Books Read 2017

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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished Dead Girls Don't Blog by Pamela Frost Dennis

Katy McKenna had a career as a graphics designer, but she suspended that to chase her husband's dreams to open a bookstore / cafe... Until he came back with a pregnant girlfriend. So she divorced him and tried to revive her career... when she came upon a newspaper story about the upcoming parole hearing for a man who raped, kidnapped, and murdered her high school friend sixteen years ago. Katy started a petition to keep the guy in jail, while her grandma Ruby was busy finding her a rebound man, and her BFF was nagging her about writing a blog to deal with her anger issues. However, there is someone in town who cannot bear to see those petitions... and that person is out to eliminate all who dare to bring up the past...

Nice dramedy-mystery. Katy is quirky but not weak, and death of the girl was as shocking as expected. And the perp... well, it was not a total shock, but then a competent twist should not be. 7.5/8

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Finished Invasion by D. C Alden FREE

The new Caliphate has prepared for a long time, using the flow of oil to put a chokehold on Europe and the US. Its agents have infiltrated governments all across Europe, and operatives are ready to receive their final orders for suicide missions and sabotage missions. Comm nodes, transport nodes, military barracks, police headquarters, are all targeted. Paratroopers are loaded in transports. Tanks are fueled and ready. Their primary target is London, and the attack will commence at 6PM... The new war for Europe is about to begin.

It is basically like Red Storm Rising for the near future, and it was indeed quite bleak. Like it. 6.5/8 Mainly for its bleakness.
Spoiler:
Entire Europe is gone. Israeli is gone after taking out a couple Arab capitals. US and Canada went isolationist and evacuated all British free citizens and those in Scotland (and Israel) that wanted to leave, leaving the remainder Black Guard to conduct guerilla operations. Caliphate ended up with a war against China on Indian and Pakistani soil to a standstill (where China apparently nuked New Delhi to stop the Caliphate advance). No mention of Russia, but it's assumed it had also fought Caliphate in Eastern Europe. And survivors of the purge and occupation of England lived on, and many remembered their heritage and fought on... in the underground...
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Finished To Save a Mate by Krystal Shannan FREE contemporary paranormal romance

Kara McClure lost everything in a single night. Her parents had just died in a car crash, and just as she's seeking solace, she found her boyfriend muff diving on her sorority sister. Stumbling in the dark, she stumbled into the path of a truck... Luke VonBrandt had watched Kara from afar since high school, but he's not the kind to butt into her life uninvited. But when he ran her over... He used his once-in-a-lifetime bonding spell to pour his essence into her... to save her life. You see, he's a werewolf. But the spell was reserved for bond mates... and Luke is risking EVERYTHING to give life to a girl... who may not love him...

Angst-y, but an interesting spin on werewolf love stories. 6/8

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Finished Kissing Jessie by Laurie Kellogg contemporary romance

Mike Danvers is a building contractor in limbo. He grew up with a crack mom who refused to give him up but cannot provide for him. He's also extremely mature, as he can pass for adult at 15, which led to some... "adult situations". He's almost thirty-eight now, successful, and wanting a family. His current girlfriend Tracy didn't really want kids, but Mike felt his time was running out... and proposed marriage any way, hoping to change Tracy's mind. He didn't count on meeting Tracy's younger sister, Jessie... Jessie's 24, and culinary school graduate. She wanted to turn her inherited Victorian into a B&B, but she was forever getting snide comments from her older sister Tracy, who's thinner and prettier... and always jealous of her. Jessie knew that she can't be coveting the hunky guy who's her sister's fiancee, but she needed his help to get the Victorian converted. Then Tracy broke off the engagement upon the children issue, Mike wondered if he proposed to the wrong sister, even as Jessie dropped pounds and became sexually active... But Mike sees the 13 year age gap between them as insurmountable issue, and refuse to commit his heart... when Tracy decided she's not over Mike, this sister love triangle can get REALLY messy...

This author has a penchant of writing interesting love triangles, but I feel this one had a few too many issues thrown together, as Mike also found his "secret babies" (twins he fathered while he's a teenager, without knowing!) as well as his reputation as a "ladies man", so to speak. Still 6/8

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Finished One Look by Christie Ridgway FREE contemporary romance

Poppy Walker, dreamer of the family, wanted to turn the few mountain cabins into a resort, even though she is a single mom with no money. When a super-hunky stranger with a wad of cash wanted to rent the first cabin she finished, and offering to pay FIVE TIMES to the going rate and paid for a MONTH without batting an eye, she can't say no, even though she technically ain't open yet. And Poppy can dream about the hunk... Ryan Hamilton needed a place to hide from everybody else... and himself. March is a bad time for him... bad memories, that he doesn't want to be near any one, because he invariably hurt them. When Poppy didn't recognize him, it's absolutely perfect... But Poppy keep trying to draw him out of his shell, and her sunny disposition made her... irresistible. But when Ryan found out that Poppy has her own wounds and secrets that may rival his own, and visitors came to town, will their connection be shattered forever?

Angst-y, and a lot of secrets that needed to be shared. However, I think there are too many characters, with Ryan's brother Linus and Linus' girl plus others showing up with their own romance. It's messy. Add Poppy's ex popping up and it's quite messy. 5/8

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Finished Love Sprung From Hate by Sienna Blake contemporary mafia romance

Roman just wanted to attend his brother's funeral, then go back to his exile in Europe. He wanted nothing to do with his family business... The mob is Tyrell's legacy, esp. when it killed his brother. Juliana just wanted to be treated seriously as a detective in the Verona police department, even though the chief was her father, and death of her mother made her abandon her law degree to turn to criminal justice. The two should have never met, but his escape (from his father's goons) brought him into her orbit, and the attraction is instant. They spent a full night together, reveling in their discovery of each other, neither wanted to talk about family or responsibilities. But before he can leave, he was forced to join his father in the business... and a street war is about to erupt between the factions. When a mid-level goon in a rival organization was found beaten and shot... Roman and Juliana found they were on opposite sides... and somehow, nobody knew their secret liaison... yet...

Basically Romeo and Juliet written as a contemporary mafia romance, the twists are not bad, but I don't feel this novel ended at a good place, so the ending was "forced", as there are two more volumes. 5/8
Last edited by Kasey Chang on Mon Oct 09, 2017 10:44 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished Alicia vs. Billioniare by Mona Cox

Alicia flirted with a super-handsome guy on a subway, figuring she'd never see him again. She works in an investment firm that handles high-net-worth clients. To her horror, she found out the guy she flirted with was billionaire Derek Lowell, and she's the junior associate on his account. But Derek is there for a different reason. Someone had been stealing millions from his account... He won't miss it, but all signs pointed at the investment company as the embezzler. The question is who? Alicia wanted Derek's body, and her boss even suggested it, and agreed to promote her ahead of schedule if she does a good job auditing his account. And Derek definitely wanted to see her... in a more intimate setting. But when Alicia found something wrong in Derek's account... who can she trust?

Erotic romance, where there seem to be way too many sex scenes. There is a plot outside of the sex, but it's really light on details. 4/8

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Finished Invasion I: Resistance by J F Holmes

General David Warren, a product of Project Brightstar, was in charge of defending Earth from the attacking Invy fleet. He failed, the fleet was routed and his girlfriend, Captain Kira Arkady of spacecarrier Lexington was lost. He was thrown in jail for "treason" when he tried to order a withdrawal. When Invy forces landed and invaded Cheyenne Mountain HQ, some very fine people died to help him escape. For the past eleven years, he lived with his sister and her son, farming the land, with guilt eating at him every day. The world is under Invy rule. No large gatherings (or get an orbital bombardment). Families of guerillas are executed in reprisal, and sometimes, entire towns. There are plenty of collaborators. 95% of Earth's population have perished. Then one day, two visitors came... They were scouts from Combined Earth Forces... what's left of it. They had been hiding, scouting, probing for weaknesses, and they have a plan. And they need General Warren...

Very nice, but it felt the book just ended on a huge cliffhanger, as it ended right on the eve of "Operation Red Dawn"... the operation that will try to take back Earth from the invaders, but with a couple twists that even I didn't see coming. 6.5/8 for ending at a cliffhanger.

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Finished Hearts and Handcuffs: A Valentine's Day Anthology

A collection of four novellas all about cupid or Valentine's day. They are pretty cute, but nothing really special about them. 5/8

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Finished Special Delivery by Tamara Black

Stephanie is black, widowed, 9 months pregnant, and craving a double mushroom extra sauce pizza. It's just her luck when her water broke JUST as the pizza arrived, and the delivery boy is a med student, white, and privileged. But Daniel is different, and he seems to sincerely want to help her. She's so grateful, the new baby boy was named Danny. Daniel was smitten with her when he first saw her. Checking up on her was just an excuse, then passion. But Daniel is trying to finish his studies, and Stephanie is trying to cope with being a single mother, and a home health care worker doesn't earn that much. Can Daniel help her heal so she can love him?

There is a genre of romance known as BWWM (black woman, white man) and this is one of them. The plot was a little on the lame side, as this tracks Steph and Daniel over 3-4 years of their lives, including a condom malfunction, a second pregnancy, and a mad caper escape from the East Coast where the airport was shut down, rental car died, and he meet up with a few zany characters while trying to make it home to witness birth of his second child. It's sweet, but IMHO, slightly unrealistic, as the amount of free time Daniel have as a med student seem to be way too generous. There's also a bit of plot dilution as Daniel's best bud (who's black) matched up with Steph's BFF (who's white). Still, I like it well enough as it's a competently told story 6/8

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Finished Exposure, by Connor Black

Jackson Chase was very unique... He joined NZ SAS, and, because he has dual citizenship, he later moved to the US Navy. When a mission went horribly wrong due to a traitor in their midst, he vowed revenge. Years later, when their nemesis resurfaced in Afghanistan, Jackson had no problem chasing him down, but there's a bigger game at stake... Head of a sovereign nation may be in danger...

Short adventure novel, and the plot was pretty good. Though I kinda doubt NZSAS guy will be allowed to join the USN in ANY capacity, dual citizenship or not. Still, 6/8

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Finished Star Rogue by Susan Grant

In the not too distant future, Earth has contacted friendly aliens, and an Earthling was chosen heir to an interstellar trade empire. The crown prince's twin sister, Ilana is just an indie film producer on Earth, even though she could call herself a Princess. When an alien prince Che, being forced to marry ASAP for political reasons, decided to hide on Earth for a while, he found himself drawn to Princess Ilana. When Che was recalled and Che's crazy brother Klark escaped from custody, worst fears are realized... What is Klark about to do?

The twists and turns are pretty standard for a romantic suspense, except the setting is space and scifi rather than contemporary Earth. 6.5/8

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Finished The Chocolate Cure by Roxanne Snopek

Maddie is a realtor with a weakness for chocolate... and men, and meddling (she's doing it). She needed to get serious out her life... except her hospital volunteer work put her next to a concussed Mick Meyer, and triggered all her vices. She gave in and gave him a kiss to help him, and now she can't forget him. Now he's trying to sell his uncle's property, which can rejuvenate Maddie's career... but when Mick turned on the charm...

What's with the Marietta Montana trope? This book barely makes sense. Seems half the book was Mick in pain and Maddie acting like a mother hen. 4/8
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Abandoning mercy and Mayhem by Lindsay Cross

Mack Grey wanted revenge from an ex-spook who betrayed his team and endangered his family. He finally got a lead and put together a mission... His team of elite operators will conduct a HALO drop in Africa and corner the rat. He didn't even care his pilot is Marley Mitchell, a woman who wanted to go back to her baby girl. When Marley's co-pilot turned out to be a traitor, and the plane crashed in the middle of African jungle, leaving the team surrounded on all sides, Mack is Marley's only chance to get back home... if Mack doesn't lose his heart first...

Lindsay Cross have a problem with her villains... They are TOO evil and TOO capable. This one not only bribed the co-pilot to not only sabotage the plane, but ALSO leave a bomb (but enough time for everybody to jump!) But also somehow found Marley's family and threatened her girl to force Marley to betray the entire team. WTF? What kind of reach does this ex-spook have?

