Books Read 2017
Moderators: Bakhtosh, EvilHomer3k
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Rumpy
- Posts: 12683
- Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2005 6:52 pm
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Re: Books Read 2017
The 14th Colony by Steve Berry. Interesting ideas in this thriller, but unfortunately I found the writing to be quite average.
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
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Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Who I am With You by M. Lynne Cunning
Chad Kirkwood decided his life as country star Chad Ashford was such a lie, and his woman had run off with his producer Jay, he had to get away from it all. He drove into a small town, and a "farm hand wanted" ad was perfect for him. So he showed up at Katie Wicken's farm. Katie had to leave her job in the city to care for her ailing father, who finally passed on... just as her fiancee decided she'd changed too much and didn't want her any more. Broken, she is single-handedly managing the farm, and help from Chad was just in time, but she cannot afford to let anyone into her heart, esp. any lies. Then Chad's past caught up with him...
Book ended on a sad note. IMHO it doesn't make that much sense, but then, things rarely do. 5/8
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Finished The Gambler by Carre White FREE / Historical Western Romance
Lea "Jubilee" Duncan plays the gambling hall girl with her pa (as the gambler), until a brawl left her father bleeding out, and her job gone. With little cash left, no job, and no man, Lea's only future seems to be with the gambler Nash Monaghan who protected her during the melee, and even kissed her before the tragedy. Nash took Lea in (purely as a gentleman) but Lea, intending to make her own way, "borrowed" some funds from Nash, packed, and got on a train to head West. Two years later, Nash was still on his quest to find his brother and his wife (who ran off with his brother) but was also looking for "Jubilee", when he finally found her as part of "Irish" performing troupe. This time, Nash does not intend to let her get away... But someone else may have other ideas...
No sex, relatively clean Western romance, and NOT a mail order bride story either. Not too bad, not too bad, if a bit cliche. 6/8
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Finished Paradise Found by Mary Campisi
Matt Brandon had wealth, power, looks, and talent... until a ski accident left him blind, but it seems to be a psychological problem, as they can find nothing physically wrong with his eyes. Matt's brother brought in several doctors, but none of them helped, until Dr. Sara Hamilton, who was so scarred herself she may be detached enough to help Matt. But as Matt and Sara explore the boundaries of trust and hope, they will come to learn that to get what they want, they must lose everything first...
Great push-pull, if a bit slow-paced. 5.5/8
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Finished Rescuing Lacey by Rebecca Heflin
Photojournlaist Lacey Sommers was burned out and traumatized by her previous ordeal / assignment and her boss sent her to Costa Rica as a test... to photograph frogs, with a local babysitter / guide Luke Hancock. If she doesn't ace this assignment, she may be sidelined forever, so she needed to be nice to this gorgeous but overbearing bush pilot / wilderness guide... who turned out to hate her father (and by extension, her as well), even as they find each other very attractive... purely on a physical level. But Lacey's PTSD hadn't been resolved, and Luke's hiding a few secrets of his own. As they each learned that preconceived notions they have about each others are probably wrong, they started falling for each other... but those secrets will hold them back...
Not bad push-pull, if a bit simplified, or a bit too... "obvious". 6/8
Chad Kirkwood decided his life as country star Chad Ashford was such a lie, and his woman had run off with his producer Jay, he had to get away from it all. He drove into a small town, and a "farm hand wanted" ad was perfect for him. So he showed up at Katie Wicken's farm. Katie had to leave her job in the city to care for her ailing father, who finally passed on... just as her fiancee decided she'd changed too much and didn't want her any more. Broken, she is single-handedly managing the farm, and help from Chad was just in time, but she cannot afford to let anyone into her heart, esp. any lies. Then Chad's past caught up with him...
Spoiler:
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Finished The Gambler by Carre White FREE / Historical Western Romance
Lea "Jubilee" Duncan plays the gambling hall girl with her pa (as the gambler), until a brawl left her father bleeding out, and her job gone. With little cash left, no job, and no man, Lea's only future seems to be with the gambler Nash Monaghan who protected her during the melee, and even kissed her before the tragedy. Nash took Lea in (purely as a gentleman) but Lea, intending to make her own way, "borrowed" some funds from Nash, packed, and got on a train to head West. Two years later, Nash was still on his quest to find his brother and his wife (who ran off with his brother) but was also looking for "Jubilee", when he finally found her as part of "Irish" performing troupe. This time, Nash does not intend to let her get away... But someone else may have other ideas...
No sex, relatively clean Western romance, and NOT a mail order bride story either. Not too bad, not too bad, if a bit cliche. 6/8
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Finished Paradise Found by Mary Campisi
Matt Brandon had wealth, power, looks, and talent... until a ski accident left him blind, but it seems to be a psychological problem, as they can find nothing physically wrong with his eyes. Matt's brother brought in several doctors, but none of them helped, until Dr. Sara Hamilton, who was so scarred herself she may be detached enough to help Matt. But as Matt and Sara explore the boundaries of trust and hope, they will come to learn that to get what they want, they must lose everything first...
Great push-pull, if a bit slow-paced. 5.5/8
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Finished Rescuing Lacey by Rebecca Heflin
Photojournlaist Lacey Sommers was burned out and traumatized by her previous ordeal / assignment and her boss sent her to Costa Rica as a test... to photograph frogs, with a local babysitter / guide Luke Hancock. If she doesn't ace this assignment, she may be sidelined forever, so she needed to be nice to this gorgeous but overbearing bush pilot / wilderness guide... who turned out to hate her father (and by extension, her as well), even as they find each other very attractive... purely on a physical level. But Lacey's PTSD hadn't been resolved, and Luke's hiding a few secrets of his own. As they each learned that preconceived notions they have about each others are probably wrong, they started falling for each other... but those secrets will hold them back...
Not bad push-pull, if a bit simplified, or a bit too... "obvious". 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
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Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Bound to Submit by Laura Kaye FREE BDSM romance
Kenna Sloane lost her arm in the marines from an IED and now, out of the service, she gets by as a motivational speaker, but she felt empty inside. The only time she really felt fulfilled was in the hands of Master Griffin years ago, before she joined, but he told her he doesn't want a relationship, at least not a full-time sub. Now, she is heading back to the club to scratch the itch... // Griffin Hudson is haunted by his worst mistake: driving away the only woman who touched his soul. By the time he realized his mistake and wanted to make amends, she's gone. Years later, Kenna is back in his club. Can Griffin redeem himself, even if he had to cause her pain to heal her wounds?
For a BDSM romance, this author REALLY knows her BDSM, and the romance was really there with some unusual FMCs and MMCs. This FMC lost most of the arm (just 2 inches past the elbow, gets by with prosthesis) and yes, you can do bondage with that. BDSM scenes are described in detail but not porn/erotica. I find the idea of going into submission to cure her psych esteem problem a bit nebulous, but it seems to work within the context of the book. 6.5/8
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Finished Call to Honor by Tawny Weber
Diego Torres is part of Team Poseidon, an elite group of SEAL (who's already pretty darn elite) that takes on the toughest assignments. But a botched mission and a casualty on the team (with a lost body) pointed to something sinister: there is a traitor in their midst. And after repeated checks, the only viable suspect is the guy that's MIA (with no body), and the suspicion immediately fell on single mom Harper Maclean, who knew the missing guy. So Diego goes undercover... pose as a security specialist and move in next door to Harper, and befriends her son Nathan. Soon they got intimate, and while Diego was sure that Harper was innocent, circumstantial evidence seem to point the other way, and who was the real traitor out there?
While the SEAL descriptions are fine, having SEAL do undercover work in the US is not cool, and this is a prime example of "SEAL abuse". The plot also doesn't make that much sense. 4/8
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Finished Rough around the edges meets refined by Rachael Anderson
Noah Mackie has a great family for helping him raise two girls by himself. But when his promised promotion fell through, and he's even let go due to lack of projects, he had to scramble for work, and had no time to date. Finding his girls' dance teacher, Cassie Ellis, extremely attractive is not helping his libido any. But when she wanted to redo her basement and turn it into a dance studio, he can't say no, even though she's as about as open as a brick wall, at least at first...
Good push-pull between the two. 6/8
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Finished Belly of the Beast by Forrest J Fegert
Willaim "Ox" Abraham was just a kid in 1943 and a junior boxing champ when he enlisted to be a bomber crew. This is his story on how he survived the missions, saw casualties all over, and lived through it all.
Basically a more personal version of Memphis Belle with concentration on a single guy and people around him. For fiction, this is a bit dry though. Things just happen, and happen, barely any thoughts or feelings. 5.5/8
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Finished Levi's Legend by Dale Mayer
Levi vowed to hunt down the people who betrayed his team and killed one of his best friends, and he did, all except one that got away. But now, as Levi got his security company off the ground, and his lover, Ice, by his side, things should be getting better, but isn't. His nemesis is back, and this time, the war came home, for the bad guy intended to make things VERY personal with Levi. And this time, he's backed by terrorists with big bankrolls. But Levi has ex-SEALs and Ice by his side. But Ice was wondering if this is where her relationship with Levi should be. She gave up her career for him, but he's showing no sign of reciprocating her sacrifices... Was he that dense and clueless? Should she seek position elsewhere and just let go?
If this was supposed to be thriller, this is ridiculous. Their compound was penetrated multiple times by hostiles, despite all the big security measures they undertook. AND they can't seem to sweep properly as bad guy keeps getting away. And the bad guys seem to just want to toy with them. WTF. 4/8
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Finished Giovanna: cowboy's Calabrese Mail order Bride by Lorena Dove FREE
1892, Giovanna was newly widowed, and her daughter, young Rosa, was quite sick. With nowhere to go, she had to head West, as a mail order bride. But she didn't realize her transcriber had left out a few details, like she has a daughter, or that her daughter was sick. Laars broke his ties with his Norwegian family to start his own ranch in South Dakota, and he realized he can't do it all, and needed a wife. He had it all planned, with money saved for the expansion. But when Giovanna arrived with the kid, and little Rosa's sickness took a turn for the worse, is he ready to sacrifice his future for his new family?
Sold as "clean romance", there are indeed no sex and barely any kissing. The plotting actually wasn't that bad. 6/8
Kenna Sloane lost her arm in the marines from an IED and now, out of the service, she gets by as a motivational speaker, but she felt empty inside. The only time she really felt fulfilled was in the hands of Master Griffin years ago, before she joined, but he told her he doesn't want a relationship, at least not a full-time sub. Now, she is heading back to the club to scratch the itch... // Griffin Hudson is haunted by his worst mistake: driving away the only woman who touched his soul. By the time he realized his mistake and wanted to make amends, she's gone. Years later, Kenna is back in his club. Can Griffin redeem himself, even if he had to cause her pain to heal her wounds?
For a BDSM romance, this author REALLY knows her BDSM, and the romance was really there with some unusual FMCs and MMCs. This FMC lost most of the arm (just 2 inches past the elbow, gets by with prosthesis) and yes, you can do bondage with that. BDSM scenes are described in detail but not porn/erotica. I find the idea of going into submission to cure her psych esteem problem a bit nebulous, but it seems to work within the context of the book. 6.5/8
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Finished Call to Honor by Tawny Weber
Diego Torres is part of Team Poseidon, an elite group of SEAL (who's already pretty darn elite) that takes on the toughest assignments. But a botched mission and a casualty on the team (with a lost body) pointed to something sinister: there is a traitor in their midst. And after repeated checks, the only viable suspect is the guy that's MIA (with no body), and the suspicion immediately fell on single mom Harper Maclean, who knew the missing guy. So Diego goes undercover... pose as a security specialist and move in next door to Harper, and befriends her son Nathan. Soon they got intimate, and while Diego was sure that Harper was innocent, circumstantial evidence seem to point the other way, and who was the real traitor out there?
While the SEAL descriptions are fine, having SEAL do undercover work in the US is not cool, and this is a prime example of "SEAL abuse". The plot also doesn't make that much sense. 4/8
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Finished Rough around the edges meets refined by Rachael Anderson
Noah Mackie has a great family for helping him raise two girls by himself. But when his promised promotion fell through, and he's even let go due to lack of projects, he had to scramble for work, and had no time to date. Finding his girls' dance teacher, Cassie Ellis, extremely attractive is not helping his libido any. But when she wanted to redo her basement and turn it into a dance studio, he can't say no, even though she's as about as open as a brick wall, at least at first...
Good push-pull between the two. 6/8
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Finished Belly of the Beast by Forrest J Fegert
Willaim "Ox" Abraham was just a kid in 1943 and a junior boxing champ when he enlisted to be a bomber crew. This is his story on how he survived the missions, saw casualties all over, and lived through it all.
Basically a more personal version of Memphis Belle with concentration on a single guy and people around him. For fiction, this is a bit dry though. Things just happen, and happen, barely any thoughts or feelings. 5.5/8
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Finished Levi's Legend by Dale Mayer
Levi vowed to hunt down the people who betrayed his team and killed one of his best friends, and he did, all except one that got away. But now, as Levi got his security company off the ground, and his lover, Ice, by his side, things should be getting better, but isn't. His nemesis is back, and this time, the war came home, for the bad guy intended to make things VERY personal with Levi. And this time, he's backed by terrorists with big bankrolls. But Levi has ex-SEALs and Ice by his side. But Ice was wondering if this is where her relationship with Levi should be. She gave up her career for him, but he's showing no sign of reciprocating her sacrifices... Was he that dense and clueless? Should she seek position elsewhere and just let go?
If this was supposed to be thriller, this is ridiculous. Their compound was penetrated multiple times by hostiles, despite all the big security measures they undertook. AND they can't seem to sweep properly as bad guy keeps getting away. And the bad guys seem to just want to toy with them. WTF. 4/8
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Finished Giovanna: cowboy's Calabrese Mail order Bride by Lorena Dove FREE
1892, Giovanna was newly widowed, and her daughter, young Rosa, was quite sick. With nowhere to go, she had to head West, as a mail order bride. But she didn't realize her transcriber had left out a few details, like she has a daughter, or that her daughter was sick. Laars broke his ties with his Norwegian family to start his own ranch in South Dakota, and he realized he can't do it all, and needed a wife. He had it all planned, with money saved for the expansion. But when Giovanna arrived with the kid, and little Rosa's sickness took a turn for the worse, is he ready to sacrifice his future for his new family?
Sold as "clean romance", there are indeed no sex and barely any kissing. The plotting actually wasn't that bad. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Those Red High Heels by Katherine May
Emma Walker had just the worst day in her life. Her boyfriend cheated. She just got downsized, and her pet dog is having... toilet problems. She's gotten weary of her life in Chicago. When her bestie Brynn, who's recently engaged, called upon her to come help her in NYC as maid of honor, Emma took the chance to move to NYC permanently, just as an offer of a new job came along. As Emma settled in New York, she came to know Greyson Lyons, someone who seems to be compatible with her, despite he's being quite rich. However, he's taken, already engaged to Nora Mathews. But as serendipity kicked in, Emma came to know Greyson does not love Nora. They were engaged only because their parents thought them a good pair. But can Emma be "the third woman" in a relationship? Even as Greyson called off the wedding, Nora dropped the bomb... She's pregnant...
The twists are predictable, but the relationships are nicely executed. 6/8
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Finished Anything But Love by Abigail Strom PRIME READING
Socialite Jessica Bullock was a pleaser, always doing things to please her parents. She's about to marry... Until her man left her at the altar... for a guy. As her greatest moment of triumph burned to the ground, she found her childhood friend, Ben Taggart, whom she drove away in high school, was there to help her pick up the pieces. And since Ben had a month or two of free time, before moving to Chicago to take up his new teaching position, he has time to go with Jessica to Bermuda, as the 10-day honeymoon was already paid for. Ben just wanted to see Jessica happy again and agreed to keep things platonic, but an unplanned kiss left their resolve (and their clothes) on the floor. They told themselves what happened in Bermuda stays in Bermuda, but can that really happen?
Pretty good setup. I personally find the idea that Ben would offer to go with Jessica to her Honeymoon as her PRETEND husband a bit iffy, but it works within the context of the novel. She's not married, not even engaged, and he wanted her, AND he's free with no obligations. Why the heck not? 6.5/8
Emma Walker had just the worst day in her life. Her boyfriend cheated. She just got downsized, and her pet dog is having... toilet problems. She's gotten weary of her life in Chicago. When her bestie Brynn, who's recently engaged, called upon her to come help her in NYC as maid of honor, Emma took the chance to move to NYC permanently, just as an offer of a new job came along. As Emma settled in New York, she came to know Greyson Lyons, someone who seems to be compatible with her, despite he's being quite rich. However, he's taken, already engaged to Nora Mathews. But as serendipity kicked in, Emma came to know Greyson does not love Nora. They were engaged only because their parents thought them a good pair. But can Emma be "the third woman" in a relationship? Even as Greyson called off the wedding, Nora dropped the bomb... She's pregnant...
The twists are predictable, but the relationships are nicely executed. 6/8
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Finished Anything But Love by Abigail Strom PRIME READING
Socialite Jessica Bullock was a pleaser, always doing things to please her parents. She's about to marry... Until her man left her at the altar... for a guy. As her greatest moment of triumph burned to the ground, she found her childhood friend, Ben Taggart, whom she drove away in high school, was there to help her pick up the pieces. And since Ben had a month or two of free time, before moving to Chicago to take up his new teaching position, he has time to go with Jessica to Bermuda, as the 10-day honeymoon was already paid for. Ben just wanted to see Jessica happy again and agreed to keep things platonic, but an unplanned kiss left their resolve (and their clothes) on the floor. They told themselves what happened in Bermuda stays in Bermuda, but can that really happen?
Pretty good setup. I personally find the idea that Ben would offer to go with Jessica to her Honeymoon as her PRETEND husband a bit iffy, but it works within the context of the novel. She's not married, not even engaged, and he wanted her, AND he's free with no obligations. Why the heck not? 6.5/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Books Read 2017
Finished No matter what by Erin Nicholas FREE
Billionaire Adam Steele can buy almost anything in the world, except to make his daughter Emily walk again. An accident took away one of Emily's legs, and multiple physical therapists have quit. Then Adam met Dr. Jaden Monroe. Jaden had been burned by the parent of one of her patients before. She fell in love with him, but when push came to shove, the rich man shoved right back... by withholding funds (to the tune of 1 million) to finish the new pediatric rehab wing at the hospital, as well as blackmailed hospital into firing her and not to be rehired for a year. Adam's offer of a million to make his daughter walk again was just enough, even as Jaden fell for the enigmatic Adam... But both have to deal with their feelings, not just for each other, but for their exs, and Emily...
Good family drama, but I feel the "bad guy" didn't quite get enough karma. 6.5/8
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Finished Where the Heart Is by Patricia Keelyn
Maddie Adams went home, away from big city. Her beau, despite years of relationship, was not man enough to marry her when she got pregnant, quite by accident. She was surprised to see the man who broke her heart 16 years ago, Nick Ryan, is a doctor in town, trying to raise his 15 year old son alone. Diane, whom Nick chose 16 years ago, had died 2 years prior in an automobile crash, something Nick's son still blame him for. Maddie cannot rekindle the feelings to Nick, because Nick destroyed her once. Nick had expressed his desire to go back to the city, and she cannot risk her heart again. Nick grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, and the only one who believed him was Maddie... But he screwed up and in order to do the right thing, he had to let Maddie go. But now that Maddie's back, he knew that this is his chance to build a family based on love, rather than obligation...
