad Boys Do and so far it's pretty great. I'm getting close to the end, so we'll see.

Earlier this week I read Head Over Heels by Jilll Shalvis. I was worried going into it but it turned out great. I also read Sage Creek by Jill Gregory, another small town contemp. It was pretty good though I did have a few minor quibbles.

Casee: I'm reading Live Wire by Lora Leigh. It started out slow, but now I'm getting into it. I've been doing really good this month. Reading a lot more than I did. I have been going into a slow down though. Which is unfortunate. I blame it on the books. I just finished Skin Dive by Ava Gray and it took me three days to read. I was reading a book in 1-2 days so that really pulled me out of my routine. I was really disappointed in Skin Dive. I have loved all the books in the Skin series. Hopefully I'll get around to reviewing it so I can tell you all the things I didn't like.

What are you reading?

Rowena's review of Overbite (Insatiable Series, Book 2) by Meg Cabot.

Hero: Lucien or Alaric?
Heroine: Meena Harper

Meena Harper has a special gift, but it’s only now that anyone’s ever appreciated it. The Palatine Guard—a powerful secret demon-hunting unit of the Vatican—has hired her to work at their new branch in Lower Manhattan. With Meena’s ability to predict how everyone she meets will die, the Palatine finally has a chance against the undead. Sure, her ex-boyfriend was Lucien Anton­escu, son of Dracula, the prince of darkness. But that was before he (and their relationship) went up in flames.

Now Meena’s sworn off vampires for good . . . at least until she can prove her theory that just because they’ve lost their souls doesn’t mean demons have lost the ability to love. Meena knows convincing her co-workers—including her partner, Über-demon-hunter Alaric Wulf—that vampires can be redeemed won’t be easy . . . especially when a deadly new threat seems to be endangering not just lives of the Palatine, but Meena’s friends and family as well. But Meena isn’t the Palatine’s only hope. Father Henrique—aka Padre Caliente—New York City’s youngest, most charming priest, has also been assigned to the case. So why doesn’t Meena—or Alaric—trust him? As she begins unraveling the truth, Meena finds her loyalties tested, her true feelings laid bare . . . and temptations she never even imagined existed impossible to resist. This time, Meena may finally have bitten off more...

Once I got past the beginning hump of the first book, I quickly finished Insatiable and was eager to start Overbite. I'm pleased to say that I enjoyed this book so much more than I enjoyed the first book. It's so good to see Meena, Jon, Alaric and even Lucien back in action.

In this book, Meena is now working for the Palatine Guards with Alaric and Alaric has the total hots for Meena but is annoyed that she only sees him as a friend. The relationship that bloomed between Meena and Alaric was strictly platonic even though Alaric wanted more from Meena. They were friends first and I really enjoyed them together.

As much as I adored Lucien early on in Insatiable, for me it was always about Alaric for Meena. The protectiveness that comes out in Alaric was just too cute for words. Lucien was protective as well but his protectiveness wasn't as sincere as Alaric's was and I never once swooned over him even though I probably was supposed to. I wasn't a big fan of him biting Meena without her express permission and then when she asked him not to bite her, her bit her anyway. Yeah, that's a quick way for me to not pick to be on your team buddy.

There's a new kind of vampire, not from Lucien's batch of vampires around the world (which kind of confused me since he's supposed to be the Prince of Darkness so I thought he knew about all vampires, etc..) but he's looking for them because they're trying to get to Meena as well and you know nobody messes with Meena. The Church/Palatine Guards send out a priest from Costa Rica, Padre Caliente who Alaric hates more than anyone (well not more than Lucien, I don't think but close) because he's a cowardly man who lives in the limelight.

These new vampires on the street are making the other vampires from Insatiable look tame little puppies because these new vampires not only suck their victims blood and drain them but they're flesh eating vampires like zombies and well, eww gross! So while Meena and Alaric are trying to figure out what's going on, they're hitting road block after road block and they're starting to wonder if the culprit works for their organization because whoever it is, is stripping Meena and Alaric of all of their goodies and they're not liking it one bit.

The action is back and funnier than ever. This cast of characters had me cracking up throughout the story and Meg Cabot did a wonderful job of keeping me invested in the story and the characters. I came to care for Meena and was rooting on her to save Alaric and the world from these crazy vampires. Alaric's personality shines in this book and I fell in love with him over and over again with each passing page. He's just awesome.

