Okay, so I mentioned in my previous post that I went to the book signing in Beaverton on Friday. I ended up buying 12 books & I read 9 out of those 12 over the weekend. Instead of blogging about each one individually, I'm going to do a blog that covers all of them at once. 1. To save my sanity & 2. because I'm lazy! LOL! With no further ado...here are the books I read this weekend! :)
Mistress of Pleasure by Delilah Marvelle: In her debut novel, Delilah introduces us to Maybelle, the granddaughter of one of the greatest courtesans ever and Edmund, the Duke of Rutherford. At first, Maybelle has no interest whatsoever in following her grandmother's footsteps, but one glance at Edmund and she begins to wonder if maybe her grandmother's life isn't so bad after all.
I actually really enjoyed this book. It's funny and quirky and very different from a lot of the traditional historicals out there. Maybelle knows a lot about sex, even though she's a virgin and when she goes in to teach the classes for her grandmother? Loved those scenes, especially the ones with the dildo. He-he. My Rating: B-
Animal Lust by Lacy Danes: This is the story of the Ursas brothers. 4 short stories in one book. I honestly have to admit that I didn't care for these stories at all. For one thing, it's hard to grasp the "mythology" behind the stories. Things are hinted at, but never fully revealed. I think they would have been better as fuller stories. Too short. For another...the word usage & slang for sexual positions and body parts really did nothing for me. Using the word cunny for the vagina is a big frustration for me. The worst though, was definitely the word pego for the penis. I had no idea what she was talking about until she used it a couple times. Totally took me out of the story completely. My Rating: D
What She Craves by Lacy Danes: This was three short stories with three different ideas. I actually really enjoyed Night of the Taking. It was hot and different. The others? Not so much. My Overall Rating would be a C-, though I give NofT a B.
Cursed Hearts by Rebecca Goings: This is a duology. Twin brothers. One a ghost, the other is a vampire. Misunderstandings, lost loves, etc. Not bad. Didn't care for the first one, but the second one wasn't all that bad. Overall Rating: C-
First Blood Anthology w/ Susan Sizemore, Erin McCarthy, Chris Marie Green and Meljean Brook. Okay, maybe this is just me, but I'm not a big fan of anthologies. I think it's because the stories usually involve characters from stories that have already been created or something. Not sure, but don't really care for them.
On to the review. Cave Canem by Susan Sizemore: Would have been a good read if I'd understood exactly what on earth was going on. It was pretty confusing, especially since it was obvious that this world has been established in previous books. Would've helped if I'd read her in the past.
Russian Roulette by Erin McCarthy was actually really good. Another one that's probably from a world already created, but easy to follow and stand alone.
Didn't even try Double the Bite by Chris Marie Green. Had no idea who any of the characters were and got very confused on the first page.
Thicker than Blood by Meljean Brook: I have a confession to make. Please don't hate me! I read her first book and could NOT GET INTO IT! Read the book, but was horribly confused, didn't really care for either of the characters and wasn't sure if I wanted to continue. However, after reading this small story, she's got me convinced to go back and give this world a try. The story was really interesting and I believed in the 2 characters. Wasn't confusing and now I'm going to go read the rest of the books in the series.
Overall Grade: Cave Canem-C-/Russian Roulette-C+/Double the Bite-DNF/Thicker than Blood-B
Seduce Me by Megan Clark: I would classify this story as more erotic fiction than erotica or erotic romance. There is no way I could ever come to care for Carissa, who is the main protaganist in this story. She comes across as a spoiled brat who leaves her wonderful boyfriend to "find herself." I ended up just skimming this story. It didn't capture me at all. My Rating: DNF
This Rake of Mine by Elizabeth Boyle: Miranda & Jack. Years ago, thru a case of mistaken identity, Jack ruined Miranda. Her father cut her off, sent her away and told her never to come back. Now she's a decorum teacher and is trying to move on with her life. Jack, once the greatest rake England has ever known, is now down on his luck and trying to improve himself.
I actually really enjoyed this book. It was a little bit over the top in some ways, but all in all, I enjoyed it. My Rating: B-
The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell by Samantha James. Other than Meljean's story, this was my favorite. I'd never read a book by Ms. James before, so wasn't sure what to expect. This story was very sweet. It had moments of brevity, but there were also some very serious moments as well. Simon, the hero, suffered a major tragedy five years ago. Annabel, the heroine meets him under stressful circumstances and takes an instant dislike. Dislike turns to attraction, attraction creates scandal and they find themselves married.
I think Ms. James did a great job on this story. She amps up the sexual tension between the hero & heroine in a way that gives the ultimate when they finally do make love. There's no rushing into it. It's something that they both fight for. The romance is believable and all in all, good story. My Rating: B+
So, here's my super-short, but hopefully prett thorough book review for the books I read over the weekend. I also finally read When Twilight Burns by Colleen Gleason. For some reason, the copy she mailed to me never arrived. I finally broke down and bought my own. Boy, am I glad I did. Review coming up next!
No comments:
Post a Comment