Good family dynamics and reluctant decisions dictating the push-pull between two people. I wish the dick beau would get more karma though. 6.5/8
Billionaire Adam Steele can buy almost anything in the world, except to make his daughter Emily walk again. An accident took away one of Emily's legs, and multiple physical therapists have quit. Then Adam met Dr. Jaden Monroe. Jaden had been burned by the parent of one of her patients before. She fell in love with him, but when push came to shove, the rich man shoved right back... by withholding funds (to the tune of 1 million) to finish the new pediatric rehab wing at the hospital, as well as blackmailed hospital into firing her and not to be rehired for a year. Adam's offer of a million to make his daughter walk again was just enough, even as Jaden fell for the enigmatic Adam... But both have to deal with their feelings, not just for each other, but for their exs, and Emily...
Good family drama, but I feel the "bad guy" didn't quite get enough karma. 6.5/8
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Finished Where the Heart Is by Patricia Keelyn
Maddie Adams went home, away from big city. Her beau, despite years of relationship, was not man enough to marry her when she got pregnant, quite by accident. She was surprised to see the man who broke her heart 16 years ago, Nick Ryan, is a doctor in town, trying to raise his 15 year old son alone. Diane, whom Nick chose 16 years ago, had died 2 years prior in an automobile crash, something Nick's son still blame him for. Maddie cannot rekindle the feelings to Nick, because Nick destroyed her once. Nick had expressed his desire to go back to the city, and she cannot risk her heart again. Nick grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, and the only one who believed him was Maddie... But he screwed up and in order to do the right thing, he had to let Maddie go. But now that Maddie's back, he knew that this is his chance to build a family based on love, rather than obligation...
Good family dynamics and reluctant decisions dictating the push-pull between two people. I wish the dick beau would get more karma though. 6.5/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Mine To Take by Cynthia Eden FREE
Skye Sullivan was a prominent dancer until a car accident ended her career in New York. She was sure there was a stalker there, but no one would believe her. She moved back to Chicago, trying to start over, but when she found that the stalker had followed her to Chicago, she went to the one person left she can trust... Trace Weston. Trace broke her heart years ago when he did not want to hold her back from her dance career. He went to the military, breaking her heart. Now he's back with some powerful connections and richer than sin, and he'd like nothing better than keep Skye for himself. But Just who was her stalker? Was it the almost cruel choreographer who need her back dancing? The sickly sweet doctor who healed her? The doggedly determined police detective who's always late? Could it be Weston with a false flag operation? Or could it be someone else?
As a mystery it's actually not bad. There were red herrings all over the place, casting doubts one way or another. However, I don't like the ending, as it wasn't explained how the perp got the skills.
6/8
Skye Sullivan was a prominent dancer until a car accident ended her career in New York. She was sure there was a stalker there, but no one would believe her. She moved back to Chicago, trying to start over, but when she found that the stalker had followed her to Chicago, she went to the one person left she can trust... Trace Weston. Trace broke her heart years ago when he did not want to hold her back from her dance career. He went to the military, breaking her heart. Now he's back with some powerful connections and richer than sin, and he'd like nothing better than keep Skye for himself. But Just who was her stalker? Was it the almost cruel choreographer who need her back dancing? The sickly sweet doctor who healed her? The doggedly determined police detective who's always late? Could it be Weston with a false flag operation? Or could it be someone else?
As a mystery it's actually not bad. There were red herrings all over the place, casting doubts one way or another. However, I don't like the ending, as it wasn't explained how the perp got the skills.
Spoiler:
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Books Read 2017
Just broke the "top 2500 reviewer" rank. But then I have like over 1000 reviews. Hahahahaha. 
EDIT: Just broke through top 2400, yea!
Finished Deception by Mona Ingram
Former model Justine Phillips quit her runway life after her mother's cancer treatment took her life. She chose a different career, and had just arrived to help her best friend, when her best friend committed her to be auctioned off for a dinner at a charity benefit event. She chose to drastically change her appearance and appear as Jasmine, and a big bidder, Alex, won the bid for $25000, and also won her heart, as he's gorgeous, nice, charming, and more. That was, until she learned that he is the head of OmegaPharma... the company that made the treatment that killed her mother. Justine is now confused... She wanted Alex Melrose, but can she consort with the person who basically killed her mother? Can she reveal her deception as Jasmine? Justine made up her mind... she will appear as Justine to Alex, and see if he's still interested, and slowly learned that what she thought was the truth about her mother's death... was nothing like what she thought... but even as she fell for the kind-hearted Alex, Alex learned the truth about Jasmine...
Some of the emotional reactions seem a bit too melodramatic, but overall a pretty good read. 6/8
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Finished The Bride Lottery by Kristin Holt Historical Western Romance
Evelyn Brandt loved the wrong man, who got her pregnant, but he's a married man now in Europe. Everlyn's parents exiled her to life in California with her uncle, give birth, give up the child, then travel back as if she went on vacation / education and pretend nothing happened. On the train heading west she came to know 14 girls who are traveling to become mail order brides in a mining town with 40 bachelors who are looking for brides (and 2 who are not). One of whom are NOT looking for a bride was Sam Kochler, owner of the mercantile in town. Sam got his heart broken by Gabriela, who refused him three times, once when he's leaving the city, and twice more after he's established. Sam had no use for city girls. So when Evelyn Brandt stepped off the train along with the 14 girls, Sam, as the justice of the peace and owner of mercantile, ended up as chaperone of all the girls, including Evelyn. As former city dweller, Sam recognize Evelyn seem to be much more refined than the girls, and even he recognized signs of the pregnancy, but Everlyn fibbed it away as if she's a widow with an unborn child. But the more time he spent in town, the more Sam and Evelyn came to like each other. But things did not go their way when both Gabriela and Evelyn's parents arrived in town... Right as Sam proposed to Evelyn in front of the whole town...
One of the best mail order bride stories I've read, with a lot of twists and turns in the plot. No sex of course. 7/8
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Finished Carolina Heat by Christi Barth FREE
Annabelle Carlyle went to Charleston, South Carolina, for some answers. Her best friend disappeared in the city while chasing down a story. Annabelle also found Mark Dering, a charming sexy tour guide who's only glad to show her around the city and his charms. But when someone took shots at them (literally), they realized that the disappearances has a sinister edge to them... Someone is willing to kill to keep a secret buried since the American Civil War...
Good mystery on top of the romance. 6/8
EDIT: Just broke through top 2400, yea!
Finished Deception by Mona Ingram
Former model Justine Phillips quit her runway life after her mother's cancer treatment took her life. She chose a different career, and had just arrived to help her best friend, when her best friend committed her to be auctioned off for a dinner at a charity benefit event. She chose to drastically change her appearance and appear as Jasmine, and a big bidder, Alex, won the bid for $25000, and also won her heart, as he's gorgeous, nice, charming, and more. That was, until she learned that he is the head of OmegaPharma... the company that made the treatment that killed her mother. Justine is now confused... She wanted Alex Melrose, but can she consort with the person who basically killed her mother? Can she reveal her deception as Jasmine? Justine made up her mind... she will appear as Justine to Alex, and see if he's still interested, and slowly learned that what she thought was the truth about her mother's death... was nothing like what she thought... but even as she fell for the kind-hearted Alex, Alex learned the truth about Jasmine...
Some of the emotional reactions seem a bit too melodramatic, but overall a pretty good read. 6/8
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Finished The Bride Lottery by Kristin Holt Historical Western Romance
Evelyn Brandt loved the wrong man, who got her pregnant, but he's a married man now in Europe. Everlyn's parents exiled her to life in California with her uncle, give birth, give up the child, then travel back as if she went on vacation / education and pretend nothing happened. On the train heading west she came to know 14 girls who are traveling to become mail order brides in a mining town with 40 bachelors who are looking for brides (and 2 who are not). One of whom are NOT looking for a bride was Sam Kochler, owner of the mercantile in town. Sam got his heart broken by Gabriela, who refused him three times, once when he's leaving the city, and twice more after he's established. Sam had no use for city girls. So when Evelyn Brandt stepped off the train along with the 14 girls, Sam, as the justice of the peace and owner of mercantile, ended up as chaperone of all the girls, including Evelyn. As former city dweller, Sam recognize Evelyn seem to be much more refined than the girls, and even he recognized signs of the pregnancy, but Everlyn fibbed it away as if she's a widow with an unborn child. But the more time he spent in town, the more Sam and Evelyn came to like each other. But things did not go their way when both Gabriela and Evelyn's parents arrived in town... Right as Sam proposed to Evelyn in front of the whole town...
One of the best mail order bride stories I've read, with a lot of twists and turns in the plot. No sex of course. 7/8
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Finished Carolina Heat by Christi Barth FREE
Annabelle Carlyle went to Charleston, South Carolina, for some answers. Her best friend disappeared in the city while chasing down a story. Annabelle also found Mark Dering, a charming sexy tour guide who's only glad to show her around the city and his charms. But when someone took shots at them (literally), they realized that the disappearances has a sinister edge to them... Someone is willing to kill to keep a secret buried since the American Civil War...
Good mystery on top of the romance. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
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Re: Books Read 2017
Finished To Protect His Own by Jen Talty
NY State Trooper Jake Prichard left his heritage, his family, his family farm, and his fortune behind, but when his father was found poisoned and barely survived, he had to go home even though he hated his father's guts. But investigations soon showed that his father wasn't the target... It was his first love, Kenzie Chorley, who worked as a ranchhand on the farm since she was 16, and now pregnant with his baby. Now Jake must find the culprit before any one else gets hurt, and bring the perp to justice, in order... to protect his own.
Good mystery, as it was about the money at the end, and "secret baby" some bad blood left from way back when. 7/8
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Finished My Dirty Desires by Melissa Devenport FREE SHORT EROTICA
Melissa had enough trying to please her husband... he was cheating behind her back. Tonight, she's going out to a pub and have a good time, perhaps the best night of her life, and if it includes a hunk with a good package and great in bed... well, that's be great too.
Not much here, it's basically Melissa finding that she'd been missing out on good sex all along. Not much here. 3/8
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Finished Sins of my father by Lisa Cardiff
Archer Black has an agenda. As head of Black Investments, he's filthy rich, and his goal is to bring down Senator Thomas Wharton. For they have a blood debt they need to settle. Unfortunately, the best way to gain access to Senator Wharton is through his stepdaughter, Langley Mayer. When operatives started to track Langley's moves and bugged her place, after she found a list of women who are turning up dead, Archer found that he cannot use Langley like he planned. Archer has fallen for his mortal enemy's step daughter... who's also his step-sister...
Good twists left and right. 7/8
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Finished Brutal by K. S. Adkins
Venessa Cross, aka DJ Karma, is a beautiful girl with an attitude problem. You see, she's a vigilante at night, kicks perp's asses with her martial arts training and taser (and gun, if need be) to save the few friends she has on the streets. Until she sent a dirty abusive cop to jail, and now Detroit PD is a bit red-faced, and detective Rogan Black, vows to bring in the vigilante... Until he got a lecture from his Captain. You see, Venessa's family (father, mother, little sister) had been slaughtered and she had been gang-raped at 14. Venessa's "extra-legal" activities were... suspicions only. But now, DPD needed her help. Girls had been vanishing from various cities, including Detroit, and someone seems to be after Karma herself. When the Captain assigned Rogan to be Karma's bodyguard, he did not hesitate...
Plot is slightly forced. Vaigue threats of girls disappearing doesn't seem that much of a threat, nor was some vague mentions of toughs from out of state, and relationship between Rogan and Karma is basically insta-lust. Rogan is also relatively bland personality wise, but Karma is one kickass character. 6.5/8
NY State Trooper Jake Prichard left his heritage, his family, his family farm, and his fortune behind, but when his father was found poisoned and barely survived, he had to go home even though he hated his father's guts. But investigations soon showed that his father wasn't the target... It was his first love, Kenzie Chorley, who worked as a ranchhand on the farm since she was 16, and now pregnant with his baby. Now Jake must find the culprit before any one else gets hurt, and bring the perp to justice, in order... to protect his own.
Good mystery, as it was about the money at the end, and "secret baby" some bad blood left from way back when. 7/8
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Finished My Dirty Desires by Melissa Devenport FREE SHORT EROTICA
Melissa had enough trying to please her husband... he was cheating behind her back. Tonight, she's going out to a pub and have a good time, perhaps the best night of her life, and if it includes a hunk with a good package and great in bed... well, that's be great too.
Not much here, it's basically Melissa finding that she'd been missing out on good sex all along. Not much here. 3/8
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Finished Sins of my father by Lisa Cardiff
Archer Black has an agenda. As head of Black Investments, he's filthy rich, and his goal is to bring down Senator Thomas Wharton. For they have a blood debt they need to settle. Unfortunately, the best way to gain access to Senator Wharton is through his stepdaughter, Langley Mayer. When operatives started to track Langley's moves and bugged her place, after she found a list of women who are turning up dead, Archer found that he cannot use Langley like he planned. Archer has fallen for his mortal enemy's step daughter... who's also his step-sister...
Good twists left and right. 7/8
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Finished Brutal by K. S. Adkins
Venessa Cross, aka DJ Karma, is a beautiful girl with an attitude problem. You see, she's a vigilante at night, kicks perp's asses with her martial arts training and taser (and gun, if need be) to save the few friends she has on the streets. Until she sent a dirty abusive cop to jail, and now Detroit PD is a bit red-faced, and detective Rogan Black, vows to bring in the vigilante... Until he got a lecture from his Captain. You see, Venessa's family (father, mother, little sister) had been slaughtered and she had been gang-raped at 14. Venessa's "extra-legal" activities were... suspicions only. But now, DPD needed her help. Girls had been vanishing from various cities, including Detroit, and someone seems to be after Karma herself. When the Captain assigned Rogan to be Karma's bodyguard, he did not hesitate...
Plot is slightly forced. Vaigue threats of girls disappearing doesn't seem that much of a threat, nor was some vague mentions of toughs from out of state, and relationship between Rogan and Karma is basically insta-lust. Rogan is also relatively bland personality wise, but Karma is one kickass character. 6.5/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Always and Forever by Soraya Lane FREE ON PRIME READING
Lisa and Matt had a dream house and a dream marriage, and a child coming soon. Until they were forced to make an impossible choice: she has cancer, and she can't be pregnant while getting operations and chemo followups. They reluctantly terminated the pregnancy, hoping for a chance to try again when she's healthier. When the doctor was forced to take away her ability to ever be pregnant, Lisa fell into a deep depression, and Matt was utterly lost on how to get his wife back, and the only thing that he can think of was a road trip... to place they have been, to place where they fell in love... in the hopes of rekindling a relationship that may have been already lost...
Pretty good emotional turmoil, not that I claim to be any sort of expert on such things. 6/8
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Finished Home to Me by RUth Cardello FREE
Nick Andrade, the playboy counterpart to his ultra-serious brother Gio, is not a one-woman kinda guy. Shut out from the family business, he embraced his "black sheep" image to be the adrenaline junkie, but he always had a thing for his brother's secretary, Rena Sander. Now that his brother Gio has found his match in Julia (see "Come Away With Me") Nick asked Rena out on a date. Little did he know that Rena had the hots for Rick for a long time, but Rena knew she'd get her heart broken if she ever considered long-term with Nick. Now that he asked, she can't refuse, but she tried to keep it to once a week, and always discrete. But when their relationship's exposed, will they fight for their right to be together?
There's some serious family drama behind Nick, Gio, the two other brothers, and their mother, and you don't know which side to take as each seems to think the other side's at fault. Book 1 hinted at some of it. Good slow escalation 6.5/8
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Finished The Falling Kind by Raidileigh Kennedy
Sydney Summers knew love can be cut short at any time, based on a personal tragedy. She chose to love fast, hard, and deep, and poured her heart out for every animal in her vet clinic. Cole Mason just wanted peace and quiet, and some tacos. But someone in town has other ideas. Cole's dad seems to be knee-deep in crime, and Cole doesn't seem to have a mom that he knew. When a bike accident put Cole in Sydney's vet clinic for some first aid, the two enjoyed each other's company. But something bad is going down in town, and Cole doesn't want Sydney involved. But to protect her, he may not have a choice...
The suspense part doesn't really make too much sense, esp. when near the end where APB was issued for Cole and his father, and Sydney was requested to get out of town, far away. Then it's as if nothing ever happened, they settled elsewhere for HEA. ?!?!?! 5/8
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Finished Feels Like the First Time by Ciana Stone FREE
Lily Ridenger is in a serious bind. Her husband had gambled her family ranch away. Her bank account is near zero, she has no place to live, and she just wrecked the company big rig on her first day on the job (through no fault of her own). What's worse, she was rescued by her first love, Clint Marsh. When she was informed that she had been terminated, she also found herself stranded in a strange town, and when Clint offered his spare room on his ranch, she was in no position to refuse, esp. when she does have ranch experience. And when their unresolved feelings came back, it's stronger than ever. However, it all went sideways when Lily's husband, on the run from loansharks, decided to make Lily his lifeline, and squeeze money from Clint if necessary.
The story has elements that didn't really need to be there, and really doesn't add much to the story. It also has a deus ex machina ending. 3/8
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Finished Billionaire's Cinderella by Claire Adams FREE
Kiara is having a VERY bad week. She was told that her family cottage had storm damage. Before she made it home she was rear-ended, totaling her poor truck. Then she found there was no storm damage... her twin stepsisters used the place to party and left her to clean up the mess. Then she was told that she was terminated from her law internship due to "lack of passion". Then her rich neighbors decided to hold a lawn party next to her fence line despite having 20 acres of space, complete with music and bonfire, making her impossible to sleep. Then when the bonfire ignited the tree, it toppled over the fence and burned her family cottage to the ground. And the guy she's about to take it out on... is Theodore aka "Teddy", the playboy next door, host of the party. Teddy is rich, spoiled, drives fast cars, and dates rich heiresses. At least on the surface. As Teddy struggles to make things right for Kiara (and Kiara refusing everything until she was unable to), Kiara slowly learned that the public image of Teddy is actually quite different from the truth. But with Teddy matched with heiress Whitney, or lose his trust fund, is there any future between Teddy and Kiara?
Frankly, Kiara's stubborn persistence to do things her way borders on the unreasonably cranky. And the pressure brought by others on Teddy to pair off with the snobby Whitney borders on absurd. This is not comedy, and the tone such almost borders on satire. I just am not sure what was the tone meant to be. 5/8
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Finished The Cowboy Way by Anna Alexander FREE
Trey Armstrong woke up in the hospital with no memory of past few... days? months? years? He remembered he had a ranch... but he was surprised to find himself wearing a wedding band, married to the lovely Greta. His ranch was doing great, and he must be living the charmed life, until he saw past surface. Greta, while cheery and smiling, was hiding something, and evidence of his life in the ranchhouse indicated he imposed a period of destructive self-isolation... probably after death of his son Luke. Now he's desperate to remember why, for he needed to know what he did wrong... in order to fix it and have a future...
