Started out well enough but got very repetitive once Aunt Flo showed up. Wow did I get tired of her fast. Not a lot happens in this story and it went Started out well enough but got very repetitive once Aunt Flo showed up. Wow did I get tired of her fast. Not a lot happens in this story and it went in circles with pages of repetitive dialogue and zero outcome then you'd get some Robyn Carr magic to carry you through. This must be an early book of hers....more
Started out great, really enjoyed the apocalyptic telling of a disease outbreak, following several characters through this horror. The story fell flatStarted out great, really enjoyed the apocalyptic telling of a disease outbreak, following several characters through this horror. The story fell flat soon after though as we delved into magic, gardening, churning butter and people choosing apartments based on kitchen appliances in their newly formed town. Redeemed itself somewhat towards the end and has me curious about the second book.
The only reason I managed to finish this book at all was out of pure stubbornness. That and the fact that back in the day I loved the entire Tall, DarThe only reason I managed to finish this book at all was out of pure stubbornness. That and the fact that back in the day I loved the entire Tall, Dark and Dangerous series.
TD&D 13 was a huge letdown, involving so much eye rolling and 'that's stupid get on with it' comments to myself that I almost bailed. The story was just childish, it felt like I was reading YA, highschool melodrama involving Navy SEALS, very silly. The plot was uninteresting having our (teen) sweethearts stuck in a bomb shelter for most of the story, eating peanuts, making clothes and having very immature conversations about their relationship, one of which took place in the midst of making love.
Also be warned I listened to this on audible and while the two men reading are great (especially, Dion Graham) the woman narrator is one of the worst I've ever heard. She may have even been computer generated. Just terrible....more
3 stars and that's being generous. Pretty dull for Cindy Gerard with an entirely forgettable couple and bland story. Missed the exotic locations too a3 stars and that's being generous. Pretty dull for Cindy Gerard with an entirely forgettable couple and bland story. Missed the exotic locations too as this takes place exclusively in the states....more
Wild was a very frustrating reading experience and I’m having a hard time understanding how this book received such high praise? Based on all those raWild was a very frustrating reading experience and I’m having a hard time understanding how this book received such high praise? Based on all those rave reviews I’d been expecting a “soul-enhancing, inspiring story” not an infuriating exercise on what not to do. I mean what kind of idiot decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail alone with zero backpacking experience and almost no money set aside for emergencies?
This is the kind of person that first-responders (i.e search & rescue) hate. Unprepared, inexperienced, naïve, a danger to themselves and just plain stupid. Getting into situations that require those first responders to risk their own lives in rescuing them because they didn’t do a little research and preparation. Granted Cheryl Strayed didn’t actually need rescuing but that was just dumb luck on her part.
I also almost lost my mind with the overuse of the word PCT. I get it you’re hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, I don’t need to see the acronym in every sentence, an average of 4-6 times a page, every page for the entire book. She also plugs “her bible” The Pacific Crest Trail volume 1 (and 2) writing the complete name of the book every couple of pages in case we forget what got her where she is.
“Was I on the PCT? All the while, I’d been searching for the small diamond-shaped PCT markers that were occasionally tacked to trees, but I hadn’t seen any. This wasn’t necessarily reason for alarm. I’d learned that the PCT markers weren’t to be relied upon. An hour later I saw a metal diamond that said PACIFIC CREST TRAIL tacked to a snowbound tree, and my body flooded with relief. I still didn’t know precisely where I was, but at least I knew I was on the PCT.”
Ultimately I had zero sympathy for this girl, in fact all she did was make me angry with her stupid decisions and (in the beginning chapters) depress me with the death of her mother, scattering of family members and dissolution of her marriage because she was sleeping around. Don’t even get me started on her lackadaisical, I’ve never tried it before decision to do heroin. I mean what could possibly go wrong there?
So after an abortion and with a fresh track mark on her leg from her last little experiment with H she decides to spend 3 months hiking from the Mojave Desert in California to Oregon in Washington State by herself.
This is still a hell of an adventure and I do have to give her full credit for finishing what she started and persevering through extreme conditions. I will also admit to actually enjoying the last 50 pages or so as Cheryl neared the end of her time on the PCT and seemed to come to terms with herself and find a sort of peace. The writing also improves in these chapters, becoming less repetitive or maybe I just got so used to seeing the word PCT I just didn’t see it anymore. PCT.