Jon Harper is back and determined to show the Palatine Guard's that they need someone like him working for them. His invention had me cracking up and his interactions with Adam, Meena and everyone else (Yelena was cute too) made this book even more enjoyable. This was a great follow up to Insatiable and I have every faith that fans of Insatiable will love this book as well. Meg Cabot strikes again and she proves that she can write the hell out of a story and create characters that you'll want to follow over and over again through their different adventures. This book doesn't disappoint.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Judith's review of Texas Blue (Whispering Mountain #5) by Jodi Thomas

This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

We came across some news that we thought our lovely readers would enjoy. If you haven't heard, you can now buy some early Carly Phillips stories in e-book now. The following titles are available for purchase through Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Fans of the Kindle and Nook can now purchase some of the earlier works by Carly Phillips for their e-book readers. You can buy THE RIGHT CHOICE, PERFECT PARTNERS and SOLITARY MAN - in the Kindle store at Amazon, and also at BN.com, iBooks, and the Kobo and Sony stores.

Tracy's review of Nightfall (Dark Age Dawning #1) by Ellen Connor

Growing up with an unstable, often absent father who preached about the end of the world, Jenna never thought in her wildest nightmares that his predictions would come true. Or that he would have a plan in place to save her-one that includes the strong, stoic man who kidnaps and takes her to a remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest.


The mysterious ex-Marine named Mason owes a life-debt to Jenna's father. Skilled and steadfast, he's ready for the prophesied Change, but Jenna proves tough to convince. Until the power grid collapses and mutant dogs attack-vicious things that reek of nature gone wrong.


When five strangers appear, desperate to escape the bloodthirsty packs, Jenna defies her protector and rescues them. As technology fails and the old world falls away, Jenna changes too, forever altered by supernatural forces. To fight for their future, she and Mason must learn to trust their instinctive passion-a flame that will see them through the bitter winter, the endless nights, and the violence of a new Dark Age.

Jenna Barclay is kidnapped and taken to a cabin where she is told by Mason - a man who she thinks is crazier than a loon - that the world is gonna end. She wishes that she'd never heard it before but unfortunately her father, when he was around, spouted the same crap and she just didn't want to hear it.  Sure, Europe hadn't been heard from in a while and the east coast had it's share of trouble but the government had assured the people west of the Mississippi that all would be well.  Why would she assume that they were wrong?

Jenna soon finds out that the government was way wrong.  Basically the apocalypse has arrived and because of Mason, she's survived it.  When five others show up at the cabin door Mason is ready to let them die - not only in the coming winter but by the "demon dogs" that are tearing humans apart.  Jenna shows them compassion and ends up letting them in.  Unfortunately they can't last out the winter with the food they have on hand, even with strict rations. They head to a local nature station where there is heat and provisions but in the process they have to face the demon dogs.

What are the demon dogs exactly?  Well, they're not really sure but they do know that they were created by the magic that is now in the world and that they used to be humans.  They've lost all sense of humanity and now exist only to survive.  That means eating humans if they have to for food.

Only 5 of the seven make it to the nature station where they meet up with Chris Welsh.  Chris is happy to have someone to talk to but is quite upset with the talk of magic as he is a scientist.  So how does he explain the demon dogs and how does he explain that they are now working as a team to try and infiltrate the nature station so that they can get to the humans.  And what happens when one of their own is bitten by one of the demon dogs?

I had heard good things about this book when it cam out so was very much looking forward to reading it. But in all honesty I really skimmed the reviews because I wanted no spoilers.  Well I probably should have read them more thoroughly because I would have been better prepared for what I was in store for.  By that I mean that yes, this is a romance but it was one of the bloodiest romances I've ever read.

The story is quite startling in its descriptiveness of people dying and being torn apart by the demon dogs - as well as what happens to the humans when they don't die right away.  But I think that's one of the things that made me like the book so much - it seemed so much more realistic for the graphic aspect of the story.

Despite the horrifying things that happen in the story there's also a romance between Mason and Jenna that is quite touching.  It's definitely not your typical romance but one that got down to the nitty gritty of their personalities quite quickly and brought out the best in the pair.  Mason was a tougher nut to crack but it was definitely a pleasure seeing him shed his hard outer shell.