Good use of the amnesia trope when it comes to romance. 6/8
Lisa and Matt had a dream house and a dream marriage, and a child coming soon. Until they were forced to make an impossible choice: she has cancer, and she can't be pregnant while getting operations and chemo followups. They reluctantly terminated the pregnancy, hoping for a chance to try again when she's healthier. When the doctor was forced to take away her ability to ever be pregnant, Lisa fell into a deep depression, and Matt was utterly lost on how to get his wife back, and the only thing that he can think of was a road trip... to place they have been, to place where they fell in love... in the hopes of rekindling a relationship that may have been already lost...
Pretty good emotional turmoil, not that I claim to be any sort of expert on such things. 6/8
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Finished Home to Me by RUth Cardello FREE
Nick Andrade, the playboy counterpart to his ultra-serious brother Gio, is not a one-woman kinda guy. Shut out from the family business, he embraced his "black sheep" image to be the adrenaline junkie, but he always had a thing for his brother's secretary, Rena Sander. Now that his brother Gio has found his match in Julia (see "Come Away With Me") Nick asked Rena out on a date. Little did he know that Rena had the hots for Rick for a long time, but Rena knew she'd get her heart broken if she ever considered long-term with Nick. Now that he asked, she can't refuse, but she tried to keep it to once a week, and always discrete. But when their relationship's exposed, will they fight for their right to be together?
There's some serious family drama behind Nick, Gio, the two other brothers, and their mother, and you don't know which side to take as each seems to think the other side's at fault. Book 1 hinted at some of it. Good slow escalation 6.5/8
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Finished The Falling Kind by Raidileigh Kennedy
Sydney Summers knew love can be cut short at any time, based on a personal tragedy. She chose to love fast, hard, and deep, and poured her heart out for every animal in her vet clinic. Cole Mason just wanted peace and quiet, and some tacos. But someone in town has other ideas. Cole's dad seems to be knee-deep in crime, and Cole doesn't seem to have a mom that he knew. When a bike accident put Cole in Sydney's vet clinic for some first aid, the two enjoyed each other's company. But something bad is going down in town, and Cole doesn't want Sydney involved. But to protect her, he may not have a choice...
The suspense part doesn't really make too much sense, esp. when near the end where APB was issued for Cole and his father, and Sydney was requested to get out of town, far away. Then it's as if nothing ever happened, they settled elsewhere for HEA. ?!?!?! 5/8
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Finished Feels Like the First Time by Ciana Stone FREE
Lily Ridenger is in a serious bind. Her husband had gambled her family ranch away. Her bank account is near zero, she has no place to live, and she just wrecked the company big rig on her first day on the job (through no fault of her own). What's worse, she was rescued by her first love, Clint Marsh. When she was informed that she had been terminated, she also found herself stranded in a strange town, and when Clint offered his spare room on his ranch, she was in no position to refuse, esp. when she does have ranch experience. And when their unresolved feelings came back, it's stronger than ever. However, it all went sideways when Lily's husband, on the run from loansharks, decided to make Lily his lifeline, and squeeze money from Clint if necessary.
The story has elements that didn't really need to be there, and really doesn't add much to the story. It also has a deus ex machina ending. 3/8
Spoiler:
Finished Billionaire's Cinderella by Claire Adams FREE
Kiara is having a VERY bad week. She was told that her family cottage had storm damage. Before she made it home she was rear-ended, totaling her poor truck. Then she found there was no storm damage... her twin stepsisters used the place to party and left her to clean up the mess. Then she was told that she was terminated from her law internship due to "lack of passion". Then her rich neighbors decided to hold a lawn party next to her fence line despite having 20 acres of space, complete with music and bonfire, making her impossible to sleep. Then when the bonfire ignited the tree, it toppled over the fence and burned her family cottage to the ground. And the guy she's about to take it out on... is Theodore aka "Teddy", the playboy next door, host of the party. Teddy is rich, spoiled, drives fast cars, and dates rich heiresses. At least on the surface. As Teddy struggles to make things right for Kiara (and Kiara refusing everything until she was unable to), Kiara slowly learned that the public image of Teddy is actually quite different from the truth. But with Teddy matched with heiress Whitney, or lose his trust fund, is there any future between Teddy and Kiara?
Frankly, Kiara's stubborn persistence to do things her way borders on the unreasonably cranky. And the pressure brought by others on Teddy to pair off with the snobby Whitney borders on absurd. This is not comedy, and the tone such almost borders on satire. I just am not sure what was the tone meant to be. 5/8
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Finished The Cowboy Way by Anna Alexander FREE
Trey Armstrong woke up in the hospital with no memory of past few... days? months? years? He remembered he had a ranch... but he was surprised to find himself wearing a wedding band, married to the lovely Greta. His ranch was doing great, and he must be living the charmed life, until he saw past surface. Greta, while cheery and smiling, was hiding something, and evidence of his life in the ranchhouse indicated he imposed a period of destructive self-isolation... probably after death of his son Luke. Now he's desperate to remember why, for he needed to know what he did wrong... in order to fix it and have a future...
Good use of the amnesia trope when it comes to romance. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Baby, I'm Back! by Laurie Kellogg
Samantha Rivera divorced her ex Nicolas "Nick" for a reason: he won't try with her for another child. But his charming Latin honor demanded that he stay in her life, much to her chagrin, from the other side of the country. But Nick is going to spend a long summer with Sam to reconnect with his daughter, and Sam... because he missed his family, and he wanted his family back, even if he had to blackmail his way back into his ex-wife's home... and into her heart.
Quite a bit of fun to read, the push-pull here is definitely top-notch, and both Sam and Nick came across as reluctant "un-lovers" as they know they loved each other but the hurt won't let them go just yet. Nick was afraid for Sam's health, as Sam almost died giving birth to the baby that died, and Nick cannot bear to put Sam at risk again with another pregnancy, but Sam really wanted another child, not as a replacement, but as proof that Nick loved her. Both used facades to hide their true feelings. 7.5/8
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Finished Up To Date by Susan Hatler FREE
Ginger was taught early on that stable life is better, except her office manager job (glorified title for secretary) is boring her out of her mind. Her passion was... interior decorating. Also, her dad was an ER doc that drove him into alcoholism and that basically turned her off to all forms of alcohol... and ER doctors, even the hot gorgeous ER Doc called Greg Shaffer. Ginger thought donating a "home makeover" design package for her friend' charity auction is the perfect way to test the waters... and forget about Greg. However, she did not count on Greg buying the condo above her... and winning the auction. Now Ginger was forced to reevaluate Greg... and her own insecurities toward feelings beyond that of "safe and stable"...
Good and charming, but not that outstanding. Greg was a little too perfect, so to speak. 6/8
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Finished Railgun by Luis Robles
The Mirius aliens came to Earth in 2197 and after landing peacefully, suddenly one day decided that humanity was judged and found wanting, and only a few can be redeemed, then EMP'ed the entire planet, wiping out most of the technology. With impenetrable shielding they cannot be stopped. And most of Earth now lay in ruins, survivors barely hanging on, and there are reports of alien warriors taking humans away, never to be seen again. Amidst this chaos, a 14-year old girl Jaika, the last combat droid Railgun, and the sentient android Amadeus (in the body of a robotic cat) must brave the apocalyptic world when alien warriors killed her grandpa, the greatest inventor and scientist on Earth. Railgun has proven that he can go up against the alien warriors, and he may be humanity's last hope.
The world's interesting, but the motivation makes no f***ing sense. These aliens speak English, heck, and their reason to stay on Earth makes no sense. The idea author also seems to have no idea what a rail gun is... Rail gun is a projectile weapon, not an energy weapon. The plot also barely makes sense, but basically, all that's needed to defeat the aliens is to destroy the power core in the alien ship. Phooey. 3/8
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Finished Dreams of Her Own by Rebecca Heflin
Millicent "Millie" Stephens is the most boring woman ever. She wears oversize brown outfit to blend in, to become invisible. Her personal assistant job to famous romance author was routine. No man ever notices her... and she prefers it that way. When strong arms saved her from becoming NYC's latest traffic fatality, and disappeared into the crowd, Millie remembered the face, and had an epiphany... Her life's highlight reel was BLANK. When she ran into her savior again, she learned he is Ian Brand, and he's both hunky and tattooed. But that charming bad boy exterior hid a painful past and a problem he tried his entire life to hide. Millie wanted... sex, and to help Ian, but when Ian refused to acknowledge the problem, much less seek help, Millie may have to reopen her own wounds so they can heal each other... and find love in the process.
Good authors know how to balance the needs of both the MMC and the FMC, and this is no exception. the MMC, in this case, came from abusive father and is dyslexic (he gets by with audio books and voice dictation, and with a lot of help) while FMC... was molested when young. 6.5/8
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Finished Set the Night on Fire by Jennifer Bernard FREE
Sean Marcus left Jupiter Point 13 years ago in disgrace, when he did what he thought was the right thing, then snapped when he was treated like a criminal. In the years since, he was adopted by a bunch of smoke jumpers (forest firefighters) and chose to become one himself. Now he is the leader of the new "Jupiter Point Hotshots" wildfire crew, he's back to the town... and one look at Evie McGraw, and he's reminded why he left that long ago... For Evie, Sean, and their nemesis, Brad, have a bit of history... that lead to Sean leaving town. Brad is now a politician promising all sorts of things for the business coalition to endorse him for a run to state senate, and Evie, being the president of the business coalition, would be forced to endorse him despite her personal feelings. But McGraws do not make waves, ever, and in the 13 years Evie never spoke of that night... But Brad seems to be outmaneuvering Evie and Sean at every turn
Brad's motivation doesn't really make sense, other than he thought he could get away with it but it's a lot more than that, to the point of sociopathic.
I can understand lying for power, for money, but why keep lying even after a disgrace? It's almost pathological and sociopathic. It's as if it's there just to tie up a loose end, when the big stuff's over.
6.5/8
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Finished Hidden Sins by Karice Bolton
Hannah Walker had to run from her life in the religious community. Her sister had already disappeared, and she saw her friend got executed by two leaders in the compound. She heard what the leader, and "Eric", who supposedly disappeared a year ago, discussed her fate should they find her. So she ran... all the way into California to a halfway house she found. In the coffee shop nearby, she by chance ran into Luke Fletcher, literally. He's in the private security business and immediately deduced she needed help, not that he'll spook her by revealing that. Then everything seems to fall into place for Hannah. She was offered a job at a night club as a hostess (nothing sexual, really), and an artist with large house offered to share one of her guest rooms with her cheap, so she can move out of the halfway house. Then her nightmare started... The bad guys found her somehow. A stalker confronted her on the beach, then when Luke dated her, someone tried to run her off the road. It doesn't help when she found that Luke was her roommate's brother, and a silent partner in the club she worked in. She thought she's being controlled again, but she needed help from Luke to set things right, for she knew something that can get people, a lot of people killed, and that's why people are after her...
Other than the problematic detail about the big conspiracy, the rest of the suspense mostly works. 6/8
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Finished Fall Out by Zoe York FREE
Drew Castle lost his best friend Carter on a mission and lost his drive to succeed. He no longer cares about his career. Then his best friend's little sister, Annie Martin, suddenly appeared at his door, scared out of her wits. Someone left her a message, claiming to be his dead brother. Who would want to mess with a history student and researcher? As Annie and Drew compare notes, they couldn't help but be drawn to each other, even as they realize that whatever they stumbled into has Washington politics written all over it, and a secret that had been kept for almost a decade... based on a night of indiscretion. And someone is trying to push the scandal back into the spotligth as a part of power play...
While the conspiracy is fine, and the push-pull between Drew and Annie was cute, the problem was resolved largely without their input other than they figured out what's going on. 5/8
Samantha Rivera divorced her ex Nicolas "Nick" for a reason: he won't try with her for another child. But his charming Latin honor demanded that he stay in her life, much to her chagrin, from the other side of the country. But Nick is going to spend a long summer with Sam to reconnect with his daughter, and Sam... because he missed his family, and he wanted his family back, even if he had to blackmail his way back into his ex-wife's home... and into her heart.
Quite a bit of fun to read, the push-pull here is definitely top-notch, and both Sam and Nick came across as reluctant "un-lovers" as they know they loved each other but the hurt won't let them go just yet. Nick was afraid for Sam's health, as Sam almost died giving birth to the baby that died, and Nick cannot bear to put Sam at risk again with another pregnancy, but Sam really wanted another child, not as a replacement, but as proof that Nick loved her. Both used facades to hide their true feelings. 7.5/8
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Finished Up To Date by Susan Hatler FREE
Ginger was taught early on that stable life is better, except her office manager job (glorified title for secretary) is boring her out of her mind. Her passion was... interior decorating. Also, her dad was an ER doc that drove him into alcoholism and that basically turned her off to all forms of alcohol... and ER doctors, even the hot gorgeous ER Doc called Greg Shaffer. Ginger thought donating a "home makeover" design package for her friend' charity auction is the perfect way to test the waters... and forget about Greg. However, she did not count on Greg buying the condo above her... and winning the auction. Now Ginger was forced to reevaluate Greg... and her own insecurities toward feelings beyond that of "safe and stable"...
Good and charming, but not that outstanding. Greg was a little too perfect, so to speak. 6/8
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Finished Railgun by Luis Robles
The Mirius aliens came to Earth in 2197 and after landing peacefully, suddenly one day decided that humanity was judged and found wanting, and only a few can be redeemed, then EMP'ed the entire planet, wiping out most of the technology. With impenetrable shielding they cannot be stopped. And most of Earth now lay in ruins, survivors barely hanging on, and there are reports of alien warriors taking humans away, never to be seen again. Amidst this chaos, a 14-year old girl Jaika, the last combat droid Railgun, and the sentient android Amadeus (in the body of a robotic cat) must brave the apocalyptic world when alien warriors killed her grandpa, the greatest inventor and scientist on Earth. Railgun has proven that he can go up against the alien warriors, and he may be humanity's last hope.
The world's interesting, but the motivation makes no f***ing sense. These aliens speak English, heck, and their reason to stay on Earth makes no sense. The idea author also seems to have no idea what a rail gun is... Rail gun is a projectile weapon, not an energy weapon. The plot also barely makes sense, but basically, all that's needed to defeat the aliens is to destroy the power core in the alien ship. Phooey. 3/8
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Finished Dreams of Her Own by Rebecca Heflin
Millicent "Millie" Stephens is the most boring woman ever. She wears oversize brown outfit to blend in, to become invisible. Her personal assistant job to famous romance author was routine. No man ever notices her... and she prefers it that way. When strong arms saved her from becoming NYC's latest traffic fatality, and disappeared into the crowd, Millie remembered the face, and had an epiphany... Her life's highlight reel was BLANK. When she ran into her savior again, she learned he is Ian Brand, and he's both hunky and tattooed. But that charming bad boy exterior hid a painful past and a problem he tried his entire life to hide. Millie wanted... sex, and to help Ian, but when Ian refused to acknowledge the problem, much less seek help, Millie may have to reopen her own wounds so they can heal each other... and find love in the process.
Good authors know how to balance the needs of both the MMC and the FMC, and this is no exception. the MMC, in this case, came from abusive father and is dyslexic (he gets by with audio books and voice dictation, and with a lot of help) while FMC... was molested when young. 6.5/8
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Finished Set the Night on Fire by Jennifer Bernard FREE
Sean Marcus left Jupiter Point 13 years ago in disgrace, when he did what he thought was the right thing, then snapped when he was treated like a criminal. In the years since, he was adopted by a bunch of smoke jumpers (forest firefighters) and chose to become one himself. Now he is the leader of the new "Jupiter Point Hotshots" wildfire crew, he's back to the town... and one look at Evie McGraw, and he's reminded why he left that long ago... For Evie, Sean, and their nemesis, Brad, have a bit of history... that lead to Sean leaving town. Brad is now a politician promising all sorts of things for the business coalition to endorse him for a run to state senate, and Evie, being the president of the business coalition, would be forced to endorse him despite her personal feelings. But McGraws do not make waves, ever, and in the 13 years Evie never spoke of that night... But Brad seems to be outmaneuvering Evie and Sean at every turn
Brad's motivation doesn't really make sense, other than he thought he could get away with it but it's a lot more than that, to the point of sociopathic.
Spoiler:
6.5/8
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Finished Hidden Sins by Karice Bolton
Hannah Walker had to run from her life in the religious community. Her sister had already disappeared, and she saw her friend got executed by two leaders in the compound. She heard what the leader, and "Eric", who supposedly disappeared a year ago, discussed her fate should they find her. So she ran... all the way into California to a halfway house she found. In the coffee shop nearby, she by chance ran into Luke Fletcher, literally. He's in the private security business and immediately deduced she needed help, not that he'll spook her by revealing that. Then everything seems to fall into place for Hannah. She was offered a job at a night club as a hostess (nothing sexual, really), and an artist with large house offered to share one of her guest rooms with her cheap, so she can move out of the halfway house. Then her nightmare started... The bad guys found her somehow. A stalker confronted her on the beach, then when Luke dated her, someone tried to run her off the road. It doesn't help when she found that Luke was her roommate's brother, and a silent partner in the club she worked in. She thought she's being controlled again, but she needed help from Luke to set things right, for she knew something that can get people, a lot of people killed, and that's why people are after her...
Spoiler:
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Finished Fall Out by Zoe York FREE
Drew Castle lost his best friend Carter on a mission and lost his drive to succeed. He no longer cares about his career. Then his best friend's little sister, Annie Martin, suddenly appeared at his door, scared out of her wits. Someone left her a message, claiming to be his dead brother. Who would want to mess with a history student and researcher? As Annie and Drew compare notes, they couldn't help but be drawn to each other, even as they realize that whatever they stumbled into has Washington politics written all over it, and a secret that had been kept for almost a decade... based on a night of indiscretion. And someone is trying to push the scandal back into the spotligth as a part of power play...
While the conspiracy is fine, and the push-pull between Drew and Annie was cute, the problem was resolved largely without their input other than they figured out what's going on. 5/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
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Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Rescue Me Books 1-3 by Kallypso Masters BDSM romance
Collection of 3 prequel stories plus 3 novels in intertwined saga of three pairs of broken lovers.
The prequels are how Mac and Adam met, and how Damian came to join the Marines.
Marc rescued Angelina from a disastrous experience at his BDSM club. Marc can't be in a relationship, but Angel stirred something in his soul. When Angel's abusive ex makes another appearance, can Marc let down his guard?
Adam rescued Karla once before, when she was underage. Several years later, she's employed as a singer in his club, and he didn't dare get any closer, as no one did after death of his wife. And he's 25 years older than Karla. But Karla will not go away, and was willing to be his sub, if that's what it takes to make him notice her as a woman.
Damian rescued Savannah once before, and they had a beautiful day together. But she went back to her home... to fates unknown. Years later, Damian found her again when he had to deal with the news of his nephew's rape... and the counselor was Savi... Savannah's new identity. Then Savannah's old enemies... the ones she escaped from, found her again... And this time, she ran to find Damian... with her daughter Marisol, because she needs his help...