Also, factual problems. at 30000 There's 1-3 minutes of usable consciousness. It's at 50000 ft that you have maybe 6-9 seconds. HALO jump can be from 15000 to 35000 ft. So the idea of the plane blacking out in like 3 seconds is bull****. And there's a bit of sexy times in the jungle. WTF. 3/8

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Finished Star Crusades: Black Widows Season 1 (Ep 1-6) by Michael G. Thomas

The Black Widows are an elite group of female mercenaries doing missions in the crumbling Confederacy. This series, however, is centered on a noob, Syala, who's just a girl, along with her twin Arana, on the world of Skylla. The world was attacked by someone, with nightmarish creatures and professional soldiers who wanted captives, and Arana was taken. Only timely intervention by a professional merc Zhang Wei, one of the Black Widows, and arrival of their mothership, the Medusa, that Syala was saved. The ship and crew needed contracts, and collect payments, but Zhang Wei was wounded, and the culprits escaped with Arana and unknown number of captives. Syala then embarks on a quest to save her sister, but the Black Widows don't want her... yet.

Each 'episode' is a novella and pretty well plotted while leaving enough room for further adventures, and escalating stakes, with a pretty good "season finale" that had a character arc but still left the main quest in the air (i.e. rescue her sister). 7/8 (The guy's already on Season 2)

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Finished Grand Central Arena by Ryk E. Spoor FREE

It was supposed to be a simple test flight to test the new Sandrisson FTL drive, and Ariane was just supposed to be a human backup on the exploratory ship Holy Grail. But when they dropped out of warp, and every failsafe have failed, only Ariane's racing trained reflexes prevented their ship from being smashed on an impossible wall. They found themselves with no fusion, no AI (as if it's been artificially nullified) and a strange landscape... and they quickly found they are in what's known as "The Arena"... already inhabited by various alien factions, where the humans have to join... or somehow win recognition in its own right. Surrounded by neither friends nor enemies, each with their own agenda, and some of them wielding power beyond human understanding, and stakes of losing may include annihilation of the human race, Ariane set out to beat the Arena in its own game, with help from her crew of geniuses... and take the ship home, even if she had to beat everyone... or die trying.

At almost 700 pages, this is EPIC, and often, just feels "way too long". I swear I fell asleep reading this once or twice. But I was tired. The fighting parts are pretty good. 6/8

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Finished Marry Me For Money by Mia Kayla

Bethany left her small town and bad memories behind after her mother stole her identity and left her with a ton of debt. She moved to Chicago and got a job as a bank loan underwriter, hoping for a fresh start. She met two men: Ken Plack, heir to Plack Industries, and Brian Benson, a finance banker. Ken was a total man-whore who had no interest in spending more than one night with a woman, and has no intention of taking over the family business, even with his Ivy League degree, but he turned out to have a good side and only wanted Beth's platonic friendship. Brian is gorgeous and respectful, works in the same company as Beth, and is exactly who Beth would want to marry... but Beth doesn't want workplace drama. When her deadbeat mom and money trouble followed her to Chicago, Ken offered her a solution... He needed to marry to retain his trust fund (else it's going to charity). Ken offered to pay off her debts if they get married and divorce later. But that would mean giving up on Brian. Beth thought she can keep things platonic... but who does she really love in the end?

The story is just too long. It's sweet, but again, too long. Ken's just too adorable except for his man-whore reputation. Deep down he's really insecure. Brian was "I can't do this. Bye!" and left for California. Argh..... 5.5/8

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Finished Marrying His Best Friend by Jennifer Gracen

Single mom Maura Callahan was raising her daughter Chloe alone, after her BF Niall hit her while she's pregnant and left one night and never came back. She's barely hanging on, living back home with her mom and the only one to talk to is her best friend Aidan, who had been there all along. Aidan McKinnon is head of a social media company and had been there to see Maura fall for another man, her breaking heart, and her healing... He is Chloe's godfather. And he had a confession to make... He wanted out of the friend zone for a very long time, but was afraid it would break the friendship. When Chloe's father suddenly turned up one day and demanded shared custody, Aidan saw his chance... Marry Maura and adopt Chloe. But will she love him back?

While the book is sweet, the fight near the end toward "darkest hour" and Chloe's father "Niall" was just not much of a threat at all. The worst he did was sent harassing texts and stalking, but never any inappropriate moves. That's just lame. 4/8
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Reviewer ranking: 1984. (Apparently Amazon relies on reviews vs. "useful votes" ratio more than anything else)

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Finished Worth the Fall by Bria Quinlan Contemporary romance

Kasey Lane is having a very bad week. She got laid off, just as she was about to move in with her boyfriend. Then her boyfriend, upon hearing the news, dumped her because she can't pay half of his mortgage. So she's jobless, homeless, and boyfriendless, all within 24 hours. And he thought he was being magnanimous for taking her out to a nice meal before dumping her. She walked out, and decided to let off a little steam... by letting the air out of his tires. He got mad to call the cops... except nobody cared to bear witness (he refused to let the car be valet'ed) and Officer Max who responded to the call, had to intervene when the lame BF got a bit physical. Now Kasey is determined to find a new place to live and revive her career going solo, and a new man is nowhere within her top priorities. But as her life keep bumping back into Officer Max, from trying to get back into her apartment (and "broke in"), to running into a city tree (with a moving truck), she wonders if it's a sign that hot Officer Max, who actually appeared in her dreams... may be actually the one good guy in town...

Quite funny, though not quite LOL level, merely chuckles. This is a part series (The Last Single Girl was previously reviewed) and the cafe Brew Ha Ha is a major location. Somehow, the beats don't quite feel right near the end. The climax and resolution feel a bit off. 5.5/8

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Abandoning Breaking Rules by Mia Ford Contemporary romance

Vienna "Vie" just graduated law school and moved back home, and he really really want his father's best friend Payne, who's twice her age, to get her V-card. To start on her plan, she started working for Payne in his lawfirm, and tries to seduce Payne. Payne tried to resist but eventually succumbs, and they had an affair behind daddy's back... Until she got pregnant. Now what?

I don't mind the old man -- younger woman romance, but this is immature as heck. She's a virgin, but knows how to act like a sex kitten. He know he should and already treated her like a daughter but decided to bonk her any way. WTF?! 4.5/8

Second story: Belle just lost her step-dad, who was quite rich, and insisted on making her mom stay at home. Somehow, his will left EVERYTHING to his son. Her mom was totally devastated and begged her to go see Jackson, except Jackson only smirked at her, basically told her to "go tell mommy to get a job". She stormed out after pouring her mimosa in his face. Somehow Jackson found her running away in New York, and grabbed her. And somehow that melted her panties. Then he hit her with a truly indecent proposal... He'll give her mom (and his stepmom) 3 million PLUS monthly stipend if she'll give him her v-card. Yes, he just propositioned his own step-sister. WTF?!?!?!?!!?!?!

WTF?! How did anger and humiliation turned into sexual desire?!?!?!?! WTF?! This is where I stop reading. This meet-cute is stupid. Jackson is a stupid character. Belle just get pushed around by everyone, esp. poor mom and somehow ended up having her panties melted. WTF. And there appears to be a ton of "bonus content" that inflated the page count to almost 1400 pages.

Overall rating 3/8

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Finished Stolen: The Billionaire Deception by Holly Rayner FREE Contemporary "Billionaire" romance

Adele Morgan was the rightful heir to Morgan Enterprises. She was still in elementary school when she found out the terrible news that her parents were both killed in a car crash, and no family can be located. When her nanny took her in, she also found that she will lose all the mansion and money and other privileges she used to enjoy. Only when she got older that she realized what had happened... James Hunter, a business rival, had stole the business from her. The business, now known as Hunter Corp, had thrived, and Adele, having graduated is determined to gain back what is hers... First, she had to transform herself... Into a professional woman called Erin Summers. Then she'll go undercover in Hunter Corp, find evidence of wrongdoing and reclaim her place as head of the company. She did not count on meeting the interim CEO, Seth, son of James... and he's so handsome and kind and charming, so unlike his father. She can't fall for the enemy... but is Seth her enemy?

Wait, so just invent a persona to go work, and that company doesn't even spot-check your resume and ID? WTF?! And Seth seems to have ZERO faults other than nasty father and not too much of a backbone. Eh, too contrived. 4/8

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Finished Cutting Edge by Kendrick E. Knight Contemporary scifi

Riki Dorn works for "the agency" (no, not CIA) to bring in people for questioning. On surveillance detail, she was ordered to follow "Nick Blade", but was not given a reason. She was flabbergasted when Nick managed to vanish with a mother and her daughter on a popular beach of Hawaii by paddling out to sea. Dismissed in disgrace from the agency, she vowed to chase down Nick Blade by herself. What she did not know is Nick... has some special resources that's... out of this world, and he's merely helping to reunite a family. But the problems facing Nick soon escalated, when hostile agents abducted the mother he just brought over, and Riki, as well as the agency, are soon on his tail, then he found out his sister may have been abducted by the agency earlier... Now Nick must convince Riki to a ceasefire and save his loved ones, and thwart a rogue agency, while keeping his secrets...

Quite funny with good action, but more of an "A-team" style "nobody got hurt badly" kinda action... until the end, when people started to get hurt, badly. The mood is kinda weird, sometimes this is just A-team style, but sometimes this turns into serious f*** like waterboarding and murder. If the author can figure out the real tone of this book I'd give it 7. As is, 6/8
Last edited by Kasey Chang on Thu Sep 21, 2017 11:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

I picked this up on a whim because I was out of non-fiction books to read. A book about salt sounds like the most boring thing in the world, but Mark Kurlansky's passion for the subject somehow makes it all fascinating. In general the book devotes each chapter to a region of the world or a time period and their salt-making techniques. But what kept me entertained were the little side journeys into regional cuisine and recipes, economics, and politics.

It sounds crazy, but it was truly one of the most educational books I've read in quite awhile. It will also make you crave salt.
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Re: Books Read 2017

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YellowKing wrote:Finished Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

I picked this up on a whim because I was out of non-fiction books to read. A book about salt sounds like the most boring thing in the world, but Mark Kurlansky's passion for the subject somehow makes it all fascinating. In general the book devotes each chapter to a region of the world or a time period and their salt-making techniques. But what kept me entertained were the little side journeys into regional cuisine and recipes, economics, and politics.

It sounds crazy, but it was truly one of the most educational books I've read in quite awhile. It will also make you crave salt.
See, if you would have listened to me in 2012 you would have experienced this earlier :D

Truly a great book. I seriously go back and re-read parts of "Salt" because it is so well written.
Much better than Kurlansy's others like "Cod," and "The big oyster."
I find television very educational. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book. - Groucho Marx
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Re: Books Read 2017

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A nonny mouse wrote:
YellowKing wrote:Finished Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

I picked this up on a whim because I was out of non-fiction books to read. A book about salt sounds like the most boring thing in the world, but Mark Kurlansky's passion for the subject somehow makes it all fascinating. In general the book devotes each chapter to a region of the world or a time period and their salt-making techniques. But what kept me entertained were the little side journeys into regional cuisine and recipes, economics, and politics.

It sounds crazy, but it was truly one of the most educational books I've read in quite awhile. It will also make you crave salt.

See, if you would have listened to me in 2012 you would have experienced this earlier :D

Truly a great book. I seriously go back and re-read parts of "Salt" because it is so well written.
Much better than Kurlansy's others like "Cod," and "The big oyster."
Kurlansky also wrote a book simply entitled 1968 that is very good.
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished Under a Graveyard Sky by John Ringo

The unthinkable has happened. Someone engineered a virus that basically turned people into violent zombies, and they are released all over the world. The Smith family (Steven, Stacey, Sophia, and Faith) with a little advance warning, was able to put out to sea in the Atlantic, after receiving the few doses of vaccine available, hoping for a safe haven. What they found instead, was hordes of zombies, a few survivors, on liferafts, ships, and whatnot. But after finding a survivor, they knew they have to keep searching... As they recover usable boats, and finding crew to man them, they know they have to keep going, even if it's under a graveyard sky.

You want a "realistic" zombie fiction? John Ringo delivers, full of black humor. Sophia and Faith are 13 and 15... and they can shoot and swear like marines, and one of them may even know how to make vaccines... but they will need help... a lot of help. And this is NOTHING like the zombie novels you've read before. 7/8
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Wow, John Ringo... a Kasey review of something I might actually pick up for myself. :P

May go the audible route on this one, will need something new for my commute shortly.
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I have most of Ringos books, actually, I just haven't read one recently. :)
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished The Sheriff's Surrender by Susan Page Davis Historical Western Romance

Gertrude "Gert" Dooley knows her way around firearms, and is a better than than most men in town, but she only has eyes on rancher Ethan Chapman. When the town sheriff of Fergus, Idaho was found dead of a NOT self-inflicted head wound, Ethan was voted in as the new sheriff. However, the ladies in town are worried that a murderer is loose in town, so the Gert formed a Ladies' Shooting Club to teach the ladies how to defend themselves. That leaves Ethan in a tough place... The ladies want Ethan to catch the culprit, while the men want the club disbanded for... something frivolous like disturbing the peace or danger to public or something. When an attempted murder left the mayor in grave condition and another dead body was found, can the ladies and Ethan find the real culprit before he strikes again?