Besides the scientist Chris, we also got to meet Penny, a 9 year old girl who has some strange abilities (did she have any before this apocalypse, I wonder?) and Tru, a 15 year old boy who seems at first to be all talk but in the end finds himself becoming a man.  There are a few other characters in the story but these are the ones that really caught my eye.

In the end a really great book that I couldn't put down.  The next book, Midnight, comes out on Sept. 6th and I can't wait to dive in when it releases.

Rating: 4.75 out of 5

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy's Place

This book is available from Berkley Sensation. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Tracy's review of Since the Surrender (Pennyroyal Green #3) by Julie Anne Long

MAN OF ACTION ...

Fearless. Loyal. Brilliant. Ruthless. Bold words are always used to describe English war hero Captain Chase Eversea, but another word unfortunately plays a role in every Eversea's destiny: trouble. And trouble for Chase arrives in the form of a mysterious message summoning him to a London rendezvous ... where he encounters the memory of his most wicked indiscretion in the flesh: Rosalind March --- the only woman he could never forget.

A WOMAN OF PASSION ...

Five years ago, the reckless, charming beauty craved the formidable Captain's attention. But now Rosalind is a coolly self-possessed woman, and desire is the last thing on her mind: her sister has mysteriously disappeared and she needs Chase's help to find her. But as their search through London's darkest corners re-ignites long-smoldering passion and memories of old battles, Chase and Rosalind are challenged to surrender: to the depths of a wicked desire, and to the possibility of love.

Rosalind March needs Chase Eversea's help in finding her sister.  She doesn't want to ask but she's truly at her last inch of rope and he's the only one she can think of to assist her.  She needs him to contact on of his friends to find out where he sister was taken. You see her sister, Lucy, was arrested for stealing a bracelet and taken to Newgate Prison.  Rosalind had visited her there but when she returned for a second visit her sister wasn't there and Rosalind was told there was no record of her ever being there.  So where has she gone?

Chase Eversea doesn't believe that there's a problem.  He thinks that there's just been a mix up with the paper work and that's why Rosalind was told these things at Newgate.  But soon Chase finds himself learning things inadvertently that leads him to think that maybe Rosalind is telling the truth.  On top of that, as much as Chase would like to stay away from Rosalind he is inexplicably drawn to the woman and can't seem to keep himself away.  Five years earlier he and Rosalind had indulged in a kiss (and Rosalind was married at the time) and it had changed not only his friendship with her husband but also his career.  As much as he wants to be with Rosalind he knows that it's not something he should allow himself to do.  Besides, he's hieing off to India in a couple of weeks where he will find peace - or so he thinks.

This is book 3 in the Pennyroyal Green series but my second read in the series.  I actually read book 5, What I Did For A Duke, first and absolutely loved it. The Eversea family grabbed my attention in that book so I wanted to read more.  I'm reading them out of order but so far I've not felt that I'm missing anything by doing that.

I found Chase Eversea to be quite a compelling hero.  He was dark and angsty but a man who loved his family - even if he didn't know how to express that all the time.  He had such deep feelings for Rosalind and even though those feelings weren't verbally spoken he showed her in so many different ways.

With Rosalind, even though we were told her story I didn't ever quite feel as attached to her as I did Chase.  She seemed like a woman who had loved her husband but had had quite the attraction to Chase.  I don't believe she ever intended to move on that attraction but she did just that once.  I think that one indiscretion effected her thinking about Chase for years to come.  When given the opportunity to be with a man again she was quite torn as to what she should do- as she didn't think she could be with him in bed and not want him further and to her that would screw up her plans.  I understood where she was coming from but I can't say I agreed with her thinking.

Overall it was a good story that was romance with a heavy suspense element in it.  I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

The Series:


You can read more from Tracy at Tracy's Place


This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Holly's review of More Than Words with Carly Phillips, Jill Shalvis and Donna Hill

Each and every one of us has the ability to effect change—to make our world a better place. The dedicated women selected as this year's recipients of Harlequin's More Than Words award have changed lives, one good deed at a time. To celebrate their accomplishments, some of our bestselling authors have honored the winners by writing stories inspired by these real-life heroines.

 We hope More Than Words inspires you to get in touch with the real-life heroine living inside of you.