Some of the deepest insights into consensual BDSM scenes and plenty of love and plot OUTSIDE of it as well. These are a load of fun to read, if you can stomach the content. No violence other than spanking except some horrific abuse (by abuser, not consensual, and they got their comeuppance later).
7.5/8
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Finished Beautifully WOunded by Susan Griscom
Lena was charmed and loved, until her husband Troy turned into an abusive SOB. One night, she executed her bug out plan and ran... until she was stranded in Jackson's bar. Lena was clearly running from something, and Jackson wanted to protect her, but can he?
Honestly, forgot most of the plot already. 5.5/8
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Finished Punished by Penelope Bloom
Emmaline "Emma" was hoping to access her trust fund to save her fledgling business when she found out it had been stolen by her father to pay down his gambling debts.. and he still wanted more money out of her. Desperate for cash flow, a friend suggested she part-time in Club Crave, an exclusive BDSM club. Logan Steel was betrayed by some of his closest associates and almost lost his business, but he crushed them and regained his business, and to celebrate, he'll visit Club Crave. The two met, and both are smitten, but neither really want to let down their guard just yet...
A sweeter version of billionaire vs. ingenue albeit with a dose of kink, the characters are pretty well rounded. I find the resolution a bit lame though. Basically Logan was blackmailed into giving up his business, so he planted a poison pill in the company to frame his betrayer later. It doesn't quite tie in with Emma's storyline. 6/8
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Finished Seized by Love by Melissa Foster
Lizzie Barber runs a flower shop by day. By night, she transforms into "the Naked Baker", someone who bakes delectable treats while appearing to wear nothing but the apron (and with a wig) to the delight of viewers on the internet, so she can fund her sister's education. With no free time, Lizzie has no love, except her neighbor, Blue Ryder, who also fixes her kitchen. When Lizzie needed her kitchen renovated, Blue is there to help along, but when Lizzie's secret was revealed, Blue and Lizzie's relationship will be tested to its limit.
Cute, short, and just angsty enough to make you worried at the right spots. 6/8
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Finished Unrequited by Melody Grace FREE novella
Alicia, reeling from a broken heart, sucumbed temporarily to Dex Callahan's charms. Dex is a bad boy rock star, total ladykiller and seductive, and Alicia was just the distraction he needed. But will one night be enough? Can she let go enough to take a fling on the wild side?
Good enough of a plot to work as a standalone, if a bit hurried. 6/8
Collection of 3 prequel stories plus 3 novels in intertwined saga of three pairs of broken lovers.
The prequels are how Mac and Adam met, and how Damian came to join the Marines.
Marc rescued Angelina from a disastrous experience at his BDSM club. Marc can't be in a relationship, but Angel stirred something in his soul. When Angel's abusive ex makes another appearance, can Marc let down his guard?
Adam rescued Karla once before, when she was underage. Several years later, she's employed as a singer in his club, and he didn't dare get any closer, as no one did after death of his wife. And he's 25 years older than Karla. But Karla will not go away, and was willing to be his sub, if that's what it takes to make him notice her as a woman.
Damian rescued Savannah once before, and they had a beautiful day together. But she went back to her home... to fates unknown. Years later, Damian found her again when he had to deal with the news of his nephew's rape... and the counselor was Savi... Savannah's new identity. Then Savannah's old enemies... the ones she escaped from, found her again... And this time, she ran to find Damian... with her daughter Marisol, because she needs his help...
Some of the deepest insights into consensual BDSM scenes and plenty of love and plot OUTSIDE of it as well. These are a load of fun to read, if you can stomach the content. No violence other than spanking except some horrific abuse (by abuser, not consensual, and they got their comeuppance later).
7.5/8
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Finished Beautifully WOunded by Susan Griscom
Lena was charmed and loved, until her husband Troy turned into an abusive SOB. One night, she executed her bug out plan and ran... until she was stranded in Jackson's bar. Lena was clearly running from something, and Jackson wanted to protect her, but can he?
Honestly, forgot most of the plot already. 5.5/8
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Finished Punished by Penelope Bloom
Emmaline "Emma" was hoping to access her trust fund to save her fledgling business when she found out it had been stolen by her father to pay down his gambling debts.. and he still wanted more money out of her. Desperate for cash flow, a friend suggested she part-time in Club Crave, an exclusive BDSM club. Logan Steel was betrayed by some of his closest associates and almost lost his business, but he crushed them and regained his business, and to celebrate, he'll visit Club Crave. The two met, and both are smitten, but neither really want to let down their guard just yet...
A sweeter version of billionaire vs. ingenue albeit with a dose of kink, the characters are pretty well rounded. I find the resolution a bit lame though. Basically Logan was blackmailed into giving up his business, so he planted a poison pill in the company to frame his betrayer later. It doesn't quite tie in with Emma's storyline. 6/8
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Finished Seized by Love by Melissa Foster
Lizzie Barber runs a flower shop by day. By night, she transforms into "the Naked Baker", someone who bakes delectable treats while appearing to wear nothing but the apron (and with a wig) to the delight of viewers on the internet, so she can fund her sister's education. With no free time, Lizzie has no love, except her neighbor, Blue Ryder, who also fixes her kitchen. When Lizzie needed her kitchen renovated, Blue is there to help along, but when Lizzie's secret was revealed, Blue and Lizzie's relationship will be tested to its limit.
Cute, short, and just angsty enough to make you worried at the right spots. 6/8
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Finished Unrequited by Melody Grace FREE novella
Alicia, reeling from a broken heart, sucumbed temporarily to Dex Callahan's charms. Dex is a bad boy rock star, total ladykiller and seductive, and Alicia was just the distraction he needed. But will one night be enough? Can she let go enough to take a fling on the wild side?
Good enough of a plot to work as a standalone, if a bit hurried. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
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Re: Books Read 2017
Finished No Match for Love Box Set 1 by Lindzee Armstrong Contemporary romance
Miss Match -- Brooke and Billionaire heir Luke had been best friends for eight years, ever since she rejected him. Now that she's engaged, Luke is desperate to show her that he loved her, and she's desperate to sign Luke as a client for her matchmaking service. But is there any hope for him to move out of the friend zone before it's too late, even if he had to go on a couple bad dates?
Funny, and poignant as Brooke was in TOTAL denial that she and Luke were compatible. Instead, she fell for an artist who basically wanted to order her around, like "come to Italy with me" instead of the five-year plan they had previously agreed to. THEN she found out he was cheating on her. She just comes across as stubborn AND color-blind so she can ignore the truth in front of her. He's just... too nice. 5.5/8
Not Your Match -- parallel story to Miss Match. Andi is a new family law attorney who wanted to help people, not listening to bitter couples either divorcing or hashing out a prenup over minutiae like who gets to keep the pet bearded dragon. Her BF dumped her for an opportunity on the other side of the country after 7 years of courtship. Her other love Ben just came back to town as a teacher and ended up as her neighbor, but Ben was fleeing an abusive relationship from Arizona where his partner Whitney, was bipolar and after THREE cycles of mania and depression he quit... Except his sister, Rachel, was Andi's bestie, and keep wanting Ben and Whitney get back together because Rachel didn't know about the bipolar stuff... then Whitney arrived in town and threaten to drag Ben back into the abyss...
Frankly, this doesn't end well, but Ben knew who he REALLY wanted and painfully cut all ties and refused to succumb to any more emotional blackmail. Andi was just too nice, and Ben was a pushover, albeit a sympathetic one as we understand why as bipolar people can be EXTREMELY charming at times. 6.5/8
Mix N' Match -- Mitch was Luke (see Miss Match) right-hand man, and Zoey was Brooke (also see Miss Match) bestie. Mitch is a by-the-books guy, while Zoey was spontaneous and free-spirited. It's like fire and ice. Luke and Brooke were supposed to have their wedding in Europe, and some evil papparazzi had latched onto Mitch and Zoey believing they are the advanced party for the wedding, and not even heading to Europe can shake this legal stalker. And the only way they can think of is for Mitch and Zoey to stage their own wedding... in France, to mislead the photog... but is it fake wedding... or real?
Frankly, Zoey just comes across as crazy AND stupid, as her seat-of-the-pants reaction just doesn't work, more than a few times, with Mitch doing cleanup. The fact that the evil photog had planted a bug on Mitch, not Zoey, was just dumb luck. 5/8
Miss Match -- Brooke and Billionaire heir Luke had been best friends for eight years, ever since she rejected him. Now that she's engaged, Luke is desperate to show her that he loved her, and she's desperate to sign Luke as a client for her matchmaking service. But is there any hope for him to move out of the friend zone before it's too late, even if he had to go on a couple bad dates?
Funny, and poignant as Brooke was in TOTAL denial that she and Luke were compatible. Instead, she fell for an artist who basically wanted to order her around, like "come to Italy with me" instead of the five-year plan they had previously agreed to. THEN she found out he was cheating on her. She just comes across as stubborn AND color-blind so she can ignore the truth in front of her. He's just... too nice. 5.5/8
Not Your Match -- parallel story to Miss Match. Andi is a new family law attorney who wanted to help people, not listening to bitter couples either divorcing or hashing out a prenup over minutiae like who gets to keep the pet bearded dragon. Her BF dumped her for an opportunity on the other side of the country after 7 years of courtship. Her other love Ben just came back to town as a teacher and ended up as her neighbor, but Ben was fleeing an abusive relationship from Arizona where his partner Whitney, was bipolar and after THREE cycles of mania and depression he quit... Except his sister, Rachel, was Andi's bestie, and keep wanting Ben and Whitney get back together because Rachel didn't know about the bipolar stuff... then Whitney arrived in town and threaten to drag Ben back into the abyss...
Frankly, this doesn't end well, but Ben knew who he REALLY wanted and painfully cut all ties and refused to succumb to any more emotional blackmail. Andi was just too nice, and Ben was a pushover, albeit a sympathetic one as we understand why as bipolar people can be EXTREMELY charming at times. 6.5/8
Mix N' Match -- Mitch was Luke (see Miss Match) right-hand man, and Zoey was Brooke (also see Miss Match) bestie. Mitch is a by-the-books guy, while Zoey was spontaneous and free-spirited. It's like fire and ice. Luke and Brooke were supposed to have their wedding in Europe, and some evil papparazzi had latched onto Mitch and Zoey believing they are the advanced party for the wedding, and not even heading to Europe can shake this legal stalker. And the only way they can think of is for Mitch and Zoey to stage their own wedding... in France, to mislead the photog... but is it fake wedding... or real?
Frankly, Zoey just comes across as crazy AND stupid, as her seat-of-the-pants reaction just doesn't work, more than a few times, with Mitch doing cleanup. The fact that the evil photog had planted a bug on Mitch, not Zoey, was just dumb luck. 5/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Again, Alabama by Susan Sands FREE
Cammie is back in Alabama to help her mom because she had surgery. Not that she had much to do after her celebrity chef career blew up in her face when her host got too close to the flame and blamed her for the hair fiasco. But her family summoned her under false pretenses. Their historic home is falling apart, and the man they hired to do work on it was the man who broke her heart 10 years ago, prompting her move to New England. But Grey is now a widower with a young daughter. The woman he left Cammie for had died. Now free to pursue Cammie, Grey had to work past Cammie's denial and his own daughter's passive-aggressiveness. When Cammie was offered her own TV show, will she be staying or leaving?
Seen more than one book with virtually the same plot, but this one was rather charming, esp. when the host decided to make things worse for Cammie. 6/8
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Finished Love, Second Time Around by Penny Appleton
Maggie Stewart is a retired lawyer, trying to keep up with the old cottage she owned in Summerfield village, England. All her children are grown and have their own families, and she's content to ride her horses and occasionally consult to pay for the upkeep. Until she came up against a man she had admired... many years ago, Greg Warren. Greg was a ranch owner in Idaho, rich, and a widower, who consults with the oil companies, with a daughter who's hostile to any female that's not her dead mother (i.e. everyone). The two became fond of each other, and invited each other to their respective homes, as both felt the loneliness of their lives and wanted to take a chance with each other. But is there a way to reconcile the two separate worlds they live in?
Not that many romances deal with people in their late 40's, and this one was quite nice, no obvious problems that I can see. 6/8
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Finished Beautiful Storm by Barbara Freethy
Alicia Monroe was fascinated by lightning after her father's plane disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico one night in an electrical storm. She moved out of her home in Texas to Miami to be closer to the weather, as a private storm chaser. One night, while chasing a lightning storm, she witnessed what she thought to be a murder. When she got to the scene, she can only find a dogtag belonging to Lilliana Valdez, a US navy JAG attorney missing for two months, and no body. Police tried to restart their investigation which ran cold, but Alicia, haunted by her own demons, vowed to conduct her own investigation, and met Michael Cordero, who is a person of interest because Lilliana contacted him last before her disappearance. The two teamed together to chase down clues and realized they stumbled into a conspiracy with two more deaths in Texas. Now they must solve the murders... or become the next victims.
Nice mystery with the onion peel on who's telling the truth and who isn't. The romance is just kinda there though. 6/8
Cammie is back in Alabama to help her mom because she had surgery. Not that she had much to do after her celebrity chef career blew up in her face when her host got too close to the flame and blamed her for the hair fiasco. But her family summoned her under false pretenses. Their historic home is falling apart, and the man they hired to do work on it was the man who broke her heart 10 years ago, prompting her move to New England. But Grey is now a widower with a young daughter. The woman he left Cammie for had died. Now free to pursue Cammie, Grey had to work past Cammie's denial and his own daughter's passive-aggressiveness. When Cammie was offered her own TV show, will she be staying or leaving?
Seen more than one book with virtually the same plot, but this one was rather charming, esp. when the host decided to make things worse for Cammie. 6/8
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Finished Love, Second Time Around by Penny Appleton
Maggie Stewart is a retired lawyer, trying to keep up with the old cottage she owned in Summerfield village, England. All her children are grown and have their own families, and she's content to ride her horses and occasionally consult to pay for the upkeep. Until she came up against a man she had admired... many years ago, Greg Warren. Greg was a ranch owner in Idaho, rich, and a widower, who consults with the oil companies, with a daughter who's hostile to any female that's not her dead mother (i.e. everyone). The two became fond of each other, and invited each other to their respective homes, as both felt the loneliness of their lives and wanted to take a chance with each other. But is there a way to reconcile the two separate worlds they live in?
Not that many romances deal with people in their late 40's, and this one was quite nice, no obvious problems that I can see. 6/8
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Finished Beautiful Storm by Barbara Freethy
Alicia Monroe was fascinated by lightning after her father's plane disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico one night in an electrical storm. She moved out of her home in Texas to Miami to be closer to the weather, as a private storm chaser. One night, while chasing a lightning storm, she witnessed what she thought to be a murder. When she got to the scene, she can only find a dogtag belonging to Lilliana Valdez, a US navy JAG attorney missing for two months, and no body. Police tried to restart their investigation which ran cold, but Alicia, haunted by her own demons, vowed to conduct her own investigation, and met Michael Cordero, who is a person of interest because Lilliana contacted him last before her disappearance. The two teamed together to chase down clues and realized they stumbled into a conspiracy with two more deaths in Texas. Now they must solve the murders... or become the next victims.
Nice mystery with the onion peel on who's telling the truth and who isn't. The romance is just kinda there though. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
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Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
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Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Chasing Cassidy by D. Kelly
Cassidy Pope has had a tough life, watching her alcoholic father beating (literally) into her that there is no love in the world, and her mother just standing there, and turned to alcohol to avoid the problem. Her only solace is her neighbor kid's, Zack, and Rylee, the Stafford twins. Deeply insecure, despite Zack's love for the past twelve years, Cassidy did the runaway bride on the eve of her marriage to Zack. But Zack had made Cassidy a promise... Wherever she ran... he will follow. And on the way, family secrets will be laid bare, payoffs will be revealed, hearts broken... and healed. But will there be a happily ever after?
Nice family drama, and somewhere along the way someone's message got twisted. 7/8
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Finished A SEAL's proposal by Tawny Weber novella
Sam Morelli always wanted to become a navy SEAL, and on the cusp of realizing his dream, he got a pass to go home for the holidays, to see his family, and his girl, Blaire Spencer. Blaire always wanted to be Sam's wife, but she also knew that being a SEAL comes first... family second. Trying to provoke Sam into a choice between his SEAL trident and keeping her, she got instead... a third result...
At 85 pages, there's some decent amount of plot, but it's basically a false dilemma... Why is this all or nothing? 5.5/8
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Finished A Hopeful Kind of Love by Krista Lakes novella
Billionaire Ethan White went to Colorado to help a fundraiser. He did not expect to run into Laura Corbett, with whom he had a one-night fling, but they lost contact. Laura thought Ethan crushed her heart on purpose, and was intending to avoid him completely, but when her little brother went missing just as a snow storm blew in, she will need everybody's help... including Ethan's, to save the only family she had left... and learn the truth.
Kinda prequel / gap fill for two of the author's novels, this actually has a decent plot, but seems to have way too much flashback, as it was pretty clear that someone was messing with them covertly. 5.5/8
Cassidy Pope has had a tough life, watching her alcoholic father beating (literally) into her that there is no love in the world, and her mother just standing there, and turned to alcohol to avoid the problem. Her only solace is her neighbor kid's, Zack, and Rylee, the Stafford twins. Deeply insecure, despite Zack's love for the past twelve years, Cassidy did the runaway bride on the eve of her marriage to Zack. But Zack had made Cassidy a promise... Wherever she ran... he will follow. And on the way, family secrets will be laid bare, payoffs will be revealed, hearts broken... and healed. But will there be a happily ever after?
Nice family drama, and somewhere along the way someone's message got twisted. 7/8
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Finished A SEAL's proposal by Tawny Weber novella
Sam Morelli always wanted to become a navy SEAL, and on the cusp of realizing his dream, he got a pass to go home for the holidays, to see his family, and his girl, Blaire Spencer. Blaire always wanted to be Sam's wife, but she also knew that being a SEAL comes first... family second. Trying to provoke Sam into a choice between his SEAL trident and keeping her, she got instead... a third result...
At 85 pages, there's some decent amount of plot, but it's basically a false dilemma... Why is this all or nothing? 5.5/8
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Finished A Hopeful Kind of Love by Krista Lakes novella
Billionaire Ethan White went to Colorado to help a fundraiser. He did not expect to run into Laura Corbett, with whom he had a one-night fling, but they lost contact. Laura thought Ethan crushed her heart on purpose, and was intending to avoid him completely, but when her little brother went missing just as a snow storm blew in, she will need everybody's help... including Ethan's, to save the only family she had left... and learn the truth.
Kinda prequel / gap fill for two of the author's novels, this actually has a decent plot, but seems to have way too much flashback, as it was pretty clear that someone was messing with them covertly. 5.5/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
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Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Airliner Down by John Etzil
Flight 2262 is heading toward HNL, but a rogue terrorist bent on exacting revenge for his destroyed village is determined to bring it down in the middle of the ocean. The bomb had already been triggered, and before the pilots can descend to a safe altitude, the bomb exploded near the cockpit. Now an off-duty captain, a laid-off airline mechanic, an MMA fighter, and two young lads are the only hope of the survivors onboard 2262. And in their way are two trigger-happy air marshals, a terrorist who is determined to martyr himself and see it through the end, a storm, and rapidly diminishing fuel supply...