Actually not bad, the plot bounces around a bit, but it did settle on a good ending. 6/8

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Finished No One To Trust by Katie Reus FREE

Elizabeth Martinez can never turn her back on her brother Benny, no matter how much money he had "borrowed" or needed bailing out. However, this time Liz may not be able to help. Benny owed 100K to Miami's most dangerous drug lord Salas, but it's a vicious trap set by Salas to force Liz into marrying him to raise his family prestige. Liz has no intention of giving in to Salas, not that she had any better ideas. She didn't count on being rescued by ex-Marine and co-worker Porter Caldwell, with whom she had a quick relationship months earlier. When Benny stole evidence of Salas' crimes and hid it, Salas ordered a city-wide manhunt for Porter, Liz, and Benny. Porter and Liz are forced to get off the grid, as not even their employer, Red Stone Security's vast resources may be able to keep them alive against a gang armed with automatic weapons and more...

Somehow the ending kinda sucked. Basically they have to run, get to the ledger, then somehow rescue Benny, and bring down Salas. But they didn't actually bring down Salas themselves. 5/8

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Finished Redemption of Beverly Cain by Kayla Cain ARC, contemporary

Beverly Cain is a girl in an abusive relationship but believed her man Tom does love her. To please him, she quit her job, she left her friends, she gave up her life. But the occasional beatings did not stop, and she refused help, even from her best friend and kind ER physician John. When Tom's work was cut to half-time, Bev had no choice but to take up a part-time position at the only local club, where she ran into John again. Bev eventually succumbed to John's tender love, then she felt she had betrayed Tom, but is her happiness important? Just as she wanted to kick Tom out and take John as her lover, Tom surprised her with his promotion to assistant manager and bought her a ring. Bev's situation improved for a while, then Tom's jealous streak set in again. That's when Bev found out Tom had been cheating on her the whole time with their neighbor Carol. She went to visit her best friends at the club... and was drug-raped by the club's owner's nephew. She barely made it home, and was about to be raped by Tom again when she was rescued by her friend. This time, 911 was called, and Tom was hauled away. The nephew took his own life. Bev decided to make a fresh start, selling the trailer, bought the club (it was going cheap) with a little help from friends, and married John. The end.

I don't mind reading survivor abuse tales, but Bev here is a TOTAL pushover. She can't do ANYTHING by herself until her friend saved her from that dreadful night (by bonking Tom on the head with an iron skillet). I'd say that qualifies as a deus ex machina. 3/8
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Finished Moriarty Takes His Medicine by Anna Castle

James Moriarty (yes, Holmes' nemesis) had gotten married to Angelina Gould and settled into their new home. But James, after his most recent tussle with Holmes, is unemployable, and Angelina... has too many secrets that she kept from James. Then Holmes and Watson showed up... and they wanted Moriarty's help. No, not James. Holmes suspected that a certain "doctor" who treats patients at his private hospital discharges patients while also setting them up so they die within days of leaving, but nothing definite can be traced back to the hospital itself. The problem is this doctor only treats female patients, and they are all wives or mistresses of well-to-do men... which suggests this is murder-for-hire. Angelina, upon finding her sister Viola is entering the hospital for treatment, made up her mind to go undercover, leaving James fuming on the outside. But when Angelina's cover was blown, can James and Holmes rescue the damsels in time and corral the suspects with enough proof... or will it be too late?

Nice, nice. Rehabilitating Moriarty was a brilliant move by the writer. The adventure was nice too. Holmes was around, but the main characters are James and Angelina. 7/8

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Finished A Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Christina C Jones

Simone runs a flower shop, and is tired of watching other people falling in love. Unfortunately, she had no prospects... Until Roman Taylor walked through her door. Roman is a fellow business owner and is single, successful, and sexy... EVERYTHING Simone wanted. And he can drive Simone wild. However, he has a few secrets... His baby mama... is living with him. WAIT?!? Roman has a kid? It's complicated. Baby Mama and Roman both agree that was a mistake to stay together, but despite all that he co-parents, and she needed a place to stay. He can't throw them out and leave his kid on the street, right? Uh... Except the Baby Mama won't move out... there's always one valid excuse after another... Her BF wasn't ready, there was an emergency... What was supposed to be a few weeks turned into 9 MONTHS... And Simone is going mad when baby mama started dropping snide remarks...

Rather enjoyed this one, even though it just one problem on top of another. Simone had gotten pregnant then miscarried, there was a bit of a love triangle with another guy, Carter, who's like Roman's best bud, and there's this complicated relationship between Roman and his baby mama. 6.5/8 But in the end you know they'll get together and be happy.

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Rank 1946 / 1275 reviews (not all are books, of course)

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Finished Murphy's Law by Sandy James FREE

Seth Remington is a playboy, who had wrecked FOUR cars and has a different woman almost every night. His father, Sterling, is terminally sick, and in order to force his kid to gain some responsibility, he wrote a provision into his new will. Seth will go to work for a horse trainer Katie Murphy... as a groom (lowest post available) for at least 9 months. If by the end Seth has learned some responsibility, as per Katie's opinion, Seth may get to inherit the Remington business empire. If he doesn't, the company would be given to the employees... and Seth will get NOTHING. There are provisions in case Seth tries to seduce Katie to get his fortune that way... If they go together, Seth gets nothing. Seth had to live locally as "Crash Reynolds", and despite his initial aversion to the smell and dirt, he actually found he enjoyed horse racing, and he even won a few races. Katie's enemy, Rachel, who always wanted anything Katie has, wanted "Crash" for himself, while Seth/Crash slowly fell for Katie, who's strong, yet vulnerable, and nothing like the blonde bimbos he used to want. When Rachel found out who Crash really is, she saw a way to hurt Katie AND earn the bounty on Seth for the tabloids... Just when Katie found out she's pregnant... by Seth. But the arrival of the paparazzi means Katie and Seth cannot see each other any more... Katie chose not to tell Seth about the pregnancy, to make sure he doesn't regret giving up his fortune, instead of trying to tie him down. And Seth... thought Katie chose the 100K payout (for putting up with him) instead of him... Can this starcrossed couple ever get back together?

Actually quite nice. And there is a LOT of enemies and friends... Pretty good twists and turns. 6.5/8

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Finished Flawless by Sienna Parks

Lily Tate just wants to finish school but her life is tormented by nightmares of a fateful night, where she was almost raped and her father was stabbed to death saving her. She dare not love any one, for fear of bringing harm to them. She managed to put the murderer away, but it did not assuage her guilt. But when she came to know Alexander Rhodes, her world was turned upside down. Xander is everything... intelligent, gorgeous, and wealthy, as well as generous and has a white knight complex. Unfortunately, women (and men) have taken advantage of that before, and he's far more careful now. But Lily simply takes his breath away. They broke through each other's defenses, but can they stay together when their pasts still haunt them?

Xander just sounds... potty mouthed AND considerate at the same time, i.e. I won't f*** you, but I will eat you out. And Lily was so taken, her first time she wanted him bareback. Eeek. Is she really a virgin? Hmmm??? Oh, and they had to throw in an extra threat to force them together. It's pretty lame plotting. 4.5/8

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Finished Licensed To Thrill 1: Hunt for Jack Reacher by Diane Capri

FBI Special Agents Kim Otto and Carlos Gaspar has been called out at 4AM, paired together in a hurry, to go hunt down some clues in Margrave, Georgia about a guy named Jack Reacher... UNDER the table, with no official FBI agency sanction. Fifteen years ago, Reacher went through town, was arrested for murder... and then... some place in town burned down. Then... nothing. (See "Killing Floor" by Lee Child) Chief Roscoe was reticent, then distraught when her second was found dead in his home, shot seven times, and her second's wife Sylvia just confessed to the murder. But something was not right... the wife was not contrite enough. Soon two people from US Marshalls pulled Sylvia out for a transfer... except there were no such transfer. The car was found on the interstate... with a body inside... just one. Where did Sylvia and her... rescuer? Abductor? Go? As Kim and Carlos dig deeper, they realize they are following trails of what Reacher had cleaned up way back when. But that conspiracy left things behind, and no one can be trusted...

Written with full cooperation of Lee Child, this book is an interesting view of what happened years later, with Reacher sorta the guy that they will never get close. It has two more novellas to follow. And it's quite a bit of fun. 6.5/8

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Finished From a distant star by Karen McQuestion PRIME READING

Lucas Walker's got cancer, and he's now mostly in a coma. Everybody written him off, even his parents. The only one who refused to give up is his girlfriend Emma. And she went to the resident witch... yes, witch, for one spell that could turn things around. And by a miracle, Lucas recovered with no explanation. As the family and friend celebrated the miracle, Emma is secretly alarmed... She had applied the spell, but Lucas that's here is... not really Lucas. Lucas doesn't seem to remember all the things they shared, and even his own dog doesn't recognize him. Did it have something to do with the object that fell from the sky the night that he recovered? As Lucas and Emma go on a road trip to discover the truth, they found themselves being pursued by multiple factions of enemies, helped by unexpected friends, and a race against time to find hope...

Basically ET written as benevolent body-snatcher and love story, it's actually quite charming. 6/8
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Finished Boys, Toys, Oh My! Vol 1 of 3 by A M Willard FREE

Charlie has a day job, but she sells sex toys to women by night. Unfortunately, her partner booked her for a bachelor's party... (it's supposed to be a bachelorettes' party!) and the bachelors' really thought they booked a stripper. Just her luck, eh? Fortunately, her fast wit saved the day by some even faster talking, and sales are through the roof, with each of the bachelors needing some tricks to help please their next partner. Unfortunately, the news had also gotten back to her boss... a boss she's secretly hot for...

I find the "teaser volume" approach unworkable as selling novels. At only 66 pages, this is clearly 1/3rd of a book, not a standalone. And while the sitcom situation is not bad, the rest isn't really there. 4/8

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Finished Space Team by Barry J Hutchison FREE

Cal Carver is a small time conman, who's having a really bad day. Not only he got caught, he was convicted. Then he got sent to the wrong prison... and the warden, immune to his charm, forced him to pair up with a cannibalistic serial killer dubbed "The Butcher". He thought it couldn't get any worse, except it did, when a good portion of the Earth population got annihilated... AND he's abducted from the prison... by aliens. Thrown together with a motley crew of some of the lowliest scumbags of the galaxy, they are tasked with a relatively simple mission (not!)... Find another scumbag who doesn't want to be found. But before too long, this ragtag crew found themselves being played, and they have to rally to save an entire alien civilization, and its god, from annihilation.

Think Guardians of the Galaxy, but even LESS serious. I rather liked it, though some of the gags did get a little old. 6.5/8

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Finished Her Alien Trader by Clarissa Lake

Kelly Richards was abducted by alien pirates but was rescued by Alliance Law. She found that she was kidnapped because she was genetically matched with an alien trader and the pirates wanted her for ransom. She liked the idea that she is genuinely compatible with someone, but she dreads leaving Earth behind. Renan Garr promised to give her time, but when she took more than a week, he had to see her in person... in disguise, of course.

This "prequel" was basically sex scenes, little else. These aliens are basically better humans. It's basically ALL fantasy fulfillment. 2/8

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Finished Dangerous Love Anthology by Various Authors charity anthology

7 novelettes, one low price for charity. These deal with crimes, stalking, kidnapping, murder, and bodyguards / protectors. Most of them are actually not too bad. 6/8
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Finished Rated R / The Postmodern Adventures of Kill Team One by Mike Leon

Sid Hansen just wanted to be left alone. He's a kid trained since birth to be the ultimate soldier, and he's so good he doesn't need partners any more. He *was* "Kill Team One" (his teammates keep dying around him that they don't bother replacing them any more). Until one day, he's so tired of and he realized there's fun to be had living a normal life, like getting laid and eating submarine sandwiches... So he quit... and disappeared. But trouble seems to follow him. The video store he works got robbed... but they weren't after him... they're after his co-worker, the lady boss, who has a nasty ex-biker BF doing time at Riker. (And Sid pulled the assailant's arm off, and beat him to death with it, sorta) After leaving that behind, Sid found himself ambushed by Kill Team Two. Elsewhere, some numb nut allowed a totally nihilistic psychopath escape the perfect prison... and that psychopath is Sid's older and better brother, who has a bloodlust that cannot be sated, oh, AND he cannot be hit by bullets. As they both converge on the secret base of the Kill Teams, one intending to break the vault for a McGuffin known as the Lindermann device, other to end the threat to him once and for all, they unknowingly ran into each other, after leaving everybody else dead in their wake... But that's only HALF of the story.