Took me over a month to read this and was honestly a bit of a slog to get through. Disappointing romance between Cait and Duke/G.B and what the hell wTook me over a month to read this and was honestly a bit of a slog to get through. Disappointing romance between Cait and Duke/G.B and what the hell was Jim doing here? Not much. I didn't feel that this advanced the series at all. The whole 500 + pages could have been accomplished in about a chapter. Sorry Ward. I used to love you....more
Opening Line: "Meow,"Tessa Sheridan frowned at the grey-and-white cat perched next to her on the sofa."
A lot of people really liked this book, and it’Opening Line: "Meow,"Tessa Sheridan frowned at the grey-and-white cat perched next to her on the sofa."
A lot of people really liked this book, and it’s received a ton of 5 star ratings, which is of course why I bought it, unfortunately though I struggled through it. I mean this was a real effort to finish, plodding through long drawn out repetitive scenes and way too many introspective conversations that added nothing to the overall story. Even with a hunky outlaw biker hero to drool over, sizzling love scenes, and several LOL moments I still came away kind of meh about the whole thing.
That’s not to say I hated it, because I didn’t, in fact there were several things that I really enjoyed, Toni Blake’s writing style for example and the way she incorporated random ideas into her characters and story; like dancing with Ellen and the numerous classic rock songs mentioned. I also liked the issue of our heroine dealing with Chron’s disease; this was a unique affliction and dealt with very well.
I think one of my favourite things though would have to be that Lucky as a “bad boy” biker actually speaks like a biker, he swears a lot and listens to AC/DC and Metallica. He has armloads of tattoos and a realistic past considering his gang ties. It was also obvious that Blake put some research into Harley motorcycles, specialized paint jobs and the MC language and lifestyle in general. But overall at almost 400 pages this felt like a VERY long drawn out Harlequin and would have held my interest a whole lot more and benefited with about 100 less pages.
In this 3rd instalment from the “Destiny” series Tessa Sheridan has returned to her quaint hometown of Destiny (lots of that going on in romancelandia these days) She’s had to leave her career in the big city because of a chronic illness and now all she wants to do is recover, spend time with family, and embrace life. Tessa wants to be a bit wild and experience things the old Tessa would never dream of, like skydiving, and having commitment free sex with her delicious biker dude neighbour.
However Lucky Roma may be a little more then the shy, sweet Tessa can handle, he not only looks the biker part but comes complete with a gang past and more skeletons in the closet then any woman should have to deal with. Still, Lucky has a way of making Tessa feel alive again and she just can‘t resist; he’s dangerous, sexy and exactly what she needs. What starts out as a fling soon becomes much more until Lucky’s past finally catches up with him and Tessa learns that this bad boy is in fact dangerous too and she may not know him at all...more
Cattleman Bran Turner (Bran, really!?) is left shorthanded during calving season and since rural Wyoming and in particOpening line:"You're firing me?"
Cattleman Bran Turner (Bran, really!?) is left shorthanded during calving season and since rural Wyoming and in particular the sleepy town of Muddy Gap doesn’t have an overabundance of qualified help he reluctantly hires Harper Masterson for the job. Now while this down on her luck, former beauty queen may not look the part of your typical ranch hand (the gem encrusted sunglasses and leopard print gloves are a dead giveaway) Harper proves to be a quick study and more then capable of gettin’ er done.
What starts out as a strictly a professional relationship of course builds into something more; Bran just can’t keep his eyes off Harpers curves and she in turn doesn’t mind getting down and dirty. He can’t believe that this gorgeous beauty queen would have anything to do with the likes of him and Harper well, she can’t believe what she’s been missing, who knew sex could be so good.
Besides there’s no harm done right? They’ve both agreed that this is only going to be a temporary affair, just until Bran’s injured help returns and Harpers younger sister Bailey graduates high school. A few weeks tops, then she’s outta this dusty little town, and never looking back, right?
If you’ve read any of Lorelei James’s other books (I highly recommend the Roughriders series) then you’ll know what to expect from this one. Erotic love scenes, emotion filled storylines, a couple of dustups at the local saloon and a whole town of unique characters and situations to keep you interested.