Nice, very nice. This is post 9/11 so they can't go through the cockpit door. Let's just say it's a miracle if there are any survivors. It's an adrenaline rush all the way. 7.5/8
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Finished Harbinger 1st Cycle by Carolyn McCray
Luke Harbinger is the most brilliant detective (think Sherlock) and enjoys chasing serial killers... and arrange for "self-defense" to avoid any paperwork. In this collection of several short stories and novels, follow Harbinger on his quest for criminals that challenges him, and some of the truly macabre serial killers around... Including a modern day Jack the Ripper!
It's obvious Harbinger is modeled after Sherlock Holmes, with the same snooty attitude and brilliant revelations. Detective Nicole seems to be the resident Watson but also joined by Kyra, a protege of Harbinger later. Harbinger doesn't claim to be very good in combat, but he's no slouch when it comes to combat as he can analyze enemy moves for tells and take advantage of such. And when one matches up with serial killers you can be sure there would be blood. Overall, it's actually pretty decent, though the bloodiness of the serial killers may leave you a bit queasy. 7/8
Flight 2262 is heading toward HNL, but a rogue terrorist bent on exacting revenge for his destroyed village is determined to bring it down in the middle of the ocean. The bomb had already been triggered, and before the pilots can descend to a safe altitude, the bomb exploded near the cockpit. Now an off-duty captain, a laid-off airline mechanic, an MMA fighter, and two young lads are the only hope of the survivors onboard 2262. And in their way are two trigger-happy air marshals, a terrorist who is determined to martyr himself and see it through the end, a storm, and rapidly diminishing fuel supply...
Nice, very nice. This is post 9/11 so they can't go through the cockpit door. Let's just say it's a miracle if there are any survivors. It's an adrenaline rush all the way. 7.5/8
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Finished Harbinger 1st Cycle by Carolyn McCray
Luke Harbinger is the most brilliant detective (think Sherlock) and enjoys chasing serial killers... and arrange for "self-defense" to avoid any paperwork. In this collection of several short stories and novels, follow Harbinger on his quest for criminals that challenges him, and some of the truly macabre serial killers around... Including a modern day Jack the Ripper!
It's obvious Harbinger is modeled after Sherlock Holmes, with the same snooty attitude and brilliant revelations. Detective Nicole seems to be the resident Watson but also joined by Kyra, a protege of Harbinger later. Harbinger doesn't claim to be very good in combat, but he's no slouch when it comes to combat as he can analyze enemy moves for tells and take advantage of such. And when one matches up with serial killers you can be sure there would be blood. Overall, it's actually pretty decent, though the bloodiness of the serial killers may leave you a bit queasy. 7/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Diving In by Gretchen Galway contemporary romance
Schoolteacher Nicki Fitch got vacation of a lifetime in her friend's Hawaiian condo, and plan to work on her various phobias slowly in paradise on her summer off. Unfortunately, upon arriving, she found that she had to share the condo with her friend's brother, who also happened to be the guy who broke her heart back in college after an almost one-night stand... And he doesn't even remember her... But he's determined to be friendly, as she's actually quite attractive when she's not being so mousy... Ansel had not wasted his rich and privileged life, as he spent his money on quality investments and worthy businesses around the country. He's only in Hawaii for a week or two to conclude his deal here and borrowing the family condo. Sharing the condo with her sister's leggy beautiful friend was a distraction that he does not need, but welcomed nonetheless. As Nicki and Ansel shared more, and Nicki worked through her phobia of water, neither want to talk about the big question: does what happened on vacation... STAY on vacation? Or do they have the courage to see what they have when the summer's finally over?
Charming, rather balanced romance with both having issues they need to resolve. 6/8
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Abandoning Bedrock by Britney King
Addison married her love, and had three children, but she wanted to work, even though she had abandoned that idea when the kids came. Now that the oldest is 6 and the younger twins are 3, she wanted to get back to work. In a moment of indiscretion, trapped in an elevator, she had a fling with a most exquisite man, William Hartman. Her husband was not pleased that she chose to find work, and went to China for an extended assignment (and was seduced by a colleague there). Addison, in the meanwhile, had occasional flings with William, but always regretted each time and went back to her kids, and waited for her husband. Unknown to them, William's enemy has found her, and was determined to make her pay for William's sins...
This is a psychological thriller? Okay, William and Addison hiding their affair, sure. But the book started with kidnapping and torture of Addison, and it wasn't until 50% of the book that the villain was revealed, via religious rantings where he dropped Bible quotes into his own crazed mind justifying what he will do to punish Mark and when he couldn't, torture Addison just for the heck of it. When I saw the villain, I basically quit reading, as it's pretty obvious what'll happen next.
3/8
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Finished Summer Again by Julia Gabriel FREE
Sterling Matthew was called back to St. Caroline to help with the family Chesapeake Inn, but he had no love for the place. Now that he's here, he found the place on shaky financial footing, and he's determined to make some radical changes and fix the bottom line... then leave it behind. He did not count on Lucy Wyndham. Lucy had a crush on Sterling way back in the camp for disadvantaged kids ran by the Inn. Now that she's working in the Inn as the PR director, and Sterling is back... her crush is still strong, and they are just as incompatible as ever. When Sterling determined that the camp had to be cut, Lucy was determined to save the camp, even if she had to quit her job and lose her heart again.
This novel setup the conflict, but relied on a deus ex machina ending. Basically, the camp was being run on an edge of the property that are prime developement locations, so for Sterling the decision is simple. And when Lucy started contradicting Stirling, she was... fired, even though they pretty much fell in love. Then a rich donor wanted to donate his adjacent property to the Inn... with the proviso that it was used for the camp. Sterling and Lucy accepted, as Stirling's redevelopement can proceed, and the camp will be better. The end. Phooey. 4/8
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Finished Skinny Dipping Dare by Zoe York
Navy SEAL Wyatt Henderson needed to decompress after months of desk duty and signed up, with his buddies, for a week of fishing and hiking and beeer at his buddy's favorite camp in the Berkshires. He didn't know that Camp Firefly Falls also has campfire songs and kitchen duty and crafts at noon. He especially can't stand the hippie girl in the cabin next door who decided he's no fun. Tegan Bennet can't stand the insufferable grumpy (but gorgeous) military guy next cabin over, who wakes up at crack of dawn and had way too much presense. So when Wyatt threw down a dare, Tegan reciprocated. Soon there are no camp rules... merely discretion, and they fell for each other... hard.
Opposites attract story, hmmm... Actually kinda fun for read, but nothing too special. 5/8
Schoolteacher Nicki Fitch got vacation of a lifetime in her friend's Hawaiian condo, and plan to work on her various phobias slowly in paradise on her summer off. Unfortunately, upon arriving, she found that she had to share the condo with her friend's brother, who also happened to be the guy who broke her heart back in college after an almost one-night stand... And he doesn't even remember her... But he's determined to be friendly, as she's actually quite attractive when she's not being so mousy... Ansel had not wasted his rich and privileged life, as he spent his money on quality investments and worthy businesses around the country. He's only in Hawaii for a week or two to conclude his deal here and borrowing the family condo. Sharing the condo with her sister's leggy beautiful friend was a distraction that he does not need, but welcomed nonetheless. As Nicki and Ansel shared more, and Nicki worked through her phobia of water, neither want to talk about the big question: does what happened on vacation... STAY on vacation? Or do they have the courage to see what they have when the summer's finally over?
Charming, rather balanced romance with both having issues they need to resolve. 6/8
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Abandoning Bedrock by Britney King
Addison married her love, and had three children, but she wanted to work, even though she had abandoned that idea when the kids came. Now that the oldest is 6 and the younger twins are 3, she wanted to get back to work. In a moment of indiscretion, trapped in an elevator, she had a fling with a most exquisite man, William Hartman. Her husband was not pleased that she chose to find work, and went to China for an extended assignment (and was seduced by a colleague there). Addison, in the meanwhile, had occasional flings with William, but always regretted each time and went back to her kids, and waited for her husband. Unknown to them, William's enemy has found her, and was determined to make her pay for William's sins...
This is a psychological thriller? Okay, William and Addison hiding their affair, sure. But the book started with kidnapping and torture of Addison, and it wasn't until 50% of the book that the villain was revealed, via religious rantings where he dropped Bible quotes into his own crazed mind justifying what he will do to punish Mark and when he couldn't, torture Addison just for the heck of it. When I saw the villain, I basically quit reading, as it's pretty obvious what'll happen next.
3/8
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Finished Summer Again by Julia Gabriel FREE
Sterling Matthew was called back to St. Caroline to help with the family Chesapeake Inn, but he had no love for the place. Now that he's here, he found the place on shaky financial footing, and he's determined to make some radical changes and fix the bottom line... then leave it behind. He did not count on Lucy Wyndham. Lucy had a crush on Sterling way back in the camp for disadvantaged kids ran by the Inn. Now that she's working in the Inn as the PR director, and Sterling is back... her crush is still strong, and they are just as incompatible as ever. When Sterling determined that the camp had to be cut, Lucy was determined to save the camp, even if she had to quit her job and lose her heart again.
This novel setup the conflict, but relied on a deus ex machina ending. Basically, the camp was being run on an edge of the property that are prime developement locations, so for Sterling the decision is simple. And when Lucy started contradicting Stirling, she was... fired, even though they pretty much fell in love. Then a rich donor wanted to donate his adjacent property to the Inn... with the proviso that it was used for the camp. Sterling and Lucy accepted, as Stirling's redevelopement can proceed, and the camp will be better. The end. Phooey. 4/8
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Finished Skinny Dipping Dare by Zoe York
Navy SEAL Wyatt Henderson needed to decompress after months of desk duty and signed up, with his buddies, for a week of fishing and hiking and beeer at his buddy's favorite camp in the Berkshires. He didn't know that Camp Firefly Falls also has campfire songs and kitchen duty and crafts at noon. He especially can't stand the hippie girl in the cabin next door who decided he's no fun. Tegan Bennet can't stand the insufferable grumpy (but gorgeous) military guy next cabin over, who wakes up at crack of dawn and had way too much presense. So when Wyatt threw down a dare, Tegan reciprocated. Soon there are no camp rules... merely discretion, and they fell for each other... hard.
Opposites attract story, hmmm... Actually kinda fun for read, but nothing too special. 5/8
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hitbyambulance
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Re: Books Read 2017
finished _Astrophysics for People in a Hurry_ by Neil deGrasse Tyson, since it just happened to be on the library shelf. admirably, the book is truly geared to a mass-market reading audience and reads quickly, but for me, it was all basic space science and i learned little from it. the final essay is certainly worth reading, however.
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Beyond Control by Karice Bolton FREE
Gabby Sullivan used to dream, but life has a way of changing that. Jason used to dream as well, but a personal tragedy forced him to work nonstop to escape his nightmares. The two would have never met until a limo carry Gabby and her friend to a party clipped Jason's trailer. It was love (lust?) at first sight. And before long, both started dreaming again, about a future... until they realize a devastating connection linked them in the past...
Hmmm... I guess it's okay, not felling too much here. 5/8
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Finished The Fall Up by Aly Martinez
Levee is a celebrity who lost herself. She wanted to help others but there are too many demands, pulling her apart. She went up to the bridge nightly, not wishing to be recognized, until Sam found her. She may even be contemplating about jumping... when Sam brought her back... with a simple conversation. And he doesn't recognize her. The conversation grounded her, and that lead to more conversations, meals, dates... and they fell in love. But why was Sam on the bridge as well? What secrets were he hiding? Is there a future between them?
A good tale about love and responsibilities as well as a PSA about suicide prevention. 6.5/8
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Finished Come Away with Me by Kristen Proby FREE
Natalie Conner was just taking photos of the beach when she was accosted by the most handsome guy she'd ever seen... who demanded her camera. He was angry, then contrite when Natalie showed that there were NO photos of him. He offered to buy her breakfast to say sorry, and she accepted, because he's incredible hot and romantic, and seems to be well off. His name is Luke. However, he didn't say he was Luke Williams, former Hollywood golden boy, now behind-the-scenes producer, tired of the paparazzi and the limelight. It was such a breath of fresh air to find a woman like Natalie, who's curvy, sexy without knowing it, and totally unaware of his fame, and he doesn't want to spoil it... but Natalie is a no-nonsense girl who hates guile and deceit. When she found out...
Pretty good tale, a bit cozy, not too angsty. 6/8
Gabby Sullivan used to dream, but life has a way of changing that. Jason used to dream as well, but a personal tragedy forced him to work nonstop to escape his nightmares. The two would have never met until a limo carry Gabby and her friend to a party clipped Jason's trailer. It was love (lust?) at first sight. And before long, both started dreaming again, about a future... until they realize a devastating connection linked them in the past...
Hmmm... I guess it's okay, not felling too much here. 5/8
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Finished The Fall Up by Aly Martinez
Levee is a celebrity who lost herself. She wanted to help others but there are too many demands, pulling her apart. She went up to the bridge nightly, not wishing to be recognized, until Sam found her. She may even be contemplating about jumping... when Sam brought her back... with a simple conversation. And he doesn't recognize her. The conversation grounded her, and that lead to more conversations, meals, dates... and they fell in love. But why was Sam on the bridge as well? What secrets were he hiding? Is there a future between them?
A good tale about love and responsibilities as well as a PSA about suicide prevention. 6.5/8
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Finished Come Away with Me by Kristen Proby FREE
Natalie Conner was just taking photos of the beach when she was accosted by the most handsome guy she'd ever seen... who demanded her camera. He was angry, then contrite when Natalie showed that there were NO photos of him. He offered to buy her breakfast to say sorry, and she accepted, because he's incredible hot and romantic, and seems to be well off. His name is Luke. However, he didn't say he was Luke Williams, former Hollywood golden boy, now behind-the-scenes producer, tired of the paparazzi and the limelight. It was such a breath of fresh air to find a woman like Natalie, who's curvy, sexy without knowing it, and totally unaware of his fame, and he doesn't want to spoil it... but Natalie is a no-nonsense girl who hates guile and deceit. When she found out...
Pretty good tale, a bit cozy, not too angsty. 6/8
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Rumpy
- Posts: 12683
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Re: Books Read 2017
The Sixth Extinction by James Rollins. It was very good! A mix between an Andromeda Strain type of story and Jules Vernes' Journey to the Center of the Earth. Quite a lot of fun.
PC:
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Ryzen 5 3600
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Scuzz
- Posts: 10910
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Re: Books Read 2017
I just finished Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. While I actually enjoyed this book I will plead guilty to having fast forwarded thru much of the technical discussions his characters get into. Some of it is plot driven and that I tried to hang with, but there is some stuff that I think Stephenson includes just to make you feel stupid.
The book covers two time periods and has four lead characters, whose stories merge as the book progresses.
I don’t know if it is just me, and it has been a long time since I have read any Vonnegut, but large parts of this book made me think of Vonnegut.
The book covers two time periods and has four lead characters, whose stories merge as the book progresses.
I don’t know if it is just me, and it has been a long time since I have read any Vonnegut, but large parts of this book made me think of Vonnegut.
Black Lives Matter
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Chaosraven
- Posts: 20235
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Re: Books Read 2017
Picked up and read Stephen Kings Mr Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch. Turns out it was a trilogy!
Very light on the supernatural until midpoint.
I enjoyed them as a crime series.
Very light on the supernatural until midpoint.
I enjoyed them as a crime series.
"Where are you off to?"
"I don't know," Snufkin replied.
The door shut again and Snufkin entered his forest, with a hundred miles of silence ahead of him.
Sweet sweet meat come. -LordMortis
"I don't know," Snufkin replied.
The door shut again and Snufkin entered his forest, with a hundred miles of silence ahead of him.
Sweet sweet meat come. -LordMortis
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hitbyambulance
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Re: Books Read 2017
every book of his (from there on out) has many topics with has long extemporaneous 'how this works/how this ought to work' descriptive sections that interrupt the plot flow because he wants an excuse to impart his recent research on the area of interest du jour to the reader. these really should be kept to footnotes or essays or something else, but Stephenson's gotta Stephenson. the sections pertaining to orbital mechanics begin in _Anathem_, then continue on in _seveneves_ for *many* pages.Scuzz wrote:there is some stuff that I think Stephenson includes just to make you feel stupid.
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Rebel Wing by Tracy Banghart Scifi / military PRIME READING
The Dominion of Atalanta is at war, but for Aris, who is just coming of age, her heart was set on Calix, her almost-betrothed, and her flying, for she is possibly the best flyer in all of Atalanta. But for the kids, the war is far away, until Calix was drafted into the military as a mender. Aris was willing to do ANYTHING to be close to him, and when someone offered her a chance, she jumped at it, no matter the price. For females are not permitted in Atalanta military, but there were ghosts, females disguised as males, with veil tech and voice changer, and Aris will be come Aristos, the flyer, and join the Search and Rescue squad, just for a chance to see Calix again. For Calix, Aris will give up her friends, her family, even her identity. And on the way, Aris will find herself in the middle of a great conspiracy to turn the tide of the war, to the wrong side... and realize her true calling.
Primarily military scifi, there's just a hint of romance in there to keep it interesting, but not too distracting. This is actually pretty good military scifi fiction, with a female touch, so to speak. 7.5/8
The Dominion of Atalanta is at war, but for Aris, who is just coming of age, her heart was set on Calix, her almost-betrothed, and her flying, for she is possibly the best flyer in all of Atalanta. But for the kids, the war is far away, until Calix was drafted into the military as a mender. Aris was willing to do ANYTHING to be close to him, and when someone offered her a chance, she jumped at it, no matter the price. For females are not permitted in Atalanta military, but there were ghosts, females disguised as males, with veil tech and voice changer, and Aris will be come Aristos, the flyer, and join the Search and Rescue squad, just for a chance to see Calix again. For Calix, Aris will give up her friends, her family, even her identity. And on the way, Aris will find herself in the middle of a great conspiracy to turn the tide of the war, to the wrong side... and realize her true calling.
Primarily military scifi, there's just a hint of romance in there to keep it interesting, but not too distracting. This is actually pretty good military scifi fiction, with a female touch, so to speak. 7.5/8
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Rumpy
- Posts: 12683
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Re: Books Read 2017
My favourite example of his is his essay on the best way to eat Captain Crunch. Four to five pages of description.Scuzz wrote: every book of his (from there on out) has many topics with has long extemporaneous 'how this works/how this ought to work' descriptive sections that interrupt the plot flow because he wants an excuse to impart his recent research on the area of interest du jour to the reader.
And here it is...