Each of the stories in this collection incorporates a real life heroine nominated through Harlequin's More Than Words program. The women nominated are ones who have done major things to help their community or bring awareness to vital programs. I really like the idea of the program and was excited to read the stories each author put forth.

In Carly Phillips's Compassion Can't Wait, two high school sweet hearts are reunited years later, as if by fate, and discover that if you believe in yourself and each other, anything is possible.

Kyle and Julia were childhood best friends and high school sweethearts. When Kyle gets called up to the minors right out of high school he wants Julia to go with him. Since her sister is sick with cancer and her family is being torn apart by it, she refuses. They lose contact after that. Kyle is hurt that Julia wouldn't go with him, and Julia is hurt that he'd take off without a word, knowing she couldn't leave her family.

Now Julia is a social worker who helps single parents families cover their expenses through the Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation. One of her cases involves a set of twins - one is dying of cancer and the other has basically been abandoned by his mother while she deals with the sick one. The healthy son is a major fan of Kyle's - who's now a major league ball player - and she wants to set up a meeting between the two.

Between them, Kyle and Julia have a lot of baggage. Kyle grew up in a dirt poor home in less than ideal circumstances. Julia had the perfect family life until her sister became ill and she lost her parents to her sister's care. They relied on each other to fill in the gaps of their missing families. So when Kyle left Julia behind, it was more devastating to both of them than they could have imagined. Of the two, I think Julia had more reason to be angry than Kyle. Yes, he had the opportunity to follow his dream, but she was dealing with a sick sister and her family was falling apart.

Lucky for us, Kyle realized this almost immediately upon seeing Julia again. From there he just had to convince her that they were meant to be together. Their's was a sweet romance. I liked that, though they had history, they focused on the here and now as much as possible. The main conflict comes from Julia's trust issues and I thought Phillips handled it well for the page count.

Overall a sweet reunited lovers story.

4.5 out of 5

Donna Hill's Someplace Like Home tells the story of how one woman's dream becomes reality, as three special people learn that it's never too late to form a loving family.

Verna was a social worker for a lot of years. When she realized she wasn't able to make a difference in that capacity any longer, she branched out and opened Someplace Like Home. The Home was a place where teenagers could come to reconcile with their families, or escape from them if needed. During a conference she was speaking at, Verna met Ronald, a high school counselor who wanted to donate his time to The Home. 

Verna and Ronald are every attracted to each other. Verna holds back because of her commitment to The Home and because of her own past. When another complication crops up between them Verna's reaction pushes Ronald futher away. While I understood her reasons, I did struggle with the way she went about it. The fact that Verna and Ronald both suffered from it lessened my pain somewhat.

Overall this was a good entry in the collection. I think it had the potential to be darker and more emotional, but the page count didn't allow for full emotional impact. Even so, it was well done and I enjoyed reading not only the story, but about the charity that inspired it.

4 out of 5

In Jill Shalvis's What the Heart Wants, an honorable man must learn to forgive himself to regain the trust of the dedicated teacher who is the love of his life.

Shalvis is always a favorite, as you know, but I think she does short stories extremely well. This was no exception. Jack and Ellie were good friends in high school. They lost touch afterward while Jack was in the military. Ellie is now a teacher who runs a program that teaches women how to be confident in themselves. Jack owns a martial arts studio and Ellie wants him to teach a self-defense class at her school.

It's obvious these two care for each other, but Jack holds himself responsible for something that happened to Ellie when they were younger. Ellie thinks that's ridiculous, but getting Jack to move on is proving tougher than she expected. I really liked how they were together. As I said, it was obvious they cared for each other. Their long-standing friendship really came through. I love friends-to-lovers themes.

Even more, I liked the parts that featured Ellie's school and her students. I thought Shalvis portrayed the teens well and did a good job of showcasing why programs like Ellie's - and the real life organization hers was modeled after, WET's - are really needed. 

Overall a sweet romance with an excellent message behind it.

4.25 out of 5

This is an excellent collection of stories put together for charity. I really enjoyed all three. Learning about the different organizations these authors chose to spotlight was heartwarming.

Overall Grade: 4.25 out of 5

There are also two additional stories available for free download at the Harlequin site. Be sure to check those out as well. 




This book is available from Harlequin. You can buy it here or here in e-format.