I have to be honest though, this book didn’t quite grab me like her Roughriders series always does and I was honestly surprised at how difficult a time I had getting into it. Neither of the main characters made much of an impression on me until later on in the book (which ended up being awesome) and I just never felt their supposed “spark”. And while the sex scenes where certainly steamy enough they lacked genuine emotion or even excitement of the usual level I’ve come to expect from James. It just seemed like our couple was going through the motions (sexy as they may be) and I had a hard time caring.
However like I said at around chapter 16 it all seemed to come together. With the ranch job ending, Harper is leaving, Bran’s not stopping her and nobody is talking about how they really feel. I also enjoyed the storyline involving her sister Bailey’s bombshell decision and *sigh, Bran’s last minute attempts at romance. For such a strong silent style he sure came out of his shell. Interesting events also open up for book #3 in the Blacktop Cowboys series; Wrangled and Tangled....more
Opening Line:"Polar ice caps are melting, hurricanes swirl in the seas,wars are heating up around the world, and the job market is in a deep freeze. WOpening Line:"Polar ice caps are melting, hurricanes swirl in the seas,wars are heating up around the world, and the job market is in a deep freeze. Whoa. It's getting pretty ugly out there."
The Book Of Awesome is a really fun idea. Its also a very pretty book, makes a great gift and is being marketed like crazy, I mean its everywhere and yes there are a lot of things included here that made me smile however it really reads better in list form and I’m sure most people did like I did and just skimmed through, reading the chapter titles of familiar relatable happy things that you don't often stop to appreciate and moving on.
I mean honestly do we need 4 pages explaining why having a whole row to yourself on an airplane is awesome (that really is awesome) but I don’t need a breakdown about being able to pee when I want, having elbow room, able to lie down, cocoon in a blanket or having the choice of aisle or window. I get it. The same goes for popping bubble wrap. Yup that’s fun, maybe even awesome but after reading 3-4 pages about its invention and the different ways to pop it, not so awesome anymore.
When someone lands on your hotel in Monopoly super awesome but then when we get a detailed description of Monopoly you’ve now lost my attention and I’m moving on to bakery air, snow days and the other side of the pillow and I’ve stopped reading the essays on the whys.
This is a feel good book that will make you smile and is fun to read out loud with friends because everyone can relate but at 400 pages (!) the long winded explanations and filler killed the awesomeness for me.
Entries include: Old dangerous playground equipment, Wearing underwear just out of the dryer, Being the first table called up for the dinner buffet at a wedding, Watching The Price Is Right when you're home sick, When the vending machine gives you two things instead of one, The first shower you take after not showering for a really long time, When cashiers open up new checkout lanes at the grocery store, Sleeping in new bed sheets, Waiters and waitresses who bring free refills without asking, Finding an old mixed tape, The moment at a concert after the lights go out and before the band comes on stage, Fixing electronics by smacking them, The smell of rain on a hot sidewalk, and hundreds more. ...more
I had a ton of problems with this book and I’m finding it really difficult to review because as much as this stoOpening Line: He needed a woman. Bad."
I had a ton of problems with this book and I’m finding it really difficult to review because as much as this story confused me, annoyed me and downright offended me, in the end as much as I wanted to I just didn’t hate it. I did however breathe a sigh of relief when I finished.
Written in 1989 Mackenzie’s Mountain is a contemporary romance however it reads, and for the first 100 pages I thought it was a historical, taking place around 1890-1910. It takes place in small town Wyoming and has a Little House On the Prairie feel to it along with lots of prejudice and small minded gossip.
The heroine is a schoolteacher who has just moved to teach in their school house. She is plain in appearance with her hair in a bun, horn rimmed glasses, a shapeless dress, sensible shoes and zero life experience having been raised by her old fashioned Aunt (presumably in a cave). Mary in fact has never worn a pair of jeans and has definitely never been kissed. She is however clichéd with thoughts like this one;
"Only shameless hussies would wear a skirt without a proper petticoat underneath"
Yes she also speaks like she’s from the 1900’s and her character seemed stranger to me still when I realized it was meant to be 1989 (don’t know many people that wore petticoats then)
Anyways Mary is concerned that one of her better students has quit school and goes to his home to find out why where she meets Wolf Mackenzie and this is when I started to get offended and these are the authors words Not mine. Wolf is an Indian and an angry Indian because he spent time in jail for a crime he didn’t commit and everyone in town hates and distrusts him. To make matters worse (in the authors mind) Wolf is also a half breed and Howard drills this into the readers head every couple of pages in case we forget our hero’s heritage. Now honestly… its 1989, do people really use words like half-breed anymore? Could the average person tell the difference? Have I just been living in happy land my entire life? This is uncomfortable.