If you like satirical cheesy action, you'll find that here. And there are plenty of... cheesy one-liners. The final one-liner was "he suffered a crushing defeat."
Spoiler:
Sid crushed his brother in a commercial baling machine.


And there are two MORE volumes of this. In Volume 2, Sid takes on ISIS terrorists. and in Volume 3, Sid takes on the Mafia. :) If you like the style, this is easily a 7 or 8. But the body count is... high. Let's just say destruction is on the scale of Michael Bay movies, including a whole secret base, and a shopping mall, plus tons of innocent bystanders.

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Finished Gehenna Dawn by Jay Allan

Eratus is a nightmare... so hot the normal temp is like 120 f... and soldiers from Earth are sent here for life... to fight the Tegeri and their bio-mech cyborg soldiers. UN needed soldiers and Jake Taylor really had no choice when UN called. But unlike most, he survived when he was picked by an ambitious bureaucrat for the supersoldier program, that enhanced him in all ways, climbing through the ranks. But not even the higher ranks can get him back home. Instead, it only reminded him there is no freedom from the UN. When he threatened to quit, he was beaten down with threats to his fellow soldiers and any one he ever cared about. Then he discovered a horrible truth... that everything he ever worked for was a lie. The question is... what will he do about it?

Nice retelling of the Ten Thousand, and there are two more volumes to this. 7/8
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The Fires of Heaven (Wheel of Time 5)
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Finished Seaside Surprises by Stacy Claflin FREE

I'm surprised this author has an editor. Woman ran away from her scary ex with grandpa's help. Scary ex (who never was violent) poisoned grandpa to draw her out of hiding, and she obliged by immediately demanding to fly back to the city she got away from. Grandpa, upon waking up, immediately demanded she get away. Woman flew back to the small town she was hiding and falling in love with a local shop owner. Her evil ex followed. Her new beau dialed 911 then had a fight with the evil ex on the beach. Then cop arrived and magically knew who to arrest and who to leave alone without even checking what's going on. Phooey. 3/8

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Finished Trail of Kisses by Merry Farmer FREE

Merry Farmer has a talent of writing stuff that's just funny and steamy enough. And this "Oregon trail wagon train' setup was good enough for multiple stories that can run in parallel for multiple books. In this one, a judge's daughter is escorted West with a wagon train when a two members of the gang Briscoe Boys were hung, and survivors vowed revenge. The escort and VIP fell for each other even as it was clear someone in the wagon train may be a Briscoe Boy... Pretty tense, lots of red herrings, though the "opposites attract" thing was a bit hmmmph. 6/8

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Finished I only have eyes for you by Bella Andre FREE romance contemporary

Sophie Sullivan is the "nice" twin in the Sullivans family with SIX brothers to watch out for her. She yearned to be noticed by the man she wanted the first time she saw him... Jake McCann. Jake always worked hard and now Jake owned a chain of Irish pubs. Women loved him, but he only wanted one girl, his best friend's little sister Sophie that he should never desire. When one of the Sullivan brothers got married, Jake and Sophie fell for the atmosphere... and they consummated their relationship... but both felt ashamed... Sophie for succumbing to lust, and Jake for inadequacy. Then Sophie discovered she's pregnant... When Sophie appeared on Jake's doorstep, and Jake accepted the news, he realized he must marry her... but she won't accept, believing he doesn't love her. Jake must convince her to stay... but to do so, he may have to give up his most shameful secret...

This book has so many tropes (accidental pregnancy, MFC w/ reading problems, bestie's little sister, sexy librarian, MFC bar owner, overprotective brothers...) but it is still fun to read, proof that if you are a good author you can polish even tropes into one heck of a story. 6/8

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Finished Conflagration by Adam Quinn Scifi space opera

Nefarious Alliance had fallen, but for Saifan Lodi, the struggle is not finished. He was one of the firestormers, with ability to summon and shoot fire, and was used by the Alliance as enforcers. He needed to atone for his sins, but his friends were locked away by the Alliance as liabilities. Now he needs to free them... or die trying...

Eh... It's like wizards throwing fireballs at each other. Kinda... meh. 5.5/8? It's just a novella.

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Finished The Peacekeepers Books 1-3 by Ricky Sides

Book 1: A series of natural disasters had befallen the world. Earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanos, storms, hurricanes... With casualties in the millions, the civil infrastructure crumbled, and civilizations collapsed. The few survivalists were prepared, the rest... fell victim to a world where strong prey upon the weak. But in some cases, people who wanted to see justice done, two brothers and their mentor took law into their own hands to protect the weak. They are the Peacekeepers. And they have found unexpected allies... and powerful technology to help, including a prototype antigrav hovercraft with energy weapons, and other volunteers willing to put their lives on the line to protect the weak.

Book 2: The Peacekeepers face challenges from without and within. A psychopath sniper and a traitor of the Peacekeepers wreaked havoc in Jewel Mississippi, and a blood debt must be collected. Elsewhere, thousand-strong outlaw bikers are burning and pillaging their way across Tennessee and the Peacekeepers are taking a stand in Alamo, TN while evacuating the civilians. People will die, but the Peacekeepers will give their all, and they do not negotiate with marauders...

Book 3: Escaped convicts took over portions of Texas and turned the local populations into slave labor, but some escaped to tell the tale to the Peacemakers, and the outlaw's days are numbered. Elsewhere a former army colonel with an armored column decided to challenge the Peacekeepers. But the Peacemakers managed to discover source of a black project that allowed them to add fighters and drones to their forces... When the colonel was defeated, he moved to Kansas and took it over, and Peacekeepers have to plan their biggest operation yet... but the colonel has managed to conscript an air force with helicopters and anti-air defenses...

Actually a pretty decent tale of post-apoc... Except for the idea of this prototype antigrav hovercraft, which is so advanced it's like 100 years in the future, with a EM field anti-grav drive and laser-based weapons. still, it's fun to read. 6/8 And there are tons of additional volumes in this series. I think they're up to like book 20 something. :D
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Finished Alien Mine by Lucy Varna

Pruxnae Dyuvad ab Mhij was sent to Earth to protect a young girl, but he had no idea from what, as Earth is in the far frontier beyond normal civilization. He was not expecting to find a goat farm, a temptress in the form of the girl's mother, and another daughter. Rachel Hunter has no time to spare among her goat farm, her two daughters, and her eccentric brother. Her ex-husband is in prison for murder, and a gang leader tried to kidnap her family supposedly for her ex-husband's "debts". When a gorgeous tattooed big guy crashed into her fence, then offered to pay for staying on her farm for six months, she's in no position to refuse. Dyuvad soon found the danger accosting Rachel is lurking closer than ever, even as they fall for each other...

"Strong protector" trope with the alien warrior as the bodyguard, and obviously he is "fully functional". The problem is he's also quite dull as a character. After all, how hard can his mission be if he has a teleporter, ray gun, and ship with super-sensors, and special body armor? The ending seems to be badly edited, as four enemies suddenly surrendered after merely a threat. 4.5/8

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Finished Storm Justice by Pamela Cowan Suspense

Storm McKenzie bears the scars of childhood trauma and hides her real story from everyone, including her husband, despite having two kids with him. She is a perfect mother and a sweet wife. She went into law and became a probation officer, and treats her clients with respect... but only those that deserve it. You see, Storm has a secret hobby... with a partner, she dispenses justice to people whom she believed the justice system had failed to punish. But when her "partner" wanted to keep going, even as she wanted to stop, her life turned very complicated indeed...

Interesting variation on serial killer / vigilante, for Storm is NOT a violent perp, but she enabled a serial killer, trying to "direct" him into more... justice pursuits. But the more they play, the less they can get away with... Tense, as things get worse and worse... 6/8 at least.
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Finished The Girl With No Name by Diney Costeloe Prime Reading FREE

Thirteen-year-old Lisa had escaped from Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport in 1938 and arrived in London with just a battered tiny suitcase, not knowing a word of English. Her most important belonging was one photo of her family... Papa, Mutti, and blind little brother Martin. Lisa was fostered by a childless couple, the Federmans, and made a friend, who came on the same train, who now called himself Henry Black. When Lisa failed to make it back home after an afternoon with Henry, she ended up on the street in London and was wounded during a Luftwaffe raid. She woke up in a hospital with no memory of who she is or where she was from. With London taking damage, she was sent to a children's home with a different name... Charlotte Smith. With the war raging around her, what will happen to the girl with no name of her own?

For a historical novel, this is actually quite good, for you will come to care for each of the characters, esp. Lisa / Charlotte. The novel actually lasted through the entire war, as poor Lisa will get to grow up... and a lot of trials and tribulations, but with more than a few 18 and 24 month jumps. I actually like this novel a lot. 7/8

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Finished Evasion by Becca Boucher

In a post-pandemic US, the small town of Dana, NH is ready for a comeback, and tourism is up. Ex-snowboarder Cole Erickson, the new sheriff, knew it too well, for he was there, with fellow soldiers, fighting off the Nightwalkers on that fateful night alongside his buddy Lucas. But he knew something was not right with the explanations given, because Lucas has changed. Lucas survived that night, heavily wounded, and he's determined to go on, no matter the cost. Any one in his way, including his wife Lizbeth, or his buddy Cole, will have to be controlled or removed. When Lizbeth disappeared, and Cole found evidence of meth cooking by Lucas, Cole realized the conspiracy he had kept silent about is about to strike again... and this time, there may not be any survivors.

Pretty tense, but the end battle almost didn't make sense.
Spoiler:
The setup was the night walkers, i.e. zombie, was caused by a pandemic plague, which was spread through contaminated methadone used to treat addicts, except the virus mutated and spread too quickly, and it was a colonel's plan to control the civilian government. The end battle was Cole took Lisbeth and escaped up to the mountain cabin with evidence, counting on Lucas and the Colonel would try to capture them to shut them up, except someone else will come up to save them... maybe.
6/8 for interesting setup

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Finished Devine and Dateless by Tara West FREE

Ashley is dead. She accidentally electrocuted herself getting ready for her Internet date. She totally deserved it because she was tired of the circuit breaker of her hair dryer popping that she glued it in, not that she realized she's dead quite yet, esp. when she thought the grim reaper (in street clothes) called Khan was her Internet date. However, when she finally spotted her body on the ground, she knew the score. When she reported to Pete with Khan, she got assigned to... Penthouse level. Aka Heaven. Unfortunately, very next day she was told there's a mix-up... She had to go down a level and work her way back up, and her credit checker (who controls how fast she goes back up) apparently hated her, even as she got what may or may not be unrequited love on her grim Khan. When Ashley unexpectedly demonstrating haunting powers, she got a different job... combating demons (and desecraters) through hauntings back at level 1 (earth) but the danger there is if she fails, the demons can drag her to hell...

Hilariously funny at times, I really mean LOL funny, it's one dead girl's life trying to survive her libido along with her possibly unrequited love on a "man" with commitment issues. Hahaha. 7/8
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Finished Columbus Day by Craig Alanson Military Scifi

The Ruhar hit Earth on Columbus Day with precision strikes against energy and manufacturing infrastructure targets all over Earth. They even landed troops. Then the Kristang chased them away, and the world was grateful. Then the Kristang told us we need to help them defend against more Ruhar attacks, except they won't give the Earthlings any advanced weapons, just slightly improved versions of existing Terran weapons. So the UN Expeditionary Force hitched a ride on Kristang ships to setup camps on a different world, wherever our "allies" says we can be useful. Then we slowly found out we had been fighting for the wrong side...

This is volume 1 of 4, where basically the Kristang intend to use Earthlings as cannon fodder, but with a little help from an AI discovered by the main character Joe Bishop, the humans may actually have a fighting chance. It's... interesting. 6/8

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Reviewer ranking now 1890. Getting toward top 1000 slowly!
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Finished Once a Gunslinger by Diana Bold Historical

Tristan Kane fought for the South during the Civil War unlike his family, and he actually managed to kill his own twin brother... after the battle... by accident. He was so haunted, he left the woman he loved behind and roamed the west as a gunlinger, hoping someone will kill him one day. Ten years later, he meet Savannah McKenzie again, now with a son. Tristan knew she married his now dead brother after he left, but there is something he needed to know... And perhaps, there may be a reason for him to continue living...