Captain Crunch via Neal Stephenson
PC:
Ryzen 5 3600
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Ryzen 5 3600
32GB RAM
2x1TB NVMe Drives
GTX 1660 Ti
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Scuzz
- Posts: 10910
- Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2008 5:31 pm
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Re: Books Read 2017
Yea, I thought that was even stranger than his pages and pages describing how various encription systems work.Rumpy wrote:My favourite example of his is his essay on the best way to eat Captain Crunch. Four to five pages of description.Scuzz wrote: every book of his (from there on out) has many topics with has long extemporaneous 'how this works/how this ought to work' descriptive sections that interrupt the plot flow because he wants an excuse to impart his recent research on the area of interest du jour to the reader.
And here it is...
Captain Crunch via Neal Stephenson
Black Lives Matter
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Flirting with Felicity by Gerri Russell PRIME READING
Felicity Wright was just the head chef and restaurant manager of a restaurant attached to the Bancroft Hotel in Seattle. She was shell-shocked when she found out that the old cranky man who had stayed there for years was the owner of the hotel... and he had left the hotel to her in his will when he died. Yes, the whole hotel AND restaurant, making her an instant millionaire. Now she will finally have to money to give her father, who had suffered brain injury ten years ago, an experimental treatment that could allow him to speak again. She did not count on the arrival of Blake Bancroft, the late owner's nephew... who was willing to fight her for the ownership of the hotel. Blake arrived at the hotel, expecting to find some golddigging tramp who had somehow seduced his uncle. What he found instead was a hard-working, kind, and loyal head chef and manager that also teaches cooking classes to the homeless in her spare time, not that there is much of it. Blake needed the clan's first hotel so he can renovate it into the greenest hotel ever, but that would put a lot of people out of a job. When a reporter enters the picture, intending to stir up trouble for her "big break", Felicity and Blake will have to decide who owns the hotel, and whoever loses may lose much more than pride...
Somehow the plot was not quite even. The good touches are there, but what essentially happened was basically Blake bought off the FMC by buying her a building for her extracurricular project... teaching the homeless how to cook (which not only benefit them but also make them employable) and also allowed her to transfer all her restaurant staff over so nobody will be out of work, and FMC basically gave up both the hotel and the restaurant. The Blake came back and wanted to marry her. The part about the reporter was over WAY too quickly. 5/8
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Finished Beautiful Broken Rules by Kimberly Lauren PRIME READING
Emerson "Emmie" Moore never gets too attached. It hurts too much when she had to let go. So she has a set of rules while in college including NEVER sleep with the same guy more than three times. She also won't sleep with any one in a relationship. She doesn't mind the reputation being the "loose" girl in town. She just doesn't want to be hurt... Until Jaxon Riley came to town and moved in next door. His brothers are also hunky but Jaxon was the only one that broke through her defenses, that made her want to abandon her own rules... until his jealous ex showed up, and Em found out something else about her parents that threw her into a tail-spin. Can she break her own rules to achieve the happily ever after, or will that lead to heartbreak?
College romance, but much deeper than normal, without being too angsty. However, Jaxon turned out to be too much of a caveman, IMHO. and Emmie... well, that's one complex college girl with her own moral code. 6.5/8
Felicity Wright was just the head chef and restaurant manager of a restaurant attached to the Bancroft Hotel in Seattle. She was shell-shocked when she found out that the old cranky man who had stayed there for years was the owner of the hotel... and he had left the hotel to her in his will when he died. Yes, the whole hotel AND restaurant, making her an instant millionaire. Now she will finally have to money to give her father, who had suffered brain injury ten years ago, an experimental treatment that could allow him to speak again. She did not count on the arrival of Blake Bancroft, the late owner's nephew... who was willing to fight her for the ownership of the hotel. Blake arrived at the hotel, expecting to find some golddigging tramp who had somehow seduced his uncle. What he found instead was a hard-working, kind, and loyal head chef and manager that also teaches cooking classes to the homeless in her spare time, not that there is much of it. Blake needed the clan's first hotel so he can renovate it into the greenest hotel ever, but that would put a lot of people out of a job. When a reporter enters the picture, intending to stir up trouble for her "big break", Felicity and Blake will have to decide who owns the hotel, and whoever loses may lose much more than pride...
Somehow the plot was not quite even. The good touches are there, but what essentially happened was basically Blake bought off the FMC by buying her a building for her extracurricular project... teaching the homeless how to cook (which not only benefit them but also make them employable) and also allowed her to transfer all her restaurant staff over so nobody will be out of work, and FMC basically gave up both the hotel and the restaurant. The Blake came back and wanted to marry her. The part about the reporter was over WAY too quickly. 5/8
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Finished Beautiful Broken Rules by Kimberly Lauren PRIME READING
Emerson "Emmie" Moore never gets too attached. It hurts too much when she had to let go. So she has a set of rules while in college including NEVER sleep with the same guy more than three times. She also won't sleep with any one in a relationship. She doesn't mind the reputation being the "loose" girl in town. She just doesn't want to be hurt... Until Jaxon Riley came to town and moved in next door. His brothers are also hunky but Jaxon was the only one that broke through her defenses, that made her want to abandon her own rules... until his jealous ex showed up, and Em found out something else about her parents that threw her into a tail-spin. Can she break her own rules to achieve the happily ever after, or will that lead to heartbreak?
College romance, but much deeper than normal, without being too angsty. However, Jaxon turned out to be too much of a caveman, IMHO. and Emmie... well, that's one complex college girl with her own moral code. 6.5/8
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Kiss a Bridesmaid by Courtney Hunt FREE short novella (88 pages)
Shortie Campbell is a caterer working for "Always a Bridesmaid" a wedding planning and professional groomsman/bridesmaid provider that always crafts the perfect experience... including a cute canine ring bearer. When the doggie decided to chase a frisbee through the park, it's up to the staff to retrieve the wayward pup. Abigail Browne was just wandering through the park when she by chance snagged the runaway puppy... and ended up covered in mud with a twisted ankle. Shortie escorted her home, and upon learning Abigail is jobless, offered her to come see Always a Bridesmaid for a position, and to Abigail's own surprise, she fitted right in. And her friendship with Shortie blossomed. But can there be more?
Light-hearted, fun, but I don't feel much ROMANCE in here.... 5/8
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Finished Her Sanctuary by Toni Anderson
Ex-FBI agent Elizabeth Ward is on the run. Her own agency sold her out, and left her at the mercy of a criminal. Bruised and battered after the ordeal, she ran when she found that her attacker had made a deal and will not face justice. Now she's in Montana, in disguise, having executed her own plan, and with a new identity to hide out on a dude ranch ran by Nat Sullivan as a tourist. Nat is trying the darndest to keep the ranch afloat and keep the family together. Nat has no time for distractions, and the stranger, who was definitely hiding a LOT of things, is definitely a distraction. But As Nat discovered more about "Eliza", the more they fell for each other. When the criminal escaped custody and bent on taking revenge against the agent who nailed him, it is time to decide: stand and fight... or keep running...
Actually a pretty good tale of revenge, except for the part about the mole within the FBI. That was vague as heck. As for "sold her out..."
There was a twist or two that's definitely very good, as there are definitely karma by the end. VERY satisfying read. 7.5/8
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Finished Hero in Disguise by Sharla Lovelace FREE 106 page novella
Jake Jericho is rich based on his family fortunes, but he didn't earn it. He once loved a girl, Harper, but was forced to leave her behind, as he had used an assumed name, not wanting attention. Harper Haley was devastated when Jake left, and she hadn't really loved anyone else since, only keep running the shop left to the family... but that would be coming to an end when a huge development company had bought out the neighborhood and was about to raze it... and that company... was run by Jake's father. When Jake found Harper again and learned the plight of the neighborhood, Jake was determined to do something right by Harper... even if he had to go toe to toe with his father, and break Harper's heart again, because she never knew he's a Jericho...
Kinda meh, but the twist at the end was not too bad. 6/8
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Finished Guardian Agent by Dana Marton
Gabe Cannon joined the security contractor outfit, and the first big job is to hunt down some rogue SEAL. But when the order came down to exterminate instead of capture, he knew something was not kosher with the command. When he finally cornered the suspect, he was surprised to find it wasn't the SEAL, but his sister, Jasmine, who fought with such ferocity that he was temporarily surprised and allowed her to escape. And he was determined to find the truth. When Jasmine found her brother was wounded, and her other sister was sick, Jasmine had no choice but to approach Gabe for help, in trying to convince him that her brother was not a traitor, and the problem was his boss. However, when the conspiracy closed in, with connections all the way into Washington DC, Gabe and Jasmine will have to fight for their lives against a whole team of trained killers...
It's actually not bad, but I felt some of the plot was a bit too... convenient. 6/8
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Abandoned Jimmy by William Malmborg WARNING DISTURBING CONTENT
Jimmy Hawthorn is a high school kid that has a fetish... bondage porn. And two weeks before graduation, he took a step that would lead him down a dark road. He found a fallout shelter left by some survivalist family, and there he planned his perfect crime... Kidnapping a fellow student, Rebecca, and now she's hung by her wrists from the rafters where no one will find her. And from there he will force her to act out some of his fantasies. At first, he's surprised that the town did not care much about her disappearance, assuming Rebecca just ran away, but Rebecca's best friend, sheriff's daughter, is out looking, and Jimmy's nemesis since elementary is out hunting for him to avenge his humiliation. But Jimmy has plans...
I had to stop reading after 37%, and I am surprised I went that far. It is basically torture fest, with Jimmy already unhinged psychotic by 35% (he had already decided that Rebecca will not live through the experience, esp. when Rebecca tried to escape and he had punished her severely for her attempt). No rating.
Shortie Campbell is a caterer working for "Always a Bridesmaid" a wedding planning and professional groomsman/bridesmaid provider that always crafts the perfect experience... including a cute canine ring bearer. When the doggie decided to chase a frisbee through the park, it's up to the staff to retrieve the wayward pup. Abigail Browne was just wandering through the park when she by chance snagged the runaway puppy... and ended up covered in mud with a twisted ankle. Shortie escorted her home, and upon learning Abigail is jobless, offered her to come see Always a Bridesmaid for a position, and to Abigail's own surprise, she fitted right in. And her friendship with Shortie blossomed. But can there be more?
Light-hearted, fun, but I don't feel much ROMANCE in here.... 5/8
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Finished Her Sanctuary by Toni Anderson
Ex-FBI agent Elizabeth Ward is on the run. Her own agency sold her out, and left her at the mercy of a criminal. Bruised and battered after the ordeal, she ran when she found that her attacker had made a deal and will not face justice. Now she's in Montana, in disguise, having executed her own plan, and with a new identity to hide out on a dude ranch ran by Nat Sullivan as a tourist. Nat is trying the darndest to keep the ranch afloat and keep the family together. Nat has no time for distractions, and the stranger, who was definitely hiding a LOT of things, is definitely a distraction. But As Nat discovered more about "Eliza", the more they fell for each other. When the criminal escaped custody and bent on taking revenge against the agent who nailed him, it is time to decide: stand and fight... or keep running...
Actually a pretty good tale of revenge, except for the part about the mole within the FBI. That was vague as heck. As for "sold her out..."
Spoiler:
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Finished Hero in Disguise by Sharla Lovelace FREE 106 page novella
Jake Jericho is rich based on his family fortunes, but he didn't earn it. He once loved a girl, Harper, but was forced to leave her behind, as he had used an assumed name, not wanting attention. Harper Haley was devastated when Jake left, and she hadn't really loved anyone else since, only keep running the shop left to the family... but that would be coming to an end when a huge development company had bought out the neighborhood and was about to raze it... and that company... was run by Jake's father. When Jake found Harper again and learned the plight of the neighborhood, Jake was determined to do something right by Harper... even if he had to go toe to toe with his father, and break Harper's heart again, because she never knew he's a Jericho...
Kinda meh, but the twist at the end was not too bad. 6/8
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Finished Guardian Agent by Dana Marton
Gabe Cannon joined the security contractor outfit, and the first big job is to hunt down some rogue SEAL. But when the order came down to exterminate instead of capture, he knew something was not kosher with the command. When he finally cornered the suspect, he was surprised to find it wasn't the SEAL, but his sister, Jasmine, who fought with such ferocity that he was temporarily surprised and allowed her to escape. And he was determined to find the truth. When Jasmine found her brother was wounded, and her other sister was sick, Jasmine had no choice but to approach Gabe for help, in trying to convince him that her brother was not a traitor, and the problem was his boss. However, when the conspiracy closed in, with connections all the way into Washington DC, Gabe and Jasmine will have to fight for their lives against a whole team of trained killers...
It's actually not bad, but I felt some of the plot was a bit too... convenient. 6/8
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Abandoned Jimmy by William Malmborg WARNING DISTURBING CONTENT
Jimmy Hawthorn is a high school kid that has a fetish... bondage porn. And two weeks before graduation, he took a step that would lead him down a dark road. He found a fallout shelter left by some survivalist family, and there he planned his perfect crime... Kidnapping a fellow student, Rebecca, and now she's hung by her wrists from the rafters where no one will find her. And from there he will force her to act out some of his fantasies. At first, he's surprised that the town did not care much about her disappearance, assuming Rebecca just ran away, but Rebecca's best friend, sheriff's daughter, is out looking, and Jimmy's nemesis since elementary is out hunting for him to avenge his humiliation. But Jimmy has plans...
I had to stop reading after 37%, and I am surprised I went that far. It is basically torture fest, with Jimmy already unhinged psychotic by 35% (he had already decided that Rebecca will not live through the experience, esp. when Rebecca tried to escape and he had punished her severely for her attempt). No rating.
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Isgrimnur
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Re: Books Read 2017
American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880 - 1964 by William Manchester
Neither sycophantic nor a hit piece, the book gives what feels like a good insight into MacArthur, a devoted soldier and general, but perhaps no more suited to post-WWII geopolitics than many others would have been. Maybe not Patton, but certainly not prepared for the limited war that the advent of nuclear weapons brought about.
His administration of the Philippines and postwar Japan certainly speak to his credit off the battlefield as well. We aren't likely to see his type again be successful on the world stage, as there are no venues with as large a spotlight as the World Wars against which to be measured. And that's probably a good thing.
Neither sycophantic nor a hit piece, the book gives what feels like a good insight into MacArthur, a devoted soldier and general, but perhaps no more suited to post-WWII geopolitics than many others would have been. Maybe not Patton, but certainly not prepared for the limited war that the advent of nuclear weapons brought about.
His administration of the Philippines and postwar Japan certainly speak to his credit off the battlefield as well. We aren't likely to see his type again be successful on the world stage, as there are no venues with as large a spotlight as the World Wars against which to be measured. And that's probably a good thing.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Isgrimnur
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Re: Books Read 2017
* Quote is not edit.
Last edited by Isgrimnur on Mon Jul 31, 2017 1:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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hitbyambulance
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Re: Books Read 2017
having just finished (after being distracted by other books), i can concur with this summary. i have _The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O_ and _The Mongoliad, Book One_ on hold from the library, but i don't think i'll get to those this year..Isgrimnur wrote:Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
*almost
- Rocks fall, everyone* dies
- Politics
- Orbital mechanics
- ...
- Space racism
5/8
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Isgrimnur
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Everything We Keep by Kerry Lonsdale Prime Reading
Aimee Tierney is a sou chef that had her life planned... marry her childhood sweetheart James Donato, raise a family, buy out her parent's restaurant... But all the plans came crashing down when James vanished in a boating accident, and her wedding date turned into a funeral date. When a psychic gave Aimee a message, suggesting that James is alive in Mexico, Aimee chalked it up as someone taking advantage of her grief, and she came to know Ian, a kind photographer who has his own grief to settle. But the more Aimee fell for Ian, the more she realized she cannot leave any doubt about the idea of James in Mexico. What she found there shocked her to her core, and made her question EVERYTHING about the life she and James had built together... about family secrets, about revenge, and about chasing life's true passions... And Aimee will have to make a devastating choice that may shatter her heart forever, or heal her.
Very surprising novel, as there are layers upon layers of mystery to be revealed. What started off as "almost-widow dealing with loss" turned into something much more involved. No spoilers, read this book. 7/8
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Finished Broken by J L Drake PRIME READING
Savannah Miller was a party girl, daughter of mayor or New York, and a kidnap victim. She had been held for months, beaten, starved, and gotten to the point that she only hoped to die. Then she was rescued. As she slowly recovered from her ordeal, she realized her problems had not ended. She cannot go back to her old life, because there was something very wrong with her abduction... Someone made it way too easy. And she fell for the leader of the rescue group, Logan... but nothing was ever that simple...
Warning: CLIFFHANGER ending to force you to buy volume 2 and 3. While I enjoy the twists (let's just say she was sacrificed for someone's gain, and it got much more complicated from there) the military operations made practically no sense. And the cliffhanger kinda sucks. 5/8
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Aimee Tierney is a sou chef that had her life planned... marry her childhood sweetheart James Donato, raise a family, buy out her parent's restaurant... But all the plans came crashing down when James vanished in a boating accident, and her wedding date turned into a funeral date. When a psychic gave Aimee a message, suggesting that James is alive in Mexico, Aimee chalked it up as someone taking advantage of her grief, and she came to know Ian, a kind photographer who has his own grief to settle. But the more Aimee fell for Ian, the more she realized she cannot leave any doubt about the idea of James in Mexico. What she found there shocked her to her core, and made her question EVERYTHING about the life she and James had built together... about family secrets, about revenge, and about chasing life's true passions... And Aimee will have to make a devastating choice that may shatter her heart forever, or heal her.
Very surprising novel, as there are layers upon layers of mystery to be revealed. What started off as "almost-widow dealing with loss" turned into something much more involved. No spoilers, read this book. 7/8
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Finished Broken by J L Drake PRIME READING
Savannah Miller was a party girl, daughter of mayor or New York, and a kidnap victim. She had been held for months, beaten, starved, and gotten to the point that she only hoped to die. Then she was rescued. As she slowly recovered from her ordeal, she realized her problems had not ended. She cannot go back to her old life, because there was something very wrong with her abduction... Someone made it way too easy. And she fell for the leader of the rescue group, Logan... but nothing was ever that simple...
Warning: CLIFFHANGER ending to force you to buy volume 2 and 3. While I enjoy the twists (let's just say she was sacrificed for someone's gain, and it got much more complicated from there) the military operations made practically no sense. And the cliffhanger kinda sucks. 5/8
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2017
Finished His Lady Godiva by L C. Giroux FREE
Dr. Michael Dennison is a skilled orthopedic surgeon bound to a wheelchair, who concentrated on fixing other people up so they can have what he can no longer have. He denied himself the distraction of romance... Until Violet Bellows came into his life. Violet saw the gorgeous Dr. Dennison for the man that he is, even in that chair, and she's determined to unleash that side of his passion... if he will let her in.
While the pairing was interesting. the idea that they can get a hookup on in the hospital was just a bit too naughty, esp. when he turned out to have a kinky side. The darkest hour was really lame as they each found out each other were relatively rich. Meh. 5/8
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Finished Billionaire's Dilemma by Roxie Odell
Vol 1: Tag is the son of a billionaire, but he never had to work much, as he partied away without care... Including sleeping with his best friend's fiancee, until his best friend found out and almost killed himself in front of Tag at a party. He also found a woman that thoroughly bewitched him... Melanie, who's smart, doesn't take any guff, and sexy, and left before he could get a surname. When Tag's father suffered a heart attack and needed Tag to take over as CEO, he found to his surprise that Melanie is his father's chief of staff ("glorified secretary" according to his father). Can they carry on in secret? What happens when his father come back? Who was Mr. Romeo that his father was trying to keep secret?