Wolf feels his son doesn’t need schooling because he’s an Indian (cringe) Now after all the racist remarks which I somewhat forgave because I thought it was a historical this is when Joe, the heroes son suddenly declares that he wants to join the Air Force academy and fly jets. What?! Damn this really is a contemporary.
Mary then decides to tutor Joe and feels that even though (cringe) he’s a half breed he still has a pretty good chance of getting into the Air Force. Remember its 1989 in this backwards little town. For some weird reason Wolf is attracted to the mousy Mary and the meat of this story revolves around their growing relationship, him giving her savage looks and bedding her and the hunt for the man responsible for attacking women in town which Wolf is initially blamed for.
Now I could go on and on about all my issues with this silly/strange/offensive story but because its also such a reader favourite (I’m assuming with historical romance fans) I will also say that Wolf is a fantastic, sexy alpha hero and as annoying and clichéd as Mary is they still manage to share some steamy love scenes together. I also really liked Joe the wanna-be pilot son and it’s my understanding that his story is up next in Mackenzie's Mission.
As this was my first Linda Howard book I don’t know if writing historical characters in modern times is a trait of hers and as offensive as some of her writing was I did still enjoy her love scenes and easy flowing writing style. Howard just needs to pick one time genre and stick with it. ...more
There was nothing particularly wrong with this book and I wish I could give it a higher rating because it did have everything I look for in my romanceThere was nothing particularly wrong with this book and I wish I could give it a higher rating because it did have everything I look for in my romances. Including a complex tortured hero, a heroine that wasn’t stupid or useless and tons of action, suspense and adventure in a foreign country. The love scenes are hot too, filled with soul baring looks and a couple that doesn’t play games on their way into bed. They also don’t have a silly clichéd break up towards the end which I appreciated. So what’s not to like? I can’t put my finger on it but despite everything NIGHT RESCUER just didn’t ever grab my attention. So while I do recommend this to others and won’t rule out reading Cindy Dees in the future, in the end I was left under-whelmed.
We begin with Major John Hollister commander of an elite special ops unit attempting to hang himself in the back storeroom of Pirate Pets delivery service, which is a front for their covert little organization. He is suffering PTSD and has finally reached the end of his rope (pun intended) still reeling and blaming himself for the death of his team a year earlier, His remaining squad has been trying unsuccessfully to reengage him in life but to John he’s guilty times 8, a waste of space and shell of a human being.
John’s personal lynching is interrupted by a woman who needs a package delivered to Lima Peru. She is of course beautiful and there is something in her eyes that matches Johns own tortured, desperate and vacant baby blues. The package as it turns out is Melina herself who is trading herself to a drug dealer in exchange for the release of her family. It is a suicide mission to be sure and who could be better suited to take her to the execution then a man with his own looming death wish. It’s a match made in … a therapists dream. The beginning chapters are really good here, leaving just enough unanswered questions to keep you guessing why our characters are doing and feeling what they are. It’s also darkly funny.
John and Melina catch a charter flight into Peru, each keeping secrets from the other about the intent of this mission. Spending a couple of days in a hotel before they begin their trek into the Peruvian mountains and the drug lord/hostage takers lair. They hop into bed pretty quickly both wanting to feel something before the end. Melina eases John’s pain and John gives Melina hope in love and a future. What she doesn’t realize is that despite their connection John has no intention of coming back from this mission alive.
See what I mean, sounds super good right? And I think for most of you it will be unfortunately it just didn’t work for me....more
Opening Line: "The high pitched whine of a mosquito roused Hannah from a drug induced sleep."
In The Dark is the 2nd book from Melton’s SEAL Team 12 seOpening Line: "The high pitched whine of a mosquito roused Hannah from a drug induced sleep."
In The Dark is the 2nd book from Melton’s SEAL Team 12 series, which as a whole is pretty good. It's got a Brockmann-“ISH” feel to it, in that its well written, more romantic then suspenseful, and filled with great secondary characters as well as a couple of romantic sub plots. The story here relies heavily on events started back in book 1 (Forget Me Not) so I couldn’t recommend it as a stand alone.