Angst-y, but at least this setup means there's a bit more story than the typical historical romances back then.
Spoiler:
The son was actually his. She gave herself to him hoping he'll stay for her, but that got her pregnant, and his twin brother agreed to marry her to save her reputation.
6/8

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Finished Beth, Bride fo Massachusetts by Ashley Merrick Historical

Beth Mitchell and her sister India work in the clothing factory in Lawrence MA when it burned down, leaving them with no prospect for work, and she had no choice but to offer herself up as a mail order bride, with the stipulation that her mother had to come along. Enter business owner George Montogmery. He is actually filthy rich, and he needed a wife to care for two kids he suddenly inherited from his sister's family, when both his sister and her husband died of influenza. Having a grandma is a bonus to him. However, George needs to know she's not a golddigger, and she's deeply ashamed that she may not have been fully truthful in her ads. But together, they'll figure out the truth...

There's a secondary storyline about how George will want to figure out if the factory can be saved, with his investment, how the previous owner was hoping for a quick sale and may have caused the fire himself, but it feels completely secondary and almost superfluous. There's really nothing that's stopping them from coming together. This is at best, 3/8, one of the lamer MOB stories I've read.

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Finished A Bride for Mackenzie by Karla Gracey FREE Historical MOB

Annie Cahill had a tough life, forced to work as a maid since young to care for her family. When push came to shove, she chose to take her chances out West as a mail order bride. Mackenzie Stott enjoyed the calm and wide open spaces of Montana but there's something missing... a wife willing to work beside him. When they meet, will they stay together?

This is barely 70 pages and while clean and sweet, there really isn't much in these stories. 4.5/8

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Finished A Bride for Ethan by Karla Gracey FREE Historical MOB

Maggie Smith had made it to 2nd in command of one of the finest restaurants in the east, but she hopes to find a man that would understand her ambitions in life. She had that man once, but she drove him away. Out in Montana, Ethan Cahill had spend years wandering the states, working variety of jobs until his brother in law managed to gather his gather together once again, and now his sister had found this matrimonial ad... that sounded just like this woman he once knew... Could she be?

Again, barely 70 pages, of almost no plot. There was a bit of hidden identity, but they knew they were not over each other. Meh 5/8

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Finished Clara, Mail order bride by Grace Weston FREE

Clara Swanson is happily married to sheriff of Buffalo New York when her husband was mysteriously gunned down by "firearms malfunction" by his deputy. When she found the intruder in her house, rifling through the belongings, and nobody would take her complaint seriously, she married herself out West, with the inheritance money the thief was looking for. She was reluctant to get close to her new husband, but when trouble found her any way...

The plot really makes no f***ing sense. Travel ain't free. Who the **** would drag two buddies and travel across the country just on the hopes of taking the money from her. And the ending was over way too quickly... and way too conveniently. It's really stupid. 3/8

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Finished Large than Life by Alison Kent

Mick Savin is working for the Smithson Group, that was investigating a suspect criminal organization when he was captured, seriously wounded, and left out to die in the New Mexico desert. He woke up in a medical center in rural West Texas with a lot of questions, including what was the woman that saved him was hiding... Neva Case was simply at the right place as the right time to save Mick, but she has her own secrets at stake... saving girls who wanted to leave a fundamentalist compound. When that secret was threatened, Mick may be her only hope of survival...

Too many plot lines. Mick and Neva (short for Nevada) has one, Neva has a suitor in town, there's an unrelated romance between Spencer and Candy (interracial couple?) Spencer's parents have their own secret. The escaped girl has her own boyfriend AND a creepy lawyer as a suitor... Too many characters! 4/8
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Finished Safe Haven by Leanna Morgan FREE

Tank does bodyguard duty for Fletcher Security. Where the boss orders, he goes. His latest assignment takes him to guard Hayley Elliot, and her elderly mother, who has Alzheimer's. But both are special. Hayley's sister has discovered a drug that may alleviate Alzheimer's symptoms, and Hayley's mom is a test subject... and it worked. Now people are after them both for something that could be worth billions. Tank can protect Hayley and her mother, but he had a secret he had been hiding for years, and it can destroy his own family. Can they afford to fall in love?

The author committed the cardinal sin of writing a "strong protector" novel... he did almost zero protecting. The characters also came across as really lame. There was a lot of background, but none that really explain WHY they act the way they do. Things just resolve themselves without the main characters doing something about them. 2/8

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Finished The Parent Pact by Laurie Kellogg

Tyler Fitzpatrick is a single father with a daughter to raise... and a lot of shameful secrets to keep. When he met Annie Barnes at his daughter's school, it was like a perfect match... of epically opposite proportions. She's impoverished and has a son, he's rich and has a daughter. She's a high school dropout housecleaner whose BF ran away; he's a summa cum laude lawyer who had a beautiful wife who died in a car accident. Tyler concedes there is a gulf between them, but they can definitely help each other out... Tyler needs a housekeeper and babysitter... And Annie is the perfect candidate. They also agreed to a Parent Pact... to become role models for each other's child while they search for their one true love. Annie knew Tyler is good for her, but she didn't believe Tyler would stick around, and she wanted a loving husband, not just hot sex and mutual obligations. Can Tyler convince her that they really are good together?

Annie has a bit of inferiority complex, and Tyler... has shameful secrets about his relations with his dead wife. Let's just say it will take a lot of "dancing" and push-pull to get this couple to get together, and the journey is all the fun. 6.5/8
Spoiler:
His dead wife is bipolar and goes around picking up strange men to feel good, often without protection. She was okay if she's taking her meds, but she went off them, worried about weight gains. The daughter wasn't even biologically Tyler's, and when wifey died wrapped her car around a tree, she was carried another child, also not his. But Tyler won't say anything, why shame the dead?
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Finished Justice is Serviced by Diane Capri

Collection of 4 short stories from the author's Hunt for Justice / Judge Willa Carson series, each with a surprising twist.

Cold Justice -- Judge WIlla Carson and her husband George headed for their vacation in PLeasant Harbor, Michigan, until they almost crashed into a car sitting in the middle of the road, and the guy's head was obviously hit with a bullet. Local authorities wanted the case put way, but judge Carson saw something the local didn't... or perhaps... didn't want to...

False Justice: Judge Carson's friend Ursula Westfield, a journalist, got a tip that the newly nominated judge is not a person that can be trusted, she thought it was a crank call. When her secret witness was stabbed minutes after leaving her with evidence, she wondered who would be attempting to silence investigations of violations way out of statute of limitations...

Fair Justice: A young reporter that normally covers Judge Carson's courtroom got a special assignment to check a small Florida town's alleged pollution by the local carpet mill. He never expected to find a body... but when he tried to dig deeper, he found that some people don't want to hear anything about betrayers or trespassers... and his life is at stake

True Justice: Ginny Richards is one of the new clerks for Judge Carson, she's on the mend after a bad breakup. When she invited her friends to see her moonlight as a jazz singer, she never expected one of her friends would end up dead... Or who would be the killer... or even why...

Each of these mysteries have enough of a twist to it that would surprise, though personally I think each of the twists were not quite telegraphed properly, but it's a short, I guess I can't fault the author for too much. 6/8

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Finished Recruited / A Rayna Tan Thriller by Wesley Robert Lowe FREE

Rayna Tan is an oddity... she's female, she's ethnic Chinese, she's adopted, and she has dual Canadian/US citizenship, and she's a member of Canada's JTF-2 (considered equal to SEAL team six or Delta Force) until she retired, and was recruited into the world of an even more shadowy organization... Fidelitas, headed by three top billionaires who fund things behind the scenes to remove evil before they become too much of a problem. In this prequel, Rayna found herself disillusioned when a joint mission went horribly sideways, then someone killed her boyfriend in front of her. Now she's ready for a little revenge...

I don't know. This girl doesn't sound very Chinese to me, even with the all American education. Story is fine, but the jumps back and forth for background is an interruption in the action. 5/8
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Finished Moriarty Meets His Match by Anna Castle

Professor James Moriarty has been through academic hell and back... His reputation is all but ruined, he gets by as a patent office examiner, his only wish is to exact a certain retribution from a titled peer who ruined him. At the exhibition where he hopes to catch the perp in action, he also caught the attention of the amber-eyed beauty Angelina Gould. Before they can be better acquainted, the invention, a new type of steam engine, exploded, killing one man, and injuring more. As Moriarty wondered if his attempt to expose the engine as a fraud had contributed to the deadly event, he was set upon by no less than Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson... sent to investigate the incident by Moriarty's enemy. Moriarty found Holmes seems to dedicated on finding him the guilty party, which forced him to solve the crime first, and his investigations lead him to find that there are some shenanigans behind the scenes... and many of that pointed right back to Angelina Gould. Angelina found the professor one of the few good men left in the world, but she is not who she seemed, but she has one last job to do... but Holmes and Moriarty are in her way... Nor Moriarty will have to make a hard choice, to save his life and his reputation... and perhaps, win the heart of the woman he loves.

Prequel to Moriarty Takes His Medicine reviewed earlier, this is a fun tale where Angelina and her family tries to deal with some problems on their own, except it only gets worse and worse, until Moriarty (and a little backhanded help from Holmes) interfered. It's interesting tale to rehabilitate Moriarty. 6/8 at least.

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Finished Taming the Beast by Alicia Montgomery

Shy and Nerdy Lycan scientists Dr. Jade Cross does research for the Fenrir Corporation, which is a cover company for the New York clan of Lycans (werewolves, wolf-shifters, whatever you call them). She lived a quiet genius life, and buried her wolf so deep she can no longer shift. When she was kidnapped one day, Fenrir called in reinforcements in the form of Creed Security, headed by Sebastian Creed and his crew of security specialists to help rescue Dr. Cross. Sebastian found himself drawn to Dr. Cross, and the feeling is mutual, yet both denied their calls. For Sebastian knew there is a beast locked inside him, and he did not dare to let the beast out. But when the evil blood mages came up with another gambit to destroy the Lycans, the Lycans formed a plan to counterattack that involved Dr. Cross, Sebastian, and a mage who claimed he switched sides...

Turns out Sebastian is a...
Spoiler:
dragon-shifter who had never shifted before... until when forced to protect his one-true-mate, Jade Cross
Lots of action, lots of secrets, lots of angst, and near the end, some hot sex. Rather like it, as this author delivers some pretty consistently good romantic adventures. 6/8
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Finished The Kidnapped Christmas Bride by Jane Porter

Trey Sheenan wasted most of his early life cultivating his reputation as Marietta MT's bad boy... and got his fiancee McKenna Douglas pregnant. He had wanted to settle down with her until a bar fight resulted in him spending years in jail for manslaughter. He had thoroughly reformed, hoping for a second chance. One day, he was suddenly released a few days before Christmas and his brother came to pick him up... With some very bad news... McKenna is getting married... To someone else. Now, on the eve of McKenna's marriage and few days from Christmas, Trey embarked on a desperate plan to convince her that marrying someone else would be wrong... and to spend Christmas as a family...

Meh... It's not a kidnapping of she is willing to leave with him. And the ending when she finally admitted she still love him was he put himself in danger to save other people. Pretty trope stuff. 4/8

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Finished Cowboy's Rebellious Bride by Laurie LeClair FREE

Hannah Prescott is a bull breeder, hoping her bulls can make her some big bucks on the top rodeo circuits. Cowboy Cody McCall is determined to keep the legacy of his family ranch going. Cody was a champion bronc rider, but death of his grandma forced him to abandon his career and come home when grandpa fell into a deep depression. Cody and Hannah were best friends... purely platonic. But when circumstances forced them into announcing their engagement and then marriage, they wonder why haven't they went this way... much sooner. But then Hannah realized how deep of a hole the McCall ranch is in...

Somehow the book feels rather... uneven, as she sacrificed for him, and what did he do? Not much by the end. 4.5/8

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Finished Fire on the Farm by Betty Shreffler

Amy Flander lost love of her life Darryl to a fire, and only the care and training of horses kept her sane and busy. When one lonely night lead her into the arms of Brock Baisdin, she hadn't realized she could feel that much for any one else. Brock is picky and rich, something that limits his dating pool, but there's something about Amy that made him stop and look twice... For Amy wanted love, but she denied herself so long she hadn't dared to hope. Can Brock help Amy to love again?