Vol 2: Tag's father's return means Tag just got fired from the CEO position, and any attempt by Tag to create his own future was shut down by his father with ruthless efficiency, and his attempt to shield Melanie from his misogynistic father backfired. Tag had no choice but to contact Mr. Romeo if he can have any room to negotiate with his father. But Mr. Romeo sent him on a series of quests to find out what was the Tag's father hiding from the world... and it seems to have bearings on the disappearance of Tag's mother, and virtual exile of his brother...
Vol 3: Tag and Melanie are about to chase down the truth about Tag's father, and meet with Mr. Romeo, who seem to hold all the secrets, until a Ms. Juliette entered the equation, and both of them knew too much about Tag's entire family to be an outsider. This time, long-held family secrets will be revealed, people will die, painful truths confronted, and evildoers will get their karma. And no one will leave unscathed...
Basically it's one long novel cut into 3 pieces, and overall it's actually not too bad, as the twists at the end are rather clever. This is a solid 6.5/8
Dr. Michael Dennison is a skilled orthopedic surgeon bound to a wheelchair, who concentrated on fixing other people up so they can have what he can no longer have. He denied himself the distraction of romance... Until Violet Bellows came into his life. Violet saw the gorgeous Dr. Dennison for the man that he is, even in that chair, and she's determined to unleash that side of his passion... if he will let her in.
While the pairing was interesting. the idea that they can get a hookup on in the hospital was just a bit too naughty, esp. when he turned out to have a kinky side. The darkest hour was really lame as they each found out each other were relatively rich. Meh. 5/8
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Finished Billionaire's Dilemma by Roxie Odell
Vol 1: Tag is the son of a billionaire, but he never had to work much, as he partied away without care... Including sleeping with his best friend's fiancee, until his best friend found out and almost killed himself in front of Tag at a party. He also found a woman that thoroughly bewitched him... Melanie, who's smart, doesn't take any guff, and sexy, and left before he could get a surname. When Tag's father suffered a heart attack and needed Tag to take over as CEO, he found to his surprise that Melanie is his father's chief of staff ("glorified secretary" according to his father). Can they carry on in secret? What happens when his father come back? Who was Mr. Romeo that his father was trying to keep secret?
Vol 2: Tag's father's return means Tag just got fired from the CEO position, and any attempt by Tag to create his own future was shut down by his father with ruthless efficiency, and his attempt to shield Melanie from his misogynistic father backfired. Tag had no choice but to contact Mr. Romeo if he can have any room to negotiate with his father. But Mr. Romeo sent him on a series of quests to find out what was the Tag's father hiding from the world... and it seems to have bearings on the disappearance of Tag's mother, and virtual exile of his brother...
Vol 3: Tag and Melanie are about to chase down the truth about Tag's father, and meet with Mr. Romeo, who seem to hold all the secrets, until a Ms. Juliette entered the equation, and both of them knew too much about Tag's entire family to be an outsider. This time, long-held family secrets will be revealed, people will die, painful truths confronted, and evildoers will get their karma. And no one will leave unscathed...
Basically it's one long novel cut into 3 pieces, and overall it's actually not too bad, as the twists at the end are rather clever. This is a solid 6.5/8
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Scuzz
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Re: Books Read 2017
I read this probably 30 years ago. My general impression, and nothing I have read since then changes my mind, was that MacArthur was a poor but politically expedient wartime general but that he was very good as a peacetime administrator, at least in Japan. His work in Korea was almost the reverse. He handled the generaling and failed to understand anything about the politics.Isgrimnur wrote:American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880 - 1964 by William Manchester
Neither sycophantic nor a hit piece, the book gives what feels like a good insight into MacArthur, a devoted soldier and general, but perhaps no more suited to post-WWII geopolitics than many others would have been. Maybe not Patton, but certainly not prepared for the limited war that the advent of nuclear weapons brought about.
His administration of the Philippines and postwar Japan certainly speak to his credit off the battlefield as well. We aren't likely to see his type again be successful on the world stage, as there are no venues with as large a spotlight as the World Wars against which to be measured. And that's probably a good thing.
Manchester's book Goodbye Darkness is a great read about his experiences during WW2. Although I guess there is some disagreement about whether the book is fiction or not. I have talked to WW2 vets who felt the book factually portrayed their experiences.
Black Lives Matter
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Isgrimnur
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Re: Books Read 2017
Goodbye, Darkness is available on Audible Channels for Amazon Prime members. I started listening to it this morning.
Completed: The Shadow Rising (Wheel of Time 4)
Completed: The Shadow Rising (Wheel of Time 4)
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Her Fierce SEAL by Caitlyn O'Leary FREE
Finn Crandall had to deal with the aftermath of his undercover assignment and he regretted not having saved as many of the victims as he could have on all his previous assignments, and it's eating him up inside. He asked for leave and fled to Texas, and happened to run into Angie Donatelli, a PI trying to reunited a mother with her baby who was kidnapped and sold to illegal adoption. Angie always relied on herself, even when taking down monsters who beat up women, and paid a price for it too. And when Angie's life was being threatened, Finn's protective instincts kicked into full gear, even as they found that the case Angie was investigating had everything to do with Finn and Team Midnight Delta's previous tangle with the bad guys... even as a new link with the Bratva appeared with a link to a corrupt general, it is time for Midnight Delta team and Angie's family to take a stand...
Oh, great, we have off-duty SEALs running around acting like bodyguards and cops involving themselves in shootouts with mercenaries and criminals. WTF. Another generic "SEAL abuse" novel. The shootout portions are a total joke. 4/8
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Finished Perfectly Broken by Jullian Scott
A serial killer, dubbed Carver by the press, was haunting the streets of Chicago. He kept his victims alive for a long time, up to a month, then their bodies showed up with shallow and deep wounds, bled out. Cassie Miller was supposed to be one of those, but somehow, during the ordeal, she escaped with many wounds, and managed to hide herself before blood loss claimed her, and she was rescued by Detective Jack Stone, CPD. Stone had been after Carver for years, and while Cassie may be the key to solving the Carver case, Stone realized she is the also the key to his heart. But CPD deems their romance forbidden, and Carver is still out there, and seemly knew where Cassie lived. As Cassie slowly regained some memories of her ordeal, and helped Stone closed on on the identity of the killer, Carver made his move against the one that got away...
As a thriller, this is actually not too bad, even though the cops seem to be utterly incompetent. Cops should have spread out in 10 block radius from where Cassie was found and did a house by house canvassing, as she couldn't have ran very far. Somehow they found NOTHING, and allowed another victim to be abducted a month or two later was just almost incompetent. 6/8
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Finished Sold on Valentine's Day by Juliana COnners FREE novella
Celeste was just filling in for a friend in an exclusive gentlemen's club so her friend can go on Valentine's day dinner with her BF. Celeste is a 19 yr old virgin who had no idea what she's doing besides her BOB. Maxim is rich and has perculiar tastes, and he wants something fresh, and a fresh virgin, wearing the "no limits" marker, was just what he's looking for. But once he got her into the dungeon room, he couldn't quite deflower her that way...
Cinderella with sex and kink. Errrrr.... I dunno. She found out she likes kink, and he found out he can be monogamous. It's a fairy tale alright. 4/8
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Finn Crandall had to deal with the aftermath of his undercover assignment and he regretted not having saved as many of the victims as he could have on all his previous assignments, and it's eating him up inside. He asked for leave and fled to Texas, and happened to run into Angie Donatelli, a PI trying to reunited a mother with her baby who was kidnapped and sold to illegal adoption. Angie always relied on herself, even when taking down monsters who beat up women, and paid a price for it too. And when Angie's life was being threatened, Finn's protective instincts kicked into full gear, even as they found that the case Angie was investigating had everything to do with Finn and Team Midnight Delta's previous tangle with the bad guys... even as a new link with the Bratva appeared with a link to a corrupt general, it is time for Midnight Delta team and Angie's family to take a stand...
Oh, great, we have off-duty SEALs running around acting like bodyguards and cops involving themselves in shootouts with mercenaries and criminals. WTF. Another generic "SEAL abuse" novel. The shootout portions are a total joke. 4/8
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Finished Perfectly Broken by Jullian Scott
A serial killer, dubbed Carver by the press, was haunting the streets of Chicago. He kept his victims alive for a long time, up to a month, then their bodies showed up with shallow and deep wounds, bled out. Cassie Miller was supposed to be one of those, but somehow, during the ordeal, she escaped with many wounds, and managed to hide herself before blood loss claimed her, and she was rescued by Detective Jack Stone, CPD. Stone had been after Carver for years, and while Cassie may be the key to solving the Carver case, Stone realized she is the also the key to his heart. But CPD deems their romance forbidden, and Carver is still out there, and seemly knew where Cassie lived. As Cassie slowly regained some memories of her ordeal, and helped Stone closed on on the identity of the killer, Carver made his move against the one that got away...
As a thriller, this is actually not too bad, even though the cops seem to be utterly incompetent. Cops should have spread out in 10 block radius from where Cassie was found and did a house by house canvassing, as she couldn't have ran very far. Somehow they found NOTHING, and allowed another victim to be abducted a month or two later was just almost incompetent. 6/8
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Finished Sold on Valentine's Day by Juliana COnners FREE novella
Celeste was just filling in for a friend in an exclusive gentlemen's club so her friend can go on Valentine's day dinner with her BF. Celeste is a 19 yr old virgin who had no idea what she's doing besides her BOB. Maxim is rich and has perculiar tastes, and he wants something fresh, and a fresh virgin, wearing the "no limits" marker, was just what he's looking for. But once he got her into the dungeon room, he couldn't quite deflower her that way...
Cinderella with sex and kink. Errrrr.... I dunno. She found out she likes kink, and he found out he can be monogamous. It's a fairy tale alright. 4/8
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2017
FInished Bidding on Love by Joanne Dannon
Lily Taylor wants to launch her jazz singer career at a celebrity auction in Melbourne, but the only one who's bidding was Diego Sanchez, a man whom she had a one-night fling a month ago, and never expected to see again. Lily had been raising her twin brothers after death of her parents and now they are of age, she is determined to pick up her priorities she had neglected for too long, and love was not on the schedule. Diego had launched a series of hip wine bars across Australia, and he's ready to settle down. Lily wasn't only not interested, Lily was just all wrong for him, at least according to his own criteria... but the attraction between them cannot be denied. They agree to a brief fling. But can they let go of each other when the time comes?
Sweet and sigh-worthy, Diego was far more damaged than he lets on (family problems and evil ex) while Lily is allergic to man trying to "help" her but secretly wanted to control her. Charming story. 6/8
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Finished Snowdrops and Stardust by Sue Lilley short story (46 pages)
Aiden Delaney has it all: a headline gig, legions of adoring fans, tons of $$$, bandmates who adore him, manager ready for his beck and call... but three days before his gig, burned out, he treks out alone with his guitar for his muse. Left outside of town, he wandered into a cottage and met country-girl Marianne, who doesn't seem to recognize him. Snow storm stranded him for three days... and both of their lives will be changed forever...
Sweet, and a bit melodramatic, but good emotional tale nonetheless. 6/8
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Finished Shame on You by Tara Sivez PRIME READING
Kennedy O'Brian will be the first to tell you she's as tough as any guy, since she really is a returning veteran from Afghanistan. That didn't help her deal with her husband in bed with the nanny. She started "Fool Me Once Investigations" with her two besties to help women track down cheating spouses, and other things that needed doing, when she was drafted into what should have been a very easy case: a bail jumper turned dog-napper. Unfortunately, her pappa also called in an old friend, Griffin Crawford, a bad boy on a Harley, who's her cheating ex's best friend, and whom she saw as betrayer of the worst kind. But Griffin had always had a thing for Kennedy, and was determined to win back her trust, if only she will listen. As the chihuahua thief case snowballed into something even Kennedy admit she can't handle alone, she will get close to Griffin alright... probably too close... for her heart.
At 139 pages there's quite a bit of rom-com, as the dog napper turned out to be... well, quite funny. 6/8
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Finished Summer Beach Vets: Playing Santa by H Y Hanna
Holly is a Yank in Australia house sitting for a couple she helped save in the US, basically having the time of her life. When she rescued a litter of puppies, she also came to meet the handsome Aussie veterinarian Nick Forrester. Nick somehow knew that Holly and him belong together, but can he convince her of that, when there was so much culture clash, and vicious rumors are spread to keep them apart?
A bit too trope when vicious rumors were employed by people who had no business, and for FMC of having so little faith. At least the animals are charming.
5/8
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Finished Dead in THeir Tracks by JT Sawyer
FBI Agent Mitch Kearns is looking for some quality alone time after teaching a multi-day mantracking course. Unfortunately, upon arrival, he found his sanctuary was visited by one hot young woman, who was the daughter of his black-ops mentor... Then more than a dozen mercs crashed their party, leading to a quick bug out. It appears that the woman had acquired some information that can potentially disrupt a very lucrative deal and implicate some high-ranking officials, and not only an FBI traitor is on their trail, the woman is now on FBI's Top Ten Wanted List. Now Mitch must call on every trick in his arsenal to survive the desert, and to prevent a domestic terror attack...
Nice action, written by someone who really knows survival in the desert, and the strategem to outmaneuver the enemies are brilliant. 7/8
Lily Taylor wants to launch her jazz singer career at a celebrity auction in Melbourne, but the only one who's bidding was Diego Sanchez, a man whom she had a one-night fling a month ago, and never expected to see again. Lily had been raising her twin brothers after death of her parents and now they are of age, she is determined to pick up her priorities she had neglected for too long, and love was not on the schedule. Diego had launched a series of hip wine bars across Australia, and he's ready to settle down. Lily wasn't only not interested, Lily was just all wrong for him, at least according to his own criteria... but the attraction between them cannot be denied. They agree to a brief fling. But can they let go of each other when the time comes?
Sweet and sigh-worthy, Diego was far more damaged than he lets on (family problems and evil ex) while Lily is allergic to man trying to "help" her but secretly wanted to control her. Charming story. 6/8
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Finished Snowdrops and Stardust by Sue Lilley short story (46 pages)
Aiden Delaney has it all: a headline gig, legions of adoring fans, tons of $$$, bandmates who adore him, manager ready for his beck and call... but three days before his gig, burned out, he treks out alone with his guitar for his muse. Left outside of town, he wandered into a cottage and met country-girl Marianne, who doesn't seem to recognize him. Snow storm stranded him for three days... and both of their lives will be changed forever...
Sweet, and a bit melodramatic, but good emotional tale nonetheless. 6/8
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Finished Shame on You by Tara Sivez PRIME READING
Kennedy O'Brian will be the first to tell you she's as tough as any guy, since she really is a returning veteran from Afghanistan. That didn't help her deal with her husband in bed with the nanny. She started "Fool Me Once Investigations" with her two besties to help women track down cheating spouses, and other things that needed doing, when she was drafted into what should have been a very easy case: a bail jumper turned dog-napper. Unfortunately, her pappa also called in an old friend, Griffin Crawford, a bad boy on a Harley, who's her cheating ex's best friend, and whom she saw as betrayer of the worst kind. But Griffin had always had a thing for Kennedy, and was determined to win back her trust, if only she will listen. As the chihuahua thief case snowballed into something even Kennedy admit she can't handle alone, she will get close to Griffin alright... probably too close... for her heart.
At 139 pages there's quite a bit of rom-com, as the dog napper turned out to be... well, quite funny. 6/8
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Finished Summer Beach Vets: Playing Santa by H Y Hanna
Holly is a Yank in Australia house sitting for a couple she helped save in the US, basically having the time of her life. When she rescued a litter of puppies, she also came to meet the handsome Aussie veterinarian Nick Forrester. Nick somehow knew that Holly and him belong together, but can he convince her of that, when there was so much culture clash, and vicious rumors are spread to keep them apart?
A bit too trope when vicious rumors were employed by people who had no business, and for FMC of having so little faith. At least the animals are charming.
5/8
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Finished Dead in THeir Tracks by JT Sawyer
FBI Agent Mitch Kearns is looking for some quality alone time after teaching a multi-day mantracking course. Unfortunately, upon arrival, he found his sanctuary was visited by one hot young woman, who was the daughter of his black-ops mentor... Then more than a dozen mercs crashed their party, leading to a quick bug out. It appears that the woman had acquired some information that can potentially disrupt a very lucrative deal and implicate some high-ranking officials, and not only an FBI traitor is on their trail, the woman is now on FBI's Top Ten Wanted List. Now Mitch must call on every trick in his arsenal to survive the desert, and to prevent a domestic terror attack...
Nice action, written by someone who really knows survival in the desert, and the strategem to outmaneuver the enemies are brilliant. 7/8
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Token Books 1 - 3 by Marata Eros
Faren Mitchell is a physical therapist by day... exotic dancer by night. AND... she's a virgin. Her left hand bears the scars of a horrific attack by her step-father, who is still out there, and her mother is in a semi-vegetative state from the same attack. Faren needed to raise the funds to put her mother into a proper nursing home... and was so distracted she got ran over by motorcycle ridden by billionaire Jared "Mick" McKenna, the most attractive man she had even seen, that she'd consider giving up her v-card to him. He felt guilty over causing her injury, but there was something more, because Faren seem to switch between the shy innocent girl and the sexy temptress in the blink of an eye, not that she volunteered any information about her "2nd job". But Jared was determined to find some answers, even as Faren's worst nightmare came to life: her evil step-father had found her... at work, and barely escaped with her life. Unfortunately, her home was no longer safe, and even as Mick took her home, intending to keep her safe, a police detective who has a vendetta against Mick intervened. And Faren needed to do one more job to secure her mother's care, but to do so she needed to lie to Mick, the one man she doesn't want to lie to...
The story never ends. It's always one thing after another. It's like a long-running soap opera. I prefer my stories with an ending, but it's an interesting ride. 6/8
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Abandoning The Alpha Complex Box Set by Josie Marks
Dexter is crude talking manwhore who treats his woman terribly (including throwing her out while she's naked when she begged for sex even when he said no). Except, he's also rich, and he wanted the new girl, Sasha, who's moving in next door. Sasha can't stand the SOB...
I am about 50 pages in and this Dexter was so crude (every sentence was dripping with sexual innuendo) I find it annoying to read. NO RATING (it'd be like 2/8)
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Finished Rose by Vanessa Vale FREE Historical Western Romance
Rose Lenox is a tomboy who wanted more than just getting married off to some other ranch. Chance Goodman is ranch owner nearby who always kept an eye on Rose. When Rose ran away determined to make her own way in the world, Chance saw his chance (pardon the pun) to claim her for his own...
Uh... WTF? Spanking and BDSM in 1885? With dialog that roughly goes as "Because you're so reckless you have to be punished so you will learn from your mistakes." "Yes, please (I like it)" I can only say WTF is this anachronistic ****. NO RATING!