Hannah Geary is a CIA agent introduced to us towards the end of Gabe's book. At that time she was investigating suspected arms dealers when her partner was killed and she was kidnapped. When we open Hannah is being held prisoner in Cuba, she’s no damsel in distress however and is doing a fine job of rescuing herself when Team 12 finally shows up. Hannah is then placed in the protection of SEAL's Luther and Westy who decide to work together to locate the arms dealers and prove Gabe "Jaguar’s" innocence as he’s somehow wound up back in jail since his HEA in the last book.
Where do I begin with our hero Luther? He’s nursing a wounded heart after finding out his fiancé was cheating on him so the last thing he’s looking for right now is a relationship. However being put in close quarters with Hannah is proving difficult, she’s perfect for him, and they have so much in common, including (unfortunately) a career. You see Luther only wants a woman who will stay home and have his babies while he goes off on missions. He definitely doesn’t want to get involved with someone who’ll be risking her life for country and not putting him first. Hmmm? Anyways Hannah agrees, there’s simply no future for them because she’s worked too hard to get to this stage in her career to give it up for a man. That doesn’t mean they can’t scratch a shared itch while they work the case together though.
Now I have to be honest here; while there was nothing particularly wrong with this book (save the chauvinist attitude of our heroes) I struggled to get through it, putting it down several times and only finishing on principle. I just couldn’t get engaged in the story, never felt any true connection between the H/h, the love scenes were meh, and I was less then surprised by the identity of the bad guy. (No kidding)
I also found the stalker-esque secondary love story between Sebastian and Leila unnecessary and just plain weird. When we first entered their POV I actually thought he was a bad guy not another romantic lead as he was sneaking around having crazy possessive thoughts while tampering with her car. All in the hopes that he would be able to come to her rescue and she would be forced to spend time with him. Nice basis for a relationship.
Maybe Cindy Gerard has just ruined me for any other romantic suspense?...more
Opening Line: “Lieutenant Colonel Lucas Quade refused to allow himself hope he would see his dead wife again.”
Lt Colonel Lucas Quade’s wife died momenOpening Line: “Lieutenant Colonel Lucas Quade refused to allow himself hope he would see his dead wife again.”
Lt Colonel Lucas Quade’s wife died moments after saying their vows, leaving him in charge of getting her younger brother out of the war torn South American country. Forced to leave his wife’s body behind Lucas has never gotten over the guilt. Now five years later a mission has brought him back to the very place his heart was shattered. He's to rescue a woman that somehow resembles his wife, it couldn’t be could it?
Sarafina Quade’s death had of course been faked and she’s been living under the 'protection' of her uncle. Unable to leave his compound or apparently contact the outside world Sara has only stayed for the sake of her and Lucas’ baby. However that baby is now five years old and the day has finally come. Sara and her daughter are busting out.
As Sara makes her way through the jungle foliage towards freedom she comes face-to-face with the man of her dreams, and then stabs him. What are the chances that Lucas would be coming to rescue her on the very day she escapes? The time for figuring out fate will have to wait because first they’ve got to face a dangerous trek through the jungle, “bad guys” chasing them, poisonous spiders, and Sara’s medical condition which for whatever reason she chooses to keep to herself. At some point she’s also going to have to tell him that he’s a daddy and if she can break through his tough-guy veneer they might actually have a chance at becoming a real family.
Oh this was a struggle to get through, which was surprising and unfortunate. I usually really like Catherine Mann and I have a definite thing for the dark, tortured, standoffish hero (I’ve given up trying to figure out what that says about me) I also love a good reunited lovers story. So, in theory this had it all and started out with some serious action and heartache. Regrettably it then fell into utter ridiculousness interspaced with blah. I just couldn’t get into it and after a while couldn’t over look the many faults either
Our hero was mean not sexy-alpha as I think was intended and the heroine (oh jeez) what with her bubble blowing (really?!) and secrets she personified TSTL. And their child was, lets just say beyond annoying. Even the bumble through the jungle which should have been exciting and filled with sexual tension came across as silly. And then there’s the bad guy. I never did figure out his motives, he just seemed to want Sara back and was, well… ”bad.” I have heard that this is the weakest in the series through so I will be giving the Wingman Warriors another shot, one day. Cheers...more
Do you ever find a book on your shelf and think to yourself why the hell did I buy this? Well that was theOpening Line: “Now that looks like trouble.”