Angst-y, but the resolution was over way too quickly. Brock actually got Amy to agree to be engaged to be married. Then when one of Amy's horses died, she need Brock to comfort her. Brock rode his Harley home, and got hit by a drunk driver and almost died. Brock's mother played both sides and drove a wedge between them by lying to both sides. Amy decided she can't go on like that and made a clean break from Brock... only to find weeks later she's pregnant (when previously she never was able to get pregnant with Darryl) Brock went off to a job to Florida to sulk, but came back when he found that one of Amy's employees who had been there for her may want to be a little more. So Brock took Amy back, they got married. The end. Argh, boring. 5/8

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Finished No Perfect Fate by Jackie Weger

Cleo Anderson had never been good with people, and she sometimes argues with a voice in her head. She thought she found the right man and married him only to realize the guy's actually bi and only used her to put himself through law school. Cleo tried to run away by buying a camper and traveled the US alone, and ended up at a fish camp in the wilds of the Okefenokee Swamp, where you get to see bears, gators, and snakes as practical neighbors. The owner was kind, the camp pace slow, and things are okay, then Cleo met Fletcher and his goddaughter, 11 year old Katie. Fletcher is a lawyer who's taking time off to deal with Katie's terminal illness... She has cancer and all possible treatment had been exhausted. She knew it too. Cleo's heart went out to the brave little girl, and Fletcher made her feel all gooey inside. But her voice is still doubting. When a swamp fire threatened the camp, and Katie's illness took a turn for the worse, it will be up to Fletcher and Cleo to get everyone out alive... and deal with the doubts in their hearts...

At first I thought Cleo was schizophrenic, but the way the author dealt with it was the voice basically went away "You don't need me any more" after Cleo and Fletcher got married, in the final page of the book. A little melodramatic, and the part about Katie struggling with her condition was heart-wrenching, but it's *almost* a distraction from the romance itself. 6.5/8
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Re: Books Read 2017

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The Law of the Land: A Grand Tour of Our Constitutional Republic, by Akhil Reed Amar

This is essentially a series of essays about parts of the Constitution, with each essay / chapter focused on a state (typically, people from that state involved in interpreting and/or crafting the constitutional provision. I enjoyed it, though for the most part it wasn't *amazing*. The main annoyance over the book is just that Akhil Reed Amar (a Yale Law professor), is clearly enormously satisfied with how goddamn clever he is, and early on there's a pretty insufferable chapter thoroughly infused with "in case you are forgetting, I am going to keep reminding you that I am a professor at Yale Law" references.

But once I got past the first couple annoying chapters there were some pretty interesting parts. The main one that stuck with me is how insane our presidential succession system is, and how it's just asking for a constitutional crisis sooner or later. Basically because it allows for the presidency to switch parties due to presidential incapacity (because after the VP, next in line is the Speaker of the House, then Senate President pro tempore, who could be from a different party than the president). It's especially crazy because the House (and Senate) also need to vote to approve any replacement VP. So for example, say the democrats take the House in 2018, then Trump is indicted, impeached, and removed from office. President Pence takes office and names some establishment Republican figure (say, Romney) as VP. What reason does Speaker Pelosi and the democrats in the House have to vote to approve Romney with any speed, or even at all? If they wait, and something happens to incapacitate Pence (heart attack, assassination, anything), then they get the Presidency. At the very least the House Speaker in that situation has every incentive to drive a super hard bargain over the VP choice - potentially even demand the appointing of a democrat. Which creates a situation where you could easily wind up with a very long VP vacancy, and domestic turmoil especially in the event of an assassination. So, something to look forward to.

Anyway, I enjoyed it fine - a good overview of various constitutional provisions, some interesting perspectives, though not my favorite book ever. 3 out of 5 stars.
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Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam, by Mark Bowden.

Mark Bowden, best known for writing Black Hawk Down, is probably my favorite author, so I picked this up mainly based upon that. It's about the Battle of Hue in 1968, the longest fight in the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War. The book follows the battle from the individual perspective of various people in and around the battle (on both sides), based upon interviews that Bowden did with people involved.

Basically in the battle North Vietnamese / Viet Cong forces caught the Americans and South Vietnamese completely unprepared for an attack on Hue, so were able to capture essentially the entire city overnight with very little resistance. Only one American military base on the outskirts of the city, and one south Vietnamese base with the "old city" of Hue held out against the initial attack, and even those barely did so (if a couple things went a little different on the first day of the battle, either or both could easily have fallen). That allowed the communist forces to dig in, and forced the Americans and South Vietnamese to engage in a long hard urban battle, which they hadn't done in the Vietnam War to date. And on top of that, military command's inability to come to terms with what had happened (that the entire city had basically been overrun), and singular focus on a different base (Khe Sahn), slowed the American response to the attack.

Eventually American and South Vietnamese forces retook the city, but it took almost two months and a lot of suffering, and the battle (and the broader Tet Offensive), badly exposed the U.S. government's false sunny disposition about the course of the war, and started to set the wheels in motion for eventual American withdrawal (started to turn public opinion heavily against the war).

It's very good, and I highly recommend it. Bowden's a hell of a writer, and does a great job (as per his usual style) of introducing you to various people involved at the ground level of the battle and conflict, their histories, and what brought them to Hue during the battle.
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Philosopher's Stone.

I might have been familiar with the correct term from my HS pleasure reading.

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Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, by J.D. Vance.

I think most people here already know about this book, but basically it's a memoir by J.D. Vance, who grew up in rural southwest Ohio, with family in Appalachian Kentucky. He grows up pretty poor with a lot of family conflict (grandfather was an alcoholic for awhile, mother was a recurring drug addict with a steady string of boyfriends and husbands). He struggles a lot as a result, before righting his ship (thanks in large part to his strong grandmother), and eventually goes on to the marines, then Ohio State, and eventually to Yale Law.

The book is mainly about him coming to terms with his various childhood traumas, and also exploring various pathologies of his home community (hillbillies / white working class), and trying to make sense of those and figure out what can be done. He writes a lot about how he felt growing up (and how a lot of people in his home community felt) that he was powerless over his life, his choices didn't matter, someone's just going to screw you over, etc., before he went to the Marines, who basically taught him adulting and gave him a sense that he had responsibility for and power over his life.

It's very well written and an interesting exploration of a community and his life. It was also interesting to read as a lawyer who came from a wealthy suburb, in that most of the book is a pretty foreign world to me, except when he gets to Yale Law. I didn't go to Yale (I went to the less prestigious Boston University Law), but all of the sudden the experiences and struggles that he's going through (first year law classes, trying to make law review, the big law firm recruitment process, the clerking application process) are suddenly very, very familiar. On top of that since Yale Law is incredibly prestigious, he basically rapidly leapfrogs me in terms of his cultural elite status.

Anyway, very well written and very interesting, and highly recommended. It came out in June 2016 (before Trump won the election, obviously) so it's interesting to read it in light of that. It talks about how widespread the notion is among his community (and Republicans at large) that Obama is a secret Muslim, that the media is not to be trusted, etc., and tries to understand how his home community came to believe such insanity. 5 of 5 stars.
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Finished Falling Fast by Kaylea Cross FREE

Charlie Colebrook is a computer analyst who grew up with a bunch of marine brothers, now working with the DEA. She had some chemistry with a fellow DEA agent Jamie Rodriguez, but Jamie broke it off after realizing she's his best friend's sister... and he doesn't want FWB or part-time. When Charlie was asked by her boss to work undercover to infiltrate a money launderer for a drug cartel, Carlie jumped at the chance, even if they are also assigning Jamie as her bodyguard. However, when her cover was blown, it will be up to the DEA FAST team and Jamie to keep them both alive...

Actually, not too bad as a suspense thriller. Though I find the end a bit too Hollywood. 6/8 at least

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Finished The Billionaire's Secret Wife by Nadia Lee FREE

Vanessa Pryce knew the futility of relying on a man for happiness... her own family being a prime example, but she really had hoped for a HEA with Justin Sterling her BF since their college days. Even though they technically broke up, they still meet for some NSA sex every once in a while... and kept their liaisons secret. Justin has his family investment firm to manage... and Vanessa is determined to make as a lawyer. But when Vanessa's world was upended upon a hurtful revelation, the only one she could turn for comfort... was Justin. A night of drunken sex lead to an unplanned pregnancy... and Justin offered marriage, even though Vanessa wanted to keep it a secret. But secrets have a tendency to leak... and soon even more secrets threaten to tear them apart...

It's a lot like problems of the rich and famous... really first world problems like suddenly realizing both parents were cheaters and have a lot of cheating sex... and lots of half brothers and sisters, even finding out that one's a bastard... ouch. But the twists are pretty interesting, but also a bit shallow.. 6/8

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Finished Cowboy Crazy by Em Petrova

Hank Dalton is one of the five brothers who were just issued an ultimatum... Get married to inherit part of the family ranch... Or get left with nothing. Hank Dalton, the oldest, loved to run the ranch, but living two hours from civilization limits his choice of women. When his four brothers left for the city to see who'd bite, he chose to stay home... and got to rescue a stranded motorist... Charlotte Halton. Charlie was almost killed when her crazy BF drugged her and burned her apartment down, leaving her scarred both inside and out. She decided for a fresh start... and getting stranded in Paradise Valley in the middle of cattle country wasn't part of her plan... but it just may be Hank's luck. Hank knew it was fate that delivered a woman to him, but she's skittish. Can Hank help her find a new start? Or will she run away?

I hate "run away to sort my feelings", but at least this one had enough of a grand gesture to avoid that. At 100 pages, this is a pretty fast read. 6/8

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Finished His Christmas Miracle by Dani Collins FREE

Quincy Ryan was just handed custody of a son he didn't know existed. He's an architect, not a dad, and what he thought was a Christmas vacation with his dad, who's determined to move back to Marietta MT, became a very different journey instead. He knew he needed help with his son Atlas, but he didn't know how... But the first thing he needed is a home health care worker... just enough to last through Christmas. What he got instead... is Nicki Darren. Nicki just returned from California, after failing to become an actress... At 25. She needed a job... ANY job before Christmas, even babysitting for a workhaholic single father and care for his diabetic father is what she was trained to do. Determined to give little Atlas a beautiful Christmas, Nicki soon dragged Quincy all over town to complete stuff for the Advent Calendar, like a tree, Xmas lights, sugar cookies, and more, trying to open him up to accept his son, and she fell for him herself, but she knew the job was merely temporary, for she's leaving on Christmas Eve... Will his Christmas miracle include her?

Awwwww, sweet enough to cause cavities. 6/8
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Finished Cowboy Command by Olivia Jaymes FREE

Katie just had lunch with her stepsister when she was nearly killed. Her car exploded, then someone burned the house she inherited from her stepfather to the ground. Feds moved in and put her in witsec... because the man she worked for... has done some bad things and Katie knew something. To keep her safe, they moved her all the way to Montana, changed her name, her life, and told everybody she's dead. To make sure she's safe, she was put up with Sheriff Seth Reilly. Sheriff was just doing a favor for old war buddies, but he didn't count on "Presley" being so young and pretty... but a load of trouble. Seth thought he liked his women calm and collected, but Presley is anything but... they vowed not to fall in love, because all this is fleeting, but they did so any way, because Katie had no real family, and Seth's family welcomed her. But when danger found her in Montana, just who wanted her dead?

The tension was not quite right. I can't believe that the credit card companies would not have cancelled her credit cards and whatnot after she died. AND why would she still have access to her old shopping logins? The tension doesn't quite flow right. I understand obsession and mentally imbalanced and all that, but the tension level is not quite right in this book. 5/8

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Finished Semper Mine by Lizzy Ford

Marine Corp Captain Sawyer Mathis returned to the US to attend funeral of one man Mikael that lost his life on a mission he headed. That man's brother Pyotr lost a leg. He also met Katya, the sister to both, and Katya only saw red, for this is the man that brought one of her brothers back in a box and other in pieces. Sawyer put her out of his mind. Months later, Sawyer and his team were back in the US, to help run a special summer camp for children who had lost parents... and found he had been paired with Katya. But as they learned to tolerate each other, they found that each have deep dark demons that had yet to share... and gained each other's respect. But what they were not ready for... were feelings of love.

Surprisingly emotional, you get to learn reasons for each of their coping mechanisms. Sawyer's mom ran off, and dad died young, leaving an uncle who doesn't believe in love and a fist is the only way to teach. The military became his refuge, where he buried himself in work to not feel. Katya had suffered major burns on her back in the fire that took her mother, that she felt ashamed to show her body. She also felt like she had to be mom of the family, to the point of smothering, not trusting any one to make any decision, and so self-reliant it bordered on reckless. Katya saw Sawyer as heartless military machine, not seeing the empathy and nightmares he only unleashed in private, while Sawyer only saw Katya as the rebellious and reckless girl he should never get close to ("I no good for you"). It feels a little uneven, IMHO. but 6/8 is fair, I think.