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Finished Wild West Frontier Brides Books 1-3 by Cindy Caldwell
Chef's Mail Order Bride -- Sadie was forced to close her bakery in the East when her parents' died and the bank came calling, and when her twin sister (who married out West in Tombstone, AZ) said the local chef needed a bride to get a loan, she went West, taking a huge leap of faith...
Wrangler's Mail Order Bride -- Clara was a baker with Sadie's bakery until it closed. She was acting as nanny to her brother's family until her brother/wife announced they're moving to New York. When Clara also got the news that Sadie, who's married in Tombstone, found a man who needed a bride to inherit some land, Clara decided to cast her fate all the way to Arizona as well...
Bartender's Mail Order Bride -- Sam Allen gave up his career and wandered out West, and became the bartender in the local restaurant. When he found out his mother is coming to visit, and he had previously lied that he was married and is well off, he had to find a bride fast... But when mail inquiries resulted in only one response... and it's local in the city, Sam realized there is no way he can marry this girl, even though she wanted him since he arrived in town... but with his mom on the way, and she's willing to defy her own family... how far can they maintain the charade?
No sex, clean romance, a lot of sit com. 6/8
Faren Mitchell is a physical therapist by day... exotic dancer by night. AND... she's a virgin. Her left hand bears the scars of a horrific attack by her step-father, who is still out there, and her mother is in a semi-vegetative state from the same attack. Faren needed to raise the funds to put her mother into a proper nursing home... and was so distracted she got ran over by motorcycle ridden by billionaire Jared "Mick" McKenna, the most attractive man she had even seen, that she'd consider giving up her v-card to him. He felt guilty over causing her injury, but there was something more, because Faren seem to switch between the shy innocent girl and the sexy temptress in the blink of an eye, not that she volunteered any information about her "2nd job". But Jared was determined to find some answers, even as Faren's worst nightmare came to life: her evil step-father had found her... at work, and barely escaped with her life. Unfortunately, her home was no longer safe, and even as Mick took her home, intending to keep her safe, a police detective who has a vendetta against Mick intervened. And Faren needed to do one more job to secure her mother's care, but to do so she needed to lie to Mick, the one man she doesn't want to lie to...
The story never ends. It's always one thing after another. It's like a long-running soap opera. I prefer my stories with an ending, but it's an interesting ride. 6/8
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Abandoning The Alpha Complex Box Set by Josie Marks
Dexter is crude talking manwhore who treats his woman terribly (including throwing her out while she's naked when she begged for sex even when he said no). Except, he's also rich, and he wanted the new girl, Sasha, who's moving in next door. Sasha can't stand the SOB...
I am about 50 pages in and this Dexter was so crude (every sentence was dripping with sexual innuendo) I find it annoying to read. NO RATING (it'd be like 2/8)
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Finished Rose by Vanessa Vale FREE Historical Western Romance
Rose Lenox is a tomboy who wanted more than just getting married off to some other ranch. Chance Goodman is ranch owner nearby who always kept an eye on Rose. When Rose ran away determined to make her own way in the world, Chance saw his chance (pardon the pun) to claim her for his own...
Uh... WTF? Spanking and BDSM in 1885? With dialog that roughly goes as "Because you're so reckless you have to be punished so you will learn from your mistakes." "Yes, please (I like it)" I can only say WTF is this anachronistic ****. NO RATING!
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Finished Wild West Frontier Brides Books 1-3 by Cindy Caldwell
Chef's Mail Order Bride -- Sadie was forced to close her bakery in the East when her parents' died and the bank came calling, and when her twin sister (who married out West in Tombstone, AZ) said the local chef needed a bride to get a loan, she went West, taking a huge leap of faith...
Wrangler's Mail Order Bride -- Clara was a baker with Sadie's bakery until it closed. She was acting as nanny to her brother's family until her brother/wife announced they're moving to New York. When Clara also got the news that Sadie, who's married in Tombstone, found a man who needed a bride to inherit some land, Clara decided to cast her fate all the way to Arizona as well...
Bartender's Mail Order Bride -- Sam Allen gave up his career and wandered out West, and became the bartender in the local restaurant. When he found out his mother is coming to visit, and he had previously lied that he was married and is well off, he had to find a bride fast... But when mail inquiries resulted in only one response... and it's local in the city, Sam realized there is no way he can marry this girl, even though she wanted him since he arrived in town... but with his mom on the way, and she's willing to defy her own family... how far can they maintain the charade?
No sex, clean romance, a lot of sit com. 6/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Books Read 2017
FInished Love Love by Beth Michele FREE
Gabrielle "Gabby" moved to Manhattan from sunny California, leaving behind a life she... doesn't want to talk about. With a great city, a great roommate, and a great job, she got everything under control. But that was a mere illusion, but under that happy exterior, Gabby was running away from something, that her family abandoned her, just as she falls for two separate guys... Dane Rhodes, who's gorgeous and sexy... and Brad Dixon, who's sweet and adorable. And one of them will make Gabby see that whatever she's running away from... is the only thing that will set her free.
For a girl in the city, this seems too much Sex in the City as Gabby seems to think only in terms of sex all the time. And her klutziness is practically pratfall, not to mention the amount of food she consumed. On the other hand, it's kinda sweet, if you can get past the sappiness. 5/8
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Finished Just For You, Sir by Laylah Roberts FREE
Derrick lost his wife many years ago, and had not been interested in a relationship. He satisified himself with occasional subs in the BDSM Club Decadence,
but he longed for someone long-term, not that any one stirred his soul... Until he came across Jacey, when both of them responded to someone crashing into a tree. Derrick was intrigued at Jacey, who seems to work at a cafe, but extremely shy of cameras. but Jacey is on the run and homeless. She witnessed something very bad done by very powerful people who wanted to silence her, AND she was abused as a wife as well. Jacey cannot possibly want a man so soon, but Derrick somehow drew her in, and made her wish things that she shouldn't, and Derrick's protective instincts kicked in once he found out just how much trouble was she in, and now, he as well. But the bad guys are out there watching, and they want Jacey back...
Bodyguard / dom vs woman on the run / sub, it's been done before, and this one somehow wasn't quite as angst-y as the ones by Kalypso Masters, but not bad. 6.5/8
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Finished Chance for Love by Ann B. Harrison FREE
Callie is an Aussie in trouble. Her parents died, leaving her to handle the station saddled in debt, even after liquidation. When there was a position of ranch manager open all the way in Montana USA, which also stipulated marriage for at least 12 months, she jumped at the chance to marry a Yankee cowboy sight unseen. Chance was a champion bull rider but his latest injury will lead him to retirement, as he's also tired of the limelight. He wanted to raise bulls on his ranch, and bring his brothers back together. He was surprised that he's about to marry the sassy Aussie cowgirl, but he also needed to keep the marriage a secret so he can control the exposure. Except nothing ever go as planned...
Frankly, this "let's get married but keep it a secret" trope rarely works, and I don't it made much sense here. 5/8
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Finished A Home for Haley by Mary Jane Morgan
Haley Donahue's life is on hold, when her USAF husband Daniel went MIA over a year ago on a combat sortie. Determined to make a living for herself, she moved to Nashville and took up a nanny job with a cowboy Ethan, and his daughter, who's growing up without a mother. Ethan knew that Haley will be gone in a blink of an eye if her husband returned, and he can't let her daughter suffer a second heartbreak, left behind by the mother figure. But when his daughter formed an instant bond with the new nanny and her son, Ethan welcomed them into his family. But the fear of her leaving had him reach out to a friend in the Pentagon, to learn what happened to Daniel... but does Haley really wish to know? And are both Ethan and Haley ready to deal with that revelation?
A bit TOO angst-y, IMHO, But sweet when it counts. 6/8
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Finished Reluctantly Married by Victorine E. Lieske
Megan Holloway and her morning show co-host Adam Warner are mortal enemies, even though Adam is a total hunk. He's always goading her on air, but it brought in the ratings, and she reluctantly let the behavior continue. Until one day a relationship expert came on and on-air ambushed Adam into admitting he had feelings for Megan, and basically forced Megan to go out with Adam on a date... live-streamed. The date turned into a viral dating show where Adam and Megan alternates between insults and dares, then kisses and makeout sessions. As Megan found herself falling for Adam, their producer came with important news... ABC wanted to offer them their own show... a DATING show, the faux reality where they have to get married at the end, with promise of 100K to each person and maybe a real chance to host something bigger. She knew the relationship expert is fake, and Adam was acting. What she didn't know is Adam had fallen for her for real, just as she fell for him...
Clean sitcom with just enough angst to be interesting. The grand gesture also resolved just about every problem and loose thread in the plot. 7/8
Gabrielle "Gabby" moved to Manhattan from sunny California, leaving behind a life she... doesn't want to talk about. With a great city, a great roommate, and a great job, she got everything under control. But that was a mere illusion, but under that happy exterior, Gabby was running away from something, that her family abandoned her, just as she falls for two separate guys... Dane Rhodes, who's gorgeous and sexy... and Brad Dixon, who's sweet and adorable. And one of them will make Gabby see that whatever she's running away from... is the only thing that will set her free.
For a girl in the city, this seems too much Sex in the City as Gabby seems to think only in terms of sex all the time. And her klutziness is practically pratfall, not to mention the amount of food she consumed. On the other hand, it's kinda sweet, if you can get past the sappiness. 5/8
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Finished Just For You, Sir by Laylah Roberts FREE
Derrick lost his wife many years ago, and had not been interested in a relationship. He satisified himself with occasional subs in the BDSM Club Decadence,
but he longed for someone long-term, not that any one stirred his soul... Until he came across Jacey, when both of them responded to someone crashing into a tree. Derrick was intrigued at Jacey, who seems to work at a cafe, but extremely shy of cameras. but Jacey is on the run and homeless. She witnessed something very bad done by very powerful people who wanted to silence her, AND she was abused as a wife as well. Jacey cannot possibly want a man so soon, but Derrick somehow drew her in, and made her wish things that she shouldn't, and Derrick's protective instincts kicked in once he found out just how much trouble was she in, and now, he as well. But the bad guys are out there watching, and they want Jacey back...
Bodyguard / dom vs woman on the run / sub, it's been done before, and this one somehow wasn't quite as angst-y as the ones by Kalypso Masters, but not bad. 6.5/8
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Finished Chance for Love by Ann B. Harrison FREE
Callie is an Aussie in trouble. Her parents died, leaving her to handle the station saddled in debt, even after liquidation. When there was a position of ranch manager open all the way in Montana USA, which also stipulated marriage for at least 12 months, she jumped at the chance to marry a Yankee cowboy sight unseen. Chance was a champion bull rider but his latest injury will lead him to retirement, as he's also tired of the limelight. He wanted to raise bulls on his ranch, and bring his brothers back together. He was surprised that he's about to marry the sassy Aussie cowgirl, but he also needed to keep the marriage a secret so he can control the exposure. Except nothing ever go as planned...
Frankly, this "let's get married but keep it a secret" trope rarely works, and I don't it made much sense here. 5/8
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Finished A Home for Haley by Mary Jane Morgan
Haley Donahue's life is on hold, when her USAF husband Daniel went MIA over a year ago on a combat sortie. Determined to make a living for herself, she moved to Nashville and took up a nanny job with a cowboy Ethan, and his daughter, who's growing up without a mother. Ethan knew that Haley will be gone in a blink of an eye if her husband returned, and he can't let her daughter suffer a second heartbreak, left behind by the mother figure. But when his daughter formed an instant bond with the new nanny and her son, Ethan welcomed them into his family. But the fear of her leaving had him reach out to a friend in the Pentagon, to learn what happened to Daniel... but does Haley really wish to know? And are both Ethan and Haley ready to deal with that revelation?
A bit TOO angst-y, IMHO, But sweet when it counts. 6/8
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Finished Reluctantly Married by Victorine E. Lieske
Megan Holloway and her morning show co-host Adam Warner are mortal enemies, even though Adam is a total hunk. He's always goading her on air, but it brought in the ratings, and she reluctantly let the behavior continue. Until one day a relationship expert came on and on-air ambushed Adam into admitting he had feelings for Megan, and basically forced Megan to go out with Adam on a date... live-streamed. The date turned into a viral dating show where Adam and Megan alternates between insults and dares, then kisses and makeout sessions. As Megan found herself falling for Adam, their producer came with important news... ABC wanted to offer them their own show... a DATING show, the faux reality where they have to get married at the end, with promise of 100K to each person and maybe a real chance to host something bigger. She knew the relationship expert is fake, and Adam was acting. What she didn't know is Adam had fallen for her for real, just as she fell for him...
Clean sitcom with just enough angst to be interesting. The grand gesture also resolved just about every problem and loose thread in the plot. 7/8
My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds
-
Kasey Chang
- Posts: 20750
- Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 4:20 pm
- Location: San Francisco, CA
- Contact:
Re: Books Read 2017
Finished Kisses from Jack by Kirsta Lakes FREE
Jack is doing one last party before taking over his family company, DS Oil, but the date he brought to the island resort turned out to be a total golddigger. Jack decided to take a walk on the beach... and found Emma, who did not recognize him from his tabloid photos. And now Jack can't let her go... they'll even pretend marry on the beach... It's just a romantic gesture... right?
Eh... This is more like a preview to the author's series. Meh. 5/8
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Finished Redemption for Liars by Elizabeth Janette
FBI Agent Jonah White had a pretty good career, collaring bad guys, until his troubled socialite sister took a swan dive out a hotel window, and her inheritance came up short to amount of 50K. EVERYBODY, including the FBI, ruled it a suicide, but Jonah wasn't ready to let it go. So he took an leave of absence to go to Hill's Creek, Texas, to follow up the only lead: her sister was seen in the company of a guy called Eli Savantes, and that guy apparently died in a car crash recently, leaving behind a widow Maya and a small daughter Lily. Now Jonah must infiltrate himself into Maya's life, while undercover, unsanctioned by the Bureau, in order to find out where the money went. In the meanwhile, the real culprit is still out there... more and more desperate for his money... And as the real culprit escalated his intimidation, Jonah found himself falling for Maya... But what happens when Maya found the truth? Can Jonah still protect Maya?
A bit deeper than I expected, but the UBG was a bit problematic. He acts like a gangster, threatening violence or committing violence as he needed, but he doesn't seem to have too many minions.
Vinnie doesn't seem to have enough minions for a number of scams he's pulling at any one time. While he's scamming, the ending just had him reveal all the reasons why he'd do so at the end WTF?! That should have been revealed a bit earlier. AND the ending was way too convenient. 6/8
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Finished The Drifter's Mail Order Bride by Cassie Hayes
Bonnie Blue was the older and plainer sister to her two younger sisters Gwen, and Libby. When one of the younger sisters was involved in a scandal, prompting the father to marry off the three sisters to some lecherous "deacons" in the church, Bonnie had to take all three on the run, to become mail order brides to the three Dalton brothers in Texas. Upon getting there, Gwen and Libby was immediately paired off with the two brothers, leaving Bonnie to fume as she's left with the last Dalton to arrived... Bart "The Drifter" Dalton who's always been camping out in the wilderness for a couple days every month, for he never stayed around in a place for very long, esp. when his brothers didn't even tell him that he's about to get married! But when Bonnie made him a proposition even he can't refuse...
I like the over all idea, but the rest fo the story fizzled. 5/8
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Finished The Last Single Girl by Bria Quinlan FREE
Sarah suddenly found herself left behind when all three of her friends came back from Thanksgiving with tales of boyfriends. When the subject of attending the New Year's Eve murder mystery party came up, she had to say she's bringing the plus one. She figured she had a month to find a date. It's a big city, and lots of people date online. How hard can it be? She had even found the perfect meeting spot: a little cafe called Brew Ha Ha, where the owner John, is friendly, and the coffee is decadent. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to be having any luck on the dating side... Or was it that she's just not looking at the right place?
Aka Sarah looking for love in all the wrong places, it's basically one dating disaster after another (one was married, one didn't mention he had kids, etc. etc.) that required John to come to her rescue. Finally, just as she gave up and going stag, John showed up as her date. Yeah. 6.5/8
Jack is doing one last party before taking over his family company, DS Oil, but the date he brought to the island resort turned out to be a total golddigger. Jack decided to take a walk on the beach... and found Emma, who did not recognize him from his tabloid photos. And now Jack can't let her go... they'll even pretend marry on the beach... It's just a romantic gesture... right?
Eh... This is more like a preview to the author's series. Meh. 5/8
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Finished Redemption for Liars by Elizabeth Janette
FBI Agent Jonah White had a pretty good career, collaring bad guys, until his troubled socialite sister took a swan dive out a hotel window, and her inheritance came up short to amount of 50K. EVERYBODY, including the FBI, ruled it a suicide, but Jonah wasn't ready to let it go. So he took an leave of absence to go to Hill's Creek, Texas, to follow up the only lead: her sister was seen in the company of a guy called Eli Savantes, and that guy apparently died in a car crash recently, leaving behind a widow Maya and a small daughter Lily. Now Jonah must infiltrate himself into Maya's life, while undercover, unsanctioned by the Bureau, in order to find out where the money went. In the meanwhile, the real culprit is still out there... more and more desperate for his money... And as the real culprit escalated his intimidation, Jonah found himself falling for Maya... But what happens when Maya found the truth? Can Jonah still protect Maya?
A bit deeper than I expected, but the UBG was a bit problematic. He acts like a gangster, threatening violence or committing violence as he needed, but he doesn't seem to have too many minions.
Spoiler:
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Finished The Drifter's Mail Order Bride by Cassie Hayes
Bonnie Blue was the older and plainer sister to her two younger sisters Gwen, and Libby. When one of the younger sisters was involved in a scandal, prompting the father to marry off the three sisters to some lecherous "deacons" in the church, Bonnie had to take all three on the run, to become mail order brides to the three Dalton brothers in Texas. Upon getting there, Gwen and Libby was immediately paired off with the two brothers, leaving Bonnie to fume as she's left with the last Dalton to arrived... Bart "The Drifter" Dalton who's always been camping out in the wilderness for a couple days every month, for he never stayed around in a place for very long, esp. when his brothers didn't even tell him that he's about to get married! But when Bonnie made him a proposition even he can't refuse...
I like the over all idea, but the rest fo the story fizzled. 5/8
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Finished The Last Single Girl by Bria Quinlan FREE
Sarah suddenly found herself left behind when all three of her friends came back from Thanksgiving with tales of boyfriends. When the subject of attending the New Year's Eve murder mystery party came up, she had to say she's bringing the plus one. She figured she had a month to find a date. It's a big city, and lots of people date online. How hard can it be? She had even found the perfect meeting spot: a little cafe called Brew Ha Ha, where the owner John, is friendly, and the coffee is decadent. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to be having any luck on the dating side... Or was it that she's just not looking at the right place?
Aka Sarah looking for love in all the wrong places, it's basically one dating disaster after another (one was married, one didn't mention he had kids, etc. etc.) that required John to come to her rescue. Finally, just as she gave up and going stag, John showed up as her date. Yeah.
6.5/8My game FAQs | Playing: She Will Punish Them, Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius, The Outer Worlds