Do you ever find a book on your shelf and think to yourself why the hell did I buy this? Well that was the case with THE LAST LONE WOLF. I have no memory of purchasing it and no idea what attracted me to it in the first place. And in saying that now that I’ve slogged my through it I can also add that there was absolutely nothing new or interesting in this story except for maybe the premise which quite frankly doesn’t even make any sense.
Jericho King is a former Marine, now all bitter and grumpy after “a life of service” (even though he’s still quite young) He craves solitude and lives on a mountain surrounded by hundreds of acres of wilderness. But a guy’s gotta make a buck too so he runs a leadership camp out of his lodge, teaching wilderness skills to big city company folk. On the first page Daisy Saxon shows up; all high heels, tiny designer dog and TSTL. Daisy is way out of her element on the mountain, looking like she’s just left an upscale mall but still believing that she’s the right woman for the cook’s position.
Normally Jericho wouldn’t even let someone like her apply for the job but Daisy’s the sister of a fallen comrade and he made a promise to help if she was ever in need. So he goes through the motions of hiring her, expecting that she’ll hightail it back to the city as soon as she fails the mandatory 2 day survival test in the bush.
But Daisy is full of surprises, refusing to fail, refusing to quit until she gets what she came for …Jericho’s man juice. That’s right she wants his baby, using the logic that Jericho and the Marine Corps had stolen her family so they owed her one, one baby that is.
Walker The Rodeo Legend was a big ole tease. Although it could just be that I’ve been reading far too much erotica lately. This was my first HarlequinWalker The Rodeo Legend was a big ole tease. Although it could just be that I’ve been reading far too much erotica lately. This was my first Harlequin American romance and also my first by author Rebecca Winters so little did I know going in this was going to be a “clean” romance. In all honesty I’d never even heard that term before (again possibly too much erotica being read) so you can imagine my disappointment when I realized I wasn’t ever going to get to see Walker the sexy, military cowboy stud naked. *sigh*
Anyways, this turned out to be an okay read (meaning I finished it) that I’d originally picked up because I’m a fan of dark tortured heroes, military men and cowboys. On the surface this ticked all my boxes and started out great however after the introductions the story never really went anywhere. The rodeo aspect, which was supposed to be a big deal (come on its in the title) was unfortunately only ever told to us (repeatedly mind due) but the author never showed us an actual rodeo scene. And the heroine, don’t even get me started. The best I can say about her is that she’s the kind of girl who wears sensible shoes. Of course then we also have her young son and if I had to read one more sentence about ear infections, Pedialyte or Cheerio’s I was going to scream.
Walker’s initial struggles with PTSD are well done however theres a really silly plot thread involving his father and the fact that he’d cheated on his mother some 20 years earlier. Apparently this horror left bigger scars on Walker then the war or any IED ever did. It’s a good thing he finally comes to terms with it so he can concentrate on healing those skin grafts. I’m guessing the message here is that infidelity is worse then war!?
There were moments of this book however that I enjoyed and I think others (with cleaner minds) will probably really like this touching contemporary romance so I’ll stop the bashing and just give you a brief summery. Cheers.
Walker Cody has returned to Wyoming a changed man. Recovering from his war injuries and still suffering debilitating flashbacks all he wants now is to isolate himself at his grandfather’s cabin and avoid his affluent rodeo family. On his way through town he happens upon a parade and without thinking rescues a child from the clutches of some crazed dog. Before the young mother can thank him though Walker has disappeared.
Paula is recently widowed, having lost her husband in Iraq she’s just now starting to get her life back on track and the last thing she needs is to be thinking about is the dark and dangerous cowboy who rescued her son, yet she can’t seem to stop herself. With a war between them our couple forge into a wary friendship. Walker is hesitant and Paula is afraid of falling in love again. When Walker returns to the dangerous life of the rodeo circuit (which runs deep in his blood but not on the page) Paula fears she may just lose him forever. ...more
Opening Line: "Screwing two guys doesn't make you a slut."
I was pretty excited to hear that Lorelei James’ was starting a new series because I’m serioOpening Line: "Screwing two guys doesn't make you a slut."
I was pretty excited to hear that Lorelei James’ was starting a new series because I’m seriously addicted to her Roughriders books and IMO you can‘t ever have enough sexy cowboys. I also have a small addiction to the PBR and CORRALLED is all about the bullriding and its fearless bullfighters. Throw in a ménage storyline (yes girls, two swaggering, ultra sexy cowboys) and in theory this book should have had all my guns a blazin’. Unfortunately, and I can’t put my finger on why, it just never grabbed me like her Roughriders series always does and I was surprised by how difficult it was for me to get into her new Blacktop Cowboys.