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Finished Stolen Kisses by Ruth Cardello FREE

Dax Marshall is a business shark that cared not for emotions... except NOBODY ever tells him no. He had just purchased a resort to be flipped later when he spotted Kenzi Barrington, of the rich Barrington clan on a beach, drunk but attempting to get to the beach for a swim. He saw the sadness and despair in her eyes, and brought her back to her room and allowed her to sleep it off. That unlikely meeting created an interesting friendship, for Kenzi is indeed burning up inside, having kept a secret so long she had turned self-destructive, and nobody in the family is ready to listen. And she had to tell the one man she knew who is strong enough to stand the truth... Dax Marshall. And that shared secret will affect how they define life... and love.

I've always liked Ruth Cardello's novels more than her sister, Jeanette Winters. These characters seem to have a better depth to them without making them TOO wounded unlike some authors do, thinking the more wounds, the more defined the character. Kenzi's story seems to start with just plain bratiness, but you sorta realize it meant a lot more to her than just that. And the family is like the "avoid crisis at any costs; just don't talk about it" kind of family. Dax... was okay, but he's basically Richard Gere in Pretty Woman, starts as business shark, then wanted to turn companies around by the end of the book. A little cliche, I guess? Still good read. 7/8

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Finished Three Gentlemen by Jennifer Blake

Three novella collection to supplement her "Southern Gentlemen" kinda series. Pretty good reads. 6/8
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Finished There Will Be War Volume VII edited by Jerry Pournelle

This is a collection of essays, stories, poems loosely about war that were long out of print, and properly converted to e-book even with a few updates from JP himself. I think this finally completes the full 10 volume set. (and I got every one), I even had some of the old paperback versions. Some of which are still relevant today. 7/8

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Finished All I want for Christmas Is You by Lisa Mondello

Lauren Alexander is alone raising her daughter and making do. Her family abandoned her when she chose to keep the baby rather than giving Kristen up for adoption, and little Kristen is now six. She was devastated when she found out her daughter had given up her Christmas wish... to bring a daddy for mommy. But the mall Santa is Kyle Preston... a self-made millionaire who was adopted and given a lot of love, and he has a plan. The problem is can he get Lauren to trust him? And can they have a beautiful Christmas... together?

Awwwww, so cute! So sweet! Okay, 6.5/8

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Finished Married for Christmas by Noelle Adams FREE

Jessica wanted a family, but she didn't quite know how to love, after leaving a bad relationship and family in her distant past. Her only friend was Daniel, a pastor. Daniel lost his wife two years ago, and had never gotten over it. Daniel wanted to be the pastor for the local congregation, but the town balked at a single pastor. So Jessica offered a solution... She wanted a family, he needed a wife. Why don't they get married, despite being best friends? She thought she knew exactly what she's getting into... but she's found she really didn't know anything... when it comes to being a pastor's wife... but will she learn? And will he love her?

Awwwww... so sweet my tooth ached. And this is NOT a Christian romance because there is sex (between husband and wife). Like it. 5.5/8

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Finished Texas Women of Spirit Triology by Angela Castillo Historical western spiritual romance

Book 1: Zillia Bright was orphaned at 16 and trying to raise her baby brother... AND run papa's farm, and guard what was hers, with no horse and just an old mule. Her step-father took anything of value and left town. Zillia must rely on her neighbor Soonie and Wylder to keep going, and perhaps, God was listening to her prayers with a miracle or two on the way.

Book 2: Soonie Eckhart, quarter Comanche, followed an expedition to teach school at an "illegal" Comanche and Kiowa settlement in North Texas, but her white skin and city ways made her unwelcome, esp. by "Lone Warrior", the camp's protector. When a group of trappers stumbled upon the area, Soonie must draw upon her faith and courage to survive.

Book 3: Darla North left her saloon days behind after discovering faith and start over at Downs House in Dallas, a shelter for unfortunate women, and met Ethan Downs, the matriarch owner's sweet carpenter son. When Darla's past threaten to catch up with her, she chose to run... but Ethan was not about to let her leave without saying goodbye...

Good tales of hardship and perseverance. The plot kind dragged in a couple places, but the book was indeed clean, with barely a kiss, but emotional. 6/8

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Finished Colleen: Mail order Brides Club by Ashley Merrick FREE

Colleen Shea had to leave Boston when the man who broke her heart came with his wife and child to order a new dress. She decided to follow her best friends to Bozeman, MT and find a good man there... She found three: quiet David, boisterous Paul, and slick cousin Ricky. Who will gain her heart?

Not too much emotional turmoil here. 4.5/8

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Finished A Rancher's Surrender by Michelle Beattie FREE Historical western romance

Jillian Matthews was trained by the best veterinarian... Her father, but nobody would let her practice out east. She applied to be the new town vet all the way out in Montana using only her initials, hoping that frontier folks are less picky, but it wasn't to be. Widower Wade Parker was the first to find that the veterinarian he hired was a woman, when Jillian was able to save the newborn calf with an emergency c-section, but the mama cow passed away. Wade was angry because he was tricked, and the fact Jillian is beautiful and smart and a very competent vet made it only worse. When the town turned on her, and harassment began, Wade chose to be her protector... then someone escalated...

Pretty good tale of enemies into lovers, and the twist later IMHO was telegraphed a little too early. 6.5/8
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished "All For Love 3 book collection by Kris Pearson

The Boat Builder's Bed -- Yacht tycoon Rafe Severino wanted a real family, not the broken one he came from. His mansion is almost finished, and he needed an interior decorator. He got Sophie Calhoun. Sophie is new to interior decorating but making a name for herself... by leaving her daughter behind with her mother babysitting and weekly visits. Rafe fell for Sophie, but will Rafe still want her after he learned that Sophie had to leave her daughter behind to make a living?

Angst-y, "never the right time", blah blah blah. Still, competent. 6/8

Melting His Heart -- Kate Pleasance fled Auckland after her broken family and her boyfriend became too much to bear. She flew down to Queenstown for an interview to be a housesitter... Expecting the woman who needed her help, she instead was greeted by a tall, dark, and handsome Matthew McLeod, who was so pleasant to look at, Kate had to restrain herself, because Matthew never stated his relations to the woman needing the help. Matthew had a disastrous first marriage that made him suspect all women, and Kate's surname... belonged to one of his business rivals. Was Kate sent to spy on him? To seduce him? To ruin him? Yet there's no denying that Matthew and Kate had chemistry together, as they both have doubts... But how can they be together if they suspect the other were keeping secrets?

Angst-y, but not overly so. Seduction scenes were pretty cute. 6/8

Taken by the Shiekh -- Laurel was the wrong hostage at the wrong place. She was the American diplomat family's New Zealand au pair, and she got snatched by terrorists in Al Sounam. She did not expect to be rescued by Sheikh Rafiq, who was actually working undercover at the time. For safety, she must remain secluded until Rafiq can conclude the operation, and Rafiq is intense, powerful, and charming, not to mention rich... and a good lover. But when it's time to send her home, will she be able to let go?

Eh, sorry, this one just doesn't work for me. Smells way too much of Stockholm syndrome, and Rafiq being able to sneak away for days at a time to bonk her is just ridiculous. 4/8

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Finished Take Me Home by Claire Herkness

Claire Parker left Sanctuary West Virginia for New York to make a life for herself. However, she's back. She had to divorce her overly critical husband to take care of her sister, the only relative she had left, and her two little nieces. She wanted to get back to her job in a New York art gallery, as her passion is finding the right painting for the right people, but she had to sell most of her collection, and she kept only one, a Western piece about horses, which is her second love. She was on a rescue ranch when she found her whisper horse... Willow, an abused race horse, and they share a special bond. Claire also found the ruggedly handsome Dr. Tim Arbuckle, Willow's vet, charming, but with unpredictable moods. Tim's wife, Anais, a well known actress, committed suicide a while back. He thought he'd never love again, but Claire... reminded him of the good times he shared with Anias, and he wondered if he can find that again... or if he's holding her from her life she was meant to have...

Angsty, with a secondary plot about how Claire's sister was abused by her husband, then her husband initiated divorce claiming it's her fault, and Claire trying to solve everybody's problems. Multiple characters changed, multiple symbols got left behind, and all in all, very satisfying romance. 7/8

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Finished Seducing Summer by Serenity Woods

Callie Summer is the CEO of Four Seasons lingerie business, and when her PA had to take a long leave, she didn't expect her new PA to be a guy... a GORGEOUS guy, ex-military, both efficient but with a hint of danger. Callie had just broken off with her ex after catching him in bed with soemone else, so a little flirting with the handsome PA is perfectly harmless. Gene really does type 90 wpm and can do multiple types of shorthand, but he's actually the head of his security firm. Callie's mom is a judge that was getting death threats that extended to Callie as well, and Gene is going undercover to protect Callie, because Callie balks at anything her mother suggested. And Callie is every bit as bewitching as the lingerie and other items she peddled. Gene tried to keep things professional, but soon he fell under Callie's spell. But when the threat escalated, Gene may have to break Callie's heart to protect her from harm...

I honestly the ending was romantic but really really stupid. 6/8
Spoiler:
Gene was the bodyguard and wearing an executive bullet-resistant vest. He jumped in front of a gunman... And Callie shoved him out of the way, and the gunman shot her in the shoulder before everybody else jumped on the gunman. WTF?!
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Jeff V
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Sinful Pleasures (Anthology) (K) :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

Sinful Press is a current publisher of erotica. This is the third of their books I've reviewed for Librarything, with mixed results. This book of short stories has a few authors connecting well with the form while others are just spewing silly porn tales. I can't imagine how bad the tales rejected for this anthology must have been.

Part of the disconnect might be that most of the authors are women and I'm not. The male characters don't seem very real to me; rather they are tired stereotypes. I'm sure that the opposite is true though when guys write such stories, so I won't be too hard on them. But none of these stories managed to movie my heart rate from dead calm.
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Books Read 2017

Post by Zarathud »

I'm a bit scared to find out what erotica Jeff V will one day endorse.
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." - Albert Einstein
"I don't stand by anything." - Trump
“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” - John Stuart Mill, Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St Andrews, 2/1/1867
“It is the impractical things in this tumultuous hell-scape of a world that matter most. A book, a name, chicken soup. They help us remember that, even in our darkest hour, life is still to be savored.” - Poe, Altered Carbon
Jeff V
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Re: Books Read 2017

Post by Jeff V »

Zarathud wrote: Wed Oct 18, 2017 10:23 pm I'm a bit scared to find out what erotica Jeff V will one day endorse.
This was the third book from this publisher I've reviewed. The first one was okay, the second not good. I suspect I'm now too old for this shit...but I still hope some day one will spark some interest. Or something.
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished A Lifetime to Share by Kathleen Ball Historical Western

Eli Todd is had made several trips to Oregon, but this is his first time as wagon train captain. He had lost plenty of people, and he knew he'll lose many on the trip. So he wouldn't let any one in. Amelia Cruthers is a young girl with a limp suffered in an accident from way back when. She is a hard worker, but her family never approved of her for any reason. She thought she just needed to work harder, until her family tried to leave her behind at a river crossing. Eli was outraged and took Amelia with her. When Eli was bucked from his horse, Amelia cared for him in his wagon, but somehow, her reputation was besmirched for doing the right thing, but Eli offered up a solution... marry him. Amelia never expected to be married, not just because she's a cripple, but she can never bear children (so her parents said) When rumors spread among the train that Eli was sleeping around, will Amelia's heart break again and again? Or will Eli stand by his vows?

Somehow, this story just doesn't read right. The threats didn't 'scale' up by the end of the story, it didn't get worse and worse, just one thing after another. She should have realized her "parents" are out to kill her, yet somehow their words still managed to hurt her. She's just TOO trusting and naive, and that's just not believable. She seems to have no self-preservation instincts. 3/8

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Finished Love in a Snow Storm by Zoe York FREE

Jake Foster knew he should never get involved with his best friend's little sister, Dani Minelli. There was too much of an age gap between them, despite knowing each other since they were children. Dani knew Jake would not pay attention to her due to her brothers, but that didn't stop her pining. Years later, Jake owned his construction company... and Dani is back in town as the EMT. When circumstances are finally right, Jake and Dani started their secret liaisons. But when Jake's one-time-stand arrived in town pregnant, things got very very complicated indeed...