One of the problems for me was the rodeo jargon, I kept forgetting what EBS and CRA stood for and these acronyms were used a lot. I also felt like I’d read this before as the storyline is very reminiscent of her first Roughriders book Long Hard Ride leaving me with a feeling of déjà vu for the entire read.
“As much as Hank loved bullfighting in the CRA, for a bullfighter, the EBS was the big time.”
If you’ve read anything else by Lorelei James then you’ll know what to expect from this. Erotic love scenes (every couple of pages)including some rope play and just about everything else, emotion filled storylines, a couple of dustups at a local saloon and a whole slew of unique characters and situations to keep you interested. James’ writing is also really fun. I love the way her characters talk and usually come away with a southern drawl much to my Canadian families amusement.
Lainie Capshaw is a sports therapist, traveling the rodeo circuits and patching up injured cowboys. She’s made it a steadfast rule not to date anyone, keeping things strictly professional amongst her many admirers. So it’s with some surprise that she finds herself dating not one but two handsome cowboys; Hank Lawson a bullfighter and Kyle Gilchrist a bull rider. Despite never discussing exclusivity Lainie feels guilty but also doesn’t assume she’ll have to decide between them as they work on different circuits. Honestly she doesn’t know if she could choose anyways.
Lainie’s two timing catches up with her one night at the local honky-tonk when Hank catches her with Kyle. To her surprise the two are childhood friends and since neither wants to bow down to the other they instead offer her a deal no horny cowgirl could refuse. They will all travel the CRA circuit together with Kyle and Hank taking care of Lanie's sexual needs until she makes up her mind which one of them she likes better. It sounds good until both men try to win her heart leaving Lainie hanging on for the full 8 seconds. What’s a girl to do? ...more
Opening Line "Opening Line: “Major Vince “Vapor” Deluca didn’t need to ask if there were Harleys in heaven.”
Hotshot was an okay read for me. I’d been Opening Line "Opening Line: “Major Vince “Vapor” Deluca didn’t need to ask if there were Harleys in heaven.”
Hotshot was an okay read for me. I’d been looking forward to it after enjoying the first book in the series so much, and of course I was intrigued by our pilot hero Vince Deluca, who is described as a tattooed, former bad boy biker, now part of the Air Force’s top secret squadron of test pilots (AKA Dark Ops) I mean yum.
Unlike (Defender) though this book has no real military action or exotic locations which are what I’d been anticipating and enjoyed so much about the 1st book). Hotshot takes place entirely on US soil, with our hero on leave. I also had a hard time getting into the whole plot line involving troubled youth and gangs which then somehow segued into terrorism. And while there was nothing wrong with our couple de jour I just never felt “it” between them and was actually more interested in the secondary romance going on between the heroine’s father and his FBI co-agent. For me they upstaged the main romance (complete with hot, breaking the furniture love scenes) and when that happens you know it’s not a good sign.
When Major Vince “Vapor” Deluca receives a message from his former mentor (the man responsible for getting him into the Air Force and turning his life around) he doesn’t ask too many questions he just does. Before he knows it he’s responsible for protecting the man’s daughter. Trouble is, the daughter is someone from his shady biker gang past, someone he’s never been quite able to forget. And while it has been 17 years he can’t believe that she’ d now be involved in terrorist activities which is what the FBI thinks. She’s also getting ready to testify in a congressional hearing involving the recent escalated gang activity so she’s in deep do-do because the gangs aren’t going to sit by and let that happen.
Shay Basset is a nurse volunteering in her spare time at a youth center in a not so nice part of downtown Cleveland. Manning the suicide hot line is a job she takes very seriously, having had issues herself growing up she can relate to her callers. Vince is the absolute last person she ever expected to see walking in the centers doors and seeing him again just brings back everything from her painful and desperate past on so many different levels. But damn he looks good with a shaved head. (loved the reason why he had a shaved head) and just maybe it’s time they put their unresolved past behind them. Before long Shay is dodging multiple attempts on her life and her and Vince are on the run.
I have to say this did get better as things went along but all in all a completely forgettable story with an over-the-top ending. And what was up with the spy cameras in the bees and spiders? Really! 346jb2...more
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