Just light-heard enough to be fun and sigh-worthy enough to swoon, it's a sweet, cute, and fun small-town romance. 6/8

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Finished Summer in Napa by Marina Adair

Alexis "Lexi" Moreau had a New York restaurant with her husband, until she caught him sampling the sous-chef (and I don't mean the food). She ran back to her hometown St. Helena, Califronia, and started divorce. Six months later, she's still in serious debt from the divorce, and her only way out seems to be turn her grandma's bakery into her dream bistro, while ignoring grandma's matchmaking attempts... While avoiding the oh-so-sexy Marco DeLuca... who's her ex's best friend. Marco wanted Lexi for a long time, but he's not about to get between his best bud and a woman. He's also about to commit on a deal that would help his family bring back the grandeur of Napa by reopening the Grand Hotel in town. Now that Lexi is free, Marc is perfectly willing to stake his claim on Lexi, ostensibly to just ward off grandma's matchmaking. However, he's keeping a secret... something that will shatter Lexi's trust if it gets out...

Ah, that's how escalation should be written. A cruel and smarmy ex makes a great foil, and the darkest hour is dark indeed. I personally think the resolution was a bit too fast, but that may be just me. 7/8

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Finished 10 Dates by Emily James

Joanie Fox wanted to settle down and marry the man she had been living with for years. He kept saying he'll marry her after the dating app launched. It's been TWO YEARS since it launched. On the night of the company party, instead of announcing his proposal to her, he instead announced he's jetting off the New York to sell the app to the Yanks. When her BF just packed a bag and left, Joanie wanted to just sleep in her bed and sulk. Her friends staged an intervention enough to make any one cringe... 10 Dates in 10 Days. And the results... won't be pretty. But there is one guy, her next door neighbor in number six, that makes her heart go peeter-patter. Too bad he isn't interested... or is he? Will she even survive all ten dates?

Definitely going for rom-com there, some of the scenes are pretty good, but not quite to the scale of Operation Date Escape (reviewed earlier). Still, charming and wrapped up pretty well. 6/8
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished Tales of a New York Waitress by Samantha Garman

Sibby Goldstein got downsized from her boring office job and caught her BF doing... a guy, on her bed. She kicked him out, but now she needs a new life, a new job, and a new BF. She had to take a job as a waitress at an Italian restaurant, and between dealing with clueless and tipless people, Sibby may actually fall for the broody manager of the place...

Romance is sweet but nothing special, but the waitress tales brings it up a notch. 6/8

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Finished Moon Shot by Alan Shepard, Jay Barbree, Deke Slayton

Bought this when it's on sale, it's written by the first and last astronauts of the original seven. Alan Shepard was the first into space and Deke Slayton had an irregular heartbeat that kept him grounded until 1975. This book recounts all the tales, from the "recruitment" of the German scientists to how America lost the first space race (if Eisenhower had allowed Von Braun's team full funding, Sputnik may not have been first into space), to how Kennedy set the goal to go to the moon, and so on and so forth until the final Apollo mission and some of the Soyuz and friendship missions. It's told in a 'storyteller' fashion, very few technical jargons. It's a good overview of everything Apollo including the lead-up. I've got a few other books on this subject, like "Failure is not an option" by Gene Kranz but this one is quite easy to read. 6.5/8
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Re: Books Read 2017

Post by Jaddison »

Sua Sponte Great book about Army Ranger selection and training. The author, a retired SEAL, actually follows them through training including going on all the ruck marches. He also follows them through the training pipeline after they are selected all the way through pre-deployment training. Outstanding book, very informative and has great flow.
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Lord of Chaos (Wheel of Time 6)
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Kasey Chang
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Re: Books Read 2017

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Finished Whitewater Wooing by Caroline Lee

Will Weston had to get his Idahoan family "River's End Ranch"'s aquatic program (rafting, kayaking, etc.) running properly, or he may be written out of the will. Being an outdoorsy guy, he dreads sitting behind a desk, so he sets out to hire a temporary manager to get things into shape... and he found an "Elliot Redfern" who was perfect for the job. Except... Elliot turned out to be a gorgeous blonde "Ellie" (blame her parents' southern traditions) who just came off LA and needed a bit of a break. Will found Ellie utterly fascinating, and Ellie found Will gorgeous... and both are in love with the natural beauty of Idaho. But can she really stay, if she has a life back in LA?

Almost cozy, there is no major angst in this subgenre of contemporary western. At best, it's minor reluctance of embracing one's destiny and love. 6/8

This is a fixed setting multi-author collection where multiple authors can add characters but all revolving same set of characters. They're up to 24 books already. :D

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Finished Christmas Nights by J H Croix FREE

Janie Stevens was crossing Kachemak Bay in Alaska when her boat listed and she was thrown overboard. She was rescued by hot paramedic/firefighter/good guy Travis Wilkes. But Janie has problems trusting men because she watched her mother being abused by a stepfather (who eventually landed in prison). She's also busy raising an adopted daughter alone. But she can't get Travis out of her head. Travis is also too busy for love. His job kept him busy, and his downtime he spends with the guys. But Janie rattled his resolve to stay aloof. With approaching Christmas, perhaps the Holiday spirit and willingness to share their families may bring them together, permanently.

Pretty cozy and fun read, nothing too spectacular, but it's a well-polished novel with properly defined characters. 6/8

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Finished Chasing Happy by Rylie Roberts

Lara Hunter had survived adversities with her best (gay) friend Kade and she's finally going places. Unfortunately, on the first day of her new job in the city, she was almost run over by a business tycoon Reed Prescott. Reed, not harboring any questions, took her to his office and have his staff help clean her up, as he was trying to ward off a potential lawsuit. But Lara surprised him again and again. When properly made up wearing high-end business fashion, Lara is transformed from a mousy soggy girl to captivating power beauty... and Lara actually works at one of the companies he owned, and she even speaks Mandarin, perfect for helping him manage his latest Asian acquisition. Lara's prior wounds also reminded him of his own dysfunctional family, which drove his ruthless business tactics. But now, as the potential for love is in front of him, will he choose to chase happiness?

I find the ending a bit rushed and too Pretty-Woman like. Reed wasn't that deep. The initial confusion (Reed mistook Kade as a potential competition) was kinda cute, but that went away pretty quickly. Somehow the Chinese references don't quite ring true. 5/8

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Finished Charming You by Kris Jayne

Micky Llewellyn no longer trusted men after several disastrous prior experiences. She just wants to work, talk with her friends, and live a quiet life. Nick Halden is engaged and tied his career to his father-in-law-to-be when he brought the old man's business to his lawfirm. When Micky's car won't start one night, Nick helped her get a jump start, and Micky was completely smitten but was reminded he has a fiancee. But when Nick's fiancee revealed she's actually a lesbian, Nick felt betrayed even though his fiancee still wanted to marry him... just for appearances, something Nick cannot accept. Nick fled to Micky's arms, but when Nick's in-laws-to-be applied pressure to force him back to his fiancee, things look dark indeed for Nick and Micky...

While the turmoil of Nick was real, Micky came across as pretty shallow and not that interesting. Also, the book ended on a deus ex machina, which IMHO was really dumb. 5/8

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Finished Snowed by Pamela Burford FREE

Leah Harmony just got her world upended... The parents that brought her up... are really her grandparents. Her mother was raped at 15 and died at childbirth. Leah's consumed with the idea... confront James Bradburn, the man who ruined her family. She finagled an invitation to the Bradburn estate, intending to confront the old man, but instead, found James Bradburn Jr., his son. When Leah's "date" tried to force himself on her, she barely escaped, locked herself into a bedroom, and fell asleep upon exhaustion. She woke up with James Jr next to her... She's in his bed! She felt a surge of attraction to him, esp. when he told her he's adopted and hated his old man's guts, but she had to leave... then found she had been snowed in for several days, and "forced" to spend a lot of time next to the delectable James Jr. But soon she found out he had been lying... and he can never find out who she really is, and she must break his heart...

The plot twists are pretty good. 7/8
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Finished When Danger Calls by Terry Odell FREE

Ryan had somehow been involved in two blown ops. He had recovered the data, but until the leak can be plugged, he's been ordered to lay low. But he knew the truth... he's the most likely leak. He went home to the mountains of Montana hoping to discover what was hidden in the data and got nowhere, but he didn't dare to do it at home, so he did it in a bar with Internet access, and ran into part-time waitress Frankie Castor... and single mom. Frankie returned to help care for her mom who seems to be having some dizzy spells, and Ryan was one of her customers. When Frankie discovered some of her mom's money may be missing, she wasn't sure who to blame and the most likely candidate is her mom's boyfriend, but she needed someone's help to investigate... someone like Ryan. What Ryan didn't know was someone knew he had something very important and they want that data... or prevent someone else from having it. And to get it, they will kidnap him, or people around him to get him to reveal his secrets. Now Ryan has to fight not just for his life, but Frankie and her daughter's as well, and not even a fellow teammate can be trusted...

Lots of twists and turns, and IMHO, a bit TOO long at times. 6/8

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Finished Wait for the Rain by Maria Murnane

Daphne White is about to celebrate her 40th birthday, but she only saw signs of her getting old. Her daughter is spending time with her ex-husband and his new woman on her Spring Break... and she's off exploring a Caribbean island with her two besties from way back in college, whom she hadn't really seen in... over a decade. Daphne had definitely lost herself when she got married... and lost all her dreams. She met Clay Hanson, a much younger man at the resort island, and he's definitely interested. But can she let her insecurities and shattered dreams go, and with the help of her besties, let herself enjoy life once again, and reach for her dreams, including love?

More about self-rediscovery than torrid romance, it's more chick-lit (or "hen-lit"?) than pure romance. But it's still quite enjoyable. 6/8

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Finished Under Her Skin by Adriana Anders

Uma had to walk away from her life and disappear. Her boyfriend was too powerful and too resourceful... He worked for the law. He had destroyed her life, piece by piece. But she survived, and she had to leave, if she's to survive. She arrived in a small town in Virginia, where a dermatologist has a standing offer of pro bono tattoo removal work if you qualify, and she had to take the only job available... work as a housekeeper for a cruel old lady who sees all men are threats and she can do nothing right. And next door neighbor is Ivan, a blacksmith by trade... and a large but gentle man, but grew up having a bad reputation and knew how to fight. Uma isn't ready for love yet, but Ivan is there like a rock to hold on to. But when she finally revealed her deepest shame, and Ivan went after the the evil ex, Uma had to do the one thing she swore never to do... Talk to her evil ex, if only to save Ivan...

Intense, heartbreaking, and severe PTSD from abuse... but on the road to recovery. I'd like to see a bit more explicit karma on the evil ex, but the ending is good enough. 7/8

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Finished The Real Thing by Diane Fraser FREE

Lucia Rossi had a terribly lonely childhood. Her father is Italian, and her mother is Chinese. When her mom decided to leave for China with her little brother after her father was simply too busy to be around, she felt abandoned when she's moved to a boarding school. When her father died, she went to live with her mother in Beijing for a while, but death of her brother send her fleeing again, this time to New Zealand, where she works as an art restorer. She wanted a real family for herself, including the white picket fences, and she refused to get involved with a commitmentphobe... and that included her last liaison... Dallas McKenzie. Dallas knew he can't be what Lucia wanted, but he thinks he knew who can... Guy Martin, a widower who has yet to recover from loss of his wife. Guy is a total commitmentphobe, and Lucia would have never gotten involved with him, except they share that pain of loss... and when he invited her home, she noticed that a painting their family hung, what was supposed to be a forgery... may in fact be the real thing. But when the inquiry went out to find the owner of "the real that turned out to be fake", it set forth something in motion that may take Lucia and Guy to the one place Lucia swore she will never return to...

Eh... I guess it's okay. Chinese references feel slightly off, but I can't quite put my finger on it. 6/8

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Finished Mustanger and the Lady by Dusty Richards FREE / Western

Vince is a mustanger who lives by himself up on the Hondo mountains. He made a living by roping mustangs, breaking them, then sell them in town. His life changed when one day, a saloon girl Julie showed up on his mountain on a lame horse. Despite initial distrust, she eventually accepted his help, not that she had much of a choice, having missed the stage trail and is thoroughly lost. It was clear she was running from someone, and he's going to help her, by creating a fake grave for her. But soon things got very complicated. The Papago indians, working as Army scouts, are hunting the Apache... per head, even as Julie, now named May for a new start, decided to stay with Vince. But it's never that easy, as Apache youth took May intending on ransoming her for some of Vince's horses, then gunslingers came looking for Julie's grave... Now Vince has to get her back, or die trying, as he ended up chasing her all across the Southwest...

Quite a bit of fun as a Western, not a romance, though there's some romance, of course. but this girl switched hands like, uh. Half dozen times at least. Still, fun tale. 7